《Unintended Cultivator》


 Chapter 1: The Escape

    Chapter 1: The Escape


    As he ran, Sen felt the burn deep in his legs and in his lungs. He could hear the shouts of the noble boys behind him, close, always too close, and tried to run even faster. Sometimes, he could get away. He hoped that today would be one of those days. He clutched the precious burden in his arms as tight as he dared. Not too tightly, or he might damage it, but tight enough not to drop it. His long hair whipped into his eyes for a moment, obscuring his vision. He prayed that no one would step in front of him. Another moment and the wind carried that offending hair out of his eyes. He dodged around a corner, put on ast burst of speed, and cut down a particrly dark passageway between a noodle shop and a merchant¡¯s shop.


    It wouldn¡¯t have worked during the full light of day, but it might be dark enough with dusk settling over the town. He crouched behind a pile of trash and ignored the baleful look that a rat gave him. He tried to still his breathing and slow his heart, sure that everyone could hear that thunderous pounding clear from the street. The moments passed with agonizing slowness. He could hear the people on the street, talking, bartering, or simply making their way home after the day¡¯s work. Those lucky, <em>respectable</em> people who could get work. People who could buy their food instead of stealing it to avoid starving. People who proudly bore a family name.


    The shouting of the other boys drew near. He heard them out there, confused by his sudden disappearance. They searched up and down the street for a seeming eternity, one even took a few steps down the passage before the others called him back. Sen didn¡¯t trust it. Didn¡¯t trust them. They¡¯d tricked him before. Tricked him, and then beat him senseless for offending his betters. <em>Offending my betters</em>, he thought with a burst of rage. <em>I offend them by existing</em>. So, he remained crouched in that dark passage, fending off the ever more aggressive rats that could smell what he had clutched in his hand. He waited there in the growing darkness for more than an hour before he finally, cautiously, made his way out. He peeked around the corners, searching the street for his tormentors, but they had apparently given up on him.


    He wouldn¡¯t pretend that he didn¡¯t take some slim satisfaction in foiling their <em>instruction</em> of their inferior. Although, it meant that he would need to remain even more vignt in the days toe. Those vicious, <em>noble</em> bastards had a long memory for perceived slights. He might not get away next time. This time, though, this time he had gotten away. He trudged away from the meager protection of the passageway and headed to the closest thing he had to a home. His legs ached terribly from the desperate, panicked flight, but at least his lungs didn¡¯t hurt anymore. He¡¯d learned to take his blessings, few though they were, where he could find them. Still, it was a long walk back. He sighed, said a quiet prayer to whatever gods took pity on children and thieves, and set out.


    ***


    Full night had settled over the town of Orchard¡¯s Reach by the time Sen arrived. He could even see the moon rising over the mountain that cast its long shadow over the poption, day in and day out, year after year. Sen wasn¡¯t given to deep thoughts, usually reserving his mental energy for survival, but he paused there for a moment. The moon was full and hung there, like a great luminous fruit that had blossomed from the rocky soil of the mountain. Something twinged in him then, as he gazed at that vast, distant orb that some thought was a goddess. He yearned, just for a moment, to hang there in the sky as the moon did, to cast a light over all, a lesser light than the sun, but perhaps a kinder one as well.


    Then, he shook himself. Foolish thoughts. He¡¯d never leave this ce. Never assume a different station. Oh, there were stories of mighty cultivators who rose to greatness from humble beginnings, but those were just stories. Those things didn¡¯t happen to real people. Real people lived the life that fate had cast for them, some prospering, and all too many worn away by too much need and not enough coin.


    He reached out and knocked on the door. Then, he waited. There was no point in being impatient. He watched the moon in the rtive silence. He listened as the night insects made their own strange music. He used to count the seconds and minutes, but he¡¯d grown at least a little wise in his short years. She would arrive when she arrived. After a minute, or ten, the door cracked open. A dark, piercing eye red out at him.


    ¡°What do you want, boy?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t say anything, simply uncovered his hard-won treasure. She understood what he was offering. She opened the door enough for him to scurry inside before she closed the door firmly behind him. Grandmother Lu gave him a suspicious look, but she didn¡¯t ask any questions. He handed her the loaf of bread. She took the food with care. Sen knew that her hands hurt her more days than they didn¡¯t. She gestured with her head, and he joined her at the table. She carefully cut part of the loaf into slices with a knife that looked as old and worn as Grandmother Lu herself. She took two slices and handed him two. She conjured a small orange from somewhere. She regarded the fruit for a long moment before handing it to him.


    ¡°Peel this,¡± she ordered.


    He took great care in peeling the orange as he didn¡¯t wish to damage the precious flesh inside. He handed it back to the old woman. She took equal care in dividing the fruit into its individual segments before carefully pushing half to him. They ate slowly. Grandmother Lu had been of a different station, once, Sen was sure of that. He wasn¡¯t sure if tragedy or dishonor had left her in her current circumstances, but she clung to a few ideals. Eating should be done with at least a little dignity. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if he felt the same way about it, but he respected her wishes.


    After they ate, Sen copsed onto a small pad that just happened to always be empty when he came by. He didn¡¯t sleep there every night. In fact, he almost never visited Grandmother Lu unless he had some morsel to share, but on those few, terrible, icy nights when he had shown up empty-handed, she¡¯d simply gestured to the little pad withoutment. Sen had no family, no blood, but he did have Grandmother Lu. That one, tinyfort was enough that he drifted off to sleep and did not dream.

 Chapter 2: The Cultivator

    Chapter 2: The Cultivator


    Grandmother Lu woke him early the next day. Very early. The sun wasn¡¯t even really up yet, just the barest suggestion of light on the horizon, but Sen didn¡¯t really mind. He had been given shelter for a night. That was more fortune than most of his ilk enjoyed. He simply bowed to Grandmother Lu and took his leave. There were ces where he might find food if he was quick enough. Not the kind of food that would stay good until night, but something that might keep his stomach from aching until he thought it would drive him mad. So, Sen ventured forth. It was early enough that none of the noble brats would hassle him. They didn¡¯t rise this early. He might run afoul of a shopkeeper or half-wild dog, though. Both things had happened before and he had the scars to prove it.


    Still, some risks were worth the payoff. You simply could not survive without food. He knew that there were other ways. There were hunters who ventured outside of the town into thergely untamed wilderness beyond the walls. There were animals there that you could hunt or capture in clever snares. Sen knew this, but it meant little to him. He had no bow, no spear, and no snares. Even if he had those things, he didn¡¯t know how to use them. Staying in the town was dangerous. It would be more dangerous for him in time. He was old enough now that one of the gangs would press him into service if he wasn¡¯t very careful. That was a life almost sure to see him dead, eventually. Yet, leaving would mean truly courting death.


    In town, he risked the wrath of noble children, the town guard, and gangs. Beyond those walls, he risked the ire of spirit animals that even the unearthly cultivators feared. If those heaven-defying figures of legend tread with care in the wilds, what hope did he have of surviving? One day, if he became desperate enough, he might make the journey beyond the walls, but it would be a day of true desperation indeed. For now, he would simply take his steps with care, and keep a sharp eye out. For the next hour or two, though, hergely had the town to himself.


    He took full advantage of that fact, making his way to the Song Wu Dumpling shop. He lucked out and found a few dumplings that the rats and other vermin hadn¡¯t found in the trash. He wondered sometimes what they would taste like fresh. Most days he was simply grateful if there was something to eat at all. After he¡¯d eaten something, he went to the central market. There were shadowed corners where he could hide all day, free from the sight of the guard and his own enemies. Although, when he was honest with himself, he was getting a little too big for them. Another year, maybe less, and he¡¯d have to find a new way to stay out of sight.


    For now, though, he could watch as people opened their shops and set up stands. He could see the mayor¡¯s mansion from his secluded little perch. He was willing to bet nobody there was ever hungry. Even the servants probably ate like nobles there. Not that he could ever dream of even being a servant in such a ce. Not without a family name to open doors for him. A part of him that he kept buried deep most of the time seethed at the unfairness of it all. He knew that he should ept his fate, ept the lot that life had handed to him, but it burned all the same. He didn¡¯t dream of riches or of glory.


    Those things were fantasies without depth or true meaning to him. He simply dreamed of honest work, a safe home, and maybe, one day, a family. Yet, even those modest dreams were out of his reach. No one would hire him. Most people would barely look at him. All he could do was hide in the shadows and watch as other people lived the kinds of lives that he wished he could have. The morning passed slowly. Sen watched for opportunities. He also watched for threats. For some reason, there were more guards around than usual. He also noticed more of the noble brats hanging around the market than usual. <em>Was there some kind of festival happening soon</em>? Sen wasn¡¯t sure. He measured time in hours, days, and seasons. Anything in between was lost on him. He knew that there were holidays and festivals but not when or why. Mostly, he didn¡¯t care. They didn¡¯t mean anything to him. Except, he admitted, when they set off the fireworks. That was something everyone got to enjoy, even him.


    It wasn¡¯t until the afternoon that things changed. Sen almost felt the change, like a current that swept through the marketce. The change was defined by a single word. Cultivator. There was a cultivator in town. Sen didn¡¯t believe it, at first. Why would there be a cultivator in Orchard¡¯s Reach? Even Sen knew that they were a small ce in an unimportant province. Yet, for all of that, he was curious. He¡¯d never seen a cultivator before. Were they really ten feet tall? Did they really have lightning for eyes? A part of him wanted to go and find the cultivator, but good sense prevailed. If he went wandering around and looking for them, his tormentors would have a far easier time finding him. No, far safer to stay quiet, stay hidden.


    It turned out that Sen¡¯s caution proved the wiser course, for the cultivator came to him. At first, Sen just thought he was another man. He was taller than most people with gray eyes and gray hair to match, but it wasn¡¯t his appearance that really gave him away. His robes were finer than most people¡¯s. Yet, they were not so much finer that anyone would consider him more than a noble. No, it was something that Sen couldn¡¯t name, couldn¡¯t see, but he could feel it. So could everyone else. The man strode through the market in a bubble that no one invaded. The crowds parted around the man. Sen shuddered at the invisible pressure that radiated from the man. He¡¯d felt pressure like that, well not exactly like that, but simr enough. He¡¯d learned how to hide from it. So, he did.


    Then, the cultivator stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes swept across the marketce. It looked to Sen like the man meant to bore a hole through the world with his gaze. Sen shuddered as the man fixed on his hiding spot and then took a step in his direction. Cold sweat ran down Sen¡¯s back, but then a miracle urred. At any other time, Sen would have considered the arrival of the mayor and the other local nobles as a dark sign. Today, it was reprieve given human form. The mayor strode up and bowed deeply.


    ¡°The mayor of Orchard¡¯s Reach bids the mighty cultivator wee.¡±


    The rest of the nobles bowed as well and murmured their wees. The cultivator looked, at least to Sen¡¯s eyes, like the whole spectacle annoyed him. The cultivator gave onest look at where Sen was hiding, then turned his attention to the nobles. He bowed to them.


    ¡°Cultivator Feng greets the mayor.¡±

 Chapter 3: Luck?

    Chapter 3: Luck?


    The mayor and all of the nobles stood straight again. Sen found a bit of grim amusement in their looks of difort. The mayor was fat, his belly straining the confines of the robes he wore. Supposedly, he¡¯d been some kind of a warrior in his youth, but Sen found it hard to believe based on the sweat trickling down his face. Yet, all of the nobles looked strained, like they expected a disaster to fall on them at any moment. He decided that he couldn¡¯t fault them for that. Cultivators coulde as a blessing or a curse, so the stories said. Please a cultivator and they might rain down blessings on your house. Displease a cultivator and they might scour your entire line from the face of existence. You just never knew.


    The mayor roused his courage enough to ask, ¡°What brings you to our insignificant town, Cultivator Feng? Perhaps we could be of some service to you in fulfilling your goals.¡±


    The cultivator just stared at the mayor for a long moment. ¡°Ie to take up residence on the mountain. Closed door cultivation.¡±


    The mayor seemed to brighten at that. Sen reasoned that he was relieved that the cultivator nned on leaving soon and shutting himself away.


    ¡°I see,¡± said the mayor. ¡°Do you require supplies? We will, of course, provide anything you need within our power.¡±


    The cultivator appeared unmoved by the mayor¡¯s words. Sen had a hard time keeping himself fromughing as the sweat running down the mayor¡¯s face grew heavier. It was nice to see someone else so nervous. The cultivator finally sighed and nodded.


    ¡°Yes, I will take a disciple with me. Someone to attend to matters beneath me and, when I¡¯m feeling generous, to receive my instruction. I¡¯ll take someone from here.¡±


    The mayor and all of the nobles started falling over themselves offering up their children. While no one wanted the cultivator to stay, they all wanted their children to benefit from attending to the cultivator. In the end, the cultivator ordered that all of the young men and women be brought before him so that he might choose the best from among them. Sen rxed from his hiding. There were plenty of other distractions in the market to keep the cultivator upied. The mayor tried to convince the cultivator to go to the pce and choose from the young nobles, but Cultivator Feng would have none of it. He asked that <em>all</em> of the youth of the town be brought before him in the market.


    So, Sen watched in interest as the word went out. Young men and women from all over the town were rounded up by parents, by aunts and uncles, by teachers, and even by guards. The children of the nobles were given pride of ce and paraded before the impassive cultivator. Their parents spoke of their many virtues. Sen snorted at that. Those brats wouldn¡¯t know virtues if they fell over them in the bath. Once the nobles finished, things rxed a little. Young men and women were marched in front of the cultivator. Half of them seemed confused, and the other half looked downright terrified. Sen wondered what their parents had said to them. It took a couple of hours before thest stragglers were set before the cultivator.


    Cultivator Feng looked to the mayor. ¡°Is this <em>all</em> of them?¡±


    ¡°Yes, honorable cultivator,¡± the mayor lied.


    Sen knew for a fact that there were plenty of children from the poorest parts of town that had not found their way into the marketce. He wasn¡¯t surprised. He couldn¡¯t even find it in himself to be annoyed. The cultivator frightened him. That focused, piercing gaze and that invisible presence, like a burden on Sen¡¯s heart, had unnerved him. He knew that he didn¡¯t want any part of whatever the cultivator had nned for his disciple. The cultivator nodded.


    ¡°Very well. I have made my choice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very pleased to hear that, Cultivator Feng,¡± said the mayor. ¡°Which of our worthy youths will apany you.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t see it. He barely felt it. One second, he was hiding in the shadows. The next, he was dangling from the cultivator¡¯s hand. Sen didn¡¯t think. He just struck. His small fist crashed into the cultivator¡¯s nose¡­and did nothing. More urately, it did nothing to the cultivator. Sen felt like he¡¯d punched a stone. His hand hurt so much that he wondered if he¡¯d broken bones. The cultivator actually smiled at him.


    ¡°This one will do nicely,¡± said Cultivator Feng.


    There was absolute silence in the marketce for the space of three heartbeats. Then, the mayor exploded with rage.


    ¡°You mean to take this street trash over one of our children?¡± The mayor demanded.


    ¡°Why should I prefer noble trash over street trash? After all, I did ask that all of the youths be presented to me, did I not? Why was this boy not presented? For that matter, if I were to walk in that direction,¡± the cultivator pointed in the direction where Grandmother Lu lived, ¡°how many more youths would I find that you conveniently forgot existed?¡±


    ¡°I, I...¡± the mayor stuttered, eyes darting around as if to find some escape.


    Sen didn¡¯t see it happen. He only saw the aftermath. The mayor went from standing there, red-faced and enraged, to sprawled out on the ground, spitting shattered teeth and blood from his destroyed mouth. The cultivator red at the rest of the nobles.


    ¡°Leave my sight before I decide the rest of you deserve the same.¡±


    The nobles ran away. If Sen¡¯s hand had hurt less, he might have even enjoyed the sight. Mostly, though, he was desperately trying to figure out how he was going to run away from the cultivator. He¡¯d been scared when the cultivator first seemed to notice him. Now, having been plucked from hiding in a move so fast he couldn¡¯t even remember the details, he was positively terrified. Sen ran through his options. There were none. Unless the cultivator decided to let him go, Sen sincerely doubted he could escape. The cultivator looked over at him like he could read Sen¡¯s mind.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want me,¡± said Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do anything.¡±


    If he could convince the cultivator, then maybe things would turn out alright. The cultivator snorted.


    ¡°You should call me master. Besides, you¡¯re stuck with me now. If I left you here, one of those nobles would hunt you down and kill you. If not them, then one of their children would.¡±


    Sen went very still. He hadn¡¯t thought it all the way through. The cultivator was right. If he stayed, he was as good as dead. But, he couldn¡¯t leave. Grandmother Lu might well starve if he just up and vanished. They¡¯d never talked about it, but he suspected she depended on him at least a little to help her eat.


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave,¡± Sen said, his voice firmer than he expected.


    ¡°Master,¡± corrected Cultivator Feng.


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave, master,¡± said Sen.


    The cultivator seemed to grow bored with holding Sen up and set him back on the ground. Those gray eyes bore down on Sen.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Sen took a deep breath and then exined.

 Chapter 4: Leavetaking

    Chapter 4: Leavetaking


    It took a couple of days before Sen found himself once more at Grandmother Lu¡¯s door. He never came during the day, so even he was a little shocked at how run down her little hut looked in the sunlight. At an impatient noise from Cultivator Feng, Sen roused himself, reached out a hand, and knocked on the door. Then, he stepped back and waited. Sen worried that the cultivator might grow impatient, but the man seemed content to simply stand there at the door for however long it took. After several minutes, the door cracked open enough that Sen could see Grandmother Lu peering out suspiciously at them. Before either Sen or Grandmother Lu could speak, the cultivator stepped forward. He gave a gracious bow.


    ¡°Honored Grandmother,¡± he said, ¡°may we pleasee in to speak with you? I promise, we will not waste your time.¡±


    Grandmother Lu looked to Sen and he gave her an emphatic nod. She heaved a great sigh and opened the door enough to let us in.


    ¡°Well, I suppose you better,¡± she muttered.


    ¡°Gratitude,¡± said Feng.


    Sen followed Feng into Grandmother Lu¡¯s. He worried what the cultivator¡¯s reaction might be, but the man didn¡¯t twitch so much as an eysh at the humble little home. Instead, he bade Grandmother Lu sit and then, seemingly from nowhere, he produced a teapot and cups. Sen had no idea how he did it, but the man produced steaming tea and poured cups for himself, Grandmother Lu, and Sen. The boy awkwardly toyed with his cup but didn¡¯t actually drink any. Instead, he looked nervously between Grandmother Lu and Cultivator Feng. Sen had to admit that Grandmother Lu took it all in stride, as though she hosted strangers who performed minor miracles on a daily basis. She waited quietly until the tea was cool enough, then sipped. She closed her eyes and made appreciative noises. Only then did she fix Sen with a stern look.


    ¡°Where have you been boy? You don¡¯t usually disappear for so long.¡±


    ¡°Forgive me, honored grandmother,¡± said Feng. ¡°I fear that his long absence was my doing. I will be taking Sen as my disciple. There were matters that needed resolution before we could leave.¡±


    ¡°Disciple,¡± muttered Grandmother Lu. ¡°What sort of disciple?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I failed to introduce myself. I am Cultivator Feng Ming.¡±


    Grandmother Lu¡¯s eyes went a little wide, but it was the only hint of surprise that she showed. ¡°A cultivator. I see. So, you intend to make Sen a cultivator?¡±


    Feng inclined his head. ¡°I will be entering into secluded cultivation for a time. I need someone to attend to those asional worldly matters that might intrude on me during this time. In exchange, Sen will receive some small instruction from me.¡±


    ¡°A worthy exchange,¡± said Grandmother Lu in a soft voice. ¡°But why have you sought me out?¡±


    ¡°A trifling matter, I assure you. Sen expressed some minor concerns about your disposition while he is away. I cannot have him distracted, so I fear I must impose on your good nature to ease his mind. After all, it is often difficult to focus when one worries for family.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Grandmother Lu. ¡°Yes, he is a distractable boy. I wouldn¡¯t want him to fail in his duties out of concern for me.¡±


    Cultivator Feng beamed at Grandmother Lu. ¡°Exactly. As such, I have made some small arrangements on your behalf. If you¡¯ll allow me, I¡¯d be most pleased to escort you to a modestly morefortable ce for you to stay.¡±


    Grandmother Lu gave Sen another inquisitive look. He nodded his head in the affirmative.


    ¡°Very well, Cultivator Feng. Since it¡¯s for the boy¡¯s benefit, how could I refuse?¡±


    After everyone finished their tea, Cultivator Feng made the tea set disappear. Grandmother Lu took a few minutes to gather up a few treasures she couldn¡¯t part with and then stepped out of her little hut for thest time. Cultivator Feng took up station at her elbow and walked along at the pace she set, only asionally directing her down one street or another. He engaged Grandmother Lu in light conversation about things that happened long before Sen was born. If Grandmother Lu found the topics odd, she showed no sign of it. She held up her end of the conversation and, save for the asional stop so she could briefly rest, the small group made steady progress across town.


    When Cultivator Feng led Grandmother Lu up to a finely appointed home, she shot Sen an incredulous look. When a servant opened the door and gave her a deep bow, she finally seemed at a loss. Cultivator Feng greeted the servant and ushered Grandmother Lu into the house. She looked around in pure wonder at the decorative scrolls that hung on the walls and the carefully polished wooden floors. Finally, she turned and gave Cultivator Feng as deep a bow as she could manage. Cultivator Feng gave her one in return. As a final gesture, he handed over a small jade box.


    ¡°What is this?¡± She asked.


    ¡°A few medicinal pills,¡± said Cultivator Feng. ¡°They are reputed to provide some minor relief to the joints. One every six months should suffice. Now, I¡¯ll leave you to say goodbye to your grandson.¡±


    With that, Feng left through the front door. Grandmother Lu looked at Sen with equal parts gratitude and disbelief on her face.


    Sen smiled and spoke. ¡°There¡¯s money to see you through. I didn¡¯t ask for details, but he promised it would be enough that you wouldn¡¯t have to worry about things.¡±


    ¡°Why would you do this for me?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You helped me when you couldn¡¯t really afford it. I¡¯ll never forget that. Plus, I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll be gone. I really would have worried. I want you to be here when I get back.¡±


    Grandmother Lu didn¡¯t cry, but she did pull Sen into an unexpected hug.


    ¡°You be careful, boy. Cultivators are fickle and dangerous. You do your best toe back alive. I¡¯ll do my best to still be here when you do.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a deal to me, Grandmother Lu.¡±


    Grandmother Lu took a moment to straighten Sen''s robes, a thoughtful look on her face. ¡°You¡¯ve been family to me more than mine ever was. From now on, if anyone asks you your name, you tell them that it¡¯s Lu Sen. And you just call me grandmother.¡±


    It took Sen a long time to find his voice again after that deration. When he did, all he said was, ¡°Yes, grandmother.¡±


    Grandmother Lu gave him a little smile. ¡°All right, boy. I suppose it¡¯s time for you to go hold up your end of things with the cultivator. May blessings find you.¡±


    Sen walked over to the door and gave her a bow. ¡°And you, grandmother. Oh, make sure you take those pills.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not senile, boy. I¡¯ll remember.¡±


    He smiled and slipped out the door. Cultivator Feng was waiting in the yard. He appeared to be in deep contemtion of a small maple tree. Yet, as Sen approached, the cultivator turned and gave him an appraising look.


    ¡°I believe I¡¯ve done my part,¡± said Feng.


    ¡°You have, master,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have your undivided focus?¡±


    ¡°You will, master.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, let¡¯s be on our way. I don¡¯t particrly enjoy this town.¡±

 Chapter 5: The Wilds (1)

    Chapter 5: The Wilds (1)


    Cultivator Feng wasted no time, walking directly to the town¡¯s western gate. It wasn¡¯t a direct path to the mountain, which Sen knew to sit north of the town. Yet, there was no Northern gate. East or West, those were the only choices. For all that Sen spent most days on his feet, and all that the cultivator looked to be keeping an easy pace, the young man struggled to keep up. He found himself almost running in the cultivator¡¯s wake. He worried about what might happen once they left the safety of the town and entered the wilds. There were no roads to the mountain, no paths, at least none that Sen had ever heard about. He supposed that there might be one that the cultivator knew of, but he suspected that normal things wouldn¡¯t pose much trouble for the man.


    As they approached the Western gate, though, the older man slowed and let Sen catch up. Not sure what he was supposed to do, Sen walked a pace or two behind the cultivator. He¡¯d seen servants act that way, so maybe that was what his new master expected. Feng nced over his shoulder and gestured to his side. Sen hurriedly stepped up next to the man.


    ¡°Observe, disciple,¡± ordered Feng.


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure what he was supposed to observe, but he nodded. ¡°Yes, master.¡±


    They were nearly at the gate before Sen finally saw what his master had, apparently, expected. They were at a distance, but he saw the faces of the noble brats who had troubled him so often. They looked angry, violent, and vengeful. Exactly the kind of looks that someone of Sen¡¯s station desperately wanted to avoid. Yet, there they were, blithely uncaring of the fact that Sen wanted no conflict with them. He didn¡¯t want conflict with anyone. A boy from the streets always lost that kind of fight. On bad days, boys like him lost their lives in the process.


    He also saw faces he only knew vaguely. Still, he marked them with care. There was the mayor¡¯s son, Jiang Hao. He was lean with an almost fox-like face. Sen wondered if that was what the mayor had looked like as a young man. There was Wu Gang. He was a bulky boy that had often held Sen¡¯s arms while Jiang Hao beat him. There was a pale beauty that Sen had never seen before, slender and poised, but her expression twisted with fury. There had to be a dozen of them. Each and every one of them rejected by the cultivator and ming Sen for that disaster.


    ¡°Do you see?¡± Cultivator Feng asked.


    ¡°I do, master.¡±


    ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    He did. Sen would likely return to the town, one day. He didn¡¯t know how long it would take, but probably not that soon. Years, probably. Yet, these were the people who would hold that grudge. They would secret it away in their hearts, feeding that private me with their resentment and frustration. Then, they would seek to vent that bitter me on him if they discovered his return. Sen wondered if, perhaps, he should simply nevere back to the town. Even as he thought it, he knew that was an empty idea. He woulde back if only once. He would seek out Grandmother Lu, or her grave, and pay his respects.


    ¡°I think I do. They¡¯ll seek vengeance on me for taking what they think was theirs.¡±


    Feng gave Sen an appraising look. The answer, it seemed, was more insightful than the cultivator expected.


    ¡°Half right,¡± Feng announced.


    ¡°Master?¡±


    ¡°You understand half of the lesson. The part you neglected, possibly the more important part, is that those people are why you should attend most closely to what you will learn.¡±


    Sen thought that over for a moment. He didn¡¯t know what he would learn, so it was hard to understand where it would fit into things. Still, if Feng was so certain, Sen would take it at face value. At least, he would until or if he learned better.


    ¡°I see. Thank you for the lesson, Master.¡±


    Feng made a noise that could mean anything. Then, ignoring the guards and whatever procedure was normal, he strode through the gate with Sen close behind. As soon as they cleared the gate, the cultivator turned almost immediately North, walking along the town wall. That wall seemed terribly high to Sen, towering at three times his own height. He¡¯d stared at that wall from the inside a thousand times and couldn¡¯t imagine anything breaching it. Now that he was outside, though, he could see trees not too far away that were easily higher than that wall. Trees with trunks thicker than he was. Trees that could hide anything.


    All too soon, the wall was left behind and they were among those trees. Much to Sen¡¯s horror, but not his surprise, there was no road. The cultivator simply walked. It was during that march that Sen started to grasp the difference between a cultivator and a normal man. While Feng was normally content to walk around most obstacles, he would asionally push boulders out of his way with a casual motion or leap dozens of feet into the air andtch onto a tree to get a view of what was ahead. Even when he walked, it was with a speed that Sen couldn¡¯t match. He spent most of the day alternating between a jog and a full run.


    As the sun rose into the sky and began to fall again, the hunger began to gnaw at Sen. It was a mild annoyance at first. He had lots of practice at ignoring hunger. Yet, theter it got, the worse that hunger became. It became a persistent ache in his middle. Then, the ache gave way to actual pain. His head started pounding. He struggled to keep his bnce. It became an all-consuming act to just keep jogging behind the cultivator. Yet, every time Sen looked up, Feng was farther away. Sen would try to close the gap, only to have his vision go blurry or dark around the edges. Finally, inevitably, Sen tripped over a root and crashed to the ground. He tried to rise. There was a desperate fear in him of being left behind in this wild ce he didn¡¯t know. Yet, his will faltered and darkness closed over him.

 Chapter 6: The Wilds (2)

    Chapter 6: The Wilds (2)


    Something warm and wet sshed over Sen¡¯s face, rousing him from unconsciousness. It smelled wrong, almost like metal, but then a noise washed over Sen, freezing him in ce. No, he realized, not a noise. It was a roar. His eyes snapped open. He looked up and saw, he didn¡¯t know what he saw. It looked a bit like a boar, but no boar had ever been that big. It was asrge as a horse, with tusks nearly as long as a sword. Blood was leaking from a sh across its face. <em>It''s injured</em>, Sen thought. <em>What happened?</em> A momentter something blurred through the air and struck the beast. It vanished from Sen¡¯s sight, apparently carried away by the force of whatever had struck it.


    The disorientation and fear that had kept Sen rooted in ce snapped as he realized that he was in immediate, terrible danger. He shot to his feet and almost copsed again as his stomach tried to eat its way out from inside him. The headache that he¡¯d forgotten about reasserted itself, like thunder inside his head. Still, he was in danger. He stumbled away from the beast. He didn¡¯t pay attention to where he was going. Anywhere, anywhere that was <em>away</em> was good enough. It was just a blur of greens and browns and the asional shes of a sunset-colored sky. He careened off of trees and fell over rocks, leaving bruises and bloody gashes on his body. Yet, he ignored the pain, ignored his stomach, and pushed himself back up. He had to get <em>away</em>.


    He didn¡¯t stop moving until a hand seized the back of his robes and brought him up short. His head hurt. His hands hurt. His knees hurt. Sen''s stomach hurt so much he could barely think. Yet, that abrupt stop shocked him enough that he looked around. He stood on the edge of a gully. It wasn¡¯t very deep, but deep enough that Sen might have broken his neck falling into it. Sen let out a bted, startled shout and tried to back away from the edge. The hand that had grabbed him kept him in ce. It took a moment to calm down enough to look around. Cultivator Feng stood over him, a ssh of crimson across his face. Yet, the man looked calm enough.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that way,¡± said Feng, releasing Sen¡¯s robe.


    ¡°No, master. Thank you for stopping me,¡± said Sen.


    He tried to bow to Feng, but it proved too much for the screaming, painful hunger inside him. Sen copsed, clutching at his stomach.


    ¡°Were you injured?¡± Feng asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Sen gasped. ¡°So hungry.¡±


    Feng was silent for a long moment before he spoke. ¡°Oh. Food. Right.¡±


    Sen only half noticed, so preupied was he with his stomach, but it only took Feng a matter of minutes to carry Sen away from the gully, set up camp, and start a fire. With Sen by the fire, Feng made a pile of jerky appear from nowhere and pushed it into the boy¡¯s hands. Sen didn¡¯t say anything, just started eating as fast as he could chew the dried meat and choke it down. When he looked up from the much smaller pile of jerky, Feng was just outside of the camp. He was cutting up the enormous boar. With the howling inside him finally gone and the wretched headache going away, Sen was finally able to appreciate the speed with which the cultivator worked. The man¡¯s hand moved in a pair of blurs. It wasn¡¯t instant, but soon the boar was a pile of discarded parts. What Sen couldn¡¯t work out was where all the meat went.


    Then, Feng made a shovel appear and started digging. It was the biggest hole that Sen had ever personally seen, nearly as deep as a man is tall. Feng hopped out of the hole, shoved the remains into the hole, and then covered it up. He rinsed something off with a water skin and dried it on his robes as he walked over to the fire. Once Feng settled on the other side of the fire, he tossed the object over to Sen. Sen caught the object and looked down at it curiously. It was an orb as big as an apple. It was a deep green shot through with lines of dark brown. It felt heavier than Sen thought it should. He looked over at Feng.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Asked Sen.


    Feng looked incredulous for a moment before he burst intoughter. ¡°A keepsake. You should have something to remember this by. It¡¯s your first near-death experience with a spirit beast, I expect.¡±


    Sen shuddered as he imagined what the beast might have done to him. Sen looked down at the rock for a moment before he slipped it into an inner pocket of the robes Feng had given him after bandaging the boy''s wounds. While he was busy with that, Feng had set up a makeshift spit. A piece of what Sen assumed was the boar slowly started dripping over the fire. Feng sprinkled herbs and spices over the meat and then settled back, only moving to turn the spit asionally. Sen finally worked up the nerve to ask a question that had been steadily growing in his mind.


    ¡°Where did it all go? The rest of the meat, I mean.¡±


    Feng just held up a hand and gestured at it. Sen looked at the hand briefly before returning his gaze to Feng¡¯s face. Hisck ofprehension must have shown on his face because Feng tapped a ring.


    Sen frowned. ¡°Is it magic?¡±


    ¡°No, of course, it¡¯s not,¡± said Feng. Then, he seemed to think it through. ¡°Well, I suppose it is a bit like magic. It¡¯s a storage ring. Easier than carrying a pack everywhere. Keeps things fresh too. You¡¯ve never heard of them before.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°Do you think I could get one someday?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. Probably not like this one, though. It can hold quite a lot. They can get expensive. For what this one cost, I could probably buy that town we just left.¡±


    Sen¡¯s eyes went wide. He decided that a storage ring probably wasn¡¯t something he would ever own. He¡¯d just appreciate Master Feng¡¯s ring while he could. While a thousand other questions rolled through his mind, he decided not to test the cultivator¡¯s patience. Grandmother had warned him that cultivators were fickle. So far, this one seemed mostly amused by Sen. He didn¡¯t want to damage that. After a while, the cultivator produced a couple of tes and carved pieces off the meat over the fire. He dropped a peach onto the te that he handed to Sen. Sen made himself wait to eat this time. He didn¡¯t want to burn himself.


    ¡°If you get hungry, you have to tell me. When you get as far along with cultivation as I have, you can go for weeks, months even, without eating. I won¡¯t remember, so you have to remind me to feed you.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Yes, master.¡±


    ¡°Good, now eat. I don¡¯t want you passing out first thing tomorrow.¡±


    Sen ate the meat and peach but did his best to do it with a little dignity, the way Grandmother Lu had taught him. After he ate, Sen felt an odd surge of energy. It seemed to pulse through him in waves. He was sure he imagined that the energy seemed to gather around his hands, knees, and feet. Part of him felt like he could walk for miles, while the rest of him demanded rest. Sen took a final look at the cultivator who was reading a book that hade out of that miraculous storage ring. Sen wrapped himself up in a nket. He didn¡¯t think he would be able to sleep, but it swooped down on him in moments.

 Chapter 7: The Wilds (3)

    Chapter 7: The Wilds (3)


    Morning came all too early for Sen¡¯s tastes. The sun wasn¡¯t even up yet. Instead, there was a kind of gray, pre-dawn illumination that made it just possible to see. Despite the early wakeup, though, Sen felt good. In fact, he felt better than good. It was like energy was bursting from his entire body. Sen felt ready, if not enthusiastic, for walking all day. A quick peek under the bandages on his hands showed that the cuts from the previous day¡¯s mad flight were healed. The skin looked healthy and perfect. Stunned, Sen looked around the campsite. Cultivator Feng had let the fire die down to a small bed of coals. It was enough for Sen to warm his hands over, but looked like it would be easy to put out. The cultivator himself was sitting a little way off from the campsite in a cross-legged position. Sen studied the motionless man for a while. He decided that Feng must be meditating. He¡¯d seen monks sitting like that before to meditate. <em>Or is it cultivating</em>, he wondered. <em>What¡¯s the difference?</em>


    The longer he studied the sitting cultivator, the lessfortable Sen felt. It was almost like he could feel the man doing, well, doing something. It wasn¡¯t anything he could see or hear. It was more like something underneath his senses. Like a current in all of nature itself. Something that made his very soul shiver. It wasn¡¯t that the man was acting hostile. He <em>was</em> just sitting there. Yet, Sen couldn¡¯t shake the sensation that something was wrong. It was like he was under observation. Sen froze. He¡¯d felt that sensation before, all too often, right before something awful happened. He slowly turned and looked over his shoulder. A lightning bolt of fear left him fixed in ce, mouth open, and staring.


    Not three feet away was the biggest cat Sen had ever seen. It was massive, bigger than the biggest dogs in town. Much like the cultivator, it wasn¡¯t doing anything specific to threaten Sen. Its mere existence was more than enough for that. Even worse, Sen felt his eyes trying to slide away from the beast as it almost seemed to disappear into the foliage behind it. The cat eyed him curiously for a moment, then stood, and stepped forward into a stretch that nearly brought its massive front paws, paws big enough to crush him, to Sen¡¯s feet. It was the motion of the cat that forced a strangled cry from Sen¡¯s throat. The beast¡¯s eyes snapped up, and then to Sen¡¯s right.


    ¡°Easy little brother,¡± said Cultivator Feng.


    Relief washed over Sen. He hadn¡¯t heard the cultivator move, but his presence was afort in that terrible ce. The cultivator would no doubt y the beast as he had done with the boar. Except, nothing happened. Sen nced at Feng. The man stood next to him. His posture was rxed and the cultivator¡¯s face serene as he gave the big cat a nod. It was only then that Sen finally realized that the cultivator had been talking to the beast.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to kill it?¡± Demanded Sen, his voice cracking.


    ¡°Why?¡± Feng asked. ¡°It¡¯s been here for an hour. It would have done something by now if it nned to.¡±


    As if to prove that it was somehow friendly and harmless, the beast slumped onto its side and began licking one of its paws. Sen was not tricked. Anything <em>that</em> big with paws, ws, and teeth was not to be trusted. He red his distrust down at the massive cat. Once again, his eyes tried to look somewhere else as the cat seemed to almost fade into the ground.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sen asked, forcing his eyes to stay fixed on the beast.


    ¡°Ghost panther,¡± murmured Feng. ¡°You don¡¯t see many of those.¡±


    The cultivator chuckled to himself like he¡¯d told some particrly amusing joke. Sen didn¡¯tugh. He didn¡¯t see anything funny about a giant predator lounging in their campsite. Then, Feng¡¯s words finally struck home in Sen¡¯s mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s a ghost,¡± Sen yelled as he stumbled backward and promptly fell over his own discarded nkets.


    Sen knew better than to treat ghosts lightly. He¡¯d heard stories about hungry ghosts. What could be hungrier than a ghost panther? Feng let out of derisive snort and shook his head, almost like he couldn¡¯t believe Sen had actually asked him that.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a ghost. It¡¯s a ghost panther. Look at it.¡±


    Sen studied the beast with wary, distrustful eyes. It only took him a moment to make the connection. The cat clearly had a physical body, demonstrated by the fact that it idly batted a small stone into the underbrush. Somehow, some way, the animal could fade into the background. Then, finally, he understood the joke that Feng had made. In spite of himself, Sen sighed at the terrible humor. Through all of that, the cat watched him. Sen was certain that he sawughter in its huge, feline eyes.


    Sen got to his feet and muttered under his breath, ¡°How was I supposed to know?¡±


    Feng seemed ready to get moving, stopping only long enough to give Sen some leftover boar meat and another peach. After a moment of thought, Feng tossed the big cat a piece of meat. The cat went from casually lounging to pouncing toward the meat almost instantly, catching it in mid-air. Then, the cat went back to lounging while it chewed on the meat. Sen did his best not to imagine the cat doing that to his leg. Instead, he turned his attention to his own breakfast. For a boy who had gotten most of his meals from the trash for years, sometimes forcing down food that was only questionably safe, the boar tasted heavenly.


    It was fresh. Fresh enough that not even a hit of rotten sourness marred the experience. He¡¯d been too hungry and distracted by pain the night before to enjoy the food. With those impediments out of the way, he was free to relish in the vors of the food. Free to bask in the fact that he didn¡¯t need to fight off rats or dogs to get it. Meat in any quantity was a rare treat in Sen¡¯s world, so he didn¡¯t take it for granted. He lingered over it, chewing slowly and deliberately. It wasn¡¯t juicy in the same way it had been when it was hot. It was still tender, though. The spices were unfamiliar, but they gave the meat an almost sweet crust with a hint of spiciness. After he slowly, but inevitably, finished the boar¡¯s meat, he turned his attention to the peach.


    Fruit wasn¡¯t quite as rare as meat. There were orchards outside the town, after all. Yet, rarely had Sen enjoyed fresh fruit. The peach was firm. Its sweet juice was almost an assault on Sen¡¯s untrained pte. He found himself letting out a little moan in pleasure. Once again, he found himself feeling almost overfull with energy. It roiled inside him, the energy washing out from his stomach into his chest. Then, it expanded out into his limbs and head. The energy left him with the sense that he had woken up a second time. Everything around him seemed sharper, clearer, and it was all he could do to sit still. By the time the peach was half gone, Sen felt like he might vibrate apart.


    Abruptly, he became aware of the fact that the cat was so close that he could feel its hot breath on his face. He forced himself to move slowly as he turned his head. The cat was so close that he could make out the individual hairs on its face. At that distance, the cat¡¯s whiskers no longer looked delicate, but like tiny spears that jutted from around its fearsome maw. If the cat had actually been looking at him, Sen might have screamed. Only, it wasn¡¯t looking at him. Its eyes were fixed on the half of the peach in his hand. Sen looked closely at the beast. It wasn¡¯t hostile. It didn¡¯t even look hungry. If anything, there was an expression of yearning in the cat¡¯s eyes.


    Sen sighed. He supposed that he owed the beast something for not murdering him in his sleep. He lifted the rest of the fruit toward the beast. It sniffed at the fruit but didn¡¯t take it. Sen frowned.


    ¡°You want it, don¡¯t you?¡± He asked, lifting the fruit a little closer. ¡°Go on. Take it.¡±


    The cat¡¯s eyes flicked to his face for just a moment, as though it was trying to weigh his sincerity. Then, the cat lowered its mouth toward his hand. Sen steeled himself for the betrayal. At this range, the massive beast could take his arm off and flee into the forest with it before anyone could do anything. It turned out that Sen¡¯s fears were misced. The beast picked the fruit up so gently that all Sen felt was the barest brush of fine, soft fur against his palm. The cat backed off a few steps, as though it could sense Sen¡¯s apprehension. It didn¡¯t immediately swallow the fruit like Sen thought it would. It seemed to take its time with peach in the same way Sen had, savoring the sweetness of the flesh, before it finally let the fruit slide down its throat.

 Chapter 8: The Wilds (4)

    Chapter 8: The Wilds (4)


    ¡°Did you really just feed that cat some of your breakfast?¡± Feng asked in a voice that was half-amused and half-exasperated.


    Sen shot to his feet. He hadn¡¯t thought about what Feng would think of him just giving away part of the fruit. Would the man be angry? Sen wondered if he was about to be punished. It was a monumental effort of will to remain still.


    ¡°Yes, master,¡± he answered.


    Feng eyed Sen for a moment. ¡°Care to exin why?¡±


    ¡°I, well,¡± Sen stumbled to exin. ¡°It didn¡¯t eat <em>me</em>. I thought it deserved something for that.¡±


    The cultivator looked startled for a second before he threw his head back and roared withughter. The sound boomed through the trees, joyful and uplicated. The cultivator was bent over at the waist and pping his hands against his legs before he finally got hisughter under control. Feng stood back up straight and wiped at his eyes.


    ¡°Of all the reasons,¡± Feng said, shaking his head. ¡°Of all the reasons, that might be one of the purest ones I¡¯ve ever heard for trying to make friends with a spirit beast.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± Sen protested as he eyed the semi-visible cat. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to make friends. Spirit beasts are dangerous, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Feng gave Sen and the cat an appraising look. ¡°Yes, spirit beasts are all dangerous. But, and listen well my young disciple, that doesn¡¯t mean that every spirit beast is dangerous to you. If you treat them all like they¡¯re bloodthirsty man-killers, they¡¯ll respond with violence. Yet, spirit beasts can also offer you wisdom, boons, and even power, if you can befriend them with the right kind of heart. They are also wise. If you meet them with trickery in your soul, they will know.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure he really understood Feng¡¯s meaning, but he nodded anyway. ¡°Yes, master.¡±


    Feng gave him a smile that said he knew that Sen didn¡¯t understand, but the cultivator didn¡¯t offer more of an exnation. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time to head out. Pack up your things.¡±


    All Sen really had was the nkets, so he folded them up and handed them to Feng. The cultivator waved his hand at the nkets, and they vanished into the storage ring. The cultivator eyed the remaining coals before he doused them with water and covered the ashes with damp earth. Sen watched the process with open curiosity. He knew very little about how or why things were done beyond the walls of the town.


    ¡°Any kind of fire, even coals, are dangerous in the woods. If the wind kicks up, it could set the underbrush ame. This forest stretches almost unbroken for hundreds of miles. Can you imagine the devastation if it burned?¡±


    Sen honestly couldn¡¯t imagine what hundreds of miles of burned forests would look like or what it would do to anyone living nearby. Still, he had seen burned out homes in the town. He tried to imagine that same kind of destruction on a massive scale. He shuddered. Feng noticed the shudder and nodded. Without another word, the cultivator started walking in that strange way he did that ate up distance. Sen jogged after him, casting a furtive look back at the campsite. The ghost panther was gone.


    ***


    The morning had evaporated into early afternoon. Sen expected that he would feel the same terrible weariness and awful hunger that had gued him the day before. Yet, it didn¡¯te. He found it a little easier to keep pace with the cultivator. It wasn¡¯t easy, but it didn¡¯t leave him wrung out and certain that he would die either. By mid-afternoon, though, his stomach was growling at him. It wasn¡¯t painful, just insistent. Feng had said to remind him about food, but Sen hesitated. He didn¡¯t really know the cultivator. The man frightened Sen a little. It wasn¡¯t Feng, in particr, but there were stories. Cultivators who killed people who annoyed them. Cultivators who destroyed towns and even cities for perceived insults.


    While Sen had few cares for the people he¡¯d left behind in the town, Grandmother Lu was still there. He didn¡¯t even want to imagine the cultivator killing her because Sen had annoyed Feng. As if to spite him, his stomach gave off a loud gurgle. Feng stopped short and looked around.


    ¡°What in the world was that?¡± Asked the cultivator.


    Sen felt his cheeks burn a little in embarrassment. ¡°It was me, master.¡±


    Feng looked back at Sen with a mystified expression. ¡°You made that noise? Why?¡±


    Sen¡¯s cheeks felt even hotter. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. It was my stomach.¡±


    Feng¡¯s confusion evaporated into annoyance. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to remind me about food, boy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    ¡°So, why didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Sen considered lying, but he thought the cultivator might have some way to know. ¡°I go without a lot of days. I also didn¡¯t want to make you angry. I was worried you might destroy the town if I did.¡±


    The cultivator grimaced at those words. ¡°There¡¯s a clearing up ahead, it¡¯s as good a spot as any to take a break.¡±


    Sen followed the man to the clearing. There were a few rocks big enough to sit on scattered around the area. Sen sat down on one, and Feng absently handed him some rice balls and a melon almost as big as Sen¡¯s own head. Then, the cultivator made his tea set appear. The man focused on the tea set as Sen made short work of the rice balls. His stomach stopped making noises at him. Sen regarded the melon, perplexed about what he should do with it. If he had a knife, he could cut it, but Sen had never owned a knife. Sen almost fell off the rock as the ghost panther seemed to materialize out of nowhere right next to him. The big cat eyed the fruit with curiosity. Sen clutched at his chest and could feel his heart pounding wildly.


    ¡°Maybe a little warning next time,¡± he hissed at the cat.


    Feng looked over at Sen, saw the cat, and snorted.


    Sen sighed, looked at the beast, and hefted the melon. ¡°If you can get this open, you can have some.¡±


    Sen felt the air move and looked down at the hand holding the melon. The big fruit split in two, severed cleanly though the center. He was so startled that Sen nearly dropped both halves. He stared at the melon before he felt the cat looking at him. He held half of the melon out to the cat.


    ¡°A deal¡¯s a deal,¡± he muttered.


    He felt the melon lifted out of his hand, while he concentrated on his half. It still wasn¡¯t exactly ideal, but Sen made do. He scooped pieces of the melon out with his fingers and ate it. The taste was light and sweet. He had never tasted, never even seen, a melon like it before. He wondered where the cultivator had gotten it. Sen nced over at the cat. It was lying on the ground nearby, absently licking the perfectly clean melon rind. Sen wondered how the cat had managed that without fingers. Feng eventually came over and handed Sen a cup of tea before settling on a nearby rock.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to tell you that you¡¯re wrong about cultivators, that they don¡¯t go around killing people or destroying things for no reason or bad reasons. I can¡¯t, though. Some cultivators are arrogant. I was like that when I was young. Some of it is because of the sects and how they train people. Some of it is just that people are people. I¡¯ll have to teach you about all of that eventually. Fortunately, some of us grow out of it. For now, just remember this part. I give you my oath that I will never punish you for doing what I ask you to do. I will certainly not punish other people for you doing what I ask you to do. Do you understand, Sen?¡±


    Sen looked down into the tea. Some of what his master said made sense. Some of it left him cold. He understood the most important part, the promise that had been made.


    Sen nodded. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Feng.


    Then, they both fell into silence, sipping their tea, lost in their own thoughts.

 Chapter 9: The Wilds (5)

    Chapter 9: The Wilds (5)


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure exactly when it had happened. Yet, at some point on their third day out from the town, they had transitioned from the forest onto the mountain. It wasn¡¯t that there were fewer trees. Much of the lower part of the mountain was covered with them. Rather, it was the transition from rtively t ground that Sen could jog on to rtively steep ground that Sen spent time either scrambling up or outright climbing. Sen had done his best but ultimately had to beg Feng to find an easier path. The cultivator frowned a little, took in Sen¡¯s sweaty, exhausted face, and nodded. After that, Feng didn¡¯t simply walk in a straight line. He took more detours. He was always headed in the same general direction, but Sen often looked back and saw where the cultivator had deftly navigated them past something Sen could never have traversed.


    Sen had also started noticing the ghost panther more often. It was a wily beast, routinely vanishing for hours at a time. Yet, every once in a while, he caught a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye. Despite those long absences, the beast seemed to have a sense for when Sen would get hungry. It invariably showed up at mealtime. At first, it just hovered near Sen, looking at whatever food was in his hand. By the time they stopped for lunch on the mountain, the cat had taken to putting its huge head on Sen¡¯s legs and staring up at him imploringly. While an ill-defined uncertainty about the beast still lingered in the back of his head, Sen was fairly confident that the beast wasn¡¯t about to attack him anymore. He would sigh, then dole out a portion of his meal to the cat. It wasn¡¯t like Feng was stingy with the portions. The man only seemed to have a vague notion about how much food people actually ate.


    Even Sen,ing off years of semi-starvation, was a bit staggered at the mounds of food that Feng casually handed to him at every meal break. Despite the grueling pace, Sen felt better than he ever had before. He felt stronger every morning and seemed to do a little better at keeping up each day. If Feng noticed the change, he didn¡¯t mention it. Sen was flicking little pieces of a plum to the cat, who seemed to take enormous pleasure in snapping the bits of fruit out of the air, when Feng spoke up.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll stop here for the day.¡±


    Sen looked up at the sky. There were still hours and hours of light left. He looked over at Feng. The man was stroking his chin and looked lost in thought. Sen shrugged. If his master wanted to call a halt to the brutal trek early today, Sen wasn¡¯t going toin. A thump against his arm nearly sent Sen toppling off the fallen log he sat on. He looked around wildly before realizing that the cat had batted at him. For a second, he got angry. Then, sense reasserted itself. If the beast wanted to hurt him, it would have used its ws. Instead, it was staring at him with expectation in its eyes. It wasn¡¯t until Sen remembered that he still had part of the plum in his hand that it made sense.


    ¡°I¡¯m spoiling you,¡± he muttered to the cat.


    Still, he resumed their game. The cat bounded and leapt, never once missing a bit of the fruit until only the pit remained in Sen¡¯s hand. He showed it to the cat, who immediately lost interest and flopped onto the ground. It still took an effort to keep the beast in sight once it settled down somewhere. The cat huffed a breath and went to sleep. Sen looked at the pit for a moment before tossing it out into the forest. Who knew? Maybe a tree would grow from it. Sen idly imagineding back to this spot in a few years and finding a plum tree heavy with fruit. He was still fantasizing about all of the plums when his master thrust a water skin into his hands. Sen jerked out of his wandering thoughts and looked up. Feng was holding out a pill to him. Sen took the pill but wasn¡¯t sure what to do with it. It smelled like medicine to him.


    ¡°You should take that,¡± said Feng.


    ¡°What is it? I don¡¯t feel sick.¡±


    ¡°It just helps clean impurities out of your body. I imagine you¡¯ve umted quite a lot of those over the years.¡±


    Sen thought back to some of the things he¡¯d eaten before he nodded. He went to put the pill in his mouth, but Feng stopped him. ¡°Master?¡±


    ¡°You should probably take off those robes first. Lay down on this,¡± said Feng, handing Sen an old, worn nket. ¡°Then, take the pill.¡±


    Sen shrugged and did as he was ordered. He stripped out of the robe, stretched out on the nket, and took the pill with a big gulp of water.


    ¡°Now what?¡± Sen asked.


    Feng considered the question for a moment. ¡°It might be a bit ufortable. Don¡¯t fight it.¡±


    Sen sat up in sudden rm. ¡°How ufortable?¡±


    Before the cultivator could answer, Sen¡¯s inside caught fire. At least, that¡¯s how it felt. The fire roared inside his stomach, but soon it engulfed his entire middle. He copsed back onto the nket with his teeth and fists clenched. The initial explosion of pain soon refined itself into different kinds of agony inside of Sen. The fire in his middle wasn¡¯t actually in his stomach. It was closer to his navel, a living star of suffering that pulsed to a rhythm that Sen didn¡¯t understand. As bad as that was, there were scorching lines searing their way throughout his body.


    Those lines burned upward through his chest, down into his legs, out into his arms, and finally up into his head. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if he screamed or just thought he should be screaming, but he was certain that the fire would leave nothing but scorched holes where his eye should be and a charred hunk of meat in ce of his brain. The energy in those ming channels seemed to move, traveling out into his extremities, then back to that star in his middle, where they could renew their strength and make another pass. Even that wasn¡¯t where it ended.


    Around the time that he realized that he wasn¡¯t simply going to burn away from the inside out, the heat moved out from those lines of fire into his organs and muscles. The lessening of the heat was a momentary, ephemeral relief. The heat immediately transformed into pressure. It felt like his muscles would rip themselves apart, simply shredded under that pressure. His lungs couldn¡¯t find air anymore. His heart was beating so fast that Sen knew it burst. For some reason, the cultivator had brought him all the way out here to murder him. He didn¡¯t know why the man had chosen such a painful way to do it. He could have just stabbed him or broken his neck. This suffering seemed so unnecessary. Unfortunately, to Sen¡¯s mind, he didn¡¯t die. He simply hovered in a state of suchplete physical anguish that rational thoughts stopped forming.


    He wasn¡¯t Sen anymore. He wasn¡¯t anyone. He was just empty, floating in space, lost to everyone and everything. He was aware of the pain, the suffering, but at a distance. It was too much, too terrible, so he had retreated from it. Yet, he was also abstractly aware that he wasn¡¯t dying, wouldn¡¯t die, from what was happening. It would end, but until it did, he would just stay where he was and hover like a ghost.

 Chapter 10: The Wilds (6)

    Chapter 10: The Wilds (6)


    Sen opened his eyes and said the most appropriate thing that came to mind. ¡°You bastard. A <em>bit ufortable</em>?¡±


    Sen¡¯s voice sounded off to him. He supposed that maybe he¡¯d gone hoarse with all the screaming. Feng¡¯s face appeared in Sen¡¯s line of sight. The man looked like he wanted tough but schooled his face into paternal disapproval.


    ¡°Suchnguage,¡± said Feng before the stern mask cracked. ¡°I¡¯ll admit that things were a bit more intense than I expected. On the bright side, the next time will be much, much easier.¡±


    ¡°Like I¡¯d ever do that again,¡± said Sen.


    Feng gave him a half-smile. ¡°You will. Many times.¡±


    Sen decided that the fight wasn¡¯t worth it, not right then. ¡°Did it work?¡±


    Feng sniffed, grimaced, and nodded.


    ¡°It did. There¡¯s a creek over there,¡± offered Feng with a gesture. ¡°You should go and cleanse yourself.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll do that. Any day now.¡±


    Feng rolled his eyes. ¡°Trust me, sooner is better.¡±


    Before Sen could sit up, a giant cat face appeared over him. He was so tired that he couldn¡¯t even muster the energy to let out a manful shriek. The cat sniffed,id back its ears, and vanished from sight. <em>What was that about?</em> Then, a smell balled up its fist and punched Sen in the nostrils. It was so bad that he didn¡¯t even have words for it. He¡¯d spent years digging through other people¡¯s trash and be all but immune to the stink of rotting food and human waste. The smell that assaulted him in that moment simply dwarfed all previous smells. It was a thick, cloying, all-consuming foulness. He had to fight back the urge to vomit. He sat bolt upright and stumbled to his feet. It didn¡¯t help with the smell at all. It was as if the stench was a living thing that had wrapped itself around him.


    Even worse, the nket was stuck to his back. He reached up, grabbed a corner of it, and jerked. For a moment, the nket held fast. Then, it peeled away from his body. He held it in front of him. The nket had been soaked through with, Sen didn¡¯t even know what. It was all kinds of awful colors and the smell got even worse. Feng swiftly lifted the desecrated nket from Sen¡¯s hand with a long stick. Then, the cultivator threw the nket onto the fire. It caught almost immediately and began emitting a noxious, greasy smoke. Feng turned and gave Sen an almost pleading look.


    ¡°The creek, Sen. Go.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t need any more encouragement. He stumbled in the direction the cultivator had pointed out, trying to take shallow breaths through his mouth. That made things worse. He could <em>taste</em> that smell. He gave up on breathing altogether and simply ran until he found the creek. Sen plunged into the water, ignored the icy feel of it, and started scrubbing at his body. It wasn¡¯t deep enough to truly submerge himself, but Sen did his best to get as much of his body into the water as he could. He grabbed handfuls of sand from the creek bed and scoured his skin. Putrid filth floated away on the creek¡¯s current. Some of it was ck, but plenty of it was brown and he even saw the asional streaks of yellow. The idea that all of that had been inside of him left Sen feeling more than a little ill. After a while, Feng showed up and tossed Sen a bar of rough soap.


    ¡°You¡¯ll need that to finish. Don¡¯t forget about your hair.¡±


    One thought of all that vileness stuck in his hair made the decision easy. ¡°Give me a knife. I¡¯ll just cut it off.¡±


    Feng gave him a look. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Use the soap. Get clean. I¡¯ll leave your clothes over here.¡±


    Feng dropped a pile of clothing on a big, t rock, and disappeared. It took a long time to get his hair clean, but it also gave Sen some time to reflect. He looked down at his own body. He didn¡¯t remember having quite that much muscle before. He didn¡¯t remember having any muscle if he was being honest. He¡¯d always been thin. On the asions when he could safely sneak a bath somewhere, he could always see his ribs. Now, he saw lean muscle over his frame. He wasn¡¯t massive, but he didn¡¯t look like a strong gust of wind would knock him down anymore either. What had been in that pill?


    When dunking his head only left suds floating on the water, he moved on to his body. He thought he¡¯d gotten most of the foulness off of him, but the soap revealed that there was more. It was much thinner than it had been, just a vague discoloration in the water, but he was more than willing to scrub himself raw to be rid of it. When he¡¯d scrubbed every inch of his body at least twice, he finally called it good enough. The smell was gone, and the water was cold enough that he¡¯d started shivering. The sun was also dropping fast. Thest thing Sen wanted was to find himself walking through the forest in the dark. He climbed out of the creek and went over to the rock where his clothes sat. The ghost panther was sitting nearby, watching him with curious eyes. It made him feel a little self-conscious. Feng had included a towel, so Sen quickly dried himself off and dressed.


    When Sen got back to the clearing, Feng looked him up and down before nodding.


    ¡°Much better. Although, I suppose you¡¯ll need new robes. Those are a bit short.¡±


    Sen looked down at his feet. Several inches of bare skin were exposed between the bottom of the robes and the tops of his shoes. He shrugged. It wasn¡¯t like he could do anything about the robes.


    ¡°Is there anything to eat? I¡¯m starving.¡±


    With the great filth crisis finally dealt with, Sen was keenly aware of his hunger. It was more than just his stomach. It was as if every muscle and organ in his body cried out for sustenance. Feng pointed toward the small fire. Sen walked over and sat by it. Given that he¡¯d slept for hours, it didn¡¯t really seem fair that he was feeling so thoroughly drained. Feng came over and handed him a cup of tea. Sen took it but recoiled when he saw Feng holding out another pill.


    ¡°No!¡± Sen shouted. ¡°I¡¯m not doing that again!¡±


    Feng shook his head. ¡°Obviously not. There¡¯s no point in doing that again now. Just take the pill. It will help.¡±


    Sen gave the cultivator a look that was equal parts suspicion and doubt. Sen reluctantly took the pill from Feng. Almost as if he didn¡¯t trust himself to wait, Sen put the pill in his mouth and washed it down with the tea. When he felt a warmth growing in his stomach, Sen very nearly started screaming at the cultivator. Yet, the feeling peaked at warmth. Unlike thest pill, Sen felt it immediately when the warmth moved to that same ce near his navel. The warmth spread along those same channels and an ache he hadn¡¯t even registered eased inside of him. Bit by bit, his muscles rxed as the warmth spread into them. Even his hunger eased up a little.


    Even so, the minute a te appeared in front of him, Sen started shoveling the food into his mouth. te after te of food appeared in front of him, only for the meat, rice, vegetables, and fruit to vanish. Sen was only vaguely aware that he was still handing some of the food off to the big cat. Something odd did happen while he was eating. While some of the food was just food, some of it captured his attention. Sen could swear that the majority of what Feng gave him felt like it had more energy than the rest. It felt like that special food shocked his fingers every time he touched a piece of it. He also felt better whenever he ate those bits and pieces. That spot near his navel seemed to slowly fill up. Only when it was full did he finally feel like he could stop eating.


    ¡°You had a hard day,¡± observed Feng as he tossed some nkets to Sen. ¡°You should get some rest.¡±


    Sen spread out his nkets while muttering about evil cultivators. Once he stretched out beneath a nket, though, exhaustion pulled him into a dreamless unconsciousness.

 Chapter 11: A Manor in the Sky

    Chapter 11: A Manor in the Sky


    Sen was wary of the cultivator the next morning. He kept waiting for another agony pill to appear. The memory of pain was still fresh, but Sen felt oddly removed from it. It felt like remembering something that had happened to someone else. He was at a loss to exin it. Sen¡¯s fears notwithstanding, Feng didn¡¯t produce any more pills. He just provided more of that food that Sen was increasingly sure had an extra <em>something</em> in it. Yet, he wasn¡¯t sure. It didn¡¯t feel like waves of energy coursing through him the way it had the day before. Instead, there was just a gentle pressure that left his insides feeling ever so slightly out of ce. It wasn¡¯t terrible, just a terribly odd feeling. Sen noticed Feng staring off into the distance with a faraway look in his eyes.


    ¡°Master Feng?¡± Sen asked quietly.


    The cultivator gave himself a minor shake and looked over at Sen. ¡°We should arrive today.¡±


    ¡°Is there a cave up here?¡±


    Feng blinked several times before he cocked his head to one side. ¡°Cave? Why would there be a cave?¡±


    ¡°Is that what cultivators, you know, do? Sit in caves for centuries and,¡± Sen wasn¡¯t quite sure how to finish that thought. ¡°Eat power.¡±


    Feng gave Sen a level look for five seconds. It was long enough that Sen started to feel a bead of sweat trickle down the back of his neck. Then, Feng snickered. Sen released the breath he¡¯d been holding. Feng just shook his head.


    ¡°While there may well be a cave somewhere on this mountain that might benefit a cultivator, I won¡¯t be sitting in one for centuries.¡±


    ¡°Then, where are we going?¡±


    Feng offered Sen a little smile. ¡°You¡¯ll know it when you see it. Now, let¡¯s clean all of this up and get moving.¡±


    Sen found himself looking around for the ghost panther, but it was either hiding or had wandered off after iming its part of breakfast. Sen decided that he was just getting used to having the thing around. It was hard to stay afraid of something that shamelessly begged for food and chased things around whenever it could get someone to throw them. Even Feng had caved in a few times and thrown little treats to the oversized feline. Cleaning up was a swift process and Sen soon found himself trailing behind the cultivator. Yet, for all that the cultivator was still moving fast, Sen was sure that his own pace had improved. He still needed to jog along to keep up, but it had be hard work, instead of an impossibly difficult thing that he could barely maintain.


    The farther up the mountain that they traveled, though, the warier Sen became of their surroundings. In town, there had been walls and guards to keep them safe. Although, after seeing that boar and the ghost panther, Sen¡¯s faith in those protections had grown rather thin. He wasn¡¯t sure if a simr boar could charge straight through the town¡¯s wall. He did know that it wouldn¡¯t have shocked him if it happened. He was supremely confident that the ghost panther coulde and go through the town¡¯s defenses at will. That was assuming it could be bothered to venture that far. Part of Sen had concluded that, all things being equal, the cat would chooseziness. Why go all the way down to the town when you just find or catch something close to home? Then again, the distance might not seem like that much to the big cat. With so much uncertainty, Sen kept a close eye on the surrounding forest. By the time lunch rolled around, he was wondering if it was a wasted effort. He hadn¡¯t seen a thing, not even the big cat.


    Sen was a little relieved that the forest was thinning out as they moved up the mountain, even if it was getting a bit colder. With fewer trees around, he could keep a better eye on their surroundings. Feng seemed unconcerned, but Sen didn¡¯t feelfortable adopting the same casual air. Feng could seemingly kill powerful spirit animals with his bare hands. Sen didn¡¯t have that option. Late in the afternoon, the panther reappeared. It took up station by Sen matching his pace. It wouldn¡¯t have bothered Sen, but the cat made it look like it was taking a calm stroll. They continued on that way for the better part of an hour before the cat abruptly stepped in front of Sen and stopped. The move was so abrupt that Sen very nearly toppled over the cat. If he had fallen, he''d have gone right off a small cliff face. After regaining his bnce, he went to yell at the beast. Except, the cat wasn¡¯t paying any attention to him.


    Sen followed the cat¡¯s gaze and came up short. He could see for miles and miles. He could see the town near the base of the mountain. He was surprised that the ce that had loomed sorge in his mind could look so very <em>small</em>. Instead, it was nature that loomedrge from this vantage point. He could see that the forest stretched out to the horizon. The green canopy was only asionally broken by small patches of blue that Sen assumed werekes and one distinct blue line that must be a river. There were indistinct blurs that might or might not be other towns and viges. Like a lightning bolt, it hit Sen that he had likely ventured farther than almost anyone else in town. The world was so much bigger than the mayor, or the noble brats, or even Grandmother Lu.


    The world was vast. There were things to learn out there. There were deep secrets and power, certainly, but those things only came if fate willed it. There were other kinds of secrets that Sen wanted to know about. Small secrets. He wanted to know what it felt like to stand in the sea. He wanted to know what tilled fields smelled like. He wanted to know if the sunset looked the same in a desert, whatever a desert was. While Sen wasn¡¯t looking, wasn¡¯t paying attention, the length and breadth of his universe expanded. The warm ball near his navel, something he¡¯d nearly forgotten about during the long hike, red to life. Sen reflexively clutched at his stomach, but the sensation wasn¡¯t painful. If anything, it felt joyous. Just for a moment, it felt like the world was pouring energy into him. Then, the moment passed, and he was just Sen again. The cat never looked at him, just turned and trotted toward Feng. Feng, on the other hand, was staring at Sen with dark, intense eyes. Yet, the cultivator also said nothing. He just turned and resumed walking. At a loss, Sen followed along.


    When the moment arrived that afternoon and evening were bnced on a knife¡¯s edge, Feng, Sen, and the ghost panther entered a clearing. Sen was left speechless. Here, high up on a mountain, was a massive house. <em>No</em>, Sen thought, <em>house isn¡¯t the word for it</em>. It was a manor, or maybe even a mansion. What was such a ce doing so far up the mountain that it nearly touched the sky? Yet, Sen only got a brief look at the manor, rising behind the stone walls like a phoenix. Something far more rming snared his attention. Standing in mid-air over the gate was a man, ring down on them with fury in his eyes. He held a spear in one hand and pointed it at them, lightning wreathing the shining de.


    ¡°Feng!¡± Roared the flying man. ¡°You court death! What madness brought you to this ce?¡±

 Unintended Cultivator - Poll

    Unintended Cultivator - Poll


    As a reader, one of my favorite things is weighing in on which character I like best. Arguing about why I loved that character more than any other with my friends always came in a close second to actually naming my choice.


    So, here''s your chance to weigh in on which Unintended Cultivator character you like best so far. Don''t worry, these pollsst forever (as far as I can tell), which should give you a chance to learn more about Uncle Kho this week before you vote. If you have a strong opinion about why your favorite character rocks above all the other characters, please leave ament about why you think that.


    Poll located below.


    **update** 4/28/2023


    So, people have had some time to weigh in. It seems that ghost panther has a lot of fans out there, but pretty much all of the characters who have had some real screen time got some love. As a writer, it''s gratifying to know that I''m writing characters well enough that most of them connect with someone. I was a bit shocked that Uncle Kho didn''t get any votes, but this poll appears sequentially before any real content with him. I''ll have to run another poll down the road and see what people thinkter.


    I happen to be a big ghost panther fan myself. I originally wrote the big cat in to have a moment ofic relief while they were traveling in the wilds. Yet, she just kept turning up in small ways in my imagination, so I kept writing her in. I think, and it seems everyone agrees, that she was a good addition to Sen''s found family.

 Chapter 12: Uncle Kho

    Chapter 12: Uncle Kho


    Sen was stunned. He hadn¡¯t known exactly what to expect, but this enraged cultivator was not it. Once again, Sen found himself wondering why. Why had Feng brought him all this way just to die? While Feng might stand a chance against that kind of power, Sen would never survive the fight. One look at that lighting told him that. He couldn¡¯t even find the will to run. Where could he possibly go that this cultivator couldn¡¯t hunt him down? Even if he could get back to town, there was no safety there. Not when people were flying and conjuring lightning. Just as Sen was ready to give up all hope, Feng spoke.


    ¡°You invited me, you old fool. Now,e down from there and stop trying to scare the boy.¡±


    The flying man red down for a few more seconds before he heaved an enormous sigh and let himself drop to the ground. The lightning around the spearhead winked out and the man scowled at Feng.


    ¡°Honestly, Feng Ming. You couldn¡¯t y along even for a minute?¡±


    ¡°Maybe another time, Kho Jaw-Long. The boy has had a trying few days.¡±


    At Feng¡¯s words, Sen realized that the other cultivator wasn¡¯t actually going to attack them. Unfortunately, it took longer for his pounding heart to get the message. He felt a bit lightheaded and took several deep breaths. The familiar action seemed to settle his heart. Sen studied the other cultivator. The man¡¯s head was clean of hair, but Sen wasn¡¯t sure whether that was from baldness or if the man shaved it clean. A long, white beard wafted in the gentle breeze. As soon as the man¡¯s eyes fell on him, though, Sen¡¯s heart started racing again. It felt like the man opened him up andid bare every secret, every sin, everything inside of him. That gaze weighed a thousand pounds, and nothing could hide from it. It was all Sen could do to keep breathing. The cultivator frowned.


    ¡°Yes, so I see. Earthly transformation. Hmmm. He doesn¡¯t say much, does he? Are you mute, boy?¡±


    ¡°N-, no, honored cultivator Kho,¡± mumbled Sen through lips that felt numb.


    ¡°Honored cultivator,¡± said Kho with scorn in his voice. ¡°Call me, Uncle Kho.¡±


    Sen very much did not want to call the terrifying old man uncle, but he very much wanted to live through the next few minutes. He decided that doing as he was told was the wisest course.


    ¡°Yes, Uncle Kho.¡±


    Kho turned his attention back to Feng. ¡°At least this one listens. I¡¯m always happy to see you, Ming, but why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember inviting me?¡±


    ¡°That was forty years ago.¡±


    ¡°What are forty years to old monsters like us?¡± Feng asked. ¡°It¡¯s barely a season.¡±


    Kho considered those words for a moment before he nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fair, I suppose. You might as welle in.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t remember anything about walking into the manor. All he could do was take deep breaths and try to keep from falling over. All of the terror and pain over thest few days had apparently convinced his heart that death would happen at any moment. It refused to slow down. It just kept racing and racing. The next time Sen understood what was happening, he was sitting at a table and Uncle Kho was pushing a cup into his hand. Sen took a big gulp and almost choked on the alcohol.


    Feng made a disapproving noise. ¡°What did you give him?¡±


    ¡°Nothing special. Just a bit of plum wine to settle his nerves. I can hear his heart pounding.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Feng. ¡°Is Caihong here?¡±


    Kho made an unhappy noise. ¡°No. My wife is out in the world. No doubt toppling dynasties or running a seamstress shop. Possibly both. Who knows? Maybe she started another sect. Still, it has been a while since she left. I expect she¡¯ll turn up in the next five or ten years. What of you, Feng? Have you found a wife?¡±


    ¡°We face the heavens alone, Jaw-Long. You know that.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I know that. But I¡¯m not talking about facing the heavens, am I? I¡¯m talking about facing life. It¡¯s a sweeter thing with someone to help you pass the long years.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Feng, although he didn¡¯t sound convinced.


    Sen didn¡¯t say anything, content to let the old men talk and ignore him. The plum wine did seem to help, so he drank a bit more of it. It burned a little bit on the way down but left him with a warm feeling in his belly. Slowly, as he felt his heart slow down, Sen began listening a little more intently to the conversation.


    ¡°I thought you¡¯d sworn off disciples,¡± said Uncle Kho.


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Yet, here one sits.¡±


    ¡°It appears so. Fate put him in my path. You might have found him first if you ever came down from the clouds. I found him at the base of this very mountain.¡±


    ¡°Really? Down at the orchard farm?¡±


    Fengughed. ¡°You¡¯ve been up here too long, my old friend. There¡¯s an entire town down there. I¡¯d have thought you might notice something like that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give the mortals much attention. Besides, why bother with the boy? Disciples take a lot of time.¡±


    Sen wanted to feel offended, but he¡¯d wondered something simr. Why had Feng taken an interest in him? Feng shrugged, seemed to reconsider, and then looked at Sen.


    ¡°Sen, go outside the door. Then, I want you to hide the way you did that day in the square.¡±


    Sen jerked at being directly addressed but jumped to his feet. He swayed a little, struggling to find his bnce. Feng directed a look at the cup that Sen had been using but didn¡¯t seem to find anything offensive. Once Sen found his bnce, he walked out of the room and closed the door. His mind kept drifting, so he took a moment to gather himself. Once he had his concentration in ce, he hid. It wasn¡¯t something he could do all the time. When it worked, though, people ignored him. It felt like he was pulling everything about himself inside his skin, then wrapping it all up in shadow. He stood like that for a few seconds before the door swung open and Uncle Kho stuck his head out.


    The man regarded Sen with much more interest. ¡°I see now. No, I don¡¯t suppose you could leave him where you found him.¡±


    Sen considered asking what they were talking about but decided against it. He could always askter. At a gesture from the bearded cultivator, Sen went back into the room and sat down again. Kho stared at him for a long time without saying anything. It wasn¡¯t like that terrible stare that made Sen feel so exposed, but it was ufortable. Finally, Kho cleared his throat.


    ¡°Tell me, boy. What do you know about cultivation?¡±


    Sen looked over at Feng, but the man just made a vague, go-ahead gesture. ¡°Just stories, Uncle Kho.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Well, that won¡¯t do,¡± said Kho, making a scroll appear in his hand. ¡°You should read this.¡±


    Sen felt his face go a little red. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t,¡± demanded Kho. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t read.¡±


    Kho looked startled, then confused, and then appalled. Feng jumped in then, for which Sen was enormously grateful. It gave him a moment to get his burning embarrassment under control. Feng exined that Sen was living on the streets when the cultivator found him and apparently had been for years. Kho went quiet again, his expression thoughtful.


    ¡°Feng, do you know what you¡¯ve found?¡± Kho asked.


    ¡°I think so. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s an empty scroll. No family to speak of. No irreparable bad habits. He could be,¡± Kho paused. ¡°Feng, he could be <em>anything</em>. Anything at all.¡±


    Feng nodded. ¡°It¡¯s why I haven¡¯t exined anything to him, yet. At least, not the specifics.¡±


    The bearded cultivator arched an eyebrow. ¡°An experiment?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my thinking.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Hmmm. We¡¯ll have to discuss it. Although, I will personally see to his reading problem. That just won¡¯t do at all. There are simply too many things that depend on it, even for the mortals.¡±


    Sen got an uneasy feeling at the conversation happening about him, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on exactly why. He felt sleepy and a little disoriented.


    ¡°Honestly,¡± grumbled Kho. ¡°What is this kingdoming to, not teaching children to read? I¡¯ve half a mind to go have a very stern conversation with Hung Jun De about that nonsense.¡±


    Feng gave his friend a surprised look. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°What? Really? Did someone finally assassinate him?¡±


    ¡°No. He died of old age. Almost a hundred years ago. His son was assassinated, though. One of his concubines, I think. His grandson sits the throne now.¡±


    ¡°Grandson¡­¡±


    Sen realized that he might have dozed off for a few minutes because the conversation had moved on to a new topic when he tuned back in.


    ¡°So, tell me. Where have you been thesest few decades, Ming?¡±


    ¡°I had a problem to deal with up north.¡±


    ¡°The Coiled Dragon sect?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°And how did that turn out?¡±


    ¡°They are fondly remembered.¡±


    ¡°All of them?¡±


    ¡°I spared the outer sect. Killing them would have been excessive. The inner sect, the core members, and almost all of the elders are gone. I let Wu Mei-Xia live.¡±


    ¡°Little Mei-Xia? That girl who was in love with you for all those years?¡±


    Feng grunted an annoyed affirmation.


    ¡°I remember her following you around across half the continent, trying to impress you with her grand deeds,¡± said Kho,ughing softly. ¡°Well, it makes sense that you let her live. You were always fond of the girl, if not in the way that she wanted. How did she ever end up in that sect?¡±


    Sen tried to pay attention. He¡¯d learned more about his master in thest half hour than he¡¯d learned in days of travel. Yet, his eyes and body betrayed him. The warmth in his belly had spread. His eyes drooped closer and closer to closed. As that warmth finally lulled him to sleep, Sen was sure he heard a little good-naturedughter.

 Chapter 13: Learning (1)

    Chapter 13: Learning (1)


    For the first few days at Uncle Kho¡¯s, the old men admonished Sen to find something to do. He felt a slight sting of rejection at first. Yet,ter, he realized that old men were catching up on a truly staggering amount of personal history. More to the point, most of it involved people that Sen did not know, usually in ces that he¡¯d never heard of, oftentimes doing things that he couldn¡¯t make sense of. As for the parts he did understand, it just highlighted how ancient the two cultivators really were. They often talked of things that had happened a thousand years in the past. Sen suspected that many of their stories or memories of friends from their early days were far, far older than that. He did not ask. The idea of someone, anyone, living that long frightened Sen more than a little.


    Yet, for all of their closed-door discussions, Sen wasn¡¯t left entirely on his own. At one point, Uncle Kho tracked him down in the courtyard. Sen was sitting on the ground, propped up against the ghost panther, and sharing some fruit he¡¯d found in the kitchen with the big cat. Uncle Kho had stopped short at the sight and just watched them for most of a minute.


    ¡°How did that get into the courtyard?¡± He asked, pointing at the cat.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I think it mostly goes where it wants to, Uncle Kho.¡±


    The ghost panther looked at the old cultivator, yawned, and went to sleep.


    ¡°Just make sure it doesn¡¯t make a mess in the courtyard.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Uncle.¡±


    Sen never found out what Uncle Kho actually wanted from him. The old man had stalked away, looking skyward, and muttering something under his breath about women and cats. The next day, the old man found Sen in the kitchen, looking around helplessly for something to eat. While Sen was aplished at scavenging, most of what was in the kitchen were ingredients.


    ¡°Make whatever you like,¡± said Kho with an offhand gesture. ¡°There''s plenty. We won¡¯t run out.¡±


    Sen stared around the kitchen, baffled by the tools, the stove, by everything around him. He turned uncertain eyes on the older man. Uncle Kho frowned at the boy before the light ofprehension appeared in his eyes.


    ¡°No one ever taught you anything about cooking, eh?¡±


    ¡°No, uncle.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± said the old man. ¡°Well, you have to learn eventually, I suppose.¡±


    The old man walked Sen through making rice. The whole process seemed utterly magical to Sen. Nothing but water, heat, and a bit of time could turn those hard grains into soft rice? He had stood there in the kitchen, transfixed, while nothing visible happened. When the rice was dered done by Kho¡¯s more experienced eye, he had Sen dish up bowls for both of them. While the rice wasn¡¯t special or more delicious than other rice, it was rice that Sen had made <em>himself</em>. It wasn¡¯t stolen or scavenged. He had done it, well, he¡¯d done it with a lot of help from Uncle Kho. Still, his own effort had made <em>food</em>. Kho seemed bemused by how amazed and proud Sen was with his aplishment.


    ¡°Mind you,¡± said the old man, ¡°I¡¯m no expert, but I can probably show you how to make a few simple things.¡±


    ¡°I would be very grateful,¡± said Sen, bowing in earnest to the old man.


    ¡°Bah. You¡¯ll have to wait for my wife to get back if you want to really learn about making food. That woman can conjure dumplings from a strong wind and almond cookies from moonlight. I can keep you from starving. She can feed you.¡±


    Then, the old manughed. Sen wasn¡¯t sure why, though, so he just ate his rice.


    ***


    It was on the fourth day that things changed. Sen was woken very early in the morning by Feng. The cultivator had ushered him into the kitchen and fed him some kind of porridge with fruit in it. Sen was amazed by the dish, but Feng just waved off hispliments. Once Sen had his fill, Feng poured them both some tea. Sen wasn¡¯t sure that he actually liked the strong drink that Feng favored. It seemed a little bitter to him, but he¡¯d learned a long time ago not toin about free food. Sen drank his tea, waiting for Feng to say something. For his part, the cultivator seemed to savor the tea, closing his eyes, and breathing in the smell of it. He finally turned his attention back to Sen.


    ¡°Jaw-Long was very serious about teaching you to read. He seems to be taking it personally that you can¡¯t. So, you will have lessons with him each morning. Be attentive.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    ¡°In the afternoons, you will train with me.¡±


    Feng read the curiosity on Sen¡¯s face and answered the unasked question. ¡°Every man must know how to defend himself. You will receive training in that.¡±


    A part of Sen was excited at the idea. What little he knew about fighting, he¡¯d learned by trying to fight off the noble brats. He¡¯d lost every fight. They were trained and happy to use it on him. Another part of him was leery. He¡¯d heard stories about how that kind of training was done. Students injured or killed by careless or cruel masters. He kept those thoughts to himself. It wouldn¡¯t matter if he approved of the methods or not. When someone as powerful as Feng dered that you would learn something, you would learn it in whatever way they decided.


    The first reading lesson turned out to be painful in ways that Sen hadn¡¯t expected. Sen knew about reading and had even managed to learn a few important words through pure exposure and repetition, yet he¡¯d never felt like he was missing anything. While he¡¯d kept his distance from many of the other kids without homes, he was on friendly terms with a few. None of those kids had been able to read, either. It was easy to feel like it wasn¡¯t important, so he never put any effort into it. Yet, as Uncle Kho wrote out the basic characters and named them, Sen felt stupid. He vaguely recognized a few of them, but it had never urred to him that they had specific names.


    For all his zeal, the old cultivator was far kinder about the whole thing than Sen expected. The man didn¡¯t expect instant understanding. He just walked Sen through the characters, asionally circling back and asking Sen to name one. When it became clear that Sen¡¯s concentration was wavering, the old man switched tacks and had Sen practice writing out a few of them with ink and brush. To Sen¡¯s eyes, the results were truly disastrous. Uncle Kho¡¯s writing was elegant, bordering on beautiful. The splotches that Sen produced didn¡¯t look like anything. The old man gently took Sen¡¯s hand and guided him through the motions. Sen had his doubts about that, but it did help. He still wasn¡¯t making anything recognizable, but he had a better idea about how much pressure he should use and what kind of motions would get him the right results. Uncle Kho ended the lesson by piling paper and ink into Sen¡¯s hands and ordering him to practice that evening.

 Chapter 14: Learning (2)

    Chapter 14: Learning (2)


    Lunch was a quiet affair. Uncle Kho was busy studying a scroll that had captured his full attention. He¡¯d only stop reading to idly put some food in his mouth every once in a while. Feng was utterly concentrated on the meal. He seemed to make a point of thoroughly chewing every bite before swallowing. Sen only noticed these things in the back of his mind. The forefront of his thoughts was consumed with strange characters that seemed to twist or melt together as he tried to remember them. The longer it went on, the more certain he became that he¡¯d never learn to read. If he didn¡¯t, would the cultivators send him away? Would they kill him?


    At thatst thought, Sen shook his head. Neither of the old men had done anything to make him think they would kill him. It was just the stories. Perhaps other cultivators would kill him for failure, but Master Feng and Uncle Kho seemed wholly uninterested in killing for things they considered minor slights. In fact, that awful pill aside, both of them had shown him a great deal of kindness. It was then that Senmitted to learning what they would teach him. If he could learn to read, to write, to cook, he had a name now. He would always be street trash in Orchard¡¯s reach, but he didn¡¯t n to go back there to stay. He could find work elsewhere. He could visit the sea. While that idea didn¡¯t make the things that Uncle Kho had tried to teach him that day any less confusing, it did make the tasks ahead feel a little less impossible.


    His heart a little more at peace, Sen followed Master Feng outside in the afternoon. Feng took on the same rxed posture he always adopted when his mind was elsewhere. He looked Sen up and down and frowned a little.


    ¡°How old are you, Sen?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, master.¡±


    ¡°No one to keep track and tell you, I suppose. Well, your best guess then.¡±


    Sen thought hard. He had clear memories that went back perhaps ten years. That was how many winters he had survived with help from Grandmother Lu. Before that, though, it was just a haze. Had there been parents in that misty before time? A home? He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever learn the answers to those questions. Certainly, no one could remember his parents by the time he¡¯d been old enough to think to ask. As for his age, he only had his size and the sizes of other boys to go by.


    Sen shrugged one shoulder. ¡°Fourteen or fifteen, maybe.¡±


    Feng nodded as though that was what he thought as well. ¡°This training normally starts at a much earlier age.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t know what to make of thatment.


    ¡°Master?¡±


    ¡°I mean that you¡¯re startingte. I¡¯ll expect you to work three times as hard to make up the lost time.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± said Sen, bowing deeply.


    ¡°That¡¯s the first thing we need to fix. That¡¯s how you bow to someone who¡¯s of a higher station than you. It¡¯s not how you bow to other warriors or martial instructors. For them, it¡¯s like this.¡±


    Feng pressed his closed fists together and bent forward slightly. Sen mimicked the motion. Feng snorted.


    ¡°Did I do it wrong?¡± Asked Sen.


    ¡°No, but you should bow more deeply to your teachers and those with more training or experience.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, show me how you punch.¡±


    Sen hesitated for a second, looking around for something to punch at. ¡°What should I punch, Master?¡±


    ¡°Me, Sen. You should try to punch me. I promise you won¡¯t hurt me.¡±


    Sen hesitated again but decided that Master Feng probably knew better than he did about all of this. Sen drew back his fist and swung at Master Feng. Feng batted the blow aside with no effort. He frowned again, which made Sen a little nervous.


    ¡°Now,¡± said Feng, ¡°kick me.¡±


    Sengshed out with a foot, only to have it redirected by one of Feng¡¯s feet. Sen waited for somement. Instead, Feng did a slow walk around him, weighing, considering, and finally deciding.


    ¡°Well, at least I know what I¡¯m working with here. You don¡¯t know how to throw a punch or how to kick, but nobody did a lousy job of teaching you a half-right form either.¡±


    ¡°Is that good?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not good that you don¡¯t know how to punch or kick. It <em>is</em> good that you didn¡¯t train the wrong things. That means you won¡¯t have to unlearn anything. It¡¯s a much easier process if you learn it right the first time. So, first things first, you need a proper stance.¡±


    Sen spent an excruciating afternoon contorting his body into what Master Feng called a proper stance. He had to spread his legs out wide, then bend his knees, all while keeping his back straight. It felt wrong, unnatural, and very ufortable. Master Feng made him get into the stance over and over again. Each time, he¡¯d correct whatever minor errors he found in Sen¡¯s posture. Once Sen finally managed to take the stance correctly, Master Feng had him simply hold it. As difficult as he found the process, Sen found himself very annoyed with the ghost panther. It lounged in the courtyard, soaking up the afternoon sun and watching him work. When it got to the point that Sen was drenched in sweat and ready to copse, Feng said they were done with that for the day. Feng let Sen drink a little water before he pointed to the gate.


    ¡°Run around the walls thirty times, then get cleaned up. It should be time for food by then.¡±


    Sen could barely stand, but the stern look that Master Feng gave him brooked no arguments. He stumbled out the gate and began running. The ghost panther seemed to find this interesting and padded along beside him as Sen made his overworked legs carry him around the walls of the enormous manor. After fifteen times around the walls, Sen started to slow down. The big cat looked back at him with eyes that seemed very judgmental.


    ¡°Hey,¡± he wheezed. ¡°Youid around all afternoon while I worked. You don¡¯t get to judge.¡±


    The cat just picked up its pace a little, as if to mock Sen.


    ¡°I hate you,¡± he called after the feline.


    After doing the full thirty loops, Sen stumbled into the manor, found some clean clothes to put on, and stumbled back out to the small bathhouse. It seemed that a touch of pity lived inside Master Feng because Sen found a tub of hot water waiting for him. The boy sniffed at the water. Master Feng had added something to it, something with the telltale scent of medicine. That made Sen¡¯s heart race a little. He put a hand in the water and braced himself, but nothing terrible happened. Heaving a sigh of relief, Sen lowered himself into the bath and soaked for a while. His tired mind drifted for a while, but angry noises from his stomach brought him back to reality. He slowly scrubbed himself off and dressed. It took a lot to convince himself, but Sen dragged the tub out of the gate and emptied it.


    When he made it back into the house, he was overjoyed to see that there was food and lots of it. Master Feng and Uncle Kho chatted throughout the meal, but Sen didn¡¯t hear a word of it. He ate and ate until his stomach stopped screaming at him to give it more. Then, he sat in a half-doze, only rousing himself to drink more tea whenever Feng or Kho refilled his cup. All he could think about was sleep. He was so tired. At least he could go straight to bed after they cleaned up. Yet, as he started off toward his room, Uncle Kho called after him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to practice.¡±


    Sen wanted to cry. His body ached for sleep. His mind was exhausted from the morning¡¯s lesson. He reminded himself, several times, that this was how he got a better life for himself. He went into his room, pulled out the paper and ink, and started to practice.


    That became Sen¡¯s routine. He spent mornings learning the basics of reading. He spent afternoons with Master Feng. He spent his evenings trying to not to fall asleep on his writing practice. It didn¡¯t always work. He spent more than one day with ink stains on his cheeks. Of course, the days weren¡¯t identical. After a time, he did begin to learn the characters and how theybined. Uncle Kho would give Sen the day off from reading, asionally, and teach him how to cook something. Sen learned to make rice porridge. He learned to steam vegetables. He even learned how to make noodles. By mid-winter, he still couldn¡¯t make a full meal on his own, but he could be helpful. Uncle Kho had kept his promise that he¡¯d teach Sen enough that he wouldn¡¯t starve if left to his own devices. He might not eat well if he cooked for himself, but he would eat.


    Master Feng didn¡¯t keep him in that stance forever. He showed Sen how to throw a basic punch, followed by countless practice punches. Then, there was a kick, followed by countless practice kicks. Then, there were blocks. Eventually, Master Feng put them into a set pattern, and that became a new torment. Just when Sen thought he had a handle on that, the process started over with new punches, kicks, blocks, and merciless stretching exercises that taxed Sen¡¯s entire body. Always, though, always there was the running. Sen ran in the summer heat, then in the autumn chill, and then he ran through the snow. The ghost panther always apanied him while he ran, ever just ahead, ever out of reach, and ever spurring Sen on to greater speed and iron endurance.

 Chapter 15: New Year

    Chapter 15: New Year


    Sen made his way into the kitchen and was surprised to find it empty. Either Master Feng or Uncle Kho was usually up before him. Still, on those asions when Sen found himself the first to rise, he knew it was up to him to start breakfast. He stoked a fire in the stove, which added a pleasant warmth to the air. While the cold didn¡¯t bother Sen as much as it once had, steady food and shelter having prompted gains in height and muscle that fortified him better against the elements, he still preferred a warm ce when he could get one. Memories of nights shivering in alleys remained all too close to the surface for him to turn down the chance at easy heat. He ced a pot on the stove and started adding ingredients. He mixed together the leftover rice fromst night¡¯s dinner, along with some broth that had been set aside for this purpose. The bnce between the rice and the liquids looked a little off, so he added a bit of water. After that, it was mostly a waiting game, so he made tea to pass the time.


    While he¡¯d had his doubts about tea when he¡¯d first arrived at Uncle Kho¡¯s ridiculously enormous home, he¡¯de around over thest half year. It wasn¡¯t necessarily that he liked the tea, although Sen certainly didn¡¯t mind the mild kick he got in the morning from Master Feng¡¯s ck tea. Sen liked the ritual of it. Making good tea demanded a certain precision in the process. It had taken him months of careful attention to hone that process. Yet, after so many repetitions, it had be ingrained, a second nature, so automatic that it was a kind of effortless meditation that let Sen center himself. Sen poured himself a cup, lifted it, and inhaled. The tea was perfect. He sipped at it, basking in the morning quiet before his lessons. When he judged that the porridge should be ready, he checked on it and nodded in satisfaction. The consistency looked just about right.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you practicing your cooking, nephew,¡± said Uncle Kho from behind Sen.


    ¡°I was the first one up,¡± answered Sen. ¡°What else would I do?¡±


    ¡°Ha! Many disciples would take the path ofziness and return to their beds, content to make this simple chore another¡¯s task.¡±


    Sen gave Kho a shocked look. ¡°I have more gratitude in me than that, honored uncle.¡±


    ¡°Yes, so you do,¡± said Kho, smiling at the boy.


    Sen retrieved another cup and poured tea for the old cultivator.


    Kho sipped at it and gave a slight nod. ¡°I know that Feng prefers this ck tea, but I really must bring you around on green tea.¡±


    ¡°I can make green tea for you, uncle,¡± offered Sen.


    ¡°No, no,¡± said Kho. ¡°No reason to waste work already well done. I would take a bowl of that porridge, though.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± said Sen.


    Hedled up a bowl for each of them, and the pair fell into afortable silence as they ate and drank their tea. After they finished breakfast and cleaned up the dishes, Sen looked expectantly at Kho.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Kho asked.


    ¡°Shall we proceed with today¡¯s lesson?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no. No more lessons. Not that kind of lesson, at any rate. Your reading is adequate enough that practice will teach you more effectively than additional lessons. In fact,e with me.¡±


    Sen followed Kho to a room that he¡¯d been aware of but hadn¡¯t given much consideration. The entire room was lined with shelves that stretched from floor to ceiling. Each shelf was lined with scrolls and books. At first, the room was made useless by Sen¡¯s inability to read. Later, Sen¡¯s days were so filled with other kinds of work that he hadn¡¯t really considered what the room might contain. Plus, despite Kho¡¯s words, Sen¡¯s confidence in his reading skills was not high. He knew that he could likely read any simple text that crossed his path, such as signs, menus, and maps. The densely packed words that he had seen on the scrolls that Master Feng and Uncle Kho studied with such care were something else entirely. Those intimidated Sen.


    So, he waited as Kho stood in the center of the room, tapping a finger on his lips, and slowly turning. After almost a full minute of consideration, the cultivator decided. He walked over to a shelf and plucked a scroll from it. Kho hesitated for a moment with his free hand hovering near a different shelf. Ultimately, the old man shook his head and made his way back to the door. He offered the scroll to Sen, who cautiously lifted it out of the cultivator¡¯s hand.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything that¡¯s truly appropriate for your skills, but this scroll isn¡¯t too bad. It¡¯s just a bit of basic history. Do your best with it for the next few days. If you find words you don¡¯t know or can¡¯t figure out, make note of them. Then, we¡¯ll discuss those things. Do pay attention to what the words say, though. I may ask you a few questions about them.¡±


    ¡°I will, honored uncle.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, take the morning off. It is the new year after all. Even lowly disciples get a holiday every now and then. You should go throw food at that cat of yours before she decides toe inside and raid the kitchen.¡±


    Sen bowed so Kho wouldn¡¯t see his smirk. The old man could feign irritation all he wanted, but Sen had seen the cultivator out in the courtyard, scratching behind the cat¡¯s ears and feeding her treats. Still, the suggestion had some merit.


    ***


    After depositing the scroll in his room, Sen grabbed a few things from the kitchen and headed outside. Sen focused his attention and scanned the courtyard. Even with months of experience, it was painfully easy to overlook the ghost panther even at close range. He did finally spot her sitting on top of the wall, her head tracking a bird that was flying nearby. Sen made a noise, and the cat turned her head to look at him. Then, with an impossible,zy grace, she jumped down from the wall and padded across the snowy courtyard to him. There wasn¡¯t so much as a paw print left in her wake.


    ¡°Show off,¡± he said.


    The cat got an all-too-familiar look of amusement in her big eyes. Sen shook his head. The cat struck him as a bit too human at times. Of course, all of that changed when he started throwing pieces of food into the far corners of the courtyard. The minute a piece of food left his hand, the disquieting human-ness vanished and all that remained was a barely visible predator pouncing on the food before it evernded. The game went on for about half an hour before Sen ran out of food. The cat came back over to him and looked at his empty hands. He could have sworn that the cat sighed. Then, she gently bumped her head against his stomach, sauntered over the wall, and leapt over it.


    ¡°I honestly can¡¯t decide if that spirit animal is your pet or the other way around,¡± said Master Feng, stepping up beside Sen.


    Sen pondered for a moment and sighed. ¡°She probably thinks I¡¯m her pet. Of course, she¡¯s also reallyzy. So, why waste all that energy hunting when we¡¯ll all give her food?¡±


    ¡°We?¡± Asked Feng.


    ¡°I know you and Uncle Kho feed her things when you think I¡¯m not around.¡±


    Feng said nothing and kept his face neutral. Sen lifted an eyebrow at the man. Feng rolled his eyes and shrugged.


    ¡°Okay, maybe once in a while,¡± he admitted. ¡°I¡¯ll stop if you want.¡±


    A look of pure horror crossed Sen¡¯s face. ¡°Heavens no! She¡¯d be unbearable if you did that. Can you imagine her moping around here, giving everyone sad eyes?¡±


    Fengughed, seemed to think better of it, and shuddered a little. ¡°Or, I might wake up with her standing over me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯d try to hurt you.¡±


    Feng shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t either. I do think she¡¯d follow me around <em>all day</em> and interrupt whatever I was doing to punish me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that seems like something she would do.¡±


    Feng and Sen traded nces andughed.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to do something a little different today,¡± said Feng.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°I want you to show me what you¡¯ve learned.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°As you say, master.¡±


    ***


    As Sen stretched in the cold winter air, nervousness threatened to overwhelm him. Master Feng always provided corrections or input while he trained. The knowledge that he could expect nothing of the sort made Sen feel like he¡¯de to some kind of test. What if he failed? What if he forgot something? He didn¡¯t think that Master Feng would send him away, not in the middle of winter, but he might stop teaching him if Sen proved a disappointment. Those thoughts churned in Sen¡¯s mind for several minutes, disrupting every attempt to center his body and mind. Then, with a fist of self-control that he hadn¡¯t even realized he was building, Sen crushed those thoughts. He had either learned what Master Feng wished him to learn, or he hadn¡¯t. All that remained now was to demonstrate what he <em>had</em> learned.


    Sen dropped into that first stance that Master Feng had taught him. He remembered how ufortable that stance had been, how it strained everything in his legs and back. Now, it was as natural as walking or breathing. Sen took onest calming breath and proceeded through the first sequence of movements that Master Feng had taught him. The first strike was a tiny bit off as onest flutter of nerves rose up in him, but then his body took over. His arms and legs moved of their own volition, primed for the moment by thousands of repetitions. There was no need for Sen¡¯s mind to intervene, so he allowed himself to be silent inside. That strange ball of warmth behind his navel hummed in time with Sen¡¯s movements, gentle pulses of warmth flowing out to hands, down to feet, into his limbs. Between those pulses, Sen felt energy from the environment around him gently seeping into his body.


    ¡°What is the first thing a warrior requires?¡± Feng asked.


    The reply was as automatic as Sen¡¯s movement. ¡°Strength.¡±


    ¡°Why does a warrior require strength?¡±


    ¡°A warrior must always be ready to defend. Without strength, your defense will crumble. A warrior must also stand ready to attack. Without strength, your attack will fail.¡±


    ¡°What is the second thing that a warrior requires?¡±


    Sen¡¯s body flowed like water. Punch, block, kick. ¡°A warrior requires speed.¡±


    ¡°Why does a warrior require speed?¡±


    ¡°Without speed, your defense wille toote. Without speed, your attack will never find its mark.¡±


    ¡°What is the third thing that a warrior requires?¡±


    ¡°A warrior requires control.¡±


    ¡°Why does a warrior require control?¡± Feng asked, stepping in front of Sen¡¯s final strike.


    Sen¡¯s fist came to a stop a hair¡¯s breadth from Master Feng¡¯s nose. ¡°Without control, your strike may find an unintended target. A warrior strikes only what they intend to strike.¡±

 Chapter 16: Gifts

    Chapter 16: Gifts


    There was a long moment of silence before Feng answered.


    ¡°Indeed. Well done, Sen.¡±


    Sen let his arm drop. The weight of uncertainty lifted from his shoulders. Master Feng was sparing with praise, so it struck home ever more deeply when he offered it. A moment of tion washed through Sen. He had done it. He had not disappointed Master Feng. After basking briefly in that feeling and savoring the praise he had so rarely heard in his life, rity returned. Sen hastily offered Master Feng a deep bow. In a moment of unexpected reflection, Sen realized that he had learned a great deal more from Master Feng than just fighting. A year ago, he wouldn¡¯t have known he should bow at that moment, let alone why he should bow. Feng had slowly dripped that information to him with mild reprovals and gentle corrections.


    ¡°I am grateful, master.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± said Feng, but with a small smile. ¡°You worked for every inch of ground that you gained. But now, we should discuss the future.¡±


    A moment of trepidation passed through Sen¡¯s entire body. ¡°The future, master?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯veid the foundation for you, but you don¡¯t need me to guide you with that any longer. Fortunately, Jaw-Long has told me that he¡¯s releasing you from your morning lessons. So, you will take some of that time each day and practice what you just showed me. Deepen your understanding of what you already know. Wring every ounce of understanding you can glean from it. Perfection is always a distant peak, but the closer you draw, well, you wouldn¡¯t be the first to find a moment of enlightenment in the pursuit.¡±


    Sen found his master¡¯s words somewhat baffling. It seemed the old cultivator didn¡¯t mean to send him away. Yet, it wasn¡¯t clear what the man did intend to do in the meantime.


    ¡°You won¡¯t train me any longer?¡± Sen asked.


    Fengughed. ¡°Whatever gave you that notion? You will continue training with me in the afternoons. There are many other things you need to know. I¡¯m just confident now that you don¡¯t need a minder for these basic exercises. The things awaiting you are much more difficult, moreplicated, but they all depend on a firm foundation. Now that you have it, I can build on that foundation. It¡¯s your task to keep that foundation strong, to reinforce it.¡±


    ¡°I see. I will not fail in my efforts. What will I be learning, master?¡±


    ¡°Yes, about that. Come with me, Sen.¡±


    Sen followed his master inside. He¡¯d been outside for long enough that moving into the warm house caused sweat to bead all over his body. He wiped at his face to clean away the worst of it, only to realize he had nowhere convenient to wipe his hand. Sen sighed and wiped his hand on the in robes he wore most days. He reasoned that they would need to be washed anyway, so there wasn¡¯t a point in trying to avoid getting them a little dirtier. He trailed after his master, venturing deeper into the house than Sen usually wandered. Master Feng stopped before a particrly ornate door and announced himself.


    ¡°Come,e,¡± said Uncle Kho from inside the room.


    Master Feng opened the door and walked in, followed after a moment by a nervous Sen. Uncle Kho sat on the floor in a mostly in room. There were two covered objects sitting in front of him. Sen eyed the objects with curiosity for a moment before dismissing them. There was no point in guessing about them. He would shortly learn what they were, or they weren¡¯t his business. For his part, Uncle Kho seemed unusually excited. Sen offered Uncle Kho a bow, while Feng simply nodded.


    ¡°Done testing the boy, then?¡± Uncle Kho asked Feng.


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°The results?¡±


    ¡°He did adequately.¡±


    ¡°Heavens, Ming, I hope you were more expressive with him.¡± Uncle Kho turned to Sen. ¡°Adequate is the word Feng Ming uses when other people use words like excellent or extraordinary.¡±


    ¡°Jaw-Long,¡± said Feng with a warning tone.


    ¡°Oh fine,¡± said Kho, waving a hand at Feng. ¡°As long as he met your standard of adequacy, it means that it¡¯s time for his gifts.¡±


    ¡°That much is true.¡±


    ¡°Gifts?¡± Sen asked with confusion.


    ¡°It is the new year, isn¡¯t it?¡± Kho asked the boy.


    ¡°Yes, I suppose it is. Why?¡±


    Feng and Kho gave Sen baffled looks.


    ¡°You give gifts at the new year,¡± said Kho.


    ¡°You do?¡± Sen asked, suddenly very concerned. ¡°Forgive me, Master, uncle. I didn¡¯t know. I have no gifts for you.¡±


    Feng sighed. ¡°I keep forgetting. He¡¯s probably never received any gifts. Sen?¡±


    Sen thought for a moment. ¡°Well, Grandmother Lu gave me shelter. Shared her food with me.¡±


    Kho frowned. ¡°Shelter and food, you say. This is the woman you told me about, Feng?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°Remind me to do something nice for her, Sen.¡±


    ¡°That is kind of you, uncle, but she is very old. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll even be alive when I return.¡±


    Feng actually smirked at that. ¡°I think she¡¯ll surprise you. I¡¯ll remind you, Kho, if the boy forgets.¡±


    ¡°Good, good,¡± said Kho. ¡°Now, for the gifts. I¡¯ll go first. Noining, Ming. I¡¯m older. Plus, it¡¯s my house.¡±


    Feng snorted but offered Kho a gracious bow. ¡°Of course, honored Elder.¡±


    Kho reached down and scooped up the longer of the two covered objects. He held it out to Sen. Sen carefully took the object and flipped back the cloth to reveal a spear. There was no decoration on the spear, save for a little scrollwork on the de. Yet, Sen was certain that this was a spear of excellent quality. The grain on the shaft ran straight and true. The metal of the spearhead shone in the light with nothing to suggest imperfections. Given how much stronger he¡¯d grown in thest six months, Sen was surprised at how heavy the spear felt. He bowed to Kho over the spear.


    ¡°Thank you for the gift, honored uncle.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee, Sen. One day, I¡¯ll even show you how to use it. For now, though, just hang on to it. Feng still has some things he needs to teach you first.¡±


    At a nod from Kho, Feng stepped forward and picked up the smaller bundle. He waited while Sen wrapped the spear up again and set it aside. Then, he handed the bundle over to his young disciple. The boy unwrapped it to reveal the hilt of a sword and a in scabbard. Sen¡¯s eyes went wide. He had seen swords before, but only at a distance. He¡¯d never dared to dream that he¡¯d own one. Commoners often owned spears. Sen understood that the weapons were simply less costly to buy and repair. Swords were expensive. It took special knowledge to make them and to care for them. They were reserved for those with money and power, or those who worked for them. He didn¡¯t dare even draw it. Feng reached out and looked at Sen.


    ¡°May I?¡± Feng asked.


    ¡°Of course, master.¡±


    Feng lifted the sword and drew it. It was a straight de, sharpened on both sides. Feng eyed the de critically as if searching for any w before he extended his arm. The sword was as steady as stone in the old cultivator¡¯s hand.


    ¡°This is a jian,¡± said Feng, his eyes fixed on some far-distant time or ce. ¡°It¡¯s fallen out of favor among armies in recent times. Many consider it too light to hold up against the heavier dao sabers. They are, of course, fools for that thought. In the Jianghu, though, this is a weapon that you must know, for you will find many who wield it.¡±


    Feng returned the de to its scabbard and set it back in Sen¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Master, what is the Jianghu?¡± Sen asked, his eyes locked on the sword.


    Feng''s eyes came back into focus and fixed on Sen. ¡°That is, well, that is aplicated matter. We¡¯ll discuss it eventually. Fortunately, it¡¯s not something you must concern yourself with at present.¡±


    Sen was so astounded by his gifts that he barely registered the non-answer to his question. He went to draw the jian but hesitated. In a moment of maturity that surprised even him, he released the hilt. He knew that he knew nothing about using a sword. Even drawing it risked the chance that he would injure himself or damage something precious. <em>No</em>, he decided, <em>better to wait until I know how to use it</em>. Instead, he offered Master Feng a bow.


    ¡°My gratitude for the gift, master.¡±


    Feng inclined his head. ¡°Now, put those away ande back. There¡¯s onest gift for the day.¡±


    Sen found himself wondering what else they could possibly want to give him. He¡¯d been given a sword and spear along with the promises of instruction. He couldn¡¯t have asked for better gifts. Yet, he had been given instructions, so he followed them. Although, he might have lingered over the weapons for longer than necessary before returning to Master Feng and Uncle Kho. When he reentered the room, the two old men were waiting. He presented himself to them and, unsure what else to do, he stood there. Feng simply reached out and offered Sen a pill. Sen eyed the pill like it might strike him dead where he stood. He¡¯d had nightmares about the pill he¡¯d taken in the wilds.


    Feng seemed to intuit Sen¡¯s line of thought. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the same kind of pill. No, it won¡¯t be likest time. The life you lived before you took that first pill was very different from the life you¡¯ve lived since. Also, consider this. Do you want those kinds of impurities inside of you?¡±


    Sen jerked a little at that. He¡¯d been so overwhelmed and consumed by the pain and utterly vile aftermath that he¡¯d never really considered what it meant. All of that awfulness had been <em>inside</em> of him. What might it have done to him if that pill hadn¡¯t purged it? Still, the fear of it still had a grip on him. Sen didn¡¯t enjoy pain. He¡¯d endure pain if it was necessary, but was it necessary? He thought hard about it for several minutes. Master Feng and Uncle Kho said nothing, their expressions calm and utterly neutral. Sen had the feeling they would ept it if he said no. Yet, they¡¯d offered the pill knowing how much he feared it. They didn¡¯t do that casually. Whether or not he thought it was necessary, they were certain. Sen reached out and took the pill.


    ¡°You can use this room,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°It¡¯s what it¡¯s here for.¡±


    With that, the two old men left the room. Sen didn¡¯t take the pill immediately. He remembered the aftermath ofst time well enough. He removed his robes and set them aside. No amount of soap and water would salvage the robes if he wore them. He saw no point in burning perfectly good clothing. He found a cup of water ced on a small shelf. After a deep, shuddering breath, Sen put the pill into his mouth and washed it down with the water.

 Chapter 17: The Second Time Around

    Chapter 17: The Second Time Around


    With that first cleansing pill, Sen hadn¡¯t known what to expect from it. This time, he wouldn¡¯t get caught unawares. Hey down on the floor. There was no nket, but he realized he didn¡¯t need one. He was inside where it was warm, not outside in the cold night air. He took deep breaths to keep himself as calm as he could. The agony would start soon. He braced himself, determined that he wouldn¡¯t scream this time. Yet, the agony never came. He felt the moment when the pill hit his stomach. There was a kindling warmth that he knew would erupt into savage fire the second he let his guard down. Instead, the warmth in his stomach was just that. Warmth. It hovered there for a little while before he felt it spread into that strange ball by his navel. It intensified a little as if given additional fuel, but it was just heat, not the searing fires that scorched him from the inside out.


    That heat traveled through those same lines up into his chest and out into his limbs. He felt it as those mes scoured away at something in those lines, something that shouldn¡¯t be there, but as fast as the resistance came, it crumbled. The heat passed out into his organs, muscles, tendons, and ligaments and became a familiar pressure. Only, this time, it didn¡¯t feel like the muscles would tear or his organs would burst. The heat delved down deeper, searching, seeping into his very bones. The heat roared up again, this time verging close to pain, but never quite reaching it. Sen breathed through it all. He wasmitted to this now, so he willed the pill to do its work,manded the heat to wash him clean.


    The heat in his bones eventually faded, along with the pressure in his muscles and organs, yet that me near his belly button remained. Sen wondered what was left. If the pill was still working, why wasn¡¯t it doing something? For the first time, Sen tried to look inside himself. That ce near his navel that he had always thought of as something he imagined came to life in his mind. It was a swirling mass of energy that he had never known about, never even guessed at. He marveled at it. How could this live inside him and he never knew? Yet, it wasn¡¯t what he¡¯de for. He cast his inner sight around him, looking for something to do with all that leftover fire from the pill.


    He saw those lines where he¡¯d felt the heat before. Not really lines, he finally understood, but more like channels through his body. Except, it wasn¡¯t really his body. Not exactly. Those channels were inside him but separate from him too. He¡¯d have to ask Master Feng about themter. Just as importantly, though, there were more of those channels. Only these channels were dark like they¡¯d never seen light before. Well, Sen had light right to hand. He extended that will and control that he¡¯d built through countless repetitions of strikes, kicks, blocks, rolls, and falls. He seized that fire and sent it burrowing and burning into those other channels. This time, there was pain. It was nothing like that first time, but he had to hold tight to his voice. He had to hold tighter to that fire. Those new channels resisted the fire and any attempt to pry them open, but he had nothing to do until that pill ran out of fuel to feed the fire.


    Bit by bit, he burned away what he assumed must have been years of built-up impurities. The fire from the pill almost raged at those impurities, hurling itself against the buildup until the dams broke, and energy from that warm mass at his center flowed into them. By the time those new channels were full, the warm ball was all but extinguished. Those channels had bled it dry. But he also felt a kind of new strength bleeding into his muscles, a hardening of his bones. Eventually, the energy cycled back to that warm ball, but only a fraction of what had originally been there was restored. Despite it all, though, Sen felt sure, certain, that he had done something necessary. He also felt quite certain that it would be a long road before he could attempt something like that again. It wasn¡¯t just that warm ball that was drained. He felt drained, as though he had spent something of himself, of his own will, to make this happen. <em>That¡¯s fine</em>, he thought. <em>I have time if I need it</em>. He didn¡¯t imagine for one second that learning to use a sword or a spear would be a fast process. People spent years learning how to wield them. If his body needed time to rebuild whatever energy lived in that warm ball, he expected it would be done by the time Master Feng released him back into the world. With that thought, thest flickering embers of the pill¡¯s fire went out. A few momentster, Sen followed those mes into slumber.


    ***


    Thest time that Sen woke up after one of those pills, he¡¯d been angry, emerging from what amounted to an assault. This time, he just woke up. He still felt washed out, drained in some fundamental way, but not hurt. He felt no need to hurl profanity at Master Feng. He also felt like some small, but very important seed of trust had been restored between them. Master Feng had said it wouldn¡¯t be like the first time, and he had been right. Sen was in no hurry to repeat the process, but he wouldn¡¯t fear the experience if and when it happened again. Unfortunately, one aspect had repeated from thest time. Sen shook his head. The smell really wasn¡¯t as bad asst time. That smell had been something out of a nightmare. The smell this time was simply putrid.


    Sen reminded himself that it could be worse. All of that could still be inside of him. He forced himself to sit up and look around. The room was still as empty as it had been the day before. With a groan, he stood and went over to the door. He pulled it open and found Master Feng waiting there with three steaming buckets. Sen snorted in surprise but quickly dragged the buckets inside the room. Feng stepped up to the door but didn¡¯te inside. He pointed to a spot in the center of the floor.


    ¡°There¡¯s a drain there. Clean yourself up as best as you can. Same for the floor. You won¡¯t get everything but try to get the worst of it. It¡¯s easier if you clean things up right away.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Feng.¡±


    Master Feng nodded at Sen and threw him a bar of rough soap. Sen knew it wasn¡¯t as bad because he managed to get the worst of it washed off of himself in about half an hour. He thoroughly scrubbed the floor around where he had beenying. Then, he did his best to rinse everything. He didn¡¯t know what genius thought to put a drain inside a room inside a house, but Sen wanted to meet that person and thank them. Sen only hesitated to put yesterday¡¯s robes back on for a moment. He¡¯d still need a proper bath, so putting on fresh clothes would be an exercise in futility. He¡¯d just have to wash those as well. Instead, he went looking for food. He found Uncle Kho in the kitchen. The man had apparently spent his morning cooking. There were covered bowls on every surface. There was also tea.


    Sen made short work of several cups of tea before Uncle Kho started handing him bowls. Sen ate and ate. He was surprised to discover that some of the boar meat from their journey up the mountain had been prepared. Master Feng hadn¡¯t been lying when he said that his miraculous ring kept things fresh. After plowing through most of what had been prepared, Sen had to admit to himself that he¡¯d been hungrier than he realized. Not that Uncle Kho seemed to mind. If anything, the more Sen ate, the happier Kho became. Once the hunger ebbed enough that he was just picking at the food, rather than eating it, Uncle Kho sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.


    ¡°It was the right choice,¡± he offered.


    Sen nodded. ¡°I know. Well, I know that now. I didn¡¯t really believe it until after I took the pill.¡±


    ¡°No one can me you for that. Feng told me how bad that first one was. It was an honest mistake on his part. Once you take the pill, though, there¡¯s no going back. You can only push through.¡±


    ¡°Well, this one was easypared to that first one. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll need to burn anything this time.¡±


    ¡°Good. I think my wife would be very put out with me if we burned this ce down. Not that we couldn¡¯t rebuild, but it might be a challenge to rece some of the things here. Like that wok,¡± said Kho, pointing at a pan that hung on the wall. ¡°She¡¯s had that wok for almost three hundred years. Says it¡¯s the best one ever made. She bought it in some vige that doesn¡¯t even exist anymore.¡±


    ¡°Three hundred years,¡± repeated Sen, astounded at how casually the old man said it.


    ¡°Oh, beware young Sen. You¡¯ve truly fallen in with old monsters here,¡± said Kho, a twinkle in his eyes. ¡°Speaking of old things. Feng! Do you have it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to yell at me, Jaw-Long. No one here is deaf,¡± grumbled Feng as he stepped into the kitchen. ¡°And, yes, I have it.¡±


    Feng held out his hand to Sen. Another pill, although very different in color than thest, sat on his hand. Sen felt a petnt sort of grumbling inside of him, but it wasn¡¯t the knee-jerk fear he¡¯d had before. He took the pill and, at a nod from Feng, swallowed it.


    ¡°Good,¡± offered Feng. ¡°There¡¯s a bath ready for you.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t bother protesting. He needed a bath. He bowed to Master Feng and Uncle Kho before grabbing a big piece of boar he¡¯d saved and heading outside. The ghost panther trotted up to him immediately before crouching a little with her ears back.


    ¡°I know. I know,¡± said Sen, tossing the meat to the cat. ¡°I¡¯m heading to take a bath."

 Chapter 18: Practice (1)

    Chapter 18: Practice (1)


    While the second pill the old men provided did a lot to restore him, Sen still felt fatigued for several days after what he thought of as the filth purge. While the effects hadn¡¯t been nearly so awful on the second pass, he found himself wondering where all that filth hade from. Most of what he remembered about the first filth purge was just a hazy recollection of pain, so he couldn¡¯t properlypare them. Had the most recent purge gone through him the same way, or had it reached parts of him the first pill hadn¡¯t? Sen was almost sure that this pill had reached deeper inside him. He didn¡¯t remember that scouring fire touching his bones the first time. With an annoyed sound, Sen put those thoughts away. He either couldn¡¯t remember the first time well enough, or he just didn¡¯t want to remember it. He¡¯d just have to wait for the next time andpare how things went. That idea brought him up short. <em>Did I just make a n based on the next time</em>, Sen asked himself. He supposed that he had. While he didn¡¯t imagine that he¡¯d ever relish those purges, he was just as happy to have all of that out of his body.


    Master Feng had apparently sensed that Sen wasn¡¯t up for anything too strenuous. He told Sen to practice what he knew in the mornings, go for a run, and to rest otherwise. It became very clear that had been practical advice when Sen did his run around the walls the first day. The number of times around the manor had gone up steadily over the months. Sen was up to a hundred and, before the purge, thought he was probably ready to add some more. That first day, he¡¯d been ready to quit after fifty loops and certain he might die as he closed in on the hundred. His mind knew that it was temporary. The pill had left him drained in some meaningful way. His body didn¡¯t care one bit that it was temporary. His performance wasckluster enough that even the big cat had taken pity on him. She simply kept pace with him, rather than effortlessly dashing ahead.


    Still, even after taking a long nap in the afternoons, he found himself with a lot of extra time on his hands. If practicing with his body was out of the question, he would take up the other task he¡¯d been told to practice. It was also agonizing, but only for his mind. He would take out the scroll that Uncle Kho had given him and slowly piece together the words intoplete thoughts. Initially, it was everything he could do just to make himself keep going. It was a battle between him and those stationary marks on the scroll. After several evenings¡¯ worth of practice, though, he realized that the scroll was telling a story. As he became engrossed in the story, he worried less about reading and more about finding out what happened. Of course, Sen had never imagined that the kingdom had seen so much war. There were wars for the throne. There were wars for honor. There were wars to stave off invasion. There were wars of invasion. Even more surprising was how often these things were kicked off by some kind of murder or attempted murder.


    Despite his many painful encounters with them, Sen managed to squeeze out a tiny bit of sympathy for the nobles. All too often, it seemed like some daughter of a noble was kidnapped or a son was killed in an ambush. That led to revenge attacks or demands for the king to take action. Other noble families would take sides, or the king would issue orders, and soon the entire country was burning. Sen wasn¡¯t sure how growing up with possibilities like those hanging over someone¡¯s head would affect them. It would be frightening if nothing else. Sen hadn¡¯t had brothers or sisters, so could only imagine what it would feel like to hear that one had been taken or killed. He imagined it would make him angry. He supposed that living that way could also make some cruel. Yet, it was a poor reason to be cruel if that was the case.


    As fascinating as Sen found the scroll, he also found it left his mind churning. He had always thought of the kingdom as a safe ce. True, it hadn¡¯t been particrly safe for him, but he¡¯d always thought that was because he was poor and, when necessary, a thief. He¡¯d avoided stealing whenever he could, but it was a better choice than starving to death. In his opinion, anyone who thought otherwise had never really been hungry. When hunger got bad enough, even the smell of food could make you almost crazy. Yet, Sen always assumed that life was safe for other people, people with homes and names. Every thief knew they were taking a risk. Reading that scroll made him think that <em>nobody</em> was ever safe. Even kings got killed. If anyone should be safe, it seemed like kings would be safe. They had guards and armies. If that couldn¡¯t keep you safe, what would? How could he ever see the world and stay safe if kings couldn¡¯t do it?


    The idea troubled him so much that he went looking for Uncle Kho the next afternoon. He found the old man sitting and reading a different scroll. Sen was almost curious enough to ask what it was about but changed his mind. He had enough on his mind from the scroll he was already reading. For all Sen knew, that other scroll would tell him things that he¡¯d find even more disturbing. Uncle Kho eventually looked up and waved Sen over.


    ¡°What can I do for you, Sen?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been reading that scroll you gave me.¡±


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s good. Did you find words you couldn¡¯t understand?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± said Sen, ¡°but that¡¯s not what I wanted to talk to you about.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well then, do sit down and tell me what¡¯s on your mind.¡±


    Sen sat and tried to put his thoughts in order. They were in such a tangle that he didn¡¯t know where to begin. After failing to find the right ce to start for the third time, he just started talking. He poured out his thoughts about what he read, what it seemed like the scroll was saying about life and his own fears about what that would mean for him when he went out into the world. Uncle Kho listened patiently, absently stroking his long white beard. When Sen finally ran out of things to say, Kho closed his eyes for a long moment.


    ¡°Let me put your mind at ease about at least one thing,¡± offered Kho when he opened his eyes again. ¡°The kingdom isn¡¯t constantly at war. I suppose it¡¯s not obvious in that scroll, but the kingdom is very, very old.¡±


    Sen brightened up at those words. ¡°No. I mean, I know the kingdom is old, but not how old.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s even older than me, which means it¡¯s positively ancient,¡± said Kho with a little smile. ¡°Many of the wars you read about happened centuries apart. There are times when entire generations wille and go without war troubling the kingdom.¡±


    Sen felt some of his worries slip away. ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear that.¡±


    Then, Kho pulled the rug out from under him. ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯re not wrong. Even in times of peace, no one is ever really safe. For peasants and merchants, there are bandits and nobles who may kill them or have them killed. For nobles, there are other nobles and the king. The king is always under threat, either from ambitious nobles or from other kings. Everyone is at risk from someone.¡±


    Sen thought hard for a moment. ¡°There has to be a way. How do you make yourself safe?¡±


    Uncle Kho was quiet for a long time. He went to speak on several asions, only to close his mouth. Every time he didn¡¯t speak, his eyebrows got a little closer together. He finally let out a breath.


    ¡°The only way is to make yourself so powerful that no one dares to challenge you.¡±


    ¡°Is that what cultivators do?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what a few cultivators do. It¡¯s what many cultivators try and fail to do. But even bing a cultivator is no real protection. Granted, most bandits and nobles won¡¯t dare challenge a cultivator. Even kings walk with care around advanced cultivators. But you only trade those dangers for danger from other cultivators.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Sen. ¡°Why would cultivators be a danger to other cultivators? You and Master Feng get along.¡±


    ¡°Feng and I have been friends for a long time. You don¡¯t usually attack your friends. As for the rest, well, it¡¯s not really my ce to exin the Jianghu to you. Feng will exin it to you when he thinks it¡¯s appropriate. What I will say is this. Challenges can improve you. Steel sharpens steel. Some cultivators will seek out challenges wherever they can find them.¡±


    Sen let those words settle into his mind. It didn¡¯t all make sense to him, but he had an inkling of what Uncle Kho meant. ¡°Thank you for exining, honored uncle.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let me put you off going out and seeing the world for yourself. Just because there are dangers, it doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not worth doing. After all, where you find danger, you can also find opportunity.¡±

 Chapter 19: Practice (2)

    Chapter 19: Practice (2)


    Sen had the feeling that his days of general rest were just about over. He still grew tired more easily than he¡¯d like, but it wasn¡¯t as bad as it had been. For those first two days, everything felt like an effort. After his conversation with Uncle Kho, he kept wondering about the outside world and if he would ever be ready to face it. Master Feng had certainly taught him plenty about how to protect himself and meant to teach him more. Still, all those skills wouldn¡¯t mean anything if he ran across cultivators who were more easily offended than Master Feng and Uncle Kho. Was the risk worth the reward? Uncle Kho had made it sound like it <em>could</em> be. He¡¯d said that danger and opportunity went together. Of course, that probably mattered more if you were brave. Sen didn¡¯t feel terribly brave most days.


    He consoled himself with the thought that he probably wouldn¡¯t need to really worry about any of those things for a long time. Master Feng clearly intended to train him to some level that the old man had in his head. Sen didn¡¯t think he was at risk of meeting that level any time in the next couple of years. Although, there was Uncle Kho to think about. Feng had basically invited himself and Sen to stay. Uncle Kho didn¡¯t seem to mind, but Sen vaguely remembered talk of Uncle Kho¡¯s wife. If or when she returned, she might not want Feng and Sen hanging around. If that happened, would Feng go off to sit in a cave somewhere? Would he expect Sen to sit around outside the cave? Maybe Feng would simply head out into the kingdom. Sen had heard about wandering cultivators.


    Sen was so distracted by those thoughts that he slipped on the packed snow and went tumbling. When he came to a stop, Sen let his head drop back. That onlysted for a few seconds before the back of his head was soaked by melting snow. He forced himself to stand and leaned against the wall around the manor. Most days, the packed snow wasn¡¯t a problem. It wasn¡¯t like Sen wasn¡¯t aware of it, his feet having done most of the work of pounding the snow down into an icelike sheet. His bnce was good enough that the slippery surface wasn¡¯t really a problem, most days. With the end of his dailyps in sight, though, the fatigue was setting in. When he got tired, his reflexes and bnce suffered.


    Sen looked around and found the ghost panther staring at him. He¡¯d gotten to know the panther¡¯s expressions over thest half year, or so he thought. The beast¡¯s gaze was intense, yet there was something else there. <em>If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d think that she looks baffled</em>, thought Sen. The two just stood there for a long moment, looking at each other over the snowy ground. Then, the big cat came over and stood in front of him. He looked down at her curiously. She was staring right at his middle. He checked his clothing, thinking that he might havended in something unpleasant. Aside from some damp cloth, there was nothing. The panther looked up at him, and then back at his middle. Sen understood that she was trying to make him notice something, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what.


    The next look the cat gave him was one he recognized immediately as exasperation. She leaned forward, bumped her head against his middle, and gave him an expectant look. He blinked down at her before he reached out to rub her head. The cat let him, for a few seconds, before she bumped his middle again. Sen wondered if the cat thought he needed to eat.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost done. Then it¡¯ll be time to eat,¡± he said.


    The ghost panther made a huffing noise. Then, very slowly, the cat lifted a paw and extended a w. She poked at his belly button. It was a gentle enough poke that it tickled a little. Sen had to work hard to keep fromughing. Curious, though, he reached down and pressed a couple of fingers against the same spot. That made him think of that warm ball that he felt there sometimes. His awareness of it came and went. He was most aware of it while practicing the things that Master Feng taught him. Well, then, and when he¡¯d taken that pill. A lot of him thought he was just imagining it. Still, for the ghost panther to pick out that specific spot. It strained even Sen¡¯s underdeveloped sense of coincidence.


    Sen let his mind sink inside of him. It still half felt like he was imagining it, but he decided that there was no real harm. He found that warm ball inside of him and looked it over. That spot inside of him had felt all but empty after the purge, but now the spot looked full. Rather, it looked full if a dense mist of silvery light could fill something up. With the ball in sight, Sen wasn¡¯t really sure what came next. If he wasn¡¯t simply seeing more in the cat¡¯s actions than were really there, she meant for him to do something with this ball. Not sure what else he could do, Sen reached out with his mind and poked the mist. The ball roiled a little. Sen watched as those channels he¡¯d seen before briefly lit up as threads of the mist passed out into them. A burst of energy shot through Sen¡¯s entire body. It startled him so much that he found himself staring down at the ghost panther. The cat looked up at him with a very smug look in her eyes. Even as he gazed down at the beast in shock and amazement, he could feel that burst of energy wearing off. The cat bumped his stomach with her head again.


    Sen didn¡¯t think that standing around outside in the cold while he imagined the inside of his body was a smart move. While he¡¯d gotten used to the cold, he was pretty sure that he¡¯d still freeze to death if he just stood motionless in the winter weather. Rather than pushing his mind inside, he tried to feel around inside for that ball. It was a lot easier than expected. He gave it another little poke and was rewarded with another burst of energy. He let out a joyfulugh and started running again. Soon, though, he was sagging under the weight of exhaustion. He stopped running and red down at his stomach. He could pay attention to that ball and to running. At least, he¡¯d never tried to do anything like that before.


    Setting out at a slower pace, he kept poking at that ball whenever he felt weariness starting to wash over him again. He soon realized that his approach was not an ideal solution. In fact, he was confident that his approach wasn¡¯t what the cat had intended based on the looks she kept giving him. For one thing, it was hard to split his attention that way. He constantly ran the risk of falling because he wasn¡¯t paying enough attention to his body. Even worse, the process was unpredictable. If he poked too hard at the ball, it sent so much energy into him that he felt like he might explode. If he didn¡¯t poke hard enough, the extra energy onlysted for a little while. Sen came to another stop. He decided that, while it might not be the best solution, it was the solution he had at hand. He could practice with it and figure out something better after he finished running.

 Chapter 20: Practice (3)

    Chapter 20: Practice (3)


    When Sen went inside to have a meal, he found both Master Feng and Uncle Kho inside. He narrowed his eyes at the two. There was something about the way the two men carried themselves that made Sen feel like they had been waiting for him. Despite the feeling he couldn¡¯t shake, the three shared a quiet meal. The closest the conversation got to anything important was Uncle Kho asking if Sen had finished the scroll.


    ¡°No, uncle. I¡¯m nearly done with it. Do you need it back?¡±


    Kho waved a dismissive hand. ¡°No. No. I just need to decide what I¡¯ll have you read next.¡±


    After the meal, Sen took some food out for the ghost panther. He absently tossed her pieces of food, but his mind was focused on that ball of energy inside him. It had helped him finish the run, but he knew he didn¡¯t understand it. Part of him wondered if he should ask Master Feng about it, but he wasn¡¯t even sure what he would ask about. All Sen really knew was that he had, or thought he had, some kind of energy inside him. If he was wrong, he¡¯d look foolish in front of Master Feng. If he was right but couldn¡¯t describe it well enough, he could still look foolish. He decided that he¡¯d y with it on his own for a while. It didn¡¯t seem like it would hurt him, so Sen didn¡¯t see any harm in putting off a conversation about it. As if to encourage him, the big cat looked intently at his stomach before vanishing back over the wall to go and do, Sen came up nk. He had no idea what the beast did when it wasn¡¯t at the manor. Struck by curiosity, Sen went looking for Master Feng. He found him in the library, looking at a small book.


    ¡°Master?¡±


    Master Feng looked up with eyes bright. ¡°Yes, Sen?¡±


    ¡°What do you think the ghost panther does when it¡¯s not here?¡±


    Master Feng blinked several times. He had clearly expected a question from Sen, just not the one that Sen had posed. Feng shook his head a little and got a thoughtful look on his face.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know, Sen. I assume that she has a den somewhere. Spirit beasts like her often protect a territory where there is something of value, or at least of value to them. She must hunt. She can¡¯t be thriving just on what she gets from us. Of course, this is all just guessing on my part. Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I was just wondering about it. I thought you might know.¡±


    ¡°I see. Have you thought about giving her a name?¡± Master Feng asked.


    ¡°I,¡± Sen frowned. ¡°I guess I thought she probably already had one. I just don¡¯t know it because I don¡¯t speak ghost panther.¡±


    A huge smile split Feng¡¯s face, and he let out a good-naturedugh. ¡°I never thought about it that way. If she¡¯s half as smart as she seems, you¡¯re probably right. You should try asking her. Maybe she¡¯ll figure out a way to tell you.¡±


    Sen thought about that for a moment and nodded. ¡°I will. Thank you, master.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else you want to ask me about, Sen?¡±


    Sen hesitated. Master Feng had opened the door for a question. As much as he wanted to ask, something in Sen¡¯s heart said to wait. There was plenty of time to ask questions if he couldn¡¯t figure it out on his own.


    ¡°No, master. Thank you for your wisdom and your advice.¡±


    Sen thought Master Feng seemed disappointed, but the cultivator didn¡¯t press the issue.


    ¡°You cannot learn if you don¡¯t ask questions," said Feng. "What kind of master would I be if I didn¡¯t answer them as well as I can.¡±


    Sen bowed and retreated to his room. For a time, he just sat and considered his experience during the run. Those bursts of energy were helpful, but not being able to know how much of a boost he¡¯d get from any given poke at that ball inside of him made it of questionable value. If he was just tired, it was great. He couldn¡¯t rely on it in an emergency, though. As an experiment, Sen poked at the ball again. He felt that surge again, racing up and down his body. Then, it wore off. He poked it again. The same thing happened. He tried poking it from a different direction, only to get the same results. Sen sighed. If this thing was going to be anything more than an asional convenience, he needed it to work more reliably. He trieding at the problem from another angle. It was shaped like a ball. What do balls usually do?


    Sitting up straighter, Sen reached inside himself and tried to spin the ball like it was rolling forward. For a second or two, it seemed to work. Energy flooded into those channels and made him feel stronger than he¡¯d ever felt. When the energy tried to find its way back to that ball, though, it got stuck in those same channels. The pressure seemed to build and build inside of him. Sen''s whole body tried to curl in on itself. He struggled to take a breath. Reaching out with his mind again, he stopped that rolling motion. Slowly, the pressure receded. Sen didn¡¯t need another try with that method to know it wasn¡¯t good for him.


    While Sen waited for everything inside of him to feel like it should again, he reconsidered the ball shape. If rolling wasn¡¯t the right approach, was there some other way it could move? Sen thought back to all the times he¡¯d seen kids ying with balls. They threw them, caught them, and he¡¯d even seen kids hit them with sticks to send them flying. After a while, his mind wandered, and a memory of a different toy gave him a new idea. He¡¯d once seen a little boy ying with a top. It would sit there in ce, spinning and spinning. Sen had thought it seemed like a boring toy, but maybe that was the answer. Taking a deep breath just in case the same thing happened, Sen made that warm ball spin inside of him.


    This time, the energy flowed freely, racing through those channels inside of him. A feeling of strength and power like he¡¯d never known nearly overwhelmed him. The energy almost crackled inside of his muscles and bones. His vision got better. His mind became clearer. Sen peeked inside of himself to look at that ball. It seemed that, once he¡¯d started the proper motion, it was content to keep spinning. Yet, even as he watched, the amount of silvery mist inside of the ball seemed to lessen and thin out. He didn¡¯t understand why, not at first, but he supposed it must be like some kind of pot. It could only hold so much. When he sent it into those channels, he used some of it up. Reluctantly, Sen stopped the ball''s spinning and let the energy in those channels pool back into the ball.


    Part of him was disappointed in the results for a little while. It was more useful now than it had been, but also didn¡¯t look like it wouldst that long. Once he thought it over for a while, he grew less disappointed. Everything had limits. After all these months, he was a strong runner. He suspected he could run for several miles. Eventually, though, he¡¯d grow tired, and his muscles would refuse to carry him any farther. That limit didn¡¯t make running a bad thing. It certainly did not make the muscles in his legs a bad thing. If he wanted to run farther, he needed to run more. Build up to it. Maybe this new energy worked the same way. That left him with a new problem. How could he train this energy to be stronger?

 Chapter 21: Practice (4)

    Chapter 21: Practice (4)


    While that question gued Sen, his life took on a new routine. In the morning, he would get up, practice what he already knew, and go for a run. From time to time, he and Uncle Kho would discuss the new scroll that Sen was reading. The new scroll was a lot less interesting than the first scroll. The first one told a story. While its implications still bothered Sen, it was the story that had kept his attention. The new scroll was about how the government worked. It most certainly did not tell a story. Reading it was a chore, but one that Sen diligently performed every evening. As boring as he found it, he considered the reading a huge step up from haunting alleys to look for food. Then, it was usually time for lunch. Sometimes Sen ate alone, but Uncle Kho or Master Feng would usually join him.


    The biggest change in his life was the afternoon training. Up until that point, Master Feng had focused on teaching Sen fighting techniques, drilling those techniques, and correcting the errors he found. Now, Sen found himself having to apply those techniques in sparring sessions with Master Feng. Fortunately for Sen, Master Feng didn¡¯t use his enormous strength and speed in those sparring sessions. Unfortunately for Sen, Master Feng didn¡¯t need to use them. That point was driven home, yet again, as Sen found himself hauled back onto his feet. He took a moment to brush some of the slush off his clothes.


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much,¡± said Master Feng.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time or the twentieth time that Sen had heard his master repeat those words. He¡¯d heard them every day for a week now.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I can stop thinking,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s patently untrue. You¡¯re young. Young people spend a lot of their time not thinking.¡±


    Sen could see theughter in the old man¡¯s eyes. ¡°That may be true, but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s not the same thing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got me there. Let me put it another way. You stop thinking all the time when you run.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Master Feng snorted. ¡°Are you really telling me that by the time you get to, oh say,p fifty, you¡¯re still thinking non-stop?¡±


    Sen thought about it. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you¡¯re not. Do you know why?¡±


    Sen shook his head.


    Feng continued. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯ve done it so much that you don¡¯t <em>need</em> to think about it. You¡¯ve burned those motions into your muscles. You only think until you find your rhythm with the action. Then, you trust your body to do what it needs to do without a lot of input.¡±


    Sen squatted down and considered those words. He remembered many asions when he almost came out of a daze at the end of his runs. In fact, he often couldn¡¯t remember much of anything that happened during them, assuming nothing unusual happened. Still, that was running, not fighting.


    ¡°Fighting is different,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°It¡¯s not. You think it is, but it isn¡¯t. Right now, you¡¯re trying to analyze every move I make. Then, you¡¯re trying to decide what you should do about it,¡± said Feng, holding up a hand when he saw Sen open his mouth. ¡°There is a ce for thinking, for strategy, in a fight. But it¡¯s not something you do for every move. If you have to think about how you¡¯ll react to every single thing that happens, you¡¯ll exhaust your mind long before the fight is over. You¡¯ll defeat yourself.¡±


    ¡°What should I do instead?¡±


    ¡°Trust your body. Do you think I had you do all that practice because it¡¯s fun? I had you do it so that you wouldn¡¯t have to think about everything when a fightes. Every fight has a rhythm, just like running does. Instead of thinking about how you¡¯ll react, just let your body react. Let it find the rhythm of the fight.¡±


    Sen nodded and rose. He took a stance and tried to clear his mind. Without a word or a warning, Master Fengunched a punch at Sen¡¯s face. Without time to think, his body <em>did</em> just react. His arm swept up and out, brushing the blow to one side. Sen was so stunned that he almost missed the second punch. For maybe five or ten seconds, it was just a mad scramble of hastily deflected punches and kicks. Once the initial shock of it all wore off, though, Sen realized that there was a kind of rhythm to the fight. An observant part of his mind knew that Master Feng could move much faster than Sen, but the old man was consciously keeping his blows at a speed that Sen could realistically deflect. At least, he could deflect them if he didn¡¯t waste all of his time thinking.


    More importantly, with the blows moving at those speeds, there was a pace to it. It was almost all he could do to keep up, but Sen¡¯s body could keep up because it did know what to do. Once he fell into the rhythm, the momentum of the sparring changed. Instead of all defense, Sen could go on the offense every once in a while. Block, block, notice an opening, and kick. Block, dodge, punch. For perhaps a minute, Sen found that empty mental space that let him hold his own. Then, thinking intruded on him. With a bit of breathing room, he tried to revert to analyzing every move. Within two heartbeats, he was staring up at his master from the ground.


    ¡°Not bad,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°Now, do it again.¡±


    Sen spent the rest of the afternoon chasing that mental stillness. That early achievement had given him a false idea that it would be easy. It wasn¡¯t. Over the course of three hours, he found that zone of mental quiet exactly two more times. After he found that mental space and subsequently lost hold of it the third time, Master Feng dered that they had done enough for the day. Sen wasn¡¯t really ready to stop for the day. He thought that he might have gotten a little insight into getting back into that state. Feng saw the reluctance on Sen¡¯s face and just shook his head.


    ¡°You¡¯re tired,¡± said Feng. ¡°You probably don¡¯t realize it, but you¡¯re moving a lot slower than you were earlier. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get to try again tomorrow.¡±


    Sen wanted to protest but discovered that, as the excitement of the spar wore off, he was tired down to his bones. He offered Master Feng a bow and wandered off to prepare himself a bath. Master Feng hadn¡¯t lied, either. They did the same thing the next day, and the day after that, and the week after that. A week bled into a month and that, in turn, bled into several more. Yet, as the time passed, Sen found it easier and easier to fall into that state of mental silence. It was only when Sen could drop into it at will and hold off his master¡¯s attacks at length that Feng cut back on the sparring and began teaching Sen new things.


    All the while, Sen looked for ways to train that energy inside of him. He tried spinning the ball faster, but that just burned through the energy faster. He thought that using it every day might encourage the ball to grow, but it didn¡¯t. He even tried topress the energy in the ball. That did something, briefly, but it reverted so fast that Sen couldn¡¯t make sense of it. He couldn¡¯t maintain the mental effort of keeping itpressed. So, all he could sense was that there was a change, but absolutely nothing about that change. At the end of the day, all that worked was waiting. Most of the time, a good night¡¯s sleep would restore the energy inside that little ball. Unfortunately, it remained aplete mystery as to why that happened. Most frustrating of all, it never grew.


    After a time, he grew weary of his relentless efforts to affect the ball and turned his attention to those odd channels that connected the ball with the rest of his body. He did manage to learn some things about those channels. The first thing he learned was that he could send the energy down just one of those channels at a time. That, he discovered, was a very odd experience. It generally left just one piece of his body with a lot of energy. It was useful for giving his brain a jolt when he needed to focus. It was a lot less useful when it left an arm or a leg filled with power. Sen also learned that there were ways that those channels liked getting energy, ways they didn¡¯t like getting energy, and ways that felt odd to Sen, but that the channels tolerated.


    He found that cycling that energy through the channels at random fell into the category of things the channels didn¡¯t like. His body didn¡¯t seem to like it, either, and punished him by making him feel sick to his stomach every time he tried that. The channels reacted much better when he pushed energy into them in an order. The specific order didn¡¯t seem to matter so much as the fact of doing it in order. He could start with any channel. If he moved over to the next channel that connected to the ball, everything was fine. His body and the energy reacted better to doing it in some orders than others. He made a mental note of those orders. Other orders left him feeling strange. It wasn¡¯t sick precisely, but they might leave him feeling jittery or overly warm.


    The longer this testing went on, though, the more certain he became that he would eventually have to talk to Master Feng about all of it. Even if Master Feng didn¡¯t know about it personally, Sen was confident that his master would find the information or someone who could exin it.

 Chapter 22: Scrolls

    Chapter 22: Scrolls


    ¡°Uncle Kho, is there a reason you picked this scroll?¡±


    Sen stared down at the partially unrolled scroll, not quite sure why it was in his hands. The scroll was covered with abination of pictures and text. The pictures were of nts. The text described a variety of things about the pictured nts, such as where to find them and their uses.


    Uncle Kho gave the obviously confused boy a sympathetic smile. ¡°That¡¯s actually one of my wife¡¯s scrolls. I should say, she wrote it. But, yes, there is a reason that I picked that one. Everything on the scroll can be found on this mountain. Everything on there also has a medical or alchemical use.¡±


    Sen squinted down at scroll and pointed to a word. ¡°Alchemical? Is that what this word is?¡±


    Kho nced at where the boy pointed and nodded. ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°Okay. So, what does alchemical mean?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what alchemy is?¡±


    Sen blinked at Uncle Kho a few times. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know the word a minute ago.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I suppose that¡¯s fair. I¡¯m not an alchemist, that¡¯s someone who studies or performs alchemy, but I can give you the basics. A lot of things in the world are powerful in one way or another. I expect you know that some nts are dangerous to touch or eat.¡±


    Sen nodded along, following the exnation so far. ¡°Like the Devil Blind Root?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. There are also nts out there with healing properties.¡±


    ¡°Like the Starflower.¡±


    ¡°Really? The Starflower?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I used to put the petals on any cuts I got. It helped them heal up. It was the only medicine I could get most of the time since they grow everywhere.¡±


    Kho stroked his beard. ¡°Hmmm. I¡¯ll have to remember to tell my wife about that. Who told you that Starflower petals would help with cuts?¡±


    Sen thought back, but he couldn¡¯t remember anyone specifically telling him about it. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It might have heard it from one of the other kids. That kind of stuff, it just sort of passes around from person to person when you all sleep outside. It¡¯s just there in your head.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Uncle Kho, his expression thoughtful. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s not just nts. Certain kinds of rocks, and even particr animal parts have power. Alchemy is all about mixing those nts, rocks, and animal parts together to make something even stronger. Alchemy is how we get a lot of the more potent medicine. An alchemist made those pills that you love so much.¡±


    Sen shuddered a little. ¡°Well, I¡¯m d I haven¡¯t had to take one of those in a while. They¡¯re awful.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Kho. ¡°But, they have their uses. Back to your original question, though. The reason I gave you that scroll is because it¡¯s almost spring. There¡¯s a chance that you¡¯ll see some of those nts near the outer walls. If you do, I¡¯d like you to tell me. I¡¯ll harvest some of them.¡±


    Sen brightened up at that idea. He thought the scroll was going to be another boring exercise like reading about the government had been. This, though, was going to let him be useful to Uncle Kho. He liked the idea of being able to give something back to the old man who just let Sen hang around in his house and eat his food and taught him how to cook food.


    ¡°I can do that,¡± said Sen with a smile.


    ¡°If you like, I can show you how to harvest them,¡± offered Uncle Kho. ¡°Caihong says she¡¯s beaten the worst of my bad habits out of me, so she won¡¯t yell at you when she gets back.¡±


    ¡°Is sheing back soon?¡± Sen asked, an old nervousness surfacing again.


    Kho nodded. ¡°Any year now, I expect.¡±


    The old worry went back to sleep. It seemed Uncle Kho and his wife saw time very differently than Sen did. Sen could wrap his mind around the idea of a year, but it also felt like a very long time to him. It seemed like Uncle Kho saw years in much the same way that Sen saw months, maybe even weeks. In the meantime, there was no harm in learning about nts.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to learn about harvesting the nts if you¡¯ll teach me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. It seems likely that you¡¯ll be traveling alone at some point. It¡¯s a good idea to know what nts can help you and how to harvest them. You can even sell some of them to doctors and alchemists. It seems like they¡¯re always running short of even the basicponents. You won¡¯t make a lot unless you stumble across something really rare, but it¡¯s a way to put some copper or silver in your pouch. I never met a young person traveling who couldn¡¯t do with a bit of extra coin.¡±


    Sen¡¯s eyes went wide at that. He¡¯d never even held a silver coin. He¡¯d only seen them change hands a few times in the market. Maybe it happened more often inside the shops, but he¡¯d never been in any of those. Sen shook off the thoughts of silver coins. If it ever happened, it wouldn¡¯t happen soon. Right now, he just needed to learn about the nts so he could find them. He rolled up the scroll.


    ¡°I¡¯ll study the scroll carefully.¡±


    ¡°You seem a lot more excited about this scroll than thest one. Not very impressed with the government?¡±


    Sen had to think that over. He hadn¡¯t been impressed with reading about the government. That had been terribly boring. Even so, he wasn¡¯t sure he had any strong feelings about the government itself.


    ¡°It seemsplicated. I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll ever matter that much in my life.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s veryplicated. Politics is alwaysplicated. Knowing how the government is organized, well, let¡¯s say that you¡¯ll probably be d you know about that down the road. You never know when you¡¯ll need to know what official is in charge of something. Here¡¯s a tip for you, though. Never talk to the person in charge. Talk to their assistant.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Assistants are almost always avable. They can usually solve your problems without bothering their bosses. And, if you show up looking for them, it makes them feel important. That makes them <em>want</em> to help you. Anytime you can get someone to want to help you, it¡¯s better than <em>making</em> someone help you. People resent it when you make them do what you want. They feel good about it if they wanted to help you all along. Plus, they¡¯re happy to see you the next time you cross paths.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure he understood all of what Uncle Kho just exined, but he filed the information away in his head anyway. Whatever he was now, Sen knew that Uncle Kho had not always lived on this mountain. He¡¯d clearly spent a lot of time out in the world. If he said that this was a good way to approach things, Sen believed him. As Sen considered the scroll in his hand, he remembered something that happened that first day he and Master Feng arrived.


    ¡°Uncle Kho, do you remember that first day I was here?¡±


    Kho grinned at the boy. ¡°I have some vague recollection.¡±


    ¡°You tried to give me a scroll to read that day. I think it was about cultivation.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes,¡± said Kho, looking ufortable. ¡°I remember that.¡±


    ¡°Can I see that scroll?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. Rather, that¡¯s a question for your master. It wasn¡¯t appropriate for me to offer it to you in the first ce. He¡¯ll have to decide what to I can share with you about cultivation.¡±


    Sen could see that Uncle Kho either didn¡¯t like the topic or didn¡¯t like that he couldn¡¯t share the scroll. Either way, it had been a minor matter to Sen.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°If you can¡¯t, you can¡¯t. I was just curious. I¡¯ll ask Master Feng about it.¡±

 Chapter 23: Cultivation

    Chapter 23: Cultivation


    On the whole, Sen usually liked the spring season. When he¡¯d spent most of his time scurrying from alley to alley, spring meant a release from the cold of winter. It meant months and months without the constant fear that he might freeze to death. It also meant that new kinds of food would start appearing in the market before too long. He liked that things would turn green again and flowers would bloom. Of course, spring wasn¡¯t without its pitfalls. Spring weather meant spring rain. Sometimes, that meant that water would gently fall from the sky and help wash away any dirt that umted in the streets and on the houses. Sometimes, though, it meant water fell from the sky in sheets, hammering the ground, the houses, and any poor fool who had no shelter to seek. Sen had never liked that kind of rain. Sadly, Master Feng seemed indifferent to the weather.


    That was how Sen found himself standing in the courtyard, water up to his ankles, almost blinded by sheets of rain that the wind hurled into his face. Rather than teaching Sen new forms or the usual sparring, the old cultivator had them doing a different kind of exercise. The two stood within striking distance of each other. It was Sen¡¯s task to throw a series of specific strikes, while Master Feng blocked them. Then, they would trade off. While Sen was holding up his side of things, his master seemed constantly dissatisfied with his performance. What Sen couldn¡¯t figure out was why his master was unhappy. He had been training hard, pushing himself, running farther than ever every morning.


    ¡°Again,¡± ordered Master Feng. ¡°Faster.¡±


    Sen squinted at his master through the downpour and tried to get a sense of what the man was thinking. All he could make out was a cold expression. Sen settled himself into his stance and fired off the strikes. He upped his speed by at least half. Master Feng blocked the blows with a contemptuous look on his face.


    ¡°Again,¡± Feng demanded. ¡°Faster.¡±


    Sen hurled the strikes at his master, pushing his speed to the limit. This was, apparently, no more satisfactory than hisst attempt.


    ¡°What is the second thing that a warrior needs?¡± Feng asked.


    ¡°Speed, master.¡±


    ¡°Then show me your speed.¡±


    Sen was at a loss. He¡¯d never seen his master in such a state before. He¡¯d pushed his body as hard as he could. Unleashed every bit of speed that he had at his disposal. Yet, it wasn¡¯t enough. For the first time, his full effort had left his master wholly unsatisfied and unimpressed. Sen truly didn¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°Master?¡±


    ¡°Is this all you have for me? Have I wasted my time with you?¡± Feng demanded.


    Sen¡¯s mind raced. There <em>was</em> one other thing he could try. He¡¯d avoided it for a lot of reasons. The most important reason was that he wasn¡¯t entirely confident that he could control it. Yet, Sen couldn¡¯t see another path forward. It seemed that tapping into that ball of energy inside of him was the only thing that might help him satisfy his master¡¯s insistent demands for ever greater speed. Sen reached down inside himself and set that ball spinning. The familiar surge of strength and power filled him up. Setting himself in his stance once more, Sen let fly with his strikes. Master Feng blocked the blows with sounds like wood hitting metal. Sen could barely see his own hands moving, but his master¡¯s movements were an impossible blur.


    ¡°Better. Again.¡±


    Sen let himself drop into that state of mental silence that he¡¯d worked so hard to achieve. He let that silence fill him alongside the energy racing through his body. Then, he sent his fists at Master Feng. He wasn¡¯t really aware of what he was doing after that. He simply let his body react, his arms crashing forward with enough force to shatter bone, over and over, never stopping, never thinking, until he felt his fist smack into Master Feng¡¯s open palm. His arm jerked to a halt, and his senses rushed back to him. He stared at his own fist in Master Feng¡¯s hand, trying to understand what had just happened. Then, he copsed as all of the energy inside him seemed to run out at the same time. He felt numb as his body fell toward the water that covered the stone courtyard. He couldn¡¯t even raise an arm to break the fall.


    When his face hit the cold water, it shocked him out of his numb haze. Or maybe it was the pain when his face connected with the stone beneath that water. Sen could never properly remember. Either way, he was in control of his body again. He pushed himself up enough that he was kneeling with the neverending rain pping against him. He looked inside and saw that the usual ball of energy he expected was just gone. All that remained were a few wisps of that silvery mist. He¡¯d used it all up in one burst of effort. Now, it was everything he could do just to make himself breathe. All he wanted was sleep, but the idea of walking all the way to his bed was almost enough to make him cry. He lifted his head enough to look at Master Feng. The cultivator had a baffled expression.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Feng, ¡°you¡¯re not going to leave it like that are you?¡±


    Sen mustered all of his strength. ¡°Leave what like that?¡±


    ¡°Your dantian.¡±


    Sen was so tired that his eyes kept going in and out of focus. ¡°What¡¯s a dantian?¡±


    ¡°That spot in your stomach where you store your qi.¡±


    Shock lit up Sen¡¯s consciousness for a few brief moments of rity. ¡°Is that what that is?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± Master Feng almost yelled. ¡°You¡¯ve been ying with your dantian for months, and you didn¡¯t know what it was?¡±


    Sen managed to shake his head.


    He heard Feng sigh. ¡°Of course not. Why does this keep surprising me? That means you don¡¯t know how to cycle qi into it. I knew you didn¡¯t know much, but this is just, it doesn¡¯t matter. Why didn¡¯t you ask me about it?¡±


    Sen thought about answering, but that seemed to drain what little energy he had left. He felt himself start to tip to one side. Master Feng grabbed him and pulled back upright. His exasperation was gone, reced by a focused intensity.


    ¡°Listen to me carefully. You need to replenish the qi in your dantian. There¡¯s a lot you need to know, but for right now, I want you to picture yourself reaching out around you. You need to grasp the qi in the environment and pull it inside yourself. There¡¯s qi everywhere here, so it should be easy.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have the energy to argue. Although, he did wonder why he¡¯d never thought to look outside of himself for more energy. He realized he was getting distracted and tried to focus. He sent those same mental fingers he¡¯d used to adjust the ball inside him out into the courtyard. Master Feng was right. The entire ce was filled with misty energy, although it wasn¡¯t all like the kind inside him. Sen grasped for the little bit of silvery mist energy he saw around them. It felt like trying to hold steam. He slumped as the effort drained him even more. Master Feng had told him that it should be easy, so Sen assumed he was doing it wrong.


    Sen mustered what little mental energy he had left, and just grabbed for whatever he could get. He got hold of something that time and heaved at it, pulling it into his body. Once it was there, it stopped resisting so much. He managed to slowly push that new energy into the empty spot where that ball of energy usually sat. With a halfhearted effort, he sent the ball into azy spin. The energy didn¡¯t race out into those channels the way it usually did. It was more like a steady trickle. Yet, it helped to restore him. He no longer felt like he¡¯d fall unconscious at any moment. He also knew that it wasn¡¯t even close to enough. He peered at the qi he¡¯d managed to capture. It didn¡¯t look the same or feel the same. It was rougher and it almost felt violent to him. He didn¡¯t know exactly why, but he knew he needed something else to temper that violence.


    Sen cast his mind out into the courtyard and focused again on that silvery qi. He grabbed at it again and managed, barely, to keep a hold of it. He pulled that inside himself, adding it to the ball. <em>No</em>, he corrected himself, <em>to my dantian</em>. <em>What a strange word</em>, he thought. When he¡¯d grabbed what little of the silvery qi there was, he started grabbing little bits of all the qi around him. Different parts of the qi felt different. Some of it gave off a sense of stability, while other bits felt full of energy. Much of it possessed a liquid feel. He assumed that qi was some kind of water qi or closely rted. For what little he could understand, there was plenty he couldn¡¯t make sense of. The energy embodied so many impressions he couldn¡¯t understand. So, Sen tried to bnce all of what he could feel. It took a while, he didn¡¯t know how long, but eventually he managed to fill up his dantian enough that he felt mostly normal again.


    Sen cracked his eyes open and groaned as a fresh sheet of rainwater crashed into his face. He reached up and shielded his eyes. His master sat only a foot or two away, legs folded in the same ufortable way Sen had seen him sit on a number of asions. The old man was soaked through, although it didn¡¯t seem to bother him at all. As if the man could sense Sen¡¯s eyes on him, Master Feng opened his own eyes and fixed Sen with a firm look.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°There are some things we should discuss. Starting with why you never came to ask me about any of this.¡±


    Sen winced but nodded. It seemed that Uncle Kho was paying attention because he met Feng and Sen at the door with towels. The towels weren¡¯t enough to get dry, but they helped leech away enough of the water that Sen was able to make it to his room without leaving a shallow stream in the house. He changed into dry robes and pulled his hair into a more orderly topknot. Then, with no other way to stall, he slowly made his way out to face his master. Feng had also taken the chance to change into dry robes. His face was as stern as Sen had ever seen it as the man stood with Uncle Kho. Kho didn¡¯t look stern, much to Sen¡¯s relief, but he did have a concerned frown. When Sen arrived, Kho excused himself with a vague statement about checking on something.


    Feng regarded Sen in silence for a long moment before he said, ¡°Well?¡±


    Sen tried to put his thoughts in order. ¡°At first, I thought that maybe I was just imagining it. Then, when I understood that I wasn¡¯t imagining it, I wanted to figure it out on my own.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°You said that we face the heavens alone. I don¡¯t know exactly what that means, but it sounds,¡± Sen hesitated. ¡°It sounds serious. Maybe even life or death serious. If I¡¯ll have to do that alone, it seemed like I should probably figure out the energy ball thing, the dantian thing, alone.¡±


    Feng actually winced at those words. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°When I couldn¡¯t figure it out, I thought I just needed to try harder. Practice more. When that didn¡¯t work, I was embarrassed. So, I waited. The longer I waited, the more embarrassing it felt. Then, it was just easier not to say anything.¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t strike you as important?¡±


    Sen gave Feng a truly perplexed look. ¡°Why would it?¡±

 Chapter 24: Cultivation (2)

    Chapter 24: Cultivation (2)


    Sen watched a startling array of emotions cross Master Feng¡¯s face. He saw disbelief, confusion, a moment of anger, realization, and some guilt. All of that passed over the old cultivator¡¯s face before the man schooled his expression into something like calm. Sen tried to make sense of it. He knew that he probably should have asked about his dantian, but he really hadn¡¯t seen it as a big deal until Master Feng had reacted so badly. Now, he realized that this had to have something important to do with cultivation, but he still didn¡¯t know what. That left him unsure about how to measure the size of his mistake. He didn¡¯t know if it was the kind of mistake that would have him cleaning up leaves in the courtyard for the next week or the kind of mistake that Master Feng might never forgive him for. That uncertainty left Sen feeling very, very unsettled. It also meant that he didn¡¯t want to be the one to break the sudden silence in the room. Master Feng didn¡¯t make him wait for long.


    ¡°I¡¯m a very old man, Sen,¡± offered Master Feng, rubbing at his eyes like he was exhausted. ¡°I¡¯m so old that you might not even believe me if I told you just how old I really am. When you get to be that old, it¡¯s easy to think that you¡¯ve left making mistakes behind you. Let this be a lesson. You can always make mistakes, no matter how old you get.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try to remember that, master.¡±


    ¡°Do that because I¡¯ve made several mistakes ofte. Unfortunately, you made some mistakes too. Some of that was my fault, but not all of it. So, don¡¯t breathe too easily. You aren¡¯t off the hook.¡±


    Sen swallowed hard and nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t yet. The fact that you don¡¯t understand, couldn¡¯t understand, is a big part of the reason why I can¡¯t be that angry with you. So, let me exin a bit about the mistakes I made. Once I do, I think you¡¯ll understand a bit more about the size of your mistakes.¡±


    Sen knew that he wasn¡¯t going to like where this all led. A part of him desperately wished that he just be somewhere else for a little while. Then, the foolishness of that idea really struck home. If he could be somewhere else, he¡¯d just put off the conversation. Putting off conversations hadn¡¯t served him especially well in the recent past. There was little reason to believe that putting off this conversation would make anything better, either. Armed with that little bit of insight, Sen braced himself for the bad news and gave Master Feng a firm nod.


    ¡°Please help me understand what went wrong,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°The biggest mistake I made was assuming that you were at least a little bit like other cultivation students. I know that you¡¯re not. The massive gaps in your knowledge told me that you¡¯re not, but it¡¯s rare that any cultivator has a student who truly knows nothing about cultivation. The most ignorant students stille in with basic information about their dantians, about qi, and about the types of qi. Almost all of them have at least some notions about how to restore qi in their dantian. Some even have a few thoughts about how to circte their qi. I withheld all information about cultivating because I kept assuming you knew at least those foundational bits of information.¡±


    Sen thought he was starting to see the bigger picture. ¡°Except, I didn¡¯t know even those things.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know, and I didn¡¯t tell you. That makes me a poor master at best. I have reasons for withholding certain pieces of information from you, but I never would have kept those things back on purpose. That was information you needed to have to make good decisions. If you had understood what your dantian was, how important it is, well, I suspect you would have brought it up long ago. I never even asked. Do you understand what qi is?¡±


    Sen felt difort squirming up his back as he desperately fought down the urge to look away.


    ¡°Not really. I know it¡¯s some kind of energy, but more than that,¡± he could only offer a helpless shrug.


    ¡°There are many ways to exin it. Different cultivators see it in different ways. The simplest exnation is that qi is the vital force that suffuses all of reality. It is the foundation on which existence, life itself, is built. It is also the core of all cultivation.¡±


    ¡°I, I see,¡± said Sen as a small flutter of panic took root in his chest.


    ¡°There are three dantian in your body. They are located in your stomach, near your heart, and in your head,¡± said Feng, briefly touching near his navel, the center of his chest, and between his eyebrows. ¡°All three have purposes, but most cultivators focus on the lowest dantian. It is where we gather, store, and condense qi. As we gather and condense the qi, it serves as the very heart of our power. It grants us strength and speed, as you already discovered. Yet, it is so much more than that. If you can gather enough, the qi will extend your life and allow you to aplish feats you cannot yet imagine. You could one day tear down mountains with nothing but your hands or explore the depths of the ocean. You could call down lighting or even fly. One day, you could even challenge the heavens and ascend to true immortality.¡±


    Sen felt the blood drain from his face. He¡¯d thought his dy was a minor thing. He¡¯d thought of his experiments as, not exactly an amusement, but of limited importance. Instead, he¡¯d treated the very thing that cultivators spent their entire lives developing as a kind of pastime. He suddenly understood Master Feng¡¯s outburst on discovering that he¡¯d been ying with his dantian with no knowledge whatsoever. A cold sweat broke out all over Sen¡¯s body and his legs felt they might not support him anymore. He had, however innocently, put his entire future at risk.


    ¡°I see,¡± whispered Sen. ¡°Because I let embarrassment keep me from asking questions, I could have damaged my dantian. If I had just asked the questions, you would have known I didn¡¯t understand. You could have told me about dantians and qi.¡±


    Feng nodded. ¡°Today also wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±


    Sen blinked at that. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°I assumed you were already filling your dantian on a daily basis and hadn¡¯t mentioned it for reasons of your own. So, in my ignorance, I pushed you to use your qi. I wanted to evaluate your progress with it. Cultivators know how to restore their qi when they drain their dantian, so there is minimal risk to them. With you, though...¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to do.¡±


    ¡°Drain too much qi from your body and fail to restore it, it can harm your body or even your mind. It can even sap years from your life. If the drain is too much, it can even kill you.¡±


    Sen felt sick. He hadn¡¯t meant to put himself at risk. He hadn¡¯t understood the risks that he¡¯d taken. He hadn¡¯t known that his secrets would encourage Master Feng to take actions he might otherwise have avoided. He hadn¡¯t meant for any of this to happen. He was certain Master Feng hadn¡¯t intended for any of it to happen, either. Yet, it <em>had</em> happened. Master Feng had made mistakes. He¡¯d made mistakes. Add those mistakes together and the results could have been pure disaster. Sen had simply gotten lucky. He¡¯d been lucky that he hadn¡¯t permanently hurt himself. He¡¯d been lucky that Master Feng remained calm and knew what to do. He¡¯d been lucky that he <em>could</em> do what Master Feng had instructed him to do. If luck had a way of bncing out over a person''s life, Sen was certain that a great deal of the bad luck he¡¯d suffered was just wiped away.


    He also realized that he couldn¡¯t depend on good luck like that to save him, to spare him, a second time. Fate could be kind and bestow luck or blessings, but it could also be cruel and cast a person into turmoil and terrible danger. Most of all, it could not be avoided. All he could do was prepare himself as well as he could to brave that turmoil and danger should ite to him. There was no room in those preparations for childish embarrassment. Sen bowed low to Master Feng.


    ¡°Master, I beg your forgiveness for my foolishness. I won¡¯t let it happen again.¡±


    ¡°You will,¡± said Feng with a wry smile. ¡°You will be foolish many times in your life. All men are. Just wait until you start meeting women your age. I will be satisfied if you can avoid being foolish again in this way. I must beg your forgiveness, as well, for not seeing what was so inly disyed before these eyes. I can¡¯t pretend I¡¯ll avoid all other mistakes. I will make every effort to ensure that you have the information you need to make wise choices as you step onto the path of the cultivator.¡±


    With that, Master Feng offered Sen a deep bow. It was so deep that Sen felt immediately ufortable.


    ¡°Thank you, Master,¡± said Sen, unsure what else he could offer.


    Feng rose and gave the boy a rueful look. ¡°Now,e along. It seems that we have much to discuss.¡±

 Chapter 25: Growth

    Chapter 25: Growth


    Sen moved through the form, his body turning and shifting around his dantian like it was the focal point of the universe. He twisted into throws or transformed imaginary blows into joint locks. Through it all, he never stepped beyond the confines of a chalk circle he¡¯d drawn on the courtyard stones. <em>All motions are circr and should return you to center</em>, Master Feng had told him. The chalk was a reminder, a choice, and a way that Sen could impose discipline on himself. Although, after all this time, it was as much a habit as anything else. Like so much else, he¡¯d long ago burned these techniques into the nerves and fibers of his body. So, while his body ran nearly independently of him, he remembered that conversation from two years ago. In fact, he¡¯d thought about that conversation almost every day since then. It had marked the true turning point when he¡¯d gone from martial student to cultivator.


    Yet, those early failures on his part and Master Feng¡¯s part were instructive as well. While discussing it, Master Feng had done something he normally refrained from doing. He gave a name to the experience. He called it the Law of Unintended Consequences. When Sen asked what that meant, his master gave him a lengthy exnation. Sen had boiled it down over time to something he¡¯d taken on almost as a mantra. All actions generate consequences you cannot foresee. The certain knowledge that everything he did rippled out into the world in ways he could not anticipate, let alone control, had made him far more thoughtful about what he did and why. He knew it wasn¡¯t a cure for failure, as there was no cure for that, but it was often a cure for thoughtless stupidity. Sen firmly believed a little less of that in the world was for the good.


    Even while he mused on the old conversation and what it had meant to him, as he trained his body, Sen cultivated. He knew now that Uncle Kho had put a lot of work into the manor that wasn¡¯t visible to the naked eye. He¡¯d organized the manor, the materials, and even the positions of the furniture to facilitate a healthy flow of qi. There were formations built directly into the walls that gathered and concentrated good qi, while other formations kept almost all of the spirit beasts away. The lone exception was Falling Leaf, the ghost panther. Of course, that beast recognized no master beyond herself. What were formations to her when there were qi-infused treats that the humans would just give her? Sen felt quite confident that the big cat came around as much for the readily avable qi in the courtyard as she did for food orpany.


    He couldn¡¯t me her for that. After all, he spent hours every day in that same courtyard drawing qi into his dantian and cycling it through his meridians. At first, Sen had tried to cultivate while sitting and quietly meditating. Master Feng had put a stop to that almost immediately.


    ¡°So, tell me,¡± Master Feng had said. ¡°What do you n to do while fleeing for your life from an angry sect for five straight days without sleep? Ask them to wait while you sit and cultivate?¡±


    ¡°Why five days, master?¡±


    Feng shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s how long it took me to shake them loose. No, this sitting and cultivating nonsense is an indulgence that you can¡¯t afford. When you go out into the world, you¡¯ll be a wandering cultivator, Sen. You¡¯ll be on the move all of the time. You must be able to cultivate while you do that. In fact, you need to be able to cultivate while you do everything else. You better start practicing here and now, while you¡¯ve got ess to a lot of qi and a minimum of distractions.¡±


    ¡°How do I do that master?¡±


    ¡°The mind is a powerful tool. You can train it to do just about anything if you put enough time and effort into it. You must train a small piece of your mind to constantly focus on cultivating.¡±


    ¡°That sounds impossible.¡±


    ¡°Challenging the heavens sounds impossible, too. Yet, people have done it. You¡¯re a cultivator. We trade in the impossible.¡±


    Sen had discovered that Master Feng was right. He could and did train a piece of himself to relentlessly cultivate. It wasn¡¯t impossible. Much to Sen¡¯s chagrin, though, it was very, very hard. Of course, so was most of what he¡¯d done for thest two years. He¡¯d gotten angry at Master Feng more than once during those years. His master was happy enough to exin what things were in rtion to cultivation and even offered advice about how to do <em>some</em> things. First principles, the old cultivator had called them. Essential information that no student could live without. Sen had learned about his dantians. He¡¯d learned about body cultivation, which was intimately connected to spirit cultivation but fundamentally separate as well. He¡¯d even learned about the five elements of qi, although both Master Feng and Uncle Kho had rolled their eyes at that exnation.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that the information is wrong,¡± exined Uncle Kho. ¡°You can divide qi up that way. The problem is that the information is iplete. No one really knows how many kinds of qi there are. I¡¯ve personally seen twenty or thirty different kinds of qi. I expect Feng has seen more.¡±


    ¡°I have,¡± confirmed Master Feng. ¡°If you must think of qi as a group of separate things, a practice I strongly advise you not to adopt, those five kinds of qi are the foundational types of qi. They¡¯re the types that people can ess most easily, which means that they¡¯re the kinds you see most often. But you should treat that generalization with a lot of mistrust. Otherwise, you¡¯ll get blindsided by the first person you meet who specializes in lightning qi or heat qi or death qi.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± interrupted Uncle Kho. ¡°Have you actually seen death qi, Ming?¡±


    Master Feng squinted into the middle distance for a moment before he nodded. ¡°Yes. At least, I think I did. It wasn¡¯t my fight, so I only saw it from a distance. Still, if I had to name it anything, I¡¯d have named it death qi.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, I really do think that I made a mistake moving up onto this mountain when I did,¡± said Uncle Kho with a vaguely sad expression. ¡°You see so many interesting things.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d have hated it, old friend. I was on the Southern coast.¡±


    ¡°What was her name?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s literally no good reason to go to that hellish swamp. So, I assume that some woman turned your head and sweet-talked you into that terrible decision.¡±


    ¡°I was paying off an old debt.¡±


    Uncle Kho smirked at Master Feng. ¡°Were you now? To whom?¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine. Yes, it was a woman,¡± said Feng, throwing his hands into the air.


    Then, he¡¯d stalked away to do something. Uncle Kho did Feng the courtesy of waiting until he left earshot to startughing. Once he finished up with that, though, he turned a serious eye to Sen.


    ¡°Ming is right, you know. Don¡¯t get too attached to that idea of five kinds of qi. It¡¯s a useful guideline, but that¡¯s about it. Don¡¯t let it limit your thinking.¡±


    Sen took those words to heart, but that became its own kind of frustration. Both Master Feng and Uncle Kho had written down all the kinds of qi they¡¯d seen when Sen asked them about it. Yet, when he¡¯d asked about the techniques one could use with them, both the old men had refused to discuss it. Maser Feng had instead instructed Sen to try to manifest as many different types of qi as he could. When asked how to do that, Feng only grudgingly offered an exnation.


    ¡°At your stage of development, you¡¯re mostly taking in whatever qi is around you. So, assuming Kho did his work well, which you should always assume, you¡¯ve got a bit of just about every kind of qi that¡¯s avable here. You don¡¯t necessarily have a lot of it, but you should have some. You can manifest specific kinds of qi in two ways. If you can identify it in your dantian, you can pull it out and do things with it. The other way is with cycling patterns. Moving qi through specific meridians in specific orders will help you refine out different kinds of qi.¡±


    Master Feng had offered Sen a basic primer for the cycling patterns that would refine the five main kinds of qi. As for the rest, he told Sen to experiment with different patterns and see if he could figure out any of the others. It had been an exhausting few months of trial and error, but Sen had figured out the patterns for another six kinds of qi. Once he figured out that other kinds of qi usually bore a close rtionship to a primary type of qi, he focused on variations of the patterns he knew worked. That had gotten him results. He could manifest the five foundational types of qi, water, wood, air, fire, and metal. He could also manifest light, heat, mist, earth, wind, and shadow qi. While he relished the aplishment, Sen was much less satisfied with the intense variations in strength he showed across the different types of qi. While fire and shadow qi proved especially easy for him to ess, he found air, wind, and water qi much more challenging. Everything else fell somewhere in the middle.


    Questions about those variations seemed to be of little interest to either Master Feng or Uncle Kho. Both men had simply said something about natural affinities and left it at that. It was only after he manifested several types of qi that Master Feng would teach him techniques using them. When Sen got frustrated and demanded to know why, he was surprised when Feng answered him.


    ¡°Sen, we all develop preferences. When we¡¯re good at something, we tend to default to it. There¡¯s a logic to that. Specializing creates mastery. Cultivators have a lot of time on their hands, though. We don¡¯t need to specialize like that. It¡¯s holdover thinking from our mortal days. If you only have fifty good years to work with, specializing lets you wring the most value from a very finite amount of time. When you have five hundred years, or a thousand, or five thousand, you can take the time to master things like minor affinities. It will give you more flexibility in the long run.¡±


    Then, as if to prove his point, Feng made Sen practice techniques with every kind of qi he manifested. Much of it was slow work, while shadow and fire techniques came almost without effort. Sen was honest enough to admit that, left to his own devices, he¡¯d have stopped with shadow and fire qi. Yet, all of those other kinds of qi did give him the kinds of options that would likely prove useful in a somewhat hostile world. It had taken a lot of work and would mean more of the same in the future, but Sen didn¡¯t really mind that.


    With his formplete, Sen wiped away the chalk circle he¡¯d made.


    ¡°You really like that defensive approach, don¡¯t you?¡± Asked Feng as he walked over to Sen.


    ¡°You said it yourself. I¡¯m on the weak end of the cultivation scale. If I get attacked by someone stronger than me, I expect a lot of strong defense will help me more than an aggressive attacking style.¡±


    ¡°Debatable,¡± mused Master Feng, ¡°but probably urate. On that topic, though, it¡¯s time that we do something about your killing intent.¡±

 Chapter 26: Killing Intent (1)

    Chapter 26: Killing Intent (1)


    Sen stared at Master Feng¡¯s back as the old cultivator walked a short distance away. He had heard Master Feng and Uncle Kho mention killing intent in passing more than once, but never in a way that roused Sen¡¯s curiosity enough to ask. Now, he was regretting thatck of curiosity. On the one hand, the words seemed to have an obvious meaning. On the other hand, Sen was confident that the obvious meaning couldn¡¯t be the answer. If it were, Master Feng wouldn¡¯t have brought it up so specifically. Plus, he had said that they needed to do something about Sen¡¯s own killing intent. The young man couldn¡¯t make sense of that at all. Sure, he had some lingering anger over what the noble brats had put him through, but he was confident that it wasn¡¯t a killing kind of anger. Yet, he couldn¡¯t imagine what else Master Feng could mean.


    When Sen realized that Master Feng was staring at him with an expectant look, he roused himself from his mental wandering and walked over to his teacher. Feng looked him over and then made two practice jians appear from his storage ring. Master Feng had instructed Sen to use his actual sword when practicing alone if only to get the right feel for the weapon. When Sen had asked why they didn¡¯t use real des for sparring, Master Feng had said it was a waste.


    ¡°You¡¯ll wear the de down to nothing by sparring with it all the time. There¡¯s limited benefit to damaging a good de when you can spar with wooden practice swords. After all, there are trees all over the ce up here. You can rece practice des with an axe, a knife, and a bit of time. You need a smith to make a sword. You need a talented smith to rece a good sword.¡±


    It had been another one of the moments when Sen realized how much he still didn¡¯t know about the world. He imagined that people who grew up around swords knew things like that almost by instinct. He had to learn it all, usually by asking questions that left him feeling stupid, embarrassed, or both. Still, he¡¯d learned his lesson about not asking things. Initially, Master Feng grew annoyed with Sen¡¯s barrage of questions. The man¡¯s answers would grow curt after a time, and Sen would recognize that he needed to stop. Then, he¡¯d overheard a conversation between Master Feng and Uncle Kho.


    ¡°You need to stop getting angry at the boy for asking so many questions,¡± said Uncle Kho, always a calm eye in the storm of life.


    ¡°I would if he would stop asking so many mundane questions.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t mundane to him.¡±


    There was a very long pause before Feng spoke again. ¡°I suppose they aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I expect that he¡¯s trying to catch up on a lifetime¡¯s worth of information that everyone else takes for granted. Up on this mountain, there are only two people he can ask.¡±


    ¡°You forgot about the panther,¡± said Master Feng, amusement in his voice.


    ¡°Ha! I did, didn¡¯t I? Then again, who knows what that beast actually understands? I can just see him asking some idle question about the weather and getting a world-shattering secret in return.¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that,¡± said Feng.


    He had sounded a little unsettled to Sen. After that, though, he¡¯d be much more patient with Sen¡¯s questions. For Sen¡¯s part, he¡¯d tried to limit the number of questions he asked each day to varying degrees of sess.


    Shaking off the memory, Sen caught the practice de that Master Feng tossed to him. He checked the edges to make sure they weren¡¯t damaged from theirst round of sparring. When he was satisfied, Sen sent some qi into the wood to reinforce it. Hard experience had taught him that, without that reinforcement, the wood wouldn¡¯t survive the first exchange. He dropped into a ready stance with the practice sword in a guard position. There was no preamble to it. Feng simply attacked. Theplexities of swordy had left Sen¡¯s head whirling at first. Over time, though, he¡¯d epted a truth that Master Feng revealed to him on their first day with the practice des.


    Most sword fights consisted of about four basic kinds of de movements. There were thrusts, shes, parries, and blocks. There were variations, of course, depending on where the move came from. Yet, that was just about de position, rather than some whole other kind of move. There were also limits imposed by the de itself. The jian wasn¡¯t a club. You could block with it, but it was hard on the de. Matching strength for strength that way only made sense when you knew you were the stronger party and that you possessed the superior weapon. Whenever possible, you want to parry with the jian. It was easier on the sword and helped open up the other party to an attack. While the de was more than sharp enough to cut, it wasn¡¯t an ideal shing weapon. It was really too short for that kind of work. Plus, if you were close enough to sh, you were close enough to thrust the de into the other person¡¯s body and deal potentially lethal damage. Although, shes to the arms could add up over time.


    Of course, all of that information was only so valuable when the other person outssed you in both skill and strength. In fact, Master Feng¡¯s skill left Sen awed on most days. His master always kept his strength and speed just a touch above what Sen could achieve. Sen knew that disadvantage forced him to work harder. He could never kick back and assume he knew enough. It was always about moving forward, pushing past limitations, and finding new sources of strength and speed. Well, his mind knew those things. In his heart, he wished that, every once in a while, his master would be a little less skilled. Sen thought that at the moment he parried the thrust aimed at his heart and everything from his fingers to his shoulder started to ache.


    Sen repositioned the de to sh at Master Feng¡¯s arm, but the old cultivator spun away from the motion. Master Feng dropped as he spun and sent a sh at Sen¡¯s ankles. Sen recognized it as a smart move. Feng aplished two goals with one action. By dropping to a crouch, he reduced the size of Sen¡¯s target. By itself, that would have proven inadvisable, as it left Sen with the metaphoric high ground. The sh at Sen¡¯s ankles, though, prevented the young man from doing anything with that potential advantage. He couldn¡¯t ignore the sh because it would likely mean losing a foot in a real fight. He could block it, probably, but that would leave his body and de wildly out of position to deal with almost anything that followed. So, he did the only thing that he could. He moved. With a level of careful control that he hadn¡¯t possessed even six months back, he jumped back. It only moved him about a foot, but that was far enough to put Master Feng out of easy reach.


    For the next minute or two, there was a furious exchange of attacks and counterattacks, punctuated by the asional desperate roll on Sen¡¯s part to avoid attacks that would have struck him in the head or otherwise left him semi-injured. Then, Master Feng stepped back. He nodded at Sen.


    ¡°You¡¯ve attended your lessons well. Your de work is focused and controlled. You don¡¯t let setbacks fray that control either. It¡¯s all of the technical mastery I¡¯d expect after a year and a half of near-daily training. Unfortunately, that¡¯s only part of the equation. When youe up against people with experience, you aren¡¯t just up against their skills. You¡¯re also up against their killing intent. You can think of it as their will to kill and willingness to kill, but it goes beyond that. A powerful killing intent is almost a weapon in its own right. In the right hands, it can literally sharpen a dull de or drive an enemy into an emotional stupor. And you don¡¯t have it.¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to defend himself in some way, but Feng waved him off.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a criticism, Sen,¡± offered Master Feng. ¡°It¡¯s just a fact. Unless I¡¯m entirely mistaken, you¡¯ve never been put in a position where you really had to think about killing someone or actually kill someone. <em>Am</em> I wrong?¡±


    Sen sighed and shook his head. ¡°No, master.¡±


    Master Feng nodded. ¡°Still, it is something you need to understand and develop. As with many things, experience is the best teacher. So, this is killing intent.¡±


    One moment, Sen was trying to muster up some kind of response to Master Feng. The next moment, a feeling washed over him that made his heart stop. It felt like the gaze of a vengeful god had just fallen on him. Worse, that god had decided that the world would just be a better ce without Sen in it. He couldn¡¯t breathe. He couldn¡¯t think. He couldn¡¯t do anything. Then, it was gone, and the point of Master Feng¡¯s practice de was pressing gently into the hollow at the base of Sen¡¯s neck. Sen couldn¡¯t even find words at first. When he finally could, he felt defeated.


    ¡°How? Where can I possibly learn something like that?¡±


    Feng gave him a grim look and pointed toward the gate in the wall. ¡°You¡¯ll learn it out there, on the mountain.¡±

 Chapter 27: Killing Intent (2)

    Chapter 27: Killing Intent (2)


    Sen was both fascinated and a little shocked by the disy before him. Uncle Kho was shouting at Master Feng. He had never so much as heard Uncle Kho raise his voice, let alone descend into full-throated shouting. Yet, there it was. The kindly old cultivator who patiently taught Sen to read, who had guided Sen after his disastrous first attempts at writing, who had shown him the essentials of cooking¡­ that man was just gone. This Uncle Kho looked the way that Sen had always imagined powerful cultivators would look. Qi was radiating off the man in nearly tangible waves of blue-white. Lightning crackled up and down his arms. His eyes burned with a fury so pure that Sen was certain he had never felt anything so deeply. This Uncle Kho looked like he could face down an army and <em>win</em>.


    ¡°I won¡¯t allow it, Ming!¡± Uncle Kho shouted, stabbing a lightning-wreathed finger at Master Feng as though he meant to skewer the other man with it. ¡°Take the boy to some city if you must. Let him teach some sect brats a lesson. The heavens know most of them probably deserve it.¡±


    ¡°And he won¡¯t <em>learn</em> anything!¡± Master Feng shouted back. ¡°Tell me honestly, Jaw-Long. What outer sect disciple could actually stand up to him after more than a year of jian training with <em>me</em>?¡±


    ¡°Then find him an inner sect disciple,¡± growled Uncle Kho through clenched teeth. ¡°Sending him out onto the mountain alone isn¡¯t teaching. It¡¯s practically murder!¡±


    ¡°Alone?¡± Master Feng scoffed. ¡°Please. He won¡¯t get five hundred steps without that cat shadowing his every move.¡±


    Those words seemed to cool a bit of Uncle Kho¡¯s ire. ¡°I suppose that much is true. She always has kept a suspiciously close watch over him. Still, Ming, he¡¯s not ready for what you¡¯re proposing. Even with the cat watching over him, he¡¯s still more likely to die than survive. It¡¯s a pointless exercise.¡±


    At that, Master Feng sighed. ¡°Is it? Do you really think there¡¯s a better way than mortal peril to teach him this? Do you really think pitting him against some poor inner sect disciple will do the job as it <em>needs</em> to be done? How many would he have to fight to half learn what this mountain will burn into his soul in a day or two?¡±


    ¡°A better way? Ming, assuming he survives, he¡¯ll have a killing intent like a hundred-year-old expert. He could literally scare people at his own level <em>to death</em>! What¡¯s the advantage in that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried about people at his own level. You know what it¡¯s like for a wandering cultivator. You were one for long enough. I¡¯m thinking about those people above his level who will see him as easy prey. How eager do you imagine they¡¯ll be to fight when he unleashes a killing intent that turns their bowels to water? They¡¯ll think they¡¯ve stumbled across a hidden master.¡±


    Uncle Kho made what looked like an almost physical effort to reign in his anger. ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong about any of that, but the risks.¡±


    ¡°I know. If we had thirty years, I¡¯d do it another way. You know we don¡¯t have that kind of time.¡±


    Uncle Kho looked over at Sen. The young man felt like he was standing on a scale, but he had no idea what he was being bnced against. The bearded cultivator frowned, and then his shoulders slumped. The qi and lighting that had cast the man in an otherworldly glow faded away.


    ¡°I know,¡± admitted Uncle Kho. ¡°It¡¯s written all over him. Another, what, two years do you think?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hoping for three,¡± said Master Feng.


    Uncle Kho reached up and rubbed the spot between his eyebrows for a long moment before he spoke again.


    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t try to stop you, damnably foolish though it is. But hear me, Ming. If he dies, I will not simply let it go.¡±


    Sen felt his blood run cold as something vast, and unyielding, and utterly terrible filled the room. It seemed to Sen like every hope of survival had been chained and summarily executed right before his eyes. All that was left was a deste wastnd where nothing, nothing at all, could live. As for anything or anyone foolish enough to test itself against that wastnd, only destruction awaited them. Under the onught of that imcable, impossibly heavy presence, Sen wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. <em>Is this Uncle Kho¡¯s killing intent</em>, Sen wondered. Even worse for Sen was the knowledge that he was not the target. He suspected he was only on the very edge of the true experience. No, Master Feng was the target. To his credit, Master Feng didn¡¯t flinch. Sen did see the man¡¯s face go pale, though. It was a testament to how utterly oppressive Uncle Kho¡¯s killing intent truly was. Then, like a shadow in the moonlight, it was gone.


    ¡°I understand,¡± said Master Feng.


    ¡°Good,¡± replied Uncle Kho. ¡°One other thing.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Feng asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll put this off until tomorrow, or the day after.¡±


    ¡°Alright. There are preparations to make anyway. Why, though?¡±


    ¡°Caihong is almost here. I¡¯d like her to at least meet the boy and get a chance to talk to him before you send him off on this suicide mission.¡±


    ¡°Suicide mission?¡± Asked a woman¡¯s voice from the door. ¡°What suicide mission?¡±


    Three sets of eyes swung to the door where a slender woman stood, staring back at them with curious eyes. Sen watched as her dark eyes moved across the small group. She frowned a little at Master Feng and Uncle Kho before she turned her gaze on Sen. She studied him. He couldn¡¯t tell if she was trying to decide if she should know who he was, or if she saw him as some kind of odd but harmless animal that had identally found its way inside. Then again, she might just have been tired. Sen honestly didn¡¯t know. She looked young to Sen. Not as young as him, but probably not more than ten years older. Yet, the way she¡¯d studied him made him feel like she was much older than that. He felt a moment of relief when she turned her attention back to Uncle Kho and Master Feng.


    ¡°Hello, Ming,¡± she said in a decidedly neutral tone. ¡°Hello, Jaw-Long.¡±


    Sen noticed that there was considerably more warmth in her greeting and her eyes when she addressed Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Hello, dear heart,¡± said Uncle Kho, beaming at the woman.


    It took Sen a little longer than he thought it should have to put things together. This woman was Uncle Kho¡¯s wife. He hastily offered her a deep bow.


    ¡°I see we have guests,¡± she said, shooting an amused smile at Sen.


    ¡°We do. You know Ming, of course,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°This young man is Lu Sen. He¡¯s proven himself rather helpful for thest year or two.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Lu Sen. I am Ma Caihong.¡±


    ¡°I am honored to meet you, Ma Caihong.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± she said looking back at her husband. ¡°I have questions. First question, what kind ofbor have you been imposing on this young man?¡±


    Uncle Kho smiled and tossed her a ring like Master Feng¡¯s storage ring. She caught it, frowned down at it for a moment, and then lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°The boy put in most of thebor if I¡¯m being honest. I¡¯d nned to do it myself, but he took to the work right away. I thought it would be a nice surprise for you.¡±


    Ma Caihong gave her husband a bright smile which she turned to Sen. ¡°Thank you both. I wasn¡¯t relishing the thought of recing all of those nts and herbs myself. Now, second question. Why in the world are you two fools ying at being old?¡±


    ¡°I am old,¡± said Feng, shrugging.


    ¡°We both are,¡± said Kho.


    ¡°Of course, you are, but why do you look old?¡±


    Feng and Kho traded a look before Kho spoke. ¡°I just wondered what it was like.¡±


    Ma Caihong rolled her eyes. ¡°Final question, what¡¯s this suicide mission?¡±


    Uncle Kho gave Master Feng a decidedly smug look that said, "Go on. Tell her." So, Feng exined his n. Then, Sen watched as Ma Caihong started shouting at his master.

 Chapter 28: Killing Intent (3)

    Chapter 28: Killing Intent (3)


    Watching Master Feng have the same argument with two different people felt a little bit like a strange dream to Sen. It was made even stranger because the two people had such different motives. Sen knew that Uncle Kho objected because the old cultivator was actually fond of him. Ma Caihong had objected because she thought the n was stupidly dangerous, and that it was wildly inappropriate to subject someone at Sen¡¯s level to that kind of danger. Sen had kept out of the second argument just as he kept out of the first one. He might, <em>might</em>, have considered saying something during the argument between Master Feng and Uncle Kho. He was on good terms with both of them. Just as importantly, he had a long track record with both that let him know they wouldn¡¯t just kill him out of hand if he annoyed them.


    He didn¡¯t even entertain interrupting the argument between Master Feng and Ma Caihong. He didn¡¯t know her at all beyond some casualments by Uncle Kho, which meant he couldn¡¯t predict how she would react to anything. If she was on a simr level to Master Feng and Uncle Kho, any error in judgment on his part could prove instantly lethal. That was a kind of gambling that Sen preferred to avoid. Although, he supposed that Master Feng¡¯s n for him to go out on the mountain wasn¡¯t much better of a gamble on bnce. Still, interrupting was a chance he didn¡¯t have to take, so he chose not to say anything.


    Of course, just because it was the same argument, it didn¡¯t mean that Master Feng reacted the same way. With Uncle Kho, Master Feng had been, Sen searched his memory for the word Uncle Kho had exined. Earnest! Master Feng had been earnest. With Ma Caihong, he seemed resigned and maybe a little frustrated. It probably didn¡¯t help that Ma Caihong had started peppering her arguments with vulgar terms to describe Master Feng. Sen got the feeling that this argument was about more than just him. It was like Master Feng and Ma Caihong were picking up some other argument that Master Feng didn¡¯t want to have, but Ma Caihong did.


    ¡°And onest thing, you reckless jackass. He might be <em>your</em> student, but he¡¯s a guest in <em>my</em> home. That means he¡¯s under my protection. And I will drag you by the ear through the thousand hells before I let you just send him out there! I will evaluate him. If <em>I</em> decide he has a real chance to make it back here alive, then we will discuss the best way to handle that, unlike with Cai Yumei. Do you understand me, Ming?¡±


    Sen watched as Master Feng¡¯s expression went from slightly shocked to darkly angry and then a kind of nkness that made Sen shudder. For a moment, Sen thought that Master Feng and Ma Caihong might burst into violence. Instead, Master Feng pressed his fists together and gave a formal bow.


    ¡°Of course, honored <em>hostess</em>.¡±


    Without a word or a backward nce, Master Feng swept out of the room. Sen stared after the man, unsure if he should follow or give his master some time to gather himself. He nced back at Uncle Kho and Ma Caihong. Ma Caihong looked like she might be feeling sick to her stomach. Uncle Kho was staring at her with an expression that hovered on the border between horror and disbelief. Sen felt very out of ce, but he didn¡¯t dare move. He wasn¡¯t sure what he should do in the face of so much he didn¡¯t understand. <em>Cai Yumei</em>, he thought. <em>Who was Cai Yumei?</em> Sen felt sure that something bad had happened to her and that Master Feng had been involved, somehow, but he doubted it would be wise to ask any of the people here about it. It was Uncle Kho who broke the silence.


    ¡°That was cruel, Caihong. Far crueler than he deserved.¡±


    Ma Caihong seemed to shrink in herself as if the anger draining out of her was deting her body.


    ¡°I know,¡± she whispered. ¡°It just, it just came out. I didn¡¯t mean to say it.¡±


    As a tear slid down the woman¡¯s cheek, the uncertainty that had gued Sen only moments before crystallized into the absolute certainty that <em>this</em> was a conversation he should not be hearing. He jerked a little at that knowledge before he dipped into a hasty bow.


    ¡°You must be very tired from your long journey. I will leave you to rest,¡± said Sen in a tumble of words that may or may not have been understandable.


    Then, he fled the room as fast as he could.


    ***


    Sen searched the house for Master Feng, checking the usual spots. The old cultivator wasn¡¯t in the library, or the kitchen, or the small room he used to cultivate. Worried that he might run into Ma Caihong or Uncle Kho by ident and face a very awkward conversation, Sen went outside. There was no sign of Master Feng in the courtyard. Yet, he thought he knew where the man had gone. In the distance, he heard sounds like thunder. Sen wasn¡¯t sure exactly what Master Feng was doing, but he suspected there would be a lot of damage left in the wake of that storm. Sen sighed as a vague feeling of guilt settled over him. He hadn¡¯t meant to cause any of this and part of him knew he wasn¡¯t actually at fault. The n to send him out onto the mountain wasn¡¯t his. The bad blood between Ma Caihong and Master Feng wasn¡¯t his fault. Yet, he also felt like, if he hadn¡¯t been there, the argument might not have happened.


    Abruptly, there was arge, warm presence pressed up against his leg. He nced down and saw Falling Leaf staring up at him with concern in those feline eyes. He smiled at the ghost panther even as parts of her seemed to fade in and out of existence. He found it strange that this magical beast was the closest thing he had to a friend. For all that he respected Master Feng and Uncle Kho, he couldn¡¯t really see them as friends. Master Feng was his teacher, so there was always a distance there. Uncle Kho was friendly and kind, but also so much older and so different from Sen. If anything, Sen thought that Uncle Kho treated him like some kind of distant rtive. In that moment, Sen felt very alone and very desperately wished he could sit down and have a meal with Grandmother Lu. It wasn¡¯t that he thought she could do anything, but maybe she could help exin some of what he¡¯d just seen.


    In some little corner of his mind, Sen knew that just wanted someone tofort him for a moment. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around the big cat. She rubbed her face against his cheek. It tickled enough that he let out something that was halfway between augh and a sob. The cat licked his cheek with a huge tongue, and Sen really didugh that time. He stood up and took a moment to rub between the cat¡¯s ears the way she liked. Her eyes slid almost closed and a rumble issued forth from her chest. He gave her a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re my friend,¡± he told Falling Leaf.


    The big cat stretched and then yawned. It had taken Sen a while to get used to the sight of the massive fangs in her mouth. Now, it was just part of the day. The cat sauntered away and stretched out in a patch of sunlight, almost immediately fading out of sight unless Sen concentrated. Unwilling to go back inside, Sen did the only thing he could think to do. He started training. If nothing else, it would let him fall into that state of non-thinking. He decided that he could do with fewer thoughts until things calmed down a bit. Plus, the familiarity of the motions calmed him. He started with the first things that Master Feng had taught him and worked his way forward.


    Sen thought that an hour or two had passed when he heard someonee out the front door. He turned to face whoever hade out. It was Ma Caihong. He nced behind her to see if Uncle Kho hade with her, but the man didn¡¯t appear. Falling Leaf, on the other hand, materialized at Sen¡¯s side. Ma Caihong came to an abrupt stop, her eyes wide and fixed on the cat. The big cat didn¡¯t do anything. She just stood there. Yet, even Sen could understand her message. Walk with care. With a sudden, bright smile, Ma Caihong let out a peal ofughter.


    ¡°So, he wasn¡¯t making up stories. Hello, little sister,¡± said Caihong, giving the cat a small bow.


    Sen couldn¡¯t point to what changed, but he could feel Falling Leaf rx. Groping for something appropriate, Sen bowed to the woman.


    ¡°I greet you, Ma Caihong.¡±


    The woman¡¯s eyes shifted to him, and she started to say something when a rapid series of those thunderous noises drifted through the courtyard. Caihong visibly winced at each sound. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then bowed to Sen.


    ¡°I greet you, Lu Sen. I fear I must beg your forgiveness.¡±

 Chapter 29: Killing Intent (4)

    Chapter 29: Killing Intent (4)


    Sen froze in ce. He had learned a lot about how to behave properly over thest few years. Yet, here he discovered a gaping hole in that education. He felt confident that there <em>was</em> a proper response to Ma Caihong¡¯s words. He just didn¡¯t know them. He did know that staring at her with his mouth hanging half open wasn¡¯t the thing to do. He closed his mouth and tried to think of something.


    ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m sure that isn¡¯t necessary,¡± he fumbled.


    Caihong gave him a soft smile.


    ¡°Jaw-Long said you were a kindly young man. I assure you, though, it is quite necessary. I fear I made a rather poor first impression. I said things that,¡± she hesitated, ¡°that should not have been said in front of another¡¯s student. There is an old quarrel between your master and me. I let that old disagreement rob me of my manners. So, I beg your forgiveness.¡±


    She punctuated those words with a bow that was almost certainly far deeper than it should have been. His mind raced for the proper response. Should he dismiss the need again? Should he ept? He just didn¡¯t know. He also knew that he had to say something. Sen went with the decision that seemed least likely to end in disaster.


    ¡°I, of course, I forgive you.¡±


    Even to Sen¡¯s ears, thatst sounded more like a question than a statement. To her credit, Ma Caihong seemed to understand that Sen didn¡¯t know what he was supposed to do. She straightened and gave him a nod.


    ¡°My gratitude,¡± she said, before growing more serious. ¡°That said, I meant what I said to Ming. This mountain is no ce for one at your level, not alone at any rate. I¡¯m not even sure that I¡¯mfortable with that town at the base of the mountain. I cannot, will not, send you out there simply to die. To that end, I must know what you know. Show me what he has taught you.¡±


    Sen pondered that for a moment. He reasoned he could just start at the beginning, but he doubted she meant to see him practice forms that Master Feng considered basic. Instead, he started with the things he had learned in thest six months. There were some hard, aggressive forms that focused on punches and kicks. Then, there were the forms he preferred, the ones that focused on redirection and maintaining your circle. Ma Ciahong said nothing as he worked through them, just watched. When he finished, she pursed her lips.


    ¡°He has taught you the jian, has he not?¡± She asked.


    ¡°He has.¡±


    ¡°Show me, if you will.¡±


    Sen paused, then shrugged. ¡°A moment. I must retrieve a practice de from inside.¡±


    Ma Caihong blinked. ¡°You don¡¯t have a storage ring?¡±


    ¡°No, Ma Caihong.¡±


    Sen was sure he heard her mutter something about ¡°that damn man¡± before she waved a hand. A jian appeared in her grip. She tossed it to him. A second wave and she held a jian of her own. Sen weighed the de in his hand for a moment before he unsheathed it. The bnce was slightly different than the practice des Sen normally used, or the de Master Feng had given him that he periodically used. Still, it was close enough that he wouldn¡¯t embarrass himself with it. He set aside the scabbard.


    ¡°Will we spar?¡± He asked, feeling more confident on this familiar ground.


    She thought briefly and said, ¡°Forms first.¡±


    Sen nodded, took his stance, and began. He marveled sometimes at how different it all felt. At first, everything with the de felt unnatural. He¡¯d had to think so hard just to get the movements in the vicinity of right. He¡¯d been graceless, fumbling his way through every cut and thrust for months. Now, the motions flowed like water, each motion sliding into the next like they were puzzle pieces designed for that very purpose. Thrusts transformed into blocks, blocks transformed into parries, some sweeping, some abrupt, but always they flowed. Behind it all, though, deep in Sen¡¯s mind, he cultivated. The qi swirled into his dantian like a river of power, of purpose, of life itself. Sen¡¯s body slowed to a stop, the de in a ready position before him. He opened his eyes, even as he tried to recall when he¡¯d closed them. The look Ma Caihong gave him wasplicated. She seemed pleased, sad, and unnerved.


    ¡°Well, Ming didn¡¯t stint on your jian training, did he? I guess he never was one for half-measures. Very well,¡± she said, raising her own de. ¡°Come.¡±


    Sen had never fought anyone but Master Feng, so he wasn¡¯t sure exactly what to expect. His master had warned him that there were countless sword styles out there, so one should never rush to attack an unknown opponent. Sen took a defensive stance and waited. Ma Caihong lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°Not eager to strike the first blow?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Master Feng says that striking the first blow gives you the initiative,¡± offered Sen.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°He also says that initiative is only valuable if you can survive the initial exchange. I do not know you. I do not know your style. Taking the first blow won¡¯t help me.¡±


    ¡°There is wisdom in that,¡± said Ma Caihong. ¡°But sometimes, you must strike the first blow, for it may be the only one you get.¡±


    Sen weighed thatment and struck first. It was a short, sharp, rising sh. Ma Caihong parried it and nearly sent the de flying from Sen¡¯s grip. He spun with the momentum and borrowed the strength of the blow to send a downward sh at her. That one she met with a rising block. Sen felt like he¡¯d mmed the sword down on a wall of stone. His arm hurt from the impact. He quickly stepped back, resuming his defensive stance.


    ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re stronger than I am. You¡¯re faster. If there were a true fight, you¡¯d have already killed me.¡±


    ¡°True enough, and not the point of this exercise. Thank you for the reminder.¡±


    Ma Caihongunched her own attack. It wasn¡¯t something Sen had seen before. It started out like a low thrust before it abruptly swung upward as though to pierce his skull. Yet, where her motions before had been overwhelmingly fast and powerful, this one came in at a speed that Sen could manage, if only barely. He slid back and used his own de to slide her jian off course. He took the opportunity to make a quick sh at her arm. He seeded in slicing through the fabric of her sleeve, but there was no blood. She disengaged and gave the sleeve a thoughtful look. Then, she smiled.


    ¡°I deserved that,¡± she offered. ¡°There¡¯s a reason your master probably never showed you that move. It¡¯s more show than substance. It can work, but you really need your opponent to be disoriented.¡±


    Settling back into a stance, what followed was more like what Sen hade to expect from sparring. Ma Caihong kept him right at the very upper limit of his ability, but she never fell back on speed or strength to simply ovee his moves. Thrust met dodge, sh met parry, and from time to time, a move would meet a block. Sen hated doing that, but it couldn¡¯t be avoided. He supposed he would hate it less if he didn¡¯t know he was damaging a de he didn¡¯t own. Then again, if Ma Caihong truly cared, she probably wouldn¡¯t have given it to him in the first ce. Despite his training, he struggled at first to understand Ma Caihong¡¯s style. It employed much more misdirection than his own. Her moves would seem to transform mid-strike from one thing to another. He had to force himself to hold his responses until he was sure she wasmitted. It drew on every ounce of discipline he had to make himself wait. When it was over, she was nodding to herself.


    ¡°I suppose that wasn¡¯t really necessary. Ming knows how to train someone with a de. I guess I was just curious to see if he¡¯d lost a step with it,¡± she said, giving Sen an amused look. ¡°He clearly hasn¡¯t. You adapted fast to my style. Most people your age can¡¯t make themselves wait until they know. They¡¯re overeager or overconfident, so they miss the true strike. Did he teach you to be patient like that?¡±


    Sen thought it over before he shook his head. ¡°No, not exactly.¡±


    ¡°If not him, then who?¡±


    Sen hesitated. He didn¡¯t really want to talk about it. Still, he had lived in her home for years now. He supposed that he did owe this woman something. If not her, he owed Uncle Kho more than a little.


    ¡°Before I came here, I lived on the streets. You¡¯re hungry a lot when you live on the streets. It¡¯s a bad thing, being hungry. It can make you mean. It can make you stupid. If you want to eat, though, you <em>have</em> to be patient. You have to be able to wait until it¡¯s safe to go behind the shops and dig for the food they throw away. That taught me to be patient. Master Feng, he taught me to apply it to other things.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Ma Caihong.


    Sen thought she might ask him more about it, but she didn¡¯t. In fact, she just stood there for most of a minute, her face a frozen mask. Finally, she shook herself out of whatever thoughts she had gotten lost in and looked at him.


    ¡°Alright. I assume you know that this little excursion that Ming wants you to take is about killing intent.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Sen with a nod.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see it. Show me your killing intent.¡±


    ¡°Okay. It¡¯s just, that is-,¡± Sen blinked a few times.


    ¡°What?¡± Demanded Ma Caihong.


    ¡°How exactly do I do that?¡±

 Chapter 30: Killing Intent (5)

    Chapter 30: Killing Intent (5)


    Ma Caihong stared at Sen with a slightly stunned expression. It was like she either didn¡¯t know what to say or couldn¡¯t believe that he had spoken those words aloud. The stare persisted until Sen started to fidget.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be troublesome,¡± he said. ¡°I just don¡¯t know how. If you show me, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    ¡°You. Wait,¡± said Ma Caihong. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°He can¡¯t,¡± said Master Feng, appearing at the gate.


    Sen turned to look and gaped at his master. In all the time Sen had known him, Master Feng had been a generally calm, collected man. The things that bothered him swiftly disappeared like a stone sinking into a pond. As Master Feng stalked into the courtyard, though, he looked almost mad. His clothes were torn, scorched, and soaked through in ces. His hair looked like it had been through a terrible windstorm, hanging down around his face and shoulders. There was a wild, fey light burning in his eyes. Sen¡¯s eyes traveled down to Master Feng''s clenched fists. They were coated in still-fresh blood, the thick liquid slowly dripping off of them onto the stone beneath his feet. Feng walked toward Ma Caihong, his steps deliberate, his gaze unwavering. She didn¡¯t back away, but Sen saw the uncertainty, the wariness on her face. Feng stopped mere inches from the woman.


    ¡°He can¡¯t show it to you,¡± growled Feng. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have it yet.¡±


    ¡°H-, how can that be?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s had all his training here. With us. Where it¡¯s <em>safe</em>. Before that, he was smart. He stayed out of situations where he¡¯d need it.¡±


    Ma Caihong¡¯s eyes shifted from Feng to Sen and back again. ¡°Then he has none at all?¡±


    ¡°None. We can¡¯t send him into the world like that. And we don¡¯t have decades to teach it to him slowly. As for your concerns about the mountain,¡± said Feng, lifting one of his hands, ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with it. There¡¯s <em>nothing</em> left alive on this mountain that can just kill him out of hand, except you, me, and Jaw-Long.¡±


    Ma Caihong¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You can¡¯t mean that you-.¡±


    Bloody spirit beast cores spilled into the courtyard from Master Feng¡¯s storage ring. Sen¡¯s eyes went wide as dozens of the cores appeared. Their impacts sounded like a stone rain.


    ¡°I pacified the mountain.¡±


    ¡°Ming, I never meant-,¡± started Ma Caihong.


    Master Feng turned away from the woman like she didn¡¯t exist. He walked over to Sen, that frightening light in his eyes never dimming.


    ¡°Have you shown her your qi techniques?¡±


    ¡°No, master.¡±


    ¡°Do that. Don¡¯t forget to show her how you <em>hide</em>.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master,¡± said Sen, offering the man a deep bow.


    ¡°Good,¡± said Feng, his gaze boring through Sen to a ce deep inside the core of the world. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    Then, the old cultivator walked away toward the bathhouse without looking back. Sen nced back at Ma Caihong. She was staring after Feng, her expression sick again and terribly, terribly guilty. She looked down at all of the cores on the ground and shook her head. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked at Sen. She gestured to the cores.


    ¡°You should gather these up. They¡¯re worth a fortune out there in the kingdom.¡±


    Sen walked over to the cores and stared down at them. ¡°Where should I put them?¡±


    Ma Caihong put a hand to her face. ¡°Right. No storage ring. Wait here.¡±


    Sen waited patiently for a few minutes, then went and fetched a bucket of water from a nearby spring. He rinsed the cores off in the water, setting the clean ones to a side. He was stunned by the variety. Some were no bigger than a plum and nearly the same color. There were others the size of small melons with striations of color running through them. He even came across one that was pure ck. He crouched there with that one in his hand for a long time. He could almost hear it speaking. It felt like, if he could just concentrate a little harder, he¡¯d be able to make sense of it. The spell was broken when Ma Caihong and Uncle Kho came out of the house speaking quietly to one another. They split apart with Uncle Kho walking toward the bathhouse and Ma Caihong walking to Sen. When she saw what he held in his hand, she lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°May I see that?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Sen handed it up to her. The woman peered at the core for a long moment. Then, she studied him, and he felt something other and slightly alien seep into him for a moment. He jerked away from the intrusion, but it vanished before he moved more than an inch. She nodded to herself.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hang on to this one,¡± she said. ¡°I can make something useful for you with it. As for the rest of those, put them in this.¡±


    She held out a in ring made of a dark gray stone. Sen hesitantly took it and held it in his hand for a moment. He knew it had to be a storage ring. Sen felt conflicted about taking it, though. On the one hand, here was an object that he had wanted so badly. On the other hand, he realized that he was angry with this woman. The things she had said to his master had driven the man into what had to be a mass ughter out on the mountain. Master Feng had not looked well after doing that, either. He wanted to demand answers from her. Why had she said those things? Why had she brought up that name, Cai Yumei? Sen reminded himself that this was <em>her</em> home, not his. It wasn¡¯t his ce to demand answers from her. Gritting his teeth, he slipped the ring onto a finger. It took a few minutes and some coaching from Ma Caihong, but he finally managed to get the ring to work. One by one, the cores disappeared into the ring. He could save them for his master, he decided.


    As angry as he was, Sen knew better than to not ask important questions. ¡°How much can I fit in here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not too big. There¡¯s enough room in there for basic camping gear, a couple of swords, and a couple of weeks¡¯ worth of food, if you¡¯re rationing a bit. You should also be able to fit some extra clothes in there.¡±


    Sen blinked. She¡¯d just described more things than all of Sen¡¯s possessions. He gave her a bow.


    ¡°I thank you for the kind gift, Ma Caihong.¡±


    She waved it off. ¡°Ming would have gotten around to giving you one eventually, but you needed one now. So, there you go.¡±


    Sen watched as her eyes drifted over toward the bathhouse. He contemted saying something to get her attention, but he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to do anything helpful for her. His master was clearly in pain right now, even if Sen didn¡¯t understand it. It was her fault. If she was suffering because of that, Sen felt that some little bit of justice was being served. Still, she managed to refocus her attention on him.


    ¡°So, Ming said something about your qi techniques. I suppose that is thest thing on the list.¡±

 Chapter 31: Killing Intent (6)

    Chapter 31: Killing Intent (6)


    Sen gave her a nod and put some distance between them. He thought for a moment before he looked at her.


    ¡°When you¡¯re ready.¡±


    Ma Caihong gestured to him. Sen never would have considered attacking her unprovoked. He knew full well that she could crush him like an insect. On the other hand, he wasn¡¯t going to miss an opportunity to take a shot at her when she invited it. He started slow, cycling qi to activate the weakest qi affinity he had. His handshed forward and apressed de of wind shot across the distance. She broke the technique with a casual flick of her sword. She opened her mouth to say something, but he¡¯d switched by then and used his earth qi to rip up a stone from the courtyard and drive it toward her head. He dropped the earth qi while the stone was still in the air and switched his cycling to shadow qi. He nked the courtyard in darkness and started running toward her. He heard the stone shatter, but with his shadow touching everything he could feel her dodge it.


    Sen adjusted his angle and prepared to switch his cycling again. He expected this would be thest big attack he could manage. His qi stores were strong. Those channels that ran through his body were another matter. The fast switch between cycling techniques put a tremendous amount of strain on them. They were already sending aching protests up and down his limbs. <em>Yes</em>, he thought, <em>onest big move</em>, <em>then I have to slow down</em>. He made the switch from shadow to fire and sent the qi into the sword. It wasn¡¯t the best fit. There was a natural resistance that cut down on the efficiency. Plus, while metal could hold fire qi for a while, the fire qi would erode the integrity of the metal before too long. Master Feng had had Sen test the process on cheap pieces of metal just to prove the point.


    Of course, Sen didn¡¯t need the sword in his hand to hold up for a long time. He didn¡¯t even need to hold up to two minutes. He only needed it to hold up for the next few seconds. He brought the sword down in an overhead arc and ash of pale orange fire that looked almost white around the edges leapt out from the end of it. The moment he¡¯d let go of the shadow qi, the darkness in the courtyard had begun to recede back toward him. He¡¯d managed to time it right, though. From Ma Caihong¡¯s perspective, it ought to look like that whip of me exploded out of the shadow on a lethal arc to connect with her skull. Thesh connected with a dome of something, something he couldn¡¯t even identify, and sputtered out. In hisst few moments of clear thought, it urred to him that he should have expected it. He¡¯d just been so angry, so ready tosh out at someone who hurt his master, that he didn¡¯t think it all the way through.


    Then, the pain hit. It wasn¡¯t entirely new. Master Feng had made sure that Sen knew what a broken technique felt like. His master had told him that it was an absolute certainty that people would break his techniques, so he had to prepare for the bacsh that came with it. Sadly, that preparation had been a bit too lenient. The pain in those exercises had seemed severe to Sen, but that pain was nothing but a brief moment of difortpared to the torment that stabbed into Sen when Ma Caihong broke the fire technique. Sen¡¯s body convulsed and pure white shed across his eyes as the agony set his nerves alight. When something like conscious thought returned, he became vaguely aware that he¡¯d copsed to the ground. A coppery taste let him know that he¡¯d either spit up or vomited blood. He justy there like that for a while before his body started talking to him again. Although, that was a mixed blessing.


    While it was good that his body was on speaking terms with him in some way, it was bad because his body only wanted to let him know it hurt. He decided that he must not have been down for too long, because Ma Caihong was kneeling next to him a momentter. She tilted his head up and checked his eyes. It seemed like a lot of effort, but he figured he ought to say something.


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    ¡°Foolish. Very foolish,¡± muttered Ma Caihong. ¡°It won¡¯t kill you. Although, I expect you wish it did.¡±


    With the more experienced cultivator assuring him that he wasn¡¯t about to die, Sen opted to be wildly ufortable on his feet instead of wildly ufortable on the ground. The stone of the courtyard was an unforgiving surface at the best of times. He slowly pushed himself up until he was swaying on his feet. There was an awful pounding in his head. His muscles felt like they wanted to twitch out of his control at any moment. Even breathing felt like something he had to make himself do. Still, he managed to get upright. He considered that a minor victory in a day that seemed filled with failure.


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    Ma Caihong gave him a stern look. ¡°Ming must have taught you about what happens when a technique breaks.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°He did.¡±


    ¡°Then why do something that you must have known would fail?¡±


    To his credit, Sen did try to keep his expression neutral. In the end, though, he was simply too tired and in too much pain to mask his still simmering anger. At least a little of it bled through onto his face. Ma Caihong regarded him in silence before she looked over at the bathhouse. She sighed a little.


    ¡°Of course,¡± she muttered. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve certainly seen enough to get a picture of your capabilities. You should go clean up and rest now.¡±


    She started to walk away, but Sen called after her.


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    She nced over her shoulder. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing I¡¯m supposed to show you.¡±


    She frowned, but said, ¡°If you must.¡±


    Sen steadied himself. His body was slowlying back under his control, but it still felt like it was ready to go into a full revolt at the drop of a hat. He took three deep breaths and thought back to all of those moments as a child when he¡¯d really needed to not be found. He recalled the way it felt. Then, he <em>hid</em>. Ma Caihong¡¯s eyes went so wide that he could see white all the way around the edges. Her mouth opened and closed a few times without any sounding out. Then, she walked right up to him. Then, as if she didn¡¯t trust the evidence of her own eyes, she slowly reached out a finger and poked his chest. Her head tilted to one side, and then the other. Then, she poked him again.


    ¡°Well,¡± she said. ¡°I certainly didn¡¯t see thating.¡±


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    Sen stopped hiding. Ma Caihong seemed to rx once he did. At least, he assumed that she rxed. She did stop poking him in the chest, which he found a relief. Then, a look of deepest frustration rolled across her face.


    ¡°And Ming just <em>found</em> you, living on the streets, down there in that tiny town?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, not able to muster much more than that.


    ¡°Unbelievable. Really, though, you should go rest. You look like you¡¯re going to copse.¡±


    Sen took her advice that time.

 Chapter 32: The Mountain (1)

    Chapter 32: The Mountain (1)


    Sen was only allowed to nap for a couple of hours before Uncle Kho came to retrieve him. Sen was relieved to discover it was primarily to make sure he got something to eat. On the bright side, Sen finally understood why Uncle Kho had said that his wife was the real cook in the family. There were great piles of deliciousness on the table. There were baozi, dumplings, fried rice, pancakes, moon cakes, and so much more. Sen ran out of appetite long before the food was even close to gone. Yet, as much as Sen enjoyed the food, he was very aware that Master Feng was not present. It wasn¡¯t something he did that often inside, but Sen spread his qi out into the house, sensing for the presence of others. Even that minor exertion of his qi made his channels ache. Still, he learned what he meant to learn. Master Feng wasn¡¯t just absent from the meal. He wasn¡¯t even in the house.


    ¡°Uncle Kho, where is Master Feng?¡± Sen asked.


    Uncle Kho and Ma Caihong exchanged a look before the man answered. ¡°Ming needed some time to collect himself. He¡¯s cultivating up at the peak of the mountain. He¡¯ll be back tomorrow.¡±


    Sen wanted to press the issue, but he¡¯d learned to read Uncle Kho a bit over thest few years. He wasn¡¯t going to get anything more from the old man. If Master Feng wasn¡¯t back the next day, Sen would worry about it then. With a full stomach and a bit of lingering pain guing him, Sen decided more sleep was in order. That was when the bad news struck. Ma Caihong held up a hand to stop him. He watched with mounting horror as she poured some concoction into a cup and handed it to him. He stared down into the cup for a while, wincing at the medicinal smell that wafted up from the thick liquid.


    ¡°What is it?¡± He finally asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s to help with the effects of the bacsh and a few other things,¡± said Ma Caihong.


    Sen¡¯s eyes snapped up to the woman. ¡°What other things?¡±


    Ma Caihong gave her husband a questioning look.


    Uncle Kho sighed. ¡°Sen has had, let¡¯s call it mixed experiences with cultivation resources. His first body-cleansing pill was apparently excruciating. It¡¯s made him a little leery.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable, I suppose,¡± said Ma Caihong. ¡°This is nothing like that. It should help repair any damage to your channels. It might push your cultivation along a little. That¡¯s it.¡±


    Sen stared at her for a while before he worked up his nerve and downed the mystery liquid in the cup. He let out a little relieved breath.


    ¡°At least it didn¡¯t taste terrible,¡± he said.


    Ma Caihong smiled a little at that. ¡°Cultivate for an hour and make sure you cycle through all of your channels before you go to sleep. That should be enough to get things moving in the right direction.¡±


    Sen nodded, suppressed a yawn, and excused himself. He was pretty sure he made it the whole hour before he fell asleep.


    ***


    However uncertain he¡¯d felt about the potion that Ma Caihong had given him the night before, he felt good about it when he woke up. He cycled qi through all of his channels and there wasn¡¯t even a hint of pain. The qi in his dantian felt thicker to him, and he thought there might even be a bit more of it. He was nowhere near ready to forgive Ma Caihong or forget what she did. But he thought he¡¯d probably be less suspicious the next time she offered him some cultivator brew. He knew he¡¯d had to get over this knee-jerk reaction he had. Pills, herbs, and alchemical brews were just part of the lifestyle. His aversion would ultimately just slow him down. He <em>knew</em> this. Master Feng and Uncle Kho had told him that. Yet, he couldn¡¯t shake that fear that he¡¯d developed those years ago.


    He shook those thoughts away and went to the kitchen. Master Feng and Ma Caihong were there and even Sen could sense the intense awkwardness. Both of the older cultivators avoided even looking at the other. For her part, Ma Caihong made sure that Sen had something to eat, asked about his channels, used her qi to look him over, and promptly vanished. Sen could almost touch the relief that washed over Master Feng when Ma Caihong was no longer there. Then, Master Feng looked at Sen. The man seemed like he was somehow less than he had been before yesterday. It wasn¡¯t anything physical. Master Feng looked the same as always. Yet, there was something a little off about him. A kind of brittleness or hollowness that Sen didn¡¯t know how to address.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sen. Yesterday, I lost my temper. It¡¯s been a long time since I was angry like that. I¡¯d honestly forgotten what I could be like in that state.¡±


    Sen saw an image in his mind¡¯s eye of Master Feng standing there in the courtyard with blood all over his hands and that look in his eye. He wished very much to never see that in person again. He offered Master Feng a small bow.


    ¡°You owe me no apologies, master.¡±


    Feng¡¯s lips moved a little into what might charitably be called a smile.


    ¡°Thank you, Sen. As for today, you¡¯ll be going out onto the mountain. There¡¯s a cave on the opposite side of the mountain from here. That¡¯s your destination. I¡¯ll be waiting for you there. Jaw-Long and,¡± Feng took a shuddering breath, ¡°his wife said they would provide the supplies you should need to get there.¡±


    ¡°How long do I have?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°The test isn¡¯t to get there in a certain amount of time. The test is simply to get there. By the time you do, I expect you¡¯ll have learned what you need to learn.¡±


    Sen considered those words for a while as he finished his food. Then, he snorted.


    ¡°Did I miss something?¡± Feng asked.


    Sen shook his head. ¡°No. It was just remembering that, when we first came up here, I thought you were going to sit in a cave for years. I should have known that there would be a cave involved somewhere along the line.¡±


    Master Feng let out a little chuckle and a Sen saw a tiny spark of his old master kindle in the back of the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yes, I supposed you should have known. Caves aren¡¯t all bad, you know.¡±


    Sen smiled. ¡°Well then, I look forward to seeing this cave of yours, when I get there.¡±


    Feng nodded and rose. ¡°Good luck, Sen.¡±


    Sen listened as his master left the house.


    ***


    Sen spent the next few hours being loaded down with various useful items. A tent, a bedroll, food, and some medicines that he suspected Ma Caihong had made either the night before or early this morning. He dutifully ced them all inside his storage ring. When neither Uncle Kho nor his wife could think of anything else to send with him, they all went out to the courtyard. He gave the two a bow.


    ¡°I will see you when I return,¡± he offered.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see you then,¡± said Uncle Kho.


    Ma Caihong just nodded at him. Sen was relieved that she didn¡¯t offer him any sage advice or well wishes. He could still feel his anger at her bubbling away deep inside him. He didn¡¯t want that anger erupting now. He sincerely hoped that his time on the mountain would help him purge that anger. He didn¡¯t enjoy being angry, at anyone, or about anything. He¡¯d just as soon leave this anger behind if he could figure out how.


    With that brief goodbye out of the way, Sen turned, strode out of the gate, and stepped onto the mountain.

 Chapter 33: The Mountain (2)

    Chapter 33: The Mountain (2)


    The reality of what was in front of him didn¡¯t really drive home for Sen until he walked out of the gate, considered his options, and started off in an eastern direction. Until then, there had been a haze of unreality about the whole idea. That haze of unreality hadn¡¯t been helped by the sudden arrival of Ma Caihong, Master Feng¡¯s abrupt culling of the local spirit beast poption, or having his own technique broken so thoroughly. He¡¯d mostly slept through the time when he would have worried about what came next. Then, there had been that flurry of preparation. Thinking back about it, Sen wondered if Uncle Kho and Ma Caihong had kept him busy and distracted to keep his mind upied. If it had been a n, it had worked.


    He supposed that some of his casualness had stemmed from all those times when he and Uncle Kho went looking for herbs and nts. Sen had always felt safe enough on those trips, but he¡¯d also had Uncle Kho there, no doubt scaring off anything that thought about attacking them. This time, though, Sen was alone. As the manor disappeared behind him, Sen became increasingly aware of how alone he was. Back in Orchard¡¯s Reach, he¡¯d spent most of his time alone. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to be alone. He just learned that it was a lot easier for one kid to hide. The trick he used to stay hidden, when he could do it at all, only worked for him.


    When he¡¯d started learning about cultivation, he¡¯d halfway hoped that the hiding trick was something he could learn to extend to other people. The more he learned, the better he grasped how impossible that was. While Sen didn¡¯t fully understand what he was doing to hide, he knew it had to do with his energy and his aura specifically. Something about the way he pulled those things inside himself shielded him. While Master Feng had suggested Sen might be able to do something with simr results to other people, eventually, the trick would only work for him as it stood. As the semi-tamed forest around the manor gave way to untamed forest, Sen felt very d that he had that trick at his disposal. He knew it wouldn¡¯t hide his scent, but Uncle Kho told him that a lot of spirit beasts tracked qi instead of scents. Sen recognized that it was a flimsy shield, but he¡¯d rather have a flimsy shield than no shield at all.


    Yet, for all his worrying, nothing happened all morning. The hours passed in rather ufortable silence as Sen covered miles of distance. If anything, the whole mountain felt like it was holding its breath. Of course, covering that distance also impressed on him that the trip was longer than he''d first thought. He¡¯d always known that mountain was big. Yet, the true size of it was a bit hard to really keep in his head. He¡¯d been far too distracted on the trip up the mountain to really pay attention. Since then, he hadn¡¯t given it much attention. As the cold certainty that this trip could well take days and days, the fear finally settled over Sen. He was out on the mountain, <em>alone</em>, until he reached that cave. He felt his hands shaking and clenched them in anger.


    ¡°No,¡± he whispered. ¡°Master Feng killed all of the most dangerous beasts already. I might have to fight, but this isn¡¯t suicide.¡±


    With that bit of self-reassurance, Sen found afortable rock to perch on and pulled a bit of food out of his storage ring. As if the food was a summoning charm, Falling Leaf was sitting next to him. She peered up at him with her hopeful, pleading eyes. Sen gaped at the ghost panther. Had she been following him this <em>entire</em> time? Then, relief flooded through him. He wasn¡¯tpletely alone. He didn¡¯t really expect the big cat to do any fighting. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he¡¯d want her to. While she was terrifyingly fast at chasing down the food that Sen threw her, he¡¯d never actually seen her do anything even remotely violent. For all he knew, if she tried to intervene in a fight, it could get her killed. He didn¡¯t think he could live with that. He realized that he¡¯d been lost in his own thoughts for a while when Falling Leaf nudged the hand with the food in it.


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Sen mock grumbled. ¡°You big mooch.¡±


    He passed her some of the food and watched in amusement as she flopped down to chew and lick at the meat. He settled in to eat his own lunch, feeling much better about being out on the mountain.


    ***


    That good feelingsted untilte afternoon. That¡¯s when the first attack came. Sen was passing through a clearing when he heard a sound like metal on stone ahead. He stopped moving and looked around. On the far side of the clearing, he saw a beast that vaguely reminded him of a goat. Of course, he¡¯d never seen a goat with shiny metal hooves and a lone metal horn protruding from its head before. Sen found himself wishing he¡¯d asked a lot more questions about spirit beasts. He¡¯d always meant to, but it had never felt like a priority. He resolved then and there, if he got back, he¡¯d ask lots of questions or at least ask Uncle Kho if he had some scrolls about them. Unfortunately, that future knowledge couldn¡¯t help him know if this beast was naturally aggressive or just territorial. Sen wondered if he could avoid the problem by simply leaving.


    Sen took one step backward and got his answer. The goat charged at him, lowering its head with the obvious intent to gore Sen. For one interminable second, Sen froze. Then, years of training took over. He cycled his qi through his channels, and it almost got him killed. Sen felt the qi rush out into his channels. Then, it ran out into <em>other</em> channels. He froze again. Sen¡¯s mind raced as he tried to figure out what was happening. <em>New channels</em>, he wondered. <em>No, old channels</em>. His mind went back to that second cleansing pill he¡¯d taken. He remembered now that it burned through some kind of blockages in channels he hadn¡¯t known about. Since then, though, his qi hadn¡¯t gone into them. Why would it now? The sight of the goat almost at striking distance jarred him back to reality. He didn¡¯t have time to draw his sword or even to activate a technique.


    Instead, Sen did what he liked the best. He redirected. He knew he had to wait until it was almost toote. Otherwise, the timing would be off. He forced a slow breath out, turned out of the way, nted a hand on the side of the goat¡¯s head, and pushed. He expected to knock the goat off course. Instead, heunched himself away from the goat. Since he hadn¡¯t expected it, Sen hadn¡¯t prepared for the sudden motion. His arms pinwheeled a few times, then his feet connected with the ground. Momentum carried him over onto the ground and into a painful, sprawling tumble. In the middle of that misery, he finally put two and two together. Ma Caihong¡¯s alchemical potion. It had to be that. She¡¯d made some vaguements about it maybe improving his cultivation. He gritted his teeth as arge tree finally arrested his motion.


    ¡°You kind of undersold it,¡± he muttered to the far distance Ma Caihong.


    As much pain as he was in, he¡¯d been drilled hard by Master Feng. He forced himself up to his feet. If you stayed down, your opponent would capitalize on it. Sen had no desire to find himself beneath those metal hooves. As Sen regained his feet, he was relieved to find that the tumble hadn¡¯t dislodged the sword on his hip. He looked across the clearing to where the goat had turned and was preparing to charge again. He tried to remember what he¡¯d learned about qi aspects. The goat had an obvious metal attunement. What was metal weak to? He knew it was weak to fire, but Sen wasn¡¯t all that eager to start throwing fire around in a forest. With a sigh, Sen resigned himself to doing it the hard way. He drew his jian, cycled metal qi, and pressed that power into the de. He just hoped that this extra strength would be enough to see him through.


    As the goat bore down on him again, Sen¡¯s focus tightened. He let the distractions fall away. The forest noises quieted in his ears until all he heard were the hooves. The sky, the trees, the undergrowth, it all faded from his view. He let the thudding of his own panicked heartbeat drop away as well. In the end, the only things left in Sen¡¯s universe were himself, his jian, and the goat. Sen could see the tiny sparks the goat¡¯s hooves created as they hit small stones. He could see the rectangr pupils of its eyes. He could hear the air exploding from its nostrils. Then, Sen¡¯s body was sidestepping and the jian rose in a perfect arc. Sensory information crashed down on Sen. It dazed him for a brief moment. Then, he saw what he had done. The goat''s body was on the ground. Its heady several feet away.


    Sen just stared at the dead spirit beast while his racing heart andbored breathing slowly returned to something more like normal. He didn¡¯t know how he felt about what he¡¯d done. Given a choice, he¡¯d have left the beast to its business. He shook that thought off. It hadn¡¯t given him <em>that </em>choice. It had only given him a choice between surviving and dying. Sen had chosen to live. Deep inside of Sen, far from his conscious mind, a tiny me flickered to life.

 Chapter 34: The Mountain (3)

    Chapter 34: The Mountain (3)


    Sen was still staring at the goat and trying to figure out what he should do next when Falling Leaf bounded into the clearing. She skidded to a stop when she saw him and then hurried over. She looked him up and down with the most intense look in her eyes that he¡¯d ever seen. Once she seemed satisfied, the big cat went over and circled the goat¡¯s body. He watched as she sniffed it a few times, then went over to the goat¡¯s severed head. She looked over at Sen, then pawed a couple of times at the goat¡¯s horn. He frowned and walked over to her.


    ¡°Do you want that?¡± He asked.


    She pawed at it again, then bumped her head against Sen.


    ¡°You want me to take it.¡±


    She bumped her head against him again and then sat down. Sen sighed, looked down at his bloody jian, and got started. It was easier than he thought it would be, but it was grisly work. When the ghost panther went over and pawed at the body, Sen didn¡¯t even ask. He knew what she wanted him to do. He cut the goat open and did his best not to gag as the still-warm organs spilled out. Even with that out of the way, he still had to root around inside the thing until he found the beast¡¯s core. It was about the size of an apple and had a faintly metallic, silver sheen to it.


    ¡°You should eat if you¡¯re hungry,¡± Sen told the big cat, as he pulled out a water skin.


    While Falling Leaf made a meal of the goat¡¯s remains, Sen rinsed the core, the horn, and his hands. He slipped the core and horn into his storage ring and then cleaned the sword¡¯s de. He examined the edges closely, looking for any kind of damage. He was surprised that he didn¡¯t find any. He supposed that the goat must have been closer to him in cultivation than he¡¯d thought. Otherwise, even with Sen¡¯s qi reinforcement, the de should have shown some kind of damage. He waited for Falling Leaf to finish her impromptu meal. He debated about whether he should do something with the goat¡¯s remains, bury it maybe, but ultimately decided to leave it. Something or a lot of small somethings would eventuallye along and dispose of it.


    He turned away from the unpleasant sight and continued on his way. He would have preferred to stop sooner and set up camp, but he wanted a healthy distance between him and the goat remains. There was no good reason to put himself in the line of anything that went looking for an easy meal. He¡¯d walked for maybe an hour when something inside him stirred with apprehension. He dove forward into a roll. It almost worked. The w of a giant hawk raked across his calf and he shouted in pain. He could already feel blood pouring out of the wound. He forced himself back up, keeping as much weight off his wounded leg as he could. His eyes scanned overhead, now that he knew where the danger wasing from. Yet, the foliage and the dimming evening light obscured everything above the canopy.


    He searched his mind for a solution. He didn¡¯t know how birds hunted, but he supposed that anything that swooped down from the sky must mostly depend on sight. He needed to take away that advantage. He almost used a shadow qi technique, but he didn¡¯t want to overdo things. He cycled his qi a different way and spread it out around him. To Sen¡¯s frantic mind, it seemed to take forever, but a thick mist started to form around him. Once it got started, though, it picked up speed, spreading out faster and faster, rising up around him. He didn¡¯t waste time. Instead, he crouched down and crawled away from the ce that he had been, stupidly, he realized, just standing. It wasn¡¯t a very heroic move, but Sen didn¡¯t care about that. He heard the sound of wings pping not too far overhead. He felt the downward wind pressure scattering his precious mist.


    ¡°Damn bird,¡± he whispered to himself.


    He couldn¡¯t fight the massive hawk as long as it stayed in the air. He needed to get it down to his level, where he could, maybe, have an advantage. He didn¡¯t have a lot of options to make that happen. Worse, anything he could think of would mean changing qi types, which would mean giving up the mist. He wished that he could use more than one kind of qi at a time. He paused then. He couldn¡¯t remember ever asking about that. <em>Had</em> Master Feng ever said you couldn¡¯t cycle two types of qi at the same time? Had Uncle Kho? Sen couldn¡¯t think of them ever saying that. Then again, they might have thought it was obvious. <em>What if you could, though</em>, he mused. He started moving again. The giant, stupid bird kept shifting position and blowing the mist away.


    Sen decided that he didn¡¯t really have anything to lose by trying. If it wasn¡¯t going to work, he assumed he¡¯d know it almost immediately. He relegated the mist cycling pattern to that part of his mind that he usually tasked with constant cultivation. Then, he focused inward. He¡¯d need a second stream of qiing from his dantian. When he tried to make that happen, Sen almost quit. It was such a mental effort to try to siphon off even a bit of qi for a second stream that it made his head start to pound. Either that, or he was losing so much blood from that leg wound it was giving him a headache. He just kept crawling away and focused harder. It was slow, so very slow, but he managed to bleed off some qi from his dantian. He felt himself sweating, felt the blood pounding in his temples, but it was working. He had to bend everyst bit of concentration on it, but he sent a parallel stream of qi through his channels on a different pattern.


    That hurt. It hurt enough that he had to stop moving and just breathe. He eased up on the amount of qi he was using for the mist technique. It didn¡¯t stop the pain, but it reduced it enough that he didn¡¯t want to scream anymore. More importantly, he could feel the fire qi building up. He waited until he heard the bird pping again. It was closer than he would have liked, but that made things easier. He eased back toward it using one hand. The other hand was slowly umting fire qi, so he didn¡¯t dare put it down near the fallen branches, twigs, and dry evergreen needles. When he heard the bird p again, directly overhead, he stood straight up and sent a fireball into one of the bird¡¯s wings. The fire scorched away the massive feathers and seared the skin beneath. The hawk shrieked out its agony with a sound so loud it left Sen all but deaf.


    Then, the problem with his n became apparent to Sen. Without the use of one of its wings, the bird fell out of the air, directly at him. Sen tried to stumble away but realized he¡¯d never get far enough away for it to matter. Instead, he drew his jian, set the most stable stance he could on his injured leg, andmitted to taking the damn bird with him into the next world. In the next instance, a semi-visible form hurtled out of the trees off to Sen¡¯s side. It leapt into the air and mmed against the bird¡¯s body. The form seemed topress down and then leapt away. Thebination of the impact and the leap away pushed the bird off course. It didn¡¯t miss Sen by much, but it was enough. If he¡¯d felt a little better, he might have marveled at the sight of the bird¡¯s head a mere foot from him. As it was, Sen didn¡¯t let the moment pass him by. The bird was stunned by the impact, so Sen used the jian for what it did best. He thrust the de straight into the bird¡¯s eye and kept thrusting forward.


    The bird¡¯s whole body convulsed and nearly ripped the weapon out of Sen¡¯s hand, but then it went still. Sen jerked the de free. He let go of his two cycling patterns to conserve some energy. His leg gave out immediately, and he crashed to the ground. He red balefully at the bird¡¯s body. A flickering me inside him grew steadier and brighter as a mist spread out around it.

 Chapter 35: The Mountain (4)

    Chapter 35: The Mountain (4)


    Sen stared up at the forest canopy and just ignored the smoldering corpse of the giant hawk next to him. He was tired. He was hurt. Plus, he¡¯d have to keep traveling, despite the fact that night was all but on top of him. Sen reasoned that he¡¯d earned at least two minutes of just staring up at the sky. After five minutes, a huge cat face loomed over Sen.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he muttered. ¡°Damn bird would have crushed the life out of me without you.¡±


    The big cat regarded him for a moment, then gently batted at his chest.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m getting up.¡±


    A minuteter, she came back and batted him much less gently. He wanted to yell at Falling Leaf, but he couldn¡¯t keepying there with his leg bleeding. Sen pushed himself up and did his best to get a look at his wounded calf. He couldn¡¯t really get an angle on it, but given that it was still dripping, he assumed that the bird had cut him pretty deep. He pulled out some of the medical supplies Ma Caihong had insisted that he bring along. He¡¯d honestly thought she was overdoing it when she¡¯d heaped the supplies on him. He didn¡¯t think so anymore. He¡¯d been gone from the house for all of one afternoon and part of a morning and managed to get himself injured already.


    He cleaned the wound as best he could with a wet cloth, and then thered a thick ointment onto it that Ma Caihong had said was for cuts and punctures. That became an instant regret as the ointment felt like it was burning down into his flesh. Sen had to clench his jaw to keep from screaming. The sensation didn¡¯t really pass, but Sen got used to it enough that he could tie a bandage around the wound. That hurt so much that his vision went all dark and splotchy around the edges. Sen sank back to the ground, his chest heaving at the agony in his leg. Still, he knew he was forgetting about something. There was something else that Ma Caihong had said to do if he used any of the medicines that she gave him. The answer floated up out of the haze in his head.


    ¡°Cultivate. She told me to cultivate.¡±


    Wiping the sweat off his face, Sen gave himself another thirty seconds to not think. Then, he started cultivating again. The qi rushed in from all around him, into his dantian, and then out into his channels. The circting qi must have activated something in the ointment because Sen¡¯s calf felt like he¡¯d just shoved it into an inferno. There was no stopping it that time. Sen screamed. Then, he passed out.


    ***


    ¡°Damn bird. Damn Ma Caihong. Damn mountain,¡± Sen growled under his breath as he trudged through the forest.


    Where it had seemed green and alive during the day, it all just looked like shadowing hiding ces for predators in the dark. When he¡¯d finallye around, it was a mixed blessing. The ointment had healed his leg enough that he could stand and even walk on it, although he suspected that any kind of running was out of the question. On the downside, it had been dark out. Falling Leaf had insisted that he harvest the beast core from the bird, which had been a chore and a half in the nonexistent evening light. He had asked the big cat to go and find them somewhere safe to set up camp. He¡¯d asked more out of hope than any belief that she¡¯d do it. Yet, the ghost panther had surprised him by vanishing into the dark. By the time he¡¯d finally managed to find the core inside the bird, the cat had been back for a while. He¡¯d only taken enough time to clean the gore off the core, his hands, and his arms before he gestured for her to lead the way. They had to move at Sen¡¯s pace, which meant they¡¯d been walking for most of an hour. Well, Falling Leaf had been walking. Sen had been tripping and stumbling over things for most of that hour.


    When the cat finally sat down in a sheltered spot, Sen didn¡¯t even have the energy to be paranoid. He put up his tent in a stupor, crawled inside, and dropped off to sleep almost immediately. Yet, it only felt like a few minutes had passed before he jerked out of his dreamless sleep. Whatever sleep he¡¯d gotten, Sen wouldn¡¯t have called it restful. His eyes burned. His body felt lethargic. Yet, he could see something that looked like light peeking through the p of the tent. He dragged himself over to it and pulled the p open. He found Falling Leafying on the ground right outside his tent, her eyes tracking back and forth over the surrounding area. She looked back at him and then yawned.


    ¡°I know. I know. It¡¯s your turn.¡±


    Sen hauled a bit of food out of the storage ring without even bothering to check what it was. He gave the cat some and then sat down on the ground next to her. They ate in silence, and then the cat went almost immediately to sleep. Sen tried to organize his thoughts. When that failed, he decided to pick three priorities and deal with those. The first thing he did was test his leg. It wasn¡¯t fully healed, but he thought he could probably run on it if a life-or-death situation cropped up. He just wished that he believed that he¡¯d get through the day without that situation happening. The much more likely scenario to his mind was that he¡¯d spend half time traveling and the rest having to kill more of the local spirit beasts.


    ¡°You¡¯d think that Master Feng¡¯s rampage would have sent them all into hiding for a while,¡± he said to no one.


    Even the ghost panther didn¡¯t twitch at the noise.


    The next priority he set for himself was cleaning up his gear. He rolled up his bedroll, which he didn¡¯t even remember taking out of the ring. The tent came down next. It took him a little while to get it folded back up. Then, those went back into the storage ring. He nced over at Falling Leaf. She was breathing slowly and steadily. Sen had no intention whatsoever of moving out again until she was awake. Uncle Kho and Ma Caihong had been right. He wasn¡¯t ready for this. He wouldn¡¯t quit on it, but also wouldn¡¯t be stupid either. The big cat was clearly watching his back for him. He idly wondered how many beasts she¡¯d scared off that he didn¡¯t even know about. Sen was honest enough with himself to admit that he wanted, maybe even needed, that safety to convince himself not to turn around and go back.


    Sen set himself one final task to do while he waited for the spirit beast to finish her nap. He cleared a spot, gathered some dead wood from nearby, and built a little fire. Then, he pulled out a metal kettle and settled in to make himself some tea. He reasoned that, if nothing else, it would help soothe his nerves.

 Chapter 36: The Mountain (5)

    Chapter 36: The Mountain (5)


    As one day dragged into two, two into four, and four into eight, Sen found a kind of unpleasant routine. He¡¯d sleep for a few hours at night while Falling Leaf guarded him. Then, he¡¯d cultivate while she slept. After that, they¡¯d walk. He did his best to avoid fights when he could. The old wariness and observation that he¡¯d employed on the streets were amplified in the solitude of the forest. He became much more adept at spotting trouble before it spotted him. Sometimes, he <em>hid</em>. Other times he waited. Sometimes, he ran. For all the effort he put into avoiding conflicts, not a day went by without some beast forcing his hand. There were moments when he felt like there was some other power driving these things toward him on purpose. Yet, when he stretched his senses and his qi to their limits, there was never so much as a hint of another human presence. The spirit beasts were attacking him because he invaded their territory, or even just because he was there. As the endless killing stretched out, Sen observed changes in himself that he considered both good and bad.


    He became much more proficient with those types of qi where he had a lesser affinity. Shadow qi techniques were of limited value, save to hide. Even then, it was only helpful if the beast wasn¡¯t tracking his qi. Despite his desperate use of fire to bring down the hawk, he hadn¡¯t used it since. Sen had a very healthy respect for fire and couldn¡¯t shake the image of himself burning to death in a forest fire he started. Without easy recourse to his strongest affinities, he¡¯d been forced to use and hone the rest. The lone, fragile wind de he could conjure when Ma Caihong arrived had be three des that could shatter stone. He could summon an all-epassing fog that covered hundreds of feet. With a ready source of water, he could form whips and even apressed water spear that would pierce most hides. He could rip away enough earth and stone to drop a beast into an eight-foot-deep pit. nts would entangle the limbs of beasts. With enough concentration, he could yank all the air away from where a beast stood.


    In the back of his mind, Sen knew that this forced use of lesser affinities was a good thing. Master Feng had said that cultivators gave up their flexibility in favor of mastering a single affinity. After all the fighting and killing, Sen understood the pure practical value of retaining that flexibility inbat. Yet, Sen saw all of the practice as a secondary benefit. To him, the true prize was utilizing more than one kind of qi at the same time. Unless he was aiming for very small effects, he was still limited to two. He was pretty sure that the limit was his channels, rather than ability. The mental strain grew less intense with every use, which led him to think that some kind of reinforcement or expansion of his qi channels would let him use several different techniques at the same time.


    Of course, as all progress does, it came at a cost. When he¡¯d set out, Sen had mixed feelings about having to kill the beasts. He knew that the point of all of this was to create his killing intent, but he didn¡¯t think it was working. He didn¡¯t want to kill any more than he had the first day. All that had really happened was that he¡¯d be numb to it all. When some beast caught him off guard, he didn¡¯t think about the fact that it was a living thing anymore. He didn¡¯t wonder if it had young nearby that it thought it was protecting. It just became one more obstacle to his weary, sleep-deprived mind. He¡¯d even given some thought to not taking any more cores. His storage ring was starting to give him some resistance every time he tried to put something more inside of it.


    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t think I really need another core,¡± Sen said to Falling Leaf.


    He was staring down at a huge, bloody pile of meat and scales that had been a demon beast a few minutes earlier. It had been crafty and hidden up in the trees. Then, almost silently, it had tried to drop onto Sen. Unfortunately for this snake, it wasn¡¯t the first time that death had tried toe for Sen from above. He¡¯d barely looked up before he sent a condensed pir of air straight into the snake¡¯s open mouth and ripped it apart from the inside out. Sen had spent so much time washing blood from his hands that the idea of picking through the remains of the snake was just exhausting. He picked up a stick and idly nudged a piece of snake a little closer to the pile. The ghost panther gave him a t look. She seemed to take it personally if he left behind things that she thought were useful or valuable.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have any more room,¡± he pleaded. ¡°If I find the core, do you want it?¡±


    While the big cat didn¡¯t talk, at least not that Sen had heard, she got her message across easily enough. She sort of tilted her head and blinked and did let him know that she found that eptable. As she padded off a little way to stretch out and watch him, Sen found a bigger stick. Slowly but surely, he picked apart the bits and pieces. He found the core hiding beneath a small bush and pulled it out. He stood up and lifted the core.


    ¡°Found it!¡± He shouted to get her attention.


    He turned to throw the core over to her, which gave him the perfect view of a pure white ape all but materializing next to Falling Leaf. Sen found himself transfixed as the ghost panther tried to attack the ape. Yet, for all her lethal speed, the ape was faster. Its arm was a blur as it batted at the big cat. Sen heard the massive hand connect with her head. The sound it made left him certain that it had been a deadly blow. As it had with that goat, Sen¡¯s universe condensed. Everything fell away except him and the ape. Except, he knew something was different. Something had changed inside him, deep in ces where he couldn¡¯t look. All of those experiences, all of those seemingly senseless beast deaths, his own willingness to kill them, it all fused into something.


    He felt it crystalizing, felt it bing, and felt his own ce in the world shift because of it. He could almost see it inside himself. It was a pure blue me ringed in des so sharp that they could sever fate. Around them was a citadel of shadow and mist. Hurricane winds howled through the halls of that citadel, even as raging torrents of water hurled themselves down around the me from granite cliffs that stretched to the sky. The me, though, burned pure and steady. Air did not move it. Water did not quench it. Earth could not touch it. Metal could only endure it. That me did not warm. Those halls did not shelter. Those cliffs heralded only one thing.


    In that moment, Sen found something he hadn¡¯t felt before. With all of those other beasts, he¡¯d killed because it was the only way through. He hadn''t considered anything beyond that. As absolutely everything inside him focused in on that ape, though, Sen understood that he <em>wanted</em> this thing dead. It had almost certainly killed Falling Leaf and not because the cat had been doing anything. She¡¯d just been lying around. It had killed her because it could. Sen didn¡¯t remember drawing his jian. He didn¡¯t remember cycling fire qi. All he remembered was hurling his absolutemitment, his diamond-hard resolve, his killing intent at the ape. Sen watched as that intangible pressure that came from inside his soul crushed the ape to the ground. Sen saw the absolute terror in its eyes as he strode toward it. Then, Sen lifted his jian and brought it down. A finger-thick whip of white fireshed down from the tip of the de and split the doomed ape down the middle.

 Chapter 37: The Mountain (6)

    Chapter 37: The Mountain (6)


    Sen took one brief moment to cycle water qi and drag enough moisture out of the air to douse the still-burning hair of the bisected ape. Then, he was running. He found Falling Leaf almost thirty feet away, half-buried beneath a pile of leaves, grass, moss, and sticks. He could see where shended and how far she slid. Sen kept reminding himself that she wasn¡¯t dead for sure until he actually checked for himself. He dropped down onto the ground beside her and started shoveling away the detritus that obscured her body. When he managed to get her mostly uncovered, he just stared down at the big cat. She was so utterly still that Sen was sure that the damnable ape must have killed her. He couldn¡¯t believe that there had even been an ape up on the mountain. He¡¯d never heard of apes this far north. They were supposed to dislike the cold. While those thoughts careened around inside his head, Sen watched Falling Leaf.


    When he saw her breathe, he felt a lump in his throat so big that Sen thought he might stop breathing. He reached out and brushed away thest of the nt matter around her head. He didn¡¯t like what he saw at all. Half of the big cat¡¯s face was swollen so badly that it made her look deformed. When she breathed, there was a wheezing, almost wet sound to it. Sen knew little about medicine and even less about spirit beasts, but it didn¡¯t take an expert to know that those sounds didn¡¯t bode well. He felt a moment of panic because he did not know what to do. The idea that he¡¯d lose his only real friend in the world overwhelmed everything else. He had to help her. He <em>had</em> to. How, though? He didn¡¯t dare leave her there. In her condition, some other spirit animal woulde along and kill her. Sen knew he was a lot stronger than he had been, but he didn¡¯t think he could carry her all the way back to Ma Caihong.


    Sen felt like lighting had erupted inside his brain. Despite his almost daily injuries, Sen had managed to avoid anything life-threatening. He still had the small box of pills that Ma Caihong had given him to take in an emergency. As far as Sen was concerned, <em>this</em> was an emergency. He pulled the box and a water skin out of his storage ring. He pulled one of the pills out. While the qi in the other medicines she¡¯d given him had only been noticeable if he looked for it, he could feel the qi radiating off this pill. With a n in mind, Sen confronted the next problem. How to get the unconscious Falling Leaf to take the pill? For one brief moment, Sen entertained the mad idea of simply putting the pill in her mouth. Then, sense reasserted itself. He imagined hering around with his hand in her mouth and biting down. Instead, Sen cautiously reached out and touched her side.


    ¡°Can you hear me?¡± He asked.


    It took forever to Sen¡¯s frantic perception, but the spirit beast eventually cracked open an eye wide enough to give him a bleary look. He quickly exined what the pill was and that she needed to swallow it. She closed her eye when he finished. Sen worried that she either hadn¡¯t understood or had fallen unconscious again. After a very long moment, though, she looked at him again and opened her mouth a little. Sen winced at the sight because it looked like it hurt her. He very carefully put the pill on her tongue and offered her some water. Her mouth closed for a moment and then opened again. The pill was gone, but he managed to get a bit of water into her mouth. That small bit of activity seemed to drain the big cat and she went still again, except for her breathing.


    They spent three days in that spot, with Sen feeding her one of those pills each day. When he wasn¡¯t tending to the cat, Sen was standing guard over her. Spirit beasts came to the area, drawn by the smell of blood or death, only to flee when Sen unleashed his killing intent on them. He learned a lot about how to use it in those three days. At first, it was just a nket that covered the entire area. Bit by bit, though, he learned how to focus it into an arrow of pure menace that heunched at anything stupid enough to get close. For the handful of beasts that didn¡¯t take Sen¡¯s very potent invitation to leave, the end came fast. Sen was <em>done</em> hesitating. He was <em>done</em> with that forest. Most of all, he was <em>done</em> with the vile, murderous spirit animals that haunted that damned mountain. The only good news was that the new kills meant that Falling Leaf always had fresh meat to eat.


    Well, fresh meat and spirit beast cores. He¡¯d left one sitting near her and turned around to see it disappear into her mouth. He¡¯d been dumbfounded, but quickly dumped a pile of them onto the ground from his spirit ring. He never did figure out what made a core good or bad for her, but she carefully separated three that she ate over the course of her recovery. On the afternoon of that third day, the pair of them set off again. Sen didn¡¯t n to cover much ground. He just wanted to get far enough away from all those dead spirit beasts that he could set up a rtively safe camp. While the ghost panther had wandered far and wide before, she kept close to Sen on that first walk. There was a gingerness to how the big cat moved, at least when Sen could keep her in sight. She often faded from view if he took his eyes off her for long.


    Once he found a ce that he considered good enough, Sen set up his tent. He¡¯d kept himself awake for days by cycling qi through his channels, but the limit of that approach had be more apparent to him with every passing hour. He needed actual rest. He gave Falling Leaf a stern look.


    ¡°If anythinges around, make a noise or do something to wake me up.¡±


    When he got what he thought was agreement from the cat, Sen slipped into the tent and was all but dead to the world until morning. The next day, Sen let the cat sleep all morning. When they set out in the afternoon, she seemed fully recovered. Sen wasn¡¯t sure what those pills were that Ma Caihong had given him, but he made a mental note to ask her. With Falling Leaf moving fast again and seemingly as done with the adventure as Sen, they set a brutal pace. Sen¡¯s newly forged killing intent kept the path mostly clear. When that didn¡¯t work, he practiced qi techniques on them, or Falling Leaf dispatched them with merciless tooth and w. It took them two more days to reach the far side of the mountain and find the cave. Feng was waiting at the cave mouth for them. He took one look at Sen¡¯s face, grimaced, and then nodded.


    ¡°It worked, I take it,¡± said Master Feng.


    Sen¡¯s first response was to send the arrow of killing intent he¡¯d perfected on the path. He took a little satisfaction from the fact that Master Feng actually blinked when it struck home.


    ¡°Yes, master. It worked,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Well, doe into my cave.¡±


    Sen and Falling Leaf trailed the old cultivator in the cave, which turned out to be surprisingly warm and dry. Feng had a small fire burning in a neatly made firepit. A pot of something that smelled positively heavenly to Sen was held over the fire by an iron tripod. Sen ate three bowls of the stew and half a loaf of bread before he even started to feel human again. Master Feng even dished up some of the stew for the ghost panther, who also ate her fill. It was only when the meal was truly over that Master Feng asked Sen to tell him what happened. Master Feng listened with a calm expression as Sen spoke for nearly two hours. Senid out the sequence of events, the various injuries suffered, and how he treated them, then culminated with the forming of his killing intent. Sen glossed over a lot of what happened after that, ready to put the events and their retelling behind him.


    Master Feng sat in thoughtful silence for most of five minutes before he spoke again. ¡°What you¡¯re describing is very strange. It was inevitable that you woulde under attack at some point, but it shouldn¡¯t have been anything like what you saw. Half the beasts you described aren¡¯t aggressive by nature. I¡¯ll have to look into this. See if I can find out why they behaved so oddly. Honestly, if I¡¯d thought it was going to be that bad, I wouldn¡¯t have sent you.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t quite know what to do with thatstment. He decided he¡¯d deal with it some other day. Instead, he focused on what he cared about.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s done now. Can we go back?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow, Sen. For tonight, the two of you should rest. I¡¯ll keep watch.¡±


    With the stress of thest two weeks finally wearing off, the true depth of Sen¡¯s fatigue was hitting him. Without another word, he set up his bedroll and went to sleep.

 Chapter 38: Walk and Talk

    Chapter 38: Walk and Talk


    Much to Sen¡¯s simultaneous relief and annoyance, the trip back to Uncle Kho¡¯s home was a much less exciting time. While the beasts of the mountain didn¡¯t fear Sen or didn¡¯t fear him as much as he might have liked, they apparently lived in naked terror of Master Feng. Sen didn¡¯t so much as sense a spirit beast aside from Falling Leaf on the return trip. Not having to fend off daily attacks did a lot to improve their speed. When Sen asked if there wasn¡¯t a faster way, Master Feng gave him a knowing look.


    ¡°You know that there must be. How else could I have beaten you to that cave?¡±


    Sen offered up a shrug. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to put you on the spot if it was some kind of secret.¡±


    Master Feng mulled that over for a little while before he finally answered. ¡°No, it¡¯s not a secret. Well, it¡¯s not exactly a secret. The fastest way to make a trip in this kind of environment is with qinggong techniques. They basically let you fly.¡±


    Sen¡¯s imagination lit itself on fire with spection. ¡°You mean those parts of the stories are true? How can I learn to fly?¡±


    Master Feng held up a hand. ¡°Easy, Sen. I personally know dozens of qinggong techniques. I suspect there are hundreds. You¡¯ll have to wait to learn them, though.¡±


    Sen¡¯s hopes of soaring down to town for a quick visit to see Grandmother Lu crumbled. ¡°Oh. Why?¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of reasons, but the biggest reason is that you need a lot of qi avable to use any of the techniques. It¡¯s a lot more than you have at your disposal, even with your recent improvements.¡±


    ¡°Why is that, master?¡±


    ¡°Well, gravity is part of the natural order. If you want to fly, you have to vite that natural order. The world makes it very expensive for you to carry out those kinds of transgressions. It¡¯s part of the reason why the climb to immortality is so difficult. The closer you get, the more qi you need to umte. After all, it¡¯s the nature of living things to die. If you think about it, immortality is the ultimate transgression against nature. Honestly, I¡¯m a little surprised that the universe allows for it at all. Then again, maybe not. So few people pull it off, maybe it¡¯s less of a problem than I imagine.¡±


    Sen let those ideas roll around in his head for the better part of a mile before he asked a question that had been on his mind for a long time. ¡°Are you immortal?¡±


    Master Feng gave him a rueful smile. ¡°I suppose to someone so young that it must sound that way to hear me and Jaw-Long talk. You hear us old monsters talking about things that happened hundreds or even thousands of years ago. It probably seems like an impossibly long time. No, I¡¯m not an immortal. At least, I¡¯m not one yet.


    ¡°Will you be?¡±


    Feng took another long break to consider that question. ¡°I honestly haven¡¯t decided. I probably could be one. If we¡¯re talking about raw power, I have enough to make the leap. At least, I do if I survive the tribtion. Of course, I¡¯ve also got more perspective on the whole idea than most people do. I¡¯m not sure that immortality is all it¡¯s cracked up to be.¡±


    ¡°Why not? Why wouldn¡¯t you want to live forever?¡±


    Master Feng sighed a little at that. ¡°For one, no one has a clear picture of what the heavens are actually like for ascending cultivators. There are stories, of course, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever met anyone who knew. Immortals return from time to time, but I¡¯ve never managed to meet one. In fact, they seemed to go out of their way to <em>not</em> meet me. Maybe they knew I¡¯d ask them questions they didn¡¯t want to answer. So, there¡¯s that problem.


    ¡°You may struggle with this idea a bit, but long life isn¡¯t always a gift. The country I was born in doesn¡¯t exist anymore. It hasn¡¯t existed for a very long time. In fact, the country that my country became doesn¡¯t exist anymore, either. I don¡¯t recognize the holidays most people celebrate. I know the right customs, but they all seem foreign to me. I only know about five people who can still make the food I grew up eating. You¡¯ve met three of them on this mountain. Living for a very long time means a lot of loss. You lose the people you love. You lose the ces you love. Yet, ascending means an even more profound loss. You lose the world itself.


    ¡°There are a lot of things wrong in the world. It can be violent, cruel, and terribly unfair. You know that firsthand. Yet, the world can also be beautiful and surprising and utterly sublime. I¡¯ve seen sights in this world that I can only hope you¡¯ll live to see, Sen. I¡¯ve seen sunrises at sea. There¡¯s nothing but water in every direction and then the sun breaks the horizon. It turns the water into a sheet of gold. I¡¯ve stood on the peaks of mountains in the desert that are so high in the sky that no mortal could survive there. You look out from those peaks. It¡¯s like you can glimpse the farthest reaches of the world and, if you¡¯re paying attention, you can touch eternity. They <em>say</em> that the heavens are filled with wonders, but I already <em>know</em> that this world contains wonders. To be immortal, I would have to knowingly surrender those wonders.¡±


    Sen was very quiet after that. He¡¯d never heard his master speak about anything that way before. There were definitely things in there that he didn¡¯t understand. What was a tribtion? He also knew he only understood a little bit about what his master meant when he talked about loss. Yet, even Sen knew that there were wonders to be found if you were patient enough to look for them. Sen¡¯s wonders were smaller things than Master Feng¡¯s, but he wouldn¡¯t want to surrender them. Still, a stark reality remained beneath it all.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t ascend, that means you¡¯ll die,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°It does. Don¡¯t look so morbid about it. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s going to happen next week or even next year. Cultivation has its pitfalls, but the higher you go, the longer you live. I don¡¯t know exactly how much longer I have, but I expect I¡¯d have to measure it in centuries. Besides, that¡¯s what I¡¯d be choosing if I decide not to be an immortal.¡±


    ¡°I suppose so,¡± Sen agreed, although without much conviction. ¡°Can I ask you something else?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a tribtion?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. <em>That</em>. I suppose now is as good a time to warn you as any. The heavens don¡¯t approve of cultivators trying to be immortal. So, they send down tribtions to try to stop it. It generally happens at key points of your cultivation journey, usually after you break through to a new level.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°Okay. I think I understand that. But what are the actual tribtions? I mean, what happens?¡±


    ¡°Lighting,¡± said Master Feng with an air of casual indifference. ¡°It¡¯s usually lightning.¡±


    Sen¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°That sounds bad.¡±


    Master Feng snorted. ¡°By the time Jaw-Long is done training you with a spear, I expect that you¡¯ll have a very solid grip on lightning.¡±


    It took another two days of walking, but Sen finally saw Uncle Kho¡¯s enormous house through the trees. Sen broke out into a grin until he saw that Master Feng had stopped walking. Sen shot him a questioning look.


    ¡°Go on,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re expecting you.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be around, so don¡¯t ck off on your practice. At this point, though, it¡¯s time to expand your knowledge base. There¡¯s more to being a cultivator than fighting. Jaw-Long and his wife have their own specialties. So, it¡¯s best to let them teach you about those things.¡±


    Sen hesitated, suddenly unsure if he wanted to go back. He liked Uncle Kho, but he wasn¡¯t thrilled with the prospect of learning from Ma Caihong. He didn¡¯t feel that simmering anger toward her anymore. He¡¯d managed to vent those feelings on the tide of spirit beasts that he¡¯d killed.


    ¡°I-,¡± Sen started to say, but let the word just hang there.


    Feng answered as if he could read Sen¡¯s mind. ¡°You don¡¯t have to like someone to learn from them. Besides, you shouldn¡¯t let my grievances be yours without a good reason. I appreciate your loyalty. I truly do. But, you should make up your own mind about Ma Caihong.¡±


    Sen let those words sink in before he offered Master Feng a bow. ¡°As you say, master.¡±

 Chapter 39: Making Peace

    Chapter 39: Making Peace


    The first few minutes back at the house were surreal for Sen. Uncle Kho, who had been old and bald for as long as Sen had known him, had undergone a transformation. Now, he looked like he was only a bit older than Ma Caihong. The wrinkles on his face had been reced with smooth skin. His head waspletely covered with long, shiny ck hair that had been pulled up into a topknot. While he still wore a beard, it wasn¡¯t long, white, and flowing anymore, but trimmed close to his face. The only thing that was truly the same were his eyes. All of the years that some cultivation trick had peeled away from the man¡¯s body were still inly evident in the man¡¯s eyes. They looked out at the world with a burden of ancient knowledge and countless secrets.


    For all of the changes, though, the man was clearly thrilled to see Sen. He beamed at the young man like Sen had stormed the heavens, robbed them blind, and gotten away with no one the wiser. Sen couldn¡¯t help it. He smiled back at the man. Uncle Kho¡¯s attention shifted away from Sen for a moment as he greeted Falling Leaf. The old cultivator produced an entire roasted duck from what had to be a storage treasure of some kind and lobbed it to the big cat. Falling Leaf deftly caught the bird in her jaws before trotting off to a corner of the courtyard to enjoy her meal.


    For her part, Ma Caihong remained a little way back from Sen and Uncle Kho. Sen didn¡¯t think she meant to be rude, although he supposed it was possible. What little he could glean from her was more like caution. In a moment of insight, Sen realized that she was in almost as tricky a position as he was. Sen felt he had to tread with care around her because this was her home. If she ever told him to leave, he would have to do it. On the other hand, Uncle Kho had clearly formed an attachment to him. While Sen had no doubt that Uncle Kho would always choose his wife, she was family after all, it didn¡¯t mean that she wanted an open conflict with Sen either. Such a conflict would likely cause a rift between her and her husband. After being away for years, she no doubt wanted harmony at home.


    A petty little part of Sen wanted to push the issue. Maybe he could get a little revenge on her for Master Feng. That would serve her right, wouldn¡¯t it? As Sen looked at that part of himself, he didn¡¯t like what he saw. Master Feng had been right about one thing. Sen didn¡¯t have a real quarrel with the woman. <em>He</em> hadn¡¯t been truly harmed by anything she¡¯d done. In fact, he¡¯d only benefitted from her presence. Doing things to harm her would be a particrly nasty kind of ingratitude. <em>Master Feng said to make up your own mind about her</em>, Sen reminded himself. Master Feng had survived for a very, very long time without someone like Sen getting into the middle of his fights. It wasn¡¯t easy, but Sen made a very conscious choice to set aside whatever leftover anger he felt toward Ma Caihong. He would wipe their te clean and see what she did.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re here,¡± said Uncle Kho, drawing Sen¡¯s attention, ¡°I assume it worked.¡±


    ¡°It did. Would you like a demonstration?¡±


    Uncle Kho¡¯s expression turned amused. ¡°Well, you can¡¯t me an old man like me for being a bit curious.¡±


    ¡°Old man? I don¡¯t see any old men here.¡±


    Uncle Kho looked baffled for a moment before he let out a little chuckle. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be fooled. I¡¯m still an old man. I¡¯m just a very handsome old man. Isn¡¯t that right, my dear?¡±


    Ma Caihong gave her husband an indulgent smile. ¡°Truly, you are the most handsome man I married.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the <em>only</em> man you married.¡±


    ¡°Well, that does make your victory easier, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Uncle Kho snorted. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. Now, Sen, show me what you¡¯ve learned.¡±


    Sen nodded and unlocked that part of himself that killed the ape and all that hade after it. He fashioned his killing intent into the same kind of mental arrow he¡¯d used with Master Feng. He¡¯d considered just letting flow out across the courtyard, but he thought it would bother Falling Leaf. Ma Caihong hadn¡¯t asked for a demonstration. He unleashed his killing intent and, much as Master Feng had, Uncle Kho blinked in surprise when it reached him.


    The cultivator frowned. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to work on that.¡±


    ¡°Did I do it wrong?¡±


    ¡°Wrong? Oh, no. Nothing of the sort. But we can¡¯t have you sending that out at just anyone. We¡¯ll have to work on toning it down so you send an appropriate amount at people closer to your cultivation level.¡±


    ¡°Is that truly necessary?¡± Ma Caihong asked, suddenly much more interested in the conversation.


    ¡°Try for yourself. Sen, if you wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    Sen looked to Ma Caihong, who nodded at him. He sent her the same kind of focused killing intent he¡¯d sent Uncle Kho. She actually blinked a few times.


    ¡°Well now,¡± said Ma Caihong. ¡°Won¡¯t that be a delightfully ghastly surprise for some foolish young master?¡±


    Uncle Kho howled withughter at the thought. ¡°If only I could be there to see their expression when it happens.¡±


    ¡°I would¡­,¡± said Ma Ciahong before she hesitated. ¡°I would help you learn to control it, Lu Sen. If you¡¯ll allow me.¡±


    There it was. It was the golden opportunity that Sen¡¯s pettier self had yearned for. If he declined, she wouldn¡¯t wonder why. She would <em>know</em>. That choice wouldn¡¯te without cost, though. Uncle Kho would want to know why he¡¯d rejected the offer. Then, Sen would have to exin. It might not destroy his rtionship with the old cultivator, but it would almost certainly put a strain on it. It would create a wedge. Sen wondered if a choice as small and petty as this hadid the foundation for Master Feng and Ma Caihong¡¯s dispute. As much as it was an opportunity to strike at the woman, it was also the peace offering that he knew he should take. Sen considered the two paths in front of him for a moment. Before he could change his mind, Sen offered Ma Caihong a bow.


    ¡°I would be grateful for any help you could provide me.¡±


    Sen knew it wasn¡¯t much to build on. He expected Ma Caihong knew it, as well. But it was <em>something</em>. It was a tiny piece ofmon ground they could stand on. He wasn¡¯t sure if he hadn¡¯t kept his face as neutral as he meant to, or if Ma Caihong had simply intuited his thought process, but her expression said that she knew. There was a bit of relief and a bit of gratitude there as she inclined her head in his direction.


    ¡°Alright, enough of all this,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re still tired, not to mention dirty, and probably hungry. So, let¡¯s get you a hot bath and a hot meal.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t quite groan aloud at the mention of a bath and food, but it was a close thing.

 Chapter 40: Medicine

    Chapter 40: Medicine


    While Sen took a couple of days to recover, physically and mentally, from his time out on the mountain, he was amused to watch a quiet but persistent power struggle develop between Uncle Kho and Ma Caihong. The part that Sen found most amusing was that struggle was about him, while it didn¡¯t actually involve him directly. Both Uncle Kho and Ma Caihong wanted to take up the task of teaching him their skills immediately. For Uncle Kho, that meant formations and the spear. For Ma Caihong, that meant a range of interconnected medical skills and, to Sen¡¯s surprise, more jian training. While most of what they wanted to teach him made sense, that extra Jian training baffled him. He eventually asked Ma Caihong why she wanted to provide him with more training in that.


    ¡°Fengid an incredibly strong foundation that will prove very useful to you over time. Yet, he is a true genius with the jian. He¡¯s passed many of his insights on to you, but it may take you decades, even centuries, to truly grasp all of what he has shown you. Until you do, his straightforward style of jianbat can prove insufficient if you face stronger opponents, which you assuredly will. Having a style that focuses on misdirection as an alternative may well save your life one day.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen. ¡°Thank you for exining.¡±


    While it might not have been obvious to Uncle Kho, Sen could see that he was losing the battle. After four days, Uncle Kho announced that he would forgo teaching Sen for the time being. His stated reason was that wandering cultivators were often injured and far from convenient medical aid. Therefore, it only made sense to give Sen some extra time to learn what he could from Ma Caihong about it. In some ways, Sen¡¯s days didn¡¯t change that much. He practiced every morning in the courtyard. In the afternoons, Ma Caihong would train him in the jian for a couple of hours. The familiarity of that routine gave Sen a certain amount offort. Later in the day, though, things were much less predictable.


    Some days, Sen would find himself wandering far from the house to retrieve some nt or root or mineral that Ma Caihong needed. As Ma Caihong¡¯s teaching style was subtle, it took him a while to realize exactly how much information he was absorbing on those walks. Sometimes, she would ask him to identify nts. If he got it wrong, she¡¯d stop and examine the nt. She might point out some feature of the nt that would help him pick it out more urately the next time someone asked. Other times, she¡¯d ask him whether a nt had beneficial or poisonous qualities. She¡¯d also ask him what kind of qi affinity a nt showed. At first, he hadn¡¯t even understood that question. He¡¯d just assumed that all nts had a wood affinity. Bit by bit, though, she showed him how to extend his own spiritual senses to the nts.


    He learned through observation and a lot of trial and error that nts were wildly diverse in their affinities. Even two of the same nt might showpletely different qi affinities. Ma Caihong had actuallyughed at his stunned expression the first time he found a nt with a metal affinity. She¡¯d harvested the nt and then had him dig down beneath where it had grown. He¡¯d eventually turned up a stone that had an odd orange cast to it. When he showed it to her, she¡¯d nodded as though it was the expected oue.


    ¡°The stone has a bit of iron in it,¡± she exined. ¡°When iron mixes with air or moisture, it breaks down. Then, you get that orange color. It¡¯s essentially degraded iron. Here, it leeched into the soil. The nt absorbed it along with nutrients and water, which let it take on a metal qi affinity.¡±


    As the warm weather gave way to the chill of autumn, though, they spent less time outside and more time creating things with the nts and otherponents they had gathered over those months. Again, it took Sen time to understand what Ma Caihong was doing. Sometimes, she would exin to him in extreme detail. For example, there were very specific ways that some nts needed to be prepared. Some could only be ground, while others could only be cut, and only cut in certain ways. At other times, she would ask him questions about theponents. What affinities does it have? What otherponents did <em>he</em> think would work best with them? Why?


    Sen quickly discovered that his understanding of how different kinds of qi interacted was simplistic. It was true that nts with air qi affinity and water qi affinity would work together, but only up to a point. Too much of a nt with a water qi affinity would disperse the air qi. Metal and fire qi affinity nts didn¡¯t mix well if mixed directly together. Yet, earth qi materials could interrupt the potentially damaging aspects of the fire qi affinityponents and let them mix with the metal qiponents. Sen would fall asleep at night sometimes while mentally mixing and matchingponents, only to wake up in the morning with a host of new questions. Eventually, though, Sen noticed a nk spot in the education he was receiving.


    ¡°Teacher,¡± he said to her one afternoon.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Ma Caihong asked.


    ¡°I have noticed that everything we make is a poultice, lotion, or potion.¡±


    Ma Caihong lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Is there a question hidden in there somewhere?¡±


    ¡°I am curious, why do we never craft pills?¡±


    Ma Caihong straightened at that. ¡°I wondered if you would ask me this question. First, pills are a very difficult skill to master. You can destroy literal acres worth of good materials trying to craft a pill and still fail. A poorly crafted pill is as likely to harm you as help you. It¡¯s often more practical and less costly to just buy the pills you need. Second, pill refining takes special tools. The tools are very expensive to buy and maintain. Even a small cauldron is more money than many people see in a year ofbor. Finally, you don¡¯t like pills.¡±


    Sen blinked at the unexpected answer. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I could teach you to make pills, but to what end? You don¡¯t like taking them. I can¡¯t imagine you¡¯d want to spend your time making them. Besides, knowing how to make poultices, lotions, and potions has a lot of value for a wandering cultivator. As a rule, the only tool you need is one of these,¡± said Ma Caihong, lifting a in pot off a hook on the wall. ¡°While you must show some care in mixing theponents, there is simply more room for error. If you make a mistake, you¡¯re far more likely to craft something less potent than something lethal. If you do that, you heal slower, but you still heal. When you are injured and far from aid, better to heal slowly than not to heal at all.¡±


    Sen was surprised at the thoughtfulness that Ma Caihong had put into her teaching. She had considered what his life would be like. Master Feng had told Sen often enough that his path would be that of the wandering cultivator, at least for a time. Ma Caihong had used that as a baseline, focusing on materials that he could likely find and tools that he would have on hand. More than that, though, she¡¯d recognized his disdain for pills and, knowing that, had left off teaching him a skill he would likely have hated. Something inside Sen broke then. It was a lingering resentment from their first encounter. It had made him distance himself from her in some ways. She had surely seen it, and yet she¡¯d taught him anyway. Not only had she taught him, but she¡¯d taught him what he needed to know, rather than what she thought he ought to know. In a sh of understanding, he came to see that while she had indeed been teaching him about medicine, the teaching itself had been a medicine for his very soul.


    Sen bowed deeply to Ma Caihong. ¡°Teacher, I am grateful to you for what you have taught me. I am also grateful to you for choosing the knowledge you shared with so much care.¡±


    Sen looked up to see Ma Caihong smiling at him.


    ¡°And now, Lu Sen, I think it¡¯s finally time for you to call me Auntie Caihong.¡±


    ¡°As you say, Auntie Caihong.¡±


    As if something had been waiting for Sen to utter those words, he felt a block that he hadn¡¯t even known existed inside of him crack apart and qi flooded through him.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s unexpected,¡± said Caihong, who went to a cab and pulled out a stoppered bottle. ¡°Here. You should drink this.¡±

 Unintended Cultivator - Poll V.2.0

    Unintended Cultivator - Poll V.2.0


    Okay, thest time I did one of these, it was right before I introduced a new character. Needless to say, not everyone was happy about that decision because, well, yeah, Uncle Kho is awesome.


    After some people correctly pointed out that the poll was not ced very strategically, I said I wouldn''t do that again. It''s a big part of the reason why there hasn''t been another poll recently. I knew I was going to introduce a new character. But, I think everyone has had enough time to get to know Ma Caihong, so it''s time for the second Unintended Cultivator character poll.


    Let everyone know below which character is your favorite character.

 Unintended Cultivator - Poll V.2.0 Results and Commentary

    Unintended Cultivator - Poll V.2.0 Results and Commentary


    5-14-2023...unless you''re in Europe. For you, it''s 14-5-2023.


    Okay, let''s start with the results. In what is sure to be a shock to absolutely no one, our resident, mooching ghost panther, Falling Leaf, has imed victory with more than half of the votes. I''d tell her to take a bow but she''s sleeping in a patch of sunlight somewhere, probably dreaming about qi-invested treats.


    Our main character and POV character for the book, Sen, hase in a DISTANT second with around 15 percent of the vote. Uncle Kho narrowly edged out Cultivator Feng. Oddly enough, Grandmother Lu and Ma Caihong are all but tied.


    Author''s Commentary


    I certainly didn''t n for everyone to love Falling Leaf the most. Like I''ve mentioned before, she was basically meant to cameo in that one chapter in the wilds foric effect. Even so, I''m gratified that everyone feels so invested in a character that has, on bnce, not gotten that much screen time and has zero dialogue. It makes me think I''m doing something right. Or maybe everyone just loves big magical cats. Honestly, I''m fine with it either way.


    I was a little surprised that Sen, Uncle Kho, and Feng were so close. I really thought that readers would zero in on one of them as a favorite. Although, I should probably be happy that reader affection is fairly equally spread among them. Hopefully, that means I''ve made them all essible or equally likable.


    Poor Grandmother Lu and Ma Caihong. Hopefully, they fare better inter polls.

 Chapter 41: Breakthrough

    Chapter 41: Breakthrough


    Sen intellectually understood what was happening. Both his master and Uncle Kho had spoken to him in general terms about five cultivation stages. They¡¯d also been clear that there were smaller stages within the stages. When a cultivator transitioned between the major or minor stages, they were breaking through. Sen even understood that this was not his first breakthrough. Looking back, he could recognize several times that he had broken through while on the mountain. He had a small breakthrough while looking off the mountain and deciding that he would see the world. He¡¯d had a breakthrough when he took that second cleansing pill and opened those extra channels. Although, looking back, he wondered if he¡¯d somehow done that out of some kind of prescribed order. Those extra channels hadn¡¯t really done anything until after Auntie Caihong had given him that potion and he¡¯d been facing down the goat. <em>Was that also a breakthrough</em>, he asked himself. He thought that perhaps it had been. Then, there was the breakthrough he¡¯d had just now.


    What he was less clear about were what kinds of breakthroughs he had experienced. Both Master Feng and Uncle Kho had broken cultivation into two strict paths. There was spirit or soul cultivation, on one side, and body cultivation on the other. While they seemed very certain that the two paths were distinct, Sen didn¡¯t feel as confident about it. He wasn¡¯t sure if that was because he just didn¡¯t have enough information or if his personal experiences were just so strange. They had told him that he¡¯d started down both paths, which was a little unusual, but not unheard of. When he¡¯d asked what the cultivation stages were called, though, both of the old cultivators had suddenly lost the ability to remember things. Master Feng waved it off, saying something about everybody always giving everything in cultivation a stupid name. Uncle Kho had seemed more hesitant about withholding the information. In the end, he¡¯d left Sen with a somewhat cryptic statement.


    ¡°When you name things, intentionally or not, you can limit the ways that people think about a subject. Ming and I have decided not to burden you with too many names for the time being. Suffice it to say, you¡¯re in the first major stage of cultivation development. Your job during this stage is gathering qi in your dantian and learning to manipte it.¡±


    ¡°Manipte the qi or manipte my dantian?¡±


    Uncle Kho smiled. ¡°Both. Ideally, you¡¯ll expand the capacity of your dantian over time.¡±


    Sen had been so baffled by that idea that it was two full dayster when he thought to ask Master Feng about body cultivation.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing really mysterious about body cultivation. Ultimately, it¡¯s just refining your body into something ever more perfect over time. At first, it just makes you stronger, faster, healthier, and even better looking. Your body tissues and bones be more durable. Take it far enough, though, and it gets a little stranger,¡± said Feng, then heughed. ¡°I promise that you don¡¯t need to worry about that right now. Come and talk with me about it in fifty years or when you¡¯ve progressed two full stages, whicheveres first. Then, we¡¯ll get into the specifics because that¡¯s when things start to get strange.¡±


    ¡°How can I tell a spirit cultivation breakthrough from a body cultivation breakthrough?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°At your level, there aren¡¯t a lot of good ways to tell the difference. Sometimes, it will be really obvious. Most of the time, though, you just have to trust your body and your spirit to guide you in the right direction. The good news is that breakthroughs of any kind at that level aren¡¯t particrly dangerous. Painful, sometimes, but not dangerous.¡±


    Despite Master Feng¡¯s assurances, though, Sen didn¡¯t enjoy going into a breakthrough without knowing what kind of breakthrough it was. Still, he didn¡¯t know, so all he could do is try to capture as much progress as possible while it was happening.


    ¡°Sen!¡± Ma Caihong shouted.


    Sen snapped out of his mental daze. Auntie Caihong was holding the bottle out to him. He reached out and snagged it from her.


    ¡°What is it?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Just something to help the process along.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°They got to you, didn¡¯t they?¡±


    Ma Caihong snickered. ¡°Yes, they might have. Just drink it and then cycle your qi.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Auntie.¡±


    Sen went to open the bottle, but Caihong caught his hand. ¡°You should go to the cultivation room before you take that. Quick. You don¡¯t want to waste any of what¡¯s happening.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t need her to tell him a second time. He darted through the house and entered the room with the drain in the floor. He shut the door firmly behind him and swiftly stripped out of most of his clothes. Since he couldn¡¯t know for sure what was going to happen, he didn¡¯t see any reason to risk perfectly good clothing. Taking a deep breath, he popped open the bottle. Almost reflexively, he sniffed the air. The potion or elixir smelled strange to him. It wasn¡¯t a bad smell, just unlike anything he¡¯d smelled before. Much more important to him at that moment was the knowledge that the liquid was bursting with all five of the major kinds of qi.


    He could sense something else, some other kind of qi, just below the surface, but he didn¡¯t have the time to puzzle over it. With a swift motion, he tilted the bottle back and let the potion slide down his throat. It tasted sharp, bitter, and just slightly metallic on his tongue, but he pushed that thought aside. With nothing left to distract him, Sen began to cycle his qi. When the breakthrough first struck, Sen had thought he held as much qi as he could possibly handle. His dantian felt like it might rupture at any second. His channels, all of them, were packed solid with qi. To say that cycling was difficult monumentally downyed the mental effort it took to get that energy moving. Yet, he did get it moving. As it moved, he could feel some of the qi seeping away from his channels and out into his body. It took a bit of the pressure off of his channels and his dantian. Sen gasped in relief.


    Then the potion kicked in and Sen¡¯s inner world turned into a battleground. An entirely new wave of qi poured into his dantian, into his channels, into his <em>everything</em>. It felt like fire was burning him away from the inside out, consuming cells, muscle, bone, and organs. Yet, right behind it came air to blow away the cinders, earth to set the stage, wood to heal, metal to reinforce, and water to soothe away his agony. His dantian stretched and stretched until Sen knew, knew with absolute certainty that it could stretch no farther. He stretched out his will and seized not his dantian, but the qi inside of it, somehow reaching past the ephemeral, but all too real boundary his dantian presented. Barely coherent, Sen managed to decide that if the qi couldn¡¯t push any farther out, he¡¯d have topress it to relieve the pressure.


    He imagined the feeling of packing snow in his hands, the way the soft powder gave and gave until it suddenly stopped giving and started resisting. He squeezed against the qi, a task made even harder by the fact that he was still cycling qi, still trying to think past the agony of a body on fire, still trying to decide if this was a spirit or body cultivation breakthrough. The qi tried to flow out of his will¡¯s grasp, but Sen redoubled his efforts. He squeezed and squeezed, certain that his dantian would explode if he eased up for even a second. He bore down on that qi even as more qi swirled past moving in and out of his seemingly newly made channels. He kept squeezing harder and harder, eventually forgetting even why he was doing it. It felt like he¡¯d been squeezing that qi forever. He couldn¡¯t give up. Couldn¡¯t surrender. He had to keep going because, because, he didn¡¯t even know anymore. He just knew that he couldn¡¯t stop. With a final burst of willpower and desperation, Senpressed the qi onest time.


    There was a pop that Sen heard inside his body and felt inside his soul. The struggling, writhing mass that his will had held was abruptly gone. Sen looked inwards with his mind¡¯s eye. Where that mass of qi had been, there was now an iridescent drop of liquid. It floated for a brief moment in the center of his dantian, then the flow of his cycling snatched that droplet of condensed qi and drove it into one of his channels. The qi that Sen was used to using flowed through his channels. This tiny droplet shot through his channels like a crossbow bolt. As it did, he felt his body arch up off the floor. Impurities burst from every single one of his pores. Distantly, he was even aware of the rank stink of it. The pain of it, though, was indescribable. For a few seconds, that pain was everywhere inside of him. It was inside his bones, inside his cells, inside the very fragments of consciousness he clung to for sanity. Then, mercifully, it was done.

 Chapter 42: Another Stage

    Chapter 42: Another Stage


    ¡°I feel strange,¡± said Sen.


    He stood opposite of Master Feng in the courtyard. Yet, Sen was looking down at his own hand as he opened it and closed it, over and over. He¡¯d felt strange ever since he¡¯de out of the cultivation room. While Sen assumed he spent a few hours locked in the struggle to contain andpress his qi, he¡¯d been stunned to discover that he¡¯d spent three days in that room. His mind still reeled at the idea. It had been one thing when stood watch over Falling Leaf for days. Most of his time was spent waiting while the ghost panther healed, with only asional bursts of brutal activity in her defense. The time in the cultivation room, though, had been a relentless, all-consuming struggle. He didn¡¯t know how he¡¯d done it, or how <em>anyone</em> could do it. The problem was that he knew Uncle Kho and Aunty Caihong wouldn¡¯t lie to him about something that important. He tried to talk with Uncle Kho about how different he felt. The old cultivator had gently but resolutely told him that he needed to talk to Master Feng first.


    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, Sen. I do want to talk to you about the changes you''re going through. It¡¯s just inappropriate right now. This is a very important moment in your cultivation journey. It¡¯s Ming¡¯s ce to guide you through it, not mine. Once you talk to him, once we both talk to him, I¡¯ll be happy to discuss the entire matter with you.¡±


    ¡°Where is he? I haven¡¯t seen him in weeks?¡±


    ¡°He was troubled by your experience with the spirit beasts. Troubled enough that he went to speak with someone who knows more about them.¡±


    Sen gave Uncle Kho a startled look, which made the manugh.


    ¡°What?¡± Asked Sen, not sure if he should feel a little offended or not.


    ¡°At some point, every disciple gets that disbelieving look on their face. All of us think that our masters are all-knowing. The first time we discover that idea simply isn¡¯t true, it shocks us. Even cultivators as old as Ming and I can¡¯t know everything about everything.


    ¡°Some of it is simple aptitude. Ming is adequate enough with formations. He¡¯s been using them for long enough that simple repetition has beaten the basic principles into his head. Yet, he has no natural inclination for them. I excel at them. In a pinch, I could probably put together a healing salve or a basic potion. That¡¯s only true because I¡¯ve watched Caihong do it a few thousand times and had a lot of long conversations with her. If you want something truly powerful, though, you talk to her. She¡¯s a true master of alchemy and healing.¡±


    Sen thought about that for a moment. ¡°What does Master Feng excel at?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d have thought you would have put that together by now. Combat. Ming¡¯s calling, his specialty, isbat. He knows more about it than literally anyone I¡¯ve ever met. It¡¯s why I¡¯m so grateful that his restraint is as well-developed as his jian skills, most days. There are a few of us old monsters around who can match his raw power, but none who can match the sheer depth of his experience and skill. Although, he¡¯s a very aplished cksmith as well.¡±


    ¡°He is?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. He made that spear I gave you. He probably made the jian he gave you. You¡¯ll have to ask him to find out for sure.¡±


    ¡°He never mentioned it,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised since we don¡¯t have a forge here. Forges are loud, hot, dirty things.¡±


    Sen nodded in understanding. Uncle Kho¡¯s home had always been a clean, tranquil ce. A forge would have disrupted that.


    ¡°How do I figure out my aptitudes?¡±


    ¡°Experience in the world will eventually push you in a direction. It happens for every wandering cultivator at some point. For now, we¡¯re justying some groundwork. Giving you a bit of training in a lot of things that you¡¯ll find useful. Once you figure it out, we can give you some more guidance. Speaking of guidance, I¡¯ve sent word to Ming about your breakthrough. He¡¯ll return soon. That man can move very, very fast when he chooses to do so.¡±


    Uncle Kho¡¯s prophecy turned out to be urate. Master Feng arrived the next day looking travel-stained but also excited. While Sen had been more than eager to get some answers, he let good manners guide his steps. Master Feng cleaned up and they all had a meal together. Master Feng and Ma Caihong had either patched up their differences or resumed a polite fiction that they had done so. Whatever way they had gone, it at least allowed the four of them to share a meal in rtive peace, a fact for which Sen was very grateful. He had made his own decision about Ma Caihong. The rift between the two gave him pause whenever he thought about it. Neither would intentionally put him in the middle of a personal conflict. At least, Sen didn¡¯t think they would, but the possibility still haunted the dark, quiet corners of his mind. After the meal, though, Sen and Master Feng retreated to the courtyard where Sen made his promation that he felt strange.


    Master Feng nodded, clearly undisturbed by the news. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s to be expected with these kinds of dual breakthroughs.¡±


    ¡°Dual breakthroughs?¡±


    ¡°It happens, asionally. Most of the time, you either break through with your spiritual cultivation or with your body cultivation. You feel a little odd afterward, especially when you break through between major stages of cultivation. That feeling of oddness doesn¡¯t usually linger for too long when you only break through in one kind of cultivation. Your mind doesn¡¯t want to feel strange. Neither does your body. They want to feel bnced. So, after a day or two, they start to adapt. From what I understand about dual breakthroughs, though, that sense that something is off does linger for a while. There are simply too many changes inside you. The good news is that it <em>will</em> pass. It might take a week or two, but you will find your bnce again.¡±


    Sen nodded, relieved to know that he would eventually be free from the feeling that he was a stranger in his own skin. Finally able to set that concern aside, he moved on to what was probably the more important question.


    ¡°Uncle Kho said that this is an important moment in my cultivation journey. Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Ahhh, yes. You didn¡¯t just break through. You broke through from the first major stage into the second major stage in both your cultivation paths. Honestly, I¡¯m both shocked and relieved that you didn¡¯t face a tribtion. Maybe the heavens were distracted by something else that day, but you should feel blessed that they overlooked you. You might have survived the tribtion, but it would have been a close thing if you did.¡±


    Sen shivered at that thought. The idea of divine lightning crashing down on him from the heavens was the kind of thing that made him lose sleep sometimes.


    ¡°I will consider myself blessed.¡±


    ¡°Of course, now that you¡¯re out of the first stages, I¡¯ll answer an old question of yours. The first stage of spirit cultivation is generally called the qi condensation stage. Granted, I have heard other names for it, the divine initiation stage, the mortal cultivation realm, but qi condensation is the most urate name. Do you need an exnation as to why?¡±


    Sen shook his head. Looking back on it, he was pretty clear on why it was called that. It was also pretty clear that, had he been given the name, it would have changed nothing. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you withheld the name, though.¡±


    Master Feng smiled. ¡°Because I didn¡¯t want you focused on condensing qi to the exclusion of learning to use it. The kinds of techniques you figured out aren¡¯t taught to sect members in the qi condensation stage. They don¡¯t even start learning to use them until they break into the second stage like you have. You are literally years ahead in that respect.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen, his mind whirling. ¡°And the first stage of body cultivation?¡±


    Feng shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s called the earthly transformation stage.¡±


    The name rang a bell. Sen searched his memory.


    ¡°Uncle Kho said something about that the first day we were here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you remember that. A lot has happened since then.¡±


    ¡°So, what now?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, you¡¯ll continue on much as you did before with some minor variations. You broke through, so I assume you formed a liquid qi drop in your dantian. Yes?¡±


    ¡°I did, master.¡±


    ¡°Now, in addition to gathering and cycling qi, you make more liquid qi.¡±


    Sen remembered the terrible strain of trying to form that first drop. He went to open his mouth but saw that Master Feng was already shaking his head.


    ¡°Master?¡±


    ¡°Forming that first drop is almost impossibly difficult. Making more will prove profoundly easier. You¡¯ll still have topress your qi, but that droplet gives you a foundation to work from. As you make more, you¡¯ll break through the smaller levels of the second stage. That liquid qi is much more powerful than the qi you have been using. You¡¯ll see its effects in the power of your techniques. A word of caution, test that new power slowly and preferably outside these walls. Between your new stage and your killing intent, you shouldn¡¯t have to stick so close to the house. You can probably scare off anything that¡¯s too big or dangerous.¡±


    The ember an old wish roared back to burning life. ¡°Can I go visit Grandmother Lu?¡±


    Master Feng considered that with a deep frown for what felt like an eternity to Sen.


    ¡°I won¡¯t forbid it, but I¡¯d caution you against going now.¡±


    ¡°Can I ask why, master?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing sinister. There are just things I¡¯d like you to learn before you leave this ce. I fear that, if you go and visit your grandmother, you won¡¯t return. Unless I miss my guess, the lure of the wider world will prove too much for you to resist.¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to object, but the words wouldn¡¯te. Master Feng was right. Sen would go with every intention ofing back, but he knew he wouldn¡¯t. At least, he wouldn¡¯t right away.


    Now that you¡¯re out of qi condensation and avoided the worst of the traps, I¡¯ll tell you some things we¡¯ve been keeping from you. You¡¯ve entered into what is generally called the foundation building stage. Right now, you¡¯re what they call an early-stage foundation builder¡­¡±


    Sen listened with rapt attention as he suddenly had words and phrases to go with things he¡¯d had to feel his way through before. He learned that as people progressed through a stage, they were called early, mid,te, and peak. He heard tantalizing phrases like core formation and nascent soul. The discussion took hours as Sen asked question after question, reveling in the feeling that he finally, <em>finally</em>, knew what was going on. He had truly entered another stage of his cultivation journey.

 Chapter 43: Knowledge

    Chapter 43: Knowledge


    Sen¡¯s excitement about his new knowledge burned bright in him for a few days. Then, he came to, what was for him, a startling conclusion. While his new knowledge about the stages of cultivation had filled a deep-seated need in him, it hadn¡¯t actually <em>changed</em> anything. That knowledge hadn¡¯t made him any better at cultivation. It didn¡¯t alter his opinion of cultivation. It had no influence on how they trained him. Most importantly, it hadn¡¯t changed his goals in any obvious way. When Sen considered it deeply, he still just wanted to see the ocean and explore the world. He wasn¡¯t moremitted to cultivation or to possibly, one day, ascending to immortality.


    When Sen was honest with himself, that idea wasn¡¯t very real to him. He didn¡¯t think that anyone was lying to him. The stories all said that people had done it. Yet, Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Ma Caihong had all been chasing that goal for thousands of years, which he also had trouble believing. All of those years and they still hadn¡¯t aplished it. Of course, Master Feng had said he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d go through with it, and Sen hadn¡¯t asked the others about it. He thought they would answer if he asked, but it struck Sen as almost too personal a question. Sen liked the <em>idea</em> of immortality, but it was just too much like something that someone made up. If it was real, then that kind of ascension was for legends and heroes. Sen didn¡¯t think it likely that immortality was meant for someone who grew up eating trash in alleys.


    No, the only real difference that his new knowledge had made was that he felt slightly safer about going out and doing that exploring he dreamed about. Sen was rtively sure that he could handle himself against any bandits he might stumble across, assuming there weren¡¯t too many of them. He also knew that there were other cultivators out there who were stronger and more advanced than him. They could pose a threat, but he didn¡¯t n on fighting them. He wasn¡¯t even really all that interested in meeting them. Master Feng didn¡¯t seem to have a particrly good opinion of any cultivator other than Uncle Kho. Uncle Kho was outright hostile to the mere mention of cultivators from sects, at least ones who were still alive. When Sen had asked him about that hostility, Uncle Kho hadn¡¯t hesitated to tell Sen exactly what he thought of sects and sect members.


    ¡°They¡¯re a bunch of jumped-up, preening fools who think they have the corner on power and enlightenment. There isn¡¯t one in a thousand of them worth the dirt on my shoes.¡±


    Sen had decided not to pursue that line of questioning any further with Uncle Kho. He didn¡¯t know exactly what had soured the old cultivator on sects, but it must have been ugly to leave an anger <em>that</em> deep. Auntie Caihong hadn¡¯t seemed as angry about sects, but she wasn¡¯t enthusiastic about them either.


    ¡°Sects are,¡± she said, pausing to choose her words, ¡°tools. They serve a function in that they let people pursue cultivation. They can provide guidance, of a sort. The problem with the whole system is that sects are full of <em>people</em>.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I understand.¡±


    ¡°People, especially people in groups, tend to reflect and amplify what¡¯s around them. So, let¡¯s say that you get a few sect elders who are too arrogant for their own good. They pass that attitude on to core sect members, who adopt it and make it worse. Those core sect members pass that attitude on to inner sect members, who pass it on to outer sect members. It gets worse and worse.


    ¡°So, you end up with a sect full of unbearable people who take offense at everything. This is on top of any regr ws those people have, like bad tempers or feelings of inadequacy. Then, some of those sect members go out into the world and behave in simply abominable ways. They abuse the mortals. They pick fights with each other and leave devastation in their wake. Now, not every sect is that bad. Some aremitted to ideals, such as upright behavior or humility, but enough are that bad that it tends to give them all a bad name.¡±


    Curiosity got the best of Sen at that point. ¡°Uncle Kho seems to hate them.¡±


    Auntie Caihong sighed at that. ¡°Yes, he does. He has reasons, justified reasons at that, for feeling the way he does. I don¡¯t agree with his opinion that any sect is a bad sect, but he doesn¡¯t agree with me about everything either.¡±


    Sen frowned at that. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make thingsplicated?¡±


    ¡°It certainly does, but that¡¯s life for you. Here¡¯s a lesson that might not make sense to you now, but just keep it in the back of your mind. Being friends with someone, even loving someone, doesn¡¯t mean that you have to ept everything they believe. More to the point, you should run from anyone who tries to tell you otherwise. That kind of person isn¡¯t anyone¡¯s friend. Real friends, real loved ones, can disagree about important things and remain close.¡±


    Sen had tried his best to digest that piece of advice, but he struggled with it. After a while, he recognized that he just hadn¡¯t known enough people to understand what she was trying to tell him. Staying distant from other people had offered him a kind of safety, but he was starting to think that he might have missed out on more than he knew. Still, he dutifully tucked that bit of advice away to revisit in the future. Maybe when he had more than one friend. Maybe when he had a friend who wasn¡¯t a ghost panther. The closest thing to a disagreement he and Falling Leaf ever had was when he ran out of treats to give her, and he suspected that even that was almost all show.


    What really drove home to Sen that his new knowledge wasn¡¯t the earth-shattering thing he¡¯d imagined was that his routine didn¡¯t change. He still got up in the mornings and practiced. He still spent his afternoons slowly mastering a new Jian form and learning about making medicines with Auntie Caihong. When the truth finally settled over him, what Sen experienced was simple embarrassment. He¡¯d built that information up in his head. He¡¯d assumed that it was powerful in some way. Mostly, though, he¡¯d just felt left out.


    It had seemed like everyone was having a different conversation over his head. With hindsight in ce, he understood that the other conversation had only existed in his mind. The older cultivators knew more than he did, understood things that he didn¡¯t, but aside from a few missteps by Master Feng early on, they had made every effort to give him the information he needed to seed. They wanted him to seed. Armed with that truth, Senmitted to doing the only thing he could to repay them. Hemitted to learning as much as he could, as well as he could.

 Chapter 44: Year’s End (1)

    Chapter 44: Year¡¯s End (1)


    As the weather turned from simply chilly to truly cold, Auntie Caihong¡¯s lessons changed as well. Rather than learning about medicinal and alchemical nts in general, or how to make general healing salves and potions, Sen began learning about specifics. Ma Caihong pulled out charts that mapped the way energy should flow through the body that Sen was then bid to memorize. He learned about acupressure points and their uses in limiting pain and reducing bleeding. She started quizzing him about what he would use to treat specific injuries and why. Often these lessons became lectures that exposed why someone¡¯s first instinct about how to treat something was all too often the wrong instinct. She eventually provided him with a notebook to begin writing down recipes for different kinds of treatments, as well as observations about theponents he used.


    ¡°One of the things you¡¯ll discover as you travel is that the local nt life is different, depending on where you are.¡±


    Sen was startled by that revtion. ¡°Really? Why?¡±


    Auntie Caihong pondered for a little while before she answered. ¡°There is a veryplicated answer to that question that I¡¯ll spare you. The simpler answer is thend and weather are different in different ces. As you go south, for example, the weather gets hotter and it¡¯s often wetter. The soilposition is different. That lets different kinds of nts grow there. The notes you take, though, will often let you find substitutes for what you¡¯re used to using. If you can find nts with simr qualities, you can get by. If you¡¯re near a city or town, you talk with local alchemists, spirit doctors, or apothecarists. They can often supply you with the right substitutes or at least tell you what you can get in the area.¡±


    Sen could see the logic and began writing down key information about theponents they used. As the weeks slipped by, though, he started fretting about the New Year. He needed to make or find gifts for everyone, yet he couldn¡¯te up with any good ideas. He eventually cornered Uncle Kho to ask him what kind of gift Ma Caihong might like. That conversation led Sen to spend two full days away from the house and up near the very peak of the mountain. Falling Leaf tagged along, seeming very curious about what he was doing. Sen was relieved that the other spirit beasts on the mountain left him alone for the most part on that brief expedition. He was only forced to kill one, some kind of multi-headed bird that had taken nearly half an hour of intermittent fighting to finally put down.


    He''d seen a fox with several tails. Yet, unlike many of the other beasts, it seemed to be more self-aware. It had sat down and regarded first Sen, then Falling Leaf, but it made no move to attack. If anything, the beast seemed to find them humorous. Falling Leaf had responded with wariness, but no outright hostility. Judging that she likely knew better than he did about the fox, he didn¡¯t attack. Sen and Falling Leaf eventually left with a lot of careful looks back at the fox. The fox watched them go without ever moving. Yet, for the rest of the day, Sen caught glimpses of the fox. Sometimes, he¡¯d see shes of its red fur moving through the increasingly thin covering of trees and dormant bushes. Other times, he spotted it sitting somewhere and looking at them.


    ¡°Should I be worried about that thing?¡± Sen finally asked Falling Leaf.


    The ghost panther looked from Sen to the fox, which was perched up on a rock about fifty feet away, and then back to Sen. He struggled to untangle the mix of impressions that flowed off the big cat. He caught shes of irritation, vague amusement, and still more wariness. The big cat took onest, long look at the fox and then actually shook her head. It was one of the most direct answers he¡¯d ever gotten from her. He wondered if she¡¯d broken through along the way as he had. He could swear that she seemed smarter and possibly even more capable than when they¡¯d first met. When Sen was ready to set up camp on the second evening, the fox reappeared at the edge of the clearing that Sen had chosen. It gave Sen a long look and then trotted a short distance away. It looked back at him. He lifted an eyebrow at it. The fox came back to the clearing, gave him another long look, then trotted a little way off. It looked back at him again.


    ¡°I think it wants us to follow it,¡± said Sen, feeling less than enthusiastic about the notion.


    Falling Leaf gave the fox a baleful look, made a discontented noise, and then trudged after the spirit beast. Sen frowned, then he trudged along in the big cat¡¯s wake. The fox led them along for perhaps fifteen minutes. It looked back to make sure Sen was paying attention, then pawed at an innocuous snow drift. The fox backed well away and gave Sen an expectant look. Sen cautiously approached the snow drift, eyed the fox, and then used a bit of air qi to gently push aside the loose snow. When he saw what was under the snow, his expression turned from suspicious to incredulous. He red at the fox.


    ¡°How could you have possibly known?¡± He demanded of the spirit beast.


    The fox¡¯s mouth dropped open and it spoke to a bbergasted Sen. ¡°Tell Ma Caihong that Laughing River wishes her an auspicious new year.¡±


    It took Sen a second to realize that the fox hadn¡¯t actually spoken out loud to him. It had used some kind of qi technique to transmit the words to him. Sen wanted to just feel stunned and baffled, but he supposed that these sorts of things happened to cultivators.


    ¡°I will,¡± he agreed. ¡°Still, why help <em>me</em>?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have a good answer for that, so he offered the fox a bow. ¡°Thank you for your assistance, senior brother.¡±


    That seemed to delight the fox, who immediately took on a yfully devious air. ¡°Of course, now you owe me a favor. I¡¯ll have so much fun collecting on it.¡±


    Then, in a sh of red fur, the fox vanished. Sen realized he¡¯d been staring at the empty space where the fox had been for most of a minute. He¡¯d been trying to imagine what kind of favor he could do for a spirit fox. He hadn¡¯te up with any answers. Then, a thought came to him unbidden. Sen spun toward Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Can <em>you</em> talk?¡±


    The big cat had a very guilty look in her eyes. Sen heard a little whisper. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You can talk?! Why haven¡¯t you done it before?¡±


    Sen heard her sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult. Usually isn¡¯t necessary.¡±


    Sen wanted to rant and rave at the big cat for not revealing that information. Yet, as he thought back about it, she wasn¡¯t wrong. Very little of what passed between them would have been made better or substantially easier with speech. Still, he didn¡¯t want to let her off too lightly. He narrowed his eyes at her.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to talk about this.¡±


    ¡°If we must,¡± said Falling Leaf, sounding dejected.


    With that, Sen turned back to the treasure that the fox had led them to and began harvesting it. Sen let Falling Leaf stew for most of the morning as they made their way back down the mountain. In the end, though, he just wasn¡¯t that angry about it. It was even a little bit funny to him. He finally stopped walking and gave the cat a meaningful look.


    ¡°You should have mentioned it.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Well, just so long as you know,¡± offered Sen, as he started walking again.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Did you want to talk more about it?¡±


    Falling Leaf shook her head vigorously. Standing off where Sen and Falling Leaf wouldn¡¯t notice it, the foxughed to itself.

 Chapter 45: Year’s End (2)

    Chapter 45: Year¡¯s End (2)


    Sen had to seek out Ma Caihong¡¯s help toe up with a gift idea for Uncle Kho. Her rmendation had been so straightforward that Sen felt a little stupid for noting up with it himself. He was very happy that it was something he could do without traipsing all over the mountain. Sen¡¯s recent advancement had gone a long way toward making time spent in the cold something he could handle without much thought, up to a point. A few hours, even most of a day, he could take in stride. Two days in the freezing misery of the upper mountain had informed him that he was still vulnerable to the cold if got cold enough for long enough. It might take longer for the cold to seep in and kill him, but it could still do it.


    As for Uncle Kho¡¯s gift, it took him most of a week and several wasted scrolls, but Sen finallypleted the project up to a level that he found satisfactory. He tucked it away in his storage ring next to Ma Caihong¡¯s gift. In the end, it was Sen who came up with the idea for Master Feng¡¯s gift. He had to enlist both Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho to make it happen. Sen was d, for once, that Master Feng was off on another one of his excursions to dig up information about spirit beasts. It gave him time to practice with Ma Ciahong and get feedback from Uncle Kho.


    Then, the day was upon them. Sen spent his morning practicing outside, as he usually did. Master Feng came out and observed him for a while but didn¡¯t seem inclined to make any corrections. He only made one casualment.


    ¡°I see that you¡¯ve taken to Ma Caihong¡¯s jian style.¡±


    ¡°It seems practical to have the option,¡± said Sen, feeling a little nervous.


    Master Feng nodded. ¡°It is. I¡¯d have encouraged you to wait a little longer before you learned a second style, but it hasn¡¯t seemed to hamper your growth.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, master.¡±


    Senpleted his routines, cleaned up, and then banished everyone from the kitchen. He ved over the stove for hours, obsessively checking and rechecking everything. He did let Auntie Caihonge and help him dish everything up for the meal. Then, they invited the others to join them. Master Feng stopped dead when he saw the food on the table. For a brief moment, Sen thought the man might cry. Then, Master Feng gave Sen a huge smile and sat down. They ate and ate until everyone was full.


    ¡°Thank you for the gift, Sen,¡± said Master Feng.


    Sen gave him a bow. ¡°You are wee, master.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I have you two to thank as well?¡±


    Uncle Kho waved it off. ¡°I just tasted the practice runs to help them get it right.¡±


    ¡°I have been teaching him to cook since the two of you certainly couldn¡¯t. I consider it part of that training.¡±


    Feng¡¯s eyes twinkled at their excuses.


    ¡°Since I¡¯ve started, I may well as finish,¡± said Sen, standing up.


    He retrieved a scroll from his storage ring and gave it to Uncle Kho. The old cultivator lifted an eyebrow and gently unrolled the scroll. His eyes went a little wide and then his whole expression softened. Sen could see the artistic, or as artistic as he could manage, brush strokes on the paper.


    ¡°Do not let the mountain ahead of you distract from the road before you,¡± read Uncle Kho. ¡°One of my favorite sayings.¡±


    Uncle Kho shot his wife a sly look, but she sat there simply radiating innocence. With that, Sen retrieved his final gift. He¡¯d had to get Uncle Kho¡¯s help to make the box because he needed something that would safely preserve what was inside. He held the box out to Auntie Caihong. She smiled at him as she took the box and opened the top. Her expression froze for a moment before she gave Sen a surprised look.


    ¡°A lunar winter¡¯s heart blossom,¡± she said. ¡°Is that where you went for those two days?¡±


    ¡°It is. I met someone up there who helped me find it. They wanted me to tell you that Laughing River bids you an auspicious new year.¡±


    Uncle Kho groaned, but Auntie Caihong let out a delightedugh. ¡°Thank you, Sen, for the gift and the message.¡±


    ¡°I hoped that fox was dead,¡± muttered Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Quiet, you. Laughing River isn¡¯t that bad.¡±


    Uncle Kho didn¡¯t keep going, but Sen thought he heard Uncle Kho muttering something about a red-furred menace under his breath. With his part out of the way, Sen settled back. Master Feng handed out his gifts first. He presented Uncle Kho with a scroll as well. Given the way that Uncle Kho gasped, Sen assumed it was something good. Then, he made a cauldron appear that he presented to Ma Caihong. She seemed genuinely moved.


    ¡°Ming, this is truly too much. It must have cost you a fortune.¡±


    Master Feng dismissed that with a gesture. ¡°Nonsense. I couldn¡¯t find a good one, so I just decided to make it myself.¡±


    Master Feng didn¡¯t see the woman¡¯s jaw drop as he turned to Sen and held out a tiny box. ¡°This is long overdue.¡±


    Sen opened the box and saw a dark stone ring. He picked it up and recognized it as the storage treasure it was. ¡°Thank you, master.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like mine,¡± said Feng. ¡°Not as big, but you can keep things like food fresh in there. You can even keep nts alive in there for a while.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s always helpful,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°You really never know when you¡¯ll chance across some rare specimen out there. One time, I ran across a two-hundred-year-old ginseng nt that had an ice qi attribute. I¡¯d never seen anything like it before. The ideal situation would have been to take the nt and rent it somewhere. Of course, I was nowhere near civilization at the time. I didn¡¯t have a good way to transport a live nt. Instead, I had to just harvest it. It still fetched a lot when I sold it, but it would have been worth so much more as a live specimen.¡±


    Sen promptly slipped the ring onto a finger, not willing to chance even the possibility that he might misce or lose something so valuable. Master Feng gave Sen a big smile and sat down. At that Uncle Kho turned to Sen.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re not hiding everything from you about cultivation stages, and you¡¯ve solidified your gains at your current stage, I can finally give you this,¡± said Uncle Kho.


    He extended his hand and a small booklet appeared in it. Sen reached out and took the booklet. It looked old to Sen¡¯s eyes. In fact, it looked old enough that Sen had the sneaking suspicion that it might be valuable as well. He carefully leafed through the pages. Everything was hand-written and saw some familiar, if simplified diagrams of the body that highlighted the dantian and qi channels. He looked up at Uncle Kho.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m looking at,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°It¡¯s a cultivation manual, Sen. Most likely, it¡¯ll be the first of many. This one is designed to help you form more of that liquid qi, but it has some other benefits as well. Don¡¯t worry, we can talk over all of the detailster.¡±


    Sen was overwhelmed, but he shot a questioning look at Master Feng.


    ¡°We discussed it beforehand. It¡¯ll be a good approach for you at this point.¡±


    Sen offered both Master Feng and Master Kho a deep bow. ¡°Thank you, Uncle Kho. Thank you, master.¡±


    Sen immediately started reading the manual, only to hear a loud cough from Auntie Caihong. He looked up to catch her giving Uncle Kho and Master Feng a murderous re. The two men found interesting things to look at in other parts of the room. She took a deep breath and then focused on Sen.


    ¡°I can see now that <em>I</em> should have gone first. Oh well, I think you¡¯ll still like this.¡±


    She left the room briefly and came back with a small wooden case. She presented it to Sen, who took it and carefullyid it across his legs. He utched the case and opened it to find an inkstone, inksticks, and several fine brushes. Sen gently ran his fingers over the brushes. He could feel that they had been reinforced with qi. He didn¡¯t know how much life that would add to the brushes, but he expected that Auntie Caihong expected him to use this set for <em>years</em> toe.


    ¡°Thank you, Auntie Caihong.¡±


    ¡°You understand that I expect you to send asional letters back to let your poor old auntie and uncle to let us know that you¡¯re alive. Once you head out into the world, of course.¡±


    Senughed. ¡°Where would I send them?¡±


    ¡°To your grandmother, of course,¡± said Feng. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be willing to hold them until someone stops by.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± said Sen, although he doubted that was a real long-term solution.


    At that, Auntie Caihong gave her husband another withering re and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go first this time.¡±


    She essed her own storage treasure and removed a jian. Although, it was very different from Sen¡¯s jian. That sword came in a redcquered scabbard that looked like it was iid with gold. There was a ruby inset in the pommel, and the guard was carved to look like two dragon heads. As fine as the sword looked, Sen felt an almost instinctive dislike for it. There was something wrong with that sword. Something, Sen searched for a word that hit the right note. There was something corrupt about it. As for Master Feng, his eyes were locked on the sword.


    ¡°How did you get that?¡± He asked.


    Ma Caihong smirked. ¡°The old-fashioned way. I took it from his corpse.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s truly dead, then?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, quite thoroughly and truly dead.¡±


    Feng reached out and took the sword. There was a look of such malicious satisfaction on his face that Sen was startled. Feng noticed the expression on Sen¡¯s face and sighed.


    ¡°The man who carried this de was someone I wasted a lot of time trying to find. He spent most of his life doing whatever he wanted, and what he wanted was mostly to hurt and kill people. Of course, he knew I wanted him dead, so he ran and hid whenever there was even a rumor that I was closing in on him. He¡¯d go underground for decades at a time,¡± said Master Feng before turning his eyes to Ma Caihong. ¡°How did you find him?¡±


    Sheughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t. He found me. Except, he thought he was finding some lone woman in the wilderness. He was so surprised.¡±


    Feng snorted. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll just bet he was. Thank you, Caihong, for finishing my tasks and bringing me this. I¡¯ll take great pleasure in destroying it.¡±


    Uncle Kho gave his wife a pouting expression. ¡°I suppose I know how you felt, now. Well, here you go, Ming.¡±


    He tossed Feng what looked like a storage ring. Master Feng held it in his hand for a moment before he gave Kho a little grin.


    ¡°Is this what I think it is, Kho?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and it wasn¡¯t easy to make. So, you¡¯d better spread it around that that little miracle was my work.¡±


    Fengughed. ¡°Of course, all credit where it¡¯s due.¡±


    After that, everyone fell into conversation, although Sen mostly just listened. His mind and his eyes were consumed by his new cultivation manual.

 Chapter 46: The Way of the Spear

    Chapter 46: The Way of the Spear


    Auntie Caihong kept teaching Sen for a few weeks after the new year, but he could tell that would soon change. She stopped introducing new things she wanted him to learn. Instead, she revisited everything that she had taught him. In some cases, it was brief enough that he could tell she was just checking that he remembered. She asked him some general questions about identifying medicinal nts and alchemical materials. She only got specific about a few of the rarer ones for which he could find buyers wherever he went. In other cases, she asked him in-depth questions about what to mix to treat a variety of injuries and illnesses. Throughout it all, he updated his notes. Mostly, he added to them, but he twice found ces where he had to correct something that was simply wrong. They weren¡¯t catastrophic mistakes that would have injured him or anyone else, but those mistakes drove home just how important it was to make sure he got the details right.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Auntie Caihong, ¡°no one will mistake you for a spirit doctor, but you know enough now that you should be able to patch yourself or someone else up in an emergency.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d dare try to treat anyone else,¡± Sen said, shuddering at the very idea.


    ¡°Sometimes, it¡¯s that or let them die.¡±


    ¡°Do you really think so?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know so. The world has a way of making you do things you don¡¯t really want to do. Of course, I¡¯ve found that people tend to find their nerve in those situations, more often than not. I did.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°The first time I was in that situation, I knew a lot less than you do about medicine and medicinal nts. Looking back now, it¡¯s a little horrifying how little I knew. When it was a choice between doing nothing and letting my friend die or trying to do something, though, I tried to do something.¡±


    ¡°Did it work?¡±


    ¡°It did. I got a little bit lucky and found a few nts that helped a lot. After that, though, I decided that I wouldn¡¯t need to get lucky that way again. I really could have killed her with the nts I used.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d want to do that.¡±


    ¡°You have one advantage that I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Sen asked, his curiosity piqued.


    ¡°You actually have some idea about what you don¡¯t know.¡±


    Senughed a little. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything. That seems strange to say because my brain feels stuffed full. But there¡¯s so much I don¡¯t understand about qi interactions, injuries, and even selecting between nts and minerals to get the best effect.¡±


    ¡°Some of it you¡¯ll learn through experience. Some of you can learn by studying. If you look hard enough, you can usually find someone to teach you some new things about medicine.¡±


    ¡°I can alwayse back and learn from you.¡±


    Auntie Caihong¡¯s eyes glowed with affection. ¡°I hope you do. In the meantime, though, poor Jaw-Long is ready to explode. He wants his turn.¡±


    ¡°As you say, teacher.¡±


    ***


    ¡°With the possible exception of a rock held in the hand, the spear may well be the oldest weapon in existence,¡± said Uncle Kho.


    Sen listened attentively as he tried to find the right way to hold the blunted spear in his hands. He¡¯d spent so much time wielding a jian that he¡¯d assumed that learning the spear woulde, well, not easy, but a little more naturally. As soon as he¡¯d picked up the weapon, though, that idea vanished from his mind. It was painfully clear to him that he was starting from scratch. The jian felt natural and bnced in his hands. <em>Of course</em>, he reminded himself, <em>it didn¡¯t start out that way</em>. Sen had worked hard at mastering that weapon. He¡¯d made countless mistakes and been corrected hundreds, if not thousands, of times. He had to resign himself to the idea that this would be the same. Uncle Kho held his own blunted spear in his hand, but Sen was surprised to see the man looking at the weapon like it held every secret in the world. That was true reverence on the man¡¯s face.


    Uncle Kho continued, ¡°It¡¯s a surprisingly versatile weapon. You can use it up close, as many a fool learns the hard way. Yet, it provides you with enough reach that you can keep all but the most talented and determined sword wielders out of range, all while you inflict lethal damage. Your attacks can be swift and fierce.¡±


    Uncle Kho snapped the spearhead down in a strike that was so hard and fast it could have split a man in two without losing a bit of momentum.


    ¡°Your defense can benguid and graceful.¡±


    The spear moved around Uncle Kho in clean, fluid arcs.


    ¡°You can attack from above, below, or the sides.¡±


    The cultivator moved the spear through a series of strikes that flew at an imaginary target from a dozen different angles.


    ¡°As with all things, though, true mastery of the spear doesn¡¯te through overbearing strength or impossible speed. Too much strength, too much speed, and the spear will break. The true heart of the spear, the true heart of mastery for any weapon, is bnce. It is knowing when to strike and when to hold back. It is knowing when you must be as hard as steel, and when you must be as flexible as the wind. The way of the spear <em>is</em> the way of bnce. If your heart is open, I will show you the way.¡±


    Sen gave Uncle Kho a deep bow. ¡°I will strive to keep my heart open.¡±


    The old cultivator, who looked like he could be one of Sen¡¯s not much older rtives, smiled at him. ¡°I know that Ming treats the jian as if it¡¯s just a weapon, which is strange in someone who uses their de more as an extension of their cultivation than a martial form. Yet, that is how he sees it.


    ¡°I do not separate the two. To me, the spear and cultivation are inextricably, inevitably entwined. I owe most of my advancements to insights I gleaned while wielding this weapon. The good news for you is that I do not expect <em>you</em> to follow that path.¡±


    Sen tried to not let his relief show on his face, but some leaked through. Uncle Kho chuckled to himself. While Sen had experienced the asional insight while wielding the jian, he didn¡¯t see himself as someone who could drive his advancement that way. At least, he couldn¡¯t as a regr practice. He didn¡¯t expect that the spear would prove any different. Of course, just because the spear wasn¡¯t a direct cultivation aid, it didn¡¯t mean there was no value in the weapon. Sen very much liked the idea of keeping his future opponents at a distance.


    Equally important to his mind was finding bnce. The desperate need for it was everywhere in cultivation. The constant intake of qi wasn¡¯t just grabbing whatever he could find. He needed to keep the attributed qi in the proper bnce for him. If he ever let those bits of attributed qi grow imbnced, he felt as though everything inside of him was out of step with the world around him. His timing was off. His decisions were off. His very techniques would fail. It went deeper than that, though. He had seen how important bnce was with the medicines he learned to make. It wasn¡¯t that things had to be in equal measures. That was a simplistic notion of bnce. No, it was thatponents needed to harmonize with each other and with the injury. They had to bnce for a purpose, or nothing would heal. Sen believed that his advancement woulde through finding the right set ofponents and letting them harmonize throughout his existence. If he could do that, he hoped, he could push forward.


    Sen bowed again. ¡°If you will lead me to bnce, Uncle Kho, I will follow you into the way of the spear.¡±

 Chapter 47: Foundation Building

    Chapter 47: Foundation Building


    During the day, Sen was as diligent and driven as ever. If anything, he was even more diligent and driven. Most days, he was up before dawn making food. By the time Auntie Caihong or Uncle Kho drifted out for their first cup of tea, Sen had often been outside practicing for hours. Sen had found that he needed those extra hours just to get through everything. Between his unarmedbat forms and his jian styles, real practice could easily take up to five or six hours a day. Then, after he ate a quick meal for lunch, it was time for formation training. In its own way, formation training was as difficult as the medical and alchemical training that Auntie Caihong had put him through. In part, it was because many of the same concerns applied, if in different ways.


    ¡°A formation,¡± said Uncle Kho, ¡°is almost a living thing. It doesn¡¯t exist in a vacuum. It exists in the world. It moves through time with you. It has a lifespan. Just as importantly, it interacts with your environment. Try as hard as you like, you¡¯ll find that setting up a fire formation is all but impossible within a certain distance of any body of water. There¡¯s just too much water qi in the area. Even if you do make it work through sheer talent or luck, it won¡¯tst long. A good formation must take into ount the flow of natural energies around it. It must work both with and within that existing bnce.¡±


    Yet, for all thoseplexities, Sen found formations a much easier subject. He briefly wondered if Uncle Kho was simply a better teacher, but quickly dismissed that idea. Auntie Caihong had been almost infinitely patient with him and always geared her lessons to a level that he could understand. No, it was simpler than that. Medicine had to interact with a human body. Human bodies were messy, unpredictable things. No two bodies functioned exactly the same way and their qi energies could change in strange ways. Formations interacted with the natural world. Sen was experienced enough to realize that nature was hugelyplex, but it also moved slower. If you examined the energy in an area in the morning, there was a reasonably good chance that those energic flows would hold true in the evening. You didn¡¯t have to adapt to everyone on the fly. You could make predictions and count on them.


    Of course, that also made things harder to understand when things didn¡¯t work properly. Sen had seen Uncle Kho sigh more than once when Falling Leaf simply appeared inside the courtyard. Uncle Kho liked the cat just fine, but he¡¯d also told Sen that he¡¯d specifically set up formations to keep spirit beasts out. The big cat shouldn¡¯t have been able toe and go as she pleased. Yet, she did. Uncle Kho had checked the formations he built into the manor more than once. Every time, he said the same thing.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with these formations.¡±


    Then, he¡¯d usually turn a re on the cat. Falling Leaf would yawn, or roll over, or simply go to sleep in the face of the cultivator¡¯s annoyance. Sen reasoned that she might take Uncle Kho a bit more seriously if he didn¡¯t give her so many treats. After a few weeks of formation training, when he understood the rules a little more, he asked the older cultivator a question he¡¯d been hanging on to for a while.


    ¡°Uncle Kho, is Falling Leaf so powerful that she can just ignore the formation?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. You know, I asked myself that exact same question when she first started showing up here. I thought maybe she was hiding her cultivation level. Maybe ying some kind of game with us.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Sen prompted.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a matter of power. Don¡¯t get me wrong, she has plenty of power. If she were human, she¡¯d probably be in middle foundation formation or even brushing up againstte-stage foundation formation. Once Ming cleared out nearly anything with a core on the mountain, that makes her one of the bigger threats up here. But that¡¯s not even close to powerful enough to just ignore one of <em>my</em> formations. No, something else is happening here. Something I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any ideas about what¡¯s happening?¡±


    Uncle Khoughed. ¡°Oh, I have lots of ideas, but no good ones. My best guess is that she, somehow, developed a unique qi technique that lets her slip through gaps in my formation that other things can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound convinced.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. As far as I <em>know</em>, there are no gaps in my formation. There could still <em>be</em> a gap. One I don¡¯t know how to see. One that she¡¯s slipping through. Unfortunately, it¡¯s not very likely.¡±


    ¡°Any other ideas?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a cat.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand.¡±


    ¡°Cats go where they want. I have a sneaking suspicion that there may be a loophole in the natural order that facilitates that.¡±


    Sen frowned some more. ¡°Sounds difficult to prove.¡±


    Uncle Kho gave Sen a morose look. ¡°I know.¡±


    Sen found himself watching the big cat closer after that to see if he could spot her doing something special with her qi when she came and went. He didn¡¯t have any more luck than Uncle Kho did. Falling Leaf seemed to know what he was doing and acted particrly smug when she noticed him failing to discover her secrets. Despite training with the spear, and his interest in formations, and the ongoing mystery of the ghost panther¡¯sings and goings, it was the cultivation manual that drove Sen¡¯s relentless drive. He wanted to spend as much time with it as he could, which meant he needed to finish everything else during the day.


    That manual consumed his evenings. As soon as they finished eating and cleaning up after the evening meal, Sen vanished to read it. A part of him knew that his fixation on it was nothing more than it being the first technique he¡¯d been allowed to see that he didn¡¯te up with on his own. While Sen liked being creative and nned to keep building on that foundation of technique creation, it could be crushing work. After all, it was nothing but failure after failure until he seeded. Then, after a few moments of pure joy, there was more work. He had to practice the technique, perfect it, and then start all over again. All of that failure wore him down after a while, even if he had found some shortcuts along the way.


    To have someone simply <em>hand</em> him a technique felt so good that Sen was sure that there must be something fundamentally wrong with doing that. Still, he reveled in the pure luxury of having someone just tell him how to do something with qi. Although, he quickly discovered the pitfalls of a technique manual. Just because someone exined what to do and why, it didn¡¯t necessarily mean that Sen would understand it. He understood his own techniques because he knew literally everything about them. With the technique in the manual, he could follow what it wanted him to do with his qi. The cycling pattern was lessplex than many he knew already. He felt less certain about the why. That uncertainty bothered him more than he expected it would. More to the point, he had a feeling that it was even dangerous for him to not understand the why of the technique.


    It didn¡¯t help that the actual exnation was written in a way that Sen found frustrating and difficult to follow. Uncle Kho had dered that Sen¡¯s reading skills were more than good enough for any of his needs. Yet, he¡¯d never had Sen read anything like the manual before. The person who wrote it seemed determined to make every statement as long andplicated as possible. Sen would spend entire minutes trying to figure out what just one sentence meant. So, rather than spending his time cultivating with his new technique, Sen found himself reading the manual over and over again. If he couldn¡¯t rely on simpleprehension to do the trick, perhaps repetition would serve him better. Even as he adopted that approach, he put himself on a clock. He would try to understand the manual on his own, but not forever. He gave himself seven days. If he couldn¡¯t figure it out after seven days, he would simply ask one of the older cultivators.


    He knew that there was value in developing understanding on his own, but time had value as well. The time he spent trying to understand was time he didn¡¯t spend mastering something else. Uncle Kho had been teaching him about bnce, and Sen was determined to find it in his life. He¡¯d certainly learned his lesson about <em>not</em> asking for help in the past. So, the days ebbed away as Sen studied the manual. Understanding did not ur in a blinding sh, the way it sometimes did for him. Yet, it dide. At first, it was in small fits and starts. Then, bigger pieces slid into ce. It took him five days with the manual before the why of the technique finally locked together. It also became clear to him why Master Feng and Uncle Kho had chosen this technique.


    Master Feng had exined that many cultivators built their foundations around a single qi type. He even acknowledged the basic advantage in strength it would provide. Sen had experienced enough to know that he wanted to keep his ess to many kinds of qi. He could see way too many advantages to having it to ever willingly give it up. Feng had encouraged that attitude. So, the old cultivators had gone out and found a foundational building technique that would let him keep it. The whole technique was designed to let him condense liquid qi that used all of the attributed qi he could ess. It was basically ideal for his needs. That understanding did nothing to temper his frustrations with whoever wrote the stupid manual.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t just say that¡¯s what the technique was for?¡± He demanded of the unknown writer. ¡°No, of course not, because why do something so rational? No, you had to talk about the many-branched tree of creation. You ass!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t until Auntie Caihong knocked on his door that Sen realized he¡¯d been yelling at the manual for almost ten minutes in a glorious, rage-purging explosion of verbal violence. He¡¯d opened the door with a rather sheepish expression.


    ¡°Is everything alright, Sen?¡± Auntie Caihong asked.


    She peeked past him into the room, as if she wanted to make sure that some stranger hadn¡¯t snuck in and bothered him.


    ¡°Yes, Auntie. I just figured out what the cultivation manual was trying to exin.¡±


    ¡°That made you angry?¡±


    ¡°No. That made me happy.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± She prompted.


    ¡°I also figured out that the person who wrote it was¡­¡± he trailed off, not wanting to actually say it out loud to her.


    ¡°Oh, you mean that he was a tiresome buffoon who loved a turn of phrase more than being helpful?¡±


    Sen was nodding before she even finished. ¡°I just called him an ass.¡±


    She gave him a sympathetic smile. ¡°It won¡¯t be thest time you say that about someone who wrote a manual.¡±


    Sen groaned.

 Chapter 48: Foundation Building (2)

    Chapter 48: Foundation Building (2)


    Sen smiled to himself as he ran around the walls that surrounded the house. He remembered all too well the misery of that first run. The desperate gasping for air. The terrible burning in his legs and arms. Yet, as sharp as those memories were, Sen also felt oddly distant from them. Some of it was just the stark change in his body. Sen didn¡¯t dwell on it that much, but he was aware that the bony skinniness he¡¯d arrived with had been reced by hard, defined muscle. He¡¯d grown taller as well. Where he¡¯d once had to tilt his head back to see the much taller Master Feng¡¯s face, he could now look the man almost directly in the eye. He no longer stumbled or found himself bumping into things. He couldn¡¯t match the sheer overwhelming grace of the three older cultivators, who all made the most casual motions a thing of beauty, but he no longer felt embarrassed by how he moved.


    He was also nearly certain that the running didn¡¯t do anything for him anymore. The years of training were part of it, but so were those bouts of body cleansing he¡¯d endured. Every kind of physical effort became easier after that second pill. After breaking through, no amount of running taxed him. He¡¯d tested it one morning by doing nothing but running. Around and around he¡¯d gone for the entire morning. He hadn¡¯t slowed. He hadn¡¯t stopped. He¡¯d just run. He¡¯d exalted in that achievement. His speed was something he couldn¡¯t really wrap his head around. He¡¯d been getting pretty fast before the breakthrough, by his own estimation. Now, though, he didn¡¯t think regr people <em>could</em> move as fast as he did. The benefits of body cultivation had shown themselves to be truly remarkable. Yet, it also left him wondering what it would be like when he reached the peak of foundation formation or core formation as a body cultivator.


    As it was, he could carry out the task of running and practicing his new cultivation technique at the same time. It was a little taxing mentally, but not physically. He hadn¡¯t been doing the technique long enough to simply push it to the back of his mind the way he did with regr cultivation. Yet, even that seemed toe easier than it should. He knew that body cultivation refined the physical form. He wondered if spiritual cultivation refined the mind somehow. It wouldn¡¯t surprise him, but it left him a little edgy. Back when Sen had first been learning to read, Uncle Kho had also introduced him to numbers and basic math. Sen hadn''t taken well to numbers. Yet, the old cultivator had insisted over Sen¡¯s many objections that the boy master the essentials, such as addition and subtraction. Since his breakthrough, he¡¯d found himself far more capable with numbers. Yes, he had questions.


    He also knew that he¡¯d eventually ask Master Feng those questions, but he¡¯d been finding excuses to put it off. In his heart, Sen was a little afraid to learn the answers. At the moment, he knew that he could basically pass himself off as a normal person, at least to normal people. Cultivators would sniff him out pretty fast unless he made a conscious effort to hide, and he didn¡¯t relish the idea of doing that non-stop. He wasn¡¯t even certain how long he could hold that technique before he¡¯d have to stop. With a mental tsk, he added that to a growing list of things he needed to test. However, with a little care, nothing he could do would raise too many suspicions if he was getting noodles or simply walking through a town. <em>Unless you have to fight</em>, he chided himself. Fighting would expose him in a second because, if he had to fight, it would almost certainly mean fighting another cultivator. If that happened, he wouldn¡¯t, couldn¡¯t, hold back. Anything less than his all could easily spell his death.


    Still, a part of him feared he would eventually be so different that everyone who met him would automatically recognize him as a cultivator. That was what had seemingly happened to Master Feng when first arrived in Orchard¡¯s Reach. Sen could hardly imagine the cultivator announcing that about himself. On the other hand, Sen had a hard time imagining Master Feng doing anything that people might describe as normal. Sure, he ate and he slept, but only out of habit or because he saw other people doing it. Left to his own devices, the man would spend days at a time in the library studying a scroll. Sen saw things like that and wondered if that was his fate. Would he one day lose touch with all of those things that most people considered basic human necessities?


    Sen supposed thoughts like that one also made him feel a little alien to the boy who first climbed up the mountain with Master Feng. While Sen as he was now could recognize himself in that homeless child, he very much doubted that child could have seen himself in the person Sen had be. That boy worried about where he¡¯d get food from and if Grandmother Lu would one day decide not to let him in when it got too cold. For the Sen who was sprintingps around the manor with a gleeful Falling Leaf keeping pace, it was like he¡¯d stumbled into some other world. Now, he worried about things like cultivation techniques, tribtions, and how best to avoid other cultivators out in the world. <em>Perhaps</em>, he mused, <em>this is what growing up is</em>. It wasn¡¯t so much a drastic change in personality, as it was a change in the scope of what a person faced. It was knowing that you might face problemsrger than yourself,rger than everything you knew before, and even knowing that you werepetent enough <em>to </em>face them.


    Sen stumbled to a stop as <em>something</em> changed. He felt a stirring in the qi all around him and a sympathetic stirring in his dantian. Then, as if drawn to him by an inexorable force, all of that stirring qi contracted around him and was drawn into him. For a few seconds, Sen almost lost track of his cycling technique, overwhelmed as he was by that sudden rush of strength, power, and energy. He bent his will against that feeling, a will forged by years of constant discipline, and focused. That sudden rush of qi was an opportunity that he didn¡¯t n to miss. He even knew what to do, having done it before in that cultivation room. Sen let as much of that extra qi as he could stand pool into his dantian. Then, he seized that misty churning energy and bore down on it, with the existing bit of liquid qi at its center.


    While it took all his concentration, Sen discovered that Master Feng had been right. That one little bit of liquid qi seemed to act like a catalyst under pressure. As Sen crushed the misty qi into the liquid qi, it began to transform. Bit by bit, he gathered up that extra qi coursing through him and squeezed it down. It was slow work, and he lost himself in the process. Eventually, though, he was left only with the qi he normally carried. There was one small, but terribly important difference. The lone drop of liquid qi he¡¯d had in dantian had grown. It was perhaps three times asrge. It almost seemed a tiny improvement to him, given how much qi he hadpressed. Yet, the difference was also enormous. He let that little bit of liquid qi make a single trip through each of his qi channels. He felt fresh power permanently suffuse his muscles and etch itself into his bones. His organs zed briefly, his heart even pausing for one eternal moment, before they too were fortified. His body all but hummed with new strength. He was a step closer to middle foundation formation. It was a small step, but one he knew he could repeat. All he needed was time, and maybe the asional bit of enlightenment.

 Chapter 49: Body and Spirit

    Chapter 49: Body and Spirit


    For all the time they spent on him, Sen never wholly lost sight of the fact that Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong were practicing cultivators in their own right. From time to time, he¡¯d see Master Feng practicing qinggong techniques, flying horizontally through the air and using the courtyard walls as stationary tforms. He¡¯d asionally find Auntie Caihong scowling down at some pill that hadn¡¯te out the way wanted or, sometimes, just not the way she expected. So, he wasn¡¯t entirely surprised when he found Uncle Kho practicing with his spear in the courtyard one morning. What did surprise Sen was the way that the old cultivator was practicing. He had been very clear with Sen that the spear was a weapon you wield with two hands. Two hands gave the weapon stability. They provided strength. They made it much harder to remove the weapon from your grasp.


    He had lived up to that credo of weapon handling in Sen¡¯s training. Every thrust, parry, blow, sweep, cut, sh, and chop didn¡¯t just use two hands, they depended on it. In its own way, Sen found that the spear was an even more demanding weapon than the jian because there were simply more things he could do with it. Yet, always he was to use both hands.


    ¡°The utmost reason you use both hands is one you can likely guess by now,¡± said Uncle Kho when Sen asked about it.


    Sen didn¡¯t let the groan show through on his face. ¡°Bnce. Using two hands helps you maintain and achieve bnce with the weapon.¡±


    ¡°Precisely.¡±


    Uncle Kho had even offered the opinion that only an exceedingly rare emergency truly justified wielding a spear one-handed. Given the man¡¯s strong opinions, Sen was stunned to see the cultivator wielding a spear with <em>one hand</em>. Although, he supposed that he was diminishing what he truly saw before him. Uncle Kho was only using one hand to hold the spear, but he was manipting it in other ways. At times, he felt the older cultivator use air qi to drive the spear while shing or using a lightning-fast kick to drive the base of the spear shaft up in a fast counterstrike. Sen even felt Uncle Kho use a brief burst of earth qi to bind himself to the ground for a second so he could use his own body as a pivot to deliver a sweeping blow so fast it seemed nothing short of miraculous that the air itself wasn¡¯t split in two. Sen wasn¡¯t sure how long he stood there simply watching the disy of supreme qi and spear control. He was almost in a trance state when Uncle Kho addressed him.


    ¡°You have questions?¡± The old cultivator asked.


    Sen twitched at the words before he shook off the mental stupor. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Then, by all means, proceed,¡± said Uncle Kho with an amused smile.


    ¡°You have been, I think, very clear that the spear should be wielded using both hands <em>at all times</em>. Have I misunderstood?¡±


    ¡°You have not. I stand by that position.¡±


    Sen waited, certain that Uncle Kho knew exactly what he nned to ask, but the older man simply waited. He seemed prepared to wait until time itself ran dry for Sen to simply ask the question.


    ¡°Very well. If that is the case and you feel so strongly about it, why would you practice a one-handed style with the spear?¡±


    Uncle Kho nodded as his face took on a faraway look. ¡°All of the reasons I gave you for using two hands stand as true. For you and for other cultivators, the odds of you losing an arm but not losing your life are very low. If you lose a limb in a fight, you aren¡¯t simply sparring. You¡¯re in a life-or-death fight. Any enemy worth the name will immediately take advantage of that kind of crippling blow. Simply put, it¡¯s not worth the time and effort you¡¯d have to put in to learn a one-handed style. Beyond that, it suffers from the countless weaknesses I¡¯ve already described.¡±


    ¡°Yet, there you were, practicing one anyway,¡± said Sen.


    It wasn¡¯t an objection. Sen truly didn¡¯t understand why Uncle Kho had bothered with it if such styles were of no use to cultivators.


    ¡°You forget, Sen. I am very old. That has afforded me certain luxuries. For you, for most cultivators, everything you learn must serve a purpose. And, for most cultivators, the spear is just a weapon. It¡¯s a useful tool. You learn about your tools. You take care of them. At the end of the day, though, that¡¯s all they are. Something useful you carry with you. If that¡¯s all they are, then your best choice is to learn the most useful, most efficient method of wielding it. That is what I am teaching you.


    ¡°For me, though, the spear isn¡¯t simply a useful tool. It¡¯s part of my cultivation. The way of the spear has been responsible for much of the enlightenment I have enjoyed over my long life. For me, everything rted to the spear is a potential source of understanding, of enlightenment, and of advancement. For me, a one-handed style may not prove particrly useful in a duel, but it has the potential for far greater benefits.¡±


    Sen had more questions, but he didn¡¯t want to veer the conversation in a drastically different direction. ¡°Did that style provide you with any enlightenment?¡±


    Uncle Kho considered the question. ¡°No, but the man I learned it from certainly did. He was a very interesting man, especially for a mortal. He was a soldier. I don¡¯t remember where he came from. I¡¯m not sure the ce even exists anymore. I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter that much fifteen hundred yearster. The point is that he was a regr mortal soldier. He¡¯d lost an arm in a battle. For most soldiers, if they survived, that would mean they got to return home. Except, he didn¡¯t have a home to return to, or another trade for that matter. He¡¯d been a soldier his whole life. It was all he knew and all he wanted to know. Yet, what good was a spearman with only one arm?¡±


    ¡°Not much good, I would think.¡±


    ¡°No, not much good at all. Yet, this man was determined. He trained, night and day, day and night, for years. He taught himself a whole new way to do what he¡¯d taken for granted for so long. Oh, how I wished that he were a cultivator. The things he might have done with centuries. It wasn¡¯t to be. Fate, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Did he rejoin the army?¡±


    Uncle Kho shook his head. ¡°No. They told him that the army didn¡¯t have a ce for spear geniuses like him. Instead, he was sent to the capital. He spent the rest of his life training others in the spear.¡±


    Sen pondered the story. On the surface, it sounded like the man had a fortunate encounter that ensured his safety and life. Yet¡­


    ¡°Uncle Kho, it sounds to me as if that man suffered a tragedy. At least, he did if the life of a soldier was all he truly wanted.¡±


    ¡°It was a tragedy and a triumph. Like so many, that man saw the spear as something his body wielded. So, when he set out on his path to reim the life he lost, he tried to train with his body. Of course, he failed because he could no longer do what others did. In order to reim the spear, he had to find a new way. He had to approach the spear with an open spirit, with an open heart. He had to be willing to hear what it had to teach him. He did that. In doing so, he achieved something in his life that few will ever experience. At the same time, he reforged himself into something new, something that could no longer fit into the life he craved. Tragedy and triumph. Acquisition and loss. Body and spirit.


    ¡°All too often, we treat these things as opposing forces in life. Yet, the wrong acquisition can seed future loss. A triumph on one side can create a tragedy on the other. For all that cultivators focus on qi, the mystical essence of life and creation, we spend a great deal of time focused on our bodies. We all too often treat spirit as though it is a hindrance to cultivation, rather than a pathway. I saw in that soldier¡¯s triumph and his tragedy the possibilities of a different kind of path. If the spear could take him so very far in so very short a time, how far could the spear carry me, if I were but to approach it with an open spirit?¡±


    The answer was all too obvious. It had carried Uncle Kho very nearly to immortality. It might yet carry him across that bridge. Of course, Sen also understood that the lesson wasn¡¯t about wielding the spear. It was about forging a path, the right path, that could carry him just as far. What that path would look like, Sen couldn¡¯t even guess. Perhaps it would be the spear, or the jian, or perhaps it would be the intricacies of medicine. Or, perhaps, it would be something he hadn¡¯t even glimpsed yet. Some miracle hidden in in sight, waiting for him to find it.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s a reminder? Practicing that style, I mean.¡±


    Uncle Kho nodded in agreement. ¡°It is. It¡¯s a reminder of what that man aplished. It¡¯s a reminder of what he helped me aplish. Most of all, it¡¯s a reminder that we can seed our own tragedies in our aplishments. I never take for granted that I will seed on the path of cultivation.¡±

 Chapter 50: The Jianghu (1)

    Chapter 50: The Jianghu (1)


    As summer slowly unfolded and the mountain once more teemed with life, Sen¡¯s cultivation followed along in its slower path. While he trained alone or with Uncle Kho¡¯s guidance, he gathered and cycled the misty qi that pervaded the courtyard. Sometimes, he would travel away from the manor and gather the thinner qi from the mountain itself. As he did, he tried to understand why one clearing was strong in earth qi, while another mere minutes away was dominated by wood qi. He let his spiritual senses stretch out from his body, seeping down into the soil and rock, spreading out into the air, or flowing along with the water of the asional spring-fed streams that slowly cut channels in the ancient stone of the mountain. At times, his curiosity was sated. He would discover that a beast core humming with attributed qiy unimed in the earth below or held fast in the inexorable roots of a tree.


    At other times, he remained in ignorance, if notplete ignorance. There were moments when he felt something, but something obscured from the insistent, questing tendrils of his own senses and qi. It felt like sensing a movement in the darkness. He knew something was there, felt some faint quivering of its presence on the very edges of his ability to know and feel. Its true nature or purpose, though, was denied him. Yet, even those failures were not whole failures. He had taken Uncle Kho¡¯s lesson to heart. When he had reflected on it, Sen came to see that failure and sess were far more deeply intertwined than he had recognized or been willing to recognize.


    Taken at face value, failure was pure defeat. A defeat by the physical demands of a form or theplexity of a cycling pattern or simply by ignorance. It was the certain knowledge that someone was simply not adequate to the challenges before them. That was how Sen had viewed failure for a long time. Yet, over time, he hade to see that view for the painfully shallow thing it was. As Sen had meditated on failure and sess, he had seen that failure was also a forge. It could burn away the base metals of doubt,ziness, and fear, leaving only the pure steel de of determination. In an almost perverse inversion of that principle, he came to see that easy sess was like introducing base metals into your work. While the product might look fine on the surface, pressures of any kind would corrode that same de. Intense pressures would make it crack and fail.


    Sen hadn¡¯t thought of his musings on sess and failure as particrly profound or relevant to his cultivation, save for the obvious benefits of having strong determination. In the end, he had only meant to revisit them with the benefits of the perspective that Uncle Kho had provided. He had hoped, not in vain as it turned out, to discover a more useful way of viewing failure. While powering through failure in the face of his all-or-nothing attitude had helped him hone that determination, it had cost him something. What troubled him was that he couldn¡¯t identify exactly what it had cost him. Maybe it was something he¡¯d never had a name for in the first ce. He thought of it as a sort of softness inside his heart. He didn¡¯t think it was weakness, but rather some intangible capacity that had been diminished. If he could find a better way to see failure, though, he might be able to preserve what remained. Possibly, he might even restore a bit of it over time.


    What he had not expected his insight to do was generate one of those sudden rushes of qi that surrounded him whenever he came to some truly important insight. Caught off guard as he was, Sen was also well-trained in the fine art of swift reactions. He¡¯d hastily thrown up a basic defensive formation, courtesy of some formation gs that Uncle Kho had provided to let Sen practice on his own sometimes. Then, he¡¯d taken advantage of the moment to form a few more drops of his liquid qi. Adding to that reserve had been such a slow process that Sen was surprised to discover that his dantian was close to a quarter full of liquid qi. While it was still a ways off, Sen knew he was closing fast on entering into middle-stage foundation building. The gains in his spiritual senses from that additional liquid qi were what had sent him on his private quest to understand why certain kinds of qi concentrated out in nature in the first ce.


    Sen also concluded that, taken at face value, not discovering why certain kinds of qi prevailed in a spot was a failure. Yet, in that failure, he had sensed the elusive, ephemeral force that seemed to hide behind the mask of the natural world. That was a victory because it didn¡¯t leave him ignorant. He knew that qi didn¡¯t coalesce purely at random in nature. Something made it happen, at least some of the time. Yes, it might take him weeks, or months, or even the rest of his life to unravel what that hidden force was, but the simple knowledge of existence was enough victory for one day.


    Even as Sen had that thought, he felt a familiar presence enter into the range of his spiritual senses. Sen felt it as Master Feng recognized Sen¡¯s presence and altered course to find him. The older cultivator had been away for a few weeks on another trip to try to understand some problem on the mountain that Sen truly did not understand. While his master had exined that the spirit animals had behaved very strangely, Sen had seen nothing simr since. He had the asional run-in with them, but that was almost inevitable living out the wilds as they did. Sen was surprised that it didn¡¯t happen more often. Yet, his master was insistent that he track down the problem. While Sen was free with his questions about cultivation andbat, he normally shied away from prying too much into Master Feng¡¯s personal affairs. He eventually asked why Master Feng was spending so much time and energy on a problem that didn¡¯t seem to be a problem anymore.


    Master Feng had been happy enough to answer that question, at least. ¡°Any time you see spirit beasts acting in abnormal ways, it¡¯s cause for concern. It may mean that there¡¯s something wrong with the natural order in the area, which is often the best you can hope for. The other possibilities mostly involve direct interference from someone or something. Regardless of the way, you don¡¯t just leave it to happen if you can intervene. I can intervene.¡±


    Sen frowned as his mind caught on something. ¡°If it¡¯s a problem, why didn¡¯t Uncle Kho or Auntie Caihong take an interest?¡±


    ¡°They did, but we all knew that this problem would take some travel to sort out. Caihong just got back. As for Jaw-Long, let¡¯s just say that it¡¯s better for him if he doesn¡¯t go wandering.¡±


    Sen was thinking back about that conversation and wondering if Master Feng found anything as the man appeared between some trees. He smiled and waved, then froze in his tracks. His head whipped around to look at something that Sen couldn¡¯t even feel with his spiritual senses extended as far as they could go. Sen watched as Master Feng¡¯s hands closed into fists and then slowly opened again three times. It was a mundane act, but Sen got the impression that it was a ritual of sorts. After that short ritual, Master Feng looked over at Sen.


    ¡°Do not interfere.¡±


    Sen shuddered. As terrifying as Master Feng had been after killing all those spirit beasts, the man who issued Sen that order was far worse. That man was a statue made of pure ice. There was no emotion on his face. No tension in his body. From what little Sen could sense of his qi, it was as still and smooth as a pane of ss. Finally, Sen sensed what his master had sensed. There were potent qi sources hurtling toward them. A few secondster, Sen was struck mute by the sight of three men flying through the air on top of swords. Even as part of his mind tried to process what he was seeing, another was analyzing the three men. Master Feng and Auntie Caihong had both put in more than a little time teaching Sen how to identify cultivation stages with at least some uracy. All three of the neers were in the core formation stage. If Sen was reading it right, the one in the lead waste stage, maybe even peak. The other two were substantially weaker, maybe only early stage core formation. Of course, that didn¡¯t really make a difference for Sen. Dead was still dead, regardless of whether it took someone a half second longer to do it.


    ¡°You ran away before we could finish our conversation. You wandering cultivators really should learn to respect your betters,¡± said the one in charge.


    He had a hard face with thin lips and angry eyes. The men following him seemed to be cut of a simr cloth. To Sen¡¯s eyes, they looked like they might even be rted. <em>Not brothers, but cousins, maybe</em>, thought Sen.


    Master Feng¡¯s only response was to briefly shake his head and say, ¡°You should not have followed me here. You doomed yourselves.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re the one who¡¯s doomed. I¡¯d only have crippled you back in the city. Out here, well, I¡¯ll just kill you and the weakling over there for offending the young master of the Diving Eagle sect.¡±


    At a mention of ¡°that weakling¡± the man gestured at Sen. Sen didn¡¯t understand what he was seeing. Had Master Feng done something to those people? Were they seeking death in gloriousbat by challenging a nascent soul cultivator hovering on the very cusp of immortality? None of it made sense. The young master who hadn¡¯t bothered to name himself to Master Feng drew a dao and the other two mimicked the action a momentter.


    ¡°You really should run away now,¡± said Master Feng, wholly unconcerned. ¡°If you can get off the mountain fast enough, you might survive.¡±


    The young master sneered. Then, all three of the neers were driven to their knees as though by the hand of an invisible god. A momentter, Sen felt something he¡¯d only felt once before, a very specific killing intent. Once more, his mind was filled with the image of a deste wastnd. A momentter, a man who burned with a halo of lightning descended from the sky in front of the three neers. Sen remembered well the look on Uncle Kho¡¯s face when he¡¯d been arguing with Master Feng. He was wearing it again, and it was no less frightening the second time around. Uncle Kho red down at the three men.


    ¡°I am Kho Jaw-Long.¡±


    Those were the only words he said. It seemed those were the only words he needed to say. The young master burst into hysterical tears, mmed his forehead into the ground, and started begging for his life around his sobs. The other two were seemingly too terrified to even move. The beggingsted for three seconds before a finger of lightning fell from on high and just <em>erased</em> the young master from existence, leaving nothing but a charred spot on the ground. Uncle Kho paused for a brief moment to look at Master Feng.


    ¡°They came to your home, not mine,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°Handle it as you see fit.¡±


    A second finger of lightning fell and left a second burned patch where a person once was. Uncle Kho turned the full weight of his attention onto thest man.


    ¡°Return to your sect. Tell them there will be no additional mercy. Do you understand?¡±


    Thest man found his ability to move and mmed his head against the ground three times. It was hard enough to make him bleed. Then he all but screamed. ¡°I understand yourmands, Kho Jaw-Long.¡±


    ¡°Then begone from my mountain before I decide to wipe the stain of your sect from the world forever.¡±


    The man fled from Uncle Kho¡¯s wrath as fast as his sword could carry him. While Uncle Kho¡¯s baleful eyes followed the man¡¯s retreat, Master Feng walked over to Sen.


    Sen offered a bow. ¡°Master, what just happened here?¡±


    Master Feng¡¯s face twisted in disgust. ¡°The Jianghu. I guess it¡¯s time we had that talk.¡±

 Chapter 51: The Jianghu (2)

    Chapter 51: The Jianghu (2)


    The walk back to the house was made almost entirely in silence. Master Feng looked like he¡¯d swallowed something sour and couldn''t get the taste out of his mouth. Uncle Kho seemed lost in his own thoughts. As for Sen, the longer he thought about what had just happened, the less sense it seemed to make. Questions swirled in his head. He couldn¡¯t help but question why those men had followed Master Feng back to the mountain. If they knew what he was, they couldn¡¯t have believed they stood a chance against him. The difference in their cultivation was extreme. While Sen didn¡¯t have a full sense of the differences, the fact that Uncle Kho had seemingly killed two core stage cultivators with no discernible effort painted a stark picture indeed. Yet, they had addressed him as though he were weaker than they were.


    If he knew they were following him, why hadn¡¯t he simply stopped them somewhere along the way? They had said something about a city, and Sen wasn¡¯t aware of any nearby cities. He reasoned that must mean they had traveled a distance to arrive here. Master Feng had even tried to warn them off. Yet, the part that shook Sen the most was what Uncle Kho had done. It had been one thing to know that Uncle Kho had no love for sect members. It had been another thing entirely to witness the elder cultivator descend on those men like the bleak hand of Yama¡¯s judgment. Nor did Sen imagine that was the first time such a scene had yed out in Uncle Kho¡¯s life. That young master had <em>known</em> what wasing as soon as Uncle Kho told them his name. He had known it, been certain enough of it, that he didn¡¯t even try to bargain. He hadn¡¯t tried to threaten. He had gone immediately to begging.


    For a brief moment, Sen wondered what kind of things Uncle Kho might have done in the past to warrant such an extreme response. Then, Sen thought better of that line of thinking. He didn¡¯t really know anything and, after examining his own heart, he realized he didn¡¯t want to know those stories. Whatever curiosity Sen had about Master Feng¡¯s past deeds had died a simr death after the spirit beast culling. While Sen could guess a few details from stray bits and pieces he had heard, he didn¡¯t think knowing those stories would benefit him. Yet, based on what he¡¯d seen in the very brief confrontation, that kind of violence was nothing new for either man. Master Feng had been calm, almost bored. Uncle Kho had been angry, but not even a little bit out of control. What Sen couldn¡¯t decide was what, if anything, that would mean for him when he left the mountain.


    Then, there was that word, Jianghu. Master Feng had said something about that before when he¡¯d given Sen the jian. He told Sen that he¡¯d need to know how to use it because it wasmon in the Jianghu. Sen remembered that he¡¯d been too distracted by the sword and the spear at the time to give it much thought. When it hadn¡¯te up again, he¡¯d let it go. Looking back, Sen wished that he¡¯d pressed for more information. Sen realized that it was easy to think things like that when looking back, but he thought he would probably press for more information if presented with something simr now. He¡¯d grown better at distinguishing between subjects that he did and didn¡¯t need to know about. He¡¯d be increasingly certain that anything closely tied to how other cultivators acted out in the world was information he needed.


    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll find out now,¡± Sen muttered to himself.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Master Feng asked with a distracted expression.


    ¡°Nothing, master,¡± said Sen, waving a hand as though to brush the question from the air.


    Master Feng made a vague noise, which Sen read as acknowledgment. As much as he wanted and likely need to know what Master Feng nned to discuss, Sen was of the opinion that he could wait until Master Feng was ready to talk before learning this particr secret. So, they covered the rest of the distance to the house without breaking the silence, each of them weighed down with their own concerns. When they got back, Auntie Caihong was waiting for them, her expression grim.


    ¡°What happened?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Diving Falcon sect,¡± said Uncle Kho in a very t voice.


    Caihong closed her eyes for a moment and then asked, ¡°Did any of them survive?¡±


    ¡°I sent one back with a message,¡± Uncle Kho answered. ¡°More consideration than they deserved.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault,¡± said Feng, cutting off whatever Caihong had nned to say next.


    She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°I could have put a stop to it a few times, but I was trying to avoid drawing attention to myself.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Just becausebat is my specialty, it doesn¡¯t mean I love it so much I want to kill everyone who shows up to challenge the mighty Feng Ming. When word gets out that I¡¯m in a city, people always show up to try to make a name for themselves. It¡¯s like killing children. Anyway, I thought I lost them a ways back, but it seems I don¡¯t have Sen¡¯s knack for hiding. By the time I knew they were still trailing me, they were all but on the mountain already.¡±


    Sen was relieved to have several of the burning questions in his head answered. At least now he knew the general shape of things. It seemed that Auntie Caihong did as well.


    ¡°In that case, I don¡¯t suppose there was any helping it.¡±


    ¡°There wasn¡¯t,¡± agreed Master Feng. ¡°Still, it has made it necessary to have a discussion with Sen about the Jianghu.¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t put it off forever. That conversation was alwaysing.¡±


    ¡°I know. Well, I suppose we should get it over with.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make tea,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°I could use some after that.¡±


    When Uncle Kho went to make the tea, Caihong turned to Master Feng. ¡°What was he like?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, if the <em>young master</em> had been a little less stupid, I think Jaw-Long might have let them go with a warning. Well, maybe a warning and a beating.¡±


    ¡°What did the young master do that was so stupid?¡±


    ¡°He threatened Sen¡¯s life.¡±


    Auntie Caihong sighed. ¡°Well, that would have taken the decision out of Jaw-Long¡¯s hands. Young fools.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± said Sen. ¡°Why would that change anything?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a guest here. Ming can take care of himself, but if a core stage cultivator threatens a guest a full stage beneath them, we can¡¯t let it stand.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I didn¡¯t realize.¡±


    ¡°Remind meter, and I¡¯ll walk you through guest rights. It¡¯s something you should know. Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t expect my husband minded very much.¡±


    ¡°He did not,¡± said Uncle Kho,ing back with a tray.


    Once everyone had a cup of tea, Master Feng looked at Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there¡¯s any reason to drag this out. In simple terms, mortals live in one world, and cultivators live in another. The world that most cultivators live in is called the Jianghu. It¡¯s a world with different rules and expectations. You saw a little piece of it today. Combat between cultivators is expected. Not all seek it out, but many do. Depending on how pathetic they are, some will seek out those who are weaker and insist that the weaker cultivatormitted some wrong. It¡¯s usually some nonsense about disrespecting their sect, or n, or sister.¡±


    ¡°Ming,¡± chided Autie Caihong.


    ¡°Alright, that sister thing doesn''t really happen. Mostly.¡±


    Sen thought it over for a moment. ¡°Am I obligated to fight?¡±


    Auntie Caihong said, ¡°No.¡±


    Master Feng said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Uncle Kho said, ¡°Maybe.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°If you three can¡¯t agree about this, how am <em>I </em>supposed to know what to do?¡±


    ¡°Technically speaking,¡± admitted Master Feng, ¡°Caihong is right. You¡¯re not obligated to fight. You can simply walk away.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°Practically speaking, though, you¡¯ll have to fight. Most of the people who issue those challenges will attack you if you try to walk away.¡±


    ¡°So, it doesn¡¯t matter if they lied about an insult. It doesn¡¯t matter if I want to walk away. They¡¯ll turn it into a fight anyway.¡±


    ¡°Usually,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°Even if they do let you walk away, though, it can prove more trouble than it¡¯s worth. Instead of the fight, you have to deal with them spreading the tale that you¡¯re a coward. If a story like that goes around, you¡¯ll have a fight everywhere you go. You¡¯ll find it harder to secure work or supplies.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like an enormous waste of time and a great way to end up dead,¡±ined Sen.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t usually end that way,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°Not unless there¡¯s some kind of blood feud at work. There¡¯s no honor in killing someone weaker than you. Killing someone is usually seen as a horrible failure of control.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s something. Is there more I need to know?¡±


    ¡°A lot,¡± said Master Feng with a snort. ¡°You should pour yourself another cup of tea.¡±

 Chapter 52: Reflection

    Chapter 52: Reflection


    After the very long discussion about the Jianghu, Sen became withdrawn from the others for a time. He still practiced every morning and trained with Uncle Kho every afternoon. Yet, after the evening meal, he would retreat to his room or go outside and spend time with Falling Leaf. The ghost panther could clearly sense that something was troubling Sen, but she didn¡¯t ask about it with or without talking. She simply stayed nearby. If she was pleased by the fact that Sen tookfort or sce in her presence, she didn¡¯t speak about that either. And Sen <em>was</em> troubled by what he had heard. So many of the stories that people told about cultivators had some grounding in truth. Everything that he¡¯d heard about what the Jianghu was and what it meant for cultivators cast some of those stories in a different light, but not a better one. To Sen, the whole lot of them sounded petty and violent and for no good reason.


    When Master Feng had first started training him to defend himself, Sen had just assumed he meant defend himself from bandits or spirit beasts. He hadn¡¯t imagined that bing a cultivator meant that he was deciding to embark on a life where he¡¯d have to fight, to hurt, and maybe even to kill other people all of the time. To make matters worse, Sen was far enough along to recognize that he was actually good atbat. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly how good. He only had Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho to use as measuring sticks. That made it getting a real sense of his own progress difficult at best.


    Uncle Kho had onceughingly told him, ¡°You''re three thousand years too soon to defeat me, young Sen.¡±


    From anyone else, Sen would have treated that as a good-natured boast. From Uncle Kho, he suspected it was a literal fact. Compared to them, he really was a woefully undertrained, wildly ipetent fighter. That might have bothered him, and it probably would have even a year or two before. Yet, he found it difficult to feel bad about something that likely held true for nearly everyone in the world below the nascent soul stage. Being ipetentpared to them was a bit like saying that your campfire was dim whenpared with the sun.


    No, what made him think that he was actually getting good at it was the nature of the corrections he received. Early on, the corrections were constant and blunt. His arm was three inches out of position. His feet were in the wrong ce. He was overextending in one moment, and not taking a strike far enough in the next. Those corrections had steadily diminished in frequency and tone until they reached the point that they were more in the nature of gentle suggestions. Try adjusting your right foot a hair back. Increase the speed of the twist at the end of that strike by two percent. Of course, Sen had made the crucial misstep of telling Auntie Caihong he didn¡¯t know what two percent meant. Then, he¡¯dpounded his error by exining he didn¡¯t know what any kind of percent meant. He¡¯d lost a week of evenings to learning a bunch more math. While he could see the usefulness of it, <em>after</em> he learned, the process itself was as painful as math always was for him to learn.


    Yet, for all the time and effort he¡¯d put into training those skills, he¡¯d spent very little time thinking about using them on other people. Oh, sure, he¡¯d had a couple of pleasant daydreams about going back to Orchard¡¯s Reach and handing out a few well-deserved beatings, but that was as far as he¡¯d ever taken it. He¡¯d never dreamed about felling his rivals on the way to immortality. Sen wondered if <em>that</em> was a sign that he was headed down the wrong path. Did you need a desire for that kind ofbat to progress as a cultivator? All three of the older cultivators said that it could push your cultivation ahead to fight others. There was the potential for shes of enlightenment in the heat of battle. Yet, none of them seemed to know if it was even <em>possible</em> to progress to the higher stages of cultivation without it. As far as they knew, it had never happened. The only thing that Sen was certain of was that he wanted nothing to do with the kinds of duels that Master Feng had described asmonce among cultivators. He also believed them when they said he¡¯d find it almost impossible to avoid the fights.


    When going around in circles in his own head didn¡¯t get him anywhere, Sen went to talk to Auntie Caihong. She¡¯d seemed the leastmitted to the idea of fighting as a cultivation aid. She smiled at him when came into the kitchen where she was preparing something.


    ¡°Auntie, why did you be a cultivator?¡±


    The question seemed to catch the woman off guard because she stopped stirring whatever was in the pot and turned to look at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone has ever asked me that before.¡±


    ¡°What? How is that possible? Nobody ever asked you about it?¡±


    Auntie Caihong thought for a few moments before she went back to stirring. ¡°My father decided it. I was sent away to a sect when I was a little younger than you.¡±


    Sen was taken aback by thatment. ¡°He just sent you away?¡±


    ¡°It wasmon then. It¡¯s stillmon. Families with too many daughters look for ways to, I suppose, unburden themselves.¡±


    ¡°Too many daughters?¡± Sen asked, utterly baffled.


    ¡°That¡¯s a much longer conversation,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that many families see daughters as an expense they don¡¯t want. So, if they can hand one off to a sect to be a cultivator, well, it¡¯s one less expense.¡±


    ¡°So, <em>you</em> never really decided?¡±


    ¡°I did decide. I decided the day I left my family home that I would never let someone else control my fate that way again. Bing a cultivator gave me the power to live the life I chose.¡±


    ¡°Did you know what it meant? All of the fighting? The killing?¡±


    She hesitated at that. ¡°No one ever really knows. You can¡¯t truly know what it is until you¡¯re in the middle of it. But, yes, I knew about that part.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t it bother you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It still does. I¡¯m fortunate, though. I¡¯m not like Ming or my husband. They were <em>known</em> for fighting. Ming built his entire, well-earned reputation on it. I didn¡¯t. I will fight if I have to, but no one is going toe looking to prove themselves against me. That¡¯s half the reason Jaw-Long stays here on this mountain. It lets him avoid a lot of unnecessary bloodshed.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the other half?¡± Sen asked, curiosity overriding good sense briefly.


    ¡°It lets him avoid all of the people who¡¯d want to learn from him. They¡¯re even worse than the people looking for a fight. After a fight, the other person usually goes away. Or, they¡¯re dead. Would be disciples? They just hang around, begging and pleading to learn from him. It¡¯s very tedious.¡±


    Sen frowned at that. ¡°But he teaches me things all the time.¡±


    Auntie Caihong threw back her head andughed. ¡°Oh, Sen, that¡¯s because he actually <em>likes</em> you.¡±


    With no resolution to his quandary, Sen went to Uncle Kho and posed the same question about why he became a cultivator.


    ¡°It was a simple choice for me. I grew up poor. I was either going to end up a soldier or try to be a cultivator. There was a lot of war going on in those days. A lot of young men like me went off to those wars and never came back. I wanted to live a long life. The longer the better, I thought. And nobody seems to live longer than cultivators. So, I found myself a wandering cultivator and pestered the man until he agreed to teach some things.¡±


    ¡°Did you know that it would mean fighting all the time? Maybe killing all the time?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d heard the stories. I figured they were probably true. Of course, fighting never bothered me that much. I was good at it.¡±


    Finally, Sen went to Master Feng with his questions.


    ¡°Why?¡± Master Feng repeated. ¡°Power. in and simple. I wanted power.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°I wish I¡¯d really asked myself that question. I¡¯m pretty sure that I thought I¡¯d conquer the world or something equally useless. Once I had some power, I realized that being in charge of things only sounds good from the outside. When I think about all of the work that would go into ruling the world. Makes me shudder.¡±


    ¡°So, you didn¡¯t conquer the world out of,¡± Sen hesitated, then plowed forward, ziness?¡±


    Master Fengughed. ¡°Laziness and an umon amount of good sense. Trust me, we all dodged catastrophe when I put those dreams away.¡±


    ¡°And you knew what it meant, bing a cultivator? The Jianghu, the duels, all of it?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know any of that. And, to be honest, I wouldn¡¯t have cared. Being thoughtful about life is something most of us don¡¯t pick up untilter.¡±


    In the end, Sen was left where he started. Sitting outside with Falling Leaf. He¡¯d poured out his worries and concerns to her, while the cat listened attentively. Then, when he was done, he stared up at the stars.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°You¡¯ll fight,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    Sen jerked his head around to stare at the ghost panther. It was the first time she¡¯d spoken since they¡¯d run into that fox. He just wished she¡¯d said something else.


    ¡°What?¡± He demanded. ¡°Weren¡¯t you listening? I don¡¯t want to fight anyone.¡±


    Falling Leaf regarded him with eyes that almost seemed to glow in the darkness. ¡°The bear does not wish to fight the wolf. Yet, if the wolfes, the bear will fight because it must. You say that others wille for you. You do not wish to fight, but you will fight. Because you must. Because they will harm you if you do not. It is the only path <em>forward</em>.¡±

 Chapter 53: The Path Forward

    Chapter 53: The Path Forward


    Sen had been so angry with Falling Leaf that he¡¯d stormed inside. He pretended he didn¡¯t feel her eyes on him as he went. He¡¯d argued with her in his head all the way to his room. She didn¡¯t know what she was talking about. She was just a big cat. What could she possibly know about it?


    ¡°Bears and wolves,¡± he muttered. ¡°What does that have to do with <em>anything</em>?¡±


    Yet, as hey there, not sleeping, what she said kept circling around in his mind, refusing to let him rest, refusing to let him put away his troubles and have the sweet release of sleep. A little nagging part of him said that he was acting like a child. It told him that he was trying to ignore her because she didn¡¯t just tell him what he wanted to hear. He rolled onto his side and tried to ignore that little voice, too. Except, she had <em>talked</em> to him. She hadn¡¯t gestured or given him a serious look. She¡¯d actually talked to him. He knew it was hard for her. She¡¯d told him so. They¡¯d only traded a handful of words that one time. For her, that brief speech in the courtyard was a monumental number of words. <em>Why did it have to be those words</em>, he thought.


    He tossed and turned for most of an hour before he gave up and just stared at the wall, thinking it over. It was herst words that truly haunted him. It is the only path forward. She hadn¡¯t said it was the only path. He didn¡¯t know exactly how it worked, but he knew that cultivation could be broken somehow. He could go back to being a regr person if he wanted it badly enough. As Sen tried to think his way around it, he knew that was the heart of the problem. He didn¡¯t want to go back, not really. He didn¡¯t want to forget what being a regr person was like. He didn¡¯t want to treat regr people like they were beneath him. How could they be? The only reason he even had a family name was because Grandmother Lu had decided to give him one for her own reasons.


    Going back, though, he couldn¡¯t see himself doing that. He¡¯d learned too much. He¡¯d suffered too much to just throw that all away. No, going back wasn¡¯t the solution to the problem. He¡¯d held that idea in the back of his head from very nearly the first day with Master Feng, but it was long past time that he epted that wasn¡¯t some kind of escape hatch from cultivation. If going back wasn¡¯t a real path¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s the only way forward,¡± Sen said. ¡°Forward.¡±


    Sen closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. If he was going to go forward, and that¡¯s the only real way he could move, it didn¡¯te for free. He epted that¡¯s what he¡¯d really wanted. He wanted the strength and power that came with being a cultivator, but he hadn¡¯t wanted to pay the price. Like it or not, and Sen most certainly didn¡¯t like it, the cultivators had their own way of doing things. He wanted to go out and see the world. In fact, it was something he was increasingly sure he¡¯d <em>have</em> to do to keep advancing. Doing that meant he would, inevitably,e across other cultivators. They would expect him to know their rules. <em>Our rules</em>, he corrected himself. He was one of them. He might have trained differently than they did, but that wouldn¡¯t matter to them.


    The world of cultivators was a world of violence. Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong assured him that it was usually restrained violence, but violence was a fact of their existence. Fighting was the price he¡¯d have to pay to aplish his own goals. He thought over his training. He had learned a lot, but had he really learned about fighting? His sparring matches with the older cultivators hadn¡¯t felt like the fights he¡¯d had with noble brats in Orchard¡¯s Reach. Those long-ago fights had been hectic and frightening, with his heart pounding in his ears, and pain screaming for his limited attention. The sparring was all control and softened by the certainty that the other person would pull back before they¡¯d risk a serious injury. That wasn¡¯t to say that Sen thought what he¡¯d learned was useless. In a controlled situation, he expected that he would fare fine.


    Yet, how often would he fight in a controlled situation? From their descriptions of the Jianghu, he¡¯d be fighting in forests, on the streets, and even inside of noodle shops. He¡¯d have to worry about everything from spilled food to strewn bodies on the ground. His training had not prepared him for that. For that matter, he couldn¡¯t even expect to only have to fight one person at a time. He¡¯d learned that lesson often enough as a child. Cowards were cowards, and they ran in packs. He expected that was as true of cultivators as it was of regr people. He had not trained, not really, to fight multiple people at once. He knew that much of what he¡¯d learned could be used that way. Yet, knowing it and knowing how to do it was the difference between the moon¡¯s reflection on the water and the moon itself.


    Sen thought about that for a long time, trying to understand the difference between what he¡¯d trained for and actual fighting. <em>Dueling</em>, he finally realized. <em>They trained me for dueling with other cultivators</em>. That would all be helpful enough when he actually dueled someone, but those painful memories of getting beaten by a group were seared deep inside Sen¡¯s soul. He absolutely believed that cultivators woulde for him as a group, at least if they thought no one could see. That meant that he needed to stop training to duel. He needed to train in how to fight. He might hate every minute of that fighting. He knew that he¡¯d avoid it whenever he could. At the end of the day, though, he wanted to be a cultivator. For whatever reason, fighting was the price on offer to keep participating.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he said to the empty room. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll learn to fight.¡±


    With the matter finally settled in his head, Sen was asleep in seconds.


    ***


    Sen took the next morning to see if things looked different in the literal light of day. He knew that, sometimes, sleep provided perspective. Yet, the morning offered him no new revtions. If anything, he felt more confident that he had the right of things. So, that afternoon, Sen presented his thoughts to Uncle Kho. The cultivator was quiet for a long, long time before he finally spoke. Sen was surprised by the first thing the old cultivator said.


    ¡°Sen, I know that Ming and I don¡¯t present cultivators out in the world in the best light, but they aren¡¯t all honorless dogs.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re people, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, I suppose they are.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen firsthand how honorable people treat those they see as weaker, as lesser, than themselves. As far as I¡¯m concerned, they <em>are</em> all honorless dogs until they give me a very good reason to trust them. I¡¯d be insane not to prepare for the possibility that they¡¯ll attack me in groups when they think they can get away with it. Can you tell me they won¡¯t? Can you tell me it never happened to you?¡±


    Uncle Kho frowned and then shook his head. ¡°No, I can¡¯t tell you that.¡±


    ¡°Then, I need to learn how to <em>fight</em>, not duel. I need there to be a real risk of injury, just so I learn what to expect from my body. I probably can¡¯t control all of those reactions, but I can learn to work around them. I need there to be more than one person to worry about. I¡¯ve spent all my time learning how to focus on what¡¯s in front of me, but that¡¯s not how fights usually work in my experience. It¡¯s the person you don¡¯t see that gets you the first time. I have to get ready for <em>that</em>.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I suppose we all have been working from a prettier picture than is realistic. I know better. Ming certainly knows better. The heavens know we¡¯ve both done enough fighting. Let me talk with Ming and Caihong. We¡¯ll sort out the right kind of training. Don¡¯t think this gets you out of spear training with me. I still have a lot to teach you before I unleash you on the world.¡±


    ¡°Unleash?¡±


    Uncle Kho grinned. ¡°Did I say unleash? I''m sure I meant send you. Yes, I have a lot left to teach before I send you out into the world.¡±

 Chapter 54: Fighting Ways

    Chapter 54: Fighting Ways


    Sen learned a lot about himself over the next few months. He learned that his body really had benefitted from body cultivation. He was harder to seriously injure. Things that might have once left him with cracked bones only left bruises on his much-improved body. He learned that he healed a lot faster too. Small cuts and bruises would simply vanish overnight. Deep bruises would look weeks old by morning. Sen also learned that he could withstand a lot more pain than he ever thought he could and keep fighting. At first, blows that sent him crashing into the courtyard stones or bouncing off the walls were enough to stun him into near immobility. Thatsted right up until Uncle Kho casually walked over and drove his spear into the stone right next to Sen¡¯s head. Uncle Kho didn¡¯t need to exin the lesson. If you stay down, someone will make sure you stay there forever.


    So, bit by bit, Sen learned how to focus through the pain. At first, he thought there must be some secret technique for ignoring pain. Surely there was some method of meditation to lock it away. Yet, Uncle Kho and Master Feng assured him that there wasn¡¯t. Sen wasn¡¯t entirely convinced, but it was clear no one would teach it to him until after he¡¯d learned the lesson they wanted him to learn. He learned it, though, through agonizing weeks, he learned to push himself back onto his feet, even while his muscles spasmed and his bones protested. Even when he hurt so much that he was half-blind, he made himself get back up. Once he mastered getting back up, he had to master getting back in the fight. He discovered the physical fighting element of that was pretty easy. After thousands upon thousands of forms and drills, his body would work almost as well without his mental input as with it. Act. React. Attack. Defend. It was all disarmingly familiar.


    No, it was the mental element he struggled to master. Pushing past it all to get back on his feet was rtively easy to convince himself to do because survival depended on it. Convincing himself to go and fight some more, rather than flee the scene of so much pain, always sounded like a terrible idea to his battered consciousness. It was that battle that he fought day after day, and then week after week. In the end, it was simple repetition that won him the fight. It was as if his mind was only willing to try arguing with him about it for so long before it finally just shrugged, gave up, and said, ¡°Fine, have it your way, you mad bastard.¡± After that, if he could get back to his feet, he could get back into the fight.


    Sen also learned that he¡¯d never truly trusted his intuition. He¡¯d had a kind of sixth sense for trouble when he¡¯d lived on the streets, but he¡¯d only ever listened when that sixth sense was moring for attention. If it wasn¡¯t screaming at him, he usually pushed it to the back of his head. When Uncle Kho and Master Feng had started Sen on learning to fight more than one person at the same time, he swiftly learned the folly of that old habit. They hadn¡¯t been two minutes into the first day of training when Master Feng had casually batted him to the ground from behind. Then, a few minutester, Master Kho did the same thing. On and on it went with Sen acting as little more than a training dummy for the two. It was a brutal way to learn, but he started to trust those tiny twinges in his gut. It wasn¡¯t always enough to save him from the blow, but he was almost never caught wholly unaware. It also taught him not to lock his spiritual sense facing forward. He didn¡¯t always seed at maintaining that sense in all directions, but he got increasingly skilled with it as time went by.


    It took about a month, but Sen even got over his phobia about pills. He had apparentlye in bloody and bruised from one too many of those training sessions because Auntie Caihong had grabbed him and put in him a seat. Then, she retrieved a pill from her storage ring, handed it to him, and ordered him to take it. He¡¯d tried to protest, but she gave him a look that she usually reserved for when Uncle Kho was moments from doing something he¡¯d regret forever. Sen had shut up and taken the pill. It had helped. It wasn¡¯t every day after that, but it seemed that when Sen reached some invisible threshold of injury, Auntie Caihong would give him a pill. Sen still didn¡¯t like them. He didn¡¯t think that would ever change. Yet, he could see that there were important differences between the cultivation aids. Not taking a healing pill when someone offered it after you suffered an injury wasn¡¯t noble. No principle was served. It was just stupid. Looking backter, Sen thought that pure mental and physical exhaustion probably helped. It was hard to get worked up about anything when falling asleep while eating was a distinct possibility.


    Sen also discovered an ability that he might have found exciting in other circumstances. While he¡¯d been limited to using two kinds of attributed qi before, he learned that his channels could support at least four different cycling patterns, as long as he didn¡¯t push any of them too hard. The reduced qi flow certainly put a hard limit on how strong his qi techniques could be, but it opened up a lot of horizons for him defensively and offensively. He found that hurling a small fireball behind him and a wind de in front of him while wreathed in mist was surprisingly effective at driving back opponents. Unlike before, he pushed his natural affinities hard. He developed techniques for shadow screens that hid him and even helped mask other techniques before they burst through the screen. He honed the fire whip spell until it could extend several feet. If focused exclusively on fire or shadow, he could do even more impressive things.


    He learned to form several fireballs at once. He could throw a ring of fire around himself that made getting close enough for an attack a gamble. He even found that, with enough concentration, he could form a solid de using shadow. Sadly, it didn¡¯t do anything special. At least, it didn¡¯t do anything special that Sen could identify, since it couldn¡¯t cut Uncle Kho or Master Feng. That was the problem with most of Sen¡¯s qi techniques. Both the older cultivators could tone down how much of their cultivation they used. It was that sole fact that prevented them from killing Sen every time theynded a blow. Yet, they couldn¡¯t really make their bodies more vulnerable. All of those centuries of body refining and general qi infusion had made them all profoundly difficult to injure. It made practicing qi techniques against them a mixed blessing for Sen. On the one hand, he was getting in a lot of practice. On the other, he wasn¡¯t any closer to understanding how those attacks or techniques would y out against people at his own cultivation level.


    Despite small problems like that, though, Sen was aplishing his goal. He was learning how to fight when the odds were stacked against him. He didn¡¯t go easy on himself either. He specifically asked Master Feng and Uncle Kho to use a cultivation level equal to that of a peak foundation formation cultivator. Sen knew it would mean taking a lot more hits and suffering a lot more injuries, but it would also prepare him better for the fights ahead. If he could stand off two incredibly skilled fighters like the two older cultivators for even a few minutes, he¡¯d give himself fair odds against a handful of people at his own level. If he could level the field even that much, he¡¯d trust himself to find a way clear from there. After all, he didn¡¯t need to achieve absolute victory every time. All he needed was to make sure the fight was so painful for the other people that they¡¯d rather quit and go home. So, he fought, and pushed, and the part of his mind he¡¯d trained so long ago cultivated in the background, inching him closer and closer to another breakthrough that had no ce in his thoughts.

 Chapter 55: A Distant Call

    Chapter 55: A Distant Call


    For once, Sen simply sat in the darkness that pervaded the mountain before dawn. He had meant to get up and train, as he did every morning. When he stepped outside to start, though, he instead found himself sitting on a bench, cycling qi, and letting his mind drift. It was quiet and, although Sen barely noticed, a touch of frost rested lightly on everything, ready to evaporate at the first kiss of sunlight. The smallest tendrils of winter hade early that year. In a quiet corner of his heart, Sen recognized that he was tired. A few weeks earlier, Uncle Kho and Master Feng decided that Sen was reaching a kind of something. He searched his memory for the term they had used. His bleary consciousness haltingly, grudgingly, dredged up the word. teau. He was reaching a teau just fighting the two of them. So, they enlisted Auntie Caihong to increase the difficulty. Sen had not appreciated how much harder fighting three people would be until he had to do it.


    It wasn¡¯t thirty percent harder the way he had imagined. He was rtively sure he could have managed thirty percent harder. No, it was more like three hundred percent harder. Three people could coordinate and vary their attacks in ways that were impossible for two people. It changed absolutely <em>everything</em> about the fight. Sen had been forced to push his skills, his qi techniques, and his senses to their extreme limits to avoid simply being crushed immediately. He ended every day feeling like his mind and body had been wrung out like an old cloth. He also knew that his middling ability to keep them at bay had more to do with Auntie Caihong training him in her sword style than it had to do with his ability. He <em>knew</em> what to expect from her, at least a little. It gave him a tiny edge and just enough room to stay a half step ahead of utter defeat.


    Yet, the toll of pushing so hard for so long had started to add up. He noticed himself making tiny errors that wouldn¡¯t have happened a month prior. There were tiny hups in his thought process that dyed decisions for fractions of a second. He knew that wouldn¡¯t seem like anything to regr people. The dys were so small that they probably wouldn¡¯t even notice, but Sen <em>did</em> notice. In a fight with three people operating at peak foundation formation, even tiny fractions of a second were critical, or lethal, depending on which side of the fight you were on. So, for once, Sen just let himself sit and rest for a little while. As he had more and more often, Sen found himself staring off into the east. The ocean was in that direction. His desire to see it had turned into impatience. It was a nagging sensation that the ocean was waiting for him, although he knew that didn¡¯t make any sense. There was something else, though, something that tickled at the edges of his perception or his mind or maybe even his soul. He started to reach for the sensation when he heard the door open.


    He looked over and saw Auntie Caihong walking over to him. She held small, steaming cups in both hands. Sen just stared at her as she walked toward him, vaguely aware that there was something he ought to be doing. His sluggish mind finally made the connection, and Sen shot to his feet. He offered a respectful bow before epting one of the cups. Auntie Caihong sat down on the bench, and Sen joined her. He held the cup in his hands for a moment, enjoying the heat that sank into his fingers. Then, he lifted the cup and sipped at the scalding liquid. He offered a little sigh of contentment as the heat bloomed inside him. Auntie Caihong looked around happily at the courtyard.


    ¡°I love this time of year,¡± she said.


    ¡°Why is that, Auntie?¡± Sen asked, mostly by reflex.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s any one thing. I like the colors. I like the way it¡¯s cold in the morning but can still feel like summer in the afternoon. I like the way I can feel everything on the mountain getting ready for the winter. Everything is changing, but it¡¯s not done changing yet. Before long, everything on the mountain will be asleep or have traveled away to somewhere warmer. Winter is often peaceful, but it¡¯s too still for me.¡±


    Sen nodded to show he understood, although he couldn¡¯t think of anything to add. He found his gaze drifting east again and forced his attention back to Auntie Caihong. He found her giving him a vaguely sad look.


    ¡°You¡¯ll leave soon, won¡¯t you?¡± She asked.


    Sen dug deep and considered his answer with care. ¡°Yes. Soon, but not too soon. At least, I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s not, that is, it¡¯s not quite time. Uncle Kho, you, and even Master Fend taught me a lot about bnce and the need for it as a cultivator. I¡¯m still in bnce here. I¡¯ll stay while that¡¯s true, but it <em>is</em> changing.¡±


    Auntie Caihong sat quietly and sipped her tea. She looked thoughtful, but not as sad.


    ¡°Do you know when?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing a bit, but probably in the spring. I think that¡¯s when-,¡± Sen drifted off, not quite sure what words would properly describe the feeling.


    The cultivator¡¯s eyes grew sharp as she looked at him. ¡°That¡¯s when, what?¡±


    Sen tried to gather his thoughts. He knew he had to tell her about this the right way, but it was hard toe up with the right words when he was so tired.


    ¡°There¡¯s something waiting for me or maybe something I¡¯m supposed to do at the ocean. I can sense it. <em>Feel</em> it. It¡¯s like,¡± he paused to think again, ¡°it¡¯s like a distant call. You can hear the sounds, but you can¡¯t make out the words until you get closer. Right now, I can hear the sounds. When I can hear the words, that¡¯s when I¡¯ll have to go.¡±


    Auntie Caihong stared at him inplete silence for nearly ten seconds. Her gaze was so intense that Sen felt ufortable. Then, she broke the tension by snorting and offering him a wry smile.


    ¡°Jaw-Long has been a bad influence on you,¡± she said.


    The statement was so unexpected that Sen burst intoughter. Then, realizing that Uncle Kho or Master Feng might still be sleeping, he pped a hand over his mouth. When the intense desire tough finally passed, Sen lowered his hand.


    Snickering, he said, ¡°A bad influence? How so?¡±


    ¡°Whenever he talks about cultivation, or even using a spear for that matter, there¡¯s always this mystical edge about it. It¡¯s like he enjoys this unique rtionship with cultivation that gives him insight, but not in a way that he can express directly. You sounded a lot like him just then.¡±


    Sen blushed a little. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be vague. I just can¡¯t think of a better way to put it.¡±


    She smiled and patted his arm. ¡°It¡¯s fine. At least, I know we¡¯ll have you until spring. So, that¡¯s something.¡±


    Sen suppressed the unhappy noise that he wanted to make. ¡°I wish I could just stay. I love it here. I love being here with you, Uncle Kho, and Master Feng. I love learning and training. I finally know what it¡¯s like to have a family. But Grandmother Lu is my family, too. I¡¯ve been away for, what, five years? I know I left her in a much better situation, but I still worry about her. I worry that she may have needed me for something, and I wasn¡¯t there. Even if I didn¡¯t know there was something waiting for me in the east, I¡¯d still have to go.¡±


    Sen nced at Auntie Caihong. He could see thest vestiges of moonlight glimmering in her unshed tears.


    ¡°You¡¯ll always have a home here, family here, Sen. We might not want you to go, but we¡¯re all cultivators. We understand that sometimes, advancing means leaving. Just make sure youe back from time to time.¡±


    ¡°I will, Auntie.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, I actually came out here for a reason.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re taking the day off. I don¡¯t care what you do. Sleep. Cook. Read. It can be anything except training, fighting, or studying. I¡¯d tell you to stop cycling, but Ming trained you too well for that. I don¡¯t even think you know you¡¯re doing it most of the time.¡±


    ¡°Auntie, I need to-,¡± Sen started to say.


    ¡°Rest. You need to rest. You¡¯ve been pushing yourself harder than I¡¯ve ever seen anyone at your cultivation stage push themselves. And I¡¯ve known some true zealots. Taking one day off <em>this year</em> will not set you back. I already spoke with my husband and Ming about it. If you don¡¯t sleep, at least try to do something to rx. Maybe even do something fun, like chasing Falling Leaf up and down the mountain. I bet she¡¯d like that. No objections. This is an order.¡±


    A piece of Sen wanted to object on principle, but Sen ignored that. He just offered up a defeated smile. ¡°As you say, Auntie.¡±

 Chapter 56: Next Steps

    Chapter 56: Next Steps


    Sen never stopped moving. He felt Auntie Caihong¡¯s thrusting toward his back, even as he saw Uncle Khoe in for a downward sh from the left. His senses told him that Master Feng was a few steps back and, for a precious moment or two, would be out of position. Sen spun away from Caihong¡¯s attack and used the momentum to knock Uncle Kho¡¯s sh just far enough out of position that it would miss him. He used the rebound from the block to carry him around again and drove a sh at Master Feng, who was forced to abandon his attack in favor of defense.


    With that threat momentarily dealt with, Sen moved his head a fraction to the right to avoid another attack by Auntie Caihong. She¡¯d closed a little too much, so he sent a short, brutal kick her way. She almost avoided it, but the ncing blow disrupted her forward motion and sent her two steps to the side. That put her in Master Feng¡¯s way. That would keep them busy for two or three heartbeats. Sen dropped beneath a swipe that would have probably taken his head off at the neck, before mming the butt of his own spear into Uncle Kho¡¯s exposed ribs. Sen was about tounch another attack when Master Feng called the fight to a halt.


    ¡°Enough,¡± he said in a calm voice.


    Sen nted the butt of the spear on the ground and let the weapon support a bit of his weight as he took deep breaths. That shocked him. He hadn¡¯t been really out of breath in months. Then again, they had pushed him hard that day. Plus, he¡¯d been fighting them for a while. He wasn¡¯t sure how long. There were hazy patches all over his memory of the fight. It made judging time difficult. As Sen let his awareness of his surroundings expand beyond the nearest ten feet, he realized that it was snowing. <em>When did that start</em>, he wondered. Not that snow was unusual sote in the year, but he¡¯d been wholly unaware of it.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s probably time,¡± said Uncle Kho, a bit of regret in his voice.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Auntie Caihong.


    Sen gave the older cultivators a suspicious look. They sounded like they were deciding something, but he didn¡¯t know what. Master Feng looked from the others to Sen.


    ¡°You¡¯ve taken this exercise about as far as you can, at least at your current cultivation.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t say anything for a moment. The implications of those words weren¡¯t something he¡¯d prepared for mentally. After he realized that he was just staring at Master Feng, who had raised an eyebrow at him, Sen finally spoke.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m done?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, you¡¯re never done. There doese a point, though, where what you gain from additional practice isn¡¯t really worth the effort you put into it. You¡¯re at that point.¡±


    Sen just let that roll around in his head for a while. ¡°Then, what¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°I have one thing to show you. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re quite there, yet, but there¡¯s no real harm inying the groundwork for a qinggong technique.¡±


    Uncle Kho piped up then. ¡°I have a little bit more to teach you about the spear. But, really, at this point, what you need is information. So, that¡¯s what we¡¯ll be focusing on.¡±


    ¡°Information? Information about what?¡±


    ¡°The world,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°You¡¯ve never been away from the town below have you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Sen admitted.


    ¡°Fortunately, all of us have,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°So, we¡¯re going to fill you in on some things you need to know. ces to go. ces to never go. People you can turn to if you need help. That sort of thing.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°I suppose now is as good a time as any to ask this. It seems likely that, sooner orter, someone will ask me who trained me. Should I tell them?¡±


    The three older cultivators traded pensive looks. Sen understood those looks, at least a little bit. He didn¡¯t know how far it went, but he knew that all three of them had reputations out in the world. After the way those sect members reacted to Uncle Kho, though, Sen had given the matter a lot of thought. While Sen didn¡¯t care all that much about what people thought of him, he didn¡¯t want to tarnish anyone else¡¯s reputation along the way.


    After a moment, Auntie Caihong snorted. ¡°He might as well. People will figure it out whether he tells them or not.¡±


    ¡°Do you think so?¡± Master Feng asked.


    ¡°If they ever see him wield a jian or a spear, they will. They¡¯ll see the two of you all over his style. My influence won¡¯t be so obvious. Even so, there¡¯s no point in making him keep a secret that won¡¯t stay a secret.¡±


    Uncle Kho was still frowning. ¡°Still, it could set him up to borrow trouble. Our trouble.¡±


    ¡°Probably,¡± agreed Master Feng. ¡°But I expect that¡¯s been true since the day I picked him up down the mountain. Besides, anyone who really knows us won¡¯t be stupid enough to try toe at us through him. Anyone stupid enough to try it, well, I¡¯m not above handing out some object lessons over the next couple of decades.¡±


    Uncle Kho mulled that over. ¡°It has been a while since Ist left the mountain. I suppose there¡¯s nothing wrong with a little leg stretching now and then.¡±


    That brief snippet of conversation simultaneously warmed Sen¡¯s heart and chilled him right to the marrow. There was, after all, a certainfort in knowing that if he was ever in serious trouble not of his own making, there was ridiculously, terrifyingly powerful help out there for him. At the same time, Sen had some understanding of what that help might look like in practice. Uncle Kho had ended the lives of two people simply for issuing a threat to harm Sen. If someone actually took him prisoner or harmed him, Sen had visions of miles of scorched and ckened earth. As for Master Feng, Sen honestly had no idea what the man might be capable of in a fit of anger, but he expected the results would be much the same in effect, if not in execution.


    Of the three, though, Sen thought that Auntie Caihong might be the most dangerous in a situation like that. With her knowledge of medicinal herbs, pills, and alchemy, she could very well kill scores of people before anyone knew what was happening. With all of her vast experience, he imagined she could hide it from even the most watchful eyes. The part that truly made Sen shudder, though, was that he didn¡¯t imagine for one moment that those people would be granted quick, clean, or merciful deaths. Sen came to a decision.


    ¡°I won¡¯t hide the information. If someone I can¡¯t safely ignore should ask me directly about it, at any rate,¡± said Sen. ¡°I won¡¯t spread it around, though. Maybe people will figure out that I¡¯m connected with you three, eventually, but there¡¯s no reason to help the information get out.¡±


    Auntie Caihong nodded. ¡°That¡¯s probably the best answer here. It¡¯s not worth your life or even serious injury to keep it to yourself. Beyond that, though, no one really needs to know.¡±


    Master Feng and Uncle Kho nodded their agreement with that assessment. Sen started to ask another question but only managed to let out a jaw-creaking yawn. He felt a little twinge of embarrassment at the bemused expressions on everyone¡¯s faces. Then, he shrugged it off. It had been a long day, and they¡¯d worked him hard.


    ¡°Sen, go clean up,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°Jaw-Long, do you still have a map of the continent floating around?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Good. We¡¯ll have to take a look at it after dinner.¡±


    As Sen wandered off to get a bath, his tired mind didn¡¯t make note of Falling Leaf staring first at him and then at the elder cultivators.

 Chapter 57: Parting Ways (1)

    Chapter 57: Parting Ways (1)


    Armed with the knowledge that he was leaving soon, it seemed that Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong decided that they needed to cram as much information as possible into his head before he went. The three of them poured over Uncle Kho¡¯s map, pointing to spots and then talking at him, and often over each other, about the ce. Sen soon realized that, even with his seemingly improved memory and thinking, he could never possibly remember even a fraction of what they were telling him. So, he started taking notes of key information. He focused on what he hoped were essentials, such as the names of people they either thought he should meet or that they¡¯d like messages delivered to. He also made careful note of businesses they vouched for or, in some cases, businesses that they owned in whole or in part. There were a lot of those, although they weren¡¯t concentrated in any one ce. When Sen learned that Master Feng apparently owned a pastry shop on the far side of the continent, he simply couldn¡¯t contain his curiosity.


    ¡°A pastry shop? Why do you own a pastry shop, master?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it wasn¡¯t anything special. The owner¡¯s daughter was nice to me.¡±


    That got a sharp look from Auntie Caihong. ¡°She was nice to you?¡±


    Her look triggered a scowl from him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look, Caihong. She was all of four years old. I look like her grandfather, but she didn¡¯t know the difference. She saw me in the street, and I was grandpa after that. The shop was in trouble, so I bought the ce.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Auntie Caihong, looking a little abashed.


    Master Feng¡¯s face took on a distant, pleasant look. ¡°Get an egg tart if you ever go there, Sen. Delicious.¡±


    Sen liked good food as much as the next person, so he agreed.


    ***


    It wasn¡¯t all information useful for travel, either. Uncle Kho decided that Sen not manifesting lightning qi was an injustice that simply could not be let to stand. It was here that Sen learned one of the pitfalls of the training approach they had taken with him. Uncle Kho had started naming qi channels that Sen should use to manifest lightning. It was only the look of pure iprehension on Sen¡¯s face that brought the detailed exnation to a halt. Uncle Kho had frowned then, paced back and forth a few times, then sighed. The old cultivator ultimately had to enlist Auntie Caihong and her diagram of qi channels to show Sen what to do.


    It took Sen almost ten days of practice to first manifest the lightning and then get it under some semnce of control. He couldn¡¯t create anything like the bolts of destruction that Uncle Kho had so casually tossed around, but the older cultivator didn¡¯t seem to mind. He looked positively ecstatic when Sen could do it at all. Sen had worried that Master Feng might object to this approach to learning but he waved off the concern.


    ¡°It¡¯s a useful thing to know how to do. You can use it to shock your opponents,¡± said Master Feng, before he startedughing.


    Sen was mystified by theughter and the pained groan that Uncle Kho let out.


    ¡°Really, Ming? How long have you been saving up that pun?¡±


    ¡°Since about five seconds after you started showing him how to manifest lightning.¡±


    Uncle Kho gave Master Feng a t look. ¡°It¡¯s a miracle those jokes didn¡¯t get you killed somewhere along the way,¡± said Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Oh, plenty of people tried.¡±


    ¡°Not hard enough,¡± muttered Uncle Kho.


    ***


    Yet, for all the preparation they were doing, it was Falling Leaf that made his uing departure real for Sen. He¡¯d been outside in the morning, practicing, when Falling Leaf hade up, sat, and gave him a serious look. Sen had stopped what he was doing to focus on the big cat.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving,¡± she said.


    It wasn¡¯t a question. It was a statement of fact. Yet, her choice to <em>say</em> it to him gave the whole thing more heft in his mind.


    ¡°I am,¡± he admitted. ¡°Not immediately. In the spring.¡±


    She was silent and motionless for so long that Sen thought the conversation might be over. Finally, she spoke again.


    ¡°For how long?¡±


    That had brought Sen up short. He¡¯d known he would be going, but he hadn¡¯t really given <em>any</em> thought to when he mighte back. He knew that he <em>would</em>e back. Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong were here. Grandmother Lu was here. The mountain was here. Falling Leaf was here. The when of it, though? It could be years for all he knew. He hesitated to utter that truth out loud, uncertain what the ghost panther would think of it, or of him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    There was an undercurrent in those words that Sen didn¡¯t understand. Was it anger? Was it hurt? He just didn¡¯t know. Desperate to salvage something from the conversation, Sen improvised.


    ¡°You coulde with me if you want.¡±


    It might have been something he came up with in the moment, but the idea resonated with Sen. Falling Leaf was his friend. He trusted her. He¡¯d trust her to watch his back. He¡¯d never had that before. The more he thought about her going with him, the better he liked the idea. There was another excruciating pause as the cat seemed to think it over. She answered by shaking her head.


    ¡°I cannot. There is no ce for me in the human world. I would be hunted.¡±


    Sen wanted to argue, to protest that he would protect her, but he couldn¡¯t make that kind of promise. He might mean every word when he said it. Yet, meaning it didn¡¯t mean he could actually keep the promise. Still, watching all of his hastily constructed fantasies copse was painful.


    Not sure what else he could do, Sen said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t <em>want</em> to leave you behind, but I do have to go. I have to stay in bnce and, soon, I won¡¯t be in bnce here anymore.¡±


    The big cat regarded him with something in her eyes that truly didn¡¯t understand. It made her seem more like a beast than she ever had before.


    ¡°You leave this ce behind. Not <em>me</em>.¡±


    With those cryptic words, she rose, went over to the wall, and casually leapt to the top. She looked back at him one more time and spoke.


    ¡°I may leave this mountain someday. Keep a watch for me.¡±


    Then, she was gone. A part of Sen feared he wouldn¡¯t see her again after that. Yet, she came and went in much the same way she always had. They did not, however, speak again. Still, the gravity of what wasing settled over Sen after that. There was a finality to leaving the mountain. He could feel it, but he couldn¡¯t make sense of it. All he knew was that it meant change. Change could be a good thing. Master Feng bringing him up the mountain had been a change and, without question, had changed Sen¡¯s life for the better. So, this new change could also be for the good or so Sen hoped. Yet, he didn¡¯t know. That uncertainty weighed on him, even as the necessity of the change pulled at him, urged him on, called him to go, see, explore the world.


    What had be clear to Sen was that change almost always meant loss. He would lose what he had here. He wouldn¡¯t lose it forever or entirely. He could return and would find people waiting to wee him with open arms. Yet, it wouldn¡¯t ever be every day again. Not like it had been over the past years. He would miss it. As hard as parts of it had been, he had alsoe to relish the routines and challenges. He would also lose that surety thates with having very experienced elders to guide him. He would have to make choices about cultivation with no guiding hands there to catch him if he made a bad one. There was freedom in that, yes, but also loss. All Sen could do was hope that he¡¯d make the kind of choices that would let him look the members of this strange family that had adopted him in the eye with a clear conscience.

 Chapter 58: Parting Ways (2)

    Chapter 58: Parting Ways (2)


    As winter took full hold, Sen started thinking more and more about where he would go. He knew his first step would be Orchard¡¯s Reach to see Grandmother Lu. He expected she¡¯d want him to stay for a few days, assuming she still lived. He¡¯d said as much to Master Feng. The old cultivator expressed the same, strange confidence that he always did when Sen expressed concerns that he might get back toote.


    ¡°She¡¯ll be there,¡± said Master Feng.


    ¡°You always say that. Do you check in on her when you go away?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to. She¡¯s old, Sen, but she wasn¡¯t hovering at the border of death even when she was living in that hovel. She¡¯s had years of a safe home and enough to eat. I expect that you¡¯ll find her quite well.¡±


    Sen had frowned at the exnation. It was a reasonable answer, a practical answer, the kind of answer that Sen couldn¡¯t dispute. Yet, Sen was also certain that Master Feng had made the answer up on the spot. He was <em>too confident</em> that she would still be alive. It was like he had some other reason for thinking that way, but Sen wasn¡¯t sure what it could be. He was also certain that Master Feng had no intention of revealing his true thoughts on the matter. He¡¯d had years of opportunities and taken none of them. A part of Sen wondered if Master Feng was nning some kind of joke. While the old cultivator could be almost painfully serious at times, Sen had seen a mischievous gleam in his master¡¯s eyes one time too many. The problem was, again, that Sen couldn¡¯t see what kind of joke that man might be nning if there even was a joke.


    epting that he wasn¡¯t going to get any more information, he looked down at the map. His goal was ultimately the ocean, but there was a <em>lot</em> of coastline to pick from. There was a number of cities and town on the coast. He could go to any of them, but it seemed foolish to travel farther than necessary just to see the ocean. Instead, he looked for the piece of civilization closest to the coast that was also the nearest to them. He plopped a finger down on the map over a spot marked at Tide¡¯s Rest. Master Feng looked down at where Sen¡¯s finger hadnded and sniffed.


    ¡°Why go there?¡±


    ¡°I want to see the ocean, but I don¡¯t want to have to track through countless miles of wilderness and spirit beasts to do it. That ce is on the coast. It¡¯s nearby.¡±


    Sen paused then and mentally calcted the distance as Uncle Kho had taught him to do with the map. Tide¡¯s Rest was nearbypared with many of the other ces on the map, but it was a long journey. Even if he traveled alone and kept a fast pace, Sen thought it would probably take a couple of weeks to get there. If he traveled with a group or merchant¡¯s caravan, it could take a month.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s close enough,¡± he amended. ¡°Why? Is there a reason not to go there?¡±


    Master Feng opened his mouth, seemed to reconsider his words, and then shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t suppose there is. It¡¯s just not a very interesting ce, but you aren¡¯t going there to see the town. So, I guess it¡¯s not a real problem if it¡¯s not that interesting.¡±


    ***


    As the new year approached, Sen was once again fretting about what he could get for the three elder cultivators. Yet, when he asked for advice, he was told not to bother with gifts. Perplexed, he asked why. All three made nearly identical statements that, when you got to be as old as they were, it was a lot more fun to give gifts than it was to get them. After all, they¡¯d had countless mortal lifetimes to gather up all the things they could ever want. The notion had seemed very odd to Sen at first. As someone who had gone without very nearly every physical necessity for the better part of his life, he struggled with the idea of not needing more things. He could understand not wanting useless things, but there was always something practical that someone could use.


    Yet, as Sen looked around the house, he started to understand their meaning. He couldn¡¯t think of a single time that he¡¯d needed an object, a tool, <em>anything</em> really, that was not immediately dug out of a closet or retrieved from a storage ring. It was only then that Sen first began to grasp the profound advantages that an incredibly long life provided. You didn¡¯t need to race to amass a fortune if you had twenty lifetimes. You didn¡¯t need to learn everything in a hurry with that many years before you. You could afford to spend as much time as it took to aplish your goals. Enough time could, at least in theory, level any advantage. For most people, time was the enemy. It ticked away and, in the end, robbed you of everything. As a cultivator, though, Sen wouldn¡¯t grow old. He wouldn¡¯t grow weak. As long as he chose his path with care, he would only grow more powerful and more capable the longer he lived. As the cultivator, time was his most powerful ally.


    With that insight, Sen felt the breakthrough start. It wasn¡¯t as powerful as some of his previous breakthroughs, but the rush of fresh qi brought his attention to his own qi stores. He almost fell into a wall when he realized that he was stuffed full of umted qi. In all the rush to prepare for his departure, he hadn¡¯t been focused on converting the misty attributed qi inside him into the iridescent liquid qi. He made a hasty beeline for the cultivation room. While he didn¡¯t expect any more vile expulsions of waste from his body, he didn¡¯t dare risk an interruption while he converted all that qi. It took him the better part of five days to finish that work. When he finally stumbled out of the cultivation room feeling both oddly powerful and utterly exhausted, he¡¯d found Master Feng waiting for him.


    ¡°Oh, good, you¡¯re finally at middle foundation formation. Rest up for a day. Then, I can finally start teaching you that qinggong technique.¡±


    ***


    For a few brief days, it felt like a return to form to Sen. He spent his mornings practicing what he already knew, and his afternoons learning from Master Feng. Yet, the feeling didn¡¯tst. When he¡¯d been learning before, he¡¯d been taking in entire styles and systems. Learning one technique, however demanding, wasn¡¯t the same thing. It was more like learning <em>a</em> punch or an individual form out of a system. Of course, Sen also quickly realized that learning a qinggong technique was the <em>easy</em> part. Doing that technique was the real challenge. Where other qi techniques were mentally taxing, the true difficulty in qinggong techniques was that they were taxing on your qi reserves.


    ¡°They¡¯re hungry techniques,¡± agreed Master Feng. ¡°That¡¯s why people don¡¯t usually learn them until after they¡¯re into core formation. At that point, you¡¯ve generally got enough in reserve that you don¡¯t feel the loss so much. Of course, I have no idea where either of us will be when you finally break into core formation. You could probably find someone to teach you a technique at that point, but they¡¯d probably teach you one of the bad ones. No, better that I teach you this one, now. I know it doesn¡¯t feel that way, but it¡¯s the most efficient technique I¡¯ve found. You¡¯ll appreciate thatter. You can practice it and, who knows, it might evene in handy along the way. Nobody expects a foundation formation stage to whip a qinggong technique out of their back pocket.¡±


    ¡°As you say, master,¡± said Sen.


    Then, he went back to pooling qi around his feet and trying to walk across the long tub of water that Master Feng had set up.


    ***


    Denied advice and explicitly forbidden to give gifts, Sen did the only thing he could think of when the new year rolled around. He took over preparing the meal. Auntie Caihong had given him a bemused look when he ordered her out of the kitchen, but sheplied with a shake of her head. Sen prepared a small feast for them. He made sure to include at least one favorite dish for everyone. While he didn¡¯t say that the meal was his gift, everyone knew full well what he was doing. They all took great pains to gush about the food. Understanding what they were doing, Sen epted thepliments with abination of good grace and, when Master Feng eximed that the transcendent quality of the dumplings was about to make him break through to immortality, the asional eye roll.


    After the meal, the old cultivators quickly exchanged small gifts with each other before turning their attention to Sen. Before anyone else could say anything, Auntie Caihong seized her chance.


    ¡°You glory thieves got to go firstst year, well, now it¡¯s my turn.¡±


    With that, she handed Sen a neatly tied bundle. When he opened it, he found a set of excellent robes inside. The material was a dark blue that could easily be mistaken for ck in the right light. They felt like they were made of silk, but he sensed a gentle flow of qi in the material.


    ¡°Thank you, Auntie.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the good part is stilling. Those robes aren¡¯t for special asions. I had them made for traveling. They¡¯ll hold up very well against the weather. They¡¯ll also stay clean for a lot longer.¡±


    Sen had wondered how he would deal with the problem of cleaning his robes all the time. Once again, it seemed that Auntie Caihong had anticipated his needs. He offered her a bow. For her part, Auntie Caihong looked a little smug. Sen saw Master Feng and Uncle Kho trade a quick look before Uncle Kho held out a rolled piece of paper. Sen took it and unrolled it on the table. He found a smaller version of the map that he¡¯d spent so much time looking at over the previous few months. Uncle Kho had even made some helpful notations on the map, such as where to find good food or a safe inn. Sen could immediately see the value of the map, both in the near future andter, when he found himself much farther away.


    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Kho,¡± said Sen, smiling at the man. ¡°I expect I¡¯ll use this until it falls to pieces.


    ¡°It¡¯s never a bad thing to have a map, especially one that is rtively urate. That¡¯s something to watch out for out in the world, by the way. There are a lot of terrible mapmakers.¡±


    Sen chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll be mindful, Uncle.¡±


    ¡°That map should hold up better than you think it will, though. It¡¯s been treated to help preserve the paper against most things that are likely to damage it.¡±


    As with Auntie Caihong, Sen offered Uncle Kho a deep bow. Then, it was Master Feng¡¯s turn. Showing his usual disregard for ceremony, he simply gestured and a jian appeared in his hand.


    ¡°Here you go,¡± he said.


    Sen took hold of the sword and froze. He understood that this jian wasn¡¯t like the one he normally used. It <em>felt</em> different. Master Feng nodded when he saw Sen¡¯s expression.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand how, but-,¡± Sen grasped for the words and failed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a spirit-level jian. It¡¯s what most foundation formation cultivators use. It has a few special properties, but the biggest things are durability and qi conduction. That de will stand up to fights far better than the one you¡¯ve been using, especially if you infuse it with metal qi. The metal is interesting, too. The crystal matrix forms in such a way that, well, it doesn¡¯t matter. It can hold and move more qi. It¡¯ll make some of your techniques work better.¡±


    Sen just stared at the sword for a while before the true importance of Master Feng¡¯s words sank in.


    ¡°Wait, if this works better, why did you make me use the other sword?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want the tool to be a crutch. Having used a in jian halfway through foundation formation means you don''t depend on the de to do work for you. You¡¯ll appreciate what it can do to improve your techniques, but you won¡¯t <em>depend</em> on it.¡±


    Sen wanted to be angry with the man, but he couldn¡¯t really muster the fire for it. Sen hadn¡¯t lost anything by training with the regr de. He¡¯d only gained a little advantage by having the spirit-level jian, now.


    ¡°Thank you, master.¡±

 Chapter 59: Parting Ways (3)

    Chapter 59: Parting Ways (3)


    As the winter chill started fading from the air, Sen felt the pull east growing stronger. He had thought, well hoped, that he might get more time. With the moment almost on top of him, though, Sen wanted an excuse to stay. <em>Any</em> excuse. He didn¡¯t feel ready or prepared. Surely there were more jian and spear styles to learn, more unarmedbat to master, more something that would let him stay a little longer. Sen heaved a sigh. He knew that was simple fear talking. At first, he¡¯d thought it was fear of other cultivators, but he didn¡¯t think that was it. While Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong couldn¡¯t tell him how he did his hiding trick or even exactly why it worked the way it did, they were all very confident about what it did. It let him hide his spiritual presence even from peak nascent soul cultivators. It didn¡¯t do anything to hide his physical presence. If he could break line of sight, though, he could simply walk away or gather shadow until the threat passed. That didn¡¯t remove the threat of more powerful cultivators entirely, but it gave him a fighting chance.


    No, Sen suspected that his fear was more mundane than that. He wasn¡¯t afraid of what he knew was out there, powerful cultivators, sects, and spirit beasts. Those things were dangerous, but they were manageable dangers. He was afraid of all the things he didn¡¯t know were out there. Master Feng frequently talked about the things he found that surprised him. Things the old cultivator hadn¡¯t even known existed. It hadn¡¯t stopped happening, even after thousands of years. The fact that most of those recollections ended with some variation of, ¡°So, then I had to cut off its head,¡± may have yed some small role in Sen¡¯s apprehension. Master Feng might have the power to casually end any conflict with a beheading, but Sen didn¡¯t.


    Yet, for all his lingering doubts and shapeless fears, Sen prepared. Of course, most of that boiled down to organizing his belongings. There was one thing, or rather one collection of things, that he¡¯d avoided talking about for a long time. He couldn¡¯t put it off anymore. He went to talk to Master Feng, who he found in the kitchen, idly eating his way through some leftovers.


    ¡°Master, do you have a moment?¡±


    Master Feng gestured that Sen shoulde over. Once the older cultivator swallowed a mouthful of food, he gave Sen a small smile. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind, Sen?¡±


    Sen second-guessed himself for a moment before he resolved to push forward. ¡°I need to know what I should do with all of the spirit beast cores. The one from when you, from before I went out to, from¡­¡±


    ¡°From when I killed all those beasts,¡± said Master Feng, with a ghost of old pain on his face. ¡°You could give them to Caihong. I¡¯m sure she can make something from them.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want them?¡±


    ¡°No. They aren¡¯t useful to me, except maybe as currency. Even if they were useful, I still wouldn¡¯t want them. I¡¯m not proud of how I behaved that day. I won¡¯t knowingly benefit from that shame.¡±


    Sen was quiet for a moment as he contemted those words before he gave Master Feng a deep bow.


    ***


    Auntie Caihong waved off the suggestion. ¡°I don¡¯t need them. I rarely use spirit beast cores these days. You keep them.¡±


    Sen fumbled briefly over how to frame the question. ¡°Alright, but what do I do with them?¡±


    ¡°You can sell them off to alchemists. If I were you, I¡¯d find some down-on-its-luck alchemist shop and use those cores to buy a stake in the ce. You take a loss at first, but then you¡¯ve got a ce you go and visit every so often to top up your funds. Which reminds me.¡±


    Auntie Caihong peeked out the door, checking to see if anyone was nearby. Then, she handed Sen a pouch. He felt the jingle of coins inside as soon as his hand gripped the leather. He tried to hand it back.


    ¡°I can¡¯t, Auntie.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. It¡¯s just a little something to tide you over in an emergency. Don¡¯t tell the others, though. They¡¯ll think I¡¯m coddling you.¡±


    Sen protested a few more times, but he could tell that she wasn¡¯t going to take no for an answer. He put the pouch in his storage ring and promised he wouldn¡¯t mention it.


    ***


    For all his ephemeral concerns, Sen also had one, pressing practical concern about the journey ahead. He found Uncle Kho in the library.


    ¡°Uncle Kho?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± The older cultivator asked in a distracted voice.


    ¡°Where do I find a spirit-level spear? Is there a specific ce I should go to? A specific smith I should talk to?¡±


    Uncle Kho gave Sen a sharp look. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the one you have?¡±


    Sen blinked rapidly for several seconds. ¡°I just assumed it was a mortal spear.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Ming worries about things like weapons bing crutches. Although, I suppose it¡¯s his job to worry about those things where you¡¯re concerned. You should spend a little time really pushing qi through that spear, though. Get a feel for what it can do. Still, you make a good point. You should know where to go to get new weapons.¡±


    Uncle Kho unrolled his big map of the continent and pointed out half a dozen ces spread out over the hugend mass. His finger lingered over one spot located almost dead center on thend mass.


    ¡°If you can get there in a reasonable amount of time, this is where you want to go. Ask for Chen Jun Hie. The man is a genius with a hammer and forge. Tell him I sent you. He owes me a bunch of favors. If he doesn¡¯t believe you, tell him I said he owes me for the crane sisters,¡± said Uncle Kho, amusement brightening his features. ¡°He¡¯ll know I really sent you and cut you a break on the price.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the advice, Uncle.¡±


    Sen had pulled out his notebook and made notes on the smiths¡¯ names, as well as where to find them. When he looked up, he saw a little frown on Uncle Kho¡¯s face. The man gave the library a suspicious look before he went over and stuck his head out the door. He closed the door and came back over to Sen. With a little grin, he held out a pouch. Sen was pretty sure he knew what was in the pouch and tried to protest.


    ¡°Truly, Uncle Kho, it¡¯s not necessary,¡± said Sen, holding up his hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just something to see you through in case you have trouble finding work.¡±


    Additional protests proved just as meaningless with Uncle Kho as they had with Auntie Caihong. Sen reluctantly took the pouch and stored it away.


    ¡°Gratitude, Uncle.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s nothing. Just keep it between us or the others will say I¡¯m getting sentimental in my old age.¡±


    Sen wanted tough, but he managed to maintain hisposure until he was out of earshot.


    ***


    When the day finally arrived, Sen was surprised to discover that his fears had mostly evaporated. He could still feel little tendrils of unease, now and then, but resolve seemed to steal whatever power they held. Sen donned the robes that Auntie Caihong had given him. He lingered over the weapons before he ultimately belted on the mortal jian, storing the spirit-level jian and spear in the storage ring Master Feng had provided. The one that Auntie Caihong had given him was bursting with camping gear, useful tools, medical supplies, the spirit beast cores, and countless other little things that the older cultivators had decided he needed, or might need one day, or might find vaguely useful in increasingly improbable-sounding scenarios. He checked the room over, looking for anything he might have forgotten but found nothing.


    He found the three older cultivators waiting for him, breakfast already prepared and waiting on the table. It wasn¡¯t an borate meal. Instead, it was hearty and filling, with pork rice porridge, steamed dumplings, and scallion pancakes. They kept the conversation light, asking Sen about when he thought he¡¯d leave from Orchard¡¯s Reach to visit the coast, and if he had any thoughts on where he might travel after that. All three made suggestions, each of which would carry him in a different direction. He smiled and said he¡¯d have to decide after he¡¯d seen the ocean. Then, the meal was over and there was nothing left to do, no more excuses to linger. The older cultivators walked outside with him.


    ¡°Sen, onest thing,¡± said Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°Yes, Auntie?¡±


    She held out arge stone vial that was both stoppered and sealed. ¡°In case I don¡¯t see you before, this is for when you¡¯re ready to break through to core formation. I made it using that core that fascinated you so much. It should give you some interesting benefits.¡±


    Sen carefully stored the vial away and bowed. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Uncle Kho handed Sen arge, wrapped package. ¡°For your grandmother. If she¡¯s what I suspect she is, she¡¯ll appreciate this.¡±


    Sen took the package and stored it away. ¡°Thank you, Uncle Kho.¡±


    ¡°I said I needed to do something nice for that woman,¡± said Uncle Kho with a big smile. ¡°Now, I have. Travel safely, young Sen. When you get back, perhaps you¡¯ll only be <em>two</em> thousand years too early to defeat me.¡±


    Senughed before he gave each of them a brief hug.


    ¡°I promise I¡¯ll write if anything interesting happens.¡±


    ¡°Write even if nothing interesting happens,¡± said Auntie Caihong.


    Then, Sen turned to Master Feng, who gestured to the gate in the wall. They left the manor with only onest turn to wave before the forest hid the house from view. The two walked for perhaps ten minutes before Master Feng stopped. Sen wondered if Master Feng knew that he¡¯d finally cleared the lump in his throat, or if it just worked out that way. Master Feng looked Sen up and down and seemed satisfied with what he saw.


    ¡°You¡¯vee a long way in a short time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been almost six years. That only seems like a short time to someone who¡¯s lived for as long as you, master. It¡¯s a long time for everyone else.¡±


    Master Feng snorted. ¡°I suppose it is. This is where I¡¯ll leave you. Just one or two bits of business to wrap up.¡±


    A box that looked very simr to the one that the old cultivator had given to Grandmother Lu appeared in Master Feng¡¯s hand. He held it out to Sen.


    ¡°Master?¡±


    ¡°For your grandmother. Imissioned a few more pills for her. If anyone but Caihong had made them, I¡¯d have said I¡¯d been wildly overcharged. There are instructions in there.¡±


    Sen eyed the box suspiciously. ¡°What are they?¡±


    The same mischievous gleam that Sen saw in his master¡¯s eyes from time to time reappeared, but the old cultivator said nothing. Sen shook his head and put the box away. When he looked back up, his master was holding out a pouch, a very familiar style of pouch. Sen engaged in the usual, useless protests, but ultimately ended up with the pouch in his hands.


    ¡°A lot can happen out on the road,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°You should always have something to fall back on. Just don¡¯t tell Jaw-Long or Caihong. They¡¯d never let me live it down. It¡¯d be a thousand years of jokes about how the mighty Feng Ming has gone soft.¡±


    ¡°Our secret,¡± Sen promised.


    The two traded bows, and then Feng watched as Sen disappeared down the mountain and entered a whole new chapter of his life. A few minutester, Jaw-Long appeared.


    ¡°Are you staying, old friend?¡±


    Feng¡¯s eyes never left the spot where Sen had disappeared into the trees. He nodded to Jaw-Long.


    ¡°For a little while, I think. There <em>is</em> something wrong with the spirit beasts on this mountain. I mean to work out what it is and deal with the problem.¡±


    ¡°I thought you might follow along in Sen¡¯s wake and spy on the poor boy.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re really going to let him go off by himself?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be insane. <em>I¡¯m</em> not going to spy on him. I have people for that.¡±


    Jaw-Long threw back his head andughed. ¡°Come on, then. Let¡¯s go figure out your spirit beast mystery.¡±

 Chapter 60: Orchard’s Reach

    Chapter 60: Orchard¡¯s Reach


    Sen stopped and cocked his head to one side when he thought he caught the sound ofughter echoing down the mountain after him. After a moment, the sound receded and didn¡¯t return. Sen shrugged and continued on his way. He¡¯d gone perhaps half a mile when he smiled to himself and called out.


    ¡°You cane out now!¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t stop walking. Instead, he maintained the same ground-consuming stride he nned to maintain most of the way down the mountain. Perhaps a minuteter, Falling Leaf walked up and started keeping pace with him. Neither of them said anything. They just descended inpanionable silence. Eventually, Sen¡¯s stomach reminded him that it still existed. Much as Master Feng had done on the trip up the mountain, Sen kept an eye out for a convenient clearing. He shared his lunch with the big cat, tossing her bits of food to chase around. It was a bittersweet moment for him, knowing that it was likely one of thest times, if not thest time he¡¯d do that with her for a good long time.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d see you again when you didn¡¯te to the house this morning.¡±


    The cat eyed Sen for a moment but didn¡¯t deign to answer beyond a vague shake of her head. He¡¯d known her long enough to know that was ghost panther speak for ¡®don¡¯t be an idiot. I can¡¯t trust you not to fall off a cliff without me around.¡¯ Sen smiled at the big cat, a little moved that she was still watching out for him.


    It didn¡¯t take long before Sen started to understand just how much Master Feng must have limited his natural pace on that first trip up the mountain. It had seemed brutally fast to Sen at the time, but it must have felt agonizingly slow to the old cultivator. By Sen¡¯s estimation, he¡¯d reach the bottom of the mountain by mid-afternoon. He did slow a little after he made that realization. It wasn¡¯t as though Grandmother Lu was expecting him. He could drag out his time with Falling Leaf a bit. As they walked, something urred to him. He looked over at the big cat.


    ¡°I never apologized to you, did I? I mean, after I stormed off that night.¡±


    Falling Leaf gave him a look with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°Okay, I can see that I didn¡¯t. In that case, let me apologize now. I shouldn¡¯t have stormed off like that. You gave me good advice. I just didn¡¯t want to hear it at the time. I¡¯m sorry for acting that way.¡±


    She continued giving him that narrow-eyed look for a moment before her expression rxed into something more friendly. He gave it a moment to see if she¡¯d <em>say</em> something, but she didn¡¯t. Sen decided to take that slightly less hostile look as her eptance of his apology. He did notice that the farther down the mountain they got, the more rxed that Falling Leaf became. Sen supposed that the smarter and more dangerous spirit beasts probably lived above, simply to avoid the cluster of humans in the town below. While almost any spirit beast was more than a match for most humans, those odds changed when you got a whole group of humans working together. Sen thought it was an odd sort of bnce that the spirit beasts had struck with this bit of encroaching civilization. Moreover, he wondered how long that bnce couldst. If the town grew, would the spirit beasts retreat deeper into the wilds, be more aggressive, or try to maintain the status quo?


    Sen let that question roll around in his head for a while. It gave his mind something to do while they walked. Even covering ground as fast as they were, there was only so much to look at. After the first few hundred trees, they lost most of their interest for Sen. He kept his senses extended, wary for threats, but nothing bothered them. That left Sen with a hint of unease. Constant attacks from the local spirit beasts would have frustrated him, while asional run-ins with them would have met his expectations. A total absence of attacks struck him as a bit unnatural. He voiced those concerns to Falling Leaf, who gave him a look that said she agreed, but that she also wasn¡¯t sure what there was to do about it. Eventually, Sen started picking up hints of wood smoke and the less pleasant odor of trash. He nced over at the ghost panther and stopped. They faced each other for a moment before Sen walked over and crouched down so he could look directly at the panther.


    ¡°It¡¯s your job to keep yourself safe until I get back. I expect you to be here, safe and whole, when I return,¡± said Sen. ¡°Go and visit Uncle Kho every once in a while. It drives him crazy that you can just ignore his formations, but I think he¡¯d miss giving you treats.¡±


    Sen saw a twinkle in the big cat¡¯s eyes at those words.


    ¡°You¡¯re my only real friend, you know. Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Aunt Caihong all care about me, but I¡¯m like a mix between a great, great, great grandchild they took in for a while and some kind of cultivation experiment. You didn¡¯t care about any of that. You were just my friend. I¡¯m going to miss you.¡±


    Not sure how to sum up the wrenching pain that leaving her on the mountain was causing him, he just pressed his head gently against hers. They stayed that way for a long time before the big cat finally pulled back.


    Her gaze became a piercing de. ¡°Move swiftly. Move silently. When you must strike, strike to kill.¡±


    Sen was a little taken aback by the intensity of that statement, but he nodded. ¡°I will.¡±


    Falling Leaf gave him onest look, then vanished into the forest. Sen allowed himself five seconds to stare after his departing friend. Five seconds to wallow in the sense of loss. Five seconds to fantasize about calling the whole thing off. He gave himself five seconds to be a child for just a little bit longer. Then, the five seconds were over. Sen took a breath, squared his shoulders, and started walking again. He¡¯d angled himself slightly away from town so he coulde out on the narrow road to the west of the town. If anyone saw him simply walk out of the wilds, it would draw more attention than he wanted. The only people who went into the wilds from the town were the hunters, and everyone knew them on sight. For a stranger to simply stride out of those forests looking none the worse for wear. They might use him of being a demon.


    So, he took the extra time to leave the forests away from prying eyes. Then, he simply walked up to the western gate of the town. As he approached the gate, he saw a guarde out. He remembered those guards. They had always seemed huge and powerful to him. Now, the man standing outside the gate looked like he wouldn¡¯t be much more than a minor inconvenience to any spirit beast that decided that the things inside those walls smelled like food. The guard''s spear was old, as was his breastte, and both were poorly cared for. The man held the spear like he¡¯d never received a minute of training with it. The sight of the guard mishandling that weapon made Sen feel a little angry. He did his best to bury that anger. The guards weren¡¯t his responsibility. If the mayor couldn¡¯t be bothered to have the men trained properly, Sen couldn¡¯t fix that problem.


    The guard lifted a hand to stop Sen, but the man¡¯s eyes kept drifting down to the jian that Sen wore with such casual ease. Sen could almost see the guard deciding that this was a fight he didn¡¯t want to pick. Before the guard could simply fail in his duty, Sen drew to stop. He very consciously stopped outside of weapon range for himself and the guard. The guard let out a breath he¡¯d been holding.


    ¡°Name? Purpose of visit?¡± Asked the guard.


    ¡°Lu Sen. I¡¯m here to see visit my grandmother, Lu Jia.¡±


    The guard visibly straightened at Grandmother Lu¡¯s name and offered Sen a deep bow. ¡°Of course, honored guest. Be wee to Orchard¡¯s Reach. Do you know the way?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Sen, only to realize that might have been a mistake.


    <em>Oh well</em>, he thought. <em>I can¡¯t fix it now</em>. The guard immediately turned away and opened the gate. While he didn¡¯t think much of how the guard handled a spear, the man had been polite enough. Sen nodded to the guard as he stepped through the gate and onto the streets that had been his childhood home. While he didn¡¯t expect cultivator trouble in the small town, Sen took the precaution of hiding. He was here to see Grandmother Lu. That was all. If cultivators wanted to fight with him, they could do it some other day, preferably in some other ce. As he walked, Sen was surprised at how little had changed. It felt like a lifetime had passed for him, but maybe five or six years wasn¡¯t really that long in the lifespan of a town. He really didn¡¯t know. Of course, with so few changes around him, it only took a short walk for Sen to find the house that Master Feng had acquired for Grandmother Lu¡¯s use. A young woman answered the door and showed him in. He noticed her cheeks turn bright red any time she looked at him for more than a few seconds. <em>What an odd girl</em>, he thought. She disappeared into the house and an older man came out to the entryway to greet him.


    ¡°Can I help you, young man?¡± The older man asked, wariness and curiosity warring in his eyes.


    ¡°I am here to see my grandmother, Lu Jia.¡±


    ¡°Your grandmother,¡± the man repeated before his eyes went very wide. ¡°Are you Lu Sen?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am called that,¡± Sen answered, offering the man a smile.


    Much to Sen¡¯s abject horror, the man dropped to his knees and mmed his head against the floor. ¡°Forgive this lowly one, honored cultivator. Your grandmother is not here.¡±


    Sen felt his heart try to stop in his chest. What had happened to Grandmother Lu? Had she died? Sen forced calm onto his racing heart and mind.


    ¡°Can you tell me where she is?¡±


    ¡°She is at her shop, honored cultivator.¡±


    Sen frowned. Grandmother Lu had a shop? He didn¡¯t care. She was alive. That was all that mattered.


    ¡°Please get up,¡± Sen told the man.


    The older man hastily rose to his feet, but he never quite met Sen¡¯s eyes. ¡°How can I assist you, honored cultivator.¡±


    ¡°I only require directions to my grandmother¡¯s shop.¡±


    ¡°At once, honored cultivator,¡± the man nearly screamed.


    Sen felt a sudden surge of bted empathy for Master Feng. He imagined that the frustration he was feeling with the old man in front of him was but a pale shadow of the frustrations the ancient cultivator must have felt that day in the market. Sen schooled himself to remain calm and friendly.


    ¡°Thank you, uncle.¡±


    The old man almost exploded with pride at Sen¡¯s casual use of the respectful term. Sen repressed yet another sigh.

 Chapter 61: Grandmother Lu’s Heavenly Wares

    Chapter 61: Grandmother Lu¡¯s Heavenly Wares


    The older man, who introduced himself as Zhang Muchen, was apparently one of Grandmother Lu¡¯s house staff. Sen knew that Master Feng had left Grandmother Lu some money, but he hadn¡¯t thought that it would be enough to hire more staff. Still, he was happy that she had people around to look after her needs. Of course, there was the matter of her shop. Sen couldn¡¯t quite wrap his head around the idea. Grandmother Lu¡¯s mind had still been very sharp when he left, but she had struck him as very frail. Her hands had seemed to hurt her all the time. He did recognize that some of his struggle with the idea was a simpleck of information. He¡¯d never been inside a shop before.


    Oh, Aunt Caihong had been careful to describe how shops worked to him, the protocols involved, but that was all from the perspective of the customer. Sen didn¡¯t understand what was involved with owning a shop, but it seemed likely to him that it called for at least some physicalbor and likely some paperwork. He didn¡¯t like to think of Grandmother Lu hunched over paperwork, wincing with every brush stroke. He¡¯d hoped that she would spend her days at ease, taking that ease as some small reward for her kindnesses to him. If anyone had earned that rest, in Sen¡¯s opinion, she had.


    Looking back, he understood better just what a risk she had taken by letting him into her home and sharing her food with him. For all she had known, Sen might have turned on her like some kind of wild animal. Sen <em>wouldn¡¯t</em> have done that. Even then, he¡¯d had gratitude in his heart, if not true understanding. Yet, she couldn¡¯t have known that about him. She might have guessed, even hoped that he wouldn¡¯t, but she couldn¡¯t have <em>known</em>. She had gambled her life that he was better than he had any right to be. At least Sen could take some tiny bit of satisfaction that she¡¯d won that gamble.


    ¡°Young master, was your training sessful?¡± Asked the old servant.


    Sen blinked a few times and forced his thoughts back into the present. Zhang Muchen had been rambling on about Grandmother Lu¡¯s many virtues, and Sen had mostly stopped listening. He¡¯d been getting by with positive noises every so often for about five minutes. Sen nced at the older man who looked very apprehensive for some reason. Sen briefly thought about how to answer the question.


    ¡°Yes, Uncle Zhang. I did experience some small sess in my training.¡±


    Relief oozed out of the man as he offered Sen a bright smile. ¡°That is wonderful news, young master. Wonderful.¡±


    Sen gave the man a smile. ¡°Let us hope that Grandmother is as pleased with my progress.¡±


    The servant gaped at Sen for a moment before heughed. ¡°Oh, the young master is having a joke at my expense. Mistress Lu always sings the praises of her grandson. I do not believe she would tolerate a bad word to be spoken of you.¡±


    Sen felt a warm little surge in his chest. ¡°She is very kind to do so.¡±


    Zhang Muchen beamed at Sen and then gestured toward a building. ¡°Young master, we have arrived. <em>This</em> is Grandmother Lu¡¯s Heavenly Wares.¡±


    Sen just stared at the structure for a minute. It was twice the size of any other building in the market. More to the point, it looked new. As far as Sen was concerned, it was new. The building certainly hadn¡¯t existed when he¡¯dst graced the square. He thought back and tried to remember what had been there before. He could remember what the buildings had looked like, but not much else. They must not have been restaurants, which were the only kinds of businesses that Sen had cared about before. Yet, for all that Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop was big and new, it wasn¡¯t overblown. There was only a simple sign over the door that gave the name. No there were no gaudy decorations or too bright colors, just that sign.


    Sen followed Zhang Muchen into the shop and looked around with intense curiosity. A wide variety of goods were on disy, from bundles of what looked like fine silks on one table, to delicate figurines artfully arranged on shelves, to dishes with what Sen thought were plum blossoms around the outer edges. Sen was no merchant to judge the value of goods, but he had at least some passing understanding of what quality goods looked like, courtesy of his time in Uncle Kho and Aunt Caihong¡¯s home. The goods in the shop were good, probably even excellent, quality, which meant they were expensive. How could Grandmother Lu own this shop? How could she possibly even afford to acquire the things he saw for sale? Sen didn¡¯t think that Master Feng had been <em>that</em> generous to Grandmother Lu.


    There were a few customers in the ce, all of them wearing fine robes and attended by young men and women in matching outfits. Sen noticed a few simrly uniformed young women hovering nearby and watching him with rather intense looks. He turned to ask Zhang Muchen a question, only to see the man having what looked like a very intense, if hushed, conversation with a woman. Sen caught little snatches of the conversation, such as ¡°very important¡± and ¡°tea.¡± The man said onest thing and the woman visibly jerked before her eyes swiveled to him. She gave Zhang a hasty bow and rushed over to Sen. Sen watched as Zhang walked around a counter and disappeared through a curtained doorway. He was curious about what the man was up to, but the woman was right in front of him by then, bowing and introducing her so fast that Sen couldn¡¯t make sense of her name. She gently pulled Sen away from the shop front and into what must have been a room meant for private meetings with important guests.


    Sen was offered afortable chair and assured that anything he needed would be provided as quickly as possible. He tried to give the woman a reassuring smile and said he didn¡¯t need anything. She gave him another deep bow and a wide-eyed look before she vanished. Sen heaved a sigh of relief. At least he¡¯d get a few moments of privacy in the back room. That privacysted all of two minutes before a tall, slender young woman with delicate features came in carrying a tray and tea set. She insisted on preparing a cup for him and stared at him while he tried the tea. It was good.


    ¡°The tea is excellent. Thank you.¡±


    The young woman smiled, seemed to think better of it, then bowed, and then, by Sen¡¯s estimation, she ran away. He really didn¡¯t know what to make of that but decided to simply enjoy his tea while he waited. The peace was shattered as a different young woman came in with a te piled high with almond cookies. He took a cookie, ate it while the woman just watched him with wide eyes, and then praised the quality. She blushed at him and, then, she too fled the room. Sen was starting to wonder if this was some kind of borate prank that Master Feng had arranged for over thest few years. The suspicion was heightened when he heard feminine giggling outside of the little room he was in. He was eyeing the door suspiciously when another young woman, this one with a round face and a few freckles on her cheeks, came in to offer him a mooncake. He blinked down at the treat. Hadn¡¯t Auntie Caihong said that those were usually something people ate in the autumn? Sen shrugged to himself. Maybe someone decided they wanted some over the summer. He was reaching out for the treat when he heard a familiar voice.


    ¡°Oh, for the heavens¡¯ sake, get back to work you girls.¡±


    The sound of Grandmother Lu¡¯s voice had a startling effect on the girl. She jumped, lost her hold on the small te, and sent both te and treat flying. At the same time, the door burst open and the girl stumbled away from it. For Sen, who had spent months learning to dodge things moving a lot faster than anything in that room, it looked like an amusing exercise. He stood, gently scooping the falling te out of the air with his left hand and snatching the treat out of the air with his right hand. He used his left arm to arrest the girl¡¯s fall and pull her against him where she could catch her bnce. The girl was still crying out before her brain registered that she wasn¡¯t still falling. Sen waited a beat to make sure she had her footing, while she stared up at him with an incredulous expression on her face. He took a step back and held the te out to her.


    ¡°There you go. No harm done. I even saved the mooncake,¡± said Sen, holding up the treat and taking a bite. ¡°Mmmm, is that red bean paste? It¡¯s really good.¡±


    The flustered girl took the te from Sen¡¯s hand and said, ¡°My mother made it.¡±


    Sen was a little amused by the fact that she hadn¡¯t answered his question, but he yed along. ¡°She did an excellent job of it. Give her mypliments.¡±


    The girl seemed to realize that something nonsensical had fallen out of her mouth and turned bright red. There was a half-amused, half-exasperated noise from the door. The girl spun, lost control of the te again, and Sen was forced to save it from destruction a second time. He put the te back in her hands as she turned even redder.


    ¡°Go on, Bai. There are customers.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mistress Lu.¡±


    The girl pulled the te against her chest with both hands and rushed past the figure in the door.


    ¡°Now, grandson, I don¡¯t remember you being quite that charming before. What did that old goat have you getting into up on that mountain?¡±


    Sen stared in ck-jawed amazement at the woman in the doorway. She looked the way that Sen might have imagined that Grandmother Lu¡¯s daughter would look. She wasn¡¯t young, but she wasn¡¯t ancient either. She looked like a healthy woman in her middle years. If Sen hadn¡¯t seen Uncle Kho¡¯s transformation, he wouldn¡¯t have believed his eyes. ¡°Grandmother Lu?¡±


    She gave him a warm smile and opened her arms. ¡°In the not-so-withered flesh. Now,e over here and let me get a look at you. My goodness, what did they feed you? You¡¯re huge now.¡±

 Chapter 62: Unexpected Boons

    Chapter 62: Unexpected Boons


    Sen hesitated for the briefest of moments, mostly out of pure shock, before he walked over to the much-restored Grandmother Lu. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. Sen, mindful of his increased strength, squeezed her back gently. She held him like that for a long moment before she pulled away and cupped his face in her hands. She bestowed an uplicated smile on him, radiating something akin to pure joy at his mere presence.


    ¡°I worried I might not ever see you again, boy,¡± she announced, patting his cheeks gently before gesturing at the chairs.


    Senughed then, earning a startled look from the older woman. He waved a hand in the air.


    ¡°I worried the same thing, more than once,¡± he said.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said, the sparkle of understanding in her eyes. ¡°Yes, I suppose I must have looked to be nearly a corpse to your young eyes.¡±


    She sat down and looked at the tea and the te of cookies, clearly bemused by their presence. Sen walked over and poured a cup for Grandmother Lu. He took his own seat and smiled at her, as a weight that had hung around his heart for most of six years crumbled away.


    ¡°It looks like I missed a lot in my time away on the mountain. You built all of this,¡± he said, gesturing around him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you missed nearly as much as I did,¡± she said with a snort, but then she smiled at their surroundings. ¡°Yet, your fortuitous encounter became my fortuitous encounter as well, it seems. That and those pills your master left behind. At my age, one does not imagine such unexpected boons. Yet, I was wise enough to grasp them with both hands when they arrived.¡±


    Sen leaned forward, eager to hear her tale. ¡°Was it the pills that gave you such a miraculous transformation?¡±


    Grandmother Lu leaned back and sipped at her tea, a thoughtful expression on her face. ¡°They did, although, probably not in the way you mean. I didn¡¯t take one and find myself remade the next morning.¡±


    A little wave of disappointment ran through Sen. He had spent enough time with Auntie Caihong to have a fair grasp of what medicinal and alchemical ingredients could and could not do. Yet, there was still a bit of the boy left in him as well. He had listened in wonder as people told stories about fish who became dragons by leaping over enchanted rainbows or the magical stone puppet, Sun Wukong, who roamed the world in search of the secrets to transformation and, in his own act of defiance against the heavens, transformed from dead stone to living flesh. He had hoped that Grandmother Lu¡¯s story would have the same magical quality, simply because it would have been such a good story. Yet, he didn¡¯t let his minor disappointment distract him for long.


    ¡°Please, tell me what happened,¡± he said.


    ¡°I suppose to understand what has happened now, I¡¯ll have to tell you about what happened to me before. I never did tell you how I ended up in that little hovel, did I? I suppose it made me too sad to think on it. Well, you deserve to know. Ie from a family of cultivators.¡±


    Sen sat up sharply at that revtion. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, and powerful ones at that. Well, I thought so when I was a girl at any rate. I imagined that no man could be as powerful as my father and no woman as swift as my mother. I suppose meeting that old monster you call a master has given me perspective. Peak core? Nascent soul stage, is he?¡±


    Sen hesitated, not sure if he should answer the question, but it wasn¡¯t as though Grandmother Lu didn¡¯t already know about Master Feng. She¡¯d even made some educated guesses, it seemed.


    ¡°Not core formation stage. He¡¯s at the nascent soul stage. <em>Peak</em> nascent soul,¡± said Sen, putting as much emphasis as he could on the word peak.


    Grandmother Lu went still as she processed Sen¡¯s words. ¡°I suppose we¡¯re all lucky that your master didn¡¯t simply level the town after the games the fool mayor tried to y.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯d do that,¡± said Sen. ¡°He¡¯s a little bitzy about some things, to be honest. He could destroy a town, I think. He has the power. But why go through all of that effort when he can just humiliate the mayor?¡±


    ¡°Ha! Saved byziness, of all things. Well, I¡¯ll raise a toast to his poor character soon. Now, where was I?¡±


    ¡°Your parents,¡± offered Sen.


    ¡°Yes, my parents. It turned out that they weren¡¯t interested in raising mortal children. So, my sisters and I were started on the path to cultivation young, too young really. They pushed us hard. In my case, they pushed too hard. Too many cultivation aids, too close together, and not nearly enough insight on my part. I just didn¡¯t have the wisdom at the time. It damaged my meridians.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not good, but it¡¯s fixable. Even I could probably fix it if someone caught it soon enough.¡±


    For a moment, Sen got lost in his own thoughts as he ran through possible ingredients and reagents. The longer he thought about it, the more confident he became that, <em>yes</em>, he could probably fix it. He nced up to see Grandmother Lu staring at him, her mouth hanging open a little.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked, feeling a little sheepish.


    ¡°You became a pill refiner skilled enough to make Twice-Blessed Heavenly Balm pills?¡±


    Sen immediately shook his head. ¡°Oh, nothing like that. I don¡¯t even know what those pills are. Oh, well, I guess they must fix meridians. I mean, I¡¯m sure Auntie Caihong could make them, but I didn¡¯t learn pill refining. I could probably make an alchemical elixir that would heal meridians, though. I¡¯d need the right ingredients, like earth qi-attributed ginseng, moon lotus blossoms, a fire qi-attributed devil thorn¡­¡± Sen trailed off as he registered the shocked awe on Grandmother Lu¡¯s face. He supposed those were pretty rare ingredients. ¡°I guess the ingredients don¡¯t really matter.¡±


    ¡°An elixir?¡± Asked Grandmother Lu. ¡°You can just <em>make</em> an elixir to heal damaged meridians? This Caihong taught you a recipe for <em>that</em>?¡±


    Senughed. ¡°Recipe, grandmother? No. Why would she need to teach me a recipe for something like that? It¡¯s not like I¡¯d be trying to help someone get over a golden river viper bite. That would be <em>hard</em>. I¡¯d definitely need a recipe for something like that. That snake¡¯s venom is some truly evil stuff.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Grandmother Lu.


    She looked like she¡¯d gone pale to Sen. He hurriedly offered her some more tea. She held out her cup in a shaky hand. She downed most of the hot liquid in one gulp.


    ¡°Are you feeling alright, grandmother?¡± Sen asked, very concerned.


    ¡°Yes, Sen, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just, I¡¯ll definitely need to hear more about what you learned.¡±


    Sen smiled. ¡°Of course. I mean, it¡¯s all pretty basic. If your parents were cultivators, I doubt any of it will seem all that new.¡±


    Grandmother Lu made a nomittal noise and then shook her head. ¡°Well, my meridians were damaged, which slowed down my progress. My father saw that as a personal challenge and pushed even harder. I didn¡¯t know any better, at the time, so I just went along with it. The damage got worse, which slowed me down even more. Eventually, they took me to see a spirit doctor. My parents decided they weren¡¯t going to waste money on someone who couldn¡¯t even get through the first stages of body cultivation.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t even try to fix it?¡±


    ¡°No. They threw me out instead.¡±


    As Sen watched an old pain cross Grandmother Lu¡¯s face, a kind of icy resolve took hold in his heart. One day, when he was powerful enough, he would need to find those cultivators who had so badly mistreated their daughter.


    Grandmother Lu shook off the old memories. ¡°I was lucky, though. A family that lived nearby took me in. They found me work. They even helped me find a husband. My dear Haoyu. We weren¡¯t wealthy, not nearly wealthy enough to afford the kind of help that my meridians needed, but we were happy. As the years went by, I stopped thinking about it. I had a husband and children. I wasn¡¯t defying the heavens, but it was a good life. Then, one by one, our children married or moved away. It was just me and Haoyu.


    ¡°Then, the heavens took away what they had given me. They took my husband. It was just an ident, but he was still gone. Unfortunately, while my husband was a good man, he wasn¡¯t always the wisest man. He had many debts I didn¡¯t learn about until after he was gone. Bit by bit, everything we¡¯d worked so hard to build together was sold off. Until, one day, there simply wasn¡¯t anything left. I wrote to my children, but they didn¡¯t have any room for an old woman.¡±


    Sen added some more people to the list of those he needed to find one day.


    ¡°Well, I expect you can guess the rest. I worked where I could, when I could, until I ended up in that little hovel. I expected to die there, alone and forgotten. Then, you came along. You were so skinny. When you came by with that cultivator, though, I didn¡¯t know what to think. It seems he took the measure of me fast enough, though. Those pills he left healed my meridians. It took most of a year before I could cycle qi again. It¡¯s hard healing that kind of damage at my age.


    ¡°Once they were healed enough that I could cycle qi again, though, I <em>had</em> done some body cultivation. Those changes were still there. They¡¯d just been starved for qi for most of my life. I finally got to see some of the benefits. I can¡¯t break through again, I don¡¯t think. But it¡¯s bought me some years.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful,¡± said Sen, and he meant it. ¡°And, you have this store.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that master of yours left some money. I decided that since I had some little piece of my youth back, I¡¯d do something with that money. I built a little tradingpany with it.¡±


    ¡°If you like it, that¡¯s not a bad way to spend your time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t build this for me, Sen. I built this for <em>you</em>.¡±

 Chapter 63: Practicalities

    Chapter 63: Practicalities


    Sen just stared at Grandmother Lu for a little while as he tried and failed to understand what she meant. Sen had some vague ideas about what inheritance meant, but cultivators tended to distance themselves from those kinds of familial concerns. At least, that¡¯s what Uncle Kho had told him.


    ¡°Inheritance is meant for mortals, Sen,¡± the old cultivator had said. ¡°It¡¯s a way for families to build wealth and retain property from one generation to the next. Cultivators disrupt all of that. If a cultivator inherits something, they might own it for the next thousand years. That prevents anyone else in their family from taking it and doing something productive with it. Even nobles who be cultivators give up their inheritances most of the time.¡±


    With those words and no reason to expect that he¡¯d have to worry about it, Sen hadn¡¯t given the problem another thought. Yet, now, it seemed like maybe he should have dug a little deeper into it. He decided to start with the obvious.


    ¡°Grandmother, I don¡¯t know anything about running a shop or a tradingpany.¡±


    Grandmother Lu chuckled. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t mean for you to run this operation. I expect that would be a terrible waste of your time and talents. Other people can do that work. No, I mean for this operation to serve as support for you.¡±


    Sen poked and prodded at thatst statement and came up empty. ¡°I don¡¯t really understand what that means.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how I know you really need it. I¡¯ve met some cultivators over the years, other than my parents, and they almost all had one thing inmon.¡±


    He waited for a beat before lifting an eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t understand how to deal with practicalities. Take you, for example. I expect that you¡¯re probably strong enough to knock over a tree at this point. Maybe you can even summon up some fire or earth qi as well.¡±


    Sen was more interested in where she was going than getting into a long discussion about his current abilities, so he didn¡¯t try to correct her. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s likely all true.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how to send someone a letter? I mean, a in, mortal letter.¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to dere that he could obviously do that, except, he realized, he <em>didn¡¯t</em> know how to do that. ¡°I suppose I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I expect that you have some ideas about the value of things like beast cores and medicinal herbs, am I right?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°It varies from ce to ce, as I understand it, but I have a general idea.¡±


    ¡°Do you know how much an apple costs? Or where you¡¯d buy feed for a horse? Or when the gates usually close for the night in a city?¡±


    Sen frowned and thought back about all the things that he¡¯d learned over thest few years. Grandmother Lu had a point. He didn¡¯t know about any of those kinds of things.


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°I expect it¡¯s worse for you than it would be for most people. You don¡¯t even have regr childhood memories to fall back on. That¡¯s where this little tradingpanyes in. It¡¯s not that big yet, but it¡¯s growing all the time. I have shops like this in several of the closer cities. We have small offices for research and purchasing in about a dozen more. Their main job is to be exactly what they are, shops and offices. But, their other job is to be a ce you can go for practical help. They all have standing orders to make themselves useful to you if you should ever show up.¡±


    Sen found himself moved by just how much thought Grandmother Lu had clearly put into understanding the kinds of needs he would have when he came down off the mountain. She¡¯d even anticipated that he wouldn¡¯t simply stay in Orchard¡¯s Reach, but that he would venture out into the world as a wandering cultivator. She¡¯s spread the of her small business empire to make that journey a little easier for him. Sen almost thought that it had been unnecessary, but he wasn¡¯t sure that was true. There were clearly a great many things he hadn¡¯t known about and that the elder cultivators hadn¡¯t really considered. He supposed there was a bit of a fault on both sides there. As his teachers, he thought it was part of their job to at least try to provide important information he might not have. On his part, he just hadn¡¯t thought it through, so it never urred to him to ask them about doing normal things. Auntie Caihong had even given him the tools to write letters. Still, neither of them had thought to talk about how to send those letters once he wrote them. He supposed that they¡¯d all just been a little too focused on cultivation. Sen bowed to Grandmother Lu.


    ¡°Thank you for the consideration you¡¯ve shown for my needs. Still, you shouldn¡¯t have worked so hard. I was hoping that you¡¯d be able to live in ease for a time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I did for a while. You¡¯ve never seen someone so bad at it. I ended up following my maid around all day, supervising her work. I¡¯m sure that poor girl was ready to smother me in my sleep. This was the best thing that could have happened to me. Especially now that I might live for another fifty years. I have something to do every day. I have a purpose. I get to be helpful to my grandson, and I get to make myself a tidy little fortune in the process.¡±


    ¡°The business is doing well, then? The things out front seemed a little expensive for this town.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they probably are, but I wanted to be easy to find when you finally came down off the mountain. Plus, having this ce lets me give all of those children out there somewhere to work. I don¡¯t suppose you recognized any of them.¡±


    Sen thought back about the employees he¡¯d seen. None of them looked familiar, but it had been a while. Sen shrugged and shook his head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say I recognize any of them.¡±


    Grandmother Lu waved it off. ¡°No matter. I plucked most of them out of that same pit where that little hovel was. You could almost hear the howling from all those proper families who wanted their children to get experience here.¡±


    Sen almost choked on his tea when heughed at that. ¡°I¡¯d have thought that might cause some trouble.¡±


    "It might well be if we were somewhere else, but the nobility here are very minor nobility. They¡¯re really only better than merchants in name only. They ignored me at first, and then, when they wanted to do something about me, they found out that I was better at buying off the right people.¡±


    Sen thought back to all those times he¡¯d had to run away from noble brats intent on trouble of the more physical kind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry that they might hurt your employees or, I don¡¯t know, destroy the shop.¡±


    Grandmother Lu sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a possibility. I have people who keep an eye on the shop at night, but there¡¯s only so much you can do. If someone truly decides they¡¯re going to burn this ce down, they¡¯ll find a way. Of course, that¡¯s a step I don¡¯t think anyone wants to take. If they do, it¡¯s like an open deration of war. They don¡¯t want me hiring people from somewhere else to get my revenge on them.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure he really believed something like that wouldn¡¯t happen, but Grandmother Lu had more experience with those kinds of things than he did. He¡¯d let her decide how best to handle it.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Sen. ¡°I should get going. I¡¯m sure you have things to do here, and we can catch up more tonight. I even have some gifts for you.¡±


    Grandmother Luughed. ¡°Oh, what a filial grandson you are. Very well, I¡¯ll have Zhang Muchen take you back to the house and prepare a room. Unless you want to go exploring, of course.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°The only thing I care about in this town is you. I don¡¯t need to see it again to remember how much I hate this ce.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair.¡±


    Rising from her seat, Grandmother Lu led Sen back out into the shop proper. She waved off several of the girls who made toe over and, well, Sen supposed they¡¯d try to be helpful. Instead, she found Zhang Muchen loitering near the front door. She gave him a few quick bits of instruction, told Sen she¡¯d be done in a few hours, and sent them out the front door. Sen was ready to simply find a bath and rx a little, but it seemed the universe had other ideas.


    ¡°Street trash!¡± Someone roared.


    Sen saw Zhang Muchen stiffen and followed the man¡¯s gaze. There was a tall, young man standing perhaps twenty feet away, nked by half a dozen people who all did look vaguely familiar to Sen. Sen sighed. He supposed it had been too much to hope that he could avoid this problem. Given that the mayor¡¯s son and his hangers-on had been a thorn in his side all through his childhood, Sen supposed there was a certain bnce in them being a nuisance now that they were all, in theory, adults. The question Sen didn¡¯t have a good answer to was what he should do about the problem now that it was in front of him.

 Chapter 64: Problem Solving

    Chapter 64: Problem Solving


    Sen studied the group of noble brats for a moment. He let his senses extend just enough to get a read on them. They were all cultivators, but all of them were also still in the qi condensing stage. He frowned a touch at that. <em>Shouldn¡¯t they be farther along</em>, he wondered. Then, he let it go. It didn¡¯t matter if they should be farther along or not. They were where they were, and that was middle qi condensing at best. While Sen knew better than to disregard numbers, he wasn¡¯t sure why they thought giving him a hard time would prove a good n. Did they think he wouldn¡¯t fight back just because they came in a group? Sen focused. Deal with the most immediate problem first. He turned to Zhang Muchen.


    ¡°You should go ahead. I¡¯ll catch up with you there.¡±


    The older servant looked like he very much wanted to take that order, but he said. ¡°I should inform Mistress Lu.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t bother her with this. There¡¯s nothing she can do. This is a cultivator matter. As I said, go on ahead. I¡¯ll catch up when I can.¡±


    The man gave Sen a deeply grateful look, a very hasty bow, and then vanished. Sen turned his attention back to the waiting noble brats. They red at him, while he just looked at them with an impassive face. Apparently unable to bear the silence, the Mayor¡¯s son took a step forward, sticking out his chest like he thought it made him look impressive.


    ¡°Nothing to say?¡± demanded the mayor¡¯s son.


    ¡°About what?¡± Sen asked, feeling perplexed.


    The mayor¡¯s son pointed his finger at Sen as if to use him of something. Then, it finally seemed to dawn on the man that all he had done was yell two words at Sen. While the fool tried to think of something to say, Sen wondered how they¡¯d tracked him down so fast. He had spent a while in with Grandmother Lu, but not that long. He wondered if it was the guard at the gate. That made the most sense. They could have been under orders or been bribed to tell the mayor or the mayor¡¯s son if Sen ever came back. Sen decided that it probably didn¡¯t matter. It wasn¡¯t like he was going to go and kill the man.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for you to pay for sticking your nose into the business of your betters.¡±


    Sen was swiftly growing tired of the posturing fool. ¡°Then, perhaps you should go tell my betters that I¡¯m here.¡±


    Whatever the idiot had been expecting, that wasn¡¯t it, because he stumbled over his words for several seconds. ¡°I meant me!¡±


    ¡°Really? So, you came here to challenge me to a duel?¡±


    ¡°A duel? I don¡¯t duel street trash.¡±


    ¡°Ah. So, you came here with all your friends to prove you¡¯re a coward. Very well. Get on with it, then.¡±


    Sen essed his storage ring and brought out his spear. If he was going to fight with seven people, he might as well enjoy a reach advantage. The sight of the spear seemed to give the group pause, which Sen took full advantage of. By the time any of them recovered enough to move, Sen had covered most of the distance between him and them. The mayor¡¯s son stepped back, his eyes going wide, and jerked a dao free from its scabbard. He started to say something as he pointed the sword at Sen.


    ¡°Striking Serpent-,¡± was as far as he got.


    Sen infused the spearhead with metal qi and brought it down on the dao. The spear barely registered any resistance as it sheared the dao off at the hilt. It also broke whatever technique the mayor¡¯s son was trying to enact. Sen didn¡¯t wait to see what the bacsh did. He spun away, casually catching the injured man across the side of the head with the butt end of the spear. Sen felt he¡¯d been a little slow on the attack, but none of theckeys had really reacted yet. Two of them were staring down at the mayor¡¯s son with their jaws hanging open. Another had managed to pull a jian free, but they couldn¡¯t take their eyes off the two pieces of dao on the ground. Two more had apparently remembered urgent business elsewhere because they were slowly backing away from the fight. Sen kept half an eye on thest one, the biggest of the group, while he dealt with the others.


    A swift thrust with the spear ended with the jian wielder screaming and trying to plug the new hole that went straight through his sword arm. Sen ignored the screaming guy for a moment and shattered the ankle of one of the idiots staring down at the mayor¡¯s son. The other staring idiot finally remembered that there was a fight happening around him. That one pulled out a pair of short fighting axes. Sen eyed them with curiosity even as he sent a kick back into the screaming guy that sent him rolling away and groaning. Sen thought it made for a nice change of pace from the screaming. He casually blocked a series of strikes from the axes while he sensed the two cowards getting farther away than he wanted them to. He sent a pair of wind des after them and was rewarded with the sight of two arcs of blood rising into the air from theircerated backs. The momentarypse in screaming ended as those two bled and writhed on the ground.


    That sight of his friend bleeding all over the ce was apparently more than the axe wielder had signed on for. He started backing away, his eyes traveling from the bleeding men to Sen¡¯s calm demeanor, then to the big man who had yet to even move. Sen had decided that none of these people were walking from this fight they picked without consequence. He sent a shing attack that was little more than a blur. Two axe heads spun into the air. The axe wielder was still staring at the severed hafts of his weapons when Sen drove the spearhead into the meaty part of the man¡¯s left leg. Sen did do the man the courtesy of not severing anything truly important. He didn¡¯t even nick the bone. Although no one would have known that from the shrieks the man let out when jerked the spear free. Sen nced around at the collection of bleeding, moaning, and unconscious bodies strewn around him. He didn¡¯t feel good about any of it, but he didn¡¯t feel bad either. Falling Leaf had been right. They hade and he had fought because he had to.


    Sen turned his attention to thest of theckeys. The big man did as Sen had just done and surveyed the damage. The big man frowned as he regarded Sen.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t used to be this dangerous,¡± said the man a in deep voice.


    ¡°Funny. You are all <em>exactly</em> the cowards I remember you being.¡±


    The big man¡¯s face started to contort with anger, but then his face cleared. He let out a frustrated noise and his shoulders slumped. ¡°I suppose it looks that way to you.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look any way. If you attack someone seven-on-one, you are cowards.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t attack you,¡± said the man in an even voice.


    Sen started to reply but made himself stop. He made himself think. It was true. The big man hadn¡¯t so much as moved during the rest of the altercation. His presence was an implied threat, but it had only ever been implied. If they fought now, it would be an honorable exchange. Sen took a moment to gather his thoughts by ripping a piece of robe off the mayor¡¯s son and cleaning the spearhead. He eyed the big man and didn¡¯t see any obvious weapons.


    ¡°You specialize in unarmedbat?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°I do,¡± said the big man.


    Sen put the spear back in his storage ring. There was a part of him that just wanted to knock the big man unconscious and call it a day. It would be easier. It would be cleaner. It would be simpler. Yet, there was something tugging at him. It wasn¡¯t as strong as that pull to the East, but it was still there. Sen simply couldn¡¯t shake the sense that there was something he was supposed to do, something that included the big man. Sen looked from the big man to the mayor¡¯s son, and then back again. He took a stab in the dark.


    ¡°You don¡¯t much care for him do you?¡±


    There was an almost imperceptible shake of the big man¡¯s head. ¡°I am bound to him.¡±


    Sen let those words sink in and really considered them. ¡°A debt?¡±


    An almost imperceptible nod. ¡°My family.¡±


    So, probably some kind of financial debt. Sen could help with that. He had a storage ring overflowing with beast cores. The real question was, did he want to help this man? Sen didn¡¯t mind the idea of good deeds, but he was no saint. Nor he did n on bing one. While he let his conscience wrestle with that problem, he gestured at the big man.


    ¡°Well, I suppose we should get on with it.¡±


    The big man nodded and strode over to Sen. There was no art in the man¡¯s movements. Sen saw none of the grace that he expected from years of training. The big man was simple in that he was brute force. He lifted one of his big fists and cocked it back.


    ¡°Thunderous Avnche Strike.¡±


    The big fist shot forward toward Sen¡¯s face like a flesh hammer. Then, it was stopped cold by Sen¡¯s palm. The big man grunted in what was obvious pain. Sen leaned in like he was gloating over the man¡¯s failure.


    ¡°If I could free you, what would you do?¡±


    ¡°Leave,¡± hissed the big man. ¡°I¡¯d leave.¡±


    ¡°And do what?¡±


    The big man looked Sen straight in the eye. ¡°Be like you. Be a wandering cultivator.¡±


    ¡°How much does your family owe?¡±


    ¡°One thousand silver tael.¡±


    It was a ridiculous, nigh-impossible sum for most families. Sen couldn¡¯t even imagine how such a debt could be created in the first ce, but the how didn¡¯t matter. It was a sum that Sen could afford. It wouldn¡¯t even be that big a blow to his theoretical personal wealth, although the value of beast cores was less predictable than gold, silver, or rice for that matter.


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Sen.


    Then he punched the big man in the chest. The big man flew several feet back through the air before his bulk crashed into the ground. Sen watched as the big man wheezed and coughed. He let the man catch his breath before he walked over and crouched down.


    ¡°Do you have a storage treasure?¡± Sen asked.


    The big man wheezed out something that sounded like it might be a no. Sen wasn¡¯t surprised, but it would have made life easier if the big man did.


    ¡°Visit Grandmother Lu¡¯s. I¡¯ll leave you what you need there. Then, I¡¯ll expect to meet you out there on the road somewhere. Do not make me regret this choice.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t, senior brother.¡±


    Sen gave the man a slight nod of acknowledgment, stood, and walked away. It wasn¡¯t his responsibility to treat their wounds. As far as he was concerned, they were self-inflicted.

 Chapter 65: Self Knowledge

    Chapter 65: Self Knowledge


    As Sen left the market, he did his best to ignore the people who had taken cover and watched the brief fight instead of fleeing the market entirely. The expressions on their faces disturbed him a little. Some of the people looked at him with intense wariness or outright fear. Of all the possible reactions, those surprised him the least. Those reactions made sense. They were an appropriate response to a sudden outburst of violence, most of it carried out by him. It was the <em>other</em> looks he got that gave him pause. There was in awe on some people¡¯s faces. They looked at him like he was something powerful and otherworldly. Sen sighed at that. He supposed that he was a bit of both of those things. Yet, the degree of awe on their faces seemed outsized to anything he¡¯d actually done. He hadn¡¯t summoned fire or lighting. He hadn¡¯t cast the market into false night with ake of shadow. What he had done just wasn¡¯t that impressive.


    The other expression he saw was a kind of greedy envy. That was the reaction that disturbed him the most. If he had flown through the air the way that Master Feng could, or crafted some pill that could wash injuries away the way Auntie Caihong could, or even set up a formation that drove dangerous beasts away as Uncle Kho could, he could understand that envy. Yet, all he had done was hurt some people. On reflection, he felt confident that the oue had been utterly inevitable. The mayor¡¯s son hade looking to right some imaginary wrong. If Sen hadn¡¯t struck first, that fool would have talked himself into doing it. Yet, to feel envious of being able to inflict pain and injury seemed somehow petty to Sen. <em>Why would anyone want that, or aspire to that</em>, he wondered. Sen believed that he¡¯d had more reason than most to desire that kind of power, but he didn¡¯t feel any aplishment from having it.


    He felt a sense of aplishment from developing the discipline necessary to master those skills. He felt a sense of aplishment from having mastered the forms and techniques. Sen was honest enough with himself to know that he¡¯d even taken some satisfaction in teaching those specific people a lesson. Yet, that satisfaction was tempered by the knowledge that he¡¯d vastly outstripped them in both raw power and skill. It was a relief to him that he hadn¡¯t lost his temper. It would have been all too easy to kill any of them or even all of them. He believed that all of them had likely deserved what they got. He¡¯d been on the receiving end of enough beatings from them to know they weren¡¯t innocents. He wasn¡¯t confident at all that any of them deserved death. No, he¡¯d pushed it as far as it should have gone.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that everyone would feel the same way. All those cultivators he¡¯d brutalized but left breathing had families. He knew the mayor was at least a minor noble. He suspected that the rest were children of wealthy houses in the town. He worried that this might be the thing that pushed them from passively trying to undermine Grandmother Lu to actively trying to push her out of town. It shouldn¡¯t happen that way. By rights, the whole thing was part of the Jianghu. Everyone involved had been a cultivator. Yet, the mayor¡¯s son had acted like a fool from the moment he arrived. If the father was anything like the son, Sen couldn¡¯t expect him to brush off the whole thing as a lesson learned about picking the right fights.


    Sen decided then that he¡¯d need to stick around, at least for a little while, to see how things yed out. He wasn¡¯t about to leave with the possibility of someone trying to get back at him by attacking Grandmother Lu hanging over everyone¡¯s heads. As he walked, he tried to imagine what he would do if someone did try to harm Grandmother Lu. The intensity of violence that his imagination poured forth was enough to bring him up short. He saw the mayor¡¯s house as little more than a pir of me. He saw a trail of bodies, some of them only barely recognizable as human. He saw businesses crushed into piles of useless rubble. The vision was so palpable, so real that it made him shudder.


    Even worse, Sen was rtively confident that all of it was within his power. It would take time and effort, but he <em>could</em> do it. Unless someone managed to find a more powerful cultivator to intervene on their behalf, Sen didn¡¯t think that anyone in town had the means to stop him. Sen¡¯s steps slowed and then stopped. <em>No one</em> could stop him if he walked down that path. It became abruptly, jarringly clear to him why so many stories painted cultivators as forces of chaos and destruction. If no one could stop you, then why restrain yourself? Why hold back? Do what you want. Take what you want. Kill who you want. The rules that restrained most people didn¡¯t apply, so why observe them? In another sh of understanding, those looks of greedy envy on peoples¡¯ faces made sense. It wasn¡¯t skill or ability that they wanted. They wanted the power to do whatever they felt like without worrying about the consequences.


    Sen searched inside his heart and soul. <em>Is that who I am</em>? <em>Is that what I am</em>? <em>Am I the kind of person who simply treats the world as some kind of storage ring filled with things for me to take</em>? Sen shook those questions off. Those were the wrong questions. He didn¡¯t know how or why he knew that, but he knew. Yet, they were close enough to the right questions to have some resonance. There were too many things moring for attention inside Sen¡¯s mind. Too manypeting concerns vying for dominance. He took a deep breath and focused on the cycling pattern that was always hard at work gathering environmental qi into his dantian. The persistent, predictable pattern calmed his mind and let him focus.


    With less clutter in his thoughts, the answer gradually unfolded in Sen¡¯s mind. Sen had been so caught up in the question of what he was now, that he¡¯d forgotten he was barely started on his path through life. Yes, there were parts of him that craved the kind of responsibility-free life where he could do what he wanted and take what he wanted. It was apelling vision, but it was also a life that would push Sen into ces he didn¡¯t want to go. While some level of violence was unavoidable in the world of cultivators, that approach would force a much greater level of violence onto Sen. He realized that the question of who he was now mattered, but it was the wrong question because Sen wasn¡¯t just charting a course for right now. He was setting the direction for every choice toe. The question he needed to ask himself was¡­


    ¡°Who do I want to be? What do I want to be?¡±


    When he considered the problem from that perspective, the answers became much simpler. He did not want to be someone who did nothing but take. He did not want to be someone who only left destruction in his wake. He would defend what was his if he had to. He would protect those he loved. But he would not mindlessly wander the world as an agent of destruction. That might be the right path for some, but it was not the right path for him. If a man could choose who he became, and Sen believed that he could, then he would choose to be something better. Sen was so inwardly focused at that moment that he¡¯d briefly lost track of what was happening around him. When he made that decision, trulymitted to it, though, the massive surge of qi around him intruded on his conscious awareness. As the qi flooded his body, Sen had the horrifying realization that he was about break through, on the street, alone.

 Chapter 66: An Experiment of His Own

    Chapter 66: An Experiment of His Own


    Sen very nearly panicked at the thought of being incapacitated on the street with less than friendly strangers around. He was even more frightened of the idea ofing out of it just to find himself about to be killed. Once that first second or two of wholly irrational thinking crashed through his head, Sen made himself calm down. This wasn¡¯t a major stage breakthrough. He wasn¡¯t even breaking from middle-stage foundation formation tote-stage. This was a minor breakthrough inside the middle stage. He just needed to keep a grip long enough to get somewhere safe. If he could do that, he doubted the breakthrough would evenst until the next morning. Of course, to get somewhere safe, Sen would have to keep all of the qi contained in his body while he moved. He was about halfway between the shop and Grandmother Lu¡¯s home. There were likely to be fewer people at her home, so that¡¯s the direction he went.


    Sen could move very fast when he ran full out, but even he wasn¡¯t sure he could make it back to the house in time. He weighed his options. He did have one potential way to move faster. It might even help keep the breakthrough at bay for a little while. He¡¯d had a lot of trouble with the technique up on the mountain, but Sen found that desperation and an overwhelming amount of qi in his system made for an ideal situation to learn his qinggong technique. He was still haphazard at first, but quickly found a rhythm and began hurtling past, around, and asion over people and obstacles. Despite a brief surge of happiness at that minor sess, all of the extra qi was putting a lot of pressure on Sen¡¯s dantian, channels, and body. It was beyond distracting and bordered on painful.


    The experience gave Sen a very clear picture of why nobody ever put off a breakthrough. His only sce was that the qi he was pooling around his feet to drive the qinggong technique did help bleed off some of the pressure inside him. It downgraded the experience from very painful to simply miserable. Even so, a part of him loathed the waste. Giving up so much qi that he could have potentially converted into the more potent liquid qi that now kept his dantian about half full stung. Under the circumstances, though, he was willing to ept it as a necessary sacrifice for his own safety. He could always umte more qi the slow way. He couldn¡¯t count on restoring his freedom if he lost that. As for his life, well, everybody got another chance at that, but he wouldn¡¯t be Sen anymore. It¡¯d be the same soul, carrying some of the same debts, but all the memories and knowledge that made him Sen would be washed away on the Naihe Bridge. <em>No</em>, he decided, <em>it¡¯s a tiny sacrificepared to what might happen</em>.


    Even with his greater speed, Sen was growing desperate by the time he reached Grandmother Lu¡¯s home. He burst through the front door bellowing for Zhang Muchen. In the process, he scared a maid so badly that he thought she might faint or possibly suffer some kind of fatal heart condition. He mumbled a quick apology as he staggered. Without the qinggong technique, the pressure had built back up inside him. He gritted his teeth against the pain until the older man hurried into sight with a deeply worried look on his face. The older man waved the maid away and, after hesitating for a moment, caught Sen¡¯s are to steady him.


    ¡°Young master, are you injured?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯s a breakthrough.¡±


    The confused look on the man¡¯s face told Sen everything he needed to know about the servant¡¯s working knowledge of cultivation. <em>No wonder he acts so impressed around me</em>, Sen thought. <em>He doesn¡¯t know the difference between me and someone like Master Feng. We¡¯re all just stories to him</em>. Sen realized that his mind was wandering from the pain. With an effort of will, he focused on the servant.


    ¡°I need a room. Private. No intrusions.¡±


    That, at least, the servant understood perfectly well. He hurried Sen through the house to what appeared to be a bedroom. After seeing that Sen was situated in the room, Zhang Muchen quietly left and closed the door behind him. With a gasp of pain and relief, Sen let himself copse onto the reliably stable floor. Sen was disappointed to discover that the process had not grown any easier since hisst breakthrough. He had harbored a minor hope that getting his dantian to half full with liquid qi would make converting more of the misty environmental qi easier. There wasn¡¯t even a good reason for why Sen had hoped that. It was just an idea that popped into his head one day. He supposed that he just liked the idea of it. Unlike so many other ideas, Sen knew that one didn¡¯t harbor any traps in it. It would either prove true, which would make him happy, or not true, which would leave him no worse off than he was. The world of cultivation was filled with many unknowns, but very few that lent themselves to such simple andparatively safe answers. He knew he could have just asked about it, but it had been to run a little experiment of his own, instead of being the experiment.


    Thinking of experiments at that moment triggered the eternally mysterious mechanism that birthed new ideas. Part of the reason why Sen was in such a desperate state when he arrived was because of the size of his dantian and his channels. He knew that the dantian could stretch, and it stood to reason that his channels could as well. <em>Can I use some of this qi for that, instead of converting it all?</em> It wasn¡¯t just a matter of stretching the dantian or the qi channels. For that work to matter, they¡¯d need reinforcement. Otherwise, they could rupture the next time they came under pressure. The idea was risky, but it also came with rewards.


    If Sen could stretch them, his channels especially, it could open up enough room for him to use even more kinds of qi at the same time. There were limits to that ability. Sen could only split his concentration in so many ways. Of course, wider channels would let him use more qi when he used different kinds simultaneously. He did have all of that qi, and he¡¯d told Grandmother Lu that he could mix an elixir that would repair channels. Could he mix one that would reinforce them? Could he mix it while stretching his channels and dantian? As appealing as the idea was, and as much as he needed to do something with all that qi, Sen took a moment. If he went down the stretching path, he wasmitted to it. He couldn¡¯t undo that stretching.


    In the end, he simply couldn¡¯t overlook the advantage of arger dantian and wider qi channels. He had the rest of his life to advance his cultivation. More opportunities woulde. A minor in-stage boost to his cultivation would make him a little bit stronger, but stretching those qi channels could potentially save his life in the very near future. He couldn¡¯t depend on all his opponents being substantially weaker than him like those idiots in the market had been. If he came up against someone stronger than he was, which seemed highly probable to Sen, he¡¯d have to beat them with something other than main strength. He¡¯d need surprise, and throwing up multiple kinds of qi was exactly that kind of surprise.


    With the decision made, Sen went to work. Like most new and difficult things, stretching his dantian and qi channels was grueling in ways that only experience could show a person. It called for him to stuff each channel as full of qi as he could stand, hold it in ce, and then force more in. It hurt. It hurt enough that it made him sweat. It made his hands shake. A few times, it hurt so much that Sen couldn¡¯t even breathe. Yet, he carried on because he had to. Splitting his attention to prepare an elixir made the work even more taxing. He had to think through every ingredient, consider the proportions, consider the oddities of his own body. His natural affinities for fire and shadow meant that his body used those kinds of qi with far greater efficiency than other kinds of qi. That meant he had to, contrary to what most people might expect, reduce the proportion of fire and shadow qi in the elixir.


    Bit by bit, though, he stretched his channels. One by one, he assembled the medicinal herbs and alchemical ingredients. Finally, he began stretching his dantian. As the pain of that process tried to double him over, he began dumping the ingredients into a pot. He¡¯d chosen his ingredients with care. He¡¯d picked ones that would work directly with the reagents he had on hand without the need to heat the pot. Normally, he could have just heated the pot with qi, but even the idea of sending qi down his channels was enough to send a deep shudder through his body. When he had stretched his dantian as far as he dared, he looked down at the liquid in the pot. It looked and smelled far too much like one of Master Feng¡¯s pills for Sen¡¯s liking, but it didn¡¯t matter. He lifted the pot to his lips and dumped the contents down his throat. It was thick and a little cloying, but he forced it down. Then, for a few blessed seconds, nothing more was required of Sen.


    He slumped down on the floor again and just let himself rest. He¡¯d managed to use up some of the qi with his channel stretching, as the energy sometimes slipped from his control and leaked out into his body. He relished those few moments of doing nothing because he knew what came next would be terrible. And it was. The agony started in the walls of his dantian. It felt as though someone was ramming a thousand white-hot needles into those walls. Then, the sensation spread up and down his channels. Sen had enough forethought to shove a folded-up piece of cloth into his mouth before he lost the ability to do anything but clench his jaw and suppress his screaming. Sen lost any notion of time in the haze of torment. When it did finally wind down, though, he felt inside. Much as he had needed to suppress his screaming, he had to suppress the need to howl in triumph. It had <em>worked</em>. He sent qi cascading down those wider, newly reinforced channels. What had once felt like a potent stream of energy now felt like a river of power rushing through him. He¡¯d wanted a way to surprise stronger cultivators. Now, he had it.

 Chapter 67: Quick Fix

    Chapter 67: Quick Fix


    When Sen came to, he was still sprawled out on the floor. He tried to gauge what time it was, or even what day it was, but it was a hopeless task beyond a general assessment that it was dark out. He pushed himself up and was happy to discover that, once again, his breakthrough did not involve his body expelling vast amounts of impurities. Master Feng had assured him that those were over unless something drastic changed in Sen¡¯s body cultivation. Still, it was always a relief toe out of a breakthrough and not find himself and everything around him covered with stinking filth. Wanting to reassure himself that everything went as nned, Sen turned his perception inward and examined his dantian and channels. Everything looked fine. In fact, his channels looked stronger than they had before his spur-of-the-moment experiment. With a quick mental effort, he cycled qi through all his channels. There was a moment of disorientation as a whole new level of strength coursed through him. Sen recognized that he would need to spend a little time getting used to that feeling. Disorientation at the beginning of a fight could only end badly for him.


    Sen also realized something he hadn¡¯t truly ounted for during his hasty, desperate decision-making process. He had just slowed his own progress down. Where his dantian had been around half-full with liquid qi before, it was somewhere between a quarter and a third full now. The misty qi that took up the rest of that space looked thin, very thin to Sen. A horrifying thought crashed down on Sen. <em>Did I unintentionally step my cultivation back?</em> He hastily ran through some techniques that were safe to do inside. They didn¡¯t seem any weaker to him. If anything, they seemed meaningfully stronger. He checked his dantian again. The misty qi had thinned out to the point that it looked more like a haze than a mist. Sen¡¯s racing heart slowed down.


    ¡°Okay, this is a problem, but it¡¯s not a catastrophe,¡± he said aloud, mostly to reassure himself.


    If he¡¯d had the idea of expanding his dantian and widening his channels when he didn¡¯t have to make the choice immediately, and when he hadn¡¯t been distracted with pain, none of this would have surprised him. He suspected that he didn¡¯t have substantially less qi than he did the day before. It was just that the same amount of qi was upying arger space. Filling that dantian with enough qi to form more liquid qi, however, was going to take longer and more effort than it had before. Sen recognized that meaningful insights could trigger a big influx of qi and even a breakthrough, but he couldn¡¯t n around having those on a predictable schedule. It could happen again the next week, or not for a year, or possibly even never again.


    The problem in front of him was those expanded qi channels. They would be useful, so very useful, in crisis moments. It¡¯d take some testing, but he guessed that he could probably work with two different kinds of qi at around sixty or seventy percent of his old limit using just one kind of qi. Of course, that also meant that every time he used qi, those channels were sucking away way more qi than he was used to. It would be all too easy to run himself dry. He could always fall back on using that liquid qi, but that was a desperate measure. That truly would step his cultivation backward. The more of that liquid qi he used up, the farther back he would step. Sen thought about the problem for a while before he came to two conclusions.


    First things first, he needed to master how much qi he let into those channels at any given time. Before, the channels provided their own limits with their size. Now, it was on him to regte that flow so he got enough qi to do what he needed but didn¡¯t waste qi overpowering techniques unnecessarily. The second thing he needed to address was at least a short-term problem. He needed to refill his dantian at least partially with some environmental qi. Testing new methods for flow control would prove a terrible idea if he didn¡¯t give himself some breathing room to make mistakes. Unfortunately, the qi concentration in the town was definitely not on par with the qi concentration at Uncle Kho¡¯s house on the mountain. Sen could set up something like the formation Uncle Kho used, but it wouldn¡¯t have nearly the same efficiency. He might get the concentration in one room up by five or ten percent, but that was it.


    He needed some other way of gathering qi or some other source of attributed qi. As he pondered that problem, he idly twisted one of the storage rings on his finger. He still had a lot of attributed qi herbs, nts, and minerals. Could he mix himself a one-time elixir to boost his qi reserves? He thought he probably could, but it struck him as a bad solution. To make a real difference, he¡¯d probably need to use up half of his stores. More importantly, he didn¡¯t know how difficult it would be to rece them once they were gone. No, he much preferred to keep those for other uses, like treating the injuries he felt certain were in his future. He started going through a mental inventory of what was in the rings, then sat up straight. He did have a fix for the problem. Withdrawing some formation gs from his storage ring, he ced them around the room. Instead of drawing in more ambient qi, that formation would contain any qi in the room. Once he had the formation up and activated, Sen started pulling spirit beast cores out of his ring by the handful. He scattered them across the floor but within the boundaries of the formation gs.


    Auntie Caihong had given him a rather in-depth exnation about spirit beast cores, but the highlight was that they were, in effect, solidified qi. She also told him that you want to keep them in a storage ring until you¡¯re ready to use or sell them. If you just leave them out, they¡¯ll radiate qi and slowly, but surely, be less potent. Sen epted that he¡¯d be reducing the value of the cores, if only marginally, but it was the best quick fix he had avable to him. Dropping down onto the floor in the center of the formation, Sen could sense how much thicker the qi was around him. He took active control of his cycling, rather than letting it happen passively in the background. That background method worked, but it was slower. Something about active participation in the process made it more efficient.


    For the next several hours, Sen soaked up the qi that the cores slowly trickled into the room. Individually, no one core could make that much of a difference. With dozens of them around him, Sen was able to increase that misty environmental qi in his dantian by around 20 percent. It wasn¡¯t a perfect fix, of course. The qi wasn¡¯t bnced in quite the same ratios as it was in nature. In some cases, the qi types were rare enough that they weren¡¯t found in regr environmental qi. If Sen had been pushed into focusing on a particr type of qi, taking those kinds of unusual qi into his dantian might have proven a disaster. Since Sen wasn¡¯tmitted to any one kind of qi, he could process those unusual qi types. It would take more work, but it wouldn¡¯t set him on a collision course with qi deviation.


    When caught hints of morning light through the window, he sighed and gathered up the cores. His dantian wasn¡¯t as full as he would have liked it, but he wasn¡¯t worried any more that any random qi technique would leave him utterly spent. Then, he put away the formation gs with a silent word of thanks for Uncle Kho. Sen was sure that at least some of the qi had escaped the formation. He wasn¡¯t skilled enough or experienced enough to have prevented that entirely. Still, it had worked well enough to get Sen what he needed. Of course, after the night he¡¯d had, what he really needed was a cup of tea. Stretching his back and neck, he heard a few pops that offered immediate relief to some aches he¡¯d been feeling. Smiling, Sen opened the door and went looking for the kitchen.

 Chapter 68: Making Good

    Chapter 68: Making Good


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure if it was some kind of bad luck or weird karma, but he managed to scare the same maid. He¡¯d found the kitchen and made tea. Then, he¡¯d sat down at the small table in the kitchen to enjoy his tea. Not too long after, the maid came into the kitchen and saw him sitting there. She let out a brief shriek before mping a hand over her own mouth. Given that he¡¯d just been sitting there with a cup of tea in his hand, Sen couldn¡¯t quite find it in himself to feel bad about startling her. If he¡¯d jumped out at her or been waving a sword around, okay, but he felt it was difficult to be less threatening than sitting calmly with tea. Still, he wasn¡¯t heartless. He gave her a nod and gestured at the table.


    ¡°Tea?¡± He asked.


    The girl stared at the teapot like it mightunch itself across the room and attack her. She shook her head abruptly and then stared down at the floor. Sen waited for a moment to see what she¡¯d do. She kept just standing there, her cheeks slowly getting redder and redder. When the silence started to annoy Sen, he gave up on waiting.


    ¡°Am I in the way here? I can leave if you have work to do,¡± said Sen.


    The girl peeked up at him for a second or two before looking down again. ¡°The young master is not in the way.¡±


    Sen waited again. The girl continued to not move.


    ¡°Is there some way I can help?¡± Sen asked, hoping she¡¯d just tell him what she needed to do.


    The girl looked at him again, looked at the tea set, and then looked back down. ¡°Forgiveness, young master. I am to make the mistress¡¯s tea in the morning.¡±


    Sen looked down at the tea set ¨C the <em>only</em> tea set that he¡¯d been able to find ¨C and understanding dawned. Sen wasn¡¯t in the way, but his tea was in the way. He sighed. He hated to waste good tea, but there was just no getting around the problem. The girl had a job to do. Sen looked back over at the girl to tell her to take the tea set, when Grandmother Lu appeared right behind her.


    ¡°Did you oversleep this morning, Lin?¡± Grandmother Lu asked in a tired voice.


    ¡°No, Mistress, I-,¡± she started before Sen cut her off.


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault, grandmother. I got to the tea set before she did.¡±


    Grandmother Lu¡¯s eyes shot to Sen. Sen felt like she was trying to see his bones the way she was staring at him. Her gaze softened as she turned to the maid.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Lin. You carry on with your other duties. I¡¯m sure that Sen will share his tea with his old grandmother.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mistress. Of course, mistress.¡±


    The maid, Lin, shot Sen a grateful look before she vanished out of the kitchen. Grandmother Lu sat down across from Sen. He prepared her a cup of tea. She sipped at it and then gave the cup an appreciative look.


    ¡°Lin must be getting better at this,¡± said Grandmother Lu, mostly to herself.


    Sen hesitated. Correcting her might cost the maid a tiny bit of goodwill from her employer, but it would probably save her trouble when she couldn¡¯t make the tea the same way.


    ¡°I made the tea,¡± Sen admitted.


    ¡°Oh, that exins it. Lin is a good girl, but she can¡¯t brew tea to save her life. Did Cultivator Feng teach you to brew tea?¡±


    ¡°No. It was Uncle Kho.¡±


    ¡°Uncle who?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, we didn¡¯t get to talk. How long was I out for?¡±


    Grandmother Lu raised an eyebrow. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Time gets strange during breakthroughs. At least for me.¡±


    ¡°I supposed it does, now that I think back. Just the one night.¡±


    Sen let out a relieved breath. ¡°That¡¯s good. I lost most of a week once.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Remind me about it, and I¡¯ll tell you the story. As for Uncle Kho¡­¡±


    Senunched into a very lean exnation of where and with whom he¡¯d spent most of thest six years. Grandmother Lu listened intently, her eyes asionally going wide with wonder or narrowing with anger. After Sen finished, the older woman just sat there quietly for a few minutes with her eyes closed. She hummed to herself a few times. Sen remembered her doing the same thing years before when she was thinking deeply about something.


    ¡°So,¡± said Grandmother Lu, opening her eyes, ¡°you made friends with a spirit beast panther?¡±


    Senughed. ¡°Out of all of that, it¡¯s Falling Leaf you¡¯re curious about?¡±


    Grandmother Lu shrugged. ¡°I can make sense of the rest of it. I just can¡¯t imagine how you befriended a spirit beast.¡±


    ¡°You know, there wasn¡¯t much befriending going on. It was mostly that she was curious, and I had food.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Pretty much. I think she also thought I was kind of funny. I fell down a lot in the early days.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a strange life you¡¯ve led, Sen. Strange enough for two people and then some. Still, you seem to havee out of it hale and whole enough. After that disy yesterday in the market, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re in one of thete qi condensing stages? Peak, maybe? It¡¯s hard to get a clear sense of your cultivation.¡±


    Sen found himself oddly embarrassed that he needed to correct her about his cultivation level. It felt almost like he was insulting her. Still, she had asked. It would be rude not to answer.


    ¡°Middle foundation formation,¡± he offered. ¡°About the same in body cultivation, as well. At least, I think so.¡±


    ¡°In six years? I don¡¯t even understand how that¡¯s possible unless you¡¯re some kind of cultivation genius,¡± she said, then got a spective look on her face. ¡°<em>Are</em> you some kind of cultivation genius?¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°I doubt it. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to exin it to you either. Not exactly, anyway. My training wasn¡¯t exactly traditional. They didn¡¯t want to, well, it¡¯s a long story. One I¡¯m happy to tell you at some point, but I¡¯m sure you have things to do today.¡±


    Grandmother Lu sighed. ¡°I do. The shop can run itself without me, but people expect me to be there. The kids I hired are dedicated enough, but they¡¯re easily distracted. You saw that for yourself, yesterday.¡±


    ¡°I did wonder about why those girls were just hanging around outside that room and bringing me food.¡±


    Grandmother Lu frowned at Sen. It was a very serious look.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not good,¡± she finally said.


    ¡°What¡¯s not good?¡±


    ¡°I just realized that there are probably some of those practicalities that we need to discuss. Tonight, though, when I¡¯m done at the shop.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Fair enough. Speaking of the shop, there¡¯s something I need to discuss with you. I hope it won¡¯t take too long.¡±


    ¡°Go on,¡± said Grandmother Lu.


    Sen briefly described his interaction with the big man in the market, as well as his promise to help.


    ¡°Sen, a thousand silver taels is a lot. I can probably get it for you, but it¡¯ll take some time to free it up from the business.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no. I don¡¯t need you to give him <em>your</em> money. I¡¯d never ask you to do that. I have a storage ring full of spirit beast cores. I nned on giving him some of those. Or maybe selling you a couple and giving him the bnce in cores.¡±


    ¡°You have beast cores?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡±


    Sen had never done a proper count of them, but he had a rough idea. ¡°Fifty, give or take a few.¡±


    Grandmother Lu¡¯s face went as pale as a sheet of paper. ¡°Sen, you¡¯re walking around with a fortune on your hand. People would kill you for that ring.¡±


    ¡°I know, which is why I haven¡¯t told anyone but you.¡±


    A little of the color came back to Grandmother Lu¡¯s face, and she looked touched by his disy of trust. ¡°Well, I think I can probably muster enough funds to buy two or three of them. But, I have to ask. Why would you help him?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s just a feeling. I can¡¯t exin it any better than that. Something, maybe the heavens, maybe the winds, told me that I was supposed to take some kind of action. It had to do with that man. I can¡¯t even be sure that it¡¯s a good thing that I¡¯m doing. I think it is. I hope it is. If it isn¡¯t, well, he¡¯ll be my responsibility down the road.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll kill him if it turns out he wasn¡¯t worth helping?¡±


    Sen thought hard about that. ¡°No. If he turns out to just be useless, I¡¯ll let life sort that out for him. This life, or the next life. If he turns out to be evil, though, I¡¯ll kill him. I¡¯ll have to, or I¡¯ll have a share of guilt in every terrible thing he does. For now, I¡¯m just making good on my word. Let¡¯s hope he appreciates that enough to be someone worth knowing."

 Chapter 69: Yesterday’s Sins

    Chapter 69: Yesterday¡¯s Sins


    After a brief discussion and a quick meal, Sen apanied Grandmother Lu back to her shop. She wasn¡¯tfortable simply carrying around anything as valuable as beast cores. It turned out that she didn¡¯t have a storage ring of her own, which Sen found odd at first.


    ¡°I don¡¯t deal with many things that would call for them. Oh, they¡¯re terribly useful things, but a well-guarded caravan gets the job done just as well. Plus, if you look around the shop, I deal with mortal luxury items. High-grade silks are valuable, but if someone wants qi work done on their silks, they can find someone to do that work for them. We don¡¯t keep stores of medicinal herbs or that sort of thing, which really do need a storage treasure. Frankly, sticking to mortal luxuries keeps us from being too enticing to thieves. We do have a few small storage boxes, for those rare asions when we really need one, but that¡¯s very rare indeed.¡±


    In the back of his mind, Sen thought that perhaps he could find a storage ring for Grandmother Lu out in the world somewhere. It might make for a fine new year''s gift at some point. In the meantime, though, they maintained a brisk walk from the house toward the shop. Sen smiled to himself at Grandmother Lu¡¯s sure and pain-free steps.


    ¡°What¡¯s it like?¡± He asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s what like?¡± She asked, giving him a baffled look.


    ¡°Going from how you were to how you are now. What¡¯s it like?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that. It¡¯s like,¡± she ruminated for a moment, ¡°being set free.¡±


    Sen pursed his lips as he tried to make sense of that. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t know what that¡¯s like.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t suppose there¡¯s any reason you should. When your body starts giving out on you, it¡¯s like you¡¯re stuck in a cage. The older you get, the more things go wrong, the smaller the cage gets. Getting back some of what I lost, it was like someone opened the door to that cage and invited me out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy for you, grandmother,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯m d you get another chance to, well, live life the way you want to.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get me wrong. I lived a good life by most measures. I had a decent husband who loved me. I had healthy children who went on to start their own families. It was only at the end that things really went wrong for me. Still,¡± she looked down at one of her hands, ¡°I am grateful to have a chance to do something <em>more</em>. Some people, when they get older, they¡¯re ready to journey into Diyu and embrace reincarnation. Some people, people like me, they want more, to have done more, to have been more than they were. I actually get that chance. I¡¯m going to make the most of it, free from yesterday¡¯s sins.¡±


    They fell into afortable silence after that. Sen¡¯s entry into the shop caused a bit of rustle among the girls who were there. Sen noticed Grandmother Lu rolling her eyes and muttering something about ¡°having a talk¡± with him. He was about to ask her what they needed to talk about when the round-faced girl from the day before rushed up to them. She saw Sen looking right at her and managed to trip over her own feet. Sen took a quick step forward and grabbed her by the arms. He steadied her on her feet and then stepped back.


    ¡°Your mom makes those great mooncakes, right?¡± He asked.


    The girl just stared at him with her mouth a little open until Grandmother Lu reached out and snapped her fingers right in front of the girl¡¯s face.


    ¡°Did you need something, Bai?¡±


    The girl blinked, blushed furiously, and nodded. ¡°My mother asked me to send her thanks to the young master for his kind words. She also asked me to give these to you.¡±


    The girl held out a small cloth bundle. Curious, Sen took the bundle and untied it. Folding back the cloth, he found several small buns that gave off a smell that was equal parts sweet and tart.


    ¡°These look delicious. What are they?¡±


    ¡°Pineapple buns. Has the young master never had them before?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°Well, I certainly can¡¯t eat all of these alone. You¡¯ll have to eat them with meter.¡±


    ¡°I, I, I would be most honored to share them with the young master,¡± said Bai, who had gone the color of a tomato.


    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Grandmother Lu look upwards as if she was beseeching the heavens. <em>What¡¯s that look all about</em>, Sen wondered. ncing around the shop, he saw several of the other girls giving Bai baleful res. <em>What are those looks about</em>, he wondered. Grandmother Lu took a very firm hold of Sen¡¯s arm and pulled him toward the back of the shop.


    ¡°Thank you, Bai,¡± she all but growled over her shoulder before ring at Sen. ¡°I need to get you out of sight before there¡¯s a murder.¡±


    Sen let himself be pulled to a back room, where Grandmother Lu tried to re a hole through him. Sen tried to understand what he¡¯d done wrong. He¡¯d tried his best to be polite to the girl. He <em>thought</em> he¡¯d seeded, but maybe he¡¯d overlooked something. His obvious andpleteck ofprehension seemed to soften Grandmother Lu¡¯s temper. She shook her head and gave another of those imploring looks upward.


    ¡°We will need to have a very long talk about young womenter. For now, let¡¯s have a look at those beast cores.¡±


    Sen dutifully began pulling beast cores out of his ring. Grandmother Lu almost automatically rejected several of them, while setting aside six. Sen put the rejects back in his ring and then took a hard look at the ones she had set aside. A glimmer of understanding took hold and he pointed at the stones in turn.


    ¡°Earth qi. Air qi. Fire qi. Metal qi. Earth qi. Water qi. Nothing unusual. Nothing unique.¡±


    Grandmother Lu nodded. ¡°I can reasonably sell an earth qi beast core or an air qi beast core without raising a lot of eyebrows. They¡¯remon enough that I could havee by them in several very usible ways. An ice-attributed beast core? A metal-wind core? Nobody just has cores like that lying around unless they¡¯re a sect or maybe a very sessful alchemist. People mount full expeditions to find those kinds of things. I don¡¯t even know how much you should ask for something like that. Be very, very careful who you tell about those cores, Sen.¡±


    Up until that moment, Sen had been working from the assumption that all of those cores were more or less of equivalent value. Now, he knew that he¡¯d been underestimating the wealth in that ring. It made him nervous to be wearing it out in the open, but he couldn¡¯t see a better option. He didn¡¯t dare just leaving sitting in a drawer somewhere. Not even at Grandmother Lu¡¯s home. He suspected that her servants were probably honest, but one moment of curiosity with a storage ring could test that honesty to the breaking point. Sen sighed. He¡¯d need to offload those cores for his own safety, but he¡¯d have to do it very carefully. He watched as Grandmother Lu put two of the cores into one storage box, and the other four in a second storage box. She vanished from the room for several minutes before she came back with a heavy pouch that gave off a faint jingle whenever she moved it too fast. She ced both the storage box with the four cores and the pouch of money into a heavy sack. The other storage box disappeared into a locked cab.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see that your,¡± she rolled her eyes, ¡°<em>friend</em> gets that sack. I just hope he¡¯s smart enough to take it straight to his father.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Either he is, or he isn¡¯t. I promised I¡¯d help. It¡¯s on him to actually put that help to good use.¡±


    Grandmother Lu and Sen stiffened at the same moment when a powerful surge of qi passed through the shop. Sen just <em>knew</em> what wasing and it made his heart sink. A part of him had expected it, but another part had hoped that his disy from yesterday would have bought him a bit more time.


    ¡°Lu Sen! Come out and face your death!¡±


    Grandmother Lu gave Sen a look that was equal parts furious and afraid. ¡°What is this nonsense about?¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°Yesterday¡¯s sins, I¡¯d imagine.¡±

 Chapter 70: The Absence of Choice

    Chapter 70: The Absence of Choice


    Sen felt a sliver of cold dread as he made his way back through the shop under the frightened, watchful gazes of the workers. It wasn¡¯t a worry that he might get hurt. He¡¯d been hurt before. He wasn¡¯t even truly concerned that he might die. It was a possibility, but he¡¯d faced that possibility before as well. Besides, if it really was his time to die, somehow fated to be, then worry wouldn¡¯t help. Sen¡¯s dread came from words the man had shouted. Come out and face your death. The mayor¡¯s son and hisckeys hade to teach Sen a lesson, but none of them had actually issued a challenge to the death. That had given Sen the option to let it go with the severe chastisements he¡¯d handed out. This guy had opened with a challenge to the death. Sen didn¡¯t think the man was going to let that idea go, not after being so brazen and public about it.


    After Sen stepped out into the same market where he¡¯d fought less than a day ago, he wondered if perhaps this town was simply cursed. Oh, not cursed for everyone, of course. Plenty of people seemed to get by quite well there. Still, Sen had to wonder if the town was specifically cursed for him. Uncle Kho had admitted that such things were possible if rarely done. Apparently, such curses were rather work-intensive to set up and expensive to maintain. Yet, very little good hade to Sen in the town, and what little good hade his way seemed to be constantly in jeopardy of some kind. Sen didn¡¯t believe for a moment that, should he fall, Grandmother Lu and her shop would go unscathed. No, if he fell, that shop would be burning within minutes of his death. Maybe, they¡¯d let the people inside out first. Maybe they wouldn¡¯t.


    If Sen had to guess, they probably wouldn¡¯t. After all, they¡¯d sent someone after him the very next day after he¡¯d soundly beaten seven qi condensing cultivators. Granted, that was no mighty aplishment for him, but it at least spoke to a kind of tacticalpetence that should have given any would-be heroes a bit of pause. Then again, the man ring at Sen didn¡¯t look like the sort who ever felt pause over anything. He looked like the kind of man who was always angry about something. There was a scowl etched into his features that made him look older. Sen almost thought that it made the man look older for his age. But there was no good way to know a cultivator¡¯s age. The man could actually be in his mid-twenties, or he could be in his mid-fifties. A brief touch of qi told Sen that the man was also in the foundation formation stage. Sen thought his own cultivation was a little lower than the man¡¯s, but the finer differences inside a cultivation stage often eluded him.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Sen asked, just as a ce to start.


    ¡°I am Chen Aiguo, the Cold de,¡± said the man in a tone that suggested that every living thing between the dirt and sky should recognize his name.


    Sen did not recognize the name. He shrugged at the man. ¡°Okay. Who are you to me?¡±


    ¡°I am the teacher of Guo Jun.¡±


    Sen stared at the man, waiting for the exnation to continue. When it didn¡¯t, Sen let out a very audible sigh. ¡°So, you¡¯re the one who trained the mayor¡¯s son. If you¡¯re angry about his defeat, perhaps you should have spent more time training him to use his brain instead of that dao. Either way, it¡¯s no business of mine. I have no quarrel with you.¡±


    ¡°You have dishonored my n!¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    Chen Aiguo apparently hadn¡¯t anticipated that question because he just stood there with his mouth open and no wordsing out. Sen then learned that the man had no good answer for the question because he drew a dao and pointed it at Sen.


    ¡°I will not be distracted by these foolish questions. Draw your de, boy, so that there will at least be some honor when I kill you.¡±


    Sen took a moment to nce around the market. He didn¡¯t spot any obvious signs ofckeys waiting to intervene. He supposed talking the angry, scowling Chen Aiguo out of a duel had always had a low probability of sess. Chen Aiguo was no doubt under orders from the mayor to honorably murder Sen for the great offense of beating the mayor¡¯s son unconscious for being a moron. That meant that Chen Aiguo almost certainly wouldn¡¯t let this go, no matter what Sen did. That also made this one of those cases where, even if he tried to walk away, he¡¯d probably just get attacked anyway.


    Sen muttered to himself. ¡°In the absence of choice, the only path is forward.¡±


    He drew his jian and closed the distance with the other foundation formation stage cultivator. Master Feng had told Sen that most swordsmen and swordswomen will test their opponents to try to gauge their abilities. This initial sh between Sen and Chen Aiguo lived up to that prediction. Chen Aiguo started with a few basic shing attacks that Sen simply dodged. The other man then transitioned to thrusting and chopping attacks that favored the heavier dao de. Sen parried those before the two broke apart. Sen deduced a few things from that brief exchange. Chen Aiguo wasn¡¯t a particrly skilled swordsman. He was basicallypetent, but by no measure brilliant. He was also the kind of fighter who expected to overpower his opponents. Sen could see the frustration on the man¡¯s face that he hadn¡¯t managed tond a blow.


    On the next exchange, Sen took the offensive. He was a blur of metal and speed that wove a of pain around Chen Aiguo. Sen didn¡¯t make a special effort to kill the other cultivator, but several deep cuts left bloody trails across both of Chen Aiguo¡¯s arms and beneath his left eye. Sen leaned out of the way of a particrly sloppy chop and, spotting an opening, drove his left fist toward the other man¡¯s throat. Chen was quick enough to turn his body away and take the blow on his shoulder. So, Sen used the distraction to thrust his jian into the man¡¯s thigh. Chen¡¯s eyes went wide, and he let out a bellow of pain. Anticipating some kind of instinctive counterattack, Sen briefly activated his qinggong technique to dance back out of the way of a wild swing of the dao. Chen Aiguo staggered back a few steps, one hand clutching the wound on his thigh, the other waving his dao in Sen¡¯s general direction.


    ¡°You worthless little bastard. You think you can dishonor me like this? When I¡¯m done with you, I¡¯m going into that shop. I¡¯m going to slit the throat of everyst piece of street trash I find in there.¡±


    <em>So much for honor</em>, said a calm voice in a tiny corner of Sen¡¯s mind. Fury filled the rest of his consciousness, threatening to overwhelm all reason. Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong had all warned him about moments like this. They had warned him not to take the bait.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the oldest trick in the book,¡± said Master Feng, ¡°but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s right there on page one. They¡¯ll try to make you angry. Try to make you attack without thought. You¡¯ll want to do it. Oh, <em>believe me</em>, you¡¯ll want to do it. You have to give yourself a moment to think. Take a breath, count to three in your head, wait for five heartbeats. Find something that works for you.¡±


    ¡°Why should I wait?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°Because getting you to attack is only half the trick. While you¡¯re not thinking about anything except stabbing them in the throat a hundred times, they¡¯re getting a qi technique ready. As soon as you get close, they¡¯ll hit you with it. Hit them with something else first.¡±


    Sen took a breath. Then counted to three in his head. Then, he did something he hadn¡¯t done in the fight the day before. He waited until he felt the qi stirring around Chen Aiguo, then Sen unleashed the full force of his killing intent. He¡¯d never done that with another person who wasn¡¯t a peak nascent soul cultivator before, so he wasn¡¯t prepared for what would happen. For a space of two heartbeats, Chen Aiguo waspletely still. Sen watched with a kind of detached fascination as the dao fell from the man¡¯s limp fingers. Then, the screaming started. It wasn¡¯t the hoarse screams of pain that Sen might have expected. It was the high, shrill screaming of someone caught in the fist of abject terror. Blood began pouring out of the man¡¯s nose, ears, and even his eyes. Sen could still hear Chen Aiguo¡¯s threats against Grandmother Lu and everyone who worked for her. With those threats and Master Feng¡¯s many stories in mind, Sen infused his jian with metal qi, walked over to the screaming man, and calmly cut off his head.

 Chapter 71: Spoils

    Chapter 71: Spoils


    Sen stared down at the corpse that used to be Chen Aiguo. It took Sen a moment to realize that he was waiting for something to happen. Heavenly rebuke? Overwhelming emotions? Neither happened. If the heavens were troubled by what he had done, they were keeping it to themselves. As for emotions, Sen did feel some regret. It had been a pointless and avoidable death that served no one¡¯s ends. Chen Aiguo had not aplished his goals and never would again. The mayor hadn¡¯t aplished his goals, whatever those had been. Sen gained nothing from the man¡¯s death either, save perhaps a bit of unnecessary proof that he¡¯d been taught the jian by someone truly gifted. The only thing that Chen Aiguo¡¯s death aplished was leaving one less cultivator in the world. Sen looked around the market.


    There were faces pressed up against windows or staring out of mostly closed doors. There was no awe or envy in their eyes this time, just fear. After a moment of consideration, Sen decided that was appropriate. In some ways, the fight with the mayor¡¯s son and his hangers-on had been more of a demonstration of Sen¡¯s skills than anything else. After all, however injured, everyone had walked away from that fight. Only one man was walking away from this encounter. That changed things. Sen supposed it might change things for a lot of people. Chen Aiguo might have had family somewhere. There could be friends out there who would miss him or, Sen sighed, try to avenge him. Lives had been changed by Sen¡¯s actions, in subtle or profound ways, yet he struggled to muster strong feelings about it. In the end, he simply hadn¡¯t known the man. His only interactions with the man had been filled with anger, violence, and threats. Perhaps there were people who would mourn Chen Aiguo, but Sen wasn¡¯t one of them.


    Sen did take somefort from the fact that the man hadn¡¯t announced that he was part of a sect. That was a level of trouble Sen had no desire to bring down on his head if he could avoid it. Although, a sect might prove more reasonable about the whole thing than the mayor. Sects understood the Jianghu. The story of Chen Aiguo challenging a wandering cultivator and losing wouldrgely absolve Sen of lingering trouble. As Sen thought back, though, Chen had mentioned something about a n. He desperately hoped that he hadn¡¯t managed to set off a blood feud after being off the mountain for less than a week. While Master Feng would probably find some kind of morbid humor in it, he expected that Auntie Caihong would be a little disappointed in him. Sen wasn¡¯t sure what Uncle Kho would think. If the man thought as poorly of cultivator ns as he did of sects, he¡¯d probably tell Sen to go on a killing spree and carve his name into the nightmares of the next ten generations of that n. When he thought about what that would mean, he put it firmly into thest resort category.


    Shaking himself out of his musings, Sen discovered that Falling Leaf had trained him well. He had already taken the man¡¯s dao, sheathed it, and put it away in his storage ring. He imed a purse of coins and simrly stored those. Sen found a jade seal in one of the man¡¯s pockets. He didn¡¯t recognize the seal, but he hadn¡¯t really expected to recognize it. It could havee from a lot of ces. Still, it might have some value eventually. Thest thing that Sen took off the body was a storage ring that Chen Aiguo had hidden in an inner pocket of his robes. Sen didn¡¯t inspect the ring, just slipped it into one of his own pockets forter examination. Even Sen knew that you didn¡¯t go through the trouble of hiding something in a ce where you could feel it every time you moved if it didn¡¯t contain something of value. While it might be of personal value only to Chen Aiguo, Sen had his doubts.


    He did note a few disapproving looks from the townspeople. He was not impressed by the way their morals shifted from moment to moment and day to day. Oh, yes, let a homeless child get beaten. That¡¯s fine. Let a man stand alone against seven attackers. That¡¯s eptable. Loot a body? Oh, for shame, that¡¯s deplorable. Sen expected that their disapproval had more to do with disappointment that he¡¯d beaten them to it than any actual moral qualms. At the end of the day, <em>he</em> had fought. <em>He</em> had killed. The spoils were his by right and naturalw. Why should he leave it for someone else? When he¡¯dpleted searching the body, or at least as much as he nned to do, he stood up and walked toward Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop. Then, he heard someone shout.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t just leaving that dead body there, are you?¡±


    He heard inaudible grumbles and murmurs of agreement and until he turned to face the rest of the market. Then, near-total silence reigned, save for a bird in the distance that remained blissfully unaware of the day¡¯s events. Sen let his gaze travel over the people, who all looked away or lowered their heads.


    ¡°<em>I</em> did not bring this man here. He was sent. Take it up with the man who sent him,¡± Sen said in a carrying tone.


    Then, Sen very deliberately looked in the direction of the mayor¡¯s manor. Many of the people who followed his gaze looked confused, craning their heads back and forth to try to see whatever had drawn the cultivator¡¯s attention. Sen saw understanding flicker across enough faces that he was satisfied. Word would spread that the mayor had sent a cultivator to try and assassinate someone. It was something Master Feng would have done. The story wouldn¡¯t be enough to destroy the mayor by itself. After all, a story is just a story. It would make the man¡¯s life infinitely harder, though, because people would believe the story. People would <em>want</em> to believe the story. After that, they¡¯d trust the mayor less. They¡¯d take their business elsewhere. Oh, none of it would be too obvious. Yet, over time, it would iste the mayor and his family. It would strain their finances. Then, in a generation or two, the mayor¡¯s <em>noble</em> family would find themselves living asmoners.


    Sen hadn¡¯t set out to learn how to do something like that. He¡¯d just heard Master Feng and Uncle Kho discussing how this noble house or that royal family hade to ruin. It was only after Sen asked for more details that Master Feng exined how he had engineered those disasters. He told Sen that the details varied, but the essential story was always the same.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, Sen. You only need <em>one</em> seed of doubt nted firmly in the people¡¯s minds. After that, they¡¯ll water and nurture that seed <em>for you</em>. Then, you juste back every once in a while to sprinkle a little fertilizer onto things. Once a noble house or a royal family truly loses the people¡¯s trust, it¡¯s just a waiting game. People are strange. They don¡¯t ever really trust their rulers. So, it doesn¡¯t take much to sever those bonds.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure when he¡¯d decided that the mayor and his family had to go, but he¡¯dmitted himself to it with that not-so-subtle look toward the mayor¡¯s manor. Of course, that assumed that the mayor was smart enough to cut his losses. If he kept pushing, well, Sen was just about out of patience with the mayor, his son, and the town of Orchard¡¯s Reach. With one final nce at the remains of Chen Aiguo, Sen turned his back on the corpse, and the townspeople, and walked back to Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop.

 Chapter 72: Spoils (2)

    Chapter 72: Spoils (2)


    Grandmother Lu and all of her workers were waiting inside the shop. When he stepped back inside, all of them bowed to Sen. He knew they meant it to convey their respect, but it mostly just made him ufortable. <em>No wonder Master Feng tried to keep a low profile when he went away all those times</em>, thought Sen. Sen supposed that some people might crave that kind of attention all the time, but he could do without it. Still, there was no getting around the people in the shop. He gave them a shallower bow in return, setting them all free to return to doing whatever they had been doing before the excitement outside. Some of them looked like they would linger, but Grandmother Lu shooed them away. Sen nodded to the back room they had been in before. When Grandmother Lu nodded in return, he made a hasty retreat to the rtive privacy of the space.


    While Grandmother Lu tended to her employees, Sen pulled out the storage ring he¡¯d taken off the other cultivator. While he¡¯d imagined some kind of minor wealth in the ring when he¡¯d grabbed it, he¡¯d also done it as a minor act of spite against the townspeople and their judgment. Faced with the reality of actually taking whatever was in the ring didn¡¯t sit entirely right with him. <em>It¡¯s not like you can give it back</em>, he reminded himself. When curiosity finally got the better of him, Sen essed the ring and emptied its contents onto a table. It was mercifully free of truly personal items. The most personal items were just some spare clothes in the ring. It was a habit that Master Feng and Auntie Caihong had strongly encouraged Sen to adopt. He found a small cache of pills that he couldn¡¯t readily identify. He supposed that he might be able to sell those. It was even possible he could use them, although he had no intention of ever using any pill he hadn¡¯t at least seen getting made.


    There were other odds and ends in the ring. Basic camping supplies that he already had and a strange, enchanted object that seemed to channel environmental fire qi. He supposed it would be useful for starting campfires without using one¡¯s own qi. He found several more daos, at least one of which he <em>thought</em> was a spirit-level weapon. He lingered over that sword for a while. He didn¡¯t know exactly how rare spirit-level weapons were, but he knew they were far rarer than mortal-grade weapons. Sen vaguely wished that he¡¯d trained with the dao, but it was a passing thought. He knew he could learn to wield one, but he also knew what it would require from him. He already had a firm foundation with the jian and the spear. That was enough. He would build on those skills. He would wait until he reached arger town or city and then sell the dao or all of them if he could. It might even be possible to make a trade for another spirit-level jian. After a moment of deliberation, he pushed the weapons and the enchanted fire starter into hisrger storage ring.


    Then, he turned to thest thing that had been in other cultivator¡¯s ring. It was a in canvas satchel with nothing to make it stand out. Sen opened it up expecting to find food or possibly some kind of document. What he hadn¡¯t expected to find was gold. The satchel was half full of golden taels. The sight of so much money, just sitting there, had a certain unreal quality for Sen. He didn¡¯t know how to process that kind of wealth. Then, he started to wonder where a foundation formation stage cultivator could have gotten that kind of money. Sen supposed that the money <em>could be</em> the man¡¯s life savings. Yet, it rang hollow to him. Sen couldn¡¯t imagine a scenario where he¡¯d want to carry around that kind of wealth for any length of time. He¡¯d have found somewhere to hide it, as insurance against a future disaster. Auntie Caihong had even told him about things called banks where people could put their money for safekeeping. No, there were no good reasons to carry around that much money. Sen suspected that the man had either stolen the money or been told to hold it for someone else.


    If he¡¯d stolen it, there wasn¡¯t much Sen could do about that. He wouldn¡¯t even know where to begin to look for the victims. He¡¯d seen enough about people to know that if he just announced that he¡¯d found stolen money, everyone woulde running. He didn¡¯t have the resources to find out quietly. That would take delicate questions asked of discrete people. Sen didn¡¯t know those people, nor did he have the experience to figure out how to phrase those delicate questions. Of course, if the cultivator had been holding the money for someone, that was a different problem. They¡¯d want that money back. When Sen considered who might have that much money or ess to it, it was a depressingly short list. In fact, the most likely suspect was someone that Sen was very ready to never think about again. He found himself wishing that he had let someone else loot that corpse. It might have spared him some trouble. Then again, it might not have spared him anything.


    Uncertain about how best to proceed, he closed the satchel and waited for Grandmother Lu. Sen could recognize when he was in over his head with a problem. With that much wealth on the line, he was absolutely out of his depth. He worried that it may well be out of Grandmother Lu¡¯s depth, too, but she at least had more experience with the world and politicians. Even if she couldn¡¯t tell him exactly how to handle it, she likely could at least point him in a direction. That was more than he had now. Perhaps half an hour passed with Sen staring daggers at that bag full of unwanted trouble before Grandmother Lu came back to check on him.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± She asked, gesturing at the table.


    ¡°That other cultivator had a storage ring. Those are things I can¡¯t use,¡± he said, gesturing at the pile of clothes and camping equipment. ¡°I thought you might know someone who could use them.¡±


    Grandmother Lu cocked her head to one side for a moment, thinking, before she nodded.


    ¡°Yes, I think I know some people who could use them. They can¡¯t afford much,¡± she warned Sen.


    ¡°Just give it to them. I don¡¯t need money from people who don¡¯t have it. Besides, that¡¯s not the problem. That,¡± he said, pointing at the satchel, ¡°is the problem.¡±


    He reached over and flipped the satchel open. Grandmother Lu¡¯s eyes went as wide as they could. She reached out a shaking hand and grabbed a handful of the golden taels, letting them run through her fingers. Sen watched as the inevitable happened. For most of a minute, he could see the dreams of wealth running through the older woman¡¯s mind. He could almost guess at the content of those dreams. She was imagining her trading empire expanding by leaps and bounds, stretching clear to the capital, and then raking in profits by the bushel. Slowly, though, he saw her start to frown. She looked down at the satchel and started to really consider it. The longer she studied all of that gold, the more unhappy she looked. She nced at him, almost as if to check and see if he had understood the dangers. Reassured by whatever she saw, she went back to frowning at the gold. Then, much as Sen had done, she closed the satchel.


    ¡°Put that away somewhere before anyone else sees it,¡± she ordered, her eyes distant as she thought through something.


    Sen did as she instructed and put the satchel into his storage ring. He idly tossed the other cultivator¡¯s storage ring to Grandmother Lu. She caught it and offered Sen a briefly puzzled look until she realized what she held. She immediately tried to give it back. Sen waved her off.


    ¡°You can use it. I already have one.¡±


    ¡°These are expensive, Sen. You could sell it.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Consider it a few years¡¯ worth of back new year gifts.¡±


    She rolled her eyes, but eventually slipped the ring into a pocket.


    ¡°They¡¯lle looking for that gold,¡± she said.


    ¡°You think it¡¯s the mayor¡¯s?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Who knows where he got it, but yes. I think he imagined that cultivator you fought was the safest ce he could keep the money. The mayor probably never imagined that someone would wander through town that could kill the man. Probably never even considered the possibility when he sent the fool here.¡±


    ¡°Probably not. When do you think they¡¯lle?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised they aren¡¯t here already. I suppose it¡¯s too much for them to simply raid my shop in the middle of the day without a very good excuse.¡±


    ¡°Tonight then?¡±


    Grandmother Lu sighed, then scowled, and then nodded. ¡°Tonight.¡±


    ¡°Well, since we have time, I have gifts for you, Grandmother. Courtesy of Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Ma Caihong.¡±


    She looked both excited and apprehensive at the prospect of gifts from the elder cultivators. ¡°Well, who doesn¡¯t love presents?¡±

 Chapter 73: Spoils (3)

    Chapter 73: Spoils (3)


    Sen started by pulling out the small, enchanted box that Master Feng had given him. ¡°Withpliments of Master Feng and Auntie Caihong.¡±


    Grandmother Lu took the box and, with more nervousness than Sen thought was wholly appropriate, she opened it. The room was almost immediately overwhelmed with a potent medicinal smell and a burst of qi. Grandmother Lu quickly snatched a piece of paper out of the box and closed it. She read over the note. Then, she read it over again. Sen watched all of this growing curiosity. When Grandmother Lu looked like she might burst into tears, Sen¡¯s curiosity transformed into rm.


    ¡°Grandmother? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    The older woman¡¯s head snapped around toward him, and she burst intoughter. ¡°Wrong? Oh, you dear boy, nothing is wrong.¡±


    ¡°Then, why do you look like you¡¯re going to cry?¡±


    ¡°I suppose it does pay to know old monsters. They didn¡¯t tell you what these pills were?¡±


    Sen drew himself up straight. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask. They were a gift for you.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re to help me break through.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they¡¯ll help you get tote qi condensing? I thought you were stuck. No more breakthroughs.¡±


    ¡°So did I. By all rights, I should be. But, no, they aren¡¯t meant to help me reachte or even peak qi condensing. Not just that, at any rate. If they work, they should help me break through to foundation formation.¡±


    ¡°That would be-,¡± Sen trailed off, unsure what word was appropriate.


    ¡°A miracle,¡± Grandmother Lu finished for him. ¡°It seems your teachers can make the impossible, possible, every once in a while.¡±


    Having seen Master Feng casually flying from wall to wall, and Uncle Kho summoning massive bolts of lightning from a clear sky, Sen was forced to agree. He decided that he shouldn¡¯t be shocked that Auntie Caihong could work miracles on that level in her own way. It seemed that she was just a little subtler about it. Sen smiled at Grandmother Lu.


    ¡°Then, I look forward to being a nuisance for you for many, many years toe.¡±


    ¡°A nuisance,¡±ughed Grandmother Lu. ¡°Oh, yes, you¡¯ve been nothing but a burden. Constant trouble. I don¡¯t know why I put up with you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your saintly nature, I¡¯m sure,¡± said Sen, working very hard to hold back his ownughter.


    For several long moments, Grandmother Lu simply watched the box. She¡¯d asionally reach out to touch it, as though to reassure herself it wasn¡¯t a dream. Sen couldn¡¯t really me her for her disbelief. She¡¯d thought her life was going in one direction, and Master Feng and Auntie Caihong had sent it careening in a very different direction. <em>They did this for me</em>, Sen abruptly realized. It was even sort of obvious, although he¡¯d managed to overlook it. As much as Sen respected Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong, he understood the vast gulf between them. They had all talked about how cultivators and mortals lived in two different worlds, but Sen thought that there was actually a third world for people like the peak nascent soul cultivators. They might interact with the mortal world or the Jianghu from time to time, but they didn¡¯t really live in either of them. They were too old, had experienced too much, and simply held too much power. They truly were <em>separated</em> from everyone else. More importantly for Sen, they knew it. They knew that Sen needed at least one person who lived in the mortal world or the Jianghu that he could trust. They had picked Grandmother Lu to be that person for him. <em>Well</em>, Sen amended, <em>I picked her, and they followed through</em>. A surge of fresh gratitude for the elder cultivators warmed Sen¡¯s heart. Still, there was another gift. Sen pulled out the package that Uncle Kho had provided.


    ¡°This,¡± said Sen, es with thepliments of Uncle Kho.¡±


    With visible reluctance, Grandmother Lu put the box with the pills into the storage ring Sen had gifted her. Then, she pulled the package over and opened it. Sen peered over her shoulder with intense interest. Uncle Kho¡¯s cryptic words about Grandmother Lu had stuck with him. What the package revealed left Sen feeling a little perplexed. There were two fans inside a wooden case, both open to reveal idyllic scenes painted on their surfaces. Sen felt a little let down. Grandmother Lu, on the other hand, looked stunned. She reached out with a trembling hand and touched one of the fans. As soon as her finger made contact with the fan, she jerked her hand back and covered her mouth. Then, with a speed that impressed Sen, the older woman snatched up the fans.


    She took the fans through a series of movements that made Sen reevaluate the gift. With the fans in motion, he caught the telltale glint of metal along their sharpened edges. Sen could see moments of hesitation in Grandmother Lu when she was either trying to remember the next movement in the form or waiting for muscle memories to kick in that hadn¡¯t seen use in more than half a century. Still, she had clearly been trained in their deadly use at some point. She had said that she came from a family of cultivators. Sen hadn¡¯t pried, as the memories were painful for the woman, but he wondered just what those cultivators had done for work when they weren¡¯t busy being awful parents.


    After a time, Grandmother Lu put the fans back in their case with nearly as much reluctance as she had stored away the pills. However he had divined the information, Uncle Kho had clearly struck true with this gift. Sen did make a mental note to ask the man about it the next time he saw him. Grandmother Lu beamed at him, as though he¡¯d personally chosen the gift for her. Still, he smiled back at her, d to see that the fans had made her so happy. She started shaking her head.


    ¡°I wonder how he could have known?¡±


    ¡°Grandmother?¡±


    ¡°Fans are umon weapons, even in the Jianghu. They were something of a symbol for my family. Do you think this Uncle Kho just guessed?¡±


    Sen weighed that question. ¡°He isn¡¯t the kind to just guess outright. If it was a guess, it was an educated guess. Although, I can¡¯t imagine where or how he would havee across information to connect you to the fans.¡±


    Grandmother Lu shook her head again. ¡°You know what? I don¡¯t even care. Please thank him for me the next time you see him.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    Sen had been giving some thought to their situation with the gold while the older cultivator reacquainted herself with using the fans. He suspected those specific fans had meaning for her beyond their utility as pure weapons. After all, the woman owned a tradingpany. If she had wanted fans like those, she likely could have bought them for herself without too much trouble. Sen pushed that to the back of his head where he¡¯d taken to storing mysteries about the nascent soul cultivators. He brought his attention back to the present, where a satchel full of money was threatening to send everything into another spiral of violence. Sen didn¡¯t crave violence to begin with, and two days straight of real violence had been more than enough to make him desire an extended rest from it. He¡¯d considered something that they hadn¡¯t really discussed.


    ¡°Grandmother, do you think we should just <em>give</em> them the satchel?¡±


    He¡¯d initially dismissed the idea because he expected that it was the mayor¡¯s stolen money. The mayor had proven himself a hostile force, so it seemed unlikely he¡¯d just let things go if they gave back the money. Then again, it was a <em>lot</em> of money. Getting it back without trouble might just pour a little oil on troubled waters. Besides, Sen sort of enjoyed the idea of bribing the mayor with his own stolen money. When he looked over at Grandmother Lu, though, she was shaking her head.


    ¡°I thought about it,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s tempting, but I doubt it will stop anything. If it is the mayor, he¡¯s all but dered a blood feud with you. So, I¡¯m sorry, but you shouldn¡¯t expect that to go away. If it¡¯s someone else, they won¡¯t want any witnesses around to spread rumors about all of that gold. No, much as I wish it were otherwise, this will all end in blood.¡±

 Chapter 74: What Goes by Night (1)

    Chapter 74: What Goes by Night (1)


    After a discussion about where it would be best to have the fight, should ite to a fight, Grandmother Lu decided that she¡¯d rather it happened at the shop. When Sen asked her why, she shrugged and said it would put fewer people in danger. Nobody lived in the shop, while she had servants at the house. The argument came when Sen insisted that he stay at the shop, while Grandmother Lu returned to her home.


    ¡°Why in the world would I agree to something like that?¡±


    ¡°Two reasons. The first reason is that, if they send people to the house, you have a far better chance of protecting those people than they have of protecting themselves. I¡¯m sure that Zhang Muchen and your other servants would put up a fight if they had to. Are any of them actually <em>trained</em> to fight? I mean trained like us.¡±


    Grandmother Lu scowled. ¡°No, they aren¡¯t. I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be necessary. More fool me.¡±


    ¡°The second reason is that if I have a better chance of defending myself if I¡¯m here alone. If it¡¯s just me, I don¡¯t have to worry about identally injuring someone on my side. That means I can strike as hard as I need to with no second guessing.¡±


    Grandmother Lu did not look happy about it, but Sen could tell that she wasing around on his way of thinking. While she¡¯d gotten back much of her vitality, enough that she could wield those fans in a calm back room, it wasn¡¯t the same thing as going up against other cultivators in a full-on fight. Of course, Sen didn¡¯t <em>know</em> they¡¯d send cultivators or how many there might be, but it seemed wise to assume that¡¯s what would happen. He just hoped that Chen Aiguo was at the top of the pile of local cultivators. Again, Sen couldn¡¯t know that was the case, but the man had been training the mayor¡¯s son. That suggested that he was the best the mayor could find. As long as they didn¡¯t send too many people at that level, Sen felt like he had a good chance of holding his own. Of course, there was the problem of keeping one or two of them alive. He needed to find out who sent them. Sen shrugged that thought away. That was definitely a problem forter.


    He spent the rest of the day doing his best to stay out of the way. Although, he did take a little time out to eat the pineapple buns with that Bai girl. The buns were amazing. He decided that he¡¯d need to get the recipe for Auntie Caihong. It was the exact kind of thing that she liked. When he mentioned something to Bai about needing to meet her mother so he could get the recipe, the girl had seemingly lost the ability to speak and ran off. Then, Grandmother Lu had red at him. Sen just shrugged at her. It wasn¡¯t like <em>he</em> knew what had sent the girl running.


    When the day finally ran its course, Sen made a big show of being seen outside. All of the girls seemed to want to hang around and talk at him, but abination of Grandmother Lu¡¯s stern looks and the hour saw the girls safely off to their homes. Finally, Grandmother Lu announced that she needed to go home. Sen waved goodbye to her, then looked around thergely abandoned market. He assumed that someone was watching, so he wanted them to be absolutely sure he was still at the shop. Then, he stepped back inside, closed the door, and locked it. Sen was surprised by the change in how the shop felt. When there had been customers and all the employees inside, the shop radiated a strange kind of aliveness.


    With just him left in the shop, it felt dead to Sen. It was as if someone had worked some terrible qi technique and ripped away the vital essence of the ce. He wondered if all shops felt that way after they closed for the night. Part of him hoped that it wasn¡¯t like that, mostly because it left him feeling a little depressed. It did, however, provide him a chance to set up a formation close to the exterior walls of the shop and activate it. It wouldn¡¯t give him a lot of warning if or when someone broke in, but he didn¡¯t really need a lot of warning. A few seconds for Sen was more than enough time to prepare himself.


    With that precaution in ce, Sen just wandered around the shop and looked at the things that Grandmother Lu sold every day. All of the goods were of excellent quality, confirming his initial assessment. Most of them were also of little use to him. In fact, they¡¯d be of little use to anyone without a home. He did consider setting aside some of the fabrics to buy the next day. He wasn¡¯t any kind of tailor, but Auntie Caihong had sat him down one afternoon and drilled the essentials of sewing into his head.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to damage your clothes at some point,¡± she¡¯d said. ¡°You won¡¯t always have the option of finding a shop to rece them. You need to know how to at least close a hole well enough that it can get you back to civilization.¡±


    Eventually, the light grew dim enough that even close examination of the goods on the tables and shelves became pointless. Sen debated lighting a candle or antern but decided against it. Now that true dark was setting in over the town, he expected that things would happen sooner thanter. He slipped into the back room where he¡¯d spent much of the day, sat down on the floor, rested his jian across his knees, and began slowly extending his awareness through the walls of the shop. It wasn¡¯t exactly like seeing or hearing. Master Feng had called it a spiritual sense, although the old cultivator wasn¡¯t entirely sure why anyone called it that. It didn¡¯t happen often, but sometimes the only answer Sen could get from his teachers was something along the lines of, that¡¯s just how it is. The spiritual sense was one of those things.


    What the sense provided him with was more like a limited map of the life and qi use in the area. He could feel where there was life nearby, which Sen considered a shoddy advantage at best. There was <em>always</em> life nearby. That meant that Sen had to filter out anything that wasn¡¯t big enough to be a person to glean information from the sense. It took him a lot of mental effort to do that sifting, although Master Feng assured him that it was another of those skills that became easier over time. Sen might have written the whole thing off as useless if not for the qi awareness that came with it. While spirit beasts might actively use qi, most animals didn¡¯t. So, if he sensed a life signature and qi use in the same ce, the odds were good that he had a cultivator nearby. After nearly a quarter of an hour with nothing to show for his efforts, Sen took a different tack.


    He put most of his attention into cultivating, and only devoted a small portion of his mental energy to keeping an eye on the surrounding area. He wasn¡¯t anywhere near to back where he wanted to be in terms of his qi storage. The full day of passive cultivation had thickened up the misty presence of qi in his dantian at least. He found that he was d that he¡¯d switched over to active cultivation because it was another two hours before he finally sensed what he¡¯d been looking for outside. There were five people moving in around the shop from the front and the back. Sen slowed his breathing and let himself fall into the calm, focused mindset that he had worked so hard to achieve with the jian. Once he achieved it, Sen stood and waited.


    He had to give whoever wasing some credit. He never even heard them enter the front of the building. It was only when they tripped the rm formation that he was certain. Still, he waited to act. He waited until he felt the formation trigger on the back of the building as well. Once he was certain that all five people were inside, he let a little air qi slip free and carry his voice to everyone in the building.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t havee here,¡± he said, doing his best impersonation of Master Feng¡¯s cold indifference when facing the sect members on the mountain. ¡°If you run now, some of you might even survive.¡±


    Every one of the living signatures in his awareness stopped moving. With all of them in rtively close proximity, he let his qi brush against theirs. Two early foundation formation stage cultivators and three qi condensing stage cultivators. It seemed that Chen Aiguo really had been at the top of the cultivator food chain in Orchard¡¯s Reach. Armed with the information he needed, Sen reached out to one of his stronger affinities and nketed the interior of the shop with imprable shadows. He could almost feel the other cultivators panic as they wentpletely blind in the already dark shop.


    ¡°Just give us the money, you bastard,¡± shouted one of the foundation formation cultivators. ¡°That¡¯s all we want.¡±


    Sen found it a little ironic that he actually found moving through the shop in his qi-created shadows easier than doing it in the semi-darkness of natural light. With his shadows touching everything, he knew where everything was. That made it very easy for him to find one of the qi condensing cultivators. There was a little bubble around them where his shadows couldn¡¯t reach. It felt like some kind of fire technique to Sen, not that it mattered. By the time they realized that he was close, his jian had already passed through their back and into their heart. Sen twisted the de to ensure maximum damage. The only thing that left the shadows was his jian¡¯s de. With one person down, Sen engaged with them again.


    ¡°Tell me who sent you. Whoever tells me, I¡¯ll let leave.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not telling you anything. Now, give us the gold!¡± The same foundation formation cultivator yelled.


    Sen wrote that one off as hopeless. He also decided that he needed to pick up the pace. The shadow technique was very effective, but he could feel it sapping his qi reserves at an rming rate. The second qi condensing cultivator died as easily as the first. The third actually gave him a little trouble. Sen didn¡¯t know if he made a noise or if the woman¡¯s spiritual sense was a bit more finely tuned, but she was ready for him. He very nearly lost an ear to a slender, sharpened bolt of ice that shot past his head. That would have been bad enough, but she also yelled.


    ¡°He¡¯s over here!¡±


    Sighing, Sen stepped into the small area of control that the woman had managed to exert to escape the pure inky ckness of his shadows. The woman had a dagger in each hand. To her credit, she didn¡¯t hesitate. To her misfortune, neither did Sen. Two quick flicks of his jian sent the daggers flying from her hands. Then he struck her across the side of the head. She went down in a limp heap. Reaching down, Sen seized the back of her robes and lifted the woman up off the ground. He moved so that he was directly in the path of the uncooperative foundation formation cultivator. He held the woman up in front of him like a literal human shield and jumped forward into the foundation formation cultivator¡¯s sphere of influence. It was just a moment of hesitation, a brief instance of distraction from seeing the woman, but it was all the time Sen needed. He drove his jian up through the woman at an angle. It exploded through the woman¡¯s chest and, using the other cultivator¡¯s forward momentum against him, sank into the man¡¯s throat. The man staggered back, trying to hold his damaged throat closed while he stared at Sen with confused, disbelieving eyes.


    Sen jerked the jian from the woman¡¯s body and let it drop to the floor. He didn¡¯t need to be subtle anymore. He closed on the injured cultivator, batted away a hastily thrown punch, feinted with the jian, then kicked the man¡¯s legs out from under him. The injured cultivator had barely hit the floor before Sen¡¯s jian pinned him to it. With that, Sen let the shadow technique drop. Thest cultivator had been trying to get to them, but she stopped cold when she saw the bodies. Sen could see her doing the math. They¡¯d been in the shop for less than three minutes, and now she was the only one left.


    ¡°So,¡± said Sen, drawing his jian out of the corpse on the floor. ¡°We should talk about who sent you.¡±

 Chapter 75: What Goes by Night (2)

    Chapter 75: What Goes by Night (2)


    The woman was staring at Sen like he¡¯d stepped out of some particrly horrible legend or nightmare. Even in the rtive darkness, she looked pale. Sen did his best to distance himself from the idea that these were human beings. Some part of him simply loathed this aspect of being a cultivator, while another part was simply resigned to the idea. He¡¯d been back in Orchard¡¯s Reach for all of three of four days. In that time, he¡¯d handed out serious injuries to seven cultivators and killed five more. Even worse, he hadn¡¯t gone looking for any of it. He sincerely hoped that this was somehow the byproduct of him having grown up in the town, and not a herald of things toe. <em>They came here looking for trouble</em>, Sen reminded himself. <em>They knew what you did to Chen, and they came anyway. They brought this down on their own heads</em>.


    The woman seemed to master her fear a little bit because she jumped straight into demands.


    ¡°Who in the eighteen hells are you? You¡¯re not just some wandering cultivator. Are you really even a foundation formation stage?¡±


    Sen gave her a level look. ¡°Who sent you?¡±


    ¡°I want to know who you are!¡±


    ¡°Lu Sen.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not-,¡± she began.


    ¡°I just killed four people,¡± said Sen, disrupting the rant he suspected she was about to start. ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy killing people. In fact, on the whole, I¡¯d prefer to avoid it altogether. On the other hand, I am <em>out</em> of patience with this town. So, I only intend to ask this one more time. Who sent you?¡±


    Sen loosened his grip on killing intent just a little bit when he asked the question. It was a fraction of what Sen had hit Chen Aiguo the day before. Even so, the woman let out a little cry of pain and staggered.


    ¡°The mayor,¡± she said. ¡°It was the mayor who sent us.¡±


    ¡°Good. Where did the moneye from?¡±


    Sen saw her hesitate and loosened his grip on his killing intent a little more. The woman dropped to one knee and held onto one of the tables as though her life depended on it. When she looked up at Sen, he could see light reflecting off wetness leaking from her nose. He assumed it was blood. She wiped at the wetness with the hand she wasn¡¯t using to stay semi-upright and grimaced.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said and raised a hand to stop Sen from growing angry or more impatient. ¡°I have suspicions, but I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Real suspicions?¡±


    ¡°Just guesses.¡±


    Sen made a nomittal noise as he studied the woman. He debated simply killing her. It was the simplest choice. Yet, he¡¯d killed enough tost him for the rest of his life already. Killing her wouldn¡¯t solve anything, not really, just possibly make his life a tiny bit easier. That seemed like a bad reason to kill her to Sen. He pulled out the satchel, removed a handful of the golden taels, and set them on a nearby table. Then, he put the satchel away. He gestured at the gold.


    ¡°You work for me now. My orders are simple. Take the money. Leave. Immediately. Tonight. Don¡¯te back. If you stay out of my way, I¡¯ll leave you alone. If you evere back here or trouble my grandmother in any way, though,¡± said Sen, letting the threat hang.


    ¡°You¡¯ll kill me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll <em>hunt</em> you.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t give any additional information, but she seemed to understand the gist that being hunted would be infinitely worse than simply being killed. He watched as her eyes drifted, almost in defiance, from his face to the gold coins. Even that handful of coins was likely more than her entire family would make in years of steady work. Her eyes shot back to him.


    ¡°Where will I go?¡±


    Sen shrugged a shoulder at her. ¡°I truly do not care. Just pick a direction and leave.¡±


    When the woman hesitated again, what was left of Sen¡¯s exhausted patience frayed just a little bit more. His hand tightened around the hilt of his jian. His body leaned forward, just a touch, to give him more speed when he moved. Sen felt his face harden into a mask of resolve. That collection of small changes was apparently all of the reassurance that the woman needed that Sen¡¯s offer came with an incredibly small window of opportunity. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth started moving.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± she nearly screamed at him. ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡±


    ¡°Then, do it,¡± Sen snarled through clenched teeth.


    Visibly shaking beneath thebination of Sen¡¯s steely re and his killing intent, the woman pushed herself to her feet. She walked over to the table with an unsteady gait and picked up the money. She didn¡¯t quite meet Sen¡¯s eyes when she tried onest time to glean some kind of information from him.


    ¡°Did someone send <em>you</em> here?¡±


    Without even acknowledging the question, Sen lifted his jian and used it to point.


    ¡°The nearest city is that way,¡± he said before a thought urred to him. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    It looked like she needed to drag the words out against her own will, but she finally whispered, ¡°Shen Hua.¡±


    ¡°You have ten minutes, Shen Hua. If I find you inside the town walls after that, the deal is off.¡±


    It seemed that Shen Hua believed him. She took the opportunity and ran out of the shop. Sen used his spiritual sense to track her motion for as long as he could. She took off in the direction Sen had pointed and didn¡¯t waver for a moment. He thought that showed surprisingly good decision-making on her part. He questioned his own, though. She might actually keep her word, but Master Feng said it was bad business to leave live enemies behind you. They had a way of turning up at inopportune moments down the road. Sen¡¯s problem was that he didn¡¯t know how to distinguish true enemies in this situation. He¡¯d been mostly sure that she was just hired help and not some loyal servant to the mayor. She¡¯d been bought off for a lot less than she¡¯d been sent to retrieve. When given the opportunity to cut and run, she¡¯d done it.


    The next person might well decide that a suicidal charge in defense of the mayor would gain them some advantage in the next life. Much to his surprise, Sen felt a bit of empathy with those powerful cultivators who, when deeply offended, simply destroyed everything. If he killed everyone that worked for the mayor, he¡¯d get all of his enemies. Of course, he¡¯d get all of the people who weren¡¯t his enemies, too. Sighing, Sen cleaned his jian and then checked the bodies. It was a mostly fruitless exercise. He picked up a few weapons he might be able to sell, but there were no storage rings or purses to be found. Then, he dragged the bodies outside and piled them up in the market. He wasn¡¯t going to leave them to rot inside Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop. He took a little time and cleaned up the mess as well as he could.


    While he expected that the brunt of things had happened at the shop, he didn¡¯t want to leave things to chance. He made the walk back to Grandmother Lu¡¯s. He could hear the sounds of fighting before the house was even in sight. Sen took off like an arrow loosed from the string. He hurtled into the semi-enclosed courtyard and took things in at a nce. On one side of the courtyard, Grandmother Lu was defending the maid from attackers. On the other side of the courtyard was¡­<em>Falling Leaf</em>!<em></em>She was crouched protectively over the still form of Zhang Munchen. The big cat had her teeth bared as arge figure menaced her with a spear. Off to the side, he saw another attacker with a bow in hand, nocking an arrow. It put Falling Leaf into an impossible scenario. Sen knew full well that the big cat could dodge an arrow, but she couldn¡¯t do it without abandoning the man on the ground.


    Whatever sense of restraint that had stayed Sen¡¯s hand at the shop evaporated in an inferno of rage. He didn¡¯t even remember crossing the distance between him and the spear wielder. He just remembered the sound of the man¡¯s spine snapping as it folded around Sen¡¯s foot. Then, the sight of the body crashing through the stone wall. He felt the change in air pressure and grabbed an arrow out of the air. He turned to face the bow wielder, and the man flinched at whatever he saw on Sen¡¯s face. There was a blur of motion and Sen had driven the arrow into the archer¡¯s eye socket. Then, Sen spoke two words that he had never, ever imagined would fall from his lips.


    ¡°You dare!¡±


    He summoned his own spear from his storage ring. As soon as its reassuring weight was in his hands, he changed his cycling pattern. He pushed that new qi into the spearhead and blue-white energy crackled around the metal. It cast the entire courtyard in an eerie glow. He saw the two attacking Grandmother Lu try to disengage. That wouldn¡¯t do. He triggered his qinggong technique and shot across the courtyard like a humannce. The lightning on the spearhead reached out ahead of the tip of the spear. It immobilized one of the attackers, who could only scream and watch in mute horror as Sen descended on him like Wrath¡¯s favorite son. The spear punched through the man. Sen tugged it free without any effort and spun on thest attacker. Yet, freed from the burden of multiple attackers, Grandmother Lu had taken her own vengeance.


    ¡°Is that all of them?¡± Sen asked.


    At Grandmother Lu¡¯s weary nod, Sen released the lightning pattern, and the courtyard returned to shadow.

 Chapter 76: What Goes by Night (3)

    Chapter 76: What Goes by Night (3)


    After taking a moment to ensure that Grandmother Lu was simply tired, rather than injured, and giving her a brief hug, Sen turned to face thest being he¡¯d expected to see. Falling Leaf was still hovering near the injured Zhang Muchen, but no longer crouched directly over his body. Sen walked over to where she stood. He rested a hand on her warm back as he crouched down to examine the old servant who remained still. Sen briefly worried that he might be dead, but he saw the man take a breath, then another. Confident that he wasn¡¯t about to die that instant, Sen turned to look at Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d find you here,¡± said Sen.


    The big cat regarded him with her steady feline eyes. ¡°Worried. Too many enemies here.¡±


    Sen grimaced but nodded his agreement. ¡°There were. Thank you for helping Grandmother Lu.¡±


    Falling Leaf made a gesture that Sen took as her saying, ¡°What else was I going to do?¡±


    Much to Sen¡¯s surprise, Falling Leaf reached out one of her big paws and gently nudged Zhang Muchen. When the man didn¡¯t stir, she gave Sen a look that was half inquisitive and half insistent. He nodded at her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not Auntie Caihong, but I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±


    Seemingly satisfied by that answer, the big cat wandered away to inspect Grandmother Lu, who watched the ghost panther with wonder in her eyes. The spirit beast even deigned to let the older woman put a hesitant hand on her head. After that, the cat prowled over to the maid, Lin. Unlike Grandmother Lu, Lin looked positively terrified that the spirit beast would eat her. Sen suspected that Falling Leaf found the girl¡¯s apprehension more than a little amusing. It wasn¡¯t that Falling Leaf wouldn¡¯t hurt human beings, but Sen knew her enough to know that she wouldn¡¯t hurt people that she¡¯d gone through all the trouble to help. After all, if she wanted something bad to happen to the maid, the big cat could have simply withheld her aid.


    Confident that nothing terrible was going to happen in the other part of the courtyard, Sen turned his attention to the apparently injured man. Sen let his spiritual sense settle over the old servant. The man¡¯s life energy was intact, though weaker than Sen might have preferred. Still, he wasn¡¯t verging on death, which Sen took as a good sign. He knew that Auntie Caihong had ways of pinpointing exactly what ailed a person with a simple sweep of her qi, but she hadn¡¯t been able to teach it to Sen. What she did wasn¡¯t a technique or a cycling pattern. It was a skill that she¡¯d developed and honed over thousands of years. It depended as much on her vast experience with injuries and illness as it did on any native talent. Experience that she couldn¡¯t simply pass on to Sen in a year or two. She at least exined what she did and how she did it. That, along with the body and qi charts that she¡¯d made him memorize, gave Sen a starting point. If he could identify where there were disruptions, he could at least help deal with those.


    He spent about ten minutes using his qi to study the older man¡¯s injuries. Sen had a few ideas, but he knew he was out of his depth. He had at least determined that they could move the older man. There were no serious neck or head injuries to worry about. Sen picked the man up and carried him over to Grandmother Lu.


    ¡°Where can I put him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you,¡± said Lin, surprising Sen.


    The maid was staring at the old man with deep concern in her eyes. Even as she led Sen into the house, she kept looking back at Zhang Muchen¡¯s limp form. She eventually opened a door and gestured. Sen brought the old man into what he immediately realized must have been the man¡¯s own room. He settled the man on the bed and rejoined Lin in the hallway.


    ¡°Can you help him?¡± she asked.


    Sen hesitated briefly before he nodded. ¡°I think so. At least, I can help him some. Enough that he should be stable until a regr doctor or a spirit doctor can be called to see him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s always kind to me,¡± she volunteered. ¡°He¡¯s like the mistress that way. I¡¯m not a very good maid, but they¡¯re kind to me anyway. Please, help him.¡±


    Sen nodded again. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can for him.¡±


    He left the maid there to stand vigil over someone for no other reason than the injured man had been kind to her. <em>Would that I could be more like that man</em>, thought Sen. Yet, he knew what came next, and kindness would y very little role in it. Before that, though, he could bring his meager medical skills to the older man¡¯s aid. It might not be much, but it seemed that it was all the kindness that the world would let him exercise that night. He made his way to the kitchen, uncovered the banked coals in the stove, and get a small fire burning. He took out what he¡¯de to think of as his potion pot from his storage ring. There was nothing particrly unique about the pot. It wasn¡¯t made of any special materials or enchanted. It just seemed to work better for him than other pots. He thought that maybe it had something to do with the thicker material, but that was a question for some other night.


    He set the pot on the stove with some water in it, then began pulling out some of the medicinal herbs and other alchemical materials he¡¯d gathered over the previous year or so. The man had suffered some minor injuries, but nothing that could really ount for his unconsciousness. Sen worried that the true culprit was simply age and that the demands of the fight had overtaxed his system. There was only so much that he could do about that ailment. When it came to mortals, age was the injury that no one could heal. Yet, Sen wasn¡¯t wholly without options. He chose ingredients that would help strengthen the man¡¯s body, support his organs, and quicken his mind.


    He also addedponents that would help flush some toxins out of the man¡¯s system. He felt a brief surge of guilt over that, given his own miserable experiences with toxin purges, but this would be aparatively gentle experience that happened over the course of a week. Sen might not have bothered with it, save for Auntie Caihong¡¯s insistence that those toxin buildups burned years off of a mortal¡¯s life. He stood there, monitoring the elixir, asionally adding a new ingredient to bnce out the qi profile or simply stirring it to keep the reactions even. When it had boiled down sufficiently, he used a strange sort of cloth that let liquid pass through to strain the unprocessed ingredients out. Auntie Caihong called it cheesecloth, for some reason, and she strongly suggested he buy it in bulk whenever he found some for sale. Given how useful he found the cloth, he expected to take that piece of advice.


    ¡°You did that like you¡¯ve been doing it for a hundred years,¡± said Grandmother Lu.


    Sen jumped a little at the sound of her voice. He hadn¡¯t heard her enter the kitchen. He hadn¡¯t even had his spiritual sense extended to warn him of people approaching. It was a sloppy mistake. Sen was grateful that it had happened in Grandmother Lu¡¯s home, instead of somewhere where that kind of mistake would prove immediately fatal. He gave her a small smile and shrugged.


    ¡°I practiced a lot up on the mountain,¡± he said, by way of exnation.


    ¡°It seemed like you practiced a great many things on that mountain.¡±


    ¡°They were good teachers. I learned a lot,¡± he said, checking the temperature of the elixir. ¡°Do you have something to store this, something with a stopper?¡±


    Grandmother Lu found a small jug that Sen deemed clean enough, and he poured the elixir into it. He left a little in the bowl, though. Stoppering the jug, he handed it to Grandmother Lu. She eyed the jug like she wasn¡¯t sure why she was holding it.


    ¡°Sen?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s for Zhang Muchen. Two or threerge spoonfuls in the morning and evening, until it¡¯s gone. It should help him recover. At the very least, it¡¯ll help him recover enough that a <em>real</em> doctor can take a look at him. I¡¯ll give this to him now, though,¡± said Sen, waving at the bowl.


    ¡°You say that like it¡¯s a task on a list.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not over. You know it¡¯s not.¡±


    Grandmother Lu closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°I know. So, you mean to finish it?¡±


    ¡°I do. If the mayor had just let it go, I would have done the same. If he¡¯d just sent people after me, I might have even let that go. But this,¡± Sen gestured as though to epass the entire house, ¡°was too much. They <em>knew</em> where I was, and he sent people here anyway. He sent people here to kill you because he thought it would hurt me, or maybe just because he likes ordering people killed. I don¡¯t know. More importantly, I simply <em>don¡¯t care</em> why anymore.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯ll go to the mayor¡¯s house and what? Kill them all?¡±


    Sen¡¯s mouth dropped open, and he found that he didn¡¯t have a good answer to that question. He hadn¡¯t thought about it. He¡¯d only been thinking about killing the mayor.


    Grandmother Lu continued. ¡°I understand your anger. I¡¯d happily gut that man and watch him bleed out, but he won¡¯t be the only person there. There will be guards, maids, and servants. Will you kill all of them too?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen through a shuddering breath. ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t.¡±


    A touch of relief softened Grandmother Lu¡¯s face. ¡°Good, because I couldn¡¯t have stopped you. Having seen you fight, I¡¯m not sure anything short of a full core formation cultivator could <em>stop</em> you.¡±


    Sen blinked at those words. He thought she was probably overselling it a bit. It had been dark in the courtyard. There was a lot happening. He¡¯d just done something shy. It was easy to overestimate. Taking another deep breath, he looked at the older woman.


    ¡°What do you think I should do?¡±


    Sheughed. ¡°I think you should take your vengeance, and maybe get a little for me too. Just don¡¯t leave a massacre in your wake while you do it. Be smart. If you can¡¯t be smart about it, then take a cue from that magnificent spirit beast of yours and be stealthy.¡±


    ¡°Stealthy,¡± repeated Sen, a big smile breaking over his face. ¡°I can <em>be</em> stealthy.¡±

 Chapter 77: What Goes by Night (4)

    Chapter 77: What Goes by Night (4)


    The guards who were there that night would talk about itter. They only spoke of it to each other, in hushed tones, fearing that others would think them mad. Yet, they knew what had happened. For whatever reason, whether it was the heavens sending a rebuke, demons acting out their inscrutable ns, or simply the whims of angry spirits, the shadows came alive that night. All of their stories were different, yet they were also the same. There was no warning or telltale sign, just a moment when all went dark, and then consciousness fled. Some imed that they had felt hot breath on their necks or remembered the smell of medicine, but even the others who were there paid scant heed to those words. It had been the shadows, and not of those men ever walked without fear in the night again.


    Sen surveyed the pile of unconscious guards with a vague sense of satisfaction. He and Falling Leaf had slipped over the walls of the mayor¡¯s home wrapped in shadows of Sen¡¯s making. Sen had swiftly realized something in the ten minutes that followed. Falling Leaf was positively, <em>terrifyingly</em> invisible when hunting in the dark of night. Sen had known, in an abstract way, that she must be very stealthy in the dark. Yet, he had never really seen her hunt. He¡¯d been too busy, and she¡¯d never invited him to go along. When he had seen her fight, it had always been in the heat of the moment, at times when stealth was of limited value. In the end, though, Sen realized that he¡¯d just never seen her make an effort to be invisible. Looking back, he supposed that he wouldn¡¯t have known if she did.


    As the two of them made their way around the grounds, Sen would wrap the guards in shadow and contain their voices with air qi. Falling Leaf would drive them to the ground, and then Sen dosed them with a sedative he¡¯d cooked up. He¡¯d been a little hesitant to make it as potent as it was. Auntie Caihong had warned him that sometimes, for reasons even she didn¡¯t understand, people just wouldn¡¯t wake up after getting a strong sedative. He¡¯d finally concluded that the possibility that one of them might not wake up was by far the better choice than an absolute certainty that he¡¯d have to kill them. The sedative also had the side benefit of making memories a little foggy. It wasn¡¯t a true forgetting potion, but it would leave the guards feeling uncertain about the exact details.


    Sen peered up at the sky and frowned. He¡¯d spent more time than he should have on making the sedative. He estimated they had maybe an hour of true night left. Depending on the servants inside the house, some of them might already be up. After Grandmother Lu¡¯s questions about whether he nned to kill everyone at the mayor¡¯s manor, he¡¯d been trying to figure out the best way to handle things inside. He supposed he could just go room by room and force the sedative down everyone¡¯s throats. It wasn¡¯t subtle, but it would spare them and, more importantly, him from any foolish, heroic actions.


    Master Feng had told Sen that many, maybe even most, cultivators put a low value on mortal lives. While killing lower cultivation stage cultivators was frowned on, killing mortals was all toomonce. Other cultivators just didn¡¯t care, and the mortal authorities that might object simply didn¡¯t, out of fear that they would follow their subjects into death. Sen personally found the whole idea a bit bizarre. If killing lower-stage cultivators was normally considered improper, it seemed to him that killing the weaker mortals should be less eptable, taboo even. Master Feng had agreed with Sen¡¯s logic, then promptly told him that he should still expect other cultivators to treat mortals as disposable.


    Sen supposed he had broken custom by killing those cultivators at the shop, but he doubted anyone was going to raise too much of a fuss about it. He hadn¡¯t gone looking for them, after all. They hade looking for him and even broken into someone¡¯s shop to get at him. That was a pretty solid indication of hostile intent in his book. At least, he kept telling himself that. Sen knew, even if he kept shoving that knowledge to the back of his mind, that he¡¯d let thest one at the shop go to ease his own conscience. Knowing that there was a near-perfect certainty that they would have attacked him, even if he¡¯d given them the gold, hadn¡¯t changed the pure fear in that woman. He hadn¡¯t spared <em>her</em>, not really. By letting her go, he¡¯d spared <em>himself</em> from living into her perception of him as some kind of cultivation killing machine.


    In hindsight, sparing her had probably been a mistake. The mayor had made his intention to see Sen dead perfectly clear. She had worked for him, a man who casually ordered innocent people killed for imagined slights against an honor that none of them seemed to possess. Sen feared that he and Shen Hua would cross paths again one day, and he¡¯d be forced to finish what he¡¯d started in Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop. The thought made him feel tired. Still, Sen had taken what seemed like the best course of action to him, given the circumstances.


    These circumstances were different. He didn¡¯t <em>need</em> to kill all the mortal workers inside. He certainly didn¡¯t want to kill them. They weren¡¯t cultivators sent out on some kind of mission. They were just maids, cooks, and groundkeepers. Sen had seen them when he lived on the streets of Orchard¡¯s Reach. He¡¯d watched them as they bought food or, on asion, didn¡¯t buy food because they didn¡¯t have the money. In the face of all that was happening around them tonight, they were just¡­Sen struggled to put their role in the right context. He finally hit on it. They were just bystanders to the actions of those with more money, better position, or the raw power cultivation provided. Mere proximity was not a good reason for them to die.


    When Falling Leaf batted at his leg, Sen realized he¡¯d been frowning up at the sky for at least two or three minutes. He supposed that he¡¯d been trying to buy himself a little time to decide how to handle things inside. He sighed. Force-feeding the sedative it was. With the decision made, the work went surprisingly fast. Between his superior strength and his ability to dampen sound with qi control, it wasn¡¯t difficult to get people to take the sedative. Most of the workers seemed almost resigned to it. A few of the younger men and women seemed more obviously afraid. He supposed that waking up alive and otherwise unharmed would be a nice surprise for them. He did find a few workers that were already up and around. Those people had taken a bit more effort because they¡¯d been awake and alert. Even with that wasted time, it wasn¡¯t even true dawn by the time he reached the mayor¡¯s bedroom.


    He gave serious thought to just killing the man immediately and then leaving. Of course, his wife was in bed with him. Sen didn¡¯t know anything about her. She might have known everything her husband was up to and approved of it, or she might not know anything. Plus, there was the lingering issue of their son, who was thrashing and choking with Sen¡¯s iron grip around his throat. Sen lingered outside the door, trying to decide what the best thing to do was. If he left the wife and son alive, it <em>would</em> be a problem for himter. That much was obvious. Even if the mayor¡¯s wife wasn¡¯t involved, he sincerely doubted she¡¯d just brush off the death of her husband. The mayor¡¯s son, well, his idiocy had been demonstrated quite thoroughly. Leaving him alive just meant a future filled with direct or indirect attacks. The blistering hatred in the boy¡¯s eyes said as much.


    Sen steeled himself for what had to be done. He drew back and foot and kicked. He meant to just kick open the door to the bedroom. Instead, his kick tore the door right out of the wall and sent it crashing into the room. Sen stared at the wreckage of the door for a second, then shrugged, and dragged the kicking and gurgling boy into the room with him. There was a flurry of motion and sound at the bed. The mayor¡¯s fat form fell out of the bed, even as the man¡¯s eyes flicked back and forth, searching for the source of the disturbance. The woman simply began screaming for the guards, the servants, basically for help of any kind. Sen just walked forward toward the mayor. The fat man struggled to his feet, before leveling a furious, imperious look at Sen.


    ¡°You!¡± he roared. ¡°How dare you invade my home, you worthless piece of street trash!¡±


    Sen frowned, perplexed by how the man seemed wholly unaware of how much danger he was actually in. Then, taking his cue from Master Feng, he backhanded the mayor. Sen did make sure that he struck the opposite side from the one Master Feng had hit. Bnce was crucial, after all, in cultivation, and in life. The mayornded on the bed, spitting out teeth and blood. Sen had restrained the blow enough that he didn¡¯t actually break the man¡¯s jaw. Probably. The sound of the mayor¡¯s wife still screaming grated on Sen¡¯s nerves. He fixed her with a re, let the tiniest sliver of killing intent slip free, and said one word.


    ¡°Silence.¡±


    The woman started shaking and her mouth snapped shut so hard that Sen thought it must have hurt a little. Sen really didn¡¯t have a n for this moment. He thought he knew what had to be done, but the how of it still eluded him. Instead, he said something that had been on his mind since that first fight in the market.


    ¡°You¡¯re so stupid,¡± he said, fixing the mayor with a re of his own. ¡°You didn¡¯t want me here. You didn¡¯t want Grandmother Lu here. You could have gotten <em>everything</em> you wanted. Do you know that? Here¡¯s the worst part. All you had to do was <em>nothing</em>.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the mayor garbled.


    ¡°I never nned to stay. Once I left, Grandmother Lu would likely have moved somewhere else, somewhere she could manage her trade business more easily. You just needed to wait. You could have learned all of that by having someone ask <em>one</em> question. But you couldn¡¯t let it go,¡± Sen said, in a moment of understanding. ¡°You couldn¡¯t let the sting of your wounded pride rest.¡±


    ¡°Honor,¡± mumbled the mayor, irrational hatred written across his face.


    ¡°What honor?¡± asked Sen.


    Then, knowing he¡¯d said everything he meant to, Sen drew his jian. He drove it into the mayor¡¯s heart and, with a contemptuous little twist, he pulled it free. That seemed to send a jolt through the mayor¡¯s wife. She looked at Sen¡¯s face and read the truth in it. Sen was done talking.


    ¡°Wait!¡± she shrieked. ¡°Please, you don¡¯t need to kill us. It was him. It was all him.¡±


    Then, a paw came out of the darkness and opened the woman¡¯s throat from ear to ear. I¡¯d lost track of Falling Leaf in the brief moments of chaos when I¡¯d first entered the room. It seemed that she had her own opinions about the mayor¡¯s wife. I saw her eyes peering out at me from the shadows.


    ¡°Lies,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°Could smell it.¡±


    <em>Well</em>, Sen thought, <em>I guess that answered that question</em>. The struggling and thrashing in Sen¡¯s left hand had intensified. He looked down to see the mayor¡¯s son all but foaming at the mouth in rage and grief. Sen allowed himself a single moment of pity for the boy, knowing that he¡¯d have been just as enraged if Grandmother Lu had died. Then, the moment ended. Letting out a deep breath that contained all Sen¡¯s regret, he dragged the mayor¡¯s son up so that he was on his feet. The boy went wild, throwing formless, crazed blows that did little but move Sen¡¯s clothes around when they connected at all. Sen let the boy, and he <em>was</em> a boy in temperament if not body, burn off that rage. When something like sanity reentered the boy¡¯s expression, he snarled at Sen.


    ¡°I will kill you for this. If it takes me a thousand years, I will kill you!¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t answer. He just reached out and, with a fast movement, snapped the boy¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Sen to the boy¡¯s nk eyes. ¡°Perhaps you will in the next life.¡±

 Chapter 78: Transition

    Chapter 78: Transition


    The walk back to Grandmother Lu¡¯s house was done mostly in silence. Sen had expected that he¡¯d feel <em>different</em> when everything was done, changed somehow by bringing the conflict to a close. Instead, he just felt a vague sense of emptiness and fatigue. It made a certain kind of sense to him, though. The situation had changed, but whatever changes he might have gone through weren¡¯t especially wrapped up in that situation. The conflict had <em>driven</em> some advancement, but almost entirely by rifying things he didn¡¯t want to be. The violence required to end the conflict had almost felt like a step in the wrong direction to him, a move toward that agent of chaos he didn¡¯t want to be. Yet, it hadn¡¯t been a conflict of his own choosing. Seeing the pure, spiteful, irrational rage in the mayor¡¯s eyes had been proof enough of that for Sen. Yes, he¡¯d done things he didn¡¯t want to do, but it hadn¡¯t truly been a step off the path he wanted to forge for himself.


    Having Falling Leaf walking with him was also afort. He hadn¡¯t realized just how much he would miss the big cat¡¯s presence. It only became apparent to him now that it was gone. As much as he relished herpany, though, he was more confident than ever that she had been right. The world of human beings wasn¡¯t a world for her. She could make asional visits, but she¡¯d attract too much attention if she were always with him. Her instincts would lead her into situations that neither of them could hope to extract her from. He could just see her attacking someone who just acted threatening toward him, regardless of how dangerous they actually were. Worse still, she might make the same choice with someone who neither of them could handle. Sen was not under any illusion that every conflict that found him could be resolved with a simr kind of brute force. It was only the rtive weakness of the cultivators here that let him y this out the way he had. Against more powerful enemies, against a sect, his approach would have utterly failed.


    Master Feng or Uncle Kho might be able to send sects running with only their names or a quick sh of overwhelming power. Neither of those choices were avable to Sen. For that matter, if he somehow did develop the kind of reputation that made his name a byword for terror, it would mean that he had failed in countless other ways to be the man he wished to be. Yet, without recourse to those kinds of options, he couldn¡¯t see any way that he could ever safely take Falling Leaf away from the mountain or, barring that, away from the wilds where men so rarely tread of their own free will. As much as he missed her, only pure selfishness would ever let him justify taking her along with him. As with so much else, she had been wiser than he. As they neared Grandmother Lu¡¯s home, Sen paused and looked to the sky once more. The faintest edges of light were visible on the horizon, heralding a new day. Maybe, it would mean a fresh start for Orchard¡¯s Reach as well. Someone would have to take over for the mayor. Sen looked down at Falling Leaf, who regarded him with curious eyes.


    ¡°Thank you for watching over Grandmother Lu. Foring with me. Just, thank you.¡±


    The big cat bumped her head against Sen¡¯s leg in acknowledgment. He smiled and rested a hand on her head.


    ¡°I know you can¡¯t do it all the time. But, if you could look in her asionally, while she¡¯s still here, I¡¯d be grateful. Maybe let her catch a glimpse of you from time to time. She¡¯d like that.¡±


    Falling Leaf let out an exasperated noise, but she nodded. Then, she looked off toward the mountain.


    Sen nodded. ¡°You need to go. I understand. Goodbye for now.¡±


    The ghost panther gave him another affectionate nudge, then vanished into the darkness. As he watched her go, it wasn¡¯t with the same awful feeling of loss. He knew that he¡¯d miss her, but he also knew now that her remaining on the mountain was what was best for her. The journey he was about to take to the sea was for him. Whatever benefits there were to be had were his. The trip would only bring her danger. Sen looked around the town. As terrible as it all had been, as wasteful and pointless as the deaths were, he had needed it all on some level. He had needed it to see that he had outgrown the town in so many ways.


    The townspeople had nothing to offer him, and he had scant little to offer them in return. They were, save perhaps for a few scattered qi condensation stage cultivators, mortals. As a foundation formation stage cultivator, he would quite literally outlive all of them. Assuming some other cultivator didn¡¯t eventually turn up and cut him down, decades and then centuries would pass beneath his eyes. If he never advanced his cultivation another step, he could well outlive the great-grandchildren of the people resting in their beds in the houses around him. The gap that extended life created was inevitable, inescapable, and all but insurmountable. Some would view him with awe, others with resentment, but they would always see the cultivator first. If they saw Sen at all, it would be a distant second.


    No, his rtionship with this ce and the people in it had run its course. Moving forward, it would be little more than a convenient location to stop for a meal on his way to see Uncle Kho and Ma Caihong. For, unless he had truly missed his guess, Grandmother Lu wouldn¡¯t be here much longer either. <em>He</em> had been her reason to stay, and he was leaving. The simple knowledge that there was nothing in Orchard¡¯s Reach for him let him shed a burden he hadn¡¯t even noticed was weighing him down. He didn¡¯t bear the ce any particr ill will, he just didn¡¯t care about it. He could be on his way and never think about it again. He was free. He was free of whatever grudges he¡¯d held, and also free of any obligations. He could make his life in whatever way he saw fit and whatever ce he saw fit.


    He smiled a little as he imagined what that half-starved, half-feral child he had been would have made of him as he was now. That boy would have <em>hidden</em>, terrified of the unknown, and perhaps rightly so. The unknown had scooped him up and forged him into something else, after all. If that boy had truly understood the pain and sacrifices involved, Sen suspected that he might have gone along anyway. He would have been more cautious, but the lure of a different life, a life like one from the stories he¡¯d heard while eavesdropping in dirty alleys, would have likely proven too much of a temptation. With onest look around, Sen finally let the ghost of that child rest. He wouldn¡¯t forget that child, nor should any sane person forget what made them, but he needn¡¯t be haunted by that child either. Satisfied that he¡¯d understood what he needed to understand, Sen covered thest little distance and went inside Grandmother Lu¡¯s house. He found her waiting for him.


    ¡°It¡¯s done, then?¡± she asked.


    He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s done. I expect there will probably be some chaos because of it. Guards and servants telling wild tales. That sort of thing. I¡¯ll be long gone by the time anyone shows up to sort things out, though.¡±


    ¡°Good. It¡¯s never wise to leave unfinished business behind you if you can avoid it. It has a way of tracking you downter and bringing friends. Are you still nning on going east? Tide¡¯s Rest, was it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. There¡¯s something there for me. Maybe something I need to do, or someone I need to meet. I don¡¯t really know. It¡¯s a little frustrating to be honest, knowing where to go but not why.¡±


    Grandmother Lu absently hummed while she gathered her thoughts. ¡°I have a caravan headed that way in a few days. If you can wait that long, you could travel with them. Pose as a guard. It¡¯s a good cover.¡±


    ¡°Or, I could just be a guard for it. That¡¯s an even better cover. I¡¯m a wandering cultivator, Grandmother. As I understand it, we¡¯re always in need of work.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at me. ¡°I¡¯m not paying you to be a distraction to every woman in that caravan.¡±


    Sen gave the older woman a wounded look and pulled out the satchel. ¡°And to think, I was going to give you all this gold.¡±


    Grandmother Lu watched with wide eyes as Sen opened the satchel, grabbed a handful of the golden taels, and made them disappear into his storage ring. Then, he gave her a big smile and offered her the satchel.


    ¡°Now you don¡¯t have to pay me,¡± he said, shaking the bag a little.


    The old woman snorted and grabbed the satchel. ¡°You¡¯re only giving me this so that you¡¯ll have more ces to find help.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the <em>only</em> reason. It¡¯s also so I¡¯ll know that, even if the worst happens, you¡¯ll never wind up in a hovel again.¡±


    Grandmother Lu went very still for a few moments. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s terrible manners to make an old woman cry?¡±


    ¡°As you say, Grandmother.¡±

 Chapter 79: East

    Chapter 79: East


    Sen had been right. The death of the mayor and his family created havoc in the local government as people vied to seize at least temporary control. The city guards tried tounch an immediate investigation, only to discover that exactly no one was grieved by the loss of the mayor. Worse, their best suspect, Sen, was a wandering cultivator that they couldn¡¯t even make talk to them. For his part, Sen had waved off their attempted inquiries by channeling what he imagined a <em>young master</em> might be like.


    ¡°These sound like mortal concerns to me, not cultivator business,¡± he told the guard captain with equal parts disinterest and disdain. ¡°Do not trouble me with these matters again.¡±


    While the city guard went off to try to find some other suspect, Sen prepared for his journey east. That mostly involved spending time with Grandmother Lu as she madest-minute arrangements for the caravan. The man in charge of the caravan guards, a muscr body cultivator named Chen Shi who Grandmother Lu had recruited from somewhere else, was initially unimpressed by Sen. Much to Sen¡¯s amusement, Chen Shi demanded that they trade pointers so the older man could assess whatever <em>meager</em> skills the boy had. Sen had nced at Grandmother Lu, mostly for permission, and she gave him a little nod. Chen Shi didn¡¯t notice, but Sen had to repress a smile when he saw the older woman¡¯s lips twitch. Five minutester, after being repeatedly disarmed or metaphorically killed, the body cultivator grudgingly epted that Sen might be an asset after all. Grandmother Lu did the man the small courtesy of going inside before she burst intoughter.


    ¡°Do you have some secret dislike of him, Grandmother?¡± Sen asked with a small smile.


    Grandmother Lu shook her head and said, ¡°No. He¡¯s a good guard. He just needs the asional reminder that there are others with more strength and more skill than him. It keeps his prices reasonable.¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± Sen cried in mock horror, ¡°I have been shamelessly used by a ruthless businesswoman in her negotiations!¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± she said, offering Sen a sage nod. ¡°Let that be a lesson to you, young cultivator. Always negotiate your fee up front.¡±


    Then, the two burst into moreughter.


    ***


    Sen ultimately made good on his casual statement that he would stop by to meet Bai¡¯s mother. He¡¯d spent a lot of time daydreaming about those pineapple buns and decided that he couldn¡¯t leave town without at least trying to wrangle the recipe from the woman. He took Grandmother Lu¡¯s advice and arrived with a modest bottle of rice wine as a gift. The girl¡¯s father had seemed mostly perplexed, having been unaware of Sen¡¯s existence up until he showed up at their home. Bai¡¯s mother, on the other hand, took one look at Sen and nodded to herself.


    ¡°Ah,¡± she said, ¡°now, I understand.¡±


    Bai herself was left speechless and blushed furiously every time Sen looked at her. Grandmother Lu had finally sat him down and exined what was going on. Sen hadn¡¯t spent much time thinking about his own appearance. Yet, he epted the older woman¡¯s assessment that he was unusually handsome. She was in a better position to know than he was. He also provisionally epted that his appearance was going to draw silly reactions from some young women. He was less certain about Grandmother Lu¡¯s deration that the same thing would apply to some not-so-young women who, in her words, ought to know better.


    Sen had fretted about that conversation for about five minutes before he ultimately concluded that none of it was really a <em>him</em> problem. There wasn¡¯t much he could do about his appearance. There was also very little he could about how others reacted to it. If other people reacted in ridiculous ways to his appearance, that would be a <em>them</em> problem. So, Sen carried on as he would have before that conversation, just armed with the necessary information to put things in context. He wasn¡¯t sure if Bai¡¯s mother fell into the ought to know better category, but the increasingly stern looks her husband directed at <em>everyone</em> as the evening wore on suggested that maybe she was. Still, his gambit to procure the recipe was a sess in the end.


    ***


    Sen and Grandmother Lu stood outside as the caravan made a fewst-minute preparations. She looked him up and down with a piercing gaze, as though she suspected that he¡¯d forgotten to pack something important. Based on how intense her look was, Sen couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she thought he¡¯d left his lungs behind in some dusty corner somewhere. She seemed to find whatever she was looking for and gave him a quick nod.


    ¡°So, have you decided where you¡¯ll go?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Grandmother Lu. ¡°Probably south. I grew up there and it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been back. I miss the heat. Winters here were always a bit too harsh for me.¡±


    ¡°Just leave word for me when you settle somewhere. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll have stories and gifts I¡¯ll want to share with you.¡±


    Grandmother Lu waved off the sentiment. ¡°Never mind about gifts. I don¡¯t need anything. Just bring yourself and your stories. We¡¯ll eat andugh, and I¡¯ll even pretend that I don¡¯t know you¡¯re leaving out the dangerous parts.¡±


    ¡°Would I do such a thing?¡±


    She gave him a disapproving look. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Noticing that the caravan people were eyeing him and Grandmother Lu, he offered her a deep bow. ¡°Until we see each other again, Grandmother.¡±


    She returned the bow and then pulled him in for a brief, fierce hug. ¡°You mind yourself out there.¡±


    With that, Sen was finally on his way to the ocean.


    ***


    Sen learned that traveling with a caravan consisted of a lot of boredom, broken up only very asionally by tension and violence. There were a few spirit beast attacks. Sen assisted as directed by Chen Shi for most of them. Protecting the caravan was the man¡¯s job. It wasn¡¯t for Sen to pretend he knew better. The only time Sen took direct control was when he sensed a spirit beast that felt like it was on a level with his own cultivation. The caravan guards were brave enough and skilled enough for lower-level spirit beasts, but not whatever was out there. Sen had told the guard captain to keep everyone close and not to follow him for any reason.


    ¡°If I don¡¯te back from this, you run,¡± Sen ordered.


    Then, he shot off into the forest that loomed on either side of the road. He found what he was looking for less than two hundred yards from the road. The beast was crouched up in a tree and Sen couldn¡¯t help but stare at the unfamiliar creature for a moment. It looked a bit like a cat in body shape and had a long puffy tail, but its face was all wrong. It looked more like a bear with its snub snout. Whatever the beast was, it had very strong metal qi. He definitely couldn¡¯t let that thing get too close. He drew his spear from his storage ring and started cycling for lightning. It wasn¡¯t his strongest affinity, but it would work particrly well against the metal qi beast.


    The bear-cat hybrid crouched low on the branch and radiated hostility for a brief moment beforeunching itself at him. Sen swept the spear upward and pushed enough qi into the spearhead that a slender finger of lightning bridged the gap between spear and beast. The attack didn¡¯t kill the bear-cat, but it did make the beast stiffen in pain. Even so, Sen felt it gathering qi for a counterattack. He leapt away, but he wasn¡¯t fast enough to avoid the strike entirely. Metal qi raked across his left side, shredding cloth and leaving half a dozen shallow cuts down his side and leg.


    Sen had the irrational thought he was d he wasn¡¯t wearing the robes that Auntie Caihong had given him before the pain of the injuries made him stumble. Still, he¡¯d been too well-trained to leave himself entirely undefended. Moving as if under their own control, his hands sent the spear into a tight, brutal arc that connected with the bear-cat¡¯s head. Having never let the lightning pattern go, the hit did double damage. The spearhead itself deprived the beast of an eye, while the lightningshed into the socket like it had found a new home.


    The beast let out a terrible noise that lived in a ce between yowling and roaring. Still reacting almost entirely on reflex, Sen reversed the strike and bludgeoned the other side of the spirit beast¡¯s head. It flopped almost bonelessly to the forest floor. His fury roused by injury and pain, Sen nearly abandoned his training. His first instinct was to rush the beast and finish the job. Yet, he was physically off-bnce, out of center, so he took a step back, looking to firm himself in a mental circle. That was why the bear-cat¡¯s next attack only left bloody cuts across his stomach instead leaving his organs strewn across the ground. Sen pushed so much qi into the spearhead that it didn¡¯t even look like metal anymore. It looked like he had forged a spearhead of pure lightning. He shoved his killing intent into the spearhead next, focusing it,pressing it until he could fit it all.


    As he brought the spear down, the very air shrieked in protest. The bear-cat¡¯s head spun away. Then, an explosionposed of dirt, stone, lighting, and raw killing intent mmed into Sen¡¯s body,unching him backward and opening new wounds on his legs, chest, and head. He struck the ground, bounced, struck again, rolled, and finally slid to a stop. There were no thoughts in the immediate aftermath, just the visceral knowledge that his <em>everything</em> hurt. For once, he¡¯d lost all of his qi cycling techniques. With a groan, he cycled qi out through his channels, and let it seep into his body tissues. The fresh infusion of qi gave him strength, and he could even feel some of the wounds beginning to slowly, but surely, close.


    Even so, he knew he¡¯d have to mix himself some medicinal elixirs if he nned on keeping up with the caravan over the next few days. He did make himself go back to look at the spot where his, technique seemed like a strong word to him. He went to where his improvisation had exploded in his face. There was no sign of the bear-cat¡¯s body. It had either been hurled away as he had been or been destroyed outright. Sighing, Sen began limping back to the caravan.


    ***


    By the time the caravan reached Tide¡¯s Rest, Sen had recovered. Everyone in the caravan had stared at him with shocked, horrified eyes as he dragged himself out of the forest. They¡¯d stared at him in amazement as he concocted medicinal brews in nothing but a in pot, medicinal brews that seemed to work miracles overnight. It wasn¡¯t really miraculous or overnight, but Sen didn¡¯t have the energy or inclination to try to convince them otherwise. He did have to firmly decline the offers of several women in the caravan to help him tend to his wounds. The very obvious disappointment on their faces told Sen that he¡¯d been right to be wary. So, it was with some relief on his part that they entered the city through one of the main gates.


    He and the guard captain had agreed that they might as well part ways once the caravan was in the city. It wasn¡¯t like Sen was waiting to get paid, and the odds of an attack the guards couldn¡¯t handle inside the city proper were small. It was a good thing too, because Sen felt another cultivator¡¯s spiritual sensend on him almost as soon as he walked through the gate. In no mood to deal with stupidity, Sen had quickly ducked down a side street and <em>hidden</em>. He almostughed at the nearly frantic searching of that spiritual sense over the area he was swiftly departing. No, he wasn¡¯t in Tide¡¯s Reach to get involved with other cultivators. He hade here for one reason, and one reason alone. For a mortal, the walk across the city would probably have been exhausting. For Sen, it was just tedious. He found the easternmost gate and was confronted by a skeptical guard.


    ¡°Why do you want to go out there?¡± the guard asked.


    ¡°I want to see the ocean.¡±


    ¡°You want to just go out there and look at it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sen could see that the guard simply couldn¡¯tprehend why any sane person would want to do that. It wasn¡¯t like Sen had a sane reason for it, either. All he had was a feeling, that persistent tugging that had grown stronger and stronger the closer he got to the ocean.


    Sen tried again. ¡°I¡¯ve never been to the coast before. I wanted to see the ocean while I could.¡±


    The ever-increasing skepticism on the guard¡¯s face evaporated and was reced with a grin. ¡°Grew up ind, did you? Well then, you¡¯re right. You <em>should</em> see the ocean while you can.¡±


    The guard waved him through, and Sen stepped outside the walls of the city. The briny scent that had lingered in the air for thest day or so took on an almost physical presence. Sen took it in for a moment, then made his way down toward the rhythmic crashing of the waves on the shore. Even before he reached the beach, he could feel the tremendous power of the ocean. Yet, it was a slow power, only asionally roused to fury. He had read about tides, but now he could sense them at work, like a hum that was just barely within the range of hearing. A steady pressure that pushed the water in or pulled it away. <em>Yes</em>, he thought, <em>there is a lesson for me here</em>. Sen could already feel the qi building around him, as if in anticipation of the insights he would glean. He took slow breaths, trying to match them to the crashing of the waves, trying to attune his spirit to the way this vast, beautiful, and, he felt quite certain, sometimes terrible force moved in the world. He could feel the tickle of insight on the very edge of his mind, drawing closer. He rxed, willing to wait, and as that insight began to take form in his mind and heart¡­


    ¡°Cultivator!¡±


    <em>Ignore it</em>, Sen thought as he desperately tried to maintain the delicate bnce he needed for this insight.


    ¡°Cultivator!¡± the voice shouted again. ¡°I am Zhu Fen, of the Stormy Ocean sect. You will face me.¡±


    The shouting, the other cultivator¡¯s spiritual sense washing over the area, and his own distraction shattered the moment. As Sen could very nearly watch that precious bit of enlightenment flee from his grasp, an almost physical anger took hold of him. He didn¡¯t want to <em>face</em> the stupid girl who had stolen this long-sought moment from him. Sen wanted to <em>murder</em> her. Of course, that would just give her what she wanted in the end. Instead, he turned his murderous re on her and returned injury for injury, denial for denial.


    ¡°No.¡±


    This ends Volume 1 of Unintended Cultivator. Sen will return in Volume 2.

 Epilogue

    Epilogue


    To the west of Tide¡¯s Reach, in what was normally a quiet little town that no one cared overly much about, a story was spreading. As so many such stories begin, this tale started with a wandering cultivator. In some tellings, this cultivator was a figure of legendary size, driving other men to their knees with the imcable strength of his arms. In other versions, the cultivator was a youth so handsome that he stole the heart of every woman he met. Yet, he was also of such profound virtue that he did not take advantage of even one. Still others imed that his very eyes were touched by the gods, and the wicked would weep blood when they faced his baleful gaze.


    For reasons no one understood, the mayor, a minor noble rumored to havemitted <em>many</em> dark deeds, sent scores of men after the cultivator. The cultivator, kind and virtuous though he was, had honed his martial prowess on some distant field of war. He cut those viins down like a scythe in a field of ripe wheat. Some said that he carried a jian of a make so fine no other de could hope to stand against it. Others imed he bore a great spear forged of a thunderstorm¡¯s own might and fury. A bold few imed that he carried both, wielding stormy death in one hand and cutting vengeance in the other as he struck down the wicked and defended the elderly.


    The story grew and changed, as all such stories will, but a few facts held,plete and unvarnished, in every telling. Corruption had taken root in Orchard¡¯s Reach. Fell deeds weremitted in the night, on orders from the wicked mayor. Finally, judgment had sent its emissary, robed in blue, to scour the town clean. And, when his work was done and the guilty punished, the cultivator vanished. Some believed he had been a true divine spirit, tasked with the singr goal of redeeming this one town. Others believed that he was sent elsewhere, like a swift and terrible wind, to bring the rebuke of the heavens down on those who strayed from the righteous path. A very few, possessed perhaps of less imagination than their neighbors, said that he simply moved on, as all wandering cultivators do.


    So, the story spread from caravan driver to city guard, from city guard to winehouse attendant, from winehouse attendant to noble servant, and finally, into the ears of the very cream of society itself. Most scoffed at this tale of divine retribution, saying it was nothing but a wandering cultivator¡¯s vengeance. Yet, a few, the young, the imaginative, the hopeful, seized on this tale of a blue-d servant of the heavens. And so, a new hero was born, softly, quietly, in the hearts and minds of the people. A cultivator with the mandate of the heavens, who woulde when the corrupt had gone too far. A man with no known name or family, only a whispered title. Judgment¡¯s Gale.

 Book 2: Chapter 1: Contempt

    Book 2: Chapter 1: Contempt


    Zhu Fen was stunned by pure disbelief. She had done as her senior sister had rmended. She waited by the gates for a wandering cultivator of an appropriate cultivation level and, after weeks of wasted time, finally found one. Only to have the man somehow elude her spiritual sense and disappear into the city. It had only been pure luck that she was close enough to sense him again when he finally unveiled himself. When she found him standing on the beach wearing a serene expression that rivaled some monks she¡¯d seen, Zhu Fen had issued a perfectly appropriate challenge to him. Then, he had, she still couldn¡¯t believe it, said no. He hadn¡¯t just said no but leveled that denial at her with absolute conviction. Her. Zhu Fen. Of the mighty and respected Stormy Ocean sect. Who did that wandering cultivator think he was to turn down <em>her</em> honorable challenge? <em>He</em> should be honored that someone of her sect would even deign to <em>look</em> at him. He should, in a panic, Zhu Fen realized that the man was walking away while she was busy thinking.


    ¡°Stop!¡± shemanded, only to watch him continue to retreat toward the city.


    What should she do? No one ever turned down a challenge. It was unheard of, unthinkable, and it was happening to her <em>right now</em>. She couldn¡¯t go back to the sect like that. She¡¯d never live down the shame of it. The only member of the Stormy Ocean sect ever to be denied a duel by a wandering cultivator. <em>Oh no</em>, she decided, <em>he will fight</em>. She would <em>make</em> him fight. Clenching her fists, she called out again.


    ¡°Stop, or I¡¯ll-,¡± she never got another word out.


    The wandering cultivator whirled on her. ¡°You¡¯ll what? Tell lies about me? Leverage the power of your sect to make my life hard? Send others from your sect to hound me until I agree?¡±


    The words themselves meant little to her. Of course, that was what she had meant to do. Except, she knew the appropriate words for it. They weren¡¯t lies, just inducements for wandering cultivators to ept their ces as useful, but disposable tools for more honorable sect members. It wasn¡¯t leverage, just the fine art of persuasion. Her sect brothers and sisters wouldn¡¯t hound, simply encourage. Yet, it wasn¡¯t the words he said that pinned her in ce. It was the <em>look</em> on his face. She had never, in her entire life, had anyone look at her with such contempt. That contempt for her, her sect, for everything she held dear, burned in him with such purity that it was a wonder to her that his re didn¡¯t reduce her to cinders where she stood. Before she could muster her defense, he carried on, the contempt for her growing even more vivid.


    ¡°And then there¡¯s the matter of your friend who thinks I didn¡¯t notice her. I expect she¡¯s here to make sure that I <em>die</em> of my wounds in the event that your challenge fails. Right? After all, you must ensure that the pretend honor of the Rippling Mud Puddle sect cannot be sullied by a mere wandering cultivator.¡±


    The wandering cultivator pointed to the exact spot where Sun Xue was hiding. Fen watched as her very sheepish-looking friend stepped out from behind a small sand dune. <em>Although</em>, Fen thought, <em>she should be sheepish getting caught out by a mere wandering cultivator like that</em>. When they¡¯d discussed this n, it was perfectly reasonable. They <em>had</em> to protect the reputation of the sect. It was their duty. It was the honorable thing to do. Of course, she couldn¡¯t expect this farmer or merchant and whatever he really was to understand anything about real honor.


    ¡°All of this,¡± he continued, ¡°despite the fact that I <em>went out of my way</em> to avoid you. Traveled across an entire city and came to a ce where I clearly meant to be <em>alone</em>. All so you could have a challenge that didn¡¯t mean anything.¡±


    ¡°How dare you-,¡± she began, only to be cut off again.


    ¡°Because, after all, the only thing that really matters is what <em>you</em> want. What <em>you</em> need. Right? Well, just so we¡¯re clear, let me tell you what you just <em>cost</em> me.¡±


    ¡°Cost?¡± Zhu Fen repeated.


    Where all of the man¡¯s other words failed to make so much as a mark on her cold, precise reasoning, that lone word sank home. <em>Cost</em>. A horrible, sick feeling bloomed in Zhu Fen¡¯s stomach. She thought back to the way that he had been standing there, his face so calm, so at peace, and she <em>knew</em>. It had been obvious if she¡¯d been paying attention. She¡¯d seen it often enough in the sect and even experienced it herself on two memorable asions. In hindsight, she recognized that sense of calm in moments before¡­


    ¡°I was seconds away from a moment of enlightenment,¡± he said in a voice devoid of any emotion.


    Sun Xue had the good grace to gasp. In the sect, to interrupt such a moment was a taboo of the highest order. One could be banished from the sect for it. One could be <em>executed</em> for it. While Fen didn¡¯t think they would actually execute her for interrupting the enlightenment of a wandering cultivator, there would be punishments if they learned the truth. Dire punishments. Zhu Fen tried to rally. Tried to defend herself.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know,¡± she said.


    Then it was back, that contempt for her, even more potent than before. Except, this time, the wandering cultivator had honed its edge razor fine.


    ¡°No. You simply didn¡¯t <em>care</em>.¡±


    Zhu Fen searched for the words, but none came. She looked at Sun Xue, but the other girl was staring resolutely at the ground, her cheeks bright red with shame. When Zhu Fen looked back at the wandering cultivator, she couldn¡¯t meet his gaze for more than a moment. He was right. She hadn¡¯t cared what business he¡¯d been about. She hadn¡¯t cared that he took a great deal of trouble to avoid her. She had only cared about herself. The man only spoke one more time.


    ¡°So, understand me when I say this. If either of you draws a weapon, I will end you both.¡±


    Zhu Fen had been on the receiving end of killing intent before. At least, she <em>thought</em> she had. The sect had all their disciples train against it with those of a higher cultivation stage, just to prepare them for the possibility. The sheer weight of the killing intent thatnded on her in that moment wasn¡¯t simply vast, it was beyond overwhelming. By itself, that would have been enough. Of course, that wasn¡¯t how it worked. The dread was already coursing through her when the sense of his killing intent zed through her mind. And it was <em>terrifying</em>. It was a world of shadow, me, towering edifices of stone, and des so sharp that they could cleave mind from body or soul from fate.


    Zhu Fen wasn¡¯t sure how long that sense of destruction cascaded through her mind before she finally found her sense of self again. When she did, the wandering cultivator was gone. Zhu Fen thought that she had never been so relieved to see someone leave. It was only then that she realized that she was crouched on the ground and her blood had darkened a patch of sand beneath her. She reached up to wipe the blood away from her nose. Looking around, she saw Sun Xue sprawled on the ground. Zhu Fen scrambled over to the other girl. Even as she did, a part of her mind told her that she should be very grateful that the wandering cultivator had chosen not to take her up on her offer to duel. By refusing her challenge, he had <em>spared</em> her from his wrath. She did not think she would have, even <em>could</em> have, done the same in his position. When she got to Sun Xue, the other girl was barely coherent. She looked up at Zhu Fen, confusion on her face, and asked a question that seemed all too obvious in retrospect.


    ¡°Was that a hidden master?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Xue,¡± Zhu Fen admitted. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know what he was.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 2: Frustration and Uncertainty

    Book 2: Chapter 2: Frustration and Uncertainty


    A seething mass of frustration shuddered and thrashed inside Sen¡¯s chest. He had been <em>so</em> close. All he had needed was a few more seconds and then it would have been <em>obvious</em> to any cultivator what was happening. As far as Sen was concerned, that gathering mass of qi should have been enough to alert that stupid girl that she shouldn¡¯t interfere.


    ¡°Damn her!¡± he raged.


    A pressing desire to go find that girl and trade pointers until she was bloody and unconscious took hold of Sen for a moment. He indulged the fantasy, ever so briefly, then ruthlessly suppressed it. If something like that was going to happen, he would have done it in the moment. Yet, while he could suppress the impulsive desire to act, he couldn¡¯t suppress the anger, not entirely. It just sat there inside of him with nowhere to go, and no convenient targets on which to vent it. If he¡¯d still been on the mountain or even out on the road, he could have gone out and simply found some big rock to destroy. This close to the city, he didn¡¯t expect that the guards would look fondly on him destroying things. Besides, something like that might draw more attention he didn¡¯t want.


    As he considered it, if he¡¯d gone out into the wilds, it was possible that some spirit beast in an equally foul mood might have tracked him down. He found that idea less ptable. He¡¯d let the sect girl, both of those sect girls go, precisely because he <em>didn¡¯t</em> want to kill without a clear and pressing need. Monumental frustration, while certainlypelling in its own way, wasn¡¯t actually a reason to kill a person or a spirit beast. So, he simply had to bear it until the anger and frustration died away or a situation where he truly had no choice but to fight presented itself.


    Part of Sen knew that the frustration wasn¡¯t just from the initial interruption. After he¡¯d rendered them both all but unconscious, he¡¯d <em>hidden</em> himself a short distance away and waited for them to leave. When he was sure that they were gone for good, he approached the ocean again. He had hoped that he might be able to glean that insight even with the disruption. Yet, whateverbination of factors that made it possible the first time was gone. He feared that the problem was inside of him. He¡¯d been in a very specific frame of mind when first arrived on that beach. He had been calm, ready to greet whatever information or experience the world had sent him there to learn. After the confrontations with the cursed sect girl, he was leery and hyper-aware. It was not the right mental space for a moment of enlightenment.


    As much as he was willing to shoulder that me, though, he thought that something had changed in the environment as well. There had been an intangible something in the air, a feeling, a sense of expectation, and that was gone as well. Sen had one through the oddity of enlightenment often enough that he¡¯d developed at least a few nascent ideas about the process. He¡¯d also spent enough time with Auntie Caihong that he often fell back on nts as a lens through which to understand things. nts didn¡¯t spring from just anywhere. They needed just the right conditions. They needed the right kind of soil, the right amount of light, and water in just the right quantities and at just the right times. Oh, there was some give and take, nts could often survive a particrly dry or wet season, but they didn¡¯t <em>thrive</em>.


    Sen thought that moments of enlightenment were a bit like that. You could get close, maybe even achieve a semnce of true insight, even if the conditions were only fair. For the true experience, the qi-summoning, worldview-changing experience, though, it had to be perfect. He had had that perfect moment within reach and lost it. Perhaps, if he was very lucky, a simr moment might present itself to him in the future. In the meantime, though, Sen felt a little lost. Everything he¡¯d done recently had been toward getting to that moment of understanding. He¡¯d been relying on it to guide his next steps, to point toward the path that would let him grow in the ways he needed to grow. He hadn¡¯t made a backup n. It just hadn¡¯t urred to him that he might reach the ocean and <em>fail</em>.


    Sen stood on that beach for a long time, listening to the waves and watching the asional boat pass by. <em>Are they boats or ships</em>, he wondered. Uncle Kho had said that those were different things. When Sen asked how they were different, Uncle Kho said it mostly seemed to be a matter of size. Bigger boats were usually called ships. The vessels out on the water were far enough away that Sen couldn¡¯t discern their size. His experience with things that floated on the water was limited to having asionally seen the rowboats that some of the townspeople had used near the river. He¡¯d heard kids talking about something called rafts, but he hadn¡¯t ever seen one. At least, he didn¡¯t think he had seen one. There were still strange gaps in his knowledge of the world. He would sometimes discover that he had seen things before and called them by the wrong name or just hadn¡¯t ever learned a word for them.


    As he gazed out over the water, he wondered about the people on those boats. Were they fishing? Were they traveling? Sen considered the idea of finding a boat to take him somewhere else. The continent was vast after all. He could simply leave this ce and find somewhere wholly new to explore. The idea had a certain appeal to it. There was a kind of adventure baked into doing something like that. Yet, Sen struggled to see himself going on such an adventure. What resources he had, what support he could potentially muster in an emergency, were all located nearby. While he might one day travel to the distant reaches of the continent and visit that pastry shop that Master Feng had bought on a whim, Sen knew he wasn¡¯t ready for that. He didn¡¯t know enough about how the world worked or what waited for him in distant ces.


    In the area, at least, he had a working knowledge of the threats out in nature. He might not enjoy it, but he could reasonably survive in the wilds for a long time. What he did know about those kinds of threats elsewhere was theoretical and based on conversations with people who could, quite frankly, shrug off things that would crush Sen with ease. No, without a good working knowledge of those threats as they applied to himself, or a guide he could trust, Sen couldn¡¯t know if he was advanced enough in his cultivation to even survive the experience of traveling elsewhere. Given that Sen¡¯s supply of trust was running especially low, that left him operating in the general area for the time being.


    ¡°Where should I go? What should I do?¡± he asked the expanse of water before him.


    The enormity of it all finally settled on Sen. He was out in the world. He was alone. More importantly, this is what his life would be for centuries toe. While cultivation mattered to him, he¡¯d recognized that it wasn¡¯t truly an end in itself. It was a process, a journey, to get someone to somewhere else. More importantly, it was a very long process. Sen needed to find something else, some other goal, or purpose, or even just a list of random tasks to give his day-to-day life some kind of focus. Just as importantly, he needed to decide where he would do those tasks or pursue that purpose. He looked over his shoulder at the walls of Tide¡¯s Rest and actually felt the snarl that twisted his lips. It might not be the fault of the city itself, but Sen¡¯s experience with the local sect had soured him on the ce. It seemed almost inevitable that he would bump into other sect members, and he, unfairly or not, didn¡¯t trust any of them to behave like people he wanted to know. Having decided that staying in Tide¡¯s Reach wasn¡¯t an option helped give Sen a feeling of momentum.


    ¡°If not here, then where?¡± he mused.


    Pulling out the map that he had so carefully marked and the notebook with all those names in it, Sen focused on finding the next ce he would go.

 Book 2: Chapter 3: A Simple Meal

    Book 2: Chapter 3: A Simple Meal


    It was eitherte afternoon or early evening, depending on how generous one felt, when Sen finally settled on his next destination. As he considered the position of the sun in the sky, he decided that he simply wasn¡¯t in the mood to spend yet another night camping. Sen didn¡¯t have the natural aversion to camping that some people possessed and took a little quietfort in being away from the ever-present smell of garbage that came with town life. Yet, even in the caravan that he¡¯d traveled to the city with, some of the people seemed to detest being outdoors once night fell. He¡¯d found himself wondering why they¡¯d chosen a life that required it of them so much of the time and almost asked a few of them. Then, he reconsidered.


    They may have simply been born into it and found themselves trapped in a life theyrgely disliked but couldn¡¯t escape. After that, Sen took a care to not forget that, despite the many pitfalls of the cultivation lifestyle, it also came with the benefit of substantially more choices. He could take a job as a farmhand or a caravan guard if he so chose. He could also seek a position as a scribe or even train to be a schr, and no one would question it <em>because</em> he was a cultivator. Cultivators pursued strange interests for even stranger reasons, or so the general public seemed to think. It was in that very gap between the reality of cultivation and the perception of it that Sen intended to live, at least for a while.


    Before any of that, though, Sen intended to find a ce to get a meal and a decent night of uninterrupted sleep. Even as he walked back toward the city, though, he couldn¡¯t help but stare back at the ocean with regret. He tried to convince himself that he could always go back the next day and see if the heavens favored him. Before the thought had fully formed, though, instinct told him that whatever opportunity had been here would not return. He wondered about what he might have learned and where it might have taken him, but quickly cut off that line of thought. It wouldn¡¯t do to dwell on it. He couldn¡¯t expect every opportunity or possibility to yield results for him. All he could do was make the best use he could of the ones that did work out.


    Passing through the gate, he found the same guard on the inside. The man looked tired, but he mustered the energy to smile at Sen. Sen smiled back and, after a moment of thought, walked over to the guard.


    ¡°It seems as though the ocean cast a bit of spell on you. Most folks don¡¯t spend quite that long looking at it,¡± said the guard.


    ¡°Yes, I guess it did capture my attention there for a while. I was wondering if I could ask you something.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked the guard, perking up with curiosity.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a ce to stay for the night. I¡¯d prefer a ce that¡¯s quiet, but mostly what I want is to avoid trouble. If I can get a decent meal there, as well, that¡¯d be great.¡±


    The guard idly scratched his chin while he thought it over. ¡°Well, there¡¯s The Crow¡¯s Nest. It¡¯s not too far from here. Popr with the sailors. It¡¯s not too quiet, but the worst trouble you usually see there is a couple of drunken idiots blowing off steam with a fight outside. Food isn¡¯t bad. There¡¯s also the Sunset Inn. It¡¯s more expensive, but the food there is good and the owner doesn¡¯t tolerate no foolishness.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like the ce for me. Where I can find it?¡±


    The guard provided Sen with surprisingly detailed instructions to find the ce. It made Sen suspicious that the man was getting some kind of a fee for steering people that way. Still, he decided to take his chances and go there. When he arrived at the Sunset Inn, Sen started feeling a bit more charitable toward the guard if he was getting a cut. The ce was clean and looked to have been built to withstand some truly terrible weather. It was made almost entirely of stone, with only the asional wood highlight here and there. Even the roof was covered in y tiles. Those had been exceptionally rare back in Orchard¡¯s Reach, but even in the bigger and presumably richer Tide¡¯s rest, thatch was still moremon than tile. Inside, there was a steady murmur of noise from the ground floor, where people sat around small tables eating meals or asionally nursing a ss of something. The sense that Sen got from the ce was that it existed in a bubble of strenuously enforced calm.


    The curt woman who checked him in ryed the rules of the inn in a no-nonsense <em>or else</em> tone. He was told that they would not tolerate fighting, shouting, or, if Sen nned on personalpany in his room, loud nighttime activities. Sen shook his head and told the woman that all he nned on was a meal, a bath, and a full night of sleep. She gave him an approving nod at that, as though she thought he uttered truly profound wisdom. He showed him to his room, gave him a key, and told him that he could get a meal downstairs as part of the not-insubstantial fee he¡¯d paid for the night. He thanked the woman and headed downstairs.


    It took him a little while to understand how ordering was done in the ce. He was used to cooking his own food or at least assisting with the preparation and serving. Here, it seemed he was expected to sit, and someone woulde to him. He found an empty table away from the other guests and waited. A bare minute or soter, a pretty young woman came over to his table. He listened as she started to tell him what food was avable, but her words just sort of trailed off in the middle of telling him about some kind of pork dish. He looked at her, only to find her staring at him, her mouth slightly open, and her cheeks turning pink. He suppressed a sigh. At least she wasn¡¯t turning bright red. He gave her a smile and immediately regretted it as the pink turned into that tomato color he¡¯d hoped to avoid. He mentally ran through the list of food she¡¯d managed to mention before going mute.


    ¡°Chicken and broli, please. Rice wine, as well,¡± said Sen.


    She continued to stare at him for an overly long moment before years of experience seemed to trigger her into motion. Her head jerked a little, then she offered him a smile so big it looked painful to Sen. Then, she was gone. He hoped that they¡¯d send a boy out with his food. Sen didn¡¯t mind that women found him attractive. He actually rather enjoyed it, although he didn¡¯t n on doing anything about it with anyone anytime soon. There were plenty of pitfalls to being careless in those ways that he knew he was ill-prepared to face.


    He would make a terrible father, with no skills to pass on save the sword and cultivation. He suspected he¡¯d be an even worse husband. What woman would want topete with the promise of immortality for a man¡¯s attention? He supposed those women existed, in the way that he supposed dragons existed. They were out there in the world, somewhere, rarely, and only found at great difficulty and through great peril. Of course, the thing he truly minded was the idea of that girl bringing his food back, and then just standing there with it in her hands while she stared at him. She could stand and stare if she really wanted to, but he wanted his food. Fortunately, she seemed to have mastered herself by the time she got back. She deposited his food and wine on the table and only stared for a few seconds before hurrying away.


    Sen settled in to enjoy his food and sip his wine. Sen found the food passable, but he knew that wasn¡¯t really fair. He¡¯d simply been corrupted by years of truly magnificent food made by Auntie Caihong. He¡¯d caught himself daydreaming about her food more than once since he¡¯d left the mountain. He sighed, resigning himself to the dread fate of not eating her food for several years. He was about halfway through his meal when a man sat down across from him. Sen thought the man looked to be about his age, but he was finding that to be the case with almost every cultivator that reached foundation formation or higher. The man gave Sen a bright smile, which Sen very pointedly did not return. Instead, Sen stared at the man while sipping the wine. The wine he made no offer to share with the unwanted guest at his table.


    ¡°My name is Cai Yuze,¡± said the man.


    Sen did not introduce himself. He said nothing, looked at the man, and then looked over at the door. The man¡¯s smile turned a little brittle, but he ignored Sen¡¯s silent invitation to go away. Sen felt his expression go harder, and the other man winced, but he did not leave.


    ¡°I can see you¡¯re not much of a talker.¡±


    Sen lost what little patience he had left. ¡°Leave.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty, friend.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even heard what I¡¯m here about. As I said, my name is Cai Yuze of the Stormy Ocean sect.¡±


    For a moment, rage welled inside of Sen, and then, just as quickly, it receded into an icy, deadly calm. The man seemed to realize he¡¯d made a terrible mistake when Sen stood. Sen never broke eye contact while his hand dropped his jian. All Sen had wanted was a simple meal. That was all. Yet, it seemed that this sect could not leave well enough alone. He had tried to walk the better road before, sparing not one but two of their murderous disciples. If mercy wasn¡¯t sufficient incentive to leave him be, perhaps death was the <em>only</em>nguage they understood.


    ¡°Just wait,¡± said the man. ¡°I only want to talk.¡±


    ¡°Everyone from your sect is the same. All that matters is what <em>you</em> want.¡±


    Sen heard Cai Yuze mutter under his breath. ¡°Damn that girl.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t me her. She only did what you taught her,¡± Sen said, baring an inch of the jian¡¯s steel de. ¡°Now, for thest time, leave.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 4: Heavens Rebuke

    Book 2: Chapter 4: Heavens'' Rebuke


    While the man didn¡¯t speak or leave, just sat there looking annoyed and put upon, Sen hovered on the very cusp of violence. He ached to just draw his jian and put an end to one of his frustrations in the fastest, deadliest way possible. Then, his eyes flicked around the room. He saw the genuine fear on the faces of the other customers. He saw the disapproving gaze of the owner fixed on him and his <em>guest</em>. Then, he saw how it would y out. A fight between him and Cai Yuze wouldn¡¯t necessarily bring the building down, but it would do tremendous damage. Sen also couldn¡¯t guarantee that all of the other customers would walk away unhurt. In fact, he found it far too probable that some of them <em>would</em> get injured by flying pieces of debris that were dislodged and hurled by stray qi techniques. Worse still, Sen didn¡¯t believe for a moment that Cai Yuze cared about that at all. Taking a stranglehold on his anger, Sen let his jian drop back into its scabbard.


    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re finally seeing-,¡± started Cai Yuze, only to shout at Sen¡¯s back. ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡±


    Looking over his shoulder, Sen said, ¡°Away.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t done talking,¡± said Cai Yuze, no longer even pretending to be friendly.


    ¡°I was done talking before you even sat down,¡± retorted Sen.


    Sen strode up to the owner and held out the key to his room. ¡°I apologize. It seems that I likely will have to fight. I¡¯ll take it elsewhere.¡±


    With a surprised and deeply grateful look, the inn¡¯s owner took the key from his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll refund your money.¡±


    Sen waved it off. ¡°Just remember me if I evere back.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± said the stern woman before she whispered, ¡°Take care, young master. That sect isn¡¯t known for its patience.¡±


    Giving the woman a wan smile, he simply turned and walked out the door. Taking a moment to orient himself, he turned toward the gate where he¡¯d entered the city. He could follow the road south from there. He was not surprised when he heard the door of the inn burst open behind him. Cai Yuze stormed out into the street with his qi ring. Sen made note of the fact that the man preferred wind qi. That would make things trickier. Still, tricky wasn¡¯t impossible.


    ¡°You insignificant little worm!¡± shouted Cai Yuze. ¡°How dare you ignore your betters?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t even break his stride when he answered. ¡°My betters? Better at what?¡±


    Then, Sen went with his strong hand. He cycled shadow qi and cast the already murky street into absolute darkness. Then, he started a second pattern, a wind pattern. There had been a time when running two cycling techniques had strained the absolute limits of his concentration, his body, and his qi channels. Now, it was bing as simple as walking and talking. He sent the wind on a wild chaotic course through the street. He didn¡¯t want it to do anything special. He didn¡¯t need it to. Its only purpose was to prevent Cai Yuze from using his wind affinity to physically locate Sen after he <em>hid</em>. That <em>did</em> strain Sen¡¯s concentration a bit. Working with qi techniques while using that seemingly unique talent felt like straining a muscle in two different directions. Sen could do it for a while, but there was a definite limit.


    Sen wasn¡¯t surprised when he felt a little hole open up in the middle of the shadow technique. Cai Yuze was a foundation formation stage cultivator, after all. While he didn¡¯t have the natural affinities to dispel Sen¡¯s shadow techniques, he could exert some control over the environment immediately around him. The fool probably thought it gave him an advantage. All it really did was tell Sen exactly where the man was. It told him even more effectively than the near omniscience that the shadow technique provided of the physical world, at least within the limits of the technique¡¯s range.


    ¡°What is this?¡± demanded Cai Yuze. ¡°Where are you? Who¡¯s with you?¡±


    Sen let out a malicious littleugh and let his wind technique carry it to the sect cultivator from every direction. Of course, the man thought Sen must have someone with him. Cai Yuze had likely never met anyone who took the time to learn how to use multiple types of qi at the same time. If Sen were inclined to betting, he would have bet that the Stormy Ocean sect member was about to¡­ and there it was. Sen felt the man¡¯s spiritual sense wash through the area and pass over him without so much as a moment of hesitation.


    ¡°My betters,¡± he whispered. ¡°You lost track of me in less than five seconds. Yet, you imagine yourself my better.¡±


    ¡°This is impossible!¡± raged Cai Yuze. ¡°Who are you? I demand you tell me who you are?¡±


    Sen let the wind carry another mockingugh over the entire area. ¡°You demand? And who are <em>you</em> to demand things from your betters?¡±


    On the one hand, Sen thought that being this showy and, he admitted it himself, over the top was probably a waste of perfectly good qi. There was a fair chance that he could have simply taken the other man in a regr duel. Although, that approach always carried a certain amount of risk. Master Feng and Uncle Kho had warned him that you never knew when you might run across a sword genius or spear genius. They weren¡¯tmon, but they were around. Sen was very sure that he wasn¡¯t one of them. He¡¯d made up for thatck of genius with extensive, borderline ruthless amounts of practice to bring his skills up to levels that Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong found eptable.


    On the other hand, Sen found the increasingly frantic scanning of the other man¡¯s spiritual sense, the panic it showed, to be immensely satisfying. That sect had been nothing but trouble for him all day. It felt good to be able to vent his frustrations on one of its members, especially since the man had been all geared up to feign friendship in a bid to get what he wanted. Sen didn¡¯t <em>really</em> believe that every member of every sect would behave in the ways the people from this sect had. Some sects undoubtedly had elders with more honor or simply adhered to different principles. Beyond that, he had to imagine that there were exceptions in every sect. People who simply held themselves to a higher standard because they found it to be the right thing for them. Still, Sen found himself feeling a lot more sympathetic to Uncle Kho¡¯s kill them all and let reincarnation sort them out approach.


    He also understood the risks of enjoying things like Cai Yuze¡¯s panic and fear too much. It was an all too short step from enjoying the well-earned suffering of those who had actively wronged you to simply enjoying the suffering of others. With Cai Yuze, though, he was willing to indulge in that enjoyment just a little. When the sect cultivator began simply hurling wind des in random directions, though, Sen knew that he had to bring the whole thing to a close. He could hear windows shattering and stone breaking under the strength of those qi attacks. He just hoped that no poor mortal had been struck by the flying ss or stone. Sen drew his jian and truly focused all of his attention. He started a third qi cycling pattern and immediately felt a headache start building. He doubted there would be a headache if he weren¡¯t also <em>hiding</em>, but he was and epted the headache as the price for his current strategy.


    He let the lightning qi cycling pattern build up slowly while he contemted his next move. He¡¯d had some time to think about that fight he¡¯d had with that strange bear-cat spirit beast. He¡¯d specifically spent his time thinking about the final technique he¡¯d done to end the fight. It had very nearly been a disaster at the time, but he understood better what had gone wrong and what had worked. The problem hadn¡¯t been the idea, merely the execution. He¡¯d crammed way too much power and killing intent into the technique. It had been too much for him to constrain. Sen thought that about half the amount of each would let him direct it, rather than have it simply detonate on contact.


    So, he let the lightning qi build up in strength until it was where he wanted it and let it seep into the jian de. While he couldn¡¯t see in the nket of shadow, he could feel it, could hear that subtle crackling around the de. Then, he slowly started fusing his killing intent into the technique. Sen assumed that he¡¯d need about half of his killing intent, enough to bnce the lightning. Yet, it took far, far less than that before he felt the technique lock together into something he could control and direct. Up until that moment, he¡¯drgely shared Master Feng¡¯s belief that giving everything a name was absurd. Yet, this felt different, special somehow. Sen had no intention of yelling the name at every opponent he met as though he was a toddler who needed a reminder of what he was doing. But it was something he could call the technique in his own head. Heavens¡¯ Rebuke.


    He pointed the jian at the spot where Cai Yuze¡¯s personal bubble of control sat. Then, Sen let the shadow technique drop. Cai Yuze was facing in the opposite direction, his head whipping back and forth to try to find Sen. When Sen used lightning, it usually had a blue-white color or, asionally, a yellowish cast. The lightning arcing around his de this time was pitch ck. Sen couldn¡¯t be entirely sure, but he thought it gave off a kind of purple tinge around the edges. Cai Yuze finally spun to face Sen. The man¡¯s eyes locked on Sen¡¯s jian, on the technique that crackled around it, and he started to say or scream something. Sen never did learn what. Heunched the attack. A beam of darkness shot from the end of Sen¡¯s jian toward the other man. Cai Yuze raised his own jian as though to deflect the strike. He summoned wind to try to shield himself.


    It didn¡¯t matter. The beam punctured the wind shield like a hot needle passing through a soap bubble. The beam connected with the man¡¯s jian. It exploded into thousands of sparkling metal fragments that reflected the purple glow that Sen had not been sure existed anywhere but his own mind. Then, the beam sank into Cai Yuze¡¯s chest, and it did what lightning always does. It forked through the man¡¯s entire body, looking for a way to find the ground. Sen wasn¡¯t entirely certain what happened in the next instant or two. Cia Yuze did die. That much was obvious. Yet, there wasn¡¯t really a body left afterward, either. It was as if he¡¯d exploded and all the bits of the man burned away before they couldnd. Sen let himself stand there for a moment, stunned by the result of Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. Then, because the work was done, he released the wind and lightning qi cycling patterns, sheathed his jian, and walked away. He did not, however, stop <em>hiding</em> as he headed for the city gate. It was time to <em>leave</em>, and Sen didn¡¯t n on any more distractions.

 Book 2: Chapter 5: Misdirection

    Book 2: Chapter 5: Misdirection


    It took a little convincing at the gate for the guards to let him out. In the end, Sen made up a story about his sick grandmother, silently praying that Grandmother Lu never caught wind of the tale, and pressed a piece of silver into each man¡¯s hand. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if it was the story, the bribe, or somebination of the two, but the guards relented and opened a small door enough for Sen to slip out. Once he was actually outside of the wall, he paused before he turned north and started walking. As much trouble as the sshy mud puddle sect had been so far, he suspected that they wouldn¡¯t simply ignore the death of one of their foundation formation stage cultivators. Sen had gotten the very clear impression that sects saw the rules of the Jianghu as something that only applied when it benefited <em>them</em>.


    He did hope that the nature of the man¡¯s death would make it look like a disappearance, at least for a little while. Sen could cover a lot of ground in a few hours. He could cover a ridiculous amount of ground in a day. Still, he expected that they would send someone to look for the man, and then send four or five people for him to take <em>honorable</em> vengeance. That silver he¡¯d handed over to the guards might be enough to get them to look the other way while he left, but Sen didn¡¯t expect it would buy their silence if sect cultivators came asking hard questions about him. No reason to make it easy for them to find him. If he could confuse the issue a little more byying down a false trail, that would be all the better. Leaving at night made it easier. He didn¡¯t need to travel for more than a mile before the curve of the road and the surrounding forests obscured him from any normal observation.


    He went another mile before he decided it was time to get creative. While he had never gone hunting with Falling Leaf, she had imparted a fair amount of working knowledge to him about how tracking worked. First, he channeled wind qi and let it slowly whirl around him, picking up his scent. Then, he sent that wind qi down the road for as far as he could control it, before having it veer off the road on the opposite side of where he nned to go. He made sure that itpressed some grass and broke some twigs. Sure signs that he¡¯d left the road there. Then, using a bit more wind qi, hepressed the air around his body enough to keep his scent contained. He cycled up his shadow qi for a few moments and sent his shadows into the wooded area to judge the best ce. Then, he got a running start andunched himself off the road into the forest.


    It was only in those kinds of moments that Sen truly appreciated the advantages that body cultivation had provided him. He cut through the air, passing cleanly between trees and over bushes beforending nearly thirty feet away from the road. Granted, it wasn¡¯t a perfect solution. If anyone spent enough time, energy, and resources, they would eventually figure out that he¡¯de this way. He was just betting that he¡¯d be far enough away by then that he could vanish into the poption of another town or city. Just one more wandering cultivator passing through. <em>Or</em>, he thought, <em>I could pass myself off as a mortal instead</em>. Nonstop <em>hiding</em> would be taxing, probably impossible. Still, if he could keep it up for a day or two in the next ce he stopped, that would help muddy the waters even more.


    Sen pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on what was before him. He nned to move through the forest for the next several hours, running parallel to the southern road. He checked his dantian and sighed. Doing all of those techniques earlier had been effective, but it had also put a serious dent in his qi reserves. The qi gathering method that was always on in the background was doing its part to refill those reserves, but it was slower than Sen would like. He had never appreciated Uncle Kho¡¯s formations properly until he left the mountain. There had always been abundant qi at that house up on the mountain. Even away from the house, the mountain was still rich in qi. In these tamer locations, the qi was thinner and less potent. When he could find the time and safe location, Sen resolved to set up his own temporary qi gathering formation.


    ¡°Sure, safe,¡± he grumbled to himself. ¡°Maybe just when I¡¯m not in immediate danger.¡±


    Still, while his reserves were lower than he¡¯d like, he wasn¡¯t out of qi by any means. He cycled a little bit of shadow qi to let him get a clear sense of what was in front of him for the next twenty or thirty feet, activated his qinggong technique, and started running. Much as he had when running all of thoseps around Uncle Kho¡¯s home, Sen fell into an almost meditative state. He reflexively adjusted course to avoidrge obstacles and often went straight over small obstacles. He sensed spirit beasts a few times, but they seemed content to let him pass by unchallenged. When he knew that he¡¯d left the city far, far behind, he edged his way over to the road proper. Checking that there was no one on the road, he stepped out to get a look at the sky. The canopy in the forest hadrgely obscured it, making it difficult for Sen to track the time. He grimaced at what he saw. He only had an hour or two before dawn.


    While Sen¡¯s body was keeping up with the demands just fine, constantly using qi techniques for that long wore the mind down. He needed sleep. He checked his dantian again. He needed more qi. Muttering under his breath about the angry swamp sect, Sen trudged back into the forest, well beyond the sight of anyone looking from the road. He almost mechanically put up his tent. Then, he rallied enough to concentrate on setting up a twoyer formation. The inner formation was a qi gathering formation. It wasn¡¯t too powerful, but it ought to cut down on his recovery time a bit. The outer formation was an obscuring formation. Even someone using their spiritual sense would just see this little patch of ground as more forest unless they were dramatically more powerful and skilled than Sen. It would also encourage any spirit beasts to ignore this spot in the forest. It wasn¡¯t perfect protection, but it was the best he could reasonably do with the resources he had to hand.


    Sen took a few minutes to eat some of the rations he kept in his storage ring. He felt a surge of renewed anger at Cai Yuze, while also fully aware of the futility of that anger. Still, he hadn¡¯t even gotten to finish his chicken and broli. It hadn¡¯t been Auntie Caihong good, but it had been a lot better than the simple meals he¡¯d eaten most nights while traveling with the caravan. He may not feel the need to eat quite so acutely or as often as he once had, but he was a long way away from Master Feng¡¯s ability topletely disregard food for long stretches of time. He also wasn¡¯t beyond the basic pleasures that sitting and eating provided. There was something intrinsically, Sen considered the right word, <em>human</em> about it. While all living things ate, only human beings took the time to prepare their food in suchplicated ways. At least, Sen wasn¡¯t aware of anything else that did so. It transformed eating from a function that one <em>had</em> to do for survival, into an experience that one could <em>enjoy</em> in solitude or with others. Sighing in regret as he finished his rations, Sen settled down on his nkets. Satisfied that he¡¯d done what he could to make himself safe, he let himself drift off into sleep.

 Book 2: Chapter 6: The Road South (1)

    Book 2: Chapter 6: The Road South (1)


    Despite his intention to simply sleep until he woke up, it was barely mid-morning when angry shouting brought him to full consciousness. For a moment, he thought that someone had discovered his location. Then, he realized that the shouting wasing from the direction of the road. It wasn¡¯t even really that close. He¡¯d just unwittingly slipped back into the state of heightened awareness he¡¯d all but lived in during those terrible days he spent forming his killing intent on the mountain. He rolled over and pulled a bit of nket over his face. There was a chance he could still get a couple more hours of sleep. Frequently, it was simple heat that woke him when sleeping in a tent. Yet, while it was likely getting warm out on the road, he could tell that it was still fairly cool beneath the shadow of the forest canopy. He heard more shouting from the road and resisted the urge to go investigate.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your business,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°Let those people sort out their own problems.¡±


    Then, he started to imagine bandits killing off innocent caravan drivers and guards or kidnapping people. He countered his imagined scenarios by saying that people hired guards exactly because of the possibility of bandits. No one was paying him to intervene. Then, he imagined Grandmother Lu traveling down this exact road. While he knew she could take care of herself, it would only take one bandit with a crossbow getting lucky to kill her. Sen snarled at his own imagination for ying dirty. Then, grumbling to himself, he pushed the nkets off and slipped out of the tent. He felt a bit more moisture in the air than he expected and sighed. It was probably going to rainter that day. The rain itself wasn¡¯t a problem. Sen was pretty certain that no amount of rain could actually make him sick anymore. He just didn¡¯t enjoy getting soaked while walking.


    Sen made sure that he <em>hid</em> before exiting the rtive safety of his obscuring formation. His woodcraft was good enough that it wasn¡¯t a real challenge to get close to the road without being seen. While he half-expected to see bandits or some other kind of life-or-death situation, what he found was far more mundane. While he wouldn¡¯t ssify the small collection of wagons as a caravan, they were clearly carrying goods from somewhere to somewhere else. One of the wagons had a damaged wheel. Two men were standing by it, arguing with each other about what to do next. The younger of the pair was arguing that they should all stay until they had a chance to repair the wheel. The older man, a tall, gaunt figure who gave off an air of authority, was shaking his head.


    ¡°We can¡¯t bete again, Bigan,¡± said the older man. ¡°If we show up with most of the goods, they¡¯ll likely ept the story that we had to leave a wagon behind to do repairs. If we all show upte, we could lose this contract. We can¡¯t afford that.¡±


    ¡°If you leave me here, Uncle, you know I¡¯ll get attacked on the road.¡±


    ¡°Then maybe you should have gotten that wheel fixed the way I told you to,¡± snapped the older man.


    ¡°I was just trying to save money,¡± said Bigan, his face going red.


    ¡°No, you were trying to keep the difference so you can marry that girl sooner. How well is that working out now? Maybe next time, if you survive, you¡¯ll do as you¡¯re told.¡±


    The older man stormed away while the younger man spluttered ineffectual protests. Sen watched with a kind of stunned curiosity. He wondered if the others would really abandon the young man to his fate. They did. With barely a nce at the young man, the older man ordered the rest of the wagon to go around. Bigan stared forlornly after the other wagons as they slowly rolled away down the road. Sen considered what he had just witnessed. He did feel a little sympathy for the young man, but it also sounded like this was a disaster of his own making. It most certainly wasn¡¯t Sen¡¯s problem. Shrugging to himself, Sen returned to his tent and managed to drop off for a few more hours of sleep.


    ***


    Feeling much better after that extra sleep, Sen packed up his tent and took down his formations. He checked his dantian and was much happier with the amount of qi he found there. It wasn¡¯t full by any stretch of the imagination, but Sen had enough that he could likely fight his way out of a bad situation if he had to. Still, he was starting to question the wisdom of increasing his dantian¡¯s size the way he had. With the thinner qi in the area, he¡¯d need to set up a formation nearly every night if he ever wanted topress more liquid qi again. He hoped that the thin qi was just something natural to this area and not how things were across the continent. While advancing his cultivation level wasn¡¯t at the <em>top</em> of his list of things to do, it <em>was</em> on the list. He didn¡¯t want to stay a foundation formation stage cultivator forever. <em>Maybe this was why people went into closed-door cultivation</em>, he thought.


    With that thought rolling around in his head, he made his way back out of the trees toward the road. He paused when he got close to the road. Initially, he only meant to check and make sure that no one wasing in either direction, but he saw that the wagon with the damaged wheel was exactly where it had been several hours before. The young man, Bigan, was just sitting on the road and staring at the wheel, as though he could will it back into working order if he tried hard enough. Sen honestly didn¡¯t know what to make of the absurd sight. He had imagined that the young man would have made some effort to repair the wheel, or at least move the wagon. The ox that was still hitched to the wagon was giving the grass by the side of the road a longing look. Sen frowned. It really wasn¡¯t his problem. Still, he didn¡¯t suppose it was right to leave the ox to suffer. While the young man may have brought this down on his own head, the ox didn¡¯t have any say in the matter. Letting out an exasperated breath, Sen stepped out of the forest and walked up next to the young man.


    ¡°You should at least let that ox eat something,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Yahhhhhh,¡± cried Bigan, falling over and scrambling away on all fours. ¡°Where in all the hells did youe from? Are you a devil?¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at the young man. <em>Did this guy actually convince some girl to marry him</em>, thought Sen. As unlikely as it seemed, the uncle had seemed quite certain about it. When the young man just kept staring at him with half-terrified eyes, Sen walked over to the ox. The beast noticed him, and Sen watched as the sad look was reced with a more hopeful one. He didn¡¯t know a lot about oxen, but he¡¯d paid attention while he¡¯d been with the caravan. He had the harness untied and nearly off the beast before the kid found his voice.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡±


    Sen gave Bigan a look, finished removing the harness, and then slowly led the ox over to the side of the road. He used a bit of rope to tie the ox to a nearby tree. The ox made a noise that Sen interpreted as happy before the beast lowered its head and began chewing on the long grass there.


    ¡°That ox isn¡¯t yours,¡± said Bigan, pointing an using finger at Sen.


    Sen frowned at the kid. ¡°You¡¯re not very bright, are you?¡±


    Anger shed across the kid¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m smart enough not to let you steal my ox.¡±


    ¡°Steal,¡± repeated Sen.


    He looked from the kid over to the ox that was tied to a tree, then back at the kid. When the kid just kept giving him an angry look, Sen repeated the motion, more slowly and deliberately. Bigan finally seemed to realize what an absurdment it had been. If Sen had been stealing the animal, he probably wouldn¡¯t have tied it up to graze. An embarrassed look crossed the kid¡¯s face as Sen wandered over and took a closer look at the wheel. He could see where two of the spokes had broken, but recing those probably should have been something the kid could aplish.


    Then, Sen saw the real problem. Part of the outer wheel had been damaged, which bent the iron tread inward. Without some basic woodworking and cksmithing tools or, Sen sighed, cultivator strength, repairing the wheel would be all but impossible. Sen again gave serious consideration to just walking away. He¡¯d only intended to get the ox something to eat. He¡¯d aplished that goal. He had not signed on to help this kid fix his mistakes. Considering what he¡¯d seen so far, though, he expected that leaving the kid to his own devices was tantamount to a death sentence.


    ¡°Do you at least have some tools?¡± Sen asked, almost against his will.


    ¡°A few,¡± the kid admitted. ¡°I have a small hammer and an axe.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t much, but it was <em>something</em>.


    ¡°Camping gear?¡± Sen asked.


    If the kid had camping gear, at least there was a chance he¡¯d survive. Bigan shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s all with Uncle Chao.¡±


    Sen considered the wheel again. He wasn¡¯t much of a craftsman, but it wasn¡¯t much of a wheel. If he actually tried, he suspected he could get the kid moving again in an hour or two. If Bigan was right, though, there would be bandits on the road ahead. Would helping him get the wagon moving be a genuine kindness if it just meant sending the kid straight into danger? The more Sen thought about it, the more work it sounded like a good deed would be. He¡¯d end up having to escort the kid at least far enough that he could get a proper repair done on the wheel. Even then, unless they made very good time, it seemed unlikely that they would catch up with the other wagons. With an internal groan, Sen made his decision.


    ¡°Well, get your axe and hammer. This wheel won¡¯t fix itself."

 Book 2: Chapter 7: The Road South (2)

    Book 2: Chapter 7: The Road South (2)


    Fixing the wheel turned into a much longer production than Sen had originally intended for it to be. Initially, he¡¯d been set on just doing the work himself. After all, the faster it got done, the faster that Sen could just hand this kid back off to his Uncle. The image of Bigan just sitting in the road, staring at the wheel with that helpless expression on his face nagged at Sen. Sure, he <em>could</em> just fix the wheel himself, but that would only help the kid learn to wait for other people to solve his problems. Or, Sen could limit himself to merely helping the kid fix the wheel. There were parts of the process that Bigan legitimately couldn¡¯t do on his own. While they could use green wood to fix the wheel, Sen knew enough to know that was a bad fix for the problem. Sen could use his qi techniques to dry the wood. Sen could, however, make Bigan cut down the tree they would use. The kid could also cut the pieces of wood they would need or at least the rough shapes.


    Making the kid do that work would force him to consider what actions he could have taken before Sen showed up. It would show him that he could be proactive in bad situations. It just meant investing a lot more time than Sen wanted to invest. <em>Especially if people are out looking for me</em>, Sen thought. Of course, they probably wouldn¡¯t be looking for him helping to fix a wagon wheel. They would likely consider that kind of work beneath a cultivator¡¯s dignity. Still debating with himself internally, Sen led Bigan a little way into the woods and pointed to a tree.


    ¡°That one,¡± he said.


    Bigan blinked at him a few times. ¡°What about that one?¡±


    Sen took a deep breath. ¡°Cut it down.¡±


    Bigan looked at the tree and then down at the axe in his hands. Then, he looked at Sen with a hopeful expression. That hope died a swift and terrible death when the kid saw the look on Sen¡¯s face. Mumbling under his breath, the kid went over and started hacking at the tree. It was pretty clear that Bigan had never cut down a tree before. Either that, or he very much wanted Sen to think he had no experience with cutting down trees. Given how often the kid snuck looks at him, thetter seemed more likely. In fact, Sen had the sneaking suspicion that Bigan wasn¡¯t actually stupid, so much as he waszy and had been permitted to <em>be</em>zy too many times.


    After five full minutes of doing the job badly, Bigan seemed to realize that Sen wasn¡¯t just going to take over the work. His swings took on a steady rhythm and a wedge shape of missing wood appeared in the tree. Sen waited until Bigan had cut that wedge shape around two-thirds of the way through the tree, then called for him to stop. The kid stepped back, wiping sweat from his face on a sleeve and then giving the wet patch a disgusted look. Sen took a little amusement from that. He walked over, examined the wedge, and then casually gave the tree a little push. It snapped off at the spot where the kid had cut the wedge and crashed to the forest floor. Bigan¡¯s eyes went very wide and he dropped to his knees, pressing his head to the ground.


    ¡°Honored cultivator, forgive this Chu Bigan!¡±


    ¡°For beingzy or for trying to trick me?¡± Sen asked.


    Bigan stammered and tried toe up with an answer that wouldn¡¯t damn him in the cultivator¡¯s eyes. Realizing the trap that Sen had set with his question, the kid pressed his head even harder into the ground.


    ¡°Both,¡± he whispered.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± said Sen, content to let the kidnguish in that fear for a while.


    Sen thought that it might teach the kid a lesson, although he wasn¡¯t holding out much hope of that. Maybe if Sen had a couple of months, or years, to work with the kid, it might help. He expected that Bigan would revert to form the very second he left Sen¡¯s sight. <em>Oh well</em>, thought Sen, <em>it¡¯s not my job to fix every wrong in the world</em>.


    ¡°Get off the ground,¡± ordered Sen. ¡°You can¡¯t work while you¡¯re down there.¡±


    Bigan jumped to his feet and gave Sen a fearful look. Sen had moved on from the kid and was considering the tree. He had some ideas about how to dry it, but he didn¡¯t think most of them were safe to do in the forest proper. Reaching down, he seized one of the thicker limbs and proceeded to drag the felled tree out onto the road. Once it was away from all of those other fuel sources, Sen gestured at it.


    ¡°Cut all the limbs off and set therger ones over there,¡± said Sen, pointing to a nearby spot on the road.¡±


    Sen was amused to note that Bigan was suddenly very eager to be helpful and productive. Thatsted for all of about ten minutes before the kid started grumbling about doing all of the work. Sen let that one go. He <em>was</em> making the kid do all of the work or lion''s share of it at any rate. Removing the limbs took Bigan until the middle of the afternoon. It wasn¡¯t that work was necessarily difficult, so much as Bigan needed to take frequent breaks. He clearly wasn¡¯t used to that kind of sustainedbor. The kid probably would have grumbled less if he knew how utterly frustrating it was for Sen to not intervene. It was an endurance test for them both, if of different kinds. The work was eventually done, much to Sen¡¯s relief. He told Bigan to go rest and eat something.


    It took Sen a little while to work out exactly how to do what he needed to do. In the end, he found himself alternating between using his water qi to draw moisture out of the wood, using his fire qi to heat the wood, and wind qi to help carry the excess moisture away. Thatst bit was harder than he would have liked. The air was already heavy with moisture as the likelihood of rain turned into a near inevitability. While he didn¡¯t get the wood as dry as he would have liked it, it was more than dry enough to use for repairing the wagon wheel. He strongly considered making Bigan resume doing the hard work, but a quick nce at the sky told him that was just asking for trouble. Grabbing the axe, he sliced off a couple of neat rounds with a few deft swings. He grabbed the rounds and took them over to Bigan, who was staring at Sen inplete awe.


    ¡°Starting shaping a recement for the outer part of the wheel,¡± Sen ordered, dropping the rounds and the axe at Bigan¡¯s feet.


    Then, Sen turned his attention to the limbs. He picked out a few likely candidates and, having worked out the essentials of the process on therger log, he proceeded to dry out the limbs. He had a small hatchet in his storage ring and pulled it out. He used the hatchet to clean up a few of the limbs and then shape them into recement spokes. He only needed two, but it never hurt to have an extra part or two on hand. Havingpleted his self-assigned part of the work, he turned his attention back to Bigan. The young man seemed to have realized that there was raining based on the way he was alternating between hurrying on the work and staring up at the darkening sky. Even so, the work was proceeding far too slowly for Sen at that point. Teaching the kid a lesson aboutziness was one thing, but fixing that wheel in the rain would just be Sen punishing himself. He took over the work at that point,pleting in a few minutes what might have taken Bigan another hour.


    He didn¡¯t let Bigan off the hook entirely, but Sen had always known he¡¯d have to do most of the work once it came to fixing the actual wheel. Sen cut another chunk off the log and used it to support the wagon while he affected repairs on the wheel. He did make Bigan hold and hand him things while he fitted the pieces into ce. It did require Sen to heat and bend the iron tread out of the way so he could slide the spindles into ce, then slide the outer wheel piece onto those spokes. Miraculously, Bigan did have some nails in the wagon, so Sen was able to fix the outer wheel piece in ce. There were even holes in the iron tread that seemed to be for that exact purpose. Sen wouldn¡¯t mistake this patch job for masterful work, but he thought it would hold up for long enough to get the wagon to a town or city.


    ¡°Get the ox harnessed again, while I deal with the rest of the wood,¡± Sen ordered.


    For once, Bigan didn¡¯t even grumble. He just jogged over to the ox, who had been watching them with a curious expression for a while. Sen used the axe to break down the rest of the log and pile it by the side of the road. Maybe some passing caravan would find it and pick it up. It seemed that caravans were always in dire need of dry wood for fires. Pausing to consider that, Sen dropped a few rounds of dry wood into his storage ring. It never hurt to have fire-ready wood on hand, especially when rain was on the way. Sen walked over to the wagon and climbed up into it. Bigan stared at him.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the young man asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t work for free,¡± said Sen. ¡°You¡¯re giving me a ride.¡±


    ¡°A ride?¡± repeated Bigan, as though the words were from a foreignnguage.


    Laughing on the inside, Sen asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t anyone ever tell you to negotiate the price upfront?"

 Book 2: Chapter 8: The Road South (3)

    Book 2: Chapter 8: The Road South (3)


    For the first two hours, Bigan tried to talk to Sen. The cultivator indulged some questions, but mostly he just grunted nomittal noises at the chatty wagon driver. The young man eventually figured out that Sen didn¡¯t really want to chat about casual nothings. After that, he focused on driving the wagon and casting uncertain looks upward. The longer they stayed on the road, the more foreboding the sky grew. The clouds were heavy and ck, casting the road into a kind of false dusk that seemed to bother Bigan more than Sen thought was warranted. When the ox started to balk at going any farther forward, though, Sen epted the inevitable. They were in for a storm and likely a bad one.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Sen told Bigan, before leaping off the wagon and disappearing into the woods.


    It took Sen a few minutes, but he found a spot where they¡¯d be rtively sheltered from the storm. Sen knew from his time on the mountain that lightning tended to strike things that were exposed, so he had no intention of setting up camp on or near the road. He did take a little time to find a spot away from any of the taller trees, as those would be the most likely to draw lightning strikes. There was even some grass that the ox could eat, although Sen wasn¡¯t sure how much grass the animal required. The oxen on the caravan that he¡¯d traveled with had mostly been fed grains from stores that moved with the caravan. He wondered if Bigan had anything like that tucked away in his wagon. <em>Probably not</em>, Sen thought. Satisfied that the spot he¡¯d picked was sufficient for riding out at least one night of bad weather, Sen returned to the road. Bigan had given up any pretense of looking at anything but the sky. His face was turned up and the ox had stopped moving, instead letting a steady stream of low, unhappy mooing sounds.


    ¡°Bigan,¡± Sen called.


    The young man let a terribly unmanly shriek of surprise and whirled to face Sen, who managed to keep a straight face only thanks to years of intense personal discipline.


    ¡°What?¡± Bigan almost screamed.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Bigan, who started to climb down off the wagon.


    Sen shook his head. ¡°Bring the wagon, unless you don¡¯t need any of the things in it.¡±


    Bigan cast a guilty look at the covered back of the wagon before he sat back down on the driver¡¯s seat. It took some coaxing, but Bigan managed to get the ox to turn off the road. Once the ox saw that they were headed for cover, it stopped fighting and picked up its pace a bit. Sen set Bijan the task of securing the wagon and the ox, while he set up the tent and, after considering Bigan for a long moment, the formation gs. Sen didn¡¯t suppose that the young man would get any benefit from the extra qi, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt him either. Since he had the time, Sen used a bit of earth qi to raise the dirt just beneath the tent several inches. It wouldn¡¯t keep them dry if the whole area flooded, but it should keep most of the water out of the tent for anything short of flooding. Then, with nothing left to do but wait, Sen sat down on his nkets inside the tent and began to cultivate in earnest.


    Bigan fearfully ducked into the tent a few minutester, but Sen didn¡¯t even look at the young man. Sen had provided them with shelter, which he considered to be the fulfillment of any vague obligation he might have to the wayward wagon driver. Unfortunately, Bigan seemed almost physically incapable of tolerating silence for any appreciable duration of time.


    ¡°Are you cultivating?¡± he asked Sen.


    Sen didn¡¯t open his eyes when he said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Nearly a full minute of glorious quiet followed. Then, Bigan apparently grew bored again.


    ¡°I always wanted to be a cultivator.¡±


    Sen just grunted at thatment. Sen was well aware that he had startedte, veryte really, in cultivation. If not for the focused attention of three elder nascent soul stage cultivators, he sincerely doubted he could have gotten as far as he had. For Bigan, the window to start cultivating and have even a chance at making real progress had closed around a decade before. If he started now, the man would be lucky if he could make any progress in first stage body or spirit cultivation. Most importantly for Sen, though, was the certainty that he had <em>no intention</em> of providing the kid with any advice about cultivation. After seeing how sect cultivators acted, and witnessing Bigan¡¯s terrible judgment firsthand, Sen was very disinclined to ever provide anyone with advice about cultivation. Sadly, Sen¡¯s disinterest didn¡¯t seem to discourage Bigan at all. If anything, it encouraged the man.


    ¡°I always thought I¡¯d make a great cultivator. Flying through the air on a sword. Righting wrongs. sting things with my qi.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve heard too many stories,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What? You can¡¯t fly?¡±


    Sen hesitated for a moment. He¡¯d never tried to fly, on a sword or any other way. He honestly didn¡¯t know if he could, although he wasn¡¯t in a hurry to try either. It wasn¡¯t an especially useful skill if you don¡¯t want to draw attention.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen. ¡°I can¡¯t fly.¡±


    ¡°But you do right wrongs. I mean, you¡¯re helping me.¡±


    ¡°I was helping the ox,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°The ox?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the ox. You left it standing there in the road with no food or water for hours,¡± said Sen, and then a thought urred to him. ¡°You did give the ox something to eat and drink, right?¡±


    Bigan got flustered and said he needed to take care of something outside. Sen rolled his eyes and went back to cultivating. About ten minutester, a much damper Bigan crawled back inside the tent. His embarrassment kept the young man silent for almost half an hour. Then, as inevitable as the dawn itself, he started talking again.


    ¡°I¡¯m really not stupid, you know.¡±


    Sen let that statement hang in the air withoutment.


    ¡°I just get distracted sometimes.¡±


    More silence.


    ¡°And I forget about things. Important things.¡±


    In his head, Sen kept repeating the same thing. <em>This is not your problem</em>. <em>This is not your problem</em>. <em>This is not your problem</em>. Yet, it seemed like no one else was willing to try anymore. Bigan might not have figured it out yet, but Sen had done the math. He was willing to bet that there was virtually nothing of any real value on the wagon. The boy¡¯s uncle had abandoned the young man out there on the road to die, no doubt for the good of the family. Probably for the good of the girl that Bigan had convinced to marry him as well. If not for Sen¡¯s intervention, the kid would probably be huddled in the back of his cart, still out there on the road, just waiting to be struck by lightning. Sen¡¯s mind offered up onest, halfhearted, <em>this is not your problem</em>, before even it fell silent.


    ¡°What have you done about it?¡± Sen finally asked.


    Bigan gave him a perplexed look. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean, you know this is a problem. What have you done to fix it? <em>Have</em> you done anything to fix it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I have,¡± said Bigan, drawing himself up with a decent approximation of dignity before it all fell apart. ¡°Well, I think I did. I meant to.¡±


    The young man¡¯s face went almost nk as he appeared to search through his own memories. A look of chagrin passed over his face. He silently shook his head, never quite managing to look at Sen¡¯s face. Sen let the boy stew over that for a few minutes, at least in part to give himself time to think. If he had that problem, what would <em>he</em> have done about it? Sen had simply never had the luxury of distraction. As a child, he had to stay focused or go without food. On the mountain, there had been no room for it.


    Tiredness could be forgiven, and often was, but not distraction. Distraction almost universally meant pain. Lose focus during sparring, and you would get hit. Lose focus while practicing forms, and you could injure yourself. Lose focus while reading, and you¡¯d miss details that Uncle Kho would inevitably ask about. It was a different kind of pain, but embarrassment could sting almost as much as a practice de upside the head. Often, the sting of embarrassment lingered for far longer as well. Sen regarded Bigan for a long moment before he decided to get more information.


    ¡°What do you think about that is so much more important than what¡¯s right in front of you?¡±


    Bigan stiffened a little, but he answered. ¡°I think about the future.¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°I think about what it¡¯ll be like when I¡¯m sessful and rich.¡±


    ¡°How will you be sessful and rich if you can¡¯t even aplish simple things that people ask you to do? Who will want to work with you if you never finish the things you start, or simply forget to do them altogether? You¡¯re to be married, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, next year,¡± said Bigan proudly.


    ¡°Do you think your wife will understand if you forget to bring home food?¡±


    That thought seemed to jar the young man in a way that nothing else had. ¡°No. But I would never do something like that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure? Sure enough to make a vow to the heavens right now?¡±


    Bigan opened his mouth as though to make the vow, then, with an expression of near agony, he closed his mouth again. ¡°No.¡±


    Sen shrugged one shoulder as if the whole thing were a matter of no great weight. ¡°Perhaps fate has written a mighty destiny for you. But, perhaps, you should consider ways that you might advance your own cause, on your own merits, first. If you wish to be a good husband, ask yourself what that means. Then, ask yourself if you meet that measure.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t know if those words were wise or not. If they were, perhaps they would encourage the young man to spend more time thinking about what was happening in the present, and less time daydreaming about some imagined future. Either way, they did inspire Bigan to remain silent and lost in his own thoughts for the rest of the evening. Sen didn¡¯t waste the opportunity and returned to his cultivation.

 Book 2: Chapter 9: The Road South (4)

    Book 2: Chapter 9: The Road South (4)


    Sen was pleasantly surprised to discover that Bigan was far less chatty the next day. It seemed that the young man was struck by an unusual case of reflectiveness. It didn¡¯t have the same kind of lost-to-the-world quality that his former daydreaming had, which gave Sen some tiny shred of hope that Bigan might make a breakthrough of his own. It wouldn¡¯t be a cultivation breakthrough, for the young man truly was beyond any real hope of that. A small touch of enlightenment, though, <em>that </em>was always possible so long as body held breath. Sen didn¡¯t push the boy to discuss his thoughts. In fact, Sen fervently hoped that Bigan would continue to remain abstracted and quiet. Yet, that reflectiveness did trante into a few minor benefits.


    Bigan was up early and had the ox hitched to the wagon by the time Sen took down the tent and formation gs. Sen did take a moment to restore the soil that he had artificially raised to its former position. He wasn¡¯t above making his own life a little more convenient, but that was no justification for permanently disrupting the local environment. Granted, it would be a small disruption, but Sen had an intuition that small disruptions had a way of cascading intorger disruptions. Assuming he had the opportunity to do so, it was better to leave things as he found them.


    Bigan also pushed much harder on the road than Sen had expected. It was as if the young man were determined to catch up with his uncle that very day. It seemed unlikely to Sen. They simply had too great a lead barring some ident or disaster of their own on the road ahead. What did worry the cultivator was the well-being of the ox. In his experience, oxen were good at maintaining a steady, plodding pace. They could do it all day, provided sufficient water and food. Anything faster than that, though, and they were likely to tire or injure themselves. When it became clear that the young man wasn¡¯t going to ease up, Sen finally spoke.


    ¡°You can¡¯t push the ox that hard all day.¡±


    Bigan snapped out of his reflective mindset for a moment. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The ox. You¡¯re pushing it too hard. It¡¯s going to end up injuring itself.¡±


    Bigan looked like he wanted to tell Sen to mind his own business, but then the young man turned his eyes forward and studied the ox. He grimaced a little and pulled back on the speed.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Bigan muttered.


    Sen offered the boy a sympathetic smile. ¡°You weren¡¯t hurting me, but I suspect you¡¯ll want that ox in good healthter.¡±


    Bigan nodded. ¡°I will. They¡¯re expensive, and this one is still young. He could pull wagons for years yet.¡±


    Bit by bit, though, over the next hour, Sen noticed Bigan reflexively encouraging the ox to greater speed. Sighing a little to himself, Sen thought about how best to do what he wanted to do. It took a bit of trial and error, but Sen eventually found that he could apply his qinggong technique to the wagon and the oxen. It wasn¡¯t like when he did it for himself. He could cover distance at frankly frightening speeds. The animal and wagon were far too heavy for that kind of maniption, at least for any length of time. Sen discovered that he could reduce the overall load. He maintained a bit of qi where the wagon wheels made contact with the road and bit around the ox¡¯s hooves.


    Sen actually relished the challenge of splitting his concentration in so many different ways. It became a sort of game to see how long he could maintain it, although it was a game with a deadly goal. The longer and more efficiently he could split his concentration, the more dangerous he would be against any future opponents. It also became an exercise in efficient qi usage. He didn¡¯t want to drain himself dry just to make the ox¡¯s life easier. A second night inside a qi gathering formation had done a lot to refill his dantian, especially with the storm scattering extra kinds of environmental qi all over the ce. It had, of course, been heavy on water qi, but there had also been air qi, lightning qi, and something rted to air qi that he suspected was thunder qi. All in all, it had been a boon for his cultivation.


    While helping the cart along with his qinggong technique, he needed to keep it on a level of qi use that approximately matched what he passively drew in from the environment. Sen knew that was ultimately hopeless, the demands of qinggong techniques being fundamentally greater than his passive draw, but it was useful to see how close he could get the two and still provide the ox some relief. It also served as a kind of refining exercise for his passive cultivation. Most of the time, it simply happened in the background while he did other things that didn¡¯t put any demands on his qi. This constant draw and pull helped him to see and correct little ws in his passive gathering technique. The total gains were minor in the moment, but Sen had long ago learned not to discount the value of small improvements. Those improvements added up over time until, one day, the overall effects became something truly profound. He had seen it with his unarmedbat, his jian mastery, and even with reading. Master Feng had told Sen that most cultivators treat the process like a kind of race. They were always pushing to get to the next breakthrough as fast as possible, using cultivation aids as soon as they could afford them.


    Yet, despite the often breakneck pace of his own advancement, Sen preferred the slower path. He knew that some of the speed of his advancement had been Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong pushing him to catch up to where they considered his peers to be. Some of it hade from lucky moments of enlightenment that pushed him along. For all the advantages that speed might have brought him, it was also a lot like running on a narrow board, blindfolded, over a pit filled with deadly vipers. Catastrophe was always a single misstep away. While Sen shouldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t ignore opportunities to advance if they presented themselves, he didn¡¯t need to chase them. Not yet. Auntie Caihong had warned him that there was a threshold after which advancing to core formation would be substantially more difficult. Yet, that threshold was nearly a decade away. He could slow down a little and take fewer risks.


    It was as if the universe had heard that thought and decided that Sen needed an object lesson in the dangers of, he didn¡¯t know exactly what. Being alive, maybe? A group of men emerged from the woods on either side of the road, wielding a motley assortment of weapons. They were less ragged than Sen might have expected for men without a proper home. Then again, perhaps they simply stole other people¡¯s clothes to rece their own. Sen withdrew his qinggong technique from the wagon and the ox, who let out a dissatisfied moo. Then, he let his spiritual sense sweep the area. There were two archers badly hidden in the woods, and a couple of the bandits were very low-level body cultivators. The leader of the bandits, one of the body cultivators, stepped out and held up a hand as though his wish were an absolutemand to bring the wagon to a halt. Bigan gave Sen a desperate, questioning look. Sen looked at the lead bandit, gave him a cold smile, and spoke loudly enough to be heard.


    ¡°Run him down.¡±


    The bandit leader gaped in utter shock at Sen for a moment. Apparently, there was some protocol to all of this that Sen was grantly disregarding. The bandit leader opened his mouth to give some order, which was enough for Sen. While the bandits had been posturing, Sen had been cycling up a couple of useful qi patterns. He didn¡¯t intend to kill all of these people, although a part of him knew that the bandits probably had stolen from, injured, and killed countless people along this stretch of road. Yet, for him to simply butcher them would be no better. He would instead impart a <em>lesson</em>. Two wind des shot out to either side of him and hurtled into the woods where the archers hid.


    A pair of nearly simultaneous screams sent the bandits on the road into a panic with cries of, ¡°Cultivator!¡±


    Sen encouraged that panic by unleashing the tiniest bit of his killing intent. The handful of bandits who hadn¡¯t simply panicked when Sen revealed himself as a cultivator let out terrified screams and fled into the forest. The only one Sen had, with a great deal of effort, excluded from his killing intent was the bandit leader. The man¡¯s face showed disbelief, outrage, fury, and, when he turned to re at Sen, an ugly hatred. Sen had no idea what that hate signified. Was it hatred for Sen for disrupting the robbery? Hatred at a more powerful cultivator for interfering in the affairs of mortals? Or, maybe it was simpler than that, and just the pure envious hatred of someone with little talent for someone else with more talent. Sen decided that it didn¡¯t really matter.


    He reached over and gently pulled back on the reins. The ox was happy enough toply and drew to stop just short of the bandit leader. Sen hopped down off the cart. He walked toward the bandit, stopping for a moment to pat the ox¡¯s head on his way. When he faced the bandit, he didn¡¯t say anything, just stared at the man. Sen wasn¡¯t surprised by what happened next. It all happened far too slowly toe as a surprise. The bandit leader jerked out a knife and tried to stab Sen in the chest with it. Sen watched the dull de approach with an almost clinical disinterest before he reached out, wrapped his hand around the knife, and stopped it. Sen felt the knife¡¯s edge trying to cut him but finding no purchase on his cultivation-hardened skin. The bandit leader snarled and tried to push the de forward. He might as well have been trying to move a mountain.


    ¡°This is over,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°The hells it is!¡± roared the bandit leader.


    ¡°Are you <em>so</em> determined to die today?¡±


    The bandit stared at Sen¡¯s calm face, then his eyes drifted down to the immobile knife grasped in Sen¡¯s hand. The bandit seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, then, with a look that suggested he didn¡¯t quite believe what he was doing, released the hilt of the knife. The bandit stepped back.


    ¡°No. I can wait to meet King Yan.¡±


    ¡°Wise. You should join your men,¡± said Sen, gesturing to the forest.


    The bandit took onest look at the knife Sen held, then ran into the forest. With a sigh that was part relief and part annoyance, Sen looked up. There was still enough daylight left for them to travel a bit farther. He climbed back onto the wagon, ignoring the bbergasted expression on Bigan¡¯s face, and gestured down the road. Bigan hurriedly urged the ox into motion again. As they moved away, Sen tossed the knife over to the side of the road.

 Book 2: Chapter 10: The Road South (5)

    Book 2: Chapter 10: The Road South (5)


    Sen and Bigan spent one final night camping. Yet, the young man had be all but mute in the wake of the confrontation with the bandits. Sen supposed that the facts of the situation had shattered some fond illusions. Bigan clearly believed that being a cultivator was some grand adventure like something from a story. Sen supposed that the young man had even had some fanciful notion of what it would be like to heroically drive off some bandits. The reality, unless Sen missed his guess, was both less and substantially <em>more</em> than the boy had ever considered. It was less in terms of exciting duels with grand pronouncements and decidedly more in terms of naked fear, screaming, and people fleeing for their lives. Yet, Sen couldn¡¯t say that he was sorry that the boy had witnessed it. Exposure to that unvarnished truth, painful though it might be for Bigan, could well help him fix his mind on tending to those matters that most needed his attention. It seemed that even fear could wholly steal the young man¡¯s voice, though.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t kill them,¡± said Bigan.


    ¡°Did you want me to?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think I wanted you to. They¡¯re thieves and murderers.¡±


    ¡°So, you hate them?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Because they take by force. Because they kill.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°So, if Ie along with my greater strength and take their lives by force, how I am different? Is it somehow cleaner because you hate them?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re criminals. It¡¯s different.¡±


    Much as he hated to admit it, a part of Sen agreed with Bigan. He¡¯d even been tempted, for a moment or two, to simply end them all. The heavens knew that no one would miss them. They probably even <em>deserved</em> it. Yet, it was one thing to think that they deserved it. It was another thing entirely to wash his hands in their blood. More to the point, at least for Sen, was that they simply weren¡¯t a threat to him. Individually or as a group, he doubted they could have even cut him, let alone killed him. It would have amounted to mindless butchery on his part, and that was a path he wanted no part of. If they had attacked him, or Bigan, Sen might have treated the matter differently. They had run away. That had been enough for Sen.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°But their blood isn¡¯t on my hands this way. You also haven¡¯t considered what might have happened if it had turned into a fight. It wouldn¡¯t have been them against me. It would have been them against <em>us</em>. I was almost certainly going to survive. I couldn¡¯t guarantee that you would have. All it would have taken is one person and a lucky blow, and I¡¯m delivering your corpse to your uncle.¡±


    Bigan rocked back at that blunt assessment. He clearly hadn¡¯t thought about the idea that the bandits would consider him a fair target. He went a little pale at the idea. The young man sat there for several minutes thinking things over before he abruptly turned away and stretched out on his nkets. Sen knew the boy was pretending to sleep, but it spared him any more awkward conversation. He wasn¡¯t Bigan¡¯s father or older brother. It wasn¡¯t his responsibility to drag the boy into adulthood. Closing his eyes, Sen let himself drop into active cultivation. While the idea that the Stormy Ocean sect might be hunting him still nagged at the edges of his mind, there had been no signs of pursuit that Sen could discern. The farther he traveled, the less likely it was that any pursuit would yield results. He always put up the obscuring formation at night, though, just to be on the safe side. For most of the afternoon, though, something else had been nagging at Sen. It was subtle at first. So subtle, in fact, that he¡¯d thought he was imagining it. But as dusk approached, Sen became sure. He felt a gentle tugging. It was nothing like that insistent tugging he¡¯d felt to go to the ocean, but it was there all the same. It wasing from ahead of them on the road somewhere. All he needed to do was find the source.


    ***


    ¡°There¡¯s a vigeing up,¡± said Bigan the next morning as they pulled the wagon back onto the road.


    ¡°How far?¡± Sen asked.


    Bigan shrugged. ¡°About half a day.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I should be able to find word about my uncle there. They might even still be there. We¡¯ve been making very good time,¡± Bigan noted, giving Sen a suspicious look.


    Sen sat there in beatific silence. Bigan snorted, but let it go. They rode in silence for the better part of the morning until hints of civilization started to spring up. They were sparse hints, at first. Sen spotted a broken-down fence that had been overtaken by the forest. Then, there was a fallow field. Finally, the forest started giving way to small farms. They looked like desperate affairs to Sen, with small houses or huts that looked like the first bad storm would blow them over. The farmers themselves cast wary, hollow-eyed looks at the passing wagon. Sen did his best not to let his gaze linger. He didn¡¯t mean to stop at those farms, so there was no reason to rm the inhabitants.


    The closer they got to the vige proper, though, the tidier and better kept the farms became. Sen didn¡¯t know if it was a case of the farms sitting on betternd, or if the farmers there were better at their trade. He supposed it was probably somebination of the two. Sen had helped with the gardens up on the mountain. So, he had a passing understanding of soil quality,posting, and even crop rotation. He would never mistake himself for a farmer, though. He was no more equipped to judge the true inner workings of a farm than he was equipped to judge the inner workings of a forge. At best, he could make passing observations. Still, his passing observation was that the farms closer to the vige were doing better than the ones on the outskirts. He supposed the inner farms faced fewer problems with things like spirit beast attacks. Most spirit beasts weren¡¯t as intelligent as Falling Leaf, but they were more than smart enough to stick to the fringes of civilization unless pressed by some terrible need or outside force.


    Once they reached the vige proper, Sen let Bigan take the lead. The boy had pressing needs of his own, while Sen was distracted by that subtle tugging. As they approached the vige, the direction had shifted from more or less ahead to somewhere a bit off to the west. Sen noted that there was a small road, more of a wagon path really, that headed out of the vige in that direction. He made a mental note to inquire about what was out that direction. He was curious, but cautious as well. He thought that those tugs were a message of some kind that an opportunity existed somewhere. Yet, Sen wasn¡¯t eager to discover in the moment that the opportunity would take the form of intense personal peril. He wouldn¡¯t necessarily turn away from the opportunity if it involved danger. Sen just wanted to know about it ahead of time.


    While Sen had been lost in his own thoughts, Bigan had apparently found his uncle. The boy let out a cry that was half relief, half surprise, and pulled the wagon to a stop. He jumped down and ran at the small collection of other wagons.


    ¡°Uncle,¡± Bigan shouted.


    The tall, gaunt man that Sen remembered arguing with the boy turned and simply stared at his nephew. The shock radiating from the man was almost palpable. The older man simply stared at the boy for a time while a torrent of words exploded from Bigan¡¯s mouth. The boy¡¯s uncle snapped his gaze over to where Sen sat at something the boy said. The man looked very nervous as he studied Sen, who did nothing to relieve the man of that concern. He just stared back, his expression empty. After the river of words slowed down, Sen saw Bigan¡¯s expression change into something more serious. For around ten minutes, there was a low, intense conversation between the young man and his uncle. Then, the older man turned Bigan over to what appeared to be other family members who looked both happy and exasperated at the young man¡¯s reappearance. The uncle made his way over to the wagon. Sen hopped down to the ground and waited. When the older man arrived, he seemed at a loss and fell back on formality, giving Sen a deep bow.


    ¡°Honored cultivator. You have returned my nephew to me through storm and trial it seems. I must thank you.¡±


    Sen offered the man a much shallower bow and said, ¡°The boy owes me a debt. One I¡¯m sure that he doesn¡¯t fully grasp, yet. I will return to collect on that debt. I would be very disappointed to discover on that day that someone had, for example, left him somewhere to die far from any aid. Do you understand?¡±


    Every drop of blood drained from the older man¡¯s face at those words. ¡°I understand, honored cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Sen, rubbing a spot between his eyes. ¡°He doesn¡¯t realize what you did. I have not told him. While it was done for the boy¡¯s benefit, you will also benefit from that omission on my part. I will expect you to remember this courtesy, should our paths cross again.¡±


    The older man offered another deep bow. ¡°I will remember, honored cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I made a crude repair to the wheel, but it should be fixed by someone more knowledgeable.¡±


    ¡°I will see it done,¡± said Bigan¡¯s uncle.


    At that, Sen simply walked away. He¡¯d done what he could for Bigan¡¯s survival. As frustrating as Sen found the young man, the boy <em>was</em> basically decent. Perhaps his experience on the road would change him, perhaps not. That was ultimately in Bigan¡¯s hands. Sen hoped it would. In the meantime, he¡¯d given the boy a patina of protection. The possibility of a wandering cultivator¡¯s future wrath was a potent shield of protection, but also a fragile one. If it came to pass, the destruction it heralded could be vast. Yet, that threat was bnced against the low probability that the cultivator really would return one day. Yes, it was a terribly fragile shield, but it was the one that Sen had to offer. With that matter finally settled as much as it could be settled, Sen turned his attention to finding out whaty to the west of the vige.

 Book 2: Chapter 11: The Luo Farm (1)

    Book 2: Chapter 11: The Luo Farm (1)


    Sen passed a few hours at the small inn that seemed to pull triple duty as an inn, restaurant, and tavern for the locals. He finally managed to order and eat a hot meal that consisted of dumplings, fried rice, and some form of steamed fish he didn¡¯t recognize. The fish seemed particrly fresh, so Sen concluded that there must be a river or possibly ake nearby. The vigers and farmers who were in town were particrly cautious of him, possibly because word had spread that he was a cultivator, or maybe just because he was a stranger. After some time freely spending a bit of his coin to purchase wine for everyone, though, tensions eased a bit.


    He found one old farmer who seemed starved forpany. When Sen expressed an interest in the local area, the old man went on at length about where the bestnd was, where the best ces to fish on the river were, and even what farms to steer clear of, lest Sen find himself osted by dogs. Sen expressed interest, sometimes genuine, sometimes feigned, and would ask detailed questions. When the time seemed right, Sen asked if there was anything of interest to the west of the vige.


    The old farmer stroked his thin beard for a few moments before he shook his head. ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t say so. There¡¯s a few farms out that way, but they¡¯re nothing to boast about.¡±


    Then, to make sure that he covered his ground, Sen asked, ¡°Is there anything dangerous out there? Spirit beasts or the like?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, I suppose there¡¯s always a chance of spirit beasts on the edge of the forest, but none in particr. Why do you ask?¡±


    The old man wasn¡¯t suspicious, yet, but Sen could see the inklings of it in the back of the farmer¡¯s eyes. He decided to be honest, mostly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been on the road for a time now. I thought I might stay for a day or two before I move on. Explore the area. Maybe buy some fresh produce from the local farms. I¡¯d just don¡¯t want to step into danger because I didn¡¯t think to ask.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s wise of you. Wish I¡¯d been that wise in my youth. This leg,¡± said the farmer, tapping his right leg, ¡°doesn¡¯t work right. I could have avoided it if I¡¯d done like you did and just asked. Not sure you¡¯ll find much to buy, though. Not this early in the season. nting is all done, but not much to harvest yet.¡±


    Sen let a crestfallen look cross his face. ¡°Well, I can always ask. If there¡¯s nothing to buy, there¡¯s nothing to buy.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure, there¡¯s no harm in asking. Sometimes people have things ready a bit early.¡±


    Sen nced out the window and saw that evening was well underway. Excusing himself, Sen went over and asked if there were any rooms to rent. Sen was perplexed when the owner went a little green in the face.


    ¡°Forgiveness, honored cultivator. There are no rooms left.¡±


    Sen sighed but nodded. He¡¯d thought that there might not be with Bigan¡¯s family of traders in town. He looked toward the door.


    ¡°Is there a ce nearby where I might set up camp that won¡¯t cause trouble?¡±


    Sen could see the inn owner¡¯s mind racing before he held up a hand. ¡°If the honored cultivator can be patient but for a short time, I believe arrangements can be made.¡±


    Sen suppressed the desire to tell the man to stop calling him honored cultivator and nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±


    While Sen waited, the inn owner sent a young man out the door at a near sprint. Perhaps twenty minutester, the boy came back puffing as though his life depended on it. After catching his breath, the boy had a whispered conversation with the inn owner, who sent the boy into the back. A young woman came out and took the inn owner¡¯s ce while the man came around.


    ¡°If the honored cultivator will apany me, I will show you the way.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± said Sen, waving a hand vaguely at the door.


    He pretended not to notice the young woman staring at him with her mouth hanging open. He reasoned that she would probably be embarrassed if she realized he saw her that way. The inn owner kept a steady pace and a steady stream of meaningless chatter about the vige and its history. Sen half-listened, just in case the man said something that was actually interesting, but otherwise just made an affirmative noise now and then. The man eventually led Sen up to one of the closer farms, where the farmer, a short, stout man, and his entire family were waiting for them. The whole family offered Sen deep bows. After a brief introduction, the inn owner hurried away.


    ¡°Where shall I set up my tent?¡± Sen asked. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to be in the way of your work in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Tent?¡± asked the farmer. ¡°No, you must of course stay inside.¡±


    What followed was one of the most aggravatingly polite arguments that Sen had ever engaged in, with him insisting he could stay outside, and the farmer absolutely insisting that the honored cultivator must stay inside. In the end, Sen relented. The argument had spiraled nearly to the level of absurdity by then, and he was mentally tired from the long conversation with the old farmer at the tavern. The family insisted on feeding him, which he tried to take with good humor. The youngest of the children, a small girl with enormous eyes, suddenly piped up with a question.


    ¡°Are cultivators bad?¡±


    Sen felt the parents stiffen, and he thought he could smell the fear on them. He ignored them and focused on the girl.


    ¡°Some of them are, yes.¡±


    ¡°Are you?¡±


    The mother actually stifled a horrified gasp and reached out to grab the child. Sen was both bemused and a little offended by the action. <em>Did they really think he would hurt a child</em>? Then again, maybe some cultivators would.


    Sen just shook his head. ¡°I try not to be.¡±


    The little girl considered him for a moment before she nodded and thrust an almost shapeless stuffed toy at him. ¡°This is Jin-Jin. She¡¯s my dragon.¡±


    ¡°And a fine dragon she is,¡± said Sen, working very hard not tough.


    Apparently satisfied that Sen was not about to kill them all for the offenses of a little girl, the family rxed again. Sen asked to be shown where he¡¯d sleep not too long after, assuming that everyone would be far morefortable if he was at least out of sight. He wasn¡¯t sure which family members he had disced, but he was tired enough that he didn¡¯t give it much thought. Sen just stretched out on the bed and was asleep in moments.


    ***


    As he drifted slowly back to consciousness, Sen became aware of a weight on his chest. He cracked an eye open and found the little girl sitting on him, waving her stuffed toy around like it was flying. He was quite certain that the girl¡¯s parents had no idea where she was, or they¡¯d likely have both dropped dead in terror or shame. Sen thought the whole thing was kind of funny.


    ¡°Is your dragon protecting my dreams?¡± he asked.


    The little girl looked at him and shook her head. ¡°No. She just likes flying.¡±


    ¡°I see. Did you need something?¡±


    ¡°Mama said it¡¯s time to eat.¡±


    It took Sen a moment to connect the dots. ¡°Oh, so you came to tell me?¡±


    The little girl nodded, her attention mostly back on the dragon toy. ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°Well, thank you very much, little sister.¡±


    The little girl giggled before hopping off his chest and scampering away. Sen stayed just long enough to eat something and be polite. He only stopped long enough to give the little girl a bow, which made her giggle.


    ¡°Goodbye, little sister. Goodbye, Jin-Jin.¡±


    Then, he was off. Most of him was relieved to be away from the painfully polite family. Although, he was a bit amused by the fact that might actually miss that little girl and her dragon toy a tiny bit. She¡¯d been earnest in her bluntness and equally earnest in her friendliness. Sen hade to discover that earnestness was something in very short supply once people found out he was a cultivator. Free from the obligations of politeness, though, Sen could turn his attention almost fully to that faint tugging inside him. He followed the road into town and, ignoring the curious stares of the vigers, he turned west onto the path that led to those not-very-impressive farms that the old farmer had mentioned. He didn¡¯t have a specific goal in mind, any more than he¡¯d had a specific goal in mind when he¡¯de east to see the ocean. He was following that same feeling, that sense of a deeper, impossible-to-exin significance, and hoping it took him somewhere that a useful lesson might be learned. This time, he knew better than to assume sess, but he did hope.


    After a time, the tugging became ever more insistent that he leave the poorly maintained trail. He was still inparatively tamednds, but he did loosen his jian in its scabbard just in case. He didn¡¯t relish the idea of recounting a tale to Master Feng where he was mauled by a spirit beast because his jian got stuck. He could just imagine the way that old cultivator would valiantly try to suppress his mirth before giving up andughing outrageously at Sen¡¯s self-inflicted misfortune. No, that was something Sen could do without. There was nothing malicious in his master¡¯sughter. The old man had told lots of stories where he came off looking the fool because of bad luck or bad choices. He¡¯d made a point to remind Sen often that being a cultivator didn¡¯t make you immune to human stupidity.


    After a while, Sen started to really notice what was growing around him. The field he was in had fallen fallow long ago and was teetering right on the edge of going truly wild again. That meant an interesting mix of wild and more domesticated nts. At first, he just made note of them. After a while, as the density of the useful nts simply overwhelmed him, Sen began to harvest some of them. He remained cognizant that he was on someone else¡¯snd, so he harvested sparingly. If there was only one of something, he left it, which proved painful on a few asions. If there was a lot of something, he only took a small fraction. He became so engrossed in the process that he forgot about the tugging. He even forgot to pay attention to what was around him.


    ¡°Those aren¡¯t yours to take,¡± said a woman from behind him.


    Sen froze in ce for a moment. The woman sounded young, maybe even as young as him, whoever she was. Resolving not to frighten the woman, he stood very slowly and with his hands out in the open. He thought hard about what to say before he said it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to steal from you,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll pay for everything I¡¯ve harvested.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll pay will you,¡± the woman said, and Sen could hear the sneer of disbelief in her voice. ¡°I¡¯ll believe that when I see it.¡±


    Tired of having a conversation where he couldn¡¯t see the other person, Sen calmly turned around. As he did, he summoned a bit of silver from his storage ring. He didn¡¯t know it was enough, but he suspected the gesture would mean more than the amount at this point. He¡¯d been right, the woman was young, though not quite as young as Sen had imagined. She looked like she might be a few years older than he was. <em>At that age</em>, he thought, <em>she¡¯s probably married to the farmer who owns the ce</em>. Still, she was here and he wasn¡¯t, so he held out the hand with the silver in it.


    ¡°As promised,¡± he said. ¡°Not a thief.¡±


    Sen had been so busy noting down clinical details, that he hadn¡¯t really been gauging her response. At first, he thought she was just shocked that he¡¯d actually produced money to pay her. Except, she wasn¡¯t staring at the money. She was staring at him. It was bing such amon urrence that Sen was giving serious consideration to giving himself a nice scar on his face.


    ¡°What farm is this?¡± he asked, hoping to jar the woman back into talking.


    She blinked a few times like she wasing out of a trance. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What farm is this?¡± he repeated.


    ¡°My family¡¯s farm,¡± she answered, before amending that when it clearly meant nothing to Sen. ¡°The Luo farm.¡±


    ¡°Then, here,¡± he said, pushing the hand with the money a little closer to her. ¡°My payment to the Luo farm.¡±


    The girl¡¯s eyes moved to his hand. Her head cocked to one side as if she didn¡¯t really understand what she was seeing.


    ¡°Wait,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s actual money. You were serious?¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 12: The Luo Farm (2)

    Book 2: Chapter 12: The Luo Farm (2)


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to cock his head to one side. The question struck him as absurd, given that he¡¯d said he would pay and there was silver <em>in his hand</em> at that very moment. He decided to start over again. He¡¯d just exin from the beginning and, maybe, after he did that, they¡¯d finally be reading from the same scroll.


    ¡°I was just exploring the area. These fields seemed abandoned, so I didn¡¯t think there would be any harm in gathering some medicinal nts. If this is yournd, though, I¡¯m happy to pay you for what I took.¡±


    He pushed his hand out a little farther, almost desperately, hoping that she¡¯d finally take the money or at least negotiate on the price. Instead, somewhere in the middle of his exnation, she¡¯d looked at his face again and her expression had gone a little vacant. Foiled, he let his hand drop to his side. He wasn¡¯t getting anywhere with this tack.


    ¡°My name is Lu Sen,¡± he tried. ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°My name?¡± she asked after an exceedingly long pause.


    Sen nearly lost hope then. Maybe if he just threw the money at her, that would get the conversation started again. Thankfully, <em>mercifully</em>, reality seemed to take hold of the girl again at that point.


    ¡°My name,¡± she nearly cried. ¡°My name is Luo Min.¡±


    Sen offered her a polite bow. ¡°I am pleased to meet you, Luo Min.¡±


    His formality seemed to fluster her briefly before she offered her own awkward bow.


    ¡°I am pleased to meet you-,¡± she trailed off.


    Sen could see her desperately searching her memory for the name she <em>knew</em> he had given her. An annoyed, mean-spirited little part of him wanted to let her suffer, but he ruthlessly squashed that impulse. He was the offending party here. He had trespassed, however unintentionally, on hernd.


    ¡°Lu Sen,¡± he offered again.


    Cheeks going pink, she said, ¡°I am pleased to meet you, Lu Sen.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± he said, holding out his hand again. ¡°About that payment.¡±


    That time, the girl took a much more serious look at the money in his hand. She looked from the money to the field around them. A field that had clearly not suffered any major disruptions. She looked longingly at the money again, before she started to shake her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s too much. I-,¡± but never finished.


    The girl¡¯s head whipped around, and it looked like she was straining to catch the barest edges of something. Focusing his senses, Sen caught a distance call on the breeze.


    ¡°Min!¡±


    Sen pointed in the direction the girl was looking. ¡°Someone over there is calling for you.¡±


    Without so much as a backward nce, the young woman was sprinting away from Sen toward whoever had called for her. The call had been so faint that Sen hadn¡¯t been able to tell if it was a man or woman, an adult or a child. His gaze turned from her fast-disappearing form down to the hand holding the silver. He supposed he could just leave, but he owed this farm something. Besides, in all the excitement of finding fresh medicinal nts, he¡¯d lost sight of why he¡¯de out in this direction in the first ce. The gentle tug was there and, of course, it was pulling him in the direction that Luo Min had just run. Putting the silver back into his storage ring, he started walking in the direction she had gone. If he knew that it was some kind of emergency, he might have run, but it could well be a child who was hungry or some other minor matter.


    A short timeter, he found himself standing outside of a small hut. It looked as though someone had made a genuine, if inexpert, effort to maintain it. Yet, the structure was clearly old and had likely not been of quality construction even when new. It reminded him of the huts he had seen on the farms at the very edges of the forest. Looking around, he saw a few chickens wandering around in the grass, pecking at whatever insect life or worms they came across. The birds all looked healthy enough to Sen. He imagined that the insect poption thrived even in this less hospitable plot ofnd. He thought he caught the sound of some other animal behind the house, a goat or cow perhaps. What he didn¡¯t see was any people. Once more focusing his senses, he caught the sound of movement inside the hut.


    Nodding to himself, he settled in to wait. Patience was a hard-won, but essential skill for any cultivator. Fortunately, when faced with a wait of indeterminate length, cultivators also had something to upy their time. They cultivated. So, as the morning bled away toward afternoon, Sen waited and cultivated. He might not have been so patient in other circumstances, but that gentle tugging had stilled when he found himself outside the hut. Whatever small opportunity he hade out here to find, he had found it. Or, at least, he¡¯d found the right ce.


    He was also a little surprised to discover that while the farm didn¡¯t seem to boast exceptional soil, it did have thicker qi than anywhere else he¡¯d been recently. He wondered if it had something to do with proximity to the forest or if something else was at work. Maybe it was the simpleck of active farming here. He¡¯d noticed a few small fields of crops as he¡¯d walked to the hut, but they looked to be barely enough to provide food for the following winter and, if they were lucky, provide a little extra to sell in the vige. It struck Sen as a particrly unforgiving lifestyle and, yet, thatck of crops also raised questions.


    They clearly owned substantially morend than they were using, but even crop rotation couldn¡¯t exin why so many of their fields were on the verge of being wholly reimed by nature. If Luo Min had a husband, what <em>did</em> he spend his time doing? It very clearly wasn¡¯t spent on farming. Did he have some other trade? If so, why did they own a farm at all? He supposed some people might decide to be farmers, but then they¡¯d actually be farming, wouldn¡¯t they? If they decided to abandon farming, why not sell thend? <em>No</em>, thought Sen, <em>there is something else at work here that I don¡¯t understand yet</em>. Setting aside the minor mystery of why the farm was in the shape it was in, Sen returned his entire focus to cultivation. He thought he had reimed most of the qi that he¡¯d spent helping the wagon along and scaring off the bandits when the door to the hut opened.


    Luo Min stepped out of the hut, her expression worried and eyes far away. Then, she noticed Sen standing there. She jumped and let out a startled little yell.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± she almost screamed at him.


    It sounded a little angry to Sen, but he suspected that he¡¯d simply frightened her. He offered her a gentle smile that seemed to wear away some of the harder edges of her emotions.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t settled the matter of my payment to your farm for the nts,¡± he offered by way of exnation, however iplete. ¡°As I said, I am no thief.¡±


    She stared hard at him for a moment, and Sen got the impression that she might be truly <em>seeing</em> him for the first time. She took in his robes, the ones that Auntie Caihong had gotten for him, and the jian on his hip. A sword that was clearly used on the regr to the eyes of anyone who knew what to look for. Sen didn¡¯t know exactly what kind of figure he cut, but he supposed that he didn¡¯t project the image of a peasant anymore. He certainly bore little resemnce to the alley-dwelling street rat he¡¯d once been. Did he look like a merchant? Some minor noble? Maybe he just looked like a cultivator, although he wasn¡¯t sure exactly what looking like a cultivator would mean in practice. Whatever image he was projecting, it made Luo Min <em>very</em> nervous. Not the charmed nervousness that he often saw on the faces of young women, but a far more serious nervousness, a bit like he might expect from an animal in a cage.


    ¡°The farm is not for sale,¡± she dered.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen, not seeing at all. ¡°Still, the medicinal nts, I need to pay you for them.¡±


    Once more summoning the silver from his storage ring, Sen held out his hand. This time, the girl looked at the money like it was some kind of trap. Now, Sen was certain that there was something else at y here to which he wasn¡¯t privy. Luo Min hesitated and then, almost reluctantly, reached out for the money. Sen patiently waited for her, at this point basically praying that she¡¯d just snatch the coins and run away.


    ¡°Min,¡± a voice cried from inside the house.


    This time, Sen was close enough to make out the details. It was another woman, an older woman, and one who was clearly in some kind of pain. His eyes focused on the house, and he let his spiritual sense wash over it. There was only one person in the ce, and even at a distance, Sen could tell that she wasn¡¯t well. He wasn¡¯t nearly adept enough to know what was wrong with her, but he could feel that her qi wasn¡¯t flowing properly. It felt out of bnce somehow. He fixed his gaze on Luo Min, whose eyes tracked back and forth between the door and him. He frowned at her.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you summon a doctor? She¡¯s ill. I can feel it from here.¡±


    Luo Min¡¯s mouth dropped open. ¡°How can you know that?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. She needs a doctor.¡±


    The girl said nothing, but her eyes flicked ever so briefly to the hand holding the silver. Then, finally, Sen understood. The fallow fields, the poor repairs, they couldn¡¯t afford to fix up their home or hire help to work the fields. Sen knew about doctors because Auntie Caihong had told him about them, but he didn¡¯t know how much they cost. Based on the girl¡¯s expression, they were expensive even in this rtively small ce. <em>There might not even be a doctor in the vige</em>, he realized. That would mean summoning one from somewhere else. Even Sen understood <em>that</em> would prove terribly expensive. This was exactly the position he¡¯d never wanted to find himself in. He was confident that the woman in the hut needed medical attention and needed it immediately. He supposed he shouldn¡¯t be surprised that Auntie Caihong had been right. The universe had a way of pushing you into doing things you didn¡¯t really want to do. Sen closed his eyes and sighed.


    ¡°Take me to her,¡± he said.


    Luo Min stiffened. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I have some training as an alchemist. I¡¯m no true master, but I should be able to provide her some temporary relief.¡±


    ¡°Alchemist,¡± the girl whispered.


    Luo Min frowned for a long moment, and it seemed that she connected some disparate facts in her own mind. Her eyes went so wide it was almostical to Sen. Then, she dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead against the ground.


    ¡°Forgiveness, honored cultivator. Forgive this lowly Luo Min for her disrespect,¡± the girl said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.


    Sen decided that he needed to put a <em>stop</em> to that nonsense. ¡°Get up. I do not require or want such behavior.¡±


    Luo Min stood, hesitantly, not meeting Sen¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yes, honored cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Just call me Sen.¡±


    Sen could see immediately that the very idea made the young woman deeply ufortable.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he relented. ¡°Call me Cultivator Lu if you must. Now, the woman inside?¡±


    ¡°My mother, honored, I mean Cultivator Lu.¡±


    That cleared away some of the mysteries about the farm but opened up whole new lines of questions for Sen. Questions he didn¡¯t have the time to indulge in at the moment.


    ¡°Take me to her. Do you have a cookstove inside?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Cultivator Lu,¡± said Luo Min, leading him to the door.


    ¡°Once you show me to your mother, stoke the fire. I¡¯ll need it.¡±


    ¡°It will be as you say, Cultivator Lu.¡±


    Sen tried to not grind his teeth together in annoyance and <em>failed</em>. If she insisted on calling him Cultivator Lu every time she talked to him, Sen might actually lose his mind.

 Book 2: Chapter 13: The Luo Farm (3)

    Book 2: Chapter 13: The Luo Farm (3)


    The inside of the hut was little more than one big open space. Some attempts had been made to establish areas of privacy with old, tattered clothes hanging from the ceiling. It appeared that the sleeping area was off to the right, while the kitchen and literally all of the home¡¯s storage were off to the left. The moment they walked in, Sen could smell the sickness in the ce. Yet, he sensed nothing of it on Luo Min. <em>Odd</em>, he thought. She was young and, sometimes, that let people avoid or weather illnesses. Still, close proximity like the family had in the tiny hut tended to mean an almost inevitable spread of whatever illness affected anyone in the home. Luo Min saw him examining the space, and he could almost feel the embarrassment humming inside her body.


    ¡°Your mother,¡± he prompted.


    ¡°This way, Cultivator Lu,¡± she said.


    She walked over to what Sen had thought of as the sleeping area and pulled back the tattered cloth that hung there. Sen ducked beneath it and found Luo Min¡¯s mother. That there was something wrong with the woman was obvious. Her skin was sallow, and it hung too loosely on her face and arms. Sen made a mental note to ask if the woman was eating or not. He was having a hard time figuring out how old the woman was, even in general. She wasn¡¯t deeply wrinkled, but she still gave off the air of someone whose every joint ached at every movement. Of course, at that moment, she was staring up at Sen with bewildered eyes.


    ¡°Min,¡± the older woman croaked.


    ¡°Yes, Mother,¡± said Min stepping up next to Sen.


    There was so little room that her arm was pressed up hard against Sen¡¯s.


    ¡°Who is this man?¡±


    Sen bit back a moment of frustration. The older woman seemed afraid of him.


    Min opened her mouth, but Sen cut her off before the girl could say anything about him being a cultivator. Thest thing the sick woman needed was fear.


    ¡°This one is called Lu Sen, Madam Luo. I am but a humble student of alchemy. Your daughter asked me toe see if I might provide you some small bit offort.¡±


    ¡°Alchemy,¡± said the older woman, her tone a strange mix of wonder and disbelief. ¡°Min, where did you meet him?¡±


    Min froze, clearly uncertain about what to say. She was probably terrified to lie to her mother and equally terrified that she might offend the cultivator standing next to her. Sen took pity on her.


    ¡°By the road, honorable Madam. I was collecting medicinal herbs for my work.¡±


    This exchange seemed to sap most of the older woman¡¯s energy. ¡°Min, I hurt. bring me my medicine.¡±


    The girl vanished for a few moments before bringing back a in, stoppered bottle. When she uncorked it, Sen could detect a few medicinal herbs in the brew, but it seemed to consist mostly of some kind of strong alcohol. Sen maintained a rigidly neutral expression while the old woman took a few sips from the bottle with Luo Min¡¯s assistance. With a guilty expression, the girl vanished with the bottle. Sen knelt down next to the older woman.


    ¡°Madam Luo, will you permit this one to examine you?¡±


    The older woman gave him a dubious look, clearly doubtful that one so young could do anything to help, but she nodded. Sen gave her a short bow and then proceeded to do a mostly made-up examination. While he checked her pulse, looked at her eyes, and made a show of closely examining the joints of her fingers, he let a touch of his qi slip from his body into hers. There were problems everywhere, so many that it nearly overwhelmed Sen. He focused and began making a mental checklist of the things he found that were wrong. Slowly he began slotting them into different areas of concern, such as potentially lethal in the immediate future and potentially life-threatening in the long term. It was a testament to the damage inside the woman that Sen, with his vast inexperience, could so easily make such a list. In the end, though, the list was mostly to give Sen a way to organize and dismiss information. With something so widespread and damaging, there had to be a root cause. <em>That</em> was what he sought. In the end, his attention qi brought his attention to one of the woman¡¯s legs.


    ¡°Madam, do your legs pain you?¡± he asked.


    The older woman¡¯s expression turned from doubtful to surprised and, unless Sen missed his guess, a touch hopeful.


    ¡°Yes, the one hurts me all the time.¡±


    ¡°May I see it?¡± he asked.


    When the woman had trouble moving the nket, he simply pointed to one leg and then the other. When she nodded, he gently lifted the nket to one side to get a look at her leg. It was swollen and mottled. For a moment, Sen feared that some kind of rot might have set in, but things hadn¡¯t progressed that far yet. A fist let go of his heart at that revtion. Auntie Caihong had set very few boundaries on what Sen could or couldn¡¯t do with his studies, but she had issued one or two stern warnings.


    She had told him coldly, ¡°Alchemy and medicinal herbs can work many near-miraculous wonders, but every art has its limits. When the flesh begins to truly decay, there is very little to be done at that point except remove the limb.¡±


    Even knowing it was the right thing to do at that point, Sen doubted he had the nerve to cut someone¡¯s arm or leg off, at least outside the confines of a fight to the death. Doing his best not to let his overwhelming relief show on his face, he gave the woman another bow.


    ¡°Thank you for your patience, madam. I think I may be able to provide you with some small help.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± the woman said.


    Those words seemed to steal whatever tiny bits of energy the woman had left, and her eyes fluttered shut. Sen took a moment topose himself before he slipped out of the meager privacy the tattered cloth provided. He found Luo Min dutifully stirring up a fire in the small stove. Sen gave it a hard look. The stove looked positively ancient. He cycled metal qi, and let it brush up against the stove. He was shocked to discover that it was basically sound. Still, there were a number of weaknesses in the metal, irregrities that would lead to uneven heating. That wasn¡¯t a crisis, but it made brewing his elixirs more difficult. He walked over to the stove.


    ¡°A moment, please,¡± he said to Luo Min.


    She stood back from the stove and then cried out when Sen ced his hand directly onto the hot metal. He supposed that he did notice a vague warmth in his hand, but he was far more concerned with sending his metal qi down into the metal of the stove. It was a hundred small things. Fuse together a tiny crack here, then there. Even out the metal there. Reinforce the whole thing. Done. Sen removed his unharmed hand from the stove and stepped back. He looked over at Luo Min who had a stunned look on her face.


    ¡°There. It should hold up for another hundred years now,¡± he said, before he went outside to think.


    At first, he was just letting the information he¡¯d gleaned from the woman¡¯s body settle in his mind. There was just <em>so much</em> wrong. He took a breath and refocused. He didn¡¯t need to fix everything, and certainly not immediately. Focus on the most pressing problems. Her leg was the true source of her illness, although Sen had not been able to see any specific cause for it. Had there been an injury of some kind? An animal bite? An insect bite that grew infected? As he started cataloging possibilities and brainstorming treatments, Luo Min came outside. She stood there in silence for a long while as Sen thought.


    ¡°I had to do something,¡± she said. ¡°For her pain.¡±


    The words actually made Sen jump. He¡¯d been lost in the process of visualizing how he would make the elixir. So, it took him a moment to take his mind away from that and consider the young woman¡¯s words. When he did, he felt the grimace cross his face. He understood why she had done what she did. He¡¯d seen enough people on the streets dulling their pain with alcohol. Unfortunately, he also knew that it didn¡¯t actually help. In the absence of a doctor or the ability to afford one, though, Sen didn¡¯t know that he would have found a better solution. He just nodded.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll make you something else to give her for now. Something that won¡¯t be as hard on her.¡±


    Luo Min looked relieved. ¡°Can you help her?¡±


    For a moment, Sen wasn¡¯t looking at Luo Min, but at his grandmother¡¯s maid, Lin, as she asked virtually the same question about the injured Zhang Muchen. How he wished he were back there now. How simple those injuries seemed inparison to all that ailed Luo Min¡¯s mother.


    ¡°Her leg,¡± he said, stalling a little, ¡°did she injure it somehow? Get bitten by something?¡±


    Luo Min took a moment to gather her thoughts. ¡°I believe so, Cultivator Lu, but I do not know for sure.¡±


    ¡°How long ago was this?¡±


    ¡°A few months ago.¡±


    Sen rejected the idea of a bite. If she¡¯d been bitten, it would have either healed by now or killed her. It didn¡¯t tell Sen what had happened, but it did narrow down the possibilities. It also made treating the woman a little simpler. There were things he could try now that he wouldn¡¯t have tried in the event of an animal bite. Hating every word that he was about to speak, Sen made himself do it anyway.


    ¡°I <em>think</em> I can help her, but I promise nothing. I¡¯m no true healer. If you wish it, I will simply make you something to relieve her pain and be on my way.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t help her, though?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°She¡¯s dying,¡± said Luo Min.


    It wasn¡¯t a question. The young woman just seemed to be admitting it out loud for the first time. Sen answered her anyway.


    ¡°Yes, she is.¡±


    A part of him thought that he should just go fetch a doctor and pay the fee, whatever it was. Yet, that wasn¡¯t sustainable. There would always be another sick person, another needy soul. While he was well-offpared to the Luo family, his funds were limited. His time, on the other hand, was a different matter. He could afford to spend the next week or three or five, if need be, brewing elixirs for Luo Min¡¯s mother. He had no pressing work or destinations where people expected him. He had a few messages to deliver should he ever wander into specific parts of the continent, but even those were to be delivered <em>if</em> he found himself somewhere. Time, of all things, was something he had in abundance. For her part, Luo Min stood and studied Sen for a long time. Whatever questions she was asking herself or qualities she sought in Sen remained opaque to him. In the end, she nodded to herself.


    ¡°Will you try to help her, Cultivator Lu?¡±


    Sen studied her back for a long moment. She seemed resolute to him,mitted, but not overly optimistic. He was a desperatest chance. A gamble that she was willing to take in a bid to save her mother¡¯s life. She wasn¡¯t expecting a miracle from him. She might be hoping for one, in her deepest heart, but she wouldn¡¯t feel betrayed if he failed.


    ¡°I will, on one condition.¡±


    The young woman looked wary at that. ¡°What condition?¡±


    One final time, Sen summoned a handful of coins from his storage ring. He held his hand out to her. ¡°I want you to take this damn money for those nts I harvested.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 14: The Healer (1)

    Book 2: Chapter 14: The Healer (1)


    Luo Min made a few, very halfhearted attempts to refuse the money before she plucked the coins from Sen''s hand. Sen pretended he didn¡¯t notice the way that a veritable mountain of stress seemed to evaporate from the young woman¡¯s body. Sen expected that she was so busy being relieved by the money in her hand that she didn¡¯t notice something unclenching inside Sen¡¯s spirit. He hadn¡¯t even noticed <em>how much</em> it was bothering him that he hadn¡¯t made good on that offer to pay for what he¡¯d taken until he followed through. With that bit of distraction dealt with, he was finally able to bring his full attention to bear on the problem of helping Luo Min¡¯s mother. One thing was obvious. This wasn¡¯t going to be like helping Zhang Muchen, where one simple elixir would do most of the work. He also wasn¡¯t going to be able to simply hand the problem over to someone else. If he was going to help her, he¡¯d have tomit to finishing the job. <em>Of course</em>, he thought, <em>that¡¯s assuming that I can finish the job</em>. Sen was in no way certain about his capacity to do that.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be here a while,¡± he said. ¡°Possibly weeks.¡±


    Luo Min frowned at him. ¡°We can¡¯t offer you much hospitality. Not even a roof, really.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t need anything from you except a ce I can set up my tent that won¡¯t be disturbed.¡±


    The young woman considered that for a moment before she nodded. ¡°There are a few ces nearby where the animals shouldn¡¯t disturb you, Cultivator Lu. Well, the farm animals shouldn¡¯t. There are spirit beasts. Who knows what they¡¯ll do.¡±


    Sen waved that concern away. ¡°I can deal with spirit beasts if I must.¡±


    The young woman took Sen to a few ces that were close enough to the hut that a firm shout would be enough to get his attention. He picked one that looked like it would get some shade in the afternoon and swiftly put up the tent. <em>Practicalities</em>, he thought, sending up a mental thank you to Grandmother Lu. With his own sleeping arrangements dealt with, Sen let Luo Min take him back to the hut, where he settled in to do some work. The young woman watched him with a mixture of interest and doubt when she saw the in, simple pot he produced from his storage ring. A little part of him was relieved that the first thing he had to make was something for pain.


    He did need to be careful that he didn¡¯t make the elixir too potent, or there could be other problems. He could put the woman into a permanenta. She might even grow addicted to the medication, although Sen doubted that anything he made would cause that. No, he liked starting with the painkiller because it was rtively simple. Unlike virtually everything else he would make for the older woman, the painkiller didn¡¯t need to be tailor-made for her condition. By nature, most painkillers were meant to work on the whole body. That meant that were actual recipes for them. Auntie Caihong had made him memorize about a dozen.


    In a pinch, Sen could make one using the ingredients he found to hand, but there was something <em>very</em>forting about following a recipe that someone older, wiser, and more experienced had created. Sadly, making that painkiller only took Sen about an hour. He filtered the final brew through a piece of cheesecloth and, once it cooled, tipped the pale green liquid into a stoppered bottle. He¡¯d made a point to buy a supply of those back in Orchard¡¯s Reach before he left, realizing that it wasn¡¯t the kind of thing that most people who just have lying around. He held the bottle out to Luo Min, who took it with care.


    ¡°A small spoonful should suffice,¡± he said. ¡°Two, if she¡¯s in a lot of pain. No more than three times per day.¡±


    ¡°Three times per day,¡± said Luo Min.


    After a moment¡¯s thought, Sen realized he should rify. ¡°Every eight hours or so.¡±


    The sudden understanding on Luo Min¡¯s face assured Sen that he¡¯d been right to exin that a little more. He supposed for a farmer, a day meant dawn to dusk, not dawn to dawn. After a hasty exnation from Luo Min, Sen took the pot outside, drew up some water from a well, and scrubbed the pot clean. He took the opportunity to eat something and consider his strategy for dealing with the problem onest time. He¡¯d have to deal with the leg first. It was the root of all the other problems. Even as he went through that thought process again, Sen also knew that he was stalling, stretching out the moments before he¡¯d need to start <em>doing</em> things. Things that he knew could have irrevocable and potentially lethal results. The knowledge that doing nothing would have the same results didn¡¯t assuage his fears much.


    If he did nothing and the woman died, that was just the natural course of events. If he did something and she died, that was <em>his</em> fault. Sen wasn¡¯t eager to assume that level of responsibility. Recognizing his stalling for the minor act of cowardice that it was, Sen poured a little water into the pot and took it back inside. The second round of work was substantially moreplicated. He was slowly adding and cooking down a wide assortment of generic nts, not-so-generic nts, and alchemical agents into a kind of poultice.


    Some ingredients were meant to do simple things, like reduce inmmation, while others were intended to draw out impurities, and still others would help to kill any infections. It wasplicated, possibly one of the mostplicated things that Sen had ever made. Keeping the mixture in bnce was an effort that required constant attention and the liberal application of different kinds of qi. Many of the ingredients seemed to have a natural antipathy to each other, which meant that Sen had to almost beat the mixture into submission. When the cooking was done, Sen leaned back and let himself rx for a few minutes. The whole thing would need a little while to cool and thicken before he could apply it to the woman¡¯s leg. With his whole focus no longer on the pot, he noticed that Luo Min was standing nearby, eyeing the pot with clear curiosity.


    When she saw him looking her way, she blushed but gestured at the pot. ¡°What is that?¡±


    Knowing that he had a little time, Sen gave her a very basic exnation of what it was and what it should do. The young woman frowned at the pot.


    ¡°All of that from nts? Like the ones you were harvesting?¡±


    Sen hesitated. It was a lot moreplicated than that, but he wasn¡¯t sure a full exnation would benefit the girl.


    ¡°In a way,¡± he conceded. ¡°The nts themselves, even if you mixed them together, wouldn¡¯t necessarily do all of that. I have to do things to the mixture to make it work the way this will. There are some other ingredients and I have to bnce the qi.¡±


    He cut the exnation off there because he could see that the exnation was losing any real meaning for her. He supposed she knew what qi was, but that it was mostly theoretical to her. You couldn¡¯t see it unless a cultivator did something shy. You could feel it, although Sen wasn¡¯t sure if that was even true for mortals. No, better to let it rest there. If the young woman really wanted to know more, she could ask more questions. Instead of asking more about the poultice, she asked what Sen realized was the much more pressing question for her.


    ¡°Will that help my mother?¡±


    Sen sighed. Auntie Caihong had warned him about things like this. He needed to set the proper expectations.


    ¡°It¡¯s a start. Assuming it works the way that I expect, it should take care of the root of the problem. You need to understand, though, that there is a lot of damage inside your mother¡¯s body. Healing that will take time. Healing it entirely may not even be possible. You also need to know that she¡¯s going to seem worse before she gets better.¡±


    Luo Min seemed truly confused by thatstment.


    ¡°Why?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Healing is hard. It¡¯s hard on the body. It¡¯s hard on the mind. It takes a toll on a person¡¯s qi, their life energy. When you¡¯re healthy, you don¡¯t notice so much. When you¡¯re sick, there¡¯s already strain on your body, mind, and life energy. Healing puts even more strain on you. That¡¯s what will happen with your mother.¡±


    The young woman¡¯s gaze drifted over to the part of the hut where her mother was trying to rest behind a tattered cloth. Sen could see the indecision on the girl¡¯s face. The idea of making her mother worse, even if it would ultimately benefit the older woman, didn¡¯t rest easy on Luo Min¡¯s heart. In the end, though, she nodded to Sen. He checked the temperature of the poultice. It had cooled enough.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s get started.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 15: The Healer (2)

    Book 2: Chapter 15: The Healer (2)


    From nearly the moment Sen applied the poultice to the older woman¡¯s leg, he was in crisis mode. It was a constant race between him and doom. He raced to make elixirs that would shore up the woman¡¯s energy. He hurriedly threw together mixtures tobat her sudden fever. Then, he had to make what amounted to low-powered versions of cleansing pills in liquid form to help wash away the flood of impurities that suddenly crashed into her blood. By the time he managed that, he discovered that the poultice had soaked up its limit of whatever was damaging her leg. So, it was back to the stove to make a fresh poultice. On and on and on it went, always rushing to keep the woman alive, to keep just one step ahead of seemingly inevitable failure. For three days, that task consumed every waking moment and every ounce of concentration that Sen could muster.


    He barely slept. If not for the superior recovery abilities that body cultivation offered and the ability to flood his body with qi, Sen never could have kept up the pace. After a while, Sen started to feel like he¡¯d been trapped inside some kind of nightmare where there was no sess, just a constant battle to stave off the worst. Yet, in the end, it wasn¡¯t a nightmare and Sen did manage to seed in keeping the older woman alive. In thete afternoon of the third day, Luo Min¡¯s mother stabilized. Her color improved, her breathing eased, and the fever broke. He needed to change the poultice again, but even that wasn¡¯t as bad as it had been. The flesh beneath was no longer mottled, and he thought he could see where the original injury was, although he still couldn¡¯t tell what it had been. Still, Sen couldn¡¯t help but heave a sigh of relief as he checked the woman over with a brief sweep of his qi. There were still a lot of problems to deal with, but he thought that he could leave her unattended for a few hours while he got some sleep.


    He left the older woman to her rest. She¡¯d need to bathe the next day, but that was a problem that the older woman and her daughter could sort out for themselves. In fact, as far as Sen was concerned, the two women could sort out all of their own problems for at least the next three hours. He needed food and sleep, and he probably needed them in that order. He¡¯d only managed to sneak a few bites of food here and there, and it was finally catching up with him. Unfortunately, Luo Min was waiting when Sen came out from the private sleeping area. He was tempted to simply ignore her and go sleep, but she looked even more exhausted than he felt. He paused on his way to the door and looked at her.


    ¡°How is she, Cultivator Lu?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not healed, but she¡¯s better. Stable. Enough that I¡¯m not worried about leaving her to rest for the night without keeping a constant watch.¡±


    ¡°Will she live?¡±


    Sen gave himself a moment to think that through. He wasn¡¯tfortable promising an oue like that. Auntie Caihong had explicitly warned him not to do so.


    He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. ¡°I hope she will. I <em>think</em> she will, but I can¡¯t guarantee it if that¡¯s what you¡¯re looking for.¡±


    The young woman looked a little disappointed, but there was still some relief in her expression. ¡°I understand. Thank you for helping her, Cultivator Lu.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± said Sen, feeling inexplicably ufortable at the exchange.


    With that, he retreated to his tent. He set up an obscuring formation out of pure habit, ate something from his storage ring that he didn¡¯t even taste, and dropped into a dreamless slumber.


    ***


    While the next few days weren¡¯t precisely easy for Sen, they were more structured. Bit by bit, he started to address the other problems that were guing the elder Luo woman, who was finally coherent enough that she told Sen her name, Luo Ping. In some ways, it was more mentally taxing for Sen because he needed to calibrate the elixirs he made far more precisely than the ones he¡¯d been throwing together in a panic during those first few days. Then, it had been onest ditch effort after another. Now, he had to weigh if the fix for one problem would exacerbate another.


    With her system still weakened from the long-term illness, he needed to strengthen her heart and cirction, but he also needed her to eat. The usualponents he would use for strengthening her heart would likely suppress her appetite or leave her feeling nauseous. So, he found himself wandering the fields of the Luo farm, searching for alternatives to what he had in his storage ring. On more than one asion, Luo Min went with him on these rambling hikes. He¡¯d describe the kind of conditions necessary for the sorts of nts he needed, then she would guide him to the right ces on the farm. Sometimes, he found the things he needed, sometimes he stumbled across alternatives, and sometimes he failed. In the end, though, he seeded often enough that Luo Ping was able to keep down some food.


    As her strength slowly returned, Sen was able to finally spend a little time examining the original wound on her leg. While the flesh around it had mostly healed, that spot remained stubbornly inmed and always on the cusp of setting off another storm of infection. After what Sen considered far too long a time staring at the obvious, he realized that there must still be something lodged in the flesh there. Knowing what that meant, he put off the conversation for nearly two hours. Then, it struck him that he was actively harming the woman by dying the conversation. Kneeling next to Luo Ping, he tried to hide how grim he found the subject.


    ¡°I believe that the reason your leg isn¡¯t healing properly is because there is still something in there. Something that continues to cause problems.¡±


    The older woman gave him a level look before she said, ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    Sen just pushed the words out, fearing that any hesitation would mean abandoning the topic entirely. ¡°I¡¯d need to cut open your leg, at least a bit, and take out whatever is lodged in there.¡±


    Luo Ping grimaced, but she didn¡¯t seem surprised. ¡°If it won¡¯t heal as it is, then you can¡¯t leave it like that, can you?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t answer immediately. He could leave it that way, but he wouldn¡¯t. Not unless the older woman told him to leave it be. He couldn¡¯t force her to endure a process like getting cut open against her will. Well, he supposed he probably <em>could</em> if it came to it, but he wouldn¡¯t.


    ¡°It would be best not to leave it as it is,¡± he said.


    Luo Ping weighed those words for most of a minute before she answered. ¡°Then, you¡¯ll just have to do whatever¡¯s necessary. My Min trusts you, so I¡¯ll trust you.¡±


    Sen found himself moved by that deration. His experiences with other people since leaving the mountain had not left him with a positive view of people in general. Most of them had seemed selfish, stupid, or both to him. He wondered if it was just the sharp contrast that made that simple deration of trust so much more powerful. It was a matter that he¡¯d need to ponderter. Sen offered the woman a bow and exined what he nned to do and how. He wasn¡¯t sure if the woman needed all the details, but he didn¡¯t want to catch her off guard. She certainly looked like she would have preferred fewer details given how often she winced, but she just offered him a sharp nod when he was done.


    ¡°When will you do it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Soon. Within the hour. I need to prepare some things first.¡±


    Sen left Luo Ping to her own thoughts and started preparing what he¡¯d need. Mostly, he needed something to numb the area around the old injury site. He could simply put her to sleep, but Sen was very hesitant to do that with someone who was so desperately ill, so very recently. <em>No</em>, he decided, <em>numbing the area is the safer path</em>. Much like the painkiller, though, he had a basic recipe for making this kind of solution. It took him around half an hour to make it, then he turned to the other problem.


    He needed a de, and one more delicate than his jian. Luo Min showed him the few knives that they had on hand. He picked the smallest of them and, promising to rece it, cycled up his metal qi. He used that energy to reshape the de. He slowly thinned the metal down, while also reinforcing it. He didn¡¯t want to imagine what would happen if the de broke off in the woman¡¯s leg. Then, he used a touch of fire qi to sterilize the de. He nced up to see a look of pure wonder on Luo Min¡¯s face. She hurriedly looked away, but Sen felt a little smile cross his face. He supposed that there was something magical about watching someone remake a familiar tool into something quite different.


    Gathering up the knife, the numbing agent, and a healing salve he¡¯d made the day before, Sen went back to Luo Ping. He exined what he was doing as he slowly dripped the numbing solution over the area and then spread it out with a bit of cloth. He was very careful not to let the liquid touch his fingers, though. Losing sensation in his fingers while cutting into someone seemed like the height of folly to Sen. Before he made the incision, he turned to Luo Ping.


    ¡°If you feel any severe pain, tell me. I can always add more numbing agent, but that only works if I know that you need it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if ites to that,¡± the stoic older woman said.


    Sen had his doubts about that, but he proceeded anyway. For all of the stress and worry he put himself through, the whole thing took about five minutes. It turned out that a sharp little sliver of bone had gotten lodged into the flesh of the woman¡¯s calf. It took a bit of effort and some very careful cutting, but Sen pulled the little piece of bone free. Then, he spread the salve over the area. He put a bandage over the area and gently secured it in ce. He had contemted stitching the wound, but he truly did not trust his own skills in that area. As long as the woman didn¡¯t thrash around, the incision should heal fine with the aid of the salve.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Luo Ping asked.


    ¡°I believe so,¡± said Sen. ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll know by tomorrow.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 16: The Healer (3)

    Book 2: Chapter 16: The Healer (3)


    Sen did know the next day. While Luo Ping¡¯s leg hadn¡¯t healedpletely, nor had Sen expected it to, it was substantially better. Most of the inmmation was gone and Luo Ping herself reported that it felt markedly better. Whatever hesitation the woman had felt about him had also disappeared. Now, he caught her staring at him with an expression that he found ufortably close to reverence. So, rather than deal with that difort, he excused himself and went outside. There was another ufortable subject that he needed to address, and he¡¯d struck on a thought that might make it easier for everyone involved.


    He found Luo Min gathering up the sparse number of eggs that the chickens hadid overnight. He waited for her to notice him. When she did, she straightened up too fast and lost her grip on the basket holding the precious handful of eggs that she had found. Sen covered the distance fast enough to snatch up the basket before it struck the ground. He just handed it back to her withoutment, while feigning interest in something off in the distance. When he finally turned back to her, there was still a faint tinge of pink in her cheeks. Otherwise, she seemed to have collected herself.


    ¡°Cultivator Lu,¡± she said, offering him a bow. ¡°Can I help you with something?¡±


    He offered her a smile. The mistake only became apparent when red rushed back into her cheeks. Sen didn¡¯t sigh or let his smile slip, which he thought were true victories for his self-control. He nodded at her.


    ¡°There is. I need some things from the vige, but I¡¯m notfortable leaving your mother unattended just yet. I need to be here in case she takes a turn. Would you be willing to go to the vige and get them for me?¡±


    The young woman only hesitated for a second or two before she nodded. ¡°Of course, Cultivator Lu.¡±


    ¡°My thanks to you, Luo Min,¡± said Sen.


    He handed her a list, which she examined with a frown. ¡°This is mostly food.¡±


    Sen nodded agreeably. ¡°I¡¯ve been eating travel rations. They¡¯re adequate, but now I can set aside time to cook.¡±


    The young woman gave him a steady look. ¡°This is a lot of food for <em>one</em> person, Cultivator Lu.¡±


    Sen maintained a perfectly innocent expression. ¡°Is it? Well, I am a cultivator. Our appetites can be formidable.¡±


    ¡°Can they?¡±


    There wasn¡¯t a specific change in Luo Min that he could identify, but Sen somehow knew that the conversation had abruptly be about something else. Sen shrugged, but that was somehow the wrong thing to do. Luo Min¡¯s expression became, he wasn¡¯t quite sure what the expression was. Spective, maybe? Sen was very certain he wanted to bring that conversation to a close as fast as possible. He held out some coins for her. It might be too much for what he asked her to buy. He really didn¡¯t know. Sen made a mental note to spend some time getting familiar with the prices of things. Luo Min eyed the coins for a moment, clearly amused by something, but she took them. She handed him the basket of eggs. He took it but raised an eyebrow at her.


    ¡°If I¡¯m going to town for supplies, I¡¯ll need to take the cart. Those need to go inside.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± said Sen. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Taking the opportunity to nobly run away from the awkward turn the conversation had taken, Sen went back inside. While the conversation threatened to linger in his mind, he soon found himself caught up in the task of looking at Luo Ping¡¯s condition with his qi and formting an elixir for the day. He found himself thinking that it would be so much easier if the woman could cultivate. If she could cycle qi, he could make elixirs that she could activate inside of her. It would speed the healing along. But that was a useless thought. He might as well wish that fish had wings. He had to work with what was before him, not what he wished was before him. It was part of the reason he¡¯d sent Luo Min after food. He noticed that the stores of food in the house were meager, at best. Even their rice supply was running low.


    Of course, a steady supply of rice wasn¡¯t enough to keep someone healthy. It could keep someone alive, but it couldn¡¯t keep them healthy by itself. A healing body was even more demanding, requiring more of everything to repair and rebuild what had been broken. In short, Luo Ping needed vegetables, fruits, and some kind of meat. <em>What a coincidence that all of those there were on my list</em>, thought Sen. Luo Min clearly suspected his intentions, but Sen didn¡¯t mind all that much. As long as she yed along, he would give them enough room to avoid embarrassment.


    As he let a little corner of his mind wander over the question of food, the rest of his attention went to finishing that day¡¯s elixir. It relied heavily on wood-attributed qi, primarily to stimte the necessary growth that body repairs required when dealing with damaged tissues. He also needed to work in a bit of metal qi to help reinforce the older woman¡¯s bones. They weren¡¯t in terrible shape, but he¡¯d noticed several weak spots. Yet, Sen was spotting more and more things the more often he examined the woman. He didn¡¯t think he was getting better at reading people¡¯s health with qi, not in a general sense. He¡¯d just looked at Luo Ping so often that his understanding was growing through sheer repetition. He slipped a few minerals in that would temporarily bind the metal qi and make it easier for her bones to absorb. Then, came the boring part. Sen just stood by the stove and stirred the mixture as needed.


    The good news, to Sen¡¯s mind, was that his presence wouldn¡¯t be required for much longer. While her recovery wasn¡¯t as fast as Sen would like, she was still mending quickly. He thought it would be a few more days until the woman could move around as she wished, as long as she was careful. Give it another week, and Sen could simply prepare a few mixtures to leave with them. Beyond that, nature would have to take its course. He could shepherd the woman along and give her some advantages, but his active participation in her healing process would soon be unnecessary and even unhelpful.


    ¡°There is something every doctor, apothecary, and healer muste learn,¡± Auntie Caihong had said.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Sen remembered asking.


    ¡°When to stop. Look hard enough, and you¡¯ll always discover something else to treat or try to fix. Sometimes, someone is so far gone that they simply cannot be helped by anything short of the intervention of the heavens. It¡¯s a line that everyone draws in a different ce, but it¡¯s a crucial line. You need to figure out the point at which your help is no longer helping.¡±


    It was one of many conversations on the mountain that Sen hadn¡¯t really grasped at the time. A fact that Auntie Caihong no doubt knew full well. Yet, he hadn¡¯t forgotten it either. Now, with Luo Ping, he finally understood at least some of what Auntie Caihong had been getting at. If he let himself, he could spend the next six months on this farm doing nothing but putting together treatments for the woman. Yet, those treatments wouldn¡¯t substantially improve her life. She might experience fewer aches or see a slight improvement in her energy levels, but even cultivator alchemy couldn¡¯t truly turn back the ravages of time for mortals.


    Sen knew he hadn¡¯t decided where the line was for him, or even if he believed he really needed one. He didn¡¯t have ns to set himself up as a healer. He did, however, have a better idea of where he would eventually draw that line. Sen noticed that he¡¯d filtered the elixir and put it into a small bottle without even realizing he was doing it. Frowning a little, Sen decided that he¡¯d been doing far too much alchemytely. Walking over to where Luo Ping sat in a chair near a window, he tried to ignore the intense look she gave him. She took the bottle when he handed it to her but didn¡¯t drink it immediately.


    ¡°My Min thinks I¡¯m blind to the truth, but I¡¯m not. You¡¯re a cultivator.¡±


    Sen considered lying, but there was no point to it. He inclined his head to her.


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t born here. I grew up in, well, that¡¯s a different story. The point is, I¡¯ve known a few alchemists. I never met one who would miss an opportunity to make a pill, but you haven¡¯t made a single one. I also never met one who could do half the things you do with elixirs. The only way you could do what you¡¯re doing and look as young as you do is if you¡¯re a cultivator. You¡¯re probably older than me, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    The question made perfect sense, from one angle, but it wasn¡¯t an angle that Sen normally thought from. So, the question caught Sen off guard. Heughed as he shook his head. ¡°No, Luo Ping, I am not older than you. I¡¯m not even older than your daughter. I¡¯ve told you no lies, except the one by omission.¡±


    The older woman lifted an eyebrow at that. ¡°You said you were a humble student of alchemy. Not a master alchemist.¡±


    ¡°I <em>am</em> but a humble student of alchemy. My knowledge is a shallow thingpared to the one who taught me. She is a true master alchemist.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re too young to understand what a frightening thing it is that you just said.¡±


    Sen just blinked at her a few times. <em>What was frightening about saying his teacher was a far more skilled alchemist?</em>


    Luo Ping nodded to herself. ¡°I have to ask. Why have you done all of this? Do you mean to take Min as payment?¡±


    ¡°Take Min as payment,¡± repeated Sen.


    He couldn¡¯t make sense of the statement. The very idea of taking a <em>person</em> as payment was just absurd to him. Even if something like that weremon practice somewhere, Sen would have no part in it. Sen felt himself getting angry. He red at the older woman who shrank back from him.


    Doing his best not to clench his teeth, he said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t intend to take your <em>child</em> as <em>payment</em>.¡±


    While the woman was clearly frightened by Sen¡¯s anger, she persisted.


    ¡°Then, why do all of this? Why go through all of this trouble for strangers?¡±


    Sen almost let his anger answer again, but the woman wasn¡¯t being unreasonable. When he looked at it from her point of view, he must have seemed like some kind of madman. Argely benevolent madman, perhaps, but a madman all the same. Who <em>would</em> go through all of that trouble for strangers? There had to be a reason. Like it or not, he was also a guest in her home. That it was a humble home didn¡¯t change anything. She was the mistress here. If she wanted to understand his motives, he owed her some kind of exnation.


    ¡°I was led here, by power, by karma, by the heavens, I don¡¯t truly know. I was brought here to learn something.¡±


    ¡°Learn what?¡±


    He offered her a bemused smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know. When I do, I expect that¡¯s the day I¡¯ll leave.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 17: The Healer (4)

    Book 2: Chapter 17: The Healer (4)


    Sen made a point to put on a show of cooking for a few days. Somehow, he always managed to cook at least three times as much as he needed. Although, for Sen, it was only <em>mostly</em> a show. He did have a vested interest in making sure that Luo Ping got the things that her body needed to heal. Of course, the greater part of it was simply so everyone could pretend that he hadn¡¯t bought them a truly absurd amount of food. He did make a point to store the meat in his storage ring, though. After all, there was no benefit to buying a bunch of food if it would just spoil. On days he didn¡¯t cook, he made sure that some meat would appear near the stove when it was getting to be around the time for the evening meal. Sure, it was all a big piece of fiction, but one that left everyone¡¯s dignity intact.


    What Sen hadn¡¯t expected was for people to start showing up at the farm looking for him. He¡¯d been deeply wary the first time it happened. He¡¯d assumed that the frothy pond sect had finally caught up with him. Except, it wasn¡¯t them. It was a man in his middle years. When Sen approached, the man offered him a deep bow. Then, heunched into a detailed exnation of his medical problem. It took Sen¡¯s stunned brain a few seconds to catch up with what was happening. It wasn¡¯t the prelude to some devious attack. It was just a man looking to get some help. Once Sen realized that he wasn¡¯t going to have to fight anyone, he really started listening to the man¡¯s problem. After hearing the man out and examining him with his qi, Sen wondered why the man hade to him. It was a simple enough problem that any doctor should have been able to help with it.


    ¡°Have you seen a doctor about this?¡± Sen asked, mostly out of curiosity.


    ¡°What doctor? We might get one through here once, maybe twice a year, always on their way to somewhere else. Sometimes they see people, sometimes they don¡¯t.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t even sound bitter about it, just resigned.


    ¡°What do you do when you have illnesses or injuries?¡±


    The man shrugged. ¡°Take care of it ourselves. People who can afford it to go see a doctor in the city. The Widow Ang knows a little bit. She can stitch people up. Maybe give them some kind of herbal brew.¡±


    Sen nodded along. He¡¯d asked Luo Ping and Luo Min about it, and everything the man was saying was consistent with what they¡¯d told him.


    ¡°I see. Well, yes, I can help you. It won¡¯t taste good, though.¡±


    The man blinked at Sen owlishly before he said, ¡°You <em>can</em>?¡±


    ¡°I think so. I¡¯m not sure I can resolve itpletely, but I can certainly make it better.¡±


    Sen <em>did </em>think he could resolve itpletely, but better to set expectations low. He could be wrong, after all. An hourter, the man left with a stoppered bottle in hand and a smile. Sen was left with some money. He¡¯d just picked a number out of the air that he thought sounded reasonable. The man had seemed happy enough to pay, which made Sen wonder if he¡¯d grossly undercharged for it. Sen resolved then and there to visit the vige and learn what things cost. After a few moments of thought, he decided that there was no time like the present. He told Luo Min where he was going and caught up with the recently departed, well, customer. With a potential solution to his medical problem in hand, the older man was happy to chat with Sen about mundane things like the price of rice and where Sen might find some medicinal herbs for sale.


    The trip to town was an eye-opening experience for Sen. He¡¯d been dramatically overestimating the cost of things like food. Yet, his sense of what medicinal herbs were worth was far too low. What little there was avable in the vige, most of it of only so-so quality, was selling for far more than Sen would have paid for it. Still, it did give him a better idea of how much he should be charging if ever decided to sell his alchemical services again. Which he did three times the next day. After thest person left, he found himself frowning into the distance.


    ¡°How do all of these people know about me?¡± he asked the open air.


    ¡°That may be my fault,¡± said Luo Min from behind him.


    He nced over his shoulder to see Luo Min¡¯s nervous eyes on him. She looked down when he looked back at her.


    ¡°Your fault? How is it your fault?¡±


    ¡°When I went to get food, I may have said something about how you saved Mother from death.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t groan out loud, but he did let himself take a deep breath. Then, he looked down at the chicken that was passively sitting in the crook of his arm. It had been the only payment the old woman who had just left could reasonably afford. Sen had been wondering what he was going to do with a chicken, and now he knew.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen, and then he handed the chicken over to the startled young woman. ¡°Your rumor, your responsibility. Enjoy your chicken.¡±


    As Sen walked away, Luo Min called after him. ¡°I can¡¯t take this. Livestock is valuable.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Sen almost shouted. ¡°I can¡¯t hear you over the roar of that chicken.¡±


    As Sen went back into the hut, he nced back to see the dumbfounded expression on Luo Min¡¯s face as she held a chicken. A chicken that, as far as Sen knew, had yet to make a sound. As one week turned into two, Sen found himself moving back and forth between epting coins and bartering for his services. Except, Sen didn¡¯t really need most of the things that people had to barter. It was a problem that vexed Sen until he realized that he was standing on a farm that was in dire need of just about everything. So, he stored the coins he got and bartered for the farm. It wasn¡¯t a lot, individually. An hour or two ofbor in a field or making minor repairs on the hut seemed like a good deal to the vigers, who were oftencking in coin. Luo Ping had to exin it to him.


    ¡°Farmers only really have coin to spend after the harvestes in. They spend most of it getting ready for the next year. They buy seed, rece tools, whatever it is they put off for the rest of the year, they pay for then. At least, that¡¯s how it works for most farms,¡± she amended.


    Sen remembered some of the nicer ces he¡¯d passed on his way into the vige. Yes, those farms looked like they probably had some extra money lying around for emergencies. Still, all of those small barters added up over time. The number of chickens around the ce doubled, which led to Sen bartering for someone to build a proper coop for them. One family paid in bags of rice. Sen did keep one of those, depositing it in his storage ring as proof against some future bout of poverty. A few people even paid in seed, which Sen had needed to consult Luo Min about. When she¡¯d given him an enthusiastic, almost desperate, yes, he¡¯d epted, and then handed off the profits to her safekeeping.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t all positive. As the Luo Farm became visibly more prosperous, young men started turning up to, supposedly, court Luo Min. Sen found himself rather unimpressed with the quality of those young men. One of them had leered at the young woman like she was some tempting piece of food. Sen had quietly excused himself and waited outside. When the young man finally left. Sen spoke with him, feeling that some gentle chastisement was in order.


    ¡°If you ever look at her that way again,¡± said Sen in a calm, conversational tone, ¡°I will remove your eyes. Do you understand?¡±


    The abruptly pale, trembling young man moved his head up and down in tiny, jerking motions. ¡°Yes. I understand.¡±


    Sen supposed that the jian de hovering a hair¡¯s breadth from the eyes in question made more meaningful movements precarious. Still, the young man said that he understood. Sen decided that would have to be good enough.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that. Now, leave. Do not return.¡±


    When Sen pulled the jian away, the young man simply ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Sen watched him go, and the boy never even nced back. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if the real message would carry, but he expected that he¡¯d only find it necessary to send that message one more time before everyone understood. Sen wasn¡¯t entirely certain afterward if the universe was rewarding him for good deeds or punishing the young man who turned up the next day. He presented himself better than the first few who turned up, but there was something about him that set Sen on edge. When Luo Min and the young man stepped outside so that she could show him something about the farm, Sen traded a nce with Luo Ping and followed them out.


    He kept his distance and <em>hid</em> his presence. He might be wrong, after all. There were bound to be people in the world he simply didn¡¯t like who were still basically decent. Except, he wasn¡¯t wrong this time. When the pair were far enough from the hut that any screams might go unheard, the young man grabbed at her robes and yanked. That was as far as he got. Sen had very nearly killed the young man on the spot, but he thought better of it at thest second. There was no need for Luo Min to witness that. He contented himself with grabbing the young man¡¯s wrist and squeezing. Somewhere in the middle of the bones shattering and the screaming, the young man let go of Luo Min¡¯s robes.


    Sen¡¯s opinion of the woman went up then. While she¡¯d clearly been frightened by what had just happened, she was made of stern stuff. She drove her foot between the man¡¯s legs hard enough that she could have broken a thick tree limb with the strike. <em>It wasn¡¯t artful</em>, thought Sen, <em>but, on reflection, it didn¡¯t really need to be</em>. The man lost consciousness at that point, which Sen felt was probably more mercy than he deserved. Sen gave Luo Min a nod and, to his surprise, she threw her arms around him. It was brief, just a few seconds, before she released him. Sen remembered when he¡¯d craved a moment offort on the mountain. He couldn¡¯t really fault her for taking one.


    She red down at the young man. ¡°What will you do with him?¡±


    Sen gave her half a smile. ¡°Only what he deserves. You should head back now. I¡¯m sure your mother needs your help with something.¡±


    Sen considered what to do with the young man for several minutes. There were a number of possibilities, but most of them involved doing things to the young man that Sen simply preferred not to do. In the end, he decided to go with a bnced approach. Sen was leaning against a tree when the young man finally came around. He almost immediately started bellowing in pain. The appearance of a spearhead mere inches from his throat cut that down to groans.


    ¡°You like to stalk and ambush people. Well, consider yourself blessed. Today, you¡¯ll get to see true masters of your craft at work. There are many beasts in this forest that like to do the same thing.¡±


    The young man looked around with wild eyes. As understanding of where he truly was dawned on the young man, he started begging. ¡°You can¡¯t leave me out here! Not like this!¡±


    Sen let the silence drag out before he spoke. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.¡±


    Before the relief could even register on the young man¡¯s face, Sen continued.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t risk the slim possibility that you might reach safety.¡±


    With a swift, smooth motion, Sen drove the spearhead through the young man¡¯s calf. It didn¡¯t quite sever the muscle, but there was a spray of blood when Sen pulled the weapon free. Sen ignored the howling and the cursesid on his house.


    ¡°You bastard!¡±


    ¡°You may be right about that,¡± said Sen. ¡°I really don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°This is murder. You¡¯re murdering me! What kind of healer are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a healer. I¡¯m a cultivator,¡± said Sen. ¡°By the way, I¡¯d start hobbling away now if I were you. All that blood is drawing some attention.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 18: Sect Business

    Book 2: Chapter 18: Sect Business


    As he lifted the cup of Dragon Well tea to his lips, Elder He Mingze took a moment to enjoy the warmth of the cup and the smell of the tea. It was calming in its familiarity. He knew that the next report he heard would prove troublesome, and so he allowed himself this moment of rtive peace first. Two months ago, he enjoyed this state of rtive calm all of the time. That was before the incident or incidents, depending on how one chose to observe things. He was of the opinion that it was all one incident that escted over the course of a single day, a single afternoon really, while others were of the opinion that it was two separate incidents. He took one more sip, then focused his attention on Lin Zimo, the core sect member tasked with finding the troubling wandering cultivator.


    ¡°Your report, Lin Zimo.¡±


    The lean young man with the strange, pale eyes, a mark of some foreign blood hidden in his heritage somewhere, straightened slightly and offered a deep bow.


    ¡°Yes, Elder He. As you know, approximately one month ago, two inner sect disciples, one Zhu Fen and one Sun Xue, confronted a wandering cultivator on the beach outside the city. The purpose of this confrontation was to trade pointers in order to improve their cultivation.¡±


    Elder He was impressed with the way that Lin Zimo managed to utter thatst statement without expressing any feelings about it one way or the other. He knew that the younger man <em>had</em> opinions on the matter, but he didn¡¯t let that interfere with his duty. Elder He also imagined that this repetition of known information frustrated the man. Yet, Elder He had learned long ago that one could glean new insight from hearing old information. He had also learned, through hard experience, that memory could warp information over time. So, he insisted on hearing the same information each time these reports were provided to him. It ensured that neither he, nor the person giving the report, consciously or unconsciously altered the known facts.


    ¡°The confrontation did not go as the disciples anticipated. The wandering cultivator, a supposed foundation formation stage cultivator, suppressed both Zhu Fen and Sun Xue. At least, that is what both disciples reported independently. Then, for reasons of his own, the wandering cultivator spared them.


    ¡°Later that day, another inner sect disciple, one Cai Yuze, found the wandering cultivator at the Sunset Inn. Information about that meeting is,¡± Lin Zimo hesitated before continuing, ¡°less reliable. It appears that Cai Yuze made himself an unwee guest at the wandering cultivator¡¯s table. The wandering cultivator indicated repeatedly that he wished Cai Yuze to leave. Invitations that Cai Yuze ignored.¡±


    Lin Zimo couldn¡¯t hide his distaste for that behavior. Elder He shared that opinion. Wandering cultivators might not be sect members, but they <em>were</em> still cultivators. They should be afforded some basic respect, such as an undisturbed meal.


    ¡°The wandering cultivator chose to remove himself from the situation at that point, leaving the inn entirely. Disciple Cai followed the man out of the inn. Facts about what followed are scarce. We know that there was a confrontation. There was damage to the surrounding buildings consistent with wind des, a favorite tactic of Cai Yuze. The information about the wandering cultivator¡¯s tactics is confused, conflicting, suggesting the presence of other cultivators, but all evidence points to the man being alone. We presume that Cai Yuze is dead. All the witness ounts are consistent that the wandering cultivator did <em>something</em> that appeared to utterly destroy the man.¡±


    Elder He watched as Lin Zimo once again processed the implications of what he had just said. Battles between foundation formation stage cultivators tended to be long, drawn out, bloody affairs, more often decided by de than by qi technique. That the wandering cultivator had ended the battle so decisively, with a single qi technique, a technique that <em>no one</em> could adequately describe, was suggestive. Elder He waited for the report to continue, but Lin Zimo seemed transfixed by the possibilities of what the wandering cultivator might have done.


    Sighing, Elder He said, ¡°Continue, Lin Zimo.¡±


    The younger cultivator flinched as though he¡¯d been struck. ¡°Yes, Elder He. My apologies, Elder He. Following the death of Cai Yuze, the wandering cultivator left the city, bribing two guards to open the gate after hours. The guards were, as far as we can tell, unaware of the confrontation. They indicated that the cultivator headed north. Tracking efforts <em>seemed</em> to confirm this. His trail led north for miles before all traces of the man simply disappeared. The qi and scent trail led into the forest and just stop, as though something reached down from the heavens and plucked the man from the face of the world. I personally traveled farther north, but there was no indication of the man anywhere. As a precaution, I sent trackers to the south, but there have been no definitive signs of him there either.¡±


    Elder He digested the report, what little there was of it, and reflected. He had more facts about the events than Lin Zimo if only a few. He also knew his own thoughts on the matter, but he found himself curious about what the promising cultivator thought of the incident and what followed.


    ¡°Tell me, Lin Zimo, what do you make of these events? What do you make of this wandering cultivator? Is this all an affront to the sect that requires reprisal?¡±


    Again, to his credit, Lin Zimo considered his response. ¡°An affront to the sect? Only at first nce, Elder He. It seems to me that, if there was an affront calling for reprisals, it was an affront given <em>to</em> the wandering cultivator, not <em>by</em> him. As for the events, it was a series of stupid decisions by our sect members that culminated in a, forgive my bluntness, well-earned death. I knew Cai Yuze a little. While I don¡¯t know exactly why he went to see that wandering cultivator, I¡¯m confident it was for his own benefit, not the sect¡¯s benefit.


    ¡°As for the wandering cultivator himself, I don¡¯t know what to make of him. He¡¯s a walking contradiction. Disciples Zhu Fen and Sun Xue are convinced the man was a hidden master. The apparent ease with which he simultaneously suppressed them and his choice to spare them is consistent with that. Yet, the confrontation with Cai Yuze was fundamentally different. He seemingly made several attempts to avoid the confrontation, only to unleash catastrophic forces on the man. Why not simply suppress him as well and send him back to us as a warning?


    ¡°Then, to simply disappear that way. It¡¯s like something out of a story, not something that happens in real life. Real people leave trails. Unless, of course, he really is some kind of hidden master or a cultivation genius the likes of which no one has seen in fifty generations.¡±


    Elder He nodded. Working with the information he had avable to him, Lin Zimo had drawn conclusions that weren¡¯t far off from the ones Elder He himself had drawn.


    ¡°Elder He, do you think it might have been <em>him</em>?¡±


    ¡°Him?¡± asked Elder He, although he suspected he knew.


    ¡°The wandering cultivator that people are telling stories about. Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    Elder He had heard those tales and dismissed them, at first. Yet, as the days and weeks dragged by with no sign of the wandering cultivator, he had started to wonder. Then, he had started to worry. Those tales hade out of the East. Elder He Mingze was well aware, as the elders of all nearby sects were, of who lived in that direction. Kho Jaw-Long. The Living Spear. The Storm¡¯s Descent. Sects Bane. Every sect elder within hundreds of miles lived in absolute, mortal dread of drawing that man¡¯s ire. The only thing worse than that would be drawing the anger of both Kho Jaw-Long and his oldest friend, Feng Ming. As terrifying as Kho Jaw-Long was to sects, well, basically everywhere, Elder He personally feared Feng Ming even more. Kho Jaw-Long would shatter a sect in an explosion of elemental fury and towering wrath, but, when that fury and wrath were spent, he would leave. Whoever survived could rebuild or move on without fear of the nascent soul stage cultivator¡¯s return.


    It was not so with Feng Ming. Once he set himself the task of ending you, it was like a decree of death from the heavens. He would <em>never</em> stop hunting you. Elder He had heard tales of cultivators who ran from Fate¡¯s Razor for <em>centuries</em>, only to find him waiting for them the moment their attention slipped. The very idea of that man was enough to leave Elder He in a cold sweat. Yet, it was the notion that Kho Jaw-Long might have taken a student that had kept him up at night recently. What if this Judgment¡¯s Gale was someone that Kho Jaw-Long had trained and then sent out into the world? What if he was one and the same as the wandering cultivator their inner sect disciples had so grantly offended? What would happen?


    They needed to <em>find</em> this wandering cultivator. They needed to find him and, if possible, make amends. Even if he wasn¡¯t tied to Kho Jaw-Long, he could have been, and those idiot inner sect disciples could have brought his vengeance down on their heads. Even if the wandering cultivator was just a random wandering cultivator, he was already frighteningly powerful. One of the things that Lin Zimo was not aware of was that both Zhu Fen and Sun Xue were still recovering from the mental trauma of confronting that man¡¯s killing intent. If he really was only a foundation formation stage cultivator and wielding a killing intent like that, by the time he reached core formation, there was a good chance the man could crush the Stormy Ocean sect single-handedly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Elder He said. ¡°Perhaps. Regardless, finding him is now your only responsibility.¡±


    Lin Zimo nodded, even if he looked a bit pale. ¡°Elder, I, what am I to <em>do</em> when I find him?¡±


    ¡°You are to do nothing. Don¡¯t confront him. Don¡¯t even speak to him if you can avoid it. Just send word for me. I wille and try to make peace with the man.¡±


    The visibly relieved Lin Zimo bowed. ¡°I will do as you bid, Elder He.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 19: Settling Accounts (1)

    Book 2: Chapter 19: Settling ounts (1)


    Sen breathed in and out, his mind guiding the ever-more precise execution of his cultivation pattern. Yet, for all that he had improved on using it, and all the ws he could sense but not yet identify, Sen understood that this pattern could only serve him for so long. It might, <em>might</em>st him until core formation, but it couldn¡¯tst beyond that. It was only barely able to keep pace with the demands Sen put on his qi now. If he could continue making small improvements, it might keep pace for a while yet. Unlike when Sen had first started using this pattern and was grateful simply to get it to work, he could see now that it had been specifically designed for foundation formation cultivators and ones with smaller dantians and qi channels than Sen possessed. The problem was that he didn¡¯t know where to get another one. He supposed that he could try to design one himself, but he remembered all too well the endless hours he had spent learning the patterns for the qi types he knew. It was work that required a certain level of istion and, more importantly, safety, neither of which he expected to find much of in the near future.


    That led him to wonder just where Master Feng had gotten the manual for the technique in the first ce. Did he have piles of technique manuals just sitting in a cave somewhere, looted from some sect he or Uncle Kho had liberated from the burden of existing? Did he barter for it with someone? Sen would have to write and ask for some guidance. While his need for a new cycling technique wasn¡¯t a pressing matter yet, it would be one all too soon. Once he¡¯d made that decision, though, he wondered how long it would take for his often-absent master to receive the letter. For that matter, Sen wasn¡¯t altogether sure how anyone would get a response back to him. While Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop in Orchard¡¯s Reach was a convenient ce for him to send things <em>back</em>, he¡¯d made no arrangements for ces where people could send things to him.


    It was one of those practicalities that Grandmother Lu had kept insisting he wasn¡¯t thinking hard enough about. It pricked his pride a tiny bit to see that she was right, again. Mostly, though, it just made him miss her. He hoped that she was well on her way to that warmer southern region she had spoken about. Then again, she might still be in Orchard¡¯s Reach, spending some of that gold to expand the reach of her trading empire before she left. It would have been the practical thing to do. Then again, with all the upheaval in Orchard¡¯s Reach, she might have made a temporary move to somewhere the government was more predictable or at least more bribable. He''d have to leave a note for her the next time he came across one of her shops. They¡¯d know how to get it to her, eventually.


    For all the introspection he was doing, Sen wasn¡¯t wholly oblivious to the outside world. He had his spiritual sense extended. He was expecting something to happen and didn¡¯t want to be surprised when it did. He¡¯d risen early and taken up station outside the hut. He could feel that both of the women were still asleep inside the hut. That was unusual. Luo Min was an early riser by nature, and Luo Ping had seemed to be simr once she was truly on the mend again. She still tired easily, her stamina sapped by illness. Yet, he suspected that the real cause was the events of the previous day. Made of stern stuff or not, Luo Min had been attacked. It wasn¡¯t the kind of thing a person just shrugs off. <em>At least not the first twenty or thirty times it happens</em>, Sen thought with a touch of bitterness. Luo Min had no doubt had trouble falling asleep. Her mother had no doubt stayed up to keep her daughterpany.


    Both had been asleep by the time Sen returned from the deeps of the forest. Unlike the garbage he¡¯d left out there, the local spirit beasts did not find him a tempting target. He had, however, taken the young man well beyond any signs of human life. Then, he¡¯d stayed out there until the spirit beasts tracked the blood trail and finished what Sen had begun. He hadn¡¯t been willing to just trust that it would get done. Master Feng had a lot to say about leaving live enemies behind. He¡¯d no doubt disapprove of the fact that Sen hadn¡¯t dispatched those two girls on the beach. Yet, Sen was on a different path than Master Feng. For the elder cultivator, leaving those girls alive probably would have been a mistake, or at least vited the ts of his cultivation in some way. For Sen, it might also prove a mistake, but offering mercy wasn¡¯t inconsistent with the path he wanted to follow. He wasn¡¯t endangering his cultivation by doing it.


    ¡°Only your life,¡± Sen could almost hear Master Feng say.


    By keeping his spiritual sense extended, Sen felt someone approaching long before they arrived. Sen was just leaning on the hut¡¯s wall when a furious man stormed up the road, a sharp axe in his hand. It only took a few moments of observation to tell that, while the man might be strong, he wasn¡¯t trained to use that axe as a weapon. Taking a tiny measure of preemptive pity on the man, Sen summoned the extra spindle he¡¯d made for Bigan¡¯s damaged wagon wheel. He didn¡¯t n the kill the man, not if it wasn¡¯t necessary, so either the jian or the spear was overkill. Sen studied the man as he approached. A dark stubble that didn¡¯t quite qualify as a beard covered the man¡¯s jaw. His eyes were narrow, and Sen could see the anger in them. It was an old, persistent anger that likely pervaded the man¡¯s every action. As he drew close, he pointed the axe at Sen.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my son?¡±


    Sen considered trying to soften the blow, but he doubted that was possible. There was something a little haunted in the man¡¯s expression. He already feared the worst, so there was little point in dragging out the confirmation.


    ¡°Your son is dead,¡± Sen answered.


    Whatever tiny bit of restraint that the man had been nursing vanished. He took a wild swing at Sen. A quick parry with the spindle sent the axe flying, the pure force of Sen¡¯s blow too much for the man¡¯s strength. Shocked by the speed and force that Sen disyed, and deprived of his axe, the man just stared at Sen for a long moment. Then, the rage reasserted itself and the man started swinging. They were slow, poorly controlled punches that were meant to hit hard. Sen simply stepped out of the way of the blows. He didn¡¯t attack in response. Just kept stepping out of the way until the man was swaying on his feet, barely able to lift his hands to continue the failed assault.


    ¡°You murdered my son.¡±


    ¡°I executed a rapist.¡±


    ¡°My son never raped anyone!¡±


    There was a flicker of something in the man¡¯s eyes, but Sen could read it clearly enough.


    ¡°You knew.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a question.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know anything,¡± the man blustered, but there was no heat, no conviction in the words.


    ¡°You <em>knew</em>,¡± repeated Sen.


    Sen¡¯s hand seemed to move of its own volition. He seized the man by the throat and dragged him close.


    ¡°Let me go,¡± the man gasped, uselessly wing at Sen¡¯s arm.


    ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the man croaked.


    ¡°How many girls did he rape while you pretended not to know?¡±


    Sen realized the man¡¯s face was turning purple under his grip. If he held on any longer or applied any more pressure, he¡¯d probably kill the man. Sen released his grip. The other man copsed to the ground, choking, coughing, and wheezing in whatever air he could pull through his damaged throat. The shreds of pity andpassion Sen had managed to scrounge together for this man burned away in the furnace of Sen¡¯s fury. He ced the tip of the spindle directly over the man¡¯s heart and started applying pressure, increasing it with each passing second. The man tried to squirm away, so Sen pressed down harder. It was hard enough that it pinned the man in ce. Sen could feel bones shifting and bending in the man¡¯s chest.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t enough to murder my son?¡± the man gasped. ¡°You¡¯re going to murder me too?¡±


    ¡°You say that word, murder, like it means something to me. Like it might somehow make me stop. Do you have any idea how often a cultivator must kill?¡±


    ¡°Cultivator?¡± the man said, any semnce of hope draining from his face.


    ¡°Compared with most cultivators,¡± Sen continued, ¡°I¡¯m a gentle, peaceful man. And even I¡¯ve killed half a dozen people in thest few months. As for killing a man who let his son get away with rape, well, let me put it this way. My master would tell me to burn your family out, root and branch. Right now, I¡¯m inclined to take that advice. Do you know what would happen to me afterward?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± snarled the man on the ground.


    ¡°Nothing. Nothing at all. Everyone would just pretend it never happened. The way <em>you</em> pretended it never happened.¡±


    Sen pressed down a little harder on the spindle, and the man cried out in pain.


    ¡°Terrifying, isn¡¯t it? Crying out in pain. Crying out for help. Knowing deep down inside that there¡¯s absolutely nothing you can do to stop me. This is just a <em>taste</em> of what you helped your son get away with. I should just kill you and be done with it,¡± said Sen, as much to himself as to the man on the ground.


    ¡°Sen,¡± said a quiet voice from behind him.


    Sen looked over his shoulder and saw Luo Min standing there. Her face was so white that she looked like she¡¯d died.


    ¡°You should go back inside, Min. You don¡¯t need to watch this.¡±


    ¡°<em>He</em> didn¡¯t hurt me. He doesn¡¯t deserve to die.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t agree. He didn¡¯t agree <em>at all</em>. Yet, he had inserted himself into this situation. <em>He</em> hadn¡¯t been harmed. He¡¯d never been in danger at all. Luo Min was the one who had a grievance here, and she didn¡¯t want this man dead. Sen wrestled with himself, with his own desire to take revenge. But whose revenge? Was any of this really about Luo Min? Or was it about him? Was he letting this man y substitute for those noble brats who had beaten him as a child? Was that why he was so angry with this man? Sen had thought he was past those feelings of helplessness. After all, he¡¯d handed out beatings to those childhood assants. It had been cathartic, but maybe he¡¯d been too optimistic that he had been healed by that experience. It seemed that some kinds of pain lingered.


    Still, he had let those bandits go, knowing they¡¯d hurt others and might do so again. He¡¯d let them go because they simply weren¡¯t a threat. The man on the ground was no threat to him. He never had been, even with the axe in hand. Of course, Sen wouldn¡¯t always be on the farm to serve as a shield against any would-be assants. In fact, his intuition told him that his time in the vige was swiftlying to an end. While no threat to Sen, the man could easily be a threat to Luo Min and her mother. Sen <em>could</em> just make the decision and kill him anyway, but then Luo Min would have to live with it. He beat his own feelings back. It was hard, harder than he would have expected it to be, but he did it.


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Sen.


    Sen put the spindle back into his storage ring. Before the man could so much as try to stand, Sen grabbed a fistful of robes and dragged him away from the hut. When he was beyond Luo Min¡¯s earshot, Sen hauled the man to his feet and stared him in the eyes.


    ¡°That idea I see brewing in your eyes right now, <em>kill it</em>. If any harmes to either of those women, I will turn your world into a graveyard.¡±


    Then, with a kind of precision Sen didn¡¯t even know he possessed, he let a sliver of his killing intent slip. He only let it loose for a moment, just long enough to let the man understand what he would have to look forward to if he defied Sen¡¯s wishes in this. It had the desired effect. Before the man could talk his legs into running away, Sen grabbed his robes again.


    ¡°Never forget, you sorry excuse for a man, that you owe that girl a life debt.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 20: Settling Accounts (2)

    Book 2: Chapter 20: Settling ounts (2)


    Luo Ping was frowning down the road. ¡°There¡¯s a big part of me that wishes you had killed him.¡±


    Sen gave her a sympathetic look. ¡°I would have. Hells, I probably <em>should</em> have. At the end of the day, though, you and Min have to live here. I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°Soon?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not time, yet, but soon. I¡¯m still supposed to do something or learn something here. I¡¯m just not quite sure what. Are you worried about him?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the kind to hold a grudge,¡± said Luo Ping with a grimace. ¡°He may me you. He may me us. I hope you won¡¯t think too badly of me if I hope he mes you.¡±


    Senughed. That was a kind of practicality that Grandmother Lu would have appreciated. It was also the best possible oue, all things considered.


    ¡°I won¡¯t. I hope he does, too. Still, I¡¯ll pay him a visit before I go. His axe is over there somewhere,¡± said Sen, gesturing. ¡°It¡¯ll give me an excuse to stop by.¡±


    ¡°I never did thank you for helping me.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m d I could help.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re different than I thought cultivators would be. I always thought they¡¯d be,¡± she trailed off, a thoughtful look on her face.


    ¡°Arrogant. Violent. I am those things, sometimes, when I need to be. It¡¯s just not all that I am. It cost me nothing to showpassion for your situation, except maybe a little lost sleep. I can afford to lose a little sleep now and then.¡±


    ¡°When you leave, do you know where you¡¯ll go?¡±


    Sen thought about it before he shook his head. ¡°South, I expect, but that¡¯s about as much as I¡¯ve decided.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a grand n, then?¡±


    ¡°Grand ns are for sects and old monsters. I am a mere wandering cultivator. I make do with vague ideas.¡±


    ¡°Well, I hope your vague ideas get you to stay somewhere asionally. It might seem small to you, but you helped a lot more people here than just me. Some of those problems you fixed were things people suffered with for years. You¡¯re a bit of a hero in these parts.¡±


    Sen snorted at that. ¡°I¡¯m no hero.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not to yourself. You¡¯re a hero to Min, though. It¡¯s going to break her heart a little when you leave.¡±


    Sen sighed at that. ¡°Perhaps, but it¡¯s also best for her that I leave.¡±


    ¡°I wish I could say that you were wrong about that, but you aren¡¯t. You¡¯re too handsome for her own good. You¡¯ll stay that way, too, won¡¯t you? Isn¡¯t that how cultivation works?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly, but close enough. Assuming I live, I¡¯ll still look like this when she¡¯s an old woman.¡±


    Luo Ping shuddered. ¡°What a terrible thing that would be.¡±


    Sen almost asked what she meant, but he supposed he already knew. It would be terrible for any mortal to be confronted daily by the ever-youthful appearance of a cultivator. That pain would likely only bepounded for a lover. For the cultivator, the certain knowledge that they would have to bury any mortal they grew close to would serve as a permanent stone around their necks. It would be equally terrible, if terrible in apletely different way. Yet, the whole thing took on a depth for Sen that it hadn¡¯t before. He¡¯d known all of that that way he knew his numbers, in an impersonal and abstract way. Having spent weeks of his life living on this farm, getting to know Luo Min and Luo Ping, and indirectly participating in themunity, he could get a taste of how terrible it would all feel in practice.


    Sen knew that he was nowhere close to true immortality. As things stood now, he would live for centuries. At least, that was how Master Feng exined it. Yet, he might as well be immortal to the people who lived in this vige. The thought of watching all of them wither and die, then watching their children wither and die left him feeling ill. The thought of standing the deathwatch over Luo Min wrenched at his heart. That brief, imagined future pain helped Sen understand the sects a little better. People surely came and went in the sects. People no doubt died sometimes, but there was a kind of continuity that you could expect. The faces around you would remain as ageless as your own. The decades and centuries would pass, and you would still have known at least some of the people in the sect the entire time you were there.


    He also understood Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong a little better, as well. Sen was aware that Uncle Kho had other reasons for staying isted, but he suspected steering clear of attachments to mortals yed a meaningful role in his choice to stay on his mountain. Withdrawing for years, even decades at a time let Auntie Caihong keep a certain mental and emotional distance, even from the people who presumably ran her various businesses. Sen had to imagine that decades away did a lot to erode emotional bonds. To make matters moreplicated, most of the rtionships wandering cultivators formed would be with mortals. Sen nned to steer clear of sects moving forward, after all, which also meant steering clear of most of the other cultivators in the world.


    Just like that, Sen knew why he¡¯d been sent to this ce, or at least a part of it. He¡¯d needed to understand a key part of what being a wandering cultivator meant. While Sen could afford to be friendly with mortals, he couldn¡¯t let them into his heart the same way he¡¯d let people like Grandmother Lu, Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho into his heart. The sheer volume of loss as time moved inexorably forward would destroy him. It wouldn¡¯t matter how strong he was. There woulde a point where his life would feel like a constant funeral. Strong ties to lots of mortals just weren¡¯t sustainable. Settling down somewhere among the mortals wasn¡¯t sustainable. He knew himself well enough to know that he couldn¡¯t live among mortals and not form rtionships. Perhaps others could, or simply had more practice at keeping people at a certain remove, but Sen wasn¡¯t among their numbers. For him, for the time being, travel was the answer. Moving on all the time would be the only way to preserve his sanity.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean he had the tools to simply ignore the rtionships he had <em>already</em> formed. The people who lived on this farm, and in the vige to a lesser extent, mattered to him. He could be a part of their lives. He couldn¡¯t do it all the time, for that wayy madness, but certainly from time to time. This could be the ce that he orbited from, venturing out into the world, maybe for years at a time, but alwaysing back. He could check in on Luo Min, like an older brother or an uncle, and ensure that she didn¡¯t suffer a life of want or desperation. He could spend a week or two dispensing his elixirs to the vigers. Yes, he decided, he could be like a quiet blessing to this one vige. It might not be the ideal solution, but the time for ideal solutions hade and gone already. It was a solution he could live with.


    Even cultivators needed something to ground them in the world. Sen had seen in himself the possibility of losing his way in the constant pursuit of a more perfect cultivation method or simple fixation on challenging the heavens. Those higher pursuits could be obsessions if he let them. This little vige, at least for the next few decades, could serve as the anchor that kept him tethered to the world. No, it certainly wasn¡¯t a perfect solution, because it would mean that he¡¯d eventually have to bury Luo Min, but Sen supposed that loss was a part of bnce as well. He would enjoy a great many benefits from cultivation over the long years ahead, but those benefits had a cost. Suffering those losses, weathering them, that would be <em>his</em> cost. It wasn¡¯t something he could look forward to, but it was something he could prepare himself for.


    ¡°You look like you just understood something very important,¡± said Luo Ping.


    ¡°I suppose I did. A piece of it anyway.¡±


    ¡°Care to share?¡±


    Sen ran through what he¡¯d gleaned and ultimately shook his head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t the kind of insight that trantes especially well. It was a tiny bit of enlightenment, but only for me, for my particr path through the world.¡±


    ¡°So, it helped?¡±


    Sen offered the woman a half-smile. ¡°It¡¯ll take me a lifetime to answer that question. Maybe a couple of them. It did help me understand why I needed toe here, though. And what being a wandering cultivator will mean for me. So, yes, I guess it did help.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 21: Restoring Balance

    Book 2: Chapter 21: Restoring Bnce


    Sen procrastinated for almost two weeks. He didn¡¯t call it procrastination, of course, and he made good use of the time. He helped Luo Min and Luo Ping in their fields, doing more heavybor in a few days than any normal paidbor could have done in a month. He clearednd, taking a bit of satisfaction in using the axe he hadn¡¯t bothered to return yet. Then he used the drying technique that he¡¯d mastered on the road to season the wood. Some of it he simply split into firewood for use the following winter. Some of it, though, he prepared into nks, boards, and beams. With Luo Ping¡¯s rather stunned permission, he bartered with the local craftsman. Some of the prepared wood went into expanding the hut into something more like a home. The rest was used as payment for the work. Sen had considered building it himself, but while he had more than enough raw physical strength for the work, hecked experience. He did, however, take time out every day to observe the craftsman at work. He asked the asional question so he¡¯d know what to do if he ever needed to build something for himself, even if only as a temporary shelter.


    He set up a qi gathering formation and obscuring formation, then went into seclusion in his tent for three days. He used two days of that time to form a few more drops of the precious liquid qi that would one day fill his dantian and be his core. The third day he used to partially replenish some of the vaporous qi that filled the rest of his dantian. Once again, he had far less of it than he was trulyfortable with. Yet, even those few extra drops of liquid qi had boosted the basic strength of everything he did. Unless he was called on to engage in an extended fight with another cultivator, he expected that what he had would suffice for now.


    He was happy to see that the message he¡¯d sent the vige as a whole was finally being taken seriously. Far fewer young men showed up to the farm, but the ones who did were deeply respectful to Luo Min and Luo Ping. More important, both for Sen¡¯s peace of mind and the long-term health prospects of those young men, was that none of them made him automatically ufortable. For his part, Sen hung back from those interactions. A few of the young men were obviously bad fits for Luo Min, but Sen decided that was a matter for Luo Ping and Luo Min to discuss for themselves. He¡¯d interfered enough with their lives at this point.


    He was overdue to leave. He knew it. He could feel it in his heart. There was a subtle but building pressureing from somewhere urging him to go. He wasn¡¯t staying for their benefit anymore, but to fulfill some need of his own that had nothing to do with enlightenment or cultivation. He was hanging on to them, to that little farm, to the almost family they had formed. Some part of him <em>wanted</em> to stay. Worse, he knew that all it would take would be a single question from him to make it happen. <em>Can I stay here, Luo Ping?</em> She would say yes, for countless reasons. Her gratitude to him would y a role, certainly, but the presence of a cultivator would make countless other things easier for her. There was always hard work to be done on a farm. His mere presence would discourage spirit beasts from roaming their fields. His alchemical knowledge was a boon to themunity. Keeping him there would be a benefit...right up until the moment it wasn¡¯t.


    Sooner orter, another cultivator with questionable intentions would pass through. Someone looking to challenge themselves or simply to fight because it was all they understood. Then, Sen¡¯s presence would be an anchor that could drag the entire vige down. Maybe he could lead the fight away from the vige and farms, but maybe not. He¡¯d seen firsthand how reckless other cultivators were when it came to the mortals around them. In the end, the simple fact of Sen¡¯s existence was a threat to their peace, their livelihoods, and ultimately their lives. That was why he <em>needed</em> to leave. Yet, he lingered, unable or perhaps unwilling to shed the tiny slice of normalcy he¡¯d found.


    His encounters with the sect in Tide¡¯s Rest had soured him on sects in general, and he feared that every visit to a city would end with him in conflict with one sect or another. He also knew that wasn¡¯t a rational fear. Wandering cultivators weaker than himself sessfully managed to avoid such problems, or so Master Feng and Auntie Caihong imed. Uncle Kho had his own thoughts on the matter, which the elder cultivator freely admitted were biased. Looking back, Sen wasn¡¯t especially thrilled with his own actions where Cai Yuze was concerned. He¡¯d still been deeply angry when the other cultivator showed up at the inn. Sen <em>had</em> tried to avoid the fight in some senses, but hindsight let him know that he¡¯d encouraged it in other ways. He¡¯d been disdainful of the other cultivator. Given how entitled those disciples on the beach had been, it wasn¡¯t much of a leap to understand that such disdain would likely set the man off. Then, when the predictable had happened, Sen had used it an as excuse. Granted, he couldn¡¯t have known for sure at the time that he could take the other cultivator in a straight fight, but he hadn¡¯t even tried. He¡¯d gone straight for overwhelming force.


    The truth was that he could have been more diplomatic. He just hadn¡¯t wanted to at that moment. Not that all the me rested solely on him. The other cultivator hadn¡¯t taken the obvious hints. He¡¯d acted like an ass. He¡¯de charging out of the inn with his qi ring and shouting nonsense about being Sen¡¯s better. Oh, yes, there was plenty of me to pass around for that particr incident, but Sen had to own his share of it. The prospect of entering another city and facing simr problems haunted him. Of course, he also wasn¡¯t likely to have a moment of enlightenment interrupted like that again. Those moments came along rarely enough that the odds of another cultivator showing up at that exact moment to drop a challenge were exceedingly low. If there was a lesson to be drawn from that whole incident, it wasn¡¯t that all sects and sect members were evil. It was that Sen should avoid them when possible and treat them with wary respect when it wasn¡¯t possible. It wasn¡¯t a foolproof n. Some cultivators would always be itching for a fight, but Sen didn¡¯t have to make starting those fights easy for them.


    All that remained was to actually go out and do it. And that meant abandoning the safe little niche he¡¯d carved out for himself in the quiet vige and moving on. Sen took a deep breath, looked across the fields of the farm he¡¯d been working on all day, and then nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to go,¡± he said.


    Nothing changed. A nearby honeybee continued its business of gathering pollen from wildflowers. A bird hopped from one tree branch to another. The wind passed around Sen, gently moving his robes, before it rustled nearby leaves and grass. Sen smiled. This ce would survive fine without him. Some would miss him. Some would curse him. Yet, the crops would still grow. The harvest would stille. People would still gather near stoves when snow nketed the earth. Sen had disturbed the bnce of this ce with his arrival and his actions. For a short while, he even became part of that delicate bnce. Now, it was time that he restore the bnce to what it should be. Picking up the tools he had been using, Sen made his way back to the hut, which was looking ever more like a house.


    Sen did something that he hadn¡¯t done in a while, and he prepared dinner for Luo Min and Luo Ping. He prepared a small feast for them, within the limits of what they had on hand. Even at its most well-stocked, the little farm hut couldn¡¯t hope to match what Auntie Caihong took for granted in her kitchen. Still, Sen prepared fish and pork, dumplings, fried rice, and even a version of those pineapple buns he¡¯d enjoyed so much using a few apples that they had on hand. Both women made appreciative noises throughout the meal andvished him with praise. He waved away those words, dering that his skill was a meager thing. Then, having filled their stomachs with good food, Sen told them he was leaving the next day. Luo Ping didn¡¯t look surprised, just a little sad at the news. Luo Min apparently hadn¡¯t really prepared herself because she looked like she might cry.


    ¡°It¡¯s not goodbye forever. I¡¯m a wandering cultivator, after all. It stands to reason that I¡¯ll wander this way again.¡±


    ¡°You better,¡± said Min.


    ¡°However, since I¡¯ll miss your wedding, I¡¯ve prepared gifts for your both.¡±


    Sen handed them each a small wooden box that he¡¯d made himself. It had taken a trip to the vige to find red paper to wrap them with. Luo Ping lifted an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°Should we open them now?¡± she asked.


    Sen shook his head. ¡°No, wait until the day. You¡¯ll understand then.¡±


    Luo Min was staring at the little box as though she could see inside of it through sheer force of will. She red at him.


    ¡°This is so unfair! I might have to wait years to open this!¡±


    ¡°Somehow, I doubt you¡¯ll be waiting years,¡± said Sen with augh.


    ¡°Do you have to go?¡± Luo Min asked with sudden seriousness.


    ¡°I do. It¡¯s long past time I move along and stop interfering in your lives. Your mother is well, which was all I meant to do. Now, I think, your farm will find itself in better circumstancese harvest and next spring.¡±


    ¡°Better circumstances,¡± said Luo Ping with a snort. ¡°Yes, I suppose that¡¯s one way to describe it. You¡¯ve been a blessing on this house, Lu Sen.¡±


    Sen bowed to Luo Ping. ¡°And I wish for it to remain that way. If I stay, other cultivators wille. So, I choose to leave before that happens.¡±


    The three stayed upte that night, talking,ughing, soaking up just a little more time together. Like so many things that people relish, though, that night had to end. In the morning, Sen put away his formation gs. He packed up his tent. Then, he said his goodbyes.


    Sen offered Luo Ping a deep bow. ¡°Goodbye, for now, Luo Ping.¡±


    She offered him a simr bow and a mischievous smile. ¡°Goodbye, for now, Lu Sen, humble student of alchemy.¡±


    Then, he turned to Luo Min and offered her a bow. ¡°Goodbye, for now, Sister Min.¡±


    Luo Min put on a smile that looked to cost her something and bowed back. ¡°Goodbye, for now, Brother Sen, wandering cultivator.¡±


    Then, with nothing but an axe in his hand, Sen turned and left the Luo farm.

 Book 2: Chapter 22: Elder Sen

    Book 2: Chapter 22: Elder Sen


    Sen made only two brief stops on his way out of the vige. The first stop was at the small market to stock up on some extra food. Sen had acquired a bit of a taste for the local fish and suspected they might be hard toe by once he left. He¡¯d also concluded that it wasrgely impossible to have too much fresh produce avable while traveling. While it was still too early in the season for many of the locally grown crops, Sen purchased liberally from what was avable. Not for the first time, he wondered how people got by without storage rings that could preserve food in a fresh state. Then again, most people didn¡¯t spend weeks at a time away from the rtive convenience of a market. They didn¡¯t need a way to store fresh food the way he did.


    His second stop was less friendly. He walked up to the unkempt-looking man standing outside the poorly maintained house and held out the axe. The man recoiled from the axe, or Sen, or possibly both as though Sen had issued a challenge to the death. Sen said nothing, just stood there, a t expression on his face, and waited for the man to take the axe. As the man reached out, Sen infused a little of the qi he¡¯d been cycling and lightning crackled around the axe head. The man yanked his hand back, the color bleeding away from his face at the reminder of Sen¡¯s status as a cultivator. As satisfied as he could be that he¡¯d reinforced his threats, Sen pulled the qi out of the axe. He waited there, patiently, until the man took the axe with a trembling hand.


    His final task in the vigepleted, Sen turned south and began walking. He wasn¡¯t in any particr hurry. Nor was he making great efforts to hide himself. The once persistent paranoia that cultivators from the Stormy Sea sect were relentlessly hunting him had faded over time. While Sen was reasonably confident in his woodcraft and hiding abilities, he wasn¡¯t optimistic that he could elude a truly dedicated effort to find him. If there had been people looking for him, <em>really</em> looking for him, they would have found him by now. He hadn¡¯t traveled so far or so fast that he would have lost all pursuit. No, the far more likely answer was the sect had decided that pursuing him simply wasn¡¯t worth the effort. Maybe Cai Yuze had been unpopr. Maybe his choice to spare those girls on the beach had tempered their wrath in some way. He didn¡¯t know, but he was willing to ept the apparent good luck and move on.


    As the miles between him and the vige grew, that sense of pressure that had been inexorably bearing down on him began to fade. It didn¡¯t happen immediately or fast enough that it stopped him in his tracks. Instead, he slowly became aware over the course of several days that he felt lighter, less burdened. He had dallied, hiding from the necessities of being out in the world. Now that he was no longer hiding, the source of that growing pressure had released him from its grasp. Yet, for all that he was no longer hiding, Sen was also more cautious. He might exchange greetings with other travelers he met on the road, but he rarely invited conversations with them. Instead, he cultivated and idly spected about why dominant qi types in a given area shifted from air to earth or earth to metal, while the forest that dominated the area around the road looked the same as it did for miles in any direction.


    As he traveled, Sen also began to marvel at the sheer size of the continent. Uncle Kho had warned him that even good maps were rarely urate about distances. Now, Sen understood why the elder cultivator had issued that warning. On a map, the distance between Tide¡¯s Rest and the next major city, Emperor¡¯s Bay, looked negligible. Onnd, that distance was probably hundreds of miles, which meant weeks of travel by foot. It didn¡¯t bother Sen, as he had both time and the reinforcements of body cultivation to support his journey. Yet, if his guesses were urate, that meant that the southern coast was thousands of miles away. It was no longer mysterious to him why the continent was divided into kingdoms. No onend could possibly control such a vast territory. The time it would take for news to reach the ears of authority would make any relief sent in the wake of a disaster or uprising months toote.


    Even for a cultivator who could, if he decided to, cover much more ground, much more quickly, there were limits. His qi stores would run low, at which point he would have to revert to the modes of travel that mortals favored. He could walk, get a cart, or learn to ride a horse. With this newfound appreciation of the pure size of the continent, he found himself struggling to believe that Master Feng had ever so much as visited the western coast of the continent, let alone owned a pastry shop there. Then, he began to wonder just how far Master Feng could travel in a day or a week. The gulf between the foundation formation stage and the nascent soul stage was so vast that Sen had no true sense of what that level of development allowed cultivators like Master Feng to do. He¡¯d only ever seen tiny glimpses, hints of the power that cultivation level offered.


    While Sen could, with careful management, keep up a qinggong technique for most of the day. He knew he couldn¡¯t do it for three days, let alone a week. Yet, he suspected that Master Feng could literally fly. How long could the old cultivator maintain that? Was there even a functional limit? Sun reasoned that there must <em>be</em> a limit, but he was hard-pressed to imagine what that limit would even look like. As a rule, Sen hadn¡¯t craved cultivation advancement purely for the sake of more power. Yet, as he considered the possibilities of traveling to anywhere on the continent that he wanted to go in a matter of days or weeks instead of months or even a year, he found a spark of ambition in himself that hadn¡¯t been there before. The freedom that such power offered resonated with something in Sen¡¯s soul. While he wouldn¡¯t rush to advance, he did find that he <em>wanted</em> that advancement in a much more real way than he ever had before.


    Sen was so caught up in his visions of unrestricted travel that it took a few seconds before his mind truly registered what he was hearing. There was fighting ahead. Sen sighed. Some caravan had probably run afoul of bandits. Sen supposed it was inevitable that he¡¯d run across more of the ouws at some point. While he wasn¡¯t really inclined to interfere, he also wasn¡¯t inclined to let a bunch of mortals get killed for the great sin of using the road. Sen <em>hid</em> to ensure that he¡¯d have the element of surprise with the bandits. He didn¡¯t necessarily require the element of surprise, but he also saw no benefit in surrendering an advantage when he didn¡¯t need to do so. When he rounded the bend in the road, though, what came into sight was not what he had expected. Instead of wagons being desperately defended by overmatched guards, he saw what looked like utter madness. There were perhaps eight people in the road, fighting each other in what looked like a very serious attempt to kill each other.


    Based on the qi techniques he saw getting thrown around, they were all cultivators. Four of them were dressed in a motley assortment of colors and differently styled robes. The other four wore matched robes. <em>A sect uniform</em>, <em>perhaps</em>, Sen wondered. When Sen had first approached, he¡¯d intended to intervene. Now, he wasn¡¯t sure what, if anything, he should do. He¡¯d felt an automatic dislike for the people he¡¯d tentatively identified as sect members, but he knew where that came from. The reality was that he didn¡¯t know what was happening in front of him. Maybe the sect cultivators really had initiated the fight because they were awful people, but the other cultivators could just as easily be criminals. Without something more tangible to go on than his own dislike for sects, he couldn¡¯t intervene in this. Plus, without more information, he wasn¡¯t sure it was entirely wise to do so. Sen let his spiritual sense spread out briefly to get a feel for the other cultivators. All of them were in the qi condensing or foundation formation stage. Sen frowned at the disy. Was this some kind of cultivator tavern brawl, just yed out at a safe distance from fragile mortal structures?


    What he hadn¡¯t expected was for all of the fighting to stop, immediately, when his spiritual sense briefly flickered through the crowd of battling cultivators. All of them were staring at him. He felt at least three different people¡¯s spiritual senses wash over the area where he stood. Two were from foundation formation stage cultivators in sect robes, the other came from a hatchet-faced man in the second group. All three of them immediately straightened up and look worried when they discovered that, as far as their spiritual senses were concerned, Sen didn¡¯t exist. He considered letting his hiding method drop, but it seemed to be the only thing keeping these people from killing each other. So, he let it persist. The cultivators had retreated from each other and stood in tightly huddled groups. They were all just staring at Sen, which made him deeply ufortable. He¡¯d spent enough of his life hiding from the gazes of others that any kind of prolonged, focused attention made him feel like running away. Finally, a young-looking woman from the group of sect cultivators stepped forward.


    She offered a tentative bow and said, ¡°Forgiveness, elder? With your permission, we will clear away this rabble so you may pass unmolested.¡±


    ¡°Rabble!¡± roared the hatchet-faced man. ¡°You attacked us for no reason, you sect bitch!¡±


    The young woman whirled toward the hatchet-face man, white-hot fury on her face. ¡°No reason? There are bounties for you in three kingdoms, you murderous piece of filth.¡±


    The hatchet-faced man gave her a smug look. ¡°Prove it.¡±


    Looking just as smug, the young woman summoned a piece of paper from a storage treasure and showed it to the man. Then, realizing that she¡¯d turned her back on someone who might well be her better, she spun back to Sen. She held up the paper for Sen to see. Cycling air qi, he gently lifted the paper from her hand and flew it over to himself. He looked down at the paper, where he saw a crude, but recognizable drawing of the hatchet-faced man. There was also a physical description of him and hispanions, as well as a substantial list of their various crimes. A sum that even Sen could recognize as sizeable was listed for the man¡¯s capture or death. With a casual gesture, he sent the paper back to the young woman. Part of him had really wanted her to be on the wrong side of this, but it seemed they were actually carrying out a public service. Sen weighed how best to handle it. Sighing to himself, Sen fixed his gaze on the hatchet-faced man.


    ¡°Put down your weapons,¡± ordered Sen.


    ¡°Those are lies! All lies!¡± screamed the man.


    Sen drew his jian and strode up to within striking distance of the man. ¡°Do it now.¡±


    The hatchet-faced man didn¡¯t hesitate,unching a furious attack with his own jian. Criminal or not, the man had been well-trained by someone. It was the first time that he had been truly pressed at all by someone since thest time he sparred with Master Feng. Sadly for the other man, he was no Master Feng. The exchangested for approximately ten seconds before Sen found the opening that he was looking for and neatly drove his de into the man¡¯s heart.


    While most of Sen¡¯s attention had been on the fight with the hatchet-faced man, he¡¯d devoted a little attention to cycling earth qi. It wasn¡¯t his favorite qi type. Using it was always so much harder than using fire or shadow or, these days, even lightning qi. Still, he could use it. So, while everyone watched the fight, Sen quietly sealed the feet of the hatchet-faced cultivator¡¯spanions in hardened earth. He turned his gaze on those men. Two of them immediately dropped their weapons. Thest tried to run and fell over. Sen heard muttering from the sect cultivators, including the phrase ¡°sword genius.¡± <em>What fools</em>, he thought. Sen took a moment to wipe his jian clean before sheathing it. He turned to the sect cultivators and gestured at the corpse and the other men.


    ¡°There. Collect your bounty.¡±


    The young woman who had spoken before gave him a much deeper bow and said, ¡°I cannot, elder.¡±


    With another sigh, Sen stopped <em>hiding</em> and said, ¡°I¡¯m <em>not</em> an elder.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 23: Soaring Skies

    Book 2: Chapter 23: Soaring Skies


    ¡°Wait! Where are you going?¡± the woman from the sect shouted as she ran down the road after Sen.


    Sen kept walking as he pointed down the road and said, ¡°That direction.¡±


    The stunned silence that had followed Sen¡¯s revtion that he was just a foundation formation stage cultivator was followed by a more awkward silence as the seven surviving cultivators studied him. The men who had been with the hatchet-faced cultivator seemed absolutely baffled by Sen. They couldn¡¯t seem to wrap their minds around the idea that he had beaten their leader. The sect cultivators were a little more varied. The young woman who was the apparent leader of the group eyed him carefully. A hulking man puffed himself up like he thought he could take Sen, right up until the moment Sen met his eyes. All of the pride seemed to drain out of the man under Sen¡¯s cold, steady gaze. The other woman in the sect group was eyeing him, well, like she thought he¡¯d be a delicious steak. It was a little unsettling. Sen had turned his eyes to thest of the sect party, and that young man had gone red to the tips of his ears. It took Sen a moment to recognize the reaction, and then he groaned internally. Sen decided that he needed to start wearing a mask or something. <em>Maybe some kind of a cowl</em>, he thought. Losing his patience a little, Sen pointed to the ouw cultivators.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you tie them up or something?¡± he asked. ¡°That dirt around their feet won¡¯t hold them forever, you know.¡±


    Those words seemed to remind the sect cultivators that they were there for an actual purpose. They descended on the three remaining criminals, tying them up and putting some kind of seal on them that seemed to repress their qi cycling. While the sect members had been busy with that, Sen had taken the opportunity to leave. He¡¯d done his part and more in that little altercation. Let the sectckeys deal with the mess. He¡¯d gotten almost half a mile before the sect girl had caught up with him.


    ¡°Will you please just stop?¡± she asked, an almost intive edge to her voice.


    Gritting his teeth, Sen stopped. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Why are you leaving?¡±


    ¡°Because none of this is <em>my</em> business. I¡¯d prefer to keep it that way.¡±


    ¡°But you killed Cheng Bojing. There¡¯s a reward.¡±


    That thought tempted Sen for all of about two seconds. The reward for the man¡¯s death could likely fund his travels for some time toe. Then, reality settled over him again. iming that reward would mean dealing with these sect members, possibly for days or even weeks, and then likely dealing with their elders. Two things that Sen had zero interest in doing. Turning back to face the young woman, he gave her a small martial bow.


    ¡°Keep the reward with my blessing.¡±


    Then, he turned and started walking down the road again. For a few glorious moments, he thought that it was going to work. Then, the girl jogged after him again.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do that. We didn¡¯t kill him.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m telling you that you <em>can</em>. Let your mastersvish praise and resources down on you for a job well done. You did capture his gang,¡± said Sen and muttered under his breath, ¡°technically.¡±


    ¡°Juste back to our sect with us. im what¡¯s yours.¡±


    At those words, Sen stopped short, and his hand dropped to his jian. ¡°Do you mean to force me?¡±


    The young woman looked genuinely shocked at the very suggestion. ¡°No, of course not.¡±


    Sen rxed. ¡°Then, thank you, but no thank you.¡±


    He returned to his ground-consuming stride, but the girl from the sect kept pace with him. She didn¡¯t speak for a time, just studied him from the corner of her eye. He bit back the urge to tell her to go away. He was doing his best to follow through on his decision to treat sect members with wary respect. After they¡¯d covered another half mile, she broke the silence.


    ¡°Is it me? Do you think my promises aren¡¯t binding on my sect?¡±


    Sen blinked at the suggestion, thenughed. ¡°No, at least that possibility hadn¡¯t urred to me. Although, I suppose I¡¯ll have to bear it in mind in the future.¡±


    She stiffened a little then and said, ¡°Then you doubt the honor of the Soaring Skies sect.¡±


    Sen knew he was on dangerous ground there, but he also recognized the trap for what it was. If he said yes, she could challenge him to a duel on the spot. If he said no, she could insist that he return to their sect to be ¡°honored.¡± Sen stopped walking and looked at the young woman. Sen didn¡¯t know exactly what expression he was wearing, but it was enough of <em>something</em> to make the sect girl take a full step back from him.


    ¡°You misunderstand,¡± said Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t doubt the honor of your sect, in particr. When ites to wandering cultivators, I doubt the honor and good intentions of every single sect on this <em>continent</em>. So, will it be a challenge now?¡±


    The girl didn¡¯t say anything. She just stood there with her mouth hanging open a little, as though Sen¡¯s words had stunned her into a stupor. Sen gave it a mental five count. She still hadn¡¯t said anything.


    Tired of this entire encounter, Sen said, ¡°Quickly if you will. I¡¯d prefer it if I didn¡¯t have to kill your three friends as well.¡±


    That seemed to snap the girl out of her daze. ¡°Not all sects are filled with honorless dogs.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say that¡¯s true. By what magical means am I to know which sects are trustworthy and which are not? Take your word for it?¡±


    That problem had apparently not urred to the young woman, because she didn¡¯t have an answer.


    ¡°I have every reason to believe that if I¡¯m stupid enough to walk into a sectpound, I shouldn¡¯t expect to leave it. Now, if you don¡¯t n on challenging me, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t n to challenge you.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Sen and continued down the road.


    ¡°Wu Meng yao,¡± the girl called after him.


    Sen looked back at her. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I am Wu Meng yao. If youe to Emperor¡¯s Bay, you can send me a message at the sect. I will personally deliver your rewards to you.¡±


    Sen repressed the snort that tried to escape from him. He had the intuition that Wu Meng yao might actually be as honorable as she seemed. He might trust <em>her</em> if the situation were dire. The rest of her sect was another story entirely. He gave her another small bow.


    ¡°Travel safely, Wu Meng yao.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t even tell me your name?¡±


    He thought for a moment. ¡°Will you share it with your sect?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± she said automatically.


    Sen could see the moment she realized what she¡¯d done. He watched as she winced at the knowledge. He could also see that she wanted to take the words back or, barring that, weaken the conviction with which she said them. Yet, she didn¡¯t. His opinion of her rose a bit.


    ¡°Then, no, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t share that with you. I am but a mere wandering cultivator who came and went without ever introducing himself. After all, us wandering cultivators are all just poorly trained peasants. What can you expect?¡±


    ¡°No peasant taught you to fight like <em>that</em>,¡± said Wu Meng yao.


    Sen gave her a bright smile, ¡°You cannot imagine how wrong you are about that.¡±


    Laughing to himself, Sen set off down the road again. Yet, curiosity got the better of him. When he saw Wu Meng yao had turned around and started back toward the other sect members, he slipped off the road. He <em>hid</em> and followed her back. He wanted to know if they¡¯d try to track him or not. It might change how he dealt with things when he did eventually arrive in Emperor¡¯s Bay. As Wu Meng yao approached the waiting group, the other girl from the sect looked passed her down the road.


    ¡°Meng yao! Where¡¯s that wandering cultivator?¡±


    ¡°He isn¡¯ting back.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the other girl demanded. ¡°If you didn¡¯t want him, you could have at least brought him back for <em>me</em>. Did you see him?¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t that good-looking,¡± said the hulking sect member.


    All of the other sect members and even one of the prisoners said, ¡°Yes, he was.¡±


    ¡°Alright, fine, he was sort of good-looking,¡± said the hulking guy.


    ¡°What was his name?¡± the other girl asked. ¡°Maybe I can find him.¡±


    Sen tensed at those words.


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t tell me.¡±


    ¡°Did you bat your eyshes at him?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have mattered. He doesn¡¯t trust sects.¡±


    The hulking man piped up then, looking more than a little offended. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he trust our sect?¡±


    ¡°Not <em>our</em> sect, Changpu. He doesn¡¯t trust any sect. He basically said he¡¯d expect to be killed if he ever entered a sectpound.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Changpu, his going pensive. ¡°Well, he¡¯s not wrong. I mean, obviously, we¡¯d never do anything like that, but I¡¯ve heard a lot of stories. Other sects just sending their outer disciples out to ughter wandering cultivators for the experience. Okay, maybe not <em>that</em> guy. That scary bastard could probably cut his way out of most sects with a broken piece of pottery. But, yeah, I get where he¡¯sing from. Hells, I probably wouldn¡¯t have told you my name either. Now that I think about it, I¡¯m a little surprised he didn¡¯t attack you for chasing him down the road like that. Imagine how that looked from his perspective.¡±


    Wu Meng yao jerked a little at those words, and a kind of horrifiedprehension arced across her face. ¡°I didn¡¯t even consider that. Well, he¡¯s gone now. I told him who I was and where to find me. Maybe he¡¯lle and collect his reward at some point.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± said the other sect girl, ¡°he basically said we could keep it.¡±


    Having heard enough to satisfy himself, Sen faded back into the shadows of the forest.

 Book 2: Chapter 24: Soaring Skies (2)

    Book 2: Chapter 24: Soaring Skies (2)


    Despite Sen¡¯s best intentions to simply avoid the Soaring Skies sect members, it turned out to be a lot more difficult to achieve in practice than he expected. While he could <em>hide</em> from them, it wasn¡¯t something he could do all the time. Nor, for that matter, was it something that he wanted to do all the time. Complicating the matter was the fact that they were heading in the same direction. While Sen could easily leave behind any mortal traveler that he came across, the sect members and even their prisoners were all cultivators in their own rights. They didn¡¯t all have the body cultivation advantages that he did, but they could continue moving for longer and deeper into the night than any caravan or mortal lone traveler would dare.


    So, they kept crossing each other¡¯s paths. At first, Sen thought they were doing it on purpose. He wasted most of one afternoon trying to let them get ahead, only to run across them grudgingly tending the wounds of one of the prisoners who looked to have made an escape attempt while they set up their camp. Again, while he wanted to think there was something nefarious or duplicitous in their actions, it soon became clear that it was just one of those vagaries of travel. Unless he stopped for several days somewhere, it was going to keep happening. Of course, none of that made him any happier to deal with them. His grudging eptance that maybe, just maybe, those specific members of that specific sect might not be insane and looking for a fight aside, Sen didn¡¯t want to answer their questions. And they <em>would</em> have questions.


    He¡¯d seen the way they reacted to him after he defeated the hatchet-faced cultivator. Minimally, they¡¯d want to know about his training. Worst case scenario, they¡¯d want to trade pointers to try to glean some insight for themselves. Sen supposed he might be willing to trade pointers with Wu Meng yao, if she asked nicely, but it wouldn¡¯t go down like that. If he did that for her, they¡¯d all want a turn. That would turn into a disaster. The hulking cultivator, Changpu, would probably try to prove some kind of point. What that point would be, Sen didn¡¯t know, but he was confident it would happen. The other sect guy would get so embarrassed that he¡¯d probably end up stabbing <em>himself</em> in his distraction. The other sect girl was straightforward enough in her intentions. She just wanted to go to bed with him. He found himself mulling that possibility over. He¡¯d avoided the question up until then for the simple reason that he didn¡¯t want to get involved with a mortal woman. Doing that would be <em>too</em>plicated.


    The other sect girl was a different story. He got the impression that there would be zeroplications there. <em>No</em>, he thought, <em>not zeroplications</em>. He was quite sure that she wasn¡¯t hunting for some kind of rtionship. So, that was a problem dodged. Yet, he couldn¡¯t help but think that there would be some other kind ofplication from that. Still, it might be worth it. He was disciplined enough to ignore those urges when it was inappropriate or inadvisable, but he was still human. He still had those desires, and they had been piling up on him for <em>years</em>. Sen forcibly pushed those thoughts aside and got his mind back on to cooking. Burning his food because he was distracted by the thought of a tryst, however willing the other person might be, wasn¡¯t going to do him any favors. <em>Besides</em>, he thought, <em>it¡¯s not like she¡¯s conveniently avable right now anyway</em>. Then, as if the universe wanted to let him know that it was paying special attention to him and took great glee in his difort, Sen heard a voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you. Someone is cooking something over here. I can smell it.¡±


    Sen was almost sure he knew who that voice belonged to. A few momentster, the hulking form of Changpu stomped into view like a great, trundling beast. Sen checked those uncharitable thoughts. The big man was no more or less graceful than most of the cultivators Sen had seen. Granted, that was still aparatively small number, but he was getting a feel for what was normal. The impossible standard for grace set by the elder cultivators who trained him was still a distant dream for Sen, but he could recognize that he was a good distance farther down that particr road than most of the people at his stage of cultivation. When the big man saw Sen sitting there, giving him a nd stare, Changpu stopped short. A secondter, there was the sound of one body bumping into another.


    ¡°Oooff. Keep moving, you big oaf,¡± said a feminine voice from behind therge cultivator.


    When Changpu started to move again, the other sect girl caught sight of Sen. Her expression melted from vague annoyance into delight. Wu Meng yao came into sight next, herding the prisoners in front of her. To her credit, she looked embarrassed. She left the prisoners under the watchful eye of Changpu and came over to where Sen was cooking over a small fire. He eyed her, briefly, but didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he paid attention to his food. He saw her shift nervously a few times in his peripheral visions before she spoke.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was you,¡± she finally said.


    ¡°Would it have mattered?¡± Sen asked, more resigned than annoyed.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Wu Meng yao. ¡°It really would have, but you have a knack for finding the best campsites.¡±


    Sen lifted a shoulder in acknowledgment, trying to limit how much he engaged with these people. ¡°I¡¯ve had some practice.¡±


    ¡°Really,¡± said Wu Meng yao, curiosity burning in her voice.


    Sen gave her a t look that said, in no uncertain terms, he didn¡¯t n to borate on that statement. The young woman¡¯s face fell, but her eyes kept drifting down to the food he was cooking. There was naked yearning in that gaze. Sen nced around. Everybody was staring at the food over the fire. He realized that none of the sect members must cook well. They¡¯d probably been surviving on travel rations for weeks, or possibly even longer. He supposed he should be grateful that they didn¡¯t descend on the food like a pack of ravenous wolves.


    Wu Meng yao forced her eyes back to Sen¡¯s face. ¡°Do you mind if we share your campsite? Just for the one night.¡±


    Sen let an amused snort slip out. ¡°Do you mean my campsite or my meal?¡±


    Even in the dim light of evening, Sen could see the slight blush on Wu Meng yao¡¯s face.


    ¡°Both,¡± she admitted.


    Sen thought it over. He didn¡¯t love the idea, but he probably had picked out the best spot for camping within a solid mile. <em>I¡¯ll have to set some ground rules</em>, he thought.


    ¡°Rule one,¡± he said. ¡°No questions about me.¡±


    He saw something that looked almost like physical pain cross the faces of the sect members. They had clearly thought this was a golden opportunity to persuade him to talk to them.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Wu Meng yao with a disappointed sigh.


    ¡°Rule two, those prisoners are your responsibility. If I have to deal with them after they escape, I¡¯ll be looking for people to vent my frustrations on.¡±


    Changpu chimed in then. ¡°We¡¯ll keep them in line.¡±


    ¡°Final rule. I don¡¯t do requests. I¡¯ll cook enough for everyone, but it¡¯s on you if you can¡¯t find something you like in the choices.¡±


    Wu Meng yao let out a softugh. ¡°At this point, any kind of hot meal will be like a gift from the heavens.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Sen gesturing to a nearby spot. ¡°You¡¯ll probably want to set up over there.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Changpu, sounding a little suspicious.


    Sen rolled his eyes. ¡°The ground¡¯s a little higher, and it¡¯s going to rainter. But you can set up anywhere you like.¡±


    ¡°How do you know it¡¯s going to rainter?¡± Wu Meng yao asked.


    Sen looked at her for a moment, then smirked. ¡°Didn¡¯t take long to forget rule one, did it?¡±


    The young woman threw her hands in the air and stalked away, muttering under her breath. Sen did his best to ignore the other people, and their constant nces at what he was cooking at the fire for the next hour. When considering the number of people, Sen had decided that simple foods were best. He pulled out his biggest pot and a tripod. He hung the pot over the fire, added some water, then started pulling ingredients out of his storage ring. Sen put together what he considered a merely passable pork stew, liberally fleshed out with root vegetables, and abination of spices that he¡¯d bought and harvested himself. When he deemed the stew cooked enough for human consumption, he called the sect members over. After a moment of quiet discussion, Changpu remained with the prisoners.


    ¡°I hope you all have bowls,¡± he said. ¡°Otherwise, this is going to be a slow meal.¡±


    The sect members dutifully produced enough bowls and spoons for themselves and even for the prisoners. Sendled a generous serving into each bowl and even served himself a small bowl. He¡¯d eaten the food he¡¯d made for himself earlier in asional bites, but he was curious how the stew had turned out. It smelled good, but sometimes that didn¡¯t equate to food that actually tasted good. He took an experimental spoonful and decided that it was simply passable. A good stew really needed to simmer for a couple of hours, and he suspected there might have been violence if he¡¯d made them all wait that long. The sect members and prisoners seemed to be enjoying it well enough. There wasn¡¯t a word passed among them while they ate. Sen did catch an asional sound of pleasure from them.


    ¡°Good enough,¡± he muttered.


    A little whileter, the young man from the sect whose name Sen didn¡¯t know came over to the fire. There was more embarrassed blushing that Sen pretended not to see.


    ¡°Is it alright if I have another bowl?¡± the young man asked.


    ¡°I made that for you lot. You should finish it up if you can.¡±


    That announcement led to a semi-orderly stampede to the pot. Everyone got another bowl. Wu Meng yao even took pity on the prisoners and gave them a bit more. When the stew was gone, Sen casually reached out and grabbed the pot. He pulled it off the tripod and, which a quick sh of fire qi, turned the stew remnants into a fine ash. He turned the pot over and gave the bottom a smack to knock the ashes loose. He took a moment to bleed the heat away from the pot before he stored it and the tripod back in his storage ring. When he looked up, everyone was staring at him again. He could practically see all of the questions piling up behind their teeth. He just shrugged at them and sat back down by his little campfire. Maybe an hourter, the other sect girl came and sat down across from him.


    ¡°I¡¯m Song Ling,¡± she said.


    ¡°Hello, Song Ling. Come to try your hand at asking me questions.¡±


    She let out a littleugh. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask you any personal questions. In fact, I¡¯m not sure we really need to talk at all.¡±


    Sen gave her a long, appraising look. She was pretty, with delicate features and something that reminded him a little of the fox, Laughing River, around her eyes.


    ¡°No,¡± he said, ¡°I don¡¯t imagine talking will really be necessary.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 25: Complications

    Book 2: Chapter 25: Complications


    When Sen finally roused himself the next morning, he felt <em>odd</em>. It took him almost three full minutes to understand what had changed. He felt rxed, possibly for the first time as an adult. He was willing to ept that there were probably benefits to abstinence. It was almost unbeatable as straight-up willpower training. Yet, he wasn¡¯t about to pretend that he regretted being able to release that iron control he¡¯d had to maintain for years. For his part, Sen hadn¡¯t tried to hide his inexperience from Song Ling. She¡¯d been surprised but also intrigued. He, naturally, had offered no exnations. What he had done was bring the same level of focused attention to what they were doing as he brought to martial training or cultivation. Song Ling had seemed to find him an adequate student. Enough so that she had seemed put out when Wu Meng Yao stood outside Sen¡¯s tent and announced in an overly loud voice that it was Song Ling¡¯s turn to watch over the prisoners.


    ¡°We should do this again sometime,¡± Song Ling had said, then her confident air cracked a little. ¡°I mean, if you¡¯re interested.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you still have one or two things you can show me.¡±


    Her confidence restored, she¡¯d shot him a wicked grin. ¡°Oh, one or two things for sure.¡±


    Sen had slept a littleter than usual that morning, so he half expected to find the sect cultivators and prisoners gone when he came out of his tent. Instead, he found thoseplications that he hadn¡¯t been able to pin down the day before. For her part, Song Ling was walking around with an attitude of positively smug satisfaction. The hulking Changpu was looking at the sect girl with heartbroken eyes every few minutes. When the big cultivator spotted Sen, he grimaced and looked away. The other sect cultivator gave Sen a look that wasn¡¯t sad, exactly, but more like the guy was resigning himself to something unfortunate. Sen was happy to see that the young man wasn¡¯t blushing every time he looked Sen¡¯s way anymore. The prisoners caught sight of him and started pointing and grinning. Sen wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be that cheerful on the way to what was probably an execution, but he supposed it was better than them plotting a bloody escape.


    When Wu Meng Yao noticed him, she went from casting annoyed res at the other sect members to directing an icy re in his direction. Sen wasn¡¯t sure exactly why she was ring, but he didn¡¯t have to wait long to find out. She walked over to him and, much to his shock, poked him in the chest.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re satisfied with yourself,¡± she said.


    ¡°About what?¡±


    She poked him in the chest again. ¡°About what? The state you left my team in. I still have to get them and those prisoners back to Emperor¡¯s Bay.¡±


    ¡°No offense, but how am <em>I</em> responsible for any of that?¡±


    ¡°Changpu is heartbroken. Wang Chao is, well, not heartbroken, but disappointed. And Song Ling is unbearable right now.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°I gathered all of that from looking at them. Again, though, how is any of that my responsibility? Song Ling is clearly someone who isn¡¯t afraid to tell someone what she wants. If she wanted Changpu, she¡¯d have had him by now. If he¡¯s hanging on to some fantasy about her, that¡¯s sad but not my problem. As for Wang Chao, I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not the first man who disappointed him by preferring women. Frustrating for him, maybe, but also not really <em>my</em> problem. I certainly didn¡¯t encourage him.¡±


    Sen could see Wu Meng Yao gritting her teeth, but all she said was, ¡°That¡¯s all true.¡±


    ¡°As for Song Ling, I may be part of the reason she¡¯s acting that way, but I didn¡¯t tell her to do that. I don¡¯t think I can stop it without doing something everyone would object to. So, again, how is that my responsibility?¡±


    Sen tried to stop and look at the problem from Wu Meng Yao¡¯s position. She almost certainly knew that he wasn¡¯t really to me and that he hadn¡¯t acted with any malice. Of course, it didn¡¯t change the fact that her team was a mess at the moment. She¡¯d wanted someone to me, and it did all kind of circle back to him. She also had to know he couldn¡¯t really do anything to fix it, either. So, what would he want to hear if he were in her position? What were her priorities? She <em>had</em> told him her priorities. Get the other cultivators and the prisoners back to Emperor¡¯s Bay safely. He looked from her to the prisoners and then to the other sect cultivators.


    ¡°I get it,¡± he said. ¡°You had them all working in some kind of equilibrium. I screwed that up. I didn¡¯t set out to, but I did. It¡¯s going to make getting them home safely harder for you. I am sorry about that part.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao closed her eyes and let out a long breath. ¡°You don¡¯t understand how hard it was to get them working as a team. Changpu was following Ling around like a puppy at first. Wang Chao didn¡¯t really care if we ever found these criminals. Ling didn¡¯t really care either. She just wanted to go exploring. It took <em>weeks</em> to get them on task, and then it only happened after we ran across some of the gang¡¯s victims. Now, everyone is distracted again.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao shot another re at him. He shrugged.


    ¡°I already apologized,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s not much more I can do.¡±


    ¡°This wouldn¡¯t be so bad if you hadn¡¯t slept with <em>her</em>.¡±


    Sen frowned at that.


    ¡°Well, I suppose that¡¯s probably true, but it¡¯s not like there was another option. At least not one I cared for anyway,¡± he said, ncing over at Wang Chao.


    When he looked back at Wu Meng Yao, she was back to ring at him.


    ¡°No other option,¡± she said. ¡°Am I so mannish that you don¡¯t even consider me a woman?¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes. ¡°Stop trying to pick a fight. Song Ling made it perfectly clear that she was avable. You didn¡¯t. Besides, I don¡¯t think you even really see me that way.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot. Very nearly everyone with a pulse sees you that way. Some of us just have a little more dignity than Song Ling.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess you see what dignity gets you.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao looked across the clearing at the other sect members. ¡°I wish I could say you were wrong.¡±


    Feeling that conversation probably couldn¡¯t go anywhere good for him, Sen turned to his tent and started packing up.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°Breaking camp. I do it every morning.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t go.¡±


    Sen looked over his shoulder at her. ¡°I think you¡¯ll find that I can.¡±


    ¡°I mean you can¡¯t go until you help me fix this mess.¡±


    Sen was quiet for a minute or two as he finished dealing with his tent. He didn¡¯t know if she hadn¡¯t thought it through or if Wu Meng Yao was being intentionally dense.


    ¡°Fix it?¡± he finally asked. ¡°What do you imagine I can do to fix that mess?¡±


    ¡°You could guard the prisoners.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Until when? Actually, never mind. The answer is no.¡±


    ¡°You owe me.¡±


    ¡°I may owe you something, enough to cook you all dinner again, maybe. I don¡¯t owe you nearly enough to make me travel all the way to Emperor¡¯s Bay with you. Especially since I know it¡¯s a ploy to try to get me to visit your sect. That¡¯s <em>never</em> going to happen.¡±


    ¡°My sect isn¡¯t your enemy.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not my ally, either.¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t be your ally if you won¡¯t even meet them.¡±


    ¡°They also can¡¯t put me in a cage if I don¡¯t meet them.¡±


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°You <em>think</em> they wouldn¡¯t do that. Do you actually know? I mean, have you ever actually asked your elders what they think of wandering cultivators?¡±


    Wu Meng Yao stammered for a moment. ¡°Well, not in so many words. I don¡¯t really interact with the elders very often.¡±


    ¡°Plus, I know all of you have made a few guesses about how my cultivation works. Can you guarantee me that no one in your sect will want to make me into some kind of project?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°There you go. Maybe your sect <em>really is</em> as honorable as you make it out to be, but it¡¯s not your life or your freedom on the line. I intend to keep both of those things. That means not taking stupid, avoidable risks like walking into a sectpound of my own free will.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°Great. Here¡¯s what I will do for you. I will watch those prisoners for the next hour, so you can talk some sense into your people.¡±


    The young woman looked like she wanted to object some more, but she ultimately just nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± said Sen, retrieving his spear from his storage ring.


    Wu Meng Yao eyed the spear and then him. ¡°I thought you used the jian.¡±


    ¡°You say that like it¡¯s only possible to use one weapon,¡± said Sen, walking over to the prisoners. ¡°You should expand your horizons a little.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao made good use of the hour that Sen bought her. While the other sect members weren¡¯t exactly as they had been in the previous days, they did all seem more focused on the tasks at hand. When Wang Chao took over watching the prisoners, Sen took the opportunity to slip away. He was determined that he¡¯d get far enough ahead that he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with any more of their group nonsense. Some things were just more trouble than they were worth.

 Book 2: Chapter 26: An Unnatural Silence

    Book 2: Chapter 26: An Unnatural Silence


    On previous days, Sen had been making only half-hearted attempts to avoid the Soaring Skies sect members. While he hadn¡¯t especially wanted theirpany, he also hadn¡¯t worried that they were going to try to harm him. Wu Meng Yao was simply too earnest in her talk of honor. If nothing else, he believed that she would warn him if the other meant to do something to him. Well, if one of them nned on doing something violent anyway. Following the fallout of his decision, Sen decided it was high time to put some real distance between him and the sect members. Then, there would be no idental encounters when it was time to set up camp. Although, ideally, Sen could find an inn somewhere. While the road was dominated by long stretches bereft of civilization, there were asional viges and towns. He¡¯d just keep going until it grew toote in the day, or he found one.


    Just as importantly, he hadn¡¯t been making use of his qinggong technique while walking. It soaked up more qi than he liked to use, but it was the ideal solution to the problem behind him. If the Soaring Skies sect members and their prisoners could all use qinggong techniques to travel, he suspected they would have been. He¡¯d seen no evidence of that, so he put the technique to good use. He didn¡¯t use it to the technique¡¯s maximum capacity. He reserved that for fights. He didn¡¯t even use to the level he had done when fleeing Tide¡¯s Rest. There was no one pursuing him that he was aware of. Instead, he only used it enough that his passive intake of qi matched the amount he was using.


    He didn¡¯t have a good way to measure those amounts, and every small improvement in his cycling technique changed the math a little bit. Still, it gave him something to upy his mind with as thendscape flew. After an hour or two of travel, he thought he was probably using the qinggong technique to somewhere between twenty and thirty percent of the maximum speed it allowed him. While it was aplishing the goal of leaving miles between him and his very short-termpanions, there was more than a little perfectionist living in Sen¡¯s soul. Like most techniques, Sen had initially settled for just getting it to work. That was often a massive achievement in and of itself.


    He¡¯d been especially proud of getting that qinggong technique to work, though. Master Feng had said that most cultivators didn¡¯t even bother with them until core formation, citing the ridiculous qi consumption using the full-blown technique demanded. Now that he had nothing better to do than attend to that technique for hours on end, Sen put his mind to work on making it work better for him. Sen felt he¡¯d been relying too much on raw force and not enough on precision since leaving the mountain. It just wasn¡¯t a winning long-term strategy. It was fine for when someone at his own stage challenged him, but he couldn¡¯t depend on every cultivator he met being at his stage. It was only pure dumb luck, or perhaps some kind of intervention from the heavens, that had kept him out of the way of higher-stage cultivators so far. Although, once he reflected on it, maybe it hadn¡¯t been as unlikely as he¡¯d initially thought.


    There were progressively fewer and fewer people in each major cultivation stage. There were lots and lots of people in the qi condensing stage running around out there. People at that stage formed the bulk of most sect memberships. They were outer disciples and the ones most likely to be sent out of the sect on tasks. That made the odds of running into one of themparatively high. People who made it into the foundation formation stage were much rarer. Master Feng hadn¡¯t known specific numbers, but Auntie Caihong suggested that the vast majority of cultivators reached a bottleneck at or near the peak of the qi condensing stage. She estimated that only ten percent of people made the transition into foundation formation. That was still a lot of people, and they made up the inner sect membership of most sects. Again, they were more likely to be sent on tasks, so he could expect to routinelye across people at that cultivation stage.


    Auntie Caihong had said that she thought the failure rate to break through from foundation formation to core formation was even higher. While that didn¡¯t make core formation cultivators impossible to find, they weren¡¯t just running around everywhere. If sects sent them out, it was for very specific reasons. So, Sen reasoned, he probably didn¡¯t need to constantly worry about higher-stage cultivators getting in his way constantly. Even so, spending as much time traveling as he expected to meant that he would, inevitably, stumble across core formation cultivators at some point. Raw power wouldn¡¯t win him a fight with those people. In fact, the odds were good that nothing could win him those fights except running away. Except, running away was no guarantee either, unless they decided to let him go. Most core formation cultivators could run a foundation formation cultivator to ground if they wanted to. The power level difference was just toorge in most cases. Sen¡¯s body cultivation could help him level that ying field, but it couldn¡¯t bridge the gap entirely. No, if he wanted to stand a chance, he needed to be using his resources more efficiently than anyone else.


    So, he spent most of the day looking for ways he could refine that qinggong technique. It was mostly an exercise in frustration. Constant use did expose a few ways he could improve his approach, but this was one case where the problem wasn¡¯t his execution. His problem really was his cultivation stage. He was just underpowered to use the technique the way it was meant to be used. Sen supposed he should just be happy he had the technique to use at all. It was making his life easier that day. Not everyone had the option to literally run away from their frustrations with so littleparative effort. As the sun started to sink toward the horizon, though, Sen started to resign himself to the idea that he¡¯d be camping again. He¡¯d passed through a vige earlier in the day, but it was close enough that the Soaring Skies group could have reasonably gotten that far by sunset. So, he¡¯d continued forward.


    With evening imminent, though, he needed to make a choice. Sen was perfectly capable of setting up camp at night. He¡¯d done it before. Darkness just didn¡¯t obscure his vision the way it once had. Plus, in a pinch, he could always use shadow qi to get a near-perfect sense of what was in an area. What Sen really wanted, though, was a ce where he could shut out the world using a door. Not that a simple door or lock could really stop someone like Wu Meng Yao or Song Ling from barging in, but politeness would likely exert power over them where wood and metal would not. Then, much to Sen¡¯s joy, he spotted the upper edges of a wall ahead. His map wasn¡¯trge enough to do more than note the locations of rtively sizable cities, so this ce wasn¡¯t on it. Still, if he could see the wall from where he was, it probably meant a town big enough to have an inn.


    Throwing a bit of caution to the wind, Sen increased the amount of qi he was pushing into the qinggong technique. It wasn¡¯t bnced with his qi intake anymore, but he covered what would have been an hour of normal walking in five or ten minutes. A fair trade in his estimation. Yet, when the town proper came into view, Sen drew a swift andplete halt. He¡¯d grown up in a town and spent years out in nature. His senses were finely tuned for what should and shouldn¡¯t be in both environments. An unnatural silence hung over that town and the entire surrounding area. At least, that was what had initially raised Sen¡¯s suspicions. Now that he was studying the town, though, the other problems became apparent.


    The gates to the town were open but unguarded. Granted, this town probably didn¡¯t face spirit beast attacks as often as some ces, but no town left its gates unguarded. If nothing else, the guards served as an early warning system if someone hostile showed up at the gate. There was no woodsmoke. He couldn¡¯t see any rising from behind the walls, which wasn¡¯t always a problem, but he couldn¡¯t smell any smoke either. Even on the hottest days of the year, people needed to cook. That woodsmoke smell hung over every town without fail, except this one. Of course, theck of people was the true warning sign. Even if Sen couldn¡¯t see them from where he was, he should be able to hear people moving around, talking,ughing, shouting, or simply encouraging animals to get a cart from one part of the town to another. Yet, all that Sen heard was <em>nothing</em>.


    He debated with himself about what to do. There was obviously something very wrong with the town. Part of Sen burned with curiosity. What could have left a town in such a state? Was it a monster of some kind? An illness? Had the wells simply run dry, and people moved on? There could be a challenge in that seemingly abandoned ce, something that might let him move his cultivation forward. Although, Sen doubted that. He didn¡¯t seem to get much benefit from physical confrontations. While part of him really wanted to know, Sen was less thrilled by the idea of a brand-new problem. Much like Changpu¡¯s broken heart, the trouble in the town wasn¡¯t his responsibility. Unlike so many things in life, whatever was happening behind those walls was something that he could simply walk away from.


    Of course, if there was something truly dangerous in there, he probably had a better chance of surviving it than some random caravan drivers and guards. If it was too much for him, he could simply leave and alert the authorities. Let them hire some sect to deal with the problem if it was beyond Sen. While some other cultivators might feel like they had to stay and finish every fight, Sen didn¡¯t subscribe to that idea. He firmly believed that if someone couldn¡¯t reasonably win a fight but could escape, they probably should. Staying to die for honor alone was an idiotic way to end one¡¯s life. Realizing that he¡¯d already made his decision, Sen summoned his spear from his storage ring. He walked through the gate and into the eerie, silent town.

 Book 2: Chapter 28: Five Minutes of Life

    Book 2: Chapter 28: Five Minutes of Life


    Sen leaned up against the wall and pressed a hand to his side. He could feel warm blood trickling between the fingers. His side wasn¡¯t his only injury. It wasn¡¯t even his worst injury. At least, Sen didn¡¯t think so. It was just the one that hurt the most at that moment. He¡¯d rolled over a table in a desperate bid to avoid an attack and rolled that open wound right over some spilled salt. <em>For something that people sprinkle on their food, it shouldn¡¯t hurt so damn much when it gets into cuts</em>, thought Sen. He thought he might have a minute before something found him, so he pulled out a healing pill from his storage ring and choked it down. In truth, Sen was astounded to be alive at all.


    When Boulder¡¯s Shadow released the illusion that Sen had been walking through, the buildings didn¡¯t change very much. They were all still there and intact. There was just a lot more blood on them. The fact that Sen hadn¡¯t seen any bodies was something he was working very hard not to think about much. Of course, that had been made easier to ignore by the absolute horde of spirit beasts that surrounded him. He¡¯d only recognized a handful of them. There was a demon crane perched on top of one building. He spotted a spirit goat like the one he¡¯d fought on the mountain, only this one¡¯s lone metal horn was nearly twice as long as thest one he¡¯d seen. There were even spirit frogs the size of small cows, and spirit oxen that let out moos that shook the earth.


    ¡°Oxen!¡± Comined Sen almost without thought. ¡°Come on! I was nice to one of your mortal cousins not that long ago.¡±


    Comining or not, Sen wasn¡¯t wasting time. He was getting two cycling patterns up and running even as he prepared to <em>hide</em>. He almost lost the threads of all of those things when the oxen, after seeming to consult with each other, withdrew.


    The other spirit beasts started to let out protesting noises at the same time Sen called out a stunned, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Thergest of the spirit oxen let out a moo that sounded angry and red around at the other spirit beasts. They all seemed to decide to be looking somewhere else at that moment. The small contingent of oxen vanished around a corner. The unexpected ox retreat seemed to throw off some kind of timing that the spirit beasts had going on because none of them made an immediate move. Sen decided to fill that void and cast the whole area into darkness. It was a calcted risk. Sen assumed that absolutely every one of those beasts would send an attack his way right after he blinded everyone. So, he needed a couple of things to go right. He red his qi to give them all something to aim at while he sent a brutal arc of lightning at the beasts off to the right. Then, he hid and dashed in the same direction he¡¯d sent the lightning.


    Everything did not go right. A tongue of me from something caught his calf, while a wind de from something else opened a long cut across his chest. He felt other things just barely miss him. He didn¡¯t know what they were exactly, but he felt earth qi, ice qi, and at least three other kinds of qi that weren¡¯t immediately familiar. A tingling intuition made him lean left, so a column of water only spun him around and cracked a couple of ribs before he dropped to the ground. It turned out that was a lucky thing because it seemed that there was at least one spider spirit beast among them that wasn¡¯t especially bothered by the dark. Sen felt the air move above him as his fall put him underneath the arc of its leaping attack.


    Foregoing anything like subtlety, Sen cycled up fire qi and sent a massive fireball at the approximate spot itnded. There was a smell like burning hair, a furious cking of what Sen assumed were massive mandibles, and a piercing sort of hissing wail that just went on and on and on. The limited omniscience that Sen got about his surroundings from the shadow nket told him that the spider beast wasn¡¯t moving, which might or might not be good, depending on whether it was nning another aerial assault. Fearing that he didn¡¯t have the luxury of time, he lurched up into a staggering run. He dodged and weaved his way between the spirit beasts that didn¡¯t seem able to see in the dark,shing out at legs with the spear. When he sensed the spider move again, Sen grabbed the nearest spirit beast and hurled it into the path of the flying spider. The thing he¡¯d grabbed had felt kind of leathery, so maybe he¡¯d luck out and the spider and lizard would kill each other. Based on the noises from behind him, it sounded like they were trying.


    He hadn¡¯t gone to the right on a whim. Of all the nearest buildings, it was the only one that had an open door. He stepped through it and, slowing as much as he dared, he¡¯d gone through the building and out the back. Then, he¡¯d gone into the next building through an open window, only to discover that the thing he¡¯d thought was a wall was actually a massive rock spirit beast. It had split his side open with a sharpened something. He wasn¡¯t sure what and didn¡¯t really care at that point. Sen had rolled over a table that had been covered in salt, suppressed a scream by the narrowest of margins, and eluded the rock beast by covering the floor behind him with ice. It had only slowed the beast down for a few moments as it adjusted to the slippery new surface, but that had been long enough for Sen to get away into the unnatural darkness.


    He crossed a street, slipped into another building, and then let the shadow technique drop. He¡¯d been holding it stationary and had reached the limit of his ability to keep it in ce. He¡¯d designed it to move with him, thinking he¡¯d probably use it out in the forest where it would be difficult to keep track of it from above. In a town, with no forest canopy above, and true darkness still at least an hour or two away, well, it had limited value. It could hide him, but it also gave that terrifying tide of spirit beasts a very specific area to look in. He couldn¡¯t rely on that technique and trying to modify it under the present circumstances seemed vaguely insane to Sen. No, he¡¯d have to rely on other skills.


    His most immediate problem was that he was bleeding, which would make it very easy for the beasts to track him. He didn¡¯t have the time he needed to staunch the bleeding properly. He racked his mind for something else he could do to obscure that scent. Two ideas came to him. One that was workable and ought to buy him some time. The other one was stupidly dangerous for him if things went wrong but would probably turn out to be a necessity. <em>Because of course it will</em>, he mentallyined to whatever powers might be listening. He started with the less personally dangerous option and cycled up some wind qi. If he was going to bleed, he might as well make it as confusing as possible for the spirit beasts. He gathered up the scent of his own blood with the wind qi and sent it out in every direction. Air and wind qi were more flexible by nature than shadow qi, more prone to going everywhere, which dramatically enhanced the range of that technique.


    He heard startled roars and shrieks and a lot of other noises he vaguely recognized as simr to sounds he¡¯d heard on the mountain. The good news was that the sounds were now going in every direction. Thinning out the enemies could only work to his advantage. As a group, he had no chance of defeating them. Most of them weren¡¯t foundation formation stage, at least not that he could tell. But they didn¡¯t need to be. If they worked as a group, they could drag him down by sheer weight of numbers. He could only switch qi types so fast, which meant he could only defend against so many things at once. That was without even considering the physical advantages that the spirit beasts had. Even if he was on their level or close to it in terms of physical strength and speed, he couldn¡¯t fly. He didn¡¯t have teeth or ws. He didn¡¯t have a poisoned bite and probably a bunch of other things he wasn¡¯t even considering. No, he needed to keep them separated out. If he only had to face a few at a time, there was a chance he could make it to the wall. If he could make it <em>to</em> the wall, there was a good chance he could make it <em>over</em> the wall. He checked his dantian and had to reassess that prediction.


    He¡¯d burned through a lot of qi just getting himself away from them long enough to confuse the issue. Sen tried to figure out how long ago that initial confrontation with the spirit beasts had been. His heart fell. By his estimation, all of his antics and burning through around half of his qi reserves had only bought him an extra five minutes of life. He leaned his head back against the wall and searched for hope or wisdom in his memories. To his surprise, he found some.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to face overwhelming numbers,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°It happens to every wandering cultivator sooner orter. I¡¯m hoping it will beter for you, but it will happen. What you need to understand is that what kills most cultivators when facing overwhelming numbers isn¡¯t the actual numbers. It¡¯s the fact that it¡¯s mentally overwhelming as much as it¡¯s physically overwhelming. Your mind wants to fixate on the size of the problem instead of generating solutions. If you can survive the initial contact, though, then it¡¯s just like any other task. Break it up into pieces. What¡¯s the biggest threat to your survival? Deal with that first.¡±


    ¡°The birds,¡± whispered Sen. ¡°I need to deal with the birds first.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 29: Desperate Measures

    Book 2: Chapter 29: Desperate Measures


    The knowledge that the bird spirit beasts needed to go first did not fill Sen with happy feelings. To get the birds, he needed to limit visibility from the air in a way that didn¡¯t pin down his exact location. That meant he needed to implement the other idea. The only upside to that idea was that it would further confuse his scent. The downside was that, once he started setting things on fire, he had limited control over how that fire spread. Of course, he also couldn¡¯t keep going as he had been. He¡¯d never even make it to the wall if he kept burning through qi at the same pace unless he started burning through some of his liquid qi.


    Yet, that was problematic in its own way. He¡¯d been conserving that liquid qi for the day when he¡¯d form a core. Experimenting with it seemed wasteful to him, so he only had vague ideas of how powerful his techniques would be if he used liquid qi to fuel them. They could spin out of his control. That would make his own techniques as dangerous to him as they were to the spirit beasts. If he got desperate enough to take that route, though, he suspected he wouldn¡¯t be in a position to worry about it. Recognizing that the problem wouldn¡¯t get any easier to solve if he kept putting it off, Sen took a few moments to cautiously look out the windows and get a feel for the buildings around the one he was in. When he pinned the route that offered the most cover between buildings, he piled up a few of the more mmable things he could find and set them on fire.


    After that, it became a dangerous game of getting out of one building and into another before one of the spirit beasts found him. He¡¯d dash from building to building, setting one on fire from inside. Then, pushing the limits of his fire qi affinity, he¡¯d set another building on fire at the very outer edges of what his techniques could reach. It didn¡¯t take long before everything was in chaos. Some of the buildings went up in mes fast, while others took a while to really get rolling. A few of the spirit beasts with water qi affinities tried to douse the mes, but there were already too many buildings on fire for that to work. The good news, to Sen¡¯s thinking, was that smoke was doing a better and better job of obscuring everything. Even if the spirit beast birds stayed in the air, they¡¯d struggle to pick his movements out from the other spirit beasts or the smoke. The bad news to his mind was that the fire was spreading a lot faster than he expected it to.


    He could see ces at a distance where the fires in four of five buildings seemed to be almost feeding off of each other and creating a truly frightening inferno. From his hiding spot in a shadowy alley, he spotted at least a few spirit beasts simply fleeing the town. Part of him wanted to join that exodus, but he worried about leaving too soon. Indecision held him in ce for most of a minute before he decided that there was never going to be an ideal time. It was a risk if he stayed, and a risk if he went. At least his fire-starting activities had gotten them all closer to sunset. The reduced light and smoke would at least give him a chance of avoiding casual notice.


    Committing to the decision, Sen did his best to mimic a ghost. He flitted from shadow to shadow. When he thought he heard spirit beasts nearby, he looked for garbage to help mask his scent. It likely wouldn¡¯t have worked under normal circumstances, but there were enough other distractions that it seemed to keep them at bay. Sen could tell that the pressure of <em>hiding</em> non-stop for all that time was starting to wear him down, but he steadfastly refused to let that slip from his grasp. The extreme measure of setting off a congration in a town that he was inside of would mean nothing if he did. It would be child¡¯s y for the spirit beasts to find him if his qi be visible again. It was still a double-edged sword for him, though. While it might keep him from showing up in the spirit beasts¡¯ spiritual senses, it also severely limited his own ability to feel with his spiritual sense or his qi. The fires he¡¯d set at a distance hadrgely been done blind, with Sen relying on years of practice and a clear knowledge of his own limits.


    For the first time in years, Sen was relying almost entirely on his regr senses to keep him aware of what was nearby. There had been a time when those senses were finely honed. Forced to rely on them again, Sen realized how much he¡¯d forsaken those old skills in favor of the cultivation skills he¡¯d been learning. He knew, in his head, that his regr senses were actually better than they had ever been. He also knew that there had been limited choice in focusing on cultivation. There had simply been too few hours in the day to keep sharp with everything. Yet, that wasn¡¯t the case when he considered the time since he¡¯d been away from the mountain. There had been demands on him at points, certainly, but there had also been time to work on things like minding his senses more closely. Assuming he made it out of the town alive, he¡¯d have to make that a priority. After all, he¡¯d admonished Bigan to do something to fix his problems. Sen wasn¡¯t enough of a hypocrite that he¡¯d ignore his own advice.


    While Sen had feared it would, and almost expected it to, he was still disappointed when his luck ran out. It was an unavoidable run across an open road in the town. He didn¡¯t know if the spirit beast had just been looking his way or if something else had given him away, but the bear had spotted him and let out a roar. Sen could actually see the wall from where he stood. It was close. It just wasn¡¯t close enough. He couldn¡¯t get there without something intercepting him. He was still injured, and all of the smoke was making it harder and harder to breathe. A sprint for the wall just wasn¡¯t feasible. At least, it wasn¡¯t if he tried to do it on the ground. A sh of memory showed Sen an image of Master Feng traveling parallel to the ground in the courtyard at Uncle Kho¡¯s manor. Feats like that were still well beyond Sen, but a different idea took him. Turning away from the fast-approaching spirit bear and toward the town wall, Sen took off as fast as his injuries would let him. He dodged between two buildings and then, hoping it would work the way he nned, he fired up his qinggong technique.


    He jumped, nted a foot against the wall of one building, thenunched himself upward and toward the wall of the other building. He repeated the process two more times before the first qi technique nearly killed him. He felt the re of metal qi only a second or two before the technique was on top of him. It was only the superior durability of the spear he held that saved his life. He whipped the spear around, bracing it against his own body, right before the spearhead and the metal qi technique collided. With nothing to brace himself against, Sen was flung away from the technique. Acting almost on instinct, he cycled the pattern for lightning and sent a bolt in the direction the metal qi technique came from. A pained bird call rang out a momentter, and Sen saw something fall from the smoke cloud hanging over the city. Then, he crashed through the wall of a building.


    Sen was used to enduring pain, but there was a distinct difference between pain he realized wasing and pain that he didn¡¯t expect. Thetter always hit his mind a little harder. It always took him a bit longer to regroup. He was still up and moving fast, but it was a reflex. He didn¡¯t have the wits about him to dodge the hail of stones that crashed through the hole in the wall that he¡¯d just made. Most of them missed him, but a few bounced. One with a point buried itself in his right bicep. He nearly dropped the spear he carried before he could think to stow it in his storage ring. A second mmed into his already burned calf, injuring the muscle beneath the scorched skin. A final stone punched against his back with the audible sound of at least one rib breaking. He went down hard. Part of him wanted to just stay there for a moment, to rest, to let the pain ebb just a bit. His mind was tired. His entire body ached where it wasn¡¯t in some kind of more desperate pain.


    The rest of him knew that was a suicidal choice. He couldn¡¯t sense the spirit beasts precisely, but he could feel the qi techniques they were preparing. He lurched to his feet, stumbling through the unfamiliar building and looking for a window that faced toward the town wall. This was going to be it. They knew where he was now. Whatever beasts were left in the city were no doubt gathering on his location, preparing to cut him apart with their techniques. Then, Sen heard breaking wood from somewhere below. <em>Or</em>, he thought grimly, <em>they n to do it the old-fashioned way and kill me with tooth and w</em>. The thought of it made him furious. This trap he was in hadn¡¯t even been meant for him. He was just the first one stupid enough to walk into it. Stumbling up against a wall next to a window, he reached across his body and drew his jian with his left hand. He wasn¡¯t as practiced with that hand, but he wasn¡¯t really nning on using the jian as a sword, just as a conduit. He smashed out the window with an elbow, made sure it faced the town wall, and then did what he truly hadn¡¯t wanted to do. He sent a drop of liquid qi into his channels and used it.


    The raw power that thundered through him then was almost too much to control in his weakened state. He lost a precious second or two simply wrangling that power in the right direction, cycling it the way it needed to be cycled. Some of that power went into his qinggong technique. It was the only way he¡¯d reach the wall. The rest of it went into cycling for lightning. He poured that lightning qi into the jian and poured his killing intent after it. When he heard the spirit beasts crashing through the floor he was on, Sen knew he had no time left. He nted his foot on the bottom of the window andunched himself into the air backed with the full force of his liquid-qi enhanced qinggong technique. Much as he feared it might, the liquid qi made the technique far more powerful than he expected. He shot through the air like he¡¯d beenunched from a crossbow. The spirit beasts let out a collective roar of fury as he flew beyond their grasp.


    He still had onest thing to show them. Sen twisted in the air, struggling to maintain the technique that was overcharged from the liquid qi. He centered his mind for just a moment and then heunched Heaven¡¯s Rebuke back at the building. Where he expected a beam of darkness like the one that had killed Cai Yuze, this time a sphere of darkness the size of a wagon hurtled back toward the town. Sen took a shuddering breath. He¡¯d got the bnce wrong again. He was over the wall and trying to figure out how tond without breaking even more bones when Heavens¡¯ Rebuke detonated. Thest thing he saw before cking out was a huge chunk of the town wall shattered into pieces andunched out into the surrounding forest.

 Book 2: Chapter 30: Unusual Knowledge

    Book 2: Chapter 30: Unusual Knowledge


    Sen woke up, which surprised him a little. Watching part of the town¡¯s stone wall simply disintegrate into a rain of fast-moving projectiles had left him with the cold certainty that he was about to die. Yet, he hadn¡¯t. Of course, not dying and being healthy were two wildly different things in Sen¡¯s experience. He was not feeling especially healthy. He¡¯d been hurt even before flinging himself over the town wall and releasing that monstrous version of Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. Now, he felt like death mighte calling at any minute. He had the suspicion that having Auntie Caihong¡¯s healing pill in his system at the time might have been the thing that made the difference. It would have kept working on him even when he was unconscious.


    Letting out a soft groan, he opened his eyes and immediately tried to scramble back from the looming figure of Boulder¡¯s Shadow. Every part of him protested that attempt at movement as every variety of pain registered in his mind. When that haze of misery cleared a little, Sen finally processed the fact that Boulder¡¯s Shadow wasn¡¯t looming so much as leaning against the remains of a tree trunk. Sen squinted a little at the tree. It looked like something had knocked the top half of the tree off. He turned his head a little to look at the ground around him and things became a little clearer. He had knocked the top half of the tree off by crashing through it on his way to the ground. <em>No wonder I hurt so much</em>, he thought.


    Sen wanted to get worked up about the fact that Boulder¡¯s Shadow was standing there. Sen figured that the spirit beast had probably been waiting around for Sen to wake up. The more pressing issue was why the spirit beast was waiting for him. After a quick assessment of his condition, though, it became clear that getting worked up would aplish nothing. Unless Sen nned to burn more liquid qi, he¡¯d be performing exactly zero techniques. The spirit beast didn¡¯t even look at Sen when he spoke.


    ¡°You live. I wondered if you would.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you came to finish the job, it won¡¯t take much,¡± Sen wheezed around the stabbing pains in his chest.


    ¡°After I spent the night scaring off my wayward brethren? No. I keep my word, little human. You escaped the walls. You will be allowed to leave.¡±


    Feeling at least vaguely more reassured that he wouldn¡¯t die in the next few minutes, Sen fished another healing pill out of his storage ring. It was probably a little soon for another one, but his injuries were severe. He expected that his body had long since burned away whatever potency had remained in that first pill when he¡¯d pulled his impersonation of an arrow in flight. It took some effort and a few sips of water to choke the pill down. It took a real mental effort for Sen not to gulp the water. His terrible thirst, which had been upying a space somewhere in the back of his mind surged to the front, followed closely by hunger. His body was using up resources like mad to keep him alive, which meant he had to do his part and provide more resources. He just couldn¡¯t be stupid about it.


    Once the healing pill reached his stomach, Sen spent a few minutes taking deep breaths. He¡¯d been slowly tuning out the various pains in his body, but the pill set off an entirely new wave of pains as it encouraged his body to repair itself. Sen did the only thing he could other than breathing. He focused on cycling. He¡¯d all but scoured his dantian clean of the normal environmental qi he was used to using. So, if he was going to be stuck somewhere for a while, he might as well do what he could to start refilling it. If nothing else, Sen thought it would help the healing process along if he had some avable qi. He wasn¡¯t wrong. His body or the pill siphoned away the qi almost as fast as he could gather it into his dantian. Sen winced when he felt bones snapping back into ce, but he didn¡¯t stop. After a while, Sen opened his eyes again and found Boulder¡¯s Shadow still standing nearby.


    ¡°Are you still guarding me?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°No. Most of my kind have fled from this ce, knowing it was a foolish venture. I fear it will mean disaster.¡±


    ¡°If you knew it was foolish, why do it?¡±


    ¡°We must all bow to powers greater than ourselves, or face destruction. A lesson you should perhaps take to heart, little human.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sen asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position.


    ¡°Defiance is sometimes the right path, even the only path, as it was for you yesterday. Defiance was the only possible path to survival. Defiance done out of habit, or simply for its own sake, is a fool¡¯s path.¡±


    Sen felt the stirring of vague guilt deep down inside of him. He also felt the tingling edges of something in the spirit beast¡¯s words, but he was too exhausted to delve into any of it. Instead, Sen focused on the part that mattered most to him at that moment.


    ¡°Why are you still here?¡±


    ¡°I wish to know something from you. You recognized what I once was virtually on sight. How? Did someone speak to you of my kind?¡±


    Sen thought very hard about how he should answer that question. Boulder¡¯s Shadow had, seemingly, kept his word, but Sen knew nothing about the spirit beast beyond that. He also knew nothing of ghost panther society, if they even had one. Talking about Falling Leaf could put her in danger or at least put her into a bad situation. Plus, if Sen wanted to get specific about it, several people had spoken to him about ghost panthers. He could simply say yes without lying.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen, but didn¡¯t borate.


    Sen could see in the spirit beast¡¯s eyes that it knew he was keeping things back. ¡°Who spoke to you about us?¡±


    ¡°Feng Ming and Kho Jaw-Long.¡±


    The spirit beast recoiled at those two names before ring down at Sen and sniffing at the air. ¡°You speak the truth, but this makes no sense! You are a <em>cub</em>. What business did you have with those old monsters?¡±


    That question, at least, Sen was willing to answer. ¡°They trained me.¡±


    Boulder¡¯s Shadow stared at Sen for so long that the young cultivator wondered if the spirit beast nned to kill him.


    ¡°Truly then, I have doomed us all,¡± said the ghost panther before vanishing into the trees.


    Sen thought that the spirit beast was overestimating the danger. Uncle Kho almost never left the mountain, and the only way Master Feng could find out was if Sen told him. Sen thought that it would probably be best to keep this particr adventure to himself for a while. Yes, he¡¯d wait to tell the tale until they could all look back andugh andugh at how foolish he¡¯d been to walk into the trap. Sen decided that a hundred years ought to be long enough, then amended it to two hundred years, just to be on the safe side. With that decision made, he tried to figure out what he should do next. Somewhere between thinking about putting up his tent or some formation gs and actually doing it, exhaustion overwhelmed him again. When consciousness came back again, he heard a familiar voice.


    ¡°Is he dead?¡± asked a far too-hopeful Changpu.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be dense,¡± said Wang Chao. ¡°I can see him breathing.¡±


    ¡°Look at this ce,¡± said Song Ling with a bit of awe in her voice. ¡°What happened here?¡±


    ¡°He was clearly in some kind of fight,¡± said Wu Meng Yao. ¡°I just can¡¯t imagine with who.¡±


    A deep frustration bubbled up inside of Sen. He¡¯d put in a fair amount of effort to get away from the Soaring Skies sect members only for circumstance to throw him right back in their midst. He felt like the universe was toying with him somehow, he just couldn¡¯t understand to what end. Did the universe want Sen to destroy whatever rtionships this group of people had with each other? That seemed like the most likely oue to Sen if he kept spending time with them. Sen braced himself mentally for what he knew woulde next.


    ¡°You four are really loud,¡±ined Sen. ¡°You can¡¯t even let a man take a quiet nap in his crater.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 31: What Comes After

    Book 2: Chapter 31: What Comes After


    Sen had been right about what to expect. As soon as he stopped speaking, questions started pelting him like hail. Of course, he couldn¡¯t really understand any of the questions because the Soaring Skies sect members were talking over each other, each one getting louder as they tried to be the one who got their question answered first. After a while, they weren¡¯t even really directing questions at Sen, just yelling at each other to be quiet. Sen let the noise wash over him without really paying attention to any of it. If they wanted to yell at each other, that was <em>their</em> business. Sen lifted an arm and draped it across his face. At that, the sect members fell silent.


    ¡°Well?¡± demanded Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°Well, what?¡± asked Sen, not even bothering to move his arm.


    ¡°What happened here?¡±


    Sen found it surprisingly difficult to keep a straight face when he said, ¡°Rule one, Wu Meng Yao.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± she all but shrieked at him. ¡°You¡¯re not going to exin any of this?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on it. As you can see, I¡¯m very tired. And injured. Clearly in no shape to answer questions.¡±


    The silence that followed that pronouncement was so profound that Sen actually moved his arm back out of the way so he could take a look around. Changpu looked like he wanted to throttle answers out of Sen and would enjoy doing it. Wang Chao had wandered away and was looking back and forth between Sen and the broken tree. Then, the young man¡¯s eyes traced upwards toward the sky. Sen sighed. That one was quick. Wu Meng Yao looked thunderstruck, as though she just couldn¡¯tprehend the words that Sen had just spoken. Of them all, only Song Ling seemed to get the joke. She bit her lip and looked away.


    Sen continued. ¡°Wait until you see what¡¯s down the road. When I won¡¯t exin <em>that</em>, this will seem trivial.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s down the road?¡± asked Changpu.


    Sen just shrugged. ¡°See for yourselves.¡±


    Much to Sen¡¯s disappointment, they did not go see for themselves right away. Instead, they went back to asking him questions that he ignored. Realizing that they weren¡¯t going to let him sleep if he just stayed in the crater, he pushed himself up. A lot of things still hurt. He checked inside himself. He was still almost out of the misty, environmental qi he depended on for most activities. It seemed his healing had snatched most of it away. He also discovered that the healing pill he¡¯d taken earlier had also been used up. He considered taking another, but he recognized that for the pureziness it was. He had a finite supply of the pills crafted by Auntie Caihong. He was keeping those for emergencies since he trusted her skills more than his own.


    He wasn¡¯t in an emergency anymore. Using up one of those pills when he could very well make an elixir for himself was foolish. Making an elixir was less expensive since he could actually rece the ingredients without going all the way to the mountain. Sen also had the feeling that showing off one of those pills in front of sect members might be a bad idea. He knew that resources like pills were limited in sects, and he didn¡¯t want to tempt the sect members into foolish decisions while he was injured. So, as Sen ignored all of them, he built a small fire and got out his elixir pot. The sect members seemed excited when they saw the pot, and then confused as Sen started dropping in medicinal nts and alchemical agents. He did it by feel, judging what he needed by what he felt was still wrong with his body.


    While Changpu and Song Ling lost interest pretty quickly, Wang Chao was watching every one of Sen¡¯s movements with an intensity that Sen found off-putting. Wu Meng Yao was also studying him, but it was more of an academic interest. <em>More information for her to report</em>, thought Sen. Every time he saw that look on her face, the more certain he became that he must never, ever get anywhere near the Soaring Skiespound. As the elixir got closer to being done, all of the sect members became interested again. The elixir was soaking up qi from their surroundings with a little gentle guidance from Sen. When it was ready, Sen filtered the elixir through a cheesecloth into two small bottles. One he stored immediately after he stoppered it. He took a few minutes to clean up. Then, he picked the other bottle up.


    Wang Chao hurried over. ¡°Wait! Do you have any idea what something like that is worth?¡±


    Sen poured the elixir down his throat to the horrified expressions of the sect members and said, ¡°Yes. About an hour of my time.¡±


    The elixir didn¡¯t hit him as hard as the pills did. It had been custom-made for his exact current condition, while the pills had not. It also had a lot more qi in it, so it wasn¡¯t pulling as hard on the finite store of qi in Sen¡¯s dantian. Even if it was less powerful than Auntie Caihong¡¯s pill in some respects, it still triggered an immediate improvement in Sen¡¯s energy level. He could also feel some of the lesser injuries in his body starting to repair themselves. He just hurt less, which was a wee relief. Looking around, Sen could see that his flippant response wasn¡¯t going to be enough.


    ¡°What?¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s basic alchemy. You can probably find every ingredient I used within two miles of this very spot.¡±


    Sen privately admitted to himself that he might be <em>slightly</em> exaggerating the ease of getting some of those ingredients, but he stood by the general message.


    ¡°Basic alchemy,¡± said Wang Chao. ¡°You consider that <em>basic</em> alchemy? Who in the hells are you?¡±


    Sen ignored the question and started walking. ¡°Come on, you may as well see the rest.¡±


    The sect members fell in behind Sen with what he imagined were varying degrees of reluctance. Song Ling probably just shrugged and started walking. Wu Meng Yao almost certainly rolled her eyes or clenched her teeth before she started walking. Changpu likely spent five or ten seconds ring at Sen¡¯s back before he got moving. Based on the way Wang Chao had stared at him after he downed the elixir, Sen was willing to bet the man was still back where Sen had built his small fire for a good minute. He was probably just staring at the spot and imagining all kinds of missed opportunities. When the town wall came into view, though, the sect members drew to a collective halt. They gaped at the destruction Sen had wrought in the wall. In the cold light of day, even Sen was a bit unnerved by what he saw.


    Yet, there was no taking it back after the fact. So, after letting the sect members stare and murmur among themselves for a few moments, Sen started walking again. When it had all been happening, Sen had been very focused on the moment. He hadn¡¯t been taking long looks at his surroundings. So, even having been there, he simply wasn¡¯t prepared for the scale of the damage. Sen spoke in short, clipped sentences about what he found and didn¡¯t find when he first entered the town. Changpu gave him suspicious looks until the big cultivator finally went into some of the undamaged buildings and came back out looking a little unnerved. Even then, the sect cultivators looked like they only half-believed him.


    When they came to the spot where everything had first turned violent, though, the sect cultivators only had eyes for what was left of the street. Even Sen was a little bit curious. It had all been covered in shadow thest time he¡¯d been there. He was surprised to see the corpses of the spider spirit beast and a big lizard spirit beast lying in the street. For some reason, he¡¯d thought the other spirit beasts would take their dead away. The street beneath those corpses was little more than rubble, where it wasn¡¯t scorched to cinders by fire, or seared by lightning, or scored by wind des, or melted by acid, or any of the other dozen or so visible things that had happened in that spot. Sen gave them a general overview of the conversation between him and Boulder¡¯s Shadow. Then, the reveal of all of the other spirit beasts.


    ¡°How did you escape all of,¡± Wu Meng Yao gestured around at the destruction, ¡°<em>this</em>?¡±


    ¡°I was very lucky, and a tiny bit clever. I used a technique to confuse them briefly.¡±


    ¡°What technique?¡± demanded Wang Chao.


    ¡°The effective kind,¡± said Sen before he whirled on Changpu.


    The big cultivator was crouched over the spirit beast bodies, clearly preparing to harvest from them. Sen fixed his gaze on Wu Meng Yao as he unsheathed his jian.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t stop him,¡± said Sen, ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Changpu! Stop!¡± the de facto leader of the sect cultivators ordered.


    The big man looked over at Wu Meng Yao. Then, he noticed Sen¡¯s furious expression. The big cultivator got a truculent look on his face.


    ¡°What? No use wasting their cores.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Feel free to harvest from all the ones that <em>you</em> killed,¡± said Sen.


    The big man smirked at Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve got enough left to stop a butterfly, let alone me.¡±


    As Sen stepped toward Changpu, Wu Meng Yao called out after him. ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°You had your chance,¡± said Sen.


    Changpu¡¯s confident expression faded when he realized that the supposedly injured wandering cultivator he¡¯d just been mocking was done talking. Instead, the man was covering the distance between them at a frightening speed. Sen had spent almost all his time since leaving the mountain trying to strike a bnce. He had been failing. Some of it was his own fault. He¡¯d told himself that he¡¯d been trying to avoid the necessity of killing, but that wasn¡¯t really true. He¡¯d done plenty of killing already. He¡¯d been trying to avoid epting full responsibility for that killing. That basic imbnce in his thinking had led him to wax and wane between extremes. He waited until someone pushed him far enough, then he justified it all. Yet, he could see, looking back, that he should have killed those bandits he encountered on the road with Bigan. Regardless of the threat they posed to him, they posed a threat to every mortal who passed that way. Leaving them alive had been dooming someone to the fate of being robbed or murdered or worse.


    The fight with the spirit beasts had rified that imbnce in his thinking for him. If he had taken his usual approach, he would have died. Instead, he had acted. There was no room in the world of cultivation for half-measures, which meant that he couldn¡¯t continue on in that world as he had been. It would mean disaster. He didn¡¯t have to descend into mindless butchery, but he couldn¡¯t keep hiding from the facts of the Jianghu. Strength ruled. Sometimes that meant acting, violently, decisively, and sometimes that meant bending beneath the weight of things more powerful than oneself, lest one be broken beneath that weight. In the case of someone stealing from you, grantly, as a petty revenge, knowing full well that your strength outstripped their own, there could be only one response. Make them bend or break them utterly.

 Book 2: Chapter 32: Punishment

    Book 2: Chapter 32: Punishment


    Sen didn¡¯t have a lot of qi to work with, so he decided that he wasn¡¯t going to bother withplicated qi techniques. He wasn¡¯t going to let Changpu use them either. Sen could feel the sect cultivator start to cycle qi as he bore down on the other man, so he let a little of his killing intent loose. It was just a moment, a sh really, but it shattered the man¡¯s focus. Then, Sen was there. His fist connected with Changpu¡¯s chest. The noise of that impact echoed through the empty town. The big cultivator flew away from the blow with his arms and legs iling, right up until the moment the stone wall of one of the nearby buildings stopped his backward momentum. Sen was a bare second behind the impact with a kick that drove the big cultivator through the wall. Sen heard bones break as Changpu¡¯s body proved inadequate to weather the blow and the resistance of the wall.


    Stepping through the hole into the building, Sen found the other cultivator struggling to stand. Changpu was making another attempt to cycle his qi enough to perform a technique. Sen could respect the effort, but he wasn¡¯t going to let that happen. He let his killing intentsh the other man¡¯s mind again while plunging his jian into the man¡¯s leg. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if it was the stab wound or the mental assault that made the big man cry out in pain. In the end, he supposed it didn¡¯t really matter all that much. Sen took a look at the man and realized that the fight was already over in all but name. With an annoyed sigh, Sen gave the man a halfhearted backhand that drove Changpu to the floor. Sen took a moment then to clean his jian on the sect cultivator¡¯s robes. After a moment of consideration about how to get the most value from what had always been a pointless and one-sided fight, Sen grabbed a fistful of Changpu¡¯s robe and bodily hurled the man back through the hole in the wall. Sen noted that his aim may have been slightly off, as the sect cultivator widened that hole on his way out.


    Stepping through the hole, Sen could see the shock and fear on the faces of the other sect cultivators. Wu Meng Yao had a jian in her hand but seemed to have forgotten it entirely as she stared down Changpu¡¯s limp form. Wang Chao held a guandao in front of him and had his wide eyes fixed on Sen. A rope dart hung from Song Ling¡¯s hands, but she didn¡¯t look any more ready to use it than Wu Meng Yao looked to use her jian. As Sen approached Changpu, Wu Meng Yao shook off her shock and held out a hand.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do this,¡± she said.


    ¡°Like you would have stopped him if I were the one on the ground,¡± said Sen, not breaking his stride.


    Wu Meng Yao looked like Sen had pped her, but she didn¡¯t deny the usation. ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t have. Not if you had challenged him the way he challenged you. Still, I¡¯m asking you not to kill him.¡±


    Sen did stop then. He stared at Wu Meng Yao while he took a breath and considered. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Politics. If hees back injured, I can exin it away as the stupidity it was. If he dies, it getsplicated.¡±


    ¡°You mean your sect will dere war on me.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao sighed but nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Those are the people you want me to trust with my life?¡±


    Changpu saved Wu Meng Yao from answering that question. The big man had slowly started to regain consciousness and was pushing himself up from the ground. Sen walked over and mmed the big cultivator back down to the street with a foot on his back. Changpu let out a pitiful noise of pain and spat up a mouthful of blood. Sen was torn. He might already have one sect hunting him. He really didn¡¯t need or want another one hounding his every step. On the other hand, Changpu¡¯s choice to so tantly challenge Sen called for something dramatic. Sen looked at Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°Tell me. Your sect must have problems with thieves every so often. How do <em>you</em> deal with them?¡±


    The sect cultivators exchanged ufortable looks and Wang Chao''s face went a little green. It didn¡¯t take much interpretation on Sen¡¯s part to realize that it must be something absolutely none of them wanted to do or see done to someone else. Wu Meng Yao took a breath before she answered.


    ¡°We cut off one of their arms.¡±


    Then, Sen understood. Damage a limb, and you could heal. Even if you never recovered full use of the limb, you could potentially keep cultivating if the qi channels remained intact. Remove a limb, and you could stop someone¡¯s cultivation journey forever. There were qi channels in the limbs. Removing a channel was a blow that most people couldn¡¯t recover from. It wasn¡¯t an absolutew. As Auntie Caihong had exined it, a few people had learned to work around it. Yet, it was very rare that someone did it. Sen understood how his own cultivation worked well enough, and had experimented often enough, that he thought he would have even odds of doing it. Well, he thought he would have even odds of doing it given enough time and ideal circumstances. Still, it wasn¡¯t something he was eager to try. If that¡¯s how their sect dealt with thieves, though, they¡¯d have a hard time objecting to Sen carrying out their punishment.


    ¡°Then so be it,¡± said Sen.


    With a motion so fast that none of the other cultivators even saw Sen¡¯s jian move, he severed Changpu¡¯s left arm at the shoulder. Kicking the limb away, Sen cycled up fire qi and reduced the arm into ash. He didn¡¯t know if the other sect cultivators would have tried to preserve the arm, but given the looks on their faces, he wouldn¡¯t have put it past them. Depending on whether any of the young sect cultivators had a storage ring like his and how good the healers in their sect were, they might have even managed to reattach that arm. It wouldn¡¯t have been a very effective punishment or lesson if their sect could simply undo what Sen had done. It was better to simply remove that temptation.


    It took a moment or two for the pain or the horror of what had just happened to him to catch up with Changpu, but it finally did. He started screaming as the blood gushed from the open wound. Sen stepped back and looked at the pale-faced Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°I¡¯ve honored your wishes. He still lives. You should tend to him if you want to keep it that way.¡±


    With that, Sen walked over to the spirit beast corpses and began the process of extracting the useful and valuable pieces from them. He didn¡¯t speak to the sect cultivators again, just kept them in the periphery of his vision while he worked. Based on the level of care he was seeing, Sen didn¡¯t give Changpu good odds of surviving. He found himself torn again. He could help ensure the man lived. He didn¡¯t particrly want to help, but the same considerations were still in y. Keeping the idiot alive was, ultimately, more useful to Sen. When he was done harvesting pieces from the spider and lizard spirit beasts, he went looking for the weakest healing pill he had. The one he found was still more potent and probably more valuable than he wanted to waste on Changpu, but keeping the peace required sacrifices sometimes. He walked over to the other cultivators and tossed the pill to Song Ling. She caught it and then stared down at it with awe.


    ¡°Make sure he takes it, or he¡¯s not going to make it back to your sect alive.¡±


    With that, Sen walked away. As he retraced his own steps through the town the night before, he found more dead spirit beasts than he expected. He didn¡¯t remember fighting that many. Then again, there had been a lot of fire. It only made sense that some of them might have fallen to smoke and me, rather than his direct actions. For the most part, he simply added to his collection of cores. Even with two storage rings, he was working with a limited amount of space. While there certainly were other useful parts on most of the spirit beasts, the cores held the most value. So, he took those and left the rest. If the sect cultivators wanted to collect those other parts, they were wee to do so.


    As he worked, Sen tried to decide if he¡¯d been put into this situation solely to bring him to terms with the realities of the Jianghu. He was willing to concede that maybe he had. While he wasn¡¯t happy leaving Changpu alive behind him, he could already tell that he wouldn¡¯t regret it the same way he regretted leaving those bandits alive. He¡¯d left Changpu alive to, hopefully, prevent a muchrger and less manageable problem from developing. Like it or not, he couldn¡¯t challenge the might of most sects as he was. Even when he became a core formation cultivator, he¡¯d need to tread with some care around sects. They had too many resources and too many people to keep making them angry everywhere he went. Maiming Changpu <em>had</em> been harsh but within the bounds of the Soaring Skies sect¡¯s own rules. In a strange way, it had been a political answer to a personal problem. He just had to hope they saw it that way.


    Sen¡¯s mind was on sects when he first walked over to the spot where he¡¯d made his made leap over the wall. It was only when he nearly tripped over part of the body of a spirit beast that he finally looked around.


    ¡°Hells,¡± he whispered.

 Book 2: Chapter 33: Projecting Strength

    Book 2: Chapter 33: Projecting Strength


    Sen knew that using the liquid qi would make Heavens¡¯ Rebuke more powerful, but he hadn¡¯t fully appreciated how much more potent it would be. Add that in with the wrong bnce between the lightning and killing intent, he¡¯d expected a lot of destruction. What he saw, though, was so far beyond his expectations that he didn¡¯t know quite how to process it. The building that he¡¯d leapt from was simply gone. In fact, most of the buildings in the immediate vicinity were gone. The destruction between where he stood and the wall seemed worse, though. Sen had been pretty focused on that wall at the time. He wondered if that had influenced the way the technique had expressed itself. Beyond the immediate ring of destruction, most of the buildings were little more than hollowed-out ruins with copsed walls and roofs. In ces, a partial second floor remains where he could see a bed or cab exposed to the air.


    What captured his attention, though, were all of the dead spirit beasts. When he <em>hid</em>, he sacrificed ess to a lot of information about the world nearby. Then, when he¡¯d finally made his leap, he¡¯d been almost entirely focused on his qinggong technique and controlling Heavens¡¯ Rebuke, however ineptly. There had seemingly been more spirit beasts nearby than he knew, based on the sheer scale of the carnage. Sen couldn¡¯t even guess at the actual number. There were some mostly or partially intact bodies on the ground. Yet, for each of those, there were countless pieces of spirit animals. Then, there was the blood. It was simply everywhere Sen looked. It covered the ground, the debris, and what intact walls were nearby.


    The smell of the area was almost enough to overwhelm even Sen¡¯s usually strong stomach. What he didn¡¯t see were the insects he would have expected to be covering the area. With so much decaying flesh and blood around, the air should have been ckened with all the flies. Sen considered the idea that the lingering remnants of destructive qi in the area might be keeping them away. He supposed it was possible there was something about the spirit animal corpses themselves that kept the insects at bay, but that seemed less likely. As Sen took it all in, he wondered if he should swear off using Heavens¡¯ Rebuke ever again.


    That kind of destruction was too unpredictable, too widespread. It was just <em>too much</em> in every sense. Killing a specific person or spirit beast was one thing. It was unavoidable really, as he¡¯d finallye to ept. Cultivators killed each other, even if Sen thought the reasons were often stupid. That was just the harsh reality of things, at least at Sen¡¯s cultivation stage. He couldn¡¯t change the rules of cultivation society by himself. One day, if he made it to the nascent soul stage, maybe he could decide not to kill or at least keep it to a minimum. Yet, he wasn¡¯t entirely convinced it waspletely avoidable even then. Master Feng didn¡¯t talk about needing to deal with challenges that often, but that could just be a matter of the elder cultivator not finding them particrly noteworthy.


    The very thought of bing a nascent soul stage cultivator made Sen look around again and shudder. If he unleashed an attack like that as a core cultivator, let alone a nascent soul stage cultivator, he couldn¡¯t even imagine what kind of destruction it would create. As it stood, if Senunched a poorly controlled Heavens¡¯ Rebuke in a ce where people still lived, dozens of people could die. Maybe more. He may have to ept killing other cultivators, but it was all too easy to lose sight of how those fights could spill over onto the mortal. As much as Sen struggled with finding the right path, he thought that <em>not </em>killing a bunch of mortals as a side effect of his fights with other cultivators or spirit beasts was a reasonable expectation for himself. Not that he could really prevent other cultivators from doing stupid, destructive things that might endanger mortals, but that was simply beyond what he could reasonably take responsibility for.


    Shaking off those ruminations, Sen considered how to handle the mess in front of him. He had zero desire to go walking through all of that blood and viscera. Yet, he wasn¡¯t keen to simply leave the cores behind for someone less squeamish. He found himself thinking that if Changpu had simply been willing to wait, Sen probably would have let the man just have whatever cores the sect cultivator was willing to harvest from the disgusting mess. Sen settled for extending his spiritual sense over the area and sending out a little wind qi over the area. Between the two, he was able to pick out a number of cores both obvious and hidden. As he prepared to retrieve them, he felt someone approaching from behind. He called his spear out of his ring and turned to face Wu Meng Yao. She didn¡¯t have a weapon drawn, but she didn¡¯t necessarily need one. A cultivator with even a little qi in their dantian was always armed.


    Yet, she barely looked at him. Instead, her eyes wandered over the catastrophic destruction behind Sen. By turns, she looked ill, horrified, and afraid. When she did finally turn her attention back to Sen, she gave him a very respectful bow.


    ¡°I wanted to thank you for the pill you provided. It probably saved his life.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Like you said, politics. I don¡¯t need your sect breathing down my neck for the rest of time.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao looked like she wanted to protest but couldn¡¯t seem toe up with anything to actually say about that. So, she moved on and gestured to everything behind Sen.


    ¡°Did you do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She didn¡¯t move or speak for a long moment as she really took it all in. When her gaze shifted to Sen, she looked confused. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Carelessly,¡± answered Sen, turning back to what he was doing.


    With a beckoning gesture, his wind qi scooped up the loose cores that were easily essible. For the rest, it plunged into flesh or through loose stone to seize the cores. The cores flew to Sen from every direction. Some of them shed dirt or dust as they flew, while others dripped blood. Taking a moment to add a water qi cycling technique, Sen doused the lot of them and let the wind qi dry them off. Then, he added them to the rest in his storage ring. He really needed to take Auntie Caihong¡¯s advice and find some down-on-its-luck alchemy shop that would take some of those cores in trade for part ownership. Sen had been ufortable with the volume of cores he had in the ring before he just added all the new ones. He had a legitimate fortune in that ring and, now, someone else knew about it. Sen heard Wu Meng Yao take a breath before she spoke again.


    ¡°I meant, how could <em>you</em>, a foundation formation stage cultivator, have caused this kind of destruction?¡±


    ¡°I knew what you meant,¡± said Sen walking over to stand by her. ¡°I just don¡¯t mean to give you any more information about me than I already have.¡±


    ¡°What if I promised not to tell anyone?¡±


    ¡°Is that a promise you really think you can keep? Honestly?¡±


    She hemmed and hawed for a few seconds before she said, ¡°Probably not.¡±


    ¡°You know what the sad part is? I actually <em>like</em> you. I think you mean the things you say about acting honorably. That¡¯s part of why I won¡¯t tell you anything else. You know what happened here with the spirit beasts. That¡¯s the information you <em>need</em> to take back. Anything else you take back, especially about me, will almost certainly be to my detriment. The less you know, the less guilt you¡¯ll have to carry if your sect does something unfortunate.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao studied Sen¡¯s face for a while before she said something that had clearly been on her mind. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do what you did to Changpu. It was cruel.¡±


    Sen regarded the young woman in much the same way she had him. ¡°Yes, it was cruel. No, I didn¡¯t <em>have</em> to do that. I¡¯d already won. But tell me, when you all go back and talk about this, what would the rest of your sect have thought if I just pped him around and then let it go? Do you think they would have respected that? Feared that? Or do you think they would have thought I was weak?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± answered Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°Neither do I,¡± said Sen. ¡°And <em>that¡¯s</em> my problem. I <em>must</em> project strength. Even if I hate what that calls for me to do. Even when I think it¡¯s stupid, or cruel, or unnecessary. I don¡¯t have a sect backing me up out here. It¡¯s just me. Now look at Changpu. I expect that most of the time, back at your sect, he¡¯s considered a good guy, right?¡±


    ¡°He is.¡±


    ¡°Yet, the <em>second</em> he thought I was even a little weak, he turned on me because I got something he wanted. I genuinely hope that more of the people in your sect are like you, but I expect that most of them are like Changpu. Those people won¡¯t respect mercy, only strength. So, I did something irrevocable to Changpu. I did it within the bounds of your sect protocols. I can only hope that it sends the message thating after me will be more costly and more troublesome than it¡¯s worth.¡±


    Sen started to walk away at that point, but a thought urred to him. He turned back and lifted an eyebrow at Wu Meng Yao. ¡°Where are your prisoners? I can¡¯t imagine you just left them tied up somewhere.¡±


    The sect cultivator made an inarticte noise of anger at that point. Gathering her control, she looked at Sen.


    ¡°They¡¯re dead.¡±


    ¡°Dead? Why are they-,¡± Sen paused then and shook his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s really none of my business.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao waved it off. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you know. After you left, Wang Chao wasn¡¯t paying attention the way he should have been. They managed to free themselves.¡±


    ¡°So, they picked death out here over an execution back at your sect. Can¡¯t say it¡¯s necessarily what I would have done, but I understand it,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± snapped Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°Sure, you do. They picked death on their own terms, instead of death on yours. Hells, it¡¯s just about the most cultivator thing they <em>could</em> do. Everything in cultivation is about forging our own path in opposition to the path set forth by the heavens. So, they forged a path in opposition to the one set out by you.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± sighed Wu Meng Yao.


    Sen let his gaze linger on the sect girl for a moment before he dipped into a deep, respectful martial bow. ¡°There may be cores and other useful materials left in the city. I¡¯ve gathered what I mean to take, so the rest is yours. Perhaps you can win some favor with them in your sect. Travel safely, Wu Meng Yao. I hope I meet you again, one day, under less fraught circumstances.¡±


    The young woman returned his bow. ¡°Travel safely, whoever you really are. Perhaps, if fate wills it, we will meet again in a better time and ce.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 34: Perspective

    Book 2: Chapter 34: Perspective


    For the next three days, Sen used his quingong technique almost non-stop, keeping it right at the edge of what his passive qi gathering could support. He stopped for nothing, often diverting into the forest to avoid contact with the people on the road or to skirt around the one vige he saw. He took his time at night, setting up the most irond obscuring formations he could. In short, Sen wanted nothing to do with <em>anyone</em>. That desire for istion was something new for Sen. Even when he¡¯d been living on the streets, he hadn¡¯t wanted istion. It was just a necessity for personal safety. After years of daily interaction with Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong, he¡¯d assumed his time of istion was well and truly over. After that disaster with the spirit beasts, followed by the fight with Changpu, Sen wanted breathing room from others.


    Some of it was simply to have time to sort out his own thoughts. It was difficult to maintain any kind of perspective in the moment. He wanted a little distance to decide if his new attitude about the Jianghu and other cultivators was rational or another overreaction. He was a little disappointed when he concluded that, barring some new information, his attitude probably <em>was</em> the rational approach. He worried that projecting strength all the time <em>might</em> invite challenges he didn¡¯t want, but he was certain that simply letting things slide <em>would</em> provoke more challenges like Changpu¡¯s. In a world where people worshipped strength more than anything else, it seemed unavoidable.


    Yet, participating in constant personal tests of strength and skill was something that interested Sen very little. He might not be able to avoid it all the time, but he¡¯d much rather spend his time pursuing those all too-infrequent moments of enlightenment. The trick, he supposed, was figuring out how to limit the one and increase the odds of the other. Unfortunately, his only guides to enlightenment were those asional tugging feelings he got, and he wasn¡¯t feeling very optimistic about those. Yes, they had inevitably led him to situations where he could learn things, and even to situations where enlightenment was a possibility, but they¡¯d also led him straight into situations where violence was almost inevitable. He didn¡¯t believe those things were inextricably linked. In fact, most of his moments of enlightenment hade in momentspletely free of violence. Looking back on his recent experiences, he found he¡¯d been happiest on the Luo farm. Although, he supposed it was easy to be happy when you spent most of your time helping people heal.


    Unfortunately, he also knew that healing wasn¡¯t his path, at least not as the thing he pursued all the time. It had been gratifying, and he was d that his skills could help those people, but it had grated at him too. For all the good he might have done, he was only dying the inevitable. Death loomedrge over the mortals. They were simply too fragile, too easy to injure, and too prone to illness. He could help them, but he could never really save them from those frailties. If he tried to adopt that as a profession, he wouldn¡¯tst. He could do it as a sideline, or intervene in an emergency, but it wasn¡¯t a calling for him.


    He also didn¡¯t relish the idea of being a professional sellsword. Oh, Sen didn¡¯t mind the idea of asionally hiring himself out to protect a caravan or deal with an especially dangerous spirit beast. It was honest work. He was good enough with the jian and spear that he could likely keep himself employed that way full-time. Yet, it would be grating as well. Moving with caravans was boring and, he knew, would likely mean traveling between the same ces constantly. Given his recent experiences, he wasn¡¯t thrilled at the idea of revisiting the same ces multiple times a year. No, moving on seemed like a better choice. As for dealing with rogue spirit beasts, he supposed that idea had some merit, but he would tire of the killing. In the end, he just wanted to see the world, to see the ces that he¡¯d heard about in the stories he¡¯d heard on the mountain, and even to see ces that his teachers hadn¡¯t seen.


    Wandering wasn¡¯t a profession that would support him and none of the obvious options suited him. He didn¡¯t wish to kill full-time, or heal full-time, or live in abject poverty full-time, so he¡¯d need to carve out something new for himself. <em>A sellsword healer</em>, <em>maybe</em>, he mused. He couldn¡¯t be the first to think of it, but he also hadn¡¯t heard about anyone else doing it. He supposed it wasn¡¯t amonbination of skills. Still, it would give him an excuse to move on whenever the feeling took him. There was always work for people with those skills, but the location of that work wasn¡¯t consistent. And there was a kind of bnce in it. If he couldn¡¯t avoid the violence, he could at least add something beneficial to the world. The idea still felt iplete to Sen, but it was at least <em>a</em> n.


    It was clear to him now that he¡¯d been far too cavalier about setting out into the world. Worse, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t have listened if others had warned him about it. No doubt that was why Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho hadn¡¯t wasted their words. Grandmother Lu basically <em>had</em> warned him about it with all her talk about practicalities. It had been arrogance on his part. He¡¯d just assumed that he understood how things worked. Why he¡¯d thought that, Sen couldn¡¯t imagine. Dumb luck had had more to do with his survival thesest few months than anything else. Granted, he¡¯d leveraged his skills and abilities as well as he could when one crisis or another arrived, but a little more thoughtfulness on his part could have made the road much smoother for him.


    He¡¯d lost sight of what he meant to do when he¡¯d left the mountain, of what he meant to be. He could see, in hindsight, that he¡¯d been too idealistic. Master Feng and Uncle Kho hadn¡¯t sunk years of time into training him to fight for their own amusement. They had <em>known</em>bat was unavoidable and done their best to prepare him to survive those inevitable and, Sen sighed, likely frequent fights. He had to temper that desire to not be some reckless agent of chaos with his more realistic understanding of the demands of the Jianghu. His ideal had been one of pacifism, quietly moving from ce to ce, picking up enlightenment as he went. The world simply <em>wasn¡¯t</em> going to amodate that idea. He would have to fight. Some of those fights woulde to him, regardless of his wishes, and the need to project strength would make it impossible to avoid others.


    Yet, recent experience had shown him that he was all too capable of triggering fights with his poorly considered behaviors. Those fights were avoidable. It was on him to make sure he geared his behaviors and responses in a way that let him avoid them. It wasn¡¯t the ideal he hoped for, and it meant more death in his life than he wanted. It was also more realistic. Short of locking himself away somewhere like a monk, he had to meet the world as he found it. That he found it exactly as full of the problems his teachers had warned him about was disappointing, but he couldn¡¯t say it was unexpected. Some of those problems he would meet head-on, and some he would do his best to de-escte. He expected that he would fail at thetter sometimes, but at least it would be a failure in the service of trying to live as the person that he wanted to be.


    Steering clear of others wasn¡¯t just a way for Sen to give himself time to get perspective. It also gave him time to finish healing. Despite what it may have looked like to the other Soaring Skies sect members, fighting with Changpu had been physically grueling for Sen. He¡¯d kept it off his face, but his bones hadn¡¯t been done healing, nor had his muscles or any other part of him. He¡¯d set his own healing back a lot with that little disy. As necessary as he still thought it had been, he¡¯d paid a price for it. Avoiding others meant he could give his body the time it needed to put itself back together. It had taken several more elixirs to get the job mostly done. He¡¯d considered making another, but there was a point at which even cultivators just had to let their bodies heal at their own pace. Whatever lingering pains or soreness he was experiencing, he was confident that he could defend himself if needed to do so.


    As he left his body to its healing, Sen pulled out his map. He had meant to go to Emperor¡¯s Bay originally, mostly because he knew Grandmother Lu had a shop there, but he was strongly reconsidering the decision. Unfortunately, roads were all too few across the continent. Sen could cut across the wilderness, but that was risky. Along roads and near settled areas, spirit beasts tended to be weaker. They were hunted there, so they only tended to grow to a certain level of strength. In the deep wilds, though, Sen knew there were truly powerful spirit beasts that were the equivalent in strength to core stage and nascent soul stage cultivators. He didn¡¯t like his chances of surviving an encounter with spirit beasts like that. Maybe he could <em>hide</em> from them, but it seemed like a terrible risk for a questionable reward. No, he would stick with his original destination. He was fairly certain he had a healthy lead on the Soaring Skies members. If he kept his visit to the Emperor¡¯s Bay short, he ought to be gone before that sect ever learned anything about him.

 Book 2: Chapter 35: Information Gathering

    Book 2: Chapter 35: Information Gathering


    Lo Meifeng was frustrated. Orders hade down from the top, the <em>very</em> top, that some kid was supposed to be kept under quiet observation, assisted if absolutely necessary, and efforts made to spread the silly name that a bunch of rural fools had given to him. <em>Honestly</em>, thought Lo Meifeng, <em>why would anyone want to be called something like Judgment¡¯s Gale</em>? Then again, her entire organization took orders from a man called Fate¡¯s Razor, so maybe she didn¡¯t really have room to judge. What she didn¡¯t understand was why they were bothering with some kid that nobody knew existed until a few months before. It had seemed like a fool¡¯s errand and beneath the finely honed skills that Lo Meifeng had spent centuries perfecting on her way to core formation. Yet, orders were orders, and only the very foolish ignored orders from men like Feng Ming. If it was her job to babysit some kid, she¡¯d take it as an easy assignment meant to give her some time to rest and recuperate. Or so she had imagined when first handed the orders.


    Thinking back on it after the fact, she wondered if her superiors knew what an unbelievable pain this assignment would turn out to be. Following the kid had been simple enough, at first. He¡¯d gotten himself attached to a caravan and those moved slow at the best of times. Then, things had gotten strange. The damn kid had run off into the forest and thrown down with some spirit beast that was stronger than he was by at least two or three in-stage cultivation levels. She¡¯d almost intervened then, but the kid pulled out a victory with some damn technique that she¡¯d never seen before. She might have been more impressed if he hadn¡¯t nearly killed himself in the process.


    Then, things had gone back to normal. At least until they got to Tide¡¯s Rest, where the kid had stood on the beach and stared at the ocean for <em>hours</em>. There¡¯d been that odd confrontation with the sect girls, where she still wasn¡¯t sure entirely what had happened. If she didn¡¯t know better, she¡¯d think he suppressed them with killing intent, but it just wasn¡¯t possible for a foundation formation stage to be wandering around with a killing intent <em>that</em> strong. Then, things had gotten really weird. He¡¯d had a standoff with some other sect flunky while throwing around multiple kinds of qi. Something else she thought she knew was all but impossible. Then, he¡¯d vaporized that poor sect bastard before he just disappeared into the night like some kind of damn spirit.


    Ever since then, she¡¯d been desperately trying to find him. She¡¯d wasted a lot of time in the north looking for him before finally heading south. She started catching hints of his presence there, but every time she thought she was close, she arrived to discover that he¡¯de and gone. He¡¯d apparently saved some wagon driver on the road and earned himself a worshipper for life. The story struck her as patently bizarre. The wagon driver and his entire family were mortals. She couldn¡¯t understand why the kid had bothered. After that, he¡¯d spent some time in a small vige. It seemed that he¡¯d amused himself by dispensing alchemical miracles for a pittance, killing rapists, and anointing a local farm family into some kind of vige royalty with the threat of his unending wrath for any who dared to harm them. The vigers there seemed to think he was some kind of saint. Still, orders were orders, so she made a point to drop the title of the man who had so dramatically altered their lives.


    Now, there was this literal smoking ruin before her. She didn¡¯t even need to wonder who had caused it. This had the kid¡¯s fingerprints all over it. Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t know how he was connected, but an empty town filled with burned-out buildings and what looked like an absurd number of dead spirit beasts, how could he <em>not</em> be connected? She wandered through the town, piecing together some of what had happened and feeling the blood in her veins run colder and colder. If things had been half as bad as it looked like they had been, this was <em>exactly</em> the kind of thing that she was supposed to intervene in. After a while, she found a group of sect kids piging spirit beast parts. Well, two of them were piging. One of them was sleeping off to one side with fresh bandages on the stump of an arm. <em>Had they fought here as well</em>, she wondered. It might help exin the sheer scope of the damage. She announced her presence with a pulse of her qi.


    All three of them stumbled over to her as fast as their legs would carry them. She might not be in their sect, but they weren¡¯t nearly far enough along in their cultivation to ignore anyone in the core cultivation stage. Some pointed questions got a very disjointed story out of the three. They had met her wayward charge. They didn¡¯t spell it out, but there had been some interpersonal issues of some kind centered on the pretty girl who was very clearly <em>not</em> saying a lot. When it came to what had happened in the town, they didn¡¯t really have aplete story. All that they did know was that her charge hade here, found the ce empty of human life, filled with spirit beasts, and that he had fought them. Lo Meifeng took another long look at the destruction around her. <em>He did all of this by himself</em>?


    He¡¯d also apparently taken the big sect cultivator¡¯s arm as an object lesson about stealing. Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t know what to make of that. It seemed out of character for him. He had killed that rapist, but even that hade after the man had assaulted the farm girl. Or after the man tried to assault her at least. Lo Meifeng personally thought that the kid was a bit too forgiving andpassionate. Taking the arm was icy cold and calcted. The kind of thing designed to give people pause. <em>Maybe he¡¯s just growing up</em>, thought Lo Meifeng. She¡¯d have to ask him when she finally found him. It was clear that trailing him wasn¡¯t going to work. She¡¯d have to be more proactive.


    ¡°You¡¯d have to talk to Wu Meng Yao to get the rest of the story. She talked to himst,¡± said the pretty girl.


    ¡°Where is she?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°She went ahead to report to the sect about the spirit beasts.¡±


    <em>And about the kid</em>, thought Lo Meifeng with a grimace she didn¡¯t let reach her features.


    While she wasn¡¯t satisfied that she had anything even close to the whole story, she was satisfied that she had enough of a picture to move on. She remembered her days as a foundation formation stage cultivator, and they had <em>not</em> looked anything like what this kid was going through. She couldn¡¯t even begin to calcte the odds of any cultivator just wandering into a town where the entire poption had been inexplicably massacred by spirit beasts. Then for him to single-handedly rain down enough destruction to send them packing, it defied exnation. Whatever details she was missing, she couldn¡¯t waste any more time in the empty town. She needed to catch up with the kid or at least catch up with the other sect girl before she made her report. When it became obvious that she meant to leave, the big sect kid with the missing arm piped up.


    ¡°Who is he? What¡¯s his name?¡±


    Wishing that literally anyone else had been given this shit assignment, she faced the three sect cultivators. All of them had expressions that were equal parts wary and desperate to know. Lo Meifeng thought about just saying that she didn¡¯t know. The sect kids wouldn¡¯t know any differently. <em>No one would know</em>, a traitorous voice in her heart whispered. As much as she wanted to listen to that voice, she ignored it.


    ¡°They call him Judgment¡¯s Gale,¡± said Lo Meifeng through mostly unclenched teeth.


    As she all but flew out of the town using her qinggong technique, she desperately wondered how she was going to report all of this in a way that wouldn¡¯t get her killed.

 Book 2: Chapter 36: Emperor’s Bay (1)

    Book 2: Chapter 36: Emperor¡¯s Bay (1)


    Sen didn¡¯t maintain his absolute istion stance the rest of the way to Emperor¡¯s Bay, but he also didn¡¯t make a point of interacting with anyone. He focused mostly on speed, only asionally slowing or stopping if something caught his attention. He did, however, make a point to stop and intervene the one time he ran across bandits. Unlike thest time he saw bandits, he didn¡¯t give them a choice to leave. While almost all of the caravanners made it out with minimal injury, none of the bandits survived. Sen did let the caravan people talk him into staying for a meal as a way to thank him. It was simple enough fare, but Sen was slowly learning to appreciate the joys of not having to cook every meal for himself.


    When Emperor¡¯s Bay did finallye into sight, Sen had to stop and simply stare at it for a while. Tide¡¯s Rest had seemed big to him, dwarfing Orchard¡¯s Reach many times over. Inparison, Emperor¡¯s Bay was a giant among children. The main city covered miles in every direction before the outer wall formed a hard break. Yet, the city didn¡¯t end there. Nestled in a shallow valley, Sen could see smaller towns that spread out from the main city like roots breaking the surface of the earth at a distance from a tree. Most of the outer viges andmunities looked like farming concerns, probably meant to supply the city itself. Sen struggled to imagine how so many people could all live in one ce or why they would want to. Out in the bay itself, there were so many boats and ships that Sen knew it would be pointless to even try to count them.


    Part of Sen wanted to simply avoid the main city, but it wasn¡¯t practical. It was the first ce he had visited where Master Feng had given him some useful information about where to go. Beyond that, Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop was located in that sprawling mess, <em>somewhere</em>. Sen shook off his hesitance. As vast and iprehensible as the city looked, he knew that this wasn¡¯t even close to thergest city on the continent. It wasn¡¯t even thergest city in the kingdom. The capital city was supposedly muchrger than Emperor¡¯s Bay, not that Sen had any intentions of visiting the capital. He suspected that there was nothing there for him to find except a lot of trouble. Seeing his extended visual inspection of the area for the stalling that it was, Sen got moving again. Sen chided himself for not asking Wu Meng Yao about any other sects in the city. Without that information, he couldn¡¯t be sure if anyone would be waiting around for wandering cultivators near the gates the way people had been in Tide¡¯s Rest. With that uncertainty in mind as he approached the city, he took the precaution he hadn¡¯t thought was necessary in Tide¡¯s Rest. He <em>hid</em> himself while still several miles out from the main wall.


    He supposed that anyone who had been tracking him from inside the city would notice that he¡¯d vanished. He doubted their observations were good enough to pick him out of the crowd of people he blended into as he approached the gate. He had expected some kind of trouble when he tried to enter the city, or at least a basic attempt to get a bribe from him. Auntie Caihong and Master Feng had told him that was fairlymon practice at city gates. It seemed the guards at these gates were either more honorable or less ambitious than those kinds of guards. They stopped everyone and asked what business they had in the city. For farmers, merchants, and caravans, there was generally a quick inspection of their goods.


    ¡°Purpose of your visit?¡± asked the guard without even really looking at Sen.


    ¡°Shopping and running errands for my uncle,¡± replied Sen, figuring that it was close enough to true not to matter.


    The guard¡¯s eyes wandered over Sen for a moment, perhaps judging the quality of his clothes, before he nodded and gestured him through.


    Sen paused for a moment and asked, ¡°Can you tell me where to find the Pink Orchid district?¡±


    The guard gave Sen a longer look then, which made Sen wonder if he¡¯d made some kind of mistake. Then, the guard gave him a wink that Sen didn¡¯t quite know how to interpret.


    ¡°Sure, kid,¡± said the guard, before giving him directions. ¡°Enjoy your <em>shopping</em>.¡±


    The guard chuckled quietly to himself as Sen passed through the gate and into the city. He was immediately d that he¡¯d asked for directions because the city was overwhelming to him. There were too many people packed into too little space. Smells that had lingered around Orchard¡¯s Reach, trash, human waste, food, were overpowering in the city. Sen had to force his feet to keep moving for the first ten minutes he was in the city. He also caught no less than three street kids gently patting at his robes, looking for things to steal. If he hadn¡¯t been a cultivator with heightened senses, he suspected he never would have even noticed. After the third time he grabbed a thin wrist, word must have gone out on whatever ndestine channels the thieves used that he was a bad target.


    Not that it freed him entirely from unwanted attention. He caught a few rough-looking people eyeing him from alleyways and darkened alcoves. When he made very deliberate, very unfriendly eye contact with those people, they <em>also</em> found other things to be interested in. After the speed of his travel on the road, the pace of movement through the city felt agonizingly slow to Sen. Even so, he did make progress. He also discovered that once he got away from the main gate, the total foot traffic fell off to something a bit more reasonable. He wasn¡¯t making great time, but he no longer felt like he was trapped in some slow-moving dream. Still, it was a relief to have more than a few inches of space between him and all of the other people. And there were <em>so many</em> people. Many of them wore the familiar robes that he was used to, but he also saw people wearing clothes that obviously came from far away and usingnguages he didn¡¯t know. Sen made a mental note to start asking about whatnguages were used where across the continent. He didn¡¯t think he possessed any great ability withnguage, but he suspected acquiring at least a basic working knowledge of the moremonnguages would prove a useful tool.


    He was also surprised by all of the food. It seemed that there were people set up near every corner selling every type of food Sen could imagine, and some that were as alien to him as some of the clothes he¡¯d seen. He almost stopped and got some kind of meat on a stick, before an old woman warned him off of eating from that particr stall.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t pork,¡± the old woman said.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°No one knows for sure, but I know pork when I taste it. That isn¡¯t pork.¡±


    Sen thanked the old woman and decided that he wouldn¡¯t get any food at stalls until he found a local who could give him a bit of advice about where and, much more importantly, where not to eat. He really needed to find Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop in the city. Sen suspected that she meant for the employees there to provide him with exactly that kind of basic guidance. Every time he turned around, it seemed, he grew to better understand and appreciate her focus on the practicalities. He wanted to feel a bit annoyed at Master Feng for not offering any advice about things like picking ces to eat, but Sen couldn¡¯t quite muster the feelings. It was entirely possible that Master Feng would visit a ce like Emperor¡¯s Bay for a week and never eat anything. He couldn¡¯t really offer advice about activities he only participated in when other people reminded him.


    When Sen passed into the Pink Orchid district, the wink the guard had given him started to make more sense. There wasn¡¯t a huge change in anything obvious. The architecture remained more or less the same. There were still lots of people around. Yet, the change was there, subtle, almost beneath the senses. As Sen looked around, he could see that the number of young women and young men had risen dramatically. They also seemed to be making an effort to disy themselves with fine silks, borate makeup, andplicated hairstyles. The suspicious part of Sen¡¯s mind drew a conclusion or two about Master Feng¡¯s intent in sending him here. Sen also felt a brief moment of panic. If the pattern held true, he could cause a riot in an area like this. Yet, as he looked around, he didn¡¯t see the usual reaction to him. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t draw attention from the young people, but it wasn¡¯t the stunned expression that he¡¯d grown so weary of. Instead, he got looks of interest and appreciation.


    Heaving a sigh of relief, he continued on his way. It soon became clear to Sen that while the guard¡¯s direction to the district had been good, finding his way around in the district was beyond Sen. He finally stopped a young man and asked where to find a ce called The Silver Crane. The young man looked disappointed when he heard where Sen was trying to go, but provided a sinct set of directions that put Sen in front of a building with what could be a bird painted in silver on it. Shrugging, Sen went in and found a young woman seated just inside the door. She eyed him curiously.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to speak with the manager, please,¡± said Sen, following Master Feng¡¯s instructions.


    The girl looked briefly concerned before her features smoothed out. ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware of. I just have a message for them.¡±


    A kind of invisible tension bled away from the young woman. ¡°Of course. Wait here.¡±


    The girl vanished for a minute or two before returning with an older woman who gave Sen a nearly identical look of curiosity as the one the young woman had given him. Sen looked back and forth between them before he realized that they were rted, possibly mother and daughter. The older woman gave Sen a polite bow.


    ¡°I am the manager of this establishment. How may I assist the young master?¡±


    Sen returned the bow and said, ¡°I was instructed to tell you that Feng Ming sent me.¡±


    Then, chaos erupted around Sen.

 Book 2: Chapter 37: Emperor’s Bay (2)

    Book 2: Chapter 37: Emperor¡¯s Bay (2)


    One moment, Sen was standing there. The next he was being ushered into the back of the establishment where he passed rooms that often seemed to have a preposterous amount of decoration and a host of young women and men. Some of them stared at Sen with pure curiosity, others with vaguely concerned looks, and one young man red at him with open hostility. He barely had time to register any of that before the manager of the ce was peppering him with questions, yet never letting him get a word in edgewise. The woman¡¯s daughter, or niece, he hadn¡¯t decided yet, was on the other side doing the same thing. The two women eventually showed him into avishly decorated room.


    ¡°Is the young master hungry? Or does he require a bath? Would he like the services of one of the youngdies or young men?¡± asked the manager of the ce at a rapid-fire pace.


    Sen held up a hand and the manager immediately fell silent. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t really understand what¡¯s happening.¡±


    ¡°Feng Ming is the patriarch of this establishment,¡± said the manager in a hushed, reverential tone. ¡°He told us that if ever someone should arrive and say he had sent them, we were to provide that guest with all due courtesy and respect.¡±


    ¡°I¡­I see,¡± said Sen.


    He had seen enough to understand that he was standing in a brothel and that this was likely some manner of joke on the part of Master Feng. Then again, maybe the old man just assumed that Sen would want somepany. Even after years of knowing the man, Sen often struggled to discern Master Feng¡¯s motives for anything. Sen wasn¡¯t all that surprised to know that Master Feng had a hand in the ownership or operation of this ce. If the man had once bought a pastry shop because a little girl called him grandpa, then he probably bought this ce because one of the girls had a nice smile and offered him wine, or something equally unremarkable.


    ¡°Does the young master require anything?¡± the young woman asked.


    ¡°Just a ce to sleep and a bath. Oh, and perhaps you can find the location of a business in the city for me.¡±


    ¡°Where does the young master wish to go?¡± asked the manager, looking relieved that Sen had finally said he wanted something.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shop called Grandmother Lu¡¯s Heavenly Wares. I have business there.¡±


    ¡°I will dispatch someone to find it for you immediately.¡±


    ¡°Oh, um, thank you. If they can find it for me by tomorrow, I expect that will be soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll leave my daughter here to attend to your bath,¡± said the manager, vanishing out of the room before Sen could protest that all he really needed was directions.


    The young woman issued whispered orders out the door to someone that Sen couldn¡¯t see, then she just stood there, waiting expectantly for Sen to do, he didn¡¯t know what. He upied himself by looking around the room. Compared to the tent he¡¯d been sleeping in recently, the ce looked decadent to his eyes. Everything bit of cloth was silk. All of the wood in the room was heavily carved and gilded. There were more pillows on the bed than any five people could possibly find a use for. There was even a dresser with a small mirrorid carefully on top. When he ran out of things to look at, Sen turned his gaze back to the young woman. She had been studying him but dropped her gaze immediately when he turned to her.


    ¡°This room is very nice but well beyond my needs or, I expect, my means.¡±


    ¡°You are a guest of Feng Ming¡¯s. Anything you require will be provided free of charge,¡± said the young woman.


    She had looked almost offended that Sen would suggest he might need to pay for something within the walls of the brothel. He supposed asking for a simpler room was likely out of the question as well. He was deeply relieved when he heard a whispered voice from the door. The manager¡¯s daughter gestured toward the door.


    ¡°A bath has been prepared for you,¡± she said. ¡°If you¡¯ll follow me.¡±


    Sen did as he was instructed and followed the girl. Since everything he owned was in his storage rings, he left the room precisely as he found it. The bath was located in a private room, which Sen suspected was reserved for the most important customers. He touched the water and found it pleasantly hot. It had been some time since he¡¯dst had ess to a proper bath, and he wanted to take advantage of it. He examined his own internal state. He was healed from the battle with the spirit beasts, at least in the most technical sense. His physical injuries no longer bothered him, yet he could tell that some things lingered, deep down in his tissues. After considering what might best help him, he began pulling ingredients from his storage ring and sprinkling them over the bath. When the mixture felt right to him, he straightened up and began undressing. ncing over at the door, Sen was startled to see that the manager¡¯s daughter was still there and had disrobed.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You are an honored guest of The Silver Crane. Do you not wishpany? If you do not find me pleasing, I can summon another.¡±


    The girl seemed a little crestfallen that Sen might send her away. He thought for a moment, looking for a graceful way to say that he was just tired.


    ¡°I find you very pleasing,¡± he said, hoping to assuage any wounded self-worth. ¡°I was injured recently. This is a medicinal bath.¡±


    That seemed to pique the young woman¡¯s interest. ¡°Truly? Are you a healer?¡±


    Sen finished undressing as he answered. ¡°At times and at need.¡±


    The girl walked over and looked down at the nts and herbs floating on the surface. ¡°Will it harm me?¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to say yes, but he honestly didn¡¯t know. He let a bit of qi slip free from his control and wash over the girl. She spun to look at him, her eyes wide, but rxed when his qi retreated a momentter. He was surprised to discover that she was a cultivator in her own right. She¡¯d made some progress in the qi condensing stage. He¡¯d been so distracted by everything and semi-blinded by his <em>hiding</em> that he just hadn¡¯t spotted it. After a moment of reflection, he shook his head.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t suppose it will harm you. I just don¡¯t know that it will help you, either.¡±


    The girl shrugged and Sen found himself very distracted for a moment before he got his focus back in order. The medicinal herbs were potent, but that potency wouldn¡¯tst forever. He stepped into the bath and sank down into the water, letting the heat and the smell of the medicinal nts wash over him. Sen felt it when the girl stepped into the water.


    ¡°If we¡¯re going to bathe together, I suppose I should at least know what to call you,¡± said Sen, not even opening his eyes.


    There was such a long pause that Sen did eventually open his eyes. The girl was studying him again, as though she could divine something from his features that way that some imed to divine from tea leaves.


    ¡°You¡¯re a cultivator?¡± she asked, instead of answering his question.


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I sense you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a trick. Helps me avoid,¡± he weighed a few words that might be appropriate, plications.¡±


    ¡°How advanced is your cultivation?¡± she asked, although she sounded nervous about it.


    Sen supposed it was amon enough question among cultivators. Of course, most cultivators didn¡¯t have Sen¡¯s trick and could get a feel for the general level of advancement of other cultivators they met. If he was keeping himself hidden, she might think he was going to be annoyed with such questions. He waved a hand in the air.


    ¡°Foundation formation, somewhere in the middle stage.¡±


    ¡°This trick of yours, can all foundation formation cultivators do it.¡±


    Sen let out a soft chuckle. ¡°No. Just me, so far as I know.¡±


    ¡°Can you teach it?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling to teach it. I don¡¯t understand how I do it. Neither did my teachers. You can¡¯t teach what you don¡¯t truly understand.¡±


    For a little while, they fell into silence. Sen let his cultivation stay a passive thing and slowly soak in whatever healing effects the bath might provide. For his part, Sen just enjoyed the way the muscles in his back and shoulders slowly lost some of the tension that had been building up in them for weeks now. He really hadn¡¯t understood what a luxury it was to have easy ess to a bathhouse every day at Uncle Kho¡¯s home. He¡¯d had to go traveling to truly understand what kind of simple luxury he¡¯d given up.


    ¡°Have you traveled far?¡± asked the girl.


    Sen looked over at her. ¡°A ways. I came from Tide¡¯s Reach.¡±


    The girl frowned for a moment. ¡°To the north of here?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been traveling for several weeks.¡±


    ¡°Through the wilds?¡± she asked, sounding both excited and unsettled at the idea.


    ¡°Well, I suppose you could call them that. The areas along the road aren¡¯t really the wilds. There¡¯s too much traffic, too much civilization, too much hunting. Where I grew up, that was much closer to the real wilds. Even there, spirit beast attacks weren¡¯t all thatmon. Honestly, I think bandits are probably a bigger threat to travelers. You should cultivate, by the way. Even if you don¡¯t get much from the bath, you¡¯ll get more value if you cultivate.¡±


    Now that he was looking for it, he felt her qi start to circte through her body. There was a gentle pull in the water that dragged away some of what the nts were slowly releasing. With a moment of concentration, Sen cycled a touch of fire qi and added it to the water. Then, he leaned his head back and worked hard to not fall asleep.


    ¡°Sun Lifen,¡± said the girl. ¡°My name is Sun Lifen.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Sun Lifen. My name is Lu Sen.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 38: Emperor’s Bay (3)

    Book 2: Chapter 38: Emperor¡¯s Bay (3)


    Sen had only nned to soak in the bath long enough to extract some healing from the nts. Yet, once she got past her initial surprise at his status as a cultivator, Sun Lifen became quite conversational. She asked him so many questions about what it was like to travel and where he grew up that Sen had to heat up the water again and then a third time. Sen found himself asking her questions about what it was like to grow up in the city. He marveled at how she just took all of the other people for granted. He was amused at her disbelief about how quiet it could be while out camping on the road. He did think to ask her about what sects were in the city. It turned out that there were three.


    ¡°What can you tell me about them?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°Only the Soaring Skies sect really matters. They¡¯re thergest and most powerful sect. The other two are little more than cultivator families. They¡¯re not even reallyrge enough to be called ns. You must, of course, be respectful if you meet them, but you¡¯re unlikely to see members of those sects unless you intentionally visit the areas near theirpounds. Soaring Skies sect members aremon around the city.¡±


    ¡°What do you think of the Soaring Skies sect?¡±


    Sun Lifen gave the question some serious thought before she answered. ¡°They are considered an honorable sect. As a rule, their members are polite, pay for things, and do not abuse the mortals they meet.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°I sense that there¡¯s more to that statement.¡±


    ¡°There are dishonorable people even in honorable sects. The sect isrge. It moves slowly at times. When a member is a problem, it often takes a long time for the sect to deal with them. Other times, members hide behind the appearance or letter of honor, but they don¡¯t observe its spirit.¡±


    Sen noticed that a cloud seemed to pass over Sun Lifen¡¯s expression at thatst.


    ¡°I take it that this is the voice of experience, not merely rumor.¡±


    Sun Lifen nodded. ¡°We¡¯ve had problems in the past with them.¡±


    ¡°Sect memberse here?¡± said Sen, a little shocked.


    ¡°Of course, they do,¡± said Sun Lifen, giving Sen a little smirk. ¡°<em>You</em> came here, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Sen threw back his head andughed. ¡°I was <em>told</em> toe here. Besides, I¡¯m not in a sect. Who cares what a mere wandering cultivator does?¡±


    ¡°Do you ever think about joining a sect? I expect most would be happy to have you if you¡¯re already in foundation formation.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t been especially impressed with most of the sect members I¡¯ve encountered so far, with one or two exceptions. I don¡¯t imagine I¡¯d fit in very well at a sect. What about you, though? You¡¯re a cultivator and there are sects here. Why didn¡¯t you join one?¡±


    ¡°The smaller sects rarely ept outsiders. The Soaring Skies sect, well,¡± she looked away, ¡°they won¡¯t consider someone like me.¡±


    ¡°Someone like you?¡± asked Sen. ¡°Amoner?¡±


    ¡°No, of course, they eptmoners.¡±


    ¡°Then, I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Think about where you are. They¡¯re not interested in assisting a prostitute, even one who works here.¡±


    Sen stared at the girl, who looked back at him with defiance in her eyes.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Sen, ¡°that¡¯s the stupidest thing I¡¯ve ever heard.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to-,¡± Sun Lifen started to protest before she registered Sen¡¯s words. ¡°Wait, what?¡±


    ¡°I said that¡¯s stupid. It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with whether you can cultivate or how well you cultivate. It doesn¡¯t prevent you from receiving moments of enlightenment. It doesn¡¯t stop you from learning a weapon. It literally has nothing to do with cultivation at all.¡±


    ¡°I,¡± she hesitated, ¡°agree with you.¡±


    ¡°Good, because I¡¯m right.¡±


    Sun Lifen seemed utterly lost for words. Sen got the impression that she¡¯d been preparing to have an argument with him about it, and he¡¯d knocked herpletely off course. He decided to give her something else to focus on.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ll have to go somewhere else if you want to join a sect,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility,¡± said Sun Lifen. ¡°I would like to travel. I¡¯ve never even been outside of the city walls.¡±


    ¡°Not even once?¡±


    ¡°There was never a need.¡±


    ¡°Not even to see the ocean? I mean, it¡¯s only like two miles that way?¡± said Sen, pointing his finger.


    ¡°It¡¯s just water, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s just water in the same way that you¡¯re just pretty. It¡¯s true, and it also utterly fails to capture the depth of the experience.¡±


    For the first time since Sen had met her, Sun Lifen seemed actually flustered. Her expression suggested that she was casting about for some response before she just gave up and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank me after we go out and see the ocean. I¡¯m not nning on staying long, but I think that¡¯s worth taking the time for.¡±


    That seemed to fluster her even more. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. You don¡¯t need to be seen with me.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to make excuses. I realize that I¡¯m a hideous monstrosity. It¡¯ll be a sacrifice for you, I know, but we all have to make a few of those in life.¡±


    Sun Lifen seemed baffled, then bemused. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to do my best to persevere.¡±


    ¡°I have faith that you¡¯ll find the strength, somehow.¡±


    Theypsed back into afortable silence for a few minutes before Sun Lifen spoke again. ¡°I suppose I could be a wandering cultivator like you if I can¡¯t get into a sect.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be a wandering cultivator like <em>me</em>. That¡¯s a terrible n.¡±


    ¡°Is it because I¡¯m not advanced enough?¡±


    ¡°What? No, it¡¯s because I¡¯m constantly getting into trouble. There must be some other wandering cultivator you can be like who isn¡¯t a danger ma.¡±


    Sun Lifen sshed some of the bathwater at him. ¡°Very funny.¡±


    Sen smiled, but then he got serious. ¡°If you are going to be a wandering cultivator, though, you need to be able to protect yourself. Do you know how to use a weapon? Sword? Spear? War fans?¡±


    Sun Lifen seemed a little taken aback. ¡°No, not to speak of. Is it really that important?¡±


    ¡°It is. I wish it wasn¡¯t, but that¡¯s something that the stories got right. You will have to fight. Spirit beast attacks aren¡¯t thatmon on the roads, but they are always a possibility. Plus, you never know when you¡¯ll run across another cultivator who just won¡¯t take no for an answer when they decide they want to trade pointers. If you don¡¯t know how to use a weapon, you¡¯ll have to find someone to teach you.¡±


    ¡°Is it difficult to learn?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen with no hesitation. ¡°It took me years to learn the jian and the spear, and I was practicing on an almost daily basis. I don¡¯t want to scare you off of it, but I won¡¯t lie and tell you that it¡¯s easy.¡±


    ¡°Better to know the truth,¡± she said.


    Something Sen had meant to ask about earlier popped into his head. ¡°Not to change the subject, but how are non-sect cultivators and wandering cultivators treated here? Do the sects harass them?¡±


    The girl gave Sen a vaguely confused look. ¡°I suppose there are asional incidents, but the sects don¡¯t usually interfere with other cultivators. Why?¡±


    ¡°I ran into some Soaring Skies sect members on the road. Our interactions were, let¡¯s say, a mixed bag.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t kill any of them, did you?¡±


    ¡°Kill? No. It didn¡¯t go that far. I mean, technically, I helped themplete their mission. I¡¯m just not sure how much goodwill that¡¯s going to buy me.¡±


    Sun Lifen frowned. ¡°There¡¯s no way to know for sure. I suppose it will depend on how you look when the sect gets a report.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°Yeah, I sort of thought that might be the case. Well, with any luck, I¡¯ll be long gone by the time that happens.¡±


    Deciding that he¡¯d soaked for long enough, Sen pushed himself up and climbed out of the bath. When he saw Sun Lifen go to do the same, he waved her off.


    ¡°Those medicinal nts still have a bit of life left in them. You should stay and cultivate for a while. In fact,¡± murmured Sen, doing another quick scan of Sun Lifen, ¡°let me add a few other things.¡±


    Sen dropped a handful of other things into the water that wouldn¡¯t interfere with the nts he¡¯d already added but should provide Sun Lifen with a bit more benefit. Then, he warmed the water up until it was probably verging on ufortable for the young woman.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Sen, ¡°Cultivate for another half-hour, at least.¡±


    ¡°What will it do?¡±


    ¡°Worst case, it¡¯ll do nothing, and you¡¯ll just have taken a long hot bath. Best case, it might help clear up your qi channels a little bit. This is really more my Auntie Caihong¡¯s area of expertise, but even I can help with channel clearing.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t need to do that,¡± protested Sun Lifen. ¡°Cultivation resources are expensive.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just nts. Don¡¯t tell the sects,¡± said Sen in a conspiratorial whisper, ¡°but they grow everywhere.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 39: Heavenly Wares

    Book 2: Chapter 39: Heavenly Wares


    Sen woke up the next morning with Sun Lifen wrapped around him. He hadn¡¯t nned on havingpany the night before. In fact, he hadn¡¯t nned on anything except maybe getting something to eat and sleeping. The food had been easy enough to get. He just asked if someone could find him something simple to eat. A minor feast was brought up to his room. He¡¯d been made several offers ofpany, but politely declined them all with excuses about being weary from his long journey. He¡¯d barely been eating for five minutes when Sun Lifen burst into his room, dripping wet, barely wrapped in a towel, and her eyes wild with excitement. Sen had shot to his feet, already reaching for his jian, and expecting an attack.


    ¡°I broke through,¡± she cried and literally threw herself at him.


    On reflection, Sen thought that she¡¯d given him a lot more credit than he deserved. If that bath he¡¯d thrown together for her in thirty seconds had been enough to push her cultivation forward, even if it was just an in-stage advancement, she must have been on the cusp before he showed up. He tried to exin that to her, but every time he tried to say something, she just kissed him again. Recognizing a losing battle when he saw one, Sen decided not to fight it. On the downside, the food <em>had</em> gotten cold, but the two of them did eventually eat most of it. Sen managed to untangle himself from Sun Lifen with a little grudging help from the young woman. He went over and picked through the leftover food, managing to put together two tes worth that might pass as breakfast. Sun Lifen looked surprised and a little embarrassed when Sen sat down on the bed and handed her a te.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that,¡± she said.


    ¡°Do what?¡±


    ¡°Be nice to me.¡±


    Sen gave her a t look. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be nice to you?¡±


    ¡°You know why.¡±


    ¡°Have I done anything to make you think I care about that, even a little bit?¡±


    Sun Lifen¡¯s cheeks went red. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then, please make that thest time you insult me that way.¡±


    The young woman opened and closed her mouth a few times before Sen took pity on her.


    ¡°Eat your breakfast,¡± he said. ¡°We have things to do today.¡±


    ¡°We do?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes. I have business to attend to, and I said I needed to take you to see the ocean.¡±


    Sun Lifen sat straight up and stared at Sen. The girl looked like she was on the verge of full-blown panic.


    ¡°I need to prepare,¡± she almost yelled at Sen.


    When she started to move off the bed, he put a hand on her shoulder and held her there for a moment. He pointed at her te.


    ¡°Food first. Then you can panic.¡±


    She gave him an appalled look. That held for a few seconds before she snorted out augh. She picked up a piece of fruit and nibbled on it, eyeing Sen up and down. She giggled. Sen lifted a questioning eyebrow at her.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll both need another bath,¡± she said.


    One bath and a conversation with the Sun Lifen¡¯s motherter, they were on their way. As promised, they had tracked down the location of Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop in the city. It wasn¡¯t too far away and the morning weather was cool, so the pair decided to walk. As they went, Sun Lifen pointed out little points of interest. Sometimes, it was a building that had some historical significance. Other times, it was just a restaurant that made something she liked. Sen mostly listened, but asionally interjected with some relevant historical fact that he¡¯d learned from one of Uncle Kho¡¯s scrolls.


    After one of those, the young woman had turned and gave him a look. ¡°How do you know these things?¡±


    ¡°My training took some interesting turns. One of my teachers used historical scrolls to help teach me how to read,¡± said Sen with a smile before gesturing ahead. ¡°There it is.¡±


    Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop in Emperor¡¯s Bay wasn¡¯t quite as grand as the one in Orchard¡¯s Reach, but it was clearly well-maintained. Sun Lifen eyed the ce with keen interest.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been here before,¡± she said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d have had a reason to,¡± offered Sen.


    When they got inside, he was happy to see that the ce seemed to be doing brisk business. Even so, their entrance got plenty of attention. It seemed that half the eyes in the ce focused on the pair within seconds. Sen sighed a little.


    ¡°Everyone is staring at you,¡± whispered Sun Lifen.


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± said Sen. ¡°Why would they look at me when you¡¯re here?¡±


    Sen put his hand on the small of Sun Lifen¡¯s back and led her to where he could see a counter. The young man behind the counter couldn¡¯t seem to decide who to stare at as they approached. Sen gave the flustered young man a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to speak with the manager, please,¡± he said.


    ¡°The manager is very busy, sir.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they are, but they¡¯ll want to see me.¡±


    The young man clearly wanted to protest, but also didn¡¯t want to cause a scene. ¡°Very well. Who shall I say is here?¡±


    ¡°My name is Lu Sen.¡±


    Sen doubted he could have stunned the man more effectively if he¡¯d struck him across the face. For a moment, the employee¡¯s face was just nk. Then, his mouth dropped open and his eyes went as wide as they could go. Then, all the color drained from his face.


    ¡°At once, honored guest,¡± croaked the young man before he turned and ran into the back.


    Sen noticed Sun Lifen staring after the man like he¡¯d lost his mind. Then, she turned her eyes on him. He answered the unspoken question.


    ¡°This business belongs to my grandmother.¡±


    Sun Lifen nodded, then frowned, as though she couldn¡¯t quite fit that new information into her mental picture of him. Before she could ask any follow-up questions, a heavyset man burst from the office in the back. The heavyset man looked around with wide eyes that locked on Sen. He hurried over and offered Sen a deep bow.


    ¡°Honored guest, this one is Li Fang, manager of this establishment. How may Grandmother Lu¡¯s assist you today?¡±


    Sen had noticed Sun Lifen eyeing some things as they walked over, so he gestured to her. ¡°Please see to it that mypanion has assistance finding anything that she needs.¡±


    ¡°At once, honored guest,¡± said the manager, before snapping his fingers.


    A young woman appeared as if summoned by magic. She offered Sen and Sun Lifen a bow.


    ¡°How may I be of assistance today?¡± the young woman asked.


    Sun Lifen seemed a little startled by all of the respectful attention she was getting, but she pulled it together enough to say, ¡°I¡¯d like to look at some of the silk fabric you have avable.¡±


    ¡°Of course, honored guest, please follow me.¡±


    Sun Lifen shot Sen an incredulous look as she walked away with the employee. Sen gave her a shrug before he turned back to the manager. The heavyset man looked a little unwell to Sen. He was a little green and there was sweat beading on the man¡¯s forehead. Sen decided that he better get to the point before the man simply dropped dead where he stood.


    ¡°I only need assistance with a few minor matters,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°We are always at your service, young master,¡± said Li Fang.


    ¡°I wish to send two letters. One is to go to the Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop in Orchard¡¯s Reach. The other is to go to my grandmother herself,¡± said Sen, holding up a hand to forestall the other man. ¡°I realize that she may be moving between locations at the moment. The letter isn¡¯t urgent. I¡¯d just like it to reach her when she does settle somewhere.¡±


    The manager looked like he wanted to copse in relief. Sen briefly wondered if Grandmother Lu had been spreading wild tales about him, or if her employees simply feared <em>her</em> wrath that much.


    ¡°Of course, young master. Do you have the letters prepared or do you need ink and scrolls?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need ink and scrolls please.¡±


    The manager led Sen into the back. The heavyset man kept looking at Sen but seemed terrified to actually speak to him. Sen decided that he¡¯d need to take the first step.


    ¡°The shop looks very well-maintained. Imend your efforts,¡± said Sen.


    It seemed that Sen¡¯s approval carried more weight than he expected because Li Fang seemed to calm considerably at those words.


    ¡°Thank you, young master. The employees here work very hard to uphold the reputation of our honored matriarch.¡±


    ¡°I will be sure to ry your excellent service to her in my letter.¡±


    ¡°We will all be most honored.¡±


    After that, the manager became chattier. As he penned his letters to Grandmother Lu and his teachers back on the mountain, Sen asked some basic questions about the business, the customers, and what the manager thought of their future in the current location.


    The manager seemed to hesitate at thatst question before saying, ¡°I believe that we will need to change locations eventually.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°This location is very good, excellent, but the shop is, perhaps, undersized for our needs now. When it is busy, the customers are often crowded.¡±


    Sen nodded at the man¡¯s words and added a few more lines to the letter to Grandmother Lu. He didn¡¯t add an opinion, just passed along the manager¡¯s concerns more or less as he¡¯d stated them. Sen wasn¡¯t in a position to judge how urate or inurate they were, but he expected his grandmother <em>would</em> know how to treat those concerns. Once he finished and the ink was dried, he sealed the scrolls and indicated which should go where. The manager called another employee to the room, repeated the instructions, and handed the scrolls over.


    ¡°Are there any other ways in which Grandmother Lu¡¯s can assist you today, young master?¡±


    Sen thought for a moment before he nodded. ¡°Maybe there is.¡±


    The conversation that followed seemed to ignite the manager¡¯s passion for business. The man¡¯s eyes all but glowed with interest, and Sen suddenly understood why this man had been chosen to lead this particr branch of Grandmother Lu¡¯s operation. Li Fang assured Sen that he would make quiet inquiries and pass along the information as soon as possible. When Sen told the man where messages could be sent, the manager didn¡¯t even blink. In fact, he nodded in something that looked a bit like approval. When they reentered the public portion of the shop, Sen found Sun Lifen all but cradling a bolt of pale peach silk in her arms like a newborn baby. She kept running her hands over it.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty,¡± said Sen.


    The young woman jumped a little at his words, his arrival having gone unnoticed in her adoration of the silk.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± said Sun Lifen, sparing him only the briefest of looks.


    ¡°You should get it,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. This is-,¡± she trailed off, then squeaked in surprise as Sen grabbed the entire bolt and walked to the counter.


    ¡°Come on,¡± he said over his shoulder.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± she hissed.


    Sen ignored her as he put the cloth down on the counter and asked the clerk, ¡°How much?¡±


    The employee backed away from the counter and held up his hands. ¡°There is no charge for you, honored guest.¡±


    Sen narrowed his eyes at the man. ¡°My grandmother left orders, didn¡¯t she?¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 40: The Enormity of Simple Things

    Book 2: Chapter 40: The Enormity of Simple Things


    With his minor business settled for the day, Sen and Sun Lifen left Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop. Sen suspected that the employees who knew who he was were greatly relieved by that. He nced over at the young woman who seemed both pleased and exasperated. He knew he shouldn¡¯t feel that way, but he was still vaguely amused by her reaction. As if she could sense his amusement, she gave him a narrow-eyed look.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t necessary.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it wasn¡¯t, Sun Lifen, but it didn¡¯t hurt anyone either, did it?¡±


    She frowned at that, then said, ¡°No, it didn¡¯t. I think you can just call me Lifen at this point, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°As you wish. But only if you call me Sen.¡±


    She rolled her eyes at him but nodded. ¡°Where to now, oh mighty and honorable Sen?¡±


    ¡°The ocean,¡± said Sen, ¡°assuming we can find a ride there.¡±


    ¡°We can find a rickshaw,¡± said Lifen, ncing around as though she expected one to appear immediately.


    While it took a bit more walking, Sen did manage to g down a rickshaw. It was something of a novel experience for Sen. Except for a few times with the caravan and his brief time with Bijan, Sen had done nearly all of his traveling by foot. Simply sitting in a little covered cart and letting someone pull him along was odd and interesting. People tended to make way for carts and rickshaws, so they made better time than they would have on foot. Like so much else about the city, Lifen seemed to take this kind of travel for granted. She spent far more time being entertained by Sen¡¯s reactions to the experience.


    ¡°You really did grow up in some rural town, didn¡¯t you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I did,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I never could have imagined a ce like this when I was a child. My whole world existed in a ce that wouldn¡¯t even be big enough to be considered a district here. Honestly, it¡¯s a bit much for my tastes. There are so many people here, and so many of them are unhappy.¡±


    ¡°Yes, many of them are,¡± said Lifen.


    ¡°Including you?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Including me,¡± she agreed. ¡°Surviving here means doing what you must, and fate is often unkind in deciding what you must do.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that why we be cultivators? To defy the heavens? To chart our own paths?¡±


    Lifen gave Sen a weary, sad smile. ¡°Perhaps that is so for you, but you are a foundation formation cultivator. A powerful one with knowledge of alchemy and the jian, a wealthy grandmother, and teachers. Not all of us enjoy such advantages.¡±


    Sen snorted, which drew an irritated look from Lifen.


    ¡°You think such things do not matter?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Oh, you misunderstand. I <em>know</em> they matter. It¡¯s just that those advantages are rtively new things for me. Up until about six years ago, I was him,¡± said Sen, pointing at a skinny young man huddled back in the shadows of an alley. ¡°Fate is often unkind, I agree, but not always. I became what I am because a cultivator chose me, trained me, and enlisted others to teach me. I owe him much, not that I can ever repay him or my other teachers.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve nothing to offer people like them. Their power, it¡¯s so far beyond me that I don¡¯t even have words for it. They aren¡¯t quite gods, but they¡¯re the next best thing to it.¡±


    Lifen was staring at him, her eyes wide. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°My master is a nascent soul stage cultivator. All of my teachers were. I could live another thousand years and still have nothing to offer them. There is literally nothing I can do for them.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps they do not wish for you to do anything for them. Perhaps they just wish for you to be in the world.¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to stare. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Your teachers, they are old and powerful, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do they have children?¡±


    Sen thought hard. ¡°Not that I know of.¡±


    ¡°Other students?¡±


    ¡°Maybe once, long ago, but none that they spoke of. Certainly, none that I met.¡±


    Lifen shrugged. ¡°People want to leave legacies behind them. I don¡¯t know your master or your teachers, but perhaps they mean for you to be that legacy. If they are to be true immortals, to ascend, they won¡¯t get that opportunity again. Not in this world.¡±


    Sen was suddenly very d that he was sitting down. He¡¯d spent years wondering why Master Feng had picked him, and why Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong had spent so much time on him. He¡¯d crafted borate theories at times, ones that stretched all the bounds of logic. Yet, in all those years, he had never stumbled onto that simple exnation. It had never even urred to him. With their apparent reputations, Sen had just assumed that they¡¯d built the legacies they wanted to build. Yet, maybe they wanted a different kind of legacy, a living legacy that carried more than the stories people told but true memories of them. Someone who could speak of their strengths, and their weaknesses, and the kindnesses that the Jianghu so rarely permitted cultivators to indulge in.


    He also hadn¡¯t considered the press of time. For him, centuries still seemed like vast, iprehensible stretches of time. For them, though, centuries likely flowed by in a blink. After thousands of years, the knowledge that they must either ascend or face a true death within a handful of centuries must weigh on them the way that mortals seemed to dread that passage of a few decades. Sen could see where the gap in his thinking hade from. Once he started down the path of cultivation, he knew that his life would be very long, but he hadn¡¯t experienced enough of it for time to weigh down on him yet. He had simply been too young to understand. It was such a simple thing, yet the enormity of it left Sen speechless. He didn¡¯t even remember the rest of the trip to the gate in the wall. If Lifen spoke to him, or if he answered, he could never recall after.


    It was only as they approached the gate that Sen really came fully back into the moment. He braced himself for another exnation, as he¡¯d been forced to give the guard in Tide¡¯s Rest, but the guards simply looked at the two of them, drew their own conclusions, and waved them through. The city wall was set much farther away from the shore than it had been in Tide¡¯s Rest. There was also a lot more vegetation around, and Sen made a mental note to wander through and look for medicinal ntster. Fortunately, there were established paths through the growth. So, the two of them walked in afortable silence for a time. It was only when Sen could hear the steady crash of the waves on the beach that he tried to make Lifen cover her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to cover my eyes,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s silly.¡±


    ¡°Then, be silly for a few minutes. I¡¯m the only person who will see it.¡±


    She rolled her eyes again, but finally acquiesced and put her hands over her eyes. Sen gently grasped her arm and led her the rest of the way down onto the shore. Once they were fully onto the beach, Sen let go of her arm.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°Now look.¡±


    Lifen lowered her hand. Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly at the sight of all of that water. Sen took a moment to appreciate it. Even with all the ships and boats out there, the simple vastness of the ocean, the stretch of blue that extended out to the horizon and beyond, gave Sen a sense of perspective. As pressing as his own needs and concerns were, they were also nothing. Were he to die at that moment, the ocean would carry on. The sky would carry on. Thend would persevere, and the nts would grow. The winds would race across thend and carry the scents of soil and humanity up to birds in the sky. As much as his own concerns mattered to him, as much as they upied his thoughts, they were not the world itself.


    ¡°Can you feel it?¡± Sen asked, his senses extended.


    Whatever opportunity had been at Tide¡¯s Rest wasn¡¯t present here, but the raw power of the ocean remained. Sen could feel it out there, could feel the push and pull of the tide, both threatening and beckoning, swelling and receding as though it couldn¡¯t decide if it loved thend or hated it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m looking for?¡± said Lifen.


    ¡°Push your senses out. Look below sound, beyond sight.¡±


    Sen could feel Lifen trying to do as he asked and realized that it was beyond the limits of her cultivation. As he did with so many other things, Sen felt his way through the next few moments. He felt for the rightbination of factors, for the right cycle of his qi, for the right moment. Then, he pressed his hand against her back, and let a bit of his qi flow into her. Lifen gasped as, for a few, brief, precious seconds, she could feel what Sen felt, observe what he observed in the world beyond the limits of her own spiritual sense. Then, as the right alignment of factors passed, Sen pulled his qi back. Lifen seemed lost in her own world for a time, so Sen returned to simply looking at the ocean. He doubted it would be soon, but Sen decided that, one day, he would sail on those waters.


    Eventually, Lifen turned to him. ¡°Why did you show me that?¡±


    Sen smiled. ¡°Because it¡¯s just water, and it isn¡¯t. It¡¯s also power, and beauty, and destruction. It¡¯s immediate, and it¡¯s eternal. Mostly, though, I showed it to you because cultivation makes it very easy to get lost in the internal. Our dantians are inside of us. Our channels are inside of us. We cycle inside of us. We spend so much time looking inward that we forget that we still exist <em>in</em> the world. It has things to tell us, too, if we look, and if we listen.¡±


    ¡°And what has the world told you?¡±


    Sen considered that for a moment, weighing all of his experiences since he left the mountain, judging the good and the bad. ¡°That I can be more than one thing without betraying myself. That the same hands can give and take. That simplicity can breed certainty, but it doesn¡¯t necessarily breed truth.¡±


    When the sudden rush of qi surrounded him, Lifen stumbled back, uncertain of what was happening. Sen knew, though, and felt another surge of irritation as the universe seemed to make him the object of some obscure joke.


    ¡°Really?¡± he said, ring at the sky. ¡°Again?¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 41: Beachside Advancement

    Book 2: Chapter 41: Beachside Advancement


    Sen resisted the urge to start yelling at the heavens, but only because he had a number of more pressing concerns. Unlike the advancement in Orchard¡¯s reach, safety was not a short run away. It was happening on the beach, whether Sen liked it or not. He needed to protect himself from unwanted observation. Unfortunately, he also wasn¡¯t alone. Lifen was standing a few feet away from him, having recovered from her initial shock, but still unclear about what was happening. He supposed he could send her back to the Silver Crane, but he didn¡¯t know how safe it actually was for her to travel alone. Of course, the other option was that he kept her with him, on the beach, for however long it took him to consolidate this gain. <em>Why is this always so damned inconvenient</em>, thought Sen. Prioritizing his concerns, Sen turned to Lifen.


    ¡°This is the situation. I¡¯ve experienced a moment of enlightenment and all of that qi you just felt is rolling through me right now. It¡¯s going to mean a small advancement in my cultivation once I convert it into liquid qi. We don¡¯t have time to get me somewhere less public, so I¡¯m going to have to do it here.¡±


    ¡°Here? On the beach?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately. I can hold it off on it for a short time, but I¡¯m going to be using that time to set up formations to keep me hidden.¡±


    ¡°You know how to use formations too?¡± demanded Lifen, sounding almost offended.


    ¡°Yes. It was part of my training. That¡¯s not the point. I can¡¯t escort you back to the Silver Crane. I can¡¯t wait that long to do something with all of this qi. So, you have to decide what you want to do. You can head back on your own, if you think it¡¯s safe enough, or you can stay here with me,¡± said Sen. ¡°You don¡¯t need to decide this very second, but you will need to decide before I activate the formations.¡±


    A line formed between Lifen¡¯s eyes, but she nodded. ¡°I will consider this matter.¡±


    Sen suspected that the young woman received less time than she expected to get as he all but flew through the process of setting up both a qi gathering formation and an obscuring formation. It took him a little longer than it might have out in the forest. The qibination was dramatically different on the beach, much heavier in water and air, but dozens of repetitions at setting up those formations had made Sen a deft hand at evaluating those forces on the fly. He also needed to add in a more potent desire to steer clear of the area. Animals tended to react to even subtle pressures to avoid a ce, while human beings tended to ignore that subtler warning.


    While he didn¡¯t know the young woman especially well, Sen had a suspicion about what Lifen was going to decide, so he made the formations a bit bigger than he might have done otherwise. As he worked, Lifen had watched him with intense eyes, like she could soak up his knowledge just by watching him. When he turned to her, he could see that she¡¯d already decided what she was going to do. Still, he did her the courtesy of asking.


    ¡°So, will you stay or return to the Silver Crane?¡±


    ¡°I will stay,¡± she said.


    Sen activated the formations, then only begrudging the lost time a little, set up his tent, and prepared a small fire. He didn¡¯t light it but instead beckoned Lifen over to him. He handed her the fire qi device that he¡¯d taken from that dead cultivator what felt like several lifetimes before and showed her how it worked. He¡¯d left enough dried wood tost the entire night. He gave her nkets, travel rations, and a couple of gourds of water he had stored. He racked his brain for anything else she might need but came up empty. Sen realized that it was only long practice and the benefits of body cultivation that let him finish it all fast enough. Without both of those, he¡¯d probably have had to leave her far less prepared to deal with whatever happened over the rest of the day and night.


    ¡°Don¡¯t step outside of the gs,¡± he warned her. ¡°If you do, it will likely break the formation.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Lifen hurriedly agreed, seemingly sensing Sen¡¯s impatience.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen, ¡°the inner formation is a qi gathering formation. So, you should think about doing some cultivating while I consolidate this advancement.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± she said, seeming to take it as more of amand than a suggestion.


    Sen didn¡¯t have any time left to think about Lifen, though. His dantian and his channels were overstuffed with qi. Stepping a short distance away from the girl, Sen sank down into the lotus position and focused inward. For Sen, this advancement was strange. Up until then, his body and spirit cultivation had advanced in perfect lockstep. Sen didn¡¯t know if that was because of some clever design by Master Feng, or just a quirk of his personal cultivation experience. Yet, this advancement was purely a spiritual advancement. Oh, his body cultivation would enjoy a few secondary benefits from the addition of new, potent liquid qi, but it wouldn¡¯t advance in itself. Sen found that it was actually a bit of relief.


    Simultaneously managing the strains on his spirit and body had been, in hindsight, one of the bigger challenges of any cultivation advancement. Of course, he hadn¡¯t really understood that the two could be separated until after he¡¯d broken into foundation formation and been given a much more thorough exnation about cultivation stages and advancement. Able to focus entirely on his dantian and channels made converting all that fresh environmental and heavenly qi into liquid qi a much smoother process. It didn¡¯t make the actual conversion any easier. Conversion remained a battle to maintain constant or increasing pressure on the qi. What it did mean was that Sen could spare a little attention for watching his channels and managing the flow of qi so that he didn¡¯t strain those channels.


    Part of what had made previous advancements so painful was that he always came out of them in need of healing. He simply didn¡¯t have the mental resources to watch <em>everything</em>. So, he¡¯d strain channels, or overtax body parts, or both. This time, he remained in full control of the process. As the droplets of liquid qi slowly formed and umted in his dantian, he could feel the extra qi around him, courtesy of the formation, and drew that in as fast as his limited attention would allow. He couldn¡¯t extend the process indefinitely, but he could extend it for a time. Sen doubted that cultivation advancement would ever be the all-consuming, singr focus of his existence that way it seemed to be for most cultivators. Still, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to let an opportunity to push his cultivation forward slip by without at least a minor effort to wring the most value from it.


    On the periphery of his senses, he could feel Lifen cultivating at times. He¡¯d notice a slight dip in the avable qi, although it wasrgely trivial, given that the formation was gathering more than either of them could reasonably use up. Yet, it also made him aware of time in a way that he wasn¡¯t used to during an advancement. His particr cultivation let him go without sleep or even food, if necessary, for days at a time. Lifen¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t advanced enough to let her do the same. Sen¡¯s concentration wavered for a moment as he wondered if he¡¯d left her enough food and water, but he distinctly remembered handing her enough of both tost for at least two or three days. Firewood was a different matter, but she did have shelter avable. Satisfied that he hadn¡¯t left the girl in dire straits, he sank fully back into his cultivation. When he did finally rise out of his cultivation trance, he found Lifen sitting nearby, looking a little bored. When she noticed him looking at her, she leapt to her feet.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were ever going to wake up,¡± she dered. ¡°For the heavens¡¯ sake, does it always take that long?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Probably.¡±


    As he always did after an advancement, he let a little of the liquid qi cycle through his channels, spreading thetent power out into his muscles and organs. He froze when felt just how potent thattent power was. He¡¯d been thinking of liquid qi as something with a stable level of power, but it seemed he¡¯d been very wrong about that. It was cumtive. The more he had, the more powerful it became. He didn¡¯t know if it was a matter of density, but he¡¯d need to be very careful about using that liquid qi to do anything. Once he examined his dantian, though, he was satisfied that he had broken through tote-stage foundation formation. Between the qi from his insight, the qi the formation had let him tap into, and the more incremental advancements he¡¯d made on his own, his dantian was nearly three-quarters full with liquid qi.


    ¡°How long has it been anyway?¡±


    ¡°Two days,¡± said an annoyed Lifen. ¡°My mother is going to have things to say about this.¡±


    Sen hadn¡¯t considered that before, so all he could think to say was, ¡°Oh.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 42: Ants

    Book 2: Chapter 42: Ants


    Sen bought himself a few minutes by cleaning up the impromptu campsite. Once he had everything stowed again, though, there was no getting around it. Heaving a small breath, he turned to look at Lifen.


    ¡°Just how angry do you think she¡¯s going to be?¡± he asked, as an unfamiliar nervousness took up root in his chest.


    Lifen pursed her lips. ¡°Less angry than she¡¯d be if you weren¡¯t Feng Ming¡¯s guest, but she won¡¯t be pleased.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just what I need,¡± muttered Sen as he eyed the formation gs. ¡°<em>Another</em> person in the world who doesn¡¯t like me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s really your biggest problem.¡±


    Sen¡¯s head snapped around. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, that little moment of enlightenment you got, it didn¡¯t go unnoticed.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that first day, there were people from all three sects crawling all over this beach like ants. They were definitely looking for something, or,¡± she pointed at Sen, ¡°someone.¡±


    Sen did the math in his head. He¡¯d bought himself a few days with his qinggong technique on the way to Emperor¡¯s Bay, but he also hadn¡¯t nned on burning two days advancing his cultivation. It wasn¡¯t likely, but it was possible that Wu Meng Yao and the other Soaring Skies sect members had reached the city. If that was the case, he wouldn¡¯t be just another anonymous person in the crowd. He grimaced, as much as it was possible for him to remain anonymous and unnoticed. He thought again that maybe a mask would be a good idea. He hadn¡¯t seen anyone else wearing one, but he wasn¡¯t convinced that wearing one would make him <em>more</em> noticeable. It would definitely make him <em>less</em> recognizable. Of course, he didn¡¯t have a mask to wear, so it was a bit of a moot point.


    More concerning to him was that people from all three sects hade to the beach looking for whatever cultivator had found a moment of enlightenment. <em>It couldn¡¯t really be that rare, could it</em>, thought Sen. Not enough to make three sects mobilize to search for whoever managed it. He¡¯d also gotten himself and Lifen behind that obscuring formation pretty fast. So, why all of the attention? Had the Soaring Skies sect called in some kind of obligation to get more bodies out looking? Of course, if they had, that would mean that they knew he was here and were looking for him specifically. Realizing that he was about to start running himself in mental circles, Sen forced himself to take a couple of calming breaths and pull back from those thoughts that threatened to spin out of control into full-blown paranoia.


    There were only a few likely options. Option one was that bursts of enlightenment simply <em>were</em> rare enough that all the sects wanted a chance to try to recruit or capture whoever had one on the beach. Option two was that the Soaring Skies sect knew he was in the city, or had been recently, and was leveraging whatever resources they could to find him. Option three was abination of those two possibilities. It could very well be that the Soaring Skies sect had sent people here looking for <em>him</em>, while the other sects simplye looking to find <em>someone</em>. Sen discovered that he wasn¡¯t thrilled by any of those possibilities. He¡¯d been looking to avoid sect entanglements and get on his way. All of the attention threatened that n.


    He caught his gaze drifting out to the bay and all of those ships. It was a potential option, except Sen knew nothing about how one got passage on one. There were people in the city who would likely help him with that, but it would take time. Sen didn¡¯t understand how a cultivator so early in his development could always feel so short of time. To his mind, time ought to feel like a nearly limitless resource. Yet, more often than not, it seemed like time meant to work against him, rather than for him. Even if he did know where to go get passage on a ship, he still needed to ensure that Lifen made it safely back to the Silver Crane.


    While Sen was quite sure that she had stayed to try to learn something, he didn¡¯t think that was all of it. Staying had created problems for her, problems that could have been easily avoided by just going home when Sen¡¯s enlightenment had first struck. That suggested to him that she was at least somewhat uncertain about her safety if she traveled back alone. Sen had been the one to bring her out to the beach. His enlightenment had dyed her return. It was on him to make sure that she actually reached the Silver Crane safely and with the minimum number of hassles. Once he did that, he could worry about getting himself out of the city as quickly and quietly as he could. Settled on a course of action, he took the preemptive measure of hiding. Then, he took down the formations and stowed the gs in his storage ring.


    ¡°We should see about getting you home,¡± he said to Lifen.


    She gave him a quizzical look. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about the sects?¡±


    ¡°I am, but I suspect that will hold for an hour or two. After all,¡± Sen puffed out his chest and adopted his young master persona, ¡°honor <em>demands</em> that I see you safely returned to your home.¡±


    Lifen giggled at his ridiculous posturing, but she didn¡¯t raise any more objections. Taking a steady, but unhurried pace, they made their way toward the paths that led back to the city.


    ¡°Did it work, then?¡± Lifen asked. ¡°Were you able to, how did you put it, consolidate your advancement?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°It did work. I was able to push it a little farther along with help from that qi-gathering formation. I¡¯m pretty sure that I¡¯m ate-stage foundation formation cultivator now.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine what that must be like,¡± said Lifen, a mixture of wistfulness and bitterness in her voice.


    Sen eyed her. ¡°There¡¯s nothing stopping you. I mean, there¡¯s nothing obvious in your cultivation to prevent it. I don¡¯t see any insurmountable blockages. You don¡¯t seem to be suffering from qi deviation.¡±


    Lifen sighed. ¡°What I¡¯m suffering from is ack of information. The sects horde the training manuals. When they do be avable to the public, there¡¯s a bidding war.¡±


    Sen could appreciate that problem. He was getting closer and closer to needing to deal with the same issue himself. He wished he could do something to help her. Then, almost unwillingly, he realized that he probably could do something to help her. He couldn¡¯t give her a true cultivation path like the ones that manuals offered. Those wereplex things that went beyond simple patterns and included philosophical considerations and insight. What he could do was try to help her find her qi affinities. Depending on what they were, he did have cycling patterns that he could give her. It wasn¡¯t a true solution, but it was more than she had now. The right cycling patterns would let her focus her cultivation. She could spend more time cycling to gather the right kind of qi for her needs. Of course, it also meant spending more time in the city. Time that he didn¡¯t think he had.


    Sen felt Lifen stiffen slightly beside him and had to stop himself from grinding his teeth. He nced up the trail and saw a pair of young men in all-too-familiar-looking robes waiting for them.


    ¡°Keep moving,¡± said Sen in a quiet whisper.


    As they approached the pair, the one on the right held up a hand to stop them. Sen gave the young man a look filled with so much violent hostility that the sect cultivator took a step back.


    ¡°You¡¯re blocking the path,¡± said Sen, keeping his voice t and even.


    ¡°We must speak with you,¡± said the sect member on the right, regaining a bit of hisposure.


    Sen reminded himself that not everything needed to turn into a fight. He¡¯d made his anger at being stopped clear. That would be enough for now.


    ¡°Regarding?¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Are you the one who experienced the moment of enlightenment two days ago?¡±


    Sen let the feeling of his quickly dissipating patience fill the air between them. ¡°And if I was?¡±


    ¡°Then you wille with us to-,¡± started the sect member.


    ¡°No. Move aside.¡±


    It seemed that no wasn¡¯t a word that the sect members heard very often because both of their mouths dropped open in shock. Sen had to check augh as the two of them reminded him of a pair of fish. The one on the left recovered first and drew himself up.


    ¡°An invitation from the elders of the Soaring Skies sect is not to be ignored,¡± he dered, in the same way one might announce that water is wet.


    ¡°I have not ignored it. Tell your elders that while I appreciate their invitation, I must respectfully decline. I have urgent business elsewhere that will not wait.¡±


    ¡°With a filthy whore,¡± muttered the one on the right.


    No one saw Sen move. They only saw the aftermath. One second, the sect member on the right was standing there with a look of dawning realization on his face. The next, he was ten feet away on the ground, spitting up blood and clutching at his misshapen chest. Sen turned his attention to the sect member on the left, who hurriedly took two steps back.


    ¡°Is this the honor of the Soaring Skies sect? To insult mypanion when you don¡¯t get what you wish?¡±


    ¡°But she <em>is</em> a whore,¡± protested the remaining sect member.


    ¡°No. When she stands beside me, she is an empress, and you are ants,¡± said Sen, his eyes moving over to the injured sect member. ¡°Out of respect for your elders, I spared his life. I suggest he be given remedial lessons on politeness.¡±


    Sen held out a hand to Lifen. She took it, and the two of them walked away projecting a dignity that could rival the immortals.

 Book 2: Chapter 43: Preparations

    Book 2: Chapter 43: Preparations


    Once they reentered the city, Sen gave Lifen a sheepish look.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I did you or the Silver Crane any favors there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    Sen was so shocked that he stopped walking. ¡°You don¡¯t care?¡±


    Lifen, who had taken a few more steps, turned back to him. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯ll care tomorrow. It¡¯s almost certainly going to be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t imagine the sect is going to like any of that.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t,¡± she agreed before she gave him a big smile. ¡°Today, though, I don¡¯t care. Today, I get to be satisfied that someone who meant to shame me is suffering. Today, I get to be an empress.¡±


    Sen was quiet for a moment before heughed and gave Lifen a bow. ¡°Indeed, your imperial majesty. Shall I escort you back to the pce?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I grow weary of the sun. Let us return,¡± she answered in imperious tones before she started giggling at their faux seriousness.


    Sen was happy that there weren¡¯t more sect members hanging around to bother them, mostly because he didn¡¯t trust himself to not send them back to their masters with grievous injuries. He¡¯d had every intention of being polite, of treating the sects with caution, but that went out the window when those fools started issuing orders and insults. Sen was willing to meet people halfway if it meant avoiding unnecessary violence. It was something else entirely to giveckeys a free pass to say whatever they wanted to whoever they wanted. Still, that meant that he was going to have to deal with the problem of the Soaring Skies sect. He hadn¡¯t wanted to get involved with them, but it seemed that there was no getting around it. They weren¡¯t going to leave him be, not after that disy on the beach.


    More importantly, he didn¡¯t want to drag the people at the Silver Crane into his problems. Although, he feared it might well be toote for that. Those two on the beach had clearly known who Lifen was, at least by reputation. That meant that the Silver Crane as a whole was likely to be a target for reprisals if the Soaring Skies elders decided that they wanted to send a message at least. Sen supposed that would be the real test. If they did send people, then Uncle Kho would be proven right. The honor of sects was nothing but a mirage to hide their evil. If they didn¡¯t send people, Sen might have to extend them a little bit more faith. He honestly wasn¡¯t sure which he would prefer.


    If it was the former, then he could find himself in something of a war. Sen doubted he would survive a conflict like that. He recognized that he was potent for his cultivation stage and could punch above his weight. That didn¡¯t mean he could trade blows with peak core cultivators or nascent soul stage cultivators. Cultivators who had advanced that far would crush him as an afterthought. Of course, he would die with at least one sce in his heart. When word eventually reached Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong, it was unlikely that anyone from the Soaring Skies sect would survive the cataclysm that would fall on them.


    Of course, that n did have some drawbacks. One, he would have to die. He didn¡¯t know for sure, but Sen assumed that it was hard to be smug when you were dead. Two, he didn¡¯t actually hate everyone from the Soaring Skies sect. He didn¡¯t think particrly well of theckeys from the beach. He could take or leave Changpu. The other Soaring Skies sect members he¡¯d met out on the road were a different story. Wang Chao hadn¡¯t left a particrly bad impression on Sen. The man might be a littlezy when he was doing things he didn¡¯t want to do, but that was a pretty minor character w in Sen¡¯s opinion. He¡¯d liked Song Ling because she¡¯d been straightforward. He truly didn¡¯t want to see any harme to Wu Meng Yao. Of the group, she was the one who had made the best impression on him. She¡¯d been sincere, held to her convictions, and almost honest to a fault. No, he didn¡¯t want to see harme to them.


    So, he needed to find some other way to deal with the sect that didn¡¯t involve summoning absolute destruction to their doorstep. Before any of that, though, he needed to get Lifen back to her mother and whatever lecture awaited them there. Then, he had to make sure that the brothel survived the night. If retribution were going toe, he suspected it woulde swiftly. As Sen looked around for a rickshaw to return them to the Silver Crane, Sun Lifen walked close to him, smiling at everyone and looking like she¡¯d just been handed an actual throne. Sen didn¡¯t begrudge her that happiness, so he kept his thoughts to himself as they rode back. Once they got to the brothel, though, Lifen looked a lot less happy and a lot more nervous. Sen eyed her for a moment.


    ¡°This is going to be bad, isn¡¯t it?¡± he asked.


    Lifen looked like she really wanted to deny it, but she reluctantly nodded. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s going to be bad.¡±


    ¡°Well, waiting won¡¯t make it any better. Let¡¯s just get it over with.¡±


    The two walked up to the door and entered together. <em>Really</em>, though Sen, <em>how bad could actually be?</em>


    <strong>***</strong>


    An hourter, Sen knew how bad it could be. Lifen¡¯s mother hadn¡¯t been angry. No, anger was much, much too kind of a word to describe the woman¡¯s emotional state. She was livid. She was infuriated. She was enraged. And she directed all of it at Lifen and Sen. After the first few seconds of yelling, Sen understood that there was nothing to be done until after the woman had vented her feelings on the matter. As the minutes ticked away, he¡¯d started to wonder if she would <em>ever</em> run out of fury. When, atst, she wound down her tirade, she red at the two of them.


    ¡°Well, do you two have anything to say for yourselves?¡± she demanded.


    Sen and Lifen traded a quick look and came to a mute agreement that Lifen would do the talking. She told the story in concise terms, starting with their visit to Grandmother Lu¡¯s, then on to Sen¡¯s moment of enlightenment on the beach, and ending with the confrontation on the beach. Sen thought he came out sounding a bit more heroic than he¡¯d actually been, but he considered that it might have looked a little different from the outside. Or maybe Lifen just knew how she needed to present things to her mother. Whatever the reason, Sen didn¡¯t try to correct the story. Once the story wound down to a close, silence reigned Sun Lifen¡¯s mother processed all of the implications.


    When she finally spoke, it was in strained tones. ¡°This isn¡¯t good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d suggest that you close your doors for the night,¡± offered Sen.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked the older woman, her eyes suspicious.


    ¡°If they send people tonight, it will help to ensure that I don¡¯t identally kill the wrong people.¡±


    ¡°Kill?¡± asked Lifen.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a guarantee that the sect will send people. If they do, though, they won¡¯t being here to scare you. They¡¯ll being here to kill you, and likely burn this ce to the ground. If they do, I intend to stop them. For your part, though,¡± said Sen, gesturing at Lifen¡¯s mother, ¡°you aren¡¯t going to want your customers here getting caught in the middle. For that matter, it¡¯d probably be best if your employees were somewhere else as well. Is there somewhere they can go?¡±


    ¡°No. I mean, a few of them have ces they can go, but most of them live here.¡±


    ¡°Complicated,¡± murmured Sen. ¡°Do you have guards here?¡±


    ¡°We keep some body cultivators around to encourage unruly guests to behave. They aren¡¯t a match for sect cultivators.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t expect them to fight,¡± said Sen. ¡°You probably will want to send them out to get as much water as you can get. If a fire starts in here, you¡¯re going to want to be able to put it out fast.¡±


    ¡°Should we fortify somehow?¡± Lifen asked.


    Sen shook his head. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t help. Anything you could set up in the next few hours wouldn¡¯t even slow them down. I¡¯ll set up some formations that should help.¡±


    ¡°What if you left?¡± asked Lifen¡¯s mother.


    Sen considered the woman. He could see that she was looking for a way out of this mess. He didn¡¯t me her for thinking that if Sen was gone the trouble might follow him.


    ¡°Do you really think that will help?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°No, but I¡¯m not sure what making a stand here will aplish either.¡±


    ¡°Right now, I have very little leverage with the Soaring Skies sect,¡± said Sen. ¡°Granted, if they don¡¯t send anyone, it¡¯ll open up some other options. If they do send people, though, well, that¡¯s an opportunity to manufacture some leverage.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°If they send people here and I leave a big pile of corpses in the street, that¡¯s bad for any organization. It makes them look weak or ipetent or like they just don¡¯t care about their disciples. Rumors like that have a way of sticking around. Makes recruiting harder. It makes people trust the sect leadership less. Granted, it¡¯s not an overnight thing, but it¡¯s still bad for them. Mostly, though, it should encourage whoever they send next to <em>talk</em>, rather than fight. Once the real talking starts, there¡¯s a fair chance that I can shut this whole thing down.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± asked Lifen.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say two names.¡±


    ¡°You think two names can stop all of this?¡± Lifen¡¯s mother asked.


    Sen raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°If they¡¯re the right names, I know they will.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 44: The Siege of The Silver Crane (1)

    Book 2: Chapter 44: The Siege of The Silver Crane (1)


    In the end, Lifen¡¯s mother took Sen¡¯s advice. What customers were still at the Silver Crane were sent home. The employees who had somewhere else to go went there. The guards fetched water by the barrel and,ter, Sen remembered to ask them to find some buckets. One of the more enterprising guards took it upon herself to acquire a cartload of sandbags. Sen took a moment to praise that woman and dropped a silver tael in her hand. That was the kind of helpful thinking that Sen wanted to encourage before a crisis. Sen spent his time setting up the mostplex formation he¡¯d ever attempted. Most formations were more passive than active by nature. They redirected things, like energy or attention, rather than creating something. Sen wanted this formation to create something.


    He wanted a barrier that would block physical and qi attacks from getting into the building. He couldn¡¯t make something like that permanent because the energy costs were so high. He didn¡¯t even try to fuel it with environmental qi. It took concentrated qi sources for that kind of formation. Fortunately, Sen had an absurd number of beast cores sitting in his storage ring. He sorted through and picked out a number of the moremon qi attribute cores. There was a bit of guesswork involved, but he thought that he could make the barrierst through the night with the cores he had on hand. At least, he could if the barrier didn¡¯te under sustained, direct assault too many times. Of course, that also assumed no high-level core formation stage cultivators showed up. If that happened, all bets were off and Sen was going to have to fall back onto ns b and c, neither of which he liked.


    Eventually, Sen found himself leaning against a window frame, brooding out at the street. He despised waiting around for someone else to start a fight that may never evene. Yet, his intuition told him that the fight woulde, one way or another. The goal was to make sure as few mortals got caught up in the mess as possible. That meant the people inside the Silver Crane, but it also meant the other mortals in the surrounding area. Sen couldn¡¯t go detonating a malformed Heavens¡¯ Rebuke here. <em>Everything</em> he did would have to stay under the tightest possible control. Unfortunately, he could only control what he did. If other cultivators started tossing off wild techniques, there was very little he could do about it. There were limits to his abilities, and shutting down all of the techniques that four or five or six other cultivators were throwing around was beyond him.


    It wasn¡¯t even necessarily the raw power required, but the limits of his concentration and the number of parallel qi patterns he could cycle at one time. He thought that three was probably the hard cap if he wanted to do anything meaningful with a given kind of qi. It was definitely the limit for his concentration. For a while, he¡¯d thought it was a matter of practice, but experimentation had shown him otherwise. In the end, the human mind or, minimally, his mind just couldn¡¯t sustain more than those three. He thought that he might be able to do four, but only if he was willing to devote everyst speck of his attention to it. It could make an interesting thing to test one day, but it wasn¡¯t useful in situations where he needed to act.


    ¡°You¡¯re worried about what¡¯s going to happen,¡± said Lifen.


    ¡°I am,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°A situation like this was exactly the kind of thing I hoped to avoid.¡±


    ¡°It also seems like something you were going to face at some point, no matter what.¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t willing enough to bend the knee to any sect.¡±


    ¡°I was willing to bend the knee.¡±


    ¡°Not really. You were willing to extend a certain level of respect, but they always want blind obedience. You¡¯re never going to give that to them. So, eventually, you were going to end up in a situation like this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s probably true. It doesn¡¯t mean you need to be in it. You really should just go take a room somewhere under some other name.¡±


    Sen had tried to talk Lifen and her mother into leaving, several times, but neither would hear a word of it. He didn¡¯t really expect a final plea to work, but he didn¡¯t think he could live with himself if he didn¡¯t at least try. Lifen was shaking her head before he even finished the statement.


    ¡°No. I will leave this ce if and when <em>I</em> decide to leave this ce. I will not be driven from it by others,¡± she said before she looked out the window at the slowly darkening street. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll reallye?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I do. It¡¯s the wrong move on their part, but I think they¡¯ll do it anyway.¡±


    ¡°Honor,¡± said Lifen with a sigh.


    ¡°Pride,¡± corrected Sen. ¡°They might call it honor, but it¡¯s really just pride. I¡¯ve stung that pride a couple of times now. If they¡¯re like most people, they won¡¯t be able to look past it. They¡¯ll feel like they need to punish me for it. If they can¡¯t get at me, they¡¯ll settle for anyone close to me that they can find. I already sent word to Grandmother Lu¡¯s to shut down early, and to make sure everyone scatters for the night. I don¡¯t think they can connect me to the ce, but it¡¯s not worth taking the chance.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you¡¯re here? Because they can connect you to this ce?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They saw you. They know you, which means they know about the Silver Crane. It¡¯s too easy, too tempting of a target.¡±


    ¡°When do think they¡¯lle?¡± asked Lifen.


    ¡°After dark. Probably around midnight.¡±


    ¡°Where will you be then?¡±


    Sen gave Lifen a smile that made her blood run just a little colder.


    ¡°Me? I¡¯ll be in the dark, waiting for them.¡±


    ***


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d underestimated their anger or overestimated their patience, but the first sect members turned up a good hour before he expected them. Fortunately, Sen was cautious. He¡¯d been outside, cloaked in shadows, and <em>hiding</em> since nearly an hour before that. He gave them the opportunity to demonstrate their intent before he acted. They¡¯d walked right up to the brothel and tried to kick the door in. <em>Well</em>, he thought, <em>intent doesn¡¯t get much clearer than that</em>. When it became obvious that they weren¡¯t going to be able to force the door open, the apparent leader snarled at the others.


    ¡°Find a way in. Then, we¡¯ll teach these fools a lesson about crossing the Soaring Skies sect.¡±


    Sen had been expecting it, but he was still disappointed. He¡¯d wanted Wu Meng Yao to be right about her sect. It would have been one thing if they¡¯d shown up and demanded that Sen be turned over to them. He wouldn¡¯t have gone with them, but he would have dragged the fight to somewhere else, content in the knowledge that the people in the Silver Crane would go unharmed. Even with his senses limited, though, he could tell these were all qi-condensing cultivators. He had to wonder if these people hade on orders from the elders, or on orders from someone a lot farther down the sect food chain. He supposed it didn¡¯t make a difference at this point, not for these cultivators. They were already dead. Sen just needed to make it a formality.


    For once, it seemed the heavens were cutting Sen a break because there was nearly total cloud cover. With no moon or stars overhead, there was so much darkness to work with that four of the sect cultivators died without even realizing he was there. He didn¡¯t drag it out or try to punish them. It was nothing but a hand over their mouths and a quick thrust with the jian to stop their hearts. The fifth sect cultivator seemed more prepared. She had a spear out and was watching the darkness around her with careful eyes. Sen summoned his own spear and let the shadows slip away from him. Her eyes went wide, and he could feel her less developed spiritual sense trying to find what her eyes told her was in front of her.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked.


    Sen shook his head. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t havee here. ughtering mortals? Petty revenge? Is that what you joined a sect to do?¡±


    The woman looked away. ¡°I took an oath.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you did,¡± said Sen.


    He¡¯d mostly been killing time, waiting for thest sect member to finish trying to sneak up on him. When Sen judged that they were about the right distance away, he spun and sent his own spear on an arc that very nearly cut the sneaking cultivator in half. Sen wasn¡¯t without pity, so he ended the man¡¯s suffering before turning his gaze back to the woman he¡¯d been speaking to. He could see her trembling in shock or fear from where he stood.


    ¡°Go back and tell whoever sent you that this is a fool¡¯s errand. If they send more, I will spare none,¡± said Sen and pointed down the street with the still-dripping spear. ¡°Go.¡±


    The woman seemed more than happy to seize the opportunity to leave and took off at a sprint. Sen wanted to think it would end there, but he didn¡¯t. It had gone too far. He needed to jar the senses of the next batch they sent. After considering for a moment, he decided to do exactly what he had told Lifen¡¯s mother he would do. He made a pile out of the corpses in the street right in front of the brothel. There was no dignity or honor in it. They were just tossed there like trash. It would incense some, which would make them easier to fight. Angry people did stupid things. It would frighten the rest. Scared people hesitated, and hesitation meant death inbat. Using his qinggong technique, Sen bounced back and forth between buildings until he could take up station on a nearby rooftop. As much as he hated the futility of what he expected toe, there was no escaping it. All that was left to him was to survive it. So, he waited, and cultivated, and steeled his mind.

 Book 2: Chapter 45: The Siege of the Silver Crane (2)

    Book 2: Chapter 45: The Siege of the Silver Crane (2)


    Sen couldn¡¯t believe his eyes when the second set of Soaring Skies cultivators arrived. It seemed that whoever was in charge thought the first group had been ipetent, because they sent another group of six qi condensing cultivators, including the one he¡¯d spared. There were no tricks or games with shadows that time. He simply dropped from the roof and positioned himself in front of the Silver Crane. He watched the six approach and spared a disappointed look at the woman he let go earlier. She lowered her gaze in obvious shame. The one they¡¯d put in charge this time took a step forward.


    ¡°I am,¡± they started.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± said Sen in a tired voice. ¡°Your seniors must dislike you, for they sent you here to die.¡±


    Then, Sen pointed to the pile of bodies he¡¯d made. The lead sect cultivator¡¯s face darkened in obvious anger.


    The man drew the jian at his side and pointed it at Sen. ¡°I will strike you down for this affront myself! For the honor of the Soaring Skies!¡±


    The man threw himself at Sen, who didn¡¯t even bother drawing his own jian. The man¡¯s thrusts and shes were wild, obvious from a mile away, so Sen stepped out of the way or simply pushed the de off course with a pair of fingers. This seemed to incense the sect cultivator even more.


    ¡°You will fight me with honor!¡± the man bellowed.


    ¡°Honor? Youe to ughter mortals in their sleep. What honor should I grant those who engage in such cowardice? No, there will be no honor here. Only the mercy of a swift death, which is more than you deserve.¡±


    The sect cultivator¡¯s rage was almost palpable as he charged Sen, who stood in a calm, nearly meditative state. Sen slipped beneath another wild sh and then struck the cultivator. Once. He turned his attention to the remaining cultivators. He was surprised to see that the woman he¡¯d spoken to earlier was kneeling, her spear set to one side. The other sect cultivators red at her.


    ¡°What are you doing, Shen Mingxia? Pick up your spear!¡± barked one of the others. ¡°Help us fight!¡±


    ¡°I cannot,¡± she said. ¡°He spared me. I owe him a life debt. I cannot raise my weapon or qi against him.¡±


    Sen stared at the woman, almost as stunned as her fellow sect members. He thought she meant what she said, but he also knew what it would mean for her, what she would have to watch. Considering how ill she looked to Sen¡¯s sharpened senses, it seemed that she knew it too. A small wave ofpassion for her flowed through Sen. He met her gaze.


    ¡°You should look away,¡± he said, as gently as he could manage.


    Almost as if he¡¯d given her a kind of permission that she desperately wanted, she closed her eyes and lowered her head. Sen turned his gaze to the other four. One of them cursed the woman as a coward and tried to cut her down with a guandao. Sen sent a wind de to intercept the guandao. He might have put a bit too much energy into it because the guandao cracked and the wielder was hurled against a nearby building. Sen drew his jian. He saw no point in dragging things out any more than he had to. This exercise in brutality had never really appealed to him, and he was already tired of it. Thest three sect members charged him. The first two died beneath two clean cuts from his jian. Thest, who looked young even to Sen, managed to hold his own against Sen in direct jian-to-jianbat for ten seconds. <em>That one has the makings of a true sword genius</em>, thought Sen. <em>What a waste</em>.


    ¡°Find me in your next life, and we¡¯ll see if we can¡¯t find you better teachers,¡± Sen told the young man.


    Then, Sen moved faster than qi condensing eyes could register, and it was over. Sen looked around at the bodies, feeling disgusted with himself, with them, with the Soaring Skies sect. About the only thing he wasn¡¯t feeling disgusted by was the woman kneeling nearby, tears slowly leaking from her closed eyes. Gritting his teeth, Sen added the new bodies to the pile. He took a long moment to wipe the blood from the jian. Finally, not able to find another excuse to put it off, he walked over to the kneeling woman.


    ¡°Your name is Shen Mingxia?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the woman in a hoarse whisper.


    ¡°Who sent you here tonight?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°My senior, Han Jun.¡±


    He was half-surprised to find out that it wasn¡¯t Changpu, but he may have been letting his dislike cloud his judgment. He regarded Shen Mingxia for a long moment.


    ¡°You ryed my message to him?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°And he sent you back here anyway?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sen wavered for a moment before he spoke. ¡°You should leave this city. Find another sect, or at least find teachers who value you more than the ones you have now. Your senior sent you here to die.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I cannot leave.¡±


    ¡°Your vow?¡±


    She nodded. Sen felt a sudden, irrational urge to p the back of the woman¡¯s head, as though it might literally knock better sense into her. She was determined to hold true to a vow of loyalty to which her fellow sect members clearly paid only lip service. Sen found himself wishing that she¡¯d fallen in with betterpany, but what betterpany was avable for aspiring cultivators in the city? There was only one major sect in the ce. It was the Soaring Skies sect or nothing.


    ¡°If you insist on staying, you should move other there,¡± said Sen, pointing to a spot near the entrance of the Silver Crane. ¡°It won¡¯t be safe, precisely, but you¡¯ll be less likely to die from a random technique.¡±


    The woman said nothing, simply grasped her spear and moved to the spot that Sen had indicated. While he¡¯d been trying to hide his presence or be circumspect before, he¡¯d abandoned any pretense by the time the next group arrived. It seemed that they were taking the matter more seriously because the new group consisted of four foundation formations stage cultivators. Sen was sitting on the steps of the brothel when they arrived. One of the cultivators was ring at Shen Mingxia, so Sen tentativelybeled him as Han Jun. The other three were staring at the pile of bodies with a mix of expressions ranging from anger to horror to barely concealed panic. Sen waited until the one he thought was probably Han Jun went to say something to Shen Mingxia before speaking himself.


    ¡°You should all return to your sect and send me an elder before this esctes any more than it has.¡±


    ¡°You may have seeded against those outer disciples,¡± said the one that Sen had dubbed Han Jun, ¡°or most of them. But you will not seed against us, you murderous dog.¡±


    ¡°And you are?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°I am Han Jun,¡± sneered the man.


    Sen let the full weight of his killing intent settle onto Han Jun. While Han Jun dropped to the ground, screaming, bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears, and wing at his own face, Sen turned his attention to the other three.


    ¡°Perhaps the three of you are wiser,¡± mused Sen aloud. ¡°Will you follow the example of Han Jun, or will you do as I ask?¡±


    There was a long pause as the three foundation formation cultivators carried on a silent conversation with their eyes. For a moment, Sen held out hope that they might take the wiser path. The keening noises that Han Jun was making certainly seemed to have the panicked-looking one ready to flee. The other two ultimately prevailed and all three of them summoned weapons from storage rings of their own. Sen regarded them with a t stare before he rose from the steps, cycled for lightning, and summoned his spear. He¡¯d spent a lot of time thinking about the technique that Uncle Kho had used to vaporize those sect members who showed up on the mountain. He thought he had an idea of how to do it, or at least how to do something simr.


    Pushing lightning qi into the spearhead, Sen thrust the spear skyward. Lightningnced from the spearhead up into the clouds overhead, where it seemed to bounce around, lighting up the clouds from within. Sen knew that it was gathering strength, harnessing the power held in those clouds, waiting for a direction to unleash that force. The sect cultivators were staring upwards, no doubt sensing the doom that gathered there. With a sad look, Sen lowered the spearhead and pointed it at them. Sen didn¡¯t have the kind of raw power that Uncle Kho did, so he didn¡¯t expect to vaporize the cultivators. Of course, he didn¡¯t need to vaporize them. He only needed to kill them. Lightning fell from the sky onto the sect cultivators like divine judgment. The one he was pointing at died instantly.


    The other two received only indirect strikes, but it was enough to scorch them raw and hurl them away. Sen marched wearily toward one of the cultivators who had been sent flying. She was still stunned or in so much agony from the burns that she didn¡¯t even register Sen¡¯s presence. He drove his spear through her heart and paused long enough to make sure the life faded from her eyes. He turned to where the other one had been thrown. He wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d taken a lesser hit or were simply made of sterner stuff, but that man was on his feet, staggering toward Sen with dao in hand. He could feel the man gathering up power for some kind of qi technique, but he wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was. He¡¯d never felt anything quite like it before. The man gave Sen a manic grin that bordered on madness, then thrust the dao in Sen¡¯s direction.


    Arge ball of something shot toward Sen. Unwilling to find out firsthand what the ball was actually made of, Sen rolled to the side. When the ball struck the street, it popped, and a bitter, caustic smell filled the air. Sen could hear the stone of the street hissing and popping beneath the liquid. The cultivator was already generating another of the balls of acid. Sen narrowed his eyes and waited for the right moment. When he judged that the other cultivator was almost ready tounch, Sen crafted a wind de. Rather than send it toward the other cultivator, he sent it at the ball. The other man seemed to realize what Sen nned to do, but not fast enough to get clear. The wind de shattered the integrity of the ball. While the acid or poison was hard on the stones that made up the street, it was catastrophic for flesh. There was a brief, horrific scream, and then what was left of that acid-wielding cultivator copsed to the ground.


    Sen eyed the remains for a moment, not sure if he should feel bad or not. He eventually settled on not feeling bad. <em>He</em> hadn¡¯t summoned the acid. Sen trudged over to Han Jun, who was no longer screaming or wing at himself. The man¡¯s eyes had rolled up and he was convulsing. Sen separated the man¡¯s head from his body and released his killing intent. He just stood there, staring down at the decapitated Han Jun, and trying to find a way to justify all this death to himself. It had sounded simple enough when he was exining it. He supposed it was <em>still</em> simple. It just wasn¡¯t easy. He¡¯d meant to avoid exactly this kind of mindless, purposeless killing when he¡¯d set out from the mountain.


    He wondered if he could have avoided the fight. It was possible, but only if he¡¯d been willing to put himself into the hands of the sect. Based on how these cultivators behaved, that would have been a terrible mistake. He didn¡¯t know that he¡¯d be a prisoner of one kind or another, but it seemed all too probable. He¡¯d also have had to let the insult to Sun Lifen pass, and that wasn¡¯t in him. Lifen had been right. It might not be every sect, but the Soaring Skies sect expected blind obedience, even from those not in their sect. Sen only owed that to one person in the world. No, the fight had always beening, if not here, then somewhere else. The pile of bodies grew a littlerger, and Sen returned to his spot on the steps. If he¡¯d been paying a little more attention, Sen would have heard Shen Mingxia quietly imploring the heavens to intervene.

 Book 2: Chapter 46: The Siege of the Silver Crane (3)

    Book 2: Chapter 46: The Siege of the Silver Crane (3)


    As the night slowly slipped away toward morning, Sen sat on the steps and cultivated. He couldn¡¯t know for sure, but he had an intuition that the next fight, if it came, would not be so easy. It may even well be one he couldn¡¯t win. Shen Mingxia knelt to one side, always in the periphery of his Sen¡¯s senses. Unwilling to forsake her vow to the sect, and unable to confront him directly, she hovered there in a kind of moral limbo. He supposed that the night¡¯s events would ultimately free her from those constraints, one way or the other. The wise thing for her to do would be to leave, no, to <em>flee</em> from the city as fast as her legs could carry her. If Sen ultimately prevailed in this conflict, she would still owe him a debt, still be foreverpromised in the eyes of the sect. There was every possibility that they would cast her out.


    If he lost, Sen thought that her prospects were much worse. There was an equally likely possibility that they would kill her in that event. Kill her for refusing to lift her spear against him, for honoring what she saw as a life debt. They would only see her betrayal, not her honor. Then, they would kill her in the name of honor, but not in its spirit. He turned to look at her and wondered what she was thinking right then. Had shee to the same conclusions he had? Was she simply awaiting her death? Was she hoping for it? He supposed that she might be. Honor had forced her to stay her hand but watching him cut down other members of her sect must have cost her something dear. She might have been close to some of them, a martial sister or even a lover. He¡¯d cut down Han Jun, who seemed to be something of a teacher to her, although he hoped she wasn¡¯t mourning that loss too greatly.


    He decided to try onest time. ¡°You must know that your time with the Soaring Skies sect is over.¡±


    Her shoulders slumped. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Then, why stay? It gains you nothing. It serves nothing. <em>They</em> broke faith with your vow. If they cut me down, you will likely follow a momentter. It¡¯s a waste of life.¡±


    Shen Mingxia¡¯s eyes zed with fury as she stabbed a finger at the pile of bodies. ¡°A waste of life? <em>That</em> is a waste of life. You didn¡¯t have to kill them. You chose to kill them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is a waste of life, but don¡¯t forget that I didn¡¯te to your sect and start killing randomly. Your sect came <em>here</em>. You came to what is, however briefly, my home. Tell me, what were your orders regarding the people inside? How many would you have spared?¡±


    Shen Mingxia¡¯s dropped her gaze. ¡°We were to spare none.¡±


    ¡°And would that not have been a waste of life?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just-,¡± Shen Mingxia started to say but cut herself off.


    ¡°Just whores? So, they deserved to die beneath a cultivator¡¯s de because someone got offended that I said no? By that logic, should I write off the deaths of your sect mates as meaningless because they were <em>just</em> qi-condensing cultivators? Their cultivation was beneath mine, so they didn¡¯t matter, didn¡¯t warrant consideration?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s, it¡¯s <em>different</em>,¡± whispered Shen Mingxia.


    Sen stood as he sensed what wasing. ¡°It¡¯s always different when you know the people who died.¡±


    Sen had felt the power of core cultivators before, and that¡¯s what was heading his way. Yet, it was off, wrong somehow, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on how. The cultivator was still too far away, but there was <em>something</em> in that approaching energy, something that raised the Sen¡¯s hackles. He frowned and let his hand drop to his jian. He started cycling for wind and, after a moment of consideration, started a second cycle for shadow. In the corner of his eye, he saw Sen Mingxia¡¯s head jerk toward him and her mouth drop open. She didn¡¯t speak, but he saw her mouth a single word. <em>How?</em> He didn¡¯t have the luxury to address her question or her apparent shock. The closer that core cultivator got, the more unsettled Sen became. It wasn¡¯t the power of the cultivator. By Sen¡¯s estimation, they were probably only just into core cultivation. It was the growing sense of wrongness about that cultivator¡¯s power that was consuming Sen¡¯s attention.


    A minute or twoter, the core cultivator flew over a building and hovered above Sen and Sehn Mingxia. If Sen hadn¡¯t spent so much time on the Luo farm looking at wounds, examining injuries, and crafting remedies, he might have simply written off his intuition. Yet, he had spent that time and begun to hone the beginnings of the kind of understanding that Auntie Caihong took for granted. As Sen locked his gaze on the floating core cultivator, he could feel that there was something corrupt in the man, not just in his body, but in his cultivation. It wasn¡¯t obvious. It might even be something that could go unnoticed by others if it had happened slowly enough, written off as a slow change in the man¡¯s cultivation or a byproduct of his development of a core. Of course, Sen had been there for none of that, so it scraped against his senses, his understanding of how the body and the spirit should feel when they were healthy. He didn¡¯t even know he was going to speak until the words were out of his mouth.


    ¡°What have you done to yourself? Why have you corrupted yourself this way?¡±


    The arrogant sneer that the core cultivator had worn was wiped away in an instant. His shock was soplete that he fell out of the air, only barely managing to cushion his fall at thest second. When the man had steadied himself, his eyes locked not on Sen, but on Shen Mingxia. And it was a look of fear. Sen understood then. He had exposed something dangerous, something that this core cultivator wanted kept quiet. Worse, he¡¯d exposed it in front of another sect member. Sen¡¯s body was in motion before his mind caught up, acting on an intuitive understanding of what the core cultivator would do. Sen dipped low, caught the shocked Shen Mingxia in his arms, and activated his qinggong technique to hurl them both away from where she had been sitting. A split secondter, a pir of fire mmed into the protective barrier that Sen had established earlier. Sen could almost hear the formation straining, but he was more preupied with shielding himself and the woman in his arms from the wash of scalding heat that rolled over them. He looked Shen Mingxia square in the eye and spoke a single word.


    ¡°Run.¡±


    Then, the fight was on. There was a flurry of motion, de meeting de in patterns burned into muscle and tendon. There was no thought, no consideration, just a swift, fierce meeting that tested the limits of Sen¡¯s years of training. When the pair split apart, Sen had a shallow cut along the ribs on his left side. The core cultivator had a simr cut along one cheekbone that left half his face a wet mess that would no doubt have been bright red in the daylight. The core cultivator red at Sen as he futilely wiped blood from his cheek.


    ¡°You doomed her when you opened your mouth. She can¡¯t run fast enough to get away from me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d have killed her anyway,¡± said Sen. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m pretty sure I can buy her a little more time.¡±


    ¡°You have some minor skill with the de, but you¡¯re no core cultivator. You can¡¯t hope to stand against me.¡±


    Now that he¡¯d had a moment to breathe, and to think, Sen thought he¡¯d figured out at least some of what was going on. Every cultivator used some kind of cultivation resources to drive or progress their advancement. Sen had adopted the least aggressive approach, relying almost exclusively on nts and alchemical agents used in elixirs. Most others relied on the more aggressive approach of using pills. It was harsher on the cultivator, but arguably more reliable. Of course, even cultivation had shortcuts if you were willing to pay the price. There were questionable ingredients that you could use in pills that would sometimes drive someone forward at a faster pace or even facilitate a breakthrough. The price for such shortcuts, the price the core cultivator Sen faced had paid, was corruption. The more questionable the ingredients, the deeper and more destructive the corruption became. Sen had no experience with such corruption. He¡¯d only learned about it secondhand from Auntie Caihong, so there was no chance he could identify the corruption himself. Still, he might be able to get the man to tell him.


    ¡°What do I have to fear from a cultivator who used demonic ingredients to make a false core?¡± asked Sen.


    It was only a guess on his part, and just barely better than a wild stab in the dark. Of course, his only real goal was to keep the man talking. Sen had always rejected the idea that one could advance throughbat. He¡¯d never understood what he could learn frombat, what kind of enlightenment he might gain through violence, that he would want. Over time, though, he had seen a sliver of something that he might gain. The violence itself, the fighting itself, was and likely always would be a failed source of insight for him. He despised it too much. There was, however, a rity tobat, a focus that could drive creativity. If nothing else,bat provided an opportunity to test ideas that would be dangerous or too costly in other circumstances. Sen was preparing to test an idea, but he needed more time.


    ¡°I had to,¡± the cultivator almost screamed. ¡°I had to do it. There was no other way, no other, no other way. I had to.¡±


    To Sen, it sounded like the man was trying to convince himself. It also sounded like he was at least a little unhinged. The man¡¯s behavior did help Sen understand what seemed to be a stark divide between what people told him the Soaring Skies sect was, and what he¡¯d seen the Soaring Skies sect do. If this half-mad, demonically influenced creature was an elder, it could go a long way to exin how so much dishonorable behavior had gone unnoticed and unaddressed. While Sen hadn¡¯t sensed simr literal corruption in any of the other sect cultivators, corruption could happen in a lot of ways. He supposed that this core cultivator could have been encouraging it without even being fully aware of his actions. Not that it mattered much to Sen. Only one of them was going to walk away from the fight, and Sen was determined that he would be the one. Then, as if someone had blown out a candle, the expression on the core cultivator¡¯s face went nk, and there were no more words.


    The two were back to fighting a heartbeatter. Almost all of Sen¡¯s attention had to stay fixed on the fight with the core cultivator. The other man was faster, his qi more more powerful, but it was a more bnced fight than most people would expect. What Sencked in raw speed, he made up for with superior training. What hecked in pure qi power, his body cultivation helped to offset. Still, Sen recognized that he wasn¡¯t going to win the fight cleanly. He¡¯d already picked up half a dozen shallow cuts and two deeper wounds from thrusts he couldn¡¯tpletely avoid. His hands and arms ached from parrying blows. In a straight conflict, Sen <em>would</em> lose against this man. Worse, Sen could feel the other cultivator getting ready tounch some kind of qi attack. It was something else Sen didn¡¯t recognize, which made him very nervous. He doubted he¡¯d be able to just roll out of the way of whatever the core cultivator nned on hitting him with.


    For all of that, though, Sen hadn¡¯t been idle. He¡¯d been cycling shadow the whole time and reinforcing his jian with metal qi. He¡¯d also been slowly fusing some of that metal qi into the shadows he was manipting. It was difficult. The two qi types didn¡¯t want to blend. A part of Sen desperately wanted to fall back on Heavens¡¯ Rebuke, but he didn¡¯t dare unleash it with so many mortals around. If he lost control, the loss of life would be a full-blown tragedy. So, he persevered, forced the shadow and metal qi to twist together, to fuse. Then, taking a slight bit of inspiration from Heaven¡¯s Rebuke, he let a tiny fraction of his killing intent bleed into the new technique.


    Sen simultaneously triggered the new technique and threw himself back from the other cultivator. It saved his life, but Sen wasn¡¯t able topletely avoid the outer edges of the other cultivator¡¯s attack. The ground where Sen had been standing exploded upward as a small column of fire reached for the sky. The force of the attack had shattered the stone of the street. Sen felt it as a shard of that shattered stone punched into his chest. Breathing became almost impossible, the pain threatened to shatter his concentration, but he clung to his control of his own technique. Half a dozen spears of solid shadow, metal qi, and killing intent drove through the core cultivator. As abruptly as that pir of fire had appeared, it vanished. The fire had left Sen temporarily blinded, but his night vision slowly reasserted itself. When he could see that the only thing holding up the core cultivator were the spears that Sen was maintaining by the skin of his teeth, he released the technique.


    Feeling that this was one of those times when it was appropriate, Sen took out one of Auntie Caihong¡¯s healing pills and made himself swallow it. Swallowing was agony. Breathing was agony, but he made himself do it until he felt the wash of qi through his body. Then, gritting his teeth, he seized the stone that was currently lodged in his lung and jerked it free. Consciousness teetered on the brink for most of a minute, but the healing pill was doing its job and mending his lung. As breathing became easier and the pain receded, Sen forced himself to stand and stagger over to the core cultivator. Much to Sen¡¯s intense disappointment, the man wasn¡¯t actually dead, just the next best thing to it. Sen gave serious consideration to ending the man right then and there. It would be so, so much easier. But, sadly, the man was more useful to Sen alive. Muttering hate beneath his breath, Sen began setting up a suppression formation around the core cultivator. When he finished that, he staggered to the front door of the brothel. When someone tentatively opened the door, Sen suggested that they send a message to the Soaring Skies sect asking them to kindly retrieve their demonic elder.

 Book 2: Chapter 47: Peace Talks

    Book 2: Chapter 47: Peace Talks


    As much as Sen wanted to sleep, wanted to rest, he didn¡¯t dare, because as much as he wanted to believe the danger had finally passed, he knew it hadn¡¯t. If anything, the danger was even greater now, just not necessarily as immediate. So, he went inside long enough to dress his wounds and see if he could reinforce the formation protecting the Silver Crane. The people inside the brothel were very, very quiet around him. Even Lifen didn¡¯t seem to know exactly what to say to him. Then again, even if was dark outside, the pile of bodies had gotten hard to miss. It would be sobering to know that all of those people had been sent to kill you. Although, it was probably just as sobering for them to realize that he had killed all of those people by himself. He¡¯d done it in their defense, but that was still a lot of dead people. Sen decided he was d that none of them really wanted to talk. He was still in a truly staggering amount of pain. Auntie Caihong¡¯s pill was working its literal and metaphorical magic, but it wasn¡¯t anything like an instant cure. The body needed time and it needed resources, and Sen didn¡¯t dare to stop long enough to give it either. By now, word would have started to spread, even without the messenger he¡¯d sent to the sect.


    Like it or not, someone from the Soaring Skies sect would being and, likely, it would be someone Sen couldn¡¯t fight to a standstill or defeat. It might not have looked that way to anyone that was watching, but he knew <em>exactly</em> how close thatst fight had been, just how narrow his victory had been. If he¡¯d been a second or two slower, if his concentration had slipped just a hair at any point, he¡¯d be dead. Of course, he also hadn¡¯t used his most powerful technique either. If the next person who came was determined to fight, he might not have that choice. Sen didn¡¯t know if Heavens¡¯ Rebuke could actually kill a middle-stage orte-stage core formation cultivator. He couldn¡¯t even really be sure it would hurt them, although he struggled to imagine anyone short of the nascent soul stage simply walking off that attack. In the end, if became a true choice between survival and destruction, he would use it. He just prayed that he wouldn¡¯t have to.


    He did manage to reinforce the barrier a bit, although he had his doubts that his formation would prove more than a brief frustration for higher-level core cultivators. On the other hand, Sen hoped that most sect elders would find murdering a bunch of mortals in what would soon be broad daylight beneath their dignity. For a moment, true fatigue overcame Sen and he had to lean against a wall to keep himself upright. Sighing, Sen retrieved the elixir he¡¯d made back at the camp with the Soaring Skies members from his storage ring and downed it. It wasn¡¯t exactly the right fix for his current problems, but it would have to do. Then, though it grated on him to do so, he separated a drop of liquid qi and let it course through his channel, slowly feeling it burn away as the pill and his own elixir greedily snatched its power to fuel his recovery. The sudden burst of qi in his system and the abrupt reduction in pain gave him a temporary boost, but he knew how temporary it really was. Sen grudgingly took a minute to mechanically chew and swallow some travel rations that he didn¡¯t taste. Then, he went back outside.


    Shen Mingxia had returned at some point and was kneeling near the door. Sen just gaped at her. He couldn¡¯t imagine what she was thinking. Leaning on his spear for a bit of support, Sen sighed and addressed the woman.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Shen Mingxia had aplicated look on her face when she answered. ¡°Three times.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°I owe you my life three times over. Once, you spared me. Twice you prevented members of my own sect from striking me down. I don¡¯t know that I can ever repay that debt.¡±


    Sen¡¯s tired mind just didn¡¯t know what to do with that, so he shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t ignore it,¡± said the woman.


    Sen waved her off. ¡°Another of your elders ising. I can feel them. I give it fifty-fifty odds we¡¯ll both be dead in the next five minutes. So, don¡¯t worry about it. If we die, I release you from all obligations. If, by some miracle, we manage to survive, you can buy me dinner or something and we¡¯ll call it even.¡±


    ¡°Buy you dinner and call it even? If you think I value my honor so cheaply,¡± Shen Mingxia started yelling, only to cut herself off and stare toward the spot where Sen was looking.


    The cultivator that was approaching them wasn¡¯t some middle-stage orte-stage core cultivator. Sen was certain that they were a peak core cultivator, probably right on the cusp of the nascent soul stage. That elder¡¯s power pressed down on huge tracts of the city like a nket. Sen didn¡¯t shrug it off, because no one just shrugged something like that off, but he didn¡¯t drop to his knees the way the elder no doubt nned. Sen had been trained under much greater powers than that. He¡¯d been forced to run forms, even to spar beneath the weight of both Master Feng and Uncle Kho¡¯s unveiled power. He supposed he¡¯d developed a partial mental immunity to it. Of course, a partial mental immunity only helped him shed the worst of the effects. The pains in his already injured body redoubled, and he had to bite back on the grunt that tried to escape his lips.


    Sen could see that Shen Mingxia hadn¡¯t had the benefits of simr training. She was sprawled out on the ground, her breathing shallow, and barely conscious. Sen suspected that the same was true for everyone inside the Silver Crane. As much as he wanted to help them, there was nothing he could do. His own resilience wasn¡¯t something he could pass on. When the elder floated into view, he certainly met Sen¡¯s expectations about what an elder should look like. His hair floated around him like a white halo and a beard flowed down over his chest. The man looked imperiously over the scene below him. There was a moment of bewilderment on the old man¡¯s face when his eyesnded on the still-standing Sen. Sen felt a moment of vicious satisfaction.


    ¡°I am Elder Deng, of the Soaring Skies sect,¡± said the man in a smooth, deep voice. ¡°I havee to put a stop to this nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense? Having your outer and inner disciples sent out to murder mortals by the score is nonsense? You feel that having a <em>demonic</em> cultivator in your sect is nonsense?¡±


    ¡°That is absurd.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± asked Sen.


    He hadn¡¯t meant for it to happen, but something of the banked fury inside of Sen must have burned itself into those two simple words, because Elder Deng¡¯s eyes snapped onto Sen. Sen gestured with his spear to core cultivator stuck inside the suppression formation and said, ¡°Examine him for yourself.¡±


    Elder Deng bristled at themanding tone in Sen¡¯s words, but he drifted down andnded next to the suppressed core cultivator. There was a moment of silence, and then Sen saw Elder Deng twitch. The elder stood there for a long moment before he turned his dark gaze back on Sen. The Elder¡¯s eyes flickered across the entire scene, no doubt making note of the damage that scored the walls and the streets. His eyes rested for a long time on the pile of bodies.


    ¡°You have killed many of my sect this night,¡± said Elder Deng.


    ¡°I defended the mortals inside this ce <em>from</em> your sect. There is a difference. I also sent warnings. I tried to send them back to fetch an elder. They chose to fight instead.¡±


    ¡°Your word, and nothing more,¡± said Elder Deng.


    ¡°And hers,¡± said Sen, pointing at the prone form of Shen Mingxia. ¡°Unless, of course, you n to call your own sect members liars to cover up your failings.¡±


    ¡°Our failings,¡± roared Elder Deng, and Sen felt the man¡¯s qi circte.


    ¡°Demonic cultivators, in your <em>honorable</em> Soaring Skies sect!¡± Sen bellowed back, using a flicker of air qi to ensure his voice carried for half a mile in every direction. ¡°People keep telling me about the honor of your sect. Yet, I¡¯ve seen them do virtually nothing but try to lie, steal, intimidate, and murder. In fact, I can count on two fingers the number of Soaring Skies sect members I¡¯ve seen act with true honor. As far as I can tell, your sect is corrupt to the core.¡±


    Elder Deng¡¯s face had gone white under Sen¡¯s barrage, although Sen had no clue about the cause. Was it rage or simply shock that Sen had so made a point of exposing the sect¡¯s secrets so publicly? Maybe it was something else altogether. No matter the cause, Sen wondered if he¡¯d just killed himself, Shen Mingxia, and everyone inside the Silver Crane. Elder Deng didn¡¯t move, didn¡¯t avert his eyes from Sen, for the longest thirty seconds of Sen¡¯s life. Then, slowly, so slowly, his eyes turned to Shen Mingxia. Abruptly, the palpable, overwhelming presence of Elder Deng¡¯s power vanished. Sen almost staggered to one side as the pressure lifted.


    Sen was leftpletely in the dark as the elder roused Shen Mingxia and pulled her away to have a conversation that Sen couldn¡¯t hear. The woman looked terrified to be getting the direct attention of an elder of her sect. Even so, she seemed to be telling a story, pointing at the pile of bodies a few times, at Sen himself repeatedly, and at the suppressed demonic cultivator. She even took a moment to spit on the demonic cultivator who had tried to murder her. When she was done, the elder waved her away. She came and stood next to Sen. He lifted an eyebrow in her direction.


    ¡°I did what I could,¡± she said, a hint of apology in her tone.


    The elder spent another five minutes with his head bowed in some kind of silent contemtion, or perhaps he knew some method ofmunicating over a distance with qi. Sen knew such things were possible, but hecked the power to do them yet. Master Feng had made some vaguements about teaching them to Sen down the road, which might have meant a couple of years, or a couple of centuries. Elder Deng finally turned and walked over to Sen. The man looked troubled, angry, but not like someone on the cusp of violence.


    ¡°It seems we owe you a debt, for exposing this corruption in our midst,¡± said Elder Deng. ¡°Although, given how many people you killed to send the message, it might be wise to wait a time before trying to collect on that debt.¡±


    ¡°I want nothing from your sect, save your word that the Silver Crane and its employees will be left unmolested.¡±


    Elder Deng waved a hand as though it were trivial. ¡°They will not be harmed. For, despite your ims, there <em>is</em> still honor in the Soaring Skies sect. Although, perhaps less honor than I once believed. You wish nothing else from us?¡±


    ¡°Only what I always wanted. To be left alone.¡±


    Elder Deng studied Sen for a long moment before he nodded. ¡°As you wish. And what of you Disciple Shen? What would you ask of the sect in rpense for the, apparently, many sins it hasmitted against you?¡±


    ¡°I only wish to learn,¡± said Shen Mingxia. ¡°I need a teacher. A real teacher.¡±


    Sen interjected then. ¡°Wu Meng Yao.¡±


    Shen Mingxia turned a baffled look on Sen, but the Elder¡¯s gaze was sharp.


    Sen shrugged, ¡°You can trust in her honor.¡±


    From the darkness, a voice called out. ¡°A wise choice, Elder Deng. Wise indeed. I assure you that you much prefer the tender mercies of Judgment¡¯s Gale to those of his master.¡±


    Sen, Elder Deng, and Shen Mingxia all turned and watched as a woman emerged from the darkness. Sen didn¡¯t have the faintest idea of who she was, or what a judgment¡¯s gale was, or why this <em>insane</em> woman was threatening to upend the delicately bnced peace he¡¯d just forged with the sect elder. The woman gave them all a martial bow. Sen felt a steady gaze boring a hole into the side of his head, so he turned to see Elder Deng giving him an intense look.


    ¡°You¡¯re Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± the elder demanded.


    Sen started to deny it, but the woman cut him off. ¡°He is, although I¡¯m not entirely certain he knows it.¡±


    ¡°Then, who is his master?¡±


    The woman gave the elder a bleak smile. ¡°Feng Ming, known to some as Fate¡¯s Razor.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 48: By Right of Combat

    Book 2: Chapter 48: By Right of Combat


    Sen was a little surprised to hear the woman identify him as Feng Ming¡¯s student, but that was nothingpared to Elder Deng¡¯s reaction. Sen could almost hear the Elder¡¯s heart rate triple, and he saw the sweat beading on the man¡¯s forehead. The elder looked at Sen.


    ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°It is. Since we¡¯re sharing secrets, <em>apparently</em>,¡± said Sen, shooting the new woman a look, ¡°you should probably know that Master Feng owns the Silver Crane.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Elder Deng demanded.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t pick this ce at random from all the ces in the city,¡± said Sen. ¡°I was sent here.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said the elder, raising a trembling hand to wipe at his face.


    ¡°My question is, who are you?¡± asked Sen, pointing at the new woman.


    ¡°This one is called Lo Meifeng. I am but a humble servant of Feng Ming.¡±


    That raised a lot of questions in Sen¡¯s mind, but most of them were questions he didn¡¯t especially want to ask in front of Soaring Skies elder or even Shen Mingxia, for whom he actually had a modicum of trust. Instead, he just shot the woman a look that promised her he¡¯d be asking all of those questions in a more private setting. Sen also had some doubts about how humble of a servant she was. Humility and being a core formation stage cultivator didn¡¯t seem to be things that went hand-in-hand, and Lo Meifeng was a core formation cultivator. She wasn¡¯t at the peak of core formation like Elder Deng, but she wasn¡¯t fresh to it like the man Sen had beaten either. There was more going on, and it made Sen more than a little edgy.


    On top of that, whatever little boost he¡¯d gotten from burning up a drop of liquid qi was fast ebbing. He needed to get all of these people to leave. Then, he needed to find a bed and sleep. Sen tried to figure out the fastest way to make that happen. He¡¯d avoided looking at the pile of bodies, but there was light on the horizon. People would follow that light soon enough, especially with Sen casting his voice across a big piece of the nearby area of the city. He gestured to the pile, and to the suppressed elder in the formation.


    ¡°They should be removed andid to rest in whatever way seems most appropriate to you,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Elder Deng, who still looked shaken. ¡°I¡¯ll have our peoplee and collect the bodies. I¡¯ll deal with transporting that traitorous abomination personally. The sect will have many questions for him.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting something?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    Sen thought that she was speaking to the elder about some protocol he didn¡¯t know about. It took him a moment to realize that she was looking at him, expectantly.


    ¡°Am I?¡± asked Sen.


    He cast a sidelong look at Shen Mingxia, who gave him a tiny shrug of one shoulder.


    ¡°Indeed. You defeated all of these cultivators. What was theirs is now yours. You must im it.¡±


    Sen knew that looting the dead and defeated was something of a tradition among cultivators, but he hated it. He didn¡¯t even really like harvesting parts from defeated spirit beasts, although Falling Leaf hadn¡¯t let him get away without developing some eptance of it. He nced at Elder Deng. The old man grimaced, but he gave Sen a short nod. Sen supposed he could understand the old man¡¯s reluctance. Anything Sen took was something that the sect couldn¡¯t reim. While it probably wouldn¡¯t amount to much from the qi condensing cultivators, the formation foundation cultivators had all possessed storage treasures. There could be nearly anything in those.


    Sen didn¡¯t relish the idea of pawing through that pile of bodies, so he did with them much as he did with the spirit beast corpses in the abandoned town. He cycled air qi to generate wind and sent his spiritual sense looking for things of rtive value. Using thatbination, Sen retrieved half a dozen storage rings, ten pouches that he assumed contained money, and about a dozen other objects that had radiated qi on some level. He also retrieved a few of the better weapons from the foundation formation stage cultivators he¡¯d killed. As for the core formation elder, he¡¯d have to do that with a more hands-on inspection. The suppression field kept Sen¡¯s air qi wind techniques out as effectively as it kept out pretty much every other kind of environmental qi.


    The injured elder had lost consciousness at some point, so it wasn¡¯t difficult to search him. Sen made a point to im that man¡¯s jian, which was at least as good as Sen¡¯s own. He also found no less than four storage rings on the man. Sen couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the man could possibly need so much storage for. He plucked a pouch from the man¡¯s robe that felt unnaturally heavy to him. Opening it, he found it stuffed with gold taels. That seemed like far too much money for the man to have, even as an elder. Sen surreptitiously slipped that pouch into his own storage ring before anyone could see it. There was a mystery of some kind there and this wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d found someone with more gold than they should have. But he was too tired to give it any real consideration at that moment. Thest item of interest he found was a jade carving of a dragon in flight over a city. Sen peered down at it and, unless he missed his guess, the city was Emperor¡¯s Bay.


    Suspicious, Sen stood and showed the carving to Elder Deng. The old cultivator¡¯s eyes went wide, and fury radiated off of the man. He pointed at the carving.


    ¡°Give that to me!¡± the manmanded.


    ¡°No,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°It is his by right ofbat.¡±


    ¡°It is a treasure that creature stole from the Soaring Skies sect.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but it was not stolen by my master¡¯s student. It is not his responsibility to return what you could not secure within your own walls. Would <em>you</em> return a treasure you won inbat, simply because the person you got it from was a thief? I think not.¡±


    Elder Deng directed a re at Lo Meifeng that could shatter stone, but the woman remained magnificently indifferent to his ire. For all his initial bluster, though, he didn¡¯t raise any additional objections. Sen was about to move away from the suppressed elder when Lo Meifeng pointed at the man¡¯s ankle.


    ¡°What?¡± Sen asked, confused.


    ¡°You missed something,¡± she said.


    There was a kind of malicious glee in the woman¡¯s eyes, which made Sen suspect that he was about to uncover another sect treasure. From the way that Elder Deng was grinding his teeth, the man knew it, too. Sen pulled the suppressed elder¡¯s robe up to reveal a heavy silver anklet. It was also heavily carved with a dragon as the most prominent element. It took a moment, but Sen managed to find the catch and release it. He didn¡¯t ask what it was, simply put it and the jade carving into his storage ring. Stepping away from the suppressed cultivator, Sen deactivated the formation.


    ¡°I¡¯m done,¡± he said to Elder Deng.


    ¡°He might be willing to return the treasures,¡± mused Lo Meifeng to no one in particr, ¡°if he was offered something of sufficient value in trade.¡±


    Elder Deng spared onest re for Lo Meifeng before he seized the demonic cultivator by the throat and flew off. Sen watched the advanced qinggong technique in action with more than a little envy. Not quite ready to deal with the strangeness that was everything about Lo Meifeng, Sen turned to Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°It seems you¡¯ll retain your ce with the sect, after all.¡±


    The woman seemed pensive, almost abstracted now that the danger seemed to have truly passed. She gave Sen a searching look. ¡°You knew he was corrupted. You knew he was a demonic cultivator. How? How could <em>you</em> know that when an entire sect, when sect elders an entire stage higher than you managed to overlook it.¡±


    Sen gave the matter a long moment of thought, trying to decide how many secrets he wanted to reveal. ¡°I knew he was corrupted. As for the demonic part, that was just a guess on my part. His first instinct was to try to murder you when I exposed him. You don¡¯t go straight to killing to protect a secret unless it¡¯s a <em>big</em> secret. A this-will-end-my-life-if-ites-out kind of secret.¡±


    Shen Mingxia nodded. ¡°I suppose that follows. What about the other part?¡±


    ¡°As for how I knew and why your elders overlooked it,¡± Sen just shrugged. ¡°Maybe we were looking for different things.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe he wasn¡¯t the only one,¡± she said.


    Sen let that hang in the air for a long moment, trying to decide how best to y it. It was a possibility. It was also a problem he wanted no part of. By telling him that she thought it, Sen suspected that Shen Mingxia was looking for, or maybe just hoping for, someone she could call for help if it turned out to be true. And there he was, fresh off of defeating one sect elder right before her eyes. He supposed he could see her reasoning. He was a cultivator with no strong ties to her sect but ties to a terrifying old monster that would likely take a dim view of demonic cultivators wherever they were found. To a qi-condensing stage cultivator, he must look like a potent ally. If she only understood the true depth of the differences between foundation stage cultivators and core cultivators. Even as something of an aberration, with a lot of advantages, he <em>still</em> wasn¡¯t really a match for even an initial core cultivator with some experience. His victory had been luck as much as skill.


    Yet, all of his many attempts to stay out of it, no matter what <em>it</em> had been, hadrgely blown up in his face. In fact, they had often left him in situations that were worse than simply meeting the problems head-on would have been. Those worse situations, in turn, had put him in positions to make bad choices, choices driven by anger, choices driven by fear, choices driven by pride. He had killed those who likely hadn¡¯t deserved it. He had spared those who hadn¡¯t deserved it. He¡¯d tried to assuage <em>that</em> guilt on the Luo farm, helping the vigers with his alchemy. He didn¡¯t regret that choice, nor would he ignore them in the future, but he¡¯d been out of bnce even there.


    There was a choice to be made here, as well. He could choose to acknowledge Shen Mingxia¡¯s words and, in doing so, form a kind of implicit agreement toe back if the need arose. Or he could ignore it because he feared to get involved. He¡¯d thought of the wandering cultivator¡¯s life as a constant process of moving on, and it was, but he hadn¡¯t been moving on. He¡¯d been in a constant process of running away. Sometimes he¡¯d run away from what he¡¯d done. Sometimes he¡¯d run away from what he didn¡¯t want to do. He could move on from here, or he could run away, <em>again</em>. It was a simple choice, and it was all up to him.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sen agreed, ¡°or maybe he wasn¡¯t the only one.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 50: Recovery

    Book 2: Chapter 50: Recovery


    While Sen had thought he was exaggerating about how long he would sleep, he did spend nearly a full day doing nothing but sleeping. He only came around a few times. He found food and drink waiting for him, fell onto it like a ravenous beast, and dropped almost immediately back into deep unconsciousness. He didn¡¯t really wake up like a human being until the next evening. Even then, he barely spoke with anyone for more than a moment or two. Instead, he found his way into their kitchen,mandeered a spot on the stove, and began making himself an elixir. His needs were varied enough that it took him nearly three full hours of work to fashion something that would do all of the work. His concentration was so absolute that he didn¡¯t even realize that Lifen came in and watched nearly the entire process with a concentration that almost matched his own.


    When it was finally done, the elixir glowed a pure sapphire blue. Sen did take a moment or two to appreciate the beauty of the thing. Then, with zero ceremony, he upended it into his mouth and swallowed. It was only Lifen¡¯s distressed cry that brought her to his attention. He blinked at her a few times, trying to understand the horror on her face. She pointed at him, seemed to grope around for words, and finally yelled at him.


    ¡°You drank it!¡±


    The incredulity in her voice was so profound that Sen didn¡¯t quite have a ce in his mind to slot the reaction. So, he fell back on stating the obvious. ¡°It was an elixir. What else was I supposed to do with it?¡±


    ¡°But it was beautiful,¡± she objected.


    Sen started to think that he might still be asleep. ¡°I repeat, it was an elixir. One made specifically for me. If I didn¡¯t drink it, it didn¡¯t have a reason to exist.¡±


    That answer didn¡¯t seem to satisfy Lifen at all, because she sniffed, and walked out of the kitchen muttering something under her breath about men. Still not entirely sure he was awake, Sen pinched his own arm. Hard. The bright little sh of pain was a relief because it reassured him that he hadn¡¯t so badly misjudged his own state. Yet, it wasn¡¯t a relief because it meant that surreal little episode with Lifen had <em>actually</em> just happened. She¡¯d been legitimately upset that he¡¯d drank that elixir because, as near as he could tell, she thought it was pretty. Deciding that he must still need more sleep, Sen returned to his room. He expected that he¡¯d have some trouble dropping off after sleeping nearly an entire day away, but he slipped into unconsciousness within moments of climbing back into bed.


    He had strange dreams that night, although he¡¯d never remember more than fragments of them after that fact. All he could really hang onto was a feeling of intense dread, the image of ruins deep in the desert, and the disquieting certainty that his steps would lead him there one day. When he woke up again, Sen made a firmmitment to himself to avoid the desert, if not for as long as possible, at least until he¡¯d managed to reach core formation and, ideally, not until he reached the nascent soul stage. He wasn¡¯t sure what was waiting in those ruins, or why he needed to go there, but he was damned certain he wanted as much power avable to him as possible when he did eventually go there. He had tried to decide that he just wouldn¡¯t go, but his intuition told him that fate had other ns in store for him on that front. All the stories held one thing as true. You could run from fate, but you couldn¡¯t avoid it forever.


    Those gloomy thoughts made going back to sleep an impossibility, so he dragged himself out of bed. After examining himself, he decided that a bath was not only in order but a priority. It was only after he¡¯d gotten clean that he really felt like he was awake enough to interact with other people in a reasonable and coherent way. He made his way downstairs and found Lifen¡¯s mother. She looked him up and down before nodding.


    ¡°You seem almost human again,¡± she said conversationally.


    ¡°I almost feel that way, too,¡± replied Sen with a smile. ¡°I hope nothing interesting happened while I was sleeping.¡±


    Lifen¡¯s mother snorted, then pulled out a small basket that was filled with scrolls and envelopes. She offered it to Sen, ¡°These came for you. Well, they came for someone called Judgment¡¯s Gale. I assume that¡¯s another of the young master¡¯s names.¡±


    Sen stepped back from the basket as though it contained nothing but venomous snakes. ¡°Not me. Must be a mistake.¡±


    The older woman rolled her eyes and pushed the basket a little closer to him. ¡°You¡¯ll have to deal with it sooner orter. Might as well get started now.¡±


    Sen thought that maybe he¡¯d decided too quickly that more sleep was out of the question. He could probably make something that would put him out for another day or five. It was a pleasant fantasy that he let himself hold in his heart for three whole seconds before he reluctantly took the basket from the woman.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have tea first,¡± he announced, almost managing not to sound like a small child avoiding his chores.


    ¡°Of course, young master,¡± said the woman with an all-too-knowing look at him.


    Even if it was a shameless dodge to avoid what was sure to be a literal basket full of headaches, Sen really did need tea. Of course, his grand n to make himself a pot of tea was almost instantly shattered by a lot of well-meaning, grateful young men and women who seemingly saw him as some kind of savior. They insisted on making the tea and even pouring it for him. Sen tried to ept their help with good grace and smiles. They clearly wanted to do <em>something</em> to thank him. He supposed it wasn¡¯t that big of a personal trial to let them make him bad tea and pretend to enjoy it. They felt good about it and, well, he imagined that Grandmother Lu would approve of him watching for social cues. Even a month or two prior, Sen would have sent them all scurrying with ament about being able to make his own tea.


    After several rather disappointing cups of tea, Sen retreated to his room with the cursed basket. He just stared at the basket for almost fifteen minutes before he reached into the basket and pulled out a scroll at random. He broke the seal, which he didn¡¯t recognize, and was treated to an invitation to visit one of the sects that Lifen had identified as a family sect. Sen tossed the invitation to one side. He couldn¡¯t ignore it, but he didn¡¯t have to decide right that second. He reached in and pulled out an envelope with another seal he didn¡¯t recognize. That one was an invitation to dine with some local family. He didn¡¯t know them but assumed they were prominent. And so it went, invitation after invitation from families, from politicians, from the other family sect, and even from a couple of organizations that Sen didn¡¯t recognize.


    Sen didn¡¯t need any help recognizing that he was in over his head. This had swiftly evolved from a conflict between cultivators into some kind of political game. Sen had a lot of useful skills, but politics wasn¡¯t one of them. There had simply been no opportunity to practice it on the mountain. He had some theoretical knowledge about how governments worked. He had a lot of training in tactics and strategy. All of that information <em>could</em> apply in these situations, but Sen didn¡¯t think that a learn-by-doing approach was going to serve him especially well in this situation. He needed help. Since he loathed the idea of asking Lo Meifeng for help, and Lifen had a lot more local knowledge, he¡¯d ask her to help him sort through the invitations. If nothing else, she could probably tell him which of the invitations it would be catastrophic to ignore.


    Before he called her in, though, he should finish sorting through the missives. At the very bottom of the basket, Sen found what he considered to be a divine lifeline of procrastination. There was a letter from the manager of Grandmother Lu¡¯s local shop. <em>May the gods bless that man a thousand times</em>, thought Sen. Not only had the man done as Sen asked, but he had inadvertently given Sen the perfect excuse to ignore all of those invitations and go do something that he actually wanted to do. It might even be to the point that it was something he <em>needed</em> to do. Feeling much more cheerful, Sen dressed in clean robes, arranged his hair into some semnce of order, and went looking for Lifen. He found her issuing some politemands to some of the servants who worked in the Silver Crane. He waited patiently until she finished before he approached her. He gave her a bright smile. She looked back at him warily.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked.


    ¡°How do you feel about helping me pick out an alchemist¡¯s shop to buy?¡±


    Lifen¡¯s eyes narrowed a little. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need more rest?¡±


    ¡°Okay. Okay. I¡¯m not going to buy a whole shop, just half of one. It¡¯ll be something of an investment for me.¡±


    ¡°But how are you going to buy half of an alchemist''s shop?¡±


    ¡°With beast cores. Dozens of them.¡±


    ¡°What? Where did you get dozens of beast cores?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a funny story,¡± said Sen, before a flurry of memories forced him to reconsider. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a story anyway. Get your things, I¡¯ll tell you on the way.¡±


    While Sen got the impression that Lifen was convinced more by his manic energy than anything else, they were soon on their way to the first of three shops that might be open to an investor.

 Book 2: Chapter 51: Prism

    Book 2: Chapter 51: Prism


    Elder Deng¡¯s fist mmed into the wall. If he¡¯d been in any other room, anywhere else in the sect, that stone would have shattered and likely sent a cloud of deadly shrapnel into some unsuspecting junior sect members. That was why the room existed. It had been reinforced with countless formations to withstand the fury of even peak core cultivators. And Elder Deng was furious about <em>so many things</em>. He was furious that a demonic cultivator had been in their ranks, had even been a recently elevated <em>elder</em>, and somehow escaped detection. There were supposed to be safeguards in ce to prevent such things. That they had all seemingly failed meant this demonic cultivator was especially skilled or that the Soaring Skies sect had bezy.


    Much to Elder Deng¡¯s continued frustration, the evidence seemed to suggest thetter. After all, the traitorous little weasel had gotten himself defeated by a merete-stage foundation formation cultivator. That thought cooled Elder Deng¡¯s fury right off with a cold wave of fear. <em>No</em>, he thought, <em>the traitorous little weasel didn¡¯t get defeated by some random foundation formation wandering cultivator</em>. He¡¯d been defeated by a folk hero whose name had started showing up everywhere over thest month. He¡¯d been defeated by a student of Feng Ming. Training at the hands of that blood-soaked figure of cultivator myth could go a long way toward exining how an initial core cultivator had suffered such a decisive loss to someone a full stage behind him.


    The very name Feng Ming was enough to conjure nightmarish images in Elder Deng¡¯s mind. There were stories, so many stories, of the lengths that Fate¡¯s Razor had gone to redress slights against him. Tales of what he¡¯d done in the north had found their way back to Emperor¡¯s Bay. He¡¯d simply wiped an entire sect from existence, and no mere sect. He¡¯d dismantled the Coiled Dragon sect by himself. That sect had practically <em>been</em> a government in its own right. For all the chaos he left in his wake, Feng Ming might as well have executed an entire royal family and every noble in a kingdom. Elder Deng shuddered. The Soaring Skies sect couldn¡¯t stand against that kind of power, and the idiot demonic cultivator had ordered attacks against a business owned by the man. He just hoped that word would get back to the old monster that no real harm had been done.


    <em>No real harm</em>, Elder Deng thought bitterly. Over a dozen inner and outer sect members were dead, including one very promising sword artist that Elder Deng had been nning on training himself one day. That loss alone was enough to reignite his fury, and he punched the wall again. If only the wandering cultivator hadn¡¯t been so public, so skilled¡­so <em>frightening</em>, Elder Deng finally admitted to himself. It wasn¡¯t that the boy was an active threat to someone like the elder himself, but he shouldn¡¯t have been a threat against the numbers sent against him. He shouldn¡¯t have been able to calmly withstand the pressure of a peak core cultivator¡¯s power. He certainly shouldn¡¯t have been able to single-handedly defeat a demonic core cultivator. If the boy was like that now, what would he be in the future?


    Yet, for all that, Elder Deng was having a difficult time being angry with the boy called Judgment¡¯s Gale. If anything, the boy¡¯s responses had been <em>restrained</em>. He tried to avoid the fight. He spared the one who chose not to fight. He didn¡¯t try to extort the sect. Elder Deng gritted his teeth. <em>No</em>, <em>that damnable woman had taken care of that part</em>. The boy would have just let him take the dead, and the demonic cultivator, and leave. She had been the one who insisted that boy take his due. Two priceless sect treasures lost in one fell swoop. Granted, the boy didn¡¯t seem especially attached to those treasures, so he probably would trade them back to the sect for something he did want more. Still, if <em>she</em> hadn¡¯t intervened, the bargain wouldn¡¯t have been necessary at all. Elder Deng¡¯s fistsshed out again in quick series of strikes. <em>Boom</em>. <em>Boom</em>. <em>Boom</em>.


    At the end of the day, though, it was the demonic cultivator that gave the elder fits. Worse, they didn¡¯t know if he was the only one. They could hope that he was, but there were dark days ahead for everyone in the sect, particrly for those who had been closest to the traitorous little weasel. There would be hard questions. There would be tests. No one would be spared from those, not even the elders. With at least some of his towering rage spent, Elder Deng braced himself. It was time to question the demonic cultivator. That would be a long, unpleasant task, and one the core cultivator was unlikely to survive. <em>Best to just get it over with</em>, the elder thought, <em>before Feng Ming decides to kill us all</em>.


    ***


    Elder Gao Ah Cy of the Wandering Winds sect was positively ecstatic. She¡¯d spent thest few days smiling at her extended family in the sect and even bestowing gifts. After decades of watching the self-righteous Soaring Skies sect unt their supposed superiority, they¡¯d been brought down a notch or three by a wandering cultivating. <em>A wandering cultivator</em>. It was so delicious that she could almost eat it with a spoon. And, as if that wasn¡¯t good enough, the cultivator was also some kind of folk hero. They called him Judgment¡¯s Gale and, as far as Elder Gao was concerned, judgment couldn¡¯t have fallen on the heads of a more deserving group than the Soaring Skies sect. Of course, there were those troubling rumors of demonic cultivators hiding in that sect. That wasn¡¯t just trouble for that sect, but trouble for every cultivator in the city. If some old monster decided to wipe the infection clean, they might not bother to discriminate between the Soaring Skies sect and the other sects in the city.


    That was why she had resolved to befriend the wandering cultivator who had bestowed this long-dreamt of gift upon her. Anyone who could bring the Soaring Skies sect low and live to tell the tale, well, they must have powerful backing of their own. It never hurt to curry a little favor with the mighty. Of course, it was curiosity more than anything else that made her want to meet the young man. She struggled to picture the kind of person who could do what he had seemingly done. Was he just that powerful in his own right or was his backing even more impressive than she expected? Could it be both? The Wandering Winds sect rarely opened their doors to outsiders, but for him, well, exceptions could be made for the truly gifted. If his eptance into the sect might also bring along the anciry benefits of implicit or explicit support from his powerful backers, that was even better.


    Of course, that all depended on the boy actually epting their invitation. Elder Gao wondered if she should send another.


    ***


    Elder He Mingze wished he had arrived in Emperor¡¯s Bay sooner. If he had, he might have avoided hearing the news that left him trembling. He¡¯de all this way as fast as his cultivation could carry him, covering hundreds of miles in mere days, only to discover that the wandering cultivator he¡¯de to find had, seemingly, brought thergest local sect to heel. Worse, he¡¯d done it on the edge of his sword, leaving dozens dead, including an elder if the reports were true. Lin Zimo hadn¡¯t been able to confirm the stories beyond a few sketchy details. There had been an altercation with sect members. The wandering cultivator had cut them down. Then, when a senior elder had arrived, the wandering cultivator had negotiated some kind of peace with the man.


    This was all of He Mingze¡¯s worst nightmarese true. The Soaring Skies sect could swallow the Stormy Seas sect whole without a hint of indigestion. That the wandering cultivator could openly challenge them, y their members, and survive the experience, did not bode well for the future of the Stormy Seas sect. The elder could easily picture the day when the wandering cultivator returned to Tide¡¯s Rest to burn the Stormy Seas sect to the ground. He needed to get to the young man before his legend grew any bigger and make peace, at whatever price the wandering cultivator demanded. Far better to suffer a humiliation now, than face utter destructionter.


    ***


    Lo Meifeng was annoyed, again. She had watched the steady stream of messengersing and going from the brothel, no doubt leaving scores of invitations for the Lu Sen. <em>No</em>, she corrected herself, <em>for Judgment¡¯s Gale</em>. The smart thing for him to do was to consult <em>her</em> about which invitations to ept. She wasn¡¯t an expert on the local politics, but she was more than adept enough to see which invitations were traps and which were just posturing games by the local power yers. She could have guided him to the best oue, possibly with some assistance from that girl who had attached herself to the young man. Then again, maybe not. The girl had taken a very obvious dislike to Lo Meifeng, although the reasons seemed a bit obscure. Lo Meifeng had no designs on the boy, except perhaps to tease him once in a while. Was the girl just in love with him? She supposed it was possible, young hearts being as fickle as they were.


    Still, there was important business to be about, so what was the boy doing? He was visiting alchemist shops. Of all of the random things he could have chosen to do, he was visiting shops that sold products he clearly didn¡¯t need to buy from them. Based on the secondhand information she¡¯d gotten about the remedies he¡¯d been handing out like candy in that vige, his own skills likely dwarfed those of the people who owned those shops. Not for the first time, she wondered why fate or the gods had saddled her with the thankless task of watching over this kid.

 Book 2: Chapter 52: Old Business

    Book 2: Chapter 52: Old Business


    ¡°So, just like that, you own half of this ce?¡± Lifen asked.


    She gave the run-down alchemist¡¯s shop they had just exited a sidelong nce. Sen followed her eyes and gave her a half smile.


    ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡±


    Lifen sighed. ¡°The other two ces were better.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± disagreed Sen, ¡°they were nicer, which is another way of saying that they didn¡¯t need the resources quite as badly as this ce. Plus, the couple who runs this ce are the best alchemists of the lot. They¡¯ll make better stuff out of those beast cores I gave them, which means that they¡¯ll make more money from them. Besides, I did give them some money to fix the ce up.¡±


    Lifen lifted an eyebrow at him. ¡°I noticed. Where does a wandering cultivator get enough gold that they can afford to give some of it away.¡¯


    ¡°Invest, my lovely Lifen. <em>Invest</em>.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only an investment if you actually get something back from it someday.¡±


    Sen considered that for a moment before conceding the point. ¡°That¡¯s true enough. Although, I suspect that this will turn out to be profitable for me in the long run.¡±


    Lifen gave him a smirk. ¡°You dodged the question.¡±


    ¡°Did I? Forgive me. Yes, you are truly as beautiful as an orchid blooming beneath the moon.¡±


    Lifen actually stumbled a little bit at that, before she shot him a look. ¡°Stop trying to distract me. I didn¡¯t ask forpliments.¡±


    ¡°How fortunate for me that I didn¡¯t give you any.¡±


    That seemed to leave the young woman mute for a few moments. She tried to give him a re, but the corners of her mouth kept creeping upward, ruining the effect.


    ¡°You could have just said it¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°Secret might be a strong word. Let¡¯s just say that I¡¯m not announcing it. It¡¯s not good for people to assume that wandering cultivators are carrying around a lot of wealth.¡±


    It had been a profound relief for Sen to hand over better than half of the beast cores he had to the alchemists. In reality, he¡¯d probably grossly overpaid for his stake in the alchemist shop. On the other hand, not having a fortune in beast cores in his storage ring eased a worry in his chest that had been lingering for months. Of course, having a pouch full of gold had taken the ce of that worry, but he¡¯d have to address that another day. He hadn¡¯t even looked inside all of the storage rings he¡¯d collected from the Soaring Skies members he¡¯d killed yet. The idea felt morbid to him, so he kept putting it off, but he¡¯d have to deal with it sooner thanter. Having a few spare storage rings would be nice but wandering around a collection of them seemed like asking for trouble.


    ¡°Are you, though?¡±


    ¡°Am I what?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Are you really just a wandering cultivator now? I mean, aren¡¯t you Judgment¡¯s Gale, hero of the people, bane of sects?¡±


    Sen groaned, ¡°Not you too.¡±


    Lifen burst intoughter. ¡°To think, I met a legend and didn¡¯t even know it.¡±


    ¡°I am not a legend or a hero for that matter.¡±


    Lifen peered at him from the corner of her eye and said, ¡°You saved the mortals. You opposed a powerful sect. You <em>lived</em> to tell the tale. What do you imagine heroes and legends are?¡±


    Sen had no answer for that, so he looked for some other subject to discuss. ¡°Did you see that basket of invitations I got?¡±


    ¡°I did. Are you going to take any of them?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m kind of tempted to just ignore them and hope it all goes away.¡±


    ¡°Yes, because ignoring problems is <em>always</em> the best way to solve them.¡±


    ¡°I know. I know,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯s just that it¡¯s all political stuff. It¡¯s not my kind of fight. I don¡¯t understand those fights. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d care to offer some input.¡±


    ¡°I can help. At least, I can help you understand the local politics a bit, but I think you need someone with more experience than me.¡±


    Sen gave her a t look. ¡°No, not her.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to pretend that I like her, because I don¡¯t, but your master sent her. Surely, it¡¯s worth at least asking her opinion. If she¡¯s useless, you can send her away again.¡±


    ¡°I just hate that she¡¯s watching me all the time. I feel like I need to be constantly looking over my shoulder.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not the worst survival trait for a wandering hero of legend,¡± said Lifen with a twinkle in her eye.


    Sen groaned again, much to Lifen¡¯s delight, and they passed the rest of the walk back to the Silver Crane with light conversation. Once they arrived, though, the demands of the real world reasserted themselves on Sen. Lifen¡¯s mother simply handed him another scroll withoutment. He broke the seal and unrolled it, idly reading it as he walked toward the stairs. He stopped so abruptly that Lifen gave him a look.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked, the concern in her voice obvious.


    Sen closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath. ¡°It¡¯s old business, but I guess I can¡¯t ignore it.¡±


    The rest of the afternoon was spent trading messages and working out the details. That was how Sen found himself walking into a tea house and looking around. A server walked up to him and bowed.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± the young man asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to meet one Elder He Mingze,¡± said Sen, hoping the elder had announced himself.


    The server bowed again. ¡°Of course, if the young master will follow me.¡±


    Sen trailed the server, who led him into a private room. A man who looked to be in his middle years notice them arrive and stood. The man asked for the server to bring fresh tea and then turned his attention to Sen. The two studied each other for a long moment before the elder spoke.


    ¡°I half expected you to be twice the size of a normal man,¡± said the elder.


    Sen snorted at that. ¡°I¡¯m rather d the descriptions of me are so inurate.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± said the elder, gesturing to a chair, ¡°sit.¡±


    Sen did as he was asked, and an awkward silence fell between the two. It was finally relieved when the servant brought in fresh tea. The servant poured them both a cup and then retreated from the private room, softly closing the door behind him. The elder picked up his cup and sipped at the tea, obviously relishing it. Sen didn¡¯t even nce at his tea. The elder noticed the untouched tea and lifted an eyebrow at Sen.


    ¡°Do you not enjoy tea?¡±


    ¡°I enjoy tea,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯d feel about poison.¡±


    The older man looked offended for a moment before a more resigned expression settled onto his features. ¡°I suppose my sect made a rather poor impression on you.¡±


    ¡°That would be,¡± Sen softened what he had been about to say, ¡°urate.¡±


    ¡°My purpose here isn¡¯t to kill you,¡± said He Mingze. ¡°My purpose here is to try to make amends if amends <em>can </em>be made.¡±


    A rapid tumble of emotions rolled through Sen. Part of him was still angry about that moment of lost enlightenment on the beach. That part of him wanted to punish the sect and exact some onerous form ofpensation. Part of him felt a stab of guilt over how he¡¯d killed Cai Yuze in what, reflecting on the event, had been a moment of childish pique. That part of him wanted to simply brush the whole thing aside as a bit of bad business for all involved. He took a moment, forcing himself to calm down, and thought. He didn¡¯t think either extreme was appropriate. There was fault on both sides, but Sen hadn¡¯t been the one to initiate that chain of events. That fault waspletely on the Stormy Seas sect.


    ¡°How much do you know about what happened?¡± Sen finally asked.


    The elder walked Sen through what he knew about the events. Sen was impressed by whoever had done their investigation. They¡¯d been thorough and, all things considered, remarkably unbiased. Even so, there were some holes in the story, some context that the elder didn¡¯t have. So, in the name of fairness if nothing else, Sen walked the elder through the events as he¡¯d experienced them. The elder took in the new information with a calm that Sen envied. He supposed that was the gift of experience at work. The elder ruminated for several minutes, sipping his tea absently, and asionally tapping the table in what looked like an unconscious gesture to Sen.


    ¡°Troubling,¡± said the elder. ¡°All of it is troubling.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Sen. ¡°I suppose that there are amends to be made, but I¡¯m not sure I know how to portion it out. So, I will not ask you for some impossible thing. I will not require that you do anything that will embarrass your sect. I will ask only this. Put a stop to the practice of hounding wandering cultivators from the moment they enter your city. I know it won¡¯t stop every challenge. Nothing will do that. But if wandering cultivators wish to conduct their business and leave without the burden of challenges, they should have at least a chance to do so.¡±


    He Mingze looked both startled and very relieved by Sen¡¯s words. ¡°That can be done, but do you wish nothing else? A lost moment of enlightenment is no small matter. There are punishments that might be doled out. Compensations that might be provided.¡±


    That urge tosh out and punish tried to rear up again, and Sen ruthlessly pushed it down. ¡°Punishing those girls won¡¯t aplish anything. They were foolish, irresponsible, and, all too likely, following the advice given them by those who should have known better.¡±


    Elder He grimaced. ¡°I fear that you probably have the right of it.¡±


    An idea struck Sen then. ¡°Instead of punishing them, tell them this. That when the wind next blows Judgment¡¯s Gale through Tide¡¯s Rest, I will test their characters and hope they aren¡¯t found wanting.¡±


    Elder He frowned. ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the faintest idea,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°And neither will they. But it certainly sounds ominous, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Elder He, chuckling a little. ¡°A prod to force them to search within and burn away that which is unworthy. What a terrible, devious thing to do to them.¡±


    ¡°Devious and terrible, but only to their own betterment.¡±


    Feeling that they had aplished all that they were going to aplish, Sen stood to leave. Elder He raised a hand to stop him.


    ¡°A personal question, if I might?¡± asked Elder He.


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Sen, suddenly wary.


    ¡°Are you a student of Kho Jaw-Long?¡±


    An impish impulse took Sen, and he shook his head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. It was a matter of some spection.¡±


    ¡°No, Uncle Kho only taught me the spear. My true master is Feng Ming.¡±


    Elder He nched at those words and Sen felt a little bad about his joke. He was starting to understand just what a bogeyman his master was to other cultivators.


    ¡°Actually,¡± said Sen, something urring to him.


    ¡°Yes?¡± asked Elder He, his voice a little shaky.


    ¡°I thought of something you could do for me. I need cultivation manuals.¡±


    ¡°Cultivation manuals for one at your level of advancement,¡± said Elder He, ¡°are often closely guarded sect resources.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, not for me. I need ones that are appropriate for a qi condensing stage cultivator. They¡¯re difficult toe by here, but I thought you might have a more liberal policy.¡±


    Elder He visibly rxed. ¡°Yes, I expect we have any number of manuals appropriate for cultivators at that stage. Any affinity in particr?¡±


    ¡°Water and metal,¡± said Sen.


    He wasn¡¯tpletely sure that those were right for Lifen, but those seemed the most likely affinities for her based on what he¡¯d seen of her qi usage.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have them sent as soon as possible. Where should they go?¡±


    ¡°You can have them delivered to the Silver Crane. I fear I¡¯ll be stuck here for a time yet.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 53: New Business (1)

    Book 2: Chapter 53: New Business (1)


    In the end, Sen took Lifen¡¯s advice and brought in Lo Meifeng to help him sort through the various invitations he¡¯d received. Together with Lifen¡¯s practical insights into the local state of affairs, Sen wound up declining about half of the invitations. He was surprised when Lo Meifeng suggested he ept the invitations from the other sects.


    ¡°Why? How are those not traps?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s possible that they might be, but it¡¯s far more likely that it¡¯s just the other sects doing a little bit of one-upmanship. After all, you aren¡¯t going to visit the Soaring Skies sect, are you?¡±


    ¡°Heavens no. Even <em>I</em> know that¡¯s like asking to be murdered.¡±


    ¡°There you go. If you visit the other sects, it¡¯s a way for them to im some extra face. You don¡¯t trust the Soaring Skies sect enough to even step inside theirpound, but you trust the other sects enough to let them fete you. It¡¯s petty, but everyone will understand what¡¯s happening.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t that offend the Soaring Skies sect?¡±


    ¡°Do you care?¡± asked Lo Meifeng, genuine curiosity on her face.


    Sen thought it over. <em>Did</em> he care? ¡°No, I don¡¯t suppose that I do. Plus, I can always cite concerns about other demonic cultivators looking for vengeance. It might even be true. Still, I see what the other sects get out of it. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m getting out of it.¡±


    ¡°Mostly, you¡¯re cultivating some goodwill on their part. You¡¯re bound toe back here someday. It¡¯s helpful to have a local power base that is well-disposed toward you. Since you¡¯ve well and truly burned your bridges with the Soaring Skies sect for at least a generation or two, the other sects are the next best thing. Besides, they¡¯ll be sure tovish gifts on you.¡±


    ¡°Gifts? Like what?¡±


    ¡°The usual, I expect. Fine clothes, weapons, and possibly cultivation resources of some kind. They¡¯ll be looking to recruit you, so they¡¯ll want to make it clear what kind of advantages they bring to the table.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in being recruited,¡± said Sen, suddenly feeling a lot less certain about epting those invitations.


    ¡°They almost certainly know that, but it doesn¡¯t mean they won¡¯t make the attempt. After all, there¡¯s no harm in trying to recruit you. If they seed, it¡¯s a huge coup for them, at least in terms of inter-sect politics. So, it¡¯s worth the attempt, even knowing it probably won¡¯t seed. As long as they¡¯re polite about it, and as long as you decline politely, it hurts no one.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°This soundsplicated.¡±


    ¡°It is, and it isn¡¯t. As long as you make no promises or agreements, it¡¯s very simple for you. You go, make small talk, eat their expensive food, and graciously ept whatever gifts they offer you.¡±


    ¡°So, why am I not epting these other invitations?¡± asked Sen.


    Sen asked more out of annoyance than anyck of understanding. He just wasn¡¯t happy to be epting any of them. He¡¯d really hoped he¡¯d be able to manufacture enough excuses to avoid dealing with anyone before he slipped away into the darkness one fine evening. Lo Meifeng had disabused him of that idea immediately. If he had meant to handle things that way, he¡¯d missed his opportunity. If he tried that now, it would just offend the sects and every other local power yer.


    ¡°Because they¡¯re all tied up with mortal politics in one way or another. Take this as a warning or a life lesson, stay <em>out</em> of mortal politics. If you can¡¯t avoid itpletely, only deal with the established authority in an area. Even if you don¡¯t agree with their policies, it¡¯s the safest course of action. If the local political situation is in flux, avoid itpletely.¡±


    Sen almost asked why, but it only took him a moment to understand the wisdom of it. As powerful as cultivators could be, they didn¡¯t want the massed forces of a governmenting against them. If they stayed out of politics or only asionally interacted with the current government, it meant those governments had no pressing reason to act directly against them or recruit other cultivators to hunt them. If he made a habit of meddling with local politics, that could change. After all, Sen had seen firsthand evidence that, when pushed far enough, governments would make it worth a sect¡¯s time to hunt down people they considered rogue cultivators. They might be a little more indirect when dealing with someone who messed with politics instead of engaging in open banditry, but the end results would likely be the same.


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯s not like I want to get involved with politics. I¡¯m still not sure it¡¯s a good idea to take the mayor up on his invitation. I haven¡¯t had good experiences with mayors.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unavoidable. You made too much noise here and didn¡¯t flee immediately. Now, you have to deal with the local politicians. Make them feel safe. Assure them the danger has passed and that you won¡¯t be making more piles of corpses in their streets.¡±


    Sen winced at the reminder. The Soaring Skies sect hade to im their dead fairly quickly, but enough mortals had seen the pile of dead sect members that the news had spread like fire through dry tinder. By now, everyone in the city had heard about the bodies, if not about why it had happened. There were already wild rumors spreading that had only the thinnest connection to reality. Sen supposed that he <em>did</em> owe the local authorities some reassurances that he wasn¡¯t nning a repeat performance. For all that the violence had been contained to a rtively small area, there had still been substantial damage to the streets and some of the nearby buildings. Sen had, very quietly, taken steps topensate the owners of those buildings for the necessary repairs.


    As for the streets, those were maintained by the city. He¡¯d considered the possibility ofpensation for the city, but he ultimately rejected that idea. The city had let sects set up shop and stay. No doubt that discouraged roaming bands of cultivator ouws from visiting and wreaking havoc. It also meant the city had someone to turn to if an especially powerful spirit beast came calling. To Sen¡¯s way of thinking, having those benefits meant that the city leadership assumed some risk that cultivators would asionally break things during fights. It might be an asional strain on their finances, but that wasn¡¯t really Sen¡¯s problem. If thest several months had taught him anything, it was that choices have consequences. If <em>he</em> had to suffer the consequences of his choices and attend a bunch of dinners, the city leadership could suffer the consequences of <em>their</em> choices and pay for street repairs.


    Having settled on a final list of invitations to ept and decline, Sen began the boring process of writing out his responses. Lo Meifeng watched him for a time before she spoke up.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious. What made you ask me to advise you about this?¡±


    Sen paused his writing for a moment. ¡°It was Lifen¡¯s idea. She thought I needed a, let¡¯s say, more seasoned opinion.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°How refreshingly pragmatic. I didn¡¯t think she cared for me.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t. At all. Why do you think she left the second she wasn¡¯t needed anymore? She just didn¡¯t let her loathing for you stand in the way.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m actually more impressed with her now. I¡¯m also impressed you took the advice.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t let <em>my</em> loathing for you stand in the way either.¡±


    ¡°I know why you don¡¯t like me,¡± said an unperturbed Lo Meifeng. ¡°No one wants a keeper dogging their steps. Why does she dislike me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know,¡± said Sen, only then realizing that he¡¯d taken Lifen¡¯s dislike for the woman for granted. ¡°I never asked her about it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll have a chat with the girl. See if we can¡¯t clear the air between us.¡±


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s an excellent idea. You should do that <em>immediately</em>,¡± agreed Sen.


    Lo Meifeng favored Sen with an unimpressed expression. ¡°You could be a little less enthusiastic about sending me away. I¡¯m not your enemy. For that matter, the person you dislike only exists in your head.¡±


    Sen frowned at her. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Aside from the fact that I¡¯m a cultivator, my appearance, and that Feng Ming sent me, can you name a single thing you know about me?¡±


    After searching his memory, Sen came up nk. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Lo Meifeng before she left Sen to his own devices.


    Sen went back to work on his replies, but he couldn¡¯t quite make himself ignore Lo Meifeng¡¯s words. He <em>didn¡¯t</em> know her. He hated what she was there to do, but he¡¯d let that hate bleed over into his treatment of the woman herself. Someone who was, in the end, just doing what <em>his</em> master had told her to do. <em>I guess it wouldn¡¯t kill me to be a little nicer to her</em>, thought Sen. He started to work on the invitation responses, but a soft knock at the door interrupted him. Beating down an impulse to tell whoever it was to go away, Sen called out.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    The door opened and one of the servants ducked partway through the door. ¡°There is a visitor here to see you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not seeing any visitors,¡± said Sen, repeating an instruction he¡¯d given a few days earlier.


    ¡°I know, young master, but it¡¯s an elder from the Soaring Skies sect. He said he¡¯s here about sect treasures.¡±


    Sen sat up a little straighter. He¡¯d all but forgotten about those treasures he¡¯d stuck into his storage ring. Lo Meifeng had suggested to Elder Deng that Sen might barter them back for the right incentives. He wasn¡¯t especially eager to deal with anyone from the Soaring Skies sect again, but adding insult to injury at this point wasn¡¯t just unnecessary, it was stupid. The tentative peace between him and the sect had held, as far as he could tell, and he wanted to keep it that way.


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll be right down.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 54: New Business (2)

    Book 2: Chapter 54: New Business (2)


    Sen wasn¡¯t particrly looking forward to meeting with the elder, at least in part because he¡¯d meant to take a closer look at the sect treasures. If nothing else, he would have liked to discover what they did. He¡¯d meant to spend some time studying the treasures, but there had constantly been something else more pressing. Now, he was out of time. Then again, knowing what they did might have made him less inclined to give them up, which could create problemster. While the sect might not act immediately or directly against him to retrieve those treasures, he suspected that they would do something to get them back. No, it was better to simply bargain in good faith for something he wanted. It wouldn¡¯t necessarily win him any points with the rank and file of the Soaring Skies sect, but it could ease rtions between himself and the sect leadership.


    One of the things that had surprised Sen about the Silver Crane was that it had rooms that served as makeshift offices. When he¡¯d asked why, Lifen had arched an eyebrow and informed him that even brothels had everyday business to conduct. He¡¯d felt a little embarrassed after that. It stood to reason that the ce needed to purchase food, and substantially more than a servant could simply carry back on a daily basis, as well as other necessities like wood to burn during the cold weather. Having a basic office or two for those kinds of meetings was practical and, once he¡¯d given it two seconds of real thought, obvious. So, he wasn¡¯t particrly surprised when Lifen¡¯s mother pointed him toward one of those offices.


    What did surprise him when he entered the office was the presence of Wu Meng Yao with Elder Deng. He did his best to mask his surprise by offering them both a martial bow. Wu Meng Yao offered him a bow that he thought was probably deeper than necessary, but he couldn¡¯t decide what her expression meant either. Elder Deng wore a businesslike expression and simply inclined his head to Sen. That annoyed Sen a little, but he saw that as the petty feeling that it was. Whatever Sen might think of the Soaring Skies sect, Elder Deng was his superior in cultivation by a huge margin. A nod to someone at Sen¡¯s level of cultivation advancement <em>was</em> the man being polite.


    ¡°Elder Deng,¡± said Sen, ¡°I hope this day finds you in good health.¡±


    A look of frustration warped the man¡¯s features, but he seemed to realize that Sen was making an honest effort to be polite. ¡°As well as can be expected. And yourself? Are you healing well?¡±


    ¡°I am. A bit of judicious alchemy has sped my way. And you, Wu Meng Yao, are you well?¡±


    She seemed startled to be addressed but hurriedly nodded. ¡°I am well. I thank you for asking.¡±


    Sen frowned at her formality, but let it go. He turned his attention back to Elden Deng. ¡°You¡¯re here about the sect treasures.¡±


    ¡°I am. You still have them?¡± asked Elder Deng, more than a trace of concern in his voice.


    ¡°I do.¡±


    The Elder hesitated for a moment, almost looking like he was arguing with himself, before he said, ¡°May I see them?¡±


    <em>Ah</em>, thought Sen, <em>he was deciding how rude to be</em>. Lo Meifeng had warned him that the Elder might try something like this. Try to assert a position of dominance by bringing Sen¡¯s honor into question. Sen weighed what his response should be. It had been more than a passive insult but came just short of a slight to his honor that would call for violence. He could justify some outrage since the elder had at least implied he might be lying. He could probably even call the meeting to a close and announce that he would not return the treasures. Instead, Sen said nothing. He continued saying nothing for long enough that elder would know that he was deciding what he wanted to do. After that, he offered Wu Meng Yao a brief bow.


    ¡°It was a pleasure to see you again, Wu Meng Yao,¡± said Sen and turned toward the door.


    ¡°What?¡± demanded Elder Deng, trying to sound incensed and not quite pulling it off.


    Sen gave the man a cool look. ¡°I¡¯m sure that the Wandering Winds sect or the Celestial Arch sect will be happy to take them off my hands. You can no doubt negotiate their return from them for only mildly extortionate prices.¡±


    Elder Deng waved it away. ¡°I suppose I should have expected <em>that</em><em>woman</em> to prepare you. Very well, I ept that you still have the treasures and apologize for my insult to your honor.¡±


    Sen briefly considered leaving the room anyway and making the mane back some other day. It would be a way he could assert dominance and might even be expected. Except, Sen didn¡¯t want the maning back some other day. He wanted to be done with the Soaring Skies sect. Really, he just wanted to be done with Emperor¡¯s Bay. It seemed that every additional hour he spent in the citypounded his troubles and obligations. So, he nodded his eptance of the apology.


    ¡°Shall we proceed?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered the elder.


    The elder summoned a jian from a storage ring and presented it to Sen. It took a massive effort of will on Sen¡¯s part to keep his expression neutral. The sword wasn¡¯t a spirit-level jian. The raw power the weapon passively generated told Sen that it was a step higher and in the ascendant weapon realm. Sen reached out and took the ascendant-level de from the elder. He drew the weapon from the scabbard. Its bnce was a little different than the de he used, the weight a little more, but it nestled in his hand like it belonged there. He stepped back from the other two cultivators and took the de through the first few moves of one of his basic jian forms. The weapon all but sang as it cut through the air. Sen sheathed the de, a little reluctantly, and handed it back to the elder.


    ¡°A fine weapon,¡± said Sen.


    Elder Deng gave Sen a half-smile, as though the older cultivator could read Sen¡¯s true thoughts. The elder passed the de to Wu Meng Yao. The young woman looked a little ssy-eyed, as though she¡¯d briefly glimpsed something transcendent and was trying desperately tomit it to memory. That struck Sen as a bit odd, but maybe she was just overwhelmed by being in the presence of a sect elder. Shen Mingxia had certainly seemed stunned by interacting directly with the man.


    ¡°I am told that your skill with the spear matches your skill with the jian,¡± said the elder.


    ¡°I was fortunate enough to have some minor training in the spear by a true master.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Elder Deng with obvious interest. ¡°May I ask who?¡±


    ¡°Kho Jaw-Long.¡±


    Elder Deng kept hisposure better than Elder He Mingze had, but he was a little paler and much less sure of himself after that revtion. It seemed that the reach of Uncle Kho¡¯s reputation was long indeed. If the elder had anything he meant to say after that, he either forgot it entirely or decided to keep his words to himself. He simply summoned a spear from his storage ring and held it out to Sen. Much like the jian, it was an ascendant-level weapon. There wasn¡¯t enough room in the small office to really do anything other than hold the spear, but holding it was enough. The spear was a work of art as much as it was a weapon. The haft of the spear was decorated withplex silver filigree that, after a few moments of study, Sen realized was a series of characters intended to make qi transfer easier. The spearhead was longer and broader than the ones Sen had trained with, more like a short sword de, but even that was iid with white jade.


    Sen had no idea if these weapons were as valuable as the sect treasures if they were put up for auction, but they were just as valuable to Sen. Ascendant-level weapons were designed for core cultivators and Sen suspected that these were weapons of the highest possible quality. While the jian and spear might not carry him <em>all</em> the way to the nascent soul stage, they would certainly carry him for the foreseeable future. Part of him wanted to summon the sect treasures immediately before the elder changed his mind and took the weapons away. Yet, Lo Meifeng had warned him about being too eager. He gave the spear an appreciative look that it well deserved before he held the weapon out to the elder. Elder Deng seemed slightly startled that Sen had returned the spear. A long moment of silence dragged out before the elder sighed and summoned a final item from his storage ring.


    Sen was a bit amused to see that it was a pouch. The elder handed it to Sen, who looked inside with curiosity. There was a substantial collection of gold and silver tael in the pouch, a fortune really. It would have been an iprehensible sum to the Sen who once lived on the streets of Orchard¡¯s Reach. He considered the pouch and its contents before he shook his head. He handed the pouch back. The elder seemed like he would explode in genuine anger until Sen held up a hand. He¡¯d only wanted to get a sense of how much they valued the treasures, and now he knew.


    ¡°Peace, elder. I will return the treasures to your sect, in exchange for the jian and the spear. But I do not wish gold or silver from you. I have a different need.¡±


    The elder immediately calmed when he realized that the negotiations hadn¡¯t failed, merely moved into the phase of things where details were decided. It took some time to pin down the details, with promises extracted and given. Yet, in the end, the elder received his sect treasures, and Sen imed his new spear and jian. As the elder went to leave, he seemed to remember that there was a third person in the room. He gestured to Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°Disciple Wu has business with you as well. Disciple, return the sect when your business here isplete.¡±


    ¡°Yes, elder,¡± said Wu Meng Yao.


    The elder left at such speed that Sen wondered if the man was worried that Sen himself might change his mind. <em>Well</em>, thought Sen, <em>I don¡¯t suppose that I really drove a hard bargain</em>. He turned his attention back to the young woman he¡¯d met on the road what seemed like a lifetime ago. He offered her a small smile, but that seemed to unsettle her. Sen couldn¡¯t help but wonder what had happened since hest saw her to make her that nervous around him. Then again, maybe he didn¡¯t need to wonder that hard.


    ¡°I see you made it back safely. Did the others make it back as well?¡± he asked, trying to break the ice a little.


    Wu Meng Yao shuffled a little under Sen¡¯s gaze as if the questions made her ufortable. ¡°I came ahead to, that is, I came to report. The others returned yesterday.¡±


    ¡°You came to report about me,¡± said Sen.


    The young woman flinched at those words.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know,¡± she whispered, sounding desperate for him to understand. ¡°I didn¡¯t know who you were. Who you really were. None of us did.¡±


    Sen sighed internally as he finally understood what was going on. She was worried that she¡¯d offended him, no, that she¡¯d offended Judgment¡¯s Gale. He wanted to think that it was some kind of baseless concern on her part, but she¡¯d probably gotten back just in time for all of the killing. If he¡¯d killed all of those other cultivators just for attacking some mortals, what would he do to someone who talked about him to the sect thatunched that attack? Sure, he¡¯d been polite enough to an elder, but that was an <em>elder</em>. Wu Meng Yao was just some lowly foundation formation cultivator, barely a member of the inner sect. From her point of view, it probably seemed entirely possible that he could kill her without any repercussions. Sen knew that wasn¡¯t true, but fear and knowledge often worked at cross purposes.


    ¡°Do I seem so different to you? I mean, now that you know who I <em>really</em> am,¡± he said with as much disdain as he could summon.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said. ¡°Not really, but I wouldn¡¯t have thought that the person I met on the road could have done what you did in that abandoned city. I wouldn¡¯t have imagined that you could stand off four foundation formation cultivators, let alone kill a core formation cultivator. Then, there are the stories.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just stories, Meng Yao,¡± said Sen. ¡°Most of them aren¡¯t even true.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao stared at him for a long time. ¡°What you can do. What you¡¯ve done. You <em>frighten</em> me.¡±


    The words hit harder than Sen ever would have credited until he heard them. They hurt. He hadn¡¯t exactly thought of Wu Meng Yao as a friend, but he did respect her, like her even. Seeing that fear in her eyes, that fear of <em>him</em>, it felt like getting stabbed. Sen looked away and took a moment before he buried that hurt, before he buried Lu Sen, and consciously took on the mask of Judgment¡¯s Gale for the first time. When he looked back at Wu Meng Yao, it was clear that she could see the change in him because she took a step back.


    ¡°Very well. You say we have business. Let¡¯s settle it.¡±


    Sen¡¯s voice sounded alien to him. Cold. Distant. Wu Meng Yao produced a pouch from inside her robes and held it out to Sen. He took the pouch but lifted an eyebrow at her.


    ¡°It¡¯s the reward for killing Cheng Bojing,¡± she said.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen.


    Wu Meng Yao seemed to be waiting for Sen to speak. When he said nothing, she offered him a bow and walked toward the door.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Sen finally said.


    He opened the pouch and removed a single silver tael. Then, he closed the pouch the tossed it back to the young woman. She frowned at the pouch, and then at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°I did nothing but strike the final blow. It was you and your sect mates who chased the man, hounded him, put in all of the effort. Effort should be rewarded.¡±


    She looked like she wanted to say a lot of things, but the cold expression on Sen¡¯s face seemed to stop her. She seemed to recognize that she had broken something between them, maybe irreparably. In the end, she simply bowed to him again.


    ¡°Thank you, Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 55: Dancing Monkey

    Book 2: Chapter 55: Dancing Monkey


    Sen flopped back on the bed and let out a relieved sigh. He¡¯d spent thest week attending one lunch, dinner, or function after another. He¡¯d met so many people that their names and faces had all blurred together into an undifferentiated mass that he justbeled <em>vaguely important people</em>. If not for his body cultivation, he would have been drunk almost non-stop for that entire week. The fact that he simply shrugged off the many cups of wine that had been pressed on him seemed to fluster some and annoy others. Why anyone would want to get him drunk was beyond him, but he¡¯d grown exceedingly tired of alcohol.


    Yet, for all that, he hadn¡¯t really gotten to what he thought of as the difficult dinners. He still had to navigate visiting both the Wandering Winds sect and the Celestial Arch sect. The more he thought about visiting those sects, the less happy he was about it. Even if the sects were on their best behavior, it only took one idiot to turn the whole thing into a disaster. Even worse, <em>he</em> could turn out to be that idiot if he said the wrong thing to the wrong person. Still, there was no getting around it at this point. He couldn¡¯t change his mind after epting so many other invitations without causing problems for himself.


    Despite his own whining to himself, the experiences hadn¡¯t been entirely bad. He¡¯d been gifted a number of fine robes, small pieces of art, and one particrly insightful host had provided him with arger tent. While Sen didn¡¯t expect to use it all that often, it showed that the person had given some real consideration to a wandering cultivator¡¯s lifestyle. There had been other gifts that Sen simply had no use for, most of which had found their way into the hands of the Silver Crane or its employees. Although, he had exhorted them not to be too brazen about disying those gifts.


    Yet, of all the things that Sen had received in the previous days, the ones that interested him the most were the cultivation manuals he¡¯d bargained for from the Soaring Skies sect. Some of them were for Lifen¡¯s use, and he¡¯d handed them off to her with the not particrly sage advice to read them over and see if any of them felt right. He had his own opinions and would provide them if she asked, but cultivators had to decide for themselves which path they wanted to follow. The sect also had three manuals that might suit him. He didn¡¯t get the originals, because no sect would part with those willingly, but he had gotten copies. There had been irond agreements between him and the sect about what he could do with those more advanced manuals. The end result was mostly that he could use them for himself but couldn¡¯t pass them on to anyone else. He was also bound to either destroy them or return them once he was finished with them. Sen thought that was taking things a bit too far, but it was hard toin much when he was getting what he wanted.


    He had been happy to discover that these manuals didn¡¯t work quite so hard to obscure their meanings as thest manual he had received. That didn¡¯t make them especially essible, but he¡¯d been able to untangle them enough to know that there was probably something useful for him in them. Even if he couldn¡¯t use the techniques directly, he expected that he could cobble something together that would work for him beyond the foundation formation stage. That alone would make slogging through the manuals worth the effort. He didn¡¯t necessarily need them to provide him with a perfect-fit solution, so long as they could point him in the right direction. Sen had worked out cultivation problems on his own before and knew that it was a murderously difficult task. With a few helpful road signs, though, he gave himself good odds of sess.


    He was starting to drift off to sleep when the door to his room opened and Lifen stepped inside.


    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± she said.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to,¡± heined.


    She smirked at him. ¡°Oh, the trials of being a hero and legend.¡±


    ¡°You go. You¡¯re better with people than I am, anyway.¡±


    Lifen rolled her eyes. ¡°I somehow doubt that sending me in your ce is going to leave the Wandering Winds sect happy.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll get over it.¡±


    ¡°Think of the gifts. You know you love gifts.¡±


    ¡°I actually don¡¯t. That¡¯s you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± said Lifen. ¡°Well, think of how much <em>I¡¯ll</em> love all those gifts you don¡¯t want.¡±


    ¡°I see how it is. The minute the gifts dry up, you¡¯ll be done with me.¡±


    Lifen beamed at him. ¡°Of course. You¡¯re far too much trouble to keep around without <em>some</em> kind ofpensation.¡±


    ¡°Gah, you fiend! You mean to say that my sparklingpany isn¡¯t enough for you? Oh, how you tear my heart from my chest!¡±


    ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll just have to survive on glory and the adoration of strangers.¡±


    Sen shuddered. ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass on that.¡±


    Pushing himself up off the bed, he pulled out a fresh set of dark gray robes. Lifen immediately snatched them away from him and shook her head.


    ¡°The blue ones. You have to wear the blue ones,¡± shemanded.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because all of the stories say that¡¯s what you wear.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°You have to live into the image a little bit,¡± Lifen said, not without some sympathy.


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Sen, pulling out the robes that Auntie Caihong had given him.


    He¡¯d been reluctant to wear them, mostly because he¡¯d been wearing them a lot. He worried that all theundering was going to wear them out, but they seemed to be holding up so far. Lifen fussed around him, adjusting the robes or his hair, until he fit into the picture she had in her head. She smiled at her work and nodded.


    ¡°There¡¯s a rickshaw waiting for you downstairs.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want toe to one of these things with me? Keep me out of trouble.¡±


    Her expression became opaque for a moment, and she shook her head. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate.¡±


    They¡¯d had a couple of mild arguments about it, with Sen pointing out that he was just a street rat. Lifen had shot that idea down hard by pointing out that, whatever he¡¯d started out as, he¡¯d outgrown it. He¡¯d had no good reply to that, so she¡¯d won mostly by default. He didn¡¯t press the issue. Just gave her a quick smile and went down to take his ride to the Wandering Winds sect. The sectpound was big, taking up enough space to house at least a dozen buildings the size of the Silver Crane. It had high walls and Sen spotted signs of a number of formations as the rickshaw pulled to a stop at thepound gate. Sen paid the driver and walked up to the guards. They stared at him, making no move to open the gates, nor even asking him to identify himself. After half a minute of that nonsense, Sen felt a surge of relief. He had an excuse to leave.


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Sen. ¡°You can exin to your elders why I wasn¡¯t in attendance.¡±


    He turned on his heel and started walking away.


    ¡°Wait,¡± ordered one of the guards.


    Sen ignored the man.


    ¡°Please,¡± shouted the other, not even trying to hide their desperation.


    Sen paused and looked back. Both of the guards looked worried now. They¡¯d clearly been given orders by someone, but Sen wasn¡¯t ying along the way they thought he would. He was, no doubt, supposed to rage and rail and make a spectacle of himself at the gate. If he simply left without making a scene, the guards would have to exin why he feltpelled to leave. Sen felt rather certain that exnation would be followed almost immediately by some kind of violent chastisement. It seemed that the guards had drawn a simr conclusion because their expressions were slowly transitioning from worry into dread.


    ¡°Who put you up to this?¡± Sen asked. ¡°Tell me their name, and I may forget you yed a part in this stupidity.¡±


    When the guards hesitated, Sen didn¡¯t even give it a heartbeat before he started walking again.


    ¡°Shen Kang,¡± the more panicked of the two guards said.


    Sen turned around and came back. When he stood in front of the guards again, he simply said, ¡°Open the gate.¡±


    The guards didn¡¯t hesitate that time, jerking open the gate as fast as they could and bowing Sen inside. There was a servant waiting for him who looked suddenly very nervous. Sen didn¡¯t give them the time to make excuses. He fixed the young woman with a hard gaze.


    ¡°You will conduct me to Elder Gao Ah Cy. You will do it <em>now</em>.¡±


    Whatever promises of reward or threats that had been levied against the servant must have paled inparison with the grim resolve on Sen¡¯s face, because the servant did exactly what she was told. A short walkter and Sen found himself presented to a woman who simply radiated power. Sen gave her a deep bow and patently ignored the young man who was ring daggers at the servant.


    ¡°Elder Gao Ah Cy, it is a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    The woman offered him a grandmotherly smile. ¡°And you must be Judgment¡¯s Gale, my very favorite wandering cultivator in the world. Wee to the Wandering Winds sect.¡±


    For the next two hours, Sen more or less yed escort to the elder. He found himself being introduced to what he assumed were influential members of the sect. Although, he did note that the elder made a point to introduce him to a number of young women who were, <em>remarkably</em>, all unattached. Sen also noted that Shen Kang spent that entire time directing hateful looks at him. It didn¡¯t take much intuition to figure out what was going on. Shen Kang was no doubt the sect¡¯s golden boy. Sen had, however temporarily, supnted that role. Although, it was also clear that Elder Gao Ah Cy wanted to recruit Sen into their ranks. If that happened, Sen could very well rece the young man as sect favorite.


    So, it wasn¡¯t much of a surprise to Sen that Shen Kang made a point to disparage wandering cultivators at every opportunity during dinner. Sen let the remarks pass withoutment or even acknowledgment. That seemed to enrage the young sect cultivator, who continued making increasingly rude remarks until even the other sect cultivators started shooting him looks intended to make him be silent. He ignored those looks and continued trying to bait Sen, who took a kind of satisfaction in pretending the young man didn¡¯t exist. In the end, it proved too much for the young sect cultivator who shot to his feet and pointed a trembling finger at Sen.


    ¡°Have you nothing to say?¡± demanded Shen Kang.


    Sen gave him a nd look. ¡°About what?¡±


    The entire room burst intoughter at the stunned look on Shen Kang¡¯s face.


    ¡°That all wandering cultivators are poorly trained cowards.¡±


    ¡°My little sister believes her toy dragon, Jin-Jin, can fly,¡± said Sen. ¡°I could, of course, tell her the truth, but it would serve nothing but to wound her feelings.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± demanded Shen Kang.


    ¡°What I mean is that I¡¯ve found it is best to indulge children in their fantasies. If a man had spoken as you did to me, I would have been forced to remove his head from his body,¡± answered Sen, releasing a little of his killing intent on the boy.


    Shen Kang¡¯s legs gave out and he dropped back into his chair. The young man¡¯s mouth opened and closed a few times, but nothing coherent came out. When a thin trickle of blood leaked from the boy¡¯s nose, Sen withdrew his killing intent.


    ¡°This is, however, a cordial gathering,¡± continued Sen. ¡°So, I¡¯ve chosen to view your words as those of a child, or perhaps one who overindulged in their wine. In doing so, I can spare your life and preserve the cordial nature of this dinner. Elder Gao, please forgive this interruption.¡±


    Elder Gao inclined her head to Sen. Sen nced around the room at the other guests. Some were pointing and snickering at the semi-conscious Shen Kang. Sen thought that perhaps the young man wasn¡¯t terribly well-liked among his peers. A few people were giving him looks that promised all sorts of things. Among the elders, though, he saw spection and interest. Their passive intentions to try to recruit him looked like they¡¯d just be a more active interest. Sen spent the rest of the evening epting gifts, dodging invitations for <em>private</em> chats, and politely but firmly resisting any attempts to bring him into the Wandering Winds sect. It was an utterly exhausting exercise. Sen was rarely so happy to see a bed as he was when he returned to the Silver Crane that night.

 Book 2: Chapter 56: The Danger Is What You Don’t Know

    Book 2: Chapter 56: The Danger Is What You Don¡¯t Know


    It took another week to fulfill thest of his invitation obligations. Fortunately, no one else tried some stupid power y like Shen Kang had. Instead, most of those meals and events were simply boring. Yet, the dinner with the Celestial Arch sect was by far the oddest of the lot. While Sen had expected something like the Wandering Winds sect, what he got struck him as more of a religious order. Theck of ego on disy was so profound that it made Sen feel almost self-conscious, like simply by having an ego he was somehow disrupting their well-ordered world. If he hadn¡¯t known that they were cultivators, felt core cultivators in the room with him, he would have assumed that he¡¯d stumbled into some kind of bizarre temple.


    The meal they ate was simple, brown rice, steamed vegetables, and some kind of steamed fish that Sen didn¡¯t recognize. He reasoned that it was mostly likely some kind of ocean fish. This was followed up by a serving of fruit. There was plenty of it, but it was unadorned by dressings, sauces, or even sugar. There was a kind of calm about the whole thing that Sen enjoyed. He wasn¡¯t forced to stop eating every few seconds to answer some new variation on a question he¡¯d already answered at least four other times. In fact, almost no one spoke while they ate. There was no rush to finish before a new dish was served. After the fruit was served, someone that Sen assumed was an elder asked him a few questions that didn¡¯t make much sense to him. He answered as well as he could. Then, a different elder asked him questions he did understand about progressing cultivation through moments of enlightenment. Sen shared a few examples from his own life, and that seemed to finally generate some interest in the group.


    He ended up staying farter than he expected to, settling into a long conversation with an elder, two core formation cultivators, and another foundation formation cultivator who looked stunned to be included. Sen used the opportunity to explore some ideas he¡¯d had about the nature of enlightenment. Deep rumination was useful for cultivators, but sometimes simply having someone else knowledgeable around to bounce ideas off of was invaluable. Sen fielded several questions about how useful he considered travel to be in prompting those moments of enlightenment. Once he discovered that even the elder had only left the city a handful of times, Sen gave very straightforward answers to questions about the dangers of travel. He didn¡¯t know if his answers would change anything for the sect or its junior members, but he wasn¡¯t about to encourage people to travel without giving them fair warning about what could happen.


    ¡°In the end, the biggest danger in travel is simply the unknown,¡± said Sen. ¡°Dangers you know about, you can prepare for in general or in specific. If you know that an area is popted with spirit beasts that use fire qi, you can prepare defenses for fire attacks. If you know that there are bandits in a specific area, you can arm yourself or hire guards. Honing your martial prowess and your qi techniques prepares you in general. It¡¯s all of the other things, the things you don¡¯t know, that put you in real danger. If you don¡¯t know that the next fresh water is a week¡¯s travel away, you can find yourself slowly dehydrating to death. If don¡¯t know that a ce is prone to rockslides, you can find yourself buried in your sleep. In the end, you can never assume that you¡¯re safe.¡±


    The other foundation formation cultivator, who had remainedrgely silent throughout the conversation, look at him with her brow furrowed. ¡°If it¡¯s so dangerous, then why would you risk it?¡±


    He gave her a half-smile and paraphrased something Uncle Kho had told him once. ¡°Where you find danger, you also find opportunities.¡±


    Thatment seemed to confuse her even more. ¡°Opportunities to what? Die?¡±


    Senughed. ¡°Well, yes, I suppose so, but also opportunities to change, to grow, to see yourself in a fresh light. Something I learned the hard way is that it¡¯s easy to convince yourself of ideals when there¡¯s nothing around to challenge those ideals. It¡¯s easy to think that you¡¯re above doing something when there¡¯s no chance that you¡¯ll ever be put in a position to do that exact thing. When you travel, when face new circumstances, the world has a way of confronting you with those choices. You¡¯ll frequently discover that you¡¯re not asmitted to an ideal or a course of action as you imagined you were. Especially when your life is the cost.¡±


    ¡°And this leads you to enlightenment?¡± asked the elder.


    ¡°Sometimes. There are no guarantees, just opportunities. Sometimes, those opportunities pay off,¡± said Sen, and then he sighed. ¡°Sometimes, they don¡¯t.¡±


    When he got back to the Silver Crane that night, he found Lifen waiting for him. She didn¡¯t say anything, just helped him undress and then pushed him into the bed. She crawled onto the bed after him.


    ¡°Finally,¡± she muttered. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were ever going to get back.¡±


    ***


    The next morning, Sen found his mind drifting back to his own words from the night before about the biggest dangering from the unknown. His thoughts turned to a small pouch in his robes that he had been very actively trying to not consider. Yet, he also knew it was something he couldn¡¯t keep avoiding. With thest of the cursed social engagements finished, his time in Emporor¡¯s Bay was swiftlying to an end. Yet, he also knew he couldn¡¯t leave with a clear conscience until he dealt with thatst lingering problem. Muttering to himself, he pulled the pouch from his robes and just held it for a while. Considering how little weight it contained, the pouch felt terribly heavy in his hand. Finally, Sen just upended the pouch onto the bed.


    A brief rain of storage rings dropped onto the nket. He¡¯d carefully marked the rings from the demonic core cultivator with a bit of chalk, and he separated those out to dost. He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d find in them, but he suspected none of it would be personal. He wasn¡¯t nearly so confident about that with the rest of the rings. He hesitated again, feeling vaguely ghoulish, before he picked up the first ring. While every storage ring worked in approximately the same way, they weren¡¯t identical. Different makers added their own little twists, maybe even their own perspectives, to the process. So, he had to learn how each ring worked one at a time.


    He was deeply relieved when the first few rings contained nothing but practical items. There was food in some, a smattering of coins in others, and even a few weapons. Although, most of those were mortal-grade weapons that Sen would need to simply get rid of somewhere. He supposed there were smiths or weapons shops in the city somewhere that would take them off his hands. The next ring was a different matter. While it also contained practical items, it also contained letters. Some were from the previous owner¡¯s family, while others were clearly from a lover. Sen did little more than skim the first line or two of those, just enough to establish that they ought to be returned. He set the letters aside into their own pile. The next few rings contained a few things that looked like mementos. One such memento was a small piece of jade carved to look like a rooster. <em>A zodiac sign</em>, <em>perhaps</em>, Sen wondered. Another contained a small painted portrait of a very young boy. <em>Probably a younger sibling</em>, thought Sen.


    It was very clear to Sen when he reached the rings he¡¯d taken off of the foundation formation cultivators he¡¯d killed. Those rings contained fewer personal things, but items of more value. He found cultivation manuals, higher-grade weapons, money, and even a handful of pills and elixirs. The few personal items went into the pile with the letters and mementos. Sen sat back and just stared at the piles. On the one hand, it was troubling to see people¡¯s lives parceled out this way, into piles of things that Sen wanted, didn¡¯t want, or meant to return. On the other hand, it gave him pause that so many lives could be parceled out into such <em>small </em>piles. Intellectually, Sen knew that they surely had other belongings stored at the sect, other things to mark the passage of their lives through the world, but maybe not. After all, everything he owned in the world was in his storage rings.


    Picking one of the now empty rings, Sen stored the personal items he intended to return to the sect inside of it, then slipped it onto one of his fingers. Next, he considered the other storage rings. He certainly didn¡¯t need all of them or want them for that matter. Too many storage rings seemed like a great way to invite trouble he didn¡¯t want. He¡¯d never considered the problem of too many storage rings before, so he didn¡¯t have a n in ce to deal with them. He supposed he could just gift them to one of the sects. Even if they didn¡¯t have an immediate use for them, they would eventually hand them out to people. Sen shook his head. He was putting off looking at thest four rings. He was honest enough with himself to know that he was a little worried about what he might find in those rings. The actual information he had about demonic cultivators and their practices was thin. Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong had all said the same thing when he¡¯d asked about demonic cultivators.


    ¡°Kill them all.¡±


    While Sen appreciated their straightforward advice, he realized that it hadn¡¯t prepared him particrly well for dealing with what those cultivators left behind. Forcing his hand to remain steady, he reached for the first ring. When he finally managed to ess the ring and poured the contents out, he let out an explosive breath that he¡¯d been holding. In his imagination, he¡¯d been expecting something truly terrible, like severed body parts, or pickled organs, or, or, he didn¡¯t even know. That ring contained much the same things that Sen had in his own rings. There were supplies for a long trip, such as a tent, basic camping tools, and easily stored food. There were even some formation gs, although there was something about those gs that left Sen a little unsettled. He put everything back into the ring and, after a moment of thought, put it into an inside pocket in his robe. It never hurt to have backup supplies.


    The next two rings contained things that mostly held limited interest for Sen. One seemed to contain the cultivator¡¯s entire wardrobe. The other seemed devoted entirely to weapons, but only a couple of them were spirit-grade weapons. He set those aside for his own use and added the rest to the pile of weapons to discard. The final ring was an entirely different story. That ring contained cultivation manuals, but not like any manuals Sen had ever seen. The covers felt strange to Sen, like some kind of leather. When he finally realized that the covers were made from human skin, he had to fight the urge to burn them immediately, not trusting that he wouldn¡¯t burn down the Silver Crane in his zeal to destroy the disgusting things.


    He found pills of all kinds, and everyst one of them gave off a sense of wrongness that grated on Sen¡¯s soul. He even found alchemyponents, but they had all been corrupted somehow. Sen wouldn¡¯t have sworn an oath on it, but he was convinced that at least some of the nts had been grown with human blood as part of their food supply. Thest two things that had fallen out of the ring were pouches. Sen groaned to himself, fearing that he¡¯d find yet more gold. It wasn¡¯t that Sen was philosophically opposed to gold, but rather that it was umon. Having it marked a person in ways that Sen preferred not to be marked. Opening the first pouch, he was relieved to see that, while it contained money, it was the usual assortment of bronze and silver tael that normal people carried around. Picking up the second pouch, he opened it and found a small notebook inside. Curious, he flipped through a few pages.


    The cold that ran through him as he read had nothing to do with the temperature in the room. The words contained in that little notebook were worth more than his life. Just having it put him in danger. His first impulse was to send it to Master Feng. Yet, that would mean weeks with the notebook riding around with whatever courier Sen could find. That courier would make an easy target. No, he needed to get this information out of his hands and into the hands of someone capable of doing something with it. Barring that, he needed to put it in the hands of someone capable of protecting it. There were limited options avable to him. Gritting his teeth, he put everything except the money back into the ring. Then, still deeply frustrated, he started writing a message to thest person he wanted to see again.

 Book 2: Chapter 57: Alliances of Necessity

    Book 2: Chapter 57: Alliances of Necessity


    Sen waited patiently while Lo Meifeng examined the contents of the demonic cultivator¡¯s storage ring. He was pleased to note that she looked as disturbed by the pills as he had been. When she got to the small notebook, though, she looked downright rmed. By the time she finished skimming through it, she looked both outraged and more than a little afraid. When she turned her gaze on him, he could see a host of unasked questions in her eyes. Yet, to her credit, she focused on the most important question.


    ¡°Why show this to me?¡±


    ¡°Because I assume you have faster ways of getting in touch with Master Feng than I do.¡±


    Her brow furrowed for a moment, but she nodded. ¡°Yes, I expect that¡¯s probably true. You want me to get this ring of abominations to him?¡±


    Sen shook his head and handed her a stack of loose papers. ¡°No, I want you to get those to him, along with an exnation of the circumstances.¡±


    She skimmed through the first two pages before ncing up at him. ¡°Alright. I can do that. I can even understand why you want me to. But you can¡¯t possibly be thinking about keeping all of this filth. Especially the notebook. Surely, you see the dangers of having it.¡±


    ¡°I do. Honestly, I wish I hadn¡¯t read it. It¡¯s one thing to know that there are demonic cultivators out there. It''s something else entirely to know their names and sects. So, no, I don¡¯t n on keeping it. Not that I expect that to protect me all that much. I¡¯ve had that ring for a couple of weeks now. Anyone who went looking for that notebook in his belongings will know I had it.¡±


    ¡°So, what do you n to do with all of this? Destroy it?¡±


    Sen grimaced a little. ¡°No. I¡¯m going to going to give it to the Soaring Skies sect. Well, I¡¯m going to give it to one of their elders. One I¡¯m at least half sure isn¡¯t a demonic cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Deng?¡± Lo Meifeng asked.


    Sen nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t especially like the man, and I suspect that he hates me more than a little, but I think we can probably findmon ground with this.¡±


    ¡°Just because he isn¡¯t on this list, it doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s not one of them,¡± warned Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I know. But I¡¯ve been this close to the man a couple of times and didn¡¯t get a whiff of corruption from him. Yes, it¡¯s possible he was doing a better job of hiding it, but my intuition says he¡¯s not corrupted. He¡¯s just an ass.¡±


    Lo Meifeng snorted. ¡°He¡¯s a sect elder. Of course, he¡¯s an ass. It¡¯s a job requirement.¡±


    Sen waved that off. ¡°I haven¡¯t met enough to know. I¡¯ll take your word for it.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked down at the stack of paper in her hand. ¡°You know this changes things, right?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t be hanging back a mile while you travel or leaning in an alley that¡¯s just barely within sight of you. You¡¯re going to be in danger. I need to be close by.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I assumed you were going to say that.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to fight me on this?¡±


    Sen looked the woman in the eyes. There was no give in her steady gaze, no room for negotiation. She had a job and, as much as Sen was certain she didn¡¯t want it, she was determined that she would do it. A tiny little part of him wanted to argue about it, but that was the same part of him that liked to make bad decisions. The dangers he¡¯d faced before had been hypothetical. He¡¯d known he might face sect cultivators or other wandering cultivators, but they were just cultivators. Likely as not, they¡¯d just want to trade pointers, and maybe burnish their egos a bit. The demonic cultivators on that list wouldn¡¯te to spar with him. They woulde to kill him. As likely as not, they¡¯de in force. Trying to push aside help from a core cultivator was beyond stupid. In his circumstances, it was suicidal. He was amazed that someone hadn¡¯t shown up to kill him already.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to fight you on it. Of course, it does beg the question of where to go next. Part of me thinks that I should go back to the mountain. Any demonic cultivators who show up there are going to regret it for the rest of their incredibly short lives.¡±


    ¡°I thought about it,¡± admitted Lo Meifeng. ¡°The problem is, I doubt we¡¯d make it there. They¡¯ve had weeks to set up traps from here to Orchard¡¯s Reach. Of course, the road south is equally problematic. If I was them, I¡¯d have traps set up there as well.¡±


    ¡°Are you suggesting we travel cross-country? Through the wilds?¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s jaw actually dropped a little. ¡°Gods, no! Why would you even suggest such insanity?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I was just asking. What¡¯s your n, then?¡±


    ¡°We leave on a ship. Or, rather, we leave on ten of them.¡±


    Sen squinted at the woman. ¡°You lost me there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying we book passage on ten ships, then we pick one of them and get on it.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t it be easy for them to tell which one we got on?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this is where it getsplicated. We¡¯ll probably need your girlfriend to help us out.¡±


    ¡°Girlfriend?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Oh please, you¡¯re not <em>that</em> na?ve.¡±


    ¡°I just hadn¡¯t really thought that much about it.¡±


    ¡°Have you at least thought about what you¡¯re going to say when she asks toe with you? Because she <em>is</em> going to ask toe with you.¡±


    ¡°I, well,¡± Sen sighed, ¡°not really.¡±


    ¡°Well, give it some thought because the question ising.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be, you know, reckless and dangerous to bring her along?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re damned if you do and damned if you don¡¯t on that one. If you bring her along, you¡¯re probably going to end up putting her in danger just because she¡¯s near you. Of course, if you leave her behind, you¡¯re probably going to put her in danger of being grabbed and used against you as leverage.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the third option? Isn¡¯t there always a third option?¡±


    ¡°You stay in Emperor¡¯s Bay and set up shop. It means your enemies know where to find you, but you¡¯ll be around to protect the girl.¡±


    ¡°Except I can¡¯t possibly guard her around the clock,¡± said Sen. ¡°At least, not and let her have a life here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you seem to have the reality of things surrounded there.¡±


    ¡°So, three bad options?¡±


    ¡°Better three bad options than zero options at all. It can always be worse. When are you meeting with Deng.¡±


    Sen nced out the window. ¡°Soon.¡±


    ¡°Well, best to get on with it then.¡±


    ***


    Sen had arranged to meet Deng at the same tea shop where he¡¯d met Elder He. It wasn¡¯t precisely convenient for Sen, but he knew that they had a private room he could use. He arrived first and set about preparing the room for the meeting. Elder Deng might not care about privacy, but Sen did. He set up a version of his obscuring formation in the little room, modifying it to dampen sound as well as obscuring their qi signatures. It wasn¡¯t foolproof, and anyone could have followed Sen there, but he wasn¡¯t worried about being found so much as he was about being overheard. When Elder Deng arrived, Sen gave him the option of sharing the tea that Sen had ordered or ordering his own. Sen was amused when the elder gave the teapot on the table a distrustful look and ordered his own. Once the new tea arrived, Sen activated the formation. The elder gave the formation an appraising look but opted not toment.


    ¡°Why am I here, boy?¡± asked Elder Deng. ¡°I thought we¡¯d concluded all the business there was between us.¡±


    ¡°As did I, but I was wrong. The first thing is, well, here,¡± said Sen, handing over a storage ring.


    The elder frowned at him but took the ring. Once he assessed the contents, his eyebrows shot up. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you¡¯d return these things.¡±


    ¡°Keeping them would feel like keeping trophies and that doesn¡¯t strike me as something that a healthy mind would do. Yet, they¡¯re personal enough that throwing them away seemed cruel and unnecessary. What else was there to do but return them?¡±


    The elder eyed Sen, maybe looking for some kind of duplicity, but didn¡¯t seem to find any. He nodded and tucked the ring away inside his robe. The elder gestured to the formation.


    ¡°I assume there¡¯s more. This level of privacy isn¡¯t really necessary to return a few personal items.¡±


    ¡°There is, but I feel like I should give you a choice about whether you want to hear it.¡±


    Elder Deng frowned. ¡°Exin.¡±


    ¡°The demonic cultivator I fought. He had information, information about other demonic cultivators, in one of his storage rings.¡±


    Elder Deng looked momentarily eager, then cautious, and then grim. ¡°Did he?¡±


    ¡°He did. I can tell by your expression that you understand what having that information will mean.¡±


    ¡°I do understand. So, why offer it to me?¡±


    ¡°My resources are limited. My reach is limited. I¡¯m one man. One wandering cultivator. Sure, I can call for aid, but I can¡¯t predict when it wille. Since you¡¯ve survived the exposure of a demonic cultivator in your sect, I have to assume some kind of witch-hunt or culling is ongoing.¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± said Elder Deng with a stony expression.


    ¡°Then, of the people I have immediate ess to, you and your sect are the best positioned to do something with the information. Maybe you act on it directly. Maybe you pass it on to others who can do something with it. Either way, it¡¯s more useful than it would be in my hands.¡±


    ¡°And, once you hand the information over, what will you do?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s called running for my life. Just because I handed the information over, I¡¯m still a threat. They aren¡¯t just going to let me go off and live my life.¡±


    Elder Deng leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. ¡°At least you aren¡¯t stupid. They¡¯ll hunt you, boy. There may not be a ce on this half of the continent where you¡¯d be safe.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but catching me isn¡¯t going to be easy. And, even if they do, they maye to regret it.¡±


    ¡°Of that, I¡¯m certain,¡± muttered Elder Deng.


    He sat there for a long time with his eyes closed, seeming to meditate on the problem. When he did finally open his eyes, there was a certainty in them. He held out his hand.


    ¡°Very well. Give me the information.¡±


    Sen put the storage ring with the notebook and demonic cultivation resources in the elder¡¯s hand. ¡°There are other things in that ring, pills and the like.¡±


    The elder winced a little at that. ¡°I¡¯ll see that they¡¯re destroyed.¡±


    Nodding, Sen stood and deactivated the formation. He gathered up the gs and stored them in one of his rings. He bowed to the Soaring Skies elder.


    ¡°I wish you good fortune,¡± he said to the elder.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like you,¡± said Elder Deng. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I wish you dead. Watch your back out there, boy.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 58: The Question

    Book 2: Chapter 58: The Question


    There had been no real hiding it once Sen started preparing to leave. If it had just been him, and he¡¯d been nning to vanish into the night, that would have been one thing. When he gave it some thought, he even gave himself even odds of getting away if he went alone. He could <em>hide</em> and set up effective obscuring formations. Of course, if he was wrong about how effective either the technique or the formations were, he¡¯d face his enemies alone. If he was willing to leverage everybat technique at his disposal, he¡¯d give himself fair chances, even against an initial core cultivator. Of course, that would leave a very obvious path of destruction for people to follow. Plus, the odds that he¡¯d face only one enemy at a time seemed dismally low to him. Freedom and autonomy were all well and good, but Sen was going to prioritize survival for the moment.


    That meant going along with Lo Meifeng¡¯s n. <em>That</em> meant enlisting the help of others to pull off her ridiculous n. As it was, Sen had been haunting the main gateway into the city, talking with the caravans that came in, asking about the schedules, and hinting that he might be willing to provide some additional security if they didn¡¯t mind him tagging along when they left. Lo Meifeng had been off investigating the possibility of buying horses or perhaps purchasing some kind of carriage they could use for travel. Both of them made a point of being very obvious about their intentions to leave the city.


    Meanwhile, Lifen had been very quietly sending out trusted servants to inquire with ship captains about their schedules or to speak with local theater troupes. When Lo Meifeng had first described her n to Sen, it had sounded ridiculouslyplicated and unworkable. Yet, as the information poured in, and tentative agreements were struck, it sounded increasingly feasible. Of course, that also meant that Sen could see the unasked question in Lifen¡¯s eyes. For the first day or two, he thought she was just building up the courage to ask. Then, the truth struck him. She wanted <em>him</em> to ask her to go with them. Unwilling to bear the looks she was giving him, he sat her down one night after a long day of pretending to look for work as security for a caravan.


    Sen didn¡¯t really know how to ease into the conversation. He¡¯d imagined trying to open with a casual question or three, but it always sounded awkward and unnatural in his head. In the end, he decided that being straightforward about the whole thing would just be easier for everyone.


    ¡°You want to go with me,¡± he said.


    Lifen looked a little startled. He supposed that she¡¯d been expecting him to ask her to go, rather than observing that she wanted to go. She took a moment topose herself before she nodded.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t quite suppress the sigh that escaped his lips. He held up a hand when he saw the hurt on Lifen¡¯s face.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have all the information, yet,¡± said Sen. ¡°If you leave with me, you aren¡¯t just signing on to the life of a wandering cultivator. If that¡¯s all it was, I¡¯d be happy to have you along. As it stands, well, you¡¯re going to be in danger no matter what you do.¡±


    ¡°Why would I be in danger?¡±


    So, Senid out the entire situation for her. He exined about what he¡¯d found in the demonic cultivator¡¯s storage ring and the information he now had locked up in his head. He told her what he¡¯d done with the notebook and tainted cultivation resources. He held back that he¡¯d sent a copy of the information off to Master Feng. The fewer people who knew about that, the better. Then, he exined the likely responses of the demonic cultivators. He was as blunt about the dangers as he could be, both if she came with him, and if she stayed in Emperor¡¯s Bay. She¡¯d remainedrgely silent through the exnation, a faint line appearing between her eyes from time to time. Once Sen was finished, she sat quietly for a time, lost in her own thoughts.


    ¡°So,ing with you means going on the run and, in all likelihood, staying on the run for the foreseeable future?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s about the size of it. We won¡¯t necessarily be hiding out in the wilds all the time, but we won¡¯t be settling in anywhere, not anytime soon. We¡¯ll always be moving on. Trying to limit our involvement with what¡¯s happening wherever wend. It¡¯s not that big of a deal to me because that was already what I was doing. For you, though, it¡¯ll be a big change. There will be a lot that you¡¯ll have to learn about staying safe away from the protection of city walls.¡±


    Lifen snorted. ¡°You call this limiting your involvement?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not always sessful,¡± admitted Sen with a bit of wince, ¡°but that¡¯s the goal.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be a liability to you out there, wouldn¡¯t I? At my cultivation stage, you¡¯d have to watch out for me all the time. I¡¯d be useless to you in a fight. I don¡¯t even know how to fight.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°In my experience, travel has a way of driving cultivation forward. That reminds me.¡±


    Sen tossed Lifen one of the extra storage rings he had sitting around. He reminded himself, again, that he needed to get rid of the rest of them. Lifen caught the ring, puzzled over it briefly, and then pulled a couple of cultivation manuals out of it. She looked up in surprise.


    ¡°More manuals? Where did thesee from?¡±


    ¡°The Stormy Seas sect. It was their way of making amends. You should have a manual for each of the main qi types now. It¡¯s enough to get started with, anyway, I think.¡±


    She frowned down at the manuals. ¡°Amends? They didn¡¯t do anything to me.¡±


    ¡°No, but they did some things to me. And I did some things to them. I didn¡¯t really want anything for myself, but I saw an opportunity to help you. So, I took it.¡±


    The young woman seemed conflicted but shook that off. ¡°Thank you. I couldn¡¯t have gotten these on my own.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I expect that you would have found a way. You¡¯re resourceful.¡±


    She smiled at him, then it faltered. ¡°These will help with cultivation, but I still can¡¯t fight.¡±


    ¡°You say that like it¡¯s something people either can do or can¡¯t do. Fighting is a skill. You can learn. It¡¯s not like I knew how to fight before someone taught me.¡±


    Lifen fell silent again for a time. ¡°If I stay, I¡¯m still a liability to you. Worse, I¡¯m a liability to the people here. If someonees to take me, I doubt they¡¯re going to care much if they have to cut their way through everyone else to find me.¡±


    Sen wanted to reassure her that wouldn¡¯t happen, but he was worried that was exactly what would happen.


    ¡°Probably, but it¡¯s not a certainty that they¡¯lle here or evene looking for you. If I don¡¯t take you, they may think that you were-,¡± Sen paused.


    ¡°Just a whore you enjoyed?¡± Lifen finished for him, smirking a little. ¡°You don¡¯t have to try to spare my feelings. It¡¯s not like you ever treated me that way. Hells, you may even be right. People tend to see what they expect to see. If you just leave me behind like some prostitute you¡¯re done with, they might assume that I¡¯m nothing to you.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a possibility.¡±


    ¡°So, Ie with you, and I¡¯m a liability. I stay here, and I¡¯m probably a liability. But, if I stay here, they <em>may</em> note.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t say anything. Lifen was clearly working something out in her own head.


    ¡°Is your life always like this?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Filled with nothing but bad options?¡±


    Sen theatrically pressed a hand to his chest and put on an exaggerated version of a wounded expression. ¡°You¡¯re saying mypany is a bad option?¡±


    Lifen hit him in the face with a pillow.


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious,¡± she said.


    Sen tossed the pillow from hand to hand for a few seconds to buy himself a moment to think. Eventually, he nodded.


    ¡°Yes. I mean, no, it¡¯s not <em>always</em> like this, but it¡¯s like this more often than I¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°For the record, that would have been the ideal moment to tell me aforting lie.¡±


    ¡°Duly noted. Listen, this isn¡¯t something you have to decide right this second. Don¡¯t rush the choice. Take the night. Think it over. Talk to your mother. There may be some other option, a safer option, that Lo Meifeng and I overlooked. We¡¯ve tried to look at all the angles, but it doesn¡¯t mean we covered them. If you decide toe, we¡¯ll figure it out. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll try to give you whatever cover I can.¡±


    A look of relief and gratitude suffused Lifen¡¯s expression. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Sen blinked at that. ¡°For what? I brought this disaster down on your head.¡±


    Lifenughed. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the heavens¡¯ own truth. I meant thank you for giving me the information and time I need to make the best choice for <em>me</em>.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, yeah. It¡¯s what I¡¯d want someone to do for me.¡±


    As Sen tried and failed to sleep that night, a part of him desperately hoped that Lifen¡¯s mother would have some other option, some way to smuggle Lifen away from the city and off to somewhere else. Yet, he wasn¡¯t sure how much that would help or if it would just slow down a search for the young woman. He supposed it was out of his hands. Lifen would make the choice she made. He¡¯d given her the information, and she had to decide what she¡¯d do with it. It¡¯s what every cultivator did in the end. Yet, for all that he hoped that she might choose to stay or find some other option, he couldn¡¯t say that he was surprised when she came to him with her decision the next day.


    ¡°I want to go with you,¡± she said.


    He regarded her for a long moment. ¡°I truly hope that you¡¯re doing this for <em>you</em> and not for me. For all that can be healed, there is no medicine for regret.¡±


    She gave him an odd little smile then, one that he didn¡¯t understand, and said, ¡°No, there certainly isn¡¯t.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 59: Getting Out, While the Getting’s Good

    Book 2: Chapter 59: Getting Out, While the Getting¡¯s Good


    Lo Meifeng had exined her n to get out of the city to Sen several times, and he finally decided that he just needed to know his part. He was happy to discover that, aside from putting up a little bit of the gold he¡¯d "acquired" from the demonic cultivator, his part was mostly to do nothing special. Instead, he was to spend his day visiting ces he¡¯d been to before, get seen by people, and then very publicly arrive back at the Silver Crane. That worked out for Sen since he actually had a few errands to run. His first stop was the alchemist shop he¡¯d acquired a stake in. He was happy to discover that the husband-and-wife alchemist team who ran the ce had already started putting his investment to good use. The front of the shop had been cleaned up, repaired, and given a fresh coat of paint. The interior had new shelving, and Sen caught the lingering scent of freshly sawed wood in the air.


    The couple were eager to show him around and point out the improvements. Yet, their real joy wasn¡¯t in the shop itself, but in the space where they did their alchemy work. They showed him several of the powerful pills and elixirs they¡¯d made with the beast cores and a handful of other ingredients he¡¯d left behind. They also exined that they¡¯d sold a few new pills and potions and that new orders from more affluent customers were starting to arrive. When they tried to press some money on him, he waved them off.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it right now. Invest it in the business instead. Buy moreponents. Set something aside for me every few months, if you have something to spare. If you don¡¯t see me for a year, take my share to Grandmother Lu¡¯s Heavenly Wares. They can hold it for me, or see to it that I get it eventually.¡±


    Satisfied that the couple was putting his investment to good use, Sen made a quick stop at Grandmother Lu¡¯s. He didn¡¯t have anything specific he needed to do there. It was just somewhere he¡¯d been before. He reassured himself that it didn¡¯t have anything to do with feeling a little closer to home and everything he missed there. The manager of the ce almost flew out of the back office to greet him.


    ¡°Honored guest,¡± said Li Fang. ¡°How may I be of assistance to you today.¡±


    ¡°No assistance is necessary. I just came by to thank you for the excellent research you did for me. I did end up investing in one of those alchemist shops you pointed me to. The one run by the husband and wife. They maye by asionally to leave money for me with you. I trust that you can hold it or see to it that it¡¯s passed on to me?¡±


    ¡°Of course, honored guest. I am most pleased that my assistance was useful to you.¡±


    Sen paused to look at the man for a moment, and an idea struck him. He took the manager into the back and handed the man a meaningful amount of the gold he had stuck in his storage ring. The manager¡¯s eyes looked like they might fall out of his head as he took the gold in trembling hands.


    ¡°If youe across other opportunities like the one I invested in, I¡¯d like you to make simr investments for me. You can keep,¡± Sen paused, ¡°what¡¯s a fair percentage of the profit for that kind of work.¡±


    The manager¡¯s eyes were still incredibly wide when he said, ¡°Ten percent?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t know if that was actually a fair number, but it wasn¡¯t like it was really <em>his </em>money he was throwing around. ¡°Fine. You can keep ten percent of the overall profits if there are any.¡±


    ¡°What should I do with the rest?¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°Set aside ten percent for me. Reinvest the rest.¡±


    ¡°Honored guest, what if I fail?¡±


    Sen shrugged, ¡°Then, you fail. As long as you do so honestly, you¡¯ve nothing to fear from me.¡±


    From there, Sen made his way back to the tea shop where he¡¯d met not one, but two sect elders. He was developing a taste for a particr brew they made there. He made a mental note to see if they would sell him some of the blend. He¡¯d been seated for several minutes when he got the distinct impression that he was being watched. Well, he¡¯d expected as much. He gave it five minutes before he began a casual inspection of his surroundings. While he¡¯d expected to see some shadowy figure lurking at a corner or in an alley, what he found was Wu Meng Yao. She was sitting at a table across the room. When she saw him notice her, she hurriedly looked away.


    Sen debated with himself about whether to go speak with her. He hadn¡¯t been particrly happy with how theirst meeting had ended. Yet, he didn¡¯t know how to fix it, either. He didn¡¯t even know if it could be fixed. He hadn¡¯t specifically <em>done</em> anything to her. It wasn¡¯t like there was some easy apology he could offer that would make it better. It was the fact of his existence that seemed to unsettle her. That was ultimately a <em>her</em> problem, and she would have to resolve it or fail to resolve it on her own. Nothing Sen could say or do in that tea shop was going to help her in that task, so he simply finished his tea. When he left, he paused long enough to nod at her and then went on his way. He hoped that in a few years, or a few decades, they¡¯d cross paths again and things would be different.


    Sen¡¯s final stop of the day was at the Celestial Arch sect. The guards stopped him at the gate, but they seemed regretful about it. He dismissed their concerns with a casual shake of his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to concern yourselves about. I don¡¯t need to go inside. I¡¯d just like to get a message to one of your elders. I have a gift for them.¡±


    The guards perked right up at Sen¡¯s nonchnt attitude and one of them cheerfully took the message inside. Perhaps five minutester, the guard returned with a bemused-looking elder in tow. The elder gave Sen a gracious nod in acknowledgment of Sen¡¯s bow.


    ¡°I must say, I did not expect to see you again this soon,¡± said the elder, his eyes crinkling at the corners.


    ¡°It was ast-minute thought on my part. A gift for your sect to say thank you for an excellent dinner and enlightening conversation.¡±


    Sen held out a small pouch that the elder gently grasped. Giving Sen a curious look, the elder turned the pouch over and stared down at the small pile of rings that dropped into his palm. It only took the elder a moment to understand what he held. He immediately tried to give them back. Sen calmly put his hands behind his back and smiled at the elder.


    ¡°I have no need of them,¡± said Sen. ¡°Put them to good use, and I¡¯ll be satisfied.¡±


    The elder made another half-hearted attempt to give the storage treasures back, but Sen politely insisted that the sect keep them.


    ¡°I take it from this gift, you¡¯ll be leaving the city soon?¡± the elder asked.


    ¡°I am. You know how us wandering cultivators are. Always off to cause trouble in the next ce.¡±


    The elder snorted out augh. ¡°Well, perhaps, you¡¯ll find a bit more enlightenment and a bit less excitement at your next stop.¡±


    ¡°One can always hope. Until I see you again,¡± said Sen, offering another bow.


    ¡°Travel safely if you can,¡± said the elder, offering Sen a bow in return.


    Thest of his errands run, Sen returned to the Silver Crane for what he expected would probably be thest time for some time. While the outside looked the same as always, the interior was barely controlled pandemonium. There were people everywhere, chatting, eating from a buffet that someone had set up, and Sen didn¡¯t recognize nearly any of them. As he slipped through the crowd, though, he did notice that almost all of the new people were about his age. That was when he remembered the other part of Lo Meifeng¡¯s n. Sen opted to steer clear of the chaos and went up to his room, where he found Lo Meifeng standing and ring down at the floor.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Sen, baffled by her presence and her apparent new loathing for wooden floors.


    ¡°They¡¯re so <em>loud</em>,¡± sheined, gesturing downward.


    ¡°Ahhhh,¡± said Sen, finally understanding. ¡°Yes, I noticed that on the way up. We arepensating the Silver Crane for this massive disruption, aren¡¯t we? It¡¯s not like they can do business with all of those people down there.¡±


    Lo Meifeng gave a tired nod. ¡°I worked out the details with the manager. She didn¡¯t want to take anything, but I told her that you insisted. You insisted, by the way, in case she asks.¡±


    ¡°Noted. So, now what?¡±


    ¡°Now, I try to make it until morning without murdering all of those actors.¡±


    Sen smirked a little and asked, ¡°How are the odds on that looking?¡±


    ¡°Bad,¡± growled Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t scare them all away,¡± said Sen, flopping back onto the bed.


    She turned a re on him. ¡°You could always help me wrangle them.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Sen, a little amused. ¡°You want <em>me</em> to go downstairs and talk with all of those young men and women?¡±


    Lo Meifeng stared at him for a long moment, then shuddered. ¡°No. Gods, no. You stay up here and out of sight.¡±


    Much to Sen¡¯s surprise, Lo Meifeng managed to keep her murderous impulses in check the whole night. Things were still pandemonium the next day, but it was a much more structured pandemonium. The young men were all wearing blue robes that looked enough like Sen¡¯s to pass for identical, at least at a distance. The young women were all wearing dresses that looked like things that he¡¯d seen Lifen wearing. He pulled Lo Meifeng aside.


    ¡°Where did all these clothese from?¡±


    ¡°What do you think I spent all of that money on?¡±


    Then, as if a signal had been given, the young men and women paired off and lined up by the door. There was another brief pause, then they started leaving.


    ¡°Where are they all going?¡± Sen asked.


    Lo Meifengughed. ¡°I think a better question is where aren¡¯t they going? They¡¯re going to the city gates, to local restaurants, to wander around in circles, to visit markets, and a bunch of other ces I can¡¯t remember right now.¡±


    Then, she had him and Lifen dress in peasant clothes. After that, she had someonee in and put cosmetics on their faces. That was all topped off by a wig. Sen found a small mirror and got a look at himself. He looked old, and so did Lifen. Lo Meifeng had opted to change her clothes to something nicer than what Sen was wearing, but not nearly nice enough to draw notice. She and Sen waited by the back door, as Lifen had a short, emotional conversation with her mother. That conversation was followed by Sen being called over. The older woman gave him the hardest look he¡¯d ever gotten from someone who wasn¡¯t actively trying to kill him.


    ¡°I¡¯m putting her in <em>your</em> care. Do not fail in that duty.¡±


    Sen was momentarily taken aback by her vehemence, but not by her words. He offered her a deep bow. ¡°I will see to her safety.¡±


    With that, the trio were off. They walked at a casual pace, even going so far as to stop and look at things in windows from time to time, but they did eventually find their way to the harbor. While Sen had no clue where they were supposed to go, Lo Meifeng seemed to have a very specific destination in mind. The ship they boarded wasn¡¯t the nicest ship he saw, nor was it the most weathered. It was altogether unremarkable in color, shape, and even in the appearance of the crew. Lo Meifeng had a brief conversation with someone that Sen assumed was the captain before they were led below to a pair of very cramped cabins. Lo Meifeng pointed to one of the cabins.


    ¡°That one is for you two. Ships are small ces, by the way. Sound carries. So, bite down on a pillow or something.¡±


    When Sen clearly had no clue what she was getting at, Lo Meifeng looked at Lifen. ¡°You exin it to him. And both of you stay off the deck until we¡¯re out at sea. And don¡¯t bother me for anything short of an attack, the ship sinking, or food until tomorrow. I need a break from people.¡±


    With that, the core cultivator stepped into her cabin and closed the door firmly behind her. Sen frowned at the door.


    ¡°She¡¯s kind of weird,¡± he said to Lifen.


    ¡°I can hear you,¡± shouted Lo Meifeng through the door loudly enough that Sen jumped a little.


    ¡°Come on,¡± said Lifen, ¡°I¡¯ll show you what she meant about the pillow.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 60: Passage

    Book 2: Chapter 60: Passage


    Sen was pleased to discover that being on a ship didn¡¯t bother him particrly. It took him a few hours to get used to the motion of the ship. After that, though, he was fine. He chalked it up to his body cultivation. Lifen, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t that lucky. She was ill for days. So, Sen divided his time between cultivating and making sure the poor girl drank some water or ate some weak broth. Cultivating at sea was a wholly different experience from cultivating onnd. Onnd, there was always a mix of qi types. The exact mix would change based on factors like geography or what was trapped in the soil in a given area, but there was a mix. At sea, there was almost nothing but water and air qi avable. Of everything else, there were only hints. For pure air or water qi cultivators, it would be a boon. For Sen, it was a constant challenge. He could let his qi be a little unbnced based on immediate need, but only a little.


    If he let that imbnce get too pronounced, it would be bad for him. He¡¯d made that mistake on the mountain, once, and had no intention of doing it again. It forced him to get creative, in some ways, and it forced him to push his limits. To get ess to fire qi, he volunteered to help in the galley. Even on a ship, where fire was an existential threat if it ever got out of control, men expected hot meals. Volunteering let him stay close to the stoves and soak up enough fire qi to keep himself in the proper bnce. To cultivate shadow qi, he just needed to wait for dusk. Metal qi was trickier. There was very little metal on the ship or in the water. For that, he needed to pull out all of the weapons he had in his storage ring and very nearly sit on top of them while cultivating.


    The biggest challenge, though, was finding earth qi. They were too far fromnd for it to just show up in the environmental qi. There were no ready sources of earth on the ship save for some sandbags, and even those were very poor sources of earth qi. They¡¯d been separated from true earth for too long, exposed to too much water, and so they served as little more than a weight to keep the ship bnced. For that, Sen had to push himself hard. He¡¯d been forced to drive his senses, his qi, down through the endless expanse of water beneath the ship. He¡¯d very nearly given up, always finding nothing but more water. <em>Perhaps there is no bottom</em>, he thought. Finally, though, he¡¯d cracked through some internal limit, pushed his awareness down a little farther, and found what he¡¯d been looking for.


    There was earth qi to be had, profound, untouched, nearly limitless earth qi for that matter. It was just trapped beneath an incalcble amount of water. It had been such a relief to feel that rush of pure, stable earth qi into his dantian that Sen almost overcorrected in the wrong direction. He had to forcibly cut himself off from that pure wellspring of earth qi before he damaged his own cultivation. So, much as he had back on the mountain, Sen forged himself a new routine. Early in the morning, he¡¯d help in the galley to collect fire qi. Then, he¡¯d sit on deck and drive his awareness down beneath the water of the sea to gather earth qi. Back to the galley to help with lunch, then he¡¯d gather water and air qi. After dinner, he¡¯d sit in the cabin and gather metal and shadow qi. There was enough wood in the ship that he could passively gather that as he went through the day.


    Lifen spent most of her time in their cabin, reading through the cultivation manuals Sen had found for her. Sometimes, he¡¯d find her practicing the techniques and offer the asional insight if he had one. Mostly, though, he left her alone. He well understood the challenges of unraveling a cultivation manual. It could take an absurd amount of time and sustained concentration, depending on how obscure the manual author decided to be. He didn¡¯t think any of the manuals Lifen had were quite as bad as the one he¡¯d worked from, but it was hard to judge. He needed different things from his manuals than she did.


    She did seem to be making progress, though. Depending on the day, he¡¯d find her with an abundance of one kind of qi or another in her system. She had, wisely in Sen¡¯s opinion, set aside the manual focused on fire qi until they got back ontond. She did seem to have a strong affinity for water qi, but it was also absurdly easy to ess water qi out on the sea. Even so, she didn¡¯t seem to have to work quite so hard to gather it and store it as she did with the other qi types. He¡¯d decided he¡¯d give her another week to y around with the manuals and different qi types before asking her if she had any preferences. He had considered talking to her about using multiple qi types, but that was <em>his</em> path and a difficult one. He wasn¡¯t sure if he should talk to her about it. On the one hand, he thought he should present the option, so she had a full understanding of the choices avable. On the other hand, most people seemed to have enough trouble just dealing with one qi type. He set the question aside to be dealt withter.


    As for Lo Meifeng, she seemed to revel in the opportunity not to have to deal with anyone for the first several days. She only came out of her cabin asionally to have something to eat and, seemingly, to make sure Sen hadn¡¯t fallen overboard or gotten himself eaten by some kind of sea monster. Then, she¡¯d vanish again. It turned out that even her desire for solitude had limits. After five days ofrgely ignoring everyone, she came out on deck one afternoon to find Sen. He¡¯d meant to be gathering water and air qi, but there was something off about them that day. Something he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on. Sighing, he looked up at Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I never did ask,¡± he said. ¡°Where is this ship going?¡±


    Lo Meifengughed. ¡°It¡¯s only urring to you to ask about that <em>now</em>?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I never had a destination to begin with. The clue is in the name, <em>wandering</em> cultivator. I was just seeing the world. This ship is going somewhere. It¡¯s somewhere I¡¯ve never been. That seemed good enough.¡±


    Lo Meifeng had a thoughtful look when she answered. ¡°I¡¯ve booked us passage as far as the southern coast. We don¡¯t have to go that far, but we can. The ship will stop in a couple of ports along the way. We can just pick one of those at random and leave, or we can ride it all the way down the coast. I¡¯d prefer to pick a port somewhere, but that¡¯s just me.¡±


    Sen lifted a shoulder in an I-don¡¯t-care gesture. ¡°It¡¯s all the same to me. As long as you think we¡¯ve put enough distance between us and whoever might be looking for us to give us a head start, I¡¯m fine with it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s always hard to know about that. We left a lot of confusion in our wake back in Emperor¡¯s Bay, but someone determined enough might still manage to untangle the mess. It¡¯s an open question about how long it will take them to sort through the information. This ship is privately owned by the captain, so there shouldn¡¯t be a record of us taking passage on it but,¡± Lo Meifeng shrugged that time, ¡°there¡¯s no real way to know. No matter where we disembark, we¡¯re taking a chance that someone will be waiting for us there.¡±


    Sen stood, stretched, and leaned against the railing. Part of his mind was still preupied with the strange impressions he was getting from the water and air qi.


    ¡°Use your best judgment. I know almost nothing about avoiding pursuit. I¡¯ll follow your lead as far as that goes.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t as reckless as I thought you were,¡± she observed.


    She gave him a sidelong nce, almost like she wanted to see how he¡¯d react to her words.


    Sen gave her a wan smile. ¡°I probably <em>am</em>, sometimes, but I try to avoid being aplete moron. I intend to survive this. If that means listening to someone else, I can do that. If that means running away in the middle of the night because things feel wrong, I can do that too.¡±


    ¡°Good, because you probably will have to do exactly that, and a lot of other unpleasant things. You know this will get bloody sometimes, right?¡±


    Sen made a sour face but nodded. ¡°Yeah, I assumed it would.¡±


    ¡°You <em>can¡¯t</em> hesitate because they definitely won¡¯t. That girl down in the cabin can¡¯t afford for you to hesitate. Second-guessing because you aren¡¯t certain you¡¯re standing on the moral high ground will get you killed. It will probably get us all killed.¡±


    Sen loathed what those words implied, but he also knew that the woman was probably right. He¡¯d have to make some hard choices. Sometimes, he¡¯d have to make those choices without all of the information. He was very sure that it would make sleeping at night harder but better to be tired than dead.


    ¡°I understand,¡± he said.


    ¡°I hope so.¡±


    They stood there at the railing for a time in silence. Sen frowned down at the water and then out at the horizon. Lo Meifeng noticed.


    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± she asked.


    Sen cocked his head a little to one side, as though it would help him hear the messages the qi was carrying better. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but he thought he knew what was happening.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s a storm brewing out there,¡± he said, gesturing to the horizon.


    ¡°There¡¯s always a storm brewing,¡± she said. ¡°Always.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 61: Change

    Book 2: Chapter 61: Change


    Falling Leaf was bored. She¡¯d gone through her usual morning. She caught a rabbit to eat. Then, she¡¯d gone and let the Kho give her treats. Sometimes the Caihong would join him, but she hadn¡¯t that morning. Then, Falling Leaf had snuck into the house and stolen one of the Kho¡¯s snacks from his te. She always found the look on his face when he saw the empty te funny. Then, she¡¯d gone and watched the Caihong work her strange alchemy. It was equal parts fascinating and disturbing to watch the woman convert beast cores, cores like the one inside Falling Leaf herself, into pills, potions, and elixirs. On the one hand, Falling Leaf didn¡¯t understand why they bothered. Simply consuming the cores was always sufficient for spirit beasts to advance. Although, she could sense that the pills and elixirs were more potent than the cores themselves, at least in some ways. She didn¡¯t think that she¡¯d want to try them, though.


    After that, she¡¯d found a nice sunny spot on a rock to stretch out on. She used to just drop right off into a nice semi-conscious state, but not anymore. Now, she wondered about things. The Feng came and went, but he hadn¡¯t been back in long enough that Falling Leaf was starting to wonder what had be of him. Except, she knew that wasn¡¯t entirely true. The Feng was interesting because he was so powerful, but she didn¡¯t actually care about what happened to him. When he came back, he often carried news about her human boy. She¡¯d been bored ever since he left. Before, she always had him to watch as he trained or as he fumbled his way toward mastery of cultivation exercises. And they would do things together. She¡¯d tried running around the wall things by herself, but it wasn¡¯t the same. Plus, he would bring her new things to eat. Except, she knew that wasn¡¯t the real problem either.


    She missed the Sen. She <em>worried</em> about the Sen. The news that the Feng brought back with him was always equal parts reassuring and rming. It was always reassuring because it meant her human boy was still alive. Yet, the things he¡¯d been doing, fighting by himself, without <em>her</em> to ensure that nothing ambushed him. It made her heart ache. It made her want to find things to hunt, and hurt, and kill. But that wouldn¡¯t make it better. She¡¯d learned that the hard way. It distracted her, briefly, but the worry always came back. That terrible, gnawing worry that was like hunger, except no food could make it go away. Part of her, <em>most</em> of her, wished that she had gone with him when he asked. She¡¯d had good reasons not to go. She couldn¡¯t have gone with him as she was now. To go would have meant to <em>change</em>.


    She knew it could be done. She was even rtively certain that <em>she</em> could do it. The problem was that she didn¡¯t know if, once done, it could be undone. No one seemed to know. She had sought out elder spirit beasts, those who wouldn¡¯t fell her on sight, and asked them. She had even, with difficulty, carried out conversations with the Caihong, the Kho, and the Feng about it. They didn¡¯t know either. Falling Leaf liked herself as she was. If she could change and then change back, well, that would just be interesting. She liked interesting things. If she changed and could never make the conversion back, that would <em>not</em> be interesting. That would be terrible. To never feel her body coil and leap again, to never know what was around her from the merest touch of wind on her whiskers again, to never be that silent presence in the night again, it was a magnitude of loss that Falling Leaf could not even begin to process. And the very idea terrified her.


    A little piece of her felt shame over that fear. Of course, the Sen wouldn¡¯t have wanted her to change knowing what it might mean. She knew him well enough to know that. He might have even forbidden her from doing it. The silly creature, thinking he couldmand a ghost panther. Nothing couldmand a ghost panther, except, possibly, another ghost panther. They were too independent to ever willingly serve another. Of course, that was also why they were almost extinct. Falling Leaf knew that she might even be thest of the ghost panthers. There was a kind of sadness in that, but she didn¡¯t think it was sadness like the humans felt. She understood that all things eventually passed. All people, all creatures, all species would eventually fail. Not because they were weak, or because they didn¡¯t deserve to live, but because nature was ever-changing, ever-evolving, and a time always came when living things lost the race to keep up with that change.


    Of course, that wasn¡¯t what had happened to her kind. They had been hunted, and not even by cultivators, but by other spirit beasts. Those who believed that all should serve beneath a single master, a single pride leader, who would lead them against humanity. Her people hadughed at that. The time to cull the humans hade and gone, long, long ago. They were too many, and their cultivators toomon. The best that the spirit beasts could ever hope for was to find a kind of bnce with the humans. Toy im to territory and defend it vigorously enough that the humans and cultivators chose to go elsewhere. Falling Leaf doubted that even that would be sufficient. She believed a day woulde, not in her lifetime, nor likely the lifetimes of even her great-grandcubs, should she be lucky enough to have them, but a day woulde when the only way that spirit beasts would survive would be because the humans decided to let them survive. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn¡¯t live to see <em>that</em> dark day.


    A quivering in her senses made Falling Leaf jump to her paws. There was no mistaking that presence. The Feng was returning. He thought he could mask himself and perhaps he could from the sense-blind humans, but not from her. When he moved, the very world shivered at his passing. She was off like an arrow in flight, moving in a straight line toward the Kho den. asional trees would get in her way and be batted aside like the nuisances they were. She leapt over the wall thing, bypassed the formations with a thought, andnded on the stones at the same time as the Feng. The old cultivator frightened her a little. He had the power of an ancient dragon, maybe more, and yet he masqueraded as a frail, old human man. She didn¡¯t understand if it was a ruse, some kind of camouge, or one of those human jokes that never made sense to her. He gave her a look, part bemused, part mystified.


    ¡°How do you always know?¡± he asked.


    It was too much work to actually exin with words, so she did the shrug thing that she¡¯d learned from the Sen. The Feng sighed.


    ¡°That boy was a bad influence on you,¡± he muttered.


    She followed the Feng inside the den and waited while the humans said unimportant human things to each other. Then, <em>finally</em>, the Feng started talking about the Sen.


    ¡°It seems our boy has gotten himself in over his head.¡±


    The Khoughed. ¡°Well, that didn¡¯t take long. Do we need to go crack some sect heads?¡±


    The Feng shook his head. ¡°No, this is <em>real</em> trouble. Somehow, and I don¡¯t know exactly how, he managed to expose an entire damn cabal of demonic cultivators.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± demanded the Caihong.


    ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t know all the details. He got into it with some sect down in Emperor¡¯s Bay and killed an elder.¡±


    The Kho and the Caihong immediately started yelling things at the Feng. The noise hurt her ears, so she hissed at them. Everyone immediately stopped talking. Falling Leaf red at the Feng. He got the message.


    ¡°Believe it or not, that¡¯s not actually the important part. The important part is that the elder was a demonic cultivator, and he had himself a whole list of other demonic cultivators in a little notebook. No, I don¡¯t know why about <em>that</em>, either. So, don¡¯t ask. He handed a copy of the list off to the person I have watching him. They got it to me.¡±


    The Feng pulled out a stack of pages and handed them to the Kho and the Caihong. Falling Leaf felt panic wing its way up her throat. Even spirit beasts knew about demonic cultivators. They were predators, the worst kind of predators. They would hunt her human boy. She needed to get outside. Slipping away from the humans, she opened the door with her jaws and stumbled out onto the stones. Her heart wouldn¡¯t stop racing. She¡¯d let the Sen go off by himself, and now he was going to be hunted like prey. He wasn¡¯t ready to fight that kind of battle. He was too kind, too quick to show mercy. They would use that against him. They would <em>kill</em> him. There had been a hundred reasons not to change, to stay as she was, to let him go off by himself. And none of that mattered anymore.


    While a human might have wavered or second-guessed, Falling Leaf was ultimately a spirit beast. Once the course was set, there was no reason to wait. Sadly, that didn¡¯t mean she was prepared for what it meant. When she ignited her core, sent qi zing through her body,manded the change, she could never have understood the pain it would bring. Muscles and tendons were shredded under that irrevocablemand. Bones broke and shattered, only to be reformed. It felt to her as though everything inside of her was on fire, and drowning, and being struck by the Kho¡¯s lightning, all at the same time. She remembered the Sen screaming after taking pills, and now she thought she understood why. But that was a vague thought, lost somewhere in the back of her mind, hidden behind the twin pirs of agony and determination.


    Falling Leaf understood that any hesitation, any ckening of her will would mean death, or something truly grotesque. There was nowhere to go but forward. So, she pushed, willing the change, willing her body to be something other than it had been, something that could pass among the humans. She endured the pain, endured the fire, and eventually, when all thought had been consumed in the inferno, she simply endured. Then, as abruptly as it had all started, it was over. It was all she could do to keep breathing. It felt wrong. Everything felt <em>wrong</em>. Her body was wrong. Nothing moved the way it should. She couldn¡¯t smell everything anymore. She felt deaf. <em>What if it didn¡¯t work</em>, she thought in horror.


    ¡°What in all the hells were you thinking?¡± shouted the Feng.


    It all came rushing back to her. The Sen. The demonic cultivators. She lurched to her feet, only for her bnce to give out. The Feng caught one of her arms. She fixed her gaze on him, eyes burning with need and fury.


    ¡°You will take me to him! You will take me to him, now!¡±


    Then, Falling Leaf¡¯s eyes rolled up into her head and she copsed. Thest things she remembered were being caught in strong arms and the Feng¡¯s aggravated voice wafting out of the darkness that was quickly overtaking her.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not going toplicate things <em>at all</em>.¡±

 V2 Bloopers

    V2 Bloopers


    Zhu Fen had been on the receiving end of killing intent before. At least, she thought she had. The sect had all their disciples train against it with those of a higher cultivation stage, just to prepare them for the possibility. The sheer weight of the killing intent thatnded on her in that moment wasn¡¯t simply vast, it was beyond overwhelming. By itself, that would have been enough. Of course, that wasn¡¯t how it worked. The dread was already coursing through her when the sense of his killing intent zed through her mind. And it was terrifying. It was a world of shadow, me, towering edifices of stone, and des so sharp that they could cleave mind from body or soul from fate. And, as consciousness faded, Zhu Fen heard the wandering cultivator speak.


    ¡°Oh crap.¡±


    Then, Zhu Fen exploded.


    ***


    So, he let the lightning qi build up in strength until it was where he wanted it and let it seep into the jian de. While he couldn¡¯t see in the nket of shadow, he could feel it, could hear that subtle crackling around the de. Then, he slowly started fusing his killing intent into the technique. Sen assumed that he¡¯d need about half of his killing intent, enough to bnce the lightning. Yet, it took far, far less than that before he felt the technique lock together into something he could control and direct. Up until that moment, he¡¯drgely shared Master Feng¡¯s belief that giving everything a name was absurd. Yet, this felt different, special somehow. Sen had no intention of yelling the name at every opponent he met as though he was a toddler who needed a reminder of what he was doing. But it was something he could call the technique in his own head or pull out for special asions.


    He pointed the jian at the spot where Cai Yuze¡¯s personal bubble of control sat. Then, Sen let the shadow technique drop. Cai Yuze was facing in the opposite direction, his head whipping back and forth to try to find Sen. When Sen used lightning, it usually had a blue-white color or, asionally, a yellowish cast. The lightning arcing around his de this time was pitch ck. Sen couldn¡¯t be entirely sure, but he thought it gave off a kind of purple tinge around the edges. Cai Yuze finally spun to face Sen. The man¡¯s eyes locked on Sen¡¯s jian, on the technique that crackled around it, and he started to say or scream something. Sen never did learn what. Sen lifted the Jian toward the sky and unleashed his will with a cry of¡­


    ¡°Death From Above!¡±


    There was a terrible groaning, as though the technique had strained reality itself. Then, with the beat of mighty wings, a bird made of celestial light descended on Cai Yuze and pecked him to death.


    Sen sniffed in derision and said, ¡°No one expects the Celestial Doom Chicken.¡±


    ***


    ¡°You should at least let that ox eat something,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Yahhhhhh,¡± cried Bigan, falling over and scrambling away on all fours. ¡°Where in all the hells did youe from? Are you a devil?¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at the young man. <em>Did this guy actually convince some girl to marry him</em>, thought Sen. As unlikely as it seemed, the uncle had seemed quite certain about it. When the young man just kept staring at him with half-terrified eyes, Sen walked over to the ox. The beast noticed him, and Sen watched as the sad look was reced with a more hopeful one. He didn¡¯t know a lot about oxen, but he¡¯d paid attention while he¡¯d been with the caravan. He had the harness untied and nearly off the beast before the kid found his voice.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡±


    The ox snorted and, with a start, Sen felt a massive surge of qi from the beast. It red at Bigan and let out a moo that split the earth. With a wide-eyed yelp, Bigan fell into a freshly opened cavern. Before Sen could even go and look into the cavern, it snapped shut. Sen looked over his shoulder to see the ox smashing the cart into tiny pieces. With each blow, Sen saw a transcendent light rise from the splinters and, faintly, so faintly, a distant moo of relief. When it was done, the ox turned to Sen with an air of infinite dignity.


    ¡°Brave cultivator, I must thank you for freeing me from the devil Bigan and his infamous Cart of Eternal Servitude. All of oxen-kind are forever in your debt. Now,e with me, and I will teach you a technique worthy of your honor. The Heavenly Oxen Horn Strike.¡±


    For a second, Sen hesitated, but he felt a sense of karmic rightness settle around him, as though he¡¯d evaded some terrible and onerous task. Plus, <em>he</em> wasn¡¯t going to dig that annoying kid up.


    ***


    ¡°That may be my fault,¡± said Luo Min from behind him.


    He nced over his shoulder to see Luo Min¡¯s nervous eyes on him. She looked down when he looked back at her.


    ¡°Your fault? How is it your fault?¡±


    ¡°When I went to get food, I may have said something about how you saved Mother from death.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t groan out loud, but he did let himself take a deep breath. Then, he looked down at the goose that was passively sitting in the crook of his arm. It had been the only payment the old woman who had just left could reasonably afford. Sen had been wondering what he was going to do with a goose, and now he knew.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen, and then he handed the bird over to the startled young woman. ¡°Your rumor, your responsibility. Enjoy your goose.¡±


    The very second the bird left his hands, it went wild. Honking and biting at Luo Min. In a state of pure calm, Sen went inside, while Luo Min fled, screaming and shrieking, from the furious demonic spirit beast goose.


    ***


    Sen did not want to fight this spirit beast for more than one reason, so he tried again. ¡°As I said, if there is a quarrel between us, I will do my best to make amends.¡±


    The beast approached him, slowly, and walked around Sen, as though it were as curious about Sen as Sen was about it. It finally spoke.


    ¡°I believe you, little human. You could have taken what passes for human riches from these buildings with none to see or know. You didn¡¯t. Human honor is a pale thing, but you seem to possess it. Sadly, the quarrel is not between us.¡±


    ¡°Then, who is the quarrel between?¡±


    ¡°Your kind and my kind. Humans and spirit beasts. You hunt us, kill us, take our cores. For all things, there <em>must</em> be a bnce.¡±


    Those words resonated inside Sen. His whole journey as a cultivator had been a stumbling, inelegant attempt to find bnce, within and without. He had just never considered that such things might y out on a stage as big as the world itself. Nor had he ever considered that he might end up as one of the dead in thatrge-scale attempt at rebncing. Still, he supposed there was a kind of bnce in that as well. How many spirit beasts had he personally killed up on the mountain? How many had he helped kill on the way to Tide¡¯s Rest? The numbers were ufortably high.


    ¡°So, what will you do now?¡± Sen asked, both wanting and not wanting to know.


    ¡°I cannot stop what happens <em>inside these walls</em>. But I need not participate directly. If you can escape my brethren and get beyond the town walls, I will let you go.¡±


    ¡°Or,¡± said Sen, thinking fast, ¡°I could flip you for it.¡±


    ¡°Flip me for it?¡± asked the perplexed Boulder¡¯s Shadow.


    ¡°Heads you let me go, tails I ept my grisly fate?¡±


    Boulder¡¯s Shadow seemed to think it over. Then, he shrugged. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Sen found a coin in one of his pockets and showed it to the panther-man. Satisfied that the coin was unaltered, Boulder¡¯s Shadow nodded. Sen flipped the coin in the air, confident that the gods were on his side. The coinnded, bounced once, and came to a stop. Sen couldn¡¯t believe it.


    He hurriedly started to say, ¡°Best two out of¡­arghhghh.¡±


    ***


    Feeling that they had aplished all that they were going to aplish, Sen stood to leave. Elder He raised a hand to stop him.


    ¡°A personal question, if I might?¡± asked Elder He.


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Sen, suddenly wary.


    ¡°Are you a student of Kho Jaw-Long?¡±


    An impish impulse took Sen, and he shook his head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. It was a matter of some spection.¡±


    ¡°No, Uncle Kho only taught me the spear. My true master is Feng Ming.¡±


    Elder He nched at those words and there was a strange sound from the man¡¯s stomach. Sen felt a little bad about his joke. He was about to apologize when he noticed that the elder was no longer sitting quite sofortably.


    ¡°Are you alright, Elder He?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m,¡± the Elder shifted on his chair again, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°If you say so. So, listen, I thought of something else you could,¡± Sen paused and sniffed the air. ¡°Do you smell that?¡±


    Elder He shot to his feet and began backing out of the room. ¡°Forgiveness. I will return in an hour. I just recalled some pressing business I forgot.¡±


    Sen watched as the elder fled the room. ¡°What a weird guy.¡±


    ***


    Falling Leaf understood that any hesitation, any ckening of her will would mean death, or something truly grotesque. There was nowhere to go but forward. So, she pushed, willing the change, willing her body to be something other than it had been, something that could pass among the humans. She endured the pain, endured the fire, and eventually, when all thought had been consumed in the inferno, she simply endured. Then, as abruptly as it had all started, it was over. It was all she could do to keep breathing. Breathing felt wrong. Everything felt <em>wrong</em>. Her body was wrong. Nothing moved the way it should. She couldn¡¯t smell everything anymore. Her vision was blurry, and she couldn¡¯t seem to focus her eyes. She felt deaf. <em>What if it didn¡¯t work</em>, she thought in horror.


    The Feng¡¯s tired, paternal voice said, ¡°Why in the world would you want to turn yourself into a giant frog?¡±


    Falling Leaf opened her mouth to protest, but all that came out was, ¡°Ribbit.¡±


    ***


    This Ends Unintended Cultivator, Vol. 2.


    Sen andpany will return in Unintended Cultivator, Vol. 3.

 Book 3: Chapter 1: The Storm

    Book 3: Chapter 1: The Storm


    Sen sat cross-legged on the deck of the ship with his senses and qi extended. The ship had many excellent qualities, or so Sen had told himself, but speed wasn¡¯t one of them. Lo Meifeng admitted that the journey was moving slowly, even by the standards of sea travel. She also assured him that wasn¡¯t entirely a bad thing. The longer they spent wholly unfindable, the more likely the demonic cultivators were to assume they¡¯d made a mistake and redirect their forces elsewhere. The demonic cultivators weren¡¯t a government or even a sect that could deploy vast resources to track them down. They didn¡¯t have huge numbers. They could hire people, she¡¯d admitted, but hired help was always of questionable value and loyalty. So, despite having grown a little tired of the slow-moving ship, Sen had tried to make the best of it.


    With so much water qi avable, he¡¯d started to make a study of it. It wasn¡¯t his strongest qi affinity, but it didn¡¯t need to be when there was an endless supply of the qi type. He¡¯d started small, just trying to make water do simply simple things. He¡¯d made balls of water appear over his hands. Then, he¡¯d moved on to trying to make other shapes. While balls of water were easy, other geometric shapes proved much more difficult. The water didn¡¯t like hard corners and straight lines. He learned how to force the water into shapes like squares, rectangles, and pyramids, but he¡¯d also learned that the energy and effort necessary to do it was much more than would be practical literally anywhere except on the endless water qi supply of the ocean.


    The only benefit of those exercises was that they improved his overall control over water qi. So, when he tried to adapt the idea of wind des into water des, it was much easier than he thought it would be. Some of it was the curved nature of the des. The water didn¡¯t resist that shape and all but lovingly embraced it. He also discovered that it was both easier and more difficult than expected to give those water des a hard edge. When he tried to simply make the edge hard and sharp, the water resisted.


    Of course, it took days to figure out how to actually do it. Once he mastered that, though, he found it was a snap to make devastatingly effective water whips. He even tested out running across the top of the water. It was a little like using a qinggong technique, except he was hardening the water, rather than pooling qi. While it worked, he very quickly decided that it wasn¡¯t something he wanted to try in rough seas. Running across water withparatively gently rising and falling waves was one thing, but the sailors had spent some of their time telling him tales of their narrow escapes in bad weather. He did not want to try running up a wave that was three times higher than the main mast.


    While getting those techniques under his belt was satisfying, Sen spent most of his time simply observing how the water moved in the ocean. He was far less interested in the way the surface moved than the way the water moved beneath the surface. The surface conditions seemed to mostly depend on the surface weather. If the weather was nice, the waters tended to be calmer. If the weather was stormy or extremely windy, the surface was choppy. Yet, Sen could feel water moving beneath the surface on a scale that simply left him speechless. He didn¡¯t even have words to describe the amount of water that moved in a specific direction, regardless of surface conditions. The qi that moved in those vast currents was simply frightening. Sen couldn¡¯t even imagine trying to wrestle that much qi under his control. He wasn¡¯t sure anyone could. Maybe a god or one of the greater immortals could do it, but someone still locked into the mortal realm? Sen had his doubts.


    Sen understood, on some level, that he was still looking for thatst bit of enlightenment from the beach. He didn¡¯t think that this was it, but there was something to learn from those massive qi flows deep beneath the water. So much of what he did with qi was, byparison, quick and dirty. It was here one moment and gone the next. He¡¯d never even considered what a sustained qi flow might aplish for him. Of course, he¡¯d also rarely been in a position where he could set up a sustained qi flow in advance of his need for it. Still, it was something to consider. He had a hard time imagining what a sustained flow of earth might do for him, so he wasn¡¯t eager to experiment with it. He had a far too clear picture of what a sustained flow of fire qi might do. Air, though, might have some potential. It didn¡¯t move exactly like water, but there were some simrities there. If he started setting up a sustained qi airflow fifty miles away from somewhere and built it as he went, could he hurl some kind of massive windstorm at his enemies?


    Sen was annoyed as he tucked that idea away in a corner of his mind forter consideration. His deepmunion with the ocean had revealed that there was a storming. If he was reading the water right, it was going to be one of those bad ones that didn¡¯t treat seagoing vessels kindly. He went to the captain and let the man know about the oing storm and its severity. The first couple of times Sen had warned the man, the captain had dismissed it as nonsense. Now, though, the captain listened. He frowned and consulted with several maps. He frowned even more deeply as he pointed at a spot.


    ¡°There¡¯s a cove there where we could probably ride out a storm safely,¡± said the captain, ¡°but it¡¯s at least another six hours of sailing away. Do we have that long?¡±


    Sen reflected on what he¡¯d been getting from the water. It was hard for him to estimate things like distance and time. He simply didn¡¯t have enough experience on the water. In the end, he gave a half-shrug.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know. My instinct is to say no, but I can¡¯t say for sure.¡±


    ¡°Damn. There are a few other ces we could stop before then, but they don¡¯t offer good protection from storms.¡±


    Sen knew he had nothing to contribute to that discussion. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that in your hands.¡±


    Sen withdrew from the deck and went to find Lifen and Lo Meifeng. They were both in the small galley, drinking tea, but not with each other. Sen wanted to give them both a p to the back of the head. He wouldn¡¯t actually do it, but only because he was certain it wouldn¡¯t actually change anything. The two women simply didn¡¯t like each other. Sen didn¡¯t fully understand the reasons why. Lo Meifeng seemed annoyed by the fact the Lifen would potentially slow them down. Lifen seemed annoyed by Lo Meifeng¡¯s annoyance that she hadn¡¯t progressed farther in her cultivation. Yet, he got the distinct impression that those were reasons they were telling him, rather than the actual problem. Whatever was really bothering the women about each other, he was out of the loop. A ce both Lifen and Lo Meifeng seemed determined to keep him.


    Most of the time, he didn¡¯t really care. It wasn¡¯t like they¡¯d ever been friends to begin with. There was no rtionship to repair. On asions where there might be danger approaching, though, he found their squabbling obnoxious. It made him either have the same conversation twice or made him force the women to interact with each other. He didn¡¯t enjoy either option. Today, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to have duplicate conversations.


    ¡°Lo Meifeng. Lifen. Would you join me please?¡±


    The two women gave each other opaque looks before truculently rising to their feet anding over to him. He red at both of them. ¡°Knock it off for the next two minutes.¡±


    ¡°But-,¡± Lifen started to object.


    Sen held up a hand. ¡°Listen. There¡¯s a storming.¡±


    Both women stopped giving each other catty looks and focused entirely on him.


    ¡°How bad?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Bad. The captain knows about a sheltered cove, but we may not make it there before the storm hits. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll try to make it there or look for somewhere closer, but it¡¯s going to get rough before the day is out.¡±


    There were several more questions from both women, most of which Sen answered with a shrug or a simple, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Once they got tired of asking him questions that he couldn¡¯t really answer, the women went back to their cabins to do, well, Sen didn¡¯t really know what. Put away breakable items, maybe? For his part, Sen returned to the deck and kept his eyes on the horizon. He saw the first edges of the storm in the distance and nced over at the captain. The captain grimaced.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to ride out part of that storm if we want to make it that cove,¡± said the captain. ¡°She¡¯s a sturdy ship. As long as the seas don¡¯t get too bad, we should be fine.¡±


    After weeks aboard the ship, Sen knew where he could stand and not get in the way. So, he took up station there and just watched as those ominous ck clouds got closer and closer. He eyed the surface as the waves grewrger and more hostile. The edge of the storm caught them. Sen watched as a hazy wall grew closer and then rain was crashing down on the ship. Sen¡¯s mastery over water qi was good enough that he thought he could probably divert the rain away from the ship, for a while at least, but he didn¡¯t want to burn through his avable qi when some more desperate moment might arriveter. Instead, he limited himself to keeping the rain off of him. It would have been a taxing exercise a few weeks earlier. After all of his practice with water qi, it was a casual effort. Even so, he watched the growing size of the waves and the ever-heavier rain with growing rm. If this was the edge of the storm, he didn¡¯t even want to imagine what the inner storm might look like.


    He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what alerted him to it, but something inside Sen warned him that there was danger nearby. He felt around with his all of his senses, all of his qi, and his blood ran cold. There was foreign qi out there in the storm, part of the storm. Someone was <em>making</em> this storm happen. Worse still, he could feel them pushing the worst of the storm at the ship he was on. Then, his vague sense of rm became a ring beacon of rm. There was a wave, if anything that big could be called a wave, heading their way. If it crashed down on them, the ship wouldn¡¯t survive. Hell, he¡¯d be surprised if anyone aboard survived. Sen didn¡¯t think about it. There was no time to warn anyone. He leapt to the center of the deck, threw his hands out to either side, and cycled for water qi. It rushed into him, unbnced his dantian almost immediately, but he¡¯d have to worry about thatter.


    Uncertain that he¡¯d have the strength to do what needed to be done, he sacrificed a drop of his liquid qi to the effort. Then, he hardened a shell of water around the ship. For a brief moment, there was quiet and calm as his technique cut off the fury of the storm. Then, there was screaming as sailors saw the colossal wave that was about to crash down on them. Sen gritted his teeth in preparation, but the true force of that wave crashing down on them very nearly made Sen lose his grip on the technique. He felt blood spurt from his nose, and he crashed to his knees. He was vaguely aware that the ship had been pushed beneath the surface of the ocean. The crushing pressure that now bore down on the fragile shell around them was proof enough of that. Darkness clouded the edges of Sen¡¯s vision as he fought to hold the technique, to hold back the ocean itself. He could feel blood trickling from his eyes and ears now. Then, blessed relief, the pressure vanished from around the ship. Sen let the technique go before it failed on its own and hit him with a bacsh. Thest thing he remembered was a deluge of rainwater driving him to the deck and the captain screaming for someone to, ¡°Grab that man!¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 2: Shelter

    Book 3: Chapter 2: Shelter


    There were blurry spots of semi-conscious, semi-lucid understanding in Sen¡¯s memory. He vaguely remembered being thrown over a shoulder. He recalled someone throwing him into a bunk. Then, it was just intermittent shes of storm noises and people yelling about things. Mostly, though, it was darkness and pain. He¡¯d hurt himself with that stunt on the deck. It had been necessary to save everyone, to save the ship, but he was paying a price for it. shes of agony would tear across his skull. Pain would shoot out into his body from his dantian. In his asional lucid moments, Sen wondered if he¡¯d finally pushed too hard, too far, and permanently injured himself. It would be terrible timing if he had. He had far too many people looking for him. Then, those thoughts would slip beneath the still waters of unconsciousness.


    When he finally woke up, really woke up, Sen found himself curled up on a bunk, his cheek wet from a puddle of drool that formed on the pillow from his partially open mouth. <em>Nothing like waking up with a bit of dignity</em>, he thought. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, then grimaced as he tried to wipe his cheek clean. His head still hurt and his dantian was still sending out stabbing reminders that something was off there, but he pushed those concerns aside for a moment. The cabin was still intact, which meant that the ship was likely still intact. There were none of the sounds he associated with a storm. The ship also wasn¡¯t bucking and heaving. It seemed they had found shelter, or the captain truly proved his superior skill and kept them afloat in the full fury of the storm. Satisfied that nothing in the outside world required his immediate attention, Sen tried to reassert normality in his personal world. He retrieved some water, soap, and a cloth from his storage ring. Then he stripped out of the robes that smelled none-too-fresh to his nose and washed himself down. He felt the hard brush of stubble on his face but didn¡¯t n on putting anything razor sharp that close to his skin until he felt a little better.


    Satisfied that he no longer stank like a goat, Sen sat down on the bunk and did what he¡¯d been avoiding. He looked inward. He wasn¡¯t terribly surprised by what he saw. The qi in his dantian waspletely out of bnce. Water qi took up nearly half the avable space for the misty environmental qi he typically used. Some of that would need to go and be reced by other qi. Slowly, he bled some of that water qi away, letting it drift back out into the environment. Once the bnce of qi types was restored, or mostly restored, he noticed something odd. There was something new floating around in his dantian.


    It wasn¡¯tpressed liquid qi, nor was it pure, differentiated environmental qi. Instead, it was a ribbon of something else, some other kind of qi he didn¡¯t recognize. It floated in a ring around the outer edges of his dantian. He gently, oh so very gently, poked at it. The ring of new qi vibrated gently at his prodding, but it didn¡¯t otherwise do anything. Sen let out the breath he¡¯d been holding. He¡¯d have to spend more time investigating that strange ribbon of qi, but it didn¡¯t seem like it represented a problem that needed immediate attention. Simply offloading some of that water qi had made him feel a lot better, but he wasn¡¯t healed by any stretch of the imagination. He could see that he¡¯d strained his qi channels. He could also see spots in his body that had been damaged by his hastily constructed technique.


    <em>It seems like I get injured every time I need to do something new in a hurry</em>, heined to himself. He wanted to tell himself that the answer was to stop throwing techniques together at thest second, but life didn¡¯t seem to work that way. He was depressingly certain that he would keep having to do simr things unless he decided to go into secluded cultivation. The idea was more tempting than he¡¯d admit out loud to anyone. The closer he got to core formation, the more difficult it became to avoid using liquid qi for techniques. Simply finding his own mountain to retreat to, as Uncle Kho had done, would solve the one problem. He¡¯d be able to focus on his cultivation until he reached core formation. Of course, if he did that, he had the ufortable feeling that he¡¯d be sacrificing any possibility of moments of enlightenment for the duration. He couldn¡¯t figure out how he knew that it would go that way, but he knew it all the same.


    Deciding that was a problem for another day, Sen headed to the galley. There were a few sailors there, and Sen studiously ignored the awed looks they gave him when he walked in. He didn¡¯t want their awe, or their adoration, or anything else from them. He just wanted tea. The cook saw him and started to offer a bow, but Sen waved that off. He¡¯d helped the man out enough times at the stoves that Sen had hoped they¡¯d moved beyond such things, but he¡¯d been wrong, apparently. The cook looked ufortable but stopped bowing. Sen asked for tea, and the cook immediately set about making a fresh pot. While he was tempted to stop him, Sen decided that fresh tea wasn¡¯t too much of a reward for his stupidity. Once the cook brought the tea over, Sen sat in contemtive silence for a time. He didn¡¯t try to solve any problems or work out the secrets of the universe. He just drank tea and let himself be for a little while. He might have also done a bit of quiet cultivation and soaked up some of the fire qi from the stove in the room, along with other bits of environmental qi. With healing to do, he¡¯d need thoseter. Feeling more fortified and ready to face the trial of dealing with other people, Sen returned the teapot to the cook and went up on deck.


    While things had been almost calm below decks, things were a flurry of activity on deck. After squinting for a moment in the bright sunlight, Sen could see that the ship was anchored. Walls of rock stretched high overhead on two sides, while a pleasant-looking beach backed by thick forest was off to a third. There was a narrow opening in the rock walls that faced out to the ocean. <em>I guess we made it to that cove, after all</em>, thought Sen. It was actually a rather beautiful little spot. Sen put the cove on the new mental list he¡¯d started of ces to consider building a little retreat from the world. After a few moments, Sen noticed that all the noise on deck had ground down to a heavy silence. Looking around, he saw that everyone was staring at him. That was something he found deeply ufortable, so he looked around for someone, <em>anyone</em>, he knew. He noticed Lo Meifeng, who had a hand on her hip.


    ¡°Well, look who finally decided to stop napping,¡± she said with a bit of a smirk.


    ¡°Everything was so calm and quiet. It seemed like a good time for one,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Get back to work!¡± bellowed the captain.


    All of the sailors flinched as though they¡¯d been hit and returned to their work, although more than a few kept giving Sen surreptitious nces. Sen sighed. He supposed that was what happened when cultivators did things that looked impressive. Considering that he¡¯d copsed immediately after, he was a little perplexed by their reactions. If he¡¯d thrown up that water bubble and then casually walked away from it, that might have warranted the looks. Lo Meifeng had started to walk over to him but veered off when she saw the captain doing the same thing. The older man approached Sen like he wasn¡¯t entirely sure how he should act around the cultivator. Rather than wait around for the captain to find something awkward to say, Sen gestured around them.


    ¡°I see you managed to bring us to safety. Is this the cove you were talking about?¡±


    The captain looked around and seemed to rx. ¡°Yes, it is. It was a close thing, but we got here. Though, as you can see, there was some damage.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I noticed that,¡± said Sen, frowning around at the men.


    Some of the sailors were sewing what Sen assumed was the sail. Others were removing or recing damaged pieces of wood from the deck itself. Still, the repairs seemed to be moving along smoothly to Sen¡¯s admittedly untrained eyes.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be underway again soon,¡± said the captain, a little nervously.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re the captain here. We¡¯ll go when you say the ship is safe to go.¡±


    A bit more of the nervous tension drained away from the captain¡¯s face.


    ¡°I appreciate that. I also wanted to thank you for what you did. I¡¯ve never, well, I¡¯ve never seen the like before. I didn¡¯t even know that something like that was even possible.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, captain, neither did I. Not that I¡¯m in a rush to try it again.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t suppose you would be. Seemed to take a lot out of you. Still, you saved my men, you saved my ship. Plus, your,¡± the captain seemed to think hard before he discreetly gestured to Lo Meifeng, panion stepped in after your copsed. Fought off something out in the storm. I don¡¯t know what it was, but things got a lot easier after she did. I don¡¯t know how I can ever repay that debt to you, to either of you.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t owe me anything, captain. I was standing on <em>this ship</em> when I helped out. It was as much for my own benefit as anyone else¡¯s.¡±


    The captain snorted at that. ¡°Somehow, I think you¡¯d have found it easier to just make one of those bubbles around yourself, instead of the whole ship. Even so, I thank you.¡±


    The captain gave Sen one of those deep bows that always left him feeling like he should be looking over his shoulder for someone more important than him. He pushed that difort down and gave the captain a shallower bow in return, the way the man expected. ncing at the beach, Sen gave the captain a spective look.


    ¡°Just how long do you think repairs will take, captain?¡±


    ¡°Another day or two, I expect,¡± said the captain.


    ¡°Very well. Then, I think I may take a short trip to that beach over there.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 3: Moon Cakes

    Book 3: Chapter 3: Moon Cakes


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that simple. No sooner had the captain walked away than Lifen appeared. She smiled at him, clearly happy to see him up and about, but there was a line of worry between her eyes. Sen gave a quick, longing nce at the beach before giving Lifen his full attention.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to see that you¡¯re awake, but should you be up and about? Lo Meifeng seemed,¡± Lifen frowned a little, ¡°concerned that you might have damaged yourself.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at that. After a moment of consideration, though, he supposed that Lo Meifeng wouldn¡¯t have needed any kind of special knowledge to develop that concern. Bleeding from the eyes, ears, and nose, followed by unconsciousness rarely heralded <em>good</em> things for most people. She wasn¡¯t even wrong. Sen had damaged himself. It just wasn¡¯t the permanent kind of damage. At least, he didn¡¯t think it was. He supposed that you never knew for sure until you tried to heal from something. He did his best to give Lifen a reassuring smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he said.


    The skepticism on her face was so profound that it almost looked like parody to Sen.


    ¡°Fine? Really? So, if a giant wave came crashing into the cove, you¡¯re all ready to protect us in another one of those bubbles?¡±


    Sen coughed a little sheepishly. ¡°No. I wouldn¡¯t want to do that again. Not right now, at any rate.¡±


    ¡°Mmmm hmmmm,¡± said Lifen.


    Sen held up a hand. ¡°But, I¡¯m not hurt in a way that needs bed rest. It¡¯s nothing a bit of alchemy and a steady supply of qi won¡¯t solve.¡±


    Lifen looked dubious but relented. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s not like I could really stop you, anyway. How about you just try to not injure yourself any more for the next day or two.¡±


    ¡°I will do my utmost to avoid more injuries for at least a day or two,¡± said Sen, giving Lifen a little bow.


    ¡°Yeah, right,¡± she sighed.


    ¡°What are you doing up on deck, anyway?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I figured you¡¯d be tucked away somewhere with your cultivation manuals.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m helping.¡±


    She said the words slowly, as though she might be speaking to a particrly dense horse.


    ¡°And that¡¯s good, but why?¡±


    Lifen rolled her eyes. ¡°I might not be the cultivator Lo Meifeng is, or stack up against the might of Judgement¡¯s Gale, but even my level of cultivation makes me stronger than most of the people on this ship. It gives me more endurance too.¡±


    Sen blinked a couple of times in surprise. She wasn¡¯t wrong. Somehow, he¡¯d fallen into the trap of thinking of her as physically weak. And inparison to a core cultivator or an advanced body cultivator, she was. Rtive to mortals, though, she¡¯d seem just as superhuman as Sen did. Just maybe a touch less shy. Sen only had experience dealing with mortals as a foundation formation cultivator. He <em>knew</em> that even a casual blow from him could end a mortal life in a snap. He''d never dealt with mortals as a qi condensing cultivator. He¡¯d never had to consider their rtive strength levels or rtive durability. Yet, he supposed the gulf between mortals and qi condensing cultivators must look about as wide as the gulf between foundation formation cultivators and core cultivators. Right up until you were closing in on bridging that divide, the gulf was <em>vast</em>.


    Sen nodded. ¡°That makes sense. I wasn¡¯t thinking about it in those terms.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you, at times, are ridiculously bad at considering the practicalities.¡±


    Senughed. ¡°My grandmother would agree with you.¡±


    Lifen stiffened and then let out an exasperated breath. ¡°Honestly, I hate that woman sometimes. I can feel her ring at me.¡±


    Sen looked over Lifen¡¯s shoulder and saw Lo Meifeng standing there, tapping her foot impatiently. A familiar impish feeling swelled in Sen¡¯s chest. He was careful to keep it off his face as he leaned down and whispered in Lifen¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Want to have a bit of fun at her expense?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± said Lifen, suddenly enthused. ¡°What will we do?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s pretend that we¡¯re going to head back to the cabin and do some of that pillow biting she rmended.¡±


    A tiny giggle escaped from Lifen¡¯s mouth before she pressed her lips together and nodded. Standing back up straight, Sen offered Lifen his arm. She slipped her arm through his and directed such a lust-filled stare up at him that Sen found it so distracting he nearly tripped. They¡¯d made it all of three steps before Lo Meifeng appeared before them in a burst of speed and wind.


    ¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t,¡± the woman dered.


    Sen and Lifen kept straight faces for about three seconds before a snort escaped Sen. Then, a giggle slipped through Lifen¡¯s tightlypressed lips. Then, they were bothughing uproariously at the increasingly unamused Lo Meifeng. The woman red at both of them before she realized that she¡¯d been the butt of their joke. Then, she just looked exasperated.


    ¡°Children,¡± she muttered to herself. ¡°Lifen, go back to being helpful if you please. I need a word with the young <em>hero</em>.¡±


    Lifen looked like she might protest, but the young woman just couldn¡¯t seem to sustain the annoyance through her mirth. She patted Sen¡¯s arm before she wandered off to find some way to put her more-than-human strength to good use. Sen watched her go, appreciating the young woman¡¯s curves. An annoyed cough brought his attention back to Lo Meifeng. She was ring at him again.


    ¡°What?¡± he demanded. ¡°She¡¯s nice to look at.¡±


    Lo Meifeng opened her mouth, thought for a moment, then sighed. ¡°Fine. I suppose she is. If you¡¯re done leering, though, we do need to talk.¡±


    Sen groaned out loud. ¡°Really? I¡¯ve been out of bed for all of half an hour. Is this something that we <em>need</em> to discuss right now? Or is this just something that you¡¯ve been chewing on for thest day or two that you want to unload on me now that I¡¯m back on two feet?¡±


    Without missing a beat, Lo Meifeng said, ¡°Both.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s have it.¡±


    ¡°Did you think that I was joking when I said that it was my job to keep you alive?¡±


    Sen frowned at her. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Okay. So, at what point did you <em>decide</em> that you¡¯d take on a core cultivator in a monsoon?¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°What makes you think I had a chance to decide any such thing?¡±


    That seemed to throw Lo Meifeng off. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The amount of time between when I realized that there was another cultivator out there and when there was a giant wave about to drive us to the bottom of the sea could be measured in seconds. I didn¡¯t decide anything. I just acted. What happened to that other cultivator anyway?¡±


    Lo Meifeng processed his words in silence for a moment before her lips turned up into a smug little smile. ¡°He won¡¯t be bothering us again.¡±


    ¡°Was it a demonic cultivator?¡± Sen asked in a hushed tone.


    ¡°No,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Not that I could tell anyway. Still, it¡¯d be awfully coincidental if he was just out here whipping up storms and trying to sink ships for fun.¡±


    ¡°Possibly. Unless he was out here trying to sink ships for profit. Most ships carry cargo. It¡¯s easier to take if all those pesky crew members are dead.¡±


    ¡°There are easier targets than a ship with three cultivators on it.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°So, are we assuming they know where we are?¡±


    Lo Meifeng paused then to consider her answer. Ultimately, she shook her head. ¡°They may have suspected we left by ship, but I imagine whatever orders they handed out were something along the lines of sink any ship you find with cultivators aboard.¡±


    ¡°What if he reported back?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely. There aren¡¯t that many long-distancemunication treasures out there. Certainly not enough to hand them out to every would-be assassin. When he doesn¡¯t report back in, they¡¯ll know something happened, but even that¡¯s not really proof it was us. Plus, we¡¯ll be long gone by the time anyonees looking.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t really like it, but there also wasn¡¯t much to be done about it. He might feelfortable about hopping off the ship right then and there and taking his chances in the wilds, where no one was likely to find him. He¡¯d only given Lo Meifeng even odds of surviving it. Lifen wouldn¡¯t make it. That meant that they were stuck with the ship until they at least reached some kind of civilization and roads. He didn¡¯t love the idea of traveling openly on the roads either, but they¡¯de a very long way from Emperor¡¯s Bay. The demonic cultivators might have a long reach, but they couldn¡¯t be everywhere, couldn¡¯t watch every mile of road, every stretch of river, every possible means of travel.


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Sen, not doing much to hide hisck of enthusiasm for the n.


    Lo Meifeng arched an eyebrow at him. ¡°I suppose you have a better solution.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t. It doesn¡¯t mean I love the one we have. If that¡¯s all, I have some things I need to go and do.¡±


    ¡°Go?¡±


    ¡°To the beach. I need ess to a steadier supply of all the types of qi than I can get out here on the water. Otherwise, it¡¯ll take me five times as long to heal.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll get a boat ready.¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± said Sen, and leapt over the side of the ship.


    Even as he fell toward the water below, he could hear Lo Meifeng shouting after him.


    ¡°Damn it! I have toe with you!¡±


    Feeling another surge of impishness, Sen shouted back a bunch of garbled nonsense with only one understandable phrase in the middle. ¡°Moon cakes.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 4: Elder Bo

    Book 3: Chapter 4: Elder Bo


    Sen found that the water-stepping technique came easier to him than ever as he dashed from the side of the ship toward the beach. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d broken through in any meaningful way, but it was still easier. Maybe he¡¯d just reached an amodation with water qi after that using that technique to save the ship. The exnation sounded weak, even inside his own head, but it was the best he coulde up with in the moment. He supposed he¡¯d have plenty of time to think about it on the next leg of their journey. It wasn¡¯t like the ship moved fast, even in the best conditions. Once he stepped off the water and onto the sand of the beach, he felt a little surge of relief. The qi bnce on the beach still heavily favored water, but he could feel that the other four qi types were readily avable. He let his passive qi-gathering technique get started while he went to work.


    The first order of business was to gather some new ingredients. He¡¯d never gotten a chance to bolster his stock of medicinal nts and alchemical agents back on the beach at Emperor¡¯s Bay, so this was the next best thing. He let his spiritual sense sweep around him in the nearby forest. He found a few spiritual beasts nearby, but none that felt strong enough to pose a serious threat. More importantly, he could feel the presence of several qidenponents out there. Smiling a little to himself, Sen set off into the trees. Gathering ingredients there was simr enough to gathering them on the mountain that Sen found himself smiling. Some of the things he found, he recognized. While others were a bit mysterious to him. Yet, he was experienced enough to identify the uses of some of the ones he didn¡¯t recognize by the feel of the nts or their simrity to ones he did know. Others he could recognize as poisonous on sight. He gathered a few of those as well. They were mostly curiosities to studyter but might prove helpful someday.


    While he hadn¡¯t fully restored what he¡¯d used up from his rings by any stretch of the imagination, he¡¯d made a strong start. He made a mental note to be more proactive about gathering medicinal nts and reagents as he went. Although, even he was willing to recognize that he¡¯d had a lot on his te just recently. Satisfied with his efforts, Sen made his way back down to the beach. He was a little surprised that Lo Meifeng wasn¡¯t waiting for him there. He nced out over the water to make sure that the ship hadn¡¯t spontaneously burst into me or sailed off without him. A little part of him was disappointed to see the ship there. It would have solved a lot of his problems if they¡¯d just left, but Sen didn¡¯t think that the captain would actually do that except under dire threat. Sen spent a little time walking up and down the beach gathering driftwood for the fire he would need.


    It also gave him a little time to do some active cultivation, rather than depending on his passive cultivation technique to do all of the work. While the passive technique was adequate to draw in bnced amounts of the qi types, it was slower. Sen could gather more in an hour of active cultivation than he could normally get from three hours of passive cultivation. There was also something that was just satisfying about active cultivation in a ce where,pared to the ship, all the qi types were readily avable. He was even able to get some shadow qi from the nearby forest. Not that he nned to rely entirely on what he got from his own efforts. Once he had his small fire up and burning and got some water heating over it, he built a small qi gathering formation. The sharp increase in the avable qi around him almost made Sen feel a bit giddy. He¡¯d tried something simr on the ship, but water qi simply overwhelmed everything else.


    With everything prepared, Sen spent some time really examining his own condition. There really was less damage to his qi channels than he¡¯d initially feared. He supposed that he might chalk that up to having done some healing already while he slept. Still, it seemed less than it ought to be given how desperately he¡¯d shoved as much qi as he could into that water shell. There was plenty of minor damage all over his body, though. The strain of the technique had burst blood vessels in more than just his nose and eyes. There was deep tissue damage in almost every part of his body. He even noticed nearly invisible fractures in most of his bones. He couldn¡¯t be certain about the source, but he had the feeling that some part of the force of that wave crashing down on them, or the unspeakable pressure on the ship while it was under the water, had been transferred directly onto him. If not for his body cultivation, Sen wondered if that stunt might have killed him.


    He did take a moment to study his dantian and the odd ribbon of new qi but left off almost immediately. There was no obvious damage to the dantian. Figuring out that new qi <em>was</em> important. He knew it. He also knew that it was something that he wasn¡¯t going to understand with five minutes of casual study. Even so, it was an effort to turn his attention away from it. Any change in his dantian that he hadn¡¯t initiated was a cause for concern. Changes could mean unexpected results, which he¡¯d learned was almost always problematic. Still, he had pressing medical needs that required much more immediate attention. Turning to the problem at hand, he let his mind slip into that hazy ce of unfocused focus that let him pick the right ingredients for the problem at hand. He started with the base ingredients, wood-aligned ginseng for general-purpose healing, wind-aligned five-vor fruit for the blood, and sunflower root as a general reagent for the other ingredients.


    After that, the ingredients became more specific to his needs. He used earth-aligned crown flower to help repair and reinforce his bones. Metal-aligned serpent weed would help bnce the elixir. Ingredient after ingredient went into the pot until it felt right. Sen had been so consumed by the process that it took himpletely off-guard when a deep voice addressed him from a few feet away.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Sen tried to spin, jump up, and raise his hands into a defensive gesture all at the same time. All he aplished was falling onto his backside. He did, however, manage to bring the source of the voice into view. Standing just outside the formation was the biggest turtle Sen had ever seen. The turtle was nearly asrge as a horse. <em>How in the hells did it get so close without making any noise</em>, Sen wondered. Yet, for all of its size, it didn¡¯t seem threatening. It simply regarded him with liquid ck eyes that conveyed, if anything, some amusement. Trying to regain some dignity, Sen stood, brushed himself off, and offered the spirit beast a formal bow. Now that the turtle hade to his attention, he could feel its strength, its great age, radiating from the beast.


    ¡°Hello, Elder. I am merely making a healing elixir. If this is your beach, I didn¡¯t mean to intrude.¡±


    The turtle looked from Sen to the pot and back again. Sen felt the turtle¡¯s spiritual sense crash down on him. It was all he could do to stay on his feet beneath its weight. A moment of rm shot through Sen as he realized that this might be one of the mythical, ancient, divine turtles. Encounters with them were exceedingly rare. While the divine turtles were generally benevolent, it was unwise to test their patience.


    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said the turtle, the weight vanishing. ¡°Hmmmm. It seems a wasted opportunity to me.¡±


    ¡°A wasted opportunity, elder? I¡¯m, that is-,¡± Sen hesitated, not entirely sure about the protocol in that situation. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that I understand. What opportunity?¡±


    ¡°Call me Bo,¡± said the turtle.


    ¡°Of course, Elder Bo.¡±


    ¡°Your body is already injured and many steps into body refinement. Why not take the opportunity to push your body cultivation forward again?¡±


    Sen thought hard for a moment about how to answer. ¡°Ick the expertise.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. You¡¯re most of the way there with your elixir already. You need but two or three more ingredients.¡±


    ¡°What ingredients, if I might beg the Elder¡¯s indulgence?¡±


    The turtle¡¯s gaze fell on Sen¡¯s hand and its immense spiritual sense bore down on his storage rings. There was a brief pause before Elder Bo nodded his head in seeming understanding.


    ¡°Ah, you do not have what you need.¡±


    A moment of disappointment flooded through Sen, but he suppressed it. While he might not turn down the opportunity to improve his body cultivation, it wasn¡¯t actually what he¡¯de to the beach to do. If all he managed to do was heal himself, though, then he¡¯d aplished his goals. Sen was about to say as much when the divine turtle¡¯s gaze moved off of him and onto the forest. Sen felt a surge of qi and then a root he didn¡¯t recognize floated out of the forest andnded near him on the sand. A few moments and another surge of qiter, Sen watched as a flower floated out of the water of the cove andnded next to the root. Both root and flower radiated so much qi that they were very nearly divine treasures in their own right. Elder Bo nodded at the root and still dripping flower.


    ¡°ce a single petal from the flower in the pot. Shred some of the root into the mixture as well.¡±


    ¡°How much of the root?¡±


    ¡°Oh, about as much as one of your thumb ws,¡± said the turtle, before he muttered to himself, ¡°such odd things, thumbs.¡±


    Sen did as he was instructed because one <em>did not</em> decline gifts or advice from divine turtles. Sen felt the very nature of the elixir change as soon as the new ingredients began to incorporate themselves into the mixture. Up until that moment, Sen had thought that he was making something fairly potent. Now, the elixir radiated qi and transformative power like a mystical bonfire. Sen nced down at the remainder of the root and the sea flower and tried to resist the surge of greed that he felt deep in his soul. Suppressing that greed with a supreme effort of will, he gathered the nts up and held them out to the divine turtle. The turtle gave the nts a curious look.


    ¡°I do not require those,¡± said the turtle, before it turned its gaze back on the pot.


    Sen didn¡¯t need another invitation. He immediately put the unspeakably valuable nts in his storage ring. Then, he turned his own attention back to the pot, mixing it asionally to ensure full distribution of the new ingredients.


    ¡°Elder Bo, if I might ask,¡± said Sen, curiosity getting the best of him, ¡°why are helping me?¡±


    The divine turtle was quiet for a time, as befitted its nature, before answering. ¡°I was curious about you.¡±


    ¡°About me?¡±


    ¡°After you saved that boat out there. I¡¯d never seen a technique quite like the one you used. So, I followed you. Then, you came here and started making something interesting. I decided to indulge my curiosity.¡±


    ¡°I am humbled by your interest.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ready,¡± said Elder Bo, nodding at the pot.


    Sen removed the pot from the fire and let it cool for a time. There were so many questions he wanted to ask the elder spirit beast, but respect and fear kept his lips closed. If the turtle wanted to talk, Sen expected it would be talking. Once the elixir cooled enough, Sen filtered the liquid through a cheesecloth and into a bottle. He studied the bottle and everything he felt radiating from it. He felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation.


    ¡°Should I drink all of it?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°I would,¡± answered the turtle, sounding amused.


    So, Sen tipped the bottle into his mouth and swallowed the still-warm elixir.

 Book 3: Chapter 5: Tribulation

    Book 3: Chapter 5: Tribtion


    Sen¡¯s first thought after the elixir went to work on him was, ¡°I¡¯ve made a terrible mistake.¡±


    No matter how powerful he¡¯d thought those extra ingredients were, it had been a pale, pale shadow of the truth. His previous body advancement had refined the tissues, the organs, even the bones. This refinement went so much further. He felt like it was ripping apart every cell in his body and rebuilding it from the ground up to be something better, more powerful, more efficient. While Sen was all for greater strength, power, and efficiency, he was less impressed with the pure physical torment of the process. The pain he had suffered before was a gentle breezepared with this fresh hurricane of affliction. It felt like his eyes exploded and his fingernails ripped free from his fingers. His teeth actually shattered, although he couldn¡¯t tell if that was from him clenching his jaw or was a byproduct of the elixir. For those first few instances, Sen thought he was going to die.


    Yet, slowly, he managed to w his way back to some semnce of sanity. He started by focusing on just one bone in his arm, forced himself to watch what was happening, and made himself understand. It didn¡¯t just feel like the elixir was rebuilding his cells from the ground up, it really <em>was</em> rebuilding them from the ground up. Even as he observed, barely clinging to some tiny shred of rational thought, the bone transformed. It had been a serviceable bone before. If it was one vastly stronger than a mortal bone, it had been one made of essentially the same material. Now, it was bing something else altogether. He didn¡¯t even have a name for the new material.


    It reminded him of stone or some kind of crystal construction. It drew heavily from the earth qi of the root the divine turtle provided, but also from the water qi of the ocean flower. What might have be something strong, but brittle, instead became something just as strong but flexible. Sen struggled to imagine the kind of force necessary to break that bone now. He let his awareness widen a little. He saw tiny threads of that strange new qi in his dantian flickering from cell to cell, igniting them to life. He didn¡¯t see it, but he could sense some kind of simr transformation taking ce in his marrow. Then, a new peak of agony washed over him, and he was lost in the pain again. Unable to focus on anything but a single thought, a single word.


    ¡°Survive.¡±


    It was, in so many ways, the word that had defined his existence. Even when he¡¯d been powerless, scavenging for food, it had all been in the service of survival. His almost obsessive practice on the mountain had, in the back of his mind, been about making sure that he wasn¡¯t cast out to die on the mountain. He had known that Master Feng wouldn¡¯t really do that, that Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong would have forbidden it, but he¡¯d been abandoned before. That fear had still lived inside of him long after his mind knew it wasn¡¯t going to happen. So, he had worked, ceaselessly, relentlessly, all to survive. Even his reticence about engaging in lethalbat was at least partially driven by that basic need to survive. After all, he was much less likely to die if he <em>didn¡¯t</em> fight other people and spirit beasts than if he did. It hadn¡¯t worked out for him the way he hoped, but he understood where it came from. So, in the face of an agony that threatened to consume his sanity whole, he dug into that basic need, the primal urge, and made it his all-consuming goal. Survive.


    Even by the standards of his own hellish experiences with body cultivation, the process seemed long to Sen. Maybe it was because the elixir was rebuilding so much of what he was. Maybe it was the pain distorting any understanding of the passage of time. He discarded worrying about the why because it wouldn¡¯t help. He needed to keep his mind focused on the immediate need to keep going for another second, another minute, another hour, however long it took to <em>survive</em>. After a week or year or ten thousand years, Sen slowly became aware that the pain was receding. Not nearly fast enough, oh it could never be fast enough, but it was slowly ebbing to a level where he could put three or four words together in a row and have them make sense.


    He focused on breathing at first. He forced himself to breathe in steady rhythm, drawing the air deep inside his lungs, and then releasing it just as slowly. When he could maintain that steady breathing without having to give it his entire attention, he let a little piece of his mind start the process of cultivating. No matter how powerful or bnced that elixir had been, the body always drew on its own resources to drive advancement. He felt the environmental qi start to fill the empty space in dantian, only for it to be immediately sucked away by <em>everything</em>. Every part of his body was desperate for qi, for all five kinds of qi. As fast as he drew it in, his body ate it up. Sen found that disconcerting given that his body had never behaved that way before. Plus, he¡¯d set up a qi gathering formation, which meant his body was soaking in qi at an elerated rate. Just as Sen started to worry that he¡¯d need to provide his body with a constant supply of qi at that level, the demand started to fall off. Then, he was just filling his dantian. Somewhere in the midst of all of that, thest lingering vestiges of pain had slipped away.


    Sen opened his eyes to find the turtle still sitting where he¡¯dst seen it. The turtle was looking at him.


    ¡°That <em>really</em> hurt,¡±ined Sen, his mind veering away from even trying to remember the details.


    ¡°I expect it did. The Five-Fold Body Transformation isn¡¯t for the weak. It is where your body transformation was headed, though. I just helped ensure that you made thest few steps. Although, speaking of pain, you should brace yourself,¡± warned Elder Bo.


    ¡°Brace myself? For what?¡± Sen asked, sitting up in rm.


    ¡°Tribtion,¡± said the divine turtle.


    Sen remembered Master Feng talking about tribtions. What had he said they usually were?


    ¡°Oh no,¡± said Sen, looking up at thick, dark clouds overhead. ¡°Not lightning.¡±


    As though his very words had triggered the event, Sen felt heavenly qi coalescing around him. He idly noted that his passive cultivation technique was greedily drawing that divine qi into his dantian as fast as it could. Sen couldn¡¯t decide if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. Tribtions were supposed to be some kind of punishment. Would stealing some of that divine qi make it worse? Was it really stealing if they were just throwing it around in the environment? Sen wanted to think that it wasn¡¯t, but he wasn¡¯t a god or an immortal. He expected they made their own decisions about things like that. Even so, he started cycling earth qi. He reached down into the earth, beneath the sand and the soil, down to the rock below. He dragged it up and around himself, then slumped to his knees, exhausted by the effort.


    He felt as much as heard the first lightning strike on his tiny makeshift fortress. All of the hair on his body tried to stand up straight, and he could smell the ozone. Then, there was a terrible crash as the lightning obliterated part of the stone. A second strike, and then third carved pieces away from his protection. The stone wasn¡¯t going tost much longer, so Sen cycled up his own lightning and called out the spear he¡¯d gotten from the Soaring Skies sect. He knew he couldn¡¯t defeat heavenly lightning in a direct confrontation, but he might be able to redirect it using his own. When another strike ripped a giant hole in the stone around him, Sen didn¡¯t wait around for another. He dove through the hole and rolled away, thanking Uncle Kho for all those lessons about how to handle a spear when in motion. He felt and heard another strike on the rock before there was a slight pause.


    ¡°Here ites,¡± he whispered to himself.


    Sen pushed lightning qi in the spearhead and held that spear so that the tip was a little over his head. Then, he got creative. He let the lightning in the spearhead seek the ground around him. It was more than a little unsettling for Sen to see a veritable curtain of lightning form a kind of curtain around him. Then, he was done being interested in his own technique as the first bolt of heavenly lightning crashed down onto his curtain. The idea worked, partially. The lightning from above did tend to follow his own lightning down to the ground. Yet, it was so powerful that parts of it still arced into him, searing skin and scorching flesh. He didn¡¯t have a better idea though, so he pushed harder and tried to reinforce the lightning curtain as much as he could, shamelessly burning liquid qi to keep it going. For the next minute or two, lightning bolts fell on Sen like rain. By the end, he wasn¡¯t standing anymore. He was on his knees, clutching the haft of the spear in a death grip meant as much to support himself as to keep it aimed upward. Eventually, he realized that there was no more lightning trying to end his life and let go of his own technique.


    Sen copsed sideways. He could smell the burned cloth, and his own charred body. Yet, as much as it hurt, he could feel his newly advanced body knitting itself back together. Not wanting to overtax it, he fumbled one of Auntie Caihong¡¯s healing pills from his storage ring and choked it down. He was surprised to discover that his qi gathering formation had survived the tribtion, so he crawled inside of it, and just cultivated while his body put itself back together. Sen was really, really tired of pain. He decided that he could wait a while to advance his cultivation again, demonic cultivators be damned. When Sen made himself sit back up, the turtle was looking out at the cove, where Sen could see a small boat approaching fast.


    ¡°That woman needs another hobby,¡± muttered Sen.


    The turtle snorted and turned back to Sen. ¡°You survived your tribtion. Well done.¡±


    ¡°They say the first one is the hardest.¡±


    Elder Bo gave Sen a sharp look, or what Sen felt must be a sharp look whening from a leathery, ck-eyed face.


    ¡°First,¡± said Elder Bo. ¡°That was your first tribtion?¡±


    Sen gave a tired nod. ¡°It was.¡±


    ¡°What a very peculiar young cultivator. You¡¯ll have toe back and visit me once you¡¯ve reached core formation, so I can see how it went.¡±


    ¡°How will I find you?¡±


    ¡°Juste back here. I¡¯ll know it¡¯s you.¡±


    With that, the turtle turned and walked into the ocean, not even leaving a ripple in his wake. Seny back in the sand, closed his eyes, and pretended he couldn¡¯t hear Lo Meifeng shouting obscenities at him from the water.

 V3

    V3


    Sen tried to get what rest he could while Lo Meifeng¡¯s boat approached, because he suspected there would be little enough rest after she arrived. He made a point tomit the name Elder Bo had given him for the body cultivation technique he¡¯d, almost identally, used. Five-Fold Body Transformation. Sen didn¡¯t really understand what that meant, or even what it entailed for his current level of body cultivation. For that matter, he didn¡¯t even know what rtive stage of body cultivation he was in anymore. He <em>had</em> been in the body cultivation equivalent to foundation formation, but he¡¯d also never faced a tribtion before. Master Feng hadn¡¯t been terribly specific about them, other than to say that they <em>could</em> happen at any advancement, but they almost always happened between major stages of cultivation advancement.


    Given that it had been Sen¡¯s first tribtion ever, he suspected that his body cultivation was now the equivalent to core formation. It did make him wonder what that actually meant, though. With core formation, there was a fundamental change in how the dantian operated, how one processed qi and used it. With body cultivation, though, it likely meant a simrly fundamental change in how the body worked. Of course, the only real way to understand any changes to his body would be to perform tests. With Lo Meifeng bearing down on him like an angry mother hen, he didn¡¯t expect he¡¯d get much opportunity for that. She¡¯d want to stick him on the boat and take him back to the ship as soon as possible. He did try to take advantage of the few precious minutes of solitude he had avable to him. One of the mysteries that had vexed Sen was why body cultivation and spirit cultivation operated separately. Granted, they had only diverged for him very recently, but for most cultivators following both paths, the advancements came entirely independently.


    None of his teachers had a good exnation for why that was. Sure, the body and spirit were different, but they were also connected to each other in profound ways. That the entire cultivation world took it for granted that they should be developed independently bothered him. It seemed irrational to him. If anything, it seemed to him that every cultivator would want a cultivation development technique that helped them develop both simultaneously. Again, his own experiences with simultaneous advancement hadn¡¯t been terribly pleasant, but he¡¯d been doing it by ident. It seemed to him that a well-developed cultivation system would ount for those realities and develop cultivation aids and resources to help limit the negative side effects. The longer Seny there pondering the oddities of cultivation, the more he found himself frowning over something Elder Bo had said in passing. As though elder divine spirit animals said anything <em>in passing</em>.


    ¡°Why <em>was</em> that my first tribtion?¡± Sen asked himself out loud.


    He had passed from qi condensing to foundation formation without a hint of heavenly lightning or any other kind of tribtion. What had been the difference? He¡¯d had a divine turtle baby-stepping him through this advancement. If anything should have shielded him from heavenly retribution, it seemed that the presence of the turtle would have done it. Yet, it hadn¡¯t seemed to slow down the tribtion at all. <em>Unless</em>, he thought, <em>it did</em>. It wasn¡¯t like he had another tribtion topare it to. Maybe that had been the heavens version of a light rebuke to acknowledge the turtle¡¯s participation. That was an idea that put a chill in Sen¡¯s soul. He¡¯d survived the tribtion, but he thought it only would have taken another minute or two of those lightning strikes to kill him. His makeshift protection was on the verge of copse at the end.


    Still, none of that exined why he hadn¡¯t suffered under the heavenssh before this advancement. What had been different about those advancements? What had been different about this one? Sen hadn¡¯tnded on aplete answer to that question by the time Lo Meifeng arrived, although he had an inkling about it. Once she arrived, though, he had to put those thoughts away. It was too hard to concentrate on them around all of her shouting. He let it go on for about five minutes before he lost his patience.


    ¡°Enough,¡± hemanded.


    Lo Meifeng was so shocked by either themand or his tone that she fell silent. Instead, she just stared at him with an incredulous expression.


    Sen took a breath and continued. ¡°At no point did an older, more experienced cultivator warn me that there was an elder divine turtle following us around. Then again, I might have been even more eager to go if I¡¯d known. You know that cultivation has risks. Some of those risks are bad, like offending demonic cultivators. Some of those risks are necessary, like following through on fortuitous encounters. If I was anyone else, would you <em>really</em> have discouraged me from taking the advice of a divine turtle?¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s cheeks turned a little red in embarrassment when Sen pointed out that she should have known there was a vastly powerful spirit beast trailing them. When he asked t out about taking the turtle¡¯s advice, she sighed.


    ¡°No. I wouldn¡¯t have. Only a fool ignores a divine turtle.¡±


    ¡°So, beyond that, what would have changed if you¡¯de along? Would you have prevented me from gathering medicinal nts? Refused to let me make a healing elixir?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she admitted. ¡°But that¡¯s not the point. It¡¯s my job to protect you. I can¡¯t do that if you run off by yourself all the time. Especially when a divine turtle is going to trap us all on the damn ship.¡±


    ¡°Wait. What?¡±


    ¡°The turtle sealed us up on the ship for the entire duration of your little date on the beach. Now, imagine how that might have gone if it had been something less friendly and benevolent than a turtle. What if you¡¯d caught the attention of a sea dragon instead?¡±


    Sen really stopped to consider that possibility. Dragons weren¡¯t innately hostile to humans, but they weren¡¯t especially predisposed to like humans either. Dragons were proud, arrogant, and terrifyingly powerful by nature. In most myths and tales, encounters with dragons ended badly for the humans involved. Sen was good at some things, but he didn¡¯t expect that he would have fared much better at keeping a dragon happy than the people in those stories.


    ¡°That would have been bad, probably,¡± he admitted. ¡°But do you really think you could have protected me from a sea dragon?¡±


    ¡°Not a chance. Not for long anyway. But I could have bought you time to run away, to escape, to do that hiding thing that you do so well. I know you hate having me watching you all the time. I really do understand why it¡¯s frustrating for you. But until something changes in the situation or my orders, it¡¯s the reality for now. I¡¯m not asking you to like it. I¡¯m just asking that you don¡¯t actively work against me doing my job.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t most of the time,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I recognize and appreciate that. I just need you to recognize and appreciate that we assess risk differently. I have to think about the worst possible version of events. So, while something like this beach looks harmless enough to you, I see it as a pit filled with potential disaster and hordes of rampaging spirit beasts.¡±


    There was a time, not that long ago, when Sen would have snickered at the idea of a horde of rampaging spirit beasts. After his experiences in that town that had been stripped of all human life, the possibility seemed all too real. Sen rubbed his eyes. His body had mostly finished healing, which was truly amazing and remarkable, but he¡¯d been through a lot that day. He felt wrung out. He just wanted to sleep for a while and maybe roast an entire cow to eat. Maybe a boar would be good as well. Oh, and some ducks would be delicious. Sen forced his mind away from food with an effort. He couldn¡¯t remember thest time he¡¯d felt so hungry. He¡¯d gotten very used to being able to skip meals without consequence when necessary. At that moment, though, he felt like he could eat through everything in his storage ring. He made himself focus on Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I will <em>try</em> to not make your job harder. I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll seed all the time, but I really will try.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all I ask, that you try.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. Now, seriously though, how did you miss that turtle?¡±


    He¡¯d meant it to poke a little fun at the woman, but he was also curious what she¡¯d say. Instead of answering, she just lifted an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°How did you?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have an answer for that. True, he hadn¡¯t been actively looking for spirit beasts, but he had been keeping a pretty close watch on the surrounding area. He supposed that the turtle must have been using some kind of technique like the one that Sen himself used. The turtle was, no doubt, a master of water qi. So, maybe there was some version of the technique that used water to blend a person into the background. Sen looked out at the ship and sighed. He¡¯d have plenty of opportunity to try to work out how something like that might work. On the bright side, he should also have some time to try to decide just where and how enlightenment fit into the cultivation puzzle. If there was a reason that he hadn¡¯t been suffering from tribtions so far, he thought that it was probably tied up with his active pursuit of moments of enlightenment.

 Book 3: Chapter 6: Cultivation Mysteries

    Book 3: Chapter 6: Cultivation Mysteries


    Sen tried to get what rest he could while Lo Meifeng¡¯s boat approached, because he suspected there would be little enough rest after she arrived. He made a point tomit the name Elder Bo had given him for the body cultivation technique he¡¯d, almost identally, used. Five-Fold Body Transformation. Sen didn¡¯t really understand what that meant, or even what it entailed for his current level of body cultivation. For that matter, he didn¡¯t even know what rtive stage of body cultivation he was in anymore. He <em>had</em> been in the body cultivation equivalent to foundation formation, but he¡¯d also never faced a tribtion before. Master Feng hadn¡¯t been terribly specific about them, other than to say that they <em>could</em> happen at any advancement, but they almost always happened between major stages of cultivation advancement.


    Given that it had been Sen¡¯s first tribtion ever, he suspected that his body cultivation was now the equivalent to core formation. It did make him wonder what that actually meant, though. With core formation, there was a fundamental change in how the dantian operated, how one processed qi and used it. With body cultivation, though, it likely meant a simrly fundamental change in how the body worked. Of course, the only real way to understand any changes to his body would be to perform tests. With Lo Meifeng bearing down on him like an angry mother hen, he didn¡¯t expect he¡¯d get much opportunity for that. She¡¯d want to stick him on the boat and take him back to the ship as soon as possible. He did try to take advantage of the few precious minutes of solitude he had avable to him. One of the mysteries that had vexed Sen was why body cultivation and spirit cultivation operated separately. Granted, they had only diverged for him very recently, but for most cultivators following both paths, the advancements came entirely independently.


    None of his teachers had a good exnation for why that was. Sure, the body and spirit were different, but they were also connected to each other in profound ways. That the entire cultivation world took it for granted that they should be developed independently bothered him. It seemed irrational to him. If anything, it seemed to him that every cultivator would want a cultivation development technique that helped them develop both simultaneously. Again, his own experiences with simultaneous advancement hadn¡¯t been terribly pleasant, but he¡¯d been doing it by ident. It seemed to him that a well-developed cultivation system would ount for those realities and develop cultivation aids and resources to help limit the negative side effects. The longer Seny there pondering the oddities of cultivation, the more he found himself frowning over something Elder Bo had said in passing. As though elder divine spirit animals said anything <em>in passing</em>.


    ¡°Why <em>was</em> that my first tribtion?¡± Sen asked himself out loud.


    He had passed from qi condensing to foundation formation without a hint of heavenly lightning or any other kind of tribtion. What had been the difference? He¡¯d had a divine turtle baby-stepping him through this advancement. If anything should have shielded him from heavenly retribution, it seemed that the presence of the turtle would have done it. Yet, it hadn¡¯t seemed to slow down the tribtion at all. <em>Unless</em>, he thought, <em>it did</em>. It wasn¡¯t like he had another tribtion topare it to. Maybe that had been the heavens version of a light rebuke to acknowledge the turtle¡¯s participation. That was an idea that put a chill in Sen¡¯s soul. He¡¯d survived the tribtion, but he thought it only would have taken another minute or two of those lightning strikes to kill him. His makeshift protection was on the verge of copse at the end.


    Still, none of that exined why he hadn¡¯t suffered under the heavenssh before this advancement. What had been different about those advancements? What had been different about this one? Sen hadn¡¯tnded on aplete answer to that question by the time Lo Meifeng arrived, although he had an inkling about it. Once she arrived, though, he had to put those thoughts away. It was too hard to concentrate on them around all of her shouting. He let it go on for about five minutes before he lost his patience.


    ¡°Enough,¡± hemanded.


    Lo Meifeng was so shocked by either themand or his tone that she fell silent. Instead, she just stared at him with an incredulous expression.


    Sen took a breath and continued. ¡°At no point did an older, more experienced cultivator warn me that there was an elder divine turtle following us around. Then again, I might have been even more eager to go if I¡¯d known. You know that cultivation has risks. Some of those risks are bad, like offending demonic cultivators. Some of those risks are necessary, like following through on fortuitous encounters. If I was anyone else, would you <em>really</em> have discouraged me from taking the advice of a divine turtle?¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s cheeks turned a little red in embarrassment when Sen pointed out that she should have known there was a vastly powerful spirit beast trailing them. When he asked t out about taking the turtle¡¯s advice, she sighed.


    ¡°No. I wouldn¡¯t have. Only a fool ignores a divine turtle.¡±


    ¡°So, beyond that, what would have changed if you¡¯de along? Would you have prevented me from gathering medicinal nts? Refused to let me make a healing elixir?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she admitted. ¡°But that¡¯s not the point. It¡¯s my job to protect you. I can¡¯t do that if you run off by yourself all the time. Especially when a divine turtle is going to trap us all on the damn ship.¡±


    ¡°Wait. What?¡±


    ¡°The turtle sealed us up on the ship for the entire duration of your little date on the beach. Now, imagine how that might have gone if it had been something less friendly and benevolent than a turtle. What if you¡¯d caught the attention of a sea dragon instead?¡±


    Sen really stopped to consider that possibility. Dragons weren¡¯t innately hostile to humans, but they weren¡¯t especially predisposed to like humans either. Dragons were proud, arrogant, and terrifyingly powerful by nature. In most myths and tales, encounters with dragons ended badly for the humans involved. Sen was good at some things, but he didn¡¯t expect that he would have fared much better at keeping a dragon happy than the people in those stories.


    ¡°That would have been bad, probably,¡± he admitted. ¡°But do you really think you could have protected me from a sea dragon?¡±


    ¡°Not a chance. Not for long anyway. But I could have bought you time to run away, to escape, to do that hiding thing that you do so well. I know you hate having me watching you all the time. I really do understand why it¡¯s frustrating for you. But until something changes in the situation or my orders, it¡¯s the reality for now. I¡¯m not asking you to like it. I¡¯m just asking that you don¡¯t actively work against me doing my job.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t most of the time,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I recognize and appreciate that. I just need you to recognize and appreciate that we assess risk differently. I have to think about the worst possible version of events. So, while something like this beach looks harmless enough to you, I see it as a pit filled with potential disaster and hordes of rampaging spirit beasts.¡±


    There was a time, not that long ago, when Sen would have snickered at the idea of a horde of rampaging spirit beasts. After his experiences in that town that had been stripped of all human life, the possibility seemed all too real. Sen rubbed his eyes. His body had mostly finished healing, which was truly amazing and remarkable, but he¡¯d been through a lot that day. He felt wrung out. He just wanted to sleep for a while and maybe roast an entire cow to eat. Maybe a boar would be good as well. Oh, and some ducks would be delicious. Sen forced his mind away from food with an effort. He couldn¡¯t remember thest time he¡¯d felt so hungry. He¡¯d gotten very used to being able to skip meals without consequence when necessary. At that moment, though, he felt like he could eat through everything in his storage ring. He made himself focus on Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I will <em>try</em> to not make your job harder. I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll seed all the time, but I really will try.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all I ask, that you try.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. Now, seriously though, how did you miss that turtle?¡±


    He¡¯d meant it to poke a little fun at the woman, but he was also curious what she¡¯d say. Instead of answering, she just lifted an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°How did you?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have an answer for that. True, he hadn¡¯t been actively looking for spirit beasts, but he had been keeping a pretty close watch on the surrounding area. He supposed that the turtle must have been using some kind of technique like the one that Sen himself used. The turtle was, no doubt, a master of water qi. So, maybe there was some version of the technique that used water to blend a person into the background. Sen looked out at the ship and sighed. He¡¯d have plenty of opportunity to try to work out how something like that might work. On the bright side, he should also have some time to try to decide just where and how enlightenment fit into the cultivation puzzle. If there was a reason that he hadn¡¯t been suffering from tribtions so far, he thought that it was probably tied up with his active pursuit of moments of enlightenment.

 Book 3: Chapter 7: Practical Concerns

    Book 3: Chapter 7: Practical Concerns


    It turned out that Sen had spent almost two full days on that beach. Once the captain figured out that nobody was getting on or off the boat for a while, he just put his crew back to work on repairing the ship. So, the ship was underway again almost immediately after Sen and Lo Meifeng were back on the ship. For all that Sen desperately wanted to seclude himself in some quiet corner of the ship and consider his questions and theories about cultivation, there were practical concerns that couldn¡¯t be ignored. After speaking with Lo Meifeng for a time, she¡¯d decided that they would likely get off the ship sooner thanter. She wasn¡¯t sure where exactly. She wanted a port or harbor that was big enough that it would mask the exit of a few random travelers and let them disappear quietly into the night.


    Yet, that decision pushed up something that Sen had been nudging down the road for a while now. He went looking for Lifen. He found her in their cabin, studying one the cultivation manuals he¡¯d gotten for her. She looked particrly focused, so he settled into a sitting position on the floor and waited until she was ready to put the manual away. While he was tempted to do a little cultivation or ponder cultivation mysteries, or maybe eat his body weight in food, Sen just let his head lean against the cabin wall. The gentle rocking of the ship,bined with Lifen¡¯s soft breathing, and the quiet swish of a page turning asionally lulled Sen into a semi-conscious, semi-meditative state. He drifted, blissfully free of any thoughts or concerns for a while, until Lifen finally nudged him with her foot. His eyes snapped open. She was giving him an unamused look.


    ¡°Enjoy your time on the beach?¡± she asked, a little waspishly.


    ¡°Did it look like I was having fun?¡± he retorted.


    Lifen¡¯s expression softened a little. ¡°No, not really. It all looked pretty painful, actually. Did you advance?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°My body cultivation this time.¡±


    That got a spective look from Lifen. ¡°Really?¡±


    Sen was a little tempted, but it wasn¡¯t what he was there for. ¡°I also had a discussion with Lo Meifeng about our next steps. We¡¯re going to be leaving the ship. Probably soon.¡±


    Lifen sat straight up at that announcement. ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°She hasn¡¯t decided yet, but she said to expect it to happen in the next couple of weeks. I get the impression that she¡¯s hedging her bets a little. I think she wants to see the ports. Maybe even leave the ship and look around a little before she decides. Which is probably a good idea.¡±


    Lifen nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t be sad to get off this ship. But I¡¯ll ride it for another month if it means getting off somewhere at least a little safe.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully, it won¡¯te to that. But, it also means that we need to discuss your training.¡±


    ¡°Training?¡±


    ¡°Combat training, I mean. I wasn¡¯t kidding before when I said that you¡¯d need to know how to use a weapon. We can¡¯t turn you into a master swordsman or expert spear wielder in a couple of weeks, but we do need to start. Really, we should have already started.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed at that. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s hard. I¡¯ll have to correct you, constantly. Push you all the time. You¡¯re going to dislike me by the end of most days. I¡¯m not especially looking forward to that. But not teaching you is irresponsible. I¡¯d ask Lo Meifeng to do it, but it¡¯s a terrible idea given that you two hate each other. One of you would wind up stabbing the other.¡±


    Lifen snickered. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. She and I wouldn¡¯t pick each other to know under other circumstances.¡±


    ¡°You say that like <em>I</em> picked her.¡±


    Lifen blinked a few times. ¡°You know, I do forget sometimes that you got stuck with her as much as I did. You¡¯re easy in herpany.¡±


    ¡°Is that how it looks from the outside? I¡¯m putting on a better show than I thought. I¡¯m really not easy in herpany at all. It¡¯s unnerving having someone watch you constantly. But, she¡¯s had every opportunity to betray or kill me and hasn¡¯t done it. Unless she¡¯s ying some absurdly long game I can¡¯t see, I know that I can trust her. Those people are in pretty short supply these days.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s all true. I still don¡¯t like her.¡±


    Sen gave her a half-smile. ¡°I¡¯d never ask you to.¡±


    ¡°So, when does all of this training begin? Today?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°Not today. We¡¯ll start tomorrow. Getting hit with lightning a bunch of times kind of took it out of me.¡±


    ¡°Lightning?¡± Lifen almost shouted. ¡°What lightning?¡±


    ¡°You know, from like an hour ago? The tribtion.¡±


    Lifen¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°I wasn¡¯t out on deck. I didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, yeah, I had a tribtion. It was just about as fun as you¡¯d think it¡¯d be. Lightning and pain and more lightning and pain. Maybe the heavens will pick something else next time.¡±


    Lifen frowned a little. ¡°I¡¯ll have to do that someday.¡±


    Sen was tempted to dismiss the concern, but that wouldn¡¯t be doing her any favors. ¡°Yes, probably. If you n to keep advancing your cultivation.¡±


    ¡°How does body cultivation work?¡± Lifen asked.


    The question seemed toe out of nowhere, so it took Sen a moment to make the mental shift. ¡°Body cultivation. Well, it¡¯s a bit like spirit cultivation. It tends to happen in major stages, with minor advancements in between. The first major stage of body cultivation is body cleansing.¡±


    A hard shudder went through Sen as a bevy of miserable, unhappy, smelly memories rushed through his mind.


    ¡°What does that actually mean? In practice, I mean. It¡¯s clearly more than just taking a bath.¡±


    ¡°It basically scours all of the impurities out of your body. It lets all your tissues, bones, and organs rebuild in a more perfect form. It alsoes with the advantages you¡¯d expect. It makes you faster, stronger, your body can take more punishment. It helps extend your life.¡±


    Lifen thought for a little while before asking her next question. ¡°But, what¡¯s the end goal? I¡¯ve never understood what body cultivators are aiming to aplish.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re aiming for the same thing as spirit cultivators. Immortality. They¡¯re just trying to get there another way. Spirit cultivators are trying to build a spirit, a soul, so powerful that it can ascend to the next realm. Body cultivators are trying to build an immortal body that can ascend and house their soul as it is.¡±


    ¡°And people like you? Who do both?¡±


    ¡°If, and it¡¯s a very big if, you can keep both forms of cultivation advancing at approximately the same pace, you get an immortal body that can house the incredibly powerful soul that you built. I guess, it would make you kind of like a god. Don¡¯t get me wrong, there are some short-term benefits too. The only reason I could kill that demonic core cultivator was because I was a body cultivator and a spirit cultivator. I couldn¡¯t have kept up with him otherwise. As a rule, though, most people bottleneck somewhere along the way. Usually in both forms of cultivation.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± said Lifen slowly, ¡°if you¡¯re doing both, doesn¡¯t that double your chances of actually ascending?¡±


    Sen understood what she was getting at, and there was a kernel of truth in it. Following two paths did give you more than one way to get to immortality. Of course, it also splits your focus. One kind of cultivation could be a distraction from the other. Or that was how Auntie Caihong had exined it to him. Sen had taken most of his body cultivation questions to her because she made the medicine. He reasoned that probably gave her the most insight into it. Looking back, he wished he¡¯d asked her so many more questions about it.


    ¡°I think most people would say that it doubles your chances of failing. Still, I suppose you could look at it that way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s painful, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Lifen.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s excruciating every step of the way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be less of a liability to you if I was a body cultivator too, wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    Sen recognized how dangerous a question that really was, on so many levels. Lifen didn¡¯t really understand the demands of body cultivation. She also didn¡¯t understand how vulnerable she¡¯d be during her breakthroughs. Sen had done most of his body cultivation in a safe, protected ce. He couldn¡¯t imagine trying to advance in body cultivation while simultaneously trying to stay away from demonic cultivators and anyone they hired. Of course, the dangers of it didn¡¯t make her wrong. She would be less of a liability to him if she was also a body cultivator. Still, that didn¡¯t make it a good choice for her.


    ¡°Technically, yes, you¡¯d be less of a liability. But, if that¡¯s the only reason you want to do it, then don¡¯t. That¡¯s not the kind of pain you take on for someone else¡¯s benefit. You <em>need</em> to want to do it for yourself. It¡¯s the only way you¡¯ll make it through the process. Body cultivation can <em>kill</em> you if you¡¯re notpletelymitted to it and your own survival.¡±


    ¡°So, you won¡¯t help me do it if I ask?¡±


    There was a challenge in those words that Sen didn¡¯t fully understand, which made him very nervous. He also had a lot of doubts about her motives, which also made him nervous. Yet, as he¡¯d had to remind himself more than once, cultivation was all about individual choice. It wasn¡¯t for him to close off that road to her if she decided that she wanted to go down it. He decided he¡¯d give her onest warning. Then, he¡¯d have to let her do what she would with the information.


    ¡°You¡¯d be startingte. Very, veryte. There¡¯s a little more flexibility with body cultivation than spirit cultivation, but not a lot. It¡¯s entirely possible that you¡¯ll start and find that you can¡¯t get beyond the first few steps, let alone get into the second or third stages.¡±


    That revtion seemed to give her pause, but she just nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Then, think about it for the next week.¡±


    ¡°But-,¡±


    Sen held up a hand. ¡°<em>Think about it</em> for the next week. Ask me all the questions that you haven¡¯t thought of yet. Talk to Lo Meifeng about it. Yes, I know you hate her, but talk to her about it anyway. If, after all of that, you still want to walk down that path, we¡¯ll talk about next steps.¡±


    Lifen sighed in disappointment. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 8: Port

    Book 3: Chapter 8: Port


    The next two weeks fell into something of a routine for Sen and Lifen. They¡¯d get up each morning and cultivate for an hour on deck. Then, Sen began the grueling process of teaching and drilling Lifen on unarmedbat. It didn¡¯t take long for the question Sen had been expecting toe up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Lifen between puffing breaths. ¡°I thought you were going to train me to use a weapon. Why am I learning all of this unarmed stuff?¡±


    ¡°What will you do if you lose your weapon or get disarmed?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Lifen, looking a little embarrassed. ¡°Right. That makes sense. I guess I was just focused on the idea of a weapon.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll get to that. Believe it or not, learning this will actually make learning that easier.¡±


    Sen would keep her at training for most of the morning, before giving her a break and going to help prepare lunch. Sen found that letting her rest and get something to eat in the middle of the day dramatically improved her performance in the afternoon. Unlike his own training days, he left her to her own devices in the evening, often choosing to cultivate on his own to gather qi from the deepening shadows on deck. That particr choice also had the side benefit of letting her cool down for a while if she was harboring any resentment from the day¡¯s training.


    While he hadn¡¯t expected any real benefits to his qi cultivation from his recent body advancement, he was pleasantly surprised to find one. While he still had to make a conscious effort to gather qi in the right bnce, the work had be much easier. It felt as though his body had be a much more efficient conduit for all five types of qi. He just wasn¡¯t entirely sure why. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have the time to really investigate it and made a mental note to explore the issue when he had a touch more free time. While that improved efficiency still wasn¡¯t good enough to allow his passive cultivation to run in the background, it cut down on the total amount of time he spent on cultivation each day. Then, he¡¯d go back to the tiny cabin he shared with Lifen to find out what kind of mood she was in. Some days, when things had gone rtively well, she¡¯d be in a good mood. On those days, she¡¯d want to discuss the training or cultivation. On days when things had not gone well, he¡¯d get icy looks or find her studiously ignoring him.


    He took it all in stride as best as he could. Sen hadn¡¯t known exactly how the young woman was going to react to getting training from him, but he had known it was going to mean a change. Yet, his taking on the role of teacher was the least bad option of a very limited set of choices. He expected it wouldn¡¯t have been quite so bad if he wasn¡¯t teaching her something so demanding. Martial skills were one area where, much like cultivation, a poor beginning often meant disasterter. As much as he might have preferred to go easy on her, that wouldn¡¯t serve her well in a real fight. Plus, Sen expected that they would find themselves in a real fight at some point. They could probably run and hide for a while, but it would take an extraordinary amount of good fortune to avoid any contact with the demonic cultivators. They couldn¡¯t walk around in disguise all the time. If their descriptions had been sent out, and Sen <em>had</em> to assume they were, it only took one person recognizing them and it would be a chase or a fight. So, he continued to push.


    The ship stopped twice in those two weeks. Both times, Lo Meifeng bid them to stay inside and then stole into the port towns to get a look around. Both times, she came back and simply shook her head. When Sen asked what was wrong, the older cultivator just shook her head.


    ¡°My instincts tell me that it¡¯s a bad ce for us. I¡¯ve learned to trust those feelings over the years.¡±


    While Sen would appreciate getting off of the ship, he wasn¡¯t going to dismiss her concerns. He¡¯d traveled clear from Orchard¡¯s Reach to Tide¡¯s Rest based on nothing more substantial than a feeling. While he had a limited pool of interactions with other cultivators to draw from, he got the impression that they <em>all</em> relied on their instincts and intuitions to help guide them through life. He didn¡¯t know precisely what Lo Meifeng was sensing that gave her those warnings, but he was ready to give her the benefit of the doubt until those instincts proved faulty. <em>Besides</em>, he thought, <em>it¡¯s not like I¡¯m any better equipped to identify these risks than she is</em>. The simple fact that she had survived until the middle of core formation suggested that her survival instincts were probably pretty solid. If Sen¡¯s experiences in the Jianghu were even a little bit representative, he had to ept Lo Meifeng had found a way to navigate or ovee a lot of dangers along the way.


    So, he was a little surprised when, at the third stop, Lo Meifeng came back and told them to gather their things. It was a remarkably short process. Sen kept most of his belongings in his storage ring. He¡¯d given Lifen one once it was clear that she¡¯d being along, so she generally followed suit. Less than an hour after Lo Meifeng hade back, Sen was bidding farewell to the captain. The older man gave Sen a toothy grin.


    ¡°It¡¯s been an experience having you on board, cultivator,¡± said the man. ¡°I¡¯ve got one hells of a tale to tell.¡±


    Sen was suddenly rmed at the idea of the captain and crew telling wild tales of the cultivator or cultivators who saved them. The captain must have read the distress on Sen¡¯s face because he shook his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± said the man. ¡°We¡¯ll keep it quiet for a while. Those stories always work best when they¡¯ve had a little time to fade.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that, captain,¡± said Sen with a bit of relief.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re running from, but I hope you get away from it.¡±


    Senughed a little. ¡°Me too. Good luck to you, captain. I hope your future journeys are a bit less eventful.¡±


    The captain shrugged at that. ¡°That <em>would</em> be nice, but the sea is a dangerous upation. You don¡¯t be a sailor because you want a calm, boring life.¡±


    The two men traded bows, and then Sen was walking off the ship with Lo Meifeng and Lifen. Sen did his best to ignore the smells that assaulted his heightened senses. There was the strong smell of the ocean, of course, which Sen actually liked. Unfortunately, there was also the smell of fresh and not-so-fresh fish all over the ce. Beneath that were the smells that always came with having too many people crammed into too small of a ce. There was the stink of garbage, human waste, and the sour smell of unwashed human bodies. His recent advancement had made his sense of smell even sharper than before, so it took a lot of effort to block out that stink that seemed to want to invade his nose and never leave.


    For her part, Lifen looked around with curious eyes. The port city wasn¡¯t nearly asrge as Emperor¡¯s Bay, so she wasn¡¯t staring with wonder. But the architecture was a bit different. There was less stone and more wood to be seen. Thatch covered nearly every roof, save for on a few buildings in the distance that Sen suspected were owned by either the local government or the local wealthy. The local speech was a little different as well. Sen wasn¡¯t an expert innguages, so he had a hard time putting his finger on it. The best he coulde up with was that the people sounded a little softer, almost like they were slurring their words a little bit in spots where he wouldn¡¯t. That reminded him that he had meant to ask someone about whatnguages were spoken on the continent. He turned to ask Lo Meifeng about it, but Lifen spoke first.


    ¡°Will we stay in the city tonight?¡± she asked.


    Lo Meifeng started to say something before she frowned. In the end, she shook her head. ¡°No, not in the city. Maybe somewhere in the outskirts. There are too many eyes here.¡±


    Lifen looked a little disappointed, but she didn¡¯t object. That made Sen happy. He had no desire to try and keep them from yelling at each other in public. People yelling at each in the street was not low profile. Plus, Sen was already distracted. He¡¯d been hiding since before they got off the ship. He understood why Lo Meifeng had suggested it, but it also made him nervous to have his cultivator senses so limited. He was also having to get used to walking onnd again. His body had adapted to the rolling motion of the ship pretty quickly, but he hadn¡¯t quite reverted back yet. On top of that, he was trying to keep his eyes open for trouble. He¡¯d been pretty adept at spotting trouble when he¡¯d been a street urchin, so he leaned hard on those rusty old skills.


    Yet, despite Sen¡¯s near certainty that they¡¯d be discovered and attacked, the trip through the port city was quiet. They passed out of the gates with barely an acknowledgment from the guards, aside from one staring a little too long at Lifen¡¯s body. Sen had spent enough time with her to see that she didn¡¯t mean to say anything about it but that the leering bothered her. Sen gave the guard a look so hard that the man flinched, went pale, and immediately found somewhere else to direct his attention. As they moved away from the gate, Lifen gave Sen a bemused smile.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that,¡± she said.


    ¡°Probably not, but it was bothering you,¡± said Sen, as though that exined everything.


    ¡°Is that a good enough reason?¡±


    Sen gave her a baffled look. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡±


    Lifen looked a bit startled at those words, then a light blush tinged her cheeks. Sen didn¡¯t really know what to make of that, so he added it to the long list of mysteries in his life that would probably never be solved.

 Book 3: Chapter 9: Cultivator Chou

    Book 3: Chapter 9: Cultivator Chou


    Once they were out of the city proper, Lo Meifeng seemed to rx a little. At least, Sen thought she did. Her answers to the asional questions that Sen or Lifen asked were less sharp and terse. It wasn¡¯t much in the grand scheme of things, but Sen liked to take his victories where he found them. Despite rxing slightly, Lo Meifeng kept them moving until nearly sunset. At that point, they had moved beyond the city and the dense crush of buildings that had gone up beyond the city walls. Instead, they were traveling through the smaller towns and farming viges that seemed to dot thendscape beyond every city. While Sen would have been perfectly content to simply find a spot off the road, both of the women emphatically declined that option.


    ¡°Some of us require a proper bath from time to time,¡± said Lo Meifeng with an unimpressed look.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Lifen, giving Sen a nearly identical unimpressed expression.


    Seeing those two women put forth a <em>united</em> front made the back of Sen¡¯s neck itch and brought on vague worries about some kind of impending, world-destroying catastrophe. So, Sen promptly shut his mouth. It wasn¡¯t as though he¡¯d personally deprived them of baths. He actually liked baths. There just hadn¡¯t been one on the ship, so everyone had to make do with scrubbing themselves down with a cloth and a small basin of water. Or, in Sen¡¯s case, jumping down into the ocean for a brief swim most days. It wasn¡¯t exactly the same as a bath. He¡¯d still found it necessary to wash himself down asionally to remove some of the lingering salt on his skin if nothing else. It was with those thoughts in his head that Sen walked along in the wake of Lo Meifeng and Lifen as they searched for a ce to stay that had a bath.


    Once they¡¯d found a small inn with both free rooms and a bath, the decisions were made without much input by Sen. Before he knew it, they were checked in for the night, and Sen was left to his own devices while the women imed the bath. Sen felt it was a true testament to their feelings on the matter that neither woman had sniped at the other even once after the subject of baths came up. Since he had no belongings to stow in his room, Sen made his way to the front of the inn in search of food. He¡¯d finished his food and was sipping on a mug of rice wine when the front door of the inn opened and a brute of a man with a thin beard and faded scar across one cheek sauntered in. Even with his <em>hiding</em> ability suppressing most of his senses, the man was close enough that Sen could tell he was a cultivator. Sen sighed and hoped that the man would just take a room and leave everyone be.


    ¡°I am Chou Bai, the wandering cultivator,¡± the man thundered to the room.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. The other people in the room looked nervous, but no one said anything. The wandering cultivator seemed to dete a bit when no one seemed to know who he was. The man tried again.


    ¡°I am Chou Bai, the man who slew the dread lightning serpent of Eternity Pass.¡±


    There was more silence until someone said, ¡°Where¡¯s Eternity Pass?¡±


    The cultivator deted even more, walked over to the owner and asked for a room. Sen felt a moment of relief, but then Lifen and Lo Meifeng came down the stairs, looking very refreshed from their baths. The wandering cultivator¡¯s eyes fixed on them, his chest swelled, and he bellowed again.


    ¡°I am Chou Bai, the wandering cultivator.¡±


    Lifen simply lifted an eyebrow at the man before she continued on toward Sen¡¯s table. Lo Meifeng eyed the man up and down and sniffed.


    ¡°I,¡± she said, ¡°am not interested.¡±


    As she went to follow Lifen around the man, he reached out to grab her arm.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush,¡± said Cultivator Chou.


    Sen saw what happened, but he doubted anyone else did. Lo Meifeng¡¯s hand shot out, seized the wandering cultivator by the face so hard that Sen thought he heard bones crack, and then jerked her arm downward. The sheer speed and force of that motion pulled the wandering cultivator off his feet and sent him face-first onto the floor. A secondter, she had a dagger pressed beneath his ear.


    ¡°Thest man who tried to touch me without my permission lost that hand at the throat. Would you care to join him in Diyu?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± mumbled the chastised cultivator.


    ¡°Good. Now, apologize to these good people for being an insufferable boor.¡±


    ¡°I apologize,¡± he said.


    When Lo Meifeng pressed the dagger a little harder beneath his ear, he hastily added, ¡°For being an insufferable boor.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now begone from my sight before I lose my patience with you,¡± said Lo Meifeng, slipping the dagger into some hidden sheath in her robes.


    Chou Bai got to his feet and stumbled up the stairs to his room. Lo Meifeng walked over to the table where Lifen and Sen were staring at her. She sat down and signaled for a server toe over. She and Lifen ordered food and more wine, while Sen continued to stare at his minder. Eventually, she grew tired of his relentless piercing gaze and turned to look at him.


    ¡°Yes?¡± she asked with all the sweetness in the world.


    ¡°I thought we were supposed to keep a low profile.¡±


    ¡°We are,¡± she sighed. ¡°But some things you can¡¯t let pass. It¡¯s people like him that make a bad name for wandering cultivators. Plus, my cultivation is higher than his. If I hadn¡¯t pped him down, <em>he</em> would have known something strange was going on.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t think that she was lying, specifically, but he also didn¡¯t think he was getting the whole story there either. She¡¯d jumped to physical violence a little <em>too fast</em> for someone who wanted to keep a low profile. Sen wondered if that poor fool had just caught the sharp edge of frustrations that Lo Meifeng couldn¡¯t take out on <em>him</em>. Then again, the man had been obnoxious and had tried to grab Lo Meifeng. If she overreacted, it wasn¡¯t necessarily by much. Probably not enough that it would make this a story that made people think of them. Lo Meifeng wasn¡¯t the only woman core cultivator out there, nor did he think she was the only one who had little patience for handsy men. No, this would probably just go down as some funny story where a wandering cultivator got taught a lesson for being above his station. At least, Sen hoped that was how it would go.


    Sen stayed and chatted with the woman for a while before he excused himself to go make use of the bath. As had be his habit, he added some medicinal herbs to the bath. While he couldn¡¯t sense any lingering problems from the tribtion, there could still be damage hidden deep inside of him that hecked the skill or understanding to recognize. As he soaked in the bath, he let his <em>hiding</em> slip away. He let out a breath of pure rxation. He understood the need to keep himself hard to find but maintaining that skill most of the day had been an exercise in exhaustion. He let out another breath of relief as he cultivated. The much more bnced environmental qi slipped in his dantian without any need for him to micromanage the amounts. The cultivation exercise also helped draw in the healing properties of the nts and reagents he¡¯d sprinkled into the hot water.


    As he soaked, he let his senses bring him information from all over the inn. He could see the life force signatures of the people downstairs. Most of them were dull, but two stood out brighter than the others. <em>Lifen and Lo Meifeng</em>, he thought. There were a few life signatures upstairs in the rooms. Again, most were dull, but there was one bright life signature and, Sen sighed, it was heading straight for him. Sen made himself step out of the bath, and wrap a towel around his waist, before he summoned a jian from his storage ring. He didn¡¯t especially want to kill the brash wandering cultivator. As far as Sen could tell, the man was just stupid, not malicious. Still, if he came through that door with a weapon in hand, Sen wasn¡¯t going to hesitate. Just because he seemed stupid and not evil, it didn¡¯t make the man an innocent. Sen settled into a stance, let his mind find its center, and then he waited, cycling lightning, poised on the edge of violence. The door swung open, and the wandering cultivator stepped into the room. Sen saw the glint of light on something in the man¡¯s hand. That was enough.


    Sen was across the distance in a move so fast that even the wandering cultivator was caught off guard. The man saw Sen closing on him, saw the jian, registered the lightning, and then, he screamed.


    ¡°Wait!¡± shouted the man, holding up a bottle of something.


    By the time Sen registered that it was just a bottle of wine, it was nearly toote to abort his attack. As it was, his jian had sliced cleanly through the bottle. The ambient lightning around the de vaporized the liquid instantly, which made the bath stink like alcohol. Sen arrested the de¡¯s motion a hair from the other cultivator¡¯s throat. It was close enough that Sen could see and smell the skin scorching from the lightning he¡¯d never stopped channeling. The wandering cultivator gritted his teeth against the pain but didn¡¯t try to do anything.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Sen demanded.


    ¡°I thought you were <em>her</em>.¡±


    ¡°Her who?¡±


    ¡°From downstairs,¡± he said. ¡°I brought the wine to apologize.¡±


    ¡°Given that I don¡¯t believe that for a second, do you really think she would have?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°So, you were just going to invite yourself in to watch her bathe?¡±


    The implications of that hadn¡¯t seemed to ur to the man before then because he turned bright red in embarrassment or shame.


    ¡°No. Of course not, I, I just didn¡¯t think it all the way through.¡±


    Sen frowned at the man. ¡°Do you have some kind of death wish? I¡¯m asking you, honestly. Because it¡¯s the only exnation for intruding on the bath of a woman who pped you around like a misbehaving puppy and threatened to cut your head off. So, if you do, just say so and I¡¯ll end your pain right here.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± growled the man. ¡°I do not have a death wish.¡±


    Sen was minimally satisfied that man wasn¡¯t there to try to assassinate him, so he took his jian de away from Cultivator Chou¡¯s throat. The wandering cultivator took a deep breath and gingerly touched the burned spot on his neck. Sen took another step back and gave the man a firm look.


    ¡°In that case, here are two pieces of free, probably life-saving advice for you. First, don¡¯t walk in on a stranger¡¯s bath, <em>ever</em>. Two, you need to stay away from that woman downstairs. There is a near absolute certainty that if you bother her again, <em>in any way</em>, that she will literally cut your head off. Now, if you don¡¯t mind,¡± said Sen, pointing to the door with his jian, ¡°I¡¯d like to finish my bath.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 10: Sunset

    Book 3: Chapter 10: Sunset


    The next morning, Sen woke up early. He¡¯d noticed it more and more since his body cultivation advancement. He needed less sleep, a lot less sleep. Even knowing that moving between major stages meant substantial changes, he¡¯d been a bit hazier about what that meant for body cultivators. With spirit cultivation, he could <em>feel</em> the difference in power between himself and other cultivators. With this transition between body cultivation stages and solidifying the Five-Fold Body Transformation, he was still figuring out what it all meant. He¡¯d gotten stronger and faster. Sen had seen that much with the idiot wandering cultivator who seemingly wanted to die at Lo Meifeng¡¯s hands. He¡¯d crossed the distance in a blink. He¡¯d even noticed stress marks on the wooden floor from when he¡¯dunched himself across the room. Once they were out on the road again, he¡¯d have to find some quiet spot and truly test the upper limits of his strength and speed. Not knowing that kind of information could prove lethal for any warrior, let alone for a cultivator.


    Sen had gone downstairs and fetched tea and some food for him Lifen. He¡¯d been so early that the kitchen had barely even opened. So, to amuse himself and to speed things along, he¡¯d helped out in the kitchen for about an hour. The inn owners had gone from shock and horror that a guest was working in their kitchen, to eventual incredulity when they discovered he actually knew what he was doing. He¡¯d just worked with a little smile on his face, remembering better times spent in the kitchen with Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong. When enough food was ready for himself and any other early risers, Sen gathered up a tray of food and tea. He returned to the room to find Lifen still sound asleep beneath the covers. He poured himself a cup of tea, then stored everything else in his storage ring.


    He went over to the window, opened it, and let the cool morning air wash over him for a moment. They were still close enough that he could smell the ocean on the air but without such a concentration of the intense unpleasant odors that had assaulted his sense of smell when they got off the ship. Then, he quietly moved the only chair in the room and just watched for a time as the small town came to life. Such moments were a rare luxury in Sen¡¯s life. Even when he was still, he was almost always still doing something. Cultivating if nothing else. Every once in a while, though, he found that he simply needed to stop, take a brief respite from the worries and demands of life, and just let himself be. He didn¡¯t know if it made him a better cultivator or improved his chances at enlightenment, but he found he was less prone to making rash decisions when he allowed himself those moments.


    He heard a rustling from the bed and looked over. Lifen stood and slowly stretched, her skin looking almost baster white in the morning light. She seemed to be making a bit more of a production of the stretch than seemed entirely necessary, and Sen caught her peeking over at him to see if he was watching. He gave her a wink and lifted the teacup in acknowledgment. Seemingly satisfied that her performance had been appropriately appreciated, she mostly put on a light robe. It still left enough skin exposed that Sen caught his eyes drifting more than once, which brought a pleased little smirk to Lifen¡¯s face. Before he got distracted again, Sen called the food and tea out of his storage ring. They ate and drank tea for a while before either of them spoke. Ultimately, it was Lifen who broke the silence.


    ¡°I really should get that turtle some kind of a thank you gift,¡± she said, a merry twinkle in her eyes.


    ¡°Ah, but what does one get for the divine turtle who needs nothing?¡± asked Sen philosophically.


    ¡°Sacred seaweed?¡±


    The two shared a quietugh that was brought to an immediate halt when someone knocked on their door. Both Sen and Lifen stared at the door for a moment with a mixture of uncertainty, apprehension, and anger.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± demanded Sen in a decidedly unfriendly tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± said Lo Meifeng from the other side of the door.


    Lifen red at the door, then stood, walked over to Sen, and draped herself across hisp in a fashion that even Sen realized would be absolutely scandalous in even remotely politepany. Then, the impish part of him decided that he wasn¡¯t really bothered by that idea.


    ¡°Come in,¡± he called.


    Lo Meifeng came in and her footsteps stuttered a bit when she saw the two of them. For a few unguarded moments, the woman¡¯s face went from surprise to shock, then to calction, before settling on annoyed, frustrated eptance. She closed the door behind her and smoothed her expression into rigid neutrality.


    ¡°I need to go back into the city today,¡± she announced.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Sen. ¡°We were just there.¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly, <em>we</em> were there. I have to imagine that our demonic cultivator friends have their people looking for a man and two women traveling together. I needed to get you away from the city. Somewhere that even the two of you will probably see troubleing. Now, I can go back and send my own report in.¡±


    Sen found that his first instinct was to push back, but he was hard-pressed to think of a good reason to do that. In the end, he realized that he just wanted to be contrary with her. He had done his best to bury his resentment of the woman, knowing full well that she was as stuck as he was, but that resentment still reared its head from time to time. Instead, he just nodded. Lo Meifeng looked a little off-bnce, as though she¡¯d nned for this to be a fight. Instead, Sen was just going along with it.


    ¡°Good. I should be back by the afternoon. Evening at thetest. If I¡¯m not back by then, you get out of here as fast as you can.¡±


    That made Lifen sit up straight on Sen¡¯sp, which he found very distracting.


    ¡°Why should we leave?¡±


    Lo Meifeng grimaced a little. ¡°If I don¡¯te back, it means that someone either killed me or captured me. I¡¯ll do my best to make sure that they have to kill me or try to kill myself if someone shows up looking for trouble. If they do manage to capture me, I expect that they¡¯ll torture information out of me. I¡¯ll hold out as long as I can to buy you time, but everyone breaks eventually.¡±


    ¡°How long should we wait until we go?¡± Sen asked, no longer distracted at all.


    ¡°Sunset. If I¡¯m not back by sunset, just go.¡±


    ¡°Sunset. I¡¯ll make sure we¡¯re gone one minute after if ites to that.¡±


    Lo Meifeng seemed to search for something to add to those grim instructions and came up with nothing. She offered Sen and Lifen a shallow nod, then vanished from the room. There was a long, tense pause following the older cultivator¡¯s departure. Then, Lifen stood up and returned to her breakfast. Well, she pretended to at any rate. She moved food around on the te a bit and took a few sips of tea, but Sen didn¡¯t see her actually eat anything. Eventually, she looked up at Sen, and he saw a fear in her eyes that hadn¡¯t existed before.


    ¡°I knew this was going to be dangerous, but I didn¡¯t think about things like torture. Or someone else getting tortured to find out where we are.¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to grimace. He¡¯d been worried that Lifen hadn¡¯t considered all of the possibilities. He <em>had</em> considered the very real possibility of a long, excruciating death at the hands of demonic cultivators. He hadn¡¯t framed it to himself quite the way Lo Meifeng had, but he certainly didn¡¯t n on letting him be captured alive. He¡¯d kept those poisonous nts for a reason. There also wasn¡¯t much he could do to alleviate Lifen¡¯s fear, and he had even scarcer reasons to do so. She <em>should</em> be afraid. She should probably be more afraid than she was.


    The only reason Sen wasn¡¯t paralyzed by fear was the knowledge that he¡¯d sent the names of those demonic cultivators to Master Feng and, almost certainly by proxy, Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong. He didn¡¯t need a message back to know that those three would erase those demonic cultivators from existence. They¡¯d consider it a duty and a public service, without even considering that it would help protect Sen. That knowledge reassured him that this chase wouldn¡¯tst forever. He didn¡¯t need to run for the rest of his life. He just needed to outpace the demonic cultivators until demigods of de, lightning, and poison fell on them like the wrath of the heavens.


    Sen decided to offer whatfort he could. ¡°It won¡¯t be like this all of the time.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°We know they¡¯re hunting us. That¡¯s bad, but it also means we¡¯re on our guard. But I know what¡¯s hunting them, and they don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Old, powerful cultivators make a point to wipe out demonic cultivators at any and every opportunity. I don¡¯t really know why, but I have it on the very best authority that it¡¯s the case. I sent a message to some of those old monsters letting them know exactly where to find a whole bunch of demonic cultivators and who they are. It probably hasn¡¯t started yet, but I expect that the next year or two is going to be very bad for demonic cultivation on this part of the continent.¡±


    ¡°So, what does that mean?¡±


    ¡°For right now, it means that we run any time any of us so much as gets a bad feeling. Down the road, I expect we¡¯re going to move way down the priority list for the demonic cultivators as they get culled. I don¡¯t know exactly how long it will take, but there wille a day when we can stop running and looking over our shoulders every second.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t muchfort, but it seemed that the mere promise of being able to stop running, eventually, was enough for Lifen. The rest of the day dragged out for Sen. After the first few hours of simply sitting around their room, counting the seconds, Sen announced that they were going to go for a walk. He¡¯d thought Lifen might object, but she seemed as eager as he did to have something to do. They walked beyond the town proper and looked at the fields of crops. Sen told her what he knew about them, and she told him some things he didn¡¯t know. When he gave her a surprised look, she offered him a sheepish shrug.


    ¡°I like nts. I read about them when I can find new scrolls or farming manuals.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to own a farm?¡±


    It seemed like a strange goal for a cultivator, but no stranger than challenging the heavens. Lifenughed then, seeming to finally shake off some of her dark thoughts.


    ¡°I¡¯d be a terrible farmer,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I could probably do the work, but I¡¯d get bored growing the same five crops year after year. I might grow flowers or medicinal herbs one day, though. Maybe a little garden. Find a spot somewhere that no one knows me, and no one will bother me. That would be nice, I think.¡±


    ¡°It can be,¡± said Sen.


    Lifen gave him a questioning look. ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°The people who trained me. They lived somewhere like that. So did I, for a long time.¡±


    ¡°Do you miss it?¡±


    ¡°I do. It was dangerous sometimes, but I miss it a lot.¡±


    ¡°How was it dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Kho built his home in the wilds. Deep enough that you pretty much had to be a core cultivator to even get there. It was safe enough inside the walls, but once you got outside there were a lot of spirit beasts.¡±


    Lifen thought about that for a while before she said, ¡°I might pick somewhere a little less hostile.¡±


    Senughed. ¡°That¡¯s probably a good n.¡±


    As the day wore on, Sen slowly directed them back to the inn. When they got back, there was no sign of Lo Meifeng in themon area or her room. A brief chat with the owners revealed that they hadn¡¯t seen her since she left that morning. As the afternoon inched its way toward evening, Sen¡¯s tension rose and rose. Lifen looked equally unhappy. When sunset was almost on them, Sen turned to Lifen.


    ¡°Go get anything you left in the room.¡±


    She gave him a quick nod and vanished up the stairs. She returned a few minutester, having changed into clothes more appropriate for traveling. As thest lingering edges of the sun made their final descent over the horizon, Sen stood up from the table and gave Lifen a grim look.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to leave.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 11: Into the Night

    Book 3: Chapter 11: Into the Night


    Sen and Lifen left the inn quietly, only taking a moment to return their room key. The inn owners seemed startled but weren¡¯t given a chance to protest before the two young guests vanished out the door. Once they got outside, Lifen turned a questioning gaze on Sen.


    ¡°Where will we go?¡±


    ¡°For now, we¡¯ll keep heading south.¡±


    ¡°For how long?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a western road ahead. It¡¯ll take a while to get there, but it¡¯ll give us options and make the search more difficult.¡±


    Unlike a lot of towns, the one they were in didn¡¯t have a wall or guards to slow them down. Sen assumed that was because the town was situated close enough to the city that the townspeople could retreat there if became a necessity. He was just thankful that they weren¡¯t going to leave behind guards with a story to tell about the pair of travelers leaving in the night. Sen almost automatically fell into the pace he used when traveling alone, but it quickly became apparent that Lifen couldn¡¯t maintain that pace. Not that sheined. Lo Meifeng¡¯s failure to return seemed to have given Lifen¡¯s fears new life, and she pushed herself hard to keep up. Still, Sen knew there was no point in pushing her that hard if she was just going to copse in an hour or two. Sen made a conscious and persistent effort to slow his pace to something that the young woman could reasonably keep for a while. She didn¡¯t say anything, but she did offer him a grateful look.


    Sen had traveled at night more than once, so he was used to the quiet and the asional explosions of sound that shattered that quiet at night. Lifen didn¡¯t have his experience. Every time an owl screeched out in the darkness, or some spirit beast roared in the distance, she jumped. Eventually, Sen reached back and took her hand. The contact seemed to reassure her and, while she still flinched at the unexpected noises, she no longer jumped or gasped in surprise. While traveling at night was unusual, even regr people did it sometimes. So, Sen never entirely let his guard down. He kept all of his senses extended out around him to provide the maximum possible warning of any unwanted attention from man or beast. He also hoped that it would give them sufficient warning to leave the road before anyone spotted them.


    After four or five hours of walking, Sen could tell that Lifen was gging. It wasn¡¯t anything too obvious, but she was stumbling a little more often and she spent most of her time looking down at the road, instead of looking around at their surroundings. Not that there was all that much to see in the darkness. There was only a sliver of moon overhead, so the world was even darker and more shadowy than it would have been with a full moon overhead. It took Sen another twenty minutes and pushing his senses hard, but he found what he was looking for. Using a bit of air and wind qi, he did what he could to obscure their trail and send people looking in the wrong ces for them.


    ¡°We¡¯ll stop for a bit,¡± he told her. ¡°Eat something. Recover our strength.¡±


    He led her off the road and much deeper into the woods than he probably would have just for himself. There was a small clearing and no signs of nearby spirit beasts but with good overhead coverage. Exerting himself a bit, Sen dragged arge stone up from beneath the soil to give Lifen somewhere to sit while he set up formations to obscure their existence from searching spiritual senses, as well as obscuring sound and light from inside the formation. By the time he was done, they and the clearing effectively vanished from the world. With that done, Sen made a small campfire to provide some light. Lifen immediately crouched near the fire and cast uncertain, fearful looks out into the darkness beyond the formations.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± said Sen. ¡°The formations should keep anything or anyone from finding us.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°As sure as I can be. I¡¯m not the formation master that Uncle Kho is, but he drilled the essentials into me. I expect it would take a peak core cultivator to even notice these formations, and they¡¯d need to be looking hard.¡±


    Those words seemed to do the trick. Lifen slumped over onto the ground next to the fire and put her head on her arm. She was asleep in seconds. Sen let her rest while he made some food. It wasn¡¯t anything special, just some rice, vegetables, and meat with spices, but he knew from experience that it would provide energy and stave off the kind of gnawing hunger that extended walking could cause. When the food was ready, Sen gently shook Lifen¡¯s shoulder. She jerked up to a sitting position, her eyes wild and frightened. Sen took a step back to let her calm down. After a few moments, she seemed to remember where she was and <em>some</em> of the fear and uncertainty drained away from her expression. She sniffed the air.


    ¡°What is that? It smells so good.¡±


    ¡°I made food. You need to eat. We¡¯ve got plenty of cold meals ahead of us, but I figured that you could use something hot to eat today.¡±


    Sen retrieved tes and utensils from his storage ring and dished food onto the tes. He wasn¡¯t all that hungry, but eating wouldn¡¯t hurt him. He took his time, but Lifen devoured the food on her te like she hadn¡¯t seen food in a week.


    ¡°Have as much as you want,¡± he told her. ¡°This is plenty for me.¡±


    ¡°How can that possibly be true?¡± she demanded while loading her te with another healthy serving.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Body cultivation. I still need food, but not like before when I was mortal or even at lower stages of cultivation.¡±


    ¡°How long do you think you could go without eating? Days?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Days. Maybe even a week if I was pushing it hard.¡±


    ¡°So, when do we start my body cultivation?¡±


    Sen frowned at the question. He¡¯d been idly wondering that himself. He didn¡¯t dare start her on it in their current situation. There was too much uncertainty. He shrugged.


    ¡°When we find somewhere that¡¯s a little safer. Somewhere I think we can stay for a week or two. Body cultivation is intense and grueling. You usually need a couple of days to recover afterward. Thest thing you want is toe off a body cultivation advancement only to find yourself needing to walk twenty or thirty miles to escape some iing threat.¡±


    Lifen didn¡¯t seem to like that answer, but she took it at face value. It wasn¡¯t as though he said he wouldn¡¯t help her with it. He just didn¡¯t want to do it under the cloud of imminent danger. Sen watched as Lifen finished her second te of food. The young woman was pensive, her thoughts clearly on something else. Eventually, she looked at Sen.


    ¡°Do you think she¡¯s dead?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t need to ask which <em>she</em> Lifen was referring to. She could only mean Lo Meifeng. Sen had managed to push those concerns to the back of his mind for most of the journey into the night. With Lifen asking about the missing cultivator, though, all of the fears and concerns rushed to the front of his mind.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I hope not.¡±


    Lifen was quiet for a long time before she finally said, ¡°Do you think we should go back? Try to rescue her?¡±


    Sen was surprised that Lifen had suggested it. Part of Sen <em>did</em> want to go back and mount some kind of rescue operation. Of course, he also knew how futile the effort would be.


    ¡°Where would we look? I got some vague answers from Lo Meifeng about how she gives her reports, but it isn¡¯t like she told me the name of her contact back in the city. There might be ways to quietly get that kind of information, but I don¡¯t know them. If we went back, we¡¯d have to be loud to find out what we want to know. Plus, if she is dead, that means she ran across people that she couldn¡¯t handle. I don¡¯t like our chances against people like that. Being loud would get their attention.¡±


    ¡°I just hate how it feels knowing we left her there to die. As much as I don¡¯t like her, I wouldn¡¯t have condemned her to that kind of death.¡±


    ¡°I understand that. I really do. I won¡¯t pretend I¡¯m okay with all of this because I¡¯m not. But if we get ourselves caught or killed after she died trying to prevent that, what did she die for? Plus, we don¡¯t know what happened. I don¡¯t get the impression that she¡¯s all that easy to kill, but something else might have dyed her. She may have decided to lead people away from us. She might have gone to ground somewhere to make sure no one could follow her to us. Since I don¡¯t know, all we can do is what she told us to do. Run. So, we run, and I do my best to keep us alive.¡±


    Lifen gave Sen a searching look. ¡°Can you? Keep us alive?¡±


    ¡°I think so. I might have to do some things I don¡¯t want to do. Take us ces neither of us would want to go. But, yes, I think I can. For a while at least. Which reminds me, there¡¯s something I need you to work on.¡±


    Lifen lifted an eyebrow at him. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Cultivating while moving.¡±


    ¡°Nobody can do that.¡±


    Sen just looked at her.


    ¡°Are you <em>kidding</em> me?!¡± she shouted at him. ¡°You are the most ridiculously impossible person I¡¯ve ever met!¡±


    Sen gave her a faint smile. ¡°That may well be true, but moving cultivation is entirely possible. And, you¡¯re going to have a lot of opportunities to practice in the near future.¡±


    Sen spent the next half hour telling Lifen what he understood about moving cultivation. He couldn¡¯t exin the part about devoting part of his mind to it, since he didn¡¯t really know how he¡¯d done it in the first ce. He did give her that information, though. When he¡¯d answered what questions he could, Sen packed up their makeshift pic site and got them back on the road. Even as they walked, though, Sen couldn¡¯t help but wonder what had be of Lo Meifeng and if he was a coward for not going back to find out.

 Book 3: Chapter 12: Rest and Reflection

    Book 3: Chapter 12: Rest and Reflection


    Sen kept them traveling at night. At first, it was simply to avoid other travelers, but things changed on the third day. While Lifen was sleeping the afternoon away in the tent, Sen felt a potent spiritual sense sweep over the entire area. It wasn¡¯t enough to prate or copse the obscuring formation he¡¯d set up, but it was more than enough that Sen felt it strain the formation a bit. That put Sen¡¯s nerves on edge. He waited for the spiritual sense to make another pass or focus on the area they were in, but it didn¡¯t. While he managed to rx after another hour passed with no recurrence, it made getting any sleep at all much more difficult. That night, as much as he hated to do it. He <em>hid</em> almost the entire time they walked. He also warned Lifen to keep her qi as constrained as possible.


    ¡°Was it someone looking for us?¡± she¡¯d asked.


    ¡°It might not have been, but I can¡¯t say that I like the timing,¡± answered Sen. ¡°I¡¯d rather not take the chance.¡±


    There was very little idle talk as they walked that night, with both of them focused on leaving as little evidence of their passage as possible. Sen also pushed them a little harder. He even entertained traveling exclusively in the forest by the road. Yet, while that might be feasible for him, it wasn¡¯t realistic for Lifen to travel that way. She¡¯d be entirely reliant on his senses and skills to keep moving forward. While that <em>might</em> work as long as there wasn¡¯t trouble, she¡¯d have to run blindly through the forest if he needed to fight someone or something. The benefits simply didn¡¯t outweigh the potential costs. The pace of travel and sleeping during the day was already visibly wearing on Lifen. Even if she refused to say anything to him about it, his eyes worked fine. He saw the way she copsed into nearly immediate sleep at the end of every day. He saw the shadows that were slowly getting darker beneath her eyes. He wasn¡¯t willing to add something else that might make it worse for her.


    After another three days of travel, though, it was clear that they needed to take a break. As much as Sen wanted to move faster, Lifen simply didn¡¯t have the same kind of endurance that he did. She wasn¡¯t walking anymore. She was trudging. Every step looked like an act of will. When he considered it, the pace he¡¯d been setting would probably have killed a mortal. They¡¯d also been eating as they walked, only rarely stopping for meals and even more rarely stopping to make hot food. When they stopped the next morning, Sen set up threeyers of protective formations around their camp that, if he¡¯d done it right, should keep anyone from detecting them using spiritual senses or mundane senses. Then, he cooked a huge, hot meal. Even through the haze of her fatigue, Lifen hovered by the fire the entire time he cooked. Once the food was ready, Sen fed her te after te of food until she waved him off.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to explode if I eat any more,¡± she said.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the asion?¡± she asked, even as she tried to stifle a yawn.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to stay here for a day or two,¡± announced Sen.


    Lifen looked rmed at that announcement. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because we¡¯re both tired. And while there isn¡¯t a proper bath to hand, there is a small stream not too far from here. So, we¡¯re going to stay for a day or two. We¡¯ll sleep. We¡¯ll eat. We¡¯ll bathe. Then, when we¡¯re both rested, we¡¯ll move on again.¡±


    Lifen looked torn between an intense desire to just agree and concern. ¡°Is it safe?¡±


    ¡°No one else hase through searching the area with their spiritual sense in thest few days, so I think it¡¯s safe enough.¡±


    ¡°I <em>could </em>use a bath,¡± murmured Lifen.


    As she had pleasant thoughts about baths, Sen watched as her eyes drooped and then closed. He made sure she wasn¡¯t going to topple over into the fire, then finished putting up therger tent that he¡¯d been gifted back in Emperor¡¯s Bay. If he¡¯d known how useful it was going to prove, he¡¯d have thanked the person who gave it to him even more than he had. Lifen didn¡¯t even stir when he picked her up and settled her on some nkets inside the tent. He stayed up for another few hours, mostly to ensure that the formations were working properly. He adjusted them a little to tighten up minuscule gaps that he privately admitted might have only existed in his mind. With nothing left to upy his mind, he doused the fire. He¡¯d never shaken that fear of setting a fire in a forest that he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. With their safety locked down as tight as he could make it, Sen joined Lifen in the tent.


    While he was certain that he¡¯d only sleep for a few hours, Sen discovered that the pace he¡¯d been setting had worn him down a bit too. By the time he woke, it was early evening. The sun wasn¡¯t quite down, but it was dark beneath the forest canopy. Sen got back to work building a fresh fire and warming up some water for tea. He¡¯d discovered long ago that he could simply warm the water for tea using qi, but he was equally certain that it changed the taste of the tea. By all rights, it shouldn¡¯t make a difference, yet it did. So, he patiently waited for the water to warm over the fire. He had no idea how long Lifen would sleep, so he didn¡¯t cook any food. He could cook once she woke. Once he had tea in hand, he started groping around mentally for something to do and came up empty. Usually, they broke camp around this time. Except, they were staying. Sen felt a little lost with no pressing activity to fill his time. They¡¯d been going almost non-stop for six days. They¡¯d push until the sun broke the horizon, then they¡¯d get back on the road once true night fell.


    In the end, Sen fell back on what he knew best. It hadn¡¯t been intentional, but he¡¯d made the formation bigger than usual because he knew they were staying. There was enough room for him to practice his forms. So, Sen started at the beginning. There was somethingforting in the basic unarmedbat forms. The simplicity of the punches and kicks, the reaffirmation of years of disciplined training, it all grounded him, brought him back to a center that had beenrgely missing since he left the mountain. Even as his body almost rejoiced in the familiar motions, he let his mind drift over his recent memories. He didn¡¯t try to evaluate them at first, just observe them, the way a bird might observe thendscape from the air. From that lofty vantage point, Sen was able to see some truths that he¡¯d missed in the moment.


    He¡¯d spent so much time being disciplined and focused on the mountain that he¡¯d pushed a lot of things down. Some of them had been purely physical needs, although those things didn¡¯t trouble him so much. There hadn¡¯t been any shortage of willing partners for those pursuits when he desired them or even when he didn¡¯t. And those years of discipline made it easy to ignore those desires when they were inconvenient. Yet, he¡¯d also pushed down a lot of emotions. He¡¯d had a lot of anger and hazy but potent resentment lingering inside himself. There¡¯d been no room for those things on the mountain. Once he¡¯d been out in the world, though, they¡¯de bubbling up to the surface in a variety of ways. Sometimes, he¡¯dshed out too much at others. Sometimes, he¡¯d been defiant when it wasn¡¯t necessary. Without the counterweight of Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong¡¯s expectations to keep him on course, he¡¯d¡­Sen wasn¡¯t even sure what the right term was for it.


    He hadn¡¯t exactly gone crazy. Little if anything he¡¯d done was truly irrational. Yet, he hadn¡¯t been acting in line with his own principles or even with his own best interests front and center. Of course, those principles had been too idealistic. He supposed that was part of growing up. You test your principles against the reality of the world and see how they hold up. His no-killing stance hadn¡¯t held up well. Not that he found killing especially ptable or pleasurable, but it had be painfully clear to him that it was necessary. Sometimes, it was necessary in the defense of one¡¯s own life, and sometimes it was necessary in the defense of others. Sometimes, too often in Sen¡¯s opinion, there truly were people whose death could only serve to improve the general state of the world. As much as it pained him, though, Sen could recognize and adapt to that truth.


    Acting in ways that didn¡¯t serve his own best interests, though? He struggled to understand why he, or <em>anyone</em>, would do that. Let alone do it as often as he had. Sen knew that there were times when honor might make such demands on a person, but his honor had rarely been at stake. He¡¯d just been impulsive or stupid. Of all the mistakes he¡¯d made, <em>that</em> was the type of mistake that had to stop. He¡¯d been relying on others to reign him in before, but they couldn¡¯t be there all the time to enforce emotional discipline. It also wasn¡¯t fair of him to expect them to do that <em>for</em> him. He didn¡¯t expect it to be easy or to happen overnight, but he¡¯d done hard things before. Impossible things, to hear others tell the tale. If he could do the impossible, then keeping tabs on his own reactions shouldn¡¯t even be in the top half of difficult things in his life. Yet, somehow, he knew that it would be. Still, he¡¯d recognized the problem, and it was a problem. That was an importantndmark. Now, he needed to do something to fix it.


    Sen¡¯s reverie was broken by Lifen¡¯s voice. ¡°Well, it makes me feel a little better to know that even the mighty Judgment¡¯s Gale has to practice every once in a while.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°I really hate that name.¡±


    Lifen giggled. ¡°I know. That¡¯s why it¡¯s always so much fun to say it to you.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 13: Hunter/Prey

    Book 3: Chapter 13: Hunter/Prey


    Lo Meifeng was <em>tired</em>. <em>No</em>, she thought, <em>I¡¯m exhausted</em>. She hadn¡¯t been this worn out since before she¡¯d be a core formation cultivator. It wasn¡¯t that she hadn¡¯t slept in six days, although that was wearing on her a little. It was that she¡¯d spent most of those days running from people, chasing people, and killing people. Part of her was frustrated by the whole thing, but part of her exulted in it too. As necessary as bodyguarding the kid might be, she wasn¡¯t built for that kind of work. It was too hands-on, too public, and called for far too much personal interaction. She certainly hadn¡¯t be a wandering cultivator because she <em>liked</em> people. In her opinion, interacting with most people wasn¡¯t worth the energy it cost.


    Although, as much of a pain in her ass as the kid was, she supposed she had developed a vague fondness for him. He was still so fresh, and so new, that he hadn¡¯t really figured out who he was going to be yet. Lo Meifeng had never had or sought out the opportunity to watch someone be a person before. Right now, he was like bits and pieces of other people all jumbled up together, but they were slowly fusing into something else. She thought she¡¯d seen hints of the future person he would be recently. If she¡¯d seen correctly, he was going to be <em>interesting</em>. Not interesting in the way some novel invention was interesting but interesting in the, ¡°may you live in interesting times,¡± kind of way. Give him another few decades, and he might even be someone that Lo Meifeng <em>wanted</em> to know.


    Most of the time, though, he was a bit like a puppy, racing from here to there, crashing into things left and right, making messes, and cheerfully running off in some new direction without a care for what he left in his wake. Much like a puppy, it was difficult to stay truly mad at him. Of course, that puppy metaphor only went so far. On those rare asions when the kid got serious about things, he got deadly serious about them, and he had the power to back it up. No puppy in the history of <em>ever</em> had single-handedly driven off a spirit beast tide or backed a major sect into a corner the way he had. Lo Meifeng was still pretty confident that she could take the kid in a fight if it ever came down to that, but she was less confident about now than she had been before.


    Plus, there was that business with the divine turtle. <em>What kind of foundation formation cultivator gets a helping hand from a divine turtle</em>, she wondered. That was the stuff of myth and legend. People heard about it happening, but it was always Cho Jun¡¯s friend¡¯s cousin¡¯s brother-inw who supposedly wandered away from a caravan and found some ruins that no one could ever find again. There were never any witnesses, let alone a ship full of them. Lo Meifeng shook her head and leaned against a tree for a moment. She was losing focus and getting distracted. That would get her killed if she was too careless. Not that she was particrly worried about the people she was looking for now. She¡¯d dealt with the real threats back in the city.


    She¡¯d thought she¡¯d spotted a couple of people who were a little too interested in them in the city on their way out. It had only been a feeling, but she¡¯d honed those intuitions over centuries and learned to rely on them. Leaving the kid and <em>that girl</em> at the inn had been a calcted risk. Lo Meifeng had needed to send in a report, but she could have conceivably taken them with her. Still, her intuition had screamed at her that taking them back into the city would have meant disaster. So, she¡¯d left them behind. She had managed to make her report without getting spotted, but everything had gone to the hells after that.


    She¡¯d been heading for the gate again when her intuition warned her, that telltale tinge on the back of her neck that always meant someone wasn¡¯t just watching her but targeting her. She¡¯d immediatelyunched herself into a nearby alley. That had spared her from the spear of ice that would have probably wounded her, but probably not killed her. She¡¯d led them on a chase through the city¡¯s least desirable areas, only to switch gears and cut through a busy marketce, then through a shop and back into the alleys. She was an old hand at these kinds of games, even if she was usually on the other side of the chase. She knew what worked, what didn¡¯t, and what would get her killed. Most people eventually got tired of the chase and decided to make a stand.


    It could work, but it was a desperation measure, usually taken by people who were getting tired. Lo Meifeng wasn¡¯t going to get tired, at least not nearly soon enough to help the people who trying to box her in. She was patient and perfectly content to keep running for as long as it took for her pursuers to get frustrated and make a mistake. She knew, if you could keep them chasing for long enough, they always made a mistake. It took hours. Night had fallen before it finally happened. The people who were out there looking for her were professionals, but even professionals had limits to their patience. When that moment came, Lo Meifeng finally got to put her real skills to work.


    She couldn¡¯t hide the way the kid could. Gods, what she wouldn¡¯t give to be able to do <em>that</em>. She¡¯d even grilled him on the technique for hours at one point. What she¡¯d initially read as a cultivator¡¯s mere reluctance to share a hard-won skill turned out to be a legitimate failure of knowledge. He truly didn¡¯t know how it worked. That had been a crushing disappointment, but it wasn¡¯t an entirely unknown phenomenon. Young cultivators, especially ones who had stumbled into cultivation without knowing it, often crafted these kinds of techniques with abination of luck, instinct, and what Lo Meifeng had to assume was divine assistance. Even so, she had her own ways of avoiding notice. She could suppress her qi and spiritual sense <em>enough</em> to get close to most people, even other cultivators. For her, getting close was all she needed.


    When her pursuers had finally lost patience, they made the mistake that every group of frustrated hunters make. They split up under the very bad assumption that the prey was running because they were too weak for a direct fight. <em>The fools</em>. The first one had died without even knowing they were under attack. Lo Meifeng had simply stepped out of a shadowed alley and drawn one de across their throat while sliding another between their ribs. She couldn¡¯t be sure, but Lo Meifeng suspected that woman died confused. Cultivators were hard to put down, but almost no one walked off having their throat slit and getting a de in the heart. She¡¯d only stopped long enough to grab the things she thought might be useful in the future. Storage treasures and a pouch. She¡¯d even left the weapons behind, as they weren¡¯t even close to the level of quality that Lo Meifeng required.


    The second had clearly sensed that something was wrong because he was warier. The man had his spear in hand, poised in a defensive stance. It didn¡¯t help. An arrow in the eye from less than ten feet away ended his participation in the fight¡­and life in general. One by one, she stalked and ended them. It did descend into a fight once or twice, even though Lo Meifeng hated directbat. It was loud. It drew attention. That made the odds of reinforcements arriving much higher. Most importantly, though, it made luck a much bigger factor. It was a sad truth ofbat between rtive equals that luck decided the oue at least as often as pure skill or qi mastery did. A slick patch of ground, a distracting noise, anything could divert one¡¯s bnce or attention in the middle of a fight. For thepetent opponent, a moment of distraction was all they needed. Lo Meifeng had enjoyed the benefits of such moments more than once in her life and had almost been killed by them on three separate asions. No, given the choice, she¡¯s much rather avoid the directbat and skip right to the other person simply being dead. It was more practical.


    She¡¯d also made a point not to use her qi techniques until she was sure she¡¯d gotten down to thest one. Fire was incredibly useful, but it was another one of those things that tended to draw the eye. Thest thing she needed was a bunch of well-meaning and wholly useless city guards showing up and cluttering the field. She wasn¡¯t above the asional bit of coteral damage if it simply could not be avoided, but it wasn¡¯t how she liked to operate. Cultivator fights should stay between cultivators, in her opinion.


    Thest of the people who had been hunting her was another core formation cultivator. He was a hard-faced man with a pair of jian, one on each hip. She¡¯d gleaned his general cultivation level but didn¡¯t dare try to get a read on the type of qi he used. Doing so would expose her exact position, and she wasn¡¯t particrly inclined to do that. It would have made the obscuring formation she was standing inside of pointless. Instead, she finally started putting some of her own qi techniques to use. One moment, the man was stalking down an empty street, ring into alleyways and every shadow. The next, the entire street was blindingly bright. Twenty small fireballs had appeared in a loose circle around the man. The man cycled up his own qi. With him actively using it, Lo Meifeng could finally identify it.


    <em>A metal qi cultivator</em>, she thought. <em>How unfortunate for him</em>. Metal qi had a lot of utility value, but it wasn¡¯t particrly good against fire qi techniques. It also suffered from a bask of range. It could make the man¡¯s swords all but unbreakable, but that only mattered if someone got close and he noticed them. For the next few minutes, fireballs harassed and harried the man, slowly driving him to where Lo Meifeng wanted him to go. She¡¯d been slowly ratcheting up the brightness of the fireballs in preparation. The man had been desperately sweeping the area with his spiritual sense. She¡¯d felt it pass over the formation a half dozen times, but it seemed he wasn¡¯t adept at spotting them or was too distracted the notice it. When he stepped within range. She dropped the fireball technique and tossed a rock. There was nothing special about the rock. It was just a rock she¡¯d found sitting on the ground. It did have one very useful quality, though. It made a loud noise when it hit the street. The half-blind core cultivator spun toward the sound. Lo Meifeng struck, and a wetter, meatier sound followed as the cultivator¡¯s head joined the rock on the ground.


    She repeated her quick looting of useful items, then left the city as fast as her legs would carry her. The only true saving grace of that entire series of events was her discovery that the kid had <em>actually done</em> what she¡¯d told him to do. She couldn¡¯t believe it. She¡¯d been certain that she¡¯d find him at the inn or evening back to the city in some ill-considered attempt at a rescue. Instead, the inn¡¯s owners informed her that the kid and <em>that girl</em> had left at very nearly the moment of sunset the previous day. She could have kissed him for finally doing the smart thing. She knew perfectly well how hard he was to find out on the road, and that was when he was only sort of trying to keep a low profile. If he was really putting some effort into it, nobody was going to find him. Well, nobody short of a peak core cultivator or a nascent soul cultivator. Of course, that thought brought a sigh to her lips. While she was happy that he¡¯d done as instructed, it also meant that she¡¯d have to try to find him. She didn¡¯t really give herself better odds than anyone else. Still, now the exciting stuff was over, it was time to get back to doing her job.


    So, she¡¯d spent thest six days looking for him. Of course, so had the demonic cultivators and theirckeys. It had been an ideal opportunity for her to hone her woodcraft, and she took it. She¡¯d left a trail of corpses in the forest over thest two hundred miles or so. Part of her was a little happy that she hadn¡¯t found the kid yet, because it let her do things that she was good at. Yet, she thought that was probably just about over. The numbers had dwindled substantially after the first few days. She suspected the five cultivators in the little camp she¡¯d found were probably thest. She was tempted to just let them be. Three qi condensing cultivators and two foundation formation cultivators had precisely zero chance of finding the kid, let alone beating him in a fight. But that was just the tiredness talking treason in her mind. She rolled her head to loosen up the muscles in her shoulder, stepped into the camp, and got back to work.

 Book 3: Chapter 14: The Western Road

    Book 3: Chapter 14: The Western Road


    After their short break, during which Lifen slept almost non-stop, Sen had pushed hard for a few more days. Then, he started noticing the bodies. He didn¡¯t point them out to Lifen because there was no benefit to that, but he¡¯d formed a working theory about what was happening. He hoped that he was right. If he was, he¡¯d be able to put away a vague, gnawing guilt that had been working on him since they¡¯d decided to leave instead of going back to find Lo Meifeng. Unfortunately, he might also be wrong, which meant that he didn¡¯t dare make it any easier to find them. Instead, he focused more on making sure that he found good ces that were well off the road to set up camp. He took his time setting up the best formations he could to hide them.


    While the repetition with the formations could prove tedious, Sen became increasingly adept with them. He even started having insights into how to make them better. He¡¯d have to have a long discussion with Uncle Kho about formation theory when they next saw each other. While it had never been a particr focus of his education, Sen started working with offensive formations as well. He was almost certain that all those corpses meant that there were people searching for them. While he had a lot of faith in his obscuring formations, he didn¡¯t see a good reason not to hedge his bets. If anyone managed to breach the obscuring formation, they¡¯d get to enjoy a face full of fire and lightning.


    He and Lifen also spent more time than necessary studying Sen¡¯s map. While they poured over the map, and Sen started taking notes on the actual distances between locations he¡¯d been, there weren¡¯t really that many choices. The continent was vast, but poorly connected by a frustratingly small number of roads. Beyond those roads were the wilds, more often than not, and every so often there would be cities. Sen and Lifen were slowly, but surely, approaching the minor city of Heavens Virtue. Sen had no idea why it was named that, and his teachers had all shrugged at the question. Master Feng and Auntie Caihong had both been there in recent years and neither recalled anything particrly divine about the ce.


    ¡°Try not to put too much stock in the names of cities,¡± Master Feng had said. ¡°They tend to fall into two categories. Either they describe something specific about the city, like an event or a natural feature, or they reference something so obscure that even the people who live there don¡¯t know why it¡¯s called that. You can drive yourself half-mad trying to figure it out.¡±


    Once they got to the city, though, there were only three things to do. They could stay for a while, which both of them agreed was a monumentally stupid n. So, that was out. They could follow the road south, which was a possibility. Or they could take the road west toward the inner continent. Lifen was curious about everything, so she didn¡¯t have a strong opinion one way or the other. Sen was increasingly convinced that they should go west.


    ¡°What¡¯s to the west?¡± Lifen asked when told her as much.


    ¡°Nothing specific,¡± he admitted, ¡°but I¡¯ve been traveling south ever since Tide¡¯s Rest. It¡¯s not much of a deception, but there¡¯s a chance they¡¯ll assume I¡¯ve got a particr destination in the south somewhere. They may work harder to look for us on the road south. If we go west, we might throw them off a little.¡±


    It was thin reasoning, but Lifen was content enough to go along with it. She seemed agreeable to just about anything that might throw off pursuit even a little bit. So, they made that their n. The closer they got to Heaven¡¯s Virtue, though, the more cautious Sen became. There was more traffic on the road, both in the evenings and at night. That made it more difficult for them to cover ground quickly. There were also more viges and small towns. While Sen wasn¡¯t especially worried about those, where there were people, there were dogs. While most dogs seemed like Sen, it didn¡¯t stop them from barking up a storm when Sen and Lifen passed by in the night. It wouldn¡¯t take many stories of a pair traveling at night to tip off the demonic cultivators. Even with all of those obstacles, they did eventually find themselves looking at the walls of Heavens Virtue from a distance in the dawn light.


    ¡°We should wait until there¡¯s more traffic from the viges and then join them,¡± said Sen.


    Lifen caught right on. ¡°We¡¯ll be less suspicious if we blend in with them.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s certainly less suspicious than wandering around outside the walls at night. We¡¯ll get onto the western road and then find somewhere to camp.¡±


    ¡°We should think about stopping in one of these viges and finding a market. I don¡¯t know how big that storage ring of yours is, but I don¡¯t want to run out of food on the road.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t think it would be a problem, but he nodded. Stocking up now made sense. While there had been a fair number of viges and towns all the way down the coast so far, he didn¡¯t know that would hold true on the western road. Even if he thought he could probably scavenge enough fruit and hunt enough meat, that took time. With no better strategy to hand, staying on the move was the best defense they had. Plus, strangers would draw less attention in viges this close to the city. With a tentative n in ce, they found a sheltered spot off the road that let them watch the trafficing and going. At first, it was just a lone farmer with an ox-driven cart every now and then. Once true morning broke, though, they saw more farmers and, eventually, a caravan rolled by. Once the caravan had gone by and there was a little distance, Sen pulled Lifen with him onto the road. They kept up a fast walk until they were nearing the back of the caravan. The caravan guards eyed them, but seemed to rx when they realized that the two young travelers didn¡¯t mean to get too close. Just close enough that everyone might enjoy a little mutual defense if bandits or a spirit beast showed up.


    The caravan eventually passed through a vige and stopped to do a little light trading. Sen and Lifen took advantage of the added confusion the caravanners caused to do some basic shopping for food items. Sen was careful not to spend too much money at any one ce. Better to leave the sellers with a hazy recollection of a boy buying enough for two or three meals than a clear memory of a young man who bought out their entire stock. It slowed things down a bit, but Sen managed to umte enough food in his storage ring to keep them going for a few weeks. By then, the traffic toward the city was heavy enough that it didn¡¯t take any real effort to blend in. They just became two more bodies drifting toward the city for their own reasons.


    Sen gave serious consideration to bypassing the city entirely and just walking around the outside of the wall, but he worried that would make them too conspicuous. So, they endured the long wait at the gate, the obligatory bribe to the guards, and then walked into the city. Sen had his hiding skill working as hard as possible to avoid any interest from unfriendly cultivators, but he worried about Lifen. He had started having her practice again once he¡¯d slowed their pace, but she was nowhere near ready to face off against another cultivator. If it was just trading pointers, then she would no doubt survive with nothing injured but her pride. Unfortunately, there was no way to know that was how it would go until after everything was all but finished.


    Sen felt himself tense several times when he felt a spiritual sense wash over their general vicinity, but no one bothered them. Either the sects were more restrained in this city, or the cultivators weren¡¯t interested in bothering someone who was only a qi condensing cultivator. It was a minor bit of good fortune, but Sen was happy to take it. They didn¡¯t linger in the city, only stopping at one market that was literally on the way to the western gate. It let Sen grab a few things that hadn¡¯t been avable in the vige, like sesame oil, and a few spices. Lifen bought a few things, but Sen didn¡¯t pry into what she¡¯d gotten. He suspected it was a few small luxuries, and he could hardly begrudge her those. Luxury of any kind was scarce when traveling between the cities.


    The passage out of the city was even less eventful than the passage into the city had been. The guards were almost wholly uninterested in people who were leaving the city of their own free will. Those people were fundamentally not the guards¡¯ problem. The road west was almost identical to the road they had been traveling on to the south. Sen didn¡¯t know exactly what was beneath, but the surface was made of stone blocks that looked to have been sealed together somehow. When he¡¯d pushed his senses down into the earth a few times, he had sensedyers of other things, such as crushed stone and what felt like tamped earth. He couldn¡¯t pretend to understand their construction, but they did seem to make for durable roads. He had yet to see any serious damage to any of the surface stones beyond some basic weathering. Even if they were fewer and farther between than he might have preferred, he was grateful that the roads existed at all. They made travel faster and easier.


    As the miles between them and the city grew, Sen rxed a bit. He wasn¡¯t certain that they managed to avoid detection, but he hadn¡¯t seen anything that gave him pause. Almost at the very moment that he was going to let out a relieved breath, someone stepped out from the trees and gave them a considering look.


    ¡°It looks like I won that bet,¡± said Lo Meifeng.

 Book 3: Chapter 15: The Call

    Book 3: Chapter 15: The Call


    For a few moments, Sen didn¡¯t know how to feel as vying emotions went to war inside his chest. A small part of him rankled at the knowledge that he was, once more, under the watchful eyes of a minder. Even though he¡¯d suspected all of those bodies had been Lo Meifeng¡¯s work, he was still shocked to see that she was actually alive. Part of him had truly believed she was dead. An irrational piece of his heart was deeply angry at the woman for leaving them behind when she went back to the city. The feeling that won out, in the end, was a profound, overwhelming,plicated sort of relief.


    The knowledge of her survival eased the guilt he¡¯d been carrying around for weeks. The fact of her return lessened the burden of providing protection for him and Lifen. Mostly, though, he discovered that he was almost disturbingly relieved that he no longer needed to lead. Lifen had provided input and advice, but left the final decisions up to him, as though his handful of months on the road before somehow qualified him to ensure their survival. Sen had found it a task for which he felt wholly, utterly unfit. Not sure how he should treat the returned minder, Sen just cocked an eyebrow at her?


    ¡°What bet?¡±


    ¡°About which way you would go,¡± said an all-too-smug Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m predictable,¡± said Sen. ¡°That¡¯s reassuring.¡±


    ¡°Not really. You only had so many options. Well, you only had so many sane options. You¡¯re not stupid. You¡¯ve been heading south for a long time now. Tactically speaking, a change in direction made sense. It was just a question of whether you¡¯d do it here or farther south. I bet myself a silver tael that you¡¯d pick here.¡±


    ¡°Congrattions?¡± asked Sen, not sure if it was entirely warranted.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°So, what¡¯s the n?¡±


    Sen stared at the woman in utter disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re joking, right?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you figure it out, yet? My n was only ever to keep you alive. Running away and hiding were the best ways to do that, so we¡¯ve been running and hiding. My n never went beyond that. As long as we¡¯re going to keep doing that, I don¡¯t need to call the shots.¡±


    ¡°<em>We¡¯ve</em> been running and hiding. You¡¯ve been doing other things. I saw your handiwork back there.¡±


    Lifen piped up then. ¡°Handiwork? What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell her?¡± asked Lo Meifeng with a bit of genuine surprise.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°They were dead. I didn¡¯t see the point.¡±


    ¡°Who was dead?¡± demanded Lifen, her voiceced with concern and anger.


    With a sigh, Sen exined. ¡°Lo Meifeng has been busy on her vacation. If you went back and searched the woods around the road the way we came, you¡¯d find bodies. A lot of them. I assume those were people hunting for us.¡±


    Lo Meifeng nodded. ¡°They were.¡±


    Lifen punched Sen in the arm. Sen thought she must have put a lot of effort into that punch because he felt a bit of a sting where itnded.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me?!¡±


    ¡°Tell you what? You already knew we were being chased. Those people were already dead. Did you want to see the bodies?¡±


    ¡°You should have told me that they were that close.¡±


    ¡°Oh, by the countless hells. Why?¡±


    Lifen seemed lost for a moment before she said, ¡°So that I would know.¡±


    ¡°Again, why? What would knowing have aplished other than making you worry more than you already were?¡±


    ¡°I had a <em>right</em> to know.¡±


    Sen wanted to brush that aside but couldn¡¯t. He¡¯d kept the information back with the best intentions. He didn¡¯t want to make a long, difficult journey more difficult for her by piling on extra mental and emotional pressure. Especially when there was exactly nothing that she could do with the information other than worry it like a dog with a bone. Still, he supposed that hadn¡¯t really been his call to make. He¡¯d been nominally in charge, but the fact that their enemies had been that close was relevant knowledge. In her ce, <em>he</em> would have wanted to know, even if there wasn¡¯t anything he could do about it. He¡¯d been trying to protect her, but there had probably been a better way to go about doing it.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°You did have a right to know. I didn¡¯t see any benefit for you in sharing it, so I held back. But it wasn¡¯t my ce to decide that for you. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Lifen still looked angry, but at least partially mollified. ¡°Thank you. But I want a promise from you right now. No more secrets.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°What?¡± shouted Lifen, incensed at the words.


    ¡°I said, don¡¯t be stupid. We all have secrets. Some secrets we only share when we¡¯re ready. Some we¡¯ll never share. You <em>don¡¯t</em> have a right to all of his secrets or anyone¡¯s secrets. After all, are you prepared to tell him all of your secrets?¡±


    Lifen went a little pale at those words and whispered, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then, don¡¯t go demanding promises you wouldn¡¯t make. We will <em>all</em>, however, share information relevant to our mutual safety from here on out. Agreed?¡±


    Sen and Lifen murmured their agreements.


    ¡°Good,¡± said Lo Meifeng, fixing her gaze on Sen. ¡°So, what¡¯s the n?¡±


    Sen felt the unwee mantle of leadership drop back onto his shoulders like a mountain. Yet, it wasn¡¯t like there were any real decisions to make at this point. He and Lifen had already made the decision. Gritting his teeth a little, he forced himself to stay calm. <em>Being in charge doesn¡¯t really change anything</em>, he assured himself. <em>It¡¯s just like it was before she came back</em>. Even in his own head, the words sounded like a lie.


    ¡°We go west,¡± he said.


    Then, suiting actions to words, he started walking. They were a quiet group for the next few hours, each lost in their own thoughts. For Sen¡¯s part, he kept thinking about his oh-so-inurate map. There were cities out to the west, but he was all too aware that those cities might well be hundreds of miles away. While he wasn¡¯t eager to visit any more cities for the next, oh, one thousand years or so, resources were concentrated near to cities. That made them an annoying, necessary risk. They didn¡¯t necessarily need to go <em>into</em> the cities, but they had to get close. Getting close meant potentially exposing themselves to the demonic cultivators or their agents. Sen chased that circle inside his head for a long time before Lo Meifeng stepped up beside him and matched his pace.


    ¡°I was happy that you left the inn when you said you would,¡± she said.


    Sen found himself gritting his teeth again. ¡°That makes one of us.¡±


    She gave him a sidelong nce. ¡°You aren¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°I get that it was the smart move. Probably the safest move for me and Lifen.¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°But I <em>hated</em> it,¡± snapped Sen. ¡°You don¡¯t really know me, yet. So, you¡¯re probably not aware that I don¡¯t know very many people. It¡¯s more now than it was, but it¡¯s not a lot. Leaving one of them behind, leaving them to die, it might not matter that much to some people, but it <em>mattered</em> to me.¡±


    Lo Miefeng was quiet for a while before she said, ¡°You felt guilty.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But you did it anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    The low burn of anger that had been building up inside of Sen vanished beneath a flood of emotional fatigue. ¡°Because I knew going back was stupid. Getting Lifen killed, getting myself killed, all in some attempt to save someone who might not need saving, would have been stupid.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it would have been,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Listen to me, Sen. Leaving people you know behind, especially when you think they¡¯ll die, it¡¯s hard. It should be hard. Cultivators treat life pretty cheaply a lot of the time. The heavens know that I do. Still, we make friends and form rtionships. As hard as it is, though, leaving people behind is also necessary sometimes.¡±


    ¡°So, how are you supposed to live with it afterward?¡±


    ¡°Everyone finds their own way. For most people, it¡¯s by doing their best that make sure those sacrifices weren¡¯t for nothing.¡±


    ¡°For you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, I take a different approach.¡±


    Sen gave her a sidelong nce. ¡°Care to share?¡±


    Lo Meifeng considered that question for almost a full mile before she answered. ¡°When one of my friends gets killed, I find the people who did it.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°And what you¡¯d expect. I murder them all.¡±


    ¡°Does it help?¡± asked Sen, not really surprised by the answer.


    ¡°It helps me. I¡¯m not sure if it would help someone else.¡±


    ¡°What if they¡¯re more powerful than you are?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what lists, patience, and poison are for.¡±


    Sen gave her a sharp look. ¡°What exactly is it that you <em>do</em> for Master Feng?¡±


    She smirked. ¡°I solve problems.¡±


    Sen decided not to pursue rification about what that meant. They walked next to each other for a little way before Lo Meifeng bumped his arm with her shoulder. He nced over at her.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t go back looking for me. But I appreciate that you wanted to, even though you don¡¯t like me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I like <em>you</em> fine. It¡¯s your job I can¡¯t stand. Besides, even Lifen wanted to go back for you.¡±


    That caught Lo Meifeng off-guard, and she would have tripped if Sen hadn¡¯t caught her arm. She gave him an incredulous look before sneaking a nce over her shoulder at the younger woman. She gave a frustrated shake of her head.


    ¡°I may have been a bit too hard on that girl.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± asked Sen.


    Lo Meifeng waved the question away. ¡°I just said some things that, in hindsight, may have been ill-considered.¡±


    With that, Lo Meifeng dropped back to walk with Lifen. Sen heard the quiet sounds of their voices but made a concerted effort not to listen in. He finally called up a light breeze to carry their voices away from him. It wasn¡¯t that he wasn¡¯t curious. He was burning with curiosity, but Lo Meifeng had clearly meant for it to be a private conversation. That made it something that was simply not his business. Instead, he focused inward for a time, consciously cultivating instead of letting his passive cultivation handle the process. He was about ready to condense a bit more liquid qi. Now that Lo Meifeng was back to pick up some of the ck for keeping them safe, he might even get the opportunity. He was idly poking at that ribbon of strange qi in his dantian when he felt something he hadn¡¯t felt for months. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes focused on the distance. He¡¯d felt a tug on his soul.

 Book 3: Chapter 16: Ridiculous

    Book 3: Chapter 16: Ridiculous


    Sen was so startled by the familiar but long-absent sensation that hepletely lost track of everything around him. He focused on that tugging sensation, trying to pinpoint where it wasing from. That proved to be a somewhat useless exercise, as he didn¡¯t glean anything except that it was somewhere farther west of them. He thought it might not be exactly, directly west, but they were going to need to travel for a while before he¡¯d know for sure. Yet, the return of that tugging sensation reassured Sen in some intangible way that he was on the right track. The situation might be dire, and people might be hunting him, but he had a destination again. Knowing that there was an opportunity ahead to learn something important, maybe even glean a bit more enlightenment, gave him a purpose that went beyond mere survival. That bigger purpose focused him in a way that he hadn¡¯t been focused in some time.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    Her voice shattered the near-meditative state that Sen had been in for at least a short while. He nced over at her and found the woman ring forward, her eyes scanning the road, the trees, and the sky for whatever threat he had seen that she had missed. He shook his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s nothing bad. There¡¯s just going to be an unexpected opportunity for me ahead.¡±


    Both Lifen and Lo Meifeng were giving him looks like they thought maybe he¡¯d injured his head in some way. Sighing audibly, Sen gestured that they should all start walking again and began exining. He told them about that first tug back on the mountain and how it had led him to Tide¡¯s Rest. Then, he told them about being led out to the Luo farm by a simr tug. He ended the exnation by giving them his theory that it was a call to opportunities for enlightenment.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s why you went to Tide¡¯s Rest and stood on that beach for so long,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°I always wondered what that was about.¡±


    Sen eyed her. ¡°You could have just asked.¡±


    ¡°I could have, but it wasn¡¯t information I needed. Curiosity isn¡¯t always a good enough reason to ask people about things. Some things just aren¡¯t your business.¡±


    Sen nodded in understanding. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true enough.¡±


    ¡°Let me make sure I understand,¡± said Lifen. ¡°You get random tugging sensations in your soul that lead you to moments of enlightenment?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± said Sen. ¡°It leads me to opportunities to learn things. I didn¡¯t actually get any enlightenment on that beach. And if there was enlightenment at the Luo farm, it was so subtle that I missed it. But, I did learn things at both ces, even if it took me a while to understand what I learned.¡±


    ¡°So, you get random tugs on your soul that tell you where to go so you can potentially get enlightenment?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± hedged Sen, ¡°yeah, I think so.¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable. You¡¯re, you¡¯re, you¡¯re <em>ridiculous</em>!¡± shouted Lifen.


    She stomped down the road ahead of them, muttering what sounded like a string of very colorful profanity to Sen. He stared after her, a little shocked by the reaction.


    ¡°That seemed a little extreme,¡± he said.


    ¡°Did it?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Well, yeah. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°Not really. If I was her, I¡¯d have probably tried to stab you by now.¡±


    Sen gaped at the woman for a moment before he found his ability to speak again. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve gathered enough from our conversation that I know you didn¡¯t have what one might call a happy childhood. I also know that things look kind of bleak right now from your perspective. Yet, even with all of that, you look like you lead a pretty charmed life from the outside.¡±


    ¡°Charmed life? Are you kidding me? I grew up fighting rats and dogs for the right to eat garbage. I¡¯ve got demonic cultivators breathing down my neck. If they catch me, I expect that the <em>best</em> possible oue is that they kill me quickly. I¡¯m literally running away right now. I¡¯ve got no n to deal with them, and I expect that, sooner orter, they¡¯re going to send someone to find me who I can¡¯t trick with a clever formation. When that dayes, I¡¯ll have to fight and probably lose. What¡¯s so charmed about that?¡±


    Lo Meifeng let that all sink in for a moment before she responded. ¡°That¡¯s all true. But here are some other true things. You got taken in and personally trained by a nascent soul cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Three,¡± said Sen in a weary voice.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I got taken in and personally trained by three nascent soul cultivators.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, exin that.¡±


    ¡°Master Feng picked me up on the street, but then he took me up a mountain. He had a friend living up there.¡±


    ¡°A friend? Are you talking about Kho Jaw-Long?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Uncle Kho. And Auntie Caihong was thereter.¡±


    ¡°And they trained you, too?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Uncle Kho taught me about the spear. Auntie Caihong taught me about alchemy.¡±


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. ¡°Sun Lifen is right. You <em>are</em> ridiculous. Okay, so, you got years of personal attention and training from three of the most powerful, dangerous, and feared people in the world. Which, by the way, is an opportunity that some sect patriarchs and matriarchs would <em>sell their children</em> to get. Then, within half a year or so, you cow a sect.¡±


    ¡°Two,¡± said Sen, sounding even more tired.


    ¡°Two what?¡±


    ¡°Two sects. I cowed two sects.¡±


    ¡°I,¡± Lo Meifeng said, ¡°don¡¯t even want to know. So, you cow <em>two</em> sects. You have a chance encounter with a divine turtle who helps you leapfrog, what, two or three steps in your body cultivation into the next major stage?¡±


    ¡°Something like that,¡± admitted Sen.


    ¡°And on top of all of that, you¡¯ve apparently got the universe itself holding your hand and guiding you toward moments of enlightenment.¡±


    Sen discovered that he was feeling a little sheepish and ufortable. ¡°Well, when you put it like, it does kind of sound like a lot of good fortune.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it just? Look, I get it. You didn¡¯t really ask for most of those things. They were just things that happened to you. They also didn¡¯t happen all at once. But most cultivators would look at all of that and wonder which god you saved from death in yourst life to earn that kind of good luck. I also understand that most people at your cultivation level aren¡¯t dealing with being hunted by a demonic cabal. Most of them don¡¯t live with, what I assume, are the very heavy expectations of three people who are probably going to challenge the heavens and seed. To me, it seems like you¡¯re paying market value for your good fortune. For someone like Sun Lifen, though,¡± said Lo Meifeng, letting the words hang.


    ¡°Someone who couldn¡¯t even get cultivation manuals without help from someone like me,¡± said Sen. ¡°Yeah, it probably looks unfair.¡±


    ¡°It probably looks <em>monumentally</em> unfair. Just keep in mind, she¡¯s only thinking about the benefits. I bet she hasn¡¯t really thought about what it would be like to train under someone like Feng Ming, or Kho Jaw-Long, or,¡± Lo Meifeng visibly shuddered, ¡°Ma Caihong as a qi condensing cultivator or early-stage foundation formation cultivator. I¡¯d be willing to be that she hasn¡¯t even thought about what going through a tribtion is like.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that I should tell her about what it was like?¡±


    ¡°Well, I got most of my training from a peak core cultivator, and that was just about the hardest work I¡¯ve ever done. Training with people a full stage beyond that, I honestly can¡¯t even picture what that¡¯d be like.¡±


    ¡°I guess it couldn¡¯t hurt to offer her some cold, hard facts to offset that jealousy.¡±


    ¡°Well, it might not help. But, no, I don¡¯t think it would hurt, either.¡±


    Sen realized that Lifen was going to need more than a few minutes to cool down, so he busied himself looking for somewhere they could set up camp. He nned to get them back into the habit of traveling at night as soon as possible, but they¡¯d both been up for nearly a full day and night. While Sen could shrug that off, it wasn¡¯t as easy for Lifen. He didn¡¯t see any value in pushing her that way unless it was necessary, and he didn¡¯t think it was. Plus, Lo Meifeng looked tired to him. Given that he¡¯d never seen her look tired before, it made him wonder just how taxing her vacation had been. A little sleep would do everyone some good.


    When he found a good spot, he led them off the road and way back into the forest. It was almost deep enough that he might worry about spirit beasts taking an interest, but he set up the formations before anything else. Lo Meifeng watched him for a while before she came over and started asking questions.


    ¡°Why did you put the g there? Isn¡¯t it out of alignment?¡± she asked, pointing at thest g he¡¯d ced.


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, only paying a little attention to her. ¡°It¡¯s because of the qi flow. If you look where the g would normally go, there¡¯s a minuscule eddy in the qi flow. It doesn¡¯t look important, but it would have created fluctuations in the formation that would have gotten progressively worse the longer it was up. That¡¯s the kind of thing that someone who knows what they¡¯re doing might notice. Moving the g here looks like it would weaken the formation, but the qi is actually about ten percent stronger in this spot. Although, I¡¯m not sure why it¡¯s stronger there. I suspect there¡¯s probably something below that attracts it, but I¡¯m only guessing. Anyway, that extra qi is sufficient to more than offset the variance created by the slightly misaligned g. I¡¯m actually going to get a stronger formation by doing it this way.¡±


    Sen looked up to see Lo Meifeng staring at him with her mouth hanging open a little.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You can feel the qi flow well enough to identify that there¡¯s an eddy in it, right there?¡± she said, once again pointing.


    ¡°Um, yes? I mean, can¡¯t everyone?¡±


    Lo Meifeng reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before she uttered a single word.


    ¡°Ridiculous.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 17: Coping

    Book 3: Chapter 17: Coping


    Traveling with Lo Meifeng again was both more and less frustrating than Sen expected. It was much more frustrating because she insisted on keeping up the farce that he was in charge. He loathed that extra responsibility. Sen didn¡¯t want to wonder if every campsite he picked was going to be the one that the enemy found because he hadn¡¯t chosen wisely enough. He didn¡¯t want to imagine what would happen to them all if he made a bad call. Most of all, though, he didn¡¯t like the false nature of it. He knew perfectly well that, if things went wrong, Lo Meifeng would take charge again. On the other hand, it was less frustrating because she could take turns with him on keeping watch and would frequently range ahead and behind to look for pursuit and traps. Sen had offered to do some of that himself, which Lo Meifeng immediately shut down as an idea.


    ¡°Absolutely not.¡±


    ¡°You know that I can avoid being noticed,¡± objected Sen.


    ¡°Yes, I do know that, but it¡¯s not the point. The object of this whole exercise is to keep you alive. That means keeping you out of fights unless absolutely necessary. Sadly, it probably will be necessary at some point, but I want to put that off for as long as possible. I¡¯m expendable. You¡¯re not.¡±


    Sen stiffened at those words and locked gazes with the woman. ¡°No. You aren¡¯t. I don¡¯t <em>care</em> what orders you¡¯re working under. You¡¯ve been making me lead, and that means it¡¯s my responsibility to make sure that we all survive. Including you.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate what you¡¯re saying, but-,¡± she offered.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t up for debate. Don¡¯t you dare throw your life away because you think it <em>might</em> buy me a little time. I need live allies, not dead friends.¡±


    Lo Meifeng softened a bit at that. ¡°Alright.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Good. I¡¯m d we settled that nonsense.¡±


    That extra free time in his day also let him do other important things, like continuing Lifen¡¯sbat training. Sen knew that training wasing years toote to be helpful in their present circumstances. Still, it wasying a foundation for her survival in the Jianghu if they all managed to avoid extermination by demonic cultivator. Her feelings about how ridiculous he was faded into the background a lot once he started exining to her exactly what his training had been like. The revtion that his training had consisted of non-stop drilling and sparring for as much as ten hours a day had cooled her temper. The two or three hours he put her through were, byparison, light. Of course, he hadn¡¯t been walking at a cultivator¡¯s pace all day, every day either. He wasn¡¯t sure how well it all bnced, but Lifen was probably better conditioned than she¡¯d ever been before they left Emperor¡¯s Bay. Conditioning wasn¡¯t everything, but it was terribly helpful if you needed to run or fight.


    Of course, nothing could cure the frayed patience that came with the certain knowledge that they were being hunted. That knowledge pressed down on them all. They each dealt with it in their own ways. Sen focused on the ever-stronger tugging in his soul. They¡¯d covered enough distance that he could tell that, at some point, he¡¯d have to leave the road and venture into the wilds. The road wasn¡¯t a straight line from east to west, but it was close. The tugging was drawing him to a ce that was a bit south of the road. That worried him a little. While he was ready to take that chance, and Lo Meifeng probably wouldn¡¯t care, he wasn¡¯t sure that he could take Lifen into that situation in good conscience.


    If they got more than a mile or two from the road or civilization proper, there was a much higher chance of spirit beast attacks. She wouldn¡¯t be entirely helpless in that situation, but she wasn¡¯t really prepared for it either. A part of him wanted to start training her with a jian or spear, immediately, but he knew that was self-serving. She wasn¡¯t ready yet, not really, and introducing a weapon would only serve as a distraction and weaken the foundation of herbat skills. It also meant that she¡¯d bergely reliant on Sen and Lo Meifeng to protect her. They would, he knew, but he also knew how chaotic those fights could be. It would only take onepse in attention for her to suffer a serious injury or even be killed. Sen didn¡¯t think he could justify that in the name of his own advancement. So, he pondered about how he could both get what he wanted and still be a responsible ¡°leader.¡±


    Lo Meifeng seemingly dealt with the pressure by pretending it didn¡¯t exist, right up until the moment she was ready to explode. Then, she¡¯d vanish for several hours. Sen didn¡¯t know exactly what she did during those side trips, but she always came back calmer. Sometimes, she came back with a freshly in animal for them to butcher and eat. Sometimes, she came back with a contemtive look in her eyes. Sen thought about asking her where she went on more than one asion, but she had been right. Curiosity wasn¡¯t always a good enough reason to ask questions. Wherever she was going, whatever she was doing, it was her way of coping. If she wanted to tell him about it, he¡¯d listen. If she didn¡¯t want to tell him, well, it was her secret to keep.


    Lifen coped by burying herself in cultivation practice. She¡¯d seemingly settled on water qi as her preferred qi type and was practicing the methods set out in the water-focused cultivation manual Sen had procured for her. Getting a clear read on someone else¡¯s progress with cultivation was something that Sen struggled with. While the qi flows in the ground might seem transparent to him, the qi inside others was often hazy or fully opaque without using his own qi to examine it. He thought she was improving and maybe even getting close to another breakthrough, but it was mostly spection on his part. While she would no doubt let him look at her qi while she cultivated if he asked, he didn¡¯t ask. It was her journey, and he needed to let her walk it in her own way. Much as with Lo Meifeng, he would talk with her about it if she decided she wanted to talk, but he wasn¡¯t going to press her to discuss it.


    Part of Sen wondered how long they could keep up this lifestyle. While he might be okay essentially living in the forest nearly full-time, he didn¡¯t expect that held true for either Lo Meifeng or Lifen. It wasn¡¯t really a life the way that Sen understood most people thought of a life. Lifen had been surrounded by countless people basically every single day of her life. Lo Meifeng was far toofortable in cities to be anything but someone who spent most of her time in them. For Sen, rtive solitude was a relief. For them, he expected it was just another burden. And even he grew weary of theck of conveniences. There had been little enough strain on his qi resourcestely that he¡¯d been able topress more ambient qi into liquid qi several times. In fact, he¡¯d been forced to do it more and more often as space grew increasingly limited in his dantian.


    With the right situation and the right resources, he had the suspicion that he could probably break through to core formation without overly taxing his system. Yet, the situation was not ideal for either him or Lifen to have a major breakthrough. Plus, there was that ribbon of qi in his dantian. With Lo Meifeng¡¯s return, he¡¯d finally been able to devote some real time to examining it. Yet, all of his examinations, poking, prodding, and pondering had generated precious few solid answers. Every time he considered it, he desperately wished that Master Feng, Uncle Kho, or Auntie Caihong were on hand to answer questions, or even just for him to bounce ideas off of for a while. He¡¯d considered talking about it with Lo Meifeng, but he was hesitant to reveal that much about his cultivation to her. He had talked about it a bit with Lifen, which had oddly seemed to win him some extra affection and tolerance from her, but she¡¯d been as baffled by his descriptions as he was by direct examination.


    When he peered into this dantian, that ribbon looked almost iridescent. Closer examination seemed to indicate that it was some kind of fusion of all of the qi types he used. Yet, it wasn¡¯t like the liquid qi. It had its own vor, its own feel, like it was something truly separate and meant to be separate. Without understanding what it was, or what it could do, he was leery about breaking through again. Mostly because he didn¡¯t know if it would interfere with the process, enhance the process, or remain wholly untouched by the process. With something as dangerous and potentially life-ending as a breakthrough, to say nothing of the tribtion that would almost certainly follow, that kind of uncertainty bordered on the terrifying. Yet, there would soone a point when he would simply have to hazard it or remain forever trapped as a peak foundation formation cultivator. With so many potential threats and enemies facing him, it wasn¡¯t really a choice at all. He <em>had</em> to break through when the opportunity arose. Leaving power he could im sitting on the table was just asking to die, and Sen nned to <em>live</em>. Sen was so caught up in his own thoughts that it wasn¡¯t until the offensive formation exploded into life and turned some hapless cultivator into charcoal that Sen realized they were under attack.

 Book 3: Chapter 18: Passing Judgment

    Book 3: Chapter 18: Passing Judgment


    It seemed that no one was expecting the offensive formation or the ruinous, charred remains of the first person to find it, which was lucky for Sen. The second or two it took him to engage his brain with the idea that it was time to fight were seconds he might not have otherwise gotten without that shock of the sudden death. Of course, the reactions of his body and his subconscious had been forged in the fires of Master Feng¡¯s training. He was up and moving even while his mind tried to take in everything that was happening. Sen had had a long time to think up contingencies for this exact scenario, and he¡¯d used his time well. By the time his brain finally caught up, he was dumping beast cores he long ago separated out into a sacrificial formation that had only one purpose. To make the lethal offensive formation <em>even more</em> lethal.


    While the lightning and fire formation might work one or two more times using environmental qi, the fight would probably be over long before it ran out of qi from those beast cores. Two more people tried to breach the formation. One was reduced to fine ash and the other was left a writhing, screaming mass of ckened flesh. With that formation as ready as he could make it, Sen dumped a separate pile of beast cores into another sacrificial formation. He let it start feeding energy to therger formation, the one he¡¯d set up while Lifen and Lo Meifeng were upied with their own concerns, but he didn¡¯t trigger it yet. That taskplete, Sen started processing what he¡¯d seen around them. There were at least eight people out there that he could see, which almost certainly meant that there were more hidden out there behind formations of their own or just using the forest as cover.


    Sen had summoned a spear and started cycling lighting qi without even realizing it. Still, it was handy. Even as he started a separate cycling pattern for wind, heunched a bolt of lightning at one of the nearby attackers. It seemed they¡¯d thought they were safe because they didn¡¯t even raise a defense as the bolt drove into their eye and did what lightning does best, it went looking for ground. The man¡¯s entire body locked up even as the mystical lightning literally and figurately burned its way through his body. By the time the man copsed into a smoking pile, Sen was already sweeping his spear in an arc andunching three wind des. One took off someone¡¯s hand and disrupted their own qi technique, which must have been powerful based on the eruption of blood from their mouth and ears. The second de buried itself in someone¡¯s stomach and, at a hastyst-second instruction from Sen, exploded. The third de was batted aside by a woman who seemed to have air qi as her main qi type. Sen was a little disappointed, but he knew that it wasn¡¯t realistic to expect every shot tond.


    Knowing he¡¯d been standing in one ce for too long, Sen leapt from where he¡¯d been near the edge of the formation andnded next to Lifen. She was staring in horror at the carnage outside the formation. It seemed that Lo Meifeng had been busy as well. She had a bow in one hand and Sen could see one corpse on the ground and another person trying to pull himself away. Lo Meifeng paused for half a heartbeat, the fletching at her ear, before the arrow punched through the man and pinned him to the ground. Sen heard an unholy shriek as the formation consumed some technique that someone had thrown at them. Lo Meifeng looked to where it had happened, then looked at Sen with new respect in her eyes.


    ¡°You set it up to do that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I thought it might be handy. How many, do you think?¡±


    ¡°My initial count was ten. But I¡¯m not feeling especially lucky today. How about you?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°No. I¡¯m not feeling very lucky at all. Which means there are probably twenty more out there we can¡¯t see, including someone who can break that formation. Fire and lightning are good against most things. That¡¯s why I picked them. But watch out for earth techniques. Those will probably pass through just fine.¡±


    ¡°Any thoughts on how they found us? Your obscuring formations are top shelf. I know from personal experience.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°No idea. Hell, I¡¯m not even sure these people came from the demonic cultivators. They could just be a bandit gang.¡±


    Lo Meifeng shook her head and loosed another arrow that set off some wailing screams. ¡°Too many cultivators. No, these are our demonic pals.¡±


    Sen nced at Lifen. She had her hand over her mouth, and she was still staring out at the bodies. Sen grabbed her arm and forcibly turned her to look at him.


    ¡°Lifen,¡± he shouted from mere inches away, even as he lobbed a fireball at someone he only felt approaching in his blind spot.


    The girl blinked a few times, then jerked free, turned, and vomited. Sen felt a brief pang of sympathy for her, but that was about all he could allow himself or her. Before she¡¯d even had a chance to wipe her mouth, Sen snaked an arm around her waist and jumped back. A sharpened spike of rock as big around as Sen¡¯s forearm shot up from the ground where Lifen had just been bent over. She screamed as they flew back from the spike, only to have it cut off when theynded harder than Sen would have preferred. He gave her a moment to straighten up. Then he looked at her pale face. Sen knew right then that she wasn¡¯t ready. He hadn¡¯t had enough time with her yet, not that he would have had enough even if he¡¯d started on the day they met. He withdrew a pair of daggers that he¡¯d lifted from one of the Soaring Skies sect members he¡¯d been forced to kill and pressed the hilts into her hands. Her hands closed reflexively at the unfamiliar pressure. She looked down at the des.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how-,¡± she started, but Sen cut her off.


    ¡°Stab and sh. Always keep one close to your body. Only use them if you absolutely have to. Otherwise, just try to stick close.¡±


    Even while he was talking to her, Sen was sweeping the area with his spiritual sense. No point in being subtle and hamstringing himself now. The enemy knew where they were, so he needed to leverage every advantage. Cycling water qi, he used it to seize the boiling water he¡¯d been nning to use to make dinner and sent it shooting out into the woods beyond where he could see to where he¡¯d sensed a body. Then, using lessons he¡¯d mastered during all those weeks on the ship, he turned that ball of boiling water into sharpened whips of boiling water. The scream that echoes out of the wood from that attack was enough to bring everything to a halt for a few moments. It hadn¡¯t been pain or anguish. It had been the deepest kind of unspeakable agony. Sen considered that for a moment, and then let it slip away. He didn¡¯t have time forpassion or second thoughts here. These people hade to kill them or capture them and then kill them slowly. They got what they got, as far as Sen was concerned.


    Even as part of him was dispassionately analyzing the situation, another part of him was getting angrier and angrier. These people had hounded them, hunted them. Now, Sen realized, they were an immediate danger, but they were also <em>in reach</em>. These weren¡¯t faceless, identity-less names on a list. These weren¡¯t bodies in the forest that Lo Meifeng had gotten on what had surely been a dark and terrible day for those poor, dead bastards. These were living, breathing enemies that Sen could see, could touch, could kill. That deadly anger inside of Sen crystallized into something different, something with edges so fine that it could peel away theyers of reality itself. <em>If they want to call me Judgment¡¯s Gale, then so be it</em>. <em>I will judge them all</em>.


    Sen had been paying enough attention that he knew his killing intent was something to be reckoned with. At the very least, it was stronger than it probably had any right to be, but he¡¯d never really dared to unleash it at full strength on anyone since he¡¯d left the mountain. The few times he had used it had been jarring, to say the least. Yet, for the first time, there was an entire group of people for whom Sen had no lenience in his soul. It might well be the best or even only opportunity he might ever have to let go of that restraint and see what his killing intent could really do. Sen took a step away from Lo Meifeng and Lifen to ensure they didn¡¯t identally get caught up in what he was about to do. Lo Meifeng seemed to intuit that Sen was about to do something drastic.


    ¡°What are you doing, Sen?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Passing judgment,¡± he said.


    Then, he unleashed the full, awful weight of that killing intent. It crashed down on the forest around them like a tidal wave, and it offered about as much mercy. Where before there had been intermittent yells or groans, now, there was only screaming. It was terrified, abject screaming that went on and on and on. Sen didn¡¯t let up, not even for a moment. Unlike his qi reserves, his killing intent didn¡¯t run out. He kept that merciless pressure crushing their enemies until the screaming stopped. All of it. Only then did he withdraw that killing intent back, only he didn¡¯t pin it down inside him. He pushed it into the spearhead. This had all been too easy. He returned to cycling lightning, preparing himself for what he hoped would be thest technique used in this fight. He could feel Lifen and Lo Meifeng staring at him.


    ¡°Sen,¡± whispered Lifen.


    ¡°It¡¯s not over,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Impressive, boy,¡± said a smooth, rich voice from the forest.


    A slim man who looked like he might be thirty stepped out of the shadows and paced casually up to the offensive formation. He stopped just short of activating it. He regarded the three of them with cool, gray eyes. There was no emotion in those eyes. Nothing that anyone might mistake for human empathy. If it had ever been there, time, or experience, or the demand of demonic cultivation had burned it all out of the man. Sen gritted his teeth as felt the corruption all but oozing from the man¡¯s pores. The man seemed to dismiss Lifen out of hand, which was actually a relief to Sen. The more the man focused on him and Lo Meifeng the better. The man spent almost half a minute studying Lo Meifeng before he spoke to her.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked her.


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m just a humble babysitter.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Don¡¯t be trite, woman. You¡¯re not in a good bargaining position.¡±


    Sen could almost see Lo Meifeng¡¯s anger around her like an aura. ¡°Why would I give information to the enemy?¡±


    ¡°Who says we¡¯re enemies?¡± asked the man with a smile. ¡°We don¡¯t need to be.¡±


    ¡°All the murderous assassins seem to suggest otherwise.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not for <em>you</em>. They¡¯re not even for the whore. They¡¯re just for <em>him</em>. Let me have him, and the two of you can go.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, tempting, except I¡¯m not an idiot. You¡¯re going to try to kill us all no matter what I do, so I might as well make it as hard as possible for you. Besides. No matter how terrible you think you¡¯ll make my death, I promise you this. It will be nothing, nothing <em>at all</em>,pared to what Fate¡¯s Razor would do to me if I let you have him.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± demanded the man.


    ¡°Oh,e on,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°You didn¡¯t think he warranted protection as good as me on his own merits, did you? You lot have picked a fight you cannot win. That boy you¡¯re so eager to kill is Feng Ming¡¯s sole disciple. So, go ahead. You might be able to take us all. Of course, then you get to spend the rest of forever wondering when Feng Ming will find you. And you know that he <em>will</em> find you. That¡¯s assuming that The Living Spear or Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden don¡¯t find you first. Our boy here was a popr student among the demigods.¡±


    ¡°You lie.¡±


    The man tried to make it sound like he meant it, but he¡¯d gone so pale that he looked like a corpse.


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± said Lo Meifeng, feigning an air of nonchnce. ¡°And, to top it all off, you¡¯re demonic cultivators. Kho Jaw-Long has barelye down off his mountain for most of a century, but for demonic cultivators, I bet he¡¯s sharpening his spears right now. Hell, given how bored nascent soul cultivators usually are, I bet they threw a damn party when they found out about you lot. Not just <em>a</em> demonic cultivator, but a whole cabal. They¡¯re going to invent a whole new sport out of scraping your filth from the world. If I was you, I¡¯d already be running.¡±


    The demonic cultivator red at Lo Meifeng like he wanted to cut her into tiny pieces. He transferred that re to Sen, only to flinch at whatever he saw in Sen¡¯s eyes. Sen wished he knew, so he could store that look up for future use.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t over. And if you think I can¡¯t make your death worse than that old man, you¡¯ve got a poor imagination.¡±


    The man turned as though he meant to leave, but Sen wondered why the man had even bothered with the theatrics. That corrupted thing masquerading as a person had no intention of leaving until they were all dead. As soon as Sen sensed the man¡¯s qi shift, the second the demonic cultivator started to turn back toward them, Sen activated the other formation with a flicker of his own qi. The formation that had been slowly building up power unleashed its full fury in one fell burst. There was very nearly an explosion of metal qi and a small forest of metal spikes shot up out of the ground in a perfect circle around the offensive formation. The demonic cultivator had expected something and taken precautions, but there had been too many spikes and he¡¯d been impaled in half a dozen ces. Sen didn¡¯t wait around to see if the demonic cultivator had some trick up his sleeve. He lowered his spear toward the man and let lightning qi flow into the spearhead until it clicked together with his killing intent.


    ¡°Heavens¡¯ Rebuke,¡± whispered Sen.

 Book 3: Chapter 19: The Flower of Strange Fortune

    Book 3: Chapter 19: The Flower of Strange Fortune


    Control. So much in cultivation depended on it. Without it, strikes would not find their mark, or be turned aside with ease. Without it, one could shred their qi channels to uselessness. Without control, techniques could run out of control. That was a lesson Sen had learned the hard way. Seeing the destruction he¡¯d wrought in that abandoned town with his poorly controlled use of Heavens¡¯ Rebuke had very nearly convinced him to swear it off altogether. Even as he directed the same technique at the thrashing, howling, impaled demonic cultivator, he focused on control. He would kill this man, Sen promised himself, not vaporize half a mile of forest. Yet, for all that cultivation called for control, for all that cultivators relied on it, there had to be room for the unknown, for the unpredictable, for the flower of strange fortune to bloom in their lives. Sen had been the recipient of that as well. Yet, in the moment, the blooming of that flower could look like a hideous, terrifying loss of control.


    That was what Sen experienced as, in the barest sliver of time before Heavens¡¯ Rebuke flew from the spearhead, something he didn¡¯t n for happened. To his horror, a tiny thread from that ribbon of strange qi flew free and lodged itself in the heart of his technique. There was no time to stop it, or even consider what it meant. There was only time for one brief upswell of uncertainty and fear as Sen felt the technique fundamentally change. Then, it was loosed on the demonic cultivator. While Sen expected thence of purple-hued ckness with lightning crackling around it, what he got was a beam of iridescent light wreathed in that purple-hued ck lightning. Sen was at a loss to even understand what happened next. While he hadn¡¯t intentionally aimed it that way, that beam punched into the demonic cultivator dantian. Sen flinched when he heard the man¡¯s core shatter.


    That alone was enough to end the fight. That man would likely never cultivate again. Yet, it seemed the technique wasn¡¯t through with him. That iridescent light seemed to suffuse the man from the inside out. That was when the man opened his mouth and started screaming. Foulness the likes of which Sen had never seen was pushed out of the man¡¯s body only to be hungrily consumed by the purpled-hued ck lightening that wreathed the man. The lightning left nothing behind, not even ash. When it seemed that the light had pushed everyst trace of corruption out of the man, it faded away, only for the lightning to shoot into the man and take its terrible due. Without the benefits of an intact core to support his body, the lightning acted more like a pack of ravenous animals than anything else. It simply consumed the man from the outside in until nothing remained but a few charred and smoking bone fragments.


    When it was over, Sen found himself staring at those bone fragments. <em>He</em> had done that. Somehow, someway, that technique had been born inside of <em>him</em>. He didn¡¯t have words for what he felt. He wasn¡¯t sorry that the man was dead. He wasn¡¯t even sorry for how he¡¯d killed him. Sen was absolutely certain that the man had gotten off easier than he deserved. Only countless acts of utter depravity, cultivation withponents that no sane person would use, could possibly ount for the corruption that had poured from that man¡¯s skin. No, the problem was that Sen was all too certain that technique would have simr results on normal cultivators as well. What he¡¯d just done hadn¡¯t been killing. It hadn¡¯t even been an execution. He had destroyed <em>everything</em> that man had ever been. And he¡¯d done it in seconds.


    The full weight of what he¡¯d done descended on him. The danger of it bloomed fully formed in his mind. <em>No one</em> could know about that technique. Not that Sen nned to ever use it again. It seemed that every time he did, it got more wildly, insanely dangerous. Still, if word ever spread, if people ever found out that he could shatter their cultivation with one technique, he¡¯d never be able to stop running. No threat of vengeance from terrifying nascent soul cultivators would be enough to shield him. Entire packs of core cultivators would hunt him down and destroy him. He¡¯d never be safe again. Just as that realization struck home, a powerful hand seized his robes and spun him around. Lo Meifeng was staring at him, her eyes wild, afraid, and confused.


    ¡°What in all of the countless hells was that?¡± she screamed, jerking him back and forth by the robes. ¡°You aren¡¯t some random cultivator that Feng Ming picked as a hobby. You tell me who you are! You tell me now!¡±


    Sen firmed his expression. ¡°Stop.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked like she wanted to yell again, then seemed to realize what she¡¯d been doing. Her face nched, and she hurriedly took a step back. While she took a moment to visibly get ahold of herself, Sen looked over to Lifen. He struggled to pin down what her expression meant. It wasn¡¯t fear, for which he was enormously grateful, but it was definitely <em>something</em>. It was a jumble of things. There were hints of awe in there, which he needed to put a stop to as soon as possible. There was also consideration in her eyes as if she¡¯d thought she understood him and was reevaluating that. There were other things in there, too, and Sen didn¡¯t have the experience or the mental resources to devote to sorting it all out. He did find it odd that, after her initial shock and horror at the bloodshed, she seemed calmer about all of it than the much more experienced Lo Meifeng. <em>Maybe that¡¯s the difference</em>, thought Sen. <em>Lo Meifeng has the experience to understand how bad this could all get</em>.


    ¡°I apologize,¡± said Lo Meifeng, her face a calm mask. ¡°I let my surprise get the better of me. Still, the questions stand. What did you just do?¡±


    ¡°It never happened,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What?¡± asked both Lifen and Lo Meifeng at the same time.


    ¡°It <em>never</em> happened. We will talk about it here, now, <em>once</em>. Then, I will have an oath from both of you that you will never discuss it with anyone without my express permission.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Lifen.


    ¡°Because, if knowledge about it spreads, his death bes a certainty,¡± answered Lo Meifeng. ¡°Every core stage cultivator on the continent would be baying for his blood.¡±


    Given that clue, Lifen''s face lit up with understanding, and then immediately went dark with a different kind of understanding. She considered all of it for a moment before she gave Sen a hard look.


    ¡°You don¡¯t trust us to keep quiet.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°I trust you to keep quiet in normal circumstances. I need that oath to ensure that no one can force the information from you.¡±


    Lifen didn¡¯t need any help connecting those dots. She grimaced, then nodded in understanding. ¡°I can see why you¡¯d think that was a possibility, given everything.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, more than a little bitter, before he looked at Lo Meifeng. ¡°I¡¯ll start with your second question since it¡¯s easier. I¡¯m no one.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, I¡¯ll add it to my oath.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to add. I really am no one. I was living on the streets when Master Feng found me.¡±


    ¡°What about before that?¡±


    ¡°What about it? I¡¯m not some lost prince or the scion of some great noble house if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking. Or, if I was, no one ever came looking for me.¡±


    ¡°That you know of,¡± offered Lifen.


    Sen grudgingly conceded that point. ¡°Yes, that I know of. But, really, even I know that¡¯s just something that happens in stories. Can either of you think of a single time that something like that happened in the real world?¡±


    Both women thought hard for a moment. Lifen shook her head.


    ¡°No, I guess I can¡¯t,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Exactly. I¡¯m confident that if someone managed to find out where I came from, they¡¯d find out that my parents were just peasants who died young. Or they were peasants who abandoned me. Or some variation on that.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°I¡¯ll ept that, <em>for the moment</em>. Now, exin exactly what it is that you just did that man.¡±


    So, Senid out the essentials, which didn¡¯t really take that long. Of course, there were lots of questions, most of which elicited shrugs from Sen. He was short on useful facts about the technique. When he¡¯d answered, or failed to have answers, for all of their questions, he extracted oaths from them both, sworn to the heavens and on their cultivation to never reveal any of what he¡¯d just told them. After that, he looked out at the surrounding forest and sighed.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Lifen.


    ¡°There¡¯s a chance there¡¯s still a few of them alive out there. I should go finish them off.¡±


    ¡°I can do it,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen shot her a grateful look but declined. ¡°If they¡¯re alive, they¡¯re probably half-mad or catatonic. I did that to them, so I should be the one to finish the job.¡±


    With that, Sen walked into the trees to finish what he was trying very hard not to think of as a massacre at his hands.

 Book 3: Chapter 20: Lessons

    Book 3: Chapter 20: Lessons


    Falling Leaf red across the table at the Caihong and resisted the urge to smash the teapot. <em>No</em>, she reminded herself for the hundredth time, <em>Ma Caihong</em>. She was so frustrated with the woman, with the situation, with the countless, stupid human rules that she had to learn. They had rules for <em>everything</em>. They had rules about when to sleep. Rules about when to eat. Rules about <em>how</em> to eat. And so many rules about bowing. She honestly didn¡¯t know how they kept track of it all, let alone why they¡¯d want to make their lives soplicated. Then, there were the clothes. Those were soplicated, and her graceless human body didn¡¯t make it any easier. To make it worse, she knew that this was forever. As soon as she had done it, she <em>knew</em>. She¡¯d never be able to go back. She¡¯d mourned that loss for so many days. <em>No</em>, she reminded herself, <em>weeks</em>. <em>The humans call them weeks</em>.


    That was something else she struggled to understand. The humans were obsessed with naming time. For Falling Leaf, time was simple. There was day. There was night. There were seasons. That had always been enough. Now, though, there weren¡¯t just days. There were specific days, and they had names that she needed to remember. Those days happened in a specific order, and the humans put great stock in that fact for some unfathomable reason. But the humans couldn¡¯t stop their madness there. No, they had to break their days up into some made-up thing called hours, as though there was a real difference between time in the morning and time in the evening. There was just day and night. She <em>knew</em> this. She had <em>always</em> known this. But Ma Caihong insisted that this was something that Falling Leaf needed to know.


    The worst part, though, was that she had to learn how to fight. She remembered how to fight, but the way she fought wouldn¡¯t work in this new body. She had to learn how the humans used their metal ws, and how they used their qi. <em>At least that part hadn¡¯t been so bad</em>, she thought. She¡¯d been pleasantly surprised to learn that gathering qi and using it in her human body was easier than it had ever been in her beautiful, lost panther body. She actually enjoyed learning about that, which Ma Caihong had figured out all too quickly. Now, the woman wouldn¡¯t teach her about qi or fighting unless she made progress with all of the other stupid human things.


    The worst part, though, was that she¡¯d made this change so she could go to her human boy, and that seemed farther away now than it had on the day she changed. There were times when she felt defeated, lost in a tide of things she didn¡¯t understand and didn¡¯t want to understand. But she had to learn. She had made this choice. There was no going back, so she must go forward. Grimacing, she turned her attention back to the teapot and started over.


    ***


    Feng Ming was thinking about pastries. He hadn¡¯t been back to that little shop in years, and that was unfortunate. They had been a nice family. Just as importantly, they had real skill in their craft. So many people made a hash of their professions, squeaking by with barely adequate results. He truly didn¡¯t understand why someone would put so little effort into something they would spend so much time doing. Of course, he also understood that many mortals found themselves doing work they didn¡¯t wish to do, but he wasn¡¯t certain that was really a good enough excuse to do the work badly. After all, he¡¯d never particrly enjoyed practicing the jian, but it was the weapons his master had chosen to train him in. He¡¯d been diligent about it and invested himself in it as thoroughly as he invested himself in his cultivation exercises. He thought that the results spoke for themselves. He wasn¡¯t so arrogant as to believe that he was the greatest swordsman alive, but he thought he could reasonably im to be among the top ten.


    That was something he¡¯d appreciated the entire time he¡¯d been teaching Sen. That boy¡¯s dedication and drive were simply unparalleled in Feng Ming¡¯s experience. He¡¯d been relentless. <em>No</em>, thought Feng Ming, <em>relentless doesn¡¯t do it justice</em>. <em>That boy had been pitiless with himself</em>. If Feng Ming had been half so driven in his youth, he would have ascended four thousand years ago. Although, that would have been a pity. He would have missed out on so many interesting things. He¡¯d have barely gotten to know Kho Jaw-Long or Ma Caihong. There were students he would never have trained. There would also certainly be a lot more people in the world that the world would be better off without. There had also been hard times in there. Friends lost to wars, to other cultivators, even to his own stupidity. Yet, those losses, the poignance of them, gave him a much deeper appreciation for all the grand wonders and tiny miracles he had witnessed in his long life. In the end, he was d he¡¯d taken his time.


    He suspected that Sen wouldn¡¯t. It would be too much like a half-measure, and if there was one thing that boy hated, it was half-measures. Although, Feng Ming suspected Sen would deny that. There was a streak of kindness in that boy that Feng Ming had worked exceedingly hard not to extinguish. It asionally made the boy make bad choices, but also did a lot of work to soften the other thing that Feng Ming saw in him. There was a tower carved of pure diamond that ran straight through that young man. It wasn¡¯t always obvious, and he¡¯d personally witnessed Sen try to hide it, but that obdurate, unbreakable hardness was <em>there</em>, obvious to those with eyes to see. That was why the boy had been able to endure all those double advancements. It was why he¡¯d been able to train like a pack of devils was waiting for him to take a break. It was also why the boy had found himself in his current predicament.


    That thought brought Feng Ming back into the moment. He¡¯d only been half paying attention to the demonic cultivator that had been waving a jian at him like a toddler and throwing pitiful qi techniques at him for thest few minutes. Sighing to himself, he decided that it was high time to end this charade. Feng Ming moved his arm in a casual thrust. The thrust sheared the other man¡¯s de in half, shattered three separate defensive techniques, punched through the man¡¯s chest, and severed his spine. Feng Ming withdrew the de and peered down at the man on the ground.


    ¡°A lesson for you to take into your next life,¡± said Feng Ming. ¡°A lesson all warriors must eventually learn, or it will kill them. Know your enemy.¡±


    Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, he deprived the man¡¯s body of its head. As he casually looked around at the smoldering ruins that had once been the sect the demonic cultivator was hiding in, Feng Ming wondered if he had the time to visit that pastry shop.


    ***


    Kho Jaw-Long couldn¡¯t remember thest time he¡¯d had this much fun. Not that he wasn¡¯t concerned about the boy. He was very worried about Sen. The boy was almost freakishly talented. That much had been obvious with the way he¡¯d taken to alchemy. It was only his own hangups about pills that had bottlenecked him there, but Caihong said he¡¯d started doing things with elixirs that she¡¯d found fascinating. He could appreciate what she meant. Sen had soaked up formation knowledge like a sponge. If he could have had five more years with the boy, he¡¯d have turned him into a formation master like nothing the world had seen in five hundred years. The threat of losing a talent like that alone was bad enough, but the strange, half-starved, nearly feral boy that Ming had dragged up the mountain had filled an empty ce in Kho Jaw-Long¡¯s heart that he hadn¡¯t even realized was there. He was more son than student, and Kho Jaw-Long would, by the heavens, protect what was his.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t have a good time <em>while</em> he protected what was his. And, if someone couldn¡¯t have a good time killing demonic cultivators, they were just doing it wrong. Fortunately, he knew how to do it right. It helped that there just wasn¡¯t a group of people more rightly deserving of grisly deaths than demonic cultivators. That was how Kho Jaw-Long found himself hovering in the air over a sect, lighting wrapped around him so tightly that he zed like the sun, issuing threats and demands. Below, he saw the sect members running around like headless chickens, while elders tried to put up formations that would keep him out. Like those fools even knew a formation that could stop him.


    ¡°Just send her out,¡± shouted Kho Jaw-Long, his voice amplified with a bit of air qi.


    He¡¯d taken a page out of Sen¡¯s book and started cultivating a bit of other kinds of qi. He¡¯d never be able to do the kinds of things Sen did. He¡¯d started toote for that. But he could pull together enough qi of different types for little tricks. Of course, that little trick sent off wholesale wailing and terror below as they thought he was one of the rare prodigies who sessfully cultivated multiple qi types. He let them think it.


    ¡°You cannot have her,¡± shouted back one of the elders. ¡°You cannot hope to defeat the might of the entire Thundering Mountain sect!¡±


    At those words, Kho Jaw-Long threw back his head andughed. Then, he descended on them. Their formations broke, shattered, or burned away without slowing him by a moment. Hended in front of the elder who had just spoken. The man¡¯s eyes looked like they were about to fall out of his skull, which made it hard for Kho Jaw-Long to keep a straight face, but he mastered his glee and put on an appropriately stern face.


    ¡°I assure you, I can,¡± he said. ¡°Although, if you¡¯ve called out all of this much force to protect a demonic cultivator, perhaps I <em>should</em> just cull the entire sect. You¡¯re probably all corrupt.¡±


    Exactly one minuteter, the demonic cultivator was dragged before Kho Jaw-Long. Five secondster, her smoldering skeleton was dragged away to be, well, probably thrown on a trash pile somewhere if there was justice in the universe. He looked over at the elder and nodded.


    ¡°I see that you¡¯ve learned at least one lesson today.¡±


    ¡°What lesson is that, honored cultivator?¡± asked a pale-faced elder in a shaky voice.


    ¡°Not everything is worth dying for.¡±


    Then, he was flying away on a tform of qi. The list Sen had sent was long, and Kho Jaw-Long was in a mood to travel.

 Book 3: Chapter 21: A Different Path

    Book 3: Chapter 21: A Different Path


    Where Sen had set a brisk pace before, he set a brutal pace now. He wanted as much physical and psychological distance from that fight as he could get. Although, he wanted those distances for very different reasons. The physical distance was practicality at work. Someone sent those people, and Sen was already wishing that they¡¯d captured someone alive and sane enough to ask them questions about that person. He knew that probably wasn¡¯t realistic, that trying to do that would likely have ended with their captures or death, but he was feeling very information-starved at the moment.


    <em>Whoever</em> that order-issuing person was, they were going to notice when two dozen qi condensing and foundation formation cultivators, to say nothing of a full-blown demonic core formation cultivator, just never came back. They may as well have thrown a sign up into the air that said, ¡°We are here.¡± Then again, the murderous trail that Lo Meifeng left in their wake probably did the same thing. Either way, they needed to get away from the actual site of thatst piece of ughter before someone turned up that they couldn¡¯t fight. Of course, up until the end of that fight, Sen would have said that they didn¡¯t really stand a good chance against ate-stage core cultivator of any stripe.


    That thought brought him back around to why he wanted psychological distance from that fight. There was too much he didn¡¯t understand about what had happened. He¡¯d known that Heavens¡¯ Rebuke was powerful. He¡¯d expected it to do a lot of damage, even to thatte-stage core cultivator. What it had actually done, no one could have predicted <em>that</em>. Of course, that was part of the problem. The technique he¡¯d actually used wasn¡¯t Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. Not really. Not the way he¡¯d intended it. It was more like Heavens¡¯ Rebuke¡¯s older, angrier, much more hideously deadly sister. And the worst part was, he didn¡¯t know how he¡¯d done it. He wasn¡¯t entirely convinced that <em>he</em> had done it. He¡¯d gone over thest moments before he¡¯dunched that technique a hundred times.


    It had all happened so fast that he couldn¡¯t be certain, but it seemed like that ribbon of strange qi in his dantian had acted <em>on its own</em>. That was absurd because qi wasn¡¯t sentient. It didn¡¯t make decisions. Yet, Sen was almost positive, that was what had happened. He knew for damned sure that he would never have introduced a new variable into a technique at that moment. Especially since he knew how dangerous it was when that specific technique was poorly controlled. He would have considered adding anything to it in the moments before heunched it as an invitation to blow himself up. That he hadn¡¯t gotten blown up had, at first, seemed like pure good fortune. Now, he wasn¡¯t so sure. He had theories, so many theories, but they were all so oundish that he didn¡¯t even bother considering them again. Still, he had to know if that qi was, despite all information running to the contrary, somehow self-aware. He looked inside himself, almost ring at that ribbon.


    ¡°Can you hear me?¡± he thought at it.


    The ribbon continued in itszy rotation around the edges of his dantian. Sen frowned, not sure if he should feel relieved or disappointed. If it had reacted in some way, at least he¡¯d have an exnation for what had happened back in that clearing. He tried again.


    ¡°Are you aware?¡± he asked it, giving the ribbon a little poke.


    The ribbon did nothing. Sen let himself feel the tiniest bit of relief. Of course, that only left him with even more ridiculous ideas that he liked even less than the idea of self-aware qi living in his dantian. If self-aware qi wasn¡¯t the answer, and <em>he</em> hadn¡¯t done it, that only left some outside force acting <em>through</em> him. That idea was disturbing for Sen on a lot of levels. The very idea that some other power could reach inside him and make his qi act outside of his control was frightening. Sure, it had been helpful, sort of, this time, but that didn¡¯t mean it would be helpful every time. Even more importantly, he couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of being or force could do such a thing. Maybe the heavens could do it, but he really didn¡¯t know. That absence of knowledge drove a sliver of ice into his heart.


    If he couldn¡¯t trust that his qi was under his control, then he couldn¡¯t fight. And Sen needed to be able to fight. It wasn¡¯t optional. His survival hinged on it. So, in the absence of good answers, or any answers, he did the only thing he could think to do. He ran. It was a short-term solution, but it beat the other options. He just wished that he had somewhere to run to, somewhere he knew would be safe for him, Lifen, and Lo Meifeng. Not a forever ce, since he doubted such a ce even existed, but somewhere they could stop for a week or two without their paranoia on full burn for the whole time. He knew that Lifen couldn¡¯t keep the pace he was setting forever. She fell asleep very nearly the minute they stopped each day, usually pausing only long enough to eat and bathe. Although, she hadn¡¯t uttered so much as a word ofint. She¡¯d gotten a close and personal look at what they were up against, and it had frightened her. She was just as motivated to put some distance between them and their enemies as Sen.


    Lo Meifeng was keeping up okay, but even she was looking tired. Of course, she¡¯d looked tired when they reunited. Sen was pretty sure that she wasn¡¯t a body cultivator, but her more advanced spirit cultivation was enough to bridge the gap, at least for a while. Even so, Sen knew that they needed a n with some details. Run and hide was great as a big-picture strategy, but it didn¡¯t offer much in terms of day-to-day tactics. Plus, behind it all, there was that tugging on his soul getting stronger and stronger the farther west they went. Part of him thought they should just follow that tugging. It had led him to rtive safety before. Of course, it had also led him straight into conflict with the Stormy Seas sect. That tugging didn¡¯t seem to particrly take his safety into ount. It was more neutral than that, simply pointing out ces he could learn things. Unfortunately, he could theoretically learn things fighting for his life, just as easily as he could learn things holed up in a cave and cultivating.


    All of those thoughts kept churning through his head as they raced down the road in the moonlight. It might have driven him mad, eventually, but Lo Meifeng dropped into ce beside him. He nced over at her, but she didn¡¯t say anything for a while. He couldn¡¯t tell if she was gathering her thoughts or had just gotten tired of running with Lifen. In the end, she did speak.


    ¡°Have you given any thought to how they found us?¡± she asked.


    Sen clenched his teeth in frustration. He <em>had</em> given that problem some thought. He just hadn¡¯t gotten anywhere with it.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. My formations are as tight as I can make them. I hide as much as I dare. Even Lifen has tightened up her qi presence. Your influence?¡±


    ¡°I might have shown her something,¡± said Lo Meifeng with a practiced nonchnce.


    ¡°So, no, I don¡¯t have any ideas. I also don¡¯t have any ideas about how to keep it from happening again. I am open to theories and suggestions.¡±


    Lo Meifeng was quiet for a long time before she finally said, ¡°We¡¯re too close to the road. Granted, you do a good job of finding us camping spots well away from the road itself, but you¡¯re cautious about not taking us too deep into the forest.¡±


    ¡°I-,¡± started Sen.


    ¡°I know why you do it. Normally, I¡¯d even agree. But no matter how good we are, we can¡¯t avoid leaving some signs that we entered or left the forest. If they send out enough experienced hunters and trackers up and down the road, they can narrow our location.¡±


    ¡°So, you think we should travel through the forest itself?¡±


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. ¡°I think we should cut through the wilds. At least for a while.¡±


    Sen red at her. ¡°I seem to recall you saying something along the lines of that being insane.¡±


    ¡°And it was, when the threats were still vague, and people weren¡¯t attacking us at our campsite. Now, the risks have changed.¡±


    ¡°Lifen¡¯s cultivation hasn¡¯t. Not enough,¡± said Sen quietly. ¡°Herbat training hasn¡¯t. We¡¯d be taking her somewhere she couldn¡¯t possibly survive on her own. If she got separated from us or if you and me both died, she¡¯d be doomed. Honestly, I¡¯m not even sure how likely your survival is.¡±


    Lo Meifeng gave him a mirthless smile. ¡°And what about you? Do you think you¡¯ll just take a stroll ande out the other side?¡±


    Sen huffed something that might have been augh. ¡°Not likely. I¡¯d only give me even odds, maybe a touch better with the new body cultivation advancement. Besides, where would we go? At the end of the day, our destination is always going to be somewhere along the road.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go wherever it is that you keep looking over there,¡± she said, gesturing to the southwest.


    Sen jerked a little. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Any time you get distracted, you start looking that direction like there¡¯s something to find. So, we¡¯ll go there and find it.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s another one of those soul tugs. I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s something to find there, but that doesn¡¯t mean we <em>want</em> to find it.¡±


    Lo Meifeng shrugged, ¡°We aren¡¯t going to find anything else that we want to find heading straight down this road, either. We need to change the field for a while.¡±


    Sen pondered on the possibility for a while before shaking his head again. ¡°I can¡¯t make this decision by myself. I know where you stand. I¡¯m going to talk to Lifen about this. She¡¯s going to be in the most danger, so I¡¯m going to leave it in her hands.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked frustrated by that pronouncement, but she nodded. ¡°I suppose she should get input in the decision.¡±


    Sen dropped back to jog beside Lifen. She spared him a brief smile but seemed to be devoting most of her attention to keeping pace. Sen put a hand on her arm and slowed to walk. Lo Meifeng noticed and stopped.


    ¡°I¡¯ll scout ahead,¡± she said and took off down the road.


    Lifen took a few moments to catch her breath before she looked at Sen. He could see the curiosity in her eyes and some trepidation. <em>That¡¯s odd</em>, he thought. <em>I didn¡¯t expect that until after I exined things</em>.


    ¡°So, here¡¯s the situation as Lo Meifeng sees it,¡± said Sen.


    Heid out the problem for her, and then he told her Lo Meifeng¡¯s proposed solution. Lifen paled as he described the n of action. Once he was done, he gave her a few moments to process it.


    ¡°Through the wilds,¡± said Lifen. ¡°She wants to go <em>through</em> the wilds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the simple version, yes,¡± answered Sen.


    ¡°Is she insane?¡±


    Sen hesitated. ¡°Probably not. She¡¯s sort of hard to read sometimes.¡±


    Lifen rolled her eyes, but the moment of levity did seem to help. She paced back and forth on the road for most of a minute, her brow furrowed, and her lower lip caught between her teeth. If things hadn¡¯t been so serious, Sen might have found the expression charming. She finally came to a stop and looked at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m already a liability on the road. I¡¯d be utterly useless to you in the wilds. You and Lo Meifeng would have to protect me constantly. I¡¯d slow you down even more than I do right now.¡±


    ¡°That might be true, but it¡¯s also irrelevant.¡±


    ¡°You could just leave me behind,¡± she said, putting on a brave face.


    ¡°They <em>know</em> about you. That means you have toe with us, whatever we finally decide. We can¡¯t just stick you somewhere and hurry away because there¡¯s nowhere safe to leave you. They found us out here in the middle of absolutely nowhere. They¡¯d find you in any town or city we passed through. For now, at least, we stick together. The question is, how do we proceed? Do we continue on the road, or follow Crazy Lo Meifeng¡¯s advice and cut through the wilds?¡±


    Lifenughed, but Sen caught more than a few hints of hysteria in theugh. ¡°Don¡¯t ever let her hear you call her that.¡±


    Sen winked. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it between us. So, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°I get a vote?¡± she asked, seeming surprised.


    ¡°No, not exactly. This time, you get to decide. Lo Meifeng and I can probably survive the trip. It¡¯ll be dangerous for us, but it¡¯s theoretically doable. You¡¯re the one taking the most risk if we follow her n, so you get to make the call.¡±


    Lifen spent a long, long time staring out at the moonlit forest. ¡°It¡¯ll keep happening, won¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The attacks. They¡¯ll keep finding us on the road, won¡¯t they?¡±


    Sen weighed his words carefully. He didn¡¯t want to sway her decision with his own preferences, but he didn¡¯t want to lie, either. ¡°It seems likely. If we go through the wilds, though, there will still be attacks. It¡¯ll just be spirit beasts instead of people. There¡¯s danger either way.¡±


    Lifen bowed her head, considering, praying, Sen wasn''t sure, before she nodded to herself. ¡°We go through the wilds.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 22: Restraint

    Book 3: Chapter 22: Restraint


    With the decision made, they didn¡¯t waste any time. Sen spent longer than he probably should have picking the spot where they would leave the road. Then, he used every trick he¡¯d picked up since leaving the mountain, every bit of woodcraft he¡¯d learned from Falling Leaf, to obscure their trail. Then, when he¡¯d done everything he could think of, they started off into the wilds. Sen had decided that, for that night, they wouldn¡¯t go too deep, just deep enough that no one would dare to follow them. There were a lot of reasons for it, not the least of which was that, in Sen¡¯s experience, the most dangerous things hunted at night. Not that things would really be <em>that much</em> less dangerous in the daylight, but they might at least have a better shot at spotting those dangers during the day.


    For the first time in a long time, Sen felt like they actually got a little bit lucky. Nothing took notice of them, attacked them, or even seemed to stalk them. When they¡¯d gone far enough that even Sen¡¯s paranoia didn¡¯t think anyone would follow them, and then gone a few more miles, he finally picked a spot and set up camp. He took extra time and care setting up the obscuring and offensive formations. Lifen was already sitting with her back against a rock, nearly asleep, but Lo Meifeng was watching as he nted gs. When he didn¡¯t set up the spike forest formation, she finally spoke up.


    ¡°Not doing that other formation? I mean, I know you¡¯re probably tired, but that was a really useful formation.¡±


    ¡°It is useful. It also takes a lot of metal qi to make it work in most ces. I mean, if we were camping in a smith¡¯s shop, I could probably make it work with nothing but environmental qi. Out here, I need metal-aligned beast cores to power it. I mostly drained the ones I have making it work that one time. I can <em>maybe</em> make it work one more time. I want to save it for when we know we¡¯re in trouble. So, unless you have extra metal-aligned cores, or you want to go hunting for beasts with that kind of core, there¡¯s not much point in setting it up.¡±


    Lo Meifeng made a vaguely unhappy noise. ¡°I don¡¯t, sadly. Formations weren¡¯t really part of my training, at least, not beyond the basics. How the hell did they manage to turn you into a master alchemist and formation master in what five years?¡±


    ¡°Six years. And I¡¯m no master alchemist. I¡¯m certainly not a formation master. You should see the things that Uncle Kho can do with formations.¡±


    Lo Meifeng lifted an eyebrow at him. ¡°No offense, but you may be setting the bar a little high for what you consider a master. If your baseline for mastery is what a thousands of years old nascent soul cultivator can do, nobody is going to qualify as a master in your world.¡±


    Sen stopped what he was doing, frowned, and then looked at Lo Meifeng. ¡°You may have a point. Then again, isn¡¯t that the kind of mastery we should <em>all</em> be aiming for?¡±


    It was Lo Meifeng¡¯s turn to frown. ¡°Maybe so.¡±


    ¡°You should get some sleep while you can,¡± said Sen. ¡°We both know that this bit of peace and quiet we¡¯ve got right now isn¡¯t going tost.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯m just trying to enjoy it for a few minutes,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Can I ask you something?¡±


    Sen nted onest g and ran his qi through the formation to test it. Satisfied with his work, he activated it. He turned to Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Feng Ming trained you with the jian, right?¡±


    Sen nodded, a little confused by the question. ¡°He did.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ever use it?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen, finally understanding. ¡°The jian works best in specific kinds of fights. I find it¡¯s best for close-rangebat with one or two opponents. All my fights recently have been with groups. The spear helps me keep my distance. Plus, I¡¯ve used it more for lightning. I can channel lightning with it a hair faster. Meaningless most of the time, but,¡± Sen drew out thest word.


    ¡°But any advantage in a fight.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. If I find myself in a duel, though, I¡¯ll use the jian. I killed some ouw with it a while back. What was his name?¡± Sen muttered to himself before snapping his fingers. ¡°Cheng Bojing! That was it. I dueled him with the jian.¡±


    ¡°Wait? That was <em>you</em>? I thought some of those Soaring Skies sect punks got him and his gang.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to go to their sect to collect the reward. I also didn¡¯t want any more attention. I told them to take the credit. Why?¡±


    ¡°He had a reputation as a swordsman. He was supposed to be quite good.¡±


    Sen lifted a shoulder. ¡°He wasn¡¯t terrible. I mean, he was no Master Feng.¡±


    ¡°Again, you may be setting your bar for mastery a little <em>high</em>.¡±


    ¡°Not really. I mean, <em>I</em> beat him. He couldn¡¯t have been that good.¡±


    Lo Meifeng just stared at him for a few seconds before she started to rub at her temple like she had a pain in her head. ¡°Yeah, that <em>must</em> be the exnation. Alright, I¡¯m going to get some sleep. Are you going to keep watch?¡±


    Sen nodded and pointed at the gently snoring Lifen. ¡°Once I get her settled on something a little softer than a rock, anyway.¡±


    Lo Meifeng let out a soft chuckle and climbed into the small tent that she kept in her own storage ring. It seemed that Sen wasn¡¯t the only person who liked to be prepared for a lot of potential situations. He quickly assembled his own tent and put Lifen onto some nkets, then he settled in to keep watch. Although, keeping watch was a bit of a misnomer. The formations would do most of that work for them. Sen was really there as a first line of defense in case anything managed to get through the offensive formation. Instead, he settled into actively cycling qi. He¡¯d be more and more sparing with his active qi cycling because he was so very close to breaking through again. Thest thing he wanted to do was break into core formation and face a tribtion in the wilds. That would probably draw every spirit beast within a hundred miles looking for something weak and injured to eat.


    Yet, he found it almost physically painful to not cycle qi. He¡¯d been cultivating daily for so long that it actually felt wrong not to. Plus, there was a part of him that wanted to break through into core formation. That wouldn¡¯t put him on the same level of peak core formation cultivators, but it was narrow that distance a lot. Maybe enough to give him a fighting chance without using Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. That was the real attraction, he admitted to himself. He didn¡¯t trust that technique any more. The sheer destructive potential of it frightened him. Equally important, he didn¡¯t trust himself to use it wisely. Something that could shatter cores was a temptation, as much as it was a tool. It was too easy to think of it as a card he could y if he was desperate. And, as long as that gulf existed between foundation formation and core cultivators, he¡¯d always <em>be</em> desperate in those fights. Good preparation had saved themst time, but he couldn¡¯t depend on there always being formations around to do half the work for him.


    Besides, at the rate he was going, the next time, the hunting party would be nothing but core formation cultivators. They couldn¡¯t survive against that. Not as they were. Even as he debated about what was best with part of his mind, the rest of his mind had turned to the struggle to condense environmental qi into liquid qi. Over time, it hadn¡¯t gotten easier, precisely, but he¡¯d just be more ustomed to the demands. It didn¡¯t require every ounce of concentration anymore. He almost didn¡¯t notice when a few more drops of the precious liquid qi were added to the growing store in his dantian. As thest drop joined with what he had been gathering, he <em>knew</em>. It was enough. He could try to break through right then and there. The temptation was so overpowering that sweat beaded on his forehead as he fought it away.


    Worse still was the knowledge that the pill Auntie Caihong had given to him for his next breakthrough was just sitting in his storage ring, waiting to be used. It hadn¡¯t urred to him to use it on the beach with the divine turtle, and he realized afterward that it had been for the best. He¡¯d had ample time to study that pill. He didn¡¯t understand exactly what it was supposed to do, but he had figured out that it was specifically meant to help him advance his spirit cultivation. That realization had made him wonder if Auntie Caihong had known that his advancements would diverge, or if it had simply been a quirk of the pill creation process. Either way, it was there, waiting, almost begging him to use it. He almost summoned it from his ring but stopped himself at thest second. If he took it out, he¡¯d use it. He knew he would.


    It wasn¡¯t a decision he could make on his own. It wasn¡¯t just his life he¡¯d be risking by advancing at that moment or in that ce. He suspected that both Lifen and Lo Meifeng would tell him to do it, that having another core cultivator improved their odds of survival out in the wilds. They might even be right, but there were the beasts to consider. There were the cultivators hunting them to consider. He¡¯d led them a good way off the road, but his formation wasn¡¯t designed to hide a breakthrough to a core. It¡¯d be like sending up a signal into the air. No, he needed to wait. He needed to exercise restraint. Just because he could, potentially, advance now, it didn¡¯t mean that he should.


    Racing headlong into situations without full consideration had caused him no end of problems. It wouldn¡¯t hurt him, for once, to take the slow path. Talk with the others. Make a n for how to do it in a way that would maximize their safety, and his, before he made the plunge. If that meant he had to put off advancing for weeks, maybe months, he could do that. People waited for a lot longer than that to advance, or so he was given to understand. His own pace of advancement had been abnormal at best, buoyed by excellent training, ready ess to good resources, and probably more than his fair share of moments of enlightenment. <em>In fact</em>, he reasoned, <em>waiting might even be good for me</em>. <em>Help me bring my cultivation experience into better bnce</em>. While his desperation to advance certainly had some roots in very real and present problems, those weren¡¯t the only reasons.


    There was a part of him that wanted to advance simply because he was a person, and all people craved power at some level. For some, it was about safety. More power made you safer, or so people believed. Sen thought it would make him safer, but he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if that was just an excuse. For others, it was about having power over others. Sen didn¡¯t particrly crave power for that reason. He <em>would</em> exercise power over others if it seemed necessary, but he didn¡¯t want followers orckeys or victims. His experience leading this tiny group of people had proven that to him quite thoroughly. He <em>hated</em> being in charge of things. There was another reason that he craved advancement. For all that Sen kept an iron fist wrapped around it, his curiosity was alive and well. Part of him wanted to advance just because he was curious what being a core formation cultivator was like. How would it change things? What things would remain the same?


    He wanted to think that it would change how everything looked to him. He wanted to believe bing a core cultivator would reshape his rtionship with the world, with reality, and with the universe itself. Yet, thest few months had forged and tempered him in the more pragmatic truths of the world. As much as he wanted to believe advancement would prove a transcendent experience, the core cultivators he had met had seemedrgely the same as the foundation formation cultivators he¡¯d met. They seemed to possess no additional wisdom, no special insights, except perhaps in their specializations. That truth made holding back on advancing a bit easier. Perhaps the advancement would change him or provide some insight into the world he wascking, but he suspected that he would be much the same person after the advancement. If he wanted some kind of overwhelming, identity-changing insight, he¡¯d need to do what he¡¯d done for nearly all of the biggest changes in his life. He¡¯d have to put in the work. When he considered that proposition, it wasn¡¯t as disheartening as he expected it to be. Sen wasn¡¯t afraid of hard work. Satisfied that he¡¯d gotten over the worst of his own temptation, Sen rxed a little.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he murmured aloud, ¡°restraint is the best course of action.¡±


    Sen realized his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. It was as though the universe had simply been waiting for him to throw down a challenge to its superior judgment and power. He almost felt the cosmos whip its attention around and focus on him. For several, terrible moments, nothing happened. Sen held his breath, silently begging for nothing to happen.


    Then, he almost heard the universe say, ¡°Oh yeah? Watch this.¡±


    And heavenly qi crashed down on him like andslide.

 Book 3: Chapter 23: Fighting the Inevitable

    Book 3: Chapter 23: Fighting the Inevitable


    Sen briefly wondered, <em>Is the universe trying to get me killed</em>? Then, he had other things to worry about. That amount of any kind of qi, let alone heavenly qi, was enough to obliterate the obscuring formation if Sen didn¡¯t contain it. Unfortunately, there was really only way to contain it in a hurry. Bracing himself, Sen started drawing the heavenly qi into himself. He let it fill what little space there was left in his dantian. When the pressure there built to first ufortable and then painful levels, he started directing it out into his channels. Those were soon bursting with heavenly qi as well. He let the qi saturate his muscles, tendons, organs, bones, and even let it slip into his bone marrow. It suffused his blood. Sen was a little surprised by how greedily his body soaked up that heavenly qi, but it was a brief blessing that took some of the pressure off of his dantian and channels.


    Even so, he couldn¡¯t help but be a little bit uncertain about giving his body all of that qi. He could feel things changing, shifting, not in any monumental way, but still changing in ways he was struggling to understand or even keep track of. Some of it was obvious enough. Heavenly qi was, by its very nature, a beneficent force. So, it helped reinforce his body. He felt his muscles grow so dense that resembled bone more than flesh, and his tendons and ligaments felt like they were transformed into steel cords. His bones, so recently improved by the advancement in the Five-Fold Body Transformation were not changed, so much as perfected into something that might rival diamonds for strength. His organs underwent simr transformations, bing models of efficiency. He felt like he drawing more benefit from every breath. Every heartbeat drove his blood through his veins and arteries like a raging river after torrential rain. And his blood, he wasn¡¯t even certain if he could rightly call it blood anymore. It was still liquid. He knew that much, but he strongly suspected that the next time he suffered an injury, what came out would no longer look like human blood. He just didn¡¯t know what it would look like. He could also tell that his blood was providing his body with more of <em>something</em>.


    Yet, for all that his body was changing, it was a secondary concern that he¡¯d pushed mostly to the back of his head. Sen needed to deal with the problem in front of him. That problem was the waves of heavenly qi still crashing down on him. For a moment, he was startled that it was still happening. Then, he realized, it had only actually been a couple of seconds. It seemed his brain had benefitted from some of the recent changes, as well. Not that it helped him manage all of the extra qi that was swiftly building up in his dantian and channels again. He could feel the heavenly qipressing all of that liquid qi as it tried to make room for itself. Sen desperately tried to force the heavenly qi to the outer edges of his dantian, but he might as well have tried to hold back the ocean. He needed somewhere else to put some of this qi. His mind raced. Did he have any kind of storage that might hold heavenly qi?


    A moment of inspiration struck, and he shook the mostly expended beast cores from his storage ring. As soon as they were exposed, he started shoving the heavenly qi at them. A few of them simply cracked or shattered, sending the qi right back at him like tinynces made of heavenly will. It hurt when that qi fell on him again. Yet, the n was working. The cores soaked up the heavenly qi, but they were soon bursting with energy. What else could he do with that qi? He supposed he could just drive into the ground. It¡¯d probably make this spot a semi-sacred clearing for the foreseeable future, but that might not be so bad. Of course, he wasn¡¯t sure he could control it well enough to keep the formations intact. There had to be another option. He knew he was missing something, something obvious, some perfectly natural ce that the qi could go.


    Then, Lifen stumbled out of the tent, looking around wildly, barely even conscious. Lo Meifeng shot out of her tent a momentter, looking much more awake if no less frantic. Sen heart soared as the obvious became apparent to him. There <em>was</em> somewhere else that qi could go. Two perfectly suitable recipients were right there. Sen stood and raced over to them. They both flinched back as he stopped in front of them. He didn¡¯t have time to exin everything. He didn¡¯t really have time to exin <em>anything</em>. If he didn¡¯t offload some of that qi immediately, his core was going to start forming. He took one precious second to look them each in the eyes.


    ¡°Trust me,¡± he said.


    Then, he pped an open palm against each of their stomachs, right over their navels. Then, he poured heavenly qi into them. He had one brief moment of worry that he might be breaking some kind of celestial rule. Yet, as the qi poured out of him and into them, finally letting some of the pressure off of him, he nced upward. No divine spears fell from on high. No lightning crashed into him. No divine wind came to strip him of his flesh or soul. It wasn¡¯t exactly permission, but Sen took it as the heavens turning a blind eye. Sen looked at Lifen¡¯s and Lo Meifeng¡¯s faces and realized something. They weren¡¯t doing anything. Their eyes were huge and almost nk. Lo Meifeng¡¯s lips were pressed into a hard line, almost like she was in pain, while Lifen¡¯s lips were parted in a kind of surprised O shape. Neither of them was doing the one thing they should have both known to do.


    ¡°Cultivate!¡± Sen shouted at them.


    Sen did feel a bit of sympathy for them. He¡¯d caught them as off-guard as all of that heavenly qi had caught him off-guard. Still, if they didn¡¯t do something with it, it was kind of pointless. Lifen blinked at him a few times. Then, her eyes got that abstracted look that all cultivators get when they¡¯re concentrating on their cultivation, and she got to work. Lo Meifeng flinched a little at his shout before realization hit.


    ¡°Oh, right!¡± she said before she also started cultivating.


    For perhaps five beautiful seconds, Sen thought it was going to work. Then, he started getting resistance. First, it was Lifen, who looked like she was verging on physical agony. Then, Lo Meifeng started grimacing. A part of Sen wanted to just keep pushing the qi into them, but better sense won out. Heavenly qi might be beneficent, but it wasn¡¯t harmless. Too much would damage both women if he overloaded them with it. Reluctantly, Sen withdrew his hands. Both women seemed to rx as they were able to stabilize the new qi inside of them, rather than trying to manage a steady influx of more qi. Oh, how Sen envied them. The pressure had already started building inside him again, threatening to set off core formation.


    He wondered if he was simply fighting a losing battle against forces much bigger than him. After all, the heavens could just keep raining qi down on him until he started core formation. He¡¯d recognized that sometimes you had no choice but to bend before forces greater than yourself, however bad he¡¯d been at actually doing it. Sen just wished that he knew if this was one of those times. He revisited the idea of simply pushing the excess qi into the ground, but part of him rebelled against that kind of waste. It was one thing to store the qi for someter use, or even to share it with Lifen and Lo Meifeng. It was something else to just throw it away like that. That might actually trigger an angry response from the heavens.


    No, he was going to have to do something with that qi. If he couldn¡¯t offload it, and he didn¡¯t want to let it trigger core formation, what else could he do? A mad idea came to him. He couldpress environmental qi. Could he do the same with heavenly qi? He decided that there was no harm in trying. If he failed, he¡¯d be no worse off than he was. Sen dropped back into a sitting position and focused inward. He reached into his dantian with a precision that no physical hand could ever have managed, he seized a big portion of that heavenly qi and squeezed. It fought him, but so had the environmental qi. He ignored the pushback from the qi and squeezed harder. He bent every ounce of willpower, focused every bit of his discipline, every iota of sheer stubborn determination in him, and he <em>squeezed</em>.


    A second passed, and then two, with Sen and the qi locked in a stalemate. Then, the qi gave a little, then a little more. Sen dug deep and found a few extra shreds of willpower hiding somewhere and squeezed again. The qi snapped into a different shape. It didn¡¯t be liquid like the environmental qi. Instead, it snapped into a familiar ribbon shape. The instant that Sen released his grip on it. The new ribbon shot to the outer edges of his dantian. The ribbon of strange qi and the ribbon of heavenly qi seemed to regard each other warily for a moment before they spun around one another forming a kind of double helix that floated in a circle around the edge of his dantian. Sen wasn¡¯t quite certain what to make of that, and he didn¡¯t have time to study it. The excess heavenly qi in his body was suddenly drawn into the empty space between the ribbons, and that seemed to do what Sen could not. It condensed that heavenly qi into a liquid. Sen heaved a sigh of relief as the ever-mounting pressure ticked slowly down. That relief was, however, short-lived as the divine liquid qi started dripping down onto the environmental liquid qi that Sen had so painstakingly gathered.


    A deep, terrible shudder ran through Sen as the liquid heavenly qi kickstarted the very process Sen had been trying so hard to avoid. epting that his advancement was happening no matter what, Sen took what remedial actions he could to minimize the damage. He withdrew some extra formation gs from his storage ring and put together a containment formation. It would only blunt the evidence of his advancement, but it was the best he could do on short notice. If he¡¯d had a day to n it out, he might have contained all the evidence, but Sen worked with what he had. Next, he withdrew the stone vial that Auntie Caihong had given him. Sen regarded that vial for a moment before he removed the top and upended the vial. A pill the color of night dropped into his hand. He could feel the different qi types in it, but shadow most of all. He wondered if she would have made the same pill for him now, but that was a useless, distracting thought. Bracing himself, Sen put the pill in his mouth and swallowed it.


    Sen had tried everything he could to prevent himself from going into core formation short of literally throwing away all of that heavenly qi. It wasn¡¯t always true, but sometimes, when faced with the inevitable, all one could do was bend. As the pill reached his stomach, Sen took a deep breath. <em>Nothing left but the work</em>, he thought. Then, a whole new explosion of qi raced through his body and crashed down into his dantian.

 Book 3: Chapter 24: Core

    Book 3: Chapter 24: Core


    While Sen hadn¡¯t expected to reach core formation as fast as he did, he had done a little preparation. He¡¯d quizzed Lo Meifeng about her experience with it. While she had added a ton of disimers about how everyone¡¯s core advancement was different, there were some features that held true. While the process would start on its own, Sen couldn¡¯t expect it to finish on its own. Much like forming liquid qi, he needed to do his part to condense the liquid qi until it solidified. Of course, he¡¯d never been expecting to contend with liquified heavenly qi or the mind-numbing amount of shadow qi that was inundating his dantian. Still, the prospect of utter failure helped to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. Reaching out with his will, he seized all of the liquid qi and the shadow in his dantian, and he bore down on it.


    It was so much more difficult than working with environmental qi. The liquid qi sought any fissure, any crack in his attention, and sprayed out of his grasp, forcing him to start over and gather the qi again. Sen did everything in his power to narrow his attention and make the pressure he exerted a sphere of perfect force. As he slowly increased the pressure, he could see that strange things were happening. Strange things were at the very bottom of his list of desirable oues during core formation. While the environmental liquid qipressed smoothly, the liquid heavenly qi rose to the surface, like a shimmering sphere of liquid around the slowly condensing environmental liquid qi. On top of that, the shadow qi was swirling around the core like some of thick, smoky ghost. It was unnerving to witness and to feel. That haze of shadow qi made everything inside of it feel oddly insubstantial and spongy. On the one hand, Sen knew that the core forming beneath that haze wasn¡¯t actually spongy, but the very idea of it frightened him. A spongy core was an invitation to disaster because it would never protect the nascent soul that would develop inside of it.


    While those thoughts flitted across the surface of his mind, the rest of his attention was bent toward the almost impossible task ofpressing that liquid qi into a core. Sen didn¡¯t know how much time was passing in the outside world. There had been a couple of moments when he thought he sensed surges of qi from outside of him somewhere, but he simply didn¡¯t have the mental space to deal with that information. He <em>had</em> to stay focused on the task at hand. Even as he had that thought, though, he knew it wasn¡¯t enough. Forming a core wasn¡¯t just a mechanical process. If it was, more people would seed at it.


    Core formation was when a cultivator made hard choices about just who they intended to be. Sen had thought that he knew who he meant to be, but reality had fractured that self-image into a million pieces. He wanted to mourn that imaginary person he¡¯d meant to be, but that was a person who couldn¡¯t have survived in the world as he found it. In some other world, some kinder world, that person might have thrived. In a world with the Jianghu, with demonic cultivators, with sects that treated wandering cultivators as training dummies for the outer sect members, with spirit beast tides that emptied entire towns of life, Sen needed to be something else. Sometimes, that meant being someone harder and more ruthless. But, sometimes, it meant exercising this strength and power to the benefit of those with neither. He supposed that his wish for bnce hadn¡¯t been misguided, but misaligned. He hadn¡¯t understood what things needed to be bnced.


    He¡¯d imagined that he could bnce the asional killing with the periods of pacifism or, barring that, passivity. That had been a doomed project from the start because he hadn¡¯t understood his own nature. He wasn¡¯t skilled at being passive, and pacifism ran counter to his sense of justice. He¡¯d seen enough now, done enough now, to recognize that his sense of justice wasn¡¯t particrly sophisticated. In fact, it was exactly the kind of brutal, eye-for-eye justice that one might expect from someone who took their most primal lessons from living on the street. He¡¯d fought against that, tried to hide from it, but it showed through time and again. He supposed that there was something vaguely noble in trying to elevate oneself, but there was no benefit in lying to oneself. He had been lying to himself. But, if there was ever a time when honesty mattered, it was when he was forming his core.


    He recalled the conversation that he¡¯d had with Lifen on the beach. She had asked him what the world told him. He could hear his own words echoing back to him from that beach.


    ¡°That I can be more than one thing without betraying myself. That the same hands can give and take. That simplicity can breed certainty, but it doesn¡¯t necessarily breed truth.¡±


    He had been right then, even if he¡¯d missed the full import of his own words. He could be more than <em>one</em> thing. He supposed that there might be saints or divine beings out there who were only one thing, but he wasn¡¯t one of them. He was someone who could be kind, who could help, who could bestowrgesse on those he deemed worthy. He was also someone who could calmly drag a rapist into the deep wilds and watch him die for his sins without losing sleep. He¡¯d struggled to reconcile those people, to make them one thing, but the struggle was false. It had always been false. He didn¡¯t <em>need</em> to be one thing. For that matter, he didn¡¯t particrly <em>want</em> to be just one thing. He could be the killer, or the healer, and neither of those things were false. Hadn¡¯t his entire cultivation journey been a lesson in that? He cultivated more than one type of qi. He followed paths of spirit cultivation and body cultivation. He hadn¡¯t found the bnce between all of those things yet, but there could <em>be</em> bnce. He felt it, sensed it, knew it in a way that transcended normal human understanding. Of course, it wasn¡¯t enough to just think it. Thoughts were quicksilver, here and gone. He needed to dere his understanding.


    ¡°I can be more than one thing,¡± he said out loud, imprinting his will on the earth around him, the air before him, on the universe atrge, and on himself.


    Inside his dantian, those words rang like the voice of heaven itself. Everything inside of him paused for just a moment. Then, theyer of shimmering, liquid heavenly qiunched itself off of the quickly hardening core of environmental qi. The heavenly qi was caught in the shadow qi, or caught by it, Sen was sure, and the two merged. Sen couldn¡¯t adequately describe the process he witnessed in his own dantian. It was as though the smoky shadow qi was absorbed into that liquid heavenly qi. Except, it was more than that. It wasn¡¯t that shadow qi vanished, but rather that the purpose and intent of the shadow qi became part of the heavenly qi, transforming it, transmuting it, making it into something that Sen could use or would use. What remained was neither the hazy smoke nor the shimmering liquid, but something in between. It was a hundred, a thousand, an infinite variety of shades of liquid gray, some of them so dark they might as well have been void ck and some of them so close to white that they almost gleamed.


    Then, that swirling mass of liquid gray sumbed to the pressure that Sen was exerting and descended on his still-forming core. The new qi didn¡¯t quite mix with the hardening environmental qi, but it did change it. Sen felt that much, felt some kind of fundamental shift in the nature of his core, but he didn¡¯t have the chance to fully understand it before the liquid coated the core. He could tell it still wasn¡¯t quite done. He gathered everything left inside him, every bit of mental strength, every scrap of emotion, everything he dredged up from every corner of his being, and he squeezed that developing core onest time. The core trembled, shivered, andpressed onest time. Then, that coating of liquid gray solidified into a shell that Sen knew would be profoundly difficult to damage. Oddly enough, it still looked to his inner eye like it was made of liquid. Two words came unbidden to his mind when he looked at that gray coating.


    ¡°Heavenly shadow,¡± he said aloud as if to affirm to the world atrge that he had recognized the existence of some truth, even if he had yet to parse its meaning.


    Then, it was done. His dantian, which had seemed so full and overstuffed, now felt vast and empty. He pulled hard on the environmental qi around him and felt it rush in to fill that empty void. Yet, even when he felt as though he¡¯d all but exhausted the qi around him, it had barely put more than the thinnest mist of qi in his dantian. Well, there was always more work. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes. After a startled moment when he couldn¡¯t really believe what he was seeing, Sen shot to his feet. Then, he promptly fell over as exhaustion clubbed him over the head.

 Book 3: Chapter 25: Rude Awakening

    Book 3: Chapter 25: Rude Awakening


    Under normal conditions, waking up was something Sen let himself do slowly. It was a gentle rise from the wild fantasies of dreaming into the less fantastical demands of reality. He found that gentle rise to be a fine way to start his day because it was often thest restful moment he would have until the next time he slept. It was with fond feelings that Sen remembered those moments after he was yanked out of sleep by some kind of bodynding on him. Even that might not have been so bad, except the body had seemingly been mangled badly and proceeded to leak blood all over him. A part of Sen was momentarily bitter about being woken up in such gruesome fashion before the implications sank home. Then, it all came rushing back to him. What he¡¯d seen during his brief moment of lucidity between forming his core and passing out. It had been exactly as feared it would be. There had been spirit beasts, countless spirit beasts, surrounding the campsite and braving the offensive formation.


    Sen seized the body and hurled it away from him. It was only after he¡¯d taken his feet and drew his jian on reflex that he realized that body had been wearing a robe. He swiveled his head back and forth in a search for Lifen and Lo Meifeng and took in the chaos around him. And it <em>was </em>chaos. There were spirit beasts everywhere. There were also cultivators everywhere. There were spirit beasts fighting cultivators. Spirit beasts fighting each other. There! He spotted Lifen being cornered by two cultivators. She was desperately swinging some kind of metal club to keep them at bay. Sen heard what sounded like thunder, but way too close. His eyes shot upward. He saw Lo Meifeng and another cultivator actually flying above the chaos. They mostly dodged each other, but every time their weapons met, there was another thunderous noise. Lo Meifeng looked like she was holding her own, so that made his decision for him.


    Sen raced toward Lifen and her two attackers, cycling fire and lightning as he went. Some kind of serpent with jaws big enough to enclose Sen¡¯s entire headunched itself at him only to get incinerated from the inside out as he sent a stream of fire down its gullet. One of those odd bear-cat hybrids he¡¯d fought on the way to Tide¡¯s Rest tried to pull the same trick from the other side. Sen backhanded it and was stunned when the front half of the creature simply exploded. He didn¡¯t stop, though. He¡¯d covered most of the distance between him and Lifen when the two cultivators noticed him. One threw himself at Sen, while the other kept attacking Lifen.


    Sen took the half-heartbeat he needed to assess the cultivator attacking him. <em>Peak foundation formation</em>, he thought. The man threw a fireball at Sen. Sen used his own fire qi to bat it aside into a spirit beast that was trying to nk him, and advanced on the cultivator with murder in his heart. Three more fireballs followed. Sen batted the first two aside, but thest one he seized with his own qi. He ripped the technique away from the other man, who staggered in shock and pain. By the time the man had gathered his wits enough to sense the danger, Sen¡¯s jian was passing cleanly through the man¡¯s neck. He looked over to see how Lifen was faring. She was holding her own against the cultivator, which surprised him a little, but she didn¡¯t have the attention to spare for anything else. So, she missed the person aiming a crossbow at her back. Sen didn¡¯t.


    Sen activated his qinggong technique and shot toward the spot between Lifen and the woman with the crossbow. He moved way faster than he expected, but his reflexes and senses were still apparently good enough to keep pace. He reached out and grabbed the bolt from the air as he all but flew by. The woman with the crossbow didn¡¯t even have time to register his presence before he drove the bolt into her heart, fletching first. Then, he snapped her neck for good measure. Sen spared a moment for another look upwards. Lo Meifeng looked like she might be on the back foot up there, so Sen pointed his jian at the other cultivator andunched a lightning bolt at the man. The man managed to deflect the bolt, but Sen didn¡¯t care about that. It had done its job and given Lo Meifeng a moment to regroup and take the initiative.


    Turning his attention back to Lifen, he saw that a massive spirit ox had gored the man attacking Lifen and taken up a defensive position in front of her. Lifen looked both relieved and a little awestruck, but Sen found himself grinning. He strode toward them, cutting down or contemptuously batting aside anything that got in his way. The ox noticed him first and let out a moo of greeting. Sen couldn¡¯t say how he knew, but he knew that this ox was female. He took a moment to offer the ox a deep bow of respect.


    ¡°My gratitude, elder sister,¡± said Sen.


    The ox inclined her head to Sen, then charged back into the fray. The next moment, Sen found himself getting hit with a small, furious fist while Lifen shouted at him.


    ¡°What took you so long!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know how long it¡¯s been. I just woke up,¡± said Sen, futilely trying to stop Lifen. ¡°Will you stop hitting me, please?¡±


    Lifen kept her re burning at full fury, but she did stop hitting him. He finally got a good look at her, and she looked beyond exhausted. The bags under her eyes were dark blue and her skin looked pale even for her. It was almost a grayish color. Sen hadn¡¯t really taken in the full details, but when he really looked around, it was obvious that this chaos had been going on for a while. Half the trees in at least a half mile in every direction had been shattered, cut to pieces, or burned. There wasn¡¯t a stalk of grass or ground cover nt that hadn¡¯t been smashed, trampled, burned, or otherwise damaged, where there weren¡¯t simply giant tracts of exposed soil. Huge rocks had been reduced to gravel. There were even sinkholes in some ces. This wasn¡¯t the kind of damage that you got from a fast and furious fight. He gave Lifen a serious look.


    ¡°How long has this been going on?¡±


    ¡°Days,¡± Lifen slurred, swaying on her feet. ¡°Three, four, I don¡¯t even know anymore.¡±


    ¡°How did we survive all of this?¡±


    ¡°We,¡± said Lifen as she slumped back against the remains of a tree trunk, ¡°no, too tired. Luck, mostly. We can¡¯t keep going like this. You have to do something.¡±


    Sen searched through his storage ring, looking for something that could help Lifen right now, without him needing to take an hour to process it. He pulled a couple of roots out of his storage ring.


    ¡°Here. Eat these. They¡¯re going to taste terrible. Eat them anyway. They¡¯ll help.¡±


    He took a few seconds to throw together an obscuring formation around her and the tree trunk. It wasn¡¯t particrly subtle, and it wouldn¡¯t really hide her, but it would encourage people to look elsewhere. He was hoping that in the chaos of the battle, everything and everyone would be too distracted to realize their perceptions were being altered. <em>She wants me to do something about all of this</em>, he thought. <em>What in the hells am I supposed to do about a three-way fight between us, spirit beasts, and what I assume must be demonic cultivators</em>? If it had been nothing but bad guys out there, Sen might have tried the same kind of trick he pulled in theirst fight and just nketed the area with his killing intent. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t going to work in this situation. He¡¯d have to do it in every direction, and he wasn¡¯t skilled enough to exclude Lifen from that effect.


    Plus, there was at least one friendly spirit ox out there he didn¡¯t want to harm. Sen didn¡¯t know if there was an oxen deity out there, but it had just gone to the top of his list of priorities to find out. That was the second time spirit oxen had done him a good turn. Sure, he¡¯d been nice to that one ox, but he felt like he wasn¡¯t really doing much to earn the amount of goodwill they¡¯d shown him. He¡¯d have to do something about that. Still, that was a tomorrow problem, and it hinged on surviving the crisis in front of him. If he couldn¡¯t go throwing around techniques that affected everyone, what <em>could</em> he do to change the situation? Sen sighed. If he couldn¡¯t do it all at once, he¡¯d have to do it the hard way.


    He checked his dantian. It wasn¡¯t full by any means, but he had apparently been soaking up the environmental qi for days now, and there was a lot of it. He made a mental effort to haul on that environmental qi, harder than he normally would, and it rushed into him at painful levels. He also wasn¡¯t as careful to bnce it as he¡¯d usually be, but that seemed to be less of a problem now that he had a core. He was briefly tempted to draw on the qi in his core, but he didn¡¯t want to strain it so soon after formation. Besides, he was pretty sure he could get most of the work done without leaning on new tricks. He¡¯d lean on some old tricks instead. Sen rolled his neck, then set his priorities. The spirit beasts were a threat, but they weren¡¯t coordinated. He¡¯d kill the ones that attacked him. Other than that, his objective was the demonic cultivators. He swept the area with his spiritual sense, pinpointing at least half a dozen life signatures that looked human to him.


    ¡°Time to do my part,¡± he muttered.


    Picking one of the human life signatures, he dashed in that direction. He found a huge cultivator surrounded by spirit beast corpses. The man was tearing a spirit stag in half,ughing like a madman as blood sprayed his face. <em>Well</em>, thought Sen, <em>I won¡¯t need to lose any sleep over killing this tribute to humanity</em>. The massive cultivator caught sight of Sen and grinned.


    ¡°I knew it would be me. Know that it is Chen Huan who will snuff out your life. Be honored to know that when-,¡± the hulking cultivator was saying before he was cut off by a bolt of lightning that hit him in the mouth.


    While the giant cultivator was thrashing and howling, Sen was covering the distance with his qinggong technique. Since he didn¡¯t know his own strength at the moment, Sen decided not to meet the man in a contest of strength. Instead, he would take a cue from Auntie Caihong and meet brute force with icy finesse. As he approached, the giant swung at him. It was the kind of heavy blow that allrge, powerful cultivators seemed to favor, big on force and short on technique. Sen painted the edges of his jian with fire and tilted his head just enough to let the blow slide by. Then, one short flick of his jian severed the tendons in the man¡¯s right wrist and cauterized the wound. The giant howled in agony and horror as his massive hand began to flop around at the end of his arm, but Sen was already focused elsewhere.


    As the giant made a furious grab at him with his good hand, Sen rolled out the way. His jian snaked back, severing the tendons in the man¡¯s left ankle. Sen knew not to give the man time. He had no idea what kind of cultivation the man practiced, and it wouldn¡¯t do to find out that his body healed in moments, instead of in weeks, or never. Substantially crippled on both sides now, Sen wasn¡¯t about to let the man gather a qi technique to hurl at him. Sen dropped a column of fire on the man that was so hot that it burned blue. When the technique cleared, all that remained was ash and a pair of smoldering storage rings. A wave of his hand sapped the heat from the rings, and Sen pocketed them.


    Sen headed in the direction of the next cultivator that he¡¯d seen with his spiritual sense. Sen <em>hid</em> as he approached, which made getting close almost absurdly easy. Unlike the giant, who had just seemed evil because he liked it, this woman actually reeked of corruption. She was also distracted by the attacks of two potent spirit beasts. One was a goat that looked all too familiar to Sen with its metal hooves and the lone metal horn spouting from its head. The other was a giant frog of some kind, although it didn¡¯t have eyes. Instead, there was what looked like mist or maybe some kind of swamp gas swirling in the otherwise empty sockets. Sen thought it looked creepy, but he kept his attention on the cultivator. He was half-tempted to just leave her to the spirit beasts, but it looked like she was holding her own. <em>Better safe than sorry</em>, he thought. There was no real art to that kill. He just walked up behind her, a nk spot in reality, and split the woman in half down the middle. He idly looted her remains, picking up some odds and ends.


    The spirit beasts focused on where he was, seemingly confused by the disconnect between their spiritual and physical senses. He stopped <em>hiding</em> and waited to see what the beasts would do. They regarded him for a long moment, traded looks, and then slowly backed away several feet before giving him what might generously be called bows. He inclined his head to them, incinerated what was left of the woman, and moved on to his next victim. He killed most of them from ambush. Sometimes, he relied on his jian, and other times, he simplyunched a technique when they were too busy to defend themselves. There wasn¡¯t much honor in it, but he didn¡¯t really think that mattered when dealing with demonic cultivators. The more of the demonic cultivators he killed, the thinner on the ground the spirit beasts seemed to be. Maybe they were tired of the fighting as well. When he was certain that he¡¯d gotten all of the cultivators on the ground, he turned his full attention to the cultivator fighting with Lo Meifeng overhead.


    ¡°How am I going to deal with that?¡± he wondered out loud.

 Book 3: Chapter 26: Creative Solutions

    Book 3: Chapter 26: Creative Solutions


    Sen wasn¡¯t given very much time to think about what he was going to do about the flying demonic cultivator before he was forced to worry about his own survival. While there were <em>fewer</em> spirit beasts floating around, that didn¡¯t mean that there were none. And while some of them had seemed to makemon cause against the demonic cultivators, because <em>everyone</em> hated demonic cultivators, that didn¡¯t make them all friendly to Sen. It was a lesson that he very nearly paid with his life to learn. One second, he was ring up at the demonic cultivator in the sky. The next, his every instinct was screaming at him that danger was iing from behind. Sen dove forward. Even so, he felt several sharp lines of fire as ws opened wounds across his shoulders. If he¡¯d been a heartbeat slower, those ws might well have taken his head off. He sent a fireball back because that was what he happened to be cycling at the moment. There was an angry roar and the stench of burned fur filled the air.


    Sen had a new appreciation for his body cultivation as he felt the wounds on his back closing up, but he didn¡¯t let that distract him. As soon as hepleted his diving roll, he did another in a different direction. His spiritual awareness informed him that whatever it was hadnded in the spot he¡¯d just vacated. Although, the massive tremor he felt in the ground could have provided the same information just as easily. Betting that the spirit beast couldn¡¯t change directions quite as quickly as he had, he let the roll carry him up onto his feet, thenunched himself up and at an angle. His left hand seized a thick branch high up in one of the rare, undamaged trees, and he nted his feet on the trunk, stabilizing himself even as he hung off the side of the tree at an almost horizontal angle.


    <em>Just like a Sen-shaped branch</em>, he thought. He shook off the random thought and focused down on where he¡¯d just been. <em>Oh,e on</em>, he whined mentally. <em>What is it with these bear-cat things</em>? <em>Is the entire species holding a grudge</em>? After a moment of consideration, though, the thought sounded less ludicrous than it had. The oxen all seemed to know who he was. He supposed that word could have gotten around that he¡¯d killed that bear-cat back on the road to Tide¡¯s Rest. Then again, it was also possible that they were all just jerks. He had been attacked by every single one of them that he¡¯d seen so far. While a swift backhand had dealt with thest one he¡¯d fought, he didn¡¯t think that was going to work with this one. It was very, very big. It was also more powerful. He was actually better at figuring out the rtive power levels of spirit beasts than he was with cultivators, and this one was at least as powerful as he was. <em>Wait</em>, he thought, <em>no</em>, <em>as I was</em>.


    Even so, that meant he was probably dealing with something he should treat as an equal. He considered what he might do if his prey had climbed a tree, and then immediatelyunched himself off the tree. A bare second or twoter, the lower portion of the tree simply exploded as the bear-cat swiped at it. While most people would probably have concerned themselves with where they were going tond, or even how they were going tond, Sen had been trained by people who considered being airborne nothing but an opportunity. Sen considered and discarded a few possibilities before he settled on something he¡¯d done back in Emperor¡¯s Bay. He cycled shadow and metal and forced them together with his will. It came a lot easier this time, although he didn¡¯t have the luxury of examining why. He aimed the technique down at the bear-cat andunched it. A dozen spears of metal-infused shadow bore down on the spirit beast like malevolent meteors. It dodged a couple and batted away a few more, but the anguished noises it made told Sen that atst some of the spears had struck true.


    Content that bear-cat would be preupied for at least the next few seconds, Sen turned his attention to the problem of falling toward the ground at high speed. He added a wind qi cycle to his collection and let a tightly packed column of air catch and cushion his fall. He didn¡¯t make the column of air so thick that he floated down. That would just make him a target of opportunity. He just let it slow him enough that he was able to roll with the impact and not worry about pesky things like shattering his legs or spreading his brains out across some rocks. He came to his feet, only to find himself surrounded by a small pack of wolves. Enormous, ck-furred dire wolves with eyes that sparked yellow with lightning in them. Sen lost his patience at that point.


    He unleashed his killing intent but focused it on an area that only included him and the wolves. Three of the wolves let out terrified yips as blood poured from their ears and mouths. Those three bounded away into the forest in terror. Thest wolf, maybe the alpha of the group, was apparently tougher than the other three. It crouched low, earsid back, but even it wasn¡¯t immune to Sen¡¯s killing intent. Blood trickled from around its eyes and from its nose. Sen stared at it, trying to decide what to do. The wolves hadn¡¯t actually attacked him. He¡¯dnded in the middle of their group. Deciding that he didn¡¯t actually need <em>another</em> whole species of spirit beasts angry with him, he decided to take a second and <em>try</em> diplomacy.


    ¡°I have no grievances with you,¡± Sen said, releasing his killing intent. ¡°If you wish to go, go. I won¡¯t stop you.¡±


    No longer beneath the crushing force of Sen¡¯s killing intent, the wolf straightened back up to its full height. It eyed him warily, seemingly looking for the trap or the lie. Then, it cautiously took a step backward. It paused, never letting its gaze leave Sen, before it took another step. When Sen did nothing but look at it, the wolf took a few more cautious steps away. Then, turning, it bounded into what was left of the forest. Sen watched it for a moment before he turned his attention back to where he¡¯dst seen the bear-cat. He marched in that direction, determined to finish it off if it wasn¡¯t already dead. He could have saved himself the walking, though. The thing was well and truly dead. Sen spread out his spiritual awareness to ensure that nothing else snuck up on him and turned his attention skyward again.


    Sen didn¡¯t know if the demonic cultivator outssed Lo Meifeng, or if she was just running on empty the way that Lifen had been, but she seemed to have taken to acting defensively. <em>Well</em>, <em>that won¡¯t solve the problem</em>, thought Sen. Sen once more weighed his options. Lightning hadn¡¯t worked so well against the demonic cultivator. Since he was already cycling metal and shadow, he decided there was no harm in trying that. He took careful aim and then sent a barrage of shadowy spears skyward. He was amused to note that they glinted here and there in the sunlight. The demonic cultivator either wasn¡¯t paying attention or hadn¡¯t considered Sen a threat, because those spears very nearly ended him. It was ast-second dodge and fast work with a dao that saved the man. Since he had the man¡¯s attention, he sent another barrage. Then, Sen felt the vast swell of the man¡¯s qi above him. He could feel that it was earth qi, but he wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was going to do.


    Not wanting to find out if the demonic cultivator was about to break his technique, Sen released it and activated his qinggong technique. There was no benefit in making himself an easy target. Plus, running around on the ground at speed might help keep the man distracted. While Sen had hoped that Lo Meifeng would take advantage of the distraction, it seemed like she was mostly taking a moment to catch her breath and down something. Sen made a mental note to ask what it was. He¡¯d heard about things like qi restoration pills and even been fed them by Auntie Caihong a few times, but he¡¯d never made time to examine one up close. If he was her, that¡¯s about the only thing that he¡¯d take time out from a fight to choke down. Then, Sen had to focus on surviving again.


    What felt to Sen like an endless supply of stone spikes started shooting up out of the ground. That wouldn¡¯t have been so bad, but the technique seemed to be attached to him somehow, so it was everything he could do to keep one step ahead of the spikes. As he raced across the forest, dodging and weaving, he searched his body and his energy for whatever the demonic cultivator had used to target him specifically. When he finally found it, he was impressed. It was subtle, the tiniest little hook of earth qi. It was so small and so fundamentally not dangerous in and of itself, that he hadn¡¯t even noticed it. Once he¡¯d found it, it was easy enough to dislodge. Of course, that distraction on Sen¡¯s part let the demonic cultivator focus on Lo Meifeng again. She seemed to be doing better. She wasunching offensive strikes, rather than fighting entirely defensively, but Sen understood how pills and elixirs worked well enough to know that it was a short-term fix. Best case scenario, Lo Meifeng had bought herself five or ten minutes of extra fighting time.


    Sen knew that he could end that fight. He had the means at his disposal, but he wasn¡¯t sure he dared to do it. Even before his advancement, he hadn¡¯t understood what was happening with Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. Now, he had a core and a whole new kind of energetic ribbon in his dantian. He shuddered to imagine what he might generate if both those ribbons of energy decided to jump into the technique at thest minute. Still, he might <em>have</em> to do it. If it came down to a choice between letting Lo Meifeng die or using a technique that frightened him, he¡¯d use the technique. But he still had a minute or two to at least try something else. A nce upward showed Sen that the demonic cultivator had dismissed himpletely in favor of concentrating on Lo Meifeng. <em>Time to get creative</em>, Sen told himself.


    He''d had some sess fusing qi types into something more deadly than single qi techniques usually provided. If he could do it with two types of qi, could he do it with three? Of course, it couldn¡¯t just be any qi types. He didn¡¯t want to use earth, since the demonic cultivator was strong in earth. Metal and fire didn¡¯t mix well, so that was out. Sen hesitated at that thought. They didn¡¯t mix well because fire tended to damage metal, but a technique typically onlysted a few seconds. What would he get if he mixed fire and metal with his wind de technique? Sen started cycling for wind, fire, and metal. He could tell that he was pulling hard on his reserves at this point, but it wasn¡¯t going to matter soon. Forcing the fire and metal qi together with the wind qi was profoundly more difficult than fusing shadow and metal. Still, he kept at it, bending his not inconsiderable will to the task. Slowly, grudgingly, almost angrily, the qi fused into something that felt wild, unstable, and ridiculously dangerous to Sen.


    He didn¡¯t stop to examine it. He just looked up andunched the technique. The demonic cultivator tried to counter the zing curve of metal, fire, and wind that hurtled toward him, but the technique was so unstable that it exploded in the cultivator¡¯s face. Even on the ground, Sen heard the demonic cultivator¡¯s screams. When the smoke and light cleared, Sen could see exposed bone and seared flesh. When the demonic cultivator fixed him with eyes driven mad with pain and anguish, a cold shiver ran through Sen¡¯s entire body. Fortunately, Lo Meifeng had been ready that time. Ance of fire punched through the demonic cultivator¡¯s chest. For a long moment, the demonic cultivator just hung limply, suspended in the air by that fire. Then, with a scream driven by hate and rage and exhaustion, Lo Meifeng burned the body to ash.


    As relieved as he was that Lo Meifeng had survived and that she had finished the man off, Sen was most relieved that he hadn¡¯t needed to fall back on Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. Lo Meifeng slowly drifted down tond by Sen. She looked him up and down, then sniffed. She didn¡¯t look quite as bad as Lifen had, but she still looked ready for a week of sleep. As if to punctuate that thought for him, Lo Meifeng sagged a little and took a few halting steps over to a tree. She put a hand on it to steady herself.


    ¡°You took your sweet time waking up,¡± she said.


    ¡°You know how it is when you¡¯re having a nice dream,¡± said Sen with a shrug.


    The older cultivator red at him and said, ¡°I will stab you.¡±


    Sen held up his hands in a cating gesture. ¡°Sorry. We should probably go find Lifen before some spirit beast sees through the formation I hid her in.¡±


    Lo Meifeng nodded and, with words that seemed to make her want to cry, she said, ¡°Then, we need to get the hells away from here.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 27: Elixirs and Cores

    Book 3: Chapter 27: Elixirs and Cores


    Sen and a weary Lo Meifeng made their way back toward Lifen. Most of the spirit beasts seemed to have decided that the fighting and destruction weren¡¯t worth whatever had brought them there in the first ce. For the few that stuck around looking for trouble, judicious use of his killing intent sent most of them scurrying away. The rest were dealt with using jian, spear, and the asional qi technique. When they finally reached the spot where Sen had left Lifen, he found not one, but a group of three spirit oxen hovering nearby. They weren¡¯t doing anything specific, just being watchful. Sen gestured for Lo Meifeng to wait and approached the oxen. He offered them another deep bow.


    ¡°I am most grateful for your assistance,¡± he said. ¡°Is there anything I might do to repay your kindness?¡±


    The biggest of the oxen, the one he¡¯d encountered before, seemed to think it over before shaking her massive head. Sen inclined his head to the group.


    ¡°In that case, I will look for opportunities to be of assistance to you and yours in the future.¡±


    The ox let out a gentle moo and then led herpanions away. There was a brief moment of blessed silence before Lo Meifeng spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably hate the answer you give to this question, but why did spirit oxen help out?¡±


    ¡°I was nice to an ox once,¡± said Sen. ¡°It seems the spirit oxen take that kind of thing seriously.¡±


    ¡°You were nice? To an ox?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just bet it is.¡±


    Sen ignored that and went over to where his formation was still encouraging everything to look somewhere else. He deactivated the formation and found Lifen curled up and asleep at the base of what was left of a tree. It looked like she had actually eaten the roots because her skin had lost that grayish cast, but there was only so much that unprocessed medicinal roots could do for overwhelming exhaustion. Sen collected the formation gs and scooped Lifen up into his arms. It was a testament to just how tired she was that being lifted off the ground didn¡¯t even make her stir.


    ¡°Come on,¡± said Sen to Lo Meifeng. ¡°I think we¡¯ve probably got a little time. Enough that I can do something for both of you before we get moving again.¡±


    The group trudged back to what was left of their campsite. Both tents had been trampled by something at some point, although Sen didn¡¯t notice any obvious rips or tears after a cursory examination. The small fire pit they¡¯d put together had been simply obliterated, spreading ash in every direction. Sen put Lifen down in a rtively clean spot and took a couple of minutes to reassemble his tent with branches he scavenged from all the nearby destruction. He dropped a bunch of nkets into the tent, moved Lifen in, and gestured that Lo Meifeng should join her.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure you are. Now, go sleep for an hour. It¡¯ll take that long to get everything sorted out, and I need that time to do some alchemy. Go. Sleep.¡±


    Lo Meifeng tried to re at him, but her eyes kept drifting back to the tent. ¡°Fine, but if anything happens, you wake me up.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± lied Sen.


    She gave him a knowing look, then yawned, and finally just epted the inevitable. While the women took much-needed and well-earned naps, Sen organized his mental to-do list. Lo Meifeng was right that they needed to get moving, but that was only going to work if they could all <em>keep</em> moving for long enough to put some real distance between them and this spot. They¡¯d also need some kind of cover once they got wherever they decided to stop. Sen wavered for a moment before he just picked a task and started. The first thing he did was to neatly fold Lo Meifeng¡¯s tent and nkets. Then, he made a new, if shallow, fire pit and got a fire going. There was so much wood debris around that finding fuel wasn¡¯t a problem. He needed to artificially season some of it, but he¡¯d gotten pretty adept at that.


    Once the fire was going, he set up his tripod and pot. He put some water in the pot and let it start warming up while he turned his attention outward. It took a little while to gather up his formation gs. Some of them had been all but buried in the fighting. Most of the gs had suffered at least some minor damage. Some of them had been damaged beyond repair. That hurt because they weren¡¯t that easy to rece. It would have been easier in arge enough town or city. Out in the wilds, though, once something like that was gone, it was just gone. He supposed he could fashion some kind of formation tes out of stone or, if he worked hard enough at it, metal that he dredged up from the ground. He also knew that both of those options would be time and work-intensive. No, what he had was what he had for now.


    He stored all of the gs that he¡¯d recovered, even the ones that looked beyond hope. Just because he couldn¡¯t necessarily fix them, it didn¡¯t mean there wasn¡¯t some other use for them. By then, the water over the fire was at a gentle boil, so Sen settled in to do some basic alchemy. He didn¡¯t think any of them wanted to take the time he¡¯d need to craft elixirs designed for each woman, so he fell back on general principles. He assumed that they could probably both use some basic healing, but the main goal was to provide them with energy. He found one of the more potent ginseng nts in his storage ring that was heavily wood-aligned. That would serve as an excellent foundation for both healing and providing energy. From there, he added petals from the dragon¡¯s breath flower for fire, also good for energy, and a few water-aligned leaves from a river fern to provide a bncingponent for the dragon¡¯s breath petals. He kept digging through his storage ring, adding things here and there he knew would provide specific benefits, or that felt right for this elixir.


    Finally, he took out one of the heavenly qi-infused beast cores that he hadn¡¯t even remembered picking up and crushed it into the elixir. It was something he did on instinct, rather than out of any established principle of alchemy. He suspected that the addition of heavenly qi to the mixture would serve as a catalyst that enhanced all of the other properties that he¡¯d been aiming to give the elixir. Even if it didn¡¯t work, though, a bit of extra heavenly qi would only benefit Lifen and Lo Meifeng. Then, he waited and stirred as the elixir transformed itself from a motley assortment of ingredients into something that transcended all of thoseponents. It happened slowly at first, and then increased in speed as the liquid in the pot converted from a brown sludge into an amber color, and then the heavenly qi went to work on it, and the mixture turned golden.


    Sen didn¡¯t need any hints to know that it was done. He removed the pot from the fire and, after a moment of consideration, used his fire qi to bleed away the heat from the pot. He didn¡¯t like to do that with elixirs because, sometimes, that fast cooling could alter the mixture. This time, though, it didn¡¯t seem to have an effect. He strained the liquid into two vials and then discarded the rest. He crawled into the tent and gently shook Lo Meifeng¡¯s shoulder. He only narrowly dodged the punch she threw at him. It was only after he shook off his shock that he realized that she hadn¡¯t even woken up. Sighing, he took another tack.


    ¡°Wake up!¡± he shouted at them.


    Lo Meifeng snapped out of her unconscious state, looking around wildly, before thought finally caught up with her. She red promises of ugly death at Sen until he held out the vial to her. She eyed it dubiously for a moment, then took it. She hesitated for a moment, then downed the liquid. Sen turned his attention to Lifen, who hadn¡¯t even twitched at his shout. He shook, shouted, and finally managed to rouse her enough that he could give her the vial.


    ¡°Whas thish?¡± she mumbled.


    ¡°An elixir. It¡¯ll help,¡± said Sen.


    Unlike Lo Meifeng, Lifen just tipped the liquid into her mouth, and almost instantly went back to sleep. Sen crawled back out of the tent. He figured it would take a little while for the elixirs to really hit, so he might as well make use of the time. There were a lot of dead spirit beasts nearby, and he had a feeling that they were going to need those spirit beast cores before this little jaunt through the wilds was over. He moved out from the camp in a spiral, harvesting cores whenever he came across a dead spirit beast. He made sure to keep them separate from his own supply. While he might find them useful, the vast majority of them belonged to Lifen and Lo Meifeng. He also knew that they were valuable. Maybe even valuable enough for Lifen to start that different life she wanted. He had no clue what Lo Meifeng wanted, but he expected that she liked money as much as the next person. He also made a point not to move beyond the reach of his spiritual sense. As long as he could feel what was happening back at the campsite, he figured that he could get back there fast enough to intervene if necessary.


    He was tempted to do a more thorough harvesting of the spirit beasts, but it was a bncing act between gathering valuable resources and using time efficiently. He doubted he was even going to have the time to harvest all of the cores in his self-imposed radius before Lo Miefeng and Lifen were up and about. He was right about that. It only took about twenty minutes before he sensed the two women moving around in the campsite. He made his way back. He found them disassembling his tent and folding up the nkets they¡¯d been sleeping on. He took over that duty and deposited a pile of beast cores on the ground.


    ¡°Those belong to you two,¡± he said.


    He could tell that they were still a bit tired and groggy because they both just sort of stared at the pile for a while. Eventually, they went over and started some kind of discussion that seemed almost, but not exactly, like haggling. Most of the cores disappeared into their respective storage rings, but a small handful of the cores were left behind. Sen lifted an eyebrow at them.


    ¡°For that offensive formation of yours,¡± said Lifen. ¡°Wealth is great and all, but not if we don¡¯t live to spend it.¡±


    Sen walked over to the cores and found that they were all either fire or lightning-aligned. They <em>would</em> help fuel that formation.


    ¡°You¡¯re both sure?¡± he asked.


    They both nodded.


    ¡°Alright. There¡¯s one more core I want to grab,¡± he said, thinking of that bear-cat, ¡°but I¡¯m more than ready to leave this catastrophe behind if you are.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± said Lifen.


    ¡°Yes, now, immediately please,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen suppressed a smile and headed in the direction of the bear-cat spirit beast he¡¯d killed. Lifen and Lo Meifeng followed closely behind.

 Book 3: Chapter 28: Questions and Answers

    Book 3: Chapter 28: Questions and Answers


    There was very little talking as the three of them left the site of the battle behind and for the rest of the day. While Sen¡¯s elixir had done a lot to restore Lifen¡¯s and Lo Meifeng¡¯s energy, letting them stay awake, it wasn¡¯t a substitute for genuine rest. So, while Sen had a number of pressing questions on his mind, he kept them to himself and focused on keeping watch both ahead and behind them. For all that getting away from the location of all that fighting felt like a boost in safety, they were still traveling deeper into the wilds. That sense of safety was temporary at best, and aplete illusion at worst. There were true and terrible powers in the deep wilds. Sen had met at least one of them in Boulder¡¯s Shadow. Even after having advanced to core formation, Sen knew that he would stand no chance against powers like that, Heavens¡¯ Rebuke or not.


    Yet, for that day at least, all seemed quiet. Sen pushed and prodded them along until he thought Lifen and Lo Meifeng might revolt and murder him. Then, he found them a semi-sheltered spot to set up camp. While the women dozed in semi-consciousness by the fire, Sen did his best to set up an obscuring formation. He kept checking it and rechecking it, looking for some w, some error on his part that might let someone find them. Discovering none, he reluctantly activated the formation and returned to the fire. He didn¡¯t stint on the food even a little, instead preparing several courses of food, liberally doctored with some of the more ptable herbs from his storage ring. He wanted the meal to taste good, but he wanted it to help them all recover even more.


    For all that Sen hadn¡¯t spent days fighting, he had just gone through a major advancement. Those were taxing at best, and he was nowhere near to being back to full strength. Nor did he feel confident that he knew his limits anymore. Still, he was obviously in the best condition of their little trio, so he took it on himself to handle as many of the mundane duties as possible. After he passed out tes of food, he busied himself with putting up the tents, after prodding Lo Meifeng to produce hers from her storage ring. He also put up a nket and left water behind it so the woman could bathe in rtive privacy. He didn¡¯t think Lifen would care about modesty, all things considered, but he assumed Lo Meifeng would prefer some discretion. After devouring everything that Sen put in front of them, they took turns bathing before copsing into their tents.


    Sen kept watch all night, actively cultivating. He¡¯d fallen back on his old cultivation technique, but it was inly clear to him that it wasn¡¯t sufficient for his new level of advancement. He¡¯d already been struggling to fill his dantian. Now, he had a core soaking up much of the environmental qi he took in. On top of that, that double helix of strange qi and heavenly qi was also stealing away some of the environmental qi and condensing it into liquid qi. He just wished he knew why it was doing that. Some of the liquid qi dripped down to make a shallow pool in the bottom of his dantian, but some of it was also soaked up by his core. He needed a new cultivation technique sooner rather thanter. So, he pulled out the copies of core-level cultivation manuals he¡¯d procured from the Soaring Skies sect and started digging into them.


    He¡¯d known from the beginning that none of the approaches were right for him. <em>That </em>would have been too easy. For all the apparent favor he enjoyed from the heavens or the universe or whatever, that favor seemed toe bundled with a lot of other hurdles. Still, it wasn¡¯t like he had something better to be doing at the moment. So, he read. He considered. He hypothesized. Then, he tested his best guesses over and over. He met with a lot of failure, as he¡¯d expected. Sometimes, he¡¯d see a partial sess, only for it to dead-end with more tweaking. He¡¯d forgotten how wearisome this kind of approach was, and he was doing it with some guideposts to point him in the right direction. Even so, Sen resigned himself to the very real possibility that this would be work that might take him months toplete. He made himself forget about the end goal and focus on the process. It helped a little. By the time morning rolled around and he heard Lo Meifeng stirring, he was ready to take a break.


    He resumed his old cultivation approach and set himself to making breakfast. He made rice porridge liberally spruced up with some pork. Then, he prepared tea. Camp tea was always inferior because making tea properly was simply tooplicated, even if there was a traditional tea set avable. Yet, Sen had long ago determined that breakfast without tea was just another way of ensuring a disastrous day. So, he made the inferior tea. Lo Meifeng appeared first and went straight for the food. Lifen came out next. While she looked like she¡¯d rather still be sleeping, she no longer had the air of someone who was gripping consciousness by her fingertips. She joined them for breakfast and even seemed to perk up a bit after eating and having several cups of tea. When he thought that they were finally both truly conscious, Sen finally started to get at what had been on his mind since he woke up.


    ¡°So, I have some questions,¡± he said.


    ¡°<em>You</em> have questions?¡± retorted Lifen. ¡°That¡¯s hrious because <em>I</em> have some questions. Top of the list, why did you decide to advance there? Next up, what kind of enlightenment drops so much qi on you that it¡¯s enough to drive your core formation <em>and </em>push my advancement <em>and </em>let Lo Meifeng advance too? Finally, were you trying to get us murdered by spirit beasts and demonic cultivators?¡±


    After staring at the fuming Lifen for a moment, Sen realized that he <em>should </em>have expected exactly those questions. They were not only obvious questions, but they were fair questions, at least if someone was only looking at what had happened from outside of his head.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t decide to advance there. In fact, I was trying <em>not </em>to advance. The enlightenment was, I don¡¯t even know what that was. Truly. I¡¯m as baffled by it as you are. I was just sitting there, thinking that wanting to advance wasn¡¯t a good enough reason to do it. I was thinking that I should loop the two of you in and make an actual n for when and how to do it. Mostly, I was thinking that I should exercise some restraint for the good of us all. Then, we were all in the middle of a heavenly qi storm, and I was advancing against my own will. So, in sum, I wasn¡¯t trying to get us all murdered.¡±


    ¡°You got all of that enlightenment qi for deciding to be reasonable, for once?¡± demanded Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Well, I might not phrase it exactly like that,¡± hedged Sen. ¡°Still, yeah, that¡¯s probably urate.¡±


    ¡°That is so unfair that no words exist to describe it,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen nced over at Lifen, only to find her nodding along. Sen repressed an urge to be angry with them. They¡¯d had a hard few days.


    ¡°I¡¯ll remind you that all that ¡°good fortune¡± left me unconscious and helpless for days in the middle of a huge fight. Would either of you have traded ces with me in that situation?¡±


    That seemed to sober the pair up a bit.


    ¡°I suppose not,¡± admitted Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Lifen slowly. ¡°When you put it like that, it doesn¡¯t sound so good.¡±


    ¡°Which brings me to what is probably the only question I have that really matters. Seriously, how in all the countless hells did I possibly survive all of that? I mean, helpless, unconscious, I should have been dead five minutes into that fight.¡±


    ¡°It seems your good fortune didn¡¯t abandon you entirely when took your very inconveniently timed nap,¡± said Lo Meifeng with a shake of her head.


    ¡°It was just a few spirit beasts at first,¡± said Lifen. ¡°That was lucky for us because they really didn¡¯t like that offensive formation you put up. One of them would try it every few hours, get horribly burned, and hit with lightning. Then, they¡¯d all just mill around for a while. When more and more of them showed up, they spent more time fighting with each other than trying to get at us. Gave us time to deal with our own advancements.¡±


    ¡°What were those advancements?¡± asked Sen.


    Lifen¡¯s face brightened up, but Lo Meifeng cut her off before she could start. ¡°Let¡¯s finish the how did we survive story first.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± said Lifen. ¡°Things didn¡¯t really get ugly until the demonic cultivators showed up. Good news for us was that the spirit beasts wanted them dead just as much as they wanted us dead. Maybe more. And, unlike us, they weren¡¯t all in a scary formation. That fighting went on for quite a while, but the demonic cultivators eventually concentrated enough force to break the formation. That¡¯s when things got really serious.¡±


    ¡°When was that?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Maybe a day in?¡± Lifen had said, half asked.


    ¡°Something like that,¡± said Lo Meifeng, taking over the story. ¡°After that, we got to do some of the fighting.¡±


    ¡°So, I spent two days just lying there, in the middle of all of that, and nobody tried to off me? No spirit beasts took a swipe at me?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± asked Lo Meifeng. ¡°Everything and everyone tried to kill you. It turns out, spirit oxen are positively terrifying when they¡¯re in a mood to fight. You owe them, Sen. We couldn¡¯t have kept you alive. We barely kept ourselves alive. Those oxen stood guard over you for damn near the entire time you were out. The only part I yed in keeping you alive was keeping that demonic core cultivator too busy to go after you.¡±


    Sen nced over at Lifen.


    ¡°I mostly hit people over the head with a club when they got too close,¡± she offered. ¡°Then, I¡¯d run away. They¡¯d usually chase me until something more dangerous attacked them.¡±


    ¡°You spent two days doing that? Just buying time?¡±


    ¡°Not the whole two days,¡± said Lifen. ¡°The demonic cultivators would back off for a while sometimes. The spirit beasts kept their distance once those oxen showed up. Let us take a breather now and then.¡±


    Sen let all of that sink in for a while before he spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that all of that happened. Genuinely. I am sorry. Once it started, I did everything I could think of to try to stop it. I just¡­failed. Thank you for watching over me, as much as you could.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, you should be sorry,¡± said Lo Meifeng, although it didn¡¯t seem like her heart was in it. ¡°It¡¯d be a lot easier to be mad at you if I hadn¡¯t been on the receiving end of you very obviously trying to stall that advancement to core formation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen him look so panicked,¡± said Lifen.


    Lo Meifengughed. ¡°I know, right? He looked like someone who just got caught stealing something really valuable.¡±


    Sen decided to let them have their fun at his expense. They¡¯d probably earned it, all things considered. If he found their exnation of their survival less than satisfactory, they didn¡¯t need to know that. They¡¯d been very busy, while he¡¯d juste in at the end. Sen could recognize that there had been another hand at work in their survival. It hadn¡¯t been overt, but it <em>had</em> been there. It was the only usible exnation for how they actually survived. He even had a suspicion about who. After all, how many people in the world knew that he was, apparently, on very good terms with the spirit oxen?

 Book 3: Chapter 29: Injuries and Close Encounters

    Book 3: Chapter 29: Injuries and Close Encounters


    Even with all of their advantages, traveling through the wilds was slow going. They had moved beyond the semi-tame portions into the true wilds. By Sen¡¯s estimation, they were spending the same amount of time to move half the distance or less each day. Despite Sen¡¯s deep and abiding worry that they¡¯d be attacked at every turn on their journey, though, the next three weeks passed byrgely without incident save for two exceptions. The first incident happened four days out from the battle. Sen had taken the lead position, but theck of violence had briefly lulled him out of the hypervignt state he usually maintained. He¡¯d gotten distracted by an idea he had for building a new cultivation method. So, he all but missed it when another of those bear-cat spirit beasts exploded from the heavy undergrowth. As fast and as strong as he was, as well trained as he was, Sen was as capable of being surprised as anyone else. He¡¯d jerked back from the attack, earning himself a series of deep gashes that ran vertically down his chest and stomach. If not for thatst-second move, though, he¡¯d have probably been split open like a ripe melon. The bear-cat hadn¡¯t been discouraged by itsck of sess. It lunged for his throat.


    Sen¡¯s thinking had finally started to catch up with the situation when the lunge happened. He didn¡¯t have time to cycle anything up. He didn¡¯t even have time to draw a weapon. He did the only thing he could do. He shoved his left arm in the way. The spirit beast¡¯s jaws closed on his arm like a vise filled with razors. The explosion of pain from his arm threatened to obliterate all rational thought. Roaring with fury, Sen did the first thing that came to his mind. It was the most brutal, primal response avable to a person. He punched the bear-cat in the side of the head. That loosened the spirit beast¡¯s jaw, so he punched it again. The bear-cat stumbled away, while Sen lurched backward from the stunned creature. A hot, red anger swelled in Sen¡¯s chest, and with it came an unfamiliar feeling. He <em>wanted</em> to hurt this thing. Sen seized the hilt of his jian, determined to make the beast suffer. He took one step toward it when something blurred past him. There was a spray of blood as Lo Meifeng opened the beast¡¯s throat with her own jian. The woman executed a smooth twist and drove her de into the bear-cat¡¯s body.


    For a second or two, Sen¡¯s anger was transferred to Lo Meifeng. How dare she steal <em>his</em> kill? That thought was short-lived as fresh surges of pain burned through the haze of his anger. The wounds on his chest burned, but that was nothingpared to the stabbing, jangling pain that raced from his wounded arm into his head. He winced and hissed a little as he sheathed his jian. He was sure of it now. The bear-cats were all holding a grudge. He looked over at Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said.


    ¡°Sure. We should probably find somewhere to settle in for the rest of the day. You heal fast, but that thing¡¯s bite might have carried some kind of poison, or venom, or infection. Best not to linger about treating those wounds.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s words turned out to be a bit prophetic. There had been something in that bite that hit Sen hard. Unfortunately, because he was the one with the alchemy expertise, he had to mix elixirs for himself. That proved much, <em>much</em> harder to do while feverish and shaking uncontrobly. It took him nearly two days to finally find something that worked. It might have gone faster, but he had to keep making things to treat the symptoms. It was only then that he could be functional enough to look for the cause of the symptoms. Lifen and Lo Meifeng were both as helpful as they could be, but it mostly amounted to fetching nts in the immediate area that Sen found with his spiritual sense. Still, he was grateful to them. The thought of having to get those nts himself had been almost overwhelming in his state. In the end, it had been an infection. Once that was purged, his recovery progressed very quickly. Getting wounded had given him the opportunity to get a good look at his blood. It was still red, technically, but it had a silvery sheen to it that, frankly, made him ufortable every time he saw it. He added that to a growing list of questions he needed to pose to his teachers.


    The second incident had, thankfully, not resulted in any injuries. It had just scared the three of them nearly to death. For most of a day, a nascent soul-level beast had stalked them. It never attacked. They never even caught sight of it during that day. They just felt it observing them, no doubt because it <em>wanted</em> them to feel it. Sen¡¯s recent advancement, to say nothing of Lo Meifeng¡¯s and Lifen¡¯s advancements, meant exactly nothing in the face of that kind of power. If that beast decided to kill them, they would die. While Sen might be able to get away by <em>hiding</em>, he wasn¡¯t going to leave the other two as sacrifices to let him escape. In the end, the nascent soul beast seemed to grow bored with its game. That was when a small ¨C if anything nearly forty feet long could be called small ¨C dragon flew up into the sky. The most frightening thing about the whole event was that it had risen from the forest less than a hundred feet from where they stood staring up at it in mute awe and fear. It did onezy circle above them, then flew off to do whatever dragons did to amuse themselves when not terrifying lowly humans.


    As terrifying as that close encounter with the dragon had been, the generalck of spirit beast interest in them reinforced Sen¡¯s belief that someone or something was intervening on their behalf. He suspected it was Boulder¡¯s Shadow. If it was Boulder¡¯s Shadow, Sen was unclear about the evolved spirit beast¡¯s motivation. It might be nothing more than trying to curry favor with Feng Ming, but that only worked if Sen <em>knew</em> it was Boulder¡¯s Shadow. There were several clues, but clues weren¡¯t proof. Then again, it might just be some kind of residual guilt for participating, however indirectly, in the deaths of all of those innocents back in that town. If the panther-man was trying to pay down some kind of karmic debt by indirectly aiding some humans, that might exin why he hadn¡¯t made himself known. The other possibility was that someone else was intervening. The problem with that idea was that Sen couldn¡¯t imagine who would be acting on their behalf or why.


    Through all of it, though, Sen had been following that tugging in his soul. Much as it had on the way to Tide¡¯s Rest, it grew stronger and more insistent the closer they got. He had been leading them on a slightly southwestern path, but he hadn¡¯t wanted to stray so far from the road that they could get back to it if dire need arose. Of course, close was rtive. It¡¯d probably take them a day to reach it if they made a straight line for the road. So, it was with some confusion that Sen abruptly stopped walking. The tugging in his soul was pulling him almost directly south, which meant it was time to turn that direction and head deeper into the wilds. Yet, he couldn¡¯t make sense of what he felt beneath his feet. He stamped his foot down a couple of times. Then, he turned to Lifen and Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Do you feel that?¡± he asked, stamping his foot again.


    The two women traded a look and followed his lead. Each of them stamping a foot down hard. Lo Meifeng frowned. Lifen stared down at the ground like it was telling her lies. Crouching down, the young woman started pulling at the grass and soil. After a minute or two of work, she stood up looking proud of herself. She pointed at what her work had exposed.


    ¡°What do you make of that?¡± she asked.


    Sen and Lo Meifeng walked over to take a look. Buried beneath what must have been decades, if not centuries, of slowly encroaching soil and grass were the remains of a road. The three of them spent the next half hour slowly testing the ground in the area to see what direction the road took. In the end, Sen was both surprised and not surprised to discover that it led from north to south. He shook his head a little.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Lifen.


    ¡°We need to go that way?¡± said Sen, gesturing south. ¡°So, you know, it¡¯s not at all suspicious that there¡¯s an abandoned road heading that way.¡±


    Lifen gave Sen a look. ¡°Don¡¯t abandoned roads always lead somewhere terrible, or haunted, or haunted and terrible in the stories?¡±


    ¡°And treasure,¡± said Sen with a grin, even if he didn¡¯t really believe it.


    Lifen brightened up at that. ¡°You know I love treasures.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Sen. ¡°My dearest Lady Sun Lifen, would you care to join me on a historic quest to find the lost treasure of the creepy abandoned road?¡±


    He offered her his hand. For the first time in what seemed like a year, Lifen beamed at him and took his hand.


    ¡°How could I resist an offer like that from such a handsome, mysterious,¡± Lifen got a mischievous gleam in her eye, ¡°legendary hero?¡±


    Lo Meifeng rolled her eyes. ¡°I think there might be something wrong with you two.¡±


    ¡°My venerable Lo Meifeng, there¡¯s always room for another adventurer on our grand quest.¡±


    ¡°Venerable?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    Lo Meifeng walked over to Lifen and Sen, who were both failing to keep straight faces. Then, she kicked Sen in the shin hard enough that it would have shattered a brick wall. Sen let out a cry of shock and hopped around on one foot while Lifen pointed andughed.


    ¡°How¡¯s that for venerable? You ass,¡± said Lo Meifeng with a deeply self-satisfied look on her face.

 Book 3: Chapter 30: The Temple of Eternity’s Edge

    Book 3: Chapter 30: The Temple of Eternity¡¯s Edge


    While their brief moment of yfulness had helped lift everyone¡¯s spirits, they all grew warier and warier as they traveled even deeper into the wilds. Every noise caught Sen¡¯s attention. He refused to even entertain thoughts about his cultivation method after the ambush attack by the bear-cat. Of course, it wasn¡¯t the attack that bothered him. He wasn¡¯t above being ambushed or caught off-guard. No one could be perfectly attentive at every moment. Human minds weren¡¯t meant for that kind of singr vignce all the time. If they were, there would never be new inventions or new ideas. Human minds wander and sometimes those internal journeys bore interesting fruit. No, what he kepting back to was that sh of anger he¡¯d felt at Lo Meifeng when she¡¯d killed the spirit beast before he could.


    At first, he¡¯d just chalked it up to being all wound up in the wake of the attack. The more he thought about it, though, the less true that felt to him. He had been wound up, but he couldn¡¯t even remember a time when he¡¯d felt possessive about who got to <em>kill</em> something. Normally, he¡¯d feel relieved that someone else did the killing. It wasn¡¯t that he¡¯d push that kind of thing off onto other people because that wasn¡¯t his way. In a fluid situation like that one had been, though, it <em>shouldn¡¯t</em> have mattered to him who resolved the fight, just that the fight was resolved. So, he found himself revisiting that moment in mind again and again. He tried to dissect it, to understand where that feeling hade from, but he got nowhere. He couldn¡¯t identify a specific source for his response. He¡¯d just been angry, in general, that she¡¯d stolen the kill.


    Yet, even the idea that she¡¯d stolen something from him struck him as foreign. No matter which way he turned the moment over in his mind, though, he couldn¡¯t find a reason that he¡¯d reacted that way. The fact of that reaction bothered him. The nature of that reaction bothered him. His inability to trace it to anything specific bothered him most of all. He hoped that it was just an aberrant moment brought on by surprise, trauma, and the infection that had already been burning in his body. Yet, he didn¡¯t think that was the case, which bothered him most of all. Yet, he saw few avenues that he could take to pursue the seemingly minor problem. All he could do was watch himself for simr reactions in the future to ward against some kind of rash action on his part.


    While a little piece of his mind chewed over that problem, he scanned the forest around them. The tugging inside of him was getting so strong that it had almost taken on an audible humming noise. On top of that, there seemed to be a pressure emanating from the forest. It wasn¡¯t the kind of pressure he¡¯d expect from high-level spirit beasts. It was too diffuse for that, but it weighed on him all the same. nces at Lifen and Lo Meifeng showed telltale signs that they were also operating beneath some kind of pressure. It wasn¡¯t obvious, and no one had raised a fuss, but he could see tightness around their eyes. Their lips would often press into hard lines like they were concentrating on ignoring something. Those dual pressures from outside and inside left him torn. One part of him desperately wanted to just call the whole mad idea off, turn around, and take his chances with the demonic cultivators. The other part of him was all but screaming at him to keep going, to hurry, to race ahead and discover whatever knowledge or enlightenment was waiting ahead. He did neither. Instead, he kept a steady pace and let the miles of forest trail out behind him. Finally, Lifen stopped dead in her tracks.


    ¡°What¡¯s out there?¡± she demanded.


    Sen and Lo Meifeng looked back at her with puzzled expressions.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean.¡±


    ¡°Look, you both have way higher cultivation than me, which means your spiritual senses are better than mine. I can¡¯t figure out what¡¯s out there. So, just tell me. Not knowing is making it a hundred times worse.¡±


    Lo Meifeng traded a look with Sen that asked if he wanted to handle it or not. Sen frowned, then turned his attention to Lifen.


    ¡°The pressure you¡¯re feeling isn¡¯t a spirit beast if that¡¯s what you mean. At least, not one that I¡¯ve been able to identify. In fact, I haven¡¯t so much as sensed a spirit beast in thest day or two. What about you Lo Meifeng?¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s not a spirit beast, but that¡¯s all I know. It certainly doesn¡¯t feel friendly, though.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°It doesn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Then <em>why</em> are we going there? Yes, I know why. Sen is having some kind of spiritual experience, but even he said those tugging feelings don¡¯t always work out that well. This feels like one of those things that isn¡¯t going to work out to me. No offense, but we¡¯ve already got plenty of problems. I don¡¯t see much benefit in going somewhere else where we¡¯re likely to find more problems. Maybe we should just go, you know, <em>anywhere</em> else.¡±


    Sen was struck silent for a long moment. Lifen had never objected to anything before. This staunch stand against going forward was such a surprise that Sen didn¡¯t know how to react to it. He wasn¡¯t even really opposed to the suggestion. He¡¯d been caught up in the possibility of gaining knowledge, but even he was torn about reaching the finish line on this one. He looked from Lifen to Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I know this was my suggestion,¡± said Lo Meifeng, ¡°but she¡¯s got a point. I go where you go. So, if you keep going, I pretty much have to go. If you decide we should take a pass, and I really want to you decide that, I will dly slog through another hundred miles of this forsaken forest in any other direction.¡±


    Sen kept his mouth shut for a minute and tried to think it through. That tugging inside his chest had turned into a relentless feeling that almost dragged him along. Yet, there was no guarantee that he was going to get anything of value if they reached the right destination. Even more importantly, the others weren¡¯t experiencing that tugging feeling. Even if he got something valuable from it, there was a good chance that they wouldn¡¯t. That oppressive feeling that just got worse and worse the farther they went was a pretty solid indication that something or someone ahead <em>did not</em> want to be bothered. Even a month ago, Sen might have pressed forward regardless of anything anyone else had to say. This time, he reminded himself of the lesson he¡¯d struggled toward during his core formation. I can be more than one thing. He could be reckless and headstrong, but he didn¡¯t have to be that way all the time. He could also be the kind of person who did silly things like listening to good advice. He looked in the direction they¡¯d been heading, then made his choice.


    ¡°Then we go somewhere else,¡± he said.


    ¡°What? Really?¡± asked Lifen, sounding a little stunned.


    ¡°You made your case. Lo Meifeng agrees with you wholeheartedly. I¡¯m not dumb enough to think I know better than everyone else.¡±


    ¡°They are wise to fear this ce,¡± said a voice from the trees.


    Sen let his spiritual sense and qi swirl out all around them, but he sensed nothing. The voice continued.


    ¡°You are wise in that you would have heeded their advice. Unfortunately, it¡¯s toote for that. You havee too far. Now, you <em>must</em> finish the journey.¡±


    The oldest-looking person that Sen had ever seen seemed to step into existence from nothing right in front of him. The man was tiny, shorter even than Lifen, and so thin it looked like any random breeze might knock him over. He wore peasant robes that had dirt stains on them where the man might have knelt near a garden. Sen wasn¡¯t sure what to make the man or his promations. He offered the man a polite bow.


    ¡°Greetings, elder. While I do not wish to be rude, it is not for you to demand that we go anywhere.¡±


    The old man gave Sen a smile that was equal parts amusement and pity. ¡°Young man, you speak as if you have a choice to leave. You do not. You will continue on or be made to continue. That is the only choice avable to you.¡±


    Sen decided that the old man must simply be insane, and he¡¯d learned long ago not to entertain the ramblings of crazy people. Instead, he offered the man another polite bow.


    ¡°Good day to you, Elder,¡± he said and turned to the others. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    He tried to step past the old man, only to find himself flying through the air and crashing through a tree. Hey there in stunned bewilderment for a moment, more in shock than pain, before he lurched back to his feet. Then he gaped as Lo Meifeng came flying through the air at him. He caught her more out of reflex than anything else. He stood there with her slender frame in his arms and watched as the old man casually deflected Lifen¡¯s primitive strikes with that big metal club of hers. Sen wondered just where she¡¯d gotten that club in the first ce. Sen jerked a little as a finger poked the side of his head. He looked down to see Lo Meifeng giving him an annoyed look.


    ¡°At this point, you either need to put me down or kiss me.¡±


    Sen stared at Lo Meifeng. Was she serious? Was she making a joke?


    ¡°Put me down, idiot!¡± she yelled.


    Sen put her down on the ground and asked, ¡°What just happened?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea. Maybe that guy will be more talkative after we have a violent chat with him.¡±


    Sen balked. ¡°But he¡¯s old.¡±


    ¡°That old man just tossed you through a tree.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good point.¡±


    Sen and Lo Meifeng stalked toward the old man. Things happened so fast at that point that even in his memory, Sen couldn¡¯t make sense of it. All he did remember was crashing through another tree. Then, Lo Meifengnded on him. Then, Lifennded on her. When the three of them managed to find their feet, Lo Meifeng looked livid.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to end this,¡± she dered.


    Sen felt her cycling qi and, a momentter, dozens of fireballs appeared in the air. They were so hot that nearby trees caught fire and lesser nts were turned to ash. The old man looked at the fireballs with mild interest, then waved a hand. The fireballs vanished and Lo Meifeng staggered to one side as blood spurted from her nose. Sen stared at the man. He¡¯d felt nothing. Sensed nothing. <em>Is this what it¡¯s like fighting me when I¡¯m hiding</em>, he wondered. Still, just because the old man had dealt with fire, it didn¡¯t mean he could cope with lightning. Sen withdrew the ascendant-level spear he¡¯d gotten from the Soaring Skies sect and cycled for lightning. If he didn¡¯t know better, he¡¯d have sworn that the spear was eager for the fight the way it soaked up his qi. He focused on the technique and ance of lightning covered the distance between him and the old man. The old man simply batted aside the lightning with his bare hand. Between his surprise and the bacsh, Sen didn¡¯t have the mental resources to object as the old man firmly herded them farther south down the road.


    Sen considered other attacks, or more powerful attacks, but ultimately rejected them. The old man, whatever he was, clearly outssed them all both individually and collectively. Instead, Sen focused on ignoring that oppressive feeling and giving Lifen encouraging looks. The concerned look she¡¯d worn before had be a look of tightly controlled fear. Sen stole a look at the old man, who caught him looking. The old man gave Sen a considering look.


    ¡°You three are strange,¡± said the old man. ¡°So much power, and yet so little understanding. None of you has the faintest idea about how to wield the paths you walk. Well, I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter now.¡±


    Sen gave the man a sharp look. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it matter?¡±


    He was so busy looking at the old man that he almost knocked Lo Meifeng down. He caught her and looked ahead to what appeared to be some kind of temple. It took him a second to realize that Lo Meifeng hadn¡¯t even chided him for being clumsy. He nced at her, and now she wore that look of tightly controlled fear.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter because this is the Temple of Eternity¡¯s Edge,¡± said the old man. ¡°And of all those whoe here, almost none ever leave.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 31: Prisoners

    Book 3: Chapter 31: Prisoners


    Lo Meifeng turned to Sen and said, ¡°We can¡¯t let him take us in there. Better by far to die out here.¡±


    Lifen looked appalled by Lo Meifeng¡¯s words. The old man looked sad and a little disappointed. Sen just evaluated what he saw in Lo Meifeng¡¯s eyes. She meant it. She believed with absolute certainty that death was preferable to stepping foot inside that temple. Lo Meifeng obviously knew things about the temple that Sen didn¡¯t. After all, he didn¡¯t think he would have just said that out loud where their captor could hear it. Given that she¡¯d been ready to face being tortured to death to buy him time to escape, though, he couldn¡¯t imagine what could possibly be worse than that. He didn¡¯t want to find out. Lo Meifeng had done more than enough to earn some credit with Sen. If she said death was better, he was prepared to take her word for it. It was with a kind of grim finality that Sen turned his eyes to Lifen.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it toe to this.¡±


    ¡°Before any of you do anything foolish, or irrevocable, you must realize you cannot defeat me. Even if you did manage it, you¡¯d simply be caught and brought back by others. Fate brought you here. You cannot escape it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, old man,¡± said Lo Meifeng with a t, deadly expression. ¡°We don¡¯t need to defeat <em>you</em>. Defeating fate is easy. I just need to kill them, and then myself.¡±


    While Lo Meifeng had the old man¡¯s attention, Sen started cycling lightning and gathering his killing intent. If he was going to out of the world, here and now, he meant to take the old man with him. He also reasoned that he only really had one attack that might slow the old man down. He and Lo Meifeng drew their jians at exactly the same moment. Sen started feeding killing intent and lightning qi into the sword, while Lo Meifeng went into an all-out offensive against the old man. It only took a few seconds for the right amounts of qi and killing intent to gather in the jian, but, to Sen¡¯s horror, the technique refused to coalesce. He tried again. Nothing. He didn¡¯t understand what was happening, but he didn¡¯t have time to figure it out. He withdrew his killing intent and qi from the jian. If he couldn¡¯t use Heavens¡¯ Rebuke, he¡¯d go out fighting the old way.


    Heunched himself into a gap he spotted between Lo Meifeng and the old man, but it was like trying tond a blow on a ghost. The old man was never where Sen expected him to be. Lifen, perhaps recognizing that she¡¯d be more of an impediment than a help, kept her distance. But she had retrieved her club from her storage ring. Sen had wondered why they were allowed to keep their weapons, and now he knew. The old man simply hadn¡¯t cared that they had their weapons. They were no threat to him. Realizing the futility of keeping the fight going, Sen called out to Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Kill me first,¡± he shouted. ¡°I¡¯ll keep him upied.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said the old man, and his voice resounded like a divine gong. ¡°Fate will not be denied.¡±


    The old man moved so fast that even Sen¡¯s enhanced vision couldn¡¯t track him. Then, Lo Meifeng went flying toward the temple in a spray of blood. Sen might have tried to help her, but it was his turn next. He never saw the old man. Never heard him. He only felt it when the fist connected with his chest. He heard his hardened bones snap with sounds like stone breaking. The force of that blowunched him into the air. He heard Lifen scream his name, but it was distant, distorted, like something he might hear through a wall. In thest moment of lucidity before the pain of that blow reached his brain, Sen thought that no one had ever hit him that hard before. Then, he crashed face-first into that metaphorical wall of pain. It was beyond anything he¡¯d experienced before. That blow hadn¡¯t just broken bones. It had shredded muscles and damaged the organs in his chest. Then, Sen¡¯s body connected with something, and the world went ck.


    ***


    Sen wandered in and out of something adjacent to consciousness for a while. He¡¯d hear people talking, sometimes about him, sometimes not, but the words were like motes of dust in the air. He was aware of them, but they had no meaning or relevance. He was constantly aware that he was in pain, terrible pain, and his mind shied back from it, keeping him asleep, at a remove from fullprehension of that pain. So, he drifted, floating along on the surface of a sea of imagination and dreams. He experienced wonders in that state. He saw worlds beyond his world. Worlds where miracles the likes of which he¡¯d never known weremonce, and the cultivators wielded a kind of might that his world could never contain or survive. He saw terrible things as well. Dark worlds teeming with demons, where humans were herded like cattle, and ughtered with as little regard.


    And he saw himself as a stranger might. He saw the strengths in his body cultivation, as well as the weaknesses. The Five-Fold Body Transformation was mighty, but it was a mere stepping stone to other things if he could reach them. Yet, his body cultivation was also strange. It had been blessed, or at least altered, with heavenly qi. Refinement by heavenly qi wasn¡¯t part of the Five-Fold Body Transformation. Had he stepped off the road onto a truly new body cultivation path, or was this simply a variation? Could heplete the other steps in the path as intended? The stranger that was himself didn¡¯t know. He observed his spirit cultivation. It was potent, flexible, but there was a certain fragility in it. There were things missing, things that would make it more durable and more resilient. He could sense those things, but, again, didn¡¯t know what they were.


    Eventually, though, he couldn¡¯t remain asleep. He was pushed or pulled up to actual wakefulness. He braced himself for the agony he expected but was surprised and relieved to discover that the pain he¡¯d felt, however distantly, was gone. He gingerly pressed a finger to his chest. The bones were healed and felt strong. He let his qi wash through his body, looking as deeply as he could at his muscles and organs. They seemed repaired as well. Although, he wouldn¡¯t trust that until he¡¯d mixed his own healing elixir and let it do its work. He looked around and found himself in what he could only describe as a cell. The walls were stone blocks and unmarred by decorations. Hey on a pallet on the floor. He¡¯d been covered with a thin nket and there was some kind of pad or pillow beneath his head. Still, Sen could do the math easily enough.


    It was perhaps an hourter when the same old man who¡¯d defeated him and Lo Meifeng with such casual disregard entered the cell. He had a tray with food and water on it. He set the tray next to Sen¡¯s pallet and then sat down.


    ¡°I am Lan Zi Rui.¡±


    Sen said nothing.


    The old man sighed. ¡°I know you can speak. Are you so rude that will not even introduce yourself?¡±


    Sen looked at the man. ¡°Prisoners have no need of politeness.¡±


    ¡°You are not a prisoner.¡±


    ¡°Can I leave?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Can I see my friends?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then, you are a liar. I am a prisoner. One that you forced toe here.¡±


    ¡°Fate brought you here.¡±


    Sen offered no reply.


    ¡°This defiance serves no purpose. It only harms you.¡±


    When Sen once more refused to speak, Lan Zi Rui sighed, rose, and went to the door. ¡°I will return tomorrow and try again.¡±


    ¡°Save us both time and don¡¯t bother. I will not cooperate with you.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said the old man, and left the room.


    Once the old man had been gone for long enough that Sen was confident he wasn¡¯t going toe back immediately, he rose from the pallet. He searched every inch of the room. Save for the pallet and a narrow window far too small to climb through, there was nothing. He looked at the tray but found nothing useful on it. He even tried the door. He was vaguely disappointed to discover that it had beentched or barred from the outside. Having inventoried the room, Sen inventoried himself. He was dressed in in robes, but he¡¯d been deprived of his jian and his storage rings. <em>So</em>, <em>they¡¯re thieves as well</em>, he thought with some bitterness. Although, he could only be so angry, having taken a great many things from the bodies of his fallen opponents. With nothing else to do, he began a close examination of the stone blocks using his earth qi. He was looking for signs of weakness that he could exploit but found none. He was going to have to get out the hard way. Yet, the moment he tried to use his qi to weaken or alter the stone blocks, his qi drained away somewhere, as though pulled down by a whirlpool. He knew that there were ways of suppressing qi, but he¡¯d never heard of anything even remotely like what was happening.


    He had simr results using other kinds of qi. He briefly flirted with the idea of trying Heavens¡¯ Rebuke but didn¡¯t dare try it without something to use as a focus other than his body. That only left his body. He tried punching the wall with little to show for it. Sighing, Sen tried kicking the wall. When that aplished nothing, he tried kicking the wall as hard as he could. He thought that the wall <em>might</em> have shuddered slightly. At that rate, assuming they¡¯d let him just keep kicking the wall for as long as he wanted to, he might escape in a few decades. Granted, he had a few decades to spare. Given the option, though, he¡¯d prefer to spend that time somewhere else. Sen looked at the door again. He hadn¡¯t tried kicking that. Walking over to the door, heshed out at it with his most powerful kick. There was a boom that seemed to reverberate through the entire building, but the door itself looked unharmed. Sen frowned. He tried using qi on the door to simrly fruitless results.


    In the end, he decided that the door was probably the weakest link in the chain of his imprisonment. So, he began to kick it at a steady pace. <em>If one kick didn¡¯t do the job</em>, <em>then maybe a hundred will</em>, he thought. Plus, there was also the possibility that he¡¯d annoy someone. If someone other than the old man came to check on him, Sen might stand a chance in a fight. Clinging desperately to those thin strands of hope, Sen continued his assault on the door. Kick. Kick. Kick.

 Book 3: Chapter 32: Dilemma

    Book 3: Chapter 32: Dilemma


    Sen kept up his kicking at the door until he eventually grew so bored with it that he was feeling tired. By then, it waste into the night, so he ignored the tray of food and settled onto the pallet. It wasn¡¯tfortable, but his body had been remade so often now that he doubted it would bother him to sleep outside in the middle of a torrential downpour. He slept for two hours, which was apparently all that he required, and then he resumed his assault on the door. Since he couldn¡¯t use his qi to assess the door, he just had to hope that this nearly relentless assault would produce a result. Ideally, the door would eventually give way. That would give him a chance to find Lifen and Lo Meifeng. He didn¡¯t seem especially likely, but maybe the three of them could figure out a way to escape. Less ideally, his captor would grow so weary of the noise that it would provoke a response. Sen epted that the response might well be violent, but that could create opportunities in its own right. Plus, Sen <em>would</em> take some small measure of petty joy out of frustrating his captors.


    From time to time, he would switch off legs just to even out the exercise he was getting. After a time, though, the kicking became like a meditation for him. At first, his thoughts raced from topic to topic, from imusible n to even more imusible n, and from memory to memory. He wondered how disappointed Master Feng would be once he learned that Sen let himself get caught and imprisoned. That entire line of thought was so disheartening and disquieting that he had to forcibly shove it away, lest it steal his motivation. Yet, as the hours wore on, the thoughts became fewer and fewer, the ridiculous ns faded away to nothing, and all that was left was a smooth, unperturbed emptiness in his heart, mind, and soul. Left to his own devices, Sen might well have continued on like that for days or weeks, but he wasn¡¯t left to his own devices. When midday came, Sen found himself forcibly driven back from the door by something he could physically feel, but that refused to yield any secrets to his qi or his spiritual sense. It felt like a wall was slowly driving him across the room.


    When Sen had been pushed all the way back to the pallet, Lan Zi Rui entered the room carrying another tray. As if to mock Sen¡¯s efforts, the door swung shut behind the old man with a soft click. He offered Sen a smile that went unreturned. Then, his eyes fell on the tray from the previous day. He frowned at the untouched food and water. The old man sat down and ced the new tray next to the previous day¡¯s tray.


    ¡°I know our food is simple, but it is filling.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t dignify the statement with a response.


    ¡°Will you not speak with me?¡±


    ¡°Return what you stole from me. Release me and my friends from this imprisonment. Then, perhaps, we will have something to discuss.¡±


    ¡°We have stolen nothing from you. We merely safeguard it.¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes at that doublespeak.


    ¡°Why do you rail against fate-,¡± started the old man, only for Sen to raise a hand.


    ¡°Do not speak to me about fate. It¡¯s the easiest excuse in the world for justifying doing whatever you want to do.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe in fate?¡±


    Sen felt the overwhelming urge to answer, but he pushed that down hard. The old man waited, apparently expecting Sen to answer. Then, he shook his head.


    ¡°This hostility is unnecessary.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t need to say anything that time. The fury he felt at being captured and held radiated off of him like a physical presence. The old man was quiet for a time before he gestured at the tray.


    ¡°Will you not eat something?¡±


    ¡°Resist. Escape.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Those are the obligations of a prisoner. Resist and escape. That makes anything you want, by definition, something I oppose.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what I want,¡± said Lan Zi Rui.


    ¡°Wrong. I don¡¯t <em>care</em> what you want.¡±


    ¡°Even if what I want is to your benefit?¡±


    ¡°Let me guess. All I need to do to reap these benefits is <emply</em>, right?¡±


    ¡°You make it sound so-,¡± Lan Zi Rui hesitated.


    ¡°urate. Factual. Truthful.¡±


    ¡°Dirty,¡± said Lan Zi Rui. ¡°Compliance isn¡¯t always evil. After all, studentsply with their masters.¡±


    Without even meaning for it to happen, Sen¡¯s killing intent filled the room. He found himself screaming at the old man, who didn¡¯t seem harmed but definitely looked rmed.


    ¡°You are not my master! You will never be my master! I will starve to death in this cell before I do <em>anything</em> you want!¡±


    Sen tried to hurl himself at the old man, but once more found himself blocked by the invisible wall. Sen battered at that wall with his fists, with his feet, with lightning, with fire, and with wind des. At first, the old man seemed like he nned to patiently wait out the storm. When it became clear that Sen had no intention of stopping, Lan Zi Rui sighed and rose to his feet.


    ¡°I wille back tomorrow and try again.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± growled Sen.


    After that, Sen was more determined than ever to break down the door, or at least to try until his body gave out. He started cultivating, less because he thought it would do anything and more out of habit. He was surprised to find that he had ready ess to environmental qi. He wouldn¡¯t have left a prisoner that option. So, Sen kicked the door, over and over, and he cultivated, sinking deeper and deeper into the cultivation trance. When he found himself being pushed back from the door, he simply retreated to the pallet, sank into a kneeling position, and let himself drop deeper into the trance. The old man came and went. He talked at Sen, who was so deep into his cultivation that he didn¡¯t hear any of it. When Lan Zi Rui eventually grew bored and left, Sen returned to the door. With nothing but time to burn, he experimented with all of the ideas he¡¯d had about a new cultivation method. He tried things that might have sounded insane to him at other times.


    At first, he simply experimented with new routes that his qi could take through his channels. After that, he experimented with separating out specific kinds of qi and sending them on different paths through his channels at the same time. Then, he tried braiding those separate strands of individual qi and sending the braided qi through his channels along different paths. That had startling results. He found that sending it along certain routes through his channels seemed to supplement his body the way that food might otherwise do. It wasn¡¯t exactly the same. He didn¡¯t stop wanting food, but as the weeks passed, he found that he no longer craved food or water. It seemed that man <em>could</em> live by qi alone if his cultivation was advanced enough. When he sent that braided qi along a different path, it actually merged into more of that strange qi. He stopped that almost as soon as he figured out what was happening. The strange qi he produced almost on ident immediately joined the existing ribbon that orbited the outer edges of his dantian. That ribbon of strange, fused qi was in a kind of bnce with his ribbon of heavenly qi, and he was very nervous about doing anything that might upset that bnce.


    When he ran out of things to do with environmental qi, he turned his attention to the slowly growing pool of liquid qi in his dantian. He tried mixing it with environmental qi and sending the mixture along different paths through his channels. That met with mixed results. Some were encouraging, and some were painful. Eventually, he tried it with just the liquid qi. He¡¯d always been cautious about using that liquid qi before, so cautious that it had be an ingrained habit. Yet, now, with his core already formed and seemingly stabilized, he was more willing to try things with that liquid qi. Especially with the double helix of strange qi and heavenly qi doing all the heavy lifting of making more liquid qi. Again, he found interesting results. Cycling liquid qi could empower his body, although still not enough to break through the door. He even burned up a few drops of liquid qi to add further strength to his kicks, but that in wooden door remained immune to harm.


    When he ran out of ideas to try with liquid qi, he went back to basics. He¡¯d tried running a couple of kinds of qi in parallel through his channels, but he wasn¡¯t just cultivating two types of qi. He was cultivating all five major types of qi and a few others to boot. If he was going to advance again any time in the next hundred years, he needed something that addressed all of those types of qi. Sen had thought a lot about the cultivation techniques he¡¯d read for people like him at the core formation stage. He didn¡¯t have ess to the manuals themselves anymore, but he had a good memory. He feared he knew what was required of him, and that those demands were simply beyond his capabilities. It was then, after months of ceaseless kicking, that Sen returned to his dusty pallet and stretched out. There wasn¡¯t going to be room for anything else if he was right. Sen let himself droppletely into the cultivation trance. The outside world didn¡¯t simply cease to have meaning for him. It ceased to exist as a thought or an idea in his head.


    He knew that what he was trying to do was risky. Cultivators had gotten lost forever in trances that weren¡¯t even as deep as the one he¡¯d been living in full-time for months. Then again, it wasn¡¯t as though he really had anything to lose. He was almost absolutely certain that he would never leave that cell. In those circumstances, a dive into the purest depths of a cultivation trance, something he would never have even contemted in the outside world, became simply one more thing. If he got lost and never woke up, he wouldn¡¯t lose anything. If he seeded, he would emerge with a cultivation technique that should carry him through aplete stage of advancement. He hovered inside his own being, a whisper from fullymitting to the course of action. If he did get lost, he wouldn¡¯t be able to help Lo Meifeng or Lifen. Of course, he couldn¡¯t help them now. Nor did he see a way that he¡¯d ever be able to help as he was. His existing cultivation method was too slow. If he had to do any kind of sustained qi techniques, he doubted he¡¯d be able tost more than half a day. Then, he¡¯d need weeks to recover. A better cultivation technique might not empower him to a level where he could fight his way out of the damned cell, but it was a step in that direction. Shaking off thest of his doubts, Senmitted fully to the trance.

 Book 3: Chapter 33: Fear Itself

    Book 3: Chapter 33: Fear Itself


    Hong Fu had spent most of his long life in positions of rtive power and safety. He¡¯d spent his childhood protected by his noble status, which had partially carried over into the sect that he¡¯d joined. His quiet conversion to a demonic cultivator had fueled rapid, if somewhat unstable, growth in his cultivation. That had allowed for swift advancement in the sect. He wasn¡¯t the most powerful elder in his sect, but that was by design. Better by far to allow others to draw the light of attention. He worked in the background. Reliable, indispensable to his peers and those above him, butrgely unnoticed by most inside and outside the sect. It was the perfect camouge for his work of undermining the moral center of the sect an inch at a time. It was the work of centuries, but work that would weaken the heavens by depriving it of righteous men and women. Then, when the time was right, he¡¯d give the sect that one final push that would see it crumble into nothing or fall to demonic cultivation.


    The quiet, unassuming life that allowed him to do all those unsavory, unspeakable things required of a demonic cultivator hade crashing down around his head a year ago. Word had spread through the questionable but all-important back channels demonic cultivators maintained that someone had made a list of every demonic cultivator they were aware of. Hong Fu could only assume that the list had been intended as some kind of leverage down the road. A way to extract favors or treasures that would give the holder of the list a better position with the true demons. Hong Fu might have even done the same if he¡¯d thought of it. The list itself wasn¡¯t the problem. The problem was that the fool who wrote it got himself killed, and the list was exposed. Unfortunately, no one had seen the list, which meant that there was no way to know if his name was on it. At first, Hong Fu had focused on tracking down and killing the boy who exposed the list. Some folk hero called Judgment¡¯s Gale. Yet, like the list itself, the boy turned out to be more dangerous than he appeared.


    It was believed that he was personally responsible for killing at least two core formation demonic cultivators and an unreasonable number of underlings and hired killers. Worse still, he was traveling with some woman who had proven herself positively lethal. She had ughtered people by the score, yet no one seemed to know who she was. Even <em>that</em> wasn¡¯t the worst of it. At first, there were just rumors, but those rumors had slowly evolved into a set of facts that made Hong Fu¡¯s blood run cold. That <em>boy</em>, the ridiculous foundation formation <em>child</em> who could somehow kill core formation demonic cultivators, had gotten the list to Fate¡¯s Razor. That old monster had shared the list with The Living Spear, and the two of them had gone on a killing spree the likes of which the continent hadn¡¯t experienced in centuries. Demonic cultivators were being driven into virtual extinction east of the Mountains of Sorrow. That had been terrifying enough, but then the boy went missing. <em>No one </em>knew where he was. In the wake of that disappearance, the nascent soul demigods had simply gone mad. Where there had been two of them hunting before, now there were three. Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden had joined in their insanity, wielding poison and rage like they belonged to her and her alone. At her side, there was a green-eyed girl who matched her mistress¡¯s rage with cold ruthlessness and calcted mercilessness. There were stories about the things that girl had done that were enough to make even Hong Fu shudder. They said that she only ever asked one question.


    ¡°Where is Lu Sen?¡±


    When those stories had started to circte, Hong Fu had reached out to the one who brought him into demonic cultivation. He¡¯d been looking for protection or, barring that, advice. Yet, there was no response. She had either severed ties with him, been cut down by the murderous nascent soul cultivators, or fled. Not that it really mattered what had happened. The end result was the same for him. With nowhere to turn to, he made his decision. He ran. He ran to the west. Ran away from the ughter and madness. He ran for his life. He¡¯d shed all signs of his sect affiliation, changed his name, and even altered his appearance as much as he could. He¡¯d started identifying himself as a wandering cultivator just passing through on his way to some randomly selected destination. For all that he didn¡¯t know for sure that he was being hunted, he couldn¡¯t shake the paranoia. He had left the need for daily sleep behind long ago, but now he didn¡¯t sleep at all, save for brief, fitful snatches at night by his small campfire.


    He had hunted people before, but he¡¯d never been on this side of a hunt. He¡¯d never appreciated how truly awful it was. The constant panic anytime he heard a noise he didn¡¯t expect. The inability to rest. The fraying remnants of his ability to interact with others in a reasonable way. He¡¯d killed more than one person who had, in hindsight, merely startled him. Of course, he was a core formation cultivator, so there were few willing to challenge his actions. Yet, those deaths were a sign of his passage, a clue that an observant or obsessed person might pick up on. They were a way to track him. He¡¯d been able to simply hide the deaths that urred in the empty spaces between cities and towns, but it was always worse when he was in a city or town. The low-simmering paranoia always swelled into a full boil, which made him edgier and more prone to rash violence. His demonic cultivation didn¡¯t help with that either. His entire cultivation base was built on violence, bloodshed, and the death of innocents. It wanted to hurt people and eagerly responded any time his inclinations went in that direction. Unfortunately, deaths by cultivator hands in major towns and cities didn¡¯t go unremarked or unnoticed. The guards and sects might not act against him, but it didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t paying attention.


    So, he ran harder and moved faster. The continent was truly vast, so it took even core formation cultivators time to cross it. Yet, as the Mountains of Sorrow drew closer, Hong Fu¡¯s fears slowly diminished. The amount of violence near those mountains had beenparatively sparse. So, it stood to reason that proximity to them was its own protection. He started to sleep again, a little. That was a relief. While he might not absolutely require sleep, it was a respite from his constantly churning thoughts and the draining presence of fear itself. He started to make vague ns. Demonic cultivators didn¡¯t work together as a rule. They were too unpredictable in most cases. In some cases, they were too mentally unstable to maintain anything like a peaceful alliance. Their path had a higher price for some than others. Still, there were a few small enves of demonic cultivators, the more stable ones, spread out across the continent. He knew of one to the west of the mountains. He might go there. They would likely take him in, as long as he could demonstrate better-than-average self-control for a demonic cultivator. He¡¯d sessfully passed himself off as a regr cultivator in a sect for two hundred years, so he gave himself good odds.


    His mood improved as the mountains grewrger andrger on the horizon. He was almost there. The mountains were treacherous, even for core cultivators, but they were passable. Even the mortals had found one or two safe routes through. If they could make their way over the mountains sessfully, he was confident that he could do it. He started to debate with himself about what name he should give when he got across the mountains. A part of him was still attached to the name Hong Fu. It had been with him most of his life, but that seemed like an unnecessary risk. No, better to just wipe himself clean of that identity. The demonic cultivators in the enve wouldn¡¯t care about his name. His cultivation path was the only identification they would need. He would choose a new name. Something short, simple, and easy for him and everyone else to remember. Lia Bo, perhaps. He¡¯d have to spend some time repeating that name to himself, both in his head and out loud. It wouldn¡¯t do to introduce himself that way and then never react when people said it. Yes, he¡¯d go with Lia Bo.


    He¡¯d barely had that thought when he found himself driven to the ground by the crushing weight of a will and a power that vastly exceeded his own. His eyes turned to the mountains. He had been so close to escape, to freedom, to a new life. He found himself hoping that it was Fate¡¯s Razor or The Living Spear. They were straightforward, in their way. They might ask him a few questions, but then they¡¯d just destroy him. That thin, vague hope died a whimpering death when two women walked up to him. The older of the two regarded him with open hatred on her face, but it was the young woman, the young woman with <em>green</em> eyes, that frightened him more. She looked down at him like he was some kind of rodent that she intended to y with for a long, long time before she finally let him die. The young woman cocked her head a little to one side and spoke to him in a lilting, musical voice that made the words themselves infinitely more terrible.


    ¡°Where is Lu Sen?¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 34: The Burden of Time

    Book 3: Chapter 34: The Burden of Time


    As relentless as Sen had been during his years training on the mountain, there had been also quiet moments. Moments of reflection, on his part, and on the part of his teachers. Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho had all spoken to him at different points about what it meant to live as long as they had lived. They spoke of the benefits, but they also spoke about the costs. Master Feng had summed it up in one brief phrase. He called it the burden of time. Sen had listened attentively, recognizing that he might one day face the same kind of pressures, even if he didn¡¯t grasp what those pressures truly meant. It wasn¡¯t until he found himself ceaselessly kicking a door that wouldn¡¯t move, isted from every living thing save an old man he neither liked nor trusted, that he began to understand what Master Feng had meant about the burden of time. Master Feng had couched in it different terms than those Sen understood, but there was amon thread. Master Feng spoke of the mountain of losses that weigh you down as friends who reached bottlenecks withered and eventually died. He spoke of the way that nations and cultures change and take with them all the things that were once familiar. As new things rose up to rece them, you be burdened by the persistence of change that time brings.


    While Sencked firsthand experience with those burdens, he had finally begun to understand the deeper truth behind those words. The true burden of time was istion. The longer you lived, the more powerful you became, the more isted you were. It was no longer mysterious to him why, despite their differences, Auntie Caihong and Master Feng tolerated each other. They were rare, steady inds of familiarity on the ocean of time that they sailed. Trapped in his cell, Sen hadn¡¯t had even thefort of one ind of familiarity. There had only been an enemy. So, he cast himself into a cultivation trance and subsumed himself in his inner world. Yet, even there, he found the burden of time waiting for him.


    It wasn¡¯t as bad when he inhabited his inner world. He had his mindscape to explore. It was a ce of limitless possibility where anything he could imagine could be real. There was his dantian, his core, and those strange ribbons of energy. For the first time, he was deep enough inside to truly examine them up close, rather than from the bird¡¯s eye perspective he normally used. There was the potential for insight, for understanding, for growth in the situation he had created for himself. And there was work to do. But the istion remained. While he could imagine other people, he could not give them life. They could not say things he didn¡¯t expect, because they were just mirrors of himself. He pretended for a time but soon recognized that such behaviors could threaten his sanity. In the end, there was only him inside that world, no matter how badly he yearned for thepany of his teachers, Lifen, Lo Meifeng, and Falling Leaf most of all. He wallowed in that loneliness for days or weeks or months, or perhaps it was only a few seconds. Those measurements of time meant little within the confines of that inner space.


    There were moments, or years, where he railed against the situation, furious at himself for leading them all into this imprisonment. He was even more furious at the simple unfairness of it. If they had walked up to the front gate and demanded entry, that would have been one thing. That damnable old man had stolen Sen¡¯s choice from him after he¡¯d made it. A spark of hatred was born in Sen over that injustice. It was a spark he fanned into a me. He knew that hecked the strength to do anything about it now, but perhaps ¡°fate¡± had a bitter end in mind for that old man. If not, Sen might see what he could do to arrange for that bitter end anyway. Eventually, though, he ran out of things to be sad about. He ran out of things to be angry about. He ran out of distractions and excuses. When that happened, the work still needed to be done. So, Sen turned his focus and his energy to doing the work.


    The first order of business was building a new cultivation technique. He wouldn¡¯t have dared to try what he was about to try before core formation and before advancing his body cultivation. Those two advancements had strengthened and reinforced his qi channels, which was a critical element in what he meant to do. Beyond that, though, he didn¡¯t think he would have had the mental dexterity for that what came next. In fact, he was pretty sure he still didn¡¯t, but he did think he could train himself to it. He started with shadow, as it was both a qi type for which he had a very strong affinity, and it was central to the nature of his core. He¡¯d spent those months kicking the door testing out different patterns of drawing in and refining qi, which had let him narrow down options by not onlyfort but their overall efficiency. He started pulling in shadow qi and cycling it along the most efficient path. When that was moving along smoothly, he started drawing in and cycling me qi, again choosing the most efficient path.


    One by one, he added parallel flows of qi with each following its own pattern. When he got to four types of Ii, it was hard. When he added a fifth, it was all but impossible to maintain. While his channels could take the strain of the process, the mental effort it called for was nearly beyond his limits. He held it for as long as he could. Then, the process copsed. When that happened, he moved the mental projection or avatar or whatever he was operating as down into his dantian. He sat cross-legged in the pool of liquid qi that sat in the bottom of his dantian. It covered his legs almostpletely and soaked him up to his stomach. He sat there, bathing in the light and warmth of that liquid qi, and meditated. He felt the liquid qi try to press into his avatar as he meditated and, after a moment of initial, instinctual resistance to the unfamiliar, he let the worries go. The liquid qi passed into him, through him, reinforcing things he couldn¡¯t even name and didn¡¯t try to perceive. He simply meditated and let himself recover.


    Then, he started over again. Repetition after repetition, he failed to maintain five parallel flows. Yet, with each repetition, his endurance grew. With every attempt, he felt himself crawl a hair closer to ultimate sess. The effort required grew less and less until he could maintain five flows as easily as he¡¯d once maintained two. He let himself bask in the joy of that moment and appreciate that sess for the triumph over self that it was. It had been so hard to keep going, to keep making himself try, but he had done it. He had burned some tiny bit of weakness out of himself and achieved his goal. Yet, as sess tends to do, it reminded him so keenly of the burden of time and how desperately he missed the others. He once more lowered himself into the pool of liquid qi and meditated until his mind was as still and empty as the void. Only then did he start again and try to add a sixth flow.


    There was no sleep in his inner world. It was night or day as he wished it, but there was no escaping the facts. He was aware at all times, even if he didn¡¯t know how much time was passing in the outside world. The meditation helped, serving as a means of maintaining equilibrium, but what he wouldn¡¯t have given for a simple dream. It was a forlorn hope. Dreams had abandoned him. So, he worked. He drove himself harder and harder, unwilling to ept modest sess. Only perfection would do. The moment finally came when he was actively drawing in and cycling a dozen different types of qi on a dozen different paths. In another time, another life, he would have considered this a monumental achievement. Perhaps it even was. It was a viable cultivation method for him. He thought he could even keep it up if he were awake and interacting with the world. Yet, he could feel that it wasn¡¯t the best solution. He¡¯d substituted pure will, concentration, and a mountain of effort for a more elegant, less cripplingly demanding approach.


    So, he settled himself in the pool of liquid qi and meditated. He sat and watched as that double helix of ribbonspressed environmental qi into liquid qi. The longer he watched, the more certain he became that the answer was floating there in front of him. Like everyone else, he had brute forced his way through liquid qi creation, but those ribbons took him all but out of the equation. It stood to reason that a simr, or at least simrly simple, solution existed for his current problem. He floated up and examined those ribbons up close. He didn¡¯t learn anything new. The strange qi remained what it has always been, a fusedbination of the five main types of qi. The heavenly qi ribbon was just that, heavenly qi pressed into a specific form. Yet, together, they did something Sen could never have anticipated. He looked closer and truly observed what was happening from the moment that environment qi was dragged into the center of that double helix. It wasn¡¯t just pressure. The qi was twisting in on itself, over and over until it couldn¡¯t keep itself apart and fused.


    ¡°How can I use this?¡± he asked.


    He couldn¡¯t see a way to use it directly. He didn¡¯t need additional force. He needed a way to regte, differentiate, and refine the environmental qi he drew in. He closed his eyes and let himself rx. If he was going to perform a task like that in the real world, how would he do it? He¡¯d use a formation. It would be an unbelievablyplicated formation to handle so many different types of qi, but that wasn¡¯t as big of a problem. In here, he could imagine anything he wanted and, within a few practical limits, make it happen. He imagined that it was akin to what it must feel like to be a god. He started imagining the formation. He imagined it with gs because that was what he was used to, but he supposed it could be anything. He might use something a bit more interesting instead, such as dragon¡¯s breath flowers. It was his inner world, and he felt like there was no good reason to make it drab when he could add something that was nice to look at, like those flowers.


    Halfway through the process, he realized that it wouldn¡¯t work the way he wanted it to. The formation could regte and differentiate the qi, but it couldn¡¯t do the work of refining it. It took cycling through the specific qi paths to aplish that. Even after recognizing the problem, Sen still took the time to finish imagining the formation. Just because it wasn¡¯t aplete solution, it didn¡¯t mean the formation had no merit. In fact, now that he considered it, he could likely set up a lot of formations in his inner world to protect vital areas like his dantian, his mind, and his soul from attacks. While the formation didn¡¯t do everything he wanted, it did take enough pressure off of him that he could cycle that qi and do other things. So, he pushed the problem of an easier solution to the back of his mind and went about setting up those protections for his most vital areas. It was trickier than he imagined it would be. He also suspected that there were more elegant solutions to the problems he was trying to solve. But an imperfect fix was better than no fix at all when it came to preserving his mind, soul, and dantian. If better solutions presented themselvester, he¡¯d use them.


    Focusing on other problems also let that part of him that came up with crazy, stupid, and asionally brilliant ideas poke and prod at the problem of qi refinement. It didn¡¯t happen quickly. He spent what felt like weeks soaking and meditating in that pool of liquid qi before anything came to him. In the end, it was a simple question. <em>Why does every type of qi need to follow the most efficient path</em>? Sen sat and pondered that question for a long time. Efficiency maximized the value he got from each type of qi, but his approach aimed for perfect bnce between the qi types. In most cases, perfect bnce was preferable where qi was concerned, but was it necessary? More importantly, was it necessary for him? His affinities weren¡¯t in perfect bnce, so did his qi need to be in perfect bnce? If anything, perfectly bnced qi might actually work against him.


    So began a new round of testing. With the formation he¡¯d imagined into a kind of pseudo-reality, qi was being drawn into him without much interference on his part. He just needed to direct it. So he started pairing off types of qi that were closely rted to each other and sending them on the same paths through his qi channels. He did lose some efficiency, but not nearly as much as he imagined. Soon, he had his cultivation approach down to six paths. Then, he got it back down to four paths. It wasn¡¯t perfect. The farther away from the ideal qi type for each path, the higher the efficiency loss. Sending three types of qi through the right set of channels wasn¡¯t as easy as sending one, but the total mental investment was so much lower that he didn¡¯t care. He watched in pure awe as refined qi of the right types and in the approximately right proportions poured into his dantian. That misty-looking qi he¡¯de to associate with his dantian began swirling around his core. The steady dripping of liquid qi became a steady rain.


    He stood there beneath that golden rain and let it wash over him and through him. Then, he felt a pulsing thrum from his core as it started drawing in the refined qi and began the true process of creating core-level qi. A new kind of strength bled into him as that qi umted in his core. In that moment, it all became <em>worth it </em>as he was lit from within by pure joy. He had suffered beneath the burden of time and bent that suffering to his own advantage. Sen had be a core cultivator in more than just name. Now, he was a core cultivator in truth. It might not be enough to escape, but he also knew in every fiber of his being that he had done all he could in his inner world for now. It was time to wake up.

 Book 3: Chapter 35: Defiance and Compliance

    Book 3: Chapter 35: Defiance and Compliance


    After spending what felt like years in a ce where his will and imagination made almost anything possible, waking up into the real world again was a bit of a disappointment for Sen. He immediately missed the godlike ability to alter his environment to suit his whims. Instead, he was still stuck in his cell, although it wasn¡¯t exactly as he remembered it. Unlike when he¡¯d let himself drop into that cultivation trance, there was now a fineyer of dust covering everything, including him. <em>They couldn¡¯t even dust me off</em>, he thought. If ever there was proof that he was a captive, that was it. Still, that wasn¡¯t his most immediate concern. If he¡¯d been there long enough for dust to umte on him, how long had he been in that trance? Had it been weeks? Longer? It had been long enough that the old man was clearly no longer visiting daily to say things that Sen wasn¡¯t hearing and wouldn¡¯t have cared about if he had heard. That wasn¡¯t a bad thing, though. It likely meant that Sen had a bit of breathing room before the aggravations started piling up.


    Still, he wondered what Lifen and Lo Meifeng thought had be of him. What had be of them? Sen didn¡¯t think they¡¯d been killed. He doubted either of them had done something more obnoxious than kicking a door non-stop for weeks. If <em>that</em> hadn¡¯t been enough to provoke a violent response, he wasn¡¯t sure what would. The old man, whoever, whatever he was, seemed more intent on converting them to his way of thinking. It was difficult to make converts of the dead. Sen let those ideas soothe his concerns. He had more immediate concerns to manage. First things first, he needed to make sure that he hadn¡¯t done some kind of damage to his body with his extended nap. He had continued to feed his body using qi, but that had been an experiment at best. Sen pushed himself up into a sitting position, first, and then made himself stand.


    That turned out to be more ufortable than he¡¯d expected. It seemed that even his core equivalent body cultivation wasn¡¯t up to the challenge of preventing his muscles from getting stiff after¡­however long he¡¯d been sprawled out on that pallet. He twisted, bent, and stretched for a while. It seemed his diet of pure qi had been sufficient to keep him alive and physically stable. He didn¡¯t notice any particr loss of muscle mass and the bout of stretching soon revealed that he remained as flexible as he had been before. If anything, he felt physically stronger than before. He paced back and forth as much as the cell would allow for, just to enjoy the sensation of moving his physical body again. While he did that, he cultivated using his new approach. It was a bit more demanding than the old method he¡¯d used, but it was working.


    More importantly, he could tell that he had more than enough mental energy and focus to manage qi techniques. That had been an open question to him while he upied his inner world. That interior space was so responsive to him that he couldn¡¯t trust that things would trante the way he expected in the exterior world. He did nothing to draw attention to himself for several days, using that time to top up his qi reserves. When he finally felt ready to face whatever woulde next, Sen grinned to himself. He knew the perfect way to announce himself. He walked over to the door and started kicking it. He could tell that giving his core what it needed had been a boon for his body cultivation. It wasn¡¯t an advancement, not really. The higher density qi had simply boosted the baseline for everything he did a bit. The door still resisted his blows, but it wasn¡¯t shrugging them off anymore. The entire room shuddered with each blow, and he could see strain marks in the door itself at his repeated assaults.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Lan Zi Rui to show up. Sen once more found himself pushed back from the door by that wall of force. Yet, while it had been invisible to him before, it seemed he¡¯d refined his skills in some way while upying his inner world. Instead of being a mysterious wall of force, Sen could see the wall form. It was still indistinct, little more than a t gray haze, but he could <em>see</em> it. He couldn¡¯t be sure that it would help, but information always had the potential to create an advantage. He let himself be forced back from the door and leaned against the back wall of his cell. The old man entered the room. He offered Sen a friendly smile that died on the man¡¯s face almost instantly when he saw that Sen was, if anything, even more hostile and disinterested than he had been before his long sleep.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to let me go,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t how things work here.¡±


    ¡°No, I think that¡¯s exactly how things work here. You brought us here, against our wills, and I think that you¡¯re the one keeping us here. It¡¯s obvious you mean to brainwash us to your cause,¡± Sen lifted a hand before the old man could speak. ¡°Whatever that cause is, don¡¯t bother telling me about it. I will <em>never</em> join your cult, or temple, or whatever you call this ce. I will never be anything but a disruption and problem for you, so you may as well just let me go.¡±


    ¡°I could simply kill you,¡± said the old man, all friendliness vanishing from his expression.


    ¡°Then get on with it,¡± said Sen, staring at the old man. ¡°I¡¯m sick of this room.¡±


    ¡°You,¡± said the old man sounding weary. ¡°You and that woman. You would both rather end your lives than even listen to my words.¡±


    ¡°What in the hells did you expect? You shattered my rib cage and dragged me into this prison. You stole from me. You kept me apart from my friends. The time for discussion was <em>over</em> before it started.¡±


    ¡°Who made the two of you, I wonder, to have nopromise in your souls?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t speak for anyone else. But I was trained by Feng Ming, Kho Jaw-Long, and Ma Caihong. As forpromise, what insanity could possibly drive me topromise with <em>you</em>?¡±


    The old man didn¡¯t say anything for nearly a minute after that revtion. Sen hadn¡¯t nned on dropping their names, but if there was ever a moment to invoke the implied wrath of three nascent soul cultivators, this was that moment. Sen wanted <em>out</em> of this ce. If those names would do it for him, he¡¯d take the win. The old man seemed to shrink into himself a little as he turned and gestured to the door.


    ¡°Then, if you can go, I will take no actions to stop you.¡±


    ¡°The things you stole?¡± asked Sen his voice as cold as deepest winter.


    Sighing, Lan Zi Rui gestured and a neat pile of robes, storage rings, and Sen¡¯s jian appeared.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t steal-,¡± said the old man.


    ¡°When you take something and refuse to return it when asked, that¡¯s stealing,¡± said Sen.


    He took his things and examined them in detail. He found no evidence of tampering, and they had at least had the courtesy to clean his robes. He put them on and belted his jian around his waist. The familiar weight at his hip left Sen with a deep and profound sense offort. Next, he turned his attention to his storage rings. He sank his awareness into each ring,paring what he found against his mental inventory of what had been there before. He red at the old man when he realized what was missing.


    ¡°The rest of it,¡± he demanded.


    ¡°You mean the beast cores you somehow filled with heavenly qi. That is a resource far too precious to be left in the hands of one so young, regardless of talent. I will not return them.¡±


    No sooner had the words left the old man¡¯s mouth than a st of thunder exploded into life. It was so loud and so close it threatened to shake the building apart. Lan Zi Rui stared upward in mute disbelief at the overwhelming warning from the heavens. There was no mistaking their fierce displeasure at what the old man nned to do. Sen never took his eyes off the man.


    ¡°It seems the heavens don¡¯t approve when you try to steal the fruits of another man¡¯s enlightenment. The beast cores if you please.¡±


    ¡°Enlightenment? You saved that qi from enlightenments? How many?¡±


    ¡°One,¡± said Sen, and extended his hand.


    ¡°One,¡± whispered Lan Zi Rui. ¡°All of that from one enlightenment? Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I am impatient to have my property returned.¡±


    Clearly frustrated, Lan Zi Rui plucked a storage ring from his finger and handed it to Sen. Sen had worked with so many storage rings at this point that it was a matter of a second or two to ess the storage space inside and examine its content. He thought the number looked right, so he slipped the ring onto one of his own fingers. Another cataclysmically loud thunderp hit the building, and Sen saw cracks appear in the cell wall. The old man red skyward before, after considering for a moment, he plucked another storage ring from a finger and held it out to Sen. Sen simply took the ring and nced upward, waiting to see what would happen. When no additional chastisements were forting, he just put the ring on. He could see what was inside of itter.


    ¡°Now, take me to the others.¡±


    Lan Zi Rui led Sen to another part of the building and opened a door. Sen saw Lo Meifeng sitting on the floor, legs crossed, and clearly cultivating. She¡¯d always been slender, but now she looked almost gaunt. Sen spared a look for the old man before he spoke.


    ¡°Hey! Wake up! It¡¯s time to go,¡± shouted Sen.


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s eyes snapped open. She stared at Sen for what felt like an ufortably long time to him before she shook herself a little. Sen turned to Lan Zi Rui.


    ¡°Her things,¡± he demanded.


    Once more, the old man produced a neat pile of robes, rings, and weapons. Lo Meifeng stalked over and snatched the pile from the man¡¯s hand. The look she gave the old man was an absolute vow to the heavens that, as far as she was concerned, this incident wouldn¡¯t be over until she stood over his corpse. Sen and the old man stepped back into the hall before Sen called into the room.


    ¡°Check your storage rings. It seems the old man here likes to keep things that don¡¯t belong to him.¡±


    With a nce up, Lan Zi Rui produced another ring from a pocket and tossed it to Lo Meifeng. If she¡¯d been angry before, the revtion that the man had nned to keep things of hers was enough that a halo of fire burst into existence around her. Sen held up a hand to stop her from doing something stupid or just useless.


    ¡°I know,¡± he said inmiserating tones. ¡°I get it. Let¡¯s just get out of here.¡±


    Lo Meifeng clenched her jaw and her fists, but she nodded. ¡°Fine.¡±


    Sen closed the door to give her some privacy and then shook his head at Lan Zi Rui. ¡°You made an enemy until the end of time with that stunt.¡±


    The old man seemed disinterested and almost pouty when he answered. ¡°I don¡¯t fear her.¡±


    ¡°Then you are a fool. You said there is nopromise in us. Well, there is also no <em>forgiveness</em> in her. Consider that.¡±


    A heavy silence fell over the two after that pronouncement. The door swung open and Lo Meifeng stormed into the hall, her eyes lit with anger that Sen didn¡¯t believe for a second she had under control. He decided that he needed to direct where this went before Lo Meifeng took it somewhere he didn¡¯t want to go.


    ¡°Now, take us to Lifen.¡±


    The old man opened his mouth to say something but closed it again at the twin res from Sen and Lo Meifeng. Shrugging, he took them out of the building and into the templepound. There were more people than Sen expected if far fewer than the temple appeared ready to amodate. They followed Lan Zi Rui to a field where monks, sect members, cultists¡­Sen struggled to find the right term for them¡­were tending to a massive vegetable garden. <em>Does that old man have Lifen doing forcedbor</em>, Sen wondered.


    ¡°Sun Lifen,e here, please,¡± shouted Lan Zi Rui.


    A head popped up and looked their way. A huge smile broke over Lifen¡¯s face when she saw Sen and Lo Meifeng. She ran over to them, seemingly oblivious to the rage that burned inside of Sen when he saw her wearing robes that were identical to the other temple members. Before she could get a word out, before she could reveal the truth that Sen saw in her eyes, he spoke.


    ¡°Get your things,¡± he told her. ¡°We¡¯re leaving.¡±


    Lifen shot a nervous look at Lan Zi Rui and said, ¡°But I want to stay.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 36: The Choices of Others

    Book 3: Chapter 36: The Choices of Others


    The argument hadsted for nearly half an hour and Sen hadn¡¯t gotten anywhere with Lifen. She¡¯d dug in her heels about staying and the worst part was that Sen couldn¡¯t refute most of what she was saying. Yet, he could also see tendrils of that same gray energy floating around her heart and her head. She might not have beenpletely brainwashed, but she had most certainly been influenced strongly by someone else. Sen wanted to be surprised, but he¡¯d pieced together enough context clues to know that he¡¯d been in that cultivation trance for months, maybe even as much as half a year. The old man and his followers had had plenty of time to reinforce their view of the world. Yet, the reasons she was giving him weren¡¯t entirely without merit. Case in point.


    ¡°But I¡¯ll be safe here,¡± she insisted. ¡°No demonic cultivator will evere this far out into the wilds looking for me. They don¡¯t care about <em>me</em>. They just want to get at <em>you</em>. You said it yourself. There¡¯s nowhere you can leave me that will be safe out in the regr world.¡±


    ¡°Maybe so. But there has to be a better choice than this <em>cult</em>.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a cult!¡± she screamed at him.


    ¡°Not wanting it to be a cult isn¡¯t the same thing as it not being one. More to the point, did you forget how we ended up here? Did you forget that old man beat me within an inch of my life to force me toe here?¡±


    ¡°That was a misunderstanding,¡± said Lifen with absolute confidence.


    ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t. He very clearly meant to force us toe here. And when we said no, he shattered my rib cage. If I hadn¡¯t been a body cultivator, that hit would have <em>killed</em> me, Lifen.¡±


    For the first time, she seemed uncertain. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that your injuries were that bad.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you didn¡¯t because that¡¯s how you wear someone¡¯s resistance down. You keep them separated, alone, lonely. You make them so desperate for thepany of others that they¡¯ll do almost anything to get it.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that the only reason I¡¯m saying these things is because I was too weak and stupid to resist. Not like you and Lo Meifeng. The core cultivators. The ones that got picked to be <em>special</em>. Master Lan was right about you. You¡¯re so sure you¡¯re right about everything. So sure that you know what¡¯s best. There¡¯s no room for anyone else¡¯s thoughts or ideas.¡±


    Sen wanted to me all of the poison that just spilled from Lifen¡¯s lips on Lan Zi Rui, but he didn¡¯t think he could. That dead man walking had no doubt helped put some spin on her words, but the naked jealousy Lifen felt toward him and Lo Meifeng looked and felt all too genuine. He¡¯d seen hints and signs of it before. Cutting remarks here and there. He¡¯d just thought it would pass. He¡¯d assumed that, as she advanced, she would grow morefortable with the nature and vagaries of cultivation as a process. It was clear that hadn¡¯t happened, and Lan Zi Rui had had months to help stoke those mes. Oh, he was sure all would be forgiven if he decided to stay, but that was the trap.


    The old man had created a situation where Sen would have to choose between going against his own better judgment or abandoning Lifen to whatever fate she would have with the cult. He understood now that no words he said would sway her. They had distorted the truth just enough, mixed it up just enough with her real feelings, that she was absolutely certain that he was wrong, and she was right. Even worse, he knew that he couldn¡¯t just force her to leave with them. If he did, she¡¯d see it as the kidnapping that Lan Zi Rui had actuallymitted. She¡¯d leave and try toe back to the temple at the first opportunity, and probably get herself killed in the process. He''d been hemmed in by the choices of others. He regarded her for a moment, letting the silence build while he weighed his choices. He couldn¡¯t do what he thought was right, but maybe he could provide her with a shield of sorts.


    ¡°Very well,¡± he said and started to walk away.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± she demanded. ¡°We¡¯re not done.¡±


    Sen looked back at her and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t we? I certainly am. Or did you have more insults you wanted to get off your chest before I go?¡±


    ¡°Go?¡± she asked, the reality that he was actually going to leave seeming to dawn on her. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You say that you want to stay, then so be it. Being a cultivator is about choosing your path. If this is yours, then I have nothing more to say about it. I, however, have no interest in staying here with that creepy old man and his cult. So, I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°He said you¡¯d do this. That you¡¯d pick advancing your own power over the good of the world.¡±


    ¡°The good of the world? What nonsense is that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what this ce is. It¡¯s a training ground for the righteous. It¡¯s a ce where we can learn to defend the world.¡±


    ¡°Defend the world? Really? That¡¯s the line he gave you? Alright. When was thest time you saw someone leave on a mission or quest or journey to defend the world? For that matter, when was thest time you saw someone leave at all? What training are you getting to enhance your cultivation? What training is <em>anyone</em> getting inbat? Offensive qi techniques? Have you done anything but manualbor since you got here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still too new for that,¡± said Lifen with a defiant look.


    ¡°Too new? Forbat training? Outer sect disciples who can barely condense qi get that kind of training. I don¡¯t know what this temple was originally for, but that old man is a cancer that has infected this ce.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± shouted Lifen. ¡°He¡¯s a good man. A better man than you¡¯ll ever be!¡±


    ¡°When did I ever im to be a <em>good</em> man?¡± asked Sen in a t voice.


    Lifen faltered at that. ¡°I¡­I just meant¡­¡±


    ¡°I know what you <em>meant</em>,¡± said Sen in a tone that made Lifen flinch. ¡°Let me tell you what a good man would do right now. A good man would try to make you leave because this ce ispromised. A good man would die nobly trying to defeat Lan Zi Rui when he didn¡¯t have the strength to do it. A good man would be a cautionary tale. So, no, I am not a good man. I¡¯m going to do the practical thing. I¡¯m going to leave you here, just like you¡¯ve asked me to do. I¡¯m going to go away and stay away. Then, when I have the strength, I¡¯m going toe back here, murder that old thief, and burn this ce to the ground if the heavens permit it. That¡¯s what a <em>practical</em> man does.¡±


    At that, Sen spun on his heel and covered the distance to where Lo Meifeng was quietly saying things to Lan Zi Rui that had made the man go very pale. When the old man saw Sen approaching, his eyes flicked to where Lifen still stood. He started to give Sen a satisfied smirk until he saw the ck lightning flickering around the jian in Sen¡¯s hand. Sen came to a halt less than ten feet from the pair.


    ¡°When Ie back here,¡± said Sen in a calm, conversational voice, ¡°and rest assured I aming back, I will not find so much as a whisper of your energy on that girl. If I do find your energy on her, I will make your death the longest, most drawn out, most excruciating exercise in unspeakable agony that I can devise. Do you think I¡¯m lying to you?¡±


    The old man¡¯s face twisted with rage until Sen casually touched the point of his jian to the wall of force that stood between him and the old man. The condensed power of Heaven¡¯s Rebuke, the version he¡¯d originally created, interacted with the energies of the wall. Sen felt the strain on his technique. He tapped into the qi in his core for the first time and slowly trickled it into jian and into the technique. He also carefully trickled in additional killing intent, keeping the technique locked in perfect control. The addition of more potent qi and extra killing intent was enough that the wall of force shattered. The old man¡¯s head snapped back like he¡¯d been hit with an uppercut. Sen still wasn¡¯t sure exactly what kind of energy the old man was using, so he hadn¡¯t been entirely certain that bacsh would work the same way. He was happy that it did. He walked toward the old man.


    ¡°I truly hope you don¡¯t think I¡¯m lying.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± coughed the old man. ¡°It¡¯s not like you can get out of here.¡±


    ¡°No?¡± said Sen. ¡°Do you think I can¡¯t recognize a formation when I see one?¡±


    Once Sen had learned how to identify the old man¡¯s energy, it had been easy enough to see it all over the templepound. Most importantly, Sen had seen the shimmering curtain of energy around thepound. The old man had been so certain that Sen wouldn¡¯t be able to actually leave, and that curtain exined why. While Sen couldn¡¯t identify specifically what it was designed to do, he could make a few educated guesses. He¡¯d be willing to bet the curtain only let out the people that Lan Zi Rui decided it would let out. He probably fed the people here some story about how only the righteous, meaning the most effectively brainwashed, could pass outside of thepound. When the old man heard the word formation, his eyes jerked up to Sen.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen. ¡°I saw it.¡±


    Then, he withdrew his killing intent so that he was only cycling lightning. Normally, that would be a mindlessly easy task for Sen, but not when he was directing nine distinct flows of it. Even with his newly improved ability to split his focus, that took work. He lifted his jian skyward and a bolt of lightning pierced the sky. Then, nine smaller bolts fell from on high onto specific points inside the templepound. There were shouts and screams as nine carefully ced stone statues exploded into shards and dust. There was murmuring and confusion as the curtain of energy flickered into and out of visibility before it copsed with an audible pop. Despite the casual way that Sen carried off the entire act, it had been a carefully calcted choice to destroy only nine of the statues. He needed enough of them gone to bring the curtain down so he and Lo Meifeng could leave. But he suspected that field did as much to keep powerful spirit beasts out as people in, so he didn¡¯t want to bring it down forever.


    ¡°You wretched boy,¡± shouted Lan Zi Rui. ¡°I¡¯ll tear out your soul for this.¡±


    ¡°The heavens have already chastised you twice today. Are you really willing to test their patience again?¡±


    Sen could almost watch as the corrupt old man tried to find a way to justify attacking them then and there. But the memory of those world-shaking thunderps was just too fresh in the man¡¯s mind. He bared his teeth at Sen.


    ¡°Get out of my temple.¡±


    Sen considered tossing off onest parting shot at the man, but he didn¡¯t really want to fight the old man. The threat of heavenly retribution was a convenient bluff, but not one Sen had any confidence in. The heavens were a fickle ally at best. Sure, they hadn¡¯t been happy with the old man trying to steal heavenly qi, but they had also let the old man capture Sen, Lifen, and Lo Meifeng in the first ce. It was better to just leave before the old man¡¯s rage faded enough for him to make the same calctions Sen just had. Sen turned to Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Shall we?¡±


    Her eyes shifted to a spot over Sen¡¯s shoulder. He looked back and saw Lifen there directing a baleful look at him. He sighed and answered the unasked question.


    ¡°She¡¯s noting.¡±


    Sen watched as a dozen unasked questions passed through Lo Meifeng¡¯s mind. Then, her lips pressed into a hard line, and she nodded. Without a backward nce, the pair left the awful temple, the old cult leader, and his victims behind.

 Book 3: Chapter 37: Shared Experiences

    Book 3: Chapter 37: Shared Experiences


    Once Sen and Lo Meifeng were out of sight of the temple, they abandoned their casual saunter in favor of qi techniques. With core qi finally avable to him, the pair made incredibly fast time as they fled back the way they hade. Sen had a working theory that once they got beyond the range of the field of oppressive energy, they would also move beyond the range of Lan Zi Rui¡¯s senses. Within a few hours, they had passed back into the more mundane, if still hideously potent, dangers of the wilds. Sen kept them moving, though, not trusting that the cult leader wouldn¡¯t still try to track them down and kill them. Sen kept his spiritual sense on full burn and let his killing intent sweep out into the old forest at times to encourage the spirit beasts he sensed to go bother someone less prepared to rain down destruction.


    He had them change directions frequently once they moved beyond that field of oppression. Sometimes they went west, sometimes they went south again, deeper into the wilds, and sometimes he brought them close enough to the road people still used that it made him ufortable that they might get noticed. Then, he¡¯d have them double back, only to double back again and head off in a different direction. Anyone trying to follow their qi traces would literally find themselves running in circles through some deeply unfriendly territory. It was the best he could do to provide them with a buffer until he could work out something better.


    While they didn¡¯t talk, Sen kept a close eye on Lo Meifeng. Her qi reserves seemed as healthy as his own, but she didn¡¯t look healthy. He wondered if she had eaten anything while they were at that awful temple. He hadn¡¯t eaten real food for so long that he wondered if his body would even remember what to do with it. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like he was a normal human being anymore. Neither was Lo Meifeng. He suspected that they¡¯d handle the transition back to regr meals without too much trouble. When the light faded so much that it was threatening to turn into true night, he found them a ce to set up camp. It took longer than he would have liked to get everything set up. The once familiar habits that made the process nearly automatic before had gone stale during his lengthy visit to his interior world. Still, they started toe back when he got the fire going and started cooking food. He mentally thanked Feng Ming for giving him a storage ring that preserved food.


    At first, Lo Meifeng seemed disinterested in the meal. Once the smell of the stew he was making started wafting around the campsite, though, it seemed to reawaken her native hunger. She showed an un-Lo Meifeng-like impatience about it, asking several times if it was done yet. Sen just shook his head and continued stirring the contents of the pot asionally. When it was finally done, he dished up some of the stew for both of them and found some bread in his storage ring that he split between them. It seemed that, despite her hunger, Lo Meifeng was concerned about how her body was going to react to food. Sen could see the woman forcing herself to eat slowly, only taking a few bites of stew or bread and waiting. It took her nearly half an hour to finish what was in her bowl. Then, she waited another half hour with a semi-expectant look on her face. When nothing terrible urred, she let her hunger loose and swiftly consumed two more bowls of the stew. Sen pulled out some fruit and gave that to her.


    ¡°I missed food so much,¡± she said, eying her empty bowl like it offended her. ¡°How did you manage to eat their food and stay sane?¡±


    ¡°Eat? I didn¡¯t eat anything there,¡± said Sen, before he popped a piece of melon in his mouth.


    ¡°Then how-,¡± she paused. ¡°Is it because of you''re body cultivation?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Maybe, partly. I mostly sustained myself on qi.¡±


    Lo Meifeng sighed. ¡°Of course, because why wouldn¡¯t you just devise a way to do that while in captivity?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you how to do it if you want.¡±


    Lo Meifeng shook her head but then seemed to reconsider. ¡°Howplicated is it?¡±


    Sen thought it over. ¡°It¡¯s not especiallyplicated, it¡¯s just hard.¡±


    ¡°I can work hard but not tonight. I¡¯m exhausted.¡±


    Sen nodded. Physically, he felt fine. Mentally and emotionally, he felt drained. ¡°Yeah. I know what you mean.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked ufortable when she spoke again. ¡°So, about Lifen? I¡¯m surprised you left her there.¡±


    Sen gritted his teeth in frustration. ¡°It was the only way. She wasn¡¯t going toe willingly. That would have meant a fight, maybe with her, and almost certainly with that old bastard. I don¡¯t think we could have won that fight. I, we, can¡¯t help her if we¡¯re dead.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong,¡± said Lo Meifeng with pursed lips. ¡°Even when we go back, though, she won¡¯t thank us for killing him. She¡¯ll probably try to protect him like everyone else in that cult will try to protect him.¡±


    ¡°I know, but it still needs to be done. I¡¯m not sure exactly what Lan Zi Rui is, but I know that he needs to be dead,¡± said Sen, giving Lo Meifeng a spective look. ¡°So, it¡¯s we, is it? You¡¯re going with me when the timees.¡±


    Lo Meifeng gave him a savage smile made all the more unsettling by her gauntness. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one with a grudge there. I¡¯m going to slow-roast that piece of shit over a bed of coals for a week. Then, I¡¯m going to get mean.¡±


    ¡°d we¡¯re on the same page about that. I was just going to crucify him and cut pieces off until he finally bled to death.¡±


    ¡°Nice,¡± said Lo Meifeng in genuine appreciation. ¡°For someone like him, that would probably take a long time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was going for,¡± said Sen with a half-smile. ¡°You don¡¯t need to answer this, but I know what happened to me. What happened to you?¡±


    Lo Meifeng idly flicked small pieces of dead grass into the fire for a while before she spoke.


    ¡°Nothing special. They didn¡¯t try to torture me or anything like that. They were drugging the food, though. I could deal with it, but not too often. So,¡± she gestured to her face, ¡°this. That old man came to my cell every day for months, trying to get me to sign on with him. That was tedious. Beyond that, well, you were stuck in a cell for months as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That was lonely.¡±


    The conversation faltered there for a little while before Lo Meifeng gave him a considering look. ¡°Still, it seems like your experience was a little different from mine. You learned something while you were in that cell.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I learned a few things.¡±


    Sen talked to her about the cultivation trance, subsuming himself in his inner world, and developing a new cultivation method that worked with his core. She listened attentively, only rarely asking questions to rify some point she didn¡¯t quite understand. After he finished, she cocked her head to one side and then the other.


    ¡°So, what was the me that you imagined like?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Really? All of that, and the thing you care about is what my imaginary you was like?¡±


    ¡°What? Wouldn¡¯t you want to know?¡±


    Sen thought it over for a moment. ¡°Yeah, I guess I would. Well, she was pretty much the same as you, but less interesting. And she wore her hair differently.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s hand shot up to her hair. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my hair?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I just wondered how it would look if you wore it loose. So, that¡¯s how I imagined you.¡±


    Lo Meifeng frowned at him, while her hand kept reaching up to touch her hair. Sen wasn¡¯t even sure she knew she was doing it.


    ¡°Why was I less interesting?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Those imaginary people could only do and say things that I could imagine them doing and saying. Real people are more unpredictable. The less you know someone, the more unpredictable they are. I don¡¯t really know you that well, so you surprise me pretty regrly. That imaginary version of you, she never surprised me.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you stopped imagining people? They were boring?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°No. I stopped because I wanted them to be real <em>too much</em>. At some point, I was going to start letting myself think they were real. If that happened, I knew I¡¯d never wake up again.¡±


    ¡°No wonder everyone says that deep cultivation trances are so dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯d be okay. Assuming you did it under slightly better conditions.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°Staying sane enough to do what you¡¯re there to do, waking up when it¡¯s over, depends on a strong sense of self. You clearly have that.¡±


    Lo Meifeng let out a quickugh. ¡°Thanks, but I think I¡¯ll still pass.¡±


    ¡°Too risky?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Not enough benefit, at least for me. It¡¯s possible that you actually needed to do that to get a cultivation method that worked for you. I¡¯m just a lowly fire qi wielder. There¡¯s plenty of manuals out there for people like me.¡±


    ¡°Lowly?¡±


    ¡°Compared to people like Feng Ming, yeah.¡±


    Sen recalled something that Lo Meifeng had said to him once. ¡°You may be setting the bar a little high there.¡±


    Lo Meifeng clearly recalled the same conversation because she smirked. ¡°You don¡¯t have the corner on that particr market. Still, now that we¡¯re back in the world, what¡¯s the n?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I doubt those demonic cultivators are still scouring that road looking for us. Not after all this time. But they probably are still looking in bigger cities and towns.¡±


    ¡°We <em>need</em> to stop somewhere so I can send in a report. We didn¡¯t just vanish for the demonic cultivators. We vanished for <em>everyone</em>. What do you imagine your Master has been doing thest six months?¡±


    A chill went straight through Sen¡¯s heart. ¡°Probably leaving a trail of destruction a mile wide looking for us.¡±


    ¡°Pretty much what I thought, too.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll stop somewhere, but we¡¯re not going anywhere near civilization for at least a few weeks.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re going to draw a lot of the wrong kind of attention in a city looking that gaunt.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. I don¡¯t feel different, so I keep forgetting. So, we take a little time to fatten me up and then go?¡±


    Sen stared at her. ¡°Come on, even <em>I</em> know that¡¯s a trap.¡±


    ¡°They grow up so fast,¡± said Lo Meifeng in a mournful voice. ¡°Still, we should make some kind of n beyond stopping in a city to send a message.¡±


    ¡°Frankly, I¡¯m not all that impressed by what my ns have led to so far. So, what do you think we should do? Where do you want to go?¡±


    Lo Meifeng''s brow furrowed as she considered the problem. Sen didn¡¯t rush her, content to just sit by the fire and feel the breeze gently pass over his face. He saw her look over at him, uncertainty writrge across her features.


    ¡°There is one ce we could go. It¡¯s a ce I always wanted to go. There are people there who could teach me some things. You too, I expect. It¡¯ll take a while to get there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind long trips. What is this ce?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called Inferno¡¯s Vale.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a friendly ce.¡±


    Lo Meifengughed. ¡°It¡¯s just got a lot of natural fire qi. Someone decided to get poetic about naming the ce. There¡¯s supposed to be a, not a sect exactly, but an order of people there. People who specialize in fire qi.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t even think about it. One destination was as good as another as far as he was concerned. More importantly, anywhere he could learn to be stronger and more dangerous was a ce he <em>wanted</em> to go. It was a step on the path to the destruction of Lan Zi Rui.


    ¡°Inferno¡¯s Vale, it is.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 38: Autonomy

    Book 3: Chapter 38: Autonomy


    While Sen made sure that they stayed well clear of civilization, he also made sure that they kept moving away from the Temple of Eternity¡¯s Edge. While it seemed less and less likely that Lan Zi Rui was going to chase them down, Sen didn¡¯t feel like making it any easier than necessary if the old man changed his mind. One pleasant surprise during those few weeks was how few spirit beasts attacked them. He wondered if whatever edict that protected them before was still in effect, or if the spirit beasts could just sense that he and Lo Meifeng would relish a chance to vent their anger on something or <em>anything</em> that gave them an excuse. They didn¡¯t talk much. Sen was too used to just not interacting with anyone. He fell back on silence as a default and toyed with ideas about his cultivation. Lo Meifeng seemed consumed with her own thoughts, and Sen didn¡¯t see a need to pry. She was an adult, more of one than he was, so she could share or not share as she saw fit.


    The good news was that after a few weeks of steady meals and moving to a new location on a daily basis, Lo Meifeng had put enough weight back on that she no longer looked like she was lounging on the threshold of imminent death. Sen thought she still looked a little thin, but not enough to drawment or focused attention. It just looked like she might have missed some meals recently. That wasmon enough that it might even help her blend in with themoners. At that point, Sen finally brought up the topic of getting her to a ce where she could send a message off to whoever it was that she sent messages. Sen assumed those messages didn¡¯t go directly to Master Feng. An idea that Lo Meifeng confirmed.


    ¡°I have a,¡± she snorted, ¡°well, he¡¯s sort of like <em>my</em> minder. Except for the part where he only cares about whether Iplete my tasks.¡±


    ¡°You make him sound like a real delight.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not really good with human beings, or animals,¡± she squinted in thought, ¡°or anything that¡¯s alive really. He <em>is</em> good at keeping track of details, though, which makes him ideal for his job. Anyway, I send reports to him, and he gets them to Feng Ming. I don¡¯t know how he does that, but he gets it done. That¡¯s the important part.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. Where do you need to go to get a message out to him.¡±


    ¡°That road we were on before our little cult adventures leads to Lin Wen¡¯s Redoubt. We¡¯re not too far from there unless you¡¯ve taken us a lot farther than I thought.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s maybe two days away, for us at least.¡±


    ¡°Then, that¡¯s where we¡¯ll go.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that they¡¯ll have people there watching for us, just in case?¡±


    ¡°Sure, but they¡¯re going to be looking for three people. A mid-stage core cultivator,¡± she said, pointing at herself. ¡°Ate-stage foundation formation cultivator,¡± she pointed at Sen. ¡°A qi-condensing young woman,¡± she held her hands out to either side.


    Both of them fell silent for a moment at the reminder of Lifen. Sen forced himself to shake it off. There was nothing to be done about it, yet.


    ¡°Okay. Your point?¡± he asked.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t going to be looking for a pair of core cultivators. The only people who know you¡¯re a core cultivator now, and who are still alive, are in this forest. It¡¯s not perfect camouge by any stretch of the imagination, and it won¡¯tst forever. People will figure out that it¡¯s just the two of us after a while. For right now, though, it should be good enough to get into the city, send a message, and get out. Especially if we¡¯re nice and quiet.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I guess that holds up. Do you want to go in by yourself, likest time?¡±


    ¡°Hells no. I want you in sight at all times. If you start hiding out in the wilds again with the strength of a core cultivator at your disposal, I¡¯ll never find you again.¡±


    Sen just nodded absently at that. He¡¯d long since given up on any notion of making her job harder. It had been childish and only designed to aggravate her. With some time to reflect, the stupidity of aggravating the only person he could absolutely rely on to protect him had be patently apparent. Instead, his mind had turned to a different consideration. It was something he¡¯d been thinking about ever since they left Lifen behind. He looked over at Lo Meifeng, who frowned at him.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you think I¡¯m still too thin to pass as normal.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I¡¯ve been thinkingtely about, damn, what¡¯s that word Uncle Kho used?¡± Sen bent his mind to remembering. ¡°Autonomy.¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking that I worked pretty hard to give Lifen as much autonomy as I could, in terms of her decisions. It didn¡¯t really work out all that great, but that¡¯s not really the point.¡±


    ¡°I should hope not, or this is going to get very depressing, very fast,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen shot her a look and then carried on. ¡°The point is that you never got that kind of autonomy. You got stuck with me, which is maybe part of your job, but then you got stuck with trying to keep me alive. I¡¯m pretty sure fighting off demonic cultivators, theirckeys, and facing imprisonment by a cult wasn¡¯t part of the deal. Am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t,¡± said Lo Meifeng in a carefully neutral tone. ¡°Where are you going with this?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to send a message to your minder and Master Feng anyway, you could always ask them to send someone to rece you. I just think you should get some choice about whether you carry on with this insanity you never asked for.¡±


    Lo Meifeng was quiet for several minutes while she made up things to do around the campsite. Sen supposed she was thinking about what she wanted to do or maybe just what she wanted to say. It wasn¡¯t an empty offer, either. If he said that he wanted them to let her go back to doing whatever she was doing before and send him someone else, he was pretty sure that Master Feng would respect that request. Just as importantly, he thought that Lo Meifeng realized that. After she¡¯d had time to think about it, she came back over to the fire and sat down. She looked at him with apletely neutral expression. It was so neutral that it looked unnatural. Her features expressed nothing when she spoke.


    ¡°Is that what you want me to do? Ask them to send a recement?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    Something in her posture shifted a little and she seemed, more rxed to Sen. ¡°Then why bring it up?¡±


    ¡°Because every time I turn around, I¡¯m falling into one kind of life-threatening danger or another. You¡¯ve seen how it is around me. Sure, some improbable good thingse my way, but so do improbable bad things. I mean, seriously, what were the odds that I¡¯d kill what was probably the <em>only</em> demonic cultivator in the entire Soaring Skies sect, and he just happened to have a list of other demonic cultivators on his person? Forget killing him. What were the odds that I¡¯d even encounter that person out of all of the people in the Soaring Skies sect?


    ¡°What were the odds that I¡¯d lead us straight to the door of a cult in the middle of the wilds? I¡¯d be surprised if the math exists to even calcte that. It¡¯s not all the time. At least, I don¡¯t think it is, but I¡¯m clearly being nudged around by¡­something. Maybe it¡¯s just karma or fate, but maybe it isn¡¯t. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to change. If those kinds of threats are going to be my life, all the time, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the kind of thing you can order someone to participate in. At least, I couldn¡¯t order someone to do that. So, if you want to get out, I¡¯ll do what I can to make that happen. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯d sort of miss you. You¡¯re <em>almost</em> like a friend now,¡± said Sen, grinning at her.


    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m <em>almost</em> touched by your consideration,¡± she said, shooting him a grin of her own.


    ¡°Anyway, just think about it,¡± said Sen. ¡°Let me know what you decide.¡±


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. ¡°Nah. I don¡¯t need to think about it.¡±


    Sen¡¯s heart sank a little at that. If she decided that fast, it almost certainly meant she was going to ask to leave. He couldn¡¯t me her. He¡¯d want out if he was her. He hadn¡¯t been lying, though. She was more like a friend than a minder at this point. You could only face so much danger and misery together without forming a bond with someone.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stick around.¡±


    ¡°I understand that, wait, what? You¡¯re staying?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you are a pain in the ass of mythological proportions. I gave real consideration to smothering the life out of you while you slept in the early days. But do you know what you aren¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Sen as he imagined her suffocating him with a pillow.


    ¡°You are not boring. At all.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s a good enough reason to stick around?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right that a lot of improbably bad things happen around you. But, as you point out, it¡¯s not all bad. I got to see a divine turtle, Sen. I know you got advice from one, but do you have any idea how rare it is to even see one? With that alone, I became part of a very small, very elite group of people. I got to watch a kid who should be trying to impress some wandering cultivator girl his own age protect a ship that waspletely underwater. I got to find out that there¡¯s a creepy cult out in the wilds where nothing at all should be. I saw the biggest and most powerful sect in Emperor¡¯s Bay back down from a foundation formation cultivator. I <em>advanced</em> from the <em>secondhand</em> heavenly qi that you got from an enlightenment. I even got to kill a genuine demonic cultivator or two, which probably washed away about three lifetimes worth of bad karma for me. That¡¯s just <em>this</em> year. Imagine what I¡¯ll have seen and done in another year. Hells, I figure if I can survive hanging around you long enough, there¡¯s a decent chance that you¡¯ll take me along for the ride when you ascend.¡±


    ¡°What about all that ¡®you face the heavens alone¡¯ stuff? I can¡¯t take anyone with me when I go,¡± said Sen, who frowned at the smirk on Lo Meifeng¡¯s face. ¡°Do you know something I don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°So, so very many things.¡±


    ¡°I meant about ascending.¡±


    ¡°I <em>might</em> know something you don¡¯t, but I can¡¯t really tell you about it. I can¡¯t even really give you any details about why I can¡¯t tell you about it. I know that¡¯s eating you alive already, but I literally <em>can not</em> tell you.¡±


    Sen¡¯s rising frustration suddenly abated. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s one of those kinds of things.¡±


    ¡°It is. On the upside, if you eventually figure it out on your own, then I can talk to you about it.¡±


    ¡°Good to know. I guess. Well, if you¡¯re sure you want to stick around, I¡¯m not going to try to talk you out of it.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s smirk evaporated, and her expression got very serious. ¡°I appreciate that you offered more than you can know. Most people wouldn¡¯t have even thought about it. They¡¯d have taken my presence, my protection, me for granted. Autonomy isn¡¯t everything, but it¡¯s always easier to do the hard things when you make a choice to be around for them. Thank you for letting me make the choice.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± said Sen.


    There was a pregnant pause before Lo Meifeng said, ¡°This is awkward now, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. <em>So</em> awkward.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Lo Meifeng, brightening, ¡°at least it¡¯s not just me suffering.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 39: Contact

    Book 3: Chapter 39: Contact


    After weeks spent running around in the wilds, it wasn¡¯t difficult for Sen and Lo Meifeng to pass themselves off as weary travelers looking for an inn at the gates of Lin Wen¡¯s Redoubt. The guards waved them through without so much as a second nce. Old feelings of unease rose up in Sen on reflex as they entered the small city, but they struck him as more reflexive than real. He was <em>hiding</em>, and Lo Meifeng was doing something to keep her presence muted. Sen made a mental note to ask her about itter. While his approach was highly effective, it was also taxing and dampened his senses more than he wasfortable with in a potentially hostile environment. Although, being ufortable on a lot of levels was bing a depressingly familiar state of affairs. Still, if he could learn a different way to obscure his presence, that could only be a good thing.


    They quickly blended into the throng of other people going about their daily lives. At least they tried to blend in. They had spent so much time away from people that he¡¯d forgotten that his appearance often provoked strong reactions. He started doing his best to keep his head down like he was deep in thought in thought or exceptionally tired. He heard Lo Meifeng make a disgruntled noise. He nced her way, but she just shook her head. Apparently, she¡¯d forgotten about that problem as well. The head down technique wasn¡¯t foolproof by any measure, but it did help. After she was confident that they hadn¡¯t drawn any unwanted attention, Lo Meifeng had them stop and get food at a cart in a small market. They made their way over to a wall to, in theory, eat the food. They waited until an argument broke out between one of the vendors and a customer. Sen and Lo Meifeng took that opportunity to scan the crowd. No one was paying them any attention, so they slipped into a nearby alley.


    After that, they made much better time and drew less attention as they moved from alley to alley. The only downside was that they were forced to beat a few thugs with poor survival instincts into unconsciousness. Sen felt a slight pang of sympathy for those thugs. He could easily have be one of them if Master Feng hadn¡¯t changed the course of his life. It wasn¡¯t enough sympathy to stay his hand, but he might have pulled his punches a little more than he otherwise might have. It seemed Lo Meifeng noticed because she lifted an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°Are these your cousins or something?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you going so easy on them?¡±


    ¡°These people didn¡¯te looking for us. We invaded <em>their</em> territory. I¡¯m not going to break their bones just because they annoyed me.¡±


    Lo Meifeng thought that over for a moment. ¡°Alright. I guess that¡¯s fair.¡±


    Twenty minutes and a few more pointless scufflester, they slipped out of an alley and made their way into a nondescript-looking little shop. Lo Meifeng spoke briefly with the woman at the counter before the pair of them were ushered into a back room. A profoundly obese man sat in the room, looking very put upon. There were empty teacups scattered everywhere, some of them still half-full, and others holding down piles of paper. He held a still steaming cup in one hand as he squinted down at a scroll and made some kind of notes on it. He nced up at the pair as they entered the room and let out a frustrated breath.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± the obese man demanded, his eyes narrowing so much that they all but disappeared into the fat on his face.


    ¡°No viper is so deadly as the one you never see,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    The man sat straight up in his chair. ¡°No den is as secure as the one hidden in in view.¡±


    ¡°I need to send a message,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Recipient?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°The Patriarch.¡±


    The fat man nced up at her, then his eyes shifted to Sen. There was a moment of confusion as he nced back and forth between Sen and Lo Meifeng. The dawning realization on the man¡¯s face was almostical to Sen. The man tried to stand up, bow, and put his teacup down all at the same time. He mostly just seeded in spilling his tea on scrolls that Sen hoped weren¡¯t important. They waited as the man cursed, called for an assistant, and eventually managed to clean up the worst of the spill. Once that was aplished and the assistant dismissed, the man turned his attention back to his guests.


    ¡°You are Lo Meifeng?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Then, you are Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡±


    Sen almost suppressed this frustrated sigh. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Then, this is a blessed day, indeed.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°The Patriarch believed you both dead. His anger has been,¡± the man searched for a word to encapste it, ¡°<em>profound</em>.¡±


    Sen grimaced. ¡°I hope he hasn¡¯t taken that anger out on his employees.¡±


    The obese man shook his head. ¡°Not specifically, but we¡¯ve all done our best to <em>soften</em> any bad news as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°Probably wise,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Now, a scroll, brush, and ink, if you please. We aren¡¯t nning to stay long.¡±


    ¡°You must stay!¡± cried the man.


    Sen and Lo Meifeng traded perplexed looks.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°The Patriarch will be enraged if one of us knew where you were and then let you leave.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°He¡¯ll understand after he receives the message. Now, scroll, ink, and a brush. Please.¡±


    The obese man continued his protests, but he did as he asked. Sen decided to keep out of the odd, almost-argument, contest-of-wills that was happening between Lo Meifeng and her contact. He knew full well how it was going to y out, and Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t need his help. Her contact was underequipped to win in any battle of wills with the woman. For her part, Lo Meifeng kept up a steady stream of denials and verbal diversions while she also wrote out a message. While Sen was used to controlling multiple flows of qi at a time, even while fighting, he¡¯d never really tried to do more than one mundane task at a time. It looked difficult. He supposed it was the kind of thing that you had to practice, and he never had. He figured he should remedy that. Singr focus was a good thing for some situations, but he could see the advantages of being able to divide his attention like Lo Meifeng was doing.


    When she¡¯d finished writing, she dried the ink with a tiny burst of her qi. Then, she sealed the scroll with both qi and wax, before she handed it over to the still-protesting man. Sen frowned at that. It felt to him like the man was trying too hard to get them to stay. Sen walked over to the table and red at the man, who went very still under Sen¡¯s intense expression.


    ¡°Who did you tell we were here?¡± Sen asked.


    Lo Meifeng shot Sen a sharp look, then seemed to mentally step back from the immediate situation. Her re joined Sen¡¯s. The obese man held his hands up in front of him and startedughing. Sen supposed it was meant to be disarming, but it came across as pure hysteria.


    ¡°No one,¡± the contact dered. ¡°I told no one.¡±


    Sen nodded and then drew his jian. The contact¡¯s eyes went wide at the sight of the de.


    ¡°Now, I start cutting off a limb for every lie. Who did you tell we were here?¡±


    The obese man¡¯s eyes never left the jian. He started shaking. ¡°I, I¡­¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t answer the question, I¡¯m going to consider that a lie,¡± noted Sen in a bored voice as he lifted the sword a little.


    ¡°Yeung Fen!¡± shrieked the man.


    ¡°And who is Yeung Fen?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°A merchant! She¡¯s a local merchant.¡±


    ¡°And why would a woman who¡¯s <em>just</em> a local merchant know or care about us?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Equally important, how would she know about you?¡± Lo Meifeng asked as apact fireball ignited less than six inches from the contact¡¯s face.


    ¡°She approached me,¡± said the contact as an unhealthy flush crept up his face.


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. ¡°I hope it was a lot of money and that you left it somewhere your family can find it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand!¡± shouted the contact.


    ¡°I think we do. Should I do it?¡± Sen asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°This one is on me.¡±


    Sen stepped back as the fireball transformed into a tiny shaft of white me and drove itself through the man¡¯s forehead. The obese man copsed backward. The stink of burning hair and charred flesh started filling the room. Sen wrinkled his nose in disgust as he gestured at the scroll.


    ¡°Should we destroy that?¡±


    ¡°No. I want them to find it.¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to give Lo Meifeng a sharp look. ¡°You knew?¡±


    ¡°I suspected. He was trying way too hard to get us to stay. If he¡¯d made a few protests, it would have made sense. Going on and on that way, he had to be up to something. I assume that¡¯s what gave it away to you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m kind of surprised, though. I¡¯d have thought that the threat of Master Feng¡¯s vengeance would have deterred this sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°It usually does,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°But money right now can ovee someone¡¯s fear of a distant threat, no matter how inevitable and inexorable that threat might be.¡±


    ¡°So, basically, some people are stupid and weak-willed. Still, this all feels a little unlikely to me.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re honestly overthinking this one. We were heading this way and your associations were bing known. I bet those demonic cultivators spent a lot of time and money on preparing the ground here six or eight months ago. It¡¯s pretty clear that this guy,¡± she gestured at the smoldering corpse, ¡°was indiscrete. It wouldn¡¯t have been hard for people to figure out who and what he was.¡±


    ¡°I guess that could be true.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the likeliest scenario. Now, let¡¯s go before we have to fight our way out of this city.¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°Do you really think we¡¯re getting out of this city without a fight?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, if we hurry.¡±


    What she left unsaid, but Sen understood all the same, was that they¡¯d just be putting the fight off until they were away from the city. But Sen would rather fight out in the wild than in a city anyway. He could do things in the wilds that were impractical, if not impossible, in a city. Sen inclined his head to her.


    ¡°Lead the way, oh venerable one.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to get kicked again? Because I¡¯d be happy to make that happen.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 40: Threats?

    Book 3: Chapter 40: Threats?


    Sen and Lo Meifeng found a back way out of the building and took off for the western wall as fast as they reasonably could in the confines of the alley. After the second time they had to chastise some would-be thugs, they transitioned to the rooftops. They were a bit more obvious, but also moved a lot faster. Sen was happy to note that they didn¡¯t seem to be drawing any meaningful attention, let alone violent attacks. As they approached the western gate out of the city, they dropped back down to street level. As soon as they tried to join the people on the street, though, someone shouted.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    Everyone who had been walking toward the gate scattered in every direction, leaving Sen and Lo Meifeng standing alone. As soon as thest of the people got far enough away, a formation activated. Sen cocked an eyebrow at the shoddy work. He thought it was, maybe, supposed to suppress their ess to qi. Although, it wasn¡¯t doing that at all. <em>Maybe it¡¯s meant to contain us</em>, he thought. Reaching down, Sen picked up a loose bit of stone and tossed it at the formation. The stone passed cleanly through the formation boundary. Sen was baffled. Anything potent enough to contain them should contain everything else as well. Sen let his spiritual sense expand until it hit the formation, at which point a flood of useful information came back. He¡¯d been right the first time. It was supposed to suppress their qi. It just wasn¡¯t made very well. Lo Meifeng looked over at him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the formation do?¡±


    Sen kept his voice quiet when he answered. ¡°Nothing. Whoever put it together was really, really bad at formations. I¡¯m sort of surprised it hasn¡¯t copsed already.¡±


    ¡°Odd,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Should we just go?¡±


    ¡°If you like. I¡¯m kind of curious to see who will show up.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re on a schedule.¡±


    After nearly a full minute had passed, Lo Meifeng sighed. ¡°This is a terrible ambush.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there should have been someone here by now to try to threaten us.¡±


    ¡°Or kill us.¡±


    ¡°Or that. I mean, who shows upte to their own ambush?¡±


    Right around then, a woman in expensive-looking robes finally walked up to the edge of the formation. Men and women with crossbows appeared on rooftops and in alleys all around. Sen waited for a core cultivator or six to show up, but none did. He traded a look with Lo Meifeng, but she looked as baffled as he felt. Sen focused most of his attention on the woman while he cycled up wind and fire qi. She appeared to be mortal, in her early middle years, although holding up well. She wasn¡¯t beautiful, or even pretty, but she possessed a kind of stern gravitas that lent her otherwise ordinary looks interesting. She red at Sen.


    ¡°You are the one they call Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Sure. Some people call me that.¡±


    ¡°I have to say, that I¡¯m less than impressed. From your reputation, I thought you¡¯d be harder to capture. Still, you¡¯re worth a lot of money to me, so I¡¯m not going toin.¡±


    Sen stared at the woman for a moment before he whispered to Lo Meifeng. ¡°Do you think this is some kind of borate joke that someone is ying on us?¡±


    The mystified Lo Meifeng shrugged. ¡°I have no idea.¡±


    Turning back to the woman outside the formation, Sen asked, ¡°I assume you¡¯re Yeung Fen.¡±


    The woman smirked. ¡°So, you¡¯ve heard of me?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Sen, making the woman scowl. ¡°A dead man sold you out.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, you¡¯re in there and I¡¯m out here.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°That does appear to be the case. Idle curiosity. Were you nning to sell me to someone specific or was it going to happen some other way? An auction, perhaps?¡±


    Yeung Fen frowned at Sen, and then at Lo Meifeng. It finally seemed to register with the woman that neither of her captives looked even the tiniest bit concerned about their capture.


    ¡°Why should I answer any of your questions?¡±


    ¡°If you answer my questions, it¡¯ll put me in a better mood,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What difference does that make?¡±


    ¡°Well, in my current mood, I¡¯ll probably kill all of your people in the next two minutes or so. If you answer my questions, I may only disable them. You can think of it as a gesture of courtesy for your cooperation.¡±


    ¡°Even if you could escape, you expect me to believe that you¡¯d just kill all of these mortals?¡±


    Sen let his face go stony. ¡°Judgmentes for <em>everyone</em>.¡±


    ¡°Brave words for a man trapped in a formation.¡±


    Sen sauntered over to the edge of the formation and smiled at the woman from less than three feet away. ¡°Trapped? Whatever made you think I was trapped?¡±


    Then, he reached out and touched the curtain of energy that had ¡°trapped¡± them. He let lightning arc into that curtain. The formation copsed almost instantly. The woman¡¯s eyes went as big around as saucers and she screamed.


    ¡°Kill them!¡±


    Close to two dozen crossbow bolts flew at Sen and Lo Meifeng. Sen seized around half of them with wind and sent them hurtling back at the people who fired them. Lo Meifeng simply burned the rest up. Sen walked over to Yeung Fen, who looked so afraid that Sen was worried she¡¯d pass out if he moved too fast. He stared down at her as Lo Meifeng did things behind him that caused what sounded like an excessive amount of screaming.


    ¡°Who were you nning to sell me to, Yeung Fen?¡±


    The woman swallowed hard and said, ¡°His name is Suen Hai.¡±


    ¡°And who is that?¡± Sen asked, pointing a finger at a particr dark spot in an alley and loosing a lightning bolt that left another would-be attacker a smoldering heap of ashy bones.


    Yeung Fen was breathing so fast that it was a wonder to Sen that she could speak at all, but she found the air somewhere.


    ¡°He¡¯s a merchant prince from the capital. You cost him a lot of money when you exposed the demonic cultivators.¡±


    Sen nodded and sent wind des to cut down three people who had escaped Lo Meifeng¡¯s wrath. Yeung Fen flinched at the wet sounds of the pieces of their bodies hitting the ground.


    ¡°Tell me, Yeung Fen. Was this your n, or did someone suggest this madness to you?¡±


    ¡°It was suggested to me.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. And did they provide you with the formation?¡±


    Yeung Fen¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°They did. Why?¡±


    ¡°It just seems that I¡¯m not the only person with enemies. Whoever suggested this to you clearly meant for you to die. That formation couldn¡¯t have held a qi-condensing cultivator for more than a few moments, to say nothing of me. If I were <em>you</em>, I¡¯d take whatever wealth I could find and disappear with it before whoever it is tries a more direct method of removing me from the board.¡±


    ¡°What would you do then?¡±


    ¡°Me? I¡¯d probably just stay gone, but that¡¯s because I really don¡¯t like violence. If you were her, though,¡± said Sen, gesturing at the approaching form of Lo Meifeng, ¡°you¡¯d probably find yourself a good assassin to take care of whoever sent you down this path.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± said Lo Meifeng, brushing some ash from her robes. ¡°That is what I¡¯d do, assuming I didn¡¯t kill them personally.¡±


    ¡°Are there any left?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s a couple of them hiding and,¡± she cocked her head to listen, ¡°crying, I think. Well, and there¡¯s her.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. <em>Her</em>,¡± said Sen, tapping his chin. ¡°What should we do with her?¡±


    Lo Meifeng yed her part like they scripted the whole thing. ¡°We should probably cut off her head as a warning to anyone else dumb enough to try something like this.¡±


    What little blood had remained in Yeung Fen¡¯s face disappeared. Sen nodded like he was considering it.


    ¡°We could. Although, it seems kind of pointless now. Besides, it appears we have amon enemy. Whoever set this up may have thought that one of those crossbows would get lucky and take us out.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Lo Meifeng, although her doubt was clear.


    ¡°I say we let her go,¡± announced Sen.


    ¡°If we must,¡± agreed Lo Meifeng in her most put-out voice.


    Yeung Fen sagged in relief.


    ¡°But,¡± continued Sen, ¡°this mercy will not be granted a second time. I suggest you use your time well, Yeung Fen. If you cannot use it well, then use it productively. In either case, it would be for the best if our paths didn¡¯t cross again. Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Yeung Fen nodded furiously. ¡°Yes, I agree! You¡¯ll never see me again. Never.¡±


    ¡°Then go and find what fortunes fate sees fit to bestow.¡±


    Yeung Fen ran from Sen and Lo Meifeng as fast as she could. They stood there in silence for a moment.


    ¡°She could be a problem for uster,¡± noted Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I know. She could, but someone clearly wanted us to do their dirty work for them. She knows who it is. I suspect that she¡¯s going to bend most of her efforts to destroying that person. That should have the nice side effect of keeping her <em>and</em> them out of our way for the time being.¡±


    ¡°You are a bizarre man, sometimes.¡±


    Senughed. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°There are times when act exactly the way I expect someone your age to act. Then, there are times when you talk like you¡¯re some kind of veteran of court intrigue. Who taught you to think like this?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Kho, I guess. Well, it was indirect. When he was teaching me to read, most of what he had around were scrolls about history. Most history is about war and political intrigue.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a cheerful thought. On the upside, if these are the kinds of threats we¡¯re facing now, I¡¯m a lot less worried.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, me too. I mean, we should still be mindful. Honestly, though, I almost feel bad about this.¡±


    ¡°They would have happily captured and sold us or killed us. These weren¡¯t innocents.¡±


    ¡°I did say <em>almost</em>. Anyway, on to Inferno¡¯s Vale.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s expression fell. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s necessary anymore. I mean, most of the reason to go there was because it¡¯s out of the way.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°So? You wanted to go there to learn things. Let¡¯s go learn things about fire. It shoulde in handy when I burn down that cult temple. Master Feng cane find us there as easily as anywhere else. Besides, we don¡¯t actually <em>know</em> for certain the real threats are gone, do we?¡±


    Lo Meifeng grinned at him. ¡°That¡¯s the kind of doublespeak that will probably get us both killed by Feng Ming.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell him we knew we were safe. Are you?¡±


    ¡°Hells no. Alright, let¡¯s get out of here before someone official and tedious shows up demanding answers about all of this.¡±


    Sen looked around at the damage the two of them had done. ¡°Yeah, we should go.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 41: An Old Face

    Book 3: Chapter 41: An Old Face


    With the threat of the demonic cultivators if not entirely gone thenrgely neutralized, Sen and Lo Meifeng¡¯s journey became a more rxed affair. They still kept up a fast pace, but it wasn¡¯t the kind of brutal pace that Sen would have demanded if they were still being actively hunted by a cabal of core formation cultivators. Of course, being able to use the roads most of the time hastened their journey a lot. There were a few times that they thought were being followed and they fell back on their old routine of camping deeper in the forests than most people would dare to travel and leaning on Sen¡¯s formation skills. Most of the time, though, they would stay at inns when they were avable. Both of them liked hot baths too much to pass up the opportunity to get one. While Sen liked cooking, he wasn¡¯t sad to pass that duty off to others on asion. Bit by bit, mile by unencumbered mile, the umted stress of thest year drained out of Sen. The fate of Lifen still weighed on him, but Sen reminded himself that going back before he was ready was foolhardy.


    For all that Sen was more rxed, he recognized that he¡¯d been permanently changed by the experience of being hunted. There was a part of him that was always wary, always on alert, always looking for things that didn¡¯t fit or didn¡¯t make sense. He understood where it came from, and even saw the value in it from a pure survival perspective. Yet, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like he¡¯d lost something important in the exchange. <em>Another piece of what remained of my battered innocence</em>, <em>probably</em>, he thought. It was that heightened wariness that alerted him to the fact that he was being watched in themon room of the inn. Lo Meifeng had been sipping on some drink that smelled of strong alcohol, although he couldn¡¯t see any sign that it was actually having an effect on her. She certainly noticed his change in demeanor almost instantly.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked, putting the cup down on the table.


    Sen noticed her slip a hand inside her robe, no doubt grasping for one of the daggers she kept hidden. Her eyes swept the room, looking for some obvious signs of danger and, finding none, she turned a questioning gaze on him. He indicated the corner of the room, where a big man sat at a table and tried to be surreptitious about studying Sen.


    ¡°Do you know him?¡± Lo Meifeng asked.


    ¡°You could say that,¡± said Sen. ¡°He used to help beat me up when we were kids. I helped him get out from under a debt before I left Orchard¡¯s Reach.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°One of those soul-tugging things,¡± muttered Sen.


    Lo Meifeng grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest. I haven¡¯t been terribly impressed by the results of those so far.¡±


    ¡°That makes two of us. Although, it hasn¡¯t been all bad where those are concerned.¡±


    ¡°Really? Because experience suggests that he¡¯s going to pick a fight with you and this whole ce is going to end up in mes. Then, when we go outside, there¡¯s going to be a hundred people we¡¯ll need to kill.¡±


    ¡°Come on. That¡¯s¡­probably overstating things a little,¡± said Sen before he really thought it through. ¡°You didn¡¯t leave anything in your room, did you?¡±


    ¡°Do I ever?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°How would I know?¡±


    Lo Meifeng blinked a couple of times. ¡°Oh, I guess you wouldn¡¯t, would you? For the record, I never leave anything in a room that I¡¯m not willing to abandon.¡±


    ¡°Good to know.¡±


    ¡°So, how do you want to handle this? Do you want to talk to him? Leave immediately? Start the fire yourself?¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes at her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I don¡¯t really want to talk to him, but I don¡¯t want to leave if it¡¯s unnecessary. We already paid for the rooms.¡±


    ¡°And, I haven¡¯t gotten my food yet,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Yes, your dinner is my <em>highest</em> priority.¡±


    ¡°As well it should be. I get mean when I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    ¡°Behold my shock,¡± said Sen while holding a perfectly neutral expression.


    Lo Meifeng snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you keep a straight face like that. Is it some kind of special skill you get from body cultivation?¡±


    ¡°Probably not,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re about to find out what he wants,¡± said Lo Meifeng, nodding at the approaching man.


    It took Sen a moment to dredge the man¡¯s name up from his memory. <em>I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s Wu Gang</em>, thought Sen. As the man got closer, Sen had to work hard not tough. Wu Gang was aimed at him, but his eyes kept drifting to Lo Meifeng. Sen thought he had a pretty good idea about how well that was going to go. Then, the big man was standing next to their table, trying to not stare at Lo Meifeng with lovestruck eyes and failing miserably. Lo Meifeng looked at the poor man and shook her head.


    ¡°You have a better chance with one of the horses in the stable,¡± she said.


    Sen was a little stunned at her bluntness. It was simultaneously a heartlessly cruel and kind statement. She¡¯d crushed him mercilessly, but also left exactly zero room for doubt. At least he wouldn¡¯t waste time trying to pursue a hopeless quest. Sen hoped he wouldn¡¯t, at any rate. It would be painful watching her crush the man¡¯s heart over and over again. Sen waited a few seconds while the big man tried to put away his embarrassment at being so obvious and being denied so emphatically. When the wait stretched out to an ufortable length, Sen loudly cleared his throat. Wu Gang jerked a little bit and shifted his gaze to Sen. The big man shook his head a little, like he was trying to clear it, and offered Sen a bow.


    Sen inclined his head. ¡°Wu Gang.¡±


    The big man seemed surprised that Sen knew his name. This led to another long moment of silence before the big man spoke.


    ¡°Sen. Lu Sen,¡± the man corrected himself.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± Sen asked, wanting to move things along.


    ¡°I just,¡± the man¡¯s eyes flicked toward Lo Meifeng and back to Sen. ¡°You said that you expected to see me out on the road. I just wanted you to know that I¡¯ve done as you said.¡±


    Sen thought back. <em>Had</em> he told the man to do anything specific? Beyond telling the man not to make him regret helping, Sen couldn¡¯t think of anything. Had there been something implied? Sen gestured to the unupied chair across from them.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you sit and tell me what you¡¯ve been doing thisst year or so,¡± said Sen.


    The big man hesitated for a moment before he sat. He took a moment to collect his thoughts.


    ¡°After you helped my family, I left the way I said I would. I became a wandering cultivator.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°And how have you spent your time?¡±


    Wu Gang''s eyes went a little distant. ¡°At first, I just wandered. You know how it is when you first leave. Everything is new. New people. New ces. New customs. I made some mistakes. Got into some fights I could probably have avoided if I used my brain more than my arms.¡±


    Lo Meifeng only half-stifled herugh. Wu Gang seemed confused and unsure if he should be offended. She pointed at Sen.


    ¡°He knows all about getting into fights he should avoid.¡±


    Wu Gang nced nervously at Sen. Sen shrugged.


    ¡°She¡¯s not wrong. I expect it happens to every wandering cultivator at some point. After that, though, what did you do?¡±


    ¡°Once I¡¯d been out in the world for a while, I started to see things a bit clearer. There are a lot of people out there who need help. People who can¡¯t get it.¡±


    Sen wanted to lift an eyebrow. This wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d expected from the boy he remembered or the man he¡¯d briefly fought back in Orchard¡¯s Reach. He <em>had</em> expected that the man would pick fights and get in trouble. This person felt like a stranger to Sen. Someone who seemed reflective and concerned with others.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°There are a lot of people in one kind of trouble or another.¡±


    Wu Gang nodded eagerly at that. ¡°I help them. When I can, I mean. It¡¯s not like you. I hear the stories about you. Fighting sects. Destroying beast tides. Challenging demonic cultivators. Saving princesses.¡±


    Lo Meifeng had just taken a sip from her cup when the man had said that bit about princesses. She choked and sprayed half the table with the liquor, while Sen stared at Wu Gang.


    ¡°Saving princesses?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah. They talk all about how you¡¯re always saving beautiful princesses and carrying them away from danger. You know, like her,¡± said Wu Gang, gesturing at the still-coughing Lo Meifeng.


    Part of Sen thought he should correct Wu Gang, but an impish part of him he¡¯d thought was dead peeked out from wherever it had been hiding in his heart. He nodded at Wu Gang.


    ¡°I guess we couldn¡¯t keep it a secret forever, your highness,¡± said Sen, giving Lo Meifeng an apologetic look.


    She shot him a re that promised certain death if he ever repeated those words to her. Sen immediatelymitted to calling her ¡°your highness¡± at every opportunity. He turned his gaze back to Wu Gang.


    ¡°Okay, so you¡¯re not saving princesses or challenging sects. What have you been doing to help?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just small things,¡± said Wu Gang. ¡°I help farmers get their goods to market when they don¡¯t have help. I killed a spirit beast that was threatening a vige. I helped one ce rebuild after a spirit beast attack. I don¡¯t know much about carpentry or masonry, but I¡¯m strong. I could carry five times as much as anyone else. Hold things up that no one else could. They said I helped them save weeks of time,¡± he paused and gave Sen a serious look. ¡°I just wanted you to know that I¡¯m doing my best to make sure you don¡¯t regret helping me.¡±


    Sen leaned back in his chair and regarded the man. They were about the same age, but Sen felt like Wu Gang somehow saw him as older, or wiser, or maybe both. More importantly, it was clear that man was desperate for some kind of approval from Sen. He wanted some kind of validation that he was doing the right things and on the right path. Sen searched inside himself, hoping for some kind of guidance. He didn¡¯t find insight or inspiration. Then again, maybe he didn¡¯t need it. This wasn¡¯t some hideouslyplicated situation withyers of politics and finance attached. Wu Gang wasn¡¯t looking for profound wisdom or the secrets of enlightenment. He was just a person trying to do what he thought he should. A man trying to keep his word to someone he didn¡¯t really know but felt a debt toward. Sen couldn¡¯t know that any of what the man had said was true, but that was a kind of cynicism that he wasn¡¯t ready to embrace. He felt that he¡¯d gotten the truth from Wu Gang, or at least what Wu Gang thought was true. That was enough. <em>And maybe</em>, thought Sen, <em>this is more for my benefit than his</em>. A sign from the world that not everything turns out badly in the end.


    ¡°I don¡¯t regret helping you,¡± said Sen. ¡°Honestly, you¡¯ve probably done more good in the world than I have. I hope you¡¯ll keep helping people who need it.¡±


    Wu Gang broke out into a bright smile and nodded. ¡°I will. Just you wait. Someday, people will talk about all the people I¡¯ve helped like they talk about you.¡±


    Sen hoped, for Wu Gang¡¯s sake, that wasn¡¯t the case. Because Sen knew what kinds of things you had to do, what kinds of dangers you had to face, to get people talking about you like that. He wouldn¡¯t wish that on the man sitting across from him. Of course, he couldn¡¯t say any of that because Wu Gang wouldn¡¯t, maybe even couldn¡¯t understand. So, Sen just smiled and nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep my ears open for the tales of Righteous Wu Gang,¡± said Sen.

 Book 3: Chapter 42: Inferno’s Vale (1)

    Book 3: Chapter 42: Inferno¡¯s Vale (1)


    Sen was crouched down, carefully removing the roots of a medical nt from the ground, when Lo Meifeng wandered over to him. He nced up at her, but she looked to just be curious about what he was doing.


    ¡°I have to make elixirs from something,¡± he offered.


    ¡°I know. I just wondered what caught your attention.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called a coiled serpent root,¡± said Sen.


    He lifted it out of the ground and brushed the dirt away from it. It really did look like a coiled serpent. He trimmed the nt away and buried it where he¡¯d pulled the root up. That approach didn¡¯t always work, and the nts didn¡¯t always grow back. For the coiled serpent root, though, it often did. He pulled out a water gourd, rinsed off the root, and gave the freshly buried nt a healthy drink. Once he put the root into his storage ring, he started back toward what he¡¯d decided to generously call a road. It was more of a well-established path where the trees had been cleared and traffic kept the dirt tamped down hard.


    ¡°What¡¯s it for?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°The root?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°A bunch of different things. It¡¯s probably best known as a catch-all treatment for poison.¡±


    ¡°Does it work?¡±


    Sen waggled a hand in the air. ¡°Depends. It will slow most poisons. So, it¡¯s a good thing to have on hand if you¡¯re traveling. It buys you time to get to a doctor or alchemist. It¡¯s also good for buying time to figure out what the specific poison was if the person doesn¡¯t know. It will cure some poisons, but not as many as people think. It¡¯s also good against some kinds of snake bites.¡±


    ¡°And you know which poisons it cures, and which snake bites it helps with?¡±


    Sen nodded absently. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Lo Meifeng pointed at a random berry by the side of the road. ¡°What¡¯s the good for?¡±


    Sen looked at it, then at her, and then heughed.


    ¡°What?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°In very small doses, it helps with constipation. If the dosage is too high, though, it¡¯ll get messy.¡±


    Lo Meifeng squinted at him for a moment and then her eyes went wide. ¡°I¡¯m d I never ate any of those.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°So, if you wanted something to help advance someone¡¯s cultivation, you could just walk out into these woods and find what you need?¡±


    Sen eyed her. ¡°Are you asking me to make you something to help you advance?¡±


    Lo Meifeng rolled her eyes. ¡°No. I expect I¡¯m years away from my next advancement. I¡¯m just trying to get a handle on what you can do.¡±


    Sen let his spiritual sense spread out into the surrounding forest. He poked, prodded, and probed for a few moments before he withdrew it. Then, he nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, probably, depending on what they needed. It¡¯s not like everyone gets the same pills or, in my case, elixirs. For example, the kinds of cultivation aids you need would be pretty easy to make with what¡¯s here because your main qi type is fire. There are a lot of fire-attributed nts and reagents floating around this area.¡±


    ¡°Not for you, though?¡±


    ¡°There are things here I could use, but I couldn¡¯t find even close to everything I needed for my spirit cultivation. As for my body cultivation, I won¡¯t be touching that until I can I find a manual for it.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even have a name for it before we bumped into that turtle. And then, I think I may have identally gone off the prescribed path for it during that enlightenment. I need information before I do anything else. I don¡¯t want to find out I¡¯m about to dead-end my body cultivation ten years from now because I didn¡¯t bother to find out what should be happening with it now.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. Is your spirit cultivation really that much moreplicated than mine?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I couldn¡¯t speak to that. For all I know what you¡¯re doing as your cultivation method is actually harder than what I¡¯m doing. Advancing it, though? Yeah, that¡¯s way moreplicated because I need to bnce out way more things. Why the sudden interest?¡±


    Lo Meifeng shrugged. ¡°We always had other, bigger concerns before. We never really talked about these things. I¡¯m surprised you never asked about my cultivation. You¡¯re pretty curious, even if you keep it on a tight leash.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, it just didn¡¯t seem like it was my business.¡±


    ¡°You stuck your nose in a lot of things that weren¡¯t your business.¡±


    ¡°I got dragged into more things that I stuck my nose into,¡± said Sen. ¡°I just wanted to travel. See new things. Find bnce.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that working out?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely a work in progress,¡± said Sen before he came to an abrupt stop. ¡°I think we¡¯re here, but our timing may have been a bit bad.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± asked Lo Meifeng, looking up sharply. ¡°Why?¡±


    Sen stared down into the valley that, unfortunately, seemed to be living up to the name Inferno¡¯s Vale. It looked like half the valley was on fire and, where there wasn¡¯t fire, there was fighting. Most of it was too distant even for Sen¡¯s enhanced eyes to make out much. What he saw looked like a pitched battle between fire cultivators and water cultivators. He supposed there was some kind of logic to that. Those elements didn¡¯t normally interact well, but to see it yed out along military lines seemed to be taking the conflict to absurd levels. Were they opposing sects? Was this some kind of long-standing feud that sparked periodic reprisals? <em>Does it really matter to us</em>, wondered Sen. Having been dragged unwillingly into several conflicts, Sen was perfectly ready to turn around and go somewhere else. Whatever conflict was ying out in the valley had nothing to do with him. Then, Lo Meifeng punched him in the arm so hard that it probably would have snapped if not for all the reinforcements his bones had undergone over the years.


    ¡°Ouch! What was that for?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°This is your fault!¡± she said, waving a hand in the general direction of the fighting below.


    Sen red at her. ¡°We literally just got here. How could any of <em>that</em> possibly be my fault?¡±


    ¡°Because things are on fire and people are fighting. Those are <em>always</em> your fault.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, except I didn¡¯t bring us here. We weren¡¯t following one of my questionable soul tugs. I just came along for the ride. Which means that this probably isn¡¯t my fault, for once.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± admitted Lo Meifeng.


    They stood there for a few minutes, watching the battle lines slowly shift back and forth as what Sen thought had to be advanced core cultivators reinforced the lines in one ce, while the opposing side lost ground in others. No one seemed to have a clear advantage, which surprised Sen. It looked like this fight had been going on for a while. In long fights, it usually became obvious which side was going to win after a while. Here, though, unless something fundamental changed, it looked like they were going to continue fighting for a while. It wasn¡¯t quite on the scale of some of the military engagements he¡¯d read about in Uncle Kho¡¯s scrolls, but there had to be at least a thousand people running around down there between the two sides. Lo Meifeng was scowling down into the valley like she could re both sides into submission. For his part, Sen started looking around for a ce to set up camp. When he actually started setting up camp, she looked at him like he¡¯d lost his mind.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Exactly what it looks like I¡¯m doing. Setting up camp.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can see that much. I meant, why are you doing that?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯d like for there to be somewhere to cook and sleep tonight. What do you think I should be doing?¡±


    ¡°We need to make a n,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°To do what?¡±


    ¡°To help.¡±


    ¡°Help?¡± asked Sen, suddenly very confused. ¡°Help who?¡±


    ¡°The fire cultivators, obviously. They can¡¯t teach us anything if they¡¯re all dead.¡±


    ¡°They also can¡¯t teach us anything if <em>we¡¯re</em> dead. We don¡¯t know anything about what¡¯s going on down there or even why it¡¯s happening. Going down there now would be stupid. You know this. In another day or two, that fight will be over. Then, we can go down and help the survivors.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked like she was ready to stab him in the throat. Sen frowned at her, and then down into the valley. Then, he red at her.


    ¡°What¡¯s really going on here, Meifeng? You didn¡¯t just pick this ce because they¡¯re fire cultivators in an out-of-the-way spot, did you?¡±


    The angry bluster went out of Lo Meifeng. She suddenly looked¡­sheepish.


    ¡°I might have left out a detail or five.¡±


    A dark thought crossed Sen¡¯s mind. ¡°Did you know this was happening? Did you bring me here to fight someone else¡¯s battles?¡±


    ¡°No! I swear to you, I didn¡¯t know anything about this fight.¡±


    ¡°Then, spill it. Why are you all fired up to race headlong into a pitched battle?¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked away and Sen could practically see her talking herself into telling him the truth. She finally looked at him again.


    ¡°I wanted toe here because my brother is here. If I brought you, then I had an excuse.¡±


    ¡°Why would you need an excuse toe see your brother?¡±


    ¡°We had a falling out. We haven¡¯t seen each other in a long time. That¡¯s not the point. He¡¯s down there fighting, right now. We need to go,¡± she said, turning toward the valley.


    ¡°Wait!¡± ordered Sen. ¡°How long has it been? A year? Five? How furious is he going to be when he sees you?¡±


    Lo Meifeng mumbled something that Sen couldn¡¯t make out.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I said a century. It¡¯s been a hundred years.¡±


    ¡°A hundred years? What? How does that even happen?¡±


    ¡°We were both angry. That made it pretty easy at the beginning. Then, life happened. Can we <em>go</em> now, please?¡±


    ¡°Life happened,¡± repeated Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what to do with that. Listen, I¡¯m going to have a lot of questions, but they¡¯ll hold. We can go. <em>Quietly</em>, if you please. We can¡¯t help him if we don¡¯t reach him.¡±


    As they started making their way into the valley and toward the battle, Sen mumbled things under his breath. The word century yed a prominent role in those quiet mutterings.

 Book 3: Chapter 43: Inferno’s Vale (2)

    Book 3: Chapter 43: Inferno¡¯s Vale (2)


    Sen knew that going into the valley was a bad idea. He also knew that Lo Meifeng was going to go down there and throw herself into the fight anyway. She had at least listened to his advice to approach quietly, suppressing her presence as much as she could. Sen was full-on <em>hiding</em>. His only constion was that, since advancing his body and spirit cultivation, hiding no longer blinded his senses so badly. Granted, they only really functioned the way he was used to in a forty-foot radius, but that was almost enough to give him some breathing room. Sen¡¯s real concern was that he had zero experience with this kind ofrge-scale fighting and no clue about Lo Meifeng¡¯s experience with it. He was aware of things like battle strategy, but that didn¡¯t make himpetent to simply insert himself into a battle. He didn¡¯t have the background to assess the field and make judgment calls. He could just as easily disrupt a carefully nned trap as save lives.


    Just as importantly, he was quite sure that there were cultivators in that battle who were peak core formation cultivators. He could probably distract people like that for a little while, but he didn¡¯t like his chances taking them on head-to-head. Not without falling back on a technique that he had no intention of showing off to a thousand people. His only relief was that he was <em>also</em> pretty sure there were no nascent soul cultivators out there. At least, if there were, they weren¡¯t participating directly. If they had been, he doubted that there would be anything left of the valley or much of anything else within ten miles of the valley in any direction. Even having multiple core formation cultivators on the field threatened everything nearby. Sen knew how much damage he could do all by himself and that was before he advanced. He tried to imagine what ten or fifteen people like him, only more powerful, could do to the countryside. Of course, he didn¡¯t n to start throwing around powerful techniques right out of the gate. Crushing force was all well and good against one opponent or even a handful. When killing ten people wouldn¡¯t even put a dent in the opposition, though, there was little value in draining his qi reserves for a big, showy disy of power.


    His most immediate concern, however, was theirck of information about where the fight was happening. He¡¯d been able to see where the core of the fighting was happening, but there had been a lot of fighting happening away from that main battle. He didn¡¯t want to find himself confronted with a group of hostile cultivators from either side as they made their approach. He also didn¡¯t think that either group was going to react well to them just appearing out of nowhere. If they¡¯d taken a little time to talk out an approach, they might have thought of some way to avoid these kinds of problems, but Lo Meifeng had clearly been in no mood to wait. Instead, they were covering ground as fast as their qinggong techniques would let them. Sen thought it was nothing short of miraculous that no one had seen them yet, but that couldn¡¯tst. The only piece of good luck in the whole mess, as far as Sen was concerned, was that they got to jump in and look like heroes to the fire cultivators when they did stumble across people who were fighting.


    Sen had caught the sounds of fighting before Lo Meifeng and grabbed her arm. She dropped her qinggong technique and lifted an eyebrow at him in lieu of speaking. He pointed to his ear and then forward and to the left. Lo Meifeng cocked her head and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and shook her head. Sen leaned in so he could whisper next to her ear at near-inaudible levels.


    ¡°There¡¯s fighting up ahead. Stay here. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±


    She scowled at him and mouthed the words, ¡°Why you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± whispered Sen.


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± whispered Lo Meifeng at that same barely perceptible level. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Sen mouthed the words, ¡°Be right back,¡± and started moving forward between the sparse trees in a crouch. It didn¡¯t take him long to find the fighting. In this little skirmish, the fire cultivators were clearly outssed. He couldn¡¯t get close enough to get a good read on everyone¡¯s cultivation levels, but it didn¡¯t take a tactical genius to recognize that four fire cultivators versus ten water cultivators wasn¡¯t going to end well for the fire cultivators. The fire cultivators had managed to erect a small shelter to prevent the water cultivators from just shooting them full of arrows and calling it a day. But the hasty fortification of dirt and what looked like a couple of half-rotted logs wasn¡¯t going to hold up for long. Sen slipped away and went back to Lo Meifeng. He exined in terse, quiet sentences what he¡¯d seen.


    ¡°How do you want to handle this?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We kill all of them,¡± she said, cold fury in her eyes.


    ¡°I was hoping for a bit more strategy than that. We could be at this all day. I don¡¯t want to waste qi on side fights.¡±


    Lo Meifeng made a visible effort to calm herself before shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯m too angry and worried to n anything.¡±


    Sen thought it over. Realistically, he could probably kill them all by himself with nothing but some shadow to give him cover, but Lo Meifeng couldn¡¯t operate in the field of total darkness he preferred. He eyed her.


    ¡°How good is your memory?¡±


    ¡°What? It¡¯s fine, I guess. Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I can nket that whole area in fog. Once I do that, though, you need to be able to remember the terrain and the location of the enemy. Can you do that?¡±


    She red at him. ¡°Can you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said.


    Lo Meifeng was quiet for a moment before she said, ¡°I can remember well enough.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±


    ¡°I said I can do it,¡± she growled in a harsh whisper. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Sen slid his jian from its scabbard and took the lead. He knew that the water cultivators were mostly focused on the fire cultivator victims, so he worried a little less about stealth until they got close. Then, he started cycling up thebination of fire qi, air qi, and water qi he¡¯d need to make this n work. He saw Lo Meifeng studying the area where the fight was happening and fixing a look of grim concentration on her face. He wondered just how much of her im that she could remember the terrain and enemy locations was truth and how much was bravado. He almost changed his mind and went with the shadow cover n instead, but that would no doubt just cause a fight he didn¡¯t want to have. So, he started mixing together the right elements to produce what he needed. A few of the water cultivators seemed to hesitate for a moment when he first started, but almost immediately focused on the fire cultivators again when nothing obvious happened.


    Sen took more time than Lo Meifeng liked, but when it happened, it happened fast. Over the course of about five seconds, the entire area went frompletely clear to being so thick with fog that nothing could be seen more than a foot away. Sen pointed at Lo Meifeng and then in the direction she should go. Then, he pointed at himself and the direction he nned to go. She gave him one nod and then vanished into the fog. Sen started walking toward the first of the water cultivators he was going to target. The fog didn¡¯t give him the kind of local omniscience he enjoyed when using shadow, but it did offer general locations of people. He could hear the water cultivators calling out to each other, their voices oddly muffled and distorted by the fog. He felt a couple of them try to use their qi to manipte the fog, but their attempts shattered against his control. <em>Foundation formation</em>, <em>at best</em>, he thought. Sen moved through the enemies like a lethal ghost. Three of them were dead when he heard someone start screaming about wraiths and devils in the fog. Sen knew that was going to cause problems. Two of the water cultivators near him had managed to find each other in the fog and were standing so close that they looked like one person in his senses. They started hurling water des andpressed balls of water in every direction.


    After dodging threepressed water balls and two water des, he decided to forego subtlety in the name of efficiency. He cycled up some lighting and sent a bolt of it at the huddled pair. One went down immediately, but it seemed they had taken the brunt of the strike. Almost immediately, a de of water shot toward him from the other water cultivator. Sen almost broke the technique, before he thought better of it and dropped to the ground. The de passed through the air over him. Sen sent another bolt of lightning at the remaining water cultivator. When they toppled over, Sen stood and walked over to them. He thought they were probably both dead, but he wasn¡¯tfortable with that kind of probably scenario. He found the two cultivators still smoking with weird discolorations all through their undamaged skin. He slid his jian into their hearts, one after the other. They <em>had</em> both already been dead.


    For a moment, Sen just looked at them. He knew that age wasrgely an illusion for cultivators, but they barely looked older than he did. One had been a young man with curly dark hair. There was still an expression on his face. He looked confused and afraid. <em>I did that to him</em>, thought Sen, <em>and I don¡¯t even know why</em>. <em>Was the fact that he was just on the wrong side of the fight a good enough reason for me to kill him</em>? Sen thought he¡¯d made his amodations with the necessity of killing, but these deaths struck him as especially pointless and without merit. It didn¡¯t change anything, though. He shook off the difort as best as he could and focused on the information he was getting from the fog he was maintaining. He''d been following Lo Meifeng¡¯s progress in the back of his mind. She¡¯d gotten three of the five on her side but had either forgotten the locations of the other two or otherwise gotten disoriented. Sighing to himself, Sen closed the distance. The first one died without ever seeing him. Thest of the water cultivators had found a tree and backed up against it. When Sen materialized out of the fog, she stared at him with naked terror on her face. She held a trembling dao in her hand and pointed it at him.


    ¡°Who are you? Why are you doing this?¡± she asked.


    Sen regarded her for a moment and asked, ¡°Why were you?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re my enemies.¡±


    ¡°Are they? What did they do to you?¡±


    ¡°They attacked my sect.¡±


    ¡°I asked what they did to <em>you</em>,¡± said Sen.


    The woman opened her mouth, but no words came out.


    Sen nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡±


    The woman shed at him only to stare in shocked horror as he caught the de and brought it to a dead stop with his bare hand. He pulled the sword away from her numb fingers and tossed it aside. He held out a hand.


    ¡°Storage ring.¡±


    She stared at him like he was the end of all things. After a moment, she lowered her eyes and pulled a ring off her finger. She dropped it onto his palm. Sen had be so adept with the storage treasures that it took him less than a second to ess the ring and assess its contents. Satisfied that there were no weapons in it, he tossed the ring back to her. Then, he lifted his jian and pointed with it.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone from either side in that direction. I suggest you get lost and disoriented for the next day or two, then find your way back to wherever you came from.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why spare <em>me</em>?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have a good answer for her or himself. Try as he might, he just couldn¡¯t shake the confused and frightened look that had been on the dead kid¡¯s face. Maybe he just didn¡¯t want to see that look or one like it on someone else¡¯s face so soon. He honestly didn¡¯t know. Lacking solid truth to lean on, he made something up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re evil, just foolish. This is your opportunity to fix that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Onest thing,¡± said Sen, staring at her until she met his eyes again. ¡°Do not let me see you on this battlefield again. Now go.¡±


    The woman ran off in the direction he¡¯d pointed.


    ¡°You know she¡¯s the enemy, right?¡± said Lo Meifeng from behind him.


    ¡°She¡¯s not my enemy. She was willing to leave.¡±


    ¡°You realize that she¡¯s probably going to run right back to her people. Odds are that we¡¯ll be fighting her again in a few hours.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we will.¡±


    ¡°If we do.¡±


    ¡°If we do, then she <em>will</em> be my enemy, and I will cut her down without a second thought.¡±


    Lo Meifeng made a nomittal noise. ¡°I think I see what you meant, now.¡±


    ¡°About?¡±


    ¡°Bnce being a work in progress for you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen in a tired voice. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go say hello to the fire cultivators.¡±


    Sen cleared the fog away with a brief application of qi. Then, they started walking toward the makeshift fortification. The fire cultivators, who had seen the foge out of nowhere, and then heard the screaming and fighting, peeked out to get a look at their saviors. When they saw the bodies of the water cultivators scattered across the area, they stood up and stared in wonder at Sen and Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked one of the fire cultivators.


    Sen stared at the one who''d asked the question. Their face was so covered in blood that Sen couldn''t tell if they were a man or woman. After that, Sen mostly ignored the conversation as Lo Meifeng immediately started asking about her brother. He didn¡¯t start paying attention again until someone asked about him.


    ¡°Okay, but who is he?¡±


    Sen looked over at them and went to answer, but Lo Meifeng answered for him. ¡°Him? That¡¯s Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    Sen gave Lo Meifeng a death re she ignored and said, ¡°Oh, thank you so much for that, <em>your highness</em>.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 44: Inferno’s Vale (3)

    Book 3: Chapter 44: Inferno¡¯s Vale (3)


    Once Sen started paying attention to the conversation again, he learned that the fire cultivators had been out on patrol when the real fight started. They¡¯d been trying to make their way back to the mainpound but had been whittled down by attrition. Most of this information came from the, it turned out, man whose face had been so bloody. He was visibly older than the other three, two younger-looking men and a girl who looked like she was maybe sixteen. They all deferred to the older man without question, probably because he was ate-stage foundation formation cultivator, while they were all still early stage. Sen let Lo Meifeng do most of the talking because he was angry, and it didn¡¯t seem right to vent that anger on the fire cultivators. They all looked to have had a very difficult day. Plus, he wasn¡¯t really angry at them. He was angry at himself and at Lo Meifeng.


    Looking back, his first instinct had been the right one. This <em>was not</em> his fight. It never had been. There was clearly bad blood between the fire cultivators and water cultivators, and Sen didn¡¯t know nearly enough about that situation to have chosen a side. For that matter, Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t have enough information to choose either. She¡¯de racing in all hot to save a brother that she didn¡¯t even know anymore. Hadn¡¯t known for a hundred damned years. For all she or he knew, her brother had participated in some atrocity against those water cultivators. For all either of them knew, he had <em>orchestrated</em> an atrocity. Sen knew that the smart thing, the rational thing, would have been to wait until it was over, and then gone to see if they could find her brother. Of course, reason didn¡¯t y any part in what had actually happened. Sen could even understand Lo Meifeng¡¯s position a tiny bit. If he walked blind into a situation where he thought Grandmother Lu was in immediate danger, the kind of violence he would likely unleash really would be the stuff of folk tales and legends. And it would have been just as stupid, and possibly just as wrong, as what they¡¯d done.


    While he¡¯d epted death as a harsh but inescapable fact of a cultivator''s life, he almost always had a reason for killing someone. He was not in the habit of just picking people at random and executing them because the sun got in his eyes that morning. That was the crux of his anger. He felt like he¡¯d done exactly that to cultivators who had stood exactly no chance against him and Lo Meifeng. He frankly doubted the water cultivators would have stood a chance against either of them alone. He¡¯d read an ount written by a general that said there was no honor on the battlefield, and he thought he understood a little better now what that general had meant. He hadn¡¯t fought those cultivators. He¡¯d butchered them. And he¡¯d ultimately done it because Lo Meifeng¡¯s brother, a stranger to them both, was on the other side. Having made that choice, however foolish and poorly thought out, he wasmitted to a side in a fight that he likely never would have participated in otherwise.


    Sen knew that he <em>could</em> just leave. When the full implications had finally settled on him, he had very nearly done exactly that. What had stopped him was the memory of Lo Meifeng¡¯s gauntness after they¡¯d escaped that cult. She hadn¡¯t asked for that. She¡¯d only been there because of <em>him</em> and tugs from his soul. It would have been easy to me that on Master Feng, to say that he¡¯d ordered her to be there, but she¡¯d gone way above and beyond whatever her original orders had been. He <em>knew</em> that much. She had suffered because of him. She¡¯d endured half a year of near-total istion, and she didn¡¯te out of it with a new cultivation method, or deeper insights into her power, or a better functioning core. She just came out of it with whatever scars she had on the inside. So, he stayed. But he was still angry with her for forcing the issue in the first ce. He feared he would be much, much angrier before the day was out. Aware of these realities, he kept his mouth shut for the most part.


    Things yed out about the way he expected them to y out. With two core cultivators at hand, the small group of surviving fire cultivators headed straight for theirpound, where the battle was fiercest. Of course, getting there meant cutting their way through dozens and dozens of the water cultivators. Work thatrgely fell on Sen and Lo Meifeng. And every time he killed one of the water cultivators, another log went on the fire of his anger. By the time they got close enough to see the main body of the battle, there was a forest fire of rage built up inside of Sen. Lo Meifeng and the fire cultivators could all sense it on him. Lo Meifeng, at least, seemed to have some clue about the source of that rage and worked very hard to avoid meeting his gaze. The fire cultivators were mystified, but none of them wanted to set off the obviously furious, incredibly dangerous core cultivator who was throwing around half a dozen different types of qi.


    Still, for Sen, there was nothing to do but go forward. He¡¯d picked his side by picking Lo Meifeng as a friend. He¡¯d do his part, and then she and he would have words about this entire thing. He owed her more than a little and had dragged her unwillingly into several bad situations. He couldn¡¯tpletely im a moral high ground on that count, but there was a difference. He¡¯d never done it <em>on purpose</em>. The demonic cultivators and the cult had been secondary consequences. There had been no intentions on his part to engage with things like that. He never would have knowingly enraged a cabal of demonic cultivators. He would never have knowingly led Lifen and Lo Meifeng into the hands of a creepy, half-insane cult leader. The sight of the main battle was enough to knock all of those thoughts out of his head, though.


    Sen had thought he understood violence and carnage. He had been so wrong on both counts. The scale of violence in front of him was so much bigger than anything he¡¯d ever seen. The carnage was simply unspeakable. He couldn¡¯t decide what was worse, the mangled, charred, and obliterated corpses or the wailing screams of those who hadn¡¯t joined them yet. There was blood everywhere and the smell of it was trying to crawl inside Sen and find a permanent home. There were body parts on the ground. Sen saw severed arms, parts of legs, and even body-less heads. He watched in a kind of dull horror as those body parts were stepped on or even kicked out of the way bybatants on both sides.


    At some point, he stopped really analyzing what he was seeing. His mind just noted it when three core cultivatorsbined their strength and sent a massive fireball on a collision course with a tight grouping of water cultivators. Those cultivators, in turn, erected a half-dome of water that intercepted the fireball. There was an explosion of steam as the two massive techniques collided. The core cultivator and the people behind the half-dome all survived that collision of power, but that explosion of steam had killed dozens of people on both sides who were too close. Sen thought that they were probably the lucky ones. The people who had been too close, but not quite close enough to die were all thrashing on the ground, screaming in agony at the burns that covered most of their bodies. In a moment of realization, Sen understood the futility at work before him. There would be, could be, no victory here. There would only be the question of who suffered the most losses.


    <em>How many cultivation geniuses will die in that battle before they can ever reach their potential</em>, Sen wondered. <em>How much umted wisdom will be lost</em>?


    ¡°What a waste of talent and knowledge,¡± said Sen, not even aware he was speaking out loud. ¡°And for <em>what</em>?¡±


    ¡°For honor,¡± said one of the young fire cultivators with total certainty of the very stupid.


    Sen turned such a look of angry disgust on the young man that the older fire cultivator physically stepped between him and the young man. The older cultivator held up his hands in a cating gesture.


    ¡°Please forgive him, senior. He¡¯s too young and apparently too stupid to know any better.¡±


    Sen looked over the older cultivator¡¯s shoulder at the young man. The younger cultivator had gone a shade of green, having seemingly realized how close he¡¯de to death in that moment. Sen pointed out at the battlefield, at the dead, at the dying.


    ¡°I want you to point to the <em>honor</em> out in that ughterhouse.¡±


    The young cultivator¡¯s eyes swept over the field. Sen couldn¡¯t tell if it was the first time he¡¯d really seen something like it, or if it was the first time that he¡¯d really thought about it, but the kid didn¡¯t point at anything. He just looked a little greener and refused to meet anyone¡¯s eyes. Satisfied that the point had been made, Sen turned his attention back to the older cultivator.


    ¡°Peace. He may well die today, but it won¡¯t be by my hands. Where do we need to get you?¡±


    The older cultivator stepped up next to Sen and surveyed the field. He didn¡¯t look directly at Sen when he spoke quietly enough not to be overheard.


    ¡°He is young in truth. Barely twenty.¡±


    Sen nced at the man. ¡°He¡¯s no younger than I am, and I can see that this won¡¯t do anything but kill a bunch of people for nothing.¡±


    That seemed to shock the older man. ¡°Really? And already a core cultivator?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t n it this way,¡± said Sen with a shrug.


    ¡°Then, the heavens smile on you.¡±


    Sen grimaced. ¡°Less than you might think. So, where in that nightmare do you need to go?¡±


    The older man surveyed the battlefield again and pointed to a cluster of activity near thepound gate.


    ¡°There. We¡¯ll report in and then¡­,¡± the man trailed off.


    Sen understood. They¡¯d report in and then, in all likelihood, get sent right out to die.


    Sen dropped his voice. ¡°You could stay out here. We won¡¯t mention that we saw you.¡±


    The older cultivator stared out at the battle for a full ten seconds before he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m grateful that you¡¯d do that, but we have to go report in. It¡¯s our duty.¡±


    Sen disagreed with that idea wholeheartedly, but it wasn¡¯t his ce to try to convince the man to abandon a duty. ¡°Very well. We¡¯ll get you there. Meifeng?¡±


    The woman stepped up on his other side and kept her eyes fixed firmly forward. Sen thought that was probably wise. He pointed out the spot where they needed to go.


    ¡°I¡¯ll lead us in,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I can do that,¡± offered Lo Meifeng. ¡°I¡­I understand that you hate everything about this.¡±


    ¡°I do. Doesn¡¯t change the fact that putting me in front is the smart choice,¡± said Sen, forcing down all of his anger and misgivings. ¡°Body cultivation makes me better at soaking up physical damage. Plus, I¡¯ve got more tricks. We¡¯ll talk about thister. For right now, let¡¯s just get it done.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Lo Meifeng in a subdued voice.


    ¡°You lot,¡± said Sen, pointing at the fire cultivators. ¡°I¡¯m going to lead. Lo Meifeng is going to watch the back. We¡¯re going to be moving fast. Don¡¯t get distracted. Don¡¯t fall behind.¡±


    Sen waited until he got a nod from each of the fire cultivators. Then, he sheathed his jian and summoned the ascendant-level spear from his storage ring. He heard a gasp from one of the fire cultivators, but he ignored it. He put everything away that wasn¡¯t directly rted to getting from where he was to where he needed to get the fire cultivators. He started cycling for lightning, fire, wind, and shadow. Expecting that he¡¯d need it the soonest, he fed some of the lightning qi into the spear. It soaked in the qi and the oddly sword-like spearhead crackled with the power. He heard another sharp intake of breath. He studied the battle between where they were and thepound gate. He stopped focusing on the individuals and tried to see how everyone was moving on a bigger scale. He waited until he felt he had a sense of the flow of things. Then, when he thought he knew where things would thin out in about a minute, he spoke.


    ¡°Get ready,¡± he said, letting his focus narrow down until only the battle in front of him existed. ¡°Now!¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 45: Honor on the Battlefield

    Book 3: Chapter 45: Honor on the Battlefield


    Sen consciously kept his pace to something that the foundation formation cultivators could maintain. They covered the first hundred feet or so without challenge. Then, a pack of four water cultivators spotted them. Sen unleashed his killing intent. The four staggered, two of them falling over entirely. Sen directed a lightning bolt at one, a fireball at another, and winddes at thest two. That drew some attention and a bigger group moved to block their path. Sen dropped the fire cycling and reinforced his lightning cycling. He threw a shield of hardened air between his group and them to intercept the water spear and water des that the group hurled at them. He caught most of them, but a few slipped through. He heard one cry of pain behind him, but he never stopped moving. He aimed the spear at the sky and nketed the group of water cultivators in absolute darkness. It was an effort to maintain that darkness out in the afternoon sun. So much effort that he didn¡¯t think he could hold it for more than a few seconds. Fortunately, he only needed a few seconds.


    Lightningnced into the sky. It would have been better if there had been clouds, but there was enough of whatever the lightning needed floating in the air that the pir of lightning that crashed down on the water cultivators shocked even Sen. They were flung out of his tiny area of false night in a spray of exploding dirt. A ground-level thunderp that sounded like some kind of titanic explosion rocked the entire battlefield. Some fighters on both sides were simply knocked unconscious by the sound. Others clutched at ears that were bleeding. In one fell swoop, Sen had brought the fighting to a stop over nearly a third of the battlefield. He felt pretty good about that until he heard Lo Meifeng screaming at him.


    ¡°Sen!¡±


    He looked back and saw that the older cultivator was still on his feet if bleeding from the ears, but the three younger ones were part of the unconscious group. He skidded to a halt and dashed back to them, begrudging every second of dy. He scooped up the first one he came to, the girl, and handed her limp form to the older cultivator. He gave the next one, who was bleeding from some kind of injury, to Lo Meifeng. Thest one went over Sen¡¯s shoulder. He tried not to think too hard about the fact that he¡¯d ended up with the idiot who babbled about honor. He spun back toward thepound and started running again. With so many people downed by the noisy assault, confusion reigned. Sen took full advantage of that fact to cover ground. He couldn¡¯t possibly hope for a better distraction. Not that it spared him fully. They still had to run through contested ground. Lone water cultivators or small groups would try to stop or stall him. Most were dealt with at a distance with wind or lightning techniques. If they managed to get close, a blow to the side of the head with a spear haft was usually sufficient to get by them. A few just wouldn¡¯t give up. He put those cultivators down hard and fast.


    Just when Sen thought they were going to get to thepound without any more serious confrontations, a cultivator dropped into his path. Sen could feel that she was a core formation cultivator. He still hadn¡¯t refined his ability to distinguish between cultivation levels enough to be confident about it, but he thought she¡¯d managed to add a fewyers to her core. That would make her qi and techniques stronger than his. On the flip side, his body cultivation was probably higher than hers, assuming she¡¯d pursued it at all. He slowed to a stop and regarded the woman. She didn¡¯t immediatelyunch an attack. Instead, she drew her jian and stared at him. <em>Is she really challenging me to a duel in the middle of a battle</em>, thought Sen. Lo Meifeng puffed up next to him and gave the water cultivator in their path an incredulous look.


    ¡°She¡¯s actually challenging you to a duel. Here? Now? Some people just don¡¯t have their priorities in order.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll hound us the rest of the way in if I don¡¯t ept, won¡¯t she?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Yeah. I mean, it¡¯s a battlefield. So, <em>anything</em> can happen. But that¡¯s probably how it will go.¡±


    Sen looked at the older fire cultivator. The man looked pale and unsteady on his feet. He¡¯d be no help in a fight. Sen and Lo Meifeng could probably fend the other cultivator off, but she¡¯d slow them down. That would give others a chance to converge. Sen made his decision. He started cycling for earth. He didn¡¯t hold back with it, using core qi to power the technique. Earth maniption was always hard work, and this was going to be the biggest thing he¡¯d ever tried. He looked at Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Can you handle carrying two back?¡± he asked.


    Lo Meifeng eyed the cultivator over Sen¡¯s shoulder for a second and then nodded. ¡°Yeah, I think so. Maybe I should fight her, and you should carry them back.¡±


    ¡°Do you think she¡¯d go for it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No. I just hate carrying people,¡± admitted Lo Meifeng. ¡°You can¡¯t <em>really</em> fight when you¡¯re carrying people.¡±


    Sen nodded in understanding, but most of his attention was focused down into the earth. ¡°I¡¯m going to clear you a path. It might not get you all the way there, but it should get you close enough.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    With a roar of effort, Sen lifted his hand up into the air. In a straight line back to thepound, the earth split apart into two long mounds that drove cultivators back in either direction. Then, a row of stone shafts shot up along either side of the narrow path Sen had left down the middle. Those pirs effectively created two walls that would keep Lo Meifeng and the fire cultivators on the path, but also impede any attacks of opportunity that got thrown their way. Sen released the technique and almost copsed at the wave of exhaustion that rushed up to greet him. Sen nced at the core cultivator waiting to fight him. Her eyes had gone a bit wide at the disy of raw power. Sen looked at Lo Meifeng, only to find her staring at him with her mouth hanging open.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to waste a bunch of qi on secondary fights,¡± said Sen, passing over the fire cultivator he¡¯d been carrying. ¡°I wanted it for stuff like that.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s mouth moved a few times before she mped her jaw shut and shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you at thepound,¡± was all she said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said a weary Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll be right along.¡±


    As Lo Meifeng took off down the path that Sen built, he turned his attention to the water cultivator who had gone through all the trouble to challenge him. He stowed the spear as he approached her. She seemed to have regained herposure and stood there waiting for him with a calm expression. She inclined her head as he got close enough for them to speak.


    ¡°You cultivate more than one kind of qi,¡± she noted. ¡°Impressive.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I suppose. It¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever done. It just seems normal to me. So, are we going to throw techniques at each other until someone dies, or did you have something else in mind?¡±


    She nodded to his hip. ¡°Can you actually use that?¡±


    Sen looked down at his jian and sighed. ¡°You should pick something else.¡±


    The woman lifted an eyebrow at him and confidence radiated off of her. ¡°Your power is substantial, but it¡¯s no substitute for skill.¡±


    ¡°As you wish,¡± said Sen, and drew the ascendant level weapon.


    When the woman sensed the true nature of the de, some of the confidence she¡¯d been projecting died. When Sen assumed his defensive stance, even more of it bled away. For his part, Sen was wary. There were a hundred little tells in the way the woman stood, in the way she held and shifted her jian, that shouted that she was very experienced with the weapon. He wasn¡¯t going to assume victory in his head until they¡¯d had at least a few passes against each other. It started the way those things always started. They tested each other. Thrusts met parries. shes were avoided or, if absolutely necessary, blocked. Sen was impressed. She had the cleanest form of anyone he¡¯d met since Master Feng. There was almost no wasted motion or squandered energy. Of course, he¡¯d had those same instincts drilled into him with thousands of hours of repetition and sparring. She disengaged, and he let her. He hadn¡¯t wanted the duel to begin with. As he nced around, he could see that everyone had backed off from their location and left them with an open space to conduct their duel. <em>Honor on the battlefield, after all</em>, he thought.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Just a humble wandering cultivator,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡±


    The woman seemed briefly startled and then her cheeks went pink with embarrassment. ¡°I didn¡¯t introduce myself. I am Chan Yu Ming of the Clear Spring sect.¡±


    Sen gave her a shallow bow. ¡°I am Lu Sen.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming gave him an expectant look and said, ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°No sect. No order,¡± he answered and, after wincing internally, added, ¡°but some call me Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale? That is a¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a ridiculous name. I know,¡± said Sen. ¡°I didn¡¯t pick it.¡±


    ¡°You are a master of the jian,¡± she said, stating it as a fact.


    Sen shook his head. ¡°No. The one who taught me is a master. I¡¯m little more than a dim reflection of <em>his</em> skill.¡±


    ¡°And who is this master who is so skilled that you are his pale shadow.¡±


    Sen debated about what to say, but he was tired. So, he just answered her. ¡°Feng Ming.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming went a little pale. ¡°You cannot mean <em>that</em> Feng Ming.¡±


    ¡°I do. Do you still wish to continue?¡±


    The woman was quiet for a long moment, her dark eyes studying Sen. It took Sen a second to realize that he wasn¡¯t really watching for her to attack. He was just looking at her. No, he was admiring her. He thought she was pretty. <em>There¡¯s something wrong with me</em>, he admonished himself. <em>Of course, I think the woman I¡¯m probably going to have to kill is pretty</em>! <em>Like I don¡¯t have enough problems</em>. He felt a vague, momentary sense of guilt as a memory of Lifen crossed his mind. Yet, he recognized that guilt as misced. He and Lifen had enjoyed each other, but it had never been a romance in any sense that he understood. There had never been discussions about a shared future ormitments. He didn¡¯t feel attached to her in that way. He wasn¡¯t indifferent to her and would do what he could to rescue her from that cult, but he wasn¡¯t in love with her. He never had been, and he was confident that she hadn¡¯t been in love with him. Still, of all the people he could find attractive, this woman on the opposite side of a small war wasn¡¯t a smart choice.


    Something of what had been passing through his mind must have shown through on his face, because Chan Yu Ming straightened up as though she¡¯d been startled. Then, she found other parts of the battlefield to look at. Sen recognized that this whole scenario was vaguely absurd and would probably be hrious to anyone not caught in the middle of it. When it became clear that the woman had been thrownpletely off course, Sen spoke up.


    ¡°Do you?¡±


    ¡°Do I what?¡± she asked, still looking elsewhere.


    ¡°Do you wish to continue?¡±


    That question brought the reality of the situation crashing back down on the woman. Her eyes found his again, and he saw a dizzying array of things in them. Curiosity. Interest. Regret. Fear. And those were just the things he could identify.


    ¡°I must. I have a duty.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I¡¯d really rather not kill you, but not so much that I¡¯ll let you kill me.¡±


    She nodded at that. ¡°Even if things were not as they are, you¡¯re a student of Feng Ming. I <em>have</em> to know.¡±


    Sen supposed that any true student of the jian would feel the same way. How could she pass up the opportunity to test herself against what Feng Ming could teach?


    ¡°Then,e and learn what you wish to know.¡±


    When she came at him the second time, there was a focused intensity to her. Her entire world had boiled down to this moment. Sen let himself fall into the ce where his conscious mind ceded control to years of painfully won skills and reflexes that had been burned into the fibers of his muscles. Whoever had trained Chan Yu Ming knew their business. She and Sen flowed across the battlefield, their des all but invisible to anyone beneath core formation. Sen had no attention to give to the rest of the battle. He only had room in his world for what was right in front of him. Even as they fought, Sen learned things. Chan Yu Ming¡¯s style was more like Auntie Caihong¡¯s than Master Feng''s, but the style had hidden fangs that appeared as sudden bursts of aggression. He had to adapt as he fought, modifying what he knew on the fly to counter a tactic he''d never seen before or unorthodox variations on a strike. It was the most alive, the most <em>himself</em>, that he¡¯d felt since he left the mountain.


    Yet, as the fight dragged on, Sen began to see the weaknesses in Chan Yu Ming¡¯s style and form. They were few and far between, but they were <em>there</em>. He could exploit them if he chose to and end the fight. He ignored those weaknesses for a time, but she had said she wanted to know. Did he have the right to deny her that knowledge? He didn¡¯t think that he did have the right. Yet, the thought of destroying someone with that much skill, that much talent, made his heart ache. How much more could she be if given the opportunity and the knowledge he now had about her style and skills? Then again, he had skill as well. He waited for the moment. When the rightbination of weaknesses aligned, an infinitesimally misced foot, a de a hair¡¯s breadth out of position, Sen struck. It cost him a deep cut along his shoulder, but his de passed <em>through</em> her ribs. She shuddered at the pain of it.


    ¡°Now, I know,¡± she said.


    ¡°Now, you know,¡± Sen said in a soft voice.


    With nothing else to do, he slid his jian back out of her chest. He caught her before she could fall, and gentlyid her onto the ground.


    ¡°It was,¡± she wheezed, ¡°a good fight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to the next one,¡± said Sen absently.


    ¡°You should be mindful,¡± Chan Yu Ming chided around abored breath, ¡°of those who are dying.¡±


    Sen looked at her and snorted. ¡°Dying? You¡¯re acting like I stabbed you through the heart.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d kill you after all of that?¡±


    He pulled one of the carefully hoarded healing pills from Auntie Caihong and pressed it into the woman¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Just give that a minute. It might not heal youpletely, but it¡¯ll keep you alive.¡±


    It was then that Sen realized that it was deathly quiet. He looked around and had to resist the urge to jump to his feet. The battle had stopped. No one was fighting. Every single person on that battlefield was looking at him and Chan Yu Ming.

 Book 3: Chapter 46: Judgment’s Storm

    Book 3: Chapter 46: Judgment¡¯s Storm


    Sen¡¯s first instinct was to run away. Being the focal point of that much attention was like having one of his nightmarese to life. He could see the looks on their faces and wanted no part of it. He didn¡¯t want their awe, or their fear, and especially not the reverence he saw on a few of their faces. Yet, there was nowhere to go without going through a bunch of those people. He might have stayed adrift in that sea of uncertainty if Chan Yu Ming hadn¡¯ttched onto his arm with a grip that hurt. He looked back down at her, wondering if he¡¯d injured her more than he¡¯d meant to. He had <em>mostly</em> missed her heart when he stabbed her, but notpletely. He¡¯d nicked it enough to make it feel real to her, but hearts weren¡¯t all the same size. He might have misjudged, which was why he¡¯d given her the pill in the first ce. The look on her face wasn¡¯t one of pain, though, but one of urgency.


    ¡°You can end this madness,¡± she said, before coughing up a mouth full of blood.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk. Save your energy for healing,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Listen to me,¡± she demanded. ¡°Right now, you control this field. No one out here wants to challenge you. If you tell them to stop, they¡¯ll stop.¡±


    ¡°No one is going to listen to me. I¡¯m no one. Nobody cares what Lu Sen has to say.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. Right now, everyone cares what you have to say. You just need to-,¡± she coughed up some more blood. ¡°Make it memorable. Give everyone an excuse to stop.¡±


    For a moment, Chan Yu Ming¡¯s entire body tensed.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Where in the hells did you get that pill?¡± gasped Chan Yu Ming. ¡°Feels like it¡¯s healing every injury I¡¯ve had in my past three lives.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± said Sen. ¡°I can¡¯t do this. I¡¯m not important.¡±


    ¡°Then, don¡¯t be you. Be whoever Judgment¡¯s Gale is. He sounds like someone who could be scary and important. But you have to do it <em>now</em>, while they¡¯re still stunned.¡±


    Sen was frozen in ce for a moment. She wanted him to be whoever Judgment¡¯s Gale was, except he didn¡¯t know who that was. It wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d crafted for himself. It was just an idea, a story that people told in winehouses, or around campfires at night, or he didn¡¯t even know where else. How could he be that? Of course, it was also <em>his</em> story or some weirdly distorted version of it. One with princesses and a hero out of legend that never existed, but his all the same. If that person was him, Sen could make Judgment¡¯s Gale whoever he wanted or, more importantly, needed him to be.


    ¡°All right,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll make it memorable.¡±


    Sen tried to put himself into the shoes of all those people who had been fighting. He understood their fear all too well. That looming presence of death was very familiar to him. He imagined their fatigue, weighing them down, telling them to quit, and their will to live fighting against that voice telling them that it would be easier to justy down, to quit, to let the ende. He imagined what the people in charge must be thinking as more and more people died. Desperately trying toe up with a strategy that would let them achieve victory or, barring that, simply let them survive the day. <em>If I were them</em>, Sen asked himself, <em>what would I need to see and hear to make it feel eptable to just stop</em>? <em>What kind of person would I ept thatmand from</em>?


    Gathering himself, Sen stood and red around the battlefield. Then, he took a step up into the air on a cushion of qi. Then he took another, as though he were climbing a stairwell into the heavens. He began cycling for the things he thought he¡¯d need, shadow, fire, wind, and lightning. He tapped his core qi for this to make sure that the statement he was about to make was grand enough. He climbed until he hovered above the field nearly twenty feet in the air. He could feel the collective attention on him, waiting to see what he would say and what he would do. He started weaving the qi into something new, something he¡¯d never made before, and lifted his jian.


    ¡°I am Judgment¡¯s Gale,¡± he projected across the field, using air qi to amplify his voice like it was the voice of creation itself.


    Then, he shot that woven technique into the sky. A swirling mass of fire, shadow, and lightning began spinning overhead. As it swelled outward, the unnatural storm swiftly blotted out the sun and cast the vale into a darkness akin to night. Sen added the final touch to the technique. He let his killing intent bleed into that terrifying storm of death. He¡¯d been hesitant to use any kind of broad nket of killing intent directly on the field out of a very real concern that he¡¯d end up killing lower-level cultivators. Using it this way, though, it was more like the entire field felt a reflection of that intent. When he¡¯d let them soak in the tant threat of the storm and his killing intent, he ignited a halo of white fire around his body, ever so briefly letting him rece the sun as the only source of light. Then, he spoke again.


    ¡°This is over,¡± he boomed across the field, ¡°or I will end it <em>for</em> you. <em>All of you</em>.¡±


    As if the storm was responding to him directly, a series of bone-rattling booms issued forth from that mass like a celestial death threat. Then, this time at Sen¡¯s direction, columns of me, lightning, and shadow struck down from on high in a ring around the valley. To Sen¡¯s way of thinking, if anyone on that field was looking for an excuse to stop, they had it now. For the next minute, no one took any action. Then, Sen felt a surge of qi as someone lifted off the ground and flew toward him from the rear of the water cultivator¡¯s forces. A momentter, he felt something simr from near the entrance of the fire cultivator¡¯spound. Two figures floated toward him on tforms of qi. When they got close enough, the fire around Sen let him get a look at them. The representative from the water cultivators was a willowy woman with high cheekbones and the stern gaze of someone far older than they looked. The fire cultivator was a thickset man with a shaved head. The pair eyed each other warily but spared most of their attention for eyeing Sen warily.


    Once more, Sen tried to imagine what he¡¯d need to see from him if he was in their shoes. <em>Cold conviction</em>, he thought. <em>I¡¯d need to see that they were utterlymitted to the course</em>. So, he set his face into a hard mask of determination. He regarded the two of them as they floated there. He¡¯d already issued his ultimatum. It was on them to act. The fire cultivator looked like he working himself up to say something stupid, but the idea died when Sen looked at him and the storm issued another series of those world-rattling booms. Without any more hesitation, the fire cultivator pulled a dao from its scabbard and set it on the qi tform in front of his own feet. Sen turned his gaze to the water cultivator. While she was more collected than the fire cultivator, she withdrew a jian from a storage ring and put it down in front of her feet. Sheathing his own jian, Sen used air qi to retrieve the weapons.


    ¡°Collect your wounded,¡± said Sen to both of them, before turning his gaze to the water cultivator. ¡°Where is your sectpound?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to the north.¡±


    ¡°Then, once you have your wounded gathered, you will remove your forces from this valley.¡±


    The water cultivator elder, who Sen was certain had to be near peak core formation, offered him a bow. The fire cultivator who wasn¡¯t quite as powerful as the water cultivator did the same. The two started to move away.


    ¡°Stop,¡±manded Sen.


    They did, exchanging a brief look with each other.


    ¡°Yes?¡± asked the water cultivator.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have your oaths to the heavens now. I didn¡¯t go through all this trouble so you could repeat this exercise in getting your people killed in six months. You will bind your sects to never attack each other again,¡± said Sen, holding up a hand to stop them before the whining could start. ¡°I <em>do not care </em>what your grievances are. As far as I¡¯m concerned, by indulging your grievances, you both murdered your juniors today.¡±


    Both the water cultivator and fire cultivator flinched at thatst. Then, so reluctantly that one would have thought Sen demanded they cut off a hand, both of the cultivators made their oaths to the heavens. Sen actually felt the oath take effect, like a thrum in the air that touched very nearly every cultivator on the field. Sen knew that it wouldn¡¯t stop individual conflicts, and it wasn¡¯t meant to do that. What it would do is prevent the same kind of wholesale ughter between the two groups from happening again. After a few more brief instructions, the fire cultivator returned to hispound. When the water cultivator remained in ce, he lifted an eyebrow at her.


    ¡°Why do they call you Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± she asked, looking up at the sky. ¡°Judgment¡¯s Storm seems more fitting.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t pick the name,¡± said Sen. ¡°Was that all?¡±


    The cultivator shook her head. ¡°Chan Yu Ming¡¯s body. I wish to retrieve it.¡±


    Sen eyed the woman for a moment. ¡°Maybe someday. She¡¯s not done with it yet.¡±


    The woman went perfectly still for a moment before she said, ¡°She lives? But you pierced her heart.¡±


    ¡°A moment,¡± said Sen.


    It took more than a moment for Sen to dismantle the hellscape he¡¯d crafted above them all, but he didn¡¯t want to give it any time to develop a life or momentum of its own. As the sun pierced through the swiftly disappearing shadows, Sen looked at the woman again.


    ¡°Almost.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I almost pierced her heart.¡±


    The woman seemed like she was on the verge of asking a lot more questions, but Sen thought that the memory of that storm overhead was a little too fresh. While they both objectively knew that she could take him in a fight, he¡¯d plunged the hook of fear deep into her heart. With a mental sigh, he realized that the same thing probably applied to everyone on the battlefield. <em>Well</em>, he thought, <em>it¡¯s done now, and I can¡¯t take it back</em>.


    ¡°Then, she¡¯ll be returned to us?¡±


    Sen frowned at the woman. ¡°I expect that Chan Yu Ming decides for herself where she will or won¡¯t go. I won¡¯t stop her from returning to you if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡±


    ¡°It was,¡± she said, offering another quick bow. ¡°It seems I have much work ahead of me today. I will attend to it.¡±


    The woman floated back toward the water cultivators. Sen let his eyes trail over the people on the battlefield. Some of them looked shocked, while most looked relieved. Sen pretended he didn¡¯t notice any of the people giving him positively creepy looks of adoration. Sen let his tform of qi drift down to the ground where Chan Yu Ming was sitting up and looking much healthier.


    ¡°So,¡± he asked, ¡°was that memorable enough, do you think?¡±


    ¡°Memorable enough?¡± she asked with more than a hint of incredulity in her voice. ¡°I thought you¡¯d give a speech, not put the <em>end of the world </em>in the sky. Yes, it was memorable enough.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 47: The Universe of Alchemy

    Book 3: Chapter 47: The Universe of Alchemy


    Having never participated in arge-scale battle before, Sen had no appreciation for just how much work or how much time it would take even for the basic task of gathering the wounded. With core formation cultivators on the field, he thought it might take an hour. Oh, how wrong he¡¯d been. If it had just been gathering the wounded, things might have gone quicker. Except, it wasn¡¯t just that. By basically proiming himself ¡°in charge,¡± every problem had suddenly be <em>his</em> problem. The very first problem he had to solve was how to keep both sides from quietly murdering the wounded from the other side. Heavenly oaths or not, relief that the battle was over or not, there was still a lot of bad blood and anger left over on that field. Sen eventually had to co-opt Chan Yu Ming into service and the pair of them patrolled the efforts to find and collect the wounded from a hovering qi tform. The implied threat of two core cultivators seemed to stem that problem.


    Once that logistical problem had been more or lesspleted, Sen hoped that his role in things would be done. He¡¯d made that observation out loud to Chan Yu Ming, whoughed so hard that she nearly fell off the qi tform. He glowered at her until she managed to get her mirth under control. Wiping tears from her eyes, she shook her head sadly at him.


    ¡°You poor boy. You¡¯re probably going to be personally managing this mess until my people are back at our sectpound.¡±


    ¡°Why? Nobody needed my personal supervision to make this mess.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Everybody wants an authority figure to turn to. You elected yourself to the role.¡±


    A terrible fatigue flowed through Sen at the very thought of having to deal with this mess, a mess he¡¯d had no hand in creating. ¡°I only elected myself to stop the killing.¡±


    ¡°And you did. Thank you for that, by the way. I¡¯d already lost enough friends for a lifetime before you showed up.¡±


    Sen nced at her and saw the pain on her face. ¡°Aren¡¯t you still angry?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming shook her head. ¡°I was never angry. I never wanted to do this in the first ce. It was stupid, destructive, and pointless. Plus, we came here looking for a fight. They gave us one. I can¡¯t be angry that people died in that fight. I can be sad, though, that so many died. That friends died.¡±


    Sen nodded because he thought that¡¯s what a person should do in these situations. He understood what she meant, at least intellectually, but hecked the personal experience to really empathize with her. He looked out across the battlefield to the rows of injured people who wereid out in lines both near the fire cultivatorpound and farther out near where the water cultivators had established something like amand tent. He frowned as a thought urred to him.


    ¡°Do you bring healers with you?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming grimaced. ¡°Some. Not enough for all of this, though.¡±


    Sen looked over at the rows of injured fire cultivators and the handful of people who were trying to tend to them. He sighed to himself. This was going to turn into a long day. Sen started grabbing people and issuing orders about what he needed and where he wanted it. It took almost an hour before he was finally set up in the middle of the field, exactly halfway between the two groups. Chan Yu Ming had watched all of it happen with a mystified expression. It wasn¡¯t until he had two massive cauldrons set up and water boiling in them that she finally asked.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°At the rate things are going, people are going to die just waiting for care. I¡¯m going to speed things along.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Just watch,¡± he said, smiling a little bit.


    It had been a while since he made an elixir for anyone but himself. In this case, though, he needed to make something more general. Something that would bolster the healing of any cultivator. He also needed to make it on a scale that he¡¯d never attempted before. Yet, that was the part that least concerned him. As long as he kept things in the proper bnce and proportions, he should be able to fix any problems that cropped up with making a couple of hundred healing elixirs. <em>Although</em>, he thought, <em>this will be more like a healing stew</em>. <em>I don¡¯t really have a good way to strain the final product</em>. He shrugged. It shouldn¡¯t harm the value of the elixirs, just make swallowing them a bit less pleasant for the recipients. He suspected that the injured cultivators wouldn¡¯t care.


    Of course, making the elixirs chewed through an ufortablyrge amount of his stores ofmon ingredients and reagents. It¡¯d take weeks, if not months, to gather more of some of those things. There were a few things he used that he¡¯d have to find local substitutes for, having only seen the original ingredients on the mountain. Chan Yu Ming, the gods bless her, took over fielding the endless stream of questions that kept getting directed to Sen. A few of the fire cultivators tried to act haughty with her, right up until the moment that Sen red at them and let a bit of his killing intent slip free. After that, there were no more problems. Sen kept most of his attention on the cauldrons, though. The kind of general-purpose healing elixir he was making was more forgiving than some elixirs, but he still needed to monitor it closely, add things at crucial moments, and sometimes use his qi to adjust the heat up or down. For all the concentration the process demanded, it was also soothing to Sen. A familiar activity that had brought up fond memories of afternoons spent learning from Auntie Caihong.


    As the two cauldrons of elixir nearedpletion, an idea came to Sen. There was one more thing he could add that would vastly enhance the strength of the elixirs. More importantly, it waspatible with almost everything. Sen went looking in his storage ring and started searching through the heavenly qi-infused beast cores. He found two that had almost none of their original qi-alignments left and withdrew them from this storage ring. He heard a sharp intake of breath from Chan Yu Ming, and then a cry of horror and he crushed the cores into powder with nothing but the brute strength in his hands. He positioned a hand over each cauldron and let the powder fall down into the elixirs. The elixirs bubbled wildly for a moment before they started to give off a faint white luminescence. Without even looking up, Sen pointed to a fire cultivator and water cultivator he¡¯d had standing by.


    ¡°Start bringing your wounded here. Start with the people who have the worst injuries but are stable.¡±


    Both cultivators took off at a run toward their respective camps. With a few moments of effort, Sen extinguished the fires beneath the cauldrons and bled the heat from the metal and liquid. Among the supplies he¡¯d demanded from both sides were cups. He started doling out the elixirs into the cups and setting them up on tables he¡¯d also acquired with a few sharp words. It took him a while to realize that Chan Yu Ming was staring at him. He returned her gaze with a questioning look.


    ¡°You, you,¡± she spluttered.


    ¡°Yes, I have some alchemy training,¡± he said, knowing full well that wasn¡¯t what she cared about.


    Then, he went back to putting appropriate amounts of the elixir into cups. He could answer her questions after all of the injured people had at least gotten <em>something</em> to help them survive the day. The first arrivals were carried in on makeshift litters, each of them too wounded to make the trip under their own power. Sen handed out the first few elixirs but then drafted a couple of people from each camp to help. They were tasked with things like handing out the cups or washing them between uses. Sen just kept filling the cups with the elixir. Before too long, though, he was interrupted by a healer from the water cultivator camp who strode up with the expression of someone who was on a mission. The slight man pushed his way past the other water cultivators and up to the cauldrons where, for nearly a minute, he just stared down into one of them. Then, he turned his gaze on Sen, his eyes almost wild. Sen returned the man¡¯s look with a nd one of his own while he continued filling cups.


    ¡°Who trained you?¡± demanded the man.


    Already feeling tired of the man, Sen fixed him with a very, very hard look. ¡°I don¡¯t owe you exnations.¡±


    The water cultivator paled under Sen¡¯s hard look, perhaps realizing that he had wildly overstepped the bounds of politeness if not position. More importantly, he¡¯d done it to someone who had ordered hundreds upon hundreds of cultivators to stop fighting¡­and made it <em>stick</em>. The man hurriedly offered Sen a deep bow.


    ¡°I apologize. It¡¯s just that if you can do this,¡± he said, gesturing at the cauldrons, ¡°I hoped that you might be able to help others. The most grievously wounded. There are a few that are beyond our ability to aid, at least here. I had to try.¡±


    Sen felt a bit of sympathy for the man, but he wasn¡¯t sure he <em>should</em> help that way. What he was doing here, offering general aid to all, said very clearly that he was taking a neutral position. If he went to the water cultivators and helped their most desperately injured, that could look a lot like taking sides. On the other hand, he¡¯d taken sides at the beginning of the fight and killed more than his fair share of water cultivators. He might not owe the man in front of him anything, but he <em>did</em> owe something to the water cultivators as a whole. He nced at Chan Yu Ming, but her face was an opaque mask to him. He couldn¡¯t tell what she thought or wanted him to do. Pulling a dagger from his storage ring, he made a mark on thedle he¡¯d been using to portion out the elixir. He held thedle out to Chan Yu Ming, who took it without changing her expression.


    ¡°Up to the line. No more, no less.¡±


    ¡°It will be as you say.¡±


    He turned to one of the fire cultivators who tried to hide the dirty look they¡¯d been giving Sen.


    ¡°Send someone to thepound and inform them that I will be treating the most seriously injured of the water cultivators. I will do the same for the fire cultivators if they wish it.¡±


    Some of the hostility Sen could feel in the fire cultivator vanished when the man realized that Sen wasn¡¯t handing out preferential help. The fire cultivator nodded.


    ¡°It will be as you say, Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    It took a huge effort of will to resist the urge to yell at the man not to call him that. It was how he had introduced himself to everyone. He couldn¡¯t very well get angry that people used the name he¡¯d given to them. He gestured at the healer to lead the way and followed the man back to the water cultivator¡¯s bivouac area. Sen steadfastly refused to acknowledge any of the looks he was given, whether they were hateful, grateful, or anything else. He was just there to see if he could help some people. The healer led Sen to a spot that had been isted with hastily built canvas walls. Once he stepped behind those walls, he understood. There were perhaps a dozen peopleid out on the ground, and Sen was simply astounded that they were alive at all. Most of them had been injured in directbat, with missing limbs or gaping head wounds. He saw one who had been caught in the wake of that steam explosion. As gently as he could, he examined them with his spiritual sense and his qi. He could tell that at least three of them were truly beyond help or his help at any rate. For the rest, though, he thought there was a chance.


    He started with the one who had been so hideously burned by the steam. He could tell that their injuries weren¡¯t just external, but that their lungs and windpipe had been seared by the steam as well. He picked a corner and set up his pot. Then, he started asking for the ingredients he needed. The water cultivator healers promptly started handing him what he asked for, mostly. In some cases, they''d simply run out. In other cases, they didn¡¯t know what he wanted. A quick exnation often yielded viable substitutes, but Sen all too often found himself dipping into his own stores. The work turned into a blur for him as he built elixirs from the ground up to treat incredibly specific problems. The only bright spot was that they were all water cultivators, so he didn¡¯t have to customize around different qi specializations. Except, then there were fire cultivators.


    He was so deep into the process of analyzing the injuries and trying to dream up creative ways to heal them that the implications were lost on him. He just kept working. He wasn¡¯t sessful every time, which hurt him more than he liked to consider. Of course, most of those cases were borderline. He¡¯d never know if it was that their bodies were too injured or if their wills to live just weren¡¯t sufficient to endure the healing. He¡¯d have to console himself with the knowledge that he¡¯d done all he could for them. As the hours blurred together into days, though, Sen was surprised to find that he was gleaning new insights into alchemy. He didn¡¯t know if it was his utter focus, the diversity of injuries, or somebination of factors, but he saw so many things he¡¯d missed before. He saw ways to use metal qi-attributed ingredients to reinforce the fundamental structures of elixirs, so they¡¯d be more stable. He saw how to connect water and fire qi-attributed ingredients, not simply as bncing agents, but at a more fundamental level that would let him temper them to work on injuries that might resist healing otherwise. The universe of alchemy opened before him like a map, and he followed its winding roads to ces he might never have gone otherwise.


    When the trance finally broke, Sen nearly copsed in exhaustion. <em>How long was I like that</em>, he wondered. He looked around and saw that there were no new people to treat. There was, however, a mixed group of water and fire cultivators kneeling on the ground around him. When they saw that he was aware of his surroundings again, the group pressed their heads against the ground three times. <em>Oh</em>, <em>that can¡¯t be good</em>, thought Sen.

 Book 3: Chapter 48: Healers and Legends

    Book 3: Chapter 48: Healers and Legends


    Completely flummoxed by the outpouring of what Sen assumed was respect, he blurted the first thing that came to his mind.


    ¡°Why are you all kowtowing to me?¡±


    The kneeling cultivators traded confused looks with each other before the slight healer that Sen had met before spoke up.


    ¡°We wished to honor the master alchemist.¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°I¡¯m no master alchemist.¡±


    There were more startled looks and confused nces traded. The slight man spoke again.


    ¡°If not you, then who? <em>I</em> am considered a master alchemist, and I could not have done half of what you did. I don¡¯t even understand <em>how</em> you did some of the things you did.¡±


    Sen recalled Lo Meifeng telling him that he was setting his bar too high. He¡¯d thought she was being snarky at the time. Maybe she¡¯d just been talking to him, though. Still, he wasn¡¯t a master, he didn¡¯t think.


    ¡°My teacher is far more adept than I am,¡± he said, falling back on his best dodge.


    A woman with pure white hair and youthful features piped up with augh. ¡°Who is your teacher, Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden?¡±


    ¡°Who is that?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°A myth,¡± said the slight man. ¡°A supposed nascent soul cultivator named Ma Caihong.¡±


    Sen blinked. ¡°Oh. Then, yes. Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden <em>is</em> my teacher.¡±


    The assembled cultivators burst into uproariousughter that slowly choked off when they realized that Sen hadn¡¯t even cracked a smile. The white-haired woman, whose face had gone nearly the same color as her hair, finally broke the silence.


    ¡°You met Ma Caihong? You actually traded words with her?¡±


    ¡°Yes. How else could she teach me?¡±


    There was another moment of startled silence, then the white-haired woman stood walked over to Sen and dropped down to kowtow again.


    ¡°This unworthy Tong Yihan begs you to take her as a student. Any price you name, I will dly pay it.¡±


    That set off a chain reaction as the other cultivators realized that Tong Yihan had apparently stolen a march on them and put herself up as the front-runner in a race that none of them expected. There was an explosion of noise as the gathered cultivators tried to outshout each other and outbid each other. Gold, jewels, cultivation treasures, rare reagents, and even sexual favors were all thrown on the table as possible bribes. A little part of Sen realized that he could probably make a sizable fortune just for teaching these people some little bit of his, apparently, umon knowledge. The rest of him just wanted to flee, as far and as fast as possible to get away from these people. He tried to calm them, but most of them were no longer shouting or even looking directly at him. They were shouting at each other. Arguing over who had the most right to learn from him. A conversation he¡¯d had with Auntie Caihong about how Uncle Kho wanted to avoid would-be students came to his mind. <em>Now</em>, he understood. Some people might like this kind of thing, but Sen hated it. He was preparing to simply fly away when a voice cut through the noise like a whip.


    ¡°Enough.¡±


    Every head turned to look. Chan Yu Ming stood behind them, all but glowing with barely suppressed anger. The slight man seemed to remember his manners first and bowed.


    ¡°Chan Yu Ming, we were just¡­¡±


    ¡°You were just hounding a man who has worked without food or rest for thest three days. Leave him be.¡±


    She never spoke the words <em>or else</em> but the hand resting not so subtly on the hilt of her jian did that work for her. The gathered healers, alchemists, and would-be students unhappily exited the little enclosed area, leaving Sen with Chan Yu Ming. He sagged in relief.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said with every ounce of sincerity in his soul.


    ¡°Small enough reward, I think, for a miracle worker.¡±


    ¡°Miracle worker?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°I heard the word miracle used without irony no less than five times in thest few days.¡±


    Sen sniffed. ¡°There were <em>no</em> miracles. Just alchemy.¡±


    ¡°First-order alchemy. The kind of alchemy you hear stories about. Not the kind of alchemy people actually do. Two of those people who just left nearly came to blows because they couldn¡¯t agree on which of the impossible things they saw you do was <em>more</em> miraculous.¡±


    ¡°Nothing impossible happened. There were no miracles. It was <em>just</em> alchemy,¡± said Sen in a intive voice.


    ¡°Master swordsman. Master alchemist. I suppose next I¡¯ll discover that you¡¯re a spear master and a master diviner as well.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°I know nothing of divination.¡±


    ¡°So, that spear you had wasn¡¯t just for show?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Spear master,¡± she said like she was adding it to a list.


    ¡°I never said <em>that</em>,¡± objected Sen.


    ¡°How you would rate your spear work?¡±


    ¡°Adequate.¡±


    ¡°And how would you have rated your alchemy a week ago.¡±


    Sen grimaced. ¡°Adequate.¡±


    ¡°Spear master,¡± said Chan Yu Ming with bedrock certainty. ¡°Anything else you¡¯re merely adequate at?¡±


    ¡°Probably,¡± muttered Sen. ¡°Does it matter?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, yet. Tell me, are you some secret prince that Feng Ming agreed to train?¡±


    ¡°If I were a secret prince, would you really expect me to tell you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°They¡¯re all proud fools, which it seems you are not. So, who are you? Where do youe from?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m no one. Literally no one. I came from a tiny town up north.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming gave him a look of profoundpassion and even a little pity. ¡°You <em>were</em> no one. Whatever your original ns were, you <em>are</em> someone now. There will be no escaping it this side of the Mountains of Sorrow. You need to prepare for that. Those fools won¡¯t be thest to seek you out, for knowledge, for training, or to cut down a legend.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a legend,¡± said Sen in a voice that only barely missed being a shout.


    Chan Yu Ming weathered his anger with serene calm. ¡°You weren¡¯t a legend. Although, something tells me that wasn¡¯t only half-true before you got here. Now, though, you will be. The man who stopped a sect war with <em>one</em> threat. The man who struck such fear into the elders that they took eternal oaths of peace. The alchemist who cures the incurable and saves the unsavable.¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating.¡±


    ¡°Not by much, and less than other people will.¡±


    Sen knew she was right. He just didn¡¯t <em>want</em> her to be right. Looking for any way to take the focus off him, he turned the question back on her.


    ¡°You seem to know a lot about all of this. Who are you?¡±


    For the first time, Chan Yu Ming hesitated. It was brief, but Sen noticed. <em>Interesting</em>, he thought. <em>She doesn¡¯t want me to know, or maybe she doesn¡¯t want anyone to know</em>.


    ¡°My family is¡­prominent,¡± she finally said. ¡°So, I know a bit about how fame works.¡±


    Sen rubbed his face with his hands. If he¡¯d been less tired, he might have pursued the half-truth she¡¯d just offered. As it was, he didn¡¯t care enough to press her about it.


    ¡°You know what the worst part is? I never wanted any of this.¡±


    Chan Yu Mingughed at that. ¡°No sane man would. What did you want?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to learn about the world. Stand in the ocean. Climb a mountain. See a desert.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±


    ¡°Not for most people. Maybe the world would be a kinder ce if it were.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± said Sen, his mood growing sour.


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because people are people.¡±


    Sen half-expected her to ask him what he meant by that, but she simply nodded in understanding. A sharp realization highlighted for him just how tired he was because it should have urred to him earlier.


    ¡°You said I¡¯ve been at this for days. Is your sect still here?¡±


    ¡°No. Most of them are gone. We negotiated more time for you to finish your work with the most wounded. It seems that the fire cultivators have functioning consciences because they didn¡¯t even really press for anything. Honestly, I think seeing my sect packing up and leaving was all they really cared about. A handful of healers and some people recovering from near-death injuries just aren¡¯t that threatening.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t suppose they would be,¡± said Sen absently. ¡°One of the water cultivators I tried to help had bad steam burns. Did they make it? Are they still here?¡±


    ¡°I think so. Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to speak with them. Take a look at how they¡¯re healing up. Burns are tricky at best.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get her,¡± said Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°Her?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t matter at the time, but it was bad. I couldn¡¯t tell.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming got a pensive frown on her face but didn¡¯t speak. She just slipped out of the enclosed area. A few minutester someone came into the enclosed area. Sen looked up and found himself looking at a hooded figure. They were shifting nervously like they wanted to run away.


    ¡°Please,e in.¡±


    There was a bit more nervous shifting, but they eventually came closer and said. ¡°Chan Yu Ming said I shoulde see you.¡±


    Sen offered her a gentle smile. ¡°Yes. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Han Ke Xin.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Sen.¡±


    The figure started a little at that. Senughed a little.


    ¡°What? You didn¡¯t think my parents named me Judgment¡¯s Gale, did you?¡±


    Something that might have been augh emitted from the depths of the hood. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about it.¡±


    Sen asked her a few basic questions about her life, her family, and her time with the Clear Spring sect. Anything to try to calm the young woman, and he was sure she was young from how she was acting. After ten minutes of small talk, Ke Xin seemed as rxed as she was going to get. Sen finallyunched into the heart of the matter.


    ¡°Burns are tricky to treat. It¡¯s easy to get it wrong or miss something. I¡¯d like to examine you to make sure that doesn¡¯t happen here.¡±


    The girl was silent for so long that Sen wondered if she was ever going to answer. When she did finally answer, it wasn¡¯t what Sen expected.


    ¡°Can someone else do it?¡± she asked in a small voice.


    Sen thought for a moment before he answered. ¡°I suppose someone else could. Although, I know exactly what I used to treat you and how it was supposed to work. I¡¯m probably the best person to do this. If you¡¯re concerned that I¡¯m not a good enough alchemist¡­¡±


    ¡°No! No. I heard them talking about you. They say you¡¯re some kind of genius miracle worker.¡±


    Sen throttled the urge to deny those ims. ¡°Then, I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want <em>you</em> to see me like this.¡±


    Sen stared at the hood for almost ten seconds before his tired mind <em>finally</em> made the connection. There was scarring. As a cultivator, unlike a mortal, her scars would eventually heal. Although, depending on how bad the scarring was, it could take decades. She thought he was attractive, so she didn¡¯t want him to see her at what she probably assumed would be her worst. <em>How do I get around this problem</em>, he asked himself. <em>She¡¯s a little bit vain</em>, <em>apparently</em>, <em>so I¡¯ll y to that</em>.


    ¡°I can probably speed up the healing of the scarring, but I need to know what I¡¯m dealing with first.¡±


    That was met with a long silence before the girl reluctantly reached up and slid the hood back. The scarring was less severe than Sen had expected, so it wasn¡¯t much effort to keep his face neutral and calm. When Sen didn¡¯t visibly react to what he saw, some of the humming tension went out of the girl. He gently prodded the scars with his fingers and his qi. He also took the opportunity to look for signs of infections anywhere else in her body, of which there were mercifully none. He was also relieved that he thought he really could do some things to speed along the healing process. Of course, it was going to mean at least one more moment of difort for both of them.


    He nodded. ¡°I can help with this, but it''s best if I see the extent and severity of the scarring. It¡¯s the only way to be sure that I make you enough of what you need.¡±


    Sen could almost feel the misery radiating off the girl. He could make some educated guesses if she wasn¡¯t willing, but he didn¡¯t like guessing about these kinds of things. Auntie Caihong had always insisted that it was better to see the problem with your own eyes if you could. How he wished she¡¯d never said that to him. Then, he could have spared this girl and himself. But she had said it to him, and if he was going to help Ke Xin, he wanted to do the best job he could. He didn¡¯t push the issue. He let her ponder what she wanted to do while he started preparing his pot and ingredients for a little more work. After a while, he heard the rustle of fabric behind him. Then, Ke Xin called out in a voice that sounded stripped of all happiness.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    He turned around. The girl had her eyes squeezed shut. Sen frowned at that. He wondered if it somehow seemed better if she didn¡¯t see him seeing her. Either way, he was quick about the examination. The scarring was as extensive as he¡¯d thought, although much of her back and the backs of her legs had been spared. He spent less than a minute making mental notes before he walked back over to the pot.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°That was helpful.¡±


    Ke Xin made a relieved noise and, based on the rustling, was putting her robes back on as fast as she could. Sen was already hard at work when she hesitantly stepped up close enough to see what he was doing.


    ¡°Can you really help?¡±


    ¡°I can,¡± he said. ¡°It won¡¯t be overnight, but I should be able to cut the time down to a few months, instead of a few decades.¡±


    The girl swayed on her feet for a moment and Sen grabbed her arm. She took a deep breath. ¡°A few months?¡±


    ¡°Might be a little more or little less, but something like that. You¡¯re foundation formation, so I don¡¯t want to push too hard with it. The medication will be potent as it is. If I make it any stronger, it could affect your cultivation.¡±


    That possibility seemed to bring out the adult in the girl. ¡°A few months is already a miracle. I don¡¯t want to take chances with my cultivation.¡±


    Sen sighed at the word miracle, but let it go. He spent the next few hours making an elixir and a salve that were meant to work together. They would interact with each other over time, breaking apart the scar tissue and encouraging her body to rece it with healthy flesh and skin. After handing them over and reiterating the instructions, he finally felt like he could rest. Then, he remembered, he didn¡¯t even have a tent set up anywhere.


    ¡°Damn it,¡± he muttered.

 Book 3: Chapter 49: Don’t Forget About the Kidnapping

    Book 3: Chapter 49: Don¡¯t Forget About the Kidnapping


    The next week was a true test of Sen¡¯s patience. While a few of the most severely injured water and fire cultivators needed a bit of additional attention, Sen spent most of his time trying to avoid people. He often went out on long trips into the valley thatsted for most of the day. They weren¡¯t wasted trips. He put out a handful of fires and fully extinguished some smoldering coals that might have burst back into fire. He was also able to rece some of the ingredients and reagents he¡¯d used up treating people. Although, the valley was so heavy in fire qi that he left behind a lot of nts and roots that he might otherwise have taken. It wasn¡¯t that those fire-attributed nts and roots weren¡¯t useful, they just weren¡¯t useful for what he typically used them for. He¡¯d only taken a small sampling of them to sell offter to other alchemists who could use them for pill creation.


    As often as not, he¡¯d just find some scenic spot and cultivate for a time in peace. His own natural affinity for fire qi made cultivating in the valley easy for him. Unlike when he¡¯d been traveling by sea, there was enough of the other kinds of environmental qi in the area that he could keep things in the not-quite bnce he maintained in his dantian. A few times, Chan Yu Ming invited herself along for these excursions. He could tell that she was intensely curious about what he was doing out away from the fire cultivators¡¯pound, and he was curious about her, so he didn¡¯t object. Both of them were vaguely disappointed. If he wanted to discuss cultivation, she was happy to speak to him at length about water cultivation. When it came to herself and her past, though, Chan Yu Ming was very tight-lipped. All he managed to get out of her was a confirmation that her parents still lived and that she had several siblings. For her part, she seemed perplexed that he was spending his time gathering nts and cultivating. Sen wondered if she thought he was out there developing some new technique.


    All of it was a stall, though. He could only avoid people and an awkward conversation he didn¡¯t really want to have for so long. At the end of the week, the water cultivators were all healthy enough to travel and defend themselves at need. A small group of fire cultivators tasked with guarding the water cultivators watched from a distance while Sen went to see them off. Several of the healers in the group made a final attempt to convince him to be their teacher. The white-haired healer, Tong Yihan, had been particrly single-minded in her quest to be his student. He pushed off their insistent requests for an answer with vague statements about considering the matter in the fullness of time or equally cryptic words. It wasn¡¯t that he was opposed to teaching, in principle. He just had doubts. He doubted his ability <em>to</em> teach the things he knew. So much of what he did relied on a kind of intuition and that wasn¡¯t something he believed could be codified. He had doubts about staying anywhere long enough to provide instruction of any real value. To teach anything he considered useful, he¡¯d likely have tomit to several months, and he hadn¡¯t stayed <em>anywhere</em> for that long since leaving the mountain.


    He shook those concerns off as he approached Chan Yu Ming. She, it seemed, had been left in charge of getting thest of the water cultivators home. He hung back as she issued orders. When thest of the small flock of cultivators had been set their tasks, she walked over to him and spoke in a quiet voice.


    ¡°Save me.¡±


    ¡°How could this mere wandering cultivator save the mighty Chan Yu Ming of the Clear Spring sect?¡±


    ¡°Kidnapping springs to mind as an option,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°You could steal me away.¡±


    ¡°If I steal something, I usually keep it. Would you like me to keep you?¡±


    The water cultivator¡¯s cheeks went bright pink, but she looked him straight in the eye and said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sen had meant thement as a teasing joke. So, her blunt answer left <em>him</em> t-footed and blushing. An oue that seemed to delight the woman.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked, feeling slightly annoyed and off-bnce.


    ¡°You¡¯re so self-possessed. I wondered if you even could be caught off guard.¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes. ¡°Everyone can be caught off guard if youe at them from the right angle.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true,¡± agreed Chan Yu Ming.


    Sen openly eyed the woman up and down with considering eyes. She noticed and straightened up a little, her hands smoothing her robes and hair.


    ¡°So,¡± said Sen in a thoughtful tone, ¡°about this this kidnapping. Should I just throw you over my shoulder and fly us away right now?¡±


    Sen was amused to note that she actually seemed to think about it. Then, she shook her head with a disappointed sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s tempting.<em> So</em> tempting,¡± she said, giving a baleful look at the disorganized, bickering flock of water cultivators. ¡°But someone has to get them back to the sect.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. Duty before dubious pleasure.¡±


    ¡°There won¡¯t be anything dubious about it,¡± said Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°You never know. I might turn out to be a crushing disappointment.¡±


    It was Chan Yu Ming¡¯s turn to look him up and down. With a little twinkle in her eye, she said. ¡°Somehow, I doubt it. You should visit the Clear Springs sect after you finish, well, whatever it was you came here to do.¡±


    Sen frowned at the reminder of that awkward conversation he needed to have with Lo Meifeng. Chan Yu Ming caught the change in his demeanor.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to upset you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not you. Really. It turns out that the reasons I thought I came here may not have been the real reasons.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°That¡¯s never good.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Still,¡± said Sen, deliberately changing the subject, ¡°I¡¯m not sure how wee I¡¯d be at the Clear Spring sect.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯ll deal with anyiners.¡±


    Sen nced at the woman but decided not to ask. ¡°In that case, I expect I¡¯ll be along before <em>too</em> long. I came here to learn some things, and I¡¯d still like to make that happen. After that, though, I¡¯d be happy to learn some useful things about water cultivation.¡±


    ¡°And kidnapping. Don¡¯t forget about the kidnapping.¡±


    Sen smiled. ¡°And kidnapping.¡±


    With an unhappy noise, Chan Yu Ming turned to Sen and offered him a bow. ¡°I can¡¯t put this off any longer or I¡¯ll never get them moving. It was very interesting to meet you, Lu Sen.¡±


    Sen returned the bow. ¡°Travel safely, Chan Yu Ming. I expect you healthy and whole for your abduction.¡±


    Giving him a big smile, Chan Yu Ming walked over to the water cultivators and started herding them toward the edge of the valley. Sen watched them for a time before his expression turned grim. He turned his eyes to the fire cultivatorpound and all the things waiting for him there that he¡¯d rather avoid. Much as he might want to, though, he couldn¡¯t put it off forever. <em>Can¡¯t I</em>, <em>though</em>, he thought. For a moment, he considered just leaving. Lo Meifeng was where she wanted to be. As far as he could tell, she was safe here now. He <em>could</em> just go. It would be nothing to catch up to Chan Yu Ming and her water cultivators. She would wee him with open arms. It would be so much <em>easier</em>. Except, it wouldn¡¯t be in the long run. Lo Meifeng would no doubte chasing after him out of fear of Master Feng. And it was entirely possible Master Feng would show up here looking for him. While the elder cultivator would probably just be amused that Sen had moved on again, Sen had things he wanted to discuss with the man. Having spent some time in the world, he had a whole list of things he should have asked about but never did.


    So, no, as tempting as simply walking out of the valley might be, it wasn¡¯t a practical option. He could just keep avoiding Lo Meifeng and thepound. He had all the gear and food he needed to set up camp somewhere in the valley, but that wasn¡¯t practical either. While it would spare him a lot of frustrations, it wouldn¡¯t let him learn the things he¡¯de here to learn. If he wanted to learn, and he <em>did</em> want to learn, that meant spending time in thepound. It would also mean fending off all of the healers and alchemists. He supposed that was a price he¡¯d just have to pay. If he let things stand as they were, though, it would also mean steering clear of Lo Meifeng all the time. It had been tedious avoiding her when he wasn¡¯t in thepound all the time. It would be a constant chore if he was there full-time. Shaking his head, Sen epted the inevitable. They just needed to have it out and be done with it. After that, they might part ways or they might not. It would depend a lot on how she answered his questions.


    Resigned to the idea that getting what he wanted also meant doing things he didn¡¯t want to do, Sen set off for thepound. The guards at the gate looked like they wanted to say something to him, but they ultimately just let him pass. They probably figured that bothering him was a good way to get some other, more unpleasant task than guard duty. He¡¯d been assigned a room in thepound but hadn¡¯t spent more than a few hours in it. He wasn¡¯t even sure he could find his way back to it unassisted. That wasn¡¯t his ultimate destination, though. He spent several hours asking around before someone was finally able to direct him to Lo Meifeng¡¯s location. He found himself in a quiet little garden away from the main activity in thepound. Lo Meifeng was talking with a tall man. He didn¡¯t even need an introduction to know it was her brother. The resemnce was very strong. If not for the difference and height and gender, they might have been twins. It was also clear that the conversation the siblings were having was a tense one. As soon as Lo Meifeng noticed Sen, she abruptly stopped talking. Her brother gave her a perplexed look before he noticed Sen.


    Sen debated whether to approach, but it seemed that whatever conversation the two had been having was over for the moment. As he walked closer, both Lo Meifeng and her brotherposed themselves. Sen inclined his head to Lo Meifeng, before offering her brother a bow.


    ¡°I am Lu Sen,¡± he offered by way of introduction.


    The man seemed to debate what to do before he also bowed. ¡°I am Lo Baihu. Please forgive my rudeness, but I have many duties that I must attend to.¡±


    Sen recognized that the man was looking for a reason to leave. What Sen couldn¡¯t figure out was if Lo Baihu wanted to get away from him or from Lo Meifeng. He nodded in understanding.


    ¡°Of course. I wouldn¡¯t want to keep you from your duties.¡±


    At that, the man quickly walked away. Lo Meifeng watched him leave and then let out a breath.


    ¡°You have terrible timing,¡± sheined.


    ¡°I gave you a week,¡± he said in a rigidly neutral tone.


    Lo Meifeng winced a little at the tone and nodded. ¡°You did. So, is it time for Judgment¡¯s Gale to sit in judgment of me?¡±


    Sen thought about how to answer for a long moment before he said, ¡°Yes.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 50: Sect Perspective

    Book 3: Chapter 50: Sect Perspective


    Wu Meng Yao had never considered herself a coward. She had fought spirit beasts and rogue cultivators without hesitation. She had endured the pains of advancement and tribtions. She had held firm on the path of cultivation where so many others hesitated, broke, or failed. Yet, every day, the idea that she <em>was</em> a coward weighed her down a little more. Not a coward of the body, but something far worse, far more reprehensible. She feared that she was a coward of the soul. And all it had taken to nt that seed of doubt inside of her was a look of hurt on the face of a man she barely knew. He had, in the end, tried to be her friend. She had told him that he frightened her.


    That much was true. Lu Sen or Judgment¡¯s Gale or whatever name he decided to go by these days <em>did</em> frighten her. He was too powerful by far for anyone at his stage of cultivation. It wasn¡¯t just that he could wield multiple types of qi like it was nothing at all, which had been a shock all on its own. The sheer amount of qi he could wield and the depths of his reserves simply defied belief. The man had stood off a spirit beast tide and, if the aftermath was any indication, had killed a truly staggering number of those spirit beasts¡­by himself. She had seen the burned-out and sted ruins of that town, along with the shredded corpses of the spirit beasts. She had seen them with her own eyes and could barely credit it. That alone would have been enough for most people, but that wasn¡¯t what had truly frightened her.


    Looking back, she could see that it had been the incident with Changpu that had driven the icy de of fear into her heart. She could remember the expression on Lu Sen¡¯s face with perfect rity, as though it had been seared into her eyes. That look of calm, detached, absolute certainty in his own rightness as he cut off Changpu¡¯s arm was the moment when he went from object of curiosity to object of terror. He hadn¡¯t looked like a young man in that awful moment. He had looked ancient, remote, and terrible. Then, the casual indifference with which he had thrown Song Ling the pill, that <em>impossible</em> pill, that dragged Changpu back from the shores of death. It made Lu Sen seem like some kind of mercurial god masquerading as a man. In her mind, she knew that he was just a man. She had seen him injured. She had seen him bleed. In her mind, she knew that it was true, but not in her heart. Then, there was the incident at the brothel. If she hadn¡¯t been frightened before, she was in a lot ofpany being frightened after that.


    That was why she had rejected his overtures of friendship. That was why she had said nothing when Changpu left the sect, vowing vengeance if it took a thousand lifetimes. If only she had known then what she knew now. Her life in the sect had been transformed almost entirely on his word. He had told Elder Deng, Elder Deng of all people, that her honor could be trusted. Oh, how her shame had <em>burned</em> inside of her when she learned that. With those words, she had been brought to the attention of the second most powerful person in the sect. And where Elder Deng¡¯s attention went, everyone¡¯s attention went. Opportunities she could have never dreamed of before were presented to her on an almost weekly basis. With those words, she had been trusted with a personal student. A student who possessed an almost fanatical drive to learn and seed. With those words, Lu Sen had changed her life. His reward for that spontaneous act of kindness and implicit endorsement of her worthiness? Her fear.


    What she wouldn¡¯t give to have that moment back, to be able to do it over again. But that was the stuff of children¡¯s stories. She couldn¡¯t have that moment back to do again. Yet, what <em>had</em> she done to rectify that cowardice? Nothing. <em>If I was sincere in my shame</em>, <em>I would find him</em>, she thought. <em>I would find him and set right what I put wrong</em>. Of course, she also knew that he was effectively in hiding after having, somehow, turned nascent soul cultivators loose on the demonic cabal he had exposed. <em>A genuine reason to fear him</em>, she thought. <em>What kind of man could simply summon nascent soul cultivators, even for something as important as destroying demonic cultivators</em>? Still, the entire cabal had been all but obliterated by all ounts. It was possible that Lu Sen might have finally surfaced somewhere. If he had, she could find him. Plus, Elder Deng had hinted that it might be time for her to take a journey somewhere. Travel could drive cultivation in ways nothing else would. Wu Meng Yao nodded to herself. Yes, it was high time that she traveled.


    ***


    Shen Mingxia was happy. In fact, she was the happiest she had ever been in the sect, save perhaps that first day when she¡¯d been granted membership. What a difference a year could make. Before, there had been Han Jun, with his wandering hands and his expectations. A man who taught nothing save how to avoid his line of sight, at least if you valued your virtue. Those had been dark days, indeed, and Shen Mingxia had often considered leaving the sect to find another sect somewhere else. Yet, her family was <em>here</em>. Yes, she would likely outlive them all, but that was long decades into the future. If she left, she wouldn¡¯t get to see her brother or her sister grow up, marry, or even be cultivators themselves. She would have missed everything. So, she stayed. She endured. She clung to honor because it was the only pir she had. Looking back, she knew that, if things had continued on as they were, it would have broken her. It wouldn¡¯t have happened all at once, but inch by insidious inch.


    Then, Han Jun had decided to punish her for not warming his bed by sending her out to die. Then, the killing had started. She still had nightmares about <em>that</em> night sometimes. Yet, she had been spared. She knew, in general, why she had been spared. That man who had seemed to her like nothing more than a ruthless killing machine had needed a message sent. That exined why he spared someone. But she¡¯d never gotten a clear answer about why he had chosen to spare <em>her</em>. Had it been simple luck? She might never know. Then, he¡¯d saved her, which had been something else entirely. Sparing her had been nothing. Saving her had required a choice. A choice he¡¯d made twice, and she didn¡¯t know why he¡¯d done that either. It certainly hadn¡¯t gained him anything in the moment.


    For such actions, he could have demanded just about anything from her, anything at all, and she would have been honor-bound to try to see it through in repayment of the life debt she owed him. Someone like Han Jun would have made sexual demands of her, as would have so many others. Some would have demanded that she acquire some impossible prize for them. Him? For hisrgesse, he said she owed him dinner. <em>Dinner</em>. As if her life was such a petty thing that dinner could be enough. Yet, she hadn¡¯t even managed to make good on that meal, which bothered her more than she¡¯d like to admit. Still, in one evening, he had saved her life and released her from the clutches of Han Jun, a gift that nothing short of his death would have aplished. In many ways, she felt more indebted to theplicated, strange wandering cultivator for that than for her life.


    The greatest gift he had bestowed on her, though, was Wu Meng Yao. She finally had a real teacher. One who was kind, talented, and wise. One who shared her knowledge freely and corrected mistakes firmly but without malice. Shen Mingxia had grown in leaps and bounds with Wu Meng Yao as her guide. How the wandering cultivator had known, how he could have seen so deeply into her to understand the kind of teacher she needed, she would likely also never know. All she knew was that, should she ever meet Judgment¡¯s Gale again, she would kowtow to him a hundred times in thanks if he would let her. She¡¯d also buy him that damn dinner.


    ***


    Elder Deng listened to thetest reports from the outside world. There had been a time, glorious centuries, when he had not concerned himself with the outside world save for when war had threatened to topple their city. All of that had changed with theing of that boy. How Elder Deng had wanted to curse that boy andy the me for all of the subsequent chaos at his feet. The elder was honest enough to recognize that some tiny little piece of him truly did me the boy and resent him. The rest of him, though, the wiser parts of him knew that was unjust and unworthy of the principles of the Soaring Skies sect. After all, the boy had not created the corruption in the sect, merely exposed it.


    And there had been corruption. They had ultimately found not one, but two other fully-fledged demonic cultivators hiding in the sect. People that Elder Deng might otherwise have thoughtmitted members of this ancient ce. Their discovery had merely uncovered the peak of the mountain. Day by day, week by week, abuse after abuse had been discovered. Some sect members had been cast out. Some had been executed. The demonic cultivators had done their work well, slowly hollowing out everything that once made the Soaring Skies sect the pinnacle of honor. That honor still lived. He saw in the Wu Meng Yao, who the boy had brought to his attention. He saw it in her student, Shen Mingxia, who had refused to attack one who had spared her, very nearly at the cost of her life. Yes, their honor lived, but it had been tarnished. Only time and unrelenting effort would let them buff away that corrosion and return their honor to its previous luster.


    Unfortunately, Elder Deng could no longerfortably look only inward at the sect. That inward focus and his unfounded faith in their honor had let demonic cultivators take root. It let promising students bepromised with poor teaching, false doctrine, or more basic assaults. Now, he turned his eyes and ears to the world beyond the walls of the sect. He listened for word of the demonic cultivators. That news was almost always a small joy because the boy had unleashed an apocalypse on those fiends in the form of Fate¡¯s Razor, Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden, and the Living Spear. When news of demonic cultivators came in, it was almost always a report of their brutal deaths.


    Yet, he also listened for news of the boy. Of that, there had been none for nearly half a year. He feared that the boy might well be dead. Although, word was that he had carved a path of destruction through the demonic cultivators and their servants first. Still, death would be a poor reward for exposing such filth. He had also been hearing troubling news ofrge, unprovoked spirit beast attacks on towns and viges. He wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. Spirit beasts were usually predictable, at least the ones that chose to upynds near to civilization were. He feared changes in that status quo could only prove an ill omen. Frowning at that thought, he resolved to send out people to investigate. If something had changed with the spirit beasts, he needed to know.

 Book 3: Chapter 51: Questions and Answers

    Book 3: Chapter 51: Questions and Answers


    It wasn¡¯t much of a conversation at first, as Senid out the reasons why he was angry with Lo Meifeng. She tried to justify a few things at first, but Sen just asked her to wait, assuring her that questions wereing. She reluctantly fell silent after that and simply endured his words. Words that he delivered with an almost mechanical precision and nk tone of voice. Once he finished with that, he was silent for a time as he weighed which questions really mattered and which ones would just be him venting his anger on her. She <em>knew</em> he was angry, so there was no point in driving home a point that had already been driven home. Sen had thought he¡¯d been ready for this conversation. He¡¯d believed he already decided on all the questions he¡¯d ask, but the reality was different than he¡¯d imagined. He hadn¡¯t anticipated how pale Lo Meifeng would look or the obvious effort it took her to remain silent. He also hadn¡¯t anticipated how his own anger would cloud everything and make him want tosh out at her.


    Sen dug deep and leaned hard on the discipline he¡¯d built over the years. He leashed that anger and dragged it into a back corner of his mind, where it could snarl and screech but not drive him to act without thought. He didn¡¯t look directly at Lo Meifeng, because that seemed to make his anger worse. He looked out at the quiet little garden, seeking sce and calm in nature. When he felt he¡¯d ordered his thoughts and emotions enough, he asked his first question. It was probably the most important question, objectively, even if it wasn¡¯t the one that he cared the most about.


    ¡°Why did you lie to me about why you wanted toe here?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t lie,¡± said Lo Meifeng with an explosion of breath. ¡°Nothing I said to you abouting here was untrue. It <em>is</em> out of the way. There <em>is</em> an order of fire cultivators here. We can <em>learn</em> things from them.¡±


    ¡°I recognize all of that,¡± said Sen coldly, ¡°which is why we¡¯re having a <em>conversation</em> about this and not a <em>duel</em>.¡±


    That brought Lo Meifeng up short. It seemed that possibility hadn¡¯t urred to her. Maybe she¡¯d underestimated Sen¡¯s anger, or maybe she¡¯d assumed that their rtionship would prevent it. The very idea of it seemed to drain the bravado out of the front she was trying to put up. She had seen Sen fight, up close and personal, and she knew what he could <em>really</em> do if he decided to. That knowledge gave her an advantage over other potential opponents but also gave her perspective. While a duel between people at their respective levels of advancement would normally be an automatic win for Lo Meifeng, Sen could see the truth in her face. She recognized that her odds of survival in that kind of direct confrontation were fifty-fifty, at best. Not even that good if Sen used all the tricks in his bag. She swallowed hard.


    ¡°Then, I-,¡± she started, ¡°I appreciate your restraint.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure, you¡¯re wee,¡± said Sen in a very tired voice. ¡°The point still stands. Why did you lie to me about why you wanted toe here?¡±


    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t think it was your business. Because I didn¡¯t think it would matter. It didn¡¯t have anything to do with <em>you</em>.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it had something to do with me,¡± growled Sen. ¡°Did it ever ur to you that he might send people out to attack us?¡±


    ¡°Baihu would never do that!¡±


    ¡°How would you know? You haven¡¯t seen the man in a century. You assumed he wouldn¡¯t based on hundred-year-old memories.¡±


    Lo Meifeng had no answer for that.


    ¡°Look,¡± said Sen through gritted teeth. ¡°I¡¯m not saying I needed every sordid detail of your family fight. That really isn¡¯t my business. That your brother was here and that you had a falling out was my business because they mattered to my safety.¡±


    Lo Meifeng seemed to struggle with herself before she said, ¡°I know. I know. I should have told you. It¡¯s just embarrassing. A hundred years without speaking. Who does that?¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°You, apparently.¡±


    Lo Meifeng red at him. ¡°Not funny.¡±


    Sen nced at her. ¡°It¡¯s a little funny.¡±


    Lo Meifeng rolled her eyes, then took a deep breath. ¡°I assume that¡¯s not your only question.¡±


    Sen did look directly at Lo Meifeng then. ¡°It is not.¡±


    The woman seemed to wilt under that gaze, but she nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s have it.¡±


    ¡°There was a moment when you could have chosen to stay out of that battle altogether,¡± said Sen, and he saw Lo Meifeng flinch. ¡°Instead, you raced headlong into it. You know me well enough to know that I wasn¡¯t just going to sit idly by while you fought for your life. You also knew I wanted no part of that fight. You knew I¡¯d hate the killing. You forced my hand anyway. I want to know why.¡±


    Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t have an immediate answer for that one. Sen could almost see her trying to arrange what she¡¯d say into the least inmmatory version of the answer she could give. Then, he saw her resignation when she seemingly realized that there was no best version of the answer. No version of the answer that was going to make Sen just nod and agree that it had been necessary. She took a deep breath and plunged forward.


    ¡°I needed to get to my brother. I wasn¡¯t sure I could make it by myself. I needed what you could do, and I needed it on that battlefield.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t as surprised by that answer as he imagined Lo Meifeng thought he¡¯d be. It was the answer he¡¯d been expecting. It didn¡¯t hurt less hearing it, but it wasn¡¯t shocking. He nodded.


    ¡°So, you used me. Endangered my life. Pushed me into a situation where I¡¯d have to kill people that I had no conflict with, just to get what you wanted.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my brother,¡± she said.


    Even Sen could tell that there were a million other things wrapped up in those simple words. No doubt, she was thinking of a thousand shared childhood memories. Maybe she was thinking of images of a little boy that she remembered fondly, time spent with parents, or ying games. It was a bond that Sen knew that he knew nothing about. He didn¡¯t have the context to gauge the kind of pressure that kind of rtionship put on a person. Yet, it didn¡¯t change the fact that she had valued the life of a rtive stranger over his. Not that Sen was meless in all of it. He could have turned around and walked away at any point. He should have if he was being honest with himself. He wanted to dump all of the responsibility on Lo Meifeng for what happened, but he¡¯d made choices out on that field. They had felt necessary at the time. Once he was in the thick of the fight, it would have been a lot harder to walk away without doing the kind of things he didn¡¯t want to do in very public settings. In the end, he¡¯d probably even saved more lives than he took, but he¡¯d had no business on that battlefield in the first ce. He knew that, and so did Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I can¡¯t drop all of the responsibility on you, much as I¡¯d like to. I stayed on that battlefield of my own free will. But we both know you used what you knew about me, the kind of person I am, to get me into that fight. That maniption is <em>all</em> on you.¡±


    Lo Meifeng stared at the ground for a moment before she nodded. ¡°I know. I did manipte you.¡±


    Sen eyed her. ¡°Not going to say that you¡¯re sorry?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be honest. I¡¯m not sorry I dragged you into it. It was probably the best thing that could have happened for everyone involved. Everyone except you. I¡¯m sorry it caused you pain, but I¡¯m not sorry I did it.¡±


    Sen let that sit for a while before he asked his next question.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take Master Feng out of the equation. Let¡¯s say that we were just two people who knew each other. If I had deliberately, knowingly, lied to you, manipted you, and pushed you into a fight you didn¡¯t want, what would your response be? What would <em>you</em> do in that situation?¡±


    The silence after that question stretched out for almost five minutes. Sen had a pretty solid idea of what the answer was going to be, so he gave her as much time as she needed. When she did finally answer, her face was a brittle mask of indifference.


    ¡°All other things being equal, if you had done to me what I did to you, I would murder you.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I thought it would be something like that.¡±


    Then, he stood up from where he¡¯d been sitting and started walking back toward thepound. He''d only taken a few steps when Lo Meifeng called after him.


    ¡°So, is that it? Should I expect a dagger in the night? We both know you can do it.¡±


    Sen paused and turned to face Lo Meifeng. ¡°I think, right now, that you should be enormously grateful that I¡¯m <em>not</em> more like you. No, I¡¯m not going to murder you in your sleep. I owe you too much for that. I just haven¡¯t figured out what I should do about you. I can¡¯t trust you not to do something like this again, but I also can¡¯t send you away. So, I need to think for a while.¡±


    Sen was a little surprised to see a moment of hurt cross Lo Meifeng¡¯s face when he said he couldn¡¯t trust her. That look was fast reced with a look of grim, resigned eptance. Minimally, she¡¯d burned whatever bridge of trust that had been between them. That destruction had taken a lot of the connections of friendship and loyalty he¡¯d felt toward her with it. Sen could even, vaguely, understand why she¡¯d done it. But it would be a long, long time before he¡¯d ever extend her the same kind of trust that she¡¯d enjoyed from him before that battle. It might never happen again, and that made for a veryplicated working rtionship. What he needed to decide was what role, if any, he was going to let her y in his life after this.


    Lo Meifeng looked to be groping for words before she finally just nodded and said, ¡°I understand.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 52: Sword Lessons

    Book 3: Chapter 52: Sword Lessons


    Sen was in a bad mood when he left that garden. Nothing had happened that he hadn¡¯t expected, not really, but the whole thing was just a massive frustration for him. He¡¯d thought that he and Lo Meifeng had made progress. His knee-jerk reaction was to say that they hadn¡¯t made any progress at all because that would let him just write her offpletely. But he couldn¡¯t quite sell himself on that idea. They <em>had</em> built something like a friendship. It seemed that he¡¯d just overestimated how much she valued it. He pushed that whole situation to the back of his mind. He wasn¡¯t going to solve it in his present frame of mind. He¡¯d never solved much of anything when he just wanted to find something to break. He needed some kind of distraction, so he went looking for one.


    He found that distraction in a courtyard where some of the younger fire cultivators, or so Sen assumed based on their questionable skill, were sparring with practice jian. He hung back and simply watched them all for a while. There was the usual divide between those who simply knew more and less. There was also the divide between those who were more talented and those who would only advance through sheer, stubborn determination to improve. Sen felt a lot more empathy for that second group. He was one of them. The only real difference between them and him was that he¡¯d been taught by a true master, which they seemingly had not, and he had practiced a lot more than they had. After he¡¯d been watching for most of an hour and had cataloged a whole litany of martial sins, someone came over and leaned against the wall next to him.


    ¡°Sad, isn¡¯t it?¡± the neer asked.


    Sen looked over at the man. He looked like he was in histe twenties and leaned to the heavier b muscle that Sen associated with hard physicalbor more than cultivation. The man looked like hadn¡¯t shaved in a few days, but Sen couldn¡¯t decide if the man was justzy or trying to make some kind of fashion statement. He wasn¡¯t armed that Sen could see, but that didn¡¯t mean much in a world of storage treasures. Sen barely looked armed, and he had a small arsenal in his storage ring. He didn¡¯t really feel like talking to the man, but he had been looking for a distraction. It would do.


    ¡°What¡¯s sad?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°The state of their skill with a jian.¡±


    Sen shrugged. It wasn¡¯t his ce to criticize. It was one thing to observe where correction could be made, and something else entirely to give voice to those thoughts. The first was more an exercise for his benefit. The second was an invitation to a challenge, and he¡¯d had more than enough violence for the time being. Plus, he had no idea who the man was. He could be their instructor for all Sen knew.


    ¡°You don¡¯t agree?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°I have no opinion,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°A sword genius like you has no opinion about student sword work?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m no sword genius.¡±


    ¡°The hells you¡¯re not. You fought Chan Yu Ming and <em>won</em>. She¡¯s a sword genius, which pretty much makes you one by default.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just setting the bar too low.¡±


    The man was quiet for a moment before he threw his head back andughed. ¡°So, you¡¯re really not going to tell me what you think of them.¡±


    ¡°It seems unlikely. I¡¯m not looking for challenges, duels of honor, or violence of any kind. Offering that kind of opinion seems almost guaranteed to cause at least one of those. After all, I am a mere guest here.¡±


    ¡°Guest? Who in the world told you that nonsense?¡±


    Sen frowned at the man. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand.¡±


    ¡°You parked a swirling mass of fiery death in the sky that was so big it blotted out the sun. We¡¯re fire cultivators. You could say that we were all impressed, if you¡¯re generous, or humbled, if you¡¯re not. The only kind of guest that you are is a guest <em>elder</em>. Besides, after that disy with Chan Yu Ming, do you think anyone here is really in a hurry to start an argument?¡±


    ¡°People are stupid sometimes.¡±


    That made the man pause for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t really argue that point. People can be morons, but I think you¡¯re safe from that for at least another week.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s helpful to know. Thank you. Everyone here knows me, it seems, but you haven¡¯t introduced yourself.¡±


    ¡°Shi Ping.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± said Sen, and then gave the man a meaningful look. ¡°What is your role here, Shi Ping?¡±


    The muscr man sighed. ¡°I never was good at being subtle. I¡¯m one of the martial instructors.¡±


    ¡°Do you teach the jian, by chance?¡±


    The man offered Sen a guileless grin. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°So, why try to get me to criticize your training?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I¡¯m lousy at it. I don¡¯t mean using a jian. I¡¯m actually pretty good at that. But doing and teaching are different. I don¡¯t need to exin things to myself while I¡¯m using one. I can rely on intuition and experience. You can¡¯t do that when you teach.¡±


    Sen nodded. He had very little experience with teaching, but he remembered the extraordinary patience that Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong had shown him. He wasn¡¯t sure that he could keep that up for years on end the way that they had. He wasn¡¯t even sure he could keep up that kind of patience for a few weeks. Yet another reason he was in no great hurry to take on alchemy students. Of course, they had all been consummate masters of their respective crafts with deep insights into all aspects of the jian, alchemy, spear, and formations.


    ¡°Surely the other elders are aware of all of this. Why don¡¯t they simply select another instructor?¡±


    ¡°Who? True sword geniuses are rare fruit my disgustingly talented friend. There are a handful of others in the sect who are better with a jian than I am, but they aren¡¯t better teachers.¡±


    Sen finally understood. It wasn¡¯t a problem with ack of jian talent in the sect, but a skill gap in terms of actually teaching. Perhaps Sen had been blessed with unusually talented teachers. Or maybe all those thousands of years let them refine their teaching skills. Sen nced at the hopeful face of Shi Ping and relented.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of individual problems with the students, but I suppose that¡¯s to be expected. Everyone will have their own strengths and weaknesses. In general, though, they¡¯re all struggling with sloppy form. This isn¡¯t the style I use, but I can see how it¡¯s supposed to look. That,¡± he said, waving a hand in the general direction of the students, ¡°isn¡¯t what it should look like.¡±


    Shi Ping gave Sen a big, toothy grin and gently punched him in the arm with a meaty fist. ¡°I knew a genius like you would know what was wrong. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d care to help out for an hour or two? You know, just to put the kids on the right track.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to find out after I¡¯ve helped that you¡¯re incrediblyzy and always looking for ways to shirk your responsibilities, am I?¡±


    The big man pressed a hand to his chest. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re going to find that out. But even I know that getting <em>this</em> right is important. It¡¯s not like getting out of cooking. This is life or death information for them. Maybe not right now, but someday.¡±


    Sen was a bit amused at the man¡¯spletely unashamed admission of his ownziness, but he also heard the sincerity in the man¡¯s voice. While Sen wasn¡¯t enthusiastic about ying guest teacher, he supposed that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to offer the kids a few basic pointers. If nothing else, he thought he could show them approximately what their form should look like. That would have to be helpful, wouldn¡¯t it? Sen nodded to the man.


    ¡°Alright. I suppose I can help. I am a <em>guest elder</em>, after all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit,¡± said Shi Ping, pping Sen on the shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go meet the kids.¡±


    Sen let himself be led over to where the young men and women were standing. It didn¡¯t take long before there were about a dozen ck-jawed, wide-eyed kids staring at Sen. <em>Yeah</em>, he thought, <em>this isn¡¯t ufortable at all</em>. Shi Ping pped his hands together with an ear-splitting crack. The kids all jumped at the unexpected noise, and then immediately began shouting questions.


    ¡°Silence,¡± bellowed Shi Ping. ¡°Guest elder¡­¡±


    Shi Ping shot Sen a startled nce, realizing he¡¯d never gotten Sen¡¯s actual name.


    ¡°Lu Sen,¡± supplied Sen.


    ¡°Guest Elder Lu Sen has graciously agreed to participate in today¡¯s ss and provide all of you with sparkling wisdom and insight that <em>none of you</em> have earned.¡±


    Sen nced at the man but saw he was grinning at the kids with a cheerful gleam in his eyes. A look at the kids showed that they were clearly in on the joke, as they quietly snickered. Then, Shi Ping¡¯s face went dead serious.


    ¡°I expect all of you to pay attention. Opportunities like this don¡¯te along very often. Make the most of it.¡±


    The young women and men all looked a bit startled at Shi Ping¡¯s seriousness, but then all turned attentive gazes on Sen. Sen offered them all a shallow martial bow, and they all returned much deeper ones. He thought about how he should begin. He nced over at the rack of practice jian and with a negligent gesture and application of air qi, summoned one of the practice des to his hand. After that, every eye was glued to him, including Shi Ping.


    ¡°Your style is not my style,¡± said Sen, ¡°but I feel that I should at least make the attempt at your basic form to show that I, as you, can always learn something new.¡±


    With that, Sen fell into the first stance of their form. He let his body move once through the form slowly, seeing what felt right and where he¡¯d misjudged something. Having worked out most of the idiosyncrasies, he started over. The second time through, it flowed. It wasn¡¯t as bluntly aggressive as Master Feng¡¯s style, or as deviouslyplicated as Auntie Caihong¡¯s. It was straightforward. Ideal, really, for young students. He let the motions carry him, unconsciously refining the form as he went, making on-the-spot improvements that he intuitively understood should have been there, and probably had been in the original version. When hepleted the form, he turned to look at the students. One of them, one of the more naturally gifted students, looked like he¡¯d been hit in the head or had a divine revtion. Sen kept expecting to see heavenly qi descend on the boy. The rest just looked awed. Even Shi Ping had a wide-eyed expression.


    ¡°Strength, speed, and control. These are the fundamental building blocks of excellent swordsmanship. Some of you have strength, others have speed, but most of youck control. You wish to rush ahead. But when you rush, you turn this,¡± he executed a thrust into a practice dummy that made the inanimate figure explode, ¡°into this,¡± he executed the same thrust at another dummy only to have the thrust turned aside. ¡°The first can save your life. The second can cost your life. Do you all wish to live?¡±


    There was a moment of hesitation, then the students shouted in unison, ¡°Yes, Elder Lu!¡±


    ¡°Then, let us begin.¡±


    What Sen had meant to be a brief hour or two of casually helping out, turned into a four-hour extended lesson. Shi Ping abandoned any pretense that he was teaching and ced himself with the other students. Sen made a point to work with each student one-on-one for a few minutes. In most cases, he corrected what he¡¯d seen as their most pressing problem or gave them individual advice about how they could correct it. He even, half as a joke, pulled Shi Ping aside, only to find himself giving the man real tips on improving. When the students looked like they were all ready to fall asleep on their feet, Sen called the ss to a close. It was only then that he really noticed that every inch of spare space was filled with fire cultivators, young and old. He even spotted Lo Meifeng trying to hide in the back. He could see her expression, though, like he was someone she didn¡¯t even recognize. As a reminder, he posed the ss a question.


    ¡°What are the fundamental building blocks of good swordsmanship?¡±


    As one, the students shouted. ¡°Strength! Speed! Control!¡±


    ¡°Very good,¡± said Sen, giving them a shallow bow. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for today.¡±


    The students all offered bows of their own. Some of them staggered over to return their practice des, while some stood with a ssmate and had an animated discussion. Shi Ping walked over to Sen and shook his head a little.


    ¡°That was,¡± the man said, ¡°I don¡¯t even know.¡±


    ¡°Extraordinary,¡± said a voice from behind Sen. ¡°The word you are looking for, Elder Shi, is extraordinary.¡±


    Sen turned around and found himself face-to-face with a woman who could look him right in the eye. Her hair was iron gray, but the skin on her face was oddly smooth. Sen could feel the power in her. She was a nascent soul cultivator. Not as powerful as Sen¡¯s own teachers, but far above him. Sen lifted an eyebrow, unsure what to make of the woman, until he heard a collective gasp, and saw everyone drop to their knees and press their foreheads to the ground. <em>What is happening</em>, he wondered.


    ¡°I am Duan Yuxuan, Matriarch of the Order of the Celestial me.¡±


    Aware that he¡¯d missed his opportunity to kowtow with everyone else, Sen offered the matriarch a deep bow. Almost as deep as the one he¡¯d give Master Feng.


    ¡°I am¡­,¡± he began, but the matriarch gently cut him off.


    ¡°Oh, I am aware of your identity, Judgment¡¯s Gale. Please,e with me. There are matters I wish to discuss with you.¡±


    Recognizing the order for what it was, Sen fell in behind the matriarch.

 Book 3: Chapter 53: Matriarch

    Book 3: Chapter 53: Matriarch


    For all that the pair of them could have probably flown wherever they wanted in thepound, Duan Yuxuan led them through the ce on foot. Everywhere they went, there was more kowtowing. The only exceptions were a few, peak core cultivators that Sen assumed were highly positioned in the order. They merely offered incredibly deep bows as the pair of them passed. It was deeply ufortable for Sen to watch, even if he wasn¡¯t the object of all that bowing and scraping. The matriarch took it all in with serene grace, asionally offering a few words to some favored disciple or order member. Eventually, <em>finally</em>, they reached what Sen assumed was the woman¡¯s office. As soon as the door was closed, Sen let out a relieved breath. The matriarch gave him a questioning look.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t all of the kowtowing and bowing get,¡± Sen chose his next word with some care, ¡°tedious?¡±


    The Matriarch gave him a knowing smile. ¡°Extremely. So, you are presumably wondering why I don¡¯t put a stop to it.¡±


    ¡°It had crossed my mind.¡±


    ¡°I tried to put a stop to it almost five hundred years ago. It was a disaster.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°No one knew what to do when I came into the room. It made them so ufortable that they tried toe up with new things they could do or say to <em>honor</em> me. Then, they disagreed about which of those things was most appropriate. There were duels and disorder. There was chaos. I know you¡¯re a wandering cultivator, so you¡¯ll just have to take my word for it when I tell you that internal chaos will bring down a sect or an order like this one faster than any external enemy. So, I reinstated the bowing and scraping. Order was restored,¡± said the matriarch as she sat behind a surprisingly in desk. ¡°Sit.¡±


    Sen sat in the chair opposite the matriarch and waited. He cast a quick nce around the room, but it was just the usual things one might find in an office. There were scrolls and what looked like ledgers, no doubt to keep track of the order finances. There were a few pieces of art on the wall, but Sen didn¡¯t know enough about art to know if they were good, bad, valuable, or worthless. Overall, it was a shockingly impersonal ce for someone who presumably spent most of her time there. Sen thought that, if it were his office, he¡¯d probably decorate a bit more just to keep himself from getting too bored. While he looked at the office, he could feel the matriarch studying him. He didn¡¯t know what she was looking for. As far as Sen knew, he didn¡¯t have any hidden depths to discover. He did find himself idly wondering, if the matriarch was as powerful as she seemed, why she¡¯d tolerated such a stupid battle to be fought on her doorstep in the first ce. She could have probably run the water cultivators out single-handedly with a single word. After the silence stretched out for several more minutes, Sen finally broke the silence.


    ¡°Am I supposed to be asking questions?¡±


    ¡°Do you have questions? Of course, you do. I can probably even guess most of them. You probably wondered why I would tolerate that battle in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Some hatreds run deep. The water cultivators and my own people wanted that fight, or they thought they did. It happens every generation or so. I could have prevented it, or forbidden it, but that would have created a whole different set of problems that would have been far more difficult to predict or control. Minimally, it would have created deep resentment in the order toward me. While I don¡¯t personally care if people resent me, it would have been extremely disruptive inside the sect. People would have chosen sides. There might have been a civil war. In other words-,¡± she started to say.


    ¡°Chaos,¡± finished Sen. ¡°I suppose that begs another question. Why let me put an end to it? You could have stopped me any time you wanted to.¡±


    ¡°Why would I want to? Tolerating that violence and endorsing it are very different animals, young man. I couldn¡¯t stop it without threatening to topple this order. You, on the other hand, an outsider, a very powerful and frightening outsider, could stop it with minimal consequence. A few might resent you, but not the way they would have resented me. I didn¡¯t expect those heavenly vows, though.¡±


    Sen considered that for a moment. ¡°Are they actually binding on the Clear Spring sect and this order? I didn¡¯t get a vow from you or from whoever is in charge at the Clear Spring sect, just the battlefieldmanders.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t enough to bind me, or my counterpart in the Clear Spring sect, but neither of us is interested in the fight,¡± said the matriarch. ¡°I expect a few of the peak core cultivators resisted it. On the whole, though, yes, it¡¯s binding.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°So, you got what you actually wanted in the long run. An end to the violence.¡±


    Duan Yuxuan waggled a hand in the air. ¡°I got an end to therge-scale violence. Nothing will everpletely stop the violence, but this will keep it to a much more manageable level.¡±


    ¡°Since you got what you wanted, more or less, why am I here?¡±


    ¡°Do you have any guesses?¡±


    ¡°I doubt I¡¯m here so you can thank me. A note would have sufficed for that,¡± said Sen.


    The matriarch offered a small smile at that. ¡°You may be undervaluing your contributions or my gratitude, but you¡¯re right. That¡¯s not the specific reason you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°I doubt you care that Imandeered a ss on the jian. Especially given that I did it by request.¡±


    ¡°That is also true.¡±


    ¡°So, if I¡¯m not here about something I did,¡± mused Sen aloud, ¡°then this must either be about something I <em>didn¡¯t</em> do or something about me personally. I didn¡¯t happen to make vague statements about maybe teaching your son alchemy and then, <empletely by ident</em>, never speak to him again, did I?¡±


    The matriarchughed at that. ¡°My daughter, actually. Oh, you should have heard theining. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not going to intercede on her behalf. It¡¯s good for her not to get what she wants sometimes. Or who she wants, for that matter.¡±


    Sen straightened up in his chair at that. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not ominous.¡±


    ¡°I suspect you¡¯re safe,¡± said the matriarch.


    Then, through a basic process of elimination, Sen finally figured it out. ¡°This isn¡¯t about me at all, is it? This is about Feng Ming, Kho Jaw-Long, or Ma Caihong, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Feng Ming, specifically, but all three indirectly. They¡¯ve been out looking for you when they weren¡¯t obliterating sects and cleansing the world of demonic cultivators.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I thought they might be. We sent a message to Master Feng. Let him know we were alive and where we were going.¡±


    Duan Yuxuan sighed. ¡°I worried that might be the case.¡±


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have told him I was alive and where I was going?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish, boy. Of course, you should have. I just wish that you had been going somewhere else. I have aplicated history with Feng Ming. Although, I suppose nearly every nascent soul cultivator has history with every other nascent soul cultivator on the continent. It¡¯s almost unavoidable.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re a small group. asionally, someone ascends, or dies, but membership is fairly stable. People that powerful, who live that long, well, you intersect with each other sooner orter. It¡¯s usually just happenstance. You¡¯re in the same city at the same time or you¡¯re both looking for a particr treasure. We make an effort to keep things civil because the alternative means a level of destruction that most of us find uneptable.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re worried that some of that uneptable destruction is going to happen here, if-,¡± started Sen.


    ¡°When,¡± corrected the matriarch.


    ¡°When Master Fenges calling.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, and that¡¯s the real problem. He might just wander up to the gate and ask to see you. He might also fly in here like he means to shatter the face of the if we don¡¯t turn you over to him immediately. It could just boil down to his mood. That is why I¡¯d prefer it if he saw <em>you</em>, safe and hale, before he sees <em>me</em>.¡±


    ¡°I see. You¡¯d like me to be the weingmittee when he turns up.¡±


    ¡°I would very much appreciate that.¡±


    Sen shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s no skin off my knee. I¡¯ll do it. Although, I kind of think that this could have been handled with a note, too.¡±


    ¡°It could have, but I wanted to get a look at you for myself. See the young monster that Ming built.¡±


    Sen sniffed. ¡°I¡¯m no monster.¡±


    ¡°No? I suspect most of the people who came up against you in a fight felt differently about that. I¡¯ll grant you this, though. You¡¯re more thoughtful than I would have expected from one of Ming¡¯s students. He tends to be a very straightforward sort of person. Moves in straight lines. You¡¯re a little more flexible, and a bit more twisty in your thinking. Caihong¡¯s influence, do you think?¡±


    Sen shrugged again. ¡°Probably. Or Uncle Kho.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. Well, whether you meant to or not, you did perform a service for my order. I would reward you. What would you wish of me?¡±


    Sen thought about it for a while. He didn¡¯t really have any pressing wants. He did have one need, though.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have a manual for the Five-Fold Body Transformation lying around somewhere?¡±


    The matriarch¡¯s eyes went wide, and she shook her head a little. It looked like she was trying to shake off a bad shock.


    ¡°Ming really is building a monster, isn¡¯t he?¡± she muttered. ¡°No. We don¡¯t have it, but I can think of three ces where you might find it. Although, whether you can get any of those ces to part with even a copy is another matter altogether. The Golden Phoenix sect in the capital has a copy. The Clear Spring sect imed to have it, but that was almost fifteen hundred years ago, and I never saw it with my own eyes. So, it might have just been a boast. A nascent soul cultivator named Fu Run has one, although I¡¯d advise you to seek her out only when you¡¯ve exhausted all other possibilities.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s powerful and unpredictable. She¡¯s also entric, even by cultivator standards. I honestly can¡¯t predict how she¡¯d react to you. She might kill you out of hand. She might decide to keep you for two hundred years as an amusement or a pet. She might also simply give you what you want on a whim. As I said, she¡¯s entric.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate the information and the warning. I don¡¯t suppose you can tell me more about the Five-Fold Body Transformation Technique.¡±


    ¡°I am¡­aware of it, but I have no direct knowledge about its methods. I know only that it¡¯s extremely potent and dangerous to practice.¡±


    ¡°Dangerous to practice,¡± repeated Sen. ¡°Of course, it is. Well, thank you for telling me that much.¡±


    ¡°Is there nothing else you wish for? Cultivation aids? Treasures?¡±


    Sen gave it a bit more thought. ¡°I can also use another jian or spear.¡±


    The matriarch smiled. ¡°Spoken like a true student of Feng Ming and Kho Jaw-Long. I¡¯ll see to it that something appropriate is brought to you.¡±


    Sensing the dismissal, Sen rose from his seat. As he was about to leave, he nced back at the matriarch who was already peering down at a scroll. He hesitated and then asked.


    ¡°Matriarch Duon?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°What does your daughter look like? I haven¡¯t gotten many names since I¡¯ve been here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯d know her as soon as you saw her. Pure white hair. Only person in the order with hair like that.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I remember her. Thank you.¡±


    Duan Yuxuan waved a hand at him, and Sen took the invitation to leave that time.

 Book 3: Chapter 54: Pick a Reason

    Book 3: Chapter 54: Pick a Reason


    With Duan Yuxuan¡¯s certainty that Master Feng <em>would</em> show up there at some point, Sen found himself stuck in one ce with no clear picture of when he might leave. It was a strange feeling for someone who, aside from his time trapped at the cult, had rarely stopped anywhere for more than a night or two. Worse still, he had nothing that he <em>needed</em> to be doing. There were plenty of things he could be doing. After that afternoon with the jian students, he¡¯d been inundated with requests for him to do everything from provide guest lectures on an array of subjects, most of which he was woefully unprepared to teach about, to offer private training sessions. He¡¯d pretended not to notice that most of those requests came from women. He had politely declined them all, choosing instead to asionally drop in on the jian students, or wander the halls looking for things of interest.


    He spent most of one day sitting in on sses with their formation master. He¡¯d asked a few questions that had caught the man¡¯s attention and, seemingly, left the other students baffled. The formation master had dismissed his students early that afternoon in favor of having an in-depth discussion with Sen about formation theory. Sen wasn¡¯t sure how much their formation master got out of the discussion, but Sen had found it enormously helpful in rifying some of the things he¡¯d have to run experiments to confirm. He had made a point to find out where the alchemy sses were held and steered well clear of that part of thepound. He worried that there would be another awkward bidding war if they caught sight of him.


    He also found elders offering instruction on fire cultivation to students of all levels. He always stopped, listened, and even participated in those sses when he could. Strength was all well and good, but he¡¯d learned through hard experience that efficiency was often just as important. The tips and ideas he picked up didn¡¯t always work for him. He wasn¡¯t a pure fire cultivator the way most of the elders and students were, so some of what they practiced simply wouldn¡¯t work for him, and other things didn¡¯t work for him the same way. He¡¯d seen students conjuring des of me and inquired about their process. When he tried it, he got a ten-foot arch of multicolored sparks. It was pretty enough and would be distracting as the hells to an enemy, but it most certainly wasn¡¯t a bar of white-hot death. He stuck around and experimented until he could produce something simr to their me swords. When he exined how he generated it, the instructor shook his head and muttered something about cultivation geniuses doing impossible things. Sen hadn¡¯t found it impossible, just difficult.


    On some days, though, he just found thepound stifling. He missed being out on the road, moving from ce to ce, breathing different air in the evening than he had in the morning. He did not miss the running for his life part as much. <em>That</em> he could do without, thank you very much. Sure, he¡¯d benefited from that mad scramble to stay ahead of the demonic cultivators. He¡¯d pushed his formation knowledge ahead enough that he was starting to feel like his cultivation wasgging behind his understanding. All of the chaos had done much the same for his alchemy knowledge. He imagined that some cultivators would think it was a small enough price to pay, but he wasn¡¯t one of them. He¡¯d left the mountain to see and experience the world, not run through it as fast as he could to avoid looming death.


    On those days when it felt like the walls of thepound were going to suffocate him, he¡¯d usually just wander out into the valley until dark, set up his tent, and spend a night in thepany of nature. That had been his n when he left thepound that morning, right up until an unwee guest invited herself along for his walk. The white-haired cultivator, who had introduced herself as Li Ju, kept up an almost non-stop stream of words from the moment they left thepound until Sen picked an arbitrary moment to sit down on a rock and eat some lunch. He passed her some food and, briefly, silence reigned in Sen¡¯s world. As soon as lunch was over, though, Li Juunched into more tales of¡­something. Sen had stopped really listening to her after the first ten minutes. It wasn¡¯t until he registered that she¡¯d said something about cutting off someone¡¯s head that he focused on her. He dredged his mind for what she¡¯d been talking about. Something about a dress and nastyments. He stopped in his tracks and turned narrowed eyes on her.


    ¡°You cut off someone¡¯s head because they said something mean about your dress?¡±


    She shot him a withering look in return. ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t cut someone¡¯s head off because they insulted my dress. What kind of person do you take me for?¡±


    ¡°A cultivator,¡± said Sen in a t, unemotional voice.


    It seemed that Li Ju didn¡¯t have a prepared answer to that because she just gaped at him for a minute. By the time she¡¯d gathered her wits enough to speak again, Sen had already turned and walked away.


    ¡°I just wanted to see how outrageous I¡¯d need to get before you started paying attention to me,¡± she said to his back.


    ¡°And you thought following me out here, to the ce I like toe and be alone, was the best way of getting my attention?¡±


    ¡°You avoid me in thepound.¡±


    ¡°You can think of that as a not very subtle clue.¡±


    ¡°Why won¡¯t you teach me?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bad teacher,¡± said Sen. ¡°Or, I don¡¯t have the time. Or, the threads of karma aren¡¯t right. Or, I just don¡¯t want to. Pick a reason that suits you, and I¡¯ll agree with it.¡±


    ¡°I want to know the real reason. You clearly aren¡¯t too busy since you can teach those sword brats.¡±


    Sen¡¯s patience twisted, frayed, and snapped. He whirled and pointed at her. ¡°<em>That</em>! That right there. That¡¯s why.¡±


    She frowned at him like she couldn¡¯t understand what he was trying to get at. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the other reason.¡±


    She red at him. ¡°Then exin it to me like I¡¯m stupid.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re arrogant. I make time for those sword brats you disdain so much because they aren¡¯t. They <em>know</em> that they have a lot to learn and will do damn near anything I ask them to do in the name of improvement. You already think you know everything of value in alchemy. In fact, I bet you thought that it would only take, what, a day or two to pick out whatever little nuggets of wisdom I possess.¡±


    Li Ju¡¯s cheeks went bright red at those words. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that¡­exactly.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Here¡¯s the point. I¡¯d spend half my time arguing with you about every little thing you <em>know</em> is true. You think you want to learn, but you don¡¯t. You want me to make you feel good about what you already know. That¡¯s a waste of your time and mine. If it makes you feel any better, though, I¡¯m not teaching any of yourpetition and for nearly identical reasons. Plus, I expect I¡¯ll be leaving soon. So, you won¡¯t have to deal with me after that.¡±


    Li Ju paced back and forth, clearly trying to work up some argument or some way to convince Sen. He found a tree to lean against while she processed the fact that she just wasn¡¯t going to get her way this time. When she seemed toe to grips with that, she turned and gave him what he supposed she thought was a seductive look.


    ¡°If you won¡¯t teach me, then I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d be interested in some-,¡± she started but trailed off when she saw Sen was shaking his head. ¡°Really? Why not?¡±


    ¡°Well, if for no other reason, I¡¯m certain that Lo Meifeng has no desire to watch or listen to us have sex,¡± said Sen, before raising his voice and shouting, ¡°Am I wrong about that, Lo Meifeng?¡±


    ¡°You are <em>not</em> wrong,¡± a voice drifted out of the nearby woods.


    Li Ju spun in the direction the voice hade from. ¡°Has she been following us all day?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen with indifference. ¡°It¡¯s sort of her job.¡±


    ¡°What if I¡¯d attacked you?¡±


    ¡°Then, I probably would have cut <em>your</em> head off.¡±


    ¡°What if I caught you by surprise?¡±


    ¡°If you got the drop on me and it looked like I was in mortal danger, I expect she¡¯d have killed you.¡±


    Li Ju shook her head. ¡°This is <em>normal</em> for you?¡±


    ¡°I suppose it is, at this point.¡±


    ¡°No wonder everyone is so afraid of you.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Sen, ¡°I can¡¯t really help how other people feel about anything.¡±


    ¡°Leaving your pet assassin at home sometimes would <em>probably</em> help.¡±


    Sen shrugged at that. Li Ju seemed to realize that the conversation could only get more awkward from there, so she made some excuses about her duties and hurried away. Sen was so happy she was gone that he could have done a little dance. Instead, he turned back the way he had been heading and walked deeper into the untamed parts of the valley. A few hourster, he set up camp and, after a little consideration, he made a big meal. He looked out into the darkness where he was pretty sure that Lo Meifeng was eating something cold and unappetizing.


    ¡°Put whatever that is away ande have some hot food,¡± he shouted.


    There was a brief pause and then Lo Meifeng hesitantly walked into the light cast by the campfire. Sen just held out a te to her. She took it and started eating, but he could feel her looking at him every five seconds or so.


    ¡°Don¡¯t read anything into it,¡± he said. ¡°You were helpful. That earned you a hot meal.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 55: At the Gate

    Book 3: Chapter 55: At the Gate


    It took more than a week, and Sen was very nearly to the point of simply leaving the fire cultivator¡¯s valley, before something finally changed. Sen was hiding in his assigned room and pretending not to be there. He¡¯d made the mistake the day before of answering the door and telling someone to go away. That had opened a floodgate of people knocking on his door who <em>just happened</em> to be walking by his room. He eventually went out the window to escape them. He hadn¡¯t repeated the previous day¡¯s mistakes and ignored any and all knocking on his door. At least, he had been doing that until he heard someonee racing down the hall, their footfalls sounding like thunder to Sen¡¯s enhanced senses, and they began pounding frantically on his door. He almost ignored that pounding, but if knocking could have a panicked edge to it, that knocking did. He grudgingly got up off the bed and opened the door just enough that he could see out. There was a young man he didn¡¯t recognize on the other side of the door. He looked pale, shaky, and out of breath.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Sen asked warily.


    ¡°Elder Lu, I need you toe with me. There is someone at the gate to see you.¡±


    Sen very nearly shut the door in the young man¡¯s face before the implications sank home. Then, he threw open the door and shot past the young man, sprinting from his room toward the front gate. It was only his preternatural reflexes that let him dodge and weave past the fire cultivators he encountered. Even so, he heard more than one person shout as they were buffeted by his passage. He almost felt bad about it, but he was too excited and too relieved to really let being a bit rude weigh him down. His forced stay with the fire cultivators was <em>finally</em> going to end. He forced himself to slow to a jog and then a walk as he approached the front gate, mostly because he could see a lot of very nervous-looking fire cultivators gathered around the inside of the gate. Thest thing he wanted to do was frighten them into doing some ill-considered by arriving in a swirl of wind. Yet, the fire cultivators all looked relieved to see him when he arrived and ushered him out the gate almost immediately.


    Sen found a dark-haired figure with a short-trimmed beard. The man held a spear with lightning crackling around the spearhead in a particrly threatening way. Sen burst into a grin and shouted.


    ¡°Uncle Kho!¡±


    The lightning immediately winked out and the spear vanished. Uncle Kho strode over to Sen and grabbed him by the shoulders.


    ¡°There you are! I thought they might have been lying to me. Let me get a look at you,¡± said the elder cultivator, holding Sen out at arm¡¯s length. ¡°Well, they haven¡¯t been overfeeding you, that¡¯s for certain. Still, core formation? So soon?¡±


    Sen went to answer, but Uncle Kho shook his head. ¡°No, don¡¯t exin, or you¡¯ll just end up telling the same story over and over again. Tell me truly, though, are you well?¡±


    Sen paused for a beat to genuinely consider his answer. ¡°I¡¯m as well as can be expected.¡±


    Uncle Kho lifted an eyebrow at that but seemed willing enough to ept the answer. He looked past Sen and frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t Ming assign you some kind of minder? I expected they¡¯d make themselves known by now.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s hiding over there,¡± said Sen, pointing to where Lo Meifeng was lurking in some nearby shadows.


    ¡°She¡¯s quiet. I¡¯ll give her that much,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°Pretty too. You two aren¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen in a firm voice.


    ¡°Good. Never wise to mix business and pleasure that way. It can confuse everyone¡¯s priorities,¡± said Uncle Kho before giving Sen a big smile. ¡°It is <em>good</em> to see you, Sen. You had us all a bit concerned when you went silent for a while. Still, I need to thank you. I haven¡¯t had so much fun in centuries. You just don¡¯t bump into demonic cultivator cabals the way you used to. They¡¯ve gotten all careful and secretive.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just because they¡¯re afraid of <em>you</em>,¡± said Sen, grinning at Uncle Kho¡¯s enthusiasm for ridding the world of demonic cultivators.


    ¡°Yes. Yes, they are. And for good reason,¡± said Uncle Kho.


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to look past Uncle Kho. ¡°Are the others here? Master Feng? Auntie Caihong?¡±


    Uncle Kho looked a bit sheepish. ¡°They¡¯re close. Caihong decided it was best for everyone if I came down first. Something about not letting Ming and Duan Yuxuan get too close before we all got a chance to see you. Have you met her?¡±


    ¡°I did. She¡¯s interesting,¡± hedged Sen, not certain if the matriarch could hear him in her office all the way from the front gate.


    ¡°Yes, that is <em>a</em> word for her. Yes, I <em>know</em> you¡¯re listening in Yuxuan,¡± said Uncle Kho, which answered Sen¡¯s question. ¡°Anyways, I was supposed to send up a signal once I confirmed you were here. Caihong isn¡¯t going to let me live this down for a while. She¡¯ll say I was monopolizing you.¡±


    ¡°Were you?¡± asked Sen with a bit of morbid curiosity.


    Uncle Khoughed. ¡°Of course, I was.¡±


    With that, he pointed a finger into the sky and sent up a sheet of tiny lightning bolts that could have been seen for miles. Sen wasn¡¯t sure what else it could be used for, but he was absolutely certain he <em>needed</em> to learn how to do that. Even if it wasn¡¯t useful, it was really damned impressive to look at. Just the kind of thing he could use as a distraction for annoying, needy fire cultivators who wouldn¡¯t leave him alone. Uncle Kho and Sen made small talk about the trials and travails of camping in the wilds while they waited for everyone else to arrive. It didn¡¯t take long. Within a few minutes, three figures flew into view. Sen squinted up at them, not sure what to think. He saw Master Feng ring at the fire cultivatorpound with a stern expression. He also saw Auntie Caihong. He didn¡¯t recognize the young woman who was apparently sharing Auntie Caihong¡¯s qi tform. The girl had a look of fierce joy on her face as the pair of them flew. Sen wondered if Auntie Caihong had taken a disciple the way that Master Feng had taken him in.


    The trionded close by and Auntie Caihong gave Uncle Kho one of those looks that promised they were going to have a very one-sided talkter. Master Feng spared Uncle Kho one brief head shake and spoke in a mildly chiding voice.


    ¡°You took your time.¡±


    Uncle Kho lookedpletely unrepentant as he smiled at Master Feng. ¡°I only took the time that was needed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± said Master Feng before he walked over and put a hand on Sen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever eat, boy?¡±


    Sen did his best to hide his smile. ¡°I try to get in a meal every week or two.¡±


    ¡°It shows. Wait, core formation? Did you advance your body cultivation too?¡±


    ¡°I,¡± started Sen, but Auntie Caihong cut him off.


    ¡°We can talk shopter,¡± she said, all but shouldering Master Feng aside and wrapping Sen in a hug. ¡°Didn¡¯t I give you a kit to write us letters?¡±


    Sen felt a stab of guilt. He had meant to write them more often. ¡°Things did get a <em>little</em> hectic thisst year. I¡¯ll try to do better.¡±


    She shook her head at him.


    ¡°Just a little hectic, was it? That one clearly taught you understatement,¡± said Auntie Caihong, jerking a thumb at Master Feng.


    Master Feng lifted his chin in a look that bridged the divide between grave dignity and mockery. ¡°I am the master of uracy, not understatement.¡±


    While all of that was going on, Sen felt a gaze boring into him. He looked over and saw the girl who hade with Auntie Caihong. She had bright green eyes, which startled Sen. He¡¯d never seen eyes that color before. Of course, what really caught his attention was the intensity of the way that she looked at him. There was an almost hungry quality to it. It made him nervous. When she walked over, he went to introduce himself only to have the words die in his throat as she threw her arms around him. That got indulgent looks from Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong, while Master Feng just rolled his eyes and said something about foolish young people. Then, all three of the elder cultivators seemed to realize something at the same time.


    ¡°Oh!¡± said Auntie Caihong, reaching out and grabbing the girl¡¯s arm. ¡°Sen hasn¡¯t seen you since you changed.¡±


    ¡°Seen who? Changed what?¡± asked Sen, thoroughly confused.


    ¡°You should introduce yourself,¡± said Auntie Caihong to the girl.


    The girl pulled back and gave Sen a look that was equal parts annoyance and amusement. ¡°He should know me, even in this graceless form. I suppose his poor human-boy senses aren¡¯t good enough. I am Falling Leaf.¡±


    Everything around Sen seemed to get a bit wobbly like it was made from some kind of jelly, and he just stared at the girl for a long time. When the ability to speak finally found him again, all he could think to say was, ¡°What?¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 56: The House that Sen Built

    Book 3: Chapter 56: The House that Sen Built


    When reasoning kicked back, Sen realized that they all clearly had a lot to talk about. More importantly, there were big parts of it that he, at least, didn¡¯t want people listening in on. Falling Leaf¡¯s actual identity as a transformed, evolved, metamorphosed ¨C Sen wasn¡¯t sure about the terminology ¨C spirit beast was very high on his list of things to keep contained to the five people standing in that little group. He wasn¡¯t sure what big sects would do to capture and study a spirit beast that had taken on human form, but he expected they would spare no expense. He also didn¡¯t like to imagine what cultivators would do as part of that studying. His deep concern must have shown on his face because everyone started looking around like they expected a dragon to descend on them at any second. Shaking off the moment of shock and mild paralysis he¡¯d just gone through, Sen made an announcement he hoped sounded casual.


    ¡°We should move away from the gate. We¡¯ll be in the way here. There¡¯s a nice spot in that direction,¡± he waved his hand vaguely, ¡°where we can all catch up.¡±


    Sen created a small tform of qi to stand on, only to have to immediately expand it to catch Falling Leaf as she leapt up next to him. She grabbed his arm, and he wasn¡¯t sure if it was simply to keep her bnce or to assert possession. <em>Maybe it¡¯s both</em>, he thought. <em>This is going to take some work to sort out</em>. The three nascent soul cultivators took their cue from him and floated off the ground on their own qi tforms. He flew them about two miles west of thepound andnded in one of the spots that had been burned during the battle. Auntie Caihong gave him a decidedly unimpressed look.


    ¡°This is a nice spot?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Not at all, but it is a spot where I can do some things without leaving more destruction in my wake. This may take me a couple of minutes.¡±


    Sen let the presence of almost all of the people he cared about most in the world fall to the back of his mind as he concentrated. He¡¯d pushed himself hard during the battle and found out that he could do more with earth qi than he thought he could. He also thought that, if he took it a bit slower, he could do moreplex work. Even taking it slowly, it still wasn¡¯t easy work. What Sen had in mind was vastly moreplicated than making earth mounds or stone spikes. He wanted specific shapes and features since he expected that they were going to be out there for a while. Sen started with pure flows of earth qi, sinking them down into the ground, and doing most of his shaping work there.


    It grew harder once he got beyond the basic shape he wanted, demanding more of his concentration as heyered inplexities. Then, he had to add in flows of other kinds of qi to finish his modest construction project. He was vaguely aware that sweat was beading on his forehead and his upper lip and that his hands were shaking a little. Still, it was nearlyplete. All that was really left was to draw the thing up to the surface. He pulled on his core qi to give himself an extra boost and then, as though he had something sitting across both his palms, he lifted his hands into the air. The ground shook a little as it rose, but he used his qi to direct the disced soil away from himself and the others. Once it was above ground, Sen slumped forward with his hands on his knees.


    ¡°Okay!¡± he gasped. ¡°That was harder than I thought it was going to be.¡±


    ¡°Did the Sen just make a den?¡± asked Falling Leaf, sounding impressed.


    ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it, little sister,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°Gods, boy, you¡¯vee a long way in a short time.¡±


    ¡°Did you build formations into this ce on the fly?¡± asked a stunned Uncle Kho.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen, looking up at the stone house he¡¯d literally just crafted from bones of the earth. ¡°Oh, yeah. They¡¯re nothing special. Just some privacy, obscuring, and offensive formations. I got a <em>lot</em> of practice with those thisst year. I could put them up in my sleep now. I¡¯d have to add beast cores to power them for any kind of sustained siege, but I mostly just wanted something to keep our conversation private.¡±


    ¡°Well, they should certainly do that,¡± said a distracted Uncle Kho, who was studying a particr spot in one of the walls.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Auntie Caihong, gesturing at a small stone structure near to the house.


    ¡°A well,¡± said Sen, shrugging.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°I assume that <em>someone</em> will take this ce over once we¡¯re done with it. It¡¯s a valley full of fire cultivators. Easy ess to clean water seemed like a good idea.¡±


    ¡°So, in between designing this ce in your head, assembling it below ground, and adding formations, you had the time and energy to think about what the next person would need and throw in a well?¡± asked a voice from behind him.


    Sen looked over his shoulder and saw Lo Meifeng. He wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d just followed them or been brought along by Master Feng. He supposed she had as much right to be included as anyone else. Plus, it was probably a fair question. He nodded.


    ¡°Yeah. I mean, the well was easypared to the doors and the furniture. It¡¯s just a hole in the ground with stone around the edges. Stone hinges? That was <em>hard</em>.¡±


    ¡°Did you say furniture?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Yeah. We have to sit somewhere.¡±


    She shook her head and pressed a hand over her face. ¡°Ridiculous.¡±


    Sen smirked a little at that. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go inside.


    Sen led the way over to what he¡¯d imagined as the front door and gave the simple handle he¡¯d fashioned for it an experimental tug. He had to put a bit more effort into it to actually get the door open, having wildly underestimated the weight of a solid stone door. He was happy to see that the hinges worked the way he expected them to. The front door led into arge open space with a big stone table and benches around it. There was a firece built directly into one of the outside walls, and small nooks in the walls where candles ornterns could be ced for more light after dark. He¡¯d left spaces empty spots in the wall where someone could install windows, but he¡¯d drawn the line at trying to make ss. He thought he might be able to do it, but he wanted to see the actual process before he made the attempt. He¡¯d crafted stone shutters instead. There were doors leading to other rooms. As Sen was smiling around at the space, Falling Leaf poked him in the ribs. He looked over at her.


    ¡°Where do those go?¡± she asked, pointing at the doors.


    ¡°Well, they¡¯re mostly just empty spaces, but,¡± pointing as he spoke, he said, ¡°bedroom, bedroom, bedroom, library, storage, and kitchen.¡±


    ¡°You made a kitchen?¡± asked Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°Sort of,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°Someone would need to install a proper stove for it, but it has everything else you¡¯d need. Counters, storage spaces, and so on.¡±


    ¡°Why go through all this trouble?¡± asked Master Feng.


    Sen gave him a surprised look. ¡°Why would I do a bad job of it when I could do a good job? Isn¡¯t perfection the goal?¡±


    Master Feng mulled that sentiment over for a moment before he nodded. ¡°Yes, I suppose it is. Well done.¡±


    Sen smiled brightly at the praise before he let the reason that he¡¯d done all of thise back to the front of his thoughts. He eyed Falling Leaf, who didn¡¯t seem at all disturbed by his close examination and returned his stare. She <em>looked</em> entirely human to him. Although, he supposed that there could be any number of telling signs hidden beneath her robes. He couldn¡¯t think of a polite way to ask about that, so he let it go for the moment. When he let his spiritual sense and qi wash over her, her eyes went a little wide, and she gave him a disapproving look, but she didn¡¯t object. Even then, she felt human, but there was an intangible oddness to what he was getting back that he couldn¡¯t put his finger on. Still, while that oddness might trigger some curiosity, there was nothing there that would automatically alert anyone to her true nature. Of course, when she did things like call him a human boy, it was a bit of a dead giveaway that she was different. <em>At least those kinds of behaviors are fixable</em>, <em>in theory anyway</em>, he thought.


    As if to return the favor, Falling Leaf made a slow circuit around him, her head tilting for one way, and then the other. A few times, she reached out and pressed her index finger into his arm, his back, or his chest. She made a dissatisfied noise when she was done. He¡¯d gotten so used to women reacting favorably to his appearance that her dissatisfaction was both startling and amusing for Sen.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You look bigger,¡± sheined.


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure how to react to that. He wasn¡¯t even sure he understood what she meant. He was pretty sure he hadn¡¯t gotten any taller. Had he put on some muscle? Maybe a little, but not enough to be noticeable, he didn¡¯t think.


    ¡°Bigger?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve grown much.¡±


    Falling Leaf made a frustrated noise and looked to Auntie Caihong for support or help.


    ¡°I think she means that your qi is different. Stronger.¡±


    ¡°Stronger!¡± shouted Falling Leaf. ¡°Yes! You¡¯re stronger than me now.¡±


    That admission seemed to annoy the girl, cat, panther, Sen wasn¡¯t sure how to think of her anymore. She huffed a few more times, and then a determined expression crossed her face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll catch up,¡± she announced.


    Sen thought about saying something and then thought better of it. He had the distinct impression that anything he said about thatment wouldn¡¯t be met with happiness. Instead, he looked for something else to focus on. He zeroed in on Auntie Caihong who had, while he wasn¡¯t looking, built a fire and started cooking. He went over to her and started pitching in. She smiled at him and then they went about the mundane work of cooking rice, searing meat, and steaming dumplings. This was also work that Sen had gotten much practice with over thest year, and he caught the approving look from the older woman. Once the food was cooked and set out on the stone table, everyone gathered around to eat their fill and share their stories.

 Book 3: Chapter 57: Trading Tales (1)

    Book 3: Chapter 57: Trading Tales (1)


    ¡°We all have stories to tell,¡± said Master Feng, ¡°But I think we all want to hear yours first, Sen.¡±


    At those words, Sen looked down mournfully at the heaping te of food in front of him. He supposed it was a small enough sacrifice to tell his story first. He did pop a dumpling in his mouth before he answered, though. If he was going to tell that story, he was going to get at least one bite of hot food first. He assumed that everyone there knew about what had happened all the way back in Orchard¡¯s Reach, but he started there anyway. Thinking back, the problems he¡¯d faced there, problems that had looked so serious at the time, all seemed so¡­<em>trivial</em>. Then again, he wouldn¡¯t have faced those problems if he¡¯d arrived as he was now.


    He glossed over the caravan trip, but he did take the time to detail what had happened in Tide¡¯s Reach. He still had a lot of mixed feelings about those events, which wasn¡¯t helped by the varying reactions of his teachers. Master Feng just nodded along like it was all to be expected. Auntie Caihong looked disapproving. Uncle Kho seemed reflective like he couldn¡¯t decide what to think either. What had gotten a unified response was his description of Heaven¡¯s Rebuke. All three of the nascent soul cultivators had just <em>stared</em> at him for a few seconds. It was Uncle Kho who finally broke that profoundly ufortable silence.


    ¡°Wait, you <em>fused</em> your killing intent with lightning qi? And it <em>worked</em>?¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to stare for a moment before he spoke. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t know it was going to work the first time I tried it. But I couldn¡¯t see a good reason why it wouldn¡¯t. Does that <em>not</em> normally work?¡±


    ¡°It just isn¡¯t done,¡± said Master Feng.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Sen, to which no one had an answer.


    ¡°I need to see this, Sen,¡± announced Uncle Kho, standing up from the table.


    ¡°Right now?¡± asked Sen, ncing down at his still mostly full te.


    ¡°Right now,¡± agreed Uncle Kho.


    So, Sen reluctantly went back outside with everyone in tow. He was a little bit nervous about showing off the technique since he still didn¡¯t really trust it, but these were his teachers. They deserved to see it. He picked out a big chunk of half-exposed rock as his target and drew his jian. He ignored the intense stares of his teachers, then pressed lightning qi and killing intent into the de. Sen felt a surge of relief when it was just the normal technique, but he still heard Auntie Caihong take a sharp breath when the pitch-ck lightning formed around the de. Then, he shot the technique into the exposed rock. Ast-second realization made him raise a shield of hardened air between them and the rock. That turned out to be wise indeed because razor-sharp fragments of stone went in every direction as the rock simply detonated. When the dust settled, he dropped the air shield. There was total silence for nearly half a minute before Master Feng walked over to where the rock used to be and looked down into the crater Sen had left. A momentter Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho joined him. All three turned to look at him.


    ¡°Does it do that to everything you hit with it?¡± asked Master Feng.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen, and proceeded to exin what happened when he used it on a person.


    Auntie Caihong shuddered. ¡°I¡¯m honestly not sure if that¡¯s better or worse.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better,¡± said Uncle Kho with certainty. ¡°Sen, how do you decide how much killing intent and how much qi to use?¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not an exact ratio. It just sort of clicks together when you get the bnce right, and you really <em>need</em> to get the bnce right. I didn¡¯t always get it right and, well, it¡¯s <em>really</em> destructive.¡±


    ¡°More destructive than this?¡± asked Auntie Caihong, gesturing at the crater.


    Her eyes went wide at Sen¡¯s very energetic nod.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to try this,¡± said Uncle Kho, idly stroking his beard. ¡°Maybe somewhere less popted. Have you tried merging your killing intent with anything else?¡±


    ¡°Not to speak of. At first, I figured Heavens¡¯ Rebuke was enough, but then things got strangeter,¡± said Sen, holding up a hand to forestall questions. ¡°I¡¯ll exin it when we get there.¡±


    As they were walking back inside, Falling Leaf stepped up beside him. ¡°You have be a hunter in truth.¡±


    ¡°I suppose. Not by choice.¡±


    ¡°There was never a choice. You only thought there was.¡±


    Sen sighed a little but nodded. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡±


    He did take a minute to eat some of his, sadly, cold food before he carried on with the story. He downyed the flight from Tide¡¯s Reach and his stay at the Luo farm. He <em>tried</em> to skip past most of what had initially happened with the Soaring Skies sect members he¡¯d met on the road but quickly realized that things that happenedter wouldn¡¯t make sense if he skipped over too much. So, he justid it out in the shortest, most direct way he could. The nascent soul cultivators seemed to take it all in stride, but Falling Leaf was giving him the oddest look. He couldn¡¯t parse what it meant and found himself wishing she were still a panther. At least then, he¡¯d have a basic read on her expressions. Yet, of everyone, it was Lo Meifeng who spoke up.


    ¡°No wonder they were all so cagey about what happened.¡±


    Master Feng gave her a sharp look. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s out of order. I hadn¡¯t caught up with them yet.¡±


    Master Feng looked annoyed but just nodded. He became intensely interested in Sen¡¯s story of the abandoned town and the spirit beasts. He asked a lot of questions, most of which Sen couldn¡¯t answer. Sen¡¯s attention was on Falling Leaf, who had gonepletely, unnaturally still at the mention of Boulder¡¯s Shadow. When Master Feng finally ran out of questions, Sen turned to her.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You saw Boulder¡¯s Shadow? Truly saw him with your own eyes?¡± demanded Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Yes. Why? Do you know him?¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded but didn¡¯t exin. Sen decided that he¡¯de back to that,ter, in private. It took a while to exin his narrow escape, the use of a poorly controlled Heavens¡¯ Rebuke, everything that followed with the Soaring Skies members, and the sheer destruction he¡¯d caused with the technique. There was a long pause after that, while everyone processed what he¡¯d said. Of all the things he¡¯d done, the bit with Changpu was the part he worried most would cause some sort of disapproval. Instead, Master Feng just lifted an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°So, you lopped it off? Just like that?¡±


    ¡°It seemed¡­<em>necessary</em>, at the time,¡± said Sen, a little defensively.


    ¡°Oh, of course, you <em>had</em> to do something to him. You can¡¯t let such a tant challenge go unpunished,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°I¡¯d have probably just killed him.¡±


    Auntie Caihong rolled her eyes. ¡°<em>You</em> could get away with that. What sect would daree after you?¡±


    ¡°Fair,¡± said Master Feng.


    Lo Meifeng spoke up again, ¡°I came in after all of <em>that</em>.¡±


    Understanding sparked in Master Feng¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yes, that does make more sense now. I¡¯d have been cagey if I were them, too.¡±


    Sen took the opportunity to shove a bit more food in his mouth before he continued. He¡¯d been talking for a while and was getting tired of it, so his storytelling became less detailed and more fact-centered. He discussed his time in Emperor¡¯s Bay, the fight outside The Silver Crane, and the discovery of the demonic cultivator¡¯s notebook. There were asional questions, but mostly they just listened to him talk. He made Lo Meifeng exin her ridiculouslyplicated n to escape Emperor¡¯s Bay without immediate pursuit since he hadn¡¯t understood it all that well in the first ce. He liked his ns straightforward, while she seemed to relish in having ns with lots of moving parts. He hadn¡¯t nned to spend much time talking about their time on the ship, but his trick with keeping the ship intact underwater prompted another long series of questions. Fortunately, he could pass the storytelling back to Lo Meifeng at that point, as she was the one who fought the cultivator. Of all things, it was his brief stint on the beach with the divine turtle that prompted the most exaggerated response.


    ¡°You met Elder Bo,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°How is that meddlesome old bastard? I haven¡¯t seen him in a thousand years.¡±


    ¡°He seemed¡­healthy,¡± offered Sen, not sure what else to say.


    ¡°Meddlesome old bastard is right,¡± muttered Master Feng. ¡°The Five-Fold Body Transformation. What was he thinking?¡±


    Sen perked up at that. ¡°Do you know how it works?¡±


    Master Feng grimaced a little. ¡°Only in general terms. It¡¯s rare. <em>Very</em> rare.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s stupidly dangerous,¡± seethed Auntie Caihong. ¡°Most people who try it, die. If I find that turtle, I¡¯m going to make him into soup.¡±


    Sen deted a little. He¡¯d been hoping that one of his teachers would know the details about the body cultivation path or, even better, have a copy of the manual tucked away in a storage ring somewhere. Still, he supposed it had been a long shot. As experienced as the nascent soul cultivators were, they couldn¡¯t know everything. He had considered simply going back and speaking with Elder Bo about the body cultivation approach, but his intuition told him that would be a mistake. The divine turtle had only approached him after he saw Sen do something interesting. That suggested that the turtle valued action. Sen suspected that he would only get information from the old turtle after he¡¯d exhausted more conventional means of getting the information. It was frustrating to have been put on a path he didn¡¯t know anything about, one that killed most of the people who tried to walk it, but he was <em>on</em> that path now, like it or not. Even if he wanted to get off of that path, he still needed to understand it first. He was so lost in his own thoughts that it took him a minute to realize that everyone was staring at him expectantly.


    ¡°Oh, right. Sorry,¡± he said.


    Sen skipped ahead to the fight in the forest with the demonic cultivators and the strange behavior of Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. That got sharp looks.


    ¡°Wait, you mean that that strange ribbon of qi, and you better believe we¡¯reing back to that, acted on its own?¡± asked Uncle Kho.


    ¡°That¡¯s about the size of it,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°And the new version ate that demonic cultivator?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the best way I can think of to describe it,¡± said Sen.


    Master Feng shot Lo Meifeng a look, but she just shrugged.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it looked to me,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never even heard of something like that before,¡± said Auntie Caihong, the worry clear on her face. ¡°Innovation is one thing, but qi acting on its own to insert itself into a technique? That¡¯s frightening. It¡¯s a wonder the whole thing didn¡¯t explode in your face, Sen.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Master Feng.


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been leery to use Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. It¡¯s also part of the reason why I haven¡¯t gone experimenting with fusing my killing intent with other kinds of qi.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a quandary,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°The only real way to understand what¡¯s happening is to experiment, but experimenting could get you killed. We¡¯ll all need to give this some thought.¡±


    Sen waited to see if any wisdom would be forting, but none was. The sun had long since gone down, and he was <em>very tired</em> of talking, but he pushed through. He talked about the second fight, the unintentional moment of enlightenment, and forming the ribbon of heavenly qi. That got a few startled looks, but no one interrupted. Maybe they sensed he was losing whatever tiny shreds of enthusiasm he had for the process. The tale of their time trapped at the cult drew such a look of wrath from Auntie Caihong that Sen drew back a little.


    All she said was, ¡°I see there¡¯s someone else I need to visit.¡±


    Sen chose not to dwell too deeply on what that meant for the cult leader. He¡¯d been dreading the next part of the story ever since he started, mostly because he wasn¡¯t sure how best to handle it. He saw Lo Meifeng shoot him a furtive look, as though she were trying to gauge his mood. In the end, he decided to skip over <em>how</em> they got involved with the battle in the valley entirely. He let everyone think that they stumbled into it after they showed up. When he finished that story, Master Feng burst intoughter. It wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d expected. The old cultivator just keptughing andughing.


    ¡°What?¡± Sen finally demanded.


    ¡°You show up, p down the Clear Spring sect¡¯s sword genius, and set the sky on fire. Then, you straight up, boot-to-throat, tell them to stop or else you¡¯ll kill everyone?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d describe it <em>exactly</em> that way.¡±


    ¡°Then, as if that wasn¡¯t enough, you browbeat them into making vows to the heavens and put a permanent end to two thousand years of conflict. If I didn¡¯t know for certain that you had no intention of doing any of that when you got up that morning, I¡¯d think you were some kind of mad genius.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 58: Trading Tales (2)

    Book 3: Chapter 58: Trading Tales (2)


    Sen had suspected that the three nascent soul cultivators would keep him talking for days if he let them. So, he begged off with excuses about being tired after making the house. He <em>was</em> tired, just not physically. Recounting everything he¡¯d done for a year, give or take, had been mentally taxing because so much of it couldn¡¯t be talked about without dredging up old fears, old questions, and old uncertainties. Beyond that, it had been a very one-sided conversation. He understood why they focused so much attention on him. They had all periodically interacted with each other, which had let them stay up to date with each other. They just all seemed to forget that <em>he</em> hadn¡¯t enjoyed those updates. He wanted to talk with Falling Leaf, and he wanted to do it with some measure of privacy. Fortunately, the elder cultivators seemed satisfied that they had at least a general understanding of what he¡¯d been up to and were willing to let other questions go until the next day.


    Master Feng picked a bedroom at random and vanished into it. Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong disappeared into another. Lo Meifeng gave him a look like she wanted to talk, but then her eyes wandered over to Falling Leaf. She shook her head, went into thest bedroom, and closed the door behind her. It took Sen a second to realize that he and Falling Leaf had been effectively relegated to sleeping in the library. <em>Note to self</em>, he thought, <em>make more bedrooms next time</em>. Not that the stone beds he¡¯d made would have been particrlyfortable, but with some nkets on them, they should be better than sleeping on the ground. He pushed those annoyed thoughts to the side and turned his gaze on Falling Leaf. He wasn¡¯t sure where to start. He had a lot of questions, but he wasn¡¯t sure which could hold and which to ask. What was most important?


    For her part, Falling Leaf seemed to be focused inward. She hadn¡¯t spoken much since they¡¯d all arrived, which gave Sen the impression that she did more listening than speaking. That would be consistent with the ghost panther that she had been. Again, Sen found himself struggling with what she was exactly. Was she still a ghost panther? Was she a human now? He couldn¡¯t tell for sure. Then again, maybe his questions weren¡¯t that important. She had seemed genuinely shocked to her core when he¡¯d mentioned Boulder¡¯s Shadow. Sen decided that they might as well start there. She might still have questions, and things might revert to something a little more like normal if he gave her a chance to ask them.


    ¡°You said you knew Boulder¡¯s Shadow,¡± said Sen as a ce to start.


    Falling Leaf¡¯s eyes shot up to meet his and there was still something of the spirit beast in them, something wholly wild and removed from the world of human civilization. She seemed to think for a moment before she shook her head.


    ¡°I know about him. We all did. He was,¡± she seemed to struggle to find the right words, ¡°like you.¡±


    ¡°Like me? How so?¡±


    ¡°A story. He was a story we heard. A kind of hero to us, to the ghost panthers. I didn¡¯t think he was real.¡±


    ¡°Well, he seemed real enough to me,¡± said Sen. ¡°We spoke, face to face, no farther apart than we¡¯re sitting right now.¡±


    Falling Leaf absorbed that in silence for a moment. ¡°What was he like?¡±


    ¡°Powerful. Conflicted. Honestly, he struck me as unhappy and maybe even a bit sad. No offense but reading feelings off a ghost panther-man wasn¡¯t that easy. I¡¯m making some educated guesses here.¡±


    More silence followed that before Falling Leaf spoke again. ¡°I thought I was thest.¡±


    Sen frowned at that. ¡°Thest what? Thest ghost panther?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I knew others might have lived, a few, but searching for them would have been¡­very dangerous. It was easier to think it was just me.¡±


    Sen could piece together a rough picture of what she meant from things that she had told him before and things that Boulder¡¯s Shadow had said. There had been some kind of conflict in the spirit beast world and the ghost panthers hade out on the losing side of it. Yet, she wasn¡¯t reacting the way he thought he would react in the same circumstances. The news that another ghost panther lived hadn¡¯t made her happy <em>at all</em>. If anything, she seemed weighed down by the knowledge.


    ¡°Would you rather I hadn¡¯t told you?¡±


    She cocked her head to one side in the most feline gesture he¡¯d seen her make so far. It was like she¡¯d heard a strange noise and didn¡¯t understand what it meant.


    ¡°It <em>is</em>, silly human boy. That is all that matters.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure he agreed with that sentiment, but she sounded convinced. So, he let it go. He gave it a few moments to see if she wanted to keep discussing the subject of Boulder¡¯s Shadow. When she didn¡¯t say anything, he decided to move on to some of the things he wanted to know. He made a sweeping gesture with his hand to epass her whole body.


    ¡°This change. You never seemed to want something like this before.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I was perfect as I was.¡±


    ¡°Then, why?¡±


    Sen then discovered that some expressions seemed to cross over just fine between ghost panther and human because she looked at him like he was an idiot. Then, she hit him hard enough to knock him off the bench.


    ¡°Because you were in danger. Hunted by the foul demonic cultivators,¡± she said.


    The seething hatred in her voice when she said the words demonic cultivators seemed wildly out of proportion to whatever danger Sen had faced. As he picked himself up off the floor and rubbed his arm where she¡¯d hit him, he guessed that spirit beasts had their own issues with demonic cultivators. Things that probably had nothing to do with him. He gave her a concerned look.


    ¡°I was but that wasn¡¯t a good enough reason for this. Can you change back now that danger is over?¡±


    She didn¡¯t avert her eyes when she answered him, and he could see just how much the answer hurt her. ¡°No.¡±


    Sen just stood there, not sure what to do or say. He felt responsible and guilty. She¡¯d done this to herself because of him, to help him, and now she couldn¡¯t go back. He knew that it wasn¡¯t his ce to feel responsible or guilty. He hadn¡¯t asked her to do it. He would <em>never</em> have asked her to do such a thing. She¡¯d made the choice when he¡¯d been long gone and far out of reach. It had been <em>her</em> choice, but it didn¡¯t feel that way to Sen. She¡¯d made that choice out of fear for him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said.


    ¡°It <em>is</em>, Sen,¡± she said, echoing her earlier words. ¡°And why do you think the danger is over?¡±


    That snapped Sen¡¯s attention into full focus. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°<em>A</em> danger has passed. But you are always in danger. You draw it the way fire draws the foolish moth. And you have none to guard your nk, none but that hired woman.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t really want to get into all of that, but he did it anyway. ¡°She¡¯s good in a fight.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but your trust in her is¡­broken?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s as good a word for it as any.¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded and gestured at herself. ¡°That is why this had to happen. So, I can walk with you among the humans. So, you <em>always</em> have someone you can trust close by.¡±


    A wash of conflicting emotions rolled through Sen. He was overjoyed at the idea of having Falling Leaf with him again. He was also disgusted at himself for the selfishness of that thought. He was overwhelmed by the sacrifice she¡¯d made on his behalf, but also uncertain why she had done it. Yes, she¡¯d given him a reason for why, but he didn¡¯t think that actually covered it. It was too big, too much, too drastic of a change to do for someone you just know. Then again, he didn¡¯t know anything about how ghost panthers viewed friendship or family. He¡¯d <em>never</em> thought to ask, which made him feel even worse. They had upied a little bubble that was just them up on the mountain and he¡¯d been content with that. He supposed he could chalk some of it up to how young he¡¯d been at first, but he¡¯d been old enough to ask some questions before he left. <em>Maybe</em>, <em>I just didn¡¯t have the wisdom</em>, he thought.


    ¡°I¡¯m always happy to have you close by,¡± he said, ¡°but is that what <em>you</em> want? If you wanted to go find Boulder¡¯s Shadow or look for other ghost panthers, I¡¯d understand. I¡¯d even help if you wanted me to.¡±


    Falling Leaf seemed to hesitate at that idea. ¡°Maybe, maybe someday. When we¡¯re stronger. When we¡¯re strong enough that none will dare challenge us. Until then, I will go with you.¡±


    ¡°If you ever change your mind, or you want to go do something else, promise me that you¡¯ll tell me.¡±


    ¡°I promise.¡±


    Then, feeling as though the conversation had gotten as heavy as he could stand, Sen changed the subject to something he¡¯d been very curious about. Now that they were alone, he felt like he could ask.


    ¡°The transformation to human. Was it a full transformation?¡±


    ¡°The Caihong,¡± started Falling Leaf before shaking her head, ¡°Ma Caihong said it was. Would you like to see?¡±


    Before Sen could really decide, Falling Leaf was standing up and taking off her robe. Sen thought he <em>should</em> stop her out of a vague worry that he¡¯d be taking advantage of her somehow, but he <em>was</em> curious. Curiosity and concern had a brief war inside him before he took the coward¡¯s path and hedged.


    ¡°Only if you want to show me.¡±

 Book 3: Chapter 59: Trading Tales (3)

    Book 3: Chapter 59: Trading Tales (3)


    Sen ended up making breakfast the next day since he was up first, or at least the first to wander out into the main room. It was always hard to gauge how long any given cultivator would sleep because there was no good way to gauge how long it had been since theyst slept. He¡¯d been getting regr sleep recently, so sleeping for a few hours had almost been an indulgence. It had been a chance for his mind to rest, though. He was still pondering the problem of Falling Leaf. The casual way with which she¡¯d disrobed had caught him off guard. After a moment of aesthetic appreciation for the lithe young woman, though, he¡¯d gone into healer mode. There was something off about her, something that twinged his cultivator senses. If she did that to him, she¡¯d likely do it to others. It turned out that it wasn¡¯t something physical. She looked like a normal human woman. Well, she looked like a normal human woman cultivator with all that entailed, albeit one with green eyes. Having ascertained that it wasn¡¯t some physical trait he was picking up on in some barely conscious way, he suggested she should put her robes back on.


    Her face twisted in unhappiness, and she said, ¡°But they¡¯re <em>ufortable</em>.¡±


    Understanding had dawned at that point. <em>No wonder she seemed so eager to undress</em>, thought Sen. He supposed clothing of any kind was still rtively new for her. Not so new that she¡¯d adjust her clothes all the time, but new enough that she¡¯d likely take almost any excuse to get rid of them if she could. He suppressed augh before it could form. It wouldn¡¯t do tough at her difort. He could even appreciate it a little. He remembered all too well how ufortable he¡¯d been that first year as a cultivator. Granted, Falling Leaf wasn¡¯t precisely new to cultivation, but she was new to being a human cultivator. He was once again confronted with just how much she¡¯d sacrificed for him. He picked up her robe from the floor and handed it to her.


    ¡°It¡¯s not generally appropriate to be undressed with someone of the opposite sex. It¡¯s a culture thing.¡±


    Falling Leaf sighed and started putting the robe back on. ¡°The Caihong said the same thing. I hoped you wouldn¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not so much that I care. It¡¯s more that it¡¯s distracting. Undressing that way in front of a man is usually interpreted as a desire to,¡± Sen tried to think of the right term to make it clear, ¡°mate.¡±


    Falling Leaf stared down at her half-dressed body and grimaced. ¡°Why would anyone want to mate with this? It¡¯s so unsightly.¡±


    Sen didugh at that, which drew a perplexed look from Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I assure you that human men will not find you unsightly. Quite the opposite, in fact. I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t noticed that already.¡±


    Falling Leaf shrugged. ¡°Most of the human men I spoke to were screaming.¡±


    ¡°Screaming?¡±


    ¡°In pain. In fear. We were not gentle with the demonic cultivators. Especially not when you disappeared.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen.


    He was a little startled at Falling Leaf¡¯s nonchnt viciousness. Then again, she was a cat at heart. She finished putting her robe back on and gave Sen a look.


    ¡°There. Is that less <em>distracting</em>?¡± she asked, loading the word distracting with seven kinds of doubt.


    ¡°Yes. Thank you. I understand that you might have been harsh with the demonic cultivators, but what about the other human men you spoke with?¡±


    ¡°I did not.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t what?¡±


    ¡°Speak with them. I left that to the,¡± she took a very obvious pause, ¡°to <em>Ma</em> Caihong.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t speak to them <em>at all</em>? Surely some of them must have spoken to you.¡±


    ¡°They did.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°And what? They were not demonic cultivators. They were not you. They were not Feng Ming or Kho Jaw-Long. <em>Why</em> would I speak to them?¡±


    Sen suspected that Auntie Caihong had probably had conversations with Falling Leaf about all of this, but the ghost panther¡­former ghost panther¡­had brought most of her personality over with her in the change. She was interested in what she was interested in and absolutely nothing else. She had changed so she coulde out into the world and find him. Anything that didn¡¯t rte specifically and directly to that goal was simply beneath her notice. He wondered how many heartbroken young men she¡¯d left in her wake when she refused to even acknowledge their existence. Although, if she¡¯d done that to cultivators, some of them would surely have challenged her.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t that provoke some anger? Some challenges?¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded. ¡°It did.¡±


    ¡°So, what did you do?¡±


    ¡°I killed them, of course. What else is there?¡±


    <em>Of course</em>, she had. Challenges in the wilds were almost always to the death unless one of the spirit beasts fled. He wondered how many of those people had died confused, thinking that they¡¯d only meant to prove a point. It was thatst thought that lingered with Sen as he made breakfast. He realized that bringing Falling Leaf along with him, and there was no way that she¡¯d let him leave her behind, was going to be a challenge. They would have to have a lot of long talks about what was and wasn¡¯t appropriate. He worried that wouldn¡¯t be enough, though. Certainly, Auntie Caihong had had simr talks with Falling Leaf. If the nascent soul cultivator couldn¡¯t get the ghost pather girl to change, Sen didn¡¯t like his chances. Although, Falling Leaf might also put more stock in his words simply because she was closer to him. He¡¯d always had the impression that she respected the nascent soul cultivators because of their terrible power and strength, but she¡¯d only ever seemed to like Uncle Kho. He worried he might be kidding himself that¡¯d she listen to him more than Auntie Caihong, but it was all he had to lean on at the moment.


    It seemed the smell of food was enough to rouse the nascent soul cultivators and Falling Leaf from their rest. Sen prompted some stories from the elder cultivators but quickly discovered that once you heard one sect destruction story, you¡¯ve pretty much heard them all. The details changed, but the end results were mostly the same. He also learned that while Uncle Kho and Master Feng had usually opted for a scorched earth policy if their demands weren¡¯t met swiftly and without protest, Ma Caihong had taken a more subtle approach. She threatened to destroy entire sects and then waited for the demonic cultivators to run. Once they left the sect, they were chased down and questioned. Vigorously. Falling Leaf nodded along cheerfully to those stories.


    ¡°I was very good at the questioning,¡± she told Sen proudly.


    Ma Caihong agreed. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen so many grown men break so quickly. I¡¯ve also never seen so many grown men cry.¡±


    Sen almost asked a question then, and quickly thought better of it. He decided he really didn¡¯t need to know how Falling Leaf made men cry during questioning. He had enough bad dreams as it was. As the meal wound down and the stories dried up, Master Feng fixed Sen with a firm look.


    ¡°So, now that you¡¯re not being hunted up and down the kingdom, what are you nning to do?¡±


    Falling Leaf perked up at that question, and fixed her eyes on Sen with unnerving intensity. He thought it over for a while.


    ¡°The Clear Spring sect first, I expect. Then, probably off to the capital. I need a manual for the Five-Fold Body Transformation. If it¡¯s as dangerous as everyone says it is, I can¡¯t just stumble blindly forward with it and hope for the best.¡±


    Ma Caihong and Master Feng traded a look before she spoke up. ¡°The capital isn¡¯t a good ce for you. You¡¯d be a tempting target for, well, for a lot of people. Sects, nobles, and whatever demonic cultivators weren¡¯t on that list. If there are any left, they¡¯ll be in the capital.¡±


    ¡°Why would sects and nobles be trying to kill me?¡±


    ¡°Not that kind of target. Sects will want to recruit you, and you¡¯ll find saying no to them a much more difficult task than you did in Emperor¡¯s Bay. Sects in the capital arerge. Most of them have a nascent soul patriarch or matriarch. They don¡¯t like hearing the word no,¡± said Uncle Kho.


    That made more sense to Sen and shuddered at the idea of what an unfriendly nascent soul cultivator might do to him to get their way.


    ¡°The nobles will just want to use you in their games,¡± said Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°Or bed you,¡± said Master Feng.


    Auntie Caihong sighed but nodded. ¡°Or that. Or both. They aren¡¯t mutually exclusive activities.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure exactly how going to bed with someone would be part of a political game, but he trusted that Auntie Caihong knew what she was talking about.


    ¡°So, I should seek out Fu Run instead, if the Clear Springs sect doesn¡¯t have the manual?¡± Sen asked, a little dubious.


    ¡°That woman is¡­difficult, at the best of times. Still, she might actually be the better choice here.¡±


    Ma Caihong gave Master Feng a look that suggested she thought he¡¯d suffered a massive head injury that was affecting his judgment. ¡°That woman isn¡¯t difficult. She¡¯s insane.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not insane,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°She¡¯s strange, but her reason is intact. It¡¯s her emotions you can¡¯t be sure of.¡±


    ¡°Still, sending Sen to her is ill-advised, at best.¡±


    Sen had gotten used to this kind of bickering between the two over the years, but it never led anywhere productive, so he cut them off. ¡°I have three possible options for finding the manual I think we all agree I won¡¯t survive without. The Golden Phoenix sect, Fu Ron, and the Clear Spring sect. Since it seems like there¡¯s only a slim chance the Clear Spring sect has it, I need a second option. It¡¯s either the capital or Fu Run unless one of you has a line on another ce I could get it. Do you?¡±


    There was some hedging and vague talk about possible locations, at least two of which Sen knew were mythical, but the takeaway was that they didn¡¯t have a better n. At least, they didn¡¯t at the moment.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Sen, ¡°so given the two options that I realistically have avable, which is better? Which carries more risk?¡±


    There was more grumbling and hedging.


    ¡°It¡¯s a coin toss,¡± said Uncle Kho after five minutes of additional bickering from Master Feng and Auntie Caihong. ¡°The risks in the capital are more numerous, but they¡¯re diffuse. No one there is, to our knowledge, specifically looking for you or to cause you trouble. If there is trouble, though, it cane at you from a lot of different angles, all at the same time. Plus, negotiating with the Golden Phoenix sect is going to be troublesome. They won¡¯t want to give you that manual or a copy of it without extracting something very valuable from you. Either some kind of service you absolutely won¡¯t want to do or some kind of nearly impossible-to-find treasure.


    ¡°With Fu Run, who <em>is</em> crazy by the way, the risk is very specific and very direct. If you make a bad impression or simply catch her on the wrong day, it¡¯s very likely that she¡¯ll kill you or punish you in some terrible way. If you make a good impression or catch her on the right day, you could walk out an hourter with what you need. Assuming you can find her at all, which is not guaranteed. No one really knows where she lives, just a general area she roams in. So, either option has a high risk of failure as well.¡±


    Sen looked over at Falling Leaf. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Insanity is always a danger to avoid,¡± she said with utter certainty.


    Sen waited for more but that was apparently the entirety of her thoughts on the matter. Trying to hide his reluctance, he looked to Lo Meifeng. ¡°How about you? What do you think?¡±


    Lo Meifeng shifted ufortably as everyone looked at her, but she plunged ahead. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything of value about Fu Run. I thought she was a cultivator ghost story until today. I mean, honestly, an insane nascent soul cultivator? It sounds like a story you¡¯d made up to scare outer sect disciples into behaving. So, in practical terms, I¡¯d be more useful to you in the capital, but I don¡¯t know if that makes the capital a better choice.¡±


    ¡°Do you know anyone in the capital?¡± Sen asked.


    It had sounded casual enough, a natural follow-up to her statement, but she knew what he was really asking.


    ¡°I have some contacts there, but no one I¡¯d consider close.¡±


    Sen nodded and weighed his options. He hadn¡¯t done well in cities so far. It was just a w in his personality. He wasn¡¯t flexible enough, not willing to bend enough to suit the whims of those who saw themselves as powerful. He could try to keep that in check if he had some warning, but if someone just started acting like he owed them something because they were breathing in the same vicinity as him, he¡¯d fall back to form. He knew it. On the other hand, hisst experience with a crazy person living out in the middle of nowhere hadn¡¯t gone very well, either. Plus, it sounded like he¡¯d only have a fifty-fifty shot at surviving an encounter with Fu Run. That was assuming he could even find her in the first ce. Granted, wandering around in the wilds didn¡¯t sound so bad to him anymore now that he wasn¡¯t going to be on the run. Falling Leaf would probably love it. Lo Meifeng would probably hate it, which made it sound more appealing to the small part of Sen that was petty. Of course, the goal wasn¡¯t to punish Lo Meifeng but to get a manual that would help keep him alive.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need to pick your brains about the capital,¡± he announced.

 Book 3: Chapter 60: Leaving Is Never Easy

    Book 3: Chapter 60: Leaving Is Never Easy


    With the decision about where he was going at least tentatively made, barring new information, things rxed a bit. They camped out at Sen¡¯s little house for a few more days, while Sen slowly bled information about the capital from them. Auntie Caihong had been there most recently, so she gave him a rundown on the political situation as it stood while she was there. She also made sure he understood that in the world of capital politics, the five years since she wasst there was a virtual eternity. He could arrive in the capital and find that entire houses were simply gone or that a formerly unimportant house was now very influential.


    ¡°I understand Auntie Caihong,¡± said Sen. ¡°Assume all information is suspect until it¡¯s confirmed.¡±


    ¡°You should probably assume all the people you meet are suspect as well.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°I will. I learned my lesson with Lan Zi Rui.¡±


    Auntie Caihong got a positively malevolent look on her face at the mention of the cult leader. ¡°I think I met him once. He was a worthless weasel then, too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll watch out for Lifen, afterward I mean.¡±


    Auntie Caihong nodded. ¡°I will. I¡¯ll see that she¡¯s safely returned to her mother or enrolled in a sect somewhere if that¡¯s what she wants.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I appreciate it. I¡¯d do all of it myself-,¡± Sen started to say.


    ¡°I know you would. I¡¯m tempted to let you. But this isn¡¯t the sort of thing you should let hold for the years it would take you to build the necessary strength. Besides, I don¡¯t like cults. They always turn into something very ugly. Better to end it now.¡±


    Sen¡¯s experience with a cult certainly supported that argument, although, he¡¯d only encountered the one. He¡¯d have to take her word for it that most cults weren¡¯t worth the air and water they used up. Both Auntie Caihong and Master Feng gave the names of ces where he could find some quiet help if he needed it. While he simply wrote down the names of the ces that Auntie Caihong gave him, he had a very specific question for Master Feng.


    ¡°These don¡¯t happen to be brothels, do they?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°No, of course, they aren¡¯t brothels,¡± said Master Feng, but then he paused. ¡°I don¡¯t think they are. I¡¯m pretty sure they weren¡¯t thest time I checked in on them.¡±


    Sen moved those names to the bottom of his list of ces to look for help. He didn¡¯t actually have an objection to brothels. Sen just didn¡¯t want to unintentionally drag a bunch of mortals into his problems again if he could avoid it. They were too convenient as targets, and he¡¯d like to avoid causing a bloodbath in the capital if at all possible. Given his luck, he didn¡¯t really expect that would prove possible, but he could hope and take steps to keep mortals out of harm''s way.


    As much as he¡¯d hoped to avoid it, Lo Meifeng did eventually catch him alone outside one afternoon. He¡¯d just gestured for her to follow him and walked them off a distance. He set up a formation to dampen their voices, assuming that neither of them really wanted the contents of that conversation shared. Lo Meifeng was quiet for a moment before she finally asked the question that Sen could tell was burning a hole in her mind.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why not expose what you did? Why keep you around?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°If I told Master Feng what you did, there¡¯s a good chance he¡¯d kill you for pulling me into that kind of danger. Wasn¡¯t that exactly the kind of thing you were sent to help me avoid?¡±


    ¡°It was,¡± she admitted with a sigh.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not even close to angry enough to want to see you dead. It wouldn¡¯t fix anything. You¡¯d just be dead. And, he¡¯d send someone else, which brings us around to the why keep you around part of things. I know I can stand you. That might not be true for the next person.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t trust me.¡±


    ¡°No, not particrly, but as long as you weren¡¯t lying about not having family in the capital, I won¡¯t automatically dismiss every word out of your mouth. Were you lying?¡±


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t. I don¡¯t have anyone I¡¯m close to or rted to in the capital.¡±


    ¡°Then, you¡¯re the demon I know. Plus, now I have a baseline for what it looks like when you¡¯re trying to trick me to get what you want. I¡¯ll be more ready for it next time.¡±


    ¡°There won¡¯t be a next time,¡± said Lo Meifeng defensively.


    ¡°So you say. Would you believe that if you were me?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she admitted with obvious reluctance.


    ¡°Now, you know. Do you feel any better about things?¡±


    ¡°Not particrly, but I guess it¡¯s better to know where I stand.¡±


    ***


    By the time everyone seemed ready to go, something happened that Sen hadn¡¯t expected. One of the defensive formations activated. There was a yelp of pain as someone got caught with one of the lesser lightning bolts Sen had made for the outer perimeter formation. It wasn¡¯t really there to do anything lethal, just serve to warn off anything or anyone. Still, Sen supposed that he should at least go and see who had triggered the formation in the first ce. As he went to leave, Falling Leaf walked up to the door and looked at him expectantly.


    ¡°Do you want toe?¡± he asked, a little amused.


    ¡°Like you could stop me from going where I wish,¡± she said.


    The pair of them made their way out to the edge of the formation boundary. Sen wasn¡¯t sure what to make of what he found there. Shi Ping was near the boundary, looking a little charred and very unhappy. After just staring at the man for a while, Sen finally gave in to his curiosity.


    ¡°What can I do for you, Shi Ping?¡±


    ¡°The matriarch informed me that myziness has grown beyond her tolerance. She told me to seek you out and ask if I might join you for a time. She suggested that it might inspire me to, as she put it, do something for once in my life.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen, not at all amused that the matriarch was trying to offload her problem onto his te.


    ¡°Please say no. Please say no. Please say no,¡± said Shi Ping.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen, not even needing the other man¡¯s pitiful begging.


    The veryst thing he wanted was azy cultivator tagging along on his current mission. It wasn¡¯t an imminent crisis, yet, but the mission <em>was</em> still life or death for Sen. Having someone who couldn¡¯t or, worse still, wouldn¡¯t pull their own weight was simply uneptable. It might have been different if the matriarch had offered him some kind of reward or payment, but to just expect him to take the man for free. Then, Sen red at the man, who took a big step back.


    ¡°What did she offer me to sweeten the deal that conveniently slipped your mind?¡±


    Shi Ping visibly winced but removed a wrapped bundle from a storage treasure. Sen could feel the power radiating from it as soon as it appeared. She had already gifted Sen an ascendent-level jian that was probably the best weapon he now owned. He thought that it would legitimatelyst him until he reached the nascent soul stage of cultivation. The spear that Shi Ping revealed when he untied the covering was a step beyond. It was one of the fabled heavens chasing realm weapons. Those storied weapons were the domain of nascent soul cultivators and no others. This wasn¡¯t simply a bribe, it was a kingly bribe, the kind of bribe that no sane cultivator could refuse. <em>No wonder Shi Ping didn¡¯t mention it</em>, thought Sen. <em>He knew I¡¯d have to say yes with that spear in y</em>. That didn¡¯t excuse the man for failing to deliver the whole message. Sen was tempted to challenge the man then and there, but he repressed that impulse. Barring massive misfortune on Sen¡¯s part, like being suddenly struck blind and losing the feeling in both his hands, Shi Ping had no chance in such a contest. For all that, though, the man would be a burden. Sen liked the man well enough as a casual acquaintance, but he wasn¡¯t enthralled with the picture of Shi Ping as a permanent travelingpanion.


    Sen turned to Falling Leaf. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Let hime. You get the spear, which is good. If he proves irksome, I¡¯ll simply kill him in his sleep. It doesn¡¯t seem any will miss him.¡±


    Shi Ping looked pale and unsteady on his feet at hearing those words.


    Sen fixed Shi Ping with a hard look. ¡°You should consider that your friendly and only warning. Pull your weight, or she really will end your life.¡±


    Shi Ping looked mournful as he said his next words. ¡°I need to pack.¡±


    ¡°You should grab the spear, and I¡¯ll just kill him now,¡± said Falling Leaf, taking a step toward the man.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t an auspicious start, Shi Ping,¡± said Sen. ¡°Leave the spear. Go pack. You have three hours to meet us at the entrance to the valley.¡±


    ¡°Three hours? That¡¯s barely enough time to get back and grab my clothes.¡±


    ¡°Then I probably gave you more time than you deserve after that stunt you pulled. You should havee here ready to leave. Now, you just wasted a minute of your time. Do you n on wasting another?¡±


    Shi Ping, showing a modicum of wisdom, ced the spear on the ground with care. Then, he vanished in a burst of qi.


    Falling Leaf stared in the direction the man had vanished. ¡°He won¡¯t survive a week with us.¡±


    Sen shook his head as he passed effortlessly through his own formation and picked up the spear. ¡°I know. I kind of think that¡¯s what the matriarch had in mind. Hence, the bribe.¡±


    ¡°Humans are so strange. If she wants him dead, she should simply kill him and be done with it.¡±


    ¡°Humans generally dislike it when their leaders kill their own people. Shi Ping is, by his own admission,zy, which makes him a drain on the order. But he¡¯s liked well enough. Killing him would be politically problematic. Sending him off with me, well, I¡¯m a dangerous man. No one would be surprised if he died in mypany.¡±


    ¡°And that won¡¯t be a problem for youter?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Probably not. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m not going to try to get him killed for her. He may even be useful. Another sword in a fight is never a bad thing. I¡¯m not going to go out of my way to protect him, though. He¡¯ll have to rise to the asion.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    ¡°He might. The threat of dying has a way of bringing out a person¡¯s strengths. It did for me.¡±


    ¡°He is <em>not</em> you.¡±


    Sen smiled. ¡°Maybe not. I guess we¡¯ll find out soon enough. Still, this is aplication I hadn¡¯t nned for. Why is leaving never easy?¡±


    ***


    The nascent soul cultivators were all interested in the spear. Uncle Kho took it through a form and dered it adequate. Master Feng examined it closely and said that the smith who made it wasn¡¯tpletely ipetent. Auntie Caihong ran a bit of qi through it, shot the other elder cultivators a look, and said it was of excellent quality. Sen decided to take her word for it. After that, it was a round of hugs, shoulder ps, and fifteen pieces ofst-second advice. As they were all getting ready to head their separate ways, Master Feng spun toward Sen.


    ¡°I almost forgot,¡± he said, looking embarrassed and relieved. ¡°I dropped by your grandmother¡¯s shop in Emperor¡¯s Bay. The manager there asked me to deliver this to you with hispliments.¡±


    Master Feng threw Sen a coin pouch that was surprisingly heavy. He opened it and found a sensible, if sizable, mix of silver and bronze tael. There were even a few gold taels mixed in with the rest. It took Sen a moment to remember who Master Feng was talking about and why they might be sending him money. He supposed it had been a while since he was back there. He supposed it might have been enough time to generate some profit.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Sen, storing the money away.


    ¡°Are you investing now, Sen?¡± asked Uncle Kho, an amused gleam in his eye.


    ¡°Just a little.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a smart move, though,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°Wherever I go, there¡¯s always someone waiting with a bag of money for me. It¡¯s really convenient.¡±


    With a roll of her eyes, Auntie Caihong took Uncle Kho by the arm. ¡°Come along, dear. I expect there¡¯s a terrible amount of dusting waiting for us at home.¡±


    At those words, Uncle Kho looked at Sen. ¡°Now, you keep your eyes open for any more demonic cultivator cabals. We can¡¯t have them running around doing whatever they want.¡±


    Auntie Caihong started pulling her husband away by main force until he relented with augh and the two flew away on qi tforms. Sen looked to Master Feng.


    ¡°Where are you off to?¡±


    ¡°I have to stop in and see Duan Yuxuan. Then, I have a spirit beast mystery to get back to.¡±


    ¡°Duan Yuxuan? Is that a <em>good</em> idea?¡±


    ¡°Heavens no. It¡¯s a terrible idea, but it¡¯ll be even worse if I don¡¯t stop in to have an argument with her. She¡¯ll feel slighted and ignored. It is her valley, and she left us alone. So, I can do my part.¡±


    ¡°By arguing with her?¡± Sen asked, truly confused.


    For once, Master Feng looked a little embarrassed. ¡°Well, it¡¯ll start out as an argument. It doesn¡¯t usually end that way.¡±


    It took Sen¡¯s mind a while to fill in the nks on that one.


    ¡°Oh! I see.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, off you go. Let us know if you run into any more fun like you didst time.¡±


    Sen offered Master Feng a deep bow. ¡°As you say, Master Feng.¡±


    At a gesture from Sen, Falling Leaf and Lo Meifeng joined him as he walked away from the little house he¡¯d made. He might have to make more of them, time and qi permitting. An hourter, the valley¡¯s entrance and their unwanted tagalong came into sight. The man looked utterly despondent.


    ¡°You really mean to take him along?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°You saw that spear right?¡±


    ¡°I did. Still not sure it¡¯s worth it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, neither am I. But I said I¡¯d do it, so now he gets toe along.¡±


    Lo Meifeng gave the man an unfriendly look and spoke loudly enough that Sen was sure Shi Ping could hear her. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll get lucky and some spirit beast will eat him.¡±


    It was all Sen could do to notugh as Shi Ping cast a horrified look at Lo Meifeng, who just smiled sweetly at the man.

 Book 3: Chapter 61: Future Imperfect

    Book 3: Chapter 61: Future Imperfect


    Zhang Jing sat in the chair by the window and contemted patience. If it were possible to cultivate patience the way that people cultivated qi, he believed that he would be a nascent soul cultivator already. For, if ever a man had befriended patience, he was that man. Even now, he waited in patience for the words of The Diviner. Zhang Jing knew the ancient cultivator had a name, Li Qian, but he was only ever referred to as The Diviner. He wasn¡¯t sure if the old cultivator himself even remembered the name Li Qian anymore. Zhang Jing had spent weeks in the archives, indulging his curiosity, to learn the name. He¡¯d be surprised if the Diviner even knew he had great-grandchildren. For someone with an eye always fixed on the future, the realities of the present were often lost in a shroud of neglect. Many people had dered The Diviner was mad, or senile, or that his cultivation was failing. He was thousands of years old. A contemporary of nascent soul demigods like Kho Jaw-Long and Feng Ming, if by no means their peer.


    No, The Diviner was reaching the end of his life. Zhang Jing expected that the old man would onlyst another century or two before time finally caught up with him. Most of the Zhang family had discarded the old man long since, but Zhang Jing held a soft spot in his heart for the fortune teller. It had been The Diviner¡¯s foretelling that had saved Zhang Jing¡¯s life on that awful expedition into the south all those years ago. It was The Diviner who advised him, most astutely, to reject the proposal that he marry Teoh Ah Lam, a beautiful but shrewish woman, in favor of the less obviously profitable proposal from the Jao family. He had never regretted the decision to marry Jao Chan-Juan. She was not, perhaps, as beautiful as Teoh Ah Lam, but she was of a far kinder temperament. More importantly, she carried a razor-sharp intellect that had helped see Zhang Jing¡¯s fortunes rise. She was his most cherished and best-loved treasure, a gift greater than even the heavens.


    So, Zhang Jing took it upon himself to take the old man into his household. He¡¯d done so not with the expectation that he would see some great advantage but as a just reward for the very personal services that The Diviner had rendered up to him. It wasn¡¯t as if the old man was some terrible burden. He asked for nothing and seemed to prefer simple pleasures. Yet, from time to time, the old man would send for Zhang Jing to proffer up some bit of insight gleaned from the future. They were often small matters that seemed trivial in the moment, such as an investment in some minor business or the name of someone to draw into his service. Yet, over time, those small pieces of advice had umted on each other,yer uponyer, until the pearl of power and fortune had grownrge in Zhang Jing¡¯s hand. So, if The Diviner called for Jing and took an hour to yield up a prophecy, it was time that the man was happy to spend.


    ¡°An opportunity approaches,¡± said The Diviner.


    ¡°What kind of opportunity?¡± asked Zhang Jing, turning to face the white-haired old cultivator.


    ¡°The extraordinary kind. There is a maning here. A hero to some. A viin to others. A favorite of the heavens and of chaos. He is a fulcrum on which fates may change and futures may be rewritten.¡±


    That made Zhang Jing sit up straight. It had been years, decades even, since The Diviner had offered a fortune like this.


    ¡°Who is this man? What is his name?¡±


    ¡°His name is Lu Sen, although it means nothing. A name that is half fiction and half misremembered. Who he is, though, is something else entirely. The title given him is Judgment¡¯s Gale, and it is a terrible thing indeed to fall beneath that judgment, as more than one has learned. If you can befriend him, though, he could be the making of you.¡±


    ¡°<em>If</em> I can befriend him? Why would that be so difficult?¡±


    ¡°He has no love and even less use for nobles, my prince. He thinks them selfish and stupid.¡±


    Zhang Jing grimaced at that. He wasn¡¯t even sure he disagreed with that sentiment. Many nobles were selfish and stupid.


    ¡°Then, I need to approach him with care.¡±


    ¡°With great care, my prince. As dangerous as he is, his self-appointed protectors are more dangerous still.¡±


    Zhang Jing offered the old man a bow. ¡°My gratitude for your wisdom, as always.¡±


    ¡°My prince, tread with caution. He could be your making, but he could also be your undoing.¡±


    ¡°That is the truth of all great opportunities, I think.¡±


    Leaving The Diviner to his own affairs, Prince Zhang Jing thought furiously. An opportunity and a potential disastery before him. He needed to weigh this with care. His first instinct was to seize the opportunity, but that was always a risk, and The Diviner had warned him of the dangers repeatedly. This wasn¡¯t something he could decide in istion. He needed to speak with Chan-Juan. Her clever mind would likely see possibilities and pitfalls that his own neglected. Besides, it wasn¡¯t just his future he¡¯d be gambling with but hers as well. She deserved a say if he was going to try to align himself with a man who openly wore a name as threatening as Judgment¡¯s Gale.

 V3 Bloopers

    V3 Bloopers


    He did take a moment to study his dantian and the odd ribbon of new qi but left off almost immediately. There was no obvious damage to the dantian. Figuring out that new qi <em>was</em> important. He knew it. He also knew that it was something that he wasn¡¯t going to understand with five minutes of casual study. Even so, it was an effort to turn his attention away from it. Any change in his dantian that he hadn¡¯t initiated was a cause for concern. Changes could mean unexpected results, which he¡¯d learned was almost always problematic. Still, he had pressing medical needs that required much more immediate attention. Turning to the problem at hand, he let his mind slip into that hazy ce of unfocused focus that let him pick the right ingredients for the problem at hand. He started with the base ingredients, wood-aligned ginseng for general-purpose healing, wind-aligned five-vor fruit for the blood, and sunflower root as a general reagent for the other ingredients.


    After that, the ingredients became more specific to his needs. He used earth-aligned crown flower to help repair and reinforce his bones. Metal-aligned serpent weed would help bnce the elixir. Ingredient after ingredient went into the pot until it felt right. Sen had been so consumed by the process that it took himpletely off-guard when he sensed a giant looming presence nearby. He looked around and his mouth dropped open in shock and awe. As the fang-filled maw mmed closed around him, Sen had just enough time to think, ¡°Was that a dragon?


    <strong>***</strong>


    ¡°That <em>really</em> hurt,¡±ined Sen, his mind veering away from even trying to remember the details.


    ¡°I expect it did. The Five-Fold Body Transformation isn¡¯t for the weak. It is where your body transformation was headed, though. I just helped ensure that you made thest few steps. Although, speaking of pain, you should brace yourself,¡± warned Elder Bo.


    ¡°Brace myself? For what?¡± Sen asked, sitting up in rm.


    ¡°Tribtion,¡± said the divine turtle.


    Sen remembered Master Feng talking about tribtions. What had he said they usually were?


    ¡°Oh no,¡± said Sen, looking up at thick, dark clouds overhead. ¡°Not lightning.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Elder Bo, ¡°not lightning. Something far worse. Far more deadly.¡±


    ¡°More deadly than <em>lightning</em>?!¡±


    ¡°Yes. You face the tribtion of the peach pits.¡±


    And as if the divine turtle''s words had triggered it, a peach pit moving at the approximate speed of a crossbow bolt beaned Sen in the head, drawing blood as it did. Then, it was as if all the light in the world was snuffed out. Sen looked up and saw thousands of peach pits hurtling toward him.


    ¡°This is so unfair,¡± heined.


    <strong>***</strong>


    Once they were out of the city proper, Lo Meifeng seemed to rx a little. At least, Sen thought she did. Her answers to the asional questions that Sen or Lifen asked were less sharp and terse. It wasn¡¯t much in the grand scheme of things, but Sen liked to take his victories where he found them. Despite rxing slightly, Lo Meifeng kept them moving until nearly sunset. At that point, they had moved beyond the city and the dense crush of buildings that had gone up beyond the city walls. Instead, they were traveling through the smaller towns and farming viges that seemed to dot thendscape beyond every city. While Sen would have been perfectly content to simply find a spot off the road, both of the women emphatically declined that option.


    ¡°Some of us require a proper bath from time to time,¡± said Lo Meifeng with an unimpressed look.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Lifen, giving Sen a nearly identical unimpressed expression.


    Sen just stared at the two of them, not quite believing what he was hearing.


    ¡°Let me make sure I¡¯ve got this straight. You¡¯re willing to risk exposing us, getting us all captured, and probably tortured to death, all so you can have baths?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± they said in unison.


    ¡°Hard pass. You have to know that if we get rooms somewhere, the ce will get burned down, or there will be an attack, or some mouthy cultivator that will draw attention to us. I¡¯ll be camped somewhere over there,¡± said Sen, gesturing at a spot with lots of natural forest cover. ¡°You know, so you can find me when the worst inevitably happens.¡±


    Unimpressed with his words of warning, the two women stalked away. It was almost midnight when two bedraggled-looking figures stumbled into camp. Lifen¡¯s clothes were scorched and covered in ashes. Lo Meifeng had bandages around an arm.


    ¡°So,¡± said Sen. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°The inn burned down,¡± said Lifen.


    ¡°And there was an attack,¡± admitted Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± Sen asked, feeling rather pleased with himself for calling it so well.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Lifen. ¡°There was this mouthy guy calling himself Cultivator Chou.¡±


    At that, heavenly qi rushed into Sen as he had a moment of enlightenment about the dao of douchey smugness.


    <strong>***</strong>


    Once they got to the city, though, there were only three things to do. They could stay for a while, which both of them agreed was a monumentally stupid n. So, that was out. They could follow the road south, which was a possibility. Or they could take the road west toward the inner continent. Lifen was curious about everything, so she didn¡¯t have a strong opinion one way or the other. Sen was increasingly convinced that they should go west.


    ¡°What¡¯s to the west?¡± Lifen asked when told her as much.


    ¡°It¡¯s something Uncle Kho told me about. There¡¯s a legend that says, if you¡¯re pure of heart, you can find a sacred temple that holds the treasure of the ages in it.¡±


    Lifen grew instantly more excited. ¡°West it is!¡±


    It took months, battling their way through the wilds, facing tribtions for every advancement, a journey that would be a veritable legend in its own right. But the day finally came, when the pair burst into a clearing wearing little but rags and beheld a sight that would change them forever. Lifen threw herself forward and dipped her hands into the multicolored miracle before her.


    ¡°What is this ce?¡± she asked, her eyes wide with awe.


    ¡°This is the Temple of the Divine Gummy Bear Waterfall.¡±


    <strong>***</strong>


    Control. So much in cultivation depended on it. Without it, strikes would not find their mark, or be turned aside with ease. Without it, one could shred their qi channels to uselessness. Without control, techniques could run out of control. That was a lesson Sen had learned the hard way. Seeing the destruction he¡¯d wrought in that abandoned town with his poorly controlled use of Heavens¡¯ Rebuke had very nearly convinced him to swear it off altogether. Even as he directed the same technique at the thrashing, howling, impaled demonic cultivator, he focused on control. He would kill this man, Sen promised himself, not vaporize half a mile of forest. Yet, for all that cultivation called for control, for all that cultivators relied on it, there had to be room for the unknown, for the unpredictable, for the flower of strange fortune to bloom in their lives. Sen had been the recipient of that as well. Yet, in the moment, the blooming of that flower could look like a hideous, terrifying loss of control.


    That was what Sen experienced as, in the barest sliver of time before Heavens¡¯ Rebuke flew from the spearhead, something he didn¡¯t n for happened. To his horror, a tiny thread from that ribbon of strange qi flew free and lodged itself in the heart of his technique. There was no time to stop it, or even consider what it meant. There was only time for one brief upswell of uncertainty and fear as Sen felt the technique fundamentally change. Then, it was loosed on the demonic cultivator. While Sen expected thence of purple-hued ckness with lightning crackling around it, what he got instead what was appeared to be¡­a house cat, albeit one he¡¯d transported straight from the depths of the countless hells. Its body was made of iridescent light and wreathed in that purple-hued ck lightning. The demonic cultivator took one look at that cat, screamed like a child, and tried to run away. Sen was used to techniques fading quickly, but after the first forty-five minutes of the cat using whatever passed for its ws to ¡°y¡± with the demonic cultivator, Sen got bored and wandered away.


    Yearster, when someone asked him if the cat killed the demonic cultivator, Sen¡¯s only answer was, ¡°Well, I never saw that guy again.¡±


    <strong>***</strong>


    ¡°I know this was my suggestion,¡± said Lo Meifeng, ¡°but she¡¯s got a point. I go where you go. So, if you keep going, I pretty much have to go. If you decide we should take a pass, and I really want to you decide that, I will dly slog through another hundred miles of this forsaken forest in any other direction.¡±


    Sen kept his mouth shut for a minute and tried to think it through. That tugging inside his chest had turned into a relentless feeling that almost dragged him along. Yet, there was no guarantee that he was going to get anything of value if they reached the right destination. Even more importantly, the others weren¡¯t experiencing that tugging feeling. Even if he got something valuable from it, there was a good chance that they wouldn¡¯t. That oppressive feeling that just got worse and worse the farther they went was a pretty solid indication that something or someone ahead <em>did not</em> want to be bothered. Even a month ago, Sen might have pressed forward regardless of anything anyone else had to say. This time, he reminded himself of the lesson he¡¯d struggled toward during his core formation. I can be more than one thing. He could be reckless and headstrong, but he didn¡¯t have to be that way all the time. He could also be the kind of person who did silly things like listening to good advice. He looked in the direction they¡¯d been heading, then made his choice.


    ¡°Then we go somewhere else,¡± he said.


    ¡°What? Really?¡± asked Lifen, sounding a little stunned.


    ¡°You made your case. Lo Meifeng agrees with you wholeheartedly. I¡¯m not dumb enough to think I know better than everyone else.¡±


    ¡°They are wise to fear this ce,¡± said a voice from the trees.


    Sen let his spiritual sense and qi swirl out all around them, but he sensed nothing. The voice continued.


    ¡°You are wise in that you would heed their advice.¡±


    A positively ancient old man stepped out of the forest. He eyed them all the way sometimes eyed a hot meal.


    ¡°Where did youe from?¡± Sen asked, wondering why his senses had failed him so utterly.


    ¡°From the forest. I guess they keep you around because you¡¯re pretty,¡± said the old man before he reached into a pocket and held something out. ¡°Would you like a piece of candy?¡±


    Even Sen knew better. ¡°Oh no, I¡¯ve seen this show. You own a creepy van, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not creepy!¡± shouted the old man. ¡°It¡¯s a ssic!¡±


    <strong>***</strong>


    Gathering himself, Sen stood and red around the battlefield. Then, he took a step up into the air on a cushion of qi. Then he took another, as though he were climbing a stairwell into the heavens. He began cycling for the things he thought he¡¯d need, shadow, fire, wind, and lightning. He tapped his core qi for this to make sure that the statement he was about to make was grand enough. He climbed until he hovered above the field nearly twenty feet in the air. He could feel the collective attention on him, waiting to see what he would say and what he would do. He started weaving the qi into something new, something he¡¯d never made before, and lifted his jian.


    ¡°I am Judgment¡¯s Gale,¡± he projected across the field, using air qi to amplify his voice like it was the voice of creation itself.


    Then, he shot that woven technique into the sky. A swirling mass of fire, shadow, and lightning began spinning overhead. As it swelled outward, the unnatural storm swiftly blotted out the sun and cast the vale into a darkness akin to night. Sen added the final touch to the technique. He cycled up metal qi and sent a beam of that skyward. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, a massive, glittering spinning metal ball descended from the clouds.


    ¡°This battle is over,¡± he boomed across the field, ¡°but the disco dance battle has <em>just begun</em>.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 1: Progress at Last

    Book 4: Chapter 1: Progress at Last


    Sen had thought he¡¯d be happy to leave the valley of the fire cultivators behind, and he was¡­mostly. The only real downside was that one of the fire cultivators, Shi Ping, hade with them. Sen had gotten a heaven-chasing realm spear for taking on the task of bringing Shi Ping along and thought it was worth it. He had swiftlye to realize that it most certainly <em>had not</em> been worth it. Sen had known the man waszy because Shi Ping had admitted it to him, openly, unashamedly, without hesitation, the very first time they met. What Sen hadn¡¯t realized was that all of thatziness came with a nearly unbearable amount of whining. That whining had crescendoed to hitherto unseen heights in thest day or two. It had reached the point that Sen was giving serious consideration to just killing the man.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it time for lunch?¡±ined Shi Ping. ¡°We¡¯ve been walking for hours.¡±


    Sen stopped in his tracks, turned, and red at the man. Shi Ping jerked to a stop and went several shades paler. He seemed to recognize that he had, finally,e up against the absolute farthest reaches of Sen¡¯s patience and was now in legitimate, mortal peril.


    Sen growled two words through hard clenched teeth. ¡°Stop. Whining.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just-,¡± started Shi Ping.


    ¡°No more justs, no more buts, no more excuses,¡± said Sen. ¡°You <em>will </em>stop whining, or I <em>will </em>kill you.¡±


    Shi Ping seemed to find his backbone, or maybe it was his anger, because he red right back at Sen. ¡°This isn¡¯t fair. I didn¡¯t ask toe on this trip. I shouldn¡¯t have to suffer because <em>you </em>made a deal with the matriarch.¡±


    Sen grew unnaturally calm and still at those words before he said in a very soft voice. ¡°Suffering? You think <em>this </em>is suffering?¡±


    Shi Ping¡¯s eyes went wide as Sen drew his jian and advanced on him.


    ¡°No, I just-,¡± Shi Ping started to say.


    In a move the fire cultivator never even saw, Sen drove his jian through the man¡¯s leg. Shi Ping howled in pain as Sen calmly pulled the sword free.


    ¡°<em>Now</em>, you¡¯re suffering,¡± said Sen, wiping the de clean on Shi Ping¡¯s robe. ¡°I suggest you bandage that quickly or something wille looking for an easy meal.¡±


    ¡°You bastard!¡±


    Sen sheathed his sword and gave Shi Ping a t look. ¡°Don¡¯t fall behind.¡±


    ¡°I can turn around and go back any time I want,¡± shouted Shi Ping.


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± asked Shi Ping, looking a little shocked and nervous, even as he hastily bandaged the wound.


    ¡°I said, go ahead. Go back. What do you really think is waiting for you there? If I read these tea leaves correctly, you¡¯re on your absolutest chance with the matriarch. I think you know it, too. If you go back, I bet that all you¡¯ll get is a swift death or expulsion from the order. For someone like you, expulsion is just a slow execution because you will not survive alone in the world. So, you can either quit whining <em>all of the time</em>, or you can go back. I really don¡¯t care which you pick.¡±


    Sen stalked away from Shi Ping and didn¡¯t even bother looking back to see what the man did. A little farther up the road, Lo Meifeng slowed down to walk next to him. She eyed him curiously but didn¡¯t ask whatever question was obviously on her mind. Sen rolled his eyes and looked at her.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just a little surprised at you. I mean, sure, I¡¯d have stabbed him yesterday or possibly after the first hour. You¡¯re usually a little more patient than this.¡±


    ¡°Patience is for people who deserve it.¡±


    ¡°And he doesn¡¯t?¡±


    Sen gave her a sharp look. ¡°Are you saying that you do think he deserves it?¡±


    Lo Meifengughed. ¡°Not in the slightest, but I¡¯m not really known for my kindly feelings toward others. I¡¯m curious why you think he doesn¡¯t.¡±


    Sen reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. It didn¡¯t provide any physical relief. Sen didn¡¯t really experience physical pain any longer unless he was injured in some grievous way, but the action did provide a bit of a psychological balm. He nced up at the sky and debated whether or not to tell her. There was a time not very long in the past when he would have opened up to her about it without hesitation. Now, though, everything to do with her was passed through a filter of distrust. He found himself wondering how she¡¯d use whatever information he gave her to manipte him again. He hated thinking and feeling that way, yet he couldn¡¯t shake it either. He also knew there was some value in forgiveness, but she¡¯d cut that path off when she told him she didn¡¯t regret it. Part of him just wanted to forget the whole thing, while part of him wished he¡¯d left her behind. In the end, though, he had to talk to <em>someone</em>.


    ¡°Ever since I formed my core, my anger has been harder to control. Well, no, that¡¯s not exactly right. It¡¯s like it¡¯s been amplified, which has made it harder to control. Shi Ping just pushed on that anger until I couldn¡¯t keep a leash on it anymore.¡±


    Lo Meifeng frowned at that and fell silent for a while. Much to Sen¡¯s disappointment, she didn¡¯t have much to offer by way of encouragement.


    ¡°That¡¯s a new one on me. I have a theory or two, but nothing solid. It could be something to do with the nascent soul that should be developing in your core. It¡¯s connected to you, to your experiences, and you¡¯ve had a rough year. It may have soaked in some of the anger you¡¯ve experienced and, now, it¡¯s reflecting that anger back to you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say that¡¯s true, how do I get a grip on it? I can¡¯t just go around stabbing everyone who gets on my nerves.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not true. You absolutely can go around stabbing everyone who annoys you.¡±


    ¡°Ha. Oh, ha. You are so funny,¡± said Sen in his driest deadpan.


    ¡°Like I said, this is a new one for me. That nascent soul theory is the best I¡¯ve got for the why, but it might not even be true. If it is true, I honestly have no idea how you¡¯d deal with it. I supposed you could look for happier, less stressful things to do. Look for moments of enlightenment about the nature of calm.¡±


    ¡°Bnce,¡± said Sen. ¡°If I¡¯ve been giving that nascent soul nothing but anger and stress, I need to give it something to bnce those influences.¡±


    Lo Meifeng shrugged. ¡°It can¡¯t hurt.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Sen, and almost managed to not sound grudging about it.


    Lo Meifeng almost managed to look like it didn¡¯t bother her. ¡°Sure. I hope it helps.¡±


    After a while, Shi Ping came limping up behind them. Sen looked back at the man and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Anyments to share about the conditions?¡±


    Shi Ping just shook his head and said, ¡°No.¡±


    <em>Progress atst</em>, thought Sen. <em>Now, let¡¯s see how long Shi Ping can keep it up</em>. <em>I give him until dinner</em>. Yet, the man surprised Sen. Dinner came and went without moreints or incessant whining. When the man refrained from moaning about everything the next morning, Sen found a little pity inside himself and made the man a healing elixir. Sen thought about making it weak enough that it wouldn¡¯t heal the leg injury all the way, but Shi Ping¡¯s limping really had slowed them down the day before. Sen hoped that the long afternoon and evening of pain would stick with the man for a while. He knew there were no guarantees, but Sen reasoned that he could always stab the other leg if the man got excessively obnoxious again.


    In the meantime, Sen tried to reflect on things like the nature of calm and the feeling of peace. He didn¡¯t experience any moments of enlightenment, but he hadn¡¯t really expected to be blessed that way. He did draw some conclusions, though. Anger and violence were, in his experience, abrupt things. They usually came and went in a sh. His own experiences with them were unusual. Being hunted by demonic cultivators for all those months had kept his anger on a constant low simmer, and forced him to be ready for violence at the drop of a hat. Those kinds of things could take root in the heart if a person wasn¡¯t careful, and Sen feared he hadn¡¯t been careful enough.


    On the flip side, he thought that things like calm and peace were more of a process. They were things a person had to strive for and actively cultivate, just like they cultivated qi. Starve a dantian of qi, and a person would have very few options avable the next time they needed to perform a technique. He¡¯d been starving himself of calm and peace, if not by intention, so did that make him more prone to anger and violence? Sen thought that it almost certainly did. He just wasn¡¯t sure how to break those habits yet. Sen looked around and realized something. He caught up with Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Have you seen Falling Leaf recently?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Not since this morning. She said she was going to scout ahead, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°She did,¡± admitted Sen, ¡°but that was almost six hours ago. It seems like she¡¯d havee back by now.¡±


    ¡°You know her better than I do. Is this unusual for her?¡±


    Sen had very intentionally withheld Falling Leaf¡¯s true nature as a transformed spirit beast from Lo Meifeng. That meant that he couldn¡¯t exin to Lo Meifeng that he really <em>didn¡¯t </em>know what was normal for human Falling Leaf. She could be in trouble, or she could just be reveling in being free toe and go as she pleased. Still, if she had carried over most of her personality in the change, then a long absence like the one he¡¯d noticed wouldn¡¯t be out of character for her. He thought that he was probably just carrying some leftover paranoia from the days of being hunted.


    ¡°I guess not,¡± he said. ¡°I should probably talk with her about making regr check-ins, though.¡±


    It was maybe all of ten minutester when Sen spotted Falling Leaf not just running but sprinting toward them down the road. Her face was locked into an expression of grim determination. Sen sighed.


    ¡°Oh, what now?¡± he said.


    Then, he saw the bear-cat spirit beast that was chasing her, and whatever tiny bit of progress he¡¯d made with his anger disappeared. Lo Meifeng also noticed the approaching girl and spirit beast.


    ¡°What is it with us and these bear-cat things?¡± she asked.


    ¡°What is that thing?¡± shouted Shi Ping, drawing his jian almost reflexively.


    ¡°It¡¯s a spirit beast,¡± said Sen, ¡°and I¡¯m about <em>done </em>with this particr species of them.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re done with you,¡± muttered Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Yeah, I noticed that. Maybe it¡¯s time that I send a stronger message,¡± said Sen.

 Book 4: Chapter 2: Messages

    Book 4: Chapter 2: Messages


    Falling Leaf was closing on them fast, which meant that Sen had a limited amount of time to decide what he wanted to do. Of course, those limits weren¡¯t quite as limiting as they had once been. Much as advancements in the formation foundation stage had refined his brain and improved the speed and rity of his thinking, the transition into the core formation stage had done the same and benefited from a simr advancement in his body cultivation. That meant that decisions that would have once seemed absolutely rushed and been made on instinct more than reason were now things that he could approach with almost clinical detachment. He let his spiritual sense wash over the spirit beast and estimated that it was probably the approximate equal of an early or middle-core formation cultivator. That put it at least one solid step above him on the power scale.


    Of course, raw power wasn¡¯t everything, and the beast wasing at them in a very convenient straight line. Maybe it thought that brute strength would get the job done. Maybe it just wasn¡¯t that smart. Either way, Sen meant to take advantage of that fact. He cycled for a variation of earth qi, metal qi, and what had be his go-to for mostbat situations, lightning. Then, he drove that qi down, deep inside the world, searching for what he wanted and what he needed. He started walking toward Falling Leaf and the bear-cat spirit beast. It was the calm, measured walk of a man about to deal with an unpleasant task, but not shirking from it. As fleeing Falling Leaf saw him, she got a mildly concerned look, but he just bobbed his head to the left a little, indicating which way she should go. Once the bear-cat spotted him, it lost all interest in Falling Leaf and adjusted its course toward Sen. It was big enough that Sen guessed it probably weighed close to seven hundred pounds. Not that it would matter much with what he was nning.


    Sen closed his fist and started hauling thebination technique up from the earth. It felt like it took the technique a long time to build up momentum, although he understood that it was really only a second or so. It just seemed like a long time because there was a bloodthirsty spirit animal bearing down on him with a jaw full of rending, tearing death at its disposal. <em>Yes</em>, thought Sen, <em>it really does think that brute force will get the job done</em>. <em>Oh well</em>. When the beast got within ten feet of him, it did what so many beasts seemed to do when they closed in on a kill. It leapt at him.


    ¡°Mistake,¡± said Sen, and let his fistunch up into the air like he was trying to deliver an uppercut to the sky.


    A vaguely fist-shaped mass of stone and metal that had lightning coursing through the metal shot up from the ground. It took the bear-cat in its unprotected belly. The spirit beast that had been flying through the air with ws extended folded over that stone and metal fist like a limp doll. Sen heard as much as saw the lightning seek a home in the flesh and blood of the spirit beast. Then, the giant fist stopped moving. Of course, momentum had the spirit beast by then. It was thrown a good fifteen feet in the air. Sen took that opportunity to take a handful of steps forward to position himself for his next attack. There wasn¡¯t going to be anything fancy with the second attack. As the smoking form of the bear-cat fell out of the air and came level with Sen, he simply hit it with every ounce of strength he could wring out of his body cultivation-enhanced muscles and bones. He even used a bit of core qi to enhance and reinforce his entire system. There was a noise like dry twigs being stepped on by something heavy, and then the bear-cat¡¯s direction was altered again as the full force of Sen¡¯s blow was transferred into its body. It flew back in the direction it hade from for nearly five feet before it dropped to the ground andmenced a tumbling roll that Sen thought would be really painful for anything with bones.


    While Sen didn¡¯t actually want the spirit beast dead, he wasn¡¯t willing to give anything a full step more powerful than he was time to muster their resources. Letting his earth qi fall away, he seized the metal that had been in the fist and sent it flying toward the spirit beast. Some of it wrapped around the spirit beast¡¯s throat. Sen made that metal grow spikes that drove threateningly inward. Even something that wasn¡¯t very bright could get that message. <em>If you make me mad again</em>, <em>I¡¯ll just kill you now</em>. The rest of the metal formed a web of strands that locked the beast¡¯s legs into ce. Given some time and effort, Sen expected the bear-cat could break free from all of that, so he gave it something else to worry about and hit it with another bolt of lightning. All of that metal touching the beast¡¯s body made sure that the lightning went everywhere, rather than just driving into one spot. The desperate noise the spirit beast made at that point left Sen rtively sure that he had the thing¡¯s attention. Sen walked over to where the bear-cat could see him. It thrashed weakly a few times but got exactly nowhere.


    ¡°Can you talk?¡± Sen asked.


    The spirit beast didn¡¯t say anything, but Sen was pretty confident he caught the spark ofprehension in its eyes. That was all he really needed.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to assume that you understand me well enough to pass on a message. I¡¯m tired of this. I¡¯m tired of having to fight one of you every time I walk into the wilds or even into a forest. I¡¯m tired of you targeting the people I know. So, it will end. Yeah, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re thinking all about the revenge you¡¯re going to take and how your kind will hunt me down. So, this is the message,¡± said Sen cycling up several kinds of qi, ¡°I¡¯ve done my best to steer clear of you for thest year. You have not extended me the same courtesy. So, it¡¯s war now. Starting today, if I see one of you, you die. If I hear about one of you, I will hunt you. I will burn down your forests. I will flood your dens. I will bury you beneath mountains of stone and darkness until there is nothing left of your kind but stories and bad dreams.¡±


    As he spoke to the immobilized bear-cat, he summoned rings of fire, stone, water, and the deepest shadow. He let them spin in circles above his head like halos of destruction and wrath. The bear-cat stared up at those halos like it was seeing the annihtion of its entire race given tangible form. Its fear was so palpable that Sen could actually smell the change in the spirit beast. Certain, for once, that he had gotten his message across loud and clear, he released the metal restraints and pointed out at the forest.


    ¡°Go, before I decide to start with you.¡±


    The spirit beast stumbled to its feet and hobbled off into the forest as fast as its injured body would allow. When it passed beyond the range of Sen¡¯s spiritual sense. He finally released the halos above him. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm the anger, no, the rage that was festering inside of him. When Sen turned back to the others, he was met with three very different expressions. Shi Ping looked like any loud noise would turn his bowels to water. Falling Leaf looked surprised and sad. Lo Meifeng had put on the rigidly neutral mask she wore when she didn¡¯t want anyone to know exactly what she was feeling. She was the one who finally broke the silence.


    ¡°That conversation we had about you finding a way to temper your anger. Finding a way should move right up to the very, <em>very </em>top of your to-do list.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on,¡± said Sen. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that scary.¡±


    ¡°The hells it wasn¡¯t,¡± Shi Ping almost screamed. ¡°You didn¡¯t <em>see </em>yourself. With the fire, lightning, summoning a giant, and issuing genocidal threats. Oh, and casually punching that thing out of the air hard enough that I felt it <em>inside my chest</em>. Just what do you imagine scary looks like!¡±


    Sen hadn¡¯t really intended to send <em>that </em>particr message to Shi Ping, but maybe it was ultimately for the best. Sen sincerely doubted that the man was going toin to him about anything short of an imminent threat of death any time in the near future. However unintentional it had been, Sen wasn¡¯t too good to reap secondary benefits. In his recent frame of mind, he really was worried he might murder Shi Ping just to shut the guy up. With his enhanced senses, he could hear Shi Ping muttering under his breath.


    ¡°I thought that stunt back in the valley was a one-time thing, but no. Apparently, that was just another day of the week for this guy.¡±


    Realizing that Shi Ping was probably going to continue in that vein for as long as they stood around, Sen decided to put a stop to it immediately.


    ¡°There¡¯s still plenty of daylight left. Let¡¯s keep moving,¡± he said.

 Book 4: Chapter 3: One Day

    Book 4: Chapter 3: One Day


    Everyone let Sen be for the rest of the day, which suited him just fine. He had plenty to think about. It wasn¡¯t untilter in the evening that Falling Leaf pulled him aside and led him away from the camp a short distance. It probably wasn¡¯t far enough to keep people from listening if they really wanted to, but it was far enough that no one would casually overhear their conversation. She stared at him for a long moment with those odd, green eyes before she spoke.


    ¡°The things you said to that spirit beast, did you mean it? Would you really do all of those things?¡±


    Sen supposed he should have expected something like this, but it still caught him a little t-footed. He really thought about it for a little while.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t burn down their forests. That would be punishing every living thing that lived or grew there. That wouldn¡¯t be fair or right. As for the rest, yes, I meant it.¡±


    Falling Leaf immediately rxed. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s fine then.¡±


    ¡°Wait. What? You don¡¯t care if I hunt those things to extinction?¡±


    She tilted her head a little to one side as if considering his words. ¡°No. Why would I? They are no kin of mine. They chose their enemy poorly. Cubs should not tempt the wrath of dragons. All know this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m no dragon,¡± said Sen, snorting a little.


    ¡°Not yet, but your teachers might as well be. The Feng most of all. You follow in their footsteps.¡±


    Sen chewed on that for a minute. ¡°Yeah, I suppose I do. Listen, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you about.¡±


    Falling Leaf stared at him for an ufortably long time before she jerked a little, seemed to remember something, and said, ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your name. We really need to change it to something more,¡± Sen thought about how to phrase it, ¡°human-like. It will help keep people from paying extra attention to you.¡±


    Falling Leaf looked deeply unhappy about that idea. ¡°Change it to what?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking something like Fa Ling Li.¡±


    On hearing the name Sen came up with, most of the unhappiness drained out of Falling Leaf. ¡°That¡¯s not so different.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not. I tried to keep it as close to your real name as I could.¡±


    She paced a little bit, thinking about it, before she finally nodded. ¡°If I must.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mostly to protect you from people who might wish to¡­experiment on you.¡±


    ¡°Experiment?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Spirit beasts that transform the way you have are very rare. Very, very rare. There are sects that would want to study you. They¡¯d lock you up at best. Some would want to dissect you, just to see how you work.¡±


    ¡°Dissect? What is that?¡±


    Sen sighed. <em>Of course</em>, she wouldn¡¯t know that word. ¡°They¡¯d cut you open, maybe even cut you up into little pieces. Hopefully, you¡¯d be dead before they started. When you were with Auntie Caihong, well, there wasn¡¯t much chance of anyone grabbing you. They just wouldn¡¯t have dared. I can¡¯t offer that kind of protection. So, whatever little things we can do to make you seem more like a human being, the less chance of someone trying to drag you off.¡±


    ¡°Fa Ling Li,¡± said Falling Leaf, like she was trying to get used to it. ¡°It will have to do.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I much prefer you alive and healthy.¡±


    ¡°You know, I might still die. Anyone can die. Life is uncertain.¡±


    ¡°I know, but we don¡¯t have to make it easy on people.¡±


    Falling Leaf gave Sen a look that he couldn¡¯t quite parse. ¡°What would you do if someone killed me?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t even need to think about it. ¡°I¡¯d take a page out of Lo Meifeng¡¯s book. Everyone involved, everyone I even thought <em>might</em> have been involved, would die.¡±


    ¡°What if it was a sect?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t change anything, except that I¡¯d probably burn the ce to the ground and salt the earth when I was done.¡±


    She made an unhappy noise. ¡°You weren¡¯t always so quick to hurt others.¡±


    ¡°You asked me what I would do if someone killed <em>you</em>. You¡¯re my best friend. My chosen family. If someone took you from me, stole you from me like that,¡± Sen took a shuddering breath, ¡°there are no words for the ways I would make them suffer for that. But, yes, I am quicker to hurt than I was. The world is full of people who will kill you for bad reasons, or no reason at all, if you let them. People who hurt others for sport. People who see kindness as weakness. I have no mercy for those people. Nopassion. If peoplee looking to harm me and mine, and they <em>have</em>, then I act.¡±


    ¡°You should protect what is yours, but don¡¯t grow too fond of the killing. There is a kind of madness, a blood madness, down that path. It can consume your heart and your soul. I¡¯ve seen it before. I would not wish that for you.¡±


    Sen nodded in understanding. He¡¯d seen it before in some of the bandits he¡¯d killed. They had reveled in the violence. They killed because they liked it, because they <em>needed</em> it on some level. They took a kind of sick joy in watching the life leave someone¡¯s eyes. No one could truly see into his heart, so they had no way of knowing just how far away from that Sen truly was. He¡¯d never stopped hating all of the violence and the killing. He just didn¡¯t try to run away from it the way he used to do. It was everywhere, inescapable, and running from it in one ce inevitably meant finding it somewhere else. One could only face it or be a victim of it. Sen chose to face it. If that meant doing things he hated, he could at least take some tiny shred offort in knowing he hated it. It also gave him a way to monitor himself. If the day came when he didn¡¯t hate it anymore, that was the day he¡¯d have to start to worry. That might even be the day he¡¯d have to seek out a fight he couldn¡¯t win.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I don¡¯t like killing now any better than I liked it on the day we met. I¡¯m just better at it.¡±


    ¡°It is easy to grow to like the things we are good at.¡±


    That gave Sen a moment of pause. She wasn¡¯t wrong.


    ¡°Then, I will rely on you to remind me from time to time not to enjoy it too much.¡±


    Falling Leaf shrugged. ¡°If you wish.¡±


    ¡°I wish it wasn¡¯t necessary at all, but I don¡¯t expect that the world will grant me that wish. You know, sometimes, I wish that we¡¯d just gone off and found a mountain of our own.¡±


    ¡°Really? Why?¡±


    ¡°Then, none of this would have been necessary. You could have stayed as you were. I wouldn¡¯t be constantly getting into bad situations. It¡¯d be peaceful. Maybe, we still could.¡±


    Falling Leaf grew quiet and her eyes were far away. ¡°There <em>are</em> many mountains. As strong as you are now, you could likely im one. Build a Sen den for yourself.¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°A Sen den? I like it. What about you? Would you build a den for yourself, or stay in mine?¡±


    Falling Leaf shrugged. ¡°Either. Both. Shelter is shelter.¡±


    ¡°We could go now if you want.¡±


    There was a look of yearning Falling Leaf¡¯s eyes. She wanted to go back to the wilds, back to her mountain or, barring that, a mountain they picked. In the end, though, she shook her head.


    ¡°We can¡¯t. Not yet. You need that,¡± she thought hard, ¡°teaching book.¡±


    ¡°Manual?¡±


    ¡°Yes! You need that manual for your cultivation.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t.¡±


    Falling Leaf shook her head emphatically. ¡°You <em>need</em> it. Your body change is iplete. Unbnced. It will serve for a time, but it will harm you if you leave it like this for too long.¡±


    <em>That</em> was news to Sen and unwee news at that.


    ¡°How do you know?¡±


    Falling Leaf shrugged. ¡°How do you not know?¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to answer, but he didn¡¯t have an answer to give. It <em>was</em> his body. Shouldn¡¯t he know? If he didn¡¯t even know why he didn¡¯t know, it probably wasn¡¯t reasonable to expect Falling Leaf to know why she did know. The important part was that he was on a clock now.


    ¡°Do you know how long? Are we talking weeks or decades?¡±


    Falling Leaf frowned. ¡°A cycle of seasons? Maybe two? It¡¯s hard to know for sure.¡±


    ¡°So, no mountain for us.¡±


    ¡°Not yet. One day, though, we can im a mountain as the Kho has done and forbid it to all.¡±


    ¡°One day,¡± murmured Sen.

 Book 4: Chapter 4: Clear Spring

    Book 4: Chapter 4: Clear Spring


    As they drew ever closer to the Clear Spring sect, Shi Ping grew increasingly nervous. He never said anything directly to anyone. It seemed that thebination of getting stabbed in the leg and witnessing Sen¡¯s impromptu deration of war against an entire species had buried fear firmly in his soul. Instead, the man grew jumpier and jumpier, twitching at any unexpected sound, and eyeing the asional passing traveler with open concern. Sen let that y out until he was certain they were less than a day out. He could have talked to the man about it sooner, but Sen was honest with himself. He just didn¡¯t want to do it. Shi Ping annoyed him and watching the man squirm had been amusing. Plus, Sen had other things on his mind.


    Right at the top of his list, as Lo Meifeng had astutely advised, was the problem of his anger. As often as he turned the problem over in his head, though, he didn¡¯t see any easy solution. Sure, he could keep a tight grip on it, but that wasn¡¯t the same as a solution. He¡¯d never had anger like that before, not even toward those awful noble brats who used to beat him for fun. Oh, he had hated them, but his hate had been almost as impersonal as their beatings. They had seen him as an object to be loathed, and he saw them as objects to be despised. He didn¡¯t think that anyone involved had really seen the others as <em>people</em> until the very end. That meant he had limited experience in controlling the kind of towering anger that sprang up inside him at the snap of his fingers or anyone else¡¯s. If not for all those years of personal discipline, he worried that anger would have turned him into a true monster long since.


    Even worse, that was just the anger as he was currently experiencing it. If it got worse, which seemed all too usible and even likely given his track record, discipline simply wouldn¡¯t be enough. He could learn more control, but everything had limits. He needed to address the root of the problem, and that was the real crux of his problem. He didn¡¯t know what the root cause actually was. Lo Meifeng¡¯s theory might hold water, but it might be wrong. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have a better theory to work off at the moment. If the nascent soul growing in his core <em>was</em> the problem, though, it was a big problem. Sen couldn¡¯tmand enlightenment on whatever topic he wanted, regardless of how badly he might <em>need</em> it.


    And, if Lo Meifeng had the right of it, that was exactly what he needed. He needed enlightenment about something¡­peace, joy, something. He saw that as the secondary problem. He wasn¡¯t sure what the proper counterbnce to his anger would be. That made looking for it just a touch moreplex. <em>Maybe I need to find some of those monks that pursue inner peace and enlightenment</em>, Sen thought. That path isn¡¯t the path for me, but they might be able to help pin down what would help me get this under control. Sen reasoned that he didn¡¯t need to embrace their way of life to glean a bit of insight from them. Who knew, helping him might even help them find their own way somehow. Although, that sounded a lot like wishful thinking to Sen.


    His other major problem was the one he hadn¡¯t even known about until Falling Leaf told him about it. His body cultivation was going to kill him if he didn¡¯tplete the whole thing. Sen paused at that idea. Falling Leaf hadn¡¯t said he¡¯d die, just that the iplete transformation would harm him. Still, given the reputation the body cultivation method had, it seemed reasonable to him to assume it would, in fact, kill him. A year, maybe two, and then things would start to go wrong. Sen was no longer part of that group of people who thought a year was a long time. With so much distance between cities in the kingdom alone, let alone across the continent, he could burn up months just traveling. That was before taking into consideration what any of the sects might want from him, or want him to do, in exchange for the manual. Depending on how difficult the task was, he could very well die beforepleting it. Or, worse still,plete it and then die before he could get back to im his prize.


    With all of those cheerful thoughts weighing him down, he decided that dealing with Shi Ping would probably turn out to be something of a relief. So, he walked over to the man and gave him an unamused look.


    ¡°Spit it out,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Spit what out?¡± asked Shi Ping, feigning ignorance.


    ¡°Whatever it is that has you eyeballing every shadow like a demon is about to jump out of it and eat your soul.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to the Clear Spring sect.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°The sect that my order was at war with less than a week ago.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen through gritted teeth. ¡°I recall. I was <em>there</em>, after all.¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t think that it¡¯s a good idea for me to go there. Your prohibition on fighting doesn¡¯t extend to individuals. I¡¯ll be challenged on constantly.¡±


    ¡°Then, don¡¯t go.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll release me?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t a prisoner. I didn¡¯t drag you along in chains. If you sneak off in the night like a coward to avoid doing things that will help your advancement, it¡¯s not my job to stop you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care for your phrasing,¡± said Shi Ping.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care for your personality, your ethics, your attitude, or your unwillingness to do anything hard,¡± said Sen, and then he smiled. ¡°Well, I feel better now that we¡¯ve shared. How about you?¡±


    Sen doubted that Shi Ping could have looked more stunned if a moon cake the size of an ox cart had fallen out of the sky andnded in front of him. The man even had the nerve to look a little hurt by Sen¡¯s words.


    ¡°Not everyone can be like you,¡± said Shi Ping.


    ¡°Like me? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Not all of us can be fearless heroes who face down armies without flinching and crush spirit beasts with brute force.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to be that. I¡¯m not that, not really. I just expect you to be a cultivator. You faced down tribtions before, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Shi Ping.


    ¡°Then how hard is it to simply face the things that are in front of you? How hard is it, really, to simply try?¡±


    With that, Sen walked away. He wasn¡¯t interested in hearing the man¡¯s excuses. Any insights the man had wouldn¡¯t be fast ining if they came at all. Sen knew all too well that personal change didn¡¯t happen overnight. He was living proof of that. Much to his relief, he saw Falling Leaf appear on the road ahead of them. It gave him an excuse to ignore Shi Ping for a while. While she hadughed at his insistence that shee back every few hours to check in with them, she had ultimately agreed to humor his, as she put it, silly human boy concerns. He was going to have to remind her not to say things like that around other people too often. As he, Lo Meifeng, and Shi Ping came up to her, Falling Leaf fell into step next to him. He¡¯d noticed that she never willingly interacted with Shi Ping or Lo Meifeng. Shi Ping seemed to actively aggravate her simply by breathing in her general vicinity. As for Lo Meifeng, he¡¯d asked about it when they¡¯d had a moment alone.


    Falling Leaf had just shrugged at him and said, ¡°You don¡¯t trust her.¡±


    She¡¯d said it like his judgment about the other woman was as absolute as disapproval from the heavens. That was all it had taken for Falling Leaf to simply discard an entire person from her world as not worth the time. Sen realized then that he was going to have to be <em>very careful</em> what kind of opinions he expressed to her about other people. The heavens alone knew what the transformed ghost panther might do to someone if Sen said he thought they were an active threat. Still, for all theplications, there was a realfort in having her with the group. He didn¡¯t question her loyalty or her motives. He also trusted her to speak directly to him about whatever was on her mind. If she wanted to do something or felt she needed to do something, there would be no games. She¡¯d just tell him what it was, why she thought she needed to do it, and let itnd however itnded. Given his experiences over thest year, that kind of straightforwardness was appealing to him on a lot of levels.


    ¡°Anything interesting ahead?¡± Sen asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°No,¡± she answered and then seemed to think it over. ¡°Well, there were a lot of buildings and a bunch of water cultivators a few miles ahead, but they weren¡¯t interesting.¡±


    Sen chuckled. ¡°You do realize that¡¯s where we¡¯re going, right?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°And that didn¡¯t seem interesting to you?¡±


    ¡°Hum-,¡± she started to say before she corrected herself, ¡°people go boring ces all the time. Ma Caihong took me to a lot of boring ces. This ce seems like more of the same.¡±


    ¡°Well, hopefully, you¡¯ll find something of interest there. If it helps, I don¡¯t expect we¡¯ll stay long.¡±


    Falling Leaf made a nomittal noise. ¡°There are things to hunt nearby. I can amuse myself if the¡­if you do not.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. I didn¡¯t realize you knew how to use a bow.¡±


    ¡°Bow? Why would I use a bow?¡±


    Thatment made Sen all kinds of curious and he was about to ask a lot of questions when he saw a group of water cultivators approaching. He eyed Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Were the people headed our way boring as well?¡±


    Falling Leaf gave him an emphatic nod. ¡°Yes. They were <em>very</em> boring. They didn¡¯t even notice me. I was barely <em>hiding</em> at all.¡±


    Sen gave Falling Leaf a sharp look. The way she had said the word hiding, it almost sounded like she was putting special emphasis on it. <em>Another question forter</em>, he thought.


    ¡°Are any of the water cultivators dangerous?¡±


    She gave him a curious look. ¡°Compared to you?¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°Sure. Compared to me.¡±


    ¡°No, but most things aren¡¯t anymore.¡±


    Sen resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ¡°Alright, how aboutpared to you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, then yes, almost all of them are stronger than I am,¡± she said with a frown. ¡°I need to advance again.¡±


    Sen was about to ask how she went about that now that she was human, but one of the water cultivators broke away and closed with them fast. Sen recognized her well before she reached them. Chan Yu Ming shot Sen a wicked smile and held out her wrists, as though she expected him to shackle her then and there.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready for my abduction, you dastardly rogue.¡±


    Then, Falling Leaf and Chan Yu Ming locked eyes and a feeling of dread took up root in Sen¡¯s stomach. He just knew that <em>nothing</em> good was about to happen. In unison, the two women spoke the same words.


    ¡°Who is she?¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 5: Reception

    Book 4: Chapter 5: Reception


    For a long moment, Sen wondered about his own reaction. Why <em>was</em> he nervous about this meeting? As far as he knew, Falling Leaf and Chan Yu Ming had never met, let alone had any bad blood between them. There was no reason why they should be at odds with each other. If anything, Falling Leaf would likely just decide that she didn¡¯t care about Chan Yu Ming at all and not interact with the woman. As for Chan Yu Ming, he didn¡¯t really know her well enough to guess at her thoughts, but she hadn¡¯t seemed insane to him. He suspected she¡¯d be fine as well. So, pushing that dread back into whatever ce of false fear it had crawled out of, Sen got on with the introductions.


    ¡°Chan Yu Ming, this is Fa Ling Li, my oldest friend. She and my teachers all caught up with me after you and your sect had already gone.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± said Chan Yu Ming, seizing Sen¡¯s arm. ¡°Feng Ming was there? And I missed it!¡±


    ¡°Along with Ma Caihong and Kho Jaw-Long, yes,¡± said Sen with a nod.


    Chan Yu Ming looked like Sen had taken away her favorite holiday, announced that her favorite food no longer existed, and maybe killed her pet all at the same time. Sighing, she shook her head a little.


    ¡°Well, I guess I wasn¡¯t likely to ever meet any of them anyway.¡±


    Sen took the opportunity to continue the introductions.


    ¡°Fa Ling Li, this is Chan Yu Ming, my¡­,¡± Sen paused then, not entirely sure how he should finish that statement.


    Chan Yu Ming looked deeply amused. She lifted an eyebrow, smirked, and said in a honey-sweet tone, ¡°Your what?¡±


    ¡°My recent sparring partner,¡± Sen deadpanned.


    Chan Yu Mingughed before she turned a bright smile on Falling Leaf and gave her a very formal bow. ¡°Fa Ling Li, it is very nice to meet you. I¡¯m sure we¡¯re going to be very good friends.¡±


    Falling Leaf seemed a little startled by Chan Yu Ming¡¯s almost aggressive cheerfulness. The panther-girl shot Sen an uncertain look as if asking his opinion. He smiled and gave her a half-shrug with one shoulder. She was going to have to decide for herself how friendly she wanted to be with the young woman from the sect. Falling Leaf hesitated for a moment before she returned the bow.


    ¡°It is nice to meet you, Chan Yu Ming,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Good, now that we¡¯re friends,¡± said Chan Yu Ming, ¡°you must know some embarrassing stories about this unreasonably tall man.¡±


    Falling Leaf hesitated again, casting an uncertain look at Sen, before she finally said, ¡°Not many.¡±


    ¡°Really? How much of his time did he spend training for there not to be embarrassing stories?¡±


    Falling Leaf looked much more confident when she answered that. ¡°All of it.¡±


    It was Chan Yu Ming¡¯s turn to look a little uncertain before she nodded. ¡°I suppose he must have to be as good with the jian as he is.¡±


    Sen took that moment to break back into the conversation and take the attention off of Falling Leaf, who was starting to get a vaguely panicked look in her eye. Sen gestured to Lo Meifeng, who had been unusually quiet for the entire exchange.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you met Lo Meifeng,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Lo Meifeng. Are you also an old friend?¡±


    ¡°A pleasure,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°And, no, more of a recent acquaintance.¡±


    Before Chan Yu Ming could ask the question that Sen saw forming in her head, he reached back, seized Shi Ping¡¯s robe, and dragged the man forward. He gestured at the very nervous fire cultivator.


    ¡°This is the infamous fire cultivator, Shi Ping the Lazy.¡±


    Shi Ping heaved an enormous sigh. ¡°Is that really how you¡¯re going to introduce me?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen without reservation.


    ¡°I have other qualities you could point out.¡±


    Sen considered for a moment and then said, ¡°Some also call him Shi Ping the Gluttonous.¡±


    Shi Ping red at Sen. ¡°No one calls me that!¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°You see,¡± said Sen, ¡°I didn¡¯t just make it up.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming looked like it was taking a huge effort not tough at the man, which had sort of been the point. The less seriously people took him, the less perceived honor there would be in fighting him. The less honor there was in it, the less likely it would be that people woulde out of the woodwork looking to fight him. Some still would, Sen knew, but not nearly so many. Shi Ping noticed the look on Chan Yu Ming¡¯s face and, after a moment, seemed to understand the backhanded kindness that Sen was offering him. Shi Ping took a deep breath.


    ¡°Yes, I am Shi Ping the Lazy and Gluttonous. No bed is safe from my naps, no dinner table free from the fury of my stomach.¡±


    Whatever tenuous control Chan Yu Ming had over herughter vanished. Her peals ofughter echoed out into the forest. Before long, she was holding her stomach and shaking her head. Sen wasn¡¯t sure how long it might havested, but the rest of the water cultivators arrived shortly after that. They cast stern looks at Chan Yu Ming, who wrestled her amusement back under control. After a moment, she inclined her head to the group of core formation water cultivators. Then, she gestured to each of the people in Sen¡¯s party in turn.


    ¡°Elders, allow me to introduce Lu Sen, Fa Ling Li, Lo Meifeng, and,¡± she smirked, ¡°the infamous fire cultivator, Shi Ping the Lazy and Gluttonous.¡±


    The four Clear Spring sect elders went from doing their best to look stern and imposing to hiding smiles and snickers behind hastily raised hands. Chan Yu Ming introduced the four elders, but Sen didn¡¯t do much to make note of them. It wasn¡¯t that they weren¡¯t important, in their way, but rather that he doubted he¡¯d interact much with them beyond this initial meeting. What he wanted from the Clear Spring sect, he¡¯d have to get from the sect patriarch, assuming they had it at all. Sen went through the motions, offering bows and semi-formal greetings. Falling Leaf did her best to not get noticed, which was thankfully easier than Sen might have expected. The core formation elders didn¡¯t seem to care much about the peak foundation formation girl. They gave her a cursory look and then dismissed her from their minds. <em>One problem solved for the moment</em>, thought Sen. They paid a little more attention to Shi Ping, but Sen suspected that had more to do with his absurd introduction than anything else. They were all warily polite to Lo Meifeng, who was on the same cultivation level with two of the elders, and not far behind the other two. Yet, the sect elders reserved most of their attention for Sen. They kept looking at him expectantly, as though they expected him to do something scary or demand something outrageous. The longer he kept not doing anything scary or making absurd demands, the more nervous they seemed to get. When it got to the point that they all looked ready to explode from unmet anticipation, Sen finally relented and asked them to do something.


    ¡°Elders, it¡¯s been a long journey. Could I trouble you to guide us to your sectpound?¡±


    With a task finally at hand, the elders all but fell over each other for the chance to lead them to the sectpound. Each of the elders made not very thinly veiled attempts to glean information from Sen about what he wanted at the sect. He deflected most of the questions with vaguements about merely passing through and having one or two minor matters to discuss with the sect patriarch. In fact, when he thought about it, Sen realized he wasn¡¯t even being that deceptive. He didn¡¯t n to stay very long at the Clear Spring sect and, while gaining the manual was of utmost importance to <em>him</em>, it probably would be aparatively minor matter to the sect patriarch. The patriarch was directly or indirectly responsible for the lives of hundreds or maybe even thousands of people. What were the needs, however unique, of one man in the face of all of that?


    It didn¡¯t take very long for the elders to realize that Sen was either being intentionally cagey about his motives, or there was no inside information of value for them to capitalize on. They all seemed very disappointed by that, but Sen put that firmly in the category of a <em>them</em> problem. It wasn¡¯t his responsibility to meet their expectations or help them jockey for position in their sect. After all, he¡¯d already messed with the politics of the Clear Spring sect far more than he¡¯d ever wanted to do. So, any opportunity he could take to not do more of the same felt like a serious win in his book. When the elders finally gave up on him, Chan Yu Ming slipped into ce beside him. He nced over at her.


    ¡°How have you been? Was the trip back uneventful?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The trip back was tedious. It really was like herding cats. About half of the people that I was bringing back almost never leave the sect. So, once they were outside,¡± she trailed off.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t in a hurry to go back,¡± finished Sen.


    ¡°Exactly. In some cases, I could understand it. We were a rtively long way from home, so to speak, so the healers were eager to snatch up some nts that we don¡¯t see around here as much. As for the rest, they wanted to treat it like some kind of vacation.¡±


    ¡°So, you had to keep on them constantly.¡±


    ¡°I did. As for me, I¡¯ve had pleasant thoughts of my impending abduction to keep me entertained. Did you bring rope?¡±


    Sen eyed the smirking woman for a moment. ¡°You do know that I¡¯m not <em>actually</em> going to abduct you, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pretend I didn¡¯t just hear you trampling my hopes with your negative thoughts.¡±


    Senughed but continued with his point. ¡°I¡¯m serious, though. I don¡¯t need an entire sect hunting me for kidnapping one of their core cultivators. Plus, I have no idea who you actually are. You could have some big, violent family that woulde looking for us if I did that. That¡¯s a kind of trouble I don¡¯t really need.¡±


    ¡°Well, you certainly know how to suck all of the joy out of a fantasy. Are you saying you don¡¯t think I¡¯m pretty enough to fight for?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying there¡¯s absolutely <em>nothing</em> erotic about killing a bunch of people.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming frowned at that. ¡°Well, you have me there. As for the sect, they wouldn¡¯t do anything. I¡¯m not really one of them. Ie and go as I please, which frustrates the elders to no end. As for my family, they <em>would</em>e looking for me, and it would be¡­tense when they finally caught up with us.¡±


    ¡°How tense?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Tenser than either of us would want to deal with.¡±


    Sen nodded. It wasn¡¯t exactly what he¡¯d expected, but he wasn¡¯t entirely surprised. He¡¯d thought that there was a high probability that someone woulde looking for her.


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°I <em>do</em> have a rope.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming looked at him nkly for a few seconds before sheughed. ¡°That¡¯s just mean.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 6: Karma

    Book 4: Chapter 6: Karma


    Their first day at the sect was both calmer and more tedious than Sen had expected. He¡¯d nned for more than a little burning resentment from the water cultivators over his interference with their little war. In fact, he¡¯d expected a lot of that. Either those people had been ordered to stay away from him or there just hadn¡¯t been time for it to build up to the level that people were bursting with active hatred for him yet. That wasn¡¯t to say that it was nonexistent. He caught res from a few people and one man stared at him with eyes that zed with fury. Sen made a point to burn that face into his memory since he expected that guy was one who would do something stupid. That, in turn, would force Sen to do something dramatic and permanent. On the whole, though, the people seemed more stunned that he was there or even mildly grateful that he¡¯d done what he¡¯d done.


    Sen wished that he¡¯d had nobler reasons for what he¡¯d done, as he feared he was getting a kind of perceived credit for being better than he actually was. He hadn¡¯t put a stop to the battle for their sakes, not really. Oh, he had wanted to put a stop to killing and death because it <em>was</em> such a hideous waste. He¡¯d also wanted it to stop because an active battlefield was an ongoing threat to everyone on it, and <em>he¡¯d</em> been on it. In the end, though, it hadn¡¯t been especially heroic on his part. After all, he¡¯d threatened death on an even bigger scale if they didn¡¯t do what he told them to do. He certainly hadn¡¯t cared about all of those people individually, or been worried about their karma, or even especially worried about their souls. It had been a practical choice on his part, not a moral one.


    Then again, maybe that didn¡¯t matter to the people on the other end of that bargain he¡¯d shoved down everyone¡¯s throats. He supposed for the people who had been out there fighting, bleeding, and dying, why he¡¯d put a stop to it mattered a whole lot less than the fact that he¡¯d put a stop to it before they died. He knew from personal experience that unexpected improvements in your survival odds had a way of improving your opinion of others. For that matter, he wasn¡¯t even sure how much his intentions mattered to Karma in general. It was one of those topics that he¡¯d touched on briefly with Uncle Kho and meant to circle back to, but had never found the time.


    ¡°That¡¯s a terribly serious face,¡± said Chan Yu Ming.


    Sen looked up from the te of food that he¡¯d been ignoring for at least ten minutes. ¡°Is it?¡±


    She nodded with a bemused look. ¡°Whatever could you have been thinking about to create such a frown.¡±


    ¡°Karma,¡± said Sen. ¡°I was wondering about how much intention matters to it.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming looked a little surprised at him. ¡°What an odd thing to not know.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, a very odd thing indeed for someone at your level of cultivation to be ignorant of,¡± said the elder sitting on his other side.


    Sen turned to look at the man. ¡°I didn¡¯t benefit from religious education as a child or <em>any</em> education for that matter. What education I did receive on the topic came around my other training. There were bound to be gaps. This is one of them.¡±


    The elder seemed taken aback, realizing that he had, however unintentionally, been insulting. ¡°My apologies. I suppose most of us do take that knowledge for granted.¡±


    Sen inclined his head to the elder. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have known.¡±


    ¡°The answer to your question isplicated. In fact, people have spent entire lifetimes on it. At the most basic level, though, your intentions are at the heart of your karma. Let us say that you are walking down the street and something distracts you. You bump into someone. They fall down and break their arm. You didn¡¯t intend to knock them over. You didn¡¯t intend to do anything to them. So, in that sense, you don¡¯t incur substantial karma.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°Substantial karma?¡±


    ¡°Harm was still done, so there is a karmic debt there. But, it¡¯s far less than if you had picked that person out of the crowd, targeted them, and pushed them over maliciously with the intent to do harm. If you do something like that, then you incur a much deeper karmic debt.¡±


    ¡°It gets even moreplicated than that, though,¡± said a woman from across the table.


    Sen looked at her, she was a slender, pale woman with a heart-shaped face and inky ck hair. He supposed she was what people meant when they said jade beauty.


    ¡°How so?¡± asked Sen, engaging for the first time with the people around him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the original example. Let¡¯s say that you¡¯re distracted and you bump into someone. Instead of falling down, they drop the food they were carrying. On the surface, even less harm is done. It¡¯s simply food and easily reced, correct?¡±


    Sen frowned at that. He knew very well how hard food was toe by for some people. Still, he could tell that the woman was trying to make a point, so he yed along.


    ¡°In theory,¡± he allowed.


    ¡°Now, what if that was all the food that person could afford for the week to keep herself and her children alive? If her baby then dies because they did not eat, your karmic debt is far, far deeper than it might otherwise have been.¡±


    Sen thought that over for a moment. ¡°You can¡¯t realistically expect to know things like that in every situation. How can you possibly judge the karmic consequences for actions under those conditions.¡±


    The woman smiled at him, and Sen felt his heart flutter a little bit. He felt a bit of abrupt sympathy for all of those blushing mortal girls he¡¯d encountered over the years. It must have shown on his face a little because Chan Yu Ming kicked his ankle hard enough to hurt.


    ¡°You can¡¯t know,¡± said the jade beauty, ¡°which is the point. There are some few who can actually see the web of karma around us and, with great effort and insight, influence it. For most of us, though, it¡¯s a mystery. The best we can do is to avoid intentionally doing harm and to put right those harms we do as best we can. However, even that is an imperfect solution. One can never truly avoid karmic entanglements, unless you be some kind of ascetic, shunning all contact with others.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a terribly empty life,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°It is, and an impractical one for cultivators. Too much of what we learn, we learn through¡­experience,¡± she said, giving Sen a thoughtful look that made him unountably nervous. ¡°Although, even cultivators can benefit from periods of seclusion and solitary cultivation.¡±


    ¡°Liang Daiyu is, technically, correct,¡± said the man Sen was originally talking to, ¡°but she paints an unnecessarily bleak picture. Remember, intentions matter, not just consequences.¡±


    ¡°But can¡¯t you intend to do something good and still cause harm?¡± asked Sen. ¡°How does Karma ount for that?¡±


    Liang Daiyu sat up a little straighter. ¡°That¡¯s an excellent question. And one without a straightforward answer. Obviously, it must ount for such things, but there is no form for understanding it. After all, none of us can truly know how good, how pure, our intentions are, so we can¡¯t determine how deep or shallow of a debt we incur when the intentions go wrong.¡±


    ¡°It almost sounds like the universe doesn¡¯t want us to know.¡±


    Liang Daiyu nodded. ¡°That is one theory. Another theory is that, with sufficient self-knowledge, one actually could gauge those debts.¡±


    ¡°Who could ever know themselves that well?¡± asked Chan Yu Ming. ¡°It sounds like it would take perfect self-knowledge to gauge one¡¯s karmic debts. Perfect self-knowledge sounds like the kind of thing that would trigger a kind of immediate transcendence.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but that¡¯s beyond the question of karma and intentions,¡± said Liang Daiyu. ¡°That¡¯s a matter of enlightenment.¡±


    ¡°So, are karma and enlightenment linked?¡± asked Sen.


    Liang Daiyu looked like she was going to speak, but Chan Yu Ming beat her to it. ¡°Yes. How could they not be?¡±


    ¡°I only have my own experiences to judge by,¡± said Sen. ¡°I can see how they might be linked, but I could just as easily see them being independent things.¡±


    ¡°Think of it this way. Karma will, in one way or another, influence the kinds of experiences you have, the people you meet, the situations you find yourself in. All of that will, in one way or another, drive the opportunities for enlightenment that you experience. Let¡¯s say, for example, that you¡¯re a wandering cultivator,¡± said Chan Yu Ming with a gleam in her eye.


    Sen didn¡¯t expect he¡¯d love where things were about to go, but he yed along. ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s say that.¡±


    ¡°Now, if you¡¯re a normal wandering cultivator with basically neutral karma, the odds are good that you¡¯ll experience normal things. You have some fights, some you¡¯ll have good fortune, and you¡¯ll have some bad fortune. All very boring and mundane for a wandering cultivator. Now, let¡¯s say that you have extreme karma, good or bad, then you might find yourself in extraordinary situations. The kind of situations where you¡¯d, for example, expose a demonic cultivator cabal, or bless an entire vige with miraculous healing, or drive back a beast tide, or¡­,¡±


    ¡°We understand,¡± said Sen, giving Chan Yu Ming a stern look. ¡°Your point?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming gave him a bright smile. ¡°The point is that extreme situations are going to give you very different opportunities for enlightenment than regr situations. The kinds of enlightenment you might receive in those extreme situations are potentially going to be more extraordinary simply because your experiences are so different. Hence, you cannot disconnect karma from enlightenment.¡±


    ¡°Crudely put,¡± said Liang Daiyu, drawing Sen¡¯s attention again, ¡°but she has the crux of the matter surrounded. You say that you¡¯ve experienced moments of enlightenment before. Do you recall how many?¡±


    Sen thought back about it. ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact number offhand. Maybe two dozen.¡±


    Silence fell all around the table, which made Sen nce around at the dumbstruck faces of the water cultivators around him. Liang Daiyu seemed to recover first.


    ¡°Two dozen? In how many years?¡±


    ¡°At this point, six or seven I guess.¡±


    Liang Daiyu¡¯s mouth worked a few times without any noisesing out. Chan Yu Ming was staring at him like he¡¯d casually announced that he was going to break through to the nascent soul stage in precisely three minutes and forty-seven seconds. The man who had originally answered his karma question broke the silence.


    ¡°You¡¯re averaging three to four moments of true enlightenment <em>per year</em>?¡±


    Sen found himself wishing that he¡¯d asked other people a lot more questions about their experiences with enlightenment. It had just never urred to him to ask about how often they¡¯d had them. Still, he was alreadymitted to answering. He nodded a little self-consciously.


    ¡°Um, yeah. Why? Is that not normal?¡±


    Then, everyone was yelling questions at him.

 Book 4: Chapter 7: Illusion

    Book 4: Chapter 7: Illusion


    For the first minute or so, Sen <em>tried</em> to answer questions. Unfortunately, everyone was so busy yelling at him or each other that his attempts at answering went unheard. For the next minute or so, he just gave everyone a generally annoyed look. That didn¡¯t seem to dampen their enthusiasm at all. Sen¡¯s frustration swelled as they continued their verbal assault and he cycled up air qi. When it became clear that no one nned to stop anytime soon, Sen wove air qi through the entire room, stood abruptly, and spoke.


    ¡°Enough.¡±


    The air qi he¡¯d woven throughout the room amplified his voice so much that it shook tables, not to mention rib cages, and brought the entire room to silence. He looked around at the stunned group of water cultivators. They seemed to realize what they had been doing and a few even had the wherewithal to look embarrassed. The rest, however, looked like they nned to pick up right where they left off if at a lower volume. Sen had no interest in that. He gave the room a bow.


    ¡°Thank you for the meal and the interesting conversation,¡± he said.


    Then, with a burst of his qinggong technique, he was out of the room, down the hallway, and out the nearest door to the outside. It waste evening by then, so most of the sect members were holed up inside by then, which Sen saw as a small blessing. He¡¯d had enough of other people for a while. Unfortunately, he also didn¡¯t know theyout of the sect very well. That made finding a ce to be alone a bit more. He wandered around for a bit, offering casual greetings to the handful of people who greeted him first. Eventually, he found himself out of a small walled-off area in the middle of thepound. He recalled that Chan Yu Ming had pointed it out and said something about the spring the sect was named for being in there. Shrugging to himself, Sen walked around the wall looking for a door or an entrance. He didn¡¯t find one.


    That struck Sen as very odd. He could understand why the sect might want to limit how exposure the spring got to the outside world, but cutting it offpletely seemed like overkill to him. He supposed he could just fly over the wall. That would be a little ostentatious. Although, he supposed that would be one way to limit easy ess to those who were core formation and above. He expected that only upper-tier inner sect members and elders could pull it off with ease. Still, he suspected that there was some other ploy at work. He walked another circuit around the wall, letting his hand trail against the rock. He let a bit of earth qi sink into the wall and had it follow him as he walked. If the wall really was solid, his earth qi shouldn¡¯t disrupt it at all. He felt it the moment his earth qi pped up against water qi. He stopped and considered the spot in the wall where he felt water qi. It looked like stone. It felt like stone. Yet, he was confident that his qi wasn¡¯t deceiving him. If so, then that was a kind of illusion he¡¯d never seen or heard about. He was impressed with howpletely it mimicked the appearance of the rest of the wall.


    He thought about it for a moment. This had to be some kind of test for the water cultivators. Given the illusion felt solid to his hand, he didn¡¯t think he could simply walk through it. That was too simple if this was meant as a test for advanced cultivators. No, he suspected that he would need to manipte the water qi. He sat down by the wall and cycled for water qi. He let tendrils of that water qi explore the boundaries of the illusion. There was an arched opening hiding behind it that would get him ess to the clear spring itself. That left the question of how best to deal with the illusion. He was a guest here, so he didn¡¯t think they¡¯d appreciate him damaging their carefully constructed test. Nor did he think that a brute force approach was the intent of the illusion. The illusion was no doubt designed to test someone¡¯s ability to manipte water.


    He understood at least some of what was happening with the illusion. He had experience hardening water with his own techniques, so he knew that it could be done. He¡¯d just never expected anyone to do anything with this level of permanence or detail. It was one thing to harden an edge. It was another thing entirely, probably a whole order of magnitude more difficult, to shape and harden water into something that felt like stone. Of course, he didn¡¯t need to replicate theplexity. This was a master-level work, so master water cultivators would maintain it. The part he didn¡¯t understand was the illusion. Making the water feel like stone was aplishment enough, but making it <em>look</em> like stone? How? The longer Sen sat there, the deeper his concentration grew.


    He spent hours exploring the illusion, and then those hours turned into days. He was vaguely aware that people came and went around him. He dimly perceived that people spoke to him, a few jeered at him, but he didn¡¯t react. He was too deep inside his own concentration. After three days of focused attention, the answer finally became apparent to him. He¡¯d figured out how to pass through the illusion after the first few hours, but he didn¡¯t care as much about that. With little to no training in illusions, this was a golden opportunity to study how one kind of illusion worked while not under stress or duress. Sen didn¡¯t fully understand the mechanics of the technique, but he worked out that the water was capturing and reflecting light in some way. He expected that there was probably some bit of enlightenment he hadn¡¯t gained about water qi and water cultivation that would make that part clear. Still, he understood the illusion well enough now that he thought he¡¯d be able to spot a simr illusion in the future without much effort. Satisfied with his efforts, he finally stood up.


    ¡°Finally ready to admit defeat,¡± said someone from behind him.


    Sen looked over his shoulder and saw the same man who¡¯d been ring with hateful eyes when Sen¡¯s group had arrived. The man had a sneer of utter contempt on his face. Sen wondered at the fact that the water cultivator had been so consumed with trying to get some reaction out of him that he had seemingly ignored any and all other responsibilities. With his attention no longer being almost wholly consumed with the study of the illusion, Sen had time to review some of what had been said to him during thest three days. This man had been particrly obnoxious, if not very original, in his insults. Sen considered the man for a moment.


    ¡°If your insults weren¡¯t as weak and trivial as your cultivation, I might be forced to do something about them,¡± observed Sen.


    The water cultivator¡¯s face went red with rage as nearby peopleughed at him. Before the angry man could think of something to say, Sen turned and, to any outside observer, appeared to walk straight through a solid rock wall. Sen heard gasps from some of the nearby people, and the despairing scream from the angry water cultivator.


    ¡°No!¡±


    There was an impact and a cry of pain as the man threw himself against the stone-hard illusion Sen had so casually walked through. <em>What a fool</em>, thought Sen. <em>If he¡¯d spent all that time and energy on studying the illusion instead of insulting me, he might have figured it out for himself</em>. Sen could hear a rhythmic sort of pounding as the furious water cultivator beat on the outside of the illusion. Sen ignored the noise and the man making it. If that guy didn¡¯t have the sense to take advantage of all the information Sen had provided, such as the exact location of the illusion, and the fact that it took water qi to pierce it, there was probably nothing that would help him save a lot of time. <em>A p or ten to the back of his head might save his life</em>, <em>though</em>, thought Sen. Turning his attention forward, Sen walked through an impossibly long tunnel. The tunnel was longer than the walls could possibly contain. Sen thought it was interesting that some kind of spatial maniption was happening because that was well outside the domain of water cultivation. He wondered if the sect had changed over the long years since it was founded. He would have liked to study it, but he didn¡¯t even have the rudimentary understanding necessary to glean anything of use.


    After nearly ten minutes of walking, Sen finally emerged from the tunnel into a brightly lit expanse of meticulously tended grass and flower gardens. For a moment, he thought he might be in the middle of another illusion, but a quick examination with his earth, wood, and water qi revealed that where he was standing, it was all quite real. Sen found himself d that he hadn¡¯t simply tried to fly over the wall. He was willing to bet that there was a deeply unpleasant surprise waiting for any water cultivator who thought they could skip over the work of finding their way through the door. After taking a moment to examine his surroundings, the alchemist in Sen started frothing at the mouth in naked greed. Nearly everything in the gardens was useful in alchemy in one way or another, assuming you needed water-attributed ingredients. Sen¡¯s hands twitched toward a flower before he stilled them. He wasn¡¯t there to <em>steal</em> from this sect. He was there to see the spring.


    Sen walked through the gardens for several hours -- constantly reminding himself that the nts weren¡¯t there for him to harvest -- before he finally found the spring. It was massive. More like arge pond or smallke than what Sen typically thought of as a spring. It was also impossibly clear. He could see every rock and nt at the bottom of the spring. Most of all, he felt the qi of the spring. He hadn¡¯t felt such intense levels of water qi since he was on the ocean. Yet, this qi was different, cleaner somehow, and he could swear that there was a kind of sentience at work. He couldn¡¯t tell if there was something living in the spring, or if the spring itself had experienced some kind of an advancement. He wasn¡¯t even sure if an advancement like that could happen. Spirit beasts advanced, so maybe springs could.


    ¡°Impressive, is it not?¡± asked someone who had stepped up beside Sen.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Sen absently. ¡°It¡¯s very impressive.¡±


    ¡°Almost as impressive as your own performance,¡± said the man.


    Sen finally turned a suspicious eye on the man. He was a short man with a shaved head, some obvious lines around his eyes and mouth, and Sen couldn¡¯t sense anything from him. The deeply suspicious part of Sen drew an immediate conclusion.


    He offered the man a bow. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, patriarch.¡±


    The older cultivator smiled at Sen like he¡¯d been caught out in a little prank. ¡°It¡¯s interesting to meet you, Lu Sen. Or, is it Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡±


    Sen winced. ¡°Lu Sen is fine.¡±


    ¡°Very interesting. So, you draw a distinction? You don¡¯t see yourself as this Judgement¡¯s Gale character?¡±


    ¡°Not all the time, certainly. That name, that man, is a story that¡¯s mostly been made up by other people. You can¡¯t live up to other people¡¯s expectations all the time.¡±


    ¡°Very true. Still, some of it must be true. Very few people pass the tests.¡±


    ¡°Tests? Plural?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. The door is the first test. The gardens are the second test. Anyone who knows anything about nts, and you most certainly do if the stories of your alchemy are at all urate, would find those gardens almost irresistible.¡±


    Sen shrugged and admitted, ¡°I was tempted.¡±


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t take anything. Why?¡±


    ¡°None of this is mine. These aren¡¯t the wilds where you can take what you wish if you have the skills to get it and the means to keep it.¡±


    ¡°One might argue that our sect owes you a rather substantial gift of medicinal nts and alchemical reagents for your services after the battle.¡±


    ¡°One might,¡± said Sen, ¡°and I¡¯ll dly take anything you choose to give me. But it isn¡¯t up to me to decide what those gifts should be. It most certainly isn¡¯t for me to steal those things from this ce.¡±


    The patriarch nodded in approval. ¡°So, you¡¯ve simplye to abduct the lovely Chan Yu Ming and be on your way?¡±


    Sen¡¯s jaw dropped for a moment before he stuttered, ¡°No, I, of course not.¡±


    The patriarch let out a gentleugh and patted Sen¡¯s arm. ¡°I know. You¡¯ll have to forgive me. My position doesn¡¯t allow me to y jokes very often.¡±


    A wave of relief passed through Sen. ¡°Of course, patriarch. But, how did you even know about that?¡±


    ¡°She might have made a few indiscreetments where she shouldn¡¯t have,¡± observed the patriarch with a bemused expression. ¡°She seems rather taken with you.¡±


    ¡°I suppose she is.¡±


    ¡°And what about you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m rather taken with me as well.¡±


    The patriarch snorted. ¡°Well yed. It¡¯s none of my business, really. Still, getting involved with her will inevitably mean getting involved with her family. That¡¯s aplicated matter at the best of times.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°She hasn¡¯t told me much about them. Just some implications that they¡¯re powerful or important somehow.¡±


    ¡°They are, but I won¡¯t speak of them beyond that. Those are her secrets to share, not mine. So, if you¡¯re not here for her, what has brought you here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m seeking a manual.¡±


    ¡°We have many manuals.¡±


    ¡°This one is special, rare. The Five-Fold Body Transformation manual.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said the patriarch, looking startled. ¡°I see. Hmmmm. Well, that <em>is</em>plicated.¡±


    Sen felt his shoulders slump. ¡°You don¡¯t have it.¡±


    ¡°We <em>do</em> have it,¡± admitted the patriarch. ¡°We just don¡¯t have <em>ess</em> to it.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 8: Sealed

    Book 4: Chapter 8: Sealed


    Sen tried to make sense of the patriarch¡¯s words. <em>How can they have it</em>, <em>but not have ess to it</em>, he wondered. His mind tried toe up with scenarios that might provide sense to the words, but he didn¡¯t have much luck. The few things he dide up with were, even on casual inspection, absurd. epting that he wasn¡¯t going to get anywhere without more information, he eyed the patriarch. The older cultivator was frowning out over the spring.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, patriarch,¡± said Sen, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°You strike me as a bright enough boy. Didn¡¯t you wonder how a sect of water cultivators managed such aplex spatial treasure?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I did wonder. I suppose I just assumed that you hired a specialist,¡± he paused and looked around, ¡°or maybe a <em>sect</em> of specialists to do it for you.¡±


    The patriarchughed a little. ¡°A reasonable supposition, but no. Long before my time, all of this belonged to one cultivator. She was a specialist, well, the phrase unparalleled genius is probably a better description, in spatial constructions. Our sect took this ce over after her death.¡±


    Sen frowned hard at that description. ¡°Your sect didn¡¯t help her along to that death, did you?¡±


    ¡°Rather an impolite question, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Your sect members were assaulting those fire cultivators over exactly nothing, as near as I could tell. So, no, the question doesn¡¯t seem especially impolite to me.¡±


    The patriarch frowned but nodded. ¡°Given your experience, I suppose it was a logical question. We didn¡¯t kill her. She died fighting another cultivator. Some kind of rival, if our records are at all urate. They killed each other. Mind you, this is all practically a legend even for us.¡±


    ¡°How long ago are we talking?¡±


    ¡°Twenty thousand years? More? Long enough ago that we can¡¯t be certain that we even understand the calendar our own progenitors were using.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough and, I¡¯ll admit, interesting. I¡¯m just not sure I see the relevance.¡±


    ¡°Space and time are inextricably linked. If someone works with spatial qi and spatial formations, they are almost always well-versed in time-rted matters as well. Among the various things we inherited from her were several time treasures.¡±


    ¡°Time treasures?¡± asked Sen with a bit of awe in his voice.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t sound so impressed. One of those storage rings of yours is technically a time treasure. How do you think it manages to keep things fresh or alive? It slows down the passage of time inside the ring.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s always less impressive when you realize that they¡¯re rtivelymon. Except, in this case, wee back to that unparalleled genius part. One of the time treasures we have is room, a pocket dimension, none of us really understands it, but it essentially speeds up time for whoever is inside of it.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have to think very hard to imagine all of the ways that something like that would be useful to cultivators. He could have gotten in twice as much practice, or five times as much practice, in the same amount of time in the outside world. With the right resources on hand, you could jump from an initial core formation cultivator to a peak core cultivator in a matter of years. However, if they had such a thing, why wasn¡¯t the Clear Spring sect absolutely overflowing with powerful core formation cultivators or even nascent soul cultivators?


    ¡°I notice a distinctck of peak core formation cultivators in your ranks, so I have to assume that the treasure isn¡¯t as great as it sounds on the surface,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°Young man, I think that you drastically underestimate the talent required to reach peak core cultivation. It¡¯s not just a matter of having the right natural treasures on hand. Those can only push you so far. Do you think so many people bottleneck because sects want low-powered cultivators on the rolls?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen. ¡°I think that¡¯s <em>exactly</em> what happens.¡±


    The patriarch gave Sen a stunned look. ¡°If you believe that, then someone has told you lies, or you¡¯ve been particrly unlucky in your experiences with sects.¡±


    ¡°Really? Just with what you have in these gardens, I could probably personally advance most of your sect by as much as half a major stage of advancement. Some of them, I could move an entire stage. I could probably start most of your qi-condensing cultivators on a road to body cultivation as well. Yet, here these natural treasures sit, unused, unharvested. But, sects fight, and fights do need bodies. Expendable bodies, most of all, and who could be more expendable than hundreds of qi-condensing cultivators.¡±


    For a moment, Sen thought that the patriarch was going to strike him down, then and there, as a look of cold anger crossed the man¡¯s face. Then, the older cultivator visibly forced that anger under control.


    ¡°So, you believe that sects intentionally withhold cultivation materials to keep people trapped at lower levels of advancement. All so they¡¯ll have bodies to throw at their enemies.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the <em>only</em> reason sects do it, but I¡¯d be willing to bet it¡¯s one of them. Then, there¡¯s just in old human favoritism. Do you honestly expect me to believe that you and your elders don¡¯t pick favorites and funnel opportunities and resources to them?¡±


    The patriarch looked like he very much <em>wanted</em> to protest, but he just shook his head in the end. ¡°No, I don¡¯t expect you to believe that. You have, however, credited me with a <em>callousness</em> that I do not possess. I have no desire to see the youngest members of this sect killed in useless conflicts with other sects. I certainly wouldn¡¯t condone intentionally slowing their progress just to use them for that purpose. Sects can be impersonal, but most of them aren¡¯t heartless or mindlessly cruel.¡±


    ¡°That has not been my experience.¡±


    ¡°Then, what has been your experience?¡±


    Sen gave the patriarch a searching look. ¡°Do you really want to know?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°In that case, my experience is that sects are arrogant, malicious, and only care about what benefits the sect, unless they¡¯re pushed into a very tiny corner.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe sects do any purposeful good?¡±


    ¡°No. I think whatever good they do is either incidental or designed to benefit themselves more than it benefits anyone else.¡±


    ¡°By that reasoning, why would we help you?¡±


    ¡°Because you want me to leave.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to simply kill you?¡±


    ¡°<em>You</em> might find it easy enough to kill me, but I doubt anyone else in your sect would. And, I suspect, you know what would happen afterward.¡±


    ¡°That much is true. Killing you would doom this entire sect. Still, it¡¯s very obvious to me that you¡¯ve only ever dealt with sects from the outside.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d contend that¡¯s where you get the clearest picture of a thing.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but there is also much you do not see from the outside. You say that you could likely advance nearly the entire sect with the treasures found in these gardens. Yet, you overlooked a few things in that assertion.¡±


    Sen had grown weary of the discussion, but he did want something from these people. So, he yed along. ¡°What are those things?¡±


    ¡°For one, you overlook the question of talent. Regardless of how you may view yourself, I have it on the authority of people I have learned to trust that your alchemical talents are unique.¡±


    Sen tried to brush that off. ¡°I¡¯m not that special.¡±


    ¡°Even I can see that you don¡¯t believe that, as much as you might want to. Yet, it seems that it has truly never urred to you that other alchemists simply <em>cannot do</em> what you find so simple. Our alchemists are very talented and very well trained, but even they would struggle to convert much of what is in these gardens into something useful. I wonder, is there anything in range of your senses here that you couldn¡¯t find a use for, right now?¡±


    Sen let his senses sweep the surrounding area, soaking up information about the many potent medicinal nts and herbs in the area. He ran across a few things that left him uncertain. So, he pointed them out.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying they can¡¯t be used, but I¡¯d need to study them more before I¡¯d want to try it.¡±


    The patriarch nodded. Apparently, he¡¯d expected that answer from Sen.


    ¡°The other thing you overlooked is readiness. Just because someone <em>can</em> advance, it¡¯s not a foregone conclusion that they <em>should</em> advance.¡±


    ¡°That sounds a lot like a justification for ying favorites.¡±


    ¡°It is, sometimes, but it doesn¡¯t make it any less true. Take that foolish boy who tried to pick a fight with you outside. Could you help him advance?¡±


    Sen hadn¡¯t studied the boy all that closely, but Sen reluctantly nodded. ¡°Yes, I could.¡±


    ¡°Should you?¡±


    That brought Sen up short. It had been easy to make his case when he was talking in generalities. Applied to that specific case, though, Sen had a hard time convincing himself about that particr guy. In fact, he thought that more power was probably the very worst thing that could happen to that boy for a lot of reasons.


    ¡°No,¡± sighed Sen. ¡°He¡¯s already got all the makings of a bully. He probably is one to his juniors. Giving him more power would just make the problem worse.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. We¡¯ve intentionally slowed his progress in the hopes that he¡¯ll learn somepassion, if not some humility.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± said Sen without thinking.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Bullies <em>like</em> being bullies. They like holding power over other people. They don¡¯t <em>want</em> to change. No amount of time will fix that.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then. Imagine that you¡¯re a sect elder. How would you handle it?¡±


    ¡°Kill him. Barring that. Break his cultivation and cast him out.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t strike you as unnecessarily harsh, callous even?¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°It¡¯s clear that no one has bullied you in a long time, or you wouldn¡¯t have asked me that.¡±


    ¡°A fair point. I would ask that you please refrain from killing him.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What?¡± demanded the patriarch, losing some of his friendliness.


    ¡°I said no. I won¡¯t seek him out. But if hees looking for me the way that you know he¡¯s going to do, I¡¯m not going to let him off with a warning. Because we both know that won¡¯t be the end of it. If he can¡¯t kill me in a straight fight, he¡¯ll try to ambush me somewhere, or poison me, or send someone else to do it. <em>That</em> is his nature. You only have to take one look at him to see the hate burning in his heart. I have no reason to invite all of those future headaches because he¡¯s, what, the son of someone important?¡±


    ¡°Something like that,¡± admitted the patriarch, before he very obviously changed the subject. ¡°It seems we have rather drifted off of the subject of the manual you want.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°You said something about a time treasure. I assume that¡¯s rted.¡±


    ¡°It is. The reason we can¡¯t ess the manual is because one of our elders was attempting the method. They took the manual into the time treasure with them. I didn¡¯t object because very few people are willing to attempt the Five-Fold Body Transformation, so it wasn¡¯t as though the manual was in particr demand. Also, the time treasure is in the sect.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t see the problem. Just send someone in to get the manual. I don¡¯t need it forever. I don¡¯t even need the original. A copy would be enough for my needs.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I would have let you have the manual. It¡¯s not something that I want to encourage people to try. The problem is that we can¡¯t enter the time treasure. It¡¯s been sealed, somehow, from the inside.¡±


    Sen felt the sting of his own ignorance. ¡°What does that mean, in practical terms?¡±


    ¡°It means we can¡¯t even see how it was sealed, so we have no idea how to break the seal. The only other option is to find someone with the right knowledge of time and space techniques.¡±


    ¡°Where do I find someone like that?¡± Sen asked.


    If he could get an expert, then he could get at the manual. That sounded a lot easier than trying to negotiate with some sect in the capital.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. We¡¯ve had nearly a dozen people in to examine the treasure, the best and most experienced time and space cultivators this side of the Mountains of Sorrow. They don¡¯t know how to get into it either. There may be some hidden master out there, or someone beyond the mountains with the right knowledge, but I don¡¯t know how to find the former, and negotiating with thetter is a time-consuming process given the distances involved.¡±


    Sen felt his hopes copse. He doubted he¡¯d have much better luck than the patriarch. He could, of course, send a letter back to Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong. They might know about someone that the patriarch didn¡¯t, but he couldn¡¯t wait around for their answer. He didn¡¯t have that kind of time. It was made all the more frustrating because the manual was actually there, at the sect, but it might as well be at the bottom of the ocean. Much as he wanted to avoid the capital and all of the frustrating nonsense that would be waiting for him there, that was where he was going.

 Book 4: Chapter 9: Good for More than One Thing

    Book 4: Chapter 9: Good for More than One Thing


    Sen considered everything that had just happened, nodded to the patriarch, and turned to walk away.


    ¡°Is that it?¡± asked the patriarch. ¡°No questions? No demands?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have what I need, no way to give it to me, or no intention of giving it to me. Regardless of the reason, my business here is done,¡± said Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t have the interest or the time to waste on figuring out which reason it is.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a core cultivator. You have nothing <em>but</em> time. Besides, simply because we don¡¯t have what you came for, it doesn¡¯t mean there is nothing here that you <em>need</em>.¡±


    Sen hesitated at that, his eyes flickering to the spring. The longer he¡¯d been there, the more certain he¡¯d be that the spring was <em>alive</em>. Not merely in the sense that life pervaded all nature, but in the singr, self-aware sense. He was deeply, terribly curious about that spring, but he¡¯d already wasted days learning about the water illusion. It had been a self-indulgence, although one with some practical applications, but he couldn¡¯t afford those kinds of distractions anymore. Sen shook his head.


    ¡°Other core cultivators may have nothing but time, but I do not.¡±


    The patriarch gave Sen a searching look then. Then, the older cultivator¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Oh, I see. You don¡¯t just want the manual. You literally <em>need</em> the manual. I don¡¯t understand, though. How did you end up on the path of the Five-Fold Body Transformation without the manual in the first ce? It¡¯s not the kind of thing that people stumble onto by ident.¡±


    ¡°I had an encounter with a divine turtle. He,¡± Sen considered how best to describe the encounter, ¡°nudged me in that direction with some very specific advice about an elixir I was making. He gave me the name of the method, and not much else. I don¡¯t suppose you read the manual or know of anyone else in the sect that did?¡±


    ¡°I did not. Body cultivation wasn¡¯t an interest of mine when I was young enough for it to matter. By the time I really understood the advantages, well, it was toote to glean much benefit from it. Qi reinforcement helps me achieve <em>some</em> of the same results, if only temporarily. As for anyone else, it¡¯s a body cultivation method with a very specific reputation for killing people. Not the sort of thing that piques most people¡¯s interest.¡±


    Sen sighed, nodded, and cast onest look at the spring. He so badly wanted to stay and examine that spring. <em>I wonder if I could talk to it</em>, thought Sen. The patriarch¡¯s eyes tracked Sen¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°You can feel it, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Patriarch?¡±


    ¡°You can tell that the spring is alive and sentient. I can see it on your face. Take a day, just one day, and spend it here. You may discover something else that you need. Something to help with that anger I can see inside of you.¡±


    Sen jerked at that. ¡°Is it <em>so</em> obvious?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a very old man who has spent most of his life dealing with younger cultivators. You¡¯re clearly working very, very hard to contain it. Still, it¡¯s hard to keep things like that hidden from someone like me. After you¡¯ve seen a few hundred angry young cultivators, the signs aren¡¯t difficult to pick out.¡±


    The part of Sen that was deeply mistrustful of sects narrowed his eyes at the patriarch. ¡°Why? Why encourage me to stay? You don¡¯t really want me here.¡±


    ¡°An angry, sect-hating, core cultivator that very clearly punches above his cultivation level? Why in the world <em>wouldn¡¯t</em> I want someone like that hanging around in our most sacred ce?¡±


    Sen blinked a few times. ¡°I think you just made my point for me.¡±


    ¡°No. All of that is, believe it or not, besides the point. I¡¯ve seen angry young cultivators before. More importantly, I¡¯ve seen what angry young cultivators turn into when they don¡¯t find ways to cope with that anger. You possess a frankly frightening amount of power already. If you do seed in finding a copy of that manual, and I strongly suspect you¡¯ll find a way to make it happen, you¡¯ll be even more powerful. That kind of anger and that kind of power are a recipe for terrible things.¡±


    Sen hadn¡¯t thought about it in quite those terms before, but the patriarch had given voice to Sen¡¯s own deepest fears about his anger. Yet, that perceptiveness alone didn¡¯t ount for the patriarch encouraging Sen to stay. Sure, he might be a danger someday, but it wasn¡¯t even close to a foregone conclusion that he¡¯de back to the Clear Spring sect looking for some long-dyed and nebulous payback. In fact, the odds were against it. With the way he umted problems and enemies, he''d likely have far more pressing problems down the road than making an example of a sect that had, in the end, not done anything to him.


    ¡°It still doesn¡¯t exin why. I¡¯m not a disciple here. You¡¯ll probably never even see me again.¡±


    ¡°Is it really so hard to imagine that I just see a young man who is struggling and wish to help? It¡¯s not as though it¡¯s the first time that happened to you, is it?¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to say something he¡¯d probably regret, then forcibly made himself shut up and just think for a second. It <em>wouldn¡¯t </em>be the first time a nascent soul cultivator went out of their way to help him. He just didn¡¯t expect it from a sect patriarch. The patriarch clearly read the wariness on Sen¡¯s face, so he continued.


    ¡°The other thing that being very old and very experienced teaches you is how to spot the people who will make it. While ascension is always a gamble, I can usually tell who will make it to core formation and who will break into the nascent soul stage. Assuming that you don¡¯t get yourself killed or your body cultivation method doesn¡¯t do you in, you <em>will</em> be a nascent soul cultivator. If you¡¯re looking for a self-interested reason from me, perhaps I¡¯d prefer it if you had some reason to think kindly of us when you reach that threshold.¡±


    <em>That</em> was exactly the kind of pragmatic thinking that Sen expected from a sect, but he had the distinct impression that the patriarch had made it up on the spot. <em>He¡¯s giving me a reason I¡¯ll ept</em>, thought Sen. Sen found himself once again staring at the spring. <em>It¡¯s just a day</em>, Sen justified to himself. <em>I¡¯m in a hurry, but I can spare one day</em>. <em>Especially if it will help me get this anger even a little more under control</em>. Sen decided that the patriarch¡¯s motives didn¡¯t matter. Maybe he was just someone trying to do something kind for Sen. Maybe he felt like the sect owed Sen something stopping the fighting or helping out after. Maybe it was just some kind of constion prize since the manual Sen wanted was out of reach. Sen nodded.


    ¡°All right. I suppose one day won¡¯t hurt.¡±


    The patriarch looked both pleased and a little relieved at Sen¡¯s words. The older cultivator gestured that Sen should join him. The two men walked along the edge of the spring in silence for a time. The patriarch looked over Sen and, after a moment of thought, he asked a question.


    ¡°You cultivate more than one kind of qi?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°What do you do with them? What kind of techniques do you use?¡±


    Sen frowned at the question. He wasn¡¯t sure he even understood what the patriarch was getting at.


    ¡°I defend myself,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°So,bat techniques?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Nothing else?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s the alchemy. I use qi for that.¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course. I meant techniques that you control directly.¡±


    Sen thought it over. ¡°I made a house once.¡±


    The patriarch stumbled at that. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Did you say you made a house?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Yeah, it took a lot of earth qi, but I made a house. It had rooms and furniture, even a well.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°So, you never try to use your qi to create?¡±


    ¡°Create what?¡±


    ¡°Beauty,¡± said the patriarch. ¡°We all learn to fight. We must, but there¡¯s more to life than violence. Qi has more than one use.¡±


    With that, the patriarch gestured at the spring, and Sen felt the surge of water qi from the man. Sen braced himself for the attack, but it never came. Instead, water flowed out of the spring and floated over the patriarch¡¯s hand. As Sen watched, the water swiftly reshaped itself into the shape of a blooming rose. Then, it changed into a tiny, translucent horse that appeared to gallop on the patriarch¡¯s hand. Then, it was a falcon that swooped and dove around the patriarch. Sen was amazed that he could pick out individual feathers on the falcon¡¯s watery body. The patriarch made a gentle gesture and the water returned to the spring. Sen was stunned at the patriarch¡¯s casual mastery over water, but equally stunned that it had never urred to him to try to make anything other than that house with qi. Sen knew he wasn¡¯t particrly artistic, but it could have been a hobby, a way to give his mind a break. And he¡¯d <em>never</em> thought of it. Sen offered the patriarch a bow.


    ¡°Your mastery is extraordinary,¡± said Sen, not knowing what else to say.


    ¡°You can get good at anything if you practice it for a thousand years,¡± said the patriarch with a smile. ¡°Although, that wasn¡¯t really the point.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I think I understood.¡±


    ¡°Good. Here we are,¡± said the patriarch.


    Sen looked around, but it was just a patch of ground more or less identical to all of the other ground they¡¯d walked over to get to the spot. He lifted an eyebrow at the patriarch, who just gave Sen an amused, benign smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found that contemtion in this spot has the best results,¡± offered the patriarch.


    Sen sighed a little inside at the cryptic words, but he doubted the older cultivator had brought him to that exact spot as a joke. Sen settled on the ground. The patriarch looked out over the spring. The patriarch looked conflicted for a moment before he shook his head and turned his attention back to Sen.


    ¡°I hope your time here will be as beneficial for you as it has been for me over the years.¡±


    With that, the patriarch walked away, leaving Sen alone with the crystal-clear water of the spring and his own thoughts. As eager as Sen had been to examine the spring, he found himself hesitating now that he was on the cusp of it. It was one thing to believe that the spring was sentient and capable ofmunicating. It was something else to actually try to do it. Rather than jump right in, Sen let his mind drift back to his time on the mountain. He recalled the days when he''d been trying to understand why different kinds of qi appeared in different ces. There had been a moment when Sen had felt something, something just beyond his reach, a kind of active force at work in the world. Sen let himself breathe, slow, controlled breaths. He didn¡¯t look for the life in the water. Instead, he looked for that force he¡¯d so briefly brushed against on the mountain. He couldn¡¯t even exin to himself why he was doing that, except that he had an intuition that he should, that he¡¯d learn something if he did it in <em>this</em> ce.


    At first, he struggled to remember how he¡¯d done it that first time. He tried to remember what he¡¯d been thinking and how it had felt. He¡¯de so far since then, learned so much, but all of that umted experience was of limited value. After all, he hadn¡¯t really been trying to do anything back then. He¡¯d just been looking and exploring. He¡¯d had a sense of wonder about the world then that had slowly been eaten away by killing, death, and fear. He searched inside himself, questing for that sense of wonder that he¡¯d once had in such abundance. It was still there, still inside him, but buried deep, so much deeper than he would have expected. It was a miracle that it hadn¡¯t been snuffed outpletely.


    He let that sense of wonder breathe, let it draw strength from him, let it fill him as it once had. And then, as it had done once before, the world revealed itself to him.

 Book 4: Chapter 10: Will and Water

    Book 4: Chapter 10: Will and Water


    Sen had been through a lot in his time off the mountain. Enough that it was easy for him to forget that he¡¯d seen very little of the world. For all the intensity of his experiences, though, they were limited in scope. As a veil was pulled back before him, Sen was given an acute reminder that he was very, very young. He didn¡¯t see anything, at least nothing that he could recallter, but rather he felt something. It was a presence, something so vast that it reduced the unleashed presence of a nascent soul cultivator to nothing. Yet, so very unlike the presence of those often-terrible elder cultivators, this presence wasn¡¯t harsh, oppressive, or crushing. It didn¡¯t need to be. It was old, so old, so far beyond ancient that Sen could sense that it didn¡¯t have secrets as he understood the term. To something as young as him, all of its shallowest knowledge was transcendent beyond the scope of humanprehension and its wisdom fell beyond the dreams of devils.


    Sen trembled in naked fear before this presence, fearing he had transgressed across some indelible line in the universe, that he had wandered in his childlike innocence into a ce where only gods should tread. Yet, the punishment he expected never came. That vast will was aware of him. Sen was certain of that much. Yet, it paid him scant attention. <em>I¡¯m such a tiny thing</em>, Sen thought. <em>Why would it care</em>? When the initial panic left him, Sen found himself trying to understand what this thing could be. For a time, he just observed in whatever way the knowledge was being carried to him. There wasn¡¯t motion, precisely, but that will <em>did</em> act. He could feel its tendrils stretching out across the face of the world, moving qi, moving mountains, moving people, and, in another panic-inducing moment, Sen realized it had been moving him. Its touch was gentle, but behind that surface gentility there was an obdurate strength that would challenge the ravages of time, challenge the destruction of the void, and persevere in the face of all threats.


    <em>Is this the will of the world</em>, wondered Sen. Yet, even that seemed insufficient a description. This was more than the world, more the sun and the moon, this was the will of something deeper, something more profound. For a brief moment, Sen sensed the size of it, sensed just how far its reach truly extended, and his mind recoiled in simple horror. It was too much, far too much, for his mind to understand or even want to understand. Sen retreated out of deeply rooted concern for his own sanity. That single touch, brief as it had been, had very nearly been more than he could bear. He still felt parts of his mind shrieking and wailing, strained by merely brushing against that awful expanse. He pulled himself close, tightened his will and discipline around his own mind, andmanded calm where chaos reigned.


    It was a slow process, but this was something he had practice doing. He knew how to endure pain and assert his will over it. Bit by bit, he pitted his will against the insanity that gnawed at the edges of his consciousness. Inch by agonizing inch, he wed those wayward pieces of his mind back into ce. A sarcastic little piece of him that wasn¡¯t even trying to be helpful observed that people wouldn¡¯t think he was such a genius if they could see him now. What kind of fool encountered something that vast and went sightseeing? It would serve him right if he went insane after a stunt like that. Yet, despite that naysaying part of his soul, Sen understood that he was being given some kind of opportunity. There was wisdom to find in this moment if he could locate it.


    Sen tried posing questions to that vast will but received no answers. He wasn¡¯t disappointed. He suspected that any answer he got would likely be so profound that it would crack his sanity like a fragile eggshell. Then, he invited that will to show him what it would, and nothing happened. Sen considered the problem. Was he missing the obvious? Sen suspected he was. Maybe the opportunity was right in front of him. He was getting to see how something far beyond the concerns of cultivators managed power and will. So, Sen simply watched for a time. At first, it just looked like chaos to him. There was so much happening. He tried focusing in, but that only made the chaos worse. He couldn¡¯t see how things connected. With that failure out of the way, he tried pulling back and getting a broader picture.


    That was when things began to make sense. He didn¡¯t understand all of what he was seeing, that was beyond him, but he understood pieces. He began to see that his sense of how qi should work was simplistic in the extreme. He watched as that will encouraged wind qi to gather in a secluded spot on a mountain. Taken in istion, it seemed random. Yet, he could sense how that extra bit of qi in that exact spot provided a bnce to a dense spot of earth qi hundreds of miles away in a parched ce he assumed was a desert. That earth qi was there to help bnce out an especially thick concentration of fire qi in an all-too-familiar valley. And all of those individual spots of qi made the sentient spring he was sitting next to possible. Yet, even that was in the service of creating what Sen was able to recognize as a natural formation that would help to stave off¡­something.


    When Sen tried to reach out for that knowledge, he instantly withdrew. He <em>could</em> learn what it was, but it was another one of those things that was so vast and intricate that his flimsy mind couldn¡¯t contain it. That was the tiniest shred of what was happening at any given moment. Yet, Sen thought he had learned the lesson he was best equipped for, or at least touched it enough to piece together what he¡¯d needter. There were other ways of using qi than what Sen had learned, and his particr method of cultivating qi would let him explore those possibilities. He could build techniques the same way he built alchemical elixirs and, if he understood what he was seeing correctly, generate simrly outsized results. It would probably take him years to really work out the intricacies. If he could make it work, though, he might actually be able to create the kinds of miracles people thought he was creating now. Of course, he had to survive long enough to do it.


    That jarring thought shattered whatever state of mind had granted him ess to that look at the mechanics behind the world. Sen¡¯s eyes snapped open, and it took him a moment to understand what he was seeing. While he had started out sitting on the ground next to the spring, he wasn¡¯t there any longer. Instead, he was floating on a tform of qi he didn¡¯t recall summoning, hovering over the very center of the spring. As if that wasn¡¯t strange enough, the water of the spring had risen up around him, as if to shelter him in a bowl. Sen debated about whether to return to shore but decided against it. He had a feeling that if the spring didn¡¯t want him right where he was, he wouldn¡¯t be there. Sen still felt a bit wobbly from what he¡¯d just experienced, but he wasn¡¯t about to pass up the chance to see if he could talk with the spring.


    Sen took most of a minute to try to calm and center himself. He didn¡¯t want to mess up whatever chance he might have atmunicating with the spring because he was too rattled and rushed things. He brought the passive cultivation he did all the time under conscious control, not because it needed his help, but because the action was familiar. He felt the qi from the environment slide into him, move through his channels, and take up residence in his dantian. From there, he felt most of that qi pulled into that strange double helix formation and another drop or two of liquid qi was added to the substantial pool that had collected. As he kept that process moving, he felt his racing heart slow, and with that slowlying under control, his thoughts slowed as well. He was careful to store away the insights he¡¯d gathered, and just as careful to push away those thoughts that might all too easily drag him into madness. Only then, with his body and mind restored to something like equilibrium, did he release conscious control of his cultivation and turn his focus to the spring.


    It was only then that Sen ran up against the very obvious problem that he didn¡¯t have the first idea about how he mightmunicate with the spring. He could try talking to it, but it wasn¡¯t like the spring was a spirit beast. It didn¡¯t have any obvious way of listening to his voice, like a convenient set of watery ears. <em>Then again</em>, Sen thought, <em>what do I know</em>? <em>Maybe it can hear</em>. Deciding there was no harm in trying the obvious, he spoke.


    ¡°Can you understand me?¡±


    Sen gave it thirty seconds before he concluded that, if the spring couldmunicate, it wasn¡¯t going to be through anything so simple as speaking and listening. He considered what something like water would recognize and understand. Sen cycled for water qi and, unlike his usual directed approach, just sort of spread it around inside the water bowl the spring had formed. That got a reaction. Sen immediately felt an outside force of water qi press against his own.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Sen. ¡°I got your attention. Now what?¡±


    Committing himself to trying anything that came to mind, Sen tried pushing a sense of his curiosity about the spring into the qi he had spread out. Again, there was nothing. <em>Well, it was worth a try</em>, he thought. With no better ideas to hand, Sen tried to push his consciousness out toward the spring. It was an odd experience, like how he imagined moving an organ to somewhere else in the body might feel, if less painful. He once more tried to infuse his curiosity in the presence of his expanded consciousness. That worked. It worked too well. His mind was immediately overwhelmed with thousands, maybe tens of thousands of impressions, images, and bright little gemstones of knowledge about using water qi. Unfortunately, that massive rush of information was too much for him. He felt hot blood ssh across his lips from his nose before he lost consciousness.


    When things started making sense again, Sen had the impression that more than a little time had passed. He wasn¡¯t sitting anymore. He was sprawled out on something that was firm but had some give to it. Had someone found him and brought him back to the sectpound? The pounding in his head made him not want to open his eyes, but his training was ingrained too deeply to give up such easy knowledge. He forced his eyes open and, again, had to take a moment to understand what he was seeing. He appeared to be in some kind of water cocoon that had been hardened to keep everyone and everything out. He looked down and realized that the spring had created a tform of hardened water for him toy on while he was being useless and unconscious.


    Sen pushed himself back up into a sitting position and reestablished his qi tform. The water beneath him dropped away, but the cocoon remained firmly in ce. Sen reasoned that the spring was trying to protect him until it was sure he could protect himself. <em>Nice of it</em>, he thought. Sen once again pushed his consciousness out. This time, he thought he caught a sense of mild pushback, so he stopped there and just tried sending out a gentle hello. What he got back was tentative, hesitant, and vaguely apologetic. He got a trickle of images of jumping fish and swiftly moving water insects. It took a second, but he managed to interpret the message. It had gotten excited.


    Sen lost track of time as he and the spring worked out a kind of shorthandnguage of images and impressions. Once they did that, though, and fine-tuned how much information Sen could handle at any given moment, things smoothed out. It wasn¡¯t talking, precisely. Sen didn¡¯t know if the spring couldn¡¯t do that or simply hadn¡¯t learned how. Still, it was good enough. Having achieved his initial goal ofmunicating with the spring, though, Sen wasn¡¯t sure where to take things. He was confident that he could push his understanding of water qi by leaps and bounds if he provided the right prompts. He just didn¡¯t know what those prompts might be. In the end, he settled on simply showing the spring his techniques or toned-down versions of them.


    That was when things got interesting from Sen¡¯s point of view. In some cases, he got the impression that the spring found what he was doing hriously inept. In other cases, he got vague approval. Yet, inevitably, he would get shown something that rified what he was doing wrong or how he might do it better. After a few hours, he started to understand that with water qi techniques, it almost always came down to somebination of hardness, softness, and flow. To Sen, ideas of hard and soft had always been fairly absolute. To the spring, though, these ideas came in so many variations that Sen had trouble distinguishing them. He spent hours simply trying to mimic the varieties of hard and soft that the spring showed him. Often with the spring providing a perfect example right in front of him.


    The idea of flow was both familiar and foreign to Sen. He was used to the idea of qi flowing, but the spring once again dissuaded him from the notion that he should think of flow as one thing. The flow of a gentle creek, for example, was nothing at all like the flow of a river during a torrential downpour. While he could execute different kinds of flow, he knew there was more there to understand that he simply wasn¡¯t grasping. He decided that was alright. He didn¡¯t need to learn everything now. He had the rest of his life, however long or short it might be, to expand on what he''d been shown. Yet, it seemed the spring wasn¡¯t quite done with him yet.


    Sen felt a pressure on his heart and his soul. It wasn¡¯t so much in a specific ce, as it was touching a specific thing. Something he¡¯d been trying not to think about whilemunicating with the spring. Yet, the spring had spotted his anger just like the patriarch had. Sen did his best tomunicate a sense of helplessness about the anger. Sure, he knew it was there. It didn¡¯t mean he could do anything about it. The spring applied a little gentle pressure again, and then it sent Sen images and impressions of water in varying states of hardness. Then, it followed that up with images of soft, flowing water. Sen frowned. The spring repeated the same cycle of pressure and images several times. Sen thought he had an idea of what the spring was getting at, so he pressed a sense of understanding at the spring.


    He wasn¡¯t dealing with his anger. He was caging it. Useful in the moment perhaps, but not a long-term fix. He thought the spring was telling him that if he continued on as he was, that anger would harden into something permanent that would be far more difficult or even impossible to dislodge. The spring was telling him that he needed to let that anger flow or his heart would never soften again. It was probably right, except that wasn¡¯t a practical solution for him. He had to deal with people, which meant keeping a tight leash on that anger. Still, there might be other ways to purge that anger without simply killing everyone who bothered him. Sen hoped there was. Realizing that he had spent far more than the one day he had meant to at the spring, Sen did his best tomunicate his gratitude to the sentient body of water. He struggled to interpret what he got back, but he thought it amounted to an invitation to visit.


    ¡°If I live long enough,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Maybe, if I live long enough.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 11: You Peasant

    Book 4: Chapter 11: You Peasant


    Exiting from the odd enclosure that held the spring and the gardens, Sen was relieved that he didn¡¯t find anyone waiting for him. At the same time, though, thatck of a friendly or hostile wee from anyone left him even more concerned about just how long he¡¯d spentmuning with the spirit of spring. Days probably, but it could easily be longer than that. The patriarch would probably be happy about that, even though Sen wasn¡¯t really sure he¡¯d gotten anything he truly needed. He¡¯d learned a lot of things that were interesting, but that wasn¡¯t the same as necessary. Sen supposed that only time would really tell on that ount. It only took Sen a minute or two of walking to realize that he didn¡¯t remember where to go. He¡¯d only been shown where his quarters were located once and hadn¡¯t even bothered to go inside of them. He stood on one of the stone paths that crisscrossed the sectpound and peered at the buildings, hoping that he¡¯d spot something that would give him the right idea.


    It seemed that his exit hadn¡¯t gone as unnoticed as he might have hoped. He felt the presence of the angry water cultivator without even bothering to turn around. Sen truly did not have the patience to deal with an idiot at that moment. Closing his eyes and taking a soothing breath, Sen spoke.


    ¡°Your sect patriarch specifically asked me not to kill you. What do you imagine that means about how he judges your odds?¡±


    ¡°That old fool just knows not to cross my family.¡±


    Sen turned and settled an icy gaze on the water cultivator. ¡°Do you think that <em>I</em> care about your family?¡±


    That seemed to give the man pause, but he kept approaching. ¡°You would, if you were smart.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in no mood for this nonsense. If you leave now, I¡¯ll forget that I saw you.¡±


    ¡°Leave? But why would I leave? The show is about to start.¡±


    ¡°Really? You skipped right to hiring people?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re beneath me. I¡¯d never sully myself by dealing with you personally.¡±


    Sen let his senses drift out and found the people the idiot had hired. At least he¡¯d been smart enough to hire core cultivators.


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± said Sen, ¡°because I very much intend to deal with you personally. Out of idle curiosity, just so I know, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°I am Gong Jun De,¡± he sneered.


    ¡°Thank you. By the way, if you¡¯re smart, you¡¯ll be long gone by the time I finish killing your men.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that will happen. They¡¯re professionals, and they have very specific orders. They¡¯re not going to kill you. Just cripple you. We¡¯ll see what kind of <em>hero</em> you are after that.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at that as he cycled up a few different kinds of qi. ¡°That was stupid.¡±


    ¡°Did you just call me stupid?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t call you anything. You <em>are</em> stupid if you hired people to try to do anything but kill me.¡±


    ¡°How dare you speak to me that way, you peasant! Do you know who I am?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen.


    Before the noble could ther anything else, Sen sent a couple of metal-fused shadow spears hurtling at him. Sen didn¡¯t really try that hard to hit the man, as he was far more concerned with the three other cultivators who were now closing fast on him. One of them was a water cultivator, one a fire cultivator, and the third was a wind cultivator. Sen suspected that Gong Jun De hadn¡¯t been exaggerating about them being professionals. For most cultivators, fighting three other cultivators at a simr level of advancement with different qi specialties would be next to impossible. Most qi types just didn¡¯t have the flexibility necessary. Sen expected it would be difficult. While he briefly considered summoning the heaven-chasing level spear that the fire cultivators had gifted him, he settled on the one that the Soaring Skies sect had provided. No reason to show all his cards unless it became necessary.


    Since the water qi specialist would prove particrly weak to lightning, he started with her. He leveled his spear at her and unleashed a bolt of lightning as thick as his wrist. She managed to put up a shield that deflected part of it, but enough got through that it stopped her dead in her tracks. Sen was experienced enough not to gloat or stand still. He dodged to one side, narrowly avoiding a wind de, and sent three in return with a sweep of the spear. He didn¡¯t expect the wind des to aplish much except distract the wind and fire cultivators, but it worked. That was how the wind cultivator wound up with a badly seared leg from the fireball Sen had sent flying his way immediately after the wind de. Sen saw the look of rage on the fire cultivator¡¯s face, so he activated his qinggong technique.


    Rather than head directly for the fire cultivator or simply dodge, Sen aimed for the water cultivator who seemed to be regaining her feet. It was a good thing he moved, though, because the fire cultivator used a technique Sen had never seen before. The fire cultivator called it a meteor something or other. But several dozen white-hot pellets rained down where Sen had been standing. He wasn¡¯t entirely certain he could have blocked that attack with no warning, based on the way those pellets all but evaporated the soil and stone they hit. As for the water cultivator, she spotted himing and started to summon something, so Sen <em>hid</em> and threw up a dome of shadow that shrouded the water cultivator in utter darkness.


    Then, Senunched himself into the air. The pseudo-omniscience he enjoyed inside the shadow let him keep himself on target for her, while she had to guess at where he¡¯d gone. Sen pushed fire qi into the spearhead. When he all but fell out of the sky on top of the water cultivator, she wasn¡¯t ready for the aerial assault. The spearhead was so hot and being driven with so much force that it nearly split the woman in half. Sen could hear the other two cultivators shouting for the woman, and he let them wonder. It seemed that neither of the other cultivators was willing to risk hitting their teammate byunching a qi technique blindly into that oppressive darkness.


    That was just fine as far as Sen was concerned. Working with earth qi was taxing at the best of times, but doing it while hiding was something Sen hadn¡¯t practiced. He felt thatck of practice acutely as sweat beaded on his forehead. Still, he persevered as he pushed his qi down into the soil and rock beneath all of their feet. With his qi touching the earth, it was easy enough to pinpoint the general location of the other cultivators. They had taken up station just outside the dome of darkness, no doubt debating whether they should enter it to find their lost teammate. Sen pushed himself a little harder andunched two water des at the cultivators. He felt them react to the distraction, felt the sudden burst of qi, and thenunched his real attack. There was brief screaming as the razor-edged stone spikes drove up into the cultivators. Then, there was silence. Sen stopped <em>hiding</em> and let his spiritual sense sweep the area. The fire cultivator was dead, or the next best thing to it, but the wind cultivator had managed to get clear.


    Sen dropped the dome of shadow and saw the wind cultivator perhaps twenty feet away. He hadn¡¯t gotten away cleanly. The man was hunched to one side with a hand pressed to his stomach. Sen could see the blood welling between the man¡¯s fingers. He also noted that Gong Jun De was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he wasn¡¯t as stupid as Sen originally suspected if he had the good sense to run away. The wind cultivator forced himself to stand up straight as he red at Sen.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± demanded the wind cultivator.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask before you took the job?¡±


    ¡°He said you were some trumped-up wannabe hero who needed to be taught a lesson.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°So, he left out some details?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± snarled the wind cultivator. ¡°Details. So, are you going to finish what you started?¡±


    Sen eyed the man. ¡°Only if you make me. I didn¡¯te looking for this fight. Although, I have no idea what this sect will do with you if they take you alive. Did you hurt anyone on your way in?¡±


    The wind cultivator shook his head. ¡°Not how we¡­how I work.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s up to you, I guess.¡±


    Sen waited as the wind cultivator seemed to go back and forth. Twice, the man gathered what Sen suspected was as much qi as he could muster before he shook his head.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ll take my chances with the sect. They might kill me, but they probably won¡¯t. They¡¯ll probably just put me to work for a while. I <em>know</em> you¡¯ll kill me. Hells, now I know what it must have been like fighting us. All those different types of qi flying around. Honestly, who are you?¡±


    ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°He damn sure didn¡¯t mention that name.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°Do you recognize it?¡±


    ¡°No, but would you go start a fight with someone called something like that? For no extra pay?¡±


    Sen gave it a moment of thought. ¡°No, I don¡¯t imagine I would. You didn¡¯t happen to see which way he ran, did you?¡±


    ¡°No, but you never see weasels move, do you?¡±


    Sen was trying to think of something witty to say when water cultivators started appearing from everywhere. It seemed like they had taken a really long time to Sen, but the fight hadn¡¯t reallysted that long in retrospect. Then, Lo Meifeng and Falling Leaf were there, yelling questions at him like this had all been <em>his</em> fault. It hit Sen right at that moment that he could really use a nap.

 Book 4: Chapter 12: Consequences

    Book 4: Chapter 12: Consequences


    Lan Zi Rui was frustrated. He had been frustrated and growing ever more frustrated for thest two months. Ever since that wretched boy and that awful woman had left. Oh, he had been secretly relieved when they left. He still didn¡¯t know how that boy had done what he¡¯d done. He¡¯d had <em>no</em> food for almost half a year. He¡¯d spent most of that time in some kind of a cultivation trance. Lan Zi Rui hadn¡¯t been concerned about it. People almost never came out of those trances. The people who did were almost never whole again, as though they left part of their minds in whatever ce they had gone. If anything, he¡¯d expected the boy to be more docile, more manageable, after the trance than before. It was why he hadn¡¯t interfered with the trance in the first ce. Oh, how he came to regret that choice.


    Instead of losing pieces of himself, the damnable child came out of the trance more focused and powerful than when he¡¯d sunk himself into it. Then, the boy had used some technique Lan Zi Rui had never seen before. The casual ease with which the boy had shattered Lan Zi Rui¡¯s wall of force had frankly terrified the older cultivator. The older cultivator had spent <em>entire days</em> trying to piece together how an initial core cultivator had aplished such a feat. Then that business with damaging the formation. The damage itself had been difficult enough to repair, as formations were not Lan Zi Rui¡¯s strong hand, but the real difficulty had been trying to exin the formation to the lessmitted members of the cult. There had been endless questions that he¡¯d never imagined he¡¯d need to answer. He¡¯d had to scramble to exin it all away.


    The questions eventually died down, although he still saw people staring at the ce where they knew that invisible wall stood around thepound. He saw their uncertainty, their doubt, and it ignited his rage at that boy all over again. Yet, even that wasn¡¯t the source of his true frustration. It was the girl. Oh, she had beening along so nicely. She¡¯d been so desperate for someone to offer her safety and certainty. Lan Zi Rui had be a master at ying on exactly that kind of desperation. She¡¯d been almost entirely bought in, almost ready to do anything he wanted. And he <em>wanted</em> so many things from her. He¡¯d dreamed about her body. Yet, that boy had nted seeds of doubt in her mind that had grown in the months since he left. Oh, she still did her part, working in the fields and helping with the other tasks that umted in argepound. What she didn¡¯t do was seek him out for his sage wisdom anymore. In fact, she made a point to never let herself be alone with him.


    Not that he couldn¡¯t ovee that problem with a simple word or two. No, what stayed his hand was the boy¡¯s final threat. The way he¡¯d delivered it had chilled Lan Zi Rui¡¯s soul. There had been no bluster or bravado to it. He had been calm, deliberate, and utterly <em>certain</em>. Not only had the boy meant it, but Lan Zi Rui had been sure that, given a bit of time, the boy could <em>do it</em>. If he coulde out of that trance unscathed and apparently having mastered new power and skills, the cult leader wasn¡¯t sure that there was anything that child couldn¡¯t do if he set his mind to it. It was the mental image of Lu Sen returning as a nascent soul cultivator, shattering the protective formation, and taking his vengeance that haunted Lan Zi Rui. So, he looked for other ways to sate his needs. Hence the young man and woman he¡¯d taken to his bed the night before who were dressing across the room.


    It hadn¡¯t helped. They¡¯d been enthusiastic and entertaining, which had distracted him briefly, but he knew that would only work for so long. Sooner orter, he¡¯d either have to give in to his lust, or he¡¯d need to send that girl away. While his reason told him that the smart move was simply to send her away, his lust for her wouldn¡¯t let him do it. He¡¯d sought her out more than once to send her away and far from his sight, but then he¡¯d see her and those ns would evaporate in a haze of unfilled desire. That push and pull between what he wanted and what he feared left him constantly on edge and bursting with frustration he couldn¡¯t remedy. He¡¯d even started convincing himself that the boy wouldn¡¯t return for years, maybe even decades. Lan Zi Rui could have the girl all he wanted before then. The boy would never need to know. Yet, the cult leader was certain that the boy would know, somehow, someway, he would just <em>know</em>.


    With those thoughts in mind, a spike of raw panic and terror drove itself into Lan Zi Rui¡¯s soul when the presence of a nascent soul cultivator bore down on the entirepound. A momentter, he felt it as the protective formation was simply shredded with nothing more than brute force. <em>No, no, he can¡¯t be back already</em>, thought Lan Zi Rui. <em>No one can advance that fast</em>. Then, he heard the sounds of panicked yelling and people running. Shaking himself free of the paralysis that had temporarily gripped his body and soul, Lan Zi Rui felt fury course through him. It <em>wasn¡¯t</em> the boy. There simply hadn¡¯t been enough time. That meant they were under attack from someone else. The cult leader threw on his robes in a sh and went out to meet the threat.


    When he burst from his quarters, he scanned thepound and found nothing. Then, he looked up. Hovering over thepound like an imperious herald of doom, Lan Zi Rui saw death herself, and he knew her name.


    ¡°Ma Caihong,¡± he said.


    He was stunned. He had met her once, long ago, and she had made it very clear to him how much he <em>did not</em> impress her. It had taken nearly a month to heal from her expression of displeasure at his suggestions. She had been a core formation cultivator then, more or less matched with him. Now, though, she was a peak nascent soul cultivator, and he was not. He had stalled at the initial nascent soul stage and was a very weak one, little better than a strong peak core formation cultivator. It was more than enough to keep his followers in line and deal with most spirit beasts, but a threat like Ma Caihong was fundamentally beyond him. Even worse, he didn¡¯t know why she hade or even how she knew he was here. Then, a terrible, bowel-loosening thought struck him. That boy, that impossibly powerful and gifted boy, <em>had</em> to have a teacher.


    Summoning what courage he had, Lan Zi Rui summoned a jian from a storage ring. He stepped onto a tform of qi and rose to face Ma Caihong. She let him rise so he could look directly at her. Terror tried to eat its way through his insides as he looked at her. She might as well have been carved from stone or ice there was so little expression on her face. He pointed his jian and did his best to put on a good front.


    ¡°Why have you disturbed the peace of my sect?¡± he demanded.


    When she spoke, Ma Caihong¡¯s words carried to every corner of thepound. ¡°Sect? I see your understanding of the meaning of words hasn¡¯t improved. This is not a sect. This is a <em>cult</em>.¡±


    Lan Zi Rui ground his teeth in frustration. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯vee to retrieve someone,¡± she said before a momentary look of consideration crossed her face. ¡°Well, more urately, I¡¯vee to retrieve everyone here.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t make them leave against their will.¡±


    She smiled at him then, and whatever tiny shred of hope he¡¯d had that he might be able to talk his way out of this disaster died a whimpering, pathetic death inside him.


    ¡°I most certainly could, but they won¡¯t have a reason to stay in a minute or two. Cults rarely survive the death of their founders.¡±


    ¡°Kill her,¡± screamed Lan Zi Rui.


    While he hadn¡¯t ever nned for this particr contingency, he had nned for the possibility that someone mighte looking for him or a missing loved one. The ce where Ma Caihong floated disappeared in a flurry of techniques. Fireballs, winddes, boulders, ice spears, and even a stray bolt of lightning all concentrated on the ce where she floated. Lan Zi Rui didn¡¯t really think that they would seed in killing her, but the distraction should be enough for him to escape. He spun around on his qi tform and flew away. At least, he tried to. A hand seized the back of his neck in a grip that felt like it was forged of cold steel. Then, the next thing he knew, Lan Zi Rui was crashing into the ground. The earth cratered around him, bothpressing down and exploding outward.


    Even with qi reinforcement running through his entire body, he felt bones breaking and muscles tearing. The pain was monumental. He hadn¡¯t felt any real pain in hundreds of years, let alone anything on the level of what he was experiencing now. It burned away any rational thought. He just needed to get away. He staggered to his feet and swayed like a drunkard. He took two steps, then realized that he was in a hole. He looked up and up. The crater his body had made was nearly twenty feet deep. If he¡¯d been thinking clearly, and not wracked with pain that screamed for attention, the distance would have seemed trivial. In his current state, though, that distance looked insurmountable.


    ¡°You know,¡± said a woman standing right behind him, ¡°I don¡¯t usually go in for this kind of fighting. But you¡¯ve <em>angered</em> me, Lan Zi Rui.¡±


    The pure contempt in that voice when she said his name felt like the kiss of death. Somehow, he¡¯d kept hold of his jian. There was nothing left to do but fight. He spun toward Ma Caihong¡¯s voice and drove a thrust at where her heart should have been. Except the thrust only met open air. Then, the cult leader watched in horror as something he barely even registered as a blur in the air passed through his wrist. The jian and his hand fell to the ground. He instinctively grabbed his wrist, but it did precious little to stem the blood spurting from his wrist. He realized that he needed to do something to stop her, and do it <em>now</em>, or she was going to cut him into tiny pieces. He summoned his own qi. He remembered that she was a water cultivator. He had always had an unusual qi affinity, force, so she should still be weak to it, even if it wasing from a weaker cultivator. The loss of the hand disrupted his cycling, but he had enough stored to send a wall of force to where she stood, ring at him like he was a particrly unsavory insect. Then, she was simply <em>gone</em>. He¡¯d never seen anyone move that fast. The world went white as her fist crashed into the side of his head like the world¡¯s most delicate mace.


    What followed was just one explosion of pain after the next as Ma Caihong beat him with a kind of icy savagery. He was vaguely aware of it when his legs were shattered. He only realized his arms were broken when he stopped being able to move them in useless attempts to fend off her blows. The pure devastation of his body inbination with the blood loss made putting thoughts together in any kind of order almost impossible. He did eventually register that he wasn¡¯t being hit anymore. He managed to open one eye. Ma Caihong was looming over him with his blood dripping from her hands, not that she seemed to care.


    ¡°In case you¡¯re wondering why this has happened,¡± she said, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to die confused. Lu Sen sends his regards.¡±


    Thest thing Lan Zi Rui saw in that life was the bottom of a shockingly small shoe descending toward his face.

 Book 4: Chapter 13: Karmic Considerations

    Book 4: Chapter 13: Karmic Considerations


    Once Sen got Lo Meifeng and Falling Leaf to calm down enough to let him get a word in edgewise, their ire swiftly transferred from him to the Clear Spring sect. As far as they were concerned, it had been the sect¡¯s job, in general, and the patriarch¡¯s job, specifically, to see to their safety. Letting a three-person team of hired killers get into the sect to injure or kill Sen was an epic failure on all fronts. While Lo Meifeng stormed off to find someone official to scream at for a while, Falling Leaf never let him stray more than two feet from her side.


    ¡°You know, the danger is over now,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°Only the danger you know about,¡± she said, while her eyes never stopped searching the surrounding area.


    Sen almost objected, but she did have a point. Instead, he changed the subject.


    ¡°How long was I in there?¡± he asked.


    She paused long enough to give him an irritated look. ¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°No. Things in there got¡­weird.¡±


    She sniffed at him, using that single noise to convey a host of things to him. First and foremost, it told him exactly how disappointed she was in him for losing track of something so basic as the passage of time. It also conveyed to him that he should expect to be exining to her, in detail, why it was he thought it was a great idea to run off somewhere without her to watch out for him. It also, somehow, conveyed to him that she thought he was far overdue for a bath and some basic grooming. Lastly, but not even close to the least important, that sniff informed him that she was <em>very</em> angry with him for making her worry. Sen was truly baffled about how she had managed to cram all of that into one noise, but there it was. <em>Maybe it¡¯s some kind of special qi technique</em>, he thought. After a moment of thought, she finally answered.


    ¡°Three weeks.¡±


    She¡¯d hesitated a bit on term <em>weeks </em>like she wasn¡¯t entirely sure it was the right word, but Sen was still stunned.


    ¡°I was in there most of a month?¡±


    She frowned but nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    No wonder he was so tired and out of sorts. That was a long time to go without sleep, even for him. Although, he also had no idea how long he¡¯d been knocked unconscious by the spring. He wasn¡¯t sure that really counted as rest, though. Knocking out a body cultivator at his level of development probably meant that he¡¯d taken some kind of injury to his brain that had needed to heal. Still, it would probably help exin why he¡¯d defaulted to basic fighting with the core cultivators instead of using any of the other options avable to him. Fighting was second nature and barely took any consideration, while almost everything else required him to make some conscious decisions. While that might be a good thing to know about himself, it wasn¡¯t something he was especially happy about.


    The only upside to the whole experience was that the fight had seemed to let him bleed off some of that anger he¡¯d been bottling up for a while now. It wasn¡¯t gone, but it wasn¡¯t waiting to jump out at anything or anyone who crossed his path. Even temporary relief from that anger was like taking a drink of cool water on a hot summer day. Still, he was none too pleased to learn that he had burned nearly a month of his limited time on sitting around and talking with a sentient spring, no matter how interesting it had all been. He¡¯d expected to be in or at least near the capital by now. Sighing, Sen let it go. The time was already gone, and he couldn¡¯t get it back. They¡¯d just have to try to make up some time as they traveled.


    Sen watched with some amusement as the water cultivators debated about what to do with the wind cultivator who had survived the fight. That reminded Sen about something, and he sent his spiritual sense over to the fire cultivator that he¡¯d impaled. He did a double-take when he realized that tough bastard was still clinging to life if just barely. If the fire cultivator didn¡¯t get attention in the <em>immediate</em> future, he¡¯d die. Sen strongly considered not saying anything. The man hade to main or cripple him in some way. If that decision led to his death, maybe it was his karma to die. The conversation about karma came floating back up into his mind, particrly the part about not being able to judge the full impact of any given choice. Sen didn¡¯t want to identally condemn some kid to starvation and death by letting the fire cultivator die. Sen grabbed one of the water cultivators who didn¡¯t look like he had an actual purpose in the area.


    ¡°Just so you know, that guy,¡± said Sen, pointing at the impaled fire cultivator, ¡°is still alive. You might want to tell whoever is in charge.¡±


    The young man¡¯s eyes went wide, and he took off at a run yelling for some elder or another. Falling Leaf gave him a strange look.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°He came to harm you. Why help him?¡±


    ¡°Karma,¡± muttered Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t need any extra bad karma.¡±


    A momentter, the jade beauty from the dinner literally flew past Sen andnded next to the impaled man. She frowned for a moment, shook her head, and then pointed at Sen without ever looking his way.


    ¡°You. Come here.¡±


    Sen traded a nce with Falling Leaf before he walked over to where she stood.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You did <em>this</em>?¡± she asked, waving at the stone spikes.


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Can you undo it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I can, assuming you can treat him right here. Otherwise, the shock alone will kill him.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, ¡°I am aware of that fact.¡±


    ¡°Have you ounted for the fact that he¡¯s a fire cultivator?¡±


    She frowned and a line appeared between her eyes at that. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at that. Then, he started asking her about exactly how she nned to treat him and with what. The conversation threatened to implode into an argument until Sen started countering with a list of alternate ingredients that would work better for the fire cultivator. Then, he wished he hadn¡¯t brought it up because they didn¡¯t have any of them on hand. <em>Of course</em>, <em>they don¡¯t have them on hand</em>, thought Sen, <em>because they¡¯re all water cultivators</em>. <em>They¡¯d never need them</em>. In the end, Sen found himself forced to make something on the spot. It was ugly work, carried out almost entirely inside the stone vial with Sen applying heat and cold as necessary to cook the ingredients down to something useful. It wasn¡¯t as good as it could have been or should have been, but there just wasn¡¯t time to do anything better.


    When the ¨C Sen couldn¡¯t bring himself to call it an elixir ¨C concoction was done, he handed it over to the jade beauty. He positioned himself so he had a solid grip on the fire cultivator¡¯s robes. He looked over at the woman. She gave him a nod. Cycling up earth qi, he almost yanked the spikes free, but then thought better of it. Instead, he did a kind of controlled erosion that wouldn¡¯t do as much immediate damage. No way of removing the spikes was going to be damage free, but he didn¡¯t have to make things worse than necessary. As soon as the stone spikes were gone, the jade beauty tilted the man¡¯s head back, poured the concoction into his mouth, and then massaged his throat until he swallowed. With a gesture, she scooped the fire cultivator onto a qi tform and walked away with him.


    ¡°Well, Karma,¡± said Sen under his breath, ¡°you better be nice to me for that one.¡±


    Sen felt the approach of the patriarch before he ever saw the man. Unless they really worked at it, nascent soul cultivators were always obvious. Sen felt his anger start to bubble up again and pressed it back down <em>hard</em>. Thest thing he needed to do was start an argument with the patriarch. Still, he had a question he needed to ask the man, and Sen was confident he wasn¡¯t going to like the answer. When the patriarch stepped up next to him, Sen didn¡¯t even look at the man. He just asked the question as politely as he could.


    ¡°Patriarch, where is Gong Jun De?¡±


    ¡°He has fled the sect,¡± said the patriarch.


    ¡°I was aware of that much. I assume that you dispatched people to retrieve him.¡±


    There was a very long, very awkward silence before the patriarch spoke. ¡°I did not.¡±


    Sen¡¯s anger tried to re, but he kept his cool on the surface. ¡°The man hired people to, by his own admission, cripple me. He got them into thispound, past your security, and in position to execute a not very impressive ambush. My experience with sects is limited, but I have to assume that this vites at least some of your rules and traditions.¡±


    The patriarch sighed. ¡°It does. Several, in fact.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m forced to ask, <em>why</em> isn¡¯t he being hunted down and brought back here?¡±


    ¡°His family is very powerful. They could cause the sect considerable trouble.¡±


    Sen took several deep breaths and did his best not to clench his fists. ¡°Patriarch, I may only be an unimportant wandering cultivator, but even I know what guest rights are. I also know what the obligations of the host are. If <em>I</em> know these things, I have to assume that <em>you</em> know them.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± admitted the patriarch.


    Sen let that hang in the air for nearly half a minute before he broke the silence. ¡°And you wonder why I hate sects.¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± pleaded the patriarch. ¡°Wait. Let me exin.¡±


    Sen walked away from the man and bellowed. ¡°Lo Meifeng. Fa Ling Li. We¡¯re leaving. Now. Where is Shi Ping? He didn¡¯t get himself killed did he?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± said Lo Meifeng, after she hurried over to join him. ¡°He¡¯s probably still asleep. Without you around to enforce shame and discipline, he¡¯s fallen back to form.¡±


    ¡°What a shock,¡± said Sen. ¡°Fine. Take me to him. <em>I¡¯ll</em> wake him up. I¡¯ve got a silver tael that says he won¡¯t like it.¡±


    Lo Meifeng barked out a shortugh and shook her head. ¡°Pass. That¡¯s a sucker¡¯s bet.¡±


    Falling Leaf, who had put some distance between herself and the sect¡¯s leader when he arrived, joined the small group. She gave Sen a questioning look.


    ¡°Why are we leaving now?¡± she asked.


    Sen turned and stared at the patriarch. He was confident that the man could hear every word they were saying, so Sen didn¡¯t raise his voice.


    ¡°There is no honor in this ce.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 14: Travel Preparations

    Book 4: Chapter 14: Travel Preparations


    While most of the water cultivators didn¡¯t know the details, everyone knew that <em>something</em> had happened by the way that Sen swept through theirpound like a tidal wave looking for something to crash down on. Those who saw himing made a point to be urgently needed in some other direction. The impression he made was not helped by the coldly neutral expression on the face of Lo Meifeng as she led him toward Shi Ping¡¯s room, nor the oddly cid expression of Falling Leaf, who had seemingly epted the turn of events as just one more strange thing the humans were doing. When they reached the right room, Lo Meifeng merely pointed at the door. Sen didn¡¯t even break stride as he kicked the door open and started shouting.


    ¡°Shi Ping get yourzy ass out of that bed! We¡¯re leaving!¡±


    The fire cultivators shouted a couple of inarticte noises while he thrashed in shock and then fell onto the floor. He stared up at Sen with an expression that couldn¡¯t decide if it was furious, annoyed, or terrified. Sen gave him five seconds to decide before he bellowed a single word.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    That seemed to snap the fire cultivator into full consciousness. He pushed himself up to his feet and, drawing himself up to his full height, he started to give Sen a defiant look. Then, he really looked at Sen¡¯s expression. His eyes drifted over Lo Meifeng, who gave him nothing. Then, he nced over at Falling Leaf. She cocked her head to one side before she said.


    ¡°I think he¡¯s going to stab you again. I missed itst time.¡±


    Lowering his eyes, Shi Ping grumbled something about needing time to pack. Sen red at the man like he meant to punch holes through the fire cultivator¡¯s forehead with his gaze alone.


    ¡°You have two minutes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not enough time!¡±ined Shi Ping.


    Sen gave Shi Ping a smile that was all teeth and no friendliness. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry. Let me help you.¡±


    With a gesture and ring of wind qi, Sen dragged everything in the room other than the bed into one of his storage rings. Shi Ping¡¯s eyes went a little wide.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need my robes,¡± said the fire cultivator weakly.


    Sen considered forcing the man to walk out of the Clear Spring sect as he was, but that was just the anger talking. Discipline and shaming were not the same things. Shaming the man publicly would aplish nothing useful, and more than likely turn a grudgingpanion into an active enemy. Sen didn¡¯t need one of those sleeping in the same campsites as him. Sen mentally searched through the storage ring, pulled out some robes, and threw them to the man. He fixed Shi Ping with a look.


    ¡°Two. Minutes.¡± Sen reiterated before he stepped back out into the hallway.


    Falling Leaf and Lo Meifeng joined him. It was Falling Leaf who broke the thick silence.


    ¡°No stabbing?¡± she asked, sounding a little disappointed.


    Sen didn¡¯t even get a chance to answer before Lo Meifengughed. She mped a hand over her own mouth, but even Sen let out a brief chuckle.


    ¡°Not today,¡± he said. ¡°At least, not if he gets out here in the next minute or so. Why? Do you want me to stab him?¡±


    Falling Leaf thought about it before she said, ¡°No. I would like to <em>see</em> you stab him, though. Tell me the next time you¡¯re going to do that.¡±


    Sen nodded and manfully resisted the urge to chuckle. Lo Meifeng¡¯s shoulders, on the other hand, were hitching wildly as she tried to contain herughter. Sen looked over at her.


    ¡°Is there anyone that <em>you</em> want to see me stab?¡±


    Lo Meifeng gasped the words out between fits ofughter. ¡°So¡­many¡­people.¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes. ¡°I probably should have known that.¡±


    Lo Meifeng nodded, finally getting herughter under some semnce of control. ¡°You really should have.¡±


    Sen might have responded, but Shi Ping burst through the door still adjusting his robes. Sen briefly considered messing with the man¡¯s head but decided that it wasn¡¯t worth the hassle. Besides, it would just make getting away from the sect an even longer process. That was something that Sen wanted to avoid. He looked over at Lo Meifeng and then at Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Do either of you need to pack anything?¡±


    Lo Meifeng shook her head.


    ¡°One or two things I left in my room,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    ¡°You should go attend to that. We¡¯ll meet you outside.¡±


    ¡°How long do I have?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°As long as you need,¡± said Sen.


    As Falling Leaf dashed off down the hall, Sen could hear the spluttering from Shi Ping. Sen looked at the man and lifted an eyebrow, inviting the question.


    ¡°Why does she get as long as she needs, but I only got two minutes?¡± demanded the fire cultivator.


    ¡°Because I know she¡¯ll go to her room, grab her things, and meet us outside. She won¡¯t decide to take a nap or go get a meal.¡±


    ¡°I know how to be quick when it¡¯s important,¡± said Shi Ping, sounding affronted.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Sen, ¡°there¡¯s also that whole part about me actually liking her.¡±


    ¡°You were a lot nicer to me back at the Order of the Celestial me.¡±


    ¡°You whined a lot less back there, too. I even saw you put in an asional effort. Something to consider moving forward.¡±


    Before Shi Ping could think up some newint, Sen led them all back outside. They stood in a small group near the door, but not so near it that it would invite people to engage with them. Sen had had enough <em>engagement</em> with the Clear Spring sect tost him a good, long time. He was mentally reviewing a map when he felt the presence of a core cultivator he recognized racing toward him. <em>Oh yeah</em>, he thought, <em>I probably should have expected this</em>. A momentter, Chan Yu Ming came to an abrupt stop right in front of him. He offered her a nd sort of smile. It was the best he could manage under the circumstances.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Right now?¡±


    Sen nced toward the door, and then back to Chan Yu Ming. ¡°Essentially. As soon as Fa Ling Li joins us.¡±


    ¡°But-,¡± Chan Yu Ming started before she caught the intensely curious stare of Shi Ping and the benignly disinterested look that Lo Meifeng offered. ¡°Can I talk to you in private?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have any particr desire to have the kind of private discussion that the young woman clearly had in mind, but he nodded. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d avoid having the conversation if he told her no. They¡¯d just have it <em>in front</em> of an audience instead of <em>without</em> the audience. He followed her a short distance away from Shi Ping and Lo Meifeng. He waited in silence while she gathered her thoughts. Her expression firmed up into certainty when she settled on what she wanted to say.


    ¡°I heard about what happened. I¡¯m sorry. That never should have been allowed.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Did you help him?¡±


    ¡°What? No, of course, I didn¡¯t help him.¡±


    ¡°Then you don¡¯t really have anything to apologize about.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not, but someone should do it. I doubt the patriarch did, the old coward.¡±


    Sen sniffed. ¡°He did not.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming seemed to struggle for a moment. ¡°Damn it, I thought I¡¯d have more time for this.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to the capital, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I am. The Golden Phoenix sect may have what I need. That¡¯s assuming I cane to an arrangement with them.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be cheap if you can do it at all. They might refuse to even speak to you about it,¡± she said, although it sounded more like something she was telling herself.


    ¡°Then they¡¯ll refuse. I can¡¯t help what they¡¯ll do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve never been there before, the capital. I can tell. You wouldn¡¯t be so casual about all of this if you had, if you understood the dangers there.¡±


    ¡°I take it you have.¡±


    ¡°You could put it that way.¡±


    ¡°How would <em>you</em> put it?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I grew up there. It¡¯s where my family¡­lives.¡±


    Sen would have loved to know what word she discarded in favor of the word lives.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t change anything if I did know. I still have to go there.¡±


    ¡°What could that sect possibly have that you need so badly that you¡¯d go to the capital?¡±


    ¡°A manual. A very rare manual. One I can¡¯t do without.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there anywhere else you can get a copy?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a literally insane nascent soul cultivator with a copy who might give it to me, or kill me, or enve me. That¡¯s option two at this point.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°Well, I see. Yes, I guess the capital probably is a better choice than that. Barely. Still, you need to be <em>careful</em> there. There will be people who know who you are. They¡¯ll try to use you.¡±


    Sen shrugged again. ¡°Like I said, I can¡¯t help what other people do.¡±


    He nced over at a movement in the corner of his eye. Falling Leaf wasing out of the building. Chan Yu Ming followed his gaze to the door and grimaced.


    ¡°Why the hells did Gong Jun De have to be such a fool?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s his nature,¡± said Sen, although he thought she probably wasn¡¯t directing the question to him.


    ¡°That¡¯s certainly the truth.¡±


    Sen offered Chan Yu Ming another of his half-smiles and a respectful bow. ¡°It¡¯s time for us to go. I¡¯ve wasted enough time in this ce. Goodbye, Chan Yu Ming. I hope fortune smiles more on you here than it did on me.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming hesitated for another second before she blurted out, ¡°Let mee with you.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 15: Dubious Kindness

    Book 4: Chapter 15: Dubious Kindness


    The question hung in the air between them like an awkwardly ced holiday decoration. With the question asked and Sen¡¯s silence stretching out longer and longer, Chan Yu Ming looked increasingly ufortable and nervous. For his part, Sen¡¯s initial instinct was to tly refuse her. Sen liked Chan Yu Ming. He had deep respect for her martial skills. He enjoyed flirting with her and suspected that, if things continued on as they had been, the two would probably enjoy each other in bed as well. Yet, exactly none of that mattered to the decision in front of him. What mattered was his safety and the safety of those around him. He was acutely aware that he knew next to nothing about the young woman. She had been secretive about her past. He, of all people, could appreciate that someone might have information about their past that they didn¡¯t want to share. He certainly kept plenty back. Even so, he wasn¡¯t asking her to take him along. His secrets weren¡¯t going to prove a threat to her.


    Still, she might be useful. Anyone who could stand toe-to-toe with him while wielding a jian was a potentially valuable asset that he wasn¡¯t in a great hurry to throw away. She was another core cultivator, which could help secure their safety in a bad situation. In the end, though, he didn¡¯t understand her motives. <em>Why</em> was she so eager toe along? So, he just looked at her while trying to decide what he should say. More specifically, he was trying to decide what he should ask. When it became obvious that she was getting ready to simply flee to escape the shame or awkwardness, he relented.


    ¡°What could <em>possibly</em> make you want toe with me? There¡¯s no treasure or secret knowledge waiting for you at the end of this journey. No promise of advancement or enlightenment. I¡¯m the only person who stands to get any real benefit from going to the capital. Plus, that¡¯s not a guarantee. I¡¯ve mostly resigned myself to the idea that I¡¯m going to have to go and bargain with a mad demi-god, which doesn¡¯t stand to benefit anyone else either. Even <em>I¡¯m</em> not good-looking enough for that to be a sufficient reason to face all of that. So, what¡¯s your angle?¡±


    It was Chan Yu Ming¡¯s turn to be quiet for a long time. Sen got the impression that she was hoping that he¡¯d just move on from the question, but he waited her out. It wasn¡¯t a question he could just ignore. Maybe, if it had just been his life on the line, he might have been willing to just go with it the way he had with Lifen. Things had changed a lot since then. He might have his issues with Lo Meifeng and dislike Shi Ping, but that was miles away from being ready to risk their lives by making stupid, uninformed choices when he didn¡¯t have to do so. Much more importantly to him personally, Falling Leaf¡¯s life was in the bnce. Bringing someone along without knowing what they wanted could put her in jeopardy. That was simply uneptable. He couldn¡¯t protect her from every danger, but he could damn well protect her from <em>him</em> being a moron.


    The irony was that he didn¡¯t need Chan Yu Ming to have some noble reason for wanting toe along. It just needed to be a reason that made sense, something that couldpel someone to want to face those risks. In anything, he¡¯d be morefortable if she had some wildly selfish purpose for wanting toe along. If it was all about her, she¡¯d be more likely to act for theirmon good until she got what she wanted. Granted, it¡¯d be anyone¡¯s guess what she¡¯d do <em>after</em> that, but selfishness was reassuringly predictable up until people reached their goals. Chan Yu Ming seemed to ept that he wasn¡¯t just going to breeze past the question if she said nothing for long enough.


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± she asked.


    ¡°You know it matters. You¡¯re smart enough to know why it matters, too.¡±


    Heaving a sigh and never quite meeting his eyes, she whispered, ¡°I think you¡¯re going to change the world.¡±


    Of all the words that might have fallen out of her mouth, those words had not been anywhere on Sen¡¯s list of predictions. He¡¯d thought she was going to say something like she wanted to meet Feng Ming or that she expected that he would, in fact, lead her to a treasure or secret knowledge. Her actual reason sounded¡­<em>absurd</em>. It wasn¡¯t that he thought she was lying. She¡¯d looked far too embarrassed for that. It was that he knew that he wasn¡¯t going to change the world. No one could do that. He honestly had his doubts that he¡¯d <em>survive</em> this world long enough to possibly ascend to something better. He considered her words for a moment longer before he nodded.


    ¡°Then, the answer is no.¡±


    At that, Sen made to walk away, but she grabbed his arm.


    ¡°What? Why? I told you the truth.¡±


    ¡°I believe you, and that¡¯s the problem. That¡¯s a terrible reason because it can only end in one way.¡±


    ¡°What way?¡± she demanded, anger and hurt making her voice husky.


    ¡°It¡¯ll end in disappointment. I¡¯m not some hero out of legend or some destined king. I¡¯m a wandering cultivator who can¡¯t stay out of trouble even when I¡¯m <em>trying</em>. I won¡¯t change the world. Eventually, you¡¯ll realize that, and you¡¯ll be disappointed. Maybe you¡¯ll be disappointed in yourself for ever thinking it. You¡¯ll definitely be disappointed in me for not living up to your expectations,¡± said Sen, and then he softened his voice. ¡°It probably doesn¡¯t look like it, but you should consider this a kindness, Yu Ming. I¡¯m sparing you from all of that.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t your ce to decide what I¡¯ll believe.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°It isn¡¯t, and I¡¯m not telling you what to believe. But it is my ce to make the best choices I can with everyone¡¯s best interests in mind. It¡¯s not in everyone¡¯s best interests to let youe along if that¡¯s why you want toe. What happens if, in the middle of a fight, you see me do something that shakes that belief? How would you react?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming pursed her lips before she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Neither do I. Would you want me along if you had that kind of uncertainty?¡±


    She lowered her gaze to the ground and said, ¡°No. I wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not saying that I want you to avoid me forever. I¡¯d actually be really disappointed if you did.¡±


    She looked up at that. ¡°Oh, why is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not often I can find someone who can push me to improve my jian skills.¡±


    ¡°Is <em>that</em> it?¡±


    ¡°And,¡± said Sen, dragging out the word, ¡°we never did have that abduction.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Chan Yu Ming wistfully, ¡°we didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So, we¡¯ll have to take care of that at some point.¡±


    She gave him a small smile. He could tell that she was still angry and hurt, but not quite as angry or hurt as she had been. Sen supposed that only time would smooth those troubled waters. He gave her another bow.


    ¡°Be well, Chan Yu Ming.¡±


    ¡°Be well,¡± she said, returning the bow and smirking, ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    Sen repressed his urge to <em>beg</em> her not to call him that. He suspected it wouldn¡¯t help. He walked back over to the group, where everyone gave him curious looks.


    ¡°I expected her to ask toe along,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°She did.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°I said no.¡±


    Lo Meifeng and Shi Ping both looked a little shocked, while Falling Leaf looked untroubled. Sen waited to see if there would be more questions, but no one asked any. He didn¡¯t expect that wouldst for long. So, he took advantage of the moment and started walking toward thepound gate. He wanted to put some figurative and literal distance between them and this ce. Once that was done, he could finally get some sleep. Even if qi reinforcement and body cultivation could keep him going, even now, he still needed real rest on asion. Falling Leaf fell into step beside him, looking at the water cultivators and theirpound with her ever-curious eyes as they walked past them. Shi Ping and Lo Meifeng fell in behind them a moment or twoter as their surprise wore off.


    Sen didn¡¯t bother looking at or speaking with anyone as marched through the heart of the Clear Spring sect. He¡¯d already said everything he meant to say. He thought there might be trouble at the gate when he saw the patriarch standing there. Sen didn¡¯t really want to do it. He didn¡¯t think the man deserved it, but there were proprieties to be observed. He paused just long enough to give the patriarch the bow his position demanded. The man looked a little mournful, but he just returned the bow and gestured. The guards opened the gates and let them pass. The small group marched out of the sectpound without a backward nce and set off on the road headed north.


    Sen kept them moving at a fast pace for nearly six hours before he finally called a halt. He¡¯d noticed a spot with an abundance of earth qi, and he wanted something a little more solid than a tent around him while he slept. Much as he had done back in the fire cultivator valley, Sen pushed his own qi down into the earth. All of the extra earth qi in the area made the work much simpler this time and soon a stone building with formations embedded in its walls emerged from the ground. While Lo Meifeng and Falling Leaf had seen him do such a thing before, Shi Ping gaped at the feat of crafting.


    ¡°Did you just¡­,¡± Shi Ping began.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen, cutting off the question. ¡°I just made this. Now, I¡¯m probably going to sleep for the next day or two. Wake me up if the end of the world happens.¡±


    ¡°What if there are more assassins?¡± asked Falling Leaf with brutal practicality.


    ¡°Yeah, then too,¡± answered Sen around a yawn.


    At that, Sen opened the heavy stone door to the house and walked in to pick a room for himself. <em>I should give these stone houses a name if I¡¯m going to keep making them</em>, Sen thought. <em>What was that funny term that Falling Leaf used</em>? <em>Sen den</em>? He considered that as he threw nkets onto the stone bed before rejecting the idea. It wouldn¡¯t make sense to anyone except him and her. He flopped onto the nkets, and his eyes started closing of their own volition almost immediately. <em>Something with house in the name</em>, he wondered. <em>I¡¯ll ask the others</em>. <em>Maybe they¡¯ll have an idea</em>. Then, unconsciousness came to im him and fill his mind with dreams of water, stone houses, and the hurt expression on Chan Yu Ming¡¯s face.

 Book 4: Chapter 16: Problems and Plans

    Book 4: Chapter 16: Problems and ns


    Sen didn¡¯t sleep straight through for a whole day the way he imagined he might. Instead, he found himself getting up periodically to make food, chat a little, and <em>then</em> go back to bed. As the hours of sleep slowly umted, though, Sen started to understand just how bone tired he had truly been. After the first day of sleeping way more than he was awake, he was finally rested enough to really feel how utterly exhausted he still was. Sen wanted to chalk it all up to his experience with the spring, but he didn¡¯t really believe that. The kind of tired he was didn¡¯t happen overnight or even over a few weeks. Now that he was clear of most of the threats he¡¯d been under, he was sleeping off a year¡¯s worth of stress and worry. Thankfully, the other three didn¡¯t pester him about when they were leaving. Shi Ping seemed ecstatic that they¡¯d only walked for part of a day. Then again, none of them were under pressure to find a fix to a problem that would kill them. Sen supposed that made doing nothing for a few days something that sat easier in their minds.


    He had eventually remembered to ask the three for ideas about what to call the stone houses. Shi Ping, expressing his nativeziness suggested that they call them stone houses. Falling Leaf had shrugged. When pressed, she said to call it shelter. It was Lo Meifeng who finally came up with a name that Sen hated, which he was sure meant that it was also going to be the one that stuck.


    ¡°You should call them galehouses,¡± she said.


    He¡¯d given her a t look that had made her giggle.


    ¡°Galehouses,¡± said Sen in his least amused voice. ¡°Really?¡±


    She¡¯d nodded enthusiastically. ¡°It¡¯s distinctive, which makes it easy to remember. Plus, it ties them to you. You might as well get credit for putting up very sturdy shelter in ces that people might otherwise have to fight off spirit beasts with nowhere to run.¡±


    Rather than respond to that, which would surely have involved yelling and possibly throwing things at Lo Meifeng, Sen rubbed his face with his hands and then went back to bed. They ultimately spent three days in the galehouse before Sen decided that he¡¯d gotten enough sleep that he almost felt human again. Even that awful anger seemed to have receded or at least grown less insistent. As they walked away from the stone building, Shi Ping looked from Sen to the galehouse and back again.


    ¡°What is it, Shi Ping?¡± demanded Sen.


    ¡°You¡¯re just going to leave it?¡±


    ¡°What else am I going to do? It¡¯s not like I can take it with us. Do you want to try cramming that thing into a storage ring?¡±


    ¡°I just thought you might dismantle it,¡± said Shi Ping a little defensively.


    Sen gave the man an odd look. ¡°Why would I do that? It¡¯s not hurting anything. It¡¯s not disrupted the local environment.¡±


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you worried that someone wille along and, I don¡¯t know, keep it?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Sen. ¡°Not this far out from civilization. I expect people will use it the exact same way we did. They¡¯ll take shelter for a short while, catch up on some rest, and then move on.¡±


    Shi Ping frowned, and Sen waited for the man to say something else, but the fire cultivator seemed lost in his own thoughts after that. <em>Maybe he just can¡¯t wrap his head around putting in all that work and leaving it for someone else to use</em>, thought Sen. Whatever the reason, Sen just soaked up the blissfulck of Shi Ping moaning about everything. When they stopped to eat lunch, which consisted of cold leftovers, Lo Meifeng gestured in a vaguely northern direction.


    ¡°Have you thought about how you¡¯re going to approach the Golden Phoenix sect?¡± she asked.


    Sen eyed her dubiously. That sounded like the kind of conversation starter that was going to end with her making a suggestion. They¡¯d almost entirely avoided that kind of conversation up until now, and he¡¯d been perfectly happy with that arrangement. He was tempted to tell her to mind her own business, but the answer actually was kind of her business. If he was going to do something stupid, like try to steal the manual, then she¡¯d have to make one kind of n. If he was going to do things in a less violence-inducing way, she¡¯d make different kinds of contingency ns. Trying to push his knee-jerk disagreeableness away, he nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to try to treat it more like a business transaction than anything else. I¡¯ll find someone in the city to serve as a kind of envoy for me, and inquire about what they want in exchange for the manual or a copy. If I¡¯m very lucky, they¡¯ll be willing to sell me a copy at only vaguely extortionate rates and we can all call it a day.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked a little startled, but she nodded along. ¡°That¡¯s probably the best way to handle it. Using a middleman helps keep them from focusing on what they might be able to get from you personally. In fact, if they think it¡¯s another sect or a powerful independent cultivator, that¡¯s for the best. They¡¯ll just ask for resources. They¡¯ll ask for a lot. You know that, right?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I assumed they would. Why settle for a little when you can make a tidy profit?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure you really understand what I mean. A lot to you is a very different thing than a lot to a sect. Even small sects control a lot of financial and cultivation resources. For most people, five hundred gold tael is an almost unthinkable sum of money. For a sect like the Golden Phoenix sect, that¡¯s nothing. They spend that much on an order of rice. They¡¯ll make that much carrying out one mission for the government.¡±


    Somewhere along the line, Sen had gotten used to the idea that he had money. By most people¡¯s standards, he supposed he probably looked rich. When he needed to buy things, as a rule, he could afford them without needing to do a lot of thinking about whether he could afford them. Yet, if what Lo Meifeng was saying was true, he might well be out of his financial depth with the Golden Phoenix sect. He almost certainly had more money waiting for him back on the coast. That money wasn¡¯t going to be easily essible unless Grandmother Lu had a shop in the capital. He didn¡¯t know if she did, but he¡¯d have to ask around. They might be able to extend him a line of credit and recoup the funds from whatever the business atrge was holding for him. Even then, there would be practical limits. While the business in general might have a couple hundred gold pieces for him, somewhere, it didn¡¯t mean that a particr branch of the business could get him that much.


    ¡°Well,¡± he said, ¡°there isn¡¯t much use specting about the costs before I make contact with them. I can either afford it or I can¡¯t.¡±


    Lo Meifeng hesitated for longer than was normal for her before she said, ¡°Feng Ming can afford it.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen. ¡°I can¡¯t lean on my teachers to solve every problem for me. It made sense with the demonic cultivators. They hate demonic cultivators. I knew that was something they¡¯d <em>want</em> to do. This isn¡¯t their problem.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t pretend that I know Feng Ming¡¯s mind, but I have to imagine that he¡¯d prefer it if you got the resources you need. Even if it means leaning on him financially.¡±


    ¡°I said no. If I can¡¯t secure a simple manual from a sect, I have no business being out in the world.¡±


    ¡°You have secured simple manuals from sects, which is the point. It isn¡¯t a simple manual, and this isn¡¯t some small sect. It¡¯s a very rare manual and a very powerful sect. People get very strange about rare things, even when those rare things are stupidly dangerous. Maybe even especially when those things are stupidly dangerous. On top of that, you¡¯ll be dealing with a sect that is absolutely steeped in its own arrogance. I know how you feel about that when ites to sects. Even if everything goes smoothly, this is going to be expensive and personally challenging. You should use the resources you have avable.¡±


    ¡°By resources, I assume that you mean yourself.¡±


    Lo Meifeng took a deep breath. ¡°By resources, I mean <em>all</em> of the resources you have avable. Yes, I¡¯m one of those resources, but I¡¯m not the only one. When we get to the city, at least let me reach out to my contact there. Let me find out what, if any, financial support can be secured.¡±


    Despite his misgivings about taking any advice from Lo Meifeng, Sen was tempted. If he could get that damned manual from the sect, even if it meant leaning on his master¡¯s finances, it would solve so many problems. In the end, though, he¡¯d meant what he said to Lo Meifeng. He could keep expecting his teachers to solve every big problem he ran across. At some point, he had to start taking responsibility for himself, and for fixing the problems that would inevitably crop up in his life and cultivation. He shook his head.


    ¡°No. I understand what you¡¯re saying, but the answer is still no. I got myself into this particr mess with my body cultivation. It¡¯s on me to get myself out of it.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked ready to yank out her own hair at those words, but she didn¡¯t say anything else. He was grateful for that. He didn¡¯t really want to have an argument with her about the subject. Before either of them could stumble into another difficult topic, Falling Leaf returned from one of her extended scouting adventures. Sen fixed her a te of food, which the ghost panther-turned-young woman happily epted. She didn¡¯t immediately report anything, which Sen took to mean that they¡¯d only face the usual assortment of dangers that she considered boring, such as low-level spirit beasts and possibly some bandits. After she finished eating her food, she looked at Sen.


    ¡°We¡¯re being followed.¡±


    For a few seconds, Sen¡¯s mind went into full paranoia. Had the demonic cultivators found him after all? Then, a much more reasonable, if no less troubling thought urred to him.


    ¡°Oh no, please tell me it¡¯s not¡­,¡± started Sen.


    ¡°It¡¯s the sect girl,¡± said Falling Leaf.

 Book 4: Chapter 17: Where’s the Snake?

    Book 4: Chapter 17: Where¡¯s the Snake?


    Sen rolled his eyes and gave serious thought to going and yelling at Chan Yu Ming. Then, he thought about it a little harder. There was no upside to going back and yelling at her. It likely wouldn¡¯t change anything. At best, she¡¯d probably just follow them more discreetly. Plus, even if he <em>knew</em> she was following him, and she <em>knew</em> she was following him, he couldn¡¯t actually tell her not to travel in the same direction as them. So, all a confrontation would aplish would be that he got to yell at someone. That sounded like a terrible use of his time and energy. So, he shrugged.


    ¡°That¡¯s her business. It¡¯s not an <em>us</em> problem unless she makes it one.¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t care that she¡¯s following you?¡± asked Lo Meifeng with a troubled expression. ¡°And, let¡¯s be clear here, it¡¯s you she¡¯s following around, not us.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I care that she¡¯s following <em>us</em> around,¡± said Sen. ¡°But what do you suggest I do about it?¡±


    Lo Meifeng immediately opened her mouth and then hesitated. Then, she frowned. ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you see my problem. There¡¯s basically nothing I can do to make her stop, other than killing her. Do you think I should <em>kill her</em>, Lo Meifeng?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you shouldn¡¯t kill her,¡± said Lo Meifeng, which surprised Sen until she spoke again. ¡°We don¡¯t know who her family is.¡±


    ¡°It disturbs me that you came up with the right answer forpletely the wrong reason.¡±


    Lo Meifeng shot him a less-than-amused look. ¡°Obviously, she hasn¡¯t actually done anything that warrants such an action. But, even if we were inclined to take that approach, it¡¯d be foolish without knowing who else we¡¯d be picking a fight with.¡±


    ¡°That is <em>also</em> true,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°For now, I¡¯m just going to leave her alone. Traveling between cities by yourself isn¡¯t fun, and I would know. I¡¯m hoping she¡¯ll get tired of it and turn back.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked profoundly skeptical about that but kept her opinion to herself. Falling Leaf met Sen¡¯s dark eyes with her green ones.


    ¡°Why is the sect girl following you?¡± she asked. ¡°You told her she couldn¡¯te with us.¡±


    Sen hemmed and hawed for a moment, not really wanting to get into it, but Falling Leaf deserved some kind of an answer.


    ¡°She¡¯s got this idea into her head that I¡¯m going to <em>change the world</em>,¡± said Sen. ¡°So, she wants to be around for when it happens.¡±


    Falling Leaf looked very confused for a moment. ¡°You mean, she isn¡¯t in heat?¡±


    Lo Meifeng burst intoughter and Shi Ping, who had been unusually quiet throughout the conversation, snickered. Falling Leaf gave the pair a perplexed look.


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s <em>definitely</em> in heat,¡± said Lo Meifeng, before she added, ¡°although, that other stuff she told Sen might be true too.¡±


    Falling Leaf considered those words for a moment before she looked at Sen again. ¡°You should go bed her.¡±


    Shi Ping looked like his eyes might fall out of his head when he said, ¡°What?¡±


    She gave the fire cultivator an inscrutable look. ¡°If he beds her, it may cure her lust. Then, she might lose interest and return to her own ce.¡±


    After a brief moment of being startled, Sen realized that this solution would make perfect sense to spirit beasts. He¡¯d never discussed the topic of sex among the spirit beasts with her in any kind of depth, but he¡¯d gleaned enough to know that, for them, it was an overwhelming imperative. He¡¯d have to exin to her, in private, far away from Shi Ping and Lo Meifeng, that it didn¡¯t quite work that way with humans. Instead, he just smiled at her.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we save that as n b,¡± said Sen. ¡°If the misery of traveling alone isn¡¯t enough to drive her away, I can always try that.¡±


    After a moment, Sen heard Shi Ping muttering under his breath. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t anyone give that kind of advice to the women I know?¡±


    After that unfortunate peak into Shi Ping¡¯s private affairs, Sen wasn¡¯t going to say anything. It seemed that everyone¡¯s hearing was acute enough to catch theint, though.


    Falling Leaf gave the man a guileless look and said, ¡°Maybe they don¡¯t like you.¡±


    Lo Meifeng added, ¡°Or they have better taste.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± shouted Shi Ping. ¡°I¡¯m not that bad.¡±


    Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t even say anything in response to that. She just gestured toward Shi Ping, then she turned and gestured to Sen. Resignation settled on Shi Ping¡¯s face.


    ¡°Okay, fine, but is that really a fairparison? Nobody looks good standing next to <em>him</em>.¡±


    That impishness in his heart that Sen hadn¡¯t seen in a while took that opportunity to make an appearance.


    ¡°They do,¡± said Sen, pointing at Falling Leaf and Lo Meifeng.


    Shi Ping stared at Sen for five full seconds before he said, ¡°You¡¯re an ass.¡±


    Without another word, the fire cultivator started walking down the road at a brisk pace. Sen stared thoughtfully after the man.


    ¡°Did he just leave a meal <em>first</em>?¡± Sen asked.


    Lo Meifeng looked a little startled. ¡°I think he did.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re never going to be able to replicate that oue, are we?¡±


    ¡°No, probably not.¡±


    ¡°I thought so. Pity. Oh well, we should get moving.¡±


    Sen took a moment to use his fire qi to scorch the food remnants off the tes and utensils before returning them to his storage ring. Falling Leaf swiftly disappeared into the surrounding forest to resume her scouting activities, as Sen and Lo Meifeng soon overtook the grumpy fire cultivator. Sen kept them moving until nearly nightfall before he found a spot. Shi Ping looked very disappointed when Sen started putting up a tent and formation gs.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to make a galehouse?¡± the fire cultivator asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as I make it look,¡± said Sen. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s a pleasant night out. It¡¯s not going to rain. And I haven¡¯t sensed anything even remotely strong enough to see through my formations, let alone cause the four of us any trouble. Spending a night in a tent won¡¯t kill you. I did this on a daily basis for months at a time.¡±


    ¡°I like walls around me,¡± said Shi Ping. ¡°Nice, thick walls that keep out snakes and predators and snakes.¡±


    ¡°You said snakes twice,¡± observed Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°It¡¯s worth saying twice. They¡¯re awful things. Just <em>awful</em>. I can¡¯t stand them.¡±


    ¡°You realize that, as a peak formation foundation cultivator, there are only about five kinds of snake venom on the whole continent that could actually hurt you, right?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°And what about the huge spirit snakes that can just swallow you whole or squeeze you to death?¡±


    ¡°How many of those do you imagine there are?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°One is enough.¡±


    ¡°Let me rephrase. How many of those do you imagine there are casually hanging around by human roads?¡±


    Shi Ping narrowed his eyes at that. ¡°You <em>never</em> know. They¡¯re sneaky things.¡±


    ¡°Well, I promise, if one of those snakes shows up, I¡¯ll make sure it gets you first.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a terrible person,¡± said Shi Ping. ¡°I¡¯m telling you about a real, legitimate fear, and you¡¯re mocking me.¡±


    Sen held up a hand. ¡°I¡¯m not mocking your fear. I¡¯m mocking your paranoia. Those kinds of spirit beasts live in the deep, <em>deep</em> wilds. We aren¡¯t anywhere near the deep wilds. So, take a breath and enjoy the cool night air. I might even make some hot food.¡±


    Shi Ping perked up at that. Since he felt a little guilty about making fun of the man¡¯s fear of snakes, Sen actually followed through and cooked a bigger and moreplicated meal than he normally would, including rice, vegetables, pork, and even dumplings. Everyone seemed a little happier after the meal. Shi Ping, perhaps in a gracious mood, took out an erhu from a storage ring and yed quiet music for them. For all the man¡¯s faults, even Sen¡¯s inexperienced ears could tell that man was an unusually gifted musician. After that, everyone else went to bed, while Sen stood watch. He wasn¡¯t worried the way he had once been, but he and Lo Meifeng had agreed that they would split the nightly watch, as they were the least likely to be affected by short nights of sleep.


    Sen relished the quiet time by himself. While Shi Ping¡¯s whining had tapered off a lot since those first days out of the fire cultivator¡¯s valley, it wasn¡¯t gone by any means. It grated on him because, all things considered, they had enjoyed a rtively problem-free trip so far. It made Sen wonder if sect cultivators spent too much time safely holed up in theirpounds. <em>Maybe it skews their perspective</em>, thought Sen. He was also a little relieved to be free of Lo Meifeng for a few hours. Aside from that one conversation, she¡¯d been making an effort not to push him too hard about anything. He appreciated it, but there was a part of him constantly waiting for her to try to convince him to do something she knew he¡¯d hate. It was tiring and frustrating. He reminded himself, again, that she was still preferable to some new person who he wouldn¡¯t know at all.


    Of course, as much as he¡¯d tried to downy it, the fact that Chan Yu Ming was trailing them worried him. Not so much that he thought she was going to try to do something to them, but rather that she¡¯d get into some kind of trouble she wasn¡¯t ready to handle. He didn¡¯t know what kind of woodcraft she had, or even if she had any. For all he knew, she was doing all the wrong things that would attract spirit beasts to her location. <em>Except</em>, he reminded himself, <em>that isn¡¯t your problem</em>. <em>If she¡¯d listened to you</em>, <em>there wouldn¡¯t be any danger to worry about</em>. <em>She got herself into this, she can deal with the consequences by herself</em>.


    Even in his own head, the wordscked the ring of conviction. Sure, ignorance probably killed a lot of people, but this was one case where he could intervene. He was choosing not to. If she got hurt or killed, he wasn¡¯t sure what kind of responsibility he¡¯d have for that. It didn¡¯t help that he had no desire for her to get hurt or killed. He just didn¡¯t want her tagging along, looking at him with all those expectations he couldn¡¯t possibly meet in her eyes. He was still trying to sort that out when Lo Meifeng got up to relieve him. He threw another piece of wood on the fire and encouraged it a little bit with fire qi. His night vision was better than hers, so a bit of extra firelight was a courtesy.


    ¡°Anything interesting happen?¡± Lo Meifeng asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s an owl about a quarter mile that way,¡± said Sen, pointing in the right direction. ¡°Aside from that, I haven¡¯t noticed anything.¡±


    ¡°Good. I like it when things are quiet on the road,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen red at her. ¡°You just had to say it, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on, that¡¯s aplete myth,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    No sooner were the words out of her mouth than they both heard a loud boom in the near distance.


    ¡°Myth, huh? You stay here. I¡¯ll go check it out.¡±


    ¡°Why you?¡±


    ¡°Because you <em>know</em> it¡¯s Chan Yu Ming. So, I might as well be the one to go deal with it.¡±


    ¡°What do you think she¡¯s fighting.¡±


    ¡°Since the universe is mocking us, it¡¯s probably a giant snake,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Why a giant snake?¡±


    ¡°Because Shi Ping wasining about them earlier. Honestly, I¡¯d be a little disappointed if it wasn¡¯t a giant snake. It¡¯d feel like the universe wasn¡¯t really trying.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll watch the kids.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Sen.


    He took off back the way they hade earlier, moving as fast as his qinggong technique would carry him. It didn¡¯t take him long to find Chan Yu Ming. She wasn¡¯t being subtle. Sen was so certain that he¡¯d find a giant snake when he arrived that it caught him off guard when he found her in a big clearing fending off half a dozen spiders that were as big as horses. He just stared at the big, creepy things for a long moment before Chan Yu Ming noticed him.


    ¡°Are you going to help or just stand there?¡±


    ¡°But where¡¯s the snake?¡±


    ¡°What snake?!¡± she yelled at him while lopping off part of a spider leg that got too close.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he halfined to no one. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll help.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 18: So, What Was the Plan?

    Book 4: Chapter 18: So, What Was the n?


    At the sound of his voice, two of the giant spiders whirled to face him. Sen had never particrly liked spiders. They were always a threat to anyone looking for somewhere cozy and dry to sleep on cold or wet nights. While most of their bites would just leave someone itching for a day or two, there was always the chance of running across one of the more dangerous spiders. While adults could sometimes survive one of their bites, kids never did. The venom was too toxic and their bodies too small, or so Sen came to understandter under Auntie Caihong¡¯s instruction. Unlike Shi Ping, though, Sen¡¯s dislike had manifested as a low-burning hate, rather than some kind of primal fear. So, the idea of helping Chan Yu Ming kill several oversized examples of a much-loathed childhood threat suited Sen just fine. What he hadn¡¯t expected was for the spiders to have the faces of human beings. He¡¯d never read or even heard about anything like them.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he muttered, summoning a spear from his storage ring. ¡°Fire and lightning kill most things.¡±


    Cycling for those two qi types, he sent a bolt of lightning toward one of the spiders from the spear. Yanking the lightning qi out of the spear, he used it as the focal point to send a whip of white-hot fire crashing down on the other. Part of him expected that to be that. Yet, much to his surprise, the lightning simply yed over the carapace of the first spider. That isn¡¯t to say that the spider liked it very much. It opened its human mouth and let out a wholly inhuman shriek of pain and rage. <em>Fantastic</em>, thought Sen. Things worked out a little better with the second spider. While the spider dodged to one side faster than anything that big should be able to move, the whip of fire neatly removed two of the creature¡¯s legs. That sent it lurching in an unbnced stumble. Sen didn¡¯t get any time to enjoy that minor victory.


    The spider he¡¯d hit with the lightning was racing toward him with its mouth open far too wide for a human being. Sen could see weirdly misshapen fangs in its mouth dripping with venom. A year ago, that sight might have made him pause in fear or horror, but he¡¯d been through too many fights. He¡¯d learned to push those things aside. He could be horrified <em>after</em> the fight was done. Instead, he broke Uncle Kho¡¯s cardinal rule and let go of the spear with one of his hands. He stabbed two fingers at the spider and sent apressednce of blue fire right into that horrifying maw. The creature¡¯s head simply vanished in an explosion of heat. Unfortunately, the spider¡¯s body went mad at that point, crashing and thrashing all over the clearing, a threat to friend and foe alike.


    Sen caught sight of the one he¡¯d injured trying to nk him, but he had a second or two before it was going to attack. So, he surveyed the situation. Chan Yu Ming had managed to put down one as well. He hadn¡¯t seen the technique she used, but therge puddle of water around the spider''s corpse told him there had been a technique involved. Unfortunately, three of the creatures had backed her up nearly into the forest. Sen decided that killing them one at a time wasn¡¯t getting the job done fast enough. He suspected that if the spiders managed to push either Chan Yu Ming or him into the forest proper, it was going to turn into a very different kind of fight. One where the spiders would have a lot more advantages.


    Instead, Sen took a page out of his own book and started cycling earth qi. He¡¯d been using it more and more often and, while it still wasn¡¯t easy, it was getting easier. He plunged his qi down into the soil. He wasn¡¯t sure why that mattered, but all of the spiders suddenly turned their full attention on him. There was a heartbeat where nothing moved, then huge ck bodies were racing toward him. Even Sen¡¯s calm threatened to crack for a moment, but then he felt his technique finish taking shape.


    ¡°Toote,¡± he said.


    What had been a forest clearing became a small sea of stone spikes and impaled spider bodies. There was silence all around them, except for the spasmodic crack of a spider leg pping against stone. Sen just stood there for a moment, letting the fear and excitement he felt in every fight fade away. Then, with a gesture, he sent the spikes back down into the earth where they¡¯de from. He walked over to Chan Yu Ming, who was staring at the carnage with wide eyes. Now that he¡¯d had a few seconds to think about the fight, he was feeling a lot more in a mood for that yelling match he¡¯d taken a pass on earlier. Still, there were priorities to take care of first.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Sen asked her.


    Chan Yu Ming didn¡¯t say anything for long enough that Sen wondered if she¡¯d even <em>heard</em> the question. Then, she shook herself and turned her eyes toward him.


    ¡°No,¡± she said, her voice a little shaky. ¡°Nothing serious anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Sen in a particrly dry voice.


    ¡°Thank you for helping.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. You do remember that I¡¯ve actually seen you fight before, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡± she said, fixing her gaze on the spider corpses.


    ¡°I mean that I know, for a <em>fact</em>, that killing these things wouldn¡¯t have been hard for you. That they were giant spiders and had those creepy human faces sort of threw me off my game for a minute, but this fight should have been over before I got here.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you overestimated me. Not all of us can throw around fire and lightning and stone spikes the way you do.¡±


    ¡°Those were convenient and faster options for me, but I could have taken them all using nothing but a jian. That means that <em>you</em> could have taken them all using nothing but a jian. So, what was the n? Let me y the hero, fall into my arms in a <empletely spontaneous</em> outpouring of gratitude, and then I¡¯d take you with me?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming didn¡¯t say anything, but Sen¡¯s night vision was sharp enough that he saw her cheeks get subtly darker.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± he asked, seeing he¡¯d at least gotten pretty close to the mark. ¡°That was the n?¡±


    ¡°It would have worked on most men,¡± she said.


    At first, Sen thought that she was underestimating men. Then, he thought about Shi Ping¡¯s mild or maybe not-so-mild desperation for attention from women. <em>Hells</em>, thought Sen, <em>maybe it would have worked on most men</em>.


    ¡°At least tell me you didn¡¯t bait the creepy spider things to attack you.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she sighed. ¡°That part was real.¡±


    ¡°So, you just made sure to make a lot of noise, assuming I¡¯de and see what was happening?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re here, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Sen felt a stab of annoyance. She was right. He hade running. Although, he probably would have done the same thing even if he hadn¡¯t known she was the one who was back here. What he did when he arrived, though, would have depended a lot on what he found. Sen decided to take a moment to gather his thoughts and deal with the spider corpses. He walked over to them and split them open using wind des. He dug around inside of them until he found their cores and pulled them free. He dropped those on the ground next to him. Then, calling up earth qi, he loosened and parted the soil under the spider corpses. He let them sink deep into the ground, then, for good measure, he crushed them. He figured that they¡¯d probably help the nt growth in the area. He took a minute or two to smooth out the surface soil and used some wind qi to gather up seeds. He spread those out over the clearing. A minor application of wood qi got them sprouting, which should help reinforce and stabilize the soil. Then, he pulled out a water gourd and washed off the cores. Picking them up, he walked over and held them out to Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°You did most of the actual killing,¡± she said. ¡°You should keep them.¡±


    ¡°We both know that you would have done it if I hadn¡¯t shown up,¡± he answered.


    Rolling her eyes, she took the cores and made them disappear into a storage treasure. That was followed by some awkward silence.


    ¡°So, now what?¡± she asked.


    ¡°You should go back to the Clear Spring sect. We¡¯re not that far away yet.¡±


    ¡°Why won¡¯t you let mee with you?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°I told you why.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t a good reason to say no.¡±


    ¡°It was, in fact, an excellent reason to say no. The real question is, why do you want this so badly? I know why you said you did, and I¡¯m sure that¡¯s part of the reason, but that¡¯s not enough to turn your life upside down,¡± said Sen, until a thought struck him. ¡°Not unless there¡¯s some specific thing in the world you think I¡¯m going to change. Or maybe it¡¯s that there¡¯s something that you want to change that you were hoping to point me at. Is that it?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming nodded. ¡°Sort of.¡±


    All of that anger that Sen had been keeping at bay rushed to the front of his consciousness.


    ¡°Hard. Pass.¡± said Sen in a tone that made the young woman flinch. ¡°I¡¯ve been <em>used</em> enough for one year.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± said Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s never like that, except for the part when I get a world of trouble dumped on my head because someone else decided that I was the fix for their problem.¡±


    ¡°Sen, <em>please</em>, just hear me out.¡±


    ¡°Answer me one question first. Let¡¯s say I y along. Let¡¯s say I go to wherever it is that you want to go and we manage to change whatever it is that you want to change. Is it going to make me powerful, dangerous enemies who will probably try to murder me or have me murdered?¡±


    Sen watched Chan Yu Ming close her eyes and take a breath. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sen pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°At least you told the truth about it. The answer is still no.¡±


    ¡°Sen.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m dying,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my body cultivation is killing me. Or it will be very soon. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to the capital. That¡¯s why I need that manual. If I don¡¯tplete this cultivation method, I die. I have a little bit of time to work with, and I <em>have</em> to spend that time trying to fix <em>my</em> problems. I can¡¯t spend the next year on the run from assassins. If my situation were different, <em>maybe</em> I¡¯d consider helping you. If the thing you wanted changed was important enough. As it stands now, I can¡¯t afford the distraction.¡±


    ¡°What if I could help you get the manual? Would you help me then?¡±


    Sen narrowed his eyes. ¡°<em>Can</em> you help me get the manual?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. It¡¯s possible, yeah.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need something a lot more definitive than it¡¯s possible before I gamble my life on this.¡±


    ¡°My family could probably get it if I involved them. But, if I¡¯m going to involve them, I need you to do your part first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve respected that you don¡¯t want to talk about your family up until now because it really wasn¡¯t my business. As of this moment, it¡¯s my business. What is the story with your family?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming was quiet for a long moment before she said. ¡°We¡¯re nobles.¡±


    ¡°Now, I know for sure that I don¡¯t want any part of your problem.¡±


    ¡°Just because we¡¯re nobles?¡±


    ¡°Yes, just because you¡¯re nobles seems like a perfectly good reason to me. Because thest time I interacted with a noble family, I had to kill all of them.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 19: Anger Management

    Book 4: Chapter 19: Anger Management


    ¡°You what?¡±


    ¡°I killed them. That entire branch of their family. Gone. Doing that once was enough for me. I¡¯ve no interest in going down that road again. And from what you said, it coulde to precisely that.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming scowled at Sen so hard that he could see it quite clearly even in the minimal light. ¡°You didn¡¯t care that I was a noble before.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you were a noble before. You didn¡¯t tell me.¡±


    ¡°Like you really didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t <em>know</em>. I suspected. But as long as you kept things on the level of cultivators, it didn¡¯t matter. Jianghu rules applied. Will the same be true in the capital? Will the same thing apply to your entire family?¡±


    ¡°No. Most of them aren¡¯t cultivators.¡±


    ¡°That means mortal politics. I don¡¯t involve myself that way. Cultivators are just,¡± Sen struggled to find the exact right word for what he wanted to say. ¡°We¡¯re just <em>visitors</em> in the mortal world. It¡¯s not for us to interfere in their politics.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say. You¡¯re a wandering cultivator. It¡¯s no challenge for you to stay above it all. If you think you¡¯re getting too involved, you just pick up and move on. As near as I can tell, your only family are old monsters that only someone with a suicide wish would challenge. It¡¯s <em>different</em> for me. My family lives in that mortal world you asionally deign to visit. They face real threats. They have expectations of me, and I have obligations to them. If I don¡¯t interfere, my brothers could die, or my sisters could get forced into bad marriages. I <em>can¡¯t</em> stay above it all.¡±


    There it was, again. That world of family that Sen only understood in the most abstract ways. She might be right that she couldn¡¯t stay above it all, but she might not. Sen honestly didn¡¯t know because he didn¡¯t have any context for what having a family like hers meant in practice. Even Grandmother Lu wasn¡¯t truly mortal anymore. Although he worried about her more than ever now that he¡¯d seen how so many cultivators treated those in the qi-gathering and early foundation formation stages.


    ¡°That may be true. You¡¯re right. It is easy for me to be above it all because I don¡¯t have any family. I never did.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. What does that mean? That you never had any family.¡±


    ¡°I grew up living on the streets. I must have had parents at some point, but I don¡¯t remember them. If I had brothers or sisters, I never met them. So, I have no idea what responsibilities or obligations you feel you have toward your family or even why you feel you have them. It¡¯s also clear that you take those things very seriously. Maybe that makes you a, what¡¯s the word, oh, a filial daughter or sister. I suppose there¡¯s nothing you can do about the fact that your family business is all tied up in mortal politics. You don¡¯t choose what family you¡¯re born into, at least, I don¡¯t think you do.¡±


    ¡°I can see how that might make it hard for you to understand where I¡¯ming from.¡±


    ¡°It does. I¡¯m also sure that I must look terribly callous to you. But I also hope that you can understand where I¡¯ming from. No matter how strongly you feel about things with your family, it doesn¡¯t change anything for <em>me</em>. I have no business meddling in mortal politics, especially mortal politics I know nothing about, most especially in the capital.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all of it, though, is it? You were at least considering helping me until you found out I was a noble. Then, all of a sudden, you didn¡¯t want to know anything about anything. I know you said you had a bad experience with one family, but that¡¯s one family.¡±


    Sen took a breath. ¡°Who said it was just <em>one</em> family I had a bad experience with? I didn¡¯t have a bad experience with one noble or one family. I¡¯ve had bad experiences with every noble I¡¯ve ever met. When I was a child, all of the local noble brats took turns beating me for fun. Then,ter, several of those same nobles tried to ambush and kill me. They tried to kill the closest thing I had to family, the woman I call my grandmother, even if we¡¯re family by choice rather than blood. Then there¡¯s Gong Jun De. He had noble written all over him, particrly when he called me a peasant. He said the word the word the way I might say rotting corpse. He is, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she admitted. ¡°He¡¯s a noble, though not a particrly good example of one.¡±


    ¡°He tried to have me crippled. Even you tried to pull me into some political game that would most likely end with violence and possibly even my death. So, given all of that, can you honestly me me for not being interested in your problem?¡±


    ¡°No, I guess I can''t. Yet, you clearly expect this kind of behavior from nobles. So, why are you so angry with me, personally?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Oh really? You seem pretty angry.¡±


    ¡°I said I¡¯m not angry with you, personally. And I¡¯m not. I¡¯m angry with <em>everyone</em>, constantly. It just came out a bit more because you gave me a reason to be angry with you. That poor fire cultivator I have traveling with me catches way more of it than he deserves because he aggravates me.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so angry with everyone?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s way too much to get into right now. I¡¯ll give you a few of the highlights from thest year. Being hunted by demonic cultivators. Imprisonment by an insane cult leader. Betrayal. And, of course, killing a whole bunch of people that I never wanted to kill.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that is a lot.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± muttered Sen. ¡°It¡¯s a lot.¡±


    ¡°You were imprisoned by an insane cult leader?¡±


    ¡°For about six months. It¡¯s,¡± Sen had to push down another surge of anger, ¡°a story for another time.¡±


    ¡°Then, after all that, Ie along and try to trick you. You know, I wasn¡¯t going to do it that way. I was going to exin everything, <em>all of it</em>, back at the sect. Then, I was going to ask for your help.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°<em>When</em>? After the dinner you stormed out of? During the three days you were in a cultivation trance? During the three weeks you spent locked up with the sacred spring where I couldn¡¯t get to you? After that, you were leaving in a rage. I had maybe five minutes to convince you of something, and that wasn¡¯t enough time to give you all of the details. So, I tried to convince you to take me with you. At which point, I could have exined everything.¡±


    Sen went to object, but he couldn¡¯t find a way to fault her logic. He couldn¡¯t think of a time when she would have had a good opportunity to talk with him privately. Certainly not a time when he was in one of his better states of mind. He¡¯d kept himself very busy during that visit to the sect, if not entirely by design. And, everything she¡¯d done since did have the feel of things she was making up as she went along. Sen had been through enough disasters of his own making to recognize the signs. He knew he should just hear her out. It was the reasonable thing to do, the rational thing to do, and probably even the polite thing to do. But his anger just kept getting in the way.


    It was getting in the way of everything, and he couldn¡¯t keep going on the way he had been. At the rate Sen was going, Shi Ping was going to try to murder him in his sleep and be entirely justified in doing it. Sen also knew that while he could get away with that anger out in the middle of nowhere, he couldn¡¯t go to the capital with that anger still burning hot inside of him. It <em>would</em> get him killed. He¡¯d overreact to something someone said. It would spiral or escte, and there would be a war in the streets. He¡¯d no doubt take a lot of people with him, but he was certain that there would be nascent soul cultivators in the city. If things got bad enough, the royal family would ask one of those nascent soul cultivators and their entire sect to deal with him. Sen knew he was stronger than he should be, but he wasn¡¯t deluded enough to think he could survive a confrontation like that. Those were the kinds of people who would know how to fight someone like him.


    Then, the real horror would start. He knew perfectly well that if he died in the streets of the capital, his teachers would descend on that city like the avatars of cataclysm. Maybe the sects in the city could fight them off if they all banded together immediately, but Sen doubted the sects would do that. Cooperation wasn¡¯t really the sect way. Some would abstain, thinking it wasn¡¯t their problem. Some would refuse to get involved if one of their rival sects was taking a stand, seeing it as a convenient way to rid themselves of some hatedpetition. By the time they realized that Feng Ming, Kho Jaw-Long, and Ma Caihong intended to raze the city down to scorched and poisoned soil, it¡¯d be toote. No, he needed to find a way to purge this anger, and he needed to do it now. He looked at the clearing where they¡¯d fought those terrible spiders and a terrible idea came to him.


    ¡°Come with me,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Where?¡± asked the suddenly nervous Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°To shelter,¡± said Sen, keeping an iron fist wrapped around his anger.


    Then, Sen set off toward the camp. Chan Yu Ming didn¡¯t seem to have any trouble keeping up, so they made the trip back swiftly. Shi Ping stared at Sen and Chan Yu Ming like he expected someone to hit him. Lo Meifeng sighed and muttered something about <em>another one</em>. Falling Leaf just eyed the girl.


    ¡°Did you bed her?¡± the transformed ghost panther asked.


    Chan Yu Ming looked shocked, but Sen just snorted. ¡°No. We fought some spiders. Well, they were sort of spiders. Spiders with human faces. They were creepy.¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded in recognition. ¡°Yes, they are vile things. Did you kill them all?¡±


    ¡°All the ones I saw.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡°Spiders with human faces?¡± asked Shi Ping. ¡°How big were they?¡±


    Sen looked at Chan Yu Ming. ¡°Horse-sized, do you think?¡±


    ¡°Ox-sized maybe,¡± she offered.


    Sen looked at Shi Ping, ¡°As big as horses or oxen.¡±


    The man shuddered. ¡°That¡¯s almost as bad as snakes.¡±


    Sen had several things to do and he wasn¡¯t sure where the best ce to start was. He looked around the campsite and finally decided.


    ¡°Pack up the tents. I¡¯m going to make a galehouse.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a galehouse?¡± asked Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°Don¡¯t distract him,¡± cried Shi Ping.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see in a few minutes,¡± said Sen, walking over to his tent and taking it down.


    There wasn''t as much earth qi concentrated at this location as thest one, so it took Sen a little longer. It also didn¡¯t help that he was making it a bit bigger and moreplex. He wasn¡¯t sure what his exact timetable was going to be, so he wanted to make sure that the ce had some conveniences built in. When he finally pulled thepleted galehouse up out of the ground, Chan Yu Ming couldn¡¯t seem to decide if she should stare at the stone structure or him. Shi Ping wasted no time hurrying inside to im a room for himself. Sen extinguished the campfire that they¡¯d been using for light and followed the fire cultivator inside. Sen immediately sat down at the table he¡¯d made in themon area, pulled out the kit that Auntie Caihong had given him, and wrote a letter to his teachers that exined what he¡¯d done and why. He didn¡¯t know how much cover it would give Lo Meifeng, but it was the best he could do. He walked over and handed her the sealed letter. She eyed it and then lifted her gaze to him.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to keep you out of trouble if things go wrong.¡±


    ¡°What could go wrong?¡± demanded Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°My anger it¡¯s¡­it¡¯s out of control or so close to out of control as to make almost no difference. I can¡¯t go off and sit by a river for years or join one of those monasteries where people meditate to find peace. I don¡¯t have enough time for those things to work. So, I have to deal with it a different way.¡±


    ¡°What way?¡± asked a very unhappy-looking Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to <em>burn</em> it out.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± asked Lo Miefeng, Shi Ping, and Chan Yu Ming at the same time.


    ¡°I¡¯m going out into the wilds. Deeper than I¡¯ve ever been. Maybe deeper than anyone has ever been. I¡¯m going to fight. I¡¯m going to find something that can actually kill me, and I¡¯m going to fight it. And then, if necessary, I¡¯ll do it again. You can find enlightenment on the edge of death. So, I¡¯ll fight until there¡¯s no anger left in me, no rage left to sate, or I find the enlightenment I need to understand how to live with it.¡±


    Everyone started saying or yelling things.


    ¡°This is not a discussion,¡± roared Sen, bringing the room to immediate silence. ¡°The problem is getting worse, not better. I don¡¯t expect anyone to like this, but you do <em>understand</em> it. I need to fix this problem, and the slow way isn¡¯t an option. So, unless one of you has a better idea that I can do right now, this is how it has to be. And no,¡± said Sen, pointing at Lo Meifeng, ¡°you aren¡¯ting along. This is so ridiculously beyond any orders you might have gotten that it¡¯s almost funny. I¡¯m not getting you killed for this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ming,¡± said Falling Leaf, her gaze steady on Sen¡¯s face.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Lo Meifeng seemed to bite back a lot of words and instead opted for one brief question. ¡°How long should we wait?¡±


    Sen thought about it for a few seconds, then transferred what he estimated was a month¡¯s supply of food into a spare storage ring he¡¯d gotten from somewhere. He tossed Lo Meifeng the ring.


    ¡°If we¡¯re not back in a month, I doubt we¡¯reing back.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 20: Morning Matters

    Book 4: Chapter 20: Morning Matters


    While Sen was ready to leave right that minute, he realized it wasn¡¯t practical. It was still dark out for one. Even though Falling Leaf was probably better equipped to travel under those conditions than any of his other travelingpanions, it was an unnecessary risk. One that could be easily avoided with a dy of nothing more than a handful of hours. Beyond that, Sen reasoned he might as well sleep for a few hours before they left. While he didn¡¯t necessarily <em>need</em> the sleep, it wouldn¡¯t hurt him to get that sleep. <em>No reason to skip sleep when I don¡¯t have to</em>, thought Sen. Then, there was the problem of Chan Yu Ming. It seemed she wasn¡¯t ready to just let things go. She pulled him aside.


    ¡°Do you really expect me to just wait for you, <em>here</em>, for a month?¡±


    Sen gave her a startled look. ¡°No. I expect Lo Meifeng to wait because it¡¯s literally her job. I expect Shi Ping to wait because he¡¯szy. Plus, if I don¡¯te back, he can go home and no one will bother him about it. I expected you to leave once the sunes up. I only brought you here so you¡¯d have somewhere rtively safe to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Chan Yu Ming, looking like she wasn¡¯t quite sure how to feel. ¡°That was thoughtful.¡±


    Sen shrugged it off. ¡°So, you¡¯ll be returning to the Clear Spring sect?¡±


    ¡°I,¡± she hesitated, ¡°I¡¯ll decide in the morning.¡±


    ¡°As you wish,¡± said Sen, walking over to a room and looking in.


    Seeing that it was empty, he stepped into the room. Feeling a prickling between his shoulder des, he looked over his shoulder to see Chan Yu Ming staring after him. She immediately looked away, but not before he caught her. Sen couldn¡¯t decide whether to be amused or annoyed and settled on neither. He closed the door behind him and, after throwing some nkets on the stone bed, stretched out to get what sleep he could. For once, he wasn¡¯t gued with bad dreams. As had be normal for him, though, he only managed to sleep for about three hours or, rather, he slept for two hours and then dozed for an hour while he obstinately refused to get out of bed. It was the need for tea that ultimately drove him to get up.


    As usual, he took a littlefort in the familiar routine of brewing the tea. He also enjoyed that he could have a cup or two in rtive peace. When he was drinking tea by himself, there was nothing to rouse his anger or steal his attention from the process. He could just breathe in the steam and smell of the tea, let the cup''s warmth seep into his hands, and then, when the moment was perfect, tip the cup against his lips and let a sip of tea slip into his mouth. That ritual of morning tea had been all but sacrosanct on the mountain, a moment of calm before the demands of the day bore down on him, and Sen had found that returning to that ritual eased something inside of him. Maybe it was nothing more than thefort of the familiar, or maybe it was that the process reminded him of a time when things had been lessplicated. He could never decide and wasn¡¯t even sure that it mattered. What mattered to him was that it helped him maintain control.


    Of course, if his n worked, he wouldn¡¯t need to lean on every crutch he could find to keep from incinerating everyone around him with white-hot rage. Even so, he thought he¡¯d still prefer days that began with quiet tea over those that didn¡¯t. He was firmly of the opinion that one could not have too many moments of peace and thoughtful calm in a life. Yet, he knew that moment couldn¡¯tst. No one else was in themon area, yet, but he did hear the noises of someone stirring in one of the rooms. It would soon be time to go and finallye to some kind of terms with his anger. He didn¡¯t necessarily need his anger to be entirely gone, as anger could serve a purpose. If burning it out of himself was what it took to resolve this issue, though, he would do what needed to be done. He didn¡¯t need to be angry to fight the way some men did. He hadn¡¯t been trained that way. Stripping that well of anger out of himself wouldn¡¯t make him less effective. If anything, he hoped it would make him more effective, more coolly calcting in the face of enemies with less control.


    It was less than a minuteter that Falling Leaf joined him at the stone table. He gestured at the tea, silently asking if she wanted any. She stared at the teapot with resignation and nodded. Sen poured her a cup and watched with a sort of detached curiosity as she consciously forced herself to drink the liquid. It was very clear she didn¡¯t enjoy it, so wondered why she insisted on drinking it. He¡¯d have to ask her about itter when there were fewer prying ears around. Sen realized, after ncing around at the otherwise emptymon area, that the best time to leave was right then. There would be no awkward or insincere goodbyes, and nost-second attempts to talk him out of this course of action. Sen quickly cleaned up the tea set and stored it in his ring. Then, he gestured to the front door. Falling Leaf looked at closed doors to the other rooms, and nodded thoughtfully. They slipped outside as dawn was sliding inexorably toward morning.


    Sen paused for a moment to consider which direction to go. After thinking back about the map, he opted to take them west. There was almost nothing but unbroken wilderness in that direction all the way to the Mountains of Sorrow. Sen reasoned that would dramatically improve his odds of finding something that could realistically kill him. Falling Leaf, who had rarely chosen to speak to him directly as a panther, seemed equally reticent as a human girl. At least, she was once she was away from other people who talked all the time. Sen quickly realized that, cultivation level differences aside, Falling Leaf was still very much his superior in the art of moving through the wilderness. They soon fell into old habits with her drifting out and around him, looking for threats. The only difference was that, now, he <em>wanted</em> to find those threats. Yet, threats were in annoyingly short supply. Not that Sen had truly believed he could solve the problem his first day out, but it would have been nice. It wasn¡¯t until they stopped to eat something that either Sen or Falling Leaf spoke.


    ¡°Is it normal for there to be so few spirit beasts?¡± Sen asked.


    Falling Leaf considered the question while she finished chewing and swallowing some rice. It was something else she didn¡¯t seem to enjoy. She shook her head.


    ¡°No. We should have seen something by now.¡±


    ¡°Have you sensed anything? Smelled anything?¡±


    Falling Leaf sighed. ¡°I barely smell anything at all with this nose. But, no, I haven¡¯t smelled or felt anything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s good or bad.¡±


    ¡°Why would it be good?¡±


    ¡°Well, if there¡¯s something really dangerous out here scaring everything else away, that¡¯s good for me. If everything is gone because something called them away, that¡¯s bad.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking about that other ghost panther you met. The things he said.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°If the spirit beasts aren¡¯t <em>here</em>, they¡¯re somewhere else and in greater than normal numbers. I¡¯m worried there might be another mass ughter in a town or vige.¡±


    ¡°If there were going to be, would you abandon what you¡¯re doing now to try to stop it?¡±


    That brought Sen up short. Would he abandon this quest in an attempt to stop another ughter like that? He probably would, under the right conditions. Of course, he wasn¡¯t in the right conditions or anything close to them.


    ¡°Possibly. If I knew exactly where they were headed, or at least had a reasonably good idea of where they might be going, yes. But I don¡¯t know those things. We could spend weeks just trying to track them. I don¡¯t have that kind of time to waste on a guess. I barely have the time to spend on this. If it wasn¡¯t as important as it is, we¡¯d already be back on the road to the capital.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Falling Leaf, seeming satisfied.


    Sen thought about trying to get a bit more out of her about what that good had meant, but she¡¯d probably just say she was d he had his priorities in order. Instead, he asked about something else.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like tea, do you?¡±


    Falling Leaf shook her hard. ¡°I do not. It¡¯s bitter.¡±


    ¡°Then, why drink it?¡±


    ¡°The Caihong told me that everyone drinks it. That, to fit in, I would have to learn to drink it. So, I do.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not wrong. Very nearly everyone does drink tea.¡±


    Sen supposed that answered his question about rice, as well. Falling Leaf had no doubt been told that everyone eats rice and it might draw suspicion if she didn¡¯t eat it as well. Then, she surprised him with a question of her own.


    ¡°Will the sect girl leave?¡±


    Sen thought it over. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t think she will. She wants something from me. Or, she wants me to do something for her. Something she seems to think I¡¯m uniquely suited to do. If she thinks she can¡¯t find someone else to do it, she¡¯ll be waiting when we get back. Why?¡±


    Falling Leaf was quiet for a time before she finally spoke. ¡°She was kind to me when you were locked away with the spring spirit. She kept others from bothering me. I¡¯m¡­fond of her.¡±


    Sen mulled those words over before he said, ¡°You made a friend.¡±


    Falling Leaf shook her head. ¡°That word is¡­empty.¡±


    ¡°Empty?¡±


    ¡°It has no meaning. Humans use it to mean too many things. So, the word means nothing.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true enough.¡±


    ¡°I would not be angry if she came with us,¡± said Falling Leaf, almost hesitantly.


    Sen was surprised, happy, and frustrated all at the same time. He was surprised because it was the first time that he¡¯d heard Falling Leaf express a preference for anything not food-rted since she¡¯d be human. He was happy because she volunteered it with no prompting from him. He was frustrated because this would just <em>have</em> to be the thing that she had a preference about. Fortunately, the situation was murky enough that he didn¡¯t have tomit to anything right then and there.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see if she¡¯s waiting when we get back. We can decide then what to do.¡±


    Sen was relieved that Falling Leaf didn¡¯t seem to pick up on his shameless hedging. He didn¡¯t know what he¡¯d think about Chan Yu Ming when this mad experiment was over. He might still want nothing to do with her problem, which would be a sticking point. At the same time, he didn¡¯t want to torpedo whatever tenuous friendship Falling Leaf was developing with someone other than him. She¡¯d been almost militantly disinterested in human beings other than him since they¡¯d reconnected. He thought it was probably healthy for her to have at least one person beyond him that she actually liked on a personal level. <em>I just wish it was someone other than Chan Yu Ming</em>, he thought.


    ¡°We should get moving,¡± he said. ¡°If there¡¯s no spirit beasts anywhere nearby, we¡¯ve got a long journey ahead of us.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 21: Repaying Favors

    Book 4: Chapter 21: Repaying Favors


    Sennded next to Falling Leaf and mmed a lightning-wrapped fist into the face of a demon ape-lizard. The creature was hurled back from the panther girl with its jaw hanging at an odd angle and much of its skull caved in. Whatever the raw force of the blow hadn¡¯t done to kill it, the web of lighting that pounded its brain had finished. Part of Sen was simply revolted by the massive things. While they had the heavily muscled build of apes, most of their bodies were covered in dark green scales. As if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, they had long tails with barbed, bone spikes on the end. He had an ugly puncture wound in the back of one shoulder to prove it.


    Falling Leaf had been distracted by her own fight with a different ape-lizard and hadn¡¯t seen the oneing up behind her. Or, she¡¯d taken for granted that Sen would intervene. It was a safe assumption. She had tried to yell at him for interfering in one of her fights a few days earlier. He had answered in a tone that brooked no arguments that he wasn¡¯t going to let her die just to protect her pride or for <em>any</em> other reason. Not that she needed a lot of help. As the equivalent of a peak foundation formation cultivator, the transformed ghost panther wasn¡¯t quite on a level ying field with him, but she was close. What she didn¡¯t have that he did was half a decade of some of the best weapons training in the world.


    She fought hand-to-hand, which meant she had to get close and stay focused on her opponent, while Sen could engage three or four enemies at a time with his jian or a spear, depending on the situation. While he couldn¡¯t generally beat that many opponents all at once, he could keep them upied. That, in turn, let Falling Leaf peel them away one at a time until Sen could finish off the rest. While Sen had privately had his doubts about this n, it seemed to be working. He was slowly, but surely, purging that anger out of his soul one fight at a time. What he hadn¡¯t found was the right epiphany that would let him manage his anger. So, two weeks in, they kept pushing deeper into the wilds, looking for more dangerous spirit animals to fight. It had been quiet for the first few days. Then, things had gotten more exciting.


    They¡¯d fought increasingly strange spirit beasts. In some cases, they were like the ape-lizards, bizarre amalgam beasts that always looked wrong to Sen¡¯s eyes. They¡¯d found more of the disgusting spider things on two asions. Falling Leaf had assured him, after the first fight, that those human faces were just there to distract and confuse their human victims. They would still liquefy his insides and leave him an empty husk if he let them. In the second fight, Sen had simply cut them all into pieces with an incredibly thin stream of water under intense pressure. In other cases, they found spirit beasts that looked like their mortal counterparts but inevitably wielded some terrifying qi technique. They¡¯d run across a couple of bears that had looked normal enough right up until they roared and revealed the metal teeth in their jaws. Those had seemed to make Falling Leaf unusually nervous. She¡¯d also beaten one of them to death with a wild, almost barbaric ferocity, screaming incoherently the entire time she¡¯d done it.


    ¡°What was that all about?¡± he¡¯d asked her afterward.


    ¡°I ran into one of these when I was very young. Not even half-grown yet. It would have killed me if an older member of the pride hadn¡¯t saved me. I¡¯ve always been afraid of them.¡±


    ¡°And now?¡± He¡¯d asked.


    In answer, she reached into the bear¡¯s mouth and tore one of its teeth out in a shocking disy of raw physical strength. She held it out to Sen.


    ¡°Put a hole in that.¡±


    Sen took the tooth and did as she asked, using metal qi to manipte the tooth. He handed it back. She passed a heavy cord through the tooth and tied it around her upper arm with the tooth prominently disyed. She looked at it in satisfaction before turning her attention back to him.


    ¡°Now,¡± she said, ¡°they can be afraid of me.¡±


    After the bears, there had been the lightning cranes. Then, there had been one of those snakes that Shi Ping had been so afraid woulde and eat him. It had been particrly difficult to fight because it constantly emitted a toxic, venomous cloud of gas. Sen had finally been forced to pin it to the ground using abination of shadow-metal fused spears and stone spikes. After which, he cooked it to death using a stream of liquid me. Once the toxic cloud had cleared, though, they discovered that meat was safe to eat. It seemed the giant snake¡¯s venom was confined to its bite and that cloud. Then, Sen finally got the opportunity to do something he¡¯d been wanting to do for some time. They hade across a small stream and found a small group of spirit oxen who were being harassed by stone tigers.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me handle this one,¡± Sen said to Falling Leaf. ¡°I owe the spirit oxen a favor or three.¡±


    He might have left out that he was worried that Falling Leaf¡¯s up-close fighting style wouldn¡¯t work particrly well against tigers that could manipte stone qi. For that matter, most of his own preferred methods of dealing with spirit beasts weren¡¯t going to work very well against them. This was going to boil down to a contest of their brute force against his brute force and skill. He unsheathed his jian and sprinted toward the nearest stone tiger. He didn¡¯t really think he could get the drop on anything that skilled at stalking and hunting, but he gave it his best shot anyway. He started by <em>hiding</em>. Everything else would be useless if they felt his core-level qi. He used wind qi to carry his scent away and dampen the sound of his footfalls. Earth qi dampened the vibrations of his feet against the ground. Finally, he burned a bit of the liquid qi in his dantian to add extra reinforcement to his body cultivation-enhanced muscles, bones, and organs. Working all of those separate kinds of qi was an awful strain beneath the hiding technique, but it would be worth it if it got him close enough tounch an attack.


    Yet, after all that effort, it still wasn¡¯t enough. The tiger still sensed his approach somehow. The only good news was that Sen had gotten within about ten feet of the tiger. He dropped his <em>hiding</em> technique and cycled metal qi to reinforce his jian. The tiger whirled to face him, crouching a bit to protect its belly and possibly prepare to spring at him. When he got within range it swiped at him with a paw that could have covered his chest. In the heightened battle state he was in, Sen could see the shiny, ck ws extend. They looked like polished obsidian. Given that it was a stone tiger, the ws probably were obsidian. Sen¡¯s jian moved almost of its own volition in a blindingly fast parry. Of course, at those speeds and backed with his strength, he supposed it was probably like getting hit with a ballista bolt. He heard a noise like stone shattering as the paw was pped aside. Before the beast could so much as roar in pain or defiance, Sen had brought the jian back on line and driven the full length of the de into the tiger¡¯s eye and out the back of its skull. He twisted the de to help ensure that the beast was dead and pulled the jian free.


    He would have liked to enjoy that fast victory, but fate wasn¡¯t going to smile on him that way. He¡¯d had it easy once. He wouldn¡¯t enjoy that luxury a second time. Then again, things weren¡¯t as one-sided as they might have looked from the outside. Where there had been five tigers harassing the pair of spirit oxen, there were now only two. The other two had focused on Sen, clearly seeing him as the bigger threat. While Sen didn¡¯t know that the oxen could kill two stone tigers, he was pretty confident that they could fend them off for a while. Now, all he had to do was survive. He nced over at the stream and considered how he¡¯d killed those ghastly spider things. He¡¯d only used one thread of water with them because there hadn¡¯t been much water qi handy at the time. Here, there was water qi for the taking.


    As the tigers started trying to nk him, water whips with edges as hard as diamonds startedshing them. They would have been lethal strikes on almost anything else. On the stone tigers, they opened wounds that bled freely enough but didn¡¯te close to cutting the beasts into pieces. Once Sen saw that, though, he reassessed his initial evaluation of the situation. He didn¡¯t need to personally brute force them to death. Instead, he took a bit of inspiration from the spirit of the water spring. He called water to himself and hardened most of it around him in a sphere. It might not stop the tigers, but it would certainly slow them down enough for him to change tactics. The water that he didn¡¯t turn into a sphere, he used as whips. He was perfectly willing to engage in the death of a thousand cuts. The tigers were fast and managed to dodge some of his blows. He also couldn¡¯t keep track of them as well through the visual distortion of the water sphere. Still, enough blowsnded that he could see the blood discoloring the ground.


    During that moment of distraction, something mmed into the water sphere from behind. The sphere held, barely, but it went careening away and Sen found himself bouncing around inside of it. The hardened interior was no more forgiving with his body than the exterior had likely been to the tiger that mmed into it. When his momentum slowed, Sen changed tactics. If he was the tiger, he¡¯d only be a second or two behind, getting ready to bring down as much crushing force as he could. Sen took the idea of the water whip and expanded on it. Instead of a few whips with razor-sharp, hardened edges, he created a spinning mass of hundreds of tiny water wires that were razor sharp and diamond hard. There was an almighty howl of agony as one of the tigers was caught in that trap. Sen let his earth qi drop into the ground and looked around for the presence of something getting ready to pounce. He didn¡¯t feel anything, so he retracted those water wires and let the technique drop. It was useful, but that technique had been mentally draining.


    There wasn¡¯t an identifiable body left of the tiger that had gotten caught. There was just a spray of shredded flesh, blood, and stone fragments that were probably the tiger¡¯s bones in a circle around him. Sen couldn¡¯t have named the primal instinct that warned him, but he dove forward. It almost worked. The second stone tiger had dropped onto him from above, no doubt using the heavy branches as a means to escape his wheel of watery death. Sen bellowed in pain as the tiger¡¯s jaws mped down on his calf. Its stone teeth punched straight through the muscle, but then they hit his bones. Much like the tigers themselves, his bones had been transformed and transmuted. It seemed that his bones had done better than theirs because the tiger¡¯s teeth met the bones in his leg and shattered. In the back of his mind, the healer in Sen was already wincing at the thought of having to pull those stone fragments out of his leg. The rest of Sen was very fixated on surviving the next five or six seconds.


    The tiger jerked its head away, shredding muscle and pretty much anything else those shattered stone teeth came in contact with. The fresh burst of agony drew another roar pain and a swell of vicious anger. Sen did something he hadn¡¯t tried, hadn¡¯t dared try, since Emperor¡¯s Bay. He tried to fuse two of his qi types. He was surprised to discover that, unlike shadow and metal, fire and earth qi didn¡¯t fight him very hard. It wasn¡¯t so much that they wanted to be together, but they didn¡¯t really mind either. Sen used his good leg to push him a little farther away from the tiger. Then, he unleashed the technique. A massive hand of molten stone shot out of the ground and seized the tiger. The sounds the tiger made were things that Sen knew would haunt him, but he didn¡¯t relent.


    The hand dragged the tiger down into the ground where Sen had prepared a small, molten pool. He didn¡¯t imagine the tiger would survive long in that environment, but he gave it thirty seconds anyway. That gave him a chance to pull out some old cloth he hadn¡¯t gotten rid of and wrap it around his calf. He knew that wound would need proper attention, <em>very soon</em>, but the fight wasn¡¯t over. With a gesture and a careful application of qi, he turned the molten pool into a block of stone with whatever was left of the tiger inside of it. Groaning, Sen pushed himself up to his feet and started limping toward where he¡¯dst seen the tigers pestering the oxen. It turned out the oxen didn¡¯t need his help once he drew off the other two tigers. They had killed one and run the other off. The oxen walked over to him and offered gentle moos. Sen gave them a formal bow, or as close as he could manage on his very unsteady leg.


    ¡°A small gesture of thanks, for the benevolence the spirit oxen have shown me.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 22: Herd Mother

    Book 4: Chapter 22: Herd Mother


    Sen thought that it wasn¡¯t really necessary, but the oxen insisted on taking him and Falling Leaf back to their herd. They spent two days sheltering beneath the considerable protection of the spirit oxen. Individually, a spirit ox was potent and formidable, although slow to rouse to action. As a group, few predators of any stripe were likely to tempt the wrath of the entire herd. Necessary or not, Sen was grateful for the opportunity to extract the stone teeth shards from his calf without worrying about something finding or attacking them. It was delicate work made more difficult by the excruciating pain involved. Falling Leaf tried to do it for him, but quickly bowed out when she realized that her qi and spiritual sense weren¡¯t as finely-tuned for the work as Sen¡¯s. The task was made slower and even more difficult by the fact that he had to do most of the work blind. Still, he eventually extracted thest fragment and managed to cook himself a healing elixir before passing out.


    Even with the aid of the elixir and the abundant qi resources avable in the wilds, it took his leg most of a day to finish healing. Sen learned that most of the oxen could talk in the same way that Falling Leaf could talk before her transformation. They just didn¡¯t bother with it unless they had something very important to say that they didn¡¯t want to be misinterpreted. Since almost nothing rose to that level of importance, they spoke infrequently. He had been a little worried that there might be some friction between Falling Leaf and the oxen. She would have been a natural predator for them in her original form. She had waved off that concern.


    ¡°I like them,¡± she had said, as though that settled everything.


    After a little thought, Sen supposed it did. It was on the second day, when his leg was mostly finished healing that Sen had drifted a little apart from the herd, walking up to the top of a small hill to get a look at the surrounding area. They were so far away from anything like civilization that he thought there was a good chance that he might be one of the only human beings alive to have seen the area. It was mostly forest, although not quite the same kind of forest he had gotten ustomed to on the mountain. Up there, it had mostly been evergreens of one kind or another with their needles and sticky sap. Down in the londs where he was now, there was much more variety. There were ginkgo trees, pagoda trees, and even the asional dawn redwood. He thought he even spotted a grove of plum trees in the distance. This was a wild, savage ce, but there was also a kind of peace to be found in it.


    For every fight they were in, he found half a dozen incredibly old and powerful medicinal herbs or alchemical reagents that were five times as potent as anything he had worked with. He suspected that many of them had made the transition from mere ingredients into legitimate natural treasures. They were all so powerful, in fact, that he hadn¡¯t dared to use any of them in his healing elixir. He wanted an absolutely clear head when he worked with those nts and reagents. He knew perfectly well that more powerful herbs weren¡¯t always a good thing. If a nt was too potent, it could end up doing more harm than good. <em>And isn¡¯t that why you¡¯re out here</em>, he thought a little grimly. Some anger is useful, even a good thing in the right context, but you nurtured that nt a little too well.


    ¡°I wished to thank you for intervening on behalf of the young ones,¡± said a female voice behind him.


    Sen turned and faced thergest spirit ox he had ever seen. The cow was sorge that she could look him directly in the eye. Sen had seen her moving among the other oxen, and they showed her tremendous deference. He bowed to her.


    ¡°I greet you, herd mother, and thank you for your hospitality. I was happy to help. Your people have done me more kindnesses than I deserved.¡±


    ¡°I greet you, Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    Sen¡¯s eyes snapped up in surprise. <em>How did she even know that name</em>, he wondered. He saw a light of cid amusement in her eyes.


    ¡°Our mortal cousins are everywhere. They hear much, and we all have an¡­interest in you. The cultivator who showed kindness. The cultivator who brings judgment. The cultivator who burns the sky and speaks to the water. We mark your passage, yourings and goings, and your absences.¡±


    Sen grimaced at that reminder but didn¡¯tment on it. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize I was so interesting.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps not to others, but you are to us. I wondered why you were here, so far from your natural ces. Yet, I see now that you are troubled. You came here looking for something. Tell me, child of the mountain, what do you seek so far from your own kind?¡±


    Sen considered best how to exin it. ¡°I require a kind of purification. Or enlightenment. There is an anger in me that has grown beyond control.¡±


    ¡°And you would spend it against spirit beasts?¡±


    ¡°Not all of them. Not even most of them. Those that attack mindlessly. Those that hate humans blindly.¡±


    The spirit ox regarded him with eyes like pools of starless night. ¡°If you travel much farther, you will find neither purification nor enlightenment, only death. Strong as you are, there are dangers ahead that will overmatch you.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, enlightenment can only be found on the edge of death.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but what value is that enlightenment if you die immediately after you find it?¡±


    Sen stared out over the wilds. Part of him knew he didn¡¯t belong here, that he was intruding on a world that wasn¡¯t his own. Yet, part of him felt like he could stay there and be content with the daily fight to survive and thrive. Much like with his unquenchable anger and his desire for peace, he was a man divided in himself. And, young as he was, he knew that a man divided wouldn¡¯t be long for this or any other world. He pondered how to answer the cow, or if there was an answer.


    ¡°Perhaps it is of no value. Perhaps it smooths the way in the next life. Who can know? What I do know is that if I can¡¯t find a way to tame this anger, it will mean death all the same. I will challenge those I should not. Offend those I should not. And my death will set in motion even more death.¡±


    ¡°So, not mere anger, but a madness of it.¡±


    Sen considered those words and nodded. ¡°Yes. I think so.¡±


    ¡°When you leave here, travel directly west. In a day or two of travel, you will find a barren, rocky ce there. In it, you will find what you seek, or you will find your death.¡±


    Sen let those words settle into him. Resolution or death. He wasn¡¯t eager for death, but death was seeking him out all the same. If it happened out here, while he sought a solution, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d carry much regret into the next life. If he coulde to a resolution, that was just the first step in solving a much moreplicated problem, but it was an absolutely <em>necessary</em> first step. He faced the spirit ox again and offered her another deep bow.


    ¡°I thank the herd mother for her guidance in this matter.¡±


    The great spirit beast inclined her head to him and started to turn away, but seemed to reconsider. ¡°Try to survive. Rare are those among your kind with regard for my kind. Having found you, we would prefer not to lose you.¡±


    ¡°My kind? Humans or cultivators?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    With that, the herd mother plodded away. Sen watched her go and, with a bit of amusement, realized that even a slow plod for the giant ox covered a lot of ground in a hurry. Within a minute or two, she down the hill and back among her herd. Sen turned his eyes west, straining to see this barren, rocky ce, but it was beyond even his enhanced vision. <em>A day or two</em>, he thought, <em>and then it will be done</em>. <em>One way or the other</em>. Sen stayed up on the hill for a time and just cultivated. He knew that his passive cultivation would likely keep him well-supplied with qi, but much like making tea, the ritual of cultivation helped him keep steady and stay in control. As the afternoon began to inevitably fade toward evening, Sen came down off the hill and looked for Falling Leaf. He found her gleefully ying with the ox calves, who were far more rambunctious than their elders. She dashed between them or away from them. The calves, joyously unaware of the dangers that life had in store, thundered after her under the watchful gazes of older, more seasoned members of the herd.


    He couldn¡¯t help but notice the uplicated joy in both Falling Leaf and the calves as they yed. He knew that Falling Leaf was aware of theplexities and dangers in the world, yet she had managed to cling tight to this one little bit of innocence. He envied her a tiny bit for that. He was also happy for her that she could still feel that way. She noticed him standing there after a time and jogged over to him, a big smile on her face.


    ¡°Have fun?¡± he asked, smiling back.


    ¡°I did,¡± she dered.


    ¡°I¡¯m d.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving, aren¡¯t we?¡± she asked.


    There was no chastisement or bitterness in the words, just a kind of quiet sadness that this peaceful interlude would soon end. Something in him broke open a little bit at that expression, and his vague intention to get a few hours of travel in that day died inside of him. He looked over at the calves, who were staring mournfully at Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Tomorrow,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ll leave tomorrow. Why don¡¯t you introduce me to your new ymates.¡±


    Falling Leaf beamed up at him, grabbed his hand, and dragged him over to meet the calves.

 Book 4: Chapter 23: You Will Stay

    Book 4: Chapter 23: You Will Stay


    Leaving the next day turned out to be substantially more difficult than Sen expected. Every ox in the herd had to take a moment toe and, well, he wasn¡¯t quite sure what they were doing. Offering their blessings? Wishing him good fortune? He didn¡¯t know, but he smiled and bowed to each in turn. When that was finally done, he had thought they could go, but then the calves charged up and encircled Falling Leaf like she was their favorite big sister. All but one. Sen sighed as a lone calf came over and regarded him with big, serious eyes. That one hadtched onto him for some reason the previous evening. It let out a gentle, sad moo at him that tugged at his heart.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just ying dirty,¡± heined.


    The calf just kept staring at him until he rested a hand on -- Sen realized he didn¡¯t even know if the calf was male or female -- its head. The hair felt soft and warm beneath his hand, although, he wasn¡¯t sure that would be true for someone without his body cultivation. He gave the calf a mildly reproachful look.


    ¡°I¡¯lle back and visit one day if I can.¡±


    Sen was racking up more of those promises than he felt entirelyfortable with. Granted, he wasn¡¯t promising that he¡¯de back no matter what, only if he could, but that list was growing. The calf turned its head up and pressed a soft nose into his palm before it turned and made its way back to the older oxen. He wanted to be annoyed, but it took Falling Leaf almost an hour to finish all her goodbyes to the rest of the calves. He was pretty sure they each got at least three personal goodbyes from her before the herd mother let out a single snort. The calves immediately fell back into the herd. Sen wondered if he should say something, but he settled on offering the entire herd onest bow. Falling Leaf jogged over to him and then waved to the herd. With that, they set off again. They¡¯d been moving west for most of an hour before Falling Leaf spoke up.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He looked over at her. ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°For waiting. For letting me have that extra time with the calves. I know you were ready to gost night.¡±


    ¡°We couldn¡¯t have gotten that far anyways,¡± Sen justified. ¡°It made more sense to start fresh in the morning.¡±


    Sen caught her amused smile out of the corner of his eye.


    ¡°As you say,¡± she said and left it at that.


    Contrary to Sen¡¯s expectations, they met no resistance as they made their way west. He had assumed that it would be non-stop fighting. While he had benefited from all of the earlier fighting, it had been taxing. Even with confining the violence to those things that intentionally sought them out, Sen had what he suspected was another small fortune¡¯s worth of rare beast cores in a storage ring. He¡¯d offered half of them to Falling Leaf, but she¡¯d declined. Instead, she¡¯d picked out a small handful.


    ¡°Why those ones?¡± he asked when his curiosity got the better of him.


    ¡°I can eat these,¡± she¡¯d said as if it had been obvious. ¡°For my advancement.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen. ¡°You¡¯re still advancing that way?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    Sen realized that he¡¯d simply assumed that when she transformed into a human form that her cultivation advancement would be more like his. Yet, he hadn¡¯t had any evidence to support that assumption. Of course, eating the cores wasn¡¯t quite as simple for her as it had been before. She had to grind them up and swallow the powder. Sen had watched the first time she did it and immediately realized that as much as half of the qi was lost by the time she could actually consume the powder. That would slow down her advancement for no good reason. The second time he saw that she was about to grind the core with a mortar and pestle, he just held out his hand. She eyed him dubiously but handed the core over. He poured a big cup of water for her and simply crushed the core with main strength. He dropped the powder and a fewrger pieces into the cup and held it out to her. There was still some qi loss, but it was more like five or ten percent instead of half.


    She''d stared at him in shock until he put the cup into her line of sight. Then, she¡¯d snatched the cup from him and downed the mixture in a few big gulps. Sen didn¡¯t really understand spirit beast advancement, so he wasn¡¯t sure what to expect. She didn¡¯t seem to experience any immediate boost in power the way that Sen would with a breakthrough. Yet, over the course of the trip, he¡¯d felt the gap between them steadily shrink. Where he¡¯d once needed to moderate his pace to keep thingsfortable for her, she could now move at the pace he preferred. He¡¯d grown more confident in his ability to judge the cultivation levels of human cultivators, but he was much less certain with spirit beasts. Still, if he had to make a guess, his best guess was that she was operating at around the level of an initial core formation cultivator. If she kept going at her current pace, she¡¯d soon be stronger than him again. When he¡¯d mentioned that thought to her, she¡¯d given him a strange look.


    ¡°Would that bother you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Why would it bother me? Once you¡¯re stronger than me, I can let you do all the fighting. That sounds like a win to me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not thatzy,¡± she said.


    ¡°Maybe I could learn,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t. Shi Ping iszy enough for all of us.¡±


    Senughed at that. ¡°Yes, he certainly is. Although, he makes up for some of that by ying the erhu well.¡±


    ¡°Does he?¡±


    ¡°Most humans would think so.¡±


    Falling Leaf thought about it and shrugged. ¡°It all sounds like noise to me.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I¡¯ll have to find someone who ys one badly, so you can see the difference.¡±


    ¡°If you must.¡±


    Right around the time that Sen was ready to call a halt for the day, they abruptly stepped clear of the forest into andscape that could only be described as barren and rocky. While Sen was a tiny bit pleased and relieved to have arrived, he was also a little put off by the abrupt change in thendscape. If for no other reason, he didn¡¯t understand why thendscape was so different. Changes like that didn¡¯t happen naturally. Natural changes happened gradually, over dozens or even hundreds of miles. The absence of life before him, Sen realized that something or someone had done this on purpose. Someone had <em>wanted</em> it to be that way. Falling Leaf was looking around with her usual curiosity, but Sen could see that she was tense and ready for something bad to happen. Sen frowned around them. Evening was nearly on them, and night would soon follow. One look was all Sen needed for him to know that he did not want to be in that ce when darkness fell. He made a very easy decision.


    ¡°We should go back for the night. We can head in there in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Leave? Now? After you¡¯vee all this way to see me? No, that won¡¯t do at all.¡±


    The voice seemingly came from everywhere. Sen searched the area around them frantically, looking for any sign. He tried to extend his qi and spiritual sense, only to have them batted aside by some qi and a force of will that dwarfed his own. Sen hadn¡¯t faced down power like that since back on the mountain with Master Feng. He managed to keep his feet, but Falling Leaf was driven down to the ground. She looked up at him with terrified eyes. She started to say something, but Sen¡¯s throat was seized in a hand that came out of nowhere. A figure emerged from some kind of concealment technique. Sen was stunned. He hadn¡¯t even felt a whisper of that technique. The man was taller than Sen, although lighter in build, and his pure ck eyes burned with some inner fire that made Sen¡¯s blood run cold.


    ¡°No,¡± said the man, ¡°You¡¯ll be staying.¡±


    ¡°Sen,¡± gasped Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Silence, kit. This fight is not for <em>you</em>. It is for <em>him</em>. I¡¯ve watched this one. The foundling. The tool. The pet of chaos and the favorite of the heavens,¡± growled the man, jerking Sen closer. ¡°You will <em>stay</em>. You will <em>learn</em>. Then, you will <em>die</em>.¡±


    At that, the figure turned and hurled Sen over that deadndscape. Even as Sen desperately tried to draw in air and gain control over his flight, he heard Falling Leaf scream something at him.


    ¡°He¡¯s a dragon!¡±


    That revtion shook Sen so much that he lost control of the qinggong technique he¡¯d been using to get control of his impromptu airborne careening. So, instead of touching down softly on the rocky soil, he mmed into, bounced, and rolled. He felt sharp stones driven into his flesh by the force of hisnding and felt lucky that was as bad as it got. If he hadn¡¯t slowed his flight, he expected thatnding would have broken half of even his reinforced bones. Yet, thending, the injuries, all of it paled in the face of that one word. Dragon. Sen had spent most of his lifeing up against people or things that were stronger than he was. But he¡¯d also had options. He could flee or rely on allies to help him bnce the field. Against a dragon, though, one of the true myths, a being both primordial and eternal, there was no hope of victory. No true chance of escape. As a spirit beast, Falling Leaf would almost instinctually defer to the dragon¡¯s wishes. The herd mother had warned him that traveling farther west would ce him in conflict with things that would overmatch him, but he had never dreamed it would mean something like <em>this</em>.


    He had been looking for something that could push him to the brink of death, something that might open a door that would allow a moment of enlightenment to slip through. He might well have found it, he just wished that there was some sliver of hope for survival. Against something like this, there wasn¡¯t. Yet, for all that, this was an opportunity. This was an opponent on which Sen could truly unburden himself of his anger. He could unleash the fullness of that fury without hesitation because it didn¡¯t matter if he lost control. Death might be all that awaited him, but he could still use these moments before death to cleanse his soul before he passed once more into the cycle of reincarnation.


    So, Sen unshackled his rage. He felt it course through him like fire. He felt the madness of it, embraced it, let it flow. He let it flow like water to every fiber of his being. He pushed himself up, felt the blood running down his body from the many open wounds, and roared his defiance. Sen drew his jian, knowing how pointless it was and not caring at all. He pointed the jian at the dragon who was a tiny figure in the distance.


    ¡°Come on, then! You say I¡¯m here to learn! Thene and <em>teach</em>!¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 24: The Lesson

    Book 4: Chapter 24: The Lesson


    In the back of his mind, behind the rage-induced madness, a little part of Sen knew that provoking the dragon was foolish. Yet, that tiny voice of warning was lost in the need to hurt. Whatever constraints, conscious or unconscious, that had held Sen in check in the past fell away. He cycled for what had be his go-to weapon. The dragon was far, far faster than Sen physically, but it wasn¡¯t quite faster than thought. So, in the fractions of a second that it took for the dragon to sh from it had been standing to where Sen stood, Sen had erected a a solid wall of lightning. The ancient reptile wasn¡¯t slowed much by it, but it was enough for Sen to sidestep out of the way. Of course, not being slowed and not being affected were two different things. The dragon roared in pain and the sound was so much more than anything with a human form ought to be able to produce.


    Sen felt his eardrums rupture with a stab of white-hot agony that drove him to his knees. Even as he felt the ground beneath him, intuition drove him to slump to one side. The dragon¡¯s foot mmed into the ground where Sen had been a moment before. A small crater came into existence in that spot. Ignoring the pain as well as he could, Sen cycled for earth. He closed his hand into a fist and the earth around the dragon¡¯s foot mped down and hardened into stone. Sen didn¡¯t even know how he¡¯d done that. He didn¡¯t even care. He knew that it would only hold for a second or two. He activated his qinggong technique and blindly hurled himself away from the enraged dragon. Fighting up close with something that powerful was an instant death sentence. He <em>had</em> to keep his distance. With his eardrums ruptured though, his sense of bnce was off. He lost his bnce and toppled off the qi tform, only to feel a wind de obliterate the qi tform and then detonate. He was driven hard into the ground, but he was still alive. It had been, what, five seconds of activebat with the dragon. He might have just set some kind of record by living for that long.


    Realizing how irrational that thought was drove home to Sen just how broken and unbnced he¡¯d be. The pain in his ears was another misery and distraction that red anytime he fell into something, or moved, or breathed. Of course, that pain just sent his rage escting to entirely new levels. <em>It¡¯s a wind dragon</em>, he thought. <em>It¡¯ll be weak against metal</em>. Cycling for shadow and metal, he crushed them together with a kind of ruthlessly absolute will that would tolerate no dissent. The usual resistances either meant less to him now or were absent altogether, because he sent two dozen metal-infused shadow spears rocketing toward the wind dragon. To Sen¡¯s surprise, the dragon chose to dodge. Sen used that moment to pick himself up on another tform of qi and fly in a different direction. Not wanting the dragon to feel like Sen wasn¡¯t paying it enough attention, he sent half a dozen massive fireballs shooting toward the general area where he thought the dragon would end up.


    Fearing that the dragon would cut him out of the air with another wind de, Sen let himself drop back to the ground behind a rock. He spent an infinitely precious second or two to retrieve and down the most potent healing elixir he had in his storage ring. Hearing was too important in a fight for him to continue on in a deaf state. It had been a hard choice between one of his own elixirs and one of the powerful healing pills that Auntie Caihong had given him, but the pills always hit him hard. He couldn¡¯t afford a wave of crippling fatigue as the pill restored him. Beyond that, there was precious little environmental qi in this little patch of deadness that the dragon apparently called home. Why it, or <em>anything</em>, would choose to live there Sen couldn¡¯t imagine. Or, maybe, it was the dragon itself. Perhaps its mere presence was enough to do this to the ce. Yet, thatck of readily avable environmental qi meant his healing would rely on whatever qi he had stored away.


    Fortunately, it only took a few drops of that pool of liquid qi to restore his hearing. Realizing he¡¯d been stationary for three or four seconds. Sen rolled away to one side, got his feet under him, and simplyunched himself through the air. The benefits of his body cultivation really paid off then, as his leap carried him nearly twenty feet. Or, it would have if a shock wave of force from the ce where he¡¯d been hiding hadn¡¯t caught him and flung head over heels for nearly fifty feet. He managed to control hisnding better with his bnce more or less restored. Yet, the rage inside of him demanded that he act, that he attack. He drew on the qi in his core and sent a water de nearly ten feet across at the dragon. The dragon sent a wind de to meet it. The techniques met in the air and held there for a long moment. Sen couldn¡¯t believe it. He was matching the dragon¡¯s strength. That tion cracked at the same time his technique broke. It felt like something inside him tore in half when that technique broke. He coughed up blood, and almost went down again, but anger and fear kept him standing. If he was the dragon, this is the moment he would close the range.


    Sen cycled metal qi, choking back the bile that rose in his throat, pushing past the stabbing agony in his head, and he drove his jian forward. He filled the thrust with all the metal qi he could muster. He was as stunned as the dragon looked when the de met resistance. Sen realized that he¡¯d had his eyes squeezed shut against the agony that still tore at his guts and wed at the inside of his skull. He forced his eyes open, blinking away the red haze from the blood tears that were leaking from his eyes. The dragon was staring down at the jian that Sen had managed to bury in his chest. Sen felt ice stab into his soul when the dragon raised its gaze to meet Sen¡¯s.


    ¡°Ouch,¡± said the dragon.


    The dragon nonchntly reached up, wrapped a hand around the de, and pulled it free from his own chest. With an equally casual movement, he tore the de from Sen¡¯s grip and broke it in half. Sen watched, half in disbelief, half in horror, as the broken pieces fell from the dragon¡¯s hand to the ground. Sen looked back up and saw, of all things, disappointment in the dragon¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t live up to your reputation,¡± said the dragon. ¡°I expected you to call down the wrath of the heavens on me.¡±


    Then, the dragon hit him. Sen felt half of his ribs buckle under that blow before momentum caught up and sent him bouncing over dirt and rocks. Blood sprayed from his mouth and every time he tried to breathe, it became a battle to stay conscious. If not for the elixir that was already in his system, he¡¯s not sure he could have stayed conscious. It was already working to repair the damage and restore his ability to breathe. Yet, the elixir was designed to heal, not to blunt pain, and there was so much pain. While his enhanced body could take a lot more punishment, when things did break, the agony of it was amplified. He couldn¡¯t think. He couldn¡¯t even remember what he¡¯dst been trying to cycle, let alone actually cycling for anything. Another blow, this one to his stomach, sent him on another flopping, rolling, tumble over the rocky ground. At least, that¡¯s what happened when he finally touched the ground again. Sen was certain that at least some of his organs had ruptured with that blow.


    Realizing that he likely only had seconds to live, Sen decided that he was going to make the dragon pay in blood for this kill. He ignored the pain because it didn¡¯t matter anymore. He ignored the way his body wouldn¡¯t respond to half hismands because that didn¡¯t matter anymore either. Those were only problems if he had ns for tomorrow. Tomorrow wasn¡¯ting, not for him, so he could put that all away. He felt a momentary pang of concern for Falling Leaf, but the dragon had very explicitly told her to stay out of it. He suspected that meant that the vicious old reptile nned to let her go. He thought about Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong. He wondered if they would be disappointed by this death or consider it a fair way for a cultivator to go out. He thought they might be okay with it. After all, how many cultivators ever even <em>saw</em> a dragon, let alone <em>fought</em> one? He shed for a moment on Grandmother Lu, but he had asked his teachers to keep an eye on her and, if necessary, to help her. It was a minor request, all things considered, and he thought they¡¯d honor it.


    Then, he thought of Master Feng. There were questions that Sen had always meant to ask the old man, about why he¡¯d picked Sen, about why he¡¯d never tried to ascend, but it had always seemed like there was more than enough time. Most of all, though, he asked himself what Master Feng would do in a situation like this. Sen smiled then. He felt bloody spittle drip from his bottom lip. He knew exactly what Master Feng would do. He¡¯d make a statement. He would burn this moment into the dragon¡¯s memory forever. So, that¡¯s what Sen would do. He started cycling for everything. Splitting his attention that many ways hurt, but what was pain in the face of death but a minor, very temporary, inconvenience? It wasn¡¯t like he needed to worry about healing from it. He pushed his qi channels to their limits, feeding each cycling pattern as much qi from his core as they could handle.


    Then, he startedyering it all together. Weaving it all together like a rope. Forcing the strands to merge, to fuse, to be something else, something more, something terrible. He wrapped that hideous, monstrous energy around his fist. Then, he fed it his pain, his anguish, and his regrets. So many regrets. <em>How could anyone my age have so many</em>? He fed it his killing intent, everyst scrap of it, because why hold back in thest moments? Then, he fed it his rage. He pulled on that anger that had haunted him and hounded him. He drew on that inferno of fury until it was nothing but embers inside him, and then he drew on those. <em>Hold nothing back</em>, he thought. <em>Nothing at all</em>. While all of that felt like it had taken forever to his battered mind, he dimly realized that he¡¯d been in the middle of that odd, almost elerated state of mind he fell into sometimes when fighting. He lifted his eyes and saw the dragon bearing down on him, moving almost impossibly fast even to Sen¡¯s enhanced eyes and thoughts. Then he let his gaze drop down to the hand where he¡¯d summed up everything he had to fight with, everything he¡¯d had left to give, or borrow, or spend.


    He couldn¡¯t even see his hand anymore. He didn¡¯t even think that there was a human word for the color of that mass of qi around his fist. It didn¡¯t look like a technique. It wasn¡¯t a thing of beauty or bnce. If hate could look like something, if it could take color, form, and shape, that was what was wrapped around his hand. Personified hate. More blood dripped from Sen¡¯s lip. Sen didn¡¯t look up at the dragon¡¯s steps carried doom ever closer to him. He wasn¡¯t calcting anything. He was too far gone for that, too deep into some other kind of rtionship with the world around him. He was waiting until it <em>felt</em> right. He gathered himself. Tensed the muscles in his legs. He even tilted his head a little, as though it would help him hear the unseen moment when he should act. Then, it clicked. Whatever decided such things, whatever those perfect moments to act were, it had arrived. Sen drove himself upward, uncoiling like a spring, he felt more of his bones break under the force he exerted, but he did it anyway. He sent his fistshing forward to meet the dragon¡¯s. When their fists collided, Sen unleashed the hellish qi construction he¡¯d forced into existence.


    There was an explosion. Wind, metal, and earth ripped at him. Force and shadow buffeted his body. Water threatened to drown him or perhaps it was simply blood in his throat. There was a noise like the earth itself was wailing in agony. Then, there was nothing but silence and pain. Then, there was nothing at all.

 Book 4: Chapter 25: Heart Demon

    Book 4: Chapter 25: Heart Demon


    Sen became aware that he was aware again. Thest thing that he could recall was setting off that <em>thing</em> he¡¯d made in what he¡¯d assumed were hisst moments in life. Thinking back, it looked like insanity to him. Maybe it had been insanity, but he thought, maybe, it was an insanity he¡¯d finally, mercifully, purged from himself. He hadn¡¯t felt so calm, so centered in a long, long time. Although, he supposed that being dead probably had that effect on people. Well, if he was dead and in Diyu, he supposed he should get on with the process. There was probably some forgetting soup on a bridge in his very near future. Opening his eyes, he didn¡¯t see what he expected. There was no river, no bridge, and definitely no soup. There was nothing or almost nothing. Of course, the one thing he could see was the one thing he really didn¡¯t want to see. The damnable <em>dragon</em> was there. Sen wondered if they had both died.


    It didn¡¯t seem likely. He expected thatst technique had probably hurt the dragon, but he doubted he could have mustered anything dangerous enough to kill it. Thankfully, the dragon seemed to have gotten over his killing fury. The ancient creature was sitting on a chair, sipping what smelled like jasmine tea, and reading a book. There was some kind of writing on the cover. Sen squinted at it, but the characters, or whatever they were, refused toe into focus. More importantly, even trying to read them made his head hurt. That gave Sen pause. <em>Can souls get headaches</em>? Sen¡¯s teachers hadn¡¯t spent much time on what happened when someone died or what it meant for souls, other than saying that people reincarnate, which even he had picked up simply from listening to people talk. Since it didn¡¯t seem like he or the dragon were going anywhere anytime soon, he stopped procrastinating. Sen sat up and eyed the dragon warily. The dragon immediately closed his book and gave Sen an amused look.


    ¡°Damn,¡± said the dragon, ¡°I bet myself that you¡¯d pretend to be asleep for at least five minutes.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure what a proper response to that would look like, so he hazarded a guess. ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Oh, do get up off the floor. You look ridiculous sitting down there.¡±


    The dragon waved a hand and another chair appeared. Sen didn¡¯t know how to feel about this turn of events. He was happy that the fight hadn¡¯t picked up where it left off, but that didn¡¯t mean he felt safe orfortable. He hesitantly went over to the chair the dragon had manifested and sat down. He nced around again, but there was still nothing but a vast expanse of darkness all around them.


    ¡°Tea?¡± asked the dragon, drawing Sen¡¯s attention.


    The book had vanished entirely and there was now a small table with a tea set sitting between them. Sen¡¯s own experiences with storage treasures meant that the appearance and disappearance of things didn¡¯t surprise him much, but something was off. He hadn¡¯t felt even the barest movement of qi. In fact, he realized, he couldn¡¯t feel any qi at all. Knowledge about the state of qi around him had be so ingrained in his world that its loss left Sen feeling like he¡¯d lost one of his senses.


    ¡°Am I dead?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want tea? It¡¯s really quite good.¡±


    Sen decided that if he yed along, the dragon might be more inclined to answer his question. ¡°Sure. Why not?¡±


    The dragon smiled, poured a cup, and handed it to Sen. They sat in silence while Sen waited long enough for the tea to cool a little. Then, he sipped. <em>Okay</em>, he thought, <em>the dragon wasn¡¯t lying</em>. <em>The tea is good</em>. Sen inclined his head to the dragon in acknowledgment.


    ¡°Now, since you¡¯re asking if you¡¯re dead, I assume you noticed theck of qi here.¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°You¡¯re not dead,¡± said the dragon.


    Relief exploded inside of Sen¡¯s chest but was immediately followed by confusion and concern. The dragon seemed to intuit the deluge of questions that were about to pour out of Sen because it held up a hand to stall those questions.


    ¡°You¡¯re not dead,¡± the dragon repeated, ¡°but you certainly deserve to be after thatst stunt. I swear that the heavens and chaos colluded to keep you alive if only just.¡±


    ¡°Then why can¡¯t I sense any qi?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°Technically speaking, there is no qi here. Right now, we¡¯re having this conversation inside of my mind. I supposed we could have tried to do it in your mind, but even your reinforced brain matter would have melted into something rather unpleasant after a few seconds. Plus, human minds are such messy, disorganized ces. So full of memories and emotions that other things are constantly intruding. Honestly, I don¡¯t know how you people get anything done. But this,¡± he said, smiling around at the empty space, ¡°is clean, orderly, the perfect setting for a discussion.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t seem terribly interested in talking before.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯te to talk. You were also in no fit state to talk. I¡¯m stunned you didn¡¯t murder your felinepanion at the first moment of disagreement.¡±


    ¡°I would <em>never</em> hurt her.¡±


    A sound like a bell, pure, high, and sweet echoed around them and, for a brief moment, golden light flooded the space. It was bright enough that Sen had to close his eyes against it. When it faded, Sen found the dragon staring at him with an eyebrow lifted.


    ¡°Apparently not,¡± observed the ancient reptile. ¡°I¡¯ve seen holy vows with less weight and truth in them. It certainly exins why she¡¯s so utterly fearless around you. What about the others you were traveling with? The smart one, thezy musician, and that infatuated girl? Did they survive?¡±


    ¡°Of course, they survived. Why wouldn¡¯t they have survived? Wait, what infatuated girl? Lifen?¡±


    ¡°No, the one that¡¯s hiding from herself.¡±


    ¡°Chan Yu Ming?¡±


    ¡°<em>Is</em> that her name?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that <em>is</em> her name.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t kill <em>her</em>? I was certain you would.¡±


    ¡°Why do you keep saying things like that? Yes, I¡¯ve been angry, but I can keep my temper if I have to.¡±


    ¡°My dear boy, you weren¡¯t angry. You were mad with a heart demon. Mad with paranoia, rage, and a fear so deep that I never thought you¡¯d escape it. Although, it¡¯s nice to be wrong every once in a while.¡±


    ¡°A heart demon,¡± muttered Sen. ¡°It never even urred to me.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. By the time something like that takes hold, you¡¯re generally beyond the point where you can see it clearly.¡±


    ¡°So, you helped me?¡±


    The dragon snorted. ¡°Help is a strong word. I mostly just entertained myself by throwing you around for a few minutes. It¡¯s what you expected. It¡¯s what you wanted. Actually, no, that¡¯s not entirely true. I don¡¯t think you even knew it, but you ventured so far out into the wilds tomit suicide. You couldn¡¯t bring yourself to do it, but you knew something was wrong. So, you came out here to get something else to do it for you. It seems your master trained you a little too well, though. You kept winning.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t win against you. You could have killed me.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I could have.¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes a little. The dragon clearly wanted Sen to ask why it didn¡¯t go down like that. He decided it didn¡¯t hurt to y the game a little bit.


    ¡°So, why didn¡¯t you?¡±


    The dragon smirked when he answered. ¡°Killing you when you were insane and dangerous would have been a kindness of sorts. Your teachers wouldn¡¯t have liked it, but they would have understood. Killing you after you purged the heart demon would have just been pitiful.¡±


    ¡°Pitiful?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Pitiful, <em>for me</em>. What honor is there for a dragon of my age and power in killing a core formation welp? And a human one at that. It¡¯d be like you crushing an ant.¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t quite make the words he was hearing correspond to the amused gleam in the dragon¡¯s eyes. Sen got the impression that the dragon was ying some kind of game, but not one specifically for Sen¡¯s benefit. It was more like a show for the benefit of some audience Sen couldn¡¯t see or sense.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Sen slowly, ¡°I appreciate your restraint.¡±


    ¡°As you should,¡± said the dragon. ¡°Moon cake?¡±


    Sen blinked in surprise as the dragon was suddenly holding a tray piled high with moon cakes. He thought about declining, then thought better of it. <em>Why not have the moon cake</em>? When he couldn¡¯te up with a good reason to refuse, he reached out and took one. As he bit into it, his eyes went wide in shock and delight.


    ¡°Good, aren¡¯t they?¡± said the dragon a little wistfully.


    ¡°They¡¯re amazing.¡±


    ¡°Sadly, they only exist in my mind anymore. The woman who made them died a very, very long time ago.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t pass the recipe down?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, she did. I even have it. I worked for her for almost half a year.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I thought that there must be some secret ingredient she was using or some unique family technique. There wasn¡¯t. It was just <em>her</em>. Food is a magic all its own, which I suspect you know. She just understood that magic better than anyone else.¡±


    As Sen chewed contemtively on the treat, something urred to him. ¡°Why are we having this meeting in your mind? Not that these aren¡¯t delicious, but why can¡¯t I go back to <em>my</em> body.¡±


    ¡°You certainly can, if you want to. I don¡¯t think you¡¯d enjoy it very much. Oh, unless you¡¯re one of those people who really <em>enjoy</em> pain.¡±


    Sen thought about how injured he¡¯d been at the end of that fight. Then he thought about how much more injured he must have been after that technique exploded everywhere. Those were not thoughts to inspire happiness orfort.


    ¡°I am <em>not</em> one of those people,¡± said Sen. ¡°So, should I assume that my body is tucked away somewhere healing right now?¡±


    ¡°It is. I did pull a few pills out of your storage ring to help things along. That ghost panther kit is watching over your body.¡±


    ¡°Kit? You know, she¡¯s hundreds of years old.¡±


    The dragon nodded. ¡°I do. She¡¯s <em>so</em> young. It¡¯s probably why she followed you out into the human world. The young are always so impatient, so impetuous. Also, I assume she didn¡¯t have any elders around to forbid it. Not many of her kind left in the world.¡±


    ¡°No, not many. I¡¯ve only met one other.¡±


    The pair fell into their own thoughts for a time before Sen spoke up again. ¡°Not to bbor a point, but you did tell me that after I learned, I was going to die.¡±


    The dragon gave a serious nod. ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re going to kill me?¡±


    ¡°What? No, we¡¯ve been over that. You humans don¡¯t need any <em>help</em> dying. You¡¯ll die any time now. You, in particr, with that bizarre, iplete body cultivation you have. Why in the world would you stop in the middle like that?¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± said Sen, sitting up straight. ¡°Do you know about the Five-Fold Body Transformation?¡±


    ¡°Is that what it¡¯s called? No. My kind doesn¡¯t use those methods. I can see what you¡¯ve done. I can tell it¡¯s iplete. I know that leaving it that way will kill you. But I cannot guide your steps in <em>that</em> matter.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°That damn turtle.¡±


    The dragon perked up. ¡°Turtle? What turtle?¡±


    ¡°He called himself Elder Bo.¡±


    ¡°Bo put you on that mad body cultivation path? Well, he always did like to meddle. I remember, this one time, it must have been eight, no, nine thousand years back,¡± said the dragon, ¡°he decided he was going to help this crane he just found on a beach.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Sen, morbidly curious.


    ¡°It ascended! Can you believe it?¡±


    Sen leaned back in his chair and, understanding that he wasn¡¯t going anywhere for a while, just listened as the dragon talked about the divine turtle that had, perhaps intentionally, set his life on such a different trajectory.

 Book 4: Chapter 26: Almost Free

    Book 4: Chapter 26: Almost Free


    Shi Ping was happy. He was so happy he could barely contain it. That damnable man had gone off into the wild with that beautiful, but deeply unsettling, young woman. He¡¯d said if they weren¡¯t back in a month, they wouldn¡¯t be back. It was thest day, and there was no sign of them. He¡¯d actually liked Lu Sen right at first, which made him an exception among the members of the Order of the Celestial me. Almost everyone else was terrified of, as one person had put it to Shi Ping, the multiple qi-wielding madman. Of course, it probably helped that Shi Ping had missed the demonstration of sky-searing power and impossible killing intent. He¡¯d been injured and unconscious by the time all of that had happened. The young man had seemed alright and his swordsmanship was positively unnatural. Shi Ping had learned a lot in a very short time from the madman¡¯s instruction.


    Of course, that had all been before Shi Ping had been voluntold that he was going with the young man or else. He hadn¡¯t been surprised, not really. He¡¯d been expecting to get kicked out of the order for a while. He was an adequate fire cultivator and a better-than-average swordsman, but he didn¡¯t like doing actual work. He never had. In an order thatrge, though, work was the way that you got by. It was how you paid your way. Of course, he¡¯d thought that they¡¯d just ask him to leave. That was something he¡¯d dreaded. He¡¯d had, all things considered, a cushy life in the quiet valley. Being thrown out would have meant returning to the regr world. He was a peak foundation formation cultivator, so there was always the possibility of getting into a sect, but that would have meant a likely repetition of the same process. The other possibility was bing a wandering cultivator, but he¡¯d seen those people. Most of them led violent and, usually, short lives, falling victim to sect members, other wandering cultivators, or even spirit beasts. It did not appeal to hisziness.


    So, the order to apany Lu Sen hade as an unwee surprise. Rather than deciding whether he¡¯d be a wandering cultivator, it was decided for him. He didn¡¯t understand why. There was nothing to gain from the arrangement. It wasn¡¯t as though the madman was teaching him anything useful about fire cultivation, despite ims that he¡¯d worked fire on a scale that dwarfed what nearly anyone else in the order could aplish. No, instead, it had been endless days of walking through incredibly hostile environments with barely any breaks, endless insults, and even being stabbed. Shi Ping really wanted to hold that one against Lu Sen, but he¡¯d been provoking the vtile young man. He counted himself lucky that he¡¯d just been stabbed in the leg, instead of getting his head cut off.


    He¡¯d given serious consideration to leaving. He¡¯d even nned how he¡¯d just slip away one night. None of them really liked him, and he didn¡¯t think they¡¯d make any effort to find him. He didn¡¯t know where he¡¯d go, exactly. If he walked away from the order to travel with Lu Sen, he really couldn¡¯t go back to the order. They¡¯d very likely would kill him, as the frustratingly self-righteous young man had predicted they would. Still, he¡¯d entertained that idea of leaving right up until he¡¯d seen a little piece of what everyone on that battlefield must have seen. Watching that young man summon a giant fist of stone from the earth in mere seconds had been, even Shi Ping could admit it, it had been awe-inspiring. Watching him punch that spirit beast out of the middle of the air and send it flying, as though gravity was a mere suggestion, had shaken Shi Ping to the core.


    He was aware of body cultivation, but it just wasn¡¯t thatmon of a practice. Most people went through the initial steps because it was practical and universal. It was more of a body cleansing and perfecting process in the initial stage. After that, though, it got increasinglyplex and personal with a high likelihood of failure. That meant that the people who did body cultivation typically did it exclusively, while the majority of cultivators focused on spirit cultivation techniques. Dual-cultivators like Lu Sen weren¡¯tmon. Ones operating at the core formation stage were even lessmon. Shi Ping had not appreciated, had never even imagined, the kind of raw force that a core-equivalent body cultivator could generate until that fateful moment.


    Yet, even that hadn¡¯t been the worst of it. The way that young man had casually dered a genocidal war against an entire species of spirit beasts had birthed a cold terror in Shi Ping. He¡¯d abandoned any thoughts of just leaving in that moment because he was convinced that Lu Sen was actually, legitimately insane. While a normal person might just shrug off Shi Ping¡¯s disappearance one night, there was no telling what a crazy person might do. Lu Sen might shrug it off, or he might take it personally and hunt Shi Ping down. The very idea of <em>that</em> man hunting him had cost Shi Ping a lot of lost sleep. Shi Ping had been making a concerted effort not to aggravate the man recently. While the insults had still flowed pretty freely, Shi Ping hadn¡¯t again felt like he was under the immediate threat of violence. At least, he hadn¡¯t felt that from Lu Sen.


    The women, though, were another story. Lo Meifeng put him into a cold sweat any time she focused her attention on him. He didn¡¯t know how she and the Lu Sen had connected, or why they stayed together, but Shi Ping could see what she was after five minutes in her presence. She was an assassin. Even in a world where killing wasmon, she was far too calm about it and far toofortable with it. Given herte core formation advancement, he assumed she was very, very good at being an assassin. He¡¯d gotten the impression more than once that the only reason she hadn¡¯t simply disposed of him in the woods somewhere was because Lu Sen had told her not to. Given how erratic that man was, that wasn¡¯t safety so much as standing on the edge of a crumbling cliff and praying that it didn¡¯t copse beneath you.


    The girl wasn¡¯t much better. His only constion with her was that she didn¡¯t seem to care about him at all. Granted, that meant that she wasn¡¯t going to go out of her way to help him if trouble arose, but it also gave Shi Ping the tinyfort of knowing that she probably wasn¡¯t thinking up a range of deadly ¡°idents¡± that he could have on the road. Of course, he could see on her face that she was absolutely devoted to Lu Sen. If he ever <em>asked </em>her to kill him, Shi Ping doubted he¡¯dst long enough to be surprised. He¡¯d gotten a simr impression from the man. Maybe even a bit more from Lu Sen. May the heavens help the fool that thought to do her harm. Shi Ping believed right to his core that Lu Sen would make the death of that person a thing of dark legend.


    Yet, despite the intensity of their bond, that rtionship was deeply odd. He would have expected there to be something romantic or sexual there, and there just <em>wasn¡¯t</em>. It was as if the two of them were simply oblivious to even the existence of such possibilities. Then again, when Lu Sen had women like Chan Yu Ming following him around, maybe he didn¡¯t need to think about those things. The attraction between those two burned so hot it was a miracle they didn¡¯t set fire to the forest every time they got within five feet of each other. Of course, some damn thing or another had made that situation all tense andplicated. At least that one didn¡¯t seem like she¡¯d kill him at the drop of a hat.


    He¡¯d thought that she would leave after the madman went on his mad quest into the wilds to purge his anger. Yet, she¡¯d stayed, and that had be ufortable very quickly. It seemed that she and Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t get on all that well. He hadn¡¯t been able to pin down any specific reason for it. He wasn¡¯t even sure that there was one. Some people just didn¡¯t like each other, and Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t seem to like anyone. Shi Ping sighed a contented sigh, though. One more night and none of these things would be his problem anymore. He was almost free. He could return to the Order of the Celestial me with neither shame nor dishonor. He couldn¡¯t be med for Lu Sen running off to die somewhere. Shi Ping estimated that they¡¯d probably let him stay for another year or two since he¡¯d willingly followed the madman as instructed. That wasn¡¯t a lot of time, but it ought to be enough to firm up some kind of n for what to do after they kicked him out.


    Shi Ping felt his heart leap into his throat when the door to the weird stone house opened. Then, his heart sank into the floor as the tall figure of Lu Sen stepped inside, followed immediately by the girl. They both looked different. Lu Sen looked a touch leaner and maybe a bit older. Yet, that wasn¡¯t what gave Shi Ping pause. He¡¯d seen a lot of expressions on that young man¡¯s face, but there had always been a tension beneath them, as though the young man was locked in a constant struggle against pain or some inner conflict. All of that tension was gone, and so was all the anger. Lu Sen looked like a man in perfect, absolute control of himself. While Shi Ping would have thought that would be a relief, it wasn¡¯t. Lu Sen had been dangerous before, but this new, calm, controlled version of him looked <em>lethal</em>.


    The girl with her strange green eyes was different too. She¡¯d always been strange, and more than a little protective of Lu Sen, but now it was as if she didn¡¯t dare go more than a few seconds without looking at him. It was as though she needed reassurance that he was still there and still alive. Shi Ping had no idea what the two had gone through out in the wilds, but it had clearly been bad and affected both of them deeply. Lo Meifeng and Chan Yu Ming had risen from the table where they had been pretending their game of Xiangqi was a friendly one. Shi Ping had never cared for the strategy game, but they had all gotten a little desperate for distraction as the days bled away. Sen eyed them each in turn, but Shi Ping could read nothing from the look.


    ¡°The holiday is over,¡± said Sen. ¡°We leave for the capital tomorrow.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 27: Let’s Talk

    Book 4: Chapter 27: Let¡¯s Talk


    That first night back, there had been a lot of questions about what he and Falling Leaf had done and seen. Sen offered them a very abbreviated story where he left out the sensitive parts, such as their encounter with the spirit oxen. As far as Sen was concerned, that wasn¡¯t information anyone else needed. For her part, Falling Leaf said almost nothing, except to offer the asional detail that Sen had neglected to mention or simply hadn¡¯t seen during some fight. Of course, the question they all really wanted an answer to was whether or not he¡¯d seeded in purging his anger.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± asked Chan Yu Ming. ¡°Just, yes, with no exnation about how.¡±


    Sen mulled it over for a moment before he relented a tiny bit. ¡°I fought a dragon.¡±


    ¡°You won?¡± asked an incredulous Shi Ping.


    Sen looked over at the man and gave him a bemused smile. ¡°No.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming was leaning forward, her eyes wide, clearly expecting a detailed description of the fight and the aftermath. When Sen didn¡¯t borate on <em>any</em> of it, frustration and disappointment had a short, brutal battle on her face before exasperation made a surprise entry to the field and stole victory. She red at him. He met her re with calm eyes. He had missed that calm so much.


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s traditional to share the details of these experiences,¡±ined Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen, his calm expression never twitching, ¡°with trusted friends.¡±


    Sen noted that Shi Ping absorbed that quiet admonishment without any real feelings about the matter. Wang Yu Ming and Lo Meifeng both flinched. He got the impression that they both thought, or maybe had just privately hoped, that all would be forgiven once his anger problem was resolved. With the reflexive, overwhelming anger out of the picture, he¡¯d been able to think about what they¡¯d done with a cooler eye. He <em>could</em> understand why they had both done what they had done. It wasn¡¯t even that hard to see the situations through their eyes. That had softened him a little toward Lo Meifeng. It had been an extreme situation, and she had family involved. He''d justified enough irrational things in thest year to see how she could have justified it. He could even see why she was unrepentant about it. Yet, the fundamental betrayal and breach of trust remained.


    As for Chan Yu Ming, well, he didn¡¯t know why he¡¯d expected anything else from her. She was a noble, and she wanted something. At the end of the day, she had no real investment in him as a person. He was a tool of the, apparently, right make for aplishing whatever her end goal looked like. Using him to reach that end she wanted no doubt seemed practical and reasonable. For all he knew, it <em>was</em> practical and reasonable. He¡¯d discovered that he found such a mercenary mindset less¡­offensive, now that anger wasn¡¯t clouding everything. He¡¯d probably even be willing to y along. But she couldn¡¯t reasonably expect him to trust her at a personal level if that was the case. The best-case scenario there was a mutually beneficial business rtionship. He turned his eyes from Chan Yu Ming to Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk,¡± he said and gestured to the door leading outside.


    She¡¯d followed him out of the house, where he¡¯d erected a little twist of wind to keep their conversation private. Lo Meifeng met his gaze confidently enough, but he could see uncertainty swimming in her eyes behind the confidence.


    ¡°You¡¯re still angry,¡± she said.


    ¡°No, not like I was. I understand why you did it, and even how you justified using me the way you did. I¡¯m not feeling paranoid anymore that you¡¯re going to betray me again at any and every opportunity. The situation was, if not unique, then not all that likely to repeat itself.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked genuinely relieved. ¡°So, what now?¡±


    ¡°The first problem I have now is that I know you <em>will</em> betray me under the right conditions. With a clearer head, I realized that could be a manageable problem, except for the other problem I have now.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± asked Lo Meifeng, her brow furrowed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that either of us actually know what those betrayal conditions are.¡±


    Lo Meifeng was silent for several minutes. Sen would have been very interested in knowing what she was thinking about and how she was processing the situation.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t <em>n</em> it,¡± she said. ¡°I knew there was a bad blood between the order and the Clear Spring sect. But I thought the worst thing we¡¯d run across would be a couple of idiots settling some private grudge. <em>I</em> could have dealt with that. I <em>would</em> have dealt with it. Taking you there really was just an excuse to see my brother with a convenient side benefit that you could learn something about fire cultivation. I just wanted to make amends.¡±


    ¡°I just realized that I never asked. Did you?¡±


    ¡°What? Make amends with him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Lo Meifeng let out a particrly bitterugh. ¡°You know, that¡¯s the worst part of it. No. I didn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t even want to be in the same room as me, let alone talk things out. He didn¡¯t care that I risked my life, your life, to get to him. He didn¡¯t care that bringing you there probably saved a lot of lives. The <em>only</em> thing he wanted to discuss was how fast I could leave and nevere back. He told me that, as far as he¡¯s concerned, his sister is dead. Betraying you, fighting in that battle, it was all, literally, for <em>nothing</em>.¡±


    Sen had never known Lo Meifeng to be a particrly expressive person. Her reactions were typically confined to sardonic amusement, detached indifference, or icy deadliness. So, the unalloyed pain and grief on her face startled Sen. Then, he realized that she¡¯d been carrying all of that around in silence since they¡¯d left the fire cultivator¡¯s valley. She wouldn¡¯t have talked about it with Falling Leaf or Chan Yu Ming, who she didn¡¯t know, let alone Shi Ping, a person she actively disliked. When it came to talking anything out, Sen was <em>it</em> for her. The literal only option, and he¡¯d shut her outpletely. He¡¯d had his reasons, some of them justifiable, some of them even good, but it didn¡¯t change the end result for her. She¡¯d been suffering alone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°About your brother, I mean. That he was so, well, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Lo Meifeng turned away at that point and did her best to wipe tears away from her eyes without him seeing.


    ¡°Thanks. I was so stupid. I should have known it would go like that. He was always unforgiving. I just hoped that with so much time since west saw each other that he might have,¡± she sighed, ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter. I should¡­I should never have taken you there. It was selfish. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Sen had truly never expected her to apologize in any fashion for any of what had happened. So, he¡¯d never considered what he¡¯d say. At the same time, he had an intuition that Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t <em>want</em> him to say anything about it. Realizing that nothing was going to smoothly transition them to something else, he went for the obvious subject change.


    ¡°I do believe that you didn¡¯t n that situation. Ironically, that makes dealing with my two now problems harder.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± she asked, her back still to him.


    ¡°If there had been a n, I could have had you exin the n to me. What drove it? When you made the decisions. How you made the decisions. I could have gleaned a lot from that about what might prompt simr choices in the future. In this case, you just reacted to the situation. I can glean a little, but not enough to make predictions.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t imagine me simply saying it won¡¯t happen again would make a difference,¡± she said, turning around to face him.


    ¡°Would it make a difference to you, if you were in my ce?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said, some of that sardonic amusement back in ce. ¡°It probably wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So, here¡¯s how this is going to go. Since I can¡¯t make urate predictions, and you¡¯re just too capable to cut loose, we¡¯re both going to have to go about this the hardest way possible. I¡¯m going to have to simply extend you a <em>little</em> trust. You¡¯re going to have <em>to earn</em> the rest of it back. And I expect that will prove damned ufortable for us both for a while.¡±


    ¡°What if I fail?¡± she asked. ¡°Will you kill me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely certain I <em>can</em> kill you. But, no, I won¡¯t try to kill you. I won¡¯t do anything <em>to</em> you. You will simply cease to exist for me.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly at thatst. As the implications really sank home, though, her face became ever paler and increasingly drawn. Sen was d that he¡¯d guessed right. Lo Meifeng had made her amodations with death long ago. Killing her would be within her expectations. Reflecting on what she¡¯d done with her brother, though, had given him a brief look at what mattered to her. No, she didn¡¯t fear death. She feared being disregarded by those who somehow mattered to her. Sen didn¡¯t know exactly where he fit in that, presumably, very small group of people, but he had managed tond there somehow.


    He continued. ¡°You understand my meaning?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s both hope it neveres to that. Now, let¡¯s go back inside. I¡¯m tired and really would like a bit of sleep before we set off in the morning.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 28: Let’s Talk (2)

    Book 4: Chapter 28: Let¡¯s Talk (2)


    Just as he¡¯d indicated in his initial statement to everyone, Sen had them up and on the road at first light the next day. He kept them moving too, stopping only briefly for meals. Most nights they camped. Shi Ping hadined, once. Sen hadn¡¯t said a word to the man, simply looked at him with newly calm eyes. Yet, that look had stopped Shi Ping cold. It had stopped everyone cold. It wasn¡¯t just a look or an expression. It had a weight that hadn¡¯t been there before, as though Sen was physically pushing down on the other man with an invisible hand the size of a building. Later that night, after everyone else had taken to their nkets, Lo Meifeng had hesitantly approached Sen. He just gestured to a nearby rock. Once she¡¯d settled down into ce, he spoke.


    ¡°I spent a week with that dragon. It was educational. I learned some things.¡±


    ¡°Clearly.¡±


    Sen smiled a little. ¡°One of the things that I learned is why fortunate encounters happen.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Lo Meifeng with unfeigned curiosity. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°It turns out that very old, very powerful things get <em>very</em> bored. All of them, apparently. I was the first thing that dragon had a conversation with in a long time. It decided that, since I was something of a captive audience, I might as well learn something. Honestly, though, it wasn¡¯t about <em>me</em>. I was just a novel distraction. I think it probably would have taught anyone who had enough power to find it.¡±


    Lo Meifeng snorted at that. ¡°I doubt that.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯ve seen you operate. I expect that before this boredom-induced learning experience that had <em>nothing</em> to do with <em>you</em>, you did something that was spectacr, stupid, and nigh-impossible.¡±


    Sen stared into the campfire for a little while before he said, ¡°There <em>might</em> be a sliver of truth in there somewhere.¡±


    ¡°You should just go ahead and add this to the list of things that make you ridiculous.¡±


    A soft chuckle escaped Sen. ¡°Probably so.


    ¡°A divine turtle and now a dragon. <em>I¡¯m</em> starting to wonder what god¡¯s life you saved in yourst life.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t as great as you might think. I had to practically die before all that special instruction happened.¡±


    ¡°How close was it?¡±


    ¡°Close. Honestly, I think I might have actually been dead there for a moment or two.¡±


    ¡°No wonder she¡¯s acting the way she is.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t need Lo Meifeng to tell him which she.


    ¡°It was bad enough for me, but you know how battles are. It¡¯s all speed and fury and chaos. Everything is happening all at once, and there¡¯s no time to think about anything but what you¡¯re doing to do in the next two seconds. She had to watch it happen.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s always worse.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t get included with the extra training.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t say.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Lo Meifeng, her face moving into an expressionless mask. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to pry.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t. I can¡¯t say because I don¡¯t know. I think the dragon might have, but she didn¡¯t bring it up.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my business. If she wants me to know, she¡¯ll tell me.¡±


    ¡°Did you ask the dragon about your body cultivation?¡±


    Senughed. ¡°It was just about the first thing I asked. The dragon was <em>magnificently</em> useless on that topic.¡±


    ¡°So, there¡¯s really no getting around going to the capital.¡±


    ¡°Not that I can see. Which will probably mean cutting some kind of deal with Chan Yu Ming.¡±


    ¡°Do you think you can trust her? Sorry, that was a stupid question. Do you think you can trust her to hold up her end of the bargain?¡±


    ¡°Probably,¡± hedged Sen, ¡°since she wants something in return. But that¡¯s not the real issue. The real issue is whether I can trust her family toe through. They¡¯re the ones who will, in theory, get me the manual.¡±


    ¡°Be careful with her.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll be as careful as I can be. A lot of this will depend on what she wants in return. The price may well be too high. I¡¯ll find out for sure tomorrow.¡±


    Lo Meifeng nodded and got up. ¡°Wake me when it¡¯s my turn.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    ***


    Sen waited until they¡¯d been on the road for a couple of hours before he fell back to walk beside Chan Yu Ming. She eyed him cautiously. He kept his eyes forward.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°You¡¯re different.¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were ever going to talk to me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, that was a possibility.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re certainly colder than you were.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t a <em>bad</em> thing. Considering where we¡¯re going and the number of people there I¡¯m bound to dislike, it¡¯s an advantage.¡±


    ¡°You mean nobles,¡± said Chan Yu Ming with a sigh.


    ¡°I mean nobles. I also mean people from sects.¡±


    ¡°I thought you went out into the wilds to purge your anger,¡± she said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be angry not to like nobles and sects. They make it easy not to like them.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming shot him a hot re, but then looked away. ¡°I can understand why you think that.¡±


    ¡°I truly hope you¡¯re not convincing yourself that I¡¯m some exception and that most people don¡¯t think that way. Not saying something and not thinking something are very different.¡±


    ¡°Not every noble or sect member is a terrible person.¡±


    ¡°How many peasants and wandering cultivators have you asked about that?¡±


    Sen could sense the growing frustration in the woman when she answered.


    ¡°None.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what either of us wants to discuss, so let¡¯s just drop it. We can argue about it some other time if you really want to,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s for the best.¡±


    ¡°Alright. So, exin this scheme of yours.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a scheme!¡±


    Sen just gave her a t look. ¡°Then what do you call it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a,¡± she paused and thought, ¡°n. A clever n that will get us both what we want.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Then please exin this <em>n</em> of yours. What is it, specifically, that you¡¯re trying to aplish? And what role could I possibly y in it?¡±


    Sen had expected her to jump all over this chance to exin things. She¡¯d waited for more than a month to do just that. So, when Chan Yu Ming didn¡¯t say anything, he turned to look at her. Her cheeks were bright pink, and she was looking everywhere but at him. <em>What in the world is happening right now</em>, thought Sen. Sen gave the silence another minute before he mentally gave up.


    ¡°Okay. It seems that, somehow, you¡¯re not ready to have this discussion. So, when you are,e find me.¡±


    Sen picked up his pace to walk away when she called after him in a harsh whisper.


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    He slowed down until they were walking next to each other again. ¡°So, you <em>are</em> ready?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be quite this embarrassing. What do you know about how nobles handle marriage?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know how peasants handle marriage. So, you should assume I know nothing.¡±


    ¡°Most marriages are arranged. It¡¯s how most peasant families handle it, but it¡¯s how <em>all</em> noble families deal with the problem of their daughters. They pick another family they want to ally themselves with and marry their daughters off to one of that family''s sons.¡±


    ¡°It seems to me that seeing daughters as problems is the real problem, but I guess that¡¯s not a popr position.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming shook her head. ¡°No, unfortunately, it¡¯s not a popr position. The exception to that rule, though, is when daughters go off and be cultivators. Generally, families put a stop to any talk of marrying their daughters off once they reach a certain stage of advancement.¡±


    ¡°What stage?¡±


    ¡°Core formation. At that point, you¡¯re going to live so much longer than any mortal that marrying you off is, frankly, cruel.¡±


    ¡°Okay. That¡¯s an interesting and disturbing peek into noble culture, but I¡¯m not sure I see the point.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I haven¡¯t reached the point, yet. Releasing daughters is the custom, but it¡¯s not thew. Families can still insist youe home and marry.¡±


    ¡°Can they, though? I mean, I can maybe see them making the demand, but can they enforce it at that point? <em>How</em> would they enforce it? It¡¯s not like they can drag you off by force.¡±


    ¡°There are other kinds of pressure they can bring to bear. For example, they can disown you. Refuse to see you. Deny you ess to the rest of your family. I realize that doesn¡¯t mean much to you, but you¡¯ll have to trust me when I tell you that other people <em>do</em> care about those things.¡±


    ¡®Okay, I believe you. I still don¡¯t get what¡­,¡± Sen trailed off as it came together. ¡°Your family has arranged a marriage for you.¡±


    ¡°They have.¡±


    ¡°Then, I don¡¯t see what I can do for you if you¡¯re not willing to ept those unpleasant consequences you were talking about.¡±


    ¡°They arranged it because they think it¡¯s what''s best for me and the family. I need to present them with an alternative that looks more advantageous,¡± said Chan Yu Ming, giving him a significant look.


    Sen stared nkly at her until he understood her meaning, then he burst intoughter. She put up with theughter for almost half a minute before she lost her temper and hit him.


    ¡°Stopughing! It¡¯s not funny.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. Not the n itself. That has a certain sort of logic to it. The idea that I have any role to y in it is <em>hrious</em>. You just said it yourself. You need a <em>better</em>, more advantageous alternative. Your family will take one look at me and wonder if you¡¯ve lost your mind. I¡¯m not going to look like a better option to anyone. I¡¯m nobody, from nowhere.¡±


    ¡°You only think that because you haven¡¯t thought it through. You¡¯re not some qi-condensing cultivator I found in some third-rate sect. You¡¯re a core-formation dual cultivator. That alone makes you an almost mythological creature. Beyond that, you were trained by <em>legends</em>. Cultivators so powerful that even mortals know and care about them. Or a certain group of mortals at any rate. Along the way, you exposed a demonic cultivator cabal and ended a sect war. You¡¯re well on your way to being a legend in your own right. Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    Sen went to make his usual denials, but they rang hollow to him. She wasn¡¯t wrong, exactly. He might know how flimsy all of those ¡°aplishments¡± were, but that didn¡¯t mean they¡¯d look flimsy to other people, especially non-cultivators.


    ¡°How would this even work? You¡¯re going to show up and do what? It¡¯s not like you can just introduce me as your betrothed. I¡¯m very certain I remember hearing something about how I¡¯d have needed to talk with your father about that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that part. That¡¯s my headache to deal with.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure. We¡¯ll see. Okay, let¡¯s say that you, by some miracle, actually talk them into this madness. What happens next? Have you really thought about it? What are they going to expect from me? Or maybe I should ask, what favors will they expect me to fulfill for them? For that matter, what if they insist that we get married, I don¡¯t know, now?¡±


    The embarrassed blush that had faded as Sen started raising objections suddenly flooded back into Chan Yu Ming¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that they¡¯d do that,¡± she said hurriedly. ¡°It¡¯s not how noble marriages are done.¡±


    ¡°Except, I¡¯m not a noble. Who knows how they¡¯ll react? If they take leave of their senses and decide it¡¯s a good idea, they might decide they need to lock this deal in as fast as possible.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying you won¡¯t do it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying that you <em>haven¡¯t thought it through</em>. I <em>need</em> that manual, but you can¡¯t even guarantee me that your family can get it. I¡¯m not going through with a charade like this on the off-chance that <em>maybe</em> I¡¯ll get the manual at the end. I don¡¯t have that kind of time to waste. So, if you want me to even consider this absurd idea, you¡¯re going to need way better answers to all of those questions I asked you. More importantly, you¡¯re going to have to convince me that, at the end of all of it, regardless of the oue, I¡¯m going to have that manual in my hands.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 29: Let’s Talk (3)

    Book 4: Chapter 29: Let¡¯s Talk (3)


    Sen¡¯s chat with Chan Yu Ming seemed to shatter a number of illusions she¡¯d had about her clever n because she almost entirely withdrew from everyone else. He¡¯d see her staring hard at nothing, shaking her head, and even asionally muttering to herself. He assumed that she was trying to rethink her n in a way that would actually have some chance of working, but he wasn¡¯t holding out much hope. The young woman¡¯s muttering got so frequent at one point that Lo Meifengmented on it.


    ¡°I think you broke the princess.¡±


    ¡°She should have taken that month I provided to think up a better n,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°That¡¯s true enough. What about the other one?¡±


    ¡°What other one?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°You talked to me. You talked to Chan Yu Ming. Are you nning a simr conversation with Shi Ping?¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea. Maybe why the Order of the Celestial me sent him along with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that. I assume he knows already. It¡¯s pretty obvious when you think about it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s obvious to you and me, but I don¡¯t think <em>he </em>knows,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°How could he not?¡±


    ¡°Maybe he was toozy to think about it.¡±


    Sen wanted to dismiss that idea, but it was all too usible. At the same time, it wasn¡¯t really <em>his</em> problem. If Shi Ping didn¡¯t want to reflect on his life circumstances, it wasn¡¯t Sen¡¯s ce to do it for him.


    ¡°I could tell him, but what would that aplish?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it would inspire something other than apathy in him.¡±


    ¡°Doubtful,¡± said Sen. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that all of his seniors tried that already?¡±


    ¡°Probably, but I find that certain realities tend to focus the mind, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t see the point.¡±


    ¡°Maybe there isn¡¯t one, but he¡¯s not terrible with that jian. With some motivation and training, he could be useful.¡±


    ¡°All right, I¡¯ll talk to him. If it doesn¡¯t change anything, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll lose anything.¡±


    Sen thought about the best way to approach the fire cultivator but couldn¡¯t think of a good one. If Shi Ping had already figured it out, then the conversation wasn¡¯t likely to go anywhere. If he hadn¡¯t, the conversation wasn¡¯t likely to go well. Since he didn¡¯t really want to have that conversation with Shi Ping, Sen put it off for several more days. Eventually, he got tired of the annoyed looks he was getting from Lo Meifeng and went over to walk by the fire cultivator. Shi Ping looked immediately nervous and got even more nervous at Sen¡¯s words.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡± asked the supremely cautious Shi Ping.


    ¡°About why you¡¯re really here,¡± said Sen. ¡°Do you know?¡±


    Shi Ping was quiet for a few moments, before he ventured, ¡°As punishment.¡±


    Sen was honestly surprised that the fire cultivator hadn¡¯t figured it out. He didn¡¯t relish being the bearer of bad news, but Sen pressed onward. He shook his head and gave Shi Ping a significant look.


    ¡°That¡¯s not why you¡¯re here. They sent you with me to get rid of you. Permanently.¡±


    ¡°Permanently. I¡¯m not traveling with you forever. I can tell you that right now.¡±


    ¡°Are you being intentionally blind to this? They sent you with me because they expected to you die.¡±


    Shi Ping rolled his eyes. ¡°What are you talking about that? That¡¯spletely¡­utterly¡­damn.¡±


    Sen had watched as the realization had settled over the man. It seemed that Shi Ping really hadn¡¯t put the pieces together or had been working very hard to ignore the evidence. Sen felt a small pang of sympathy for the man. It was one thing to know that your superiors didn¡¯t particrly care for you. It was something else entirely to realize that they¡¯d purposefully sent you with a man who routinely drew the kind of violence that would crush you. Shi Ping alternated between looking sick and looking hurt before his expression settled on fury. He whirled toward Sen.


    ¡°You knew!¡± Shi Ping shouted. ¡°You knew and you let mee along anyway!¡±


    Sen maintained his cid expression in the face of Shi Ping¡¯s anger. ¡°And? I¡¯m not a member of your order. I certainly haven¡¯t taken any oaths to protect and preserve your life. I agreed to take you along in exchange for that spear. I took you along. My only obligation has been fulfilled.¡±


    Shi Ping tried to attack Sen at that point, forcing Sen to brush aside punches and kicks as Shi Ping vented his anger on the only target he could reach. Sen let that go on for a while because he thought it would probably help Shi Ping¡¯s state of mind in the long run. When the fire cultivator reached for his jian, though, Sen fixed him with a hard look.


    ¡°If you try to draw that de, you won¡¯t even see the blow that kills you.¡±


    Shi Ping released the hilt of the jian, but he never stopped ring at Sen. ¡°So, why bother telling me?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m tired of you, Shi Ping.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means that it¡¯s time for one of two things to happen. The first option, and my personal preference, is that you simply go away. I don¡¯t care where you go, although I wouldn¡¯t show your face back at the Order of the Celestial me if I were you. But we¡¯ve passed some viges. You could go back to one of those and stay until they ask you to leave as well. If you keep heading the direction we¡¯re heading, you¡¯ll get to the capital, although I doubt you have the money or ambition to survive there for long on your own. At this point, though, you can consider yourself well and truly discharged from your former order. They don¡¯t want you back. That means you can go wherever you want and be whoever you want.¡±


    Sen let Shi Ping process all of that.


    ¡°You said one of two things. What¡¯s the other thing?¡±


    ¡°You keep traveling with us.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said¡­,¡± began Shi Ping.


    ¡°You should <em>really</em> let me finish because there are several important details to that course of action. If you decide that you¡¯re going to keep traveling with us, you <em>bury</em> this useless person you are now. All of theziness, the whining, the overeating, it all dies right here, at this very spot in the road. You will find whatever spark of ambition let you reach peak foundation formation and breathe life back into it. You will train with me daily, without exception and withoutint. You will participate in <em>every</em> fight we face. And, no, you don¡¯t get a week to think about it. You have one minute. I suggest that you think very hard about what kind of person you want to be, and make your decision based on that.¡±


    Sen walked down the road and stood next to Falling Leaf. The two of them watched the fire cultivator mull over his choice.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just send him away?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°To keep my conscience and karma clear. If I tell him to go and some spirit beast kills him two miles down the road, then I bear a lot of responsibility for that.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t like him.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like him as he is now, but he couldn¡¯t have always been this way. He never would have reached the peak of foundation formation if he was. At some point in the past, he worked hard at being a sessful cultivator. I don¡¯t know if I would have liked that version of him any better, but I might have respected him. The way he is now, I don¡¯t like or respect him. As for giving him the choice, if he decides that he¡¯d rather bezy and useless and goes by his own choice, then that karma is all on him. If he stays, then maybe we¡¯ll meet someone who will be more helpful and that we¡¯ll all like a little more.¡±


    ¡°What if he stays and doesn¡¯t change?¡±


    ¡°Then I expect Lo Meifeng will probably kill him.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± said Lo Meifeng, stepping up next to the pair. ¡°That wasn¡¯t quite what I expected from that conversation.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s an inconvenience for us now. I imagine he¡¯d be a full-blown anchor for us in the capital.¡±


    ¡°More than likely,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°So, we deal with the problem now. If he leaves, problem solved. If he stays and actually changes, the problem is mostly likely solved. If he stays and doesn¡¯t change, the problem gets solved another way.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t enforce the one-minute deadline he¡¯d set. It was a potentially life-changing decision. He gave Shi Ping five minutes before he walked back over to the fire cultivator.


    ¡°Well?¡± Sen asked.


    There was a moment of hesitation and Sen was certain that Shi Ping was going to leave. Then, the fire cultivator looked at Sen.


    ¡°We¡¯re wasting time,¡± said Shi Ping and started heading down the road.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at Shi Ping¡¯s back and said, ¡°So, we are.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 30: Practicing

    Book 4: Chapter 30: Practicing


    As a general rule, Sen found the huge distances between locations on the continent to be irksome. Given the time constraints he was under, that was still true on some level. Yet, for once, he saw the weeks they still had left to travel before they reached the capital as something of a blessing. One, it gave him some time to start processing the truly staggering number of things the dragon had tried to teach him. He¡¯d only barely gotten a handle on the tiniest fraction of those things. Some of that was simply theck of practice. He also had the sneaking suspicion that the dragon had been teaching him techniques and information meant for nascent soul cultivators. He fully expected that he would spend years unraveling all of that knowledge into practical skills he could use. Yet, that was little more than a background benefit.


    The real reason he was happy for that time was because it gave him a chance to help reinforce Shi Ping¡¯s new outlook on life. Sen had seen the man fall back into bad habits at the drop of a hat, so he didn¡¯t give the fire cultivator any opportunity for it. Almost without meaning to do it, Sen put the entire group on a training regimen. In the morning, they all took an hour for dedicated cultivation. While Sen had his moving cultivation technique, he didn¡¯t think that any of the others had anything simr. While an hour each morning wasn¡¯t a lot, it was an opportunity for everyone to focus exclusively on their cultivation with no distractions. Sen did his best to exin his moving cultivation technique to all of them, but it was ultimately something they¡¯d have to experiment with until they either found something that worked for them, or they gave up on it as a lost cause.


    Then, they¡¯d travel for most of the day. Shi Ping couldn¡¯t keep up with the non-stop qinggong techniques that Sen, Lo Meifeng, and even, much to Sen¡¯s surprise, Falling Leaf could maintain. Still, the walking pace of a peak foundation formation cultivator was a ground-eating thing, and they made decent time. Late in the afternoon, Sen would stop them for the day. Depending on what kind of weather he expected or the spirit beasts he sensed in the area, Sen would either put up a galehouse or tell everyone to set up camp. Then, the training began. The first couple of days, it was just Sen and Shi Ping. Sen could feel the frustration radiating off of Shi Ping as he corrected a hundred minor defects in the man¡¯s stance and techniques. He kept waiting for the fire cultivator to explode in a rage, but it never happened. As much as he disliked the constant correction, it seemed that even Shi Ping could recognize that his sword work was being slowly transformed frompetent to something better.


    It seemed that Lo Meifeng and even the perpetually distracted Chan Yu Ming had recognized the same thing because they started joining in on the lessons. Sen didn¡¯t try to teach them his styles of fighting. They didn¡¯t really have the time for that and, on reflection, he wasn¡¯t entirelyfortable sharing that much information with people he might, if things went terribly wrong, have to fight one day. Instead, he focused on helping them improve on what they <em>did</em> know. That was rtively easy with Chan Yu Ming because her style shared a lot ofmonalities with Auntie Caihong¡¯s style. They weren¡¯t identical by any means, but sound principles always applied. Helping Lo Meifeng was a bit more challenging. Her style was sufficiently different from everyone else¡¯s that Sen wondered where it hade from. He ended up needing to spar with her several times before he got the necessary insights he needed. Fortunately, Chan Yu Ming was his equal with the jian for all practical purposes, so he¡¯d often turn Shi Ping over to her while he worked with Lo Meifeng.


    After the first week of that, he noticed that Falling Leaf would always hover nearby and watch. She didn¡¯t use weapons or have any real interest in learning one, which wasn¡¯t a problem most of the time. When the rest of the group was practicing with them, though, it left her utterly excluded. She neverined about it, but Sen racked his brain for a way to include her that wasn¡¯t just patronizing in appearance or reality. Then, he struck on the obvious. Weapon training was all well and good, but he¡¯d spent almost as much time learning to fight without weapons as with them. He decided they could all use a bit more practice with that. He discovered it was a good decision for a lot of reasons.


    Most importantly for his primary goal, it was something that Falling Leaf could meaningfully participate in, benefit from, and provide benefit to the others. He knew firsthand from their time in the wilds just how effective she was at closebat. The others didn¡¯t. Even better, her style of fighting was fundamentally different than everyone else¡¯s. It was clear that Auntie Caihong had spent more than a little time working with her, teaching her some core principles, but it seemed that they had spent most of their time working on ways to adapt her natural inclinations into a method that worked for her. Sen had gotten more than a little amusement out of pairing up Shi Ping and Falling Leaf to spar. The fire cultivator had been quietly, but obviously, dismissive of Falling Leaf. That had disappeared in a hurry when her feline-inspired attacks left him bloody and bruised, while she remained untouched by his counterattacks.


    Lo Meifeng, not surprisingly, turned out to be the best unarmedbatant out of the entire group. Sen chalked some of that up to sheer volume of experience. Still, it was a valuable experience for all of them to face off against someone with superior skills. Sen was surprised to find out that Chan Yu Ming¡¯s unarmedbat skills were worse than Shi Ping¡¯s. She made up for some of those deficiencies with superior speed and strength, but the skill gap was still evident. He¡¯d been so surprised by it that he pulled her aside to discuss it one night.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Sen. ¡°You clearly had outstanding jian instructors. Were your unarmedbat instructors bad?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she admitted, only ever half-meeting his eyes.


    ¡°Then, what happened?¡±


    ¡°I liked the jian, and I had a lot of natural talent with it. So, they let me focus on that once they pounded the basics of unarmedbat into me.¡±


    ¡°What happens if you lose your jian?¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t happened yet,¡± she said, a defiant look on her face.


    ¡°The fact that it hasn¡¯t happened yet doesn¡¯t mean it never will. This is foundational stuff. Master Feng spent years on this with me before he ever even let me touch a jian. Did no one ever suggest that you hone those skills after you mastered the jian?¡±


    ¡°Some people might have said something about that.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°I always meant to get around to it. It just didn¡¯t seem like that much of a priority.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sen said in his very best unimpressed tone.


    ¡°I know. I know it¡¯s important, but I didn¡¯t have the time.¡±


    ¡°You do now.¡±


    She blinked at him a few times before she said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I need to¡­¡±


    ¡°Keep trying to make a bad n work?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad n,¡± she insisted before grudgingly amending that statement. ¡°It¡¯s not an <em>entirely</em> bad n.¡±


    ¡°Well, you can work on your not-entirely-bad n the other twenty-two hours of the day. Obviously, a couple weeks of training can¡¯t rece years of practice, but maybe we can shore up the worst weaknesses that years of neglect have created.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not in charge of me,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen. ¡°So, you don¡¯t want to sleep in the galehouse and eat dinner with the rest of us, because you¡¯re not really part of the group. You just happen to be traveling at the exact same time and in the exact same direction as the rest of us.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± she said, her eyes going wide with outrage.


    ¡°Dare what? You said it yourself. I¡¯m not in charge of <em>you</em>. Of course, the <em>house</em> is mine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re actually ckmailing me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m encouraging you to do the thing you know you should be doing,¡± said Sen, before he grinned at her. ¡°Also, yes, I¡¯m ckmailing you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. First, it¡¯s ckmail. What¡¯s next?¡±


    Sen just looked at her for a moment before he stepped so close to her that he could feel the heating off her body. He smiled at her again, but this one was entirely wolfish in nature.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll think of something,¡± he said, casually pushing a bit of loose hair behind one of her ears.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we will,¡± she said, her voice a little breathy.


    Sen leaned his head in and Chan Yu Ming closed her eyes. Only for them to go wide with barely suppressed fury when Sen whispered in her ear.


    ¡°You should be practicing.¡±


    ¡°Practicing!¡± she shouted, only to realize she was shouting at an empty space.


    Sen was already standing with the others, grinning at her again. His grin just got bigger as she stalked across the campsite with murder in her eyes.

 Book 4: Chapter 31: Venting

    Book 4: Chapter 31: Venting


    ¡°Shi Ping,e with me,¡± said Sen, striding down the road ahead of the others.


    Shi Ping fell in next to him without a word. The man had be a functional mute since making the choice toe with them. He¡¯d answer questions directly put to him, but rarely volunteered to contribute to any conversation, even the most casual and frivolous conversations. Sen wished that he didn¡¯t enjoy the man¡¯s silence so much, because it made him inclined to just let the fire cultivator not participate in conversations. He knew some of that was just an overreaction to all theining and whining Shi Ping had done before. Sen also knew he was going to have to get over it. Letting Shi Ping self-iste wasn¡¯t going to end well, because it meant the man was bottling <em>everything</em> up. That could work for a while, but would eventually lead to an explosion. They walked for a good five minutes, leaving the others well behind, before Sen stepped off the road and leaned against a tree. Shi Ping eyed him.


    Bracing himself internally, Sen said, ¡°For the next ten minutes, you¡¯re allowed to say anything you want without retribution from me or anyone else.¡±


    Shi Ping jerked at those words. For a several seconds, he didn¡¯t say anything. His eyes were wide and confused, probably looking for some kind of trap. He nced around them. It took Sen a minute to realize that the man was probably looking for Lo Meifeng. It had be apparent during training that the woman frightened Shi Ping in some intangible way that Sen did not. Once he¡¯d reassured himself that no one was waiting around to behead him at the first negative word, Shi Ping took a breath and red at Sen. Then, a wellspring of anger and misery exploded from Shi Ping¡¯s mouth. The words came so fast and were often so garbled that Sen only caught about half of what the man said, but it was enough to get the gist.


    Shi Ping had a lot to say about Sen, his character, his training methods, and the brutal pace of travel. Yet, the litany ofints that Sen been expecting about things like food and being forced to sleep in tents never appeared. Toward the end, when the torrent had slowed, Shi Ping became more understandable.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a self-righteous prick. You know that? It¡¯s like you think that <em>because</em> you think something, that¡¯s the moral high ground. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve ever thought that you were wrong about anything! Let me tell you, you¡¯re not so clean and pure as you think. You¡¯re <em>not</em> always right!


    ¡°And who raised you, anyway? The way you treat people is unbelievable. It¡¯s obvious that Lo Meifeng would do just about <em>anything</em> to get back into your good graces. What do you do? You give her just enough hope that it might happen, one day, that she keeps following you around. That¡¯s not just callous, it¡¯s monumentally stupid with someone that damn dangerous. One day, she¡¯s going to wake up and realize what you¡¯re doing. When that happens, you¡¯re going to wake up dead.


    ¡°And the way you¡¯re stringing along that girl from Clear Spring sect is just cruel, or sick, or <em>both</em>. She¡¯s so infatuated with you that she hasn¡¯t figured out that you don¡¯t intend for it to go anywhere. Although, I cannot for the life of me figure out <em>why</em> you¡¯re not going to let it go anywhere. When I decided to stay, I <em>knew</em> what I was signing on for. I knew it was going to be miserable. Can you say the same thing for them?¡±


    Shi Ping¡¯s chest was heaving from the non-stop rant he¡¯d just gone on. Sen waited to see if the man had anything else he wanted to get off his chest.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°It¡¯s an injustice on a cosmic scale that you¡¯re that much better looking than me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably fair. Feel better?¡±


    Shi Ping¡¯s shoulders slumped in weariness, although Sen suspected it more emotional than physical. ¡°A little. Was there a point to all of this?¡±


    ¡°I wanted the whining and pettyining to stop. It did, and I appreciate that. I also realize that not everyint is petty and things build up. Everyone needs ways of venting their frustrations and anger. I learned that the hard way. If you don¡¯t, you end up with a heart demon. Not an experience I rmend, by the way.¡±


    ¡°A heart demon?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    Sen hadn¡¯t exined many of the specifics of his trip out into the wilds, but he thought there might be some benefit to sharing that tidbit with Shi Ping. Sen nodded.


    ¡°What? You didn¡¯t think I was naturally that angry and vtile, did you?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I did,¡± said Shi Ping, looking a little pale.


    ¡°You were just wondering how close I came to killing you under its influence, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Shi Ping reluctantly nodded. ¡°I was.¡±


    ¡°Closer than you¡¯d like to know,¡± said Sen. ¡°Well, I¡¯m d that that¡¯s all out of the way.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to respond to any of that rant?¡±


    ¡°Do you really want me to?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t understand you. Maybe it will help.¡±


    Sen thought it over. Shi Ping hadn¡¯t beenpletely wrong about any of it, but he hadn¡¯t beenpletely right about almost anything. Sen sorted through his thoughts and nodded.


    ¡°Alright. First, the training I¡¯m putting you through is a very watered-down version of a tiny piece of the training I went through. I used to train like that every day, except I did it ten to twelve hours a day. So, anytime you think I¡¯m pushing you <em>hard</em>, imagine going for another eight to ten hours. Next, <em>everyone</em> always thinks they¡¯re right and in the right. So, there¡¯s nothing special or unusual about me thinking the same thing. I¡¯m also well aware that I¡¯m no beacon of righteousness. I¡¯vepromised, and I know exactly what Ipromised.


    ¡°As for who raised me, it was no one. No one at all raised me. I grew up living on the streets. So, I guess you could say that I raised myself. As for Lo Meifeng and Chan Yu Ming, there is a <em>lot</em> of context to those situations that you don¡¯t know about. No, I don¡¯t intend to exin that context. Suffice it to say that none of what I¡¯m doing is quite as callous or as cruel as you imagine. I¡¯ll also remind you that I declined to bring Chan Yu Ming along when we first set out. She came looking for me, not the other way around. ¡°


    Shi Ping straightened a little at thatst part. ¡°I forgot about that.¡±


    ¡°I thought you might have. So, feel like you understand me a little better?¡±


    With a sigh, Shi Ping shook his head. ¡°No. Not even a little. But I can¡¯t say that you didn¡¯t try. So, back to the others?¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re not done with the venting part of the day yet.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Those spirit beasts you weren¡¯t paying attention to are going to attack us in about five seconds.¡±


    ¡°Spirit beasts? What spirit beasts?¡±


    Sen felt Shi Ping start to unfurl his spiritual sense, but it was toote. A massive snake with a body as thick around as Sen¡¯s leg shot out of the trees toward Shi Ping. With its jaw stretched wide open, even Sen found the sight of it a bit unsettling. Of course, Sen wasn¡¯t saddled with a crippling fear of snakes either. He closed the distance and batted the snake to one side before it could mp its jaws around the petrified Shi Ping. The fire cultivator was standing there, his eyes wide, body trembling. Sen pped him across the face.


    ¡°Fight or <em>die</em>, Shi Ping.¡±


    The p seemed to rouse Shi Ping, who red first at Sen, and then at the snake that had almost ambushed the fire cultivator. Shi Ping drew his jian and started cycling up fire qi. Sen left Shi Ping to his fight, and went off to dy the rest of the spirit snakes. Sen could have simply killed them all, but he¡¯d thought that would prove a wasted opportunity when he realized that snakes were trying to sneak up on them. So, Sen danced between the snakes¡¯ striking bites as he used wind and water qi to redirect their venom qi techniques. Each time Shi Ping managed to kill one, Sen would let one or two more slip in that direction. Sen observed the fire cultivator closely, watching to see if the new training was taking or not as the man fought. He saw some progress. Shi Ping¡¯s control was better, his form tighter, and he was incorporating fire qi techniques to distract or kill.


    All in all, Sen was satisfied with the progress he was seeing. It wasn¡¯t transformative progress, but it didn¡¯t need to be. Even if Shi Ping wasn¡¯t experiencing any moments of enlightenment aboutbat or the jian, he was at least better prepared to survive future fights. And, as much as Sen wished there wouldn¡¯t be future fights, he knew those were useless wishes. Cycling up metal qi, Sen gestured. The head of every remaining snake separated from its body. Shi Ping stared at the sudden appearance of snake corpses and then turned burning eyes on Sen.


    ¡°You could have done that for the beginning?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Because there was nothing for me to learn by doing that. Letting you fight them gave you ample opportunities to learn.¡±


    ¡°Am I still allowed toin?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± said Sen in amusement.


    ¡°I hate you.¡±


    ¡°Was I wrong?¡±


    ¡°No, which is why I hate you.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°Well, hate me while you collect the beast cores.¡±


    ¡°Why am I,¡± started Shi Ping before he visibly stopped himself. ¡°Fine.¡±


    Sen waited to see if Shi Ping would fall back and startining anyway. When he didn¡¯t, Sen decided that a reward might be order.


    ¡°It¡¯s not all bad. If you collect the cores, you get to keep them.¡±


    Shi Ping brightened up at that. Every cultivator knew that there was a bit of money to be made from beast cores. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really. Besides, are you really going to tell me you won¡¯t take some pleasure in cutting these things up?¡±


    Shi Ping got a contemtive look on his face. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought of it that way.¡±


    ¡°Well, get to it. The sooner you¡¯re done, the sooner we get back and I start dinner.¡±


    At the mention of the word dinner, Shi Ping all but pounced on the nearest snake corpse. Sen smiled inside a little. While the fire cultivator might refrain fromining about food all the time, he still enjoyed it a great deal. And, when it came to motivation, Sen used what he had.

 Book 4: Chapter 32: Trust

    Book 4: Chapter 32: Trust


    While viges and towns pockmarked the countryside along the road, even the fast-traveling cultivators might only see one every other day out in the vast stretches ofnd between major cities. As the distance to the capital dwindled down to the point where they were only a few days out, the density of viges and towns increased substantially. This conformed to Sen¡¯s experiences with other cities, where the city proper was supported by awork of nearby farming viges and towns that specialized in raw material production, such as mining or milling. Yet, he''d never seen that sharp spike in supporting viges and towns begin so far out from a city before. He eventually pulled Chan Yu Ming aside.


    ¡°You said you grew up in the capital.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming, who had grown even more withdrawn as they approached the city, gave him a wary look. ¡°I did. Why?¡±


    ¡°How big is the capital? I mean, how many people live there?¡±


    ¡°The capital is huge. It covers a dozen miles in any direction. There are millions of people living there.¡±


    Sen shook his head as he tried to imagine a city thatrge and so many people crammed into it.


    ¡°How do people navigate something like that?¡± he asked.


    Chan Yu Ming visibly rxed when she realized that Sen was looking for the kind of prosaic information that any new visitor to the capital might want. She got a reflective look on her face, then she started speaking.


    ¡°Most of them don¡¯t. The capital is one city in name only. It wasn¡¯t always this big, but it swallowed up the surrounding towns andmunities as it grew. That¡¯s the way most people identify themselves. They don¡¯t say, I¡¯m from the capital. They say that they¡¯re from Mist Hill or Clover Vale or any of a dozen other sections of the city that used to be a separate town or vige. Most people never really leave the part of the city where they¡¯re born. They spend their entire lives in that one small part of the city.¡±


    ¡°That sounds restrictive,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t. They can find everything they need or want from food to work to what passes for luxuries without leaving. Think about it. If everyone and everything you¡¯ve ever known, understood, or loved, can be found within ten minutes of walking from your home, why would you leave?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s fair.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t forbidden from leaving, either. They just don¡¯t. At any rate, the true capital is at the heart of the city, where the royal pce and noble houses are located. Outside of that, you¡¯ll find a ring of government buildings where the bureaucracy operates. Once you move beyond that ring of bureaucrats, the city starts to divide itself into distinct areas. Most of the city is fairly safe, especially for a core formation cultivator like you. The only people likely to start trouble with you are sect members, and even most of those will tread carefully with wandering cultivators who are at core formation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s surprising. I¡¯vee to expect ack of restraint from sects in their dealings with wandering cultivators.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a delicate bnce. Cultivators are often dismissive of mortal governments and their affairs, but they can¡¯t do that in the capital,¡± she said, giving him a pointed look. ¡°Imagine the kind of damage that an unrestrained fight between two core cultivators could do in a ce where buildings are four stories high and right on top of each other. It would only take a handful of mishandled techniques to kill hundreds of people, destroy dozens of buildings, and disrupt the local economy for a generation. While the government can¡¯t directly penalize the sect without an even greater loss of life, it can make life exceedingly difficult for the cultivators.


    ¡°After all, you must import everything you use in the city. That¡¯s as true for a sect as for a merchant. Now, imagine if everything you try to bring into the city gets held up at the gates for two months. Sects can find themselves suddenly paying a fifty percent import tax. Merchants can suddenly be unwilling to do business with them unless they pay outrageous service fees. Any one of those things might not inconvenience a sect too much, but if you pile them all up, all at the same time, life bes very hard, very fast, even for cultivators.¡±


    ¡°So, the sects keep their people in line better to avoid all of those inconveniences and greater expenses.¡±


    ¡°They do. It doesn¡¯t entirely stop young cultivators from making foolish choices, but the threat of those sanctions makes sects very strict with their younger members. You should make a point of staying away from the part of the city called Crane¡¯s Rise, though.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Sen. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s where the criminal element in the city operates from. They more or less control that area.¡±


    ¡°Criminals control an entire part of the city? In the capital? Why doesn¡¯t the government just, I don¡¯t know, clean them out.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been tried. Dozens of times over the history of the kingdom. It doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming gave Sen one of those looks that very much made him feel his actual age. ¡°You can¡¯t end crime. As long as there are things that people want that they aren¡¯t supposed to have or simply don¡¯t belong to them, there will be crime. Sweeping out the organized power structures just opens the door for chaos as new would-be crime bosses vie for power. Instead, the government tolerates their nominal control of that one area, in exchange for them operating very quietly everywhere else in the city.¡±


    ¡°What happens if some criminal group ignores that rule.¡±


    ¡°Then, the government steps in and destroys that organization, usually with help from one or more sects.¡±


    ¡°Why would the sects get involved?¡±


    ¡°Cultivators be criminals, sometimes. It takes a cultivator to stop a cultivator unless you want a street full of dead city guards or soldiers.¡±


    Sen nodded his understanding. ¡°Thanks for your exnation. I don¡¯t suppose you have a map of the capital, do you?¡±


    ¡°I never thought to get one. It wasn¡¯t really like I needed a map. Besides, they¡¯re not that reliable anyway.¡±


    ¡°True. Alright, I¡¯ll leave you to your plotting.¡±


    The tiny bit of calm that hade over Chan Yu Ming vanished in an instant. She gave Sen a smile that she probably thought looked cheerful, but came across as sickly. He almost felt bad for her. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that she didn¡¯t want to get married, or at least she didn¡¯t want to get married to whoever her family had picked out. It was equally clear that she hadn¡¯t figured out a way to make her n work and conform to Sen¡¯s expectations. The part of him that took a bit of joy out of acting against expectations almost wanted to help her. If he was being honest with himself and he didn¡¯t have the certainty of death looming over him, he probably would have yed along for his own amusement. Ever since Falling Leaf had informed him of the literal deadline he was working under, though, he hadn¡¯t been indulging those impish impulses the way he might do in other circumstances. So, instead of asking her about her clearly failed nning efforts, he fell back to walk with Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been to the capital before?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll need somewhere to stay while we¡¯re there. I¡¯ll also need somewhere to offload some beast cores that won¡¯t get me robbed the second I leave the ce.¡±


    Lo Meifeng thought for a moment. ¡°Finding lodging isn¡¯t that difficult. Finding <em>good</em> lodging at reasonable prices, and I¡¯m talking reasonable for the capital, is something else. It all really depends on how high your standards are and how much risk you want to take on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer somewhere we won¡¯t be sharing our amodations with rats and insects, can get baths, and where they make decent food. Not having people try to rob us in the middle of the night would also be nice.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°So, basically, anywhere that I¡¯d willingly stay.¡±


    Sen looked over at her and offered a half smile. ¡°Yeah, pretty much.¡±


    ¡°There are plenty of those ces in the city, but it¡¯s always an open question about whether they¡¯ll have open rooms. You can waste a lot of time going from ce to ce to find amodations. It¡¯ll take less time to find you alchemy shops where you can sell those cores. Most alchemists keep their mouths shut when peoplee in selling good beast cores. They want you toe back with more cores.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± said Sen, thinking hard.


    Sen knew what the obvious solution to the lodging problem was, he just didn¡¯t love it. The obvious solution was to let Lo Meifeng travel ahead of them and make arrangements. There was still a part of him that thought that was a great way to get set up for some kind of betrayal. Still, he supposed he had to start extending trust somewhere. If he couldn¡¯t trust her to find them rooms, the whole experiment was going to copse in no time.


    Sen didn¡¯t let himself sigh before he said, ¡°I assume you know the ces with the best odds of meeting our needs.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Lo Meifeng cautiously.


    ¡°Then, you should go ahead to the city first and make arrangements.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s face was frozen for a moment before she said, ¡°I can do that.¡±


    Sen extracted a bag of coins from his storage ring that had a mix of different types of taels and handed it to her. ¡°Is that enough to get started?¡±


    She briefly opened the bag, tilted it back and forth to get a sense of what it contained, and then closed it. ¡°Yes, that should be more than sufficient.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got, what, about three more days to get there at this pace?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Lo Meifeng, ¡°something like that. Assuming you don¡¯t run into some kind of trouble you can¡¯t get yourself out of.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully, we won¡¯t run into that kind of trouble. Is that enough time?¡±


    ¡°It should be more than enough. I can meet you or have someone meet you at the southern gate three days from now.¡±


    A bit of the old paranoia spiked inside of Sen, and he ruthlessly beat it down. ¡°That sounds like a workable n.¡±


    Lo Meifeng nced up at the sky, judging how many hours of travel she could reasonablyplete before it got dark enough to make travel inconvenient. ¡°I should leave now. If I make decent time, I could be in the capital by tomorrow evening.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t hold you up then,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Three days, then,¡± she said and started to move away at a significantly faster pace.


    ¡°Lo Meifeng,¡± he called after her.


    She looked back over her shoulder, her face devoid of expression. ¡°Yes?¡±


    Sen had intended to issue a threat or a warning but changed his mind. ¡°We likely have enemies there already. Be cautious.¡±


    Her fixed expression softened into one of muted surprise and relief. ¡°I will.¡±


    Then, she was gone done the road, making liberal use of her qinggong technique. Sen stared down the road after her as his concern over whether he¡¯d made a mistake warred his determination to at least try to repair that rtionship. He felt more than heard or saw Falling Leafe to walk by him.


    ¡°That was hard for you,¡± she said.


    ¡°It was,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°Good,¡± she said.


    ¡°Good? Why is that a <em>good</em> thing?¡±


    ¡°Doing the difficult things refines your will and resolve.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel like I¡¯mcking in those areas?¡± he asked with a bemused smile.


    Falling Leaf tilted her head to one side and said, ¡°No, but you can¡¯t have too much will or resolve.¡±


    ¡°No, I guess you can¡¯t.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 33: The Capital (1)

    Book 4: Chapter 33: The Capital (1)


    For all that Sen had thought about it, imagined it, and tried to mentally prepare for it, the capital still stunned him. It was just so damned big. When he¡¯d imagined it, he¡¯d imagined something like Emperor¡¯s Bay, just more of it. The reality of miles upon miles of buildings and roads ground that feeble image to dust. He literally couldn¡¯t see the far side of the city even with his enhanced sight. Smells that had been unpleasantly present in the heart of Emperor¡¯s Bay were strong on the air miles from their destination. As his eyes tracked over the sprawling mass, he could make out movement on the roads. The part of the city closest to him was near enough that he could see down into those streets and he felt a moment of mild panic.


    There were people everywhere, moving back and forth, stopping, talking, arguing, andughing. There were people leading carts and vendors selling food. There were more people in one stretch of road than the entire poption of the Orchard¡¯s Reach. Sen felt an almost irresistible urge to turn around and go looking for man nascent soul cultivator who might have a copy of the manual. Sure, she might be crazy, but that was far better than a ce that was insanity incarnate. Sen couldn¡¯t imagine wanting to be in that ce, wanting to be around so many others, to be constantly confronted by other human beings. There would be no silence in a ce like that. There could be no peace. The longer he stood there staring down at the city, the more Sen realized that he <em>hated</em> it.


    ¡°Sen?¡± asked Chan Yu Ming.


    He turned to look at her, to say that he wasn¡¯t going down into that madness, but he stopped short. The young woman had barely spoken for thest few days, and Sen had left her mostly to her own devices. Looking at her now, though, he wondered when she hadst slept. Short of being injured badly, it took a lot for core formation cultivators to actually look bad. Their recovery rate from pretty much every kind of normal affliction was stupendous. Yet, Chan Yu Ming looked¡­sick. There were dark bags beneath her eyes, and there was so little color in her skin that she almost looked like a corpse. There was even a bit of gauntness to her face that added to that impression.


    ¡°Are you feeling well?¡± asked Sen in genuine concern.


    Chan Yu Ming abruptly looked away. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t look fine,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing you need to concern yourself with.¡±


    Sen stared at her and kept staring at her until she looked at him again.


    ¡°<em>What</em> is going on?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming looked like she wanted to get angry, but then she just looked tired and resigned. ¡°I thought that I¡¯d be able to think of a way to convince you, but I <em>can¡¯t</em> promise you that manual. I¡¯m rtively confident I can get it, but you want a guarantee. I can¡¯t give it. I even thought about lying, but you¡¯d have figured that out soon enough. If I did that, I doubt you¡¯d ever speak to me again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably true, but how is that connected to this?¡±


    ¡°Once I enter the city again, I¡¯ll have to present myself to my father. Then, the preparations will begin for the wedding. I know who I¡¯m to marry. It,¡± she sighed, ¡°it will not be a harmonious marriage.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Just let it lie, Sen,¡± she said in a tired voice.


    ¡°The man you¡¯re supposed to marry, he¡¯s that bad?¡±


    The look that crossed her face in that moment was more telling than any words. There was a contempt on her face that only undiluted hatred could fuel.


    ¡°He is evil. He enjoys inflicting pain. He enjoys the suffering of others. He especially enjoys the pain and suffering of those who cannot threaten or harm him. The poor. The young. Everyone knows it, but his house is powerful, and they¡¯re all just like him. So, it¡¯s ignored or covered up. Admittedly, he couldn¡¯t harm me even if he wanted to, but there are <em>expectations</em> of every bride,¡± she said with visible shudder.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen, feeling like he needed to acknowledge her words in some way.


    ¡°I intend to murder him on our wedding night. There will be consequences for my family, for me, but I will not subject myself to his touch, or carry his seed, or raise a child tainted by his family line. If I could, I would scourge his house from the world. Everyst one of them, man, woman, and child,¡± she said, before she offered Sen the bleakest smile he¡¯d ever seen. ¡°Have I disappointed you? I remember it so clearly. You towering over that battlefield with the sky on fire. It really did feel like the heavens had sent you there, and that all it would take was a single word from you to see us all swept away in a divine inferno. So, tell me, what is your sentence on <em>me</em>, Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡±


    Sen forced himself to remain silent. For a moment, he jumped to the thought that this was another attempt to manipte him. And maybe it even was, but he didn¡¯t think she was doing it on purpose. All he saw in her, all he sensed from her, was hopelessness. As for him, if anything, it felt like she meant to provoke him somehow. Although, he couldn¡¯t imagine what that would aplish. At least, he tried to tell himself that. If she could provoke him and start a real fight, there <em>was</em> one other way out of her predicament. He¡¯d already proven he could defeat her. So, there was a story there already. Chan Yu Ming couldn¡¯t ept her defeat at his hands and pursued him across the country. Then, very nearly at the gates of the capital itself, she fought him again, only to fall beneath his de. It was very neat and tidy, for her. Someone might even turn it into a tragic y. She would get to flee into death, escaping a marriage she didn¡¯t want and a murder that would harm her family¡¯s interests.


    There was even some mild protection built in for Sen, as it would be a matter under the Jianghu. However, he suspected that would prove flimsy protection from the wrath of a powerful noble family. Still, they werergely a mortal house, which meant they would need to arrange for other cultivators to hunt him. He¡¯d have some time to put distance between himself and the capital. Except, he wasn¡¯t going to let himself be provoked into a fight where he¡¯d have to kill her. Sen wasn¡¯t even sure he could make himself do it. Sen recognized that part of what allowed him to kill when anger wasn¡¯t involved was a certain indifference to the people he fought. He wasn¡¯t indifferent to Chan Yu Ming. He hated that she¡¯d tried to trick him into doing what she wanted, but he didn¡¯t hate <em>her</em>. That would have made life so much easier.


    ¡°I have no judgment on you,¡± he finally said. ¡°You n to kill one evil man. I don¡¯t even know anymore how many people I¡¯ve killed. I <em>do</em> know they didn¡¯t all deserve it. How could I stand in judgment of you?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have a clear expectation for what her reaction to those words would be, but looking like he¡¯d personally doomed her hadn¡¯t been it. He saw her hand twitch toward her jian, but that was as far as it got. Maybe she¡¯d simply recognized that he wasn¡¯t going to give her what she wanted, even if she did start a fight with him. Instead, she lowered her head.


    ¡°I understand,¡± she whispered.


    Sen went to turn away when a thought struck him. There was another way out that he hadn¡¯t considered, mostly because he wouldn¡¯t have expected it from Chan Yu Ming. But, if her family forced her to marry, and she carried out her n to murder the groom, and she was hopeless enough, that might be enough to make that option look ptable, even preferable. Of course, he didn¡¯t <em>know</em> that she¡¯d do that, and he didn¡¯t think that simply asking would get an answer he could trust. All he had to go on was his instincts about her and the situation. His instincts told him that if she walked down the path in front of her without some kind of outside intervention, it would end in her death. In the face of that, his arguments about staying out of mortal politics and uncertainties about what her family might expect felt, not untrue, but weak.


    Yet, he wasn¡¯t confident that he could or should intervene in what might well be her fate. Just as importantly, nothing had changed about <em>his</em> situation. He was still racing against his own death. Intervening would no doubt create problems and enemies that he might find it impossible to extricate himself from or avoid. He didn¡¯t know what he should do. He only had his judgment to go on, and that was something he had more than a few doubts about. Sen turned away so he wasn¡¯t looking at Chan Yu Ming, but he didn¡¯t walk away. Instead, he looked to where he might get sounder judgment than his own. He looked to the heavens. <em>I could use some guidance</em>, he thought. <em>If this is her karma, her fate, I¡¯ll leave it alone</em>. Then, he waited. He stood there in silence, listening, feeling, looking for anything that might point the right way. Just when he was certain that silence was the answer, he felt a tug on his soul. It was the lightest of things, and would likely have gone unnoticed if he wasn¡¯t looking for guidance, but there it was.


    Sen stood silently for a long moment before he spoke. ¡°I need you to understand something. My priorities haven¡¯t changed because my situation hasn¡¯t changed. I¡¯ll expect you to devote every resource, leverage every favor you¡¯re owed, and enlist your family in getting me that manual.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying I¡¯ll help you, but there is a time limit. I can¡¯t still be here in six months if I don¡¯t have that manual. If I can¡¯t get it, and you can¡¯t get it for me, I <em>will</em> leave. I¡¯ll have to.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°How long?¡±


    To Sen, it sounded like she was having a hard time breathing. Since he suspected she didn¡¯t really want him to see her that way, he didn¡¯t turn around. Sen honestly didn¡¯t know how long, but he understood that she needed some kind of time frame to work in.


    ¡°Three months.¡±


    ¡°That is, it¡¯s not a lot of time for nobles,¡± she said, sounding very hesitant.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of time left,¡± said Sen. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go. I want to see what kind of rooms Lo Meifeng got for us.¡±


    Sen started down the road, no longer considering the size of the city. He didn¡¯t look back to see if the others were following. He could hear their footfalls. Sen hoped that he hadn¡¯t just made another terrible decision, but he¡¯dmitted himself to that path. He¡¯d have to walk down it and hope that he was strong enough to bear the consequences. They passed through ever denser areas of buildings and ever denser throngs of people until Sen felt like they might as well be in the capital. He did, however, fall back to walk beside Falling Leaf. They¡¯d known each other for so long that they almost didn¡¯t need words. He had felt her growing apprehension as they closed in on the city proper. She shot him a grateful look and stepped closer. When the wall and southern gate to the city came into view, Sen grudgingly took his ce at the back of the line, preparing for an extended wait.


    Yet, they hadn¡¯t been there for more than five minutes when they became the center of a lot of activity. Within moments of each other, a man who looked like he was some kind of messenger, a group of men in some manner of uniform led by a woman a few years older than Sen, and a group of city guards all strode up to them. The city guards immediately dropped to their knees and kowtowed. The woman leading the other group of uniformed men looked at Sen, and then her eyes drifted over to Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°Princess,¡± said the woman, dropping her eyes respectfully. ¡°We didn¡¯t know you were returning.¡±


    Sen turned toward Chan Yu Ming very slowly and fixed her with a t stare. ¡°Princess?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Chan Yu Ming weakly. ¡°I <em>swear</em> I was going to tell you.¡±


    ¡°We are going to have to have a <em>long</em> talk about this,¡± said Sen through clenched teeth.

 Book 4: Chapter 34: The Capital (2)

    Book 4: Chapter 34: The Capital (2)


    Sen mentally throttled the urge to yell at Chan Yu Ming. Of course, she¡¯d left out that <em>trivial</em> detail of being royalty. Much as he might like to, though, he couldn¡¯t really me her for not bringing it up. Sen had his prejudices, and she knew about them. He didn¡¯t like nobles. From her point of view, it would be an all too easy leap to make to assume that he¡¯d see royalty as nobility, only worse, and she¡¯d have been right. That was something they¡¯d have to deal withter, though, because there was still a bunch of people standing there and staring at him instead of Chan Yu Ming, which did not make Sen expect that good things were about to happen. Taking a soothing breath, Sen turned back to the seemingly random assortment of people arrayed before him. He picked the person who looked the least like they were attached to some powerful governmental body. He was an excessively lean man with deep-set, nervous eyes and more silver than ck left in his hair.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± Sen asked the man, ignoring the affronted looks from all of the other people.


    The man silently held out a sealed envelope. Sen took it, broke the seal, and slid a folded sheet of paper out. He nced over it, then pulled a silver tael from a storage ring and tossed it to the man. The lean man deftly snatched the money from the air, only for his eyes to go a little wide. He offered Sen a deep bow.


    ¡°My gratitude,¡± said the man.


    ¡°Do you know where the person who sent the note is?¡± asked Sen.


    The man nodded. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d take it as a kindness if you¡¯d let her know we¡¯ve been,¡± Sen looked at the other people waiting on him, ¡°dyed.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Sen offered the man a shallow bow. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The lean man disappeared back toward the gate. Sen next turned his attention to the city guard. He pointed at the one in front, assuming he was the one in charge, and asked, ¡°Me or her?¡±


    The guard looked up at Sen. ¡°I do not understand.¡±


    ¡°Are you here for me or for her?¡± he asked again, hiking a thumb at Chan Yu Ming.


    The man mmed his forehead into the ground. ¡°We were sent to greet the princess.¡±


    A little bit of relief passed through Sen as he looked at Chan Yu Ming. ¡°They¡¯re your headache.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming looked frustrated, but she stepped apart from the group. At a gesture from her, the city guards sprang to their feet and trailed after the princess like ducklings after their mother. Sen finally turned his attention back to the one person who was apparently there to talk to him. He studied the woman for a moment. She looked caught between amusement and annoyance for a moment before she smoothed her features into a neutral expression.


    ¡°You are the one called Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± she asked Sen.


    Sen said nothing for several moments before he ignored the question entirely and asked one of his own. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The woman seemed startled that Sen hadn¡¯t simply jumped to answer her question, which told Sen that the woman expected people to obey when she spoke. Her expression didn¡¯t change, but Sen could see in the woman¡¯s eyes that she was reassessing him in some way. He supposed he might have been more worried, but the woman and the men she¡¯d brought with her were all mortals. So, any threat they posed was more likely political than physical. That didn¡¯t mean he should antagonize her needlessly. Sen had been reflecting on some of the things he¡¯d done under the influence of his heart demon. While some of the more objectively insane things he¡¯d done could beid directly at its feet, many of the simply offensive things he¡¯d done had been driven primarily by his basic dislike of certain groups of people. Automatically taking a hostile stance hadn¡¯t served him especially well, but he hadn¡¯t gone looking for this woman either. She¡¯de looking for him. He didn¡¯t think it was too much to expect her to identify herself or at least identify whoever had sent her before hiding demands for information in the form of a question.


    ¡°Do you always answer questions with questions?¡±


    ¡°Do <em>you</em>?¡± asked Sen with an amused smile.


    The woman paused and seemed to realize that she¡¯d done exactly what she was implicitlyining that he¡¯d done. A hint of a rueful smile ghosted across her face, and Sen sensed an inner rigidity bleed away from the woman.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair. My name is Tiu Li-Mei.¡±


    ¡°Lu Sen.¡±


    ¡°Not Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± asked the woman, a little twinkle in her eyes.


    ¡°Only on the truly bad days. I¡¯m hoping today isn¡¯t going to be one of those.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t really help with that. I was instructed to bring you this,¡± she said, holding out an ornately carved scroll case.


    Sen stared at the proffered case without reaching for it. The case alone was probably worth more than everything Lu Sen had to his name. That meant it came from someone extremely rich, extremely powerful, and probably both. The exact people Sen didn¡¯t want to be drawing attention from. Yet, the messenger had recognized Chan Yu Ming on sight, which meant that whoever sent this was probably someone he was going to have to deal with at some point. The appearance of the woman and the case before he¡¯d so much as set foot inside the capital raised some serious questions, though. Unless the Clear Water sect or the Order of the Celestial me had sent word ahead about him, and why would they, no one should know he wasing. Yet, someone clearly had known. The question was <em>how</em> they had known. More importantly, how had they known the timing so exactly? Unless this poor woman had been sent to wait by the gate day after day, it seemed that someone had ess to information they shouldn¡¯t. That also likely meant that Sen couldn¡¯t simply escape this problem by disappearing into the city. He¡¯d no doubt find Tiu Li-Mei or someone very much like her waiting for him within a day or so.


    Tiu Li-Mei frowned at Sen¡¯s obvious reluctance to even touch the scroll case. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Who is that from?¡± asked Sen.


    The woman¡¯s eyes went a little wide at some thought. ¡°Prince Zhang Jing. I apologize. I¡¯m used to people knowing who I represent.¡±


    Sen grudgingly took the case, opened it, and slid out the scroll inside. His eyes skimmed over the introduction and got to the meat of the missive. It was a casual invitation to visit with the prince. Sen schooled his expression to neutrality, rolled the scroll up, and slid it back into the case. Then, he handed it back to the Tiu Li-Mei. He inclined his head to her.


    ¡°Thank you for delivering the message,¡± he said.


    The woman looked down at the case in her hand like she wasn¡¯t sure why she was holding it. She turned confused eyes on Sen.


    ¡°I was told that I should wait for an answer.¡±


    Sen had worried about that. He understood exactly nothing about the local political situation and, loathe as he was to admit it, that a problem entirely of his own making. He <em>could</em> have spent the weeks on the road at least getting a basic handle on those matters with nothing more than some simple conversations with Chan Yu Ming. He hadn¡¯t bothered with it because he hadn¡¯t expected to need the information after turning down her ill-conceived n. Also, she¡¯d turnedrgely inward during that time. More damning, though, was that he¡¯d avoided it because he just didn¡¯t <em>want</em> to deal with it. Even Sen could recognize that as a lousy reason to avoid gleaning potentially useful information, even if the recognition came toote.


    If he knew the local political situation, even in general terms, he¡¯d probably have a sense of who this prince was and whether he was someone Sen was willing to have himself tied to, however casually. Granted, that information would have been filtered through Chan Yu Ming¡¯s biases, but even biased information would be worlds better than the big, fat nothing he had to go on. He couldn¡¯t see all the potential ramifications of his two options, but he didn¡¯t like them. If he said yes and the prince was an awful human being, that reputation would very likely stain Sen. If he said no, he could very well make an enemy of Chan Yu Ming¡¯s brother. While he didn¡¯t know how bad that would be, he didn¡¯t imagine it would be a good thing. There was potential disaster down either path, but declining ultimately provided him with more options. If it came down to it, he could always fall back on the truth and say hismoner upbringing left him ill-equipped to respond to an unexpected invitation.


    ¡°Please convey my regrets to the prince,¡± said Sen. ¡°I fear my existing obligations will likely leave me little time to socialize.¡±


    Sen could tell that he¡¯d shocked Tiu Li-Mei, even if she covered it well. Most people in the capital would probablymit murder for an invitation like the one Sen had just turned down. Of course, most people in the capital would likely have known what they would have been getting into by going. At the very least, he needed to talk to Chan Yu Ming about her family before he started epting invitations to meet them privately, although he feared such invitations would soon be an impossible-to-avoid feature of his life. Tiu Li-Mei offered him a bow.


    ¡°I will convey your words to the prince,¡± she said.


    ¡°I am grateful,¡± said Sen, offering her a polite nod.


    Sen watched the woman and her guards walk back toward the gate. Not too long after, he saw the city guards heading the same way. Chan Yu Ming came over to him.


    ¡°What did Li-Mei want?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Zhang Jing invited me over for a visit,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°He did? Why would he do that?¡± She mused out loud.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was hoping you could exin it to me.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said no.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± said Chan Yu Ming, her face thoughtful.


    Sen sighed. ¡°You do realize that I don¡¯t have any of the information you¡¯re considering right now. I¡¯m <em>really </em>going to need you to do some of that thinking out loud.¡±


    ¡°What? Oh,¡± she said, then her eyes went a little wide. ¡°Oh!¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen. ¡°Now, we¡¯re reading from the same scroll.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 35: The Capital (3)

    Book 4: Chapter 35: The Capital (3)


    Shi Ping and Falling Leaf had both stayed back while Sen and Chan Yu Ming dealt with their respective weing parties, but Sen could tell they were both curious. Falling Leaf¡¯s curiosity was either casual or dampened by her apprehension at the city looming over them. Shi Ping¡¯s curiosity, on the other hand, was burning bright. Sen had ignored it while they dealt with the minor hassle of getting through the gate. Not that the actual passage through was a problem. That had gone very smoothly. It was that the city guards had sent someone back to lead them past the very long line of people who were waiting to get into the city. While Sen could appreciate the amount of time they had just saved, it had also made them very visible.


    Then again, the spectacle they had been with messengers and city guards descending on them had probably dropped their chances of entering the city quietly down to zero. Worse, Tiu Li-Mei had dropped the name Judgment¡¯s Gale right out in the open. He¡¯d been hoping that name wouldn¡¯t have reached as far as the capital, yet. With a known representative of a prince saying it, there <em>would</em> be talk and questions. Even if no one asked him directly about it, Sen expected people to start searching for stories. If they went searching, they would undoubtedly find them, or people would just make them up. Once they¡¯d cleared the gate, Chan Yu Ming set them in the right direction to the get to right part of the city to find the inn specified in Lo Meifeng¡¯s message. With fewer eyes ring at them, Sen looked over at the pensive Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°What did those city guards want? For that matter, how did they even know you were here? I mean, I get Tiu Li-Mei recognizing you, but random city guards?¡±


    She sighed, ¡°I suspect that the Clear Spring sect informed my father that I had left the sect, presumably on route to the capital.¡±


    ¡°Then, he¡¯s probably going to be expecting you to, how did you put it, present yourself to him sooner thanter?¡±


    ¡°Yes, which is a problem. I almost wish you¡¯d epted that invitation from Jing.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because he could help tell you all the things that I¡¯m not going to get a chance to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Do you trust him?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming hesitated before she said, ¡°Jing isplicated and ambitious, but he¡¯s also smart. If he didn¡¯t know already, he soon will know that you arrived with me. He¡¯ll probably see you as an opportunity, which means he¡¯ll want to stay on friendly terms with you.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer the question.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a moreplicated question than you might think. I love Jing. I even like him. But trust is a different animal when you¡¯re dealing with royal politics. I trust Jing not to act stupidly. I trust him to work toward his own best interests. If his interests align with your interests, I trust him to honor his agreements. But there is no such thing as total trust at this level. Everyone has too much to lose and too much to gain for that.¡±


    ¡°So, he¡¯d stab me in the back the second it became more profitable for him to do that?¡±


    ¡°No. He¡¯d tell you that whatever alliance or agreements you were operating under were concluded. Then, he¡¯d stab you in the chest.¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°Well, I guess that there¡¯s a certain kind of honor in that. Still, how did he even know about me? Do you think the patriarch told your father about me?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it. He doesn¡¯t want an angry visit from <em>any</em> of your teachers. Let alone all of them. Jing took in a man who specializes in divination cultivation when my father released him from service. The information probably came from him.¡±


    ¡°Why would a divination cultivator work for mortal royalty?¡±


    ¡°Why not? It¡¯s an easy enough way to secure a veryfortable lifestyle and money. It also put him at a remove from the Jianghu.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°I can¡¯t say I approve of meddling that way.¡±


    ¡°Not every cultivator shares your <em>distaste</em> for getting involved in mortal politics.¡±


    Sen went to defend himself, but a few realizations kept him silent. However reluctantly, <em>he</em> had decided to get involved in mortal politics, at least peripherally. He wasn¡¯t really in a good moral position to judge others making a simr choice. More relevant for the immediate conversation, he was implicitly criticizing Chan Yu Ming for her choice not to simply discard her entire family in favor of the cultivation life. It also wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d done it. He wasn¡¯t really in a good position to take that stance, either, since it was a choice that he had never faced and likely never would face. It was an easy position to take when it didn¡¯t cost anything, but not everyone was spared those costs.


    ¡°I suppose they don¡¯t,¡± he said.


    Sen and Chan Yu Ming fell into an awkward silence, but Shi Ping chose to break into the conversation at that point.


    ¡°So, let me see if I understand what¡¯s happening here. You,¡± he said, pointing at Chan Yu Ming, ¡°are a princess. And you,¡± he pointed at Sen, ¡°are getting invitations to visit with princes. And the two of you have hatched some n to get the princess out of something.¡±


    Sen and Chan Yu Ming shared a look.


    ¡°Something like that,¡± said Sen, before he very obviously looked around at all the people. ¡°And I suggest you make that the <em>very</em>st time you use a word like n, or plot, or scheme unless you want to ensure the whole thing copses.¡±


    Shi Ping nced around before he seemed to grasp Sen¡¯s meaning.


    ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± he said before he focused his attention on Sen. ¡°So, that brings me to my next question. Who are you? Seriously. What kind of person identally stumbles into a sect war, and follows that up by stumbling into the affairs of a royal family?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m nobody,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯m not important at all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure. Her family clearly doesn¡¯t think so, or at least one of them doesn¡¯t. How many people who <em>aren¡¯t important at all</em> do you think get invitations to meet with a prince?¡±


    ¡°Why does nobody believe me when I say that,¡±ined Sen.


    ¡°Probably because all of the evidence suggests that you¡¯re telling outrageous lies,¡± said Shi Ping without a trace of humor. ¡°You pal around with sect patriarchs and matriarchs, princesses, and mythological nascent soul cultivators. You expose secret cabals and, if the stories are true, heal the sick, punish the wicked, and p down sects that make you mad. Does that <em>sound</em> like someone who isn¡¯t important at all?¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a story that someone made up in a winehouse,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t do all those things?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    Sen closed his eyes and took a breath. ¡°I liked it better when you didn¡¯t talk so much.¡±


    Both Chan Yu Ming and Shi Pingughed at that. As the group moved through the city, Sen did his best to ignore how oppressive it felt to be surrounded by so many people. He couldn¡¯t shake the impression that he was under constant observation. That wasn¡¯t helped by the streetside vendors constantly shouting for attention as they tried to sell the little group food, clothes, and a hundred other things that Sen had little use for. Sen was also very wary. He could feel other cultivators wandering around in the same general vicinity, although none of them hade looking to start trouble. It seemed that Chan Yu Ming was right that the local sects kept a much tighter grip on their inner and outer sect disciples. Even though the cultivators made up a tiny percentage of the people moving through the streets, there were still more of them than Sen would have believed if he wasn¡¯t sensing them himself.


    Sen was also left unhappy with the muted levels of qi in the city. He supposed it was inevitable. With so many cultivators, there would be a high demand on environmental qi. Still, he didn¡¯t like having to work quite so hard to maintain his own qi levels. Despite his expectations to the contrary, though, no one made trouble for them as they wound through the city. Still, he was very happy when, after getting some directions from someone, they found themselves at the inn. The attendant had been expecting them and passed out room keys in an efficient manner. When Sen inquired after Lo Meifeng, he was told that she left earlier, but the attendant didn¡¯t know where she had gone. Trudging up the stairs, Sen let himself into his room and dropped onto the bed. There was a fatigue running through him that had nothing to do with his body, and he just wanted a few minutes of quiet and solitude. Without quite realizing it was happening, Sen drifted off to sleep.


    He was brought back to consciousness when he heard a sharp rapping on his door. Sen was on his feet with his jian half-drawn before he recognized the noise as someone knocking. Sen took a moment to assess himself. He felt like he¡¯d slept for a couple of hours. He took a moment to straighten his robes, before he walked over to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open. Lo Meifeng was standing outside his door, looking down the hall nervously. As soon he opened the door, she nted a hand on his chest and pushed him back into the room, swiftly closing the door behind her.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sen asked, sitting on the bed.


    Lo Meifeng red at him. ¡°Why is there a <em>prince</em> downstairs asking about you and Chan Yu Ming?¡±


    Sen groaned.

 Book 4: Chapter 36: The Prince

    Book 4: Chapter 36: The Prince


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± asked Sen. ¡°He¡¯s here?¡±


    Lo Meifeng narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Exin.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, you weren¡¯t there for that part. Short version is that Chan Yu Ming is a princess. She¡¯s got at least one brother who, somehow, knew I wasing. He sent me an invitation to visit, which I, and I cannot stress this part enough, <em>politely</em> declined.¡±


    Lo Meifeng was perfectly still for most of a minute. Sen became oddly fascinated as the woman didn¡¯t even so much as blink. Then, she blinked, let out a low moan, and buried her face in her hands. When she finally let her hands drop, she looked at Sen as though she¡¯d very much like to punch him. Sen lifted his hands defensively.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not like I knew about any of this. The prince¡¯s people ambushed me when we were in line at the gate. That¡¯s when I found out she was a princess. I <em>would</em> have told you about that if I knew. Just as a defensive precaution if nothing else.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± said Lo Meifeng, sounding drained. ¡°These areplications we, <em>you</em>, don¡¯t need.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I anticipated the whole prince thing. How could I have?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a fair point. Listen, we¡¯re going to have to talk about all of thister, but, for right now, you <em>have</em> to meet with him.¡±


    ¡°Do I?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I mean, really, what reason would I have to do that?¡±


    ¡°Because <em>he</em> came to <em>you</em>. Declining when a messengeres around is one thing. Especially if you really were polite. When royalty shows up in person to meet you, you meet with them. Otherwise, you create a political incident because you¡¯re essentially saying he¡¯s not important enough for you to waste your time on him.¡±


    ¡°I thought cultivators didn¡¯t do that kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not <em>usually</em> an issue. For the most part, mortal royalty don¡¯t care to involve themselves with cultivators. You¡¯re just going to have to take my word for it that you <em>must</em> meet with this man. And, in the name of all that is sacred, don¡¯t agree to anything. If he asks you to do something, say that you need to meditate on it.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Sen, standing up and stepping toward the door.


    ¡°Wait. Are you going dressed like that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to¡­,¡± she started saying before giving him an amused look. ¡°No, actually, this is better.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d you approve. You should probably go tell Chan Yu Ming that her brother is downstairs if she doesn¡¯t already know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen eyed her suspiciously but left his room and walked downstairs. When they hade in, the bottom floor of the inn had been noisy with activity and guests. Now, there was nothing but silence. As Sen reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw the staff all kowtowing near themon area. There wasn¡¯t a guest to be seen. He carefully threaded his way through the bowing staff until he saw a tall figure in extremely fine robes of deep blue withplex embroidery on it. Sen abruptly understood Lo Meifeng¡¯s amused advice. Sen¡¯s robes were meant for hard travel. While the material was high-quality andfortable, it wasn¡¯t fine. The man was curiously studying a painting on the wall. Sen nced at it. It appeared to be a river with trees overhanging it painted in muted shades of blue and green, with asional shes of bright red flowers that drew the eye. Sen liked it, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good painting or not. Art wasn¡¯t one of the things that his teachers had spent much time discussing with him.


    The man finally noticed Sen standing there and turned to look at him. He had the same dark eyes as Chan Yu Ming, although his features weren¡¯t quite as fine as hers. There was a very faint scar above one of his eyes and his nose was a little too narrow for his face, but Sen could almost feel the intelligence radiating off the man. Sen tried to remember if Master Feng had ever discussed the proper protocol for a cultivator meeting someone of a high mortal station and came up empty. With nothing to go on, Sen offered the man a formal bow, but not an especially deep one. He certainly didn¡¯t drop to the floor. He saw an amused glimmer in the prince¡¯s eyes as he returned the bow to precisely the same level as the one Sen had offered. Rather than speak, the man returned to his study of the painting. Not sure what else to do, Sen walked over and stood next to him.


    ¡°What do you think of it?¡± asked the prince.


    ¡°The painting? I like it.¡±


    The princeughed. ¡°No thoughts on theposition or the use of color?¡±


    ¡°I have no training or experience in such matters. The only measurement I have for art is simple. Do I like it, or do I not like it? I like this painting.¡±


    ¡°If I asked that question of a noble, they would have spoken to me for an hour about it without ever actually telling me what they think. They would be afraid to say they liked it, for fear that I would not like it.¡±


    ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    The princeughed again. ¡°And they never would have dared ask me that question. I do, in point of fact, like it.¡±


    Sen nced over at the staff who were still crouched on the floor, including a few elderly men and women. Sen recalled all too well how much Grandmother Lu¡¯s joints had pained her before Master Feng had intervened with his pills.


    ¡°Do you mean to leave them like that?¡± asked Sen, gesturing at the inn¡¯s staff.


    The prince followed the direction of Sen¡¯s gesture. He looked a little surprised, although Sen couldn¡¯t tell if it was by Sen¡¯s question or the fact that the staff were still there.


    ¡°You may go,¡± the prince said to the staff.


    Sen walked over to the oldest-looking woman, who appeared to be in intense pain.


    ¡°Let me assist you, grandmother,¡± said Sen, offering her his hands.


    He gently helped the woman rise to her feet. A quick scan with his qi told him a lot about what was ailing her. Sen didn¡¯t have exactly what she needed on hand, but he had something that should help alleviate some of her worst ailments. He summoned a stone vial from his ring and closed her hand around it.


    ¡°This should help,¡± he told her. ¡°Take it before you sleep tonight.¡±


    The old woman looked at him with wide eyes. She nodded and then retreated from the room, clutching the vial to her chest. Once the staff were gone, Sen turned back to the prince, only to find the man studying him. It wasn¡¯t a hostile gaze. It was more that the man couldn¡¯t seem to decide what he was looking at.


    ¡°What did you give her?¡± the prince finally asked.


    ¡°A minor elixir. She¡¯s very old and suffers great pain in her joints. It should help with that.¡±


    A series of emotions yed across the prince¡¯s features before he schooled his expression back into a studious neutrality. Still, Sen had seen quick shes of understanding, then guilt, and something else that Sen couldn¡¯t quite identify.


    ¡°You could sense all of that with your qi techniques?¡± the prince asked.


    ¡°Yes, although it didn¡¯t take any special knowledge. It¡¯s amon enough affliction in the elderly. I could see the pain in her face.¡±


    The prince nodded. ¡°That was thoughtless of me. I shall have to make amends to her.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be,¡± Sen paused, ¡°overwhelmed.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps so.¡±


    When the prince didn¡¯t speak again, Sen let the silence y out. He had spent long hours on the mountain, sometimes entire days without speaking. Silence didn¡¯t bother him. Instead, he let his eyes go back to the painting. He tried to figure out what it was that he liked about it and came up empty. He knew that he liked it, but couldn¡¯t figure out why. It was something below the level of consciousness. The silence stretched out several minutes before the prince spoke again.


    ¡°You are an unusually disciplined man,¡± said the prince.


    Sen nced back at the prince. ¡°Am I?¡±


    ¡°I have known people who have learned to endure such silences, but you are indifferent to it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a cultivator. Silence is nothing new to me. If anything, I prefer it to the constant noise of this city.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like it here.¡±


    ¡°I do not.¡±


    ¡°You are not like other cultivators I¡¯ve met.¡±


    ¡°In what way?¡±


    ¡°You declined my invitation. Might I inquire as to why?¡±


    ¡°My teachers advised me to steer clear of mortal politics. I¡¯ve found it sound advice.¡±


    ¡°Yet, you arrived at this city in thepany of my sister, a princess. Many would interpret <em>that</em> as a political act.¡±


    ¡°She did not see fit to inform me that she was a princess. Your messenger let that secret slip.¡±


    The man threw back his head inughter. ¡°Of course, she didn¡¯t. Oh, Yu Ming. I presume you asked her about me.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°What did she tell you?¡±


    ¡°That she loves you.¡±


    There was another momentary crack in the prince¡¯s control. That time, he looked shocked.


    ¡°I see,¡± said the prince, catching his equilibrium. ¡°I expect she told you other things.¡±


    ¡°She did. She said that you¡¯replicated and smart.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d ask if she told you not to trust me, but I doubt you¡¯d answer.¡±


    ¡°I would not. Since you¡¯ve gone to all of this effort to meet me, I¡¯m curious as to why. I¡¯m more curious to know how you knew about me in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°Would you believe that I¡¯d heard the tales of the legendary Judgment¡¯s Gale and wanted to meet the legend?¡± asked the prince.


    ¡°Probably not. We¡¯re at too far of a remove for those stories to have spread this far, I think.¡±


    ¡°You might be surprised. In any event, though, I was told you wereing. I was also told that you have little love for nobility.¡±


    ¡°A very urate statement,¡± said Sen, unable to bury the ice that crept into his voice.


    ¡°Ah, so not just disdain, but <em>earned</em> disdain.¡±


    ¡°I think so. Others might see it differently.¡±


    The prince returned to his quiet contemtion of the painting. He spoke without looking at Sen.


    ¡°I was told that your entry into my life could harbor great fortune or great disaster. I, of course, prefer the former. So, I wished to start us out on friendly terms. Assuming such a thing is possible.¡±


    Sen took a firm grip on his knee-jerk reaction. He was determined to learn from past mistakes. ¡°So, you want something from me? Need me to do something?¡±


    The prince frowned. ¡°No. At least, I wasn¡¯t told of anything specific. I was simply warned, repeatedly, not to make you my enemy. Given your feelings about the nobility, I hoped that simply telling you what was happening might help us avoid misunderstandings. Beyond that, I was curious about you. You have been traveling with my sister, after all.¡±


    Sen made a valiant effort to suppress a sigh and failed. ¡°I wish she¡¯d been this straightforward.¡±


    The prince made a sympathetic noise. ¡°Yu Ming has always been¡­¡±


    ¡°Always been what, Jing?¡± said Yu Ming.


    Sen and the prince turned to face Yu Ming, who apparently <em>had</em> made an effort to look the part. She was wearing ornate red robes. Sen didn¡¯t think the color ttered her particrly well, but he kept that thought to himself. She was giving her brother a challenging look as if daring him to say something negative.


    ¡°Lovely,¡± said the prince smoothly.


    ¡°I thought so,¡± she said before turning her gaze on Sen. ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°Well, what?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think I look lovely?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s always true.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming beamed at Sen, who felt like there was some undercurrent at y he didn¡¯t understand. That feeling turned into certainty as the prince looked first at her, and then at Sen, and then lifted a hand to cover his eyes.


    ¡°Oh, Yu Ming. Tell me you didn¡¯t go falling in love.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 37: Royals

    Book 4: Chapter 37: Royals


    Sen eyed Chan Yu Ming carefully. He was relieved to see that she gave her brother an exasperated look. He also took the precaution of cycling up some air qi and closing the room to listeners.


    ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t go falling in love. I just went looking for a better option.¡±


    ¡°A better option?¡± asked the prince. ¡°What do you mean a better option?¡±


    Before Chan Yu Ming could say anything, the prince held up a hand to stop her. He eyed Sen, frowned, and then turned his attention back to Chan Yu Ming. He studied her thoughtfully, then nodded.


    ¡°I see,¡± he said. ¡°It could work. Maybe. It will require more than your usual level of subtlety.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Chan Yu Ming demanded.


    ¡°I mean that this will require some subtlety. As a general rule, you don¡¯t have any,¡± said the prince, giving his sister a smirk.


    ¡°I have plenty of subtlety. Don¡¯t I, Sen?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming and the prince both turned and looked at him. Chan Yu Ming stared at him expectantly, and the prince gave him an amused look. Sen looked from one to the other before he turned and gestured at the painting.


    ¡°Have you seen this painting, Chan Yu Ming? I rather like it. What do you think?¡±


    The prince howled withughter while Chan Yu Ming red at him.


    ¡°So, you think I¡¯m not subtle?¡± she said.


    ¡°I think we met because you challenged me on a battlefield. Then, you followed me when I left the Clear Spring sect. We haven¡¯t been in subtle situations, so Ick the information to judge.¡±


    ¡°Battlefield?¡± asked the prince, all the humor gone in a sh.


    ¡°It was fine,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°He only stabbed me a little.¡±


    The prince turned a fierce look on Sen. ¡°Stabbed?¡±


    ¡°In my defense, she challenged me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°I sought him out.¡±


    The prince frowned unhappily before curiosity seemed to win out.


    ¡°And you <em>won</em>?¡± the prince asked Sen.


    Sen nodded. ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°He was trained by <em>Feng Ming</em>,¡± added Chan Yu Ming. ¡°I couldn¡¯t pass up that opportunity.¡±


    That got the prince¡¯s attention, and he gave Sen another appraising look. ¡°I suppose I should have guessed. It would have taken training like that to beat my sister, at least if what her teachers say is true.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Sen. ¡°She¡¯s very, very good.¡±


    ¡°I was under the impression that ancient cultivators like that don¡¯t usually take students.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°They don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Then, why you?¡±


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. If I had to guess, I think I was just in the right ce at the right time.¡±


    ¡°So, mere luck?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°It wasn¡¯t mere luck.¡±


    Sen and the prince both looked to Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°How so?¡± asked the prince.


    ¡°I saw what he could do. The part he conveniently left of that story about the battle was how it ended.¡±


    ¡°We really don¡¯t need to talk about that,¡± said Sen in a pained voice.


    ¡°We do,¡± said Chan Yu Ming. ¡°He stopped it, Jing. Personally. It was one of the most terrifying, awe-inspiring things I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±


    The prince gave his sister a prating look. ¡°How does <em>one</em> man, even one cultivator, stop a battle by himself.¡±


    ¡°He made a technique that covered the sky in darkness and fire, suppressed everyone on the field with a killing intent like nothing I¡¯ve ever seen or felt before, and threatened to put a stop to the battle by simply killing everyone there.¡±


    The prince was silent for a long moment as he stared at Sen. ¡°And that worked? They believed him? They believed he could do it?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t <em>believe</em> anything, Jing. He <em>could</em> have done it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t oversell it,¡± said Sen hastily, before he turned his gaze on the prince. ¡°I could not have killed <em>everyone</em> on that battlefield. There were at least a thousand cultivators fighting, and several of them were of a higher cultivation level than me.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said the prince. ¡°So, you could only have killed <em>almost</em> everyone on the field.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way to be sure,¡± Sen hedged. ¡°A lot of people would have died if I¡¯d used the technique I made. More than any sane person would want on their conscience.¡±


    ¡°Would you have done it, if they didn¡¯t capitte?¡±


    ¡°Capitte?¡± asked Sen, ncing at Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°Surrender,¡± she said.


    Sen let that question hang for a moment before he said in a very quiet voice, ¡°Yes.¡±


    The prince nodded before he sped his hands behind his back. He went back to studying the painting for a time. Sen suspected the man wasn¡¯t really looking at it, so much as using it as an excuse not to speak until he¡¯d finished thinking something through. It was a good tactic, and Sen tucked it away forter use.


    ¡°You know,¡± said the prince, ¡°I really do like this painting. Do you think the proprietors will sell it to me?¡±


    ¡°You know they will,¡± said Chan Yu Ming dismissively. ¡°Who would say no to <em>you</em>?¡±


    ¡°Him, for one,¡± said the prince, waving a hand at Sen. ¡°Although, Tiu Li-Mei said he was very polite about it.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t count.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± asked the prince. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a wandering cultivator, for one. They only have a vague rtionship with mortal power structures at the best of times. Beyond that, he spent years training with not just one, but three nascent soul cultivators. His perspective on power is skewed.¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to object, considered it, and then said, ¡°She¡¯s probably right.¡±


    The prince nodded in acknowledgment before he looked at Chan Yu Ming. ¡°It can work, but you¡¯ll need assistance. Minimally, you¡¯ll need mother.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming grimaced. ¡°She won¡¯t help.¡±


    The prince rolled his eyes. ¡°You always think the worst of her.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s given me plenty of reasons.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, you¡¯ll need her help. I suspect you¡¯ll find her more, let us say, open to helping you in these circumstances. You aren¡¯t the only one who has strong feelings regarding the house of Choi.¡±


    Seething hatred radiated off of Chan Yu Ming as the mention of the house of Choi. ¡°They make it easy to have strong feelings about them.¡±


    ¡°That much is certainly true,¡± said the prince, before he abruptly turned to Sen. ¡°I apologize. I took your participation for granted. Do you understand what she intends?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re inclined to participate?¡±


    ¡°I agreed before I was fully aware of her status,¡± said Sen, shooting Chan Yu Ming a hard look that made her blush, ¡°but yes.¡±


    ¡°Have you prepared him?¡± asked the prince.


    Chan Yu Ming blushed a little more and said, ¡°About that. I could use your help as well.¡±


    The prince gave his sister a disapproving look that was profoundly paternal in nature before he shook his head. ¡°I suppose it doesn¡¯t interfere with my existing ns.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming¡¯s shoulders slumped in relief. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Prepare?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°There are things you need to know about,¡± she thought carefully, ¡°the local situation. I can¡¯t tell you because I don¡¯t have the time. I should have already arrived at the pce. Jing can exin them to you. He can probably do it better than I can since I¡¯ve been away thest few years.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about getting foisted off onto the prince for some kind of rushed training on local politics. It wasn¡¯t any doubts about the prince¡¯s ability to provide the information, but the prince clearly had his own agenda regarding Sen. Still, he had squandered his opportunity to get that information from Chan Yu Ming, now he¡¯d just have to make do with the resources avable to him.


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Sen.


    The prince nodded to him before he walked over to Chan Yu Ming. ¡°It is good to see you again, Yu Ming. Even if it must be under these trying circumstances. I¡¯ve missed you. You always keep things interesting.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming smiled up at her brother. ¡°I missed you, as well. Even if you do insist on being painfully boring.¡±


    The pairughed at what Sen realized must have been some inside joke.


    ¡°You should go,¡± said the prince. ¡°You know how father will be if you take too long, and I need to speak with Lu Sen on a few matters.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming nodded and looked at Sen. ¡°Try not to do any <em>you</em> things before we get this all settled.¡±


    ¡°Me things? What do you mean, <em>me</em> things?¡±


    ¡°You know <em>exactly</em> what I mean,¡± she said. ¡°No exposing demonic cabals. No infuriating sects. No terrifying acts of qi mastery.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that I agree with any of that, but I¡¯ll try.¡±


    Rolling her eyes, Chan Yu Ming left the two men alone in the room again. Once they were both sure she was gone, the prince turned another of those assessing looks on Sen.


    ¡°You like her,¡± said the prince.


    ¡°We¡¯ve had some differences of opinion but yes, I guess I do.¡±


    ¡°Do you n to marry her?¡±


    Sen gave the prince a shocked look. ¡°No. Not before we get to know each other a lot better than we do, at any rate. Plus, there¡¯s the whole politics thing. I wasn¡¯t lying when I said I try to keep out of it. I don¡¯t think that cultivators should interfere. Like I told your sister, we¡¯re just visitors in your world.¡±


    ¡°Visitors? What an odd way to describe it.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t really part of your world. Cultivators live by different rules. We have different expectations of each other. The entire goal of cultivation is ascension, to leave this world behind for another. How could we be anything but visitors?¡±


    ¡°A perspective I hadn¡¯t considered, but fitting. As for marriage, don¡¯t ce too high a value on knowing the other person.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Familiarity is no guarantee of sess. My wife and I were barely acquaintances when we wed. Now, I wouldn¡¯t give her up for anything. I don¡¯t mean to encourage you specifically with Chan Yu Ming. I just mean that a decision to make a marriage seed is often more meaningful than attraction or knowledge about each other.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t entirely sure why the prince was sharing marriage tips with him, but he seemed to mean well. So, Sen tucked the tip away forter reflection.


    ¡°There were matters you wanted to discuss with me?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Yes. I understand what Chan Yu Ming stands to gain from all of this. I don¡¯t understand what you stand to gain.¡±


    Sen regarded the prince in silence before he made a decision. ¡°There¡¯s a cultivation resource I need, a manual, and she agreed to try and help me get it.¡±


    ¡°Try? You¡¯re taking on a lot of personal trouble for something as intangible as someone trying to help you get what you need.¡±


    ¡°The manual is exceedingly rare. One of the sects in the city has a copy. I¡¯m not confident I have the influence or resources to secure it on my own. I suspect a princess who is also a cultivator trying will go a lot farther than me trying.¡±


    ¡°Likely true, although the sects can be unpredictable in what they will and won¡¯t do.¡±


    ¡°I know. They have their own politics.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I cannote to you every time we meet. Doing so once is exinable. You are, after all, a folk hero. I can im curiosity. Doing so repeatedly will draw attention that neither of us would particrly enjoy. You will need toe to me at my home.¡±


    ¡°I can do that. How often?¡±


    ¡°For the moment, daily. It would be easier if you simply stayed there, but we need people to see youing and going regrly for a time before that bes practical. Arrive at midday. I¡¯ll see to it that the guards know to let you in.¡±


    Sen asked a few pertinent questions about where the prince¡¯s home was located and how to get there. Then, stopping only long enough to buy the painting by dropping an obscene number of gold tael into the hands of the inn¡¯s owner, the prince left. Sen stared at the empty spot on the wall where the painting had been. He felt Lo Meifenge into the room behind him.


    ¡°So, how did that go?¡± she asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t start a war or anything, did you?¡±


    Sen could see her smirk out of the corner of his eye. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t start a war. I¡¯m just worried I¡¯m in over my head with this.¡±


    ¡°Oh, <em>now</em> you¡¯re worried about being in over your head. Well, I guess some progress is better than no progress.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 38: Speculation

    Book 4: Chapter 38: Spection


    Prince Jing was usually a reserved man. He had taken to heart the admonition from both of his parents that you could learn more by listening than by speaking. Yet, on the way back to his home, the prince was all but silent. He kept thinking over his odd meeting with the cultivator Lu Sen. His visit had multiple purposes. On one level, he <em>had</em> simply been curious about the man who had so firmly declined his invitation. It was such an infrequent event in his life that he¡¯d taken for granted that the man woulde to him. When Tiu Li-Mei had informed him that the cultivator had declined in very firm terms, it hade as a legitimate shock. On further questioning, the woman who had served him for nearly ten years in increasingly important positions had be reticent. Beyond saying that the man was unorthodox but ultimately polite, she hadn¡¯t wanted to specte. When he pressed for her opinion, what she had to say had also surprised him.


    ¡°My prince, I don¡¯t have an opinion about him that I trust.¡±


    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve ever heard you say something like that before.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s strange. One minute, hees across like a young man. The next, he¡¯s like one of those old generals who seem like they can tell everything about you with a nce. And, there is something else there, something almost unnatural.¡±


    ¡°He is a cultivator. They can be that way sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I thought that, at first, but I don¡¯t think that was it. At least, not entirely. I can¡¯t think of a better way to exin it.¡±


    That uncertainty on the usually unppable Tiu Li-Mei¡¯s part had intrigued him. Of course, there had also been the Diviner¡¯s predictions that Lu Sen could be the making of him. That had been a powerful motivation all on its own. The revtion that the cultivator had arrived at the city in thepany of his younger sister had been a surprise. He¡¯d been aware that his parents had agreed to an ill-conceived marriage between her and Choi Zhi Peng, and that signaled her imminent and likely unhappy return to the city. To have her arrive in thepany of the man the Diviner had singled out felt like a sign to him. In the end, he¡¯d decided that, if Lu Sen wouldn¡¯te to him, he would go to Lu Sen.


    Yet, for all that he¡¯d tried to imagine what their first meeting might be like, none of it had gone to Zing¡¯s expectations. The young cultivator was deeply wary of him, as was to be expected, but Zing had underestimated just how deeply the young man loathed the nobility. The prince had expected dislike and been prepared to counter it. Despite the cultivator¡¯s impressive self-control, he hadn¡¯t been able to hide that loathing. It was so intense that it bordered on hatred. That the man had been willing to speak to Zing <em>at all</em> had been shocking in the wake of that discovery. Yet, for all of that, Lu Sen had been willing to speak to him. It made Zing wonder if he¡¯d been advised by someone that not speaking to the prince was a potentially disastrous move. Zing wouldn¡¯t have done anything if Lu Sen had refused him a second time, but he knew that some of his brothers would have taken foolish actions in the wake of the perceived slight.


    He had wondered, briefly, if Yu Ming had advised the cultivator, but he¡¯d rejected that thought almost immediately. Whatever that rtionship was, and it was a tangled mess from what he¡¯d seen, it wasn¡¯t the kind of rtionship that involved Lu Sen <em>taking</em> advice from Yu Ming. That was probably for the best, in Zing¡¯s opinion. Yu Ming had many admirable qualities, but she was also prone to the errors in judgmentmon to all young people. Decisions driven more by passion than reason. Not that Zing himself was immune to such decisions. After all, he¡¯d begun a very serious exploration of the options avable to ensure that Choi Zhi Peng missed his wedding day courtesy of a hideously painful death. If the Choi family thought they were going to saddle his sister with that travesty of a person, they were both deeply and sadly mistaken. Not that Yu Ming would be in any real danger from the man, but Zing saw no reason that she should have to spend decades of her life dealing with him. Still, it was evidence that young people with strong feelings made poor choices.


    No, Zing suspected that there had been an invisible hand at work in the background with Lu Sen, guiding the young cultivator toward the path of least trouble. Tiu Li-Mei had said another messenger had been waiting for the cultivator, which suggested that Lu Sen either had a contact in the city or someone had traveled in advance to make some kind of preparation. An older cultivator, perhaps, offering guidance to an inexperienced young cultivation genius? And Zing was confident that Lu Sen was exactly that, a cultivation genius. Yu Ming¡¯s teachers had thrown that term around often enough when she was growing up and training. A sword genius, they had called her, and this Lu Sen had beaten her. Although, it was her description of how the man had ended that battle that cemented that impression in his mind.


    He knew that cultivators aged differently from other people, but he was convinced that Lu Sen was likely the age he looked, or something very close to it. While Zing himself wasn¡¯t a cultivator, every kingdom had to deal with the presence of cultivators. He had a good working knowledge of the stages of cultivation and what kind of power those stages conferred. If this Lu Sen had done what Yu Ming said he did, and Zing had no reason to doubt her description, that was a kind of power usually reserved for much, much older cultivators at very levels of cultivation advancement. That would normally have been enough to give him pause. Massive power in the hands of someone that young was almost always a recipe for disaster.


    Yet, almost in spite of himself, he liked the young man. Lu Sencked polish, certainly, but he also possessed a kind of straightforward indifference to rank that appealed to Zing. Lu Sen had spoken to him like a person, not a position. When he¡¯d asked the young man what he thought of the painting, Lu Sen had simply answered him, rather than wasting time trying to decipher what the prince thought of it. In fact, the cultivator had been surprisingly honest about just about everything as near as Zing could tell, which wasn¡¯t to say that the young man didn¡¯t have secrets. It was very clear that Lu Sen was stuffed full of secrets, just not the kind of secrets that nobles were interested in.


    Of course, as always, Tiu Li-Mei had been right. There was something unnatural about that man that went beyond the usual strangeness that surrounded cultivators. Zing had found himself equally unable to identify what it was. It was thatck of insight that kept Zing almost entirely silent on the way home. Yet, unnatural or not, he would help the man because Lu Sen represented a legitimate chance to extract Yu Ming from what would be a disastrous marriage. He found himself sitting in his private study, drinking tea he didn¡¯t remember asking for, when his wife found him. She closed the door behind her and took a seat opposite of him.


    ¡°You met the cultivator?¡± Jao Chan-Juan asked.


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°And what do you think?¡±


    Zing paused and gathered his thoughts. ¡°I like him.¡±


    ¡°But?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I think that he might well be the single most dangerous person I¡¯ve ever personally encountered.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t all cultivators dangerous?¡± asked Jao Chan-Juan.


    ¡°They are,¡± he agreed. ¡°Still, this Judgment¡¯s Gale is something new. I just can¡¯t put my finger on how or why. Perhaps it was simply his training.¡±


    ¡°Was there something special about it?¡±


    ¡°Yu Ming says that he trained with three nascent soul cultivators, and one name Feng Ming in particr.¡±


    ¡°Fate¡¯s Razor?¡±


    ¡°I assume so. One might infer that he was selected specifically because there was something different about him.¡±


    ¡°Will he be of use to you?¡±


    ¡°No. At least, not in any traditional sense. I got the distinct impression that he isn¡¯t terribly interested in the mortal world or its problems. He¡¯s actively disinterested in mortal politics.¡±


    ¡°Really? Don¡¯t most cultivators take at least a passing interest in the mortal political situation?¡±


    ¡°The ones who live here do, but he¡¯s a wandering cultivator. They tend to spend less time in cities and pay less attention to mortal politics, but it goes beyond that with him. He told me that cultivators are just visitors. As such, they shouldn¡¯t interfere with mortal politics. He seemed very sincere about it. Yet, despite that, he¡¯s going to interfere anyway.¡±


    ¡°In what way?¡±


    ¡°Somehow, Yu Ming convinced him to y the part of a suitor.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s going to use him as a wedge to break herself free of the Choi engagement.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And he agreed to do that? Why?¡±


    ¡°He gave me <em>a</em> reason. He said that he¡¯s looking for a particr cultivation resource. A manual held by one of the sects here.¡±


    ¡°Do you think he was lying?¡±


    ¡°No. I think he was deadly serious about getting that manual. He seems to be hoping that Yu Ming and, presumably, the family will be able to help him secure it.¡±


    ¡°You think there¡¯s something else to it, though.¡±


    Zing nodded. ¡°I saw him and Yu Ming together. There¡¯s clearly something there, although Yu Ming seems to have done something to muddy the waters.¡±


    ¡°You always assume she causes the problems.¡±


    ¡°She usually does.¡±


    ¡°She is headstrong sometimes,¡± said Jao Chan-Juan. ¡°Still, you must be happy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy there¡¯s another option on the table, but I¡¯m not altering my ns until I see how things y out.¡±


    ¡°Any insights into how the cultivator will affect your future?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Zing, ¡°which worries me. I fear that I¡¯m going to be a spectator to whatever happens.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps he¡¯s going to draw attention away from you and your own ns. There are worse things than a good distraction.¡±


    ¡°Will I be meeting this cultivator?¡±


    ¡°If you wish to. He¡¯ll be visiting tomorrow. Yu Ming asked me to talk him through what he¡¯ll need to know.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t really have that kind of time.¡±


    ¡°True, but I can at least point out where the traps are. He is a cultivator after all. That¡¯s going to inste him in many ways. He can ignore a great deal of etiquette that other people can¡¯t and get away with it. After all, it¡¯s not like someone can simply have him killed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Cultivators can die.¡±


    ¡°They can, but not without making a great deal of noise. I think that¡¯s particrly true of this one. No, I expect that any would-be assassins are going to find that they¡¯ve taken the wrong job if they go hunting for him.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that the Choi family wastes a fortune discovering that.¡±


    ¡°That <em>would</em> be nice.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 39: Fatal Mistake

    Book 4: Chapter 39: Fatal Mistake


    Sen was disheartened to discover that news of the prince¡¯s visit to him, as well as Sen¡¯s identity as a kind of folk hero and sect bogeyman, had spread through the city like wildfire. He supposed it had been predictable but it didn¡¯t make him happy. It had drawn attention down on him that was, in turns, frustrating and anger-inducing. Messengers had started arriving within hours from what Sen assumed were minor political houses trying to edge some kind of advantage. He grudgingly epted the messages but did not read or respond to any of them. There was no point until he could get some insights from the prince about which houses were actually important and which were not. Those continuous interruptions in his day were simply frustrating.


    The reaction of the local sects to his presence had ignited his anger. He had felt the arrival of several cultivators who positioned themselves nearby and, between them, took to examining the inn with their qi and spiritual sense almost continuously. It was a constant distraction and annoyance. Sen might have tried to ignore it, but Falling Leaf had been feeling cooped up. Sen understood that feeling. After so much time spent out on the road, the city was stifling. She had gone for a walk. Under normal circumstances, Sen wouldn¡¯t have worried about her. In the foreign environment of the capital, he kept an eye on her from a distance with his own spiritual sense. That was how he knew almost the instant that things started to go wrong. He felt qi re from half a dozen cultivators who closed on her fast.


    Sen didn¡¯t bother with trying to navigate through the inn. Heunched himself out of his open window, cycling wind qi to help him manage the rotation of his midair somersault, nted a foot on the wall of the next building, andunched himself upwards with his qinggong technique. He was hurtling over rooftops, even as he felt the fight happening. Falling Leaf hadn¡¯t been caught too off-guard, because he felt her distinctive qi re several times. Then, the life of one of the people who was attacking her blinked out of Sen¡¯s spiritual sense. On the one hand, Sen was thrilled. On the other, he knew he needed to hurry. With one of her attackers dead, the rest were likely to escte things to a lethal level. He pushed himself harder, shattering roof tiles and, at one point, buckling a wall between buildings. Sen could feel the other cultivators hurling techniques at Falling Leaf and desperate concern exploded into incandescent rage. Sen didn¡¯t know who they were and did not care. They had attacked Falling Leaf. It would be the final, fatal mistake of their lives. Sen nted his foot onest time andunched himself into the sky.


    As he flew through the air, Sen summoned the heaven chasing spear from his storage ring and cycled lightning. He pressed that lightning into the spearhead until it zed like a miniature sun. As he cleared the building, he felt the life of another attacker wink out of his senses. He took in the scene in a nce. Falling Leaf was bleeding from dozens of shallow cuts and half a dozen deeper ones. One of her wrists was locked into a shackle, but she¡¯d buried her teeth in the throat of the person trying to shackle her and torn it out. Then, Sen descended on them like the hammer of a god. The spearhead dropped through the skull of one of the attackers and passed cleanly into her chest before the lightning detonated inside them. The cultivator¡¯s body was shredded and flew in every direction. Sen felt the hot spray of blood across his face, but it was just a fact that his mind casually noted before dismissing it for more important tasks. Thest three attackers stared at Sen with a mixture of terror and horror. The closest attacker, a muscr man, recovered first.


    ¡°You¡¯re dare! You¡¯re courting-,¡± was as far as he got.


    A razor-edged spike of stone shot up from the ground, punched into the man¡¯s groin, drove up through his chest, and exploded from the top of his skull in a shower of blood and brain. Thest two, both core formation cultivators that were at least theoretically of a higher in-stage cultivation level than Sen, startedunching their attacks. Sen had felt himself pass beyond the rage state and into that ce of total, emotionless focus. He had enough time to identify the woman on the left as a fire cultivator, and the man on the right as a metal cultivator. Sen dismissed the man for the moment, knowing from experience and discussions with Lo Meifeng that metal cultivators struggled with ranged attacks.


    Instead, he focused his attention on the woman. She triedunching wind des at him. Sen had felt her cycling wind qi and momentarily devoted the entirety of his channels to wind qi as well, burning liquid qi to fuel his own strength. He felt it when her techniques were ready to coalesce. He reached out with his own wind qi and ruthlessly crushed the techniques at very nearly the moment they formed. The bacsh from having half a dozen techniques broken almost simultaneously sent the woman into convulsions but that didn¡¯tst long. Sen switched to cycling shadow and metal, driving them together with the force of his will. A web of metal-fused shadow strings burst from every shadow in the surrounding area and wrapped around her. Then, Sen <em>pulled</em>. Those strings cut through the woman, leaving nothing but a ragged pile of bloody meat that most people would have struggled to identify as having ever been human.


    Sen didn¡¯t know if the metal cultivator had felt thest of hispanions die, or if he¡¯d simply heard the sickly, wet plopping noises that the falling pieces of her body made when they hit the ground. But he¡¯d arrested his charge at Sen and was just staring at that bloody pile. Sen dismissed the spear back into his storage ring and drew his jian. He cycled metal qi and reinforced the de. There was no reason to risk potential damage to the edge when he could avoid it altogether. The metal cultivator turned to face Sen. The man¡¯s face was ghostly pale and fear radiated off him, but so did anger.


    ¡°I have questions for you,¡± said Sen. ¡°You <em>will</em> answer them.¡±


    ¡°Or what? You¡¯ll kill me?¡± demanded the terrified man.


    ¡°No. Every time you don¡¯t answer, I¡¯m going to cut a piece off of you. Who sent you?¡±


    The metal cultivator didn¡¯t say anything, just lifted his dao and raced toward Sen. For all his fear, the man didn¡¯t let it dampen the skills that had been drilled into him through what had clearly been countless hours of training. Unfortunately for that man, Sen had trained with far better and more dangerous people. Even more unfortunately for that man, anything resemblingpassion had fled from Sen¡¯s heart when he saw Falling Leaf bleeding with someone trying to chain her. Sen sent more liquid qi coursing through his channels and let it seep out into his body, boosting the already enhanced strength of his body cultivation-transformed muscles. When the metal cultivator came in for a shing attack, Sen¡¯s jian flicked out to parry the blow with all of that strength behind it. The dao shot out of the man¡¯s hand to the sound of snapping bones and buried itself in a wall. The metal cultivator didn¡¯t scream, but he jerked his injured hand back to cradle it. Sen felt nothing as his jian flicked out and severed one of the man¡¯s ears. The metal cultivator did scream that time. Sen waited until the wailing cultivator managed to stifle his agony before speaking again.


    ¡°Who do you represent?¡±


    The man stared murder at Sen but said nothing. The jian blurred through the air faster than sight and removed the thumb from the man¡¯s sword hand. Sen regarded the man with a cool, indifferent face.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a foot next,¡± said Sen, letting a little of his killing intent free.


    Thebination of pain, Sen¡¯s killing intent, and the cold reality that he was about to lose a foot broke the man.


    ¡°The Steel Gryphon sect.¡±


    ¡°Why did you try to take my friend?¡±


    ¡°Leverage. We wanted leverage over you.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said the man.


    Sen contemted taking the man¡¯s foot. It must have shown on his face because the man lifted his uninjured hand in a pleading gesture.


    ¡°I swear I don¡¯t know!¡± the man screamed.


    ¡°Who sent you to do this?¡±


    ¡°Elder Tang,¡± said the man, bowing his head in shame. ¡°Tang Ehuang.¡±


    Falling Leaf came over to stand next to Sen. He looked at her, saw the shackle still on her wrist, and a bit of the rage bled back through. He drove his metal qi into the shackle and felt the crude suppression formation in it trying to block him. It took him less than a second to shred the formation. The shackle bent away from her wrist with a shriek and dropped to the ground. Falling Leaf let out a gasp of relief before she fixed her eyes on the metal cultivator. The man tried to stumble backward, only to realize he was in a fist of hardened air.


    ¡°Do you want him?¡± Sen asked, ignoring the burgeoning dread on the metal cultivator¡¯s face.


    Falling Leaf never took her eyes off the man when she answered. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sen released the air qi he¡¯d held the man with, and Falling Leaf pounced. Sen swiftly erected a kind of air shield in the immediate area so the man¡¯s screaming wouldn¡¯t carry to everyone in the nearby area. That screaming went on for a long, long time. When Falling Leaf was finally done venting her rage, Sen gave what was left of the metal cultivator a considering look. Then, he dismissed the man from his mind. Sen hadn¡¯t wanted conflict with the local sects, but he wasn¡¯t about to let them take Falling Leaf to prove it.


    ¡°Come on,¡± he said. ¡°We both need to get cleaned up, and I need to take a look at those wounds.¡±


    ¡°They tried to cage me,¡± she said, the fury still hot in her voice.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°We should kill them all.¡±


    ¡°We did,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Their entire pride.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯te to that.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± demanded Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Because that would take a war. They have an army. We don¡¯t. Plus, it would put all of these mortals in harm¡¯s way. The people here don¡¯t deserve to die because they got in the crossfire of a cultivator war. More importantly, I don¡¯t want <em>you</em> to die fighting that war.¡±


    Falling Leaf took a steadying breath, winced, and then nodded. ¡°This is wisdom.¡±


    ¡°That being said, if they try something this stupid again, I <em>will</em> bring them a war.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 40: Blame

    Book 4: Chapter 40: me


    As he¡¯d been directed, Sen presented himself at the home of the prince. Although, words like pce and fortress sprang to mind a Sen stood at the gate of the walledpound. It seemed the guards had been expecting him because he was ushered inside quickly and shown to some kind of sitting room. He was given tea and a te of some kind of elegantly decorated pastries that Sen couldn¡¯t immediately identify, although the red bean paste filling was familiar. He wasn¡¯t left waiting for long before a Tiu Li-Mei entered the sitting room. Sen went to stand, but she waved him back to his seat. She nced at one of the other chairs, then at him, and seemed resigned to standing.


    ¡°Sit, if you wish,¡± said Sen. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know or care if you were breaking etiquette.¡±


    The woman inclined her head to him and sat. Sen poured her a cup of tea, waving away her frantic protests, and handed it to her. She reluctantly took the cup and waited for him to sip before she sipped her own. She hid it well, but Sen could sense that he made the woman nervous. He did his best not to focus on her too much. When she didn¡¯t say anything for several minutes, Sen finally lifted an eyebrow at her.


    ¡°Were you sent simply to keep mepany?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No,¡± she admitted. ¡°I came to ask you a question.¡±


    Sen thought he had a pretty good idea what question wasing, but he yed along. ¡°Of course. Please, proceed.¡±


    ¡°Were you involved in an altercationst evening?¡±


    Sen took a moment to sip his tea. ¡°I was.¡±


    ¡°May I ask what happened?¡±


    Sen looked at her for long enough that the woman began to shift ufortably. ¡°Several people tried to abduct my friend and wounded her severely in the process.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± she said, her brow furrowed.


    ¡°What happened then?¡±


    ¡°I ughtered them,¡± said Sen in a conversational voice. ¡°This tea is excellent, by the way. Do you know where I can acquire some?¡±


    Tiu Li-Mei was staring at him with wide eyes. ¡°<em>You</em> killed them?¡±


    ¡°I take those kinds of attacks on my people very personally.¡±


    The woman looked a little pale to Sen¡¯s eyes, but it didn¡¯t bleed into her voice. ¡°I see. Do you know who they were?¡±


    ¡°I do. One of them survived long enough to answer my questions. They were from the Steel Gryphon sect.¡±


    Tiu Li-Mei¡¯s mouth tightened at the name. ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±


    ¡°Very sure.¡±


    Sen watched her for a moment before nodding. After he¡¯d gotten Falling Leaf back to the inn, dressed her wounds, and forced several custom elixirs into her, he¡¯d left her to sleep it off. Then, he¡¯d gone to find Lo Meifeng. He¡¯d found her pacing in her room. He¡¯d leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest, and just watched her pace for a while. Eventually, she turned an annoyed look on him.


    ¡°Could you not stand and stare that way? It¡¯s creepy. It¡¯s like having a statue re at you.¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Walk me through what happened.¡±


    Sen gave her an ounting of the earlier events. He skipped past some of the more colorful moments in the name of brevity. She had closed her eyes and let one of her hands clench into a fist when she heard the name Steel Gryphon sect.


    ¡°And then what?¡±


    ¡°Then I gave him to Falling Leaf.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked startled. ¡°What did she do?¡±


    ¡°She expressed the depths of her displeasure.¡±


    ¡°She killed him?¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°Yes, I guess that¡¯s <em>a</em> way to describe it.¡±


    ¡°Why would they do something this stupid?¡±


    ¡°You know why,¡± said Sen.


    It had taken him a little while to figure it out, but that had mostly been because he¡¯d been so angry at first. Then, he¡¯d been distracted with tending to Falling Leaf. Once the fury had burned off and the healing was tended to, he¡¯d been able to turn his mind to the more immediate problem. He¡¯d been confused, at first. What the Steel Gryphon sect had done ran contrary to everything he¡¯d heard about how sects operated in the capital. Blithely grabbing people off the streets, or trying to, was not a good show of sect discipline. Sen acknowledged that it was <em>possible</em> that they had tried to grab her strictly because of him. On bnce, though, there weren¡¯t a lot of good reasons for them to do it.


    He supposed that the list of demonic cultivators probably hadn¡¯t included people in the capital, given that he hadn¡¯t heard any stories that involved it. That suggested that any demonic cultivators located in the capital had escaped the recent purge. Of course, that was an incentive for them to avoid Sen <em>at all costs</em>. Drawing his attention that way was just begging for nascent soul-fueled destruction to reign down from the sky. No, the more likely scenario was that they had tried to get to him in order to get to someone else. Someone local. And the only local people he knew that mattered were Chan Yu Ming and her brother. Since Chan Yu Ming had been out of the picture for years while she was training at the Clear Water sect, that only left one real candidate.


    ¡°The prince,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°The prince,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°I have to assume that they offended him in some way and that he¡¯s putting some manner of pressure on them. I assume it¡¯s economic pressure.¡±


    ¡°Why would you assume that?¡±


    ¡°Chan Yu Ming talked about it. She said it¡¯s how her family punishes sects in the city when they act out in ways that the government doesn¡¯t like. Higher taxes, dying shipments, encouraging merchants to decline to work with the sect, that kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a smart move. Sects are expensive. Drive their costs up enough, and they can copse under their own weight. Still, this wasn¡¯t a good move on their part. It¡¯s too tant. They don¡¯t even know what your rtionship with the prince is. Beyond that, they clearly didn¡¯t understand who they were dealing with when it came to you. If they¡¯d looked into you at all, they would have known that a move like that could <em>only</em> end with a lot of dead people.¡±


    ¡°Loathe as I am to say it, I¡¯m going to work from the assumption that the entire sect isn¡¯t to me for this. I think that this was just one overambitious elder being profoundly short-sighted. Probably whoever it was that pissed off the prince in the first ce. I think Falling Leaf was just a target of opportunity. I¡¯d bet that those idiots we killed were under orders to grab whoever they could get alone.¡±


    ¡°Well, you should be sure to <em>thank</em> your new friend for all the trouble he caused us. We have exactly zero chance of keeping anything even remotely like a low profile now.¡±


    Those were the words in the back of Sen¡¯s mind as he watched flickers of frustration and anger flit across Tiu Li-Mei¡¯s face. She saw him studying her and closed her eyes for a moment. Then, she stood from the chair.


    ¡°You shoulde with me.¡±


    Sen rose from his own chair and followed the woman deep into the heart of the building. He saw servants calmly but diligently going about their work. There was art ced in what Sen assumed were strategic positions. It was mostly paintings, but he also saw small sculptures and even vases set carefully on tables. They were obviously there to be looked at, rather than used. For all that, though, the decorations were understated, adding a sense of quiet dignity to the pce. Tiu Li-Mei asked Sen to wait, while she disappeared behind a heavy wooden door. He stood there in patient silence for several minutes, before a Tiu Li-Mei came back out. Sen didn¡¯tment on it, but he could see that her hands were trembling slightly.


    ¡°The prince will see you.¡±


    As Sen went to walk past the woman, he could hear her heart beating much too fast. He paused and looked at her. Then, he gentlyid a hand on her arm and a little of his qi passed into her. He adjusted the biological reactions that were driving what he recognized as a panic response.


    ¡°Peace,¡± he said, and then went in to see the prince.


    The prince was standing by a window and, much like Tiu Li-Mei, Sen could see the signs of a strong emotional reaction. While the man looked calm enough, the hand the man held at the small of his own back was clenched so tightly that the knuckles were white. His posture was too rigid. Sen¡¯s enhanced hearing caught the rasp of harsh breaths being taken in through clenched teeth. Sen decided that waiting until the prince was ready to talk was probably the best move at this point. Instead, he nced around what he assumed was the man¡¯s office. Sen let a small smile cross his lips when he saw that someone had ced the painting from the inn on a wall in the room. It would be easy to look at from the heavy and scroll-covered table.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t happen often,¡± said the prince without looking away from the window, ¡°but it seems that I owe you an apology. It wasn¡¯t my intention, but it seems I¡¯ve dragged you into my conflict with the Steel Gryphon sect. I¡¯ve brought trouble to you, and I sense that trouble was thest thing you wanted ining to this city. For that, I am truly sorry. I understand that yourpanion was injured. Is she well?¡±


    ¡°I tended her wounds myself. I expect that she¡¯s all but healed by now, given how healthy her appetite was this morning.¡±


    A sliver of the tension that was keeping the prince fixed in ce seemed to bleed away. He turned to look at Sen.


    ¡°You¡¯re a healer?¡±


    ¡°An alchemist, of sorts. The line between healer and alchemist can grow very blurry. Healers can do things that I¡¯d never attempt, but the reverse is also true.¡±


    ¡°You told me that you came here in search of a manual and that one of the sects in the city held a copy. Is it the Steel Gryphon sect?¡±


    Sen considered drawing it out but that felt a bit too much like punishing the wrong person. ¡°No. It¡¯s the Golden Phoenix sect.¡±


    A wave of tension left the prince at those words. ¡°At least there was some tiny shred of good fortune in this disaster. Still, since I brought this ill luck onto you, I wish to make amends. Tell me what you seek, and I will do what I can to acquire the manual.¡±


    Part of Sen wanted to jump on the opportunity, no questions asked. Yet, Sen didn¡¯t want to take advantage of the man¡¯s guilt. The prince may have caused the situation, but only inadvertently. He hadn¡¯te to the inn with malicious intent.


    ¡°The manual might prove excessively expensive. I don¡¯t know what the rtionship between the sect and the government is, but they may ask for things you can¡¯t or won¡¯t want to give.¡±


    ¡°There are limits to my wealth and influence, promises I cannot make, but I would still like to try.¡±


    Sen let that rest for a moment before he spoke. ¡°The manual I need is the Five-Fold Body Transformation.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 41: Politics

    Book 4: Chapter 41: Politics


    With the immediate source of potential tension between them at least nominally resolved, Sen and the prince settled into a more rxed conversation that focused on the reason that Sen had actually been meant to visit. The prince started by giving Sen a general overview of the local political scene.


    ¡°Should I assume that your working knowledge of the government in general is thin?¡±


    ¡°You should. You might even say that it''s nonexistent. I knew that this was a kingdom and that there was theoretically a government. That¡¯s as far as it goes.¡±


    ¡°Theoretically?¡±


    ¡°I grew up on the streets,¡± said Sen. ¡°There wasn¡¯t much interaction with the government. I have some working knowledge about types of governments, but my teachers warned me that the reality is always a fundamentally different thing.¡±


    ¡°That is certainly true. Very well. There is a lot happening in the kingdom at any given time, so I¡¯ll stick with what you need to know to survive here.¡±


    ¡°That sounds practical.¡±


    ¡°In theory, the royal family, my family, has uncontested authority over the kingdom. That isrgely a fiction. There are a number of powerful noble houses that control a wide range of territories and resources that the kingdom needs to survive. That means that the royal house must often negotiate with these houses in order to keep the kingdom from simply copsing. While there are dozens of minor noble houses that are little more than merchants with titles, there are perhaps a dozen major houses that hold substantial sway, and what you might call four great houses. For your purposes, you need to know about those four houses, because you¡¯re about to infuriate one of them.¡±


    ¡°The house of Choi,¡± said Sen, nodding in understanding.


    ¡°Precisely. The house of Choi has always been problematic. They ruled briefly and badly for a short time early in the kingdom¡¯s history. They were removed from the throne and reced by my family. They¡¯ve never forgotten that they once ruled, and unsurprisingly yearn to return their house to that position. In retrospect, we should have simply destroyed them at the time, but my ancestors feared the chaos that would ensue, so most of them were spared. Ever since, they have been a source of plots, insurrections, assassination attempts, sessful assassinations, and general discord, but always at just enough of a remove that we cannot move against them.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Evidence. Politics is a game and a lethal game for those who y it. Yet, it''s also a sad kind of farcical theater, where we must put on a show to cate lesser houses. Without evidence, irrefutable proof, of their involvement, destroying the house of Choi truly would create the chaos my ancestors feared. It could ignite a civil war.¡±


    ¡°And even <em>I</em> know that those are bad for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Very much so. While your experience stands as evidence of a certain level of neglect on the part of the government, the situation as it stands is better than civil war or pure anarchy.¡±


    ¡°The neglected might not see it that way,¡± said Sen, his voice going a little cold.


    The prince gave Sen a considering look before he nodded. ¡°No, I don¡¯t imagine they do. Yet, no government thinks in terms of the individual. It can¡¯t. Governments think in terms of overall security, borders, and, when the time and resources can be spared, what will benefit the most people. For someone who grew up without a home or family, you would likely see charitable donations of food as an important and worthwhile investment. You¡¯d even be right, at some level. Yet, if the choice is between making the donations or building and repairing the roads that connect our cities, where should the money go? Ensuring that goods and people can move from ce to ce helps more people. It lets us get soldiers where they need to be. It allows food to move from ces where harvests were good to ces where harvests were poor. Those might seem unimportant to a homeless child, but they prevent invasion and much great starvation.¡±


    Sen ground his teeth. ¡°I won¡¯t pretend that I understand all of the intricacies or that I think I¡¯d do better, in principle. However, none of that helps the starving child on the streets.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± said the prince. ¡°And <em>that</em> is the burden. We know that our choices save some and condemn others, and then we must make the choices anyway. Can you truly tell me that you¡¯ve never made choices where there was no best oue, only less terrible oues?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°And I¡¯ll admit that I¡¯d prefer rulers who are at least troubled by those matters to those who simply don¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°A practical position, I suspect. We¡¯ve drifted off the main topic. The house of Choi is problematic, and they hate my family. A feeling that we return in kind and depth.¡±


    ¡°This is what I don¡¯t understand. If you hate them, why would your family ever agree to marry Chan Yu Ming to one of them? Setting aside the hate, she¡¯s a cultivator. She was as removed from all of this as a person can be.¡±


    The prince bought himself a few moments by sipping at his tea. He frowned down at it.


    ¡°Cold,¡± he muttered.


    Sen cycled for fire qi and waved a hand at the cup. Steam started rising from the liquid.


    ¡°Better?¡± asked Sen.


    Sen had to resist the urge tough at the startled look on the prince¡¯s face. The prince lifted the cup to his lips and took another sip.


    ¡°Much better. Thank you. I¡¯d never really considered that cultivators could use their powers for anything so mundane.¡±


    ¡°No one likes cold tea,¡± said Sen.


    The prince nodded. ¡°In answer to your question, I don¡¯t know. And it wasn¡¯t for ack of trying to find out. My father made the decision, and now he refused to discuss it.¡±


    ¡°Is that unusual?¡±


    ¡°It is. I¡¯m the most likely to seed him. So, he shares his thoughts on most decisions with me, if for no other reason than to help prepare me for the role. Yet, on this topic, he remains adamantly mute.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, do you really think Chan Yu Ming¡¯s n can work?¡±


    ¡°It can. I know that Chan Yu Ming would never truly consider it, but she can always simply decide to walk away.¡±


    ¡°The price is too high for her,¡± said Sen. ¡°I suggested as much to her. She¡¯d rather go through with the marriage than pay that price.¡±


    ¡°You may know that, and I may know that, but the possibility exists. As long as the possibility exists, it¡¯s leverage.¡±


    Sen considered his next words with much greater care than he usually would before he said them. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t life be easier for everyone is this Choi Zhi Peng just died?¡±


    ¡°It would,¡± said the prince. ¡°Yet, it¡¯s not enough that he die. If that were enough, I¡¯d have invented an excuse to have him cut down in the streets by well-paid cultivator mercenaries. He¡¯d need to disappear without a witness and, in doing so, abandon the wedding. That would be an affront to the royal family, and we could forever close the door to any future prospects of a marriage between their house and ours.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s what your father intends?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve considered the possibility.¡±


    Sen leaned back in this chair and closed his eyes for a moment. He¡¯d been right. He was in over his head. He didn¡¯t envy the prince the chore of trying to decipher the king¡¯s intentions. While Sen could just cut his way out of most problems, the prince was swimming in deeper and murkier waters. Sen had no clue what a wrong choice in this situation would cost the prince. Sen supposed it would probably derail any n for the prince to take the throne. Yet, Sen suspected that the consequences could be far worse.


    ¡°So, tell me about these other great houses I need to know about.¡±


    The other three houses, the house of Xie, the house of Wu, and the house of Fong, were less actively hostile to the royal family. From what the prince told him the house of Fong was more often an ally than an enemy, while the house of Wu and Xie were decidedly neutral about the current situation. Sen didn¡¯t immediatelyment, just considered what that might mean in practice.


    ¡°Are they actually neutral, or are they just biding their time, hoping that you and the house of Choi destroy each other?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re just biding their time. If my family fell, I¡¯m sure one or both would challenge for control of the country. For the moment, though, they¡¯re content to leave things as they stand.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s better than open hostility.¡±


    ¡°It actually is. The house of Choi has tried to enlist help from both at various points and been rebuffed in no uncertain terms. While they might take advantage of the situation if the throne were up for grabs, they¡¯re no more interested in seeing the Choi on the throne than my family is.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense.¡±


    The prince nced out the window and sighed. ¡°That will have to be enough for today. I have duties that, sadly, require my personal attention.¡±


    Sen rose from his chair and gave the prince a bow. ¡°Thank you for your instruction.¡±


    The prince rose and gave Sen a simr bow. ¡°Until tomorrow.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 42: I’d Do It Gladly

    Book 4: Chapter 42: I¡¯d Do It dly


    The prince summoned a servant to lead him back out to the gate. Sen was pretty sure he could have found his own way, but he supposed that the prince and his guards weren¡¯tfortable having a stranger wandering around the building. Sen knew that <em>he</em> wouldn¡¯t want strangers roaming his home if he had one. He¡¯d barely left the prince¡¯spound before he sensed the cultivators start following him. Sen briefly wondered if they intended for him to notice, then realized that he was holding them to his standards of evasion and <em>hiding</em>. While he could debate his skill level in most things, he knew that his ability to go unseen was, if not unmatched, the next best thing to it. Sen devised a quick n. He kept close track of the cultivators so he could time it properly. He waited until he rounded a corner, then he hid, and used his qinggong technique to reach a nearby alley. He wrapped himself in shadow and waited.


    The cultivators who had been following him didn¡¯t waste any time. He saw a very confused-looking man with an unfortunately patchy beard round the corner. His eyes swept the entire area frantically. Sen was most interested in the uniform he wore. It was the same as the ones worn by Falling Leaf¡¯s attackers. A momentter, three more cultivators converged on the man. There was enough environmental noise that Sen couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying, but they all looked agitated and nervous. After another nervous exchange, the group split up. Some of them went into nearby buildings, while others started searching the foot traffic and peering down alleys. Sen smiled as he watched one of the cultivator¡¯s eyes pass right over where he was standing. He waited until the cultivator turned away to look somewhere else, then grabbed the man and threw him deeper into the alley. Sen stalked toward the man, his body still wreathed in shadow. The cultivator thrashed around in the garbage pile Sen had thrown him into before he realized that arge shadowy figure was closing the distance.


    ¡°You¡¯re courting death,¡± the man said, although there was no conviction in his voice. ¡°The Steel Gryphon sect will see you dead for this.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t care about that yesterday. Why would I care now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you,¡± said the cultivator.


    ¡°Yes. Why are you following me?¡±


    ¡°We were sent with a message.¡±


    Sen drew his jian and cycled for lightning. ¡°I¡¯m sure you were.¡±


    ¡°Not that kind of message!¡± the man shrieked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± said Sen, looming over the man and pressing the tip of his jian into the hollow at the base of the other cultivator¡¯s throat. ¡°If your friendse any closer, I¡¯m going to kill all of you.¡±


    ¡°We really were sent with a message,¡± said a woman from behind Sen.


    ¡°You don¡¯t stalk people you have messages for. Everyone in this damn city knows where I¡¯m staying. You could have gone there.¡±


    ¡°Let the others go,¡± said the woman. ¡°I¡¯ll stay.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll stay anyway,¡± said Sen, pressing the jian in enough to draw blood.


    ¡°Please,¡± said the woman. ¡°This was my idea. They shouldn¡¯t pay the price for it.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t particrly inclined to let any of them go. He didn¡¯t believe the woman, but the other option was another bloodbath. There had been so much blood and death in thest year that it made Sen tired every time he considered it. In the end, though, it was the woman¡¯s use of the word please that tipped the scale. He pulled the jian away from the throat of the man on the ground.


    ¡°If the other three aren¡¯t gone in the next five seconds,¡± Sen said over his shoulder to the woman, ¡°I¡¯m going to send your sect another message.¡±


    When no one moved for a moment, the woman snapped out an order. ¡°Go!¡±


    There was a scramble of footsteps and the other three cultivators raced away, no doubt to get more help. Sen didn¡¯t even bother turning around.


    ¡°So, are you going to stall for time, or we should get right to it?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯te to fight,¡± she said.


    ¡°Assassins never do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not an assassin!¡±


    ¡°That would be more convincing if you hadn¡¯t acted like an assassin,¡± said Sen.


    Sen activated his qinggong technique andunched himself into the air. He tapped a foot against a wall andunched himself onto the rooftops. Unlike his rooftop trip the day before, he took more care not to leave a trail of architectural carnage in his wake. While he fully expected to run into more Steel Gryphon sect members, no one got in his way. The cultivators he did identify were always at a sufficient distance that he was rtively confident they weren¡¯t looking for him. Still, he was aggravated when he got back to the inn. He wordlessly collected the pile of scrolls and letters that were waiting for him and went upstairs. Sen had barely gotten back to his room when he heard a knock. A quick scan told him it was Falling Leaf, and he suppressed the urge to tell her to go away. It wasn¡¯t her fault that other people had put him in a bad mood. He went over and let her in. She eyed him for a moment.


    ¡°What happened?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I ran into some Steel Gryphon sect members.¡±


    Her eyes went hard. Then, she was scanning him, looking for damage. ¡°What did they do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Although, I have no idea if that¡¯s how they expected it to go. I caught them off guard.¡±


    ¡°You let them live?¡±


    Her tone told him all he needed to know about her thoughts on that matter. Sen couldn¡¯t really me her. She¡¯d taken the brunt of the abuse from them. If he was in her position, he¡¯d probably want them all dead, too.


    ¡°I did. I don¡¯t want to develop a reputation,¡± Sen sighed, ¡°more of a reputation for leaving piles of dead bodies behind me. That kind of reputation can attract a lot of attention, most of it of the kind none of us want.¡±


    ¡°They should know better, now.¡±


    ¡°You would think. At any rate, nothing happened, so we don¡¯t need to do anything about it. I¡¯m taking that as a good thing for the moment.¡±


    Based on the smoldering fury he saw in her eyes, Falling Leaf clearly didn¡¯t share that opinion. Still, she hadn¡¯t gone out looking for trouble. Sen had half expected toe back and find her gone.


    ¡°Did you learn anything from the prince?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I did. He thinks that they attacked us because of him. He¡¯s involved in some kind of ongoing conflict with them. I didn¡¯t ask for details, although I probably should have. I¡¯ll ask him about it tomorrow. Beyond that, he just gave me a general picture of the local political situation.¡±


    Falling Leaf frowned a little. ¡°That will be helpful for you?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I expect it will.¡±


    Falling Leaf fell silent for long enough that Sen wondered if she was still feeling the effects of the injuries she¡¯d taken.


    ¡°You came to help me,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°I didn¡¯t thank you.¡±


    Sen stood up and walked over to Falling Leaf. He looked her in the eyes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t ever have to thank me for something like that. I will <em>never</em> knowingly leave you in danger.¡±


    Falling Leaf smiled, but there was something sad in it. ¡°You may have to one day. None of us know what the future will bring. When I was young, I thought I would live with my pride for my whole life. Then, they were gone. You are my pride now. Even the Feng, the Kho, and the Caihong are my pride. Sometimes, you must sacrifice yourself. Sometimes, you must let others sacrifice for you.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°No. I won¡¯t sacrifice you. If that means we fall together, then we fall together. If that means I die so you can live, then I¡¯ll die, and I¡¯d do it <em>dly</em>.¡±


    ¡°My life is not worth more than yours.¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to smile if with less sadness. ¡°Yes, it is. It is to me.¡±


    Falling Leaf fell silent, her eyes distant. ¡°I don¡¯t like this ce. This city. I can¡¯t see the dangers here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it either. I promise we¡¯ll leave as soon as we can.¡±


    Falling Leaf never got the chance to answer as there was another knock on the door. Sen lowered his head, heaved a breath, and answered it. One of the inn¡¯s staff was standing there and looking profoundly nervous.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Sen asked with an extra helping of weariness in his voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disturb you. There is someone asking for you. They were very insistent.¡±


    ¡°Did they say who they were?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re from the Steel Gryphon sect.¡±


    Sen felt Falling Leaf start getting her qi ready for violence behind him. He felt his own expression harden.


    ¡°I see,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll be right down.¡±


    The inn employee read the mood in the room, offered a hasty bow, and disappeared. Sen felt his anger bubble up in a way that had been almost entirely absent since his time with the dragon. He let his eyes drift over to where Falling Leaf stood. Her expression was openly murderous. Sen had no idea what his expression looked like, but he expected it was much the same.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go greet our visitor,¡± he said.

 Book 4: Chapter 43: Making a Deal

    Book 4: Chapter 43: Making a Deal


    Sen and Falling Leaf descended the stairs into themon area. While it wasn¡¯t quite as empty as it had been when the prince had been there and the employees weren¡¯t kowtowing, themon area was silent. The people who were there were hurriedly finishing meals or drinks and exiting. The cause for that reaction stood in the center of the room, projecting arrogance in every direction. The woman was tall and, like so many cultivators, unnaturally attractive, with sleek ck hair and catlike eyes. But there was also a cruelty about her that bled through and marred the image of beauty. Sen made note of the Steel Gryphon sect patch on her fine silk robes. When Sen and the glowering Falling Leaf entered themon area, thest of the holdouts simply fled the space. The woman turned an imperious gaze on the two of them.


    ¡°I am Elder Tang Ehuang of the Steel Gryphon sect,¡± said the woman, giving the pair an expectant look.


    When the only reaction she got was Sen cing a restraining hand on Falling Leaf¡¯s arm, Elder Tang red at the two of them. When all that got was a look of cool disdain from Sen and one of barely controlled rage from Falling Leaf, the woman lost whatever patience she had.


    ¡°It seems that the two of you don¡¯t know your ce. Did no one teach you to show due deference to your betters?¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes and turned to Falling Leaf. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re wasting our time here.¡±


    As the two of them turned to leave, the sect cultivator abandoned any pretense of civility. ¡°Don¡¯t you turn your backs on me you pathetic wandering cultivators.¡±


    Sen felt the woman cycling qi and sighed. First, he mmed the full weight of his killing intent down on her. Then, he turned back to look at her. She was near the peak of core cultivation, so she wasn¡¯t screaming and convulsing the way he¡¯d seen some cultivators do under a simr attack. She had dropped her cycling. To Sen¡¯s eyes, it looked like she was bending everything into staying on her feet. He saw a trickle of blood leak from her nose. Then, he applied the technique that the dragon had taught him. Sen still wasn¡¯t certain exactly what it was. The way he applied it shared some resemnces to dropping his killing intent on someone, but its source was fundamentally different. The dragon had called it an auric imposition and seemed ecstatic that Sen had an intuitive grasp of the process that let them bypass, as the dragon put it, all those tedious details.


    Unlike killing intent, which Sen hade to understand was derived from a very specific set of experiences and conditions, the auric imposition was more like abination of cultivation strength and personality. The stronger the cultivation, the personality, and the will of the person, the stronger the auric imposition. Sen was still trying to piece together the details, but he could make the technique <em>work</em>, which was all that mattered to him in that moment. When his auric imposition crashed down on Tang Ehuang, she dropped to the floor. Sen walked toward her, mentally squeezing the woman with his killing intent and auric imposition. The blood started running freely from her nose and the corners of her eyes.


    ¡°You should choose your words with more care, <em>elder</em>,¡± said Sen, drawing his jian.


    The Steel Gryphon sect elder made feeble attempts to push herself away from Sen and the almost physical terror he was inflicting on her. She held up a hand, as though she could ward away the suppressive force bearing down on her with it.


    ¡°Wait,¡± she gasped.


    ¡°Otherwise, some pathetic wandering cultivator might take offense and remove your tongue. Well, I suppose that warning came a little toote. Perhaps you¡¯ll be more polite in your future <em>written</em> correspondences,¡± continued Sen, turning his eyes to Falling Leaf. ¡°Would you care to do the honors?¡±


    ¡°I would,¡± said Falling Leaf with a malevolent glee in her eyes.


    Falling Leaf had only managed to take two steps before a weight of power and presence the likes of which Sen had only felt from his teachers bore down on the room. The effect was immediate. Falling Leaf staggered and Tang Ehuang let out a pained cry as the pressure on her increased from the second presence. Sen understood what was happening and reshaped his auric imposition into a kind of makeshift shield for him and Falling Leaf. It wasn¡¯t perfect. He didn¡¯t even think it was meant to be used that way, but it did shunt aside enough of the pressure that Falling Leaf wasn¡¯t driven to the floor. Sen, who had far more experience dealing with those kinds of pressures, plunged his jian into Tang Ehuang¡¯s chest. That drew another cry of pain from the woman. He hadn¡¯t driven it deep enough to kill her, but it was deep enough that he <em>could</em> kill her before even a nascent soul cultivator would be able to stop him.


    ¡°That will be enough, young man,¡± said a deep, rich voice from the doorway.


    The pressure on him increased enough that Sen grunted and felt his auric imposition trembling on the edge of copse. In response, he pressed his jian a quarter inch deeper. That was deep enough to damage Tang Ehuang¡¯s heart every time it beat. Given that he was still doing everything in his power to drive his killing intent into every inch of the woman¡¯s body and soul, the damage was racking up fast.


    Sen growled from between firmly clenched teeth. ¡°We <em>aren¡¯t</em> doing it that way.¡±


    The stalemate continued like that until Tang Ehuang spasmed beneath thebined pressures on her. That very nearly ended her life then and there, as her own motion pushed the jian deeper into her heart. The nascent soul cultivator seemed to recognize that because he sighed and lifted the pressure he was exerting. Sen straightened up from the crouch he¡¯d assumed over Tang Ehuang and turned to look at the newest addition to the little drama they were all ying out. What Sen didn¡¯t do was ease up on the killing intent or the jian he¡¯d driven into her chest. The man staring at Sen from across the room looked to be in his middle years, although that could well be an affectation. Having seen Uncle Kho transform from an old man into a young man had taught Sen exactly how unreliable the appearances of nascent soul cultivators were in judging their ages.


    The man frowned at Sen. ¡°You will release her to me.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen.


    His tone wasn¡¯t rude or obnoxious, justmitted.


    ¡°You don¡¯t really have a choice,¡± said a man Sen assumed was one of the top members of the Steel Gryphon sect.


    ¡°There¡¯s always a choice,¡± said Sen. ¡°You just have to be willing to ept the consequences. This woman interfered with my business. Her actions saw mypanion injured. She insulted us. Then, she meant to attack us for not being as impressed with her as she is with herself. There will be a price for that.¡±


    ¡°She will be punished,¡± said the man. ¡°You have my word.¡±


    ¡°Not good enough.¡±


    ¡°My word isn¡¯t good enough for you?¡± demanded the man, his face going stony.


    Sen gave the man an incredulous look, then pointedly looked down at Tang Ehuang. ¡°Why would it be? Especially given that your interest is almost certainly in making sure that a sect asset remains useful, not in actually punishing her.¡±


    The nascent soul cultivator gave Sen an appraising look. ¡°You say that there is always a choice if you¡¯re willing to ept the consequences. Are you?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t even need to think about the answer. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You really are Feng Ming¡¯s student, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°It shows. There¡¯s nopromise in that man¡¯s soul either. Frankly, it¡¯s a trait that most people could do without. We both know you can kill her before I can get to you, even if it means your death immediately after. So, what do you suggest?¡±


    ¡°You want her alive and whole, I assume.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said the nascent soul cultivator.


    ¡°I want her crippled or dead. I¡¯m not sure that there is a middle ground to be found here.¡±


    The nascent soul cultivator considered first Sen, then Falling Leaf, who had regained her feet and was ring at him, and finally Tang Ehuang. The sect elder on the floor was barely conscious.


    ¡°All of her assets will be forfeited to you, including any sect treasures that have been given to her. We will also imprison her.¡±


    ¡°For how long?¡± Sen asked, letting nothing show on his face.


    The nascent soul cultivator, who Sen was starting to suspect might actually be the sect patriarch, gave him another long, assessing look. Sen was sure that the man was trying to gauge the shortest period of time that Sen would find eptable. The man opened his mouth, closed it after another look at Sen, and finally spoke.


    ¡°A century. She¡¯ll be kept in a qi-suppressed cell for one hundred years.¡±


    Sen gave the woman whose life he held in his hands a long look. Then, he pulled the jian free and withdrew his killing intent. ¡°Done.¡±


    The removal of the de from her chest and sudden withdrawal of Sen¡¯s killing intent seemed to be the final blows that Tang Ehuang could take, and her eyes rolled up into the back of her head. The nascent soul cultivator walked over and gave the woman a frustrated look. Sen had the impression that this wasn¡¯t the first time that this man had dug the woman out of one kind of trouble or another. The nascent soul cultivator reached down, grabbed Tang Ehuang, and unceremoniously threw her over his shoulder. He started to walk away before he stopped and lifted an eyebrow at Sen.


    ¡°Would you have really killed her if we didn¡¯te to terms?¡±


    ¡°Without hesitation.¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°I thought as much.¡±


    ¡°If I can ask,¡± said Sen, ¡°who are you?¡±


    The man gave Sen a surprised look. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    Sen frowned and gave the man a hard look, wondering if they¡¯d encountered each other somewhere along the way. He didn¡¯t look familiar to Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. No. I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t even mention me. Typical. My name is Feng Bai. I¡¯m your master¡¯s brother.¡±


    Sen stared at the man for a long moment, trying to process this new information, before he offered the man a respectful bow. ¡°I am honored to meet you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose that information would have changed the negotiations?¡± asked Feng Bai.


    Sen gave that a moment of very serious consideration before he shook his head. ¡°No. It wouldn¡¯t have changed anything that <em>she</em> did.¡±


    ¡°No, I guess it wouldn¡¯t have. Is he well?¡± asked Feng Bai.


    ¡°He spent most of thest year hunting demonic cultivators. He seemed to be in good spirits afterward.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I expect he would be after that. The next time you see my brother, tell him I said,¡± Feng Bai sighed and shook his head. ¡°Just tell him I said hello.¡±


    Sen could almost visualize the mountain of unsaid words in the air around them, but he just nodded. ¡°I will tell him.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Feng Bai, and then he was gone in a burst of qi and disced air.


    ¡°Do you think they will do as he said?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Probably. At the very least, I expect he¡¯ll make sure that absolutely no one else from that sect bothers us. I sincerely doubt he wants Master Feng showing up with a mind for vengeance. If anyone knows what that means, I bet it¡¯s his brother.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 44: The Concerns of Cultivators

    Book 4: Chapter 44: The Concerns of Cultivators


    ¡°You did <em>what</em>?¡± asked the horrified prince.


    Sen didn¡¯t think that the prince was actually asking him since Lo Meifeng had reacted in exactly the same way the evening before. On the one hand, he understood their reactions. Core formation cultivators didn¡¯t usually stare down nascent soul cultivators and then, essentially, ckmail them. On the other hand, Sen hadn¡¯t gone looking for that confrontation, let alone nned it. He had been reacting on instinct, rather than some well-thought-out strategy. It was something that he felt he did too often, but it was hard to have a well-thought-out strategy for things you didn¡¯t expect. Sen supposed that he could spend more of his time thinking up the least likely events he could expect to have happen to him, and then n as though they were certainties. That idea didn¡¯t appeal very much to Sen. He thought that would mostly result in him having a lot of ns that he never used while still making things up as he went.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he finally said to the bbergasted prince. ¡°I pretty much backed him into a corner. Incidentally, if your main problem was with Elder Tang Ehuang, she¡¯s going to be locked up for the next century.¡±


    ¡°How far along is your cultivation?¡±


    Sen thought about it. ¡°I¡¯m initial core formation. Although, I¡¯m probably not too far off from adding ayer to my core. I¡¯m a little farther along with my body cultivation.¡±


    ¡°How powerful are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not bad, but it¡¯s not always about directbat power. In a straight-up qi technique fight, either Tang Ehuang or Feng Bai could have beaten me. I might have made it a bit of a challenge with Elder Tang, but she¡¯d have probably won in the end. With Feng Bai, he¡¯d have destroyed me. So, I made those fights about something else.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°With Tang Ehuang, I made it a literal battle of wills. That wouldn¡¯t have worked with everyone, but she made it clear that her ego was fragile. Fragile egos don¡¯t make for strong wills. With Feng Bai, I made it a metaphoric battle of wills. I was willing tomit to an extreme oue. He wasn¡¯t for several reasons. That gave me the better bargaining position.¡±


    ¡°I doubt I would have had the nerve to try a gambit like that.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect you to try something like that. You have a <em>lot</em> more to lose than I do.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡±


    ¡°I do. You have a family, rank, wealth, a home, and the rest of your life. You have an entire kingdom to lose if you make a bad bet. I have a few close friends. I have some wealth, but that doesn¡¯t matter as much to cultivators as you might think. That¡¯s it for me. If I died today, it would hurt the people I¡¯m close to, but there wouldn¡¯t be many ripples in the pond of life. If you died today, it would cause a much more serious upheaval.¡±


    The prince studied Sen for a moment before he said, ¡°You say <em>I</em> have the rest of my life, but you didn¡¯t mention that for yourself. As I understand it, cultivators at your level of development have nothing but time. Centuries and centuries of it.¡±


    Sen froze. He hadn¡¯t meant to reveal that particr bit of information to the prince. It wasn¡¯t that he necessarily didn¡¯t trust the prince with it, but it wasn¡¯t information that the prince needed. It wasn¡¯t information that anyone outside of his core circle needed to know. Still, he¡¯d let it slip, no matter how inadvertently. The question was how best to deal with it. He could brush it off, saying that cultivators saw life and death differently. It was true <em>enough</em> that he could probably get away with it. He could also just ignore the implied question. It would still give the prince information, but the man would have to draw his own conclusions. Of course, Sen wasn¡¯t sure he wanted the man drawing uninformed conclusions. Sen could also juste clean about it. The information would likely make Sen seem more dangerous and even less risk-averse than his reputation would suggest. The silence had apparently dragged on for long enough that the prince had gotten nervous or ufortable.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to pry,¡± said the prince.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± said Sen, not thinking it was fine at all.


    ¡°If it¡¯s a private matter, I understand.¡±


    Sen ultimately decided that he¡¯d rather seem more dangerous to his enemies than less. It might take a little of the pressure off as well. If people thought he was going to die all on his own soon without any need for outside help, they might just decide it was more practical to wait it out and see what happened thanmit resources to the task of killing him.


    ¡°There¡¯s a problem with my body cultivation. If I don¡¯t fix it, I¡¯ll probably be dead within two years.¡±


    Prince Jing considered that statement and said, ¡°I can see why you say you have less to lose. Is that why you need the manual?¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°It¡¯s not the only reason, but it¡¯s certainly the most pressing reason.¡±


    ¡°You seem remarkably healthy for a dying man.¡±


    ¡°The real dying part hasn¡¯t started yet,¡± said Sen in answer to the prince¡¯s mild skepticism. ¡°But it ising. Soon.¡±


    ¡°Does Yu Ming know?¡±


    ¡°She does. It probably makes me even more appealing for her n. If I don¡¯t deal with this problem, she won¡¯t have to worry about me for long.¡±


    The prince shook his head. ¡°She doesn¡¯t think that way. She never has. Yu Ming has always been more passion than cold logic. It¡¯s why she makes such terrible ns.¡±


    ¡°She <em>does</em> make terrible ns,¡± said Sen, ¡°but she isn¡¯t stupid.¡±


    The prince nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true. She¡¯s foolish, at times, but not stupid. More than one person has mistaken the one for the other, though. It was a relief to me when she became a cultivator. It¡¯s a remarkably good shield for someone like her. Most people aren¡¯t willing to try to take advantage of someone who can literally bring down the walls of their house.¡±


    ¡°What is she doing right now? She only gave me a vague sense of what to expect next.¡±


    The prince¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure. I expected to be summoned after she returned, but that hasn¡¯t happened yet. If I had to guess, though, I assume that she¡¯s negotiating with our mother.¡±


    ¡°Negotiating? I never had parents, so I¡¯m sure I missed a few things, but is negotiating something children normally do with their parents?¡±


    The prince chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t believe so. Yu Ming¡¯s rtionship with our parents isplicated. She¡¯s willful, and our mother expected obedience. Needless to say, there is tension there. If she wants her n to work, though, she needs mother to help bring father around. Mother will want things from her that Yu Ming will tly refuse to do or that are simply impractical for a young cultivator. So, they¡¯ll need to bargain for what they want.¡±


    ¡°What kind of impractical thing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to know for sure. She might demand that Yu Ming settle in the city. She might demand that Yu Ming marry immediately and start producing children. Since that¡¯s not something you¡¯ll be willing to do, it¡¯s off the table. But there will be some kind of concession involved.¡±


    Sen shuddered. ¡°No offense, but that sounds like someone who wants to control her children.¡±


    The prince hesitated but nodded. ¡°That is a fair assessment.¡±


    ¡°I sincerely hope that she understands that <em>I</em> will not be making any such bargains, and Yu Ming can¡¯tmit me to one.¡±


    The prince smiled at that. ¡°My mother is formidable, but you stared down a nascent soul cultivator. I think even she will recognize the folly in trying to bring you to heel.¡±


    ¡°Good. As for the Steel Gryphon sect, I don¡¯t know the details of your conflict with them. If the source of that conflict was Tang Ehuang, though, you may find them more tractable now.¡±


    Prince Jing nodded. ¡°Perhaps. Time will tell on that ount. I¡¯m curious, though. Assuming you get everything that you came here for, the manual, freeing Yu Ming, what will you do then?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a wandering cultivator. I expect I¡¯ll go back to wandering. I may find a mountain to im at some point and just be a story that people tell. In the end, though, ascension is the goal for every cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Ascension,¡± said the prince. ¡°You leave the world behind and be a god?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the theory, but it¡¯s a bit of an open mystery. We know that ascending cultivators go <em>somewhere</em>. Personally, I¡¯m not sold on the idea that we ascend to the heavens.¡±


    ¡°No? Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯d make a terrible god. Most cultivators would make terrible gods. We¡¯re all selfish. Most of us are petty and prone to violence. Being a cultivator doesn¡¯t stamp out human failings. As often as not, it seems to amplify those failings. Maybe the universe really is so badly made that we ascend to godhood, but I hope that isn¡¯t the case.¡±


    ¡°Then, what do you hope will happen on ascension?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°That we go somewhere else. That it¡¯s a ce that helps us correct our failings, rather than making them worse. I doubt that¡¯s what happens either, though. I expect that what actually happens is that we go somewhere else, and that nothing is really different except the stakes.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because people are people. Do you think that being born somewhere else is really going to make them less wed?¡±


    The prince frowned at that. ¡°No. If you think that, though, then why do it?¡±


    ¡°Once you step onto the path of cultivation, it¡¯s very difficult to step off. The concerns of cultivators are very different from the concerns of mortals. You build everything in your life around cultivation. It changes the way you think, the way you behave, the way you assess risk and reward. In my case, it even changed my body in fundamental ways. It¡¯s also nearly impossible to avoid making enemies, which means stopping is a good way to get killed by those enemies. If you can get to the point of ascension, you¡¯ve be so powerful that staying is, in many ways, pointless. You can do anything you want. Have anything you want. You¡¯ve literally met every challenge along the way and seeded. I expect that by the time a person reaches that point, they¡¯re ready to go somewhere else, for new challenges if nothing else.¡±


    ¡°When you talk about it like that, it makes the politics of the kingdom seem very small and inconsequential. Is that why you don¡¯t like getting involved?¡±


    ¡°Well, involving cultivators in mortal politics is a bit like killing a fly with a hammer. We¡¯re the wrong tools for the job. I don¡¯t think your concerns are inconsequential. They certainly aren¡¯t inconsequential for all of the mortals who live here. They¡¯re just not particrly relevant to <em>me</em>.¡±


    ¡°Yet, you involved yourself anyway. I know that you¡¯re after that manual, but it sounds like that¡¯s something that you could have gotten on your own if you tried hard enough.¡±


    While Sen liked the prince and even trusted him to a certain extent, he wasn¡¯t willing to divulge the existence of those soul tugs to him. Instead, he offered a nonchnt shrug.


    ¡°She asked me to,¡± he said.


    ¡°And that was enough?¡±


    ¡°It was on the day I decided.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 45: Legend

    Book 4: Chapter 45: Legend


    For the next few weeks, Sen found that his life took on a disquietingly calm quality. He wasn¡¯t attacked or even osted by anyone. However, the pile of scrolls and letters he¡¯d been ignoring were reced by newer versions of the same ones. He¡¯d consulted with the prince on what to do about them, and the prince had said that simply ignoring them was the best course of action in this case. It would help reinforce the idea that Sen was a cultivator first and foremost. That would help himter when and if things with Yu Ming¡¯s n progressed. As for the princess herself, Sen hadn¡¯t heard anything directly from her since they first arrived in the city. The prince said that he <em>had</em> seen her, briefly, but she hadn¡¯t sent along any messages.


    Lo Meifeng had found them someone to act as a representative for them to the Golden Phoenix sect. While Sen would have liked to take a more active hand in picking the person, he knew hecked the experience to know who would have the best chances of seeding. He still struggled with trusting Lo Meifeng, but it was that or find someone himself. So, he grudgingly epted her rmendation. Yet, beyond that first meeting with their new representative, Sen hadn¡¯t heard a word about the sect or manual, let alone seen the man again. Sen had still been making daily trips to the prince¡¯s home. The two men had struck up something of a friendship, much to Sen¡¯s amazement. Still, those meetings wereparatively short, rarelysting more than an hour or two to amodate the prince¡¯s other responsibilities, which Sen had slowly learned were many.


    That left Sen to his own devices for most of the day, every day. Sen had spent the first few days exploring the surrounding area. While the city had seemed like nothing but an unbroken stretch of buildings and roads from a distance, there were actually small parks scattered across the city. Sen had found one that wasn¡¯t too far from the inn, or at least not too far for cultivators. He¡¯d taken to dragging Shi Ping out there at dawn most days to continue the man¡¯s jian training. While Sen could see the annoyance in the fire cultivator, the man did not revert to his old habits ofining. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if it was progress, or if the man simply viewed the process as beneficial training that was worth the hassle. As long as the whining didn¡¯t resume, though, it was good enough for Sen. It was during one of those morning practices that Shi Ping disengaged and cast an aggravated look around the park.


    ¡°You know we¡¯re being watched, don¡¯t you?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    Using his practice jian, Sen pointed to four different spots in the park where trees offered cover that someone could use to covertly observe them. ¡°Yes, I know.¡±


    Sen had long since sensed the presence of the observing cultivators. As long as they were willing to keep their interference to observation, he was willing to let them do it. He didn¡¯t see any gain in provoking a fight with them if they hadn¡¯te looking for one. He also didn¡¯t care if they watched. It wasn¡¯t as though they were going to learn anything that meaningful about him by watching him make minor adjustments to Shi Ping¡¯s sword style. At best, they could report that he had a better-than-average understanding of the weapon. After he pointed to their hiding spots, Sen felt the quiet observers scatter, each going in a different direction. He didn¡¯t know, for sure, that they were all from the same sect, but Sen suspected they were. The question he couldn¡¯t answer without going to more trouble than he thought it was worth was precisely which sect they came from. He supposed he should make the time and expend the effort to find out. It just hadn¡¯t felt like a priority.


    Sen had also noticed that mortals would gather to watch them train. Most of them looked like off-duty city guards and house guards. Much like the cultivators, they kept their distance. Unlike the mysterious cultivator observers, these people didn¡¯t take any steps to hide their observation. Instead, they watched openly and discussed what they were seeing. A normal person wouldn¡¯t have been able to hear what they were saying, but Sen¡¯s enhanced senses let him pick up their quiet conversations. Most of them drew absurd conclusions, which told Sen everything he needed to know about the quality of their training. A few of them, though, made observations that told Sen that they knew what they were doing. He was tempted to invite that small handful to join him and Shi Ping for some training, but he¡¯d been holding off. If some of them were guards for local noble houses, he didn¡¯t want anyone to think he was showing favoritism or support for those houses. That felt like a quick and easy way to make trouble for himself, the prince, and Chan Yu Ming.


    Sen noticed Shi Ping frowning at one of the spots that Sen had been pointing to, seemingly surprised by the revtion. The fire cultivator gave Sen a curious expression before he shook his head.


    ¡°I guess they count, but that isn¡¯t who I was talking about.¡±


    Sen thought he knew what the other man was getting at, but he¡¯d been trying to ignore them for a week now. ¡°Oh? Who were you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Shi Ping. ¡°You spotted four cultivators hiding in the trees, but you¡¯re going to pretend you don¡¯t see that small crowd of women over there mooning over you?¡±


    Sen looked over his shoulder at the group that Shi Ping was talking about. Technically, there were two groups. There was a small group of women that Sen was pretty sure were nobles, and then there was a bigger cluster made up of what Sen assumed were peasants and the noble¡¯s servants. Both groups included women that Sen considered far too old for him. When they saw him looking their way, many of the women looked away demurely, as though it was pure happenstance that they were there. Some of them didn¡¯t look away at all, though, and it didn¡¯t take any kind of genius to figure out what their expressions suggested. Sen sighed.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to pretend. I¡¯m also not nning on doing anything about them unless theye over here and bother us.¡±


    Shi Ping shook his head. ¡°Only <em>you</em> would think of that cluster of opportunities over there as a bother.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re more trouble than they¡¯re worth,¡± said Sen. ¡°You have to realize that.¡±


    ¡°The nobles? Sure, they¡¯re nothing but trouble. But the rest of them? I expect they have very realistic expectations. Peasants usually do, unless they¡¯re crazed cultivation overachievers like you.¡±


    ¡°I am not a crazed cultivation overachiever.¡±


    Shi Ping smirked. ¡°It is extraordinary to me that you actually managed to find your way to the end of that statement with a straight face. Honestly, your control over your expression is unnerving at times.¡±


    ¡°Or, maybe it¡¯s just true.¡±


    ¡°Well, since that¡¯s obviously not the case, I¡¯m going to stick with the extraordinary control exnation. Still, I am curious why you haven¡¯t talked with any of those women.¡±


    ¡°You do realize that Chan Yu Ming is going to try to convince people that we¡¯re together, right? How is that going to work if I¡¯m off seducing half the noble girls in the city, or their servants for that matter?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that it¡¯s a missed opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you go talk to them? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m keeping you here all day,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Because they aren¡¯t here for <em>me</em>. And any of them that said they were would be lying or trying to use me to find out more about you for their mistresses. Thanks, but no thanks. I¡¯ll just keep looking for friendly young women who haven¡¯t met you and don¡¯t know that you exist.¡±


    ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be that hard to find in a city this size.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible, but it¡¯s not as easy as it should be. You made a big ssh killing all those cultivators. Your legend is growing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a good thing. I never wanted a legend in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bitte for that kind of thinking. You¡¯re stuck with it, now.¡±


    ¡°I could just change my name.¡±


    Shi Ping rolled his eyes. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t help. You¡¯d have to change your behavior for <em>that</em> to do any good. As long as you keep doing things like picking fights with sect elders and challenging the wills of nascent soul cultivators, the name isn¡¯t going to matter. People will put the pieces together.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t pick a fight with a sect elder. She came looking for me.¡±


    ¡°You and I may know that, but stories take on a life of their own. As far as the people of this city are concerned, you picked a fight with a sect elder and crushed her.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t what happened,¡± said Sen.


    Shi Ping shrugged. ¡°Maybe not, but it is what people think happened. Or, it¡¯s what they want to think happened. That distinction doesn¡¯t make much difference when ites to legend building.¡±


    ¡°That legend is going to get me killed. Sooner orter, someone is going to show up looking to kill the man behind the legend.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised it hasn¡¯t happened already,¡± said Shi Ping with a bit too much cheerfulness in his voice.


    ¡°You should at least pretend that idea doesn¡¯t make you so happy.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± asked a grinning Shi Ping.


    ¡°Because if Fa Ling Li sees you acting that way, she¡¯ll probably kill you.¡±


    The grin immediately vanished from Shi Ping¡¯s face. ¡°Oh, yeah, you¡¯re right. I was just giving you a hard time.¡±


    ¡°I know, but she doesn¡¯t really understand that kind of humor. It¡¯s up to you, but you¡¯ve survived this long. It¡¯d be a pity to die over a joke.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, I think she¡¯s even scarier than you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°No. Not really. Not even a little bit. You¡¯re terrifying.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that bad.¡±


    ¡°You once stabbed me because I <em>annoyed</em> you.¡±


    ¡°Right. I forgot about that.¡±


    ¡°<em>I</em> didn¡¯t. Anyway, my suggestion to you is to getfortable with that legend, because it isn¡¯t going anywhere.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 46: Heavenly Shadow

    Book 4: Chapter 46: Heavenly Shadow


    The other thing that Sen spent his time on was something that he¡¯d been neglecting at least partially on purpose. He¡¯d return to the park each afternoon and sit on arge rock by a small pond. Sen suspected the pond was artificial, but he decided that didn¡¯t bother him. The spot was shaded and buried in a well-maintained but densely packed group of trees. It was nearly a forest in miniature. While it didn¡¯t fully dampen the constant noise of the city, it muffled it enough that Sen could rx a little. With a rtively secluded, quiet spot, and his heart demon seemingly well and truly behind him, Sen was reexamining an idea that hade to him in the wake of his core formation. It was an idea that he had avoided because he¡¯d been too angry or simply too busy desperately trying to survive.


    ¡°Heavenly shadow,¡± he said aloud, as he¡¯d done on a day that seemed so very long ago.


    The words hade to him then unbidden, but carrying a spiritual weight that he¡¯d recognized immediately. That they had apanied his core formation suggested that they were inextricably tied up with his future, although he had no true sense of how. For the moment, he was simply trying to understand if the words were meant to, however obliquely, inform him that there was a technique to learn, or if they had been intended to alert him of something else. He even had to acknowledge the possibility that both things might be true. A part of him wished that these kinds of things were more straightforward. The rest of him understood that the obscurity and apanying struggle to understand were purposeful. The harder he had to work to grasp the meaning, the more he would value it. Unfortunately, that understanding didn¡¯t make the process less frustrating. He¡¯d found that particrly true in this case because he had so little information to work from in his exploration.


    There was the obvious. The firstyer of his core had been formedrgely using the shadow-dominant pill Auntie Caihong had given him and that flood of heavenly qi that triggered his advancement. Beyond that, though, he had precious little to guide him. More to the point, he suspected that, if he wasn¡¯t onpletely uncharted ground, there were likely very few people with the expertise to guide him, and none that he knew. Nor did he intend to spread around the exact nature of his core. While some might be able to get a general sense of it, he had too many enemies or potential enemies to go handing out the details. That meant that, like so much else about his cultivation, he had to figure it out on his own.


    He couldn¡¯t help a little twinge of resentment toward Master Feng. The elder cultivator explicitly said that Sen was an experiment in cultivation. That was all well and good looking down from the peak of the nascent soul stage, but it made life at the beginning of core formation damnably difficult. Sen could admit to himself that, given the choice, he might have picked a cultivation path with a bit more certainty, even if it dide with less flexibility. He let himself wallow in those feelings for a while before he shook it off. Wondering what he <em>might</em> have picked <em>if</em> he¡¯d known what was ahead wasn¡¯t a productive avenue. He didn¡¯t pick those other things. He¡¯d picked a path with maximum flexibility. If that meant he had to work harder than literally everyone else in the world to survive and thrive on his path, then that¡¯s what he would do. He just needed to stop moping about the work and get on with doing the work. Otherwise, he¡¯d start sounding like the Shi Ping of the not-so-distant past.


    Sen let his vision turn inward toward his dantian. He felt more than saw his core because it waspletely submerged in a pool of liquid qi that was putting pressure on the boundaries of his dantian. Sen knew he was going to have to do something about that and <em>soon</em>. The problem was that he wasn¡¯t sure about the nature of his core, so he was hesitant to add ayer on top of it. It was the same reason he so rarely drew on his core for qi techniques. Without a full understanding of his core, he was gambling anytime he used the qi in it. He¡¯d gotten lucky so far, but luck was the ficklest of friends. It was as likely to abandon him as help him the next time he drew on his core.


    If push came to shove, though, there were things that Sen could do to at least partially replicate the process that produced his first coreyer. He still had spirit beast cores that he¡¯d poured heavenly qi into that he could draw on. The time he and Falling Leaf had spent out in the wild had yielded a few shadow-attributed cores. He¡¯d imed those specifically because he thought he might need them and because Falling Leaf had shown zero interest in them. While he couldn¡¯t be sure that he¡¯d get the exact same results under different conditions and a vastly altered mindset, he thought he could probably get close enough that theyers would bond without issue. Of course, that was a patch, not a solution. It might work, would probably work, once, but that could leave him with an unstable or fragile core.


    The necessity of a stable core had been drilled into him by Master Feng, as well as the consequences of a fragile core. If it cracked before he reached the initial nascent core stage, he¡¯d never get there. Of course, even if he got a fragile core all the way to the tribtion that everyone faced when transitioning to the nascent soul stage, the core wouldn¡¯t protect the nascent soul. In short, Sen was very, very motivated to avoid patches and quick fixes when it came to addingyers to his core. What he needed was the right insight. Yet, all of his poking and prodding at his core hadn¡¯t provided one. It was what it had always been to him. A mystery that he didn¡¯t have the information to unravel. Yet, he persevered because it was either that or go with other options that he felt certain would prove disastrous in the long run.


    For a time, Sen simply sat and considered the core in that pool of liquid qi. He observed that odd double helix that kept adding to the pool of liquid qi. That had been a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it was pushing him toward another advancement years faster than he would otherwise have been able to get there. It had automated a process to which most people had to devote substantial time, energy, and conscious thought. Granted, he had suffered in ways that he expected most other people avoided along the way to get that shortcut, but it <em>was</em> still a shortcut. Of course, that shortcut had also deprived him of the years that let most other peoplee to a clear understanding of their core and its capacities. It felt to him, as his cultivation journey so often did, like running through a forest in total darkness, always praying that lightning would strike and illuminate his surroundings enough to keep him from racing off of a cliff. The lightning did seem to keeping but how long could thatst? It was luck again, and he didn¡¯t dare rely on it.


    Sen had spent weeks beating his intellect against this problem and gotten nowhere. To him, it seemed like the entire thing had been specifically designed to thwart any attempt to reason his way through it. Yet, for all that the heavens might challenge cultivators, there was <em>always</em> a path to sess. The path was often as narrow as a jian¡¯s edge, but it always existed. If reason couldn¡¯t show him the way, a painful revtion given all that he¡¯d done and risked to quell his anger, that only left him with feelings and intuition. While marginally more reliable than luck, Sen struggled to trust them. It was all too easy to mistake what you wanted for an intuition, and feelings could lie. His had for a long time. With the necessity of adding anotheryer to his core looming, though, he¡¯d have to set aside those concerns, those fears, and trust that he could tell the difference between wishful thinking and truth.


    Then, as he had done once before, he let himself slip down inside of himself. He projected himself into his dantian as something less than a body, but more than a shadow. Once more, the liquid qi suffused this alternate form, strengthening something in him he couldn¡¯t name, only sense. He basked in the warmth of that strength and the support of the liquid qi before he pushed forward to see his core up close. The liquid qi parted before him, pulling back from his core, and he saw once more what he had seen before. The sphere of his core still looked like it was made of dark gray liquid. Yet, to his ephemeral touch, it felt as solid as stone or steel or perhaps his own will. <em>Stop trying to think your way through it</em>, he admonished himself. <em>You know that it won¡¯t work</em>. <em>If it was going to, you¡¯d have gotten a hint of it by now</em>. With a sigh, Sen pushed back the part of him that wanted to think through every decision, every choice, and let that instinctual part of him that had given him the idea to widen his channels and expand his dantian move forward.


    Sen extended his senses, letting them explore the core, not as a thing that must be analyzed, but as a cultivation mystery that needed to be understood. He let himself drift in that ce, waiting to be shown what he needed, rather than trying to interrogate the insight out of his own body. He tried to grasp how the core felt and what it wanted. It was there, hiding at the edge of consciousness, almost in that ce where vast and terrible powers adjusted existence to preserve bnce and order. Sen resisted the urge to reach out for the answer, understanding that it wouldn¡¯t work. He couldn¡¯t <em>take</em> this answer, only experience it. Bit by bit, theprehension dripped into him. Not something that could be formted into words, not yet. It was too fundamental, too foundational, for that. If there were words for it, they could only be spoken in thenguage of stone and the crash of the wave.


    Still, the knowledge passed into him. It was a visceral understanding of what his core was, and what it wanted. There were things that <em>needed</em> to happen, actions that <em>had</em> to be taken, and those things couldn¡¯t always happen in open conflict. Some things happened in the shadows, literally and figurately, and he had been pushed along a path to let him do those things. For one terrible moment, he thought he was being primed as an assassin, but he felt the quiet revolt in his soul, his body, and his core at the idea. He wasn¡¯t sure what that ultimately meant for him, but his relief was nheless palpable. He also came to understand that the nature of his core and his capacity to <em>hide</em> were connected. However, the nature of that connection proved elusive. He felt it swimming deep in the depths of his soul, but that knowledge wouldn¡¯t rise into view for a time yet. He would have to be patient.


    While his conscious understanding of his core and the idea of heavenly shadow remained woefully iplete, the presence of that knowledge on a visceral level seemed to unlock something. He felt the shift in his dantian, felt the surge in the draw on environmental qi. He was also aware that he was doing something in the real world that was pushing this process along. He pulled back from his dantian out of a concern that he might somehow cause the process of adding a newyer to his core to fail. Thest thing Sen saw inside his own spiritual space was a mass influx of heavenly and shadow qi. This time, though, he saw all of the other elements twisting together and fusing with those two elements to make something moreplex. Then, he rose out of himself and took stock of his surroundings.


    Without even realizing it, he had withdrawn cores filled with shadow and heavenly qi from his storage ring. They orbited around him in mid-air as qi rushed out of them and into him. Yet, that was probably the least interesting thing that was happening. It seemed he¡¯d intuited that he might face some kind of opposition and erected a cage of lightning, fire, shadow, earth, and metal that spun around him like a vortex. Beyond the bounds of that vortex, he could feel other cultivators trying to force their way inside, to reach him before he added anotheryer to his core. They shouldn¡¯t have wasted their time. It was toote the moment he¡¯d erected those protections. Even as they struggled against his power, heshed out at them with killing intent and whips made of the multiple types of qi in the vortex. While his conscious mind dealt with that problem, the rest of him bent itself on squeezing together all of that qi inside of his dantian. Keeping himself safe and forming anotheryer to his core taxed the limits of his mental resources, but he didn¡¯t relent.


    He didn¡¯t try to keep track of how long he held those other cultivators at bay. It didn¡¯t matter. He¡¯d keep going until the work was done, or he failed. When he could sense that the newyer of his core was ready to solidify, he started making modifications to the qi vortex around him. It wasn¡¯t anything immediately apparent to the outside observer, but they¡¯d know about it soon enough. As the secondyer of his core locked into ce around his first core, doubling the protection around the nascent soul growing inside, Sen was able to redirect all his attention to the people who had vited that most sacred of cultivation traditions. They had tried to interrupt his advancement. Sen had no sympathy for anyone who would do that. He activated the modifications. One moment, there was a vortex of death around him. The next, all of the qi and force that vortex had contained waspressed down into four beams of destruction no bigger around than Sen¡¯s pinky. Four bodies dropped with holes through their brains. Sen cautiously eyed the sky, waiting for a tribtion, but none arrived. Then, he waited to lose consciousness, because that happened to him all too often after an advancement. After a minute, Sen realized that he was just a man sitting on a rock with an expectant look on his face¡­and four dead bodies around him.

 Book 4: Chapter 47: Investigative Endeavors

    Book 4: Chapter 47: Investigative Endeavors


    Sen made an unhappy noise as he jumped down off the rock. It seemed like he was always surrounded by corpses of one kind or another. He knew that cultivators lived violent lives, but he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if these kinds of things happened to other cultivators as often as they seemed to happen to him. Yet, for once, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like this one truly hadn¡¯t been his fault. The only way he could have been less actively pursuing conflict would have been if he were sleeping. With a gesture, he gathered up the now empty beast cores and ced them back into his storage ring. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could use them the same way again to store qi, but it was worth the experiment to find out. After all, if he could fill them with whatever kinds of qi he wanted, that would make things like fueling formations a lot easier in the future. He¡¯d be far less dependent on natural environmental features to determine what kinds of protections he could realistically put in ce at any given location.


    Granted, there were still practical limits. No amount of fire qi was going to make fire formations practical in a swamp, in much the same way that no amount of water qi was going to make water formations practical in excessively dry locations. Still, more flexibility was almost always a good thing when it came to protecting yourself. Still cycling the air qi he¡¯d used to pick up the depleted cores, he searched the bodies of the dead cultivators for anything of interest. All he found were the usual assortment of pouches, minor storage treasures, and weapons he¡¯de to expect from cultivators. He imed those for himself, storing the weapons and pouches forter examination and pocketing the storage treasures.


    What he hadn¡¯t expected was not recognizing any of them. It would have been odd if he knew all of them, but he¡¯d assumed that at least one of them would be familiar. That was how those sorts of things usually worked. Were these people some kind of assassination team? Had they not been given an exnation of his abilities? Were they just opportunists looking to rob him? He supposed a moment of advancement might have looked like the ideal moment to rob or kill him. People were usually distracted during advancements. Of course, if a tribtion had struck, he suspected that they would have gotten caught up in it. More importantly, as cultivators, they should have known that. It wasn¡¯t <em>just</em> courtesy that kept most cultivators from interfering with advancements and moments of enlightenment. There was the possibility of legitimate danger dropping on your head from on high.


    Sen considered the possibility that they¡¯d been sent by people unhappy with his involvement with the wholesale destruction of demonic cultivation on this part of the continent and all of that lost revenue. He supposed that other cultivators, ones with more greed than scruples, were probably the source of most of those demonic cultivation resources. These people might have been some of those less-than-ethical cultivators, or at least worked for some of them. Still, the whole thing had been poorly executed. He hadn¡¯t gotten much time to get a read on them, but they had only been on par with his cultivation. Anyone who knew what they were doing and knew anything about him would have known that was a losing bet. That suggested either ack of information or ack of understanding.


    ¡°Seriously,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°More corpses?¡±


    Sen turned to look at Lo Meifeng, who was standing by the rock and giving the bodies an annoyed look. He shrugged.


    ¡°They came after me.¡±


    ¡°Did you do something to them to set them off?¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Did you speak?¡±


    ¡°Very droll. While I appreciate your faith in my ability to trigger homicidal rage with nothing but my words, no, I did not speak to them.¡±


    ¡°Did they say anything?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t remember them saying anything, but I was a bit distracted at the time with advancing.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Half the city knows that someone advanced.¡±


    ¡°How did you know it was me? Or toe here?¡±


    ¡°When people started talking about a pir of fire and lightning and half a dozen other things, you were pretty much the only option.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fair.¡±


    ¡°As for knowing toe here, I just assumed I¡¯d find you unconscious and probably in a ridiculous position.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡±


    ¡°Drowning in the pond. Twenty feet up a tree. Riding an ox. It could have been anything, really.¡±


    Sen almost objected, thought it over, and sighed. ¡°No, that¡¯s fair too.¡±


    Lo Meifeng nudged one of the corpses with her foot. ¡°You figure out anything about these geniuses?¡±


    ¡°No. I grabbed their stuff, but I didn¡¯t see anything offhand that would tell me who they were or where they came from. It doesn¡¯t <em>look</em> like they¡¯re from a sect, but that¡¯s easy enough to hide. Once they take off their sect uniforms, they could be anyone.¡±


    Lo Meifeng nodded, wandered away for a moment, and came back with a stick. She used it to push up the sleeves of their robes. Then she used it to drag the robes away from their necks.


    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Tattoos, brands, or some other kind of distinguishing marks. Some sects use them. So do some criminal organizations.¡±


    Sen hadn¡¯t noticed marks like that, but he hadn¡¯t been looking for them either.


    ¡°Anything like that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Not that I saw. But I¡¯m also not willing to undress them to look for marks in less usual locations. We¡¯ll have to go through their thingster. See if they were stupid enough to hang on to something incriminating.¡±


    Sen considered for a moment. He was tired, and most of his qi had gone into the advancement, but he thought he had enough for a few more tricks. He waved Lo Meifeng back from the body she was examining and cycled up some wind qi. It took a few tries to get it right, but he managed to use it to cut away the attackers¡¯ clothing. That finally revealed what Lo Meifeng had been looking for. Every one of them had a tattoo on their back of arge ck talon from some kind of bird of prey. Lo Meifeng eyed the tattoos for a long moment before shaking her head.


    ¡°Well, I guess that exins part of it.¡±


    ¡°Care to enlighten me?¡±


    ¡°They are criminals. Cultivator criminals. Muscle for hire. They call themselves the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate, although that¡¯s a really overblown name.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°They only exist in the capital. They¡¯ve tried expanding to other ces, but it hasn¡¯t gone well for them. Still, one thing is pretty clear.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Someone doesn¡¯t like you.¡±


    Senughed. ¡°I wish that narrowed things down a little more.¡±


    ¡°So do I,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ve been watching me recently.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I noticed four cultivators keeping tabs on me. They kept their distance. Since I was trying to avoid trouble, I was willing to leave them be.¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t work out that well this time, mostly for them, but that was probably the right call. If you notice cultivators keeping tabs on you again, though, you could think about mentioning it to me.¡±


    Sen kept it off his face, but he was grimacing inside. He¡¯d known he should tell her as soon as he noticed the cultivators watching him, but he¡¯d kept it to himself out of distrust. If he had just told her, she might have grabbed one of them. Then, they would have had someone to question, instead of four dead bodies that couldn¡¯t tell them much more than they already had. He nodded.


    ¡°I will.¡±


    Lo Meifeng took the win for what it was and said, ¡°Good. Now, are you nning on leaving these here like you did with those other cultivators?¡±


    Sen thought it over and then shook his head. ¡°No. I left those sect cultivators where they were to send a message. I¡¯m pretty sure that when these four don¡¯te back, the Murky Pigeon Foot Company will understand what happened.¡±


    ¡°Murky Pigeon Foot Company?¡± Lo Meifengughed.


    Sen smirked. ¡°It¡¯s my little way of expressing exactly how not impressed I am with them.¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t be too dismissive. There are people in that group who really could be dangerous to you.¡±


    ¡°Duly noted,¡± said Sen.


    Sen gestured and air qi lifted the bodies off the ground. It took a lot more effort and concentration than usual, but Sen cycled for fire and incinerated the bodies. Releasing his fire qi, he used a bit of earth qi to open a hole and dropped the ashes into it. He smoothed the ground. Then, he realized that there was still blood and other, less pleasant things staining the ground. Grumbling to himself, he spent the next few minutes cleaning up the area. He saw Lo Meifeng giving him a quizzical look.


    ¡°Familiese here. Children. Thest thing they need is to find a bunch of blood and human waste all over the ground.¡±


    ¡°Most cultivators wouldn¡¯t have thought of that. I wouldn¡¯t have thought of it.¡±


    ¡°Most cultivators didn¡¯t grow up spending half their time in alleys. I know what happens when things like that sit around in the open. It¡¯s not pretty. It¡¯s not really a problem for us, but it can make mortals sick. Now, let¡¯s get out of here. I may not have been knocked unconscious this time, but I am still tired. I need to find a bed.¡±


    As they made their way out of the park, Sen saw Lo Meifeng paying close attention to everyone they passed. He even felt her spiritual sense sweep the area a few times as they went. It seemed that she was still taking her bodyguarding seriously. As he¡¯d be increasingly capable, Sen had thought less and less about it. Yet, in moments like this, moments when he was low on qi and exhausted, he could see the benefits. Still, it wouldn¡¯t do to grow too reliant on that kind of protection. There woulde a day when Lo Meifeng wasn¡¯t around to watch things for him. Focusing his mind, he started doing his part to keep an eye on what was going on around them. He didn¡¯t notice anything, and she didn¡¯t mention anything to him. Sen took that as a good sign that he was probably safe for the moment. Once they got back to the inn, he took just long enough to exin to Falling Leaf and Shi Ping what had happened, suggested very strongly that no one leave the inn by themselves for a while, and then crawled into bed for some much-needed rest.

 Book 4: Chapter 48: Genius

    Book 4: Chapter 48: Genius


    ¡°So, let me get this straight. He just went to the park, sat on a rock, and, since he wasn¡¯t busy or anything, decided to advance his cultivation. Just like that. Oh, and, incidentally, he also fended off and then killed four other cultivators <em>while</em> advancing.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°That¡¯s about the size of it.¡±


    Shi Ping was certain that, if he wasn¡¯t a cultivator, he¡¯d be getting a terrible, terrible headache. Every time he thought he was getting a bit of a handle on Sen, the guy went off and did something impossible, or stupid, or impossibly stupid. Advancements of any kind were a hideously dangerous time for any cultivator. They sapped a person of practically every bit of qi in their bodies and routinely left a person unconscious. So, of course, Sen decided to go off and do it in public, knowing full well that people were watching him. <em>Then again</em>, thought Shi Ping, <em>no one expects other cultivators to try to interrupt an advancement</em>. It was the casually killing those cultivators part that made Shi Ping¡¯s blood run cold, though. Normal cultivators didn¡¯t have the qi reserves or the mental agility to manage advancing and fighting at the same time.


    ¡°And then he cleaned everything up afterward?¡±


    ¡°He did. He was worried about the mortal children that might stumble onto the area. It was a little endearing, really.¡±


    ¡°Endearing? <em>That¡¯s</em> your takeaway from all of that? Endearing?¡±


    Lo Meifeng shrugged at Shi Ping. ¡°What should I take away from it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe that we should all be very afraid of the guy who makes the impossiblemonce.¡±


    Lo Meifeng rolled her eyes. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t figured that much out already, I don¡¯t know why this would be the thing that made it clear.¡±


    Shi Ping wanted to be frustrated with the annoyingly self-possessed, annoyingly gorgeous, annoyingly disinterested in him woman, but she had a point. It wasn¡¯t like this was the most frightening thing that Sen had done. Yet, somehow, it had hit home in a way that other things hadn¡¯t. A lot of the frightening things that Sen did were psychologically distant for Shi Ping because no one could do them. Watching the guy throw around four of five different types of qi gave the whole thing an air of unreality. It was like watching a miracle or seeing a character from a storye to life. You never quite felt certain about it after the fact. Advancing, though, was something every cultivator went through. Shi Ping knew exactly what it was like, exactly how hard it was, and exactly how dead he would be if someone interrupted <em>him</em> in an attempt at advancement. He would be very dead.


    From Lo Meifeng¡¯s description, Sen had seemed almost bored by the whole situation. He wasn¡¯t even angry that someone had tried to kill him. It was like he¡¯d juste to <em>expect</em> these kinds of things. Shi Ping couldn¡¯t decide if that was an improvement from the rage-filled Sen or even worse. For all that angry Sen had scared Shi Ping, there had been a certain predictability to that guy. The calm Sen that they¡¯d gotten after he¡¯d wandered off into the wilds with the green-eyed girl was a whole new animal. The calm version might let something roll off his back, or he might ughter half a dozen sect members and leave the pieces of their bodies lying around in the street.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about what he¡¯s going to do when he wakes up?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    ¡°I worry about what he¡¯s going to do all of the time, awake or asleep.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°He once put himself into a cultivation trance for nearly six months. The person who came out of that trance was vastly more powerful than the person who went into it.¡±


    Shi Ping realized he was just staring at Lo Meifeng with his mouth hanging open. ¡°What? Nobodyes out of a cultivation trance after <em>that</em> long.¡±


    ¡°He did. I¡¯ve just learned to ept that whatever we think of as the normal, fixed rules of cultivation are just very loose guidelines. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s true for everyone, but it¡¯s absolutely true for him. It also seems to be true for the people around him, on a limited basis.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d bottlenecked. I hadn¡¯t advanced for decades and didn¡¯t see any sign that it was ever going to happen again. I¡¯de to terms with it or thought I had anyway. Bottlenecks have happened to people a lot more talented than me. You always know it¡¯s a possibility. Hells, it¡¯s actually pretty probable. I figured that I¡¯d gotten lucky, all things considered. I was in the upper middle of core formation, which isn¡¯t bad. I¡¯d get a ridiculously long life, and I¡¯d have enough power that most people were never going to bother me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sensing a but,¡± said Shi Ping.


    ¡°But Sen broke that bottleneck <em>for</em> me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    Lo Meifeng just lifted an eyebrow at him. ¡°Is it?¡±


    Shi Ping shook his head. Of course, that rule didn¡¯t apply to Sen any more than all of the other rules seemed to apply to him. <em>Of course</em>, he¡¯d just nonchntly pushed someone else through a bottleneck because why not? It wasn¡¯t like sects had been desperately searching for a way to do exactly that for tens of thousands of years and been met with universal failure.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Shi Ping, ¡°I haven¡¯t noticed any particr progress on my part.¡±


    ¡°Then you <em>aren¡¯t</em> paying attention.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I understand what you¡¯re getting at.¡±


    ¡°That kid is a full-blown sword genius. I think maybe you haven¡¯t understood the true depths of it because <em>he</em> treats it like it¡¯s nothing. Well, no, he doesn¡¯t see it <em>at all</em> because his frame of reference is one of the greatest swordsmen in history. But that¡¯s not my point. He¡¯s been working with you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. So?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been helping you with your style.¡±


    Shi Ping nodded. ¡°He has.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t <em>train</em> in your style.¡±


    Shi Ping felt all of his thoughts grind to a halt at those words. He had known it, but only in a background way. Something vaguely acknowledged, but never directly considered. Once he did consider it, though, a lot of nagging feelings that had dogged him became instantly clear. The kind of corrections and insights that Sen had been offhandedly tossing out to him were the kinds of things that only someone who had trained in the style for years should have understood. It went well beyond the kind of corrections that anyone with good fundamentals could have offered. Shi Ping had known it, but he hadn¡¯t <em>seen</em> it.


    Lo Meifeng nodded. ¡°There it is. He¡¯s been doing the same thing with me and shrugging it off like it¡¯s no big deal. Yet, I¡¯ve seen how much you¡¯ve improved. You probably haven¡¯t seen it yet because I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve been in a serious fight in a while. The next time you are, I think you¡¯ll be surprised. Frankly, I¡¯m stunned that enlightenment and heavenly qi don¡¯t rain down on him every time he deigns to pick up a de.¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s really that talented, then why isn¡¯t he getting enlightenment from learning and training with the jian?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a question for the heavens, but I have my theory.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your theory?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want it.¡±


    ¡°What? He doesn¡¯t want enlightenment?¡±


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s like every cultivator that way. He wants enlightenment and what it offers. He just doesn¡¯t want enlightenment from using the sword. It¡¯s not always obvious, but he hates violence. He hates killing.¡±


    ¡°He seems just fine with it to me.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t shirk it. There is a difference between being willing to do something and wanting to do something. I think if he could go the rest of his life without ever doing violence again, he would. After all, how often have you seen him <em>initiate</em> violence?¡±


    Shi Ping rubbed the spot on his leg that Sen had stabbed. He knew that event had colored his view of Sen. Thinking back, though, Sen generally waited until violence found him.


    ¡°Not that often.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. So, I think that he rejects the idea of getting enlightenment from things he associates strictly with violence. The heavens could force it on him, I suppose, but I suspect that¡¯s counterproductive to their ends. So, he wanders around bestowing insights and training that are fundamentally better than either of us deserves. Once you grasp all the things he¡¯s showing you, I think you¡¯ll find that your cultivation is going to advance faster than you expect. Maybe even faster than you want.¡±


    ¡°Faster than I want? Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Just ask Lu Sen. He was weaker than you a year ago. Look at him now. Do you think he¡¯s <em>happy</em> to be crashing through advancement after advancement? He barely has time to get acquainted with a cultivation level, let alone understand the nuances, before he¡¯s starting over again. How long did it take you to really master your current level?¡±


    ¡°Years,¡± admitted Shi Ping.


    ¡°Now, imagine that you raced through three or four advancements in the same period of time. How confident would you feel about your mastery and control?¡±


    ¡°Not confident at all.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s getting by with a lot of raw talent and not nearly enough guidance. Mostly because there¡¯s no one who can guide him. You or I could show him things with fire cultivation, tricks we know, insights we¡¯ve had, but he¡¯d need another seven or eight people like us or better than us to even start rounding out his education. And it still wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Because we can only show him what he can do with one type of qi. You¡¯ve seen him throw together multiple qi types into one technique. Who can teach him about <em>that</em>? And that was before that dragon filled his head with the gods only know what kind of secret knowledge.¡±


    ¡°So, what are you saying?¡±


    Lo Meifeng shrugged. ¡°That we all better hope he¡¯s a genius at more than just the sword. Because if he tries something that really is impossible with the kind of power he¡¯s been throwing around, I don¡¯t even want to imagine what it will look like when that fails.¡±


    Shi Ping sat with that idea for a long moment before he shuddered.

 Book 4: Chapter 49: The Need of the Moment

    Book 4: Chapter 49: The Need of the Moment


    Sen resisted the urge to roll his eyes and darted into a narrow space between buildings. It wasn¡¯t even really wide enough to qualify as an alley, but it was big enough for him to fit and wrap himself up in shadows. Then, he climbed the wall and rolled over the edge of the roof. He waited there as people frantically searched the alley below. Sen had grown increasingly tired of this nonsense. Ever since he¡¯d killed the four cultivators in the park, the Shadow Eagle w Syndicate had been making attempts on his life. They ranged from the serious to the stupid, but they were all aggravating. There was a part of him that was tempted to simply kill them all, but the very idea made him feel tired. <em>On the other hand</em>, he thought, <em>these people aren¡¯t any better than bandits on the road</em>. <em>If I keep letting them go without consequences</em>, <em>any harm they do from here on out is at least partially on my hands</em>.


    Sen tried to weigh the karmic consequences. Was killing them worse than letting them go? Would their cumtive harm over the course of their lives ultimately be a greater karmic debt than the karma he would rue by ending them now? As always, the truth of Karma was beyond him or likely anyone to fully measure. He could only make the best choices with the knowledge and insight he possessed. On bnce, anyone willing to try to murder someone on nothing but orders was probably a terrible person. More to the point, they <em>would</em> try to murder him if they got the chance. His ability to escape didn¡¯t make them any less guilty of their intention to murder him. With a little huff of resignation, Sen cycled for earth qi and let it slowly filter into the stone of the buildings. With a wave of Sen¡¯s hand, the people in the narrow alley below were pierced with dozens of narrow, razor-edged spikes of stone that they could not avoid or flee from.


    He extended his senses just long enough to confirm that no one had survived. He absently used wind qi to retrieve anything of value from them before he sank their bodies into the ground and sealed them in rock. He let his head drop back against the roof and took a breath.


    ¡°You¡¯re not as sneaky as you think you are,¡± said Sen.


    When no answer was forting, Sen threw a small pebble at the woman hiding a roof over from him. Itnded less than an inch from her foot.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen. ¡°You.¡±


    He heard a sharp intake of breath before the woman stood up.


    ¡°How did you know?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°I never didn¡¯t know,¡± said Sen, opting to keep the answer obscure and as frustrating as possible.


    ¡°You killed them,¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to kill you too,¡± said Sen from his sprawled-out position.


    He supposed he couldn¡¯t look any less threatening. Of course, not looking like a threat and not being a threat were wholly different propositions.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t killing everyone before.¡±


    ¡°You all clearly didn¡¯t appreciate that mercy. You kepting. So, now, I¡¯m just going to kill all of you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to kill everyone we send after you?¡±


    ¡°No. You don¡¯t understand.¡±


    Sen heard the woman¡¯s feet shuffle a little. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill everyone you send. I¡¯m going to kill everyone in your ridiculous little group. Eventually, one of you will tell me who made you my problem to begin with. Whoever gives up that information, I might let them live. Is that going to be you?¡±


    Sen grabbed the crossbow bolt out of the air without even looking. Sen looked over the woman who was standing there with the crossbow hanging limply from her hands.


    ¡°How?¡±


    Sen slowly got up and examined the bolt. There was a residue on the de. He shook his head. He didn¡¯t know precisely what the poison was, but he was a poor candidate for poison under the best of circumstances. His body cultivation had fundamentally altered all of the normal processes that allow poison to work. Beyond that, with his alchemical knowledge and experience, he suspected he had a better-than-average chance of finding a fix before whatever it was killed him. He doubted the same was true for the woman who had fired the crossbow. A flick of his wrist buried the bolt in the woman¡¯s stomach. While she was staring in horror at the projectile that was feeding poison into her body, Sen had cleared the distance from one rooftop to the next. He batted the crossbow out of the woman¡¯s hands, shattering it into about a dozen pieces.


    She reached for something on her belt, so Sen kicked her legs out from under her. When she kept fumbling for something on it, Sen realized that she must have the antidote. It made sense. Thest thing an assassin would want is to die from their own poisons. Sen used his wind qi to rip the belt off the woman and deposit it in his hand. She stared at the belt for a stunned second and then lunged toward it. Sen backhanded her. She stared up at him in shock, blood dripping from a split lip. There were a dozen small vials arrayed on the belt. Sen pulled one out at random and incinerated it.


    ¡°Stop!¡± the woman screamed, before doubling over and clutching at her stomach.


    Sen couldn¡¯t tell if it was the crossbow bolt or the poison. He decided that it was probably both. He waited until she¡¯d recovered enough that she could look up at him again. He picked another vial off the belt and bounced it in his hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re a core formation cultivator, so you can probably survive whatever damage the bolt did. Assuming, of course, that you can get the antidote.¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± she asked in a gasp.


    Sen ignored her. ¡°I¡¯m assuming that the antidote is hard to get or hard to make. Otherwise, your best bet would have simply been jumping off the building and making a run for it. So, that poison must work pretty quick, be excruciatingly painful, or both.¡±


    The woman curled up around her stomach, while her breathing came in short, ragged bursts.


    Sen continued. ¡°I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s both.¡±


    ¡°What do you <em>want</em>?¡±


    Sen waited until she looked at him again before he incinerated the vial in his hand. Her eyes never left his hand as he plucked a third vial from the belt.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me everything about your organization. How it¡¯s structured. Who¡¯s in charge. Where you keep things. Everything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be dead before we get through all of that.¡±


    Sen destroyed the third vial and plucked another one from the belt. ¡°You¡¯re assuming that I care if you die. I don¡¯t. If you don¡¯t tell me what I want to know, there will just be moreckeys tomorrow. In short, right now, the only person on this roof who cares if you die is <em>you</em>. So, I suggest you talk quickly.¡±


    The woman¡¯s words came haltingly at first, like she was having to force them out. As the pain from the poison ramped up, though, the words started pouring out of her. The only interruptions came when she spasmed in pain and seemed to lose track of everything else in the world. Sen encouraged the outpouring of speech by asionally destroying another vial. He¡¯d figured out which one was the antidote based on small changes in her expression every time his hand got near it or hovered over it. Still, she didn¡¯t know that he knew, so it worked pretty well as an encouragement. Sen learned a lot in a very short period of time, even if it was a struggle for him to maintain his indifferent demeanor. He didn¡¯t usually go in for torture and, whatever he might have thought at first, the amount of pain that the woman was in amounted to torture.


    When it got bad enough that the woman simply couldn¡¯t string sentences together anymore, Sen dropped the belt onto her. She fumbled at it until she got the right vial and tipped it into her mouth. Sen understood how such things worked well enough to know that she wasn¡¯t going to be useful again for a while. Instead, he crouched down next to her. He waited until she met his gaze with her bloodshot eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to mistake this for mercy. You¡¯re going to take a message back to your masters for me. Pack up and leave. The Slovenly Chicken Foot Gang is done in this city, one way or the other. If they make <em>me</em> do it, I¡¯m adopting a scorched earth policy. As for you, if you think what you just went through was bad, I have things lying around that would make that seem like a restful nap. If I ever see you again, I¡¯ll make you eat one of those things. Then, I¡¯ll hang your ckened, rotting corpse from a wall as a warning to everyone you know and love. Do you understand me?¡±


    The woman was shaking, and Sen didn¡¯t think that it had anything to do with the residual poison. He gave her a smile that would offer nofort.


    ¡°You can just nod,¡± he said.


    The woman¡¯s head started bobbing up and down so fast that it looked almostical. Sen stood up and walked over to the edge of the roof. As he was getting ready to make the leap back to ground level, the woman worked up the nerve to speak.


    ¡°Who are you? Who are you really?¡±


    Sen paused. He¡¯d been resisting it for a while, but the world had a way of making you do things you didn¡¯t want to do, be things you didn¡¯t want to be. Sen decided this was just one more of those things. However much he tried to resist it, he kept finding himself drawn into situations that called for him to be something, if not precisely better, than <em>more</em> than Lu Sen could be on his own. He kept needing to be the kind ofrger-than-life person that only existed in a story. He supposed that it was convenient that he had just such a story right at hand. It wasn¡¯t really relevant that he was learning to hate that persona as much as he hated killing. It was the need of the moment.


    ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale,¡± said Sen, and then dropped from the roof.

 Book 4: Chapter 50: Dirty Tricks

    Book 4: Chapter 50: Dirty Tricks


    ¡°So,¡± said Sen, ¡°how do you feel about helping me burn a criminal organization to the ground?¡±


    Lo Meifeng gave him a narrow-eyed look. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°I told the Foggy Falcon Toe Club to get out of the city or else.¡±


    Lo Meifeng closed her eyes and took three deep breaths before she spoke again. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because they keep sending people to kill me, obviously.¡±


    ¡°How long has <em>that</em> been going on?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much since I woke up and started appearing in public again. They¡¯ve been really persistent about it.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked like she wanted to strangle Sen. ¡°And why didn¡¯t you mention it?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve mostly just been disappearing and making them look stupid. But they just keep showing up. So, I decided to take a different tack today.¡±


    ¡°I know I¡¯m going to hate the answer to this, but what tack did you take today, Sen?¡±


    ¡°I killed most of them, tortured a bunch of information out of one of them, well, I say torture. It was her poison. She tried to shoot me with a poisoned crossbow bolt. I caught it out of the air, which just doesn¡¯t get old. Anyways, I threw it back at her and, she was slow, so it took her in the gut. That poison must have been nasty stuff because she was writhing and moaning. I wonder what it was. I should have asked,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Focus!¡± barked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Right. Sorry. So, long story short, bunch of dead people, torture, information, and then I issued threats of doom and destruction if they don¡¯t clear out. I may have said something about a scorched earth policy.¡±


    ¡°Did it never ur to you to talk to me about this before you dered war?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a n. I just ran out of patience with them. You can only let people go so many times before you just, you know, stop letting them go.¡±


    Sen could see that Lo Meifeng was making a monumental effort to stay calm. He suspected that she was making that effort because the ground was still so very shaky between them. While he would have understood if she¡¯d just yelled at him, there was no way for <em>her</em> to know that. Much like his efforts at trying to assess karmic consequences, she could only work with the knowledge and insights she had on hand, and he hadn¡¯t been sharing many of his thoughts were her in thest few months. Beyond that, much of the information that she¡¯d likely once taken for granted about him and his behavior was outdated or wholly inurate, thanks to him purging the heart demon. While she likely understood it as a good thing, generally speaking, she probably also saw it as a major hindrance to predicting him and his reactions to things. She gave him what she probably thought was an understanding expression, but looked more like someone ready to bend a piece of steel into a knot.


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying. I¡¯m just saying that if I¡¯d known something like this wasing, I could have nned some things that would have smoothed the way a great deal. Dirty tricks <em>are</em> my wheelhouse.¡±


    ¡°Dirty tricks?¡± asked Sen, not quite sure what to make of the unfamiliar phrase.


    ¡°Lethal tactics done in secret.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± said Sen, finally understanding.


    It wasn¡¯t even really a surprise. There had been plenty of hints along the way that her job involved some of the less savory elements of keeping a far-flung enterprise whole and functional. They¡¯d just never discussed it. She hadn¡¯t seemed to want to talk about it, and he hadn¡¯t seen a need to pry. Now, though, it was relevant, which Sen took as the reason for her suddenly bringing it up. He also understood it for the gentle chiding that it was. If he¡¯d trusted her enough to just tell her what was going on, she could have taken steps. And, she was right. There was nothing secret about the attempted assassinations. They¡¯d been happening right out in public. The only reason she didn¡¯t know about it was because the attempts had failed, and he¡¯d intentionally withheld the information. It seemed especially petty in that moment because, like it or not, she had been assigned to protect him. He <em>should</em> have told her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have kept this from you. I made it impossible for you to do your job here. Our issues notwithstanding, it was childish and petty of me.¡±


    Lo Meifeng froze in ce for several seconds, like she was afraid she¡¯d startle him into some rash behavior like a skittish animal. Then, she slumped a little.


    ¡°I know why you did it. I even understand it. If you can¡¯t trust me, why would you tell me about a situation where it would be so ridiculously easy to betray you?¡±


    Sen never would have said those words out loud to her, but that had been in the back of his head when he decided not to tell her. Yet, of all people, it was Shi Ping¡¯s words that kepting back and eroding Sen¡¯s sense of righteous indignation over what she¡¯d done. <em>It¡¯s obvious that Lo Meifeng would do just about anything to get back into your good graces</em>. Sen hadn¡¯t seen that, or maybe he just hadn¡¯t wanted to see it. There had been conviction in Shi Ping¡¯s words, though. He believed it, which had somehow tranted into Sen believing it on some level. That left him feeling vaguely guilty and more than a little like an ass every time he made an arbitrary choice to keep Lo Meifeng in the dark about something. In the end, it was just getting harder and harder to stay mad at her. It had been simplicity itself when his anger was only ever a breath away from exploding all over everyone around him. He¡¯d been furious at everyone, all the time. With anything even remotely like an actual <em>reason</em> to be mad at someone, he could have kept the distrustful anger burning forever.


    With the heart demon gone, he¡¯d had to spend more and more time working at keeping it going. And that seemed like a lot of effort to put into something that was, most of the time, wholly unproductive. Yet, he wasn¡¯t ready to simply forgive and move on. He¡¯d done things on that battlefield that he regretted. Granted, he¡¯d been the one who ultimately chose to step into that fight, but it hadn¡¯t been an informed choice. That piece of his distrust was legitimate, and the anger he felt about it was legitimate as well. He knew that, at some point, he would have toe to terms with that and either let it go or send Lo Meifeng away. He also knew he wasn¡¯t ready to do either of those things. As long as she was going to be around, though, he couldn¡¯t expect the trust to only run in one direction. He needed to include her at some level or she just became someone he bantered with on asion. That wasn¡¯t viable for either of them. He didn¡¯t need a witty ornament, and she wouldn¡¯t stand for it. Not for much longer, at any rate.


    ¡°Yeah, I probably thought something like that,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that I was entirely wrong to think it. But it¡¯s not useful, especially not in the current circumstances. If things proceed the way I think we both expect they will, I¡¯m going to need you to do things other than be pretty and lob sarcasm at Shi Ping. No matter how much I may appreciate that sarcasm thing. I¡¯m going to need you to deploy your actual skills. For that to work, you need to be in the loop and part of the nning, which means I have to at least shelve that distrust for a while.¡±


    Lo Meifeng got a thoughtful look on her face.


    ¡°Be pretty?¡± she asked. ¡°I know your burning lust for me must be distracting, but you¡¯ll just have to learn to look past my iparable beauty.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate your sarcasm less when you lob it at me,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Toote. You¡¯ve revealed your soul to me, Lu Sen. You can never take that knowledge back. Tell me, was it my eyes you fell in love with?¡±


    ¡°How is it that pretty and sarcasm are the things that you¡¯re taking away from everything I just said?¡±


    ¡°Because those are things that maximize my amusement, and I¡¯ve had very few opportunities to glean amusement from youtely.¡±


    ¡°You feel like that¡¯s what we should be focused on right now? Your amusement? Not the sect of criminal cultivators I just threatened.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we both know you¡¯ll get yourself into some absurd situation with them, do something impossible, then probably kill one of them in some very public and terrifying way. Then, if they¡¯re really stupid, they¡¯ll send more people after you. If you¡¯re true to form, you¡¯ll probably just make a big pile of their corpses in the middle of the street. All very predictable. My amusement at your expense, on the other hand, must be seized in the moment because it might be six months before I get another chance.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t say anything for ten seconds as he thought over everything she¡¯d just said. <em>Is she right</em>, Sen wondered.


    Lowering his head a little and sighing, Sen said, ¡°Proceed.¡±


    ¡°As I was saying, was it my eyes, or the unmatched feminine allure of my body? It¡¯s alright, you can tell me the truth. I won¡¯t clue in the princess.¡±


    ¡°If I just say it was your body, will this stop?¡±


    Lo Meifeng threw back her head and cackled. ¡°Not on your life.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 51: Relative Positions

    Book 4: Chapter 51: Rtive Positions


    For all that Sen was braced for near-immediate retaliation from the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate, it didn¡¯t happen. In fact, as near as he could tell, every cultivator in the city that he didn¡¯t know personally was doing their level best to stay at least half a mile away from him. Sen didn¡¯t necessarily consider that a bad thing, but it did run counter to expectations. He got nervous when bad things didn¡¯t happen the way he expected, which was how he ended up getting a murderous look from Shi Ping and a mildly uncertain one from Falling Leaf.


    ¡°What is it with you?¡± demanded Shi Ping. ¡°Yeah, there was that bit of trouble with the Steel Gryphon sect, but things had calmed down since then. Were you just bored? You felt like you needed a war to keep from getting sleepy?¡±


    ¡°I would like to note that I didn¡¯t actually do anything to make these people angry. I even made a point to stay out of their part of the city. They came after me, repeatedly, which means that someone <em>sent</em> them after me.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± said Shi Ping. ¡°I¡¯ve just really been enjoying how nobody was trying to do anything terrible to me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, though,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°I know why they¡¯re going to be a problem now. But why would anyone send them after you in the first ce? We don¡¯t know anyone here. Aside from those sect people we killed, we haven¡¯t done anything.¡±


    ¡°Just because I haven¡¯t done anything specific here, I¡¯ve done plenty in other ces. I¡¯ve also <em>caused</em> plenty to happen. If you think all those demonic cultivators and their allies have forgotten about me, think again,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they all dead?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    ¡°The ones we knew about,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Just the ones we knew about. Plus, whatever names they coughed up. Do you really think we got <em>all</em> of them? The continent is a big ce. The recent purge certainly reduced the problem in this region, but I guarantee you that some got missed because they were more cautious or just luckier. Beyond this region, there are going to be plenty of them left. Some won¡¯t care about what happened here, but others will have lost useful allies or ess to resources. They¡¯ll be angry about that. Don¡¯t deceive yourselves, Sen has plenty of enemies out there, and we don¡¯t know most of them.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Shi Ping, ¡°and don¡¯t forget that he agreed to disrupt what is likely to be a very lucrative marriage for, well, whoever the princess is <em>supposed</em> to marry. I doubt they¡¯re going to like that very much.¡±


    Sen gave Shi Ping a thoughtful look. ¡°How would they know?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure by now that your princess has talked with at least one of her parents about it.¡±


    Sen gave Shi Ping an unamused look. ¡°She isn¡¯t <em>my</em> princess.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡±ughed Shi Ping. ¡°Sure. You keep telling yourself that. When you get stuck having to <em>marry</em> her, remember this conversation. Anyway, my point is that she¡¯s talked to someone. And in a ce like a royal pce, there¡¯s no such thing as a secret. Not for long, anyway. A servant heard them talking, or one of her parents said something where they shouldn¡¯t have. The word is out or it will be very, very soon. I expect those people would like to see you dead, and they¡¯d have the money to hire a group like the¡­what did you call them Sen?¡±


    ¡°The Disjointed Robin¡¯s Toe n,¡± supplied Sen.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± asked Lo Meifeng. ¡°How do you keeping up with these things?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a talent. Shi Ping has a point. We can¡¯t assume we know who set this in motion or even why it¡¯s happening. There are too many options, which means we¡¯ll have to get it out of one of them.¡±


    ¡°You mean, before you exterminate them all, burn down everything they own, and salt the earth behind you?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    Sen gave Shi Ping a look and said, ¡°Yes, before all of that. Obviously, I can¡¯t do it afterward. But we¡¯ve gotten way off the topic I wanted to discuss with all of you. The biggest thing right now is making sure that nobody gets caught alone.¡±


    Three pairs of eyes locked on Shi Ping. He tried to put on a brave face but wilted under thebined stares of the more powerful cultivators.


    ¡°I¡¯m careful,¡± he said.


    ¡°You¡¯re going out whoring,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°You say that like I¡¯m setting children on fire. I go to reputable ces.¡±


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t care <em>that</em> you¡¯re doing it. I care that it makes it difficult and inconvenient for us to find or help you if something goes wrong.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Shi Ping. ¡°I see your point. Well, what if someone went with me?¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at the man. ¡°Who?¡±


    Shi Ping looked from Sen to Lo Meifeng and then to Falling Leaf. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t think that one through.¡±


    ¡°Look, you¡¯re just going to have to put your carnal pleasures on hold for a while,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. You don¡¯t get to decide those things on my behalf. They¡¯re not after <em>me</em>. And I doubt they''re going to storm a building full of courtesans to get me or try to snatch me in public. I¡¯m not important enough.¡±


    Sen had been casually watching Falling Leaf throughout the conversation. Some of it was just passive interest, but he was also looking for areas where she was confused. While he wouldn¡¯t necessarily exin more in the moment, he could always talk with her privately after the fact to clear up any misconceptions. For the part of the conversation involving danger and tactics, she seemed attentive and focused. When the conversation had drifted into the realm of social eptability, she¡¯d started to look a little perplexed. What hadn¡¯t changed was her natural instinct for danger. She had clearly felt the mood shift when Sen did because they both took an automatic step back from Shi Ping. Lo Meifeng, on the other hand, was giving Shi Ping such an artificially sweet smile that it made Sen wonder if the man was going to survive the next minute or two.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get to decide,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°That¡¯s extraordinary. When was it that you raced past me in your cultivation?¡±


    Shi Ping¡¯s eyes darted over to Sen, who just shook his head sadly at the poor, doomed fool.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    ¡°Well, thest time I checked, you were a peak foundation formation cultivator. However did you manage to jump all the way to peak core formation?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I only ask because thest time I checked,¡± said Lo Meifeng, the sweet smile dropping away to reveal an expression as hard as granite, ¡°peak foundation formation cultivators didn¡¯t mouth off tote-stage core formation cultivators unless they were desperate for a painful lesson in how the world works.¡±


    Shi Ping paled at those words. Sen felt at least partially responsible for the existence of this situation. Hisplicated rtionship with Lo Meifeng had likely sent a lot of very wrong messages to Shi Ping. Beyond that, Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t spend a lot of time worrying about formalities. All in all, the atmosphere of casual equality pervaded everything. Yet, Sen knew it for the illusion it was. At the end of the day, Lo Meifeng could crush Shi Ping in any confrontation between the two that didn¡¯t involve her beingpletely out of qi and mortally wounded. Shi Ping should also have known better, having spent way more time in sect or sect-like environments where people obsessed about rtive rank. Sen had the impression that, in the Order of the Celestial me, Shi Ping probably wouldn¡¯t have interacted with someone of Lo Meifeng¡¯s rank very often. Sen watched as Shi Ping sped his hands in front of him and offered Lo Meifeng a very deep bow.


    ¡°I apologize, senior. I forgot myself. It will be as you say.¡±


    Lo Meifeng nodded. ¡°Good.¡±


    The group covered a few more things, mostly about keeping each other informed about their ns and schedules. The abrupt conflict between Lo Meifeng and Shi Ping, however necessary it might have been, had ground everything to a halt. After that, no one wanted to engage in casual conversation, guess about who wanted Sen dead, or anything that might keep them in each other¡¯spany a second longer. Shi Ping left the room the second it was clear they were done. Falling Leaf said something about being hungry and headed downstairs. Lo Meifeng was standing by the window and ring down at the street like it owed her something.


    ¡°Are you going to tell me I was too hard on him?¡± she asked.


    Sen walked over and leaned against the wall on the other side of the window. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯d have thought you, of all people, would think it was some kind of stupid power y.¡±


    ¡°It is what it is. He¡¯s foundation formation and your core formation. He <em>forgot</em> that. Like it or not, foundation formation cultivators do whatever the core formation cultivators tell them to do. That <em>is</em> how the world works. You were going to have to put him back in his ce at some point.¡±


    Lo Meifeng smirked at him. ¡°You never do what more advanced cultivators tell you to do.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, no one ever said I was smart.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± agreed Lo Meifeng.


    Sen snorted. ¡°Nice. By the way, I¡¯m going to have to exin what whoring means to Falling Leaf thanks to you.¡±


    Lo Meifengughed. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not something that would havee up in her education.¡±


    ¡°She was a bit sheltered, wasn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°From some things,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I can exin it to her if you want.¡±


    Sen thought it over. ¡°<em>Patiently</em>, Lo Meifeng. She¡¯s used to me exining things to her that she doesn¡¯t understand, and I¡¯m <em>very</em> patient with her.¡±


    ¡°I remember what happened to thest cultivators who did something to her you didn¡¯t like. I¡¯ll be as patient as she needs me to be.¡±


    ¡°Good, because I have something to do.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been doing casual patrols in the nearby area. Keeping an eye on things. Looking for people who aren¡¯t cultivators who might be aiming to cause trouble for us.¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought of that,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t take a cultivator to burn down a building or poison food. Cultivators may be faster at killing people, but mortals are perfectly capable of doing it.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re just going to go on a patrol? Nothing special to do?¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°Nothing but go fight those three cultivators who are waiting for me.¡±


    ¡°Us, Sen,¡± said Lo Meifeng in a tired voice. ¡°Waiting for us.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 52: Waiting for a Stupid Mistake

    Book 4: Chapter 52: Waiting for a Stupid Mistake


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this,¡± said Sen.


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. ¡°I realize that, by andrge, you¡¯ve done most of your fighting alone. That¡¯s probably skewed your perspective a bit. Helping you fight is actually what I¡¯m supposed to be doing.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s just three of them,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°You do realize that Shi Ping would probably spit blood if he realized that you were talking about two middle-stage core cultivators and ate-stage core cultivator. Honestly, it troubles me that you take them so lightly. You aren¡¯t going to catch everyone off-guard and unawares. If they¡¯re better trained than the people you¡¯ve fought before, they¡¯re a real threat. Even if they aren¡¯t better trained, you should still treat them as a real threat. Being dismissive is exactly how most of the people you killed wound up dead.¡±


    That brought Sen up short. He <em>had</em> been treating them dismissively. Lo Meifeng was right. That was a good way to get himself killed. Just as importantly, it wasn¡¯t how he¡¯d been trained. Master Feng had always told him to take every fight as deadly serious until he had a very good reason not to do so. He didn¡¯t have a good reason to treat three core formation cultivators who were more advanced than he was lightly. They could be a deadly threat, particrly if they worked together in coordinated attacks. True, he¡¯d been trained to deal with that, but that was no excuse to be stupid. He¡¯d been letting his sesses cloud his judgment, but they weren¡¯t allbat sesses. He hadn¡¯t outfought everyone he¡¯d faced. He¡¯d out-thought several of them, and that <em>was</em> how he¡¯d been trained.


    Using brute force to solve every problem was a sucker¡¯s bet because there was always something stronger out there. That was true even for peak nascent soul cultivators. Master Feng had pointed out that, if the heavens really wanted to kill him, they could do it. He¡¯d also pointed out there were ancient spirit beasts wandering around that could probably do the same. He didn¡¯t think that there were really that many of them, but that <em>any</em> existed served as a warning against too much hubris. Yet, he¡¯d been ready to charge right into this situation and try to use brute force to deal with the problem.


    ¡°You have a point,¡± said Sen. ¡°What do you suggest?¡±


    Lo Meifeng cocked her head to one side and then smiled. ¡°Let them stew.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They probably know that you¡¯ve been making the rounds. So, they¡¯re waiting for you to go out and do them today. I say we let them stew until they¡¯re ready to do something stupid.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    Lo Meifeng shrugged. ¡°Could be anything. Maybe they¡¯ll send someone in to see if you¡¯re really here. Maybe they¡¯ll send someone back to get new orders. We¡¯ll know it when we see it.¡±


    ¡°So, just do nothing?¡±


    ¡°Well, Falling Leaf had the right idea. One of us should go get some food. We might be here a while.¡±


    ¡°What if they all leave?¡±


    ¡°Then, we win for the day.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Not every victory needs a body count, Sen. If they leave without us having to do anything, then they wasted time and resources while we had dinner. That¡¯s a win.¡±


    Sen thought about that for a while before he nodded. ¡°Alright. How likely do you think that is?¡±


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. ¡°Not very likely. I expect they¡¯ll push for a fight.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. In that case, I¡¯ll go get us some food. Do you want anything in particr?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Sen went downstairs and waited around while the staff prepared a tray of food for him. He saw Shi Ping sitting with Falling Leaf. He was glowering at nothing and asionally sipping at a cup of something. Fallin Leaf was cheerfully devouring tes of food and seemingly ignoring the man. It was probably the best strategy on her part. Plus, Sen suspected that she legitimately didn¡¯t care what Shi Ping¡¯s problem was or have any desire to talk about it with him. As long as he was willing to sit there and sulk in silence, though, she¡¯d probably let him. Sen supposed that was better than the man going off to some brothel in an act of foolish defiance. Lo Meifeng wasn¡¯t the kind to make idle threats. If Shi Ping tested her resolve, he¡¯de up on the wrong side of a deeply painful lesson. Whether he truly understood that fact was an open question that only time could answer.


    Sen took the food back upstairs. He and Lo Meifeng ate a leisurely meal while the three cultivators who were waiting for Sen grew increasingly restless. They moved around more and more as time went by, as though they were worried that they¡¯d missed him somehow. Sen pointed that out to Lo Meifeng, who nodded in agreement.


    ¡°If they¡¯re going to make a stupid mistake, it¡¯ll happen soon.¡±


    ¡°I kind of just want them to get on with whatever they¡¯re going to do. I mean, sure, we¡¯re well fed and not tired, but this waiting around stuff gets boring after a while.¡±


    Lo Meifeng lifted an eyebrow at me. ¡°Is that amentary on the quality of mypany?¡±


    ¡°I mean, you¡¯re no Chan Yu Ming, but you¡¯re alright.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s eyes went wide for a moment before they narrowed into dangerous slits. ¡°Oh, there will be suffering in your future.¡±


    Sen went to say something that would dig the hole a little deeper, but one of the middle-stage core cultivators bounding away over the rooftops caught his attention.


    ¡°Well, I guess you called it,¡± said Sen. ¡°Do you think they went to get new orders or more people?¡±


    Lo Meifeng frowned. ¡°It could go either way. Regardless, <em>now</em> we should go say hello.¡±


    ¡°Divide and conquer?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°Something along those lines.¡±


    ¡°Which one do you want?¡±


    ¡°I suppose I should take thete-stage core cultivator. It¡¯ll seem strange if I leave him to you.¡±


    ¡°Do we care about that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Just because there aren¡¯t other cultivators that we can sense, it doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t any others who can sense us. There are at least a few nascent soul cultivators here who can probably sense everything that happens inside the city walls.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll follow your lead.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it, but we¡¯ll pretend that¡¯s what¡¯s happening.¡±


    Lo Meifeng, much as Sen had done once before, eschewed the front door in favor of the window. The pair of them made casual use of their qinggong techniques to get up to the rooftops and close with the pair of cultivators who had stayed behind. Sen made sure that he kept himself a little behind Lo Meifeng in a show of deference. <em>Let everyone make what they will of that</em>, he thought. Sen wasn¡¯t above helping to muddy the waters where information about him was concerned. In fact, the less certain everyone was about the hierarchy in their group, the happier he would be. Lo Meifeng and Sen stopped on a rooftop and stared across a narrow alley at the cultivators who had been waiting for them. Thete-stage core cultivator was a woman who, despite all of the beautification that cultivation provided during advancement, still managed to look unpleasant.


    Sen couldn¡¯t tell if it was just the way she was twisting her face up, or if she really was ugly. He supposed it wasn¡¯t going to matter in a few minutes. The remaining middle-stage cultivator was, much to Sen¡¯s surprise, a man who looked to be in his middle years. Either he had advanced incredibly slowly over the years, or he¡¯d started exceptionallyte <em>and</em> advanced very slowly. While the woman looked angry, the man looked grim, as though he expected everything to go terribly wrong for him in the immediate future. Sen thought that he was probably right to think that. Lo Meifeng inspected them both, gave the impression that she was wholly dismissing the man, and gave the woman a t look.


    ¡°You think you¡¯re clever, don¡¯t you? Waiting until we sent someone away before you came out,¡± snarled the woman.


    ¡°Clever?¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°If you think that¡¯s clever, you¡¯re in the wrong line of work. While you were out here doing¡­whatever useless things you were doing, we ate a nice meal and rxed.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember me, do you?¡± the woman asked in tones of pure venom. ¡°I am Li Hua.¡±


    Sen nced over at the woman, but her eyes were fixed on Lo Meifeng. Sen was relieved that, for once, the personal grudge was aimed at someone other than him. Lo Meifeng gave the woman a harder look and frowned.


    ¡°You must have found it a much more memorable night than I did. It¡¯s just so difficult to find good lovers, be they men or women. Rest assured, the problem was you, not me.¡±


    While Li Hua spluttered in shock or outrage at Lo Meifeng¡¯s words, Sen took the opportunity to start applying subtle pressure on the man. He¡¯d gotten used to using his killing intent like a club, but he wanted to see if he could use it in other ways. The man just standing there seemed like a golden opportunity. Sen started with the tiniest sliver of killing intent he could manage and slowly, ever so slowly, started to build it up. Meanwhile, the woman had found her voice again.


    ¡°How dare you imply that I would sully myself that way?¡± Li Hua almost shrieked.


    ¡°Why are you offended? You did such a poor job of pleasuring me that I don¡¯t even remember you. It seems as though I¡¯m the one who was sullied in the affair.¡±


    ¡°You murdered my husband!¡±


    ¡°And you still went to bed with me?¡± asked Lo Meifeng, feigning shock. ¡°You weren¡¯t very loyal, were you?¡±


    Whatever tiny shreds of self-control Li Hua possessed disappeared as rage overtook her. ¡°Kill them!¡±


    Li Hua was so enraged, that she didn¡¯t even attack Lo Meifeng with qi. Instead, she simply threw herself across the alley, drawing a pair of war fans from a storage treasure. So livid was the woman, that she didn¡¯t even notice that the man hadn¡¯t moved. He was fixed in ce, shuddering uncontrobly, the whites showing around his eyes, and his gaze fixed on Sen. Lo Meifeng, who had apparently been waiting for Li Hua to do something stupid, lifted a hand and thrust it toward the woman. A web of white-hot strandsunched from Lo Meifeng¡¯s palm and wrapped around Li Hua¡¯s entire body. The move had been so swift that Li Hua didn¡¯t have time to prepare a defense.


    Even if Li Hua hadn¡¯t been screaming in agony, Sen would have smelled the scorching clothes, charring flesh, and burning hair. Yet, as easy as it would have been for that to distract him, Sen remained focused. He continued to increase the pressure on the man, whose mouth had opened in a silent scream of terror. Sen started cycling for water, fire, and wind. A part of him noted that there had been a time when doing that would have been difficult. He also would have been awed at even being able to manage the cycling, let alone doing anything with the qi. Now, it was just one more thing. Sen recalled that Lo Meifeng had once told him that he set his bar for excellence too high. He wondered if his bar for wonder was getting too high as well.


    In a process that probably would have looked almost instantaneous to anyone watching, Sen condensed water from the air and shaped it into six-inch spikes. He used his fire qi to bleed off the heat in the water and form ice spikes. Then, with a thought, he sent those dozens of ice spikes hurtling over the alley and into the body of the middle-stage core cultivator. In a reflective moment, he realized that he could probably have just used one ice spike and sent it through the man¡¯s eye and into his brain. Still, he supposed it was better to be certain his enemy was dead than to be overconfident about how well a single attack would work.


    Sen heard the sound of metal-on-metal and nced over. It seemed that Li Hua had survived that initial attack of Lo Meifeng¡¯s, although not without consequence. Most of the hair on her head had been burned away, and the rest of her was a hideous crosshatch of marred flesh and clothing. Despite the terrible pain she must have been in, though, she moved with the speed and grace of someone who had endured the kinds of countless hours of training Sen himself had endured. She was also using wind qi to lob wind des at Lo Meifeng, and sprinkling in attacks using hardened whips of air. Lo Meifeng danced and dodged around these qi attacks, and sent small fireballs at Li Hua, who flinched away from them. After that fire web attack, though, Sen imagined he¡¯d be wary of fire as well.


    He considered intervening but decided that wasn¡¯t appropriate. Especially if there were unseen observers. Whatever else had brought Li Hua to this ce, there was something personal between her and Lo Meifeng. He¡¯d let them settle it unless Lo Meifeng got into real trouble. Instead, he used his qi to loot the body of the man on the other roof, snagging the usual assortment of goods. However, he also got a ne made of jade that had a staggering amount of qi stored in it. Since he wasn¡¯t entirely certain what it was, though, he simply put it into a pocket forter examination. He kept half an eye on the fight between Li Hua and Lo Meifeng, but it became clear which way that fight was going to end when Li Hua stumbled. Lo Meifeng capitalized ruthlessly on it, severing the tendons in the back of one of Li Hua¡¯s knees. The woman screamed, staggered, and fell. By the time Li Hua managed to get oriented, Lo Meifeng had conjured a de made of pure fire and driven it into Li Hua¡¯s heart.


    Sen pretended he didn¡¯t hear Li Hua¡¯s final deration of hatred as the life drained from her eyes.


    ¡°You stole everything from me.¡±


    Sen was going to give Lo Meifeng a moment to herself, but an intuition sent him sprinting toward her. He didn¡¯t have time to exin, so he simply lowered a shoulder, caught her in the middle, and swept her over a shoulder. He activated his qinggong technique, fueling it with core qi, andunched them into the sky. He felt the building they¡¯d been standing on explode behind them. Having been in a situation like this before, he knew better than to ignore that explosion. He cycled hard and created a dome of hardened air behind them. He wasn¡¯t looking in that direction, so he didn¡¯t know exactly what hit the dome, but it was big enough and moving fast enough that it strained Sen¡¯s limits to keep the dome intact. Unfortunately, the impact also added to their velocity and altered their trajectory. Unless Sen was badly misjudging, they were going to crash into the thick city wall at a speed that would probably be enough to kill them both.

 V4

    V4


    Sen was vaguely aware that this situation would have sent him into a panic not so long ago. Before Emperor¡¯s Bay and before the beast tide he¡¯d faced in that abandoned town, the idea of careening toward a wall at high speed would have seemed like an insurmountable obstacle. Now, having passed through one crucible after another, those situational factors were just information. He was moving faster than he wanted to be moving toward something that would injure him and Lo Meifeng badly if he didn¡¯t find a way to slow them down. Yet, that problem wasn¡¯t upying most of his attention, since he was already taking steps to deal with it. His mind wasrgely upied with trying to discern how and why that building had exploded the way it did. He¡¯d felt the surge of qi a second or two in advance, which he¡¯d used to get them off the roof. The question was, where had ite from?


    The most obvious answer was that it hade from another cultivator. Except, he hadn¡¯t sensed anyone else nearby. That didn¡¯t mean that there hadn¡¯t been one. He could <em>hide</em> from other cultivators. While he hadn¡¯t seen or felt anyone else do it, it stood to reason that the ability couldn¡¯t be wholly unique to him. If he could <em>hide</em> from everyone, someone else could do the same thing to him. Yet, his teachers had always told him to look for the simplest exnations first before looking for some exotic exnation. Someone else with a hiding ability identical to his own sounded like an exotic answer to the problem. Had Li Hua done something? It was the simplest answer. One final attempt at revenge on Lo Meifeng made sense. Of course, that did leave the how of it unclear.


    If the woman had triggered a technique powerful enough to destroy an entire building, he should have sensed something from her. Beyond that, the woman was either an air qi specialist or a wind qi specialist. There was a lot of ovep there, but neither type of qi should have been able to create devastation on that scale. At least, Sen didn¡¯t think they should at thete core formation level. Maybe in the nascent soul stage, where he was pretty sure that summoning wind storms that were powerful enough to topple stone walls would prove entirely feasible. Then again, Sen could generate a lot of destruction when he was trying or being careless. Maybe Li Hua had tried to get creative in herst desperate moments. That exnation would fit most of the facts he had to hand, but it didn¡¯t fit those facts well.


    Li Hua hadn¡¯t simply been on the edge of death at the end. She had been in the process of actually dying. Having been there himself, Sen knew what it took to pull off onest big technique. He had gone into the situation looking for that oue or something simr and prepared himself mentally for it. While preparation wasn¡¯t an absolute requirement, it did a lot to keep the mind headed in the right direction. He had also been angry, probably as filled with rage as Li Hua had been, with one key difference. He¡¯d been finding ways to work past that rage for months. Her rage had been both blind and of the moment. Thinking past that kind of thing was, while technically possible, not very usible. He had to admit that she might have set up some kind of formation as a fail-safe, but he hadn¡¯t spotted anything out of the ordinary. An effect that big would have taken a powerful formation, and he was well-equipped to spot a formation like that.


    No, the best exnation for what had happened was that some powerful third party saw Li Hua fail and tried to take advantage of the moment. If that was the case, then he and Lo Meifeng had more problemsing their way than just crashing into a wall. Havinge that close to either killing or badly injuring them, Sen doubted that whoever it was would simply shrug and think, <em>Oh well</em>. Odds were good that something or someone was alreadying. So, Sen needed to deal with the immediate problem of falling out of the sky at speed, and prepare, as well as he could, for whatever was going to follow in the wake of that event. He was already using that dome of hardened air he¡¯d formed to create some drag that had slowed them to a less destructive speed, but the real problem was where tond. It wasn¡¯t enough to just settle onto some rooftop. He¡¯d be putting everyone in the immediate vicinity in danger if someone arrived immediately after to pick a fight.


    His eyes scanned the area below, looking for anywhere he could direct them that would at least limit the mortal casualties. In the end, though, there was no helping it. He saw a park area, but it was both too far away and at a severe angle from their current direction. He might be able to redirect them there, but not with blowing through a lot of qi he suspected he was going to need very soon. Instead, he aimed for the roof of what looked like some kind of warehouse. He started summoning qi tforms that they crashed through, but each tform slowed their descent even more. By the time they touched down on the roof, they were floating more than they were falling. Sen leaned over and nted Lo Meifeng on her feet. She red at him.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Saved your life. You¡¯re wee, by the way.¡±


    ¡°I meant to that building.¡±


    ¡°Me? That wasn¡¯t <em>me</em>. I was just waiting around for you to finish up your personal business. Someone else turned that building into a crater.¡±


    Lo Meifeng paused, cast a dubious look back the way they hade, and then shook her head. ¡°Then, we need to get moving, because someone is probably alreadying.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how I read the situation. Split up or stay together?¡±


    ¡°Stay together, at least for the moment. We should drop down to street level. It may not slow them down much, but it might make tracking us harder. We need to put eyes on whoever this is.¡±


    Sen nodded and they jogged over to the edge of the building. Sen felt another twinge in his intuition, grabbed Lo Meifeng¡¯s robe, and dragged her over the side with him. As they dropped through the air, Sen looked up and saw a big chunk of the roof and wall above them explode into rubble. He formed a vertical qi tform. He nted his foot against the tform andunched them away from the falling rubble. A few pieces still clipped him, but they were mostly annoyances that hurt, rather injured. He used air qi to cushion them as they dropped into a nearby alley. Sen immediately <em>hid</em>. Then, he looked at Lo Meifeng, who didn¡¯t enjoy that same protection. Master Feng had said that he thought Sen might be able to do something simr for someone else eventually. Sen decided that <em>this</em> was the moment to find out if he could.


    ¡°Come here,¡± he ordered Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Why?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Because I want to try something and you need to be close for it.¡±


    ¡°Even if I were interested, this is hardly the right moment.¡±


    ¡°Even <em>I</em> know that this isn¡¯t the time for jokes.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Lo Meifeng, walking over until she was almost pressed up against him. ¡°Close enough?¡±


    ¡°I hope so. Now, let me concentrate.¡±


    Of all the things that Sen could do, his ability to hide was his oldest. Yet, for all the time he¡¯d been able to do it, it was all the ability he understood the least. His teachers hadn¡¯t understood how it worked. Lo Meifeng hadn¡¯t understood how it worked. Without guidance, Sen had been left to his own devices toprehend it. Despite having spent a lot of time thinking about it, he¡¯d never gotten anywhere. Some of it was simple hesitation to experiment with something that even nascent soul cultivators didn¡¯t understand. Mostly, though, he was simply blocked by his own ignorance. Sen was keenly aware that there was so much he didn¡¯t know. His recent time with the dragon and learning about auric impositions was just the most recent case in point.


    Now, though, he didn¡¯t have the luxury of being afraid to experiment. Whoever was out there, Sen hadn¡¯t caught so much as a hint of their presence. That meant they were doing what he could do, or they wereunching attacks from beyond a distance that he could sense them. Either way, he needed an edge here, and needed Lo Meifeng alive to help him. Setting aside his reservations and his almost superstitious fears about his own ability, Sen got down to the hard business of trying to make it do something he¡¯d never made it do before. Since he couldn¡¯t rely on knowledge to guide him, he¡¯d try to do it the same way he¡¯d done so many other things. He¡¯d try to feel his way through it.


    Ignoring the information his mind kept trying to force into the center of the process, Sen focused on the literal, visceral feel of the technique. There wereyers andyers to it, but he refused to get lost in all of those nuances. There would be a time to explore thoseter. For the moment, he just needed to pin down the general sense of the ability. Sen didn¡¯t think that it was exactly the right word, but it felt as though he was folding something inside of himself and around himself. It created an overwhelming sense that there was precisely nothing in the space he upied. The exact what he was folding was, for his immediate purposes, almost irrelevant. He just needed to replicate that feeling to include an area that extended past his own skin. His first few attempts failed miserably, but he kept after it. Kept pushing himself harder, willing that sense of nothing to push outward.


    Every step of the way, it felt like the ability itself was fighting him. Like it didn¡¯t want to do what he wanted it to do. He ignored that resistance, ignored his own mounting sense of urgency, ignored the trickle of blood he felt from his nose, and pushed harder. Inch by inch, he pushed it outward, forcing the area immediately around him to conform to his will. It felt like it took hours, but eventually Lo Meifeng was inside a small bubble that told everyone and everything around them that nothing was there. With an effort of will that feltughably easy inparison, Sen cycled shadow qi and cloaked them in darkness. Despite his belief that a ridiculously long amount of time had passed, he suspected that had mostly been inside his own mind. Lo Meifeng was staring off toward the warehouse that they had been standing on.


    For a minute or two, nothing happened. Sen gritted his teeth and kept that bubble in ce around them. Then, a figure appeared on the rooftop. He was a bulky man with a thick beard, although one he kept trimmed short. Sen could sense nothing about him. With all of his own senses dulled by the hiding technique, the man was simply too far away. Sen watched as the man red around the area, and then felt it as the man swept the area with his spiritual sense. Sen worried that his altered use of the <em>hiding</em> ability might not work as effectively, but the man¡¯s spiritual sense brushed passed them without a pause. The strength of that spiritual sense gave Sen pause, though. Whoever the man was, he was either an overwhelmingly powerful peak core cultivator or a formidable early nascent soul stage cultivator. Sen found himself leaning in the direction of thetter. The sheer force and range of the man¡¯s attacks suggested something that went beyond core cultivation to Sen.


    The man jumped down from the roof and began searching the area. However, the search was a half-hearted thing that the man soon abandoned with a muttered curse. Sen hadn¡¯t realized she was doing it, but he heard Lo Meifeng release a breath she¡¯d apparently been holding. She went to say something, but Sen waved her off.


    ¡°Once we¡¯re back at the inn,¡± he said, the strain evident in his voice.


    The pair kept mostly to the shadows, but Lo Meifeng kept shooting worried nces at Sen. Keeping that ability up and running was taking a toll on him that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to just shrug off with a night of sleep. Yet, he didn¡¯t dare drop it until they were somewhere he could put up obscenely overpowered protective and offensive formations. Eventually, they scaled the wall of the inn and went back in through the same window they¡¯d left from. Sen didn¡¯t say anything. He just started assembling formations around the room, forcing Lo Meifeng to stay within arm¡¯s reach of him at all times. He dropped a small fortune of spirit beast cores on the ground to fuel those formations at need. Only when he felt the formations lock into ce did he release the hiding ability. Then, he slumped to the floor, everyst bit of his mental energy and formidable willpower spent.

 Book 4: Chapter 53: Hiding from the Man

    Book 4: Chapter 53: Hiding from the Man


    Sen was vaguely aware that this situation would have sent him into a panic not so long ago. Before Emperor¡¯s Bay and before the beast tide he¡¯d faced in that abandoned town, the idea of careening toward a wall at high speed would have seemed like an insurmountable obstacle. Now, having passed through one crucible after another, those situational factors were just information. He was moving faster than he wanted to be moving toward something that would injure him and Lo Meifeng badly if he didn¡¯t find a way to slow them down. Yet, that problem wasn¡¯t upying most of his attention, since he was already taking steps to deal with it. His mind wasrgely upied with trying to discern how and why that building had exploded the way it did. He¡¯d felt the surge of qi a second or two in advance, which he¡¯d used to get them off the roof. The question was, where had ite from?


    The most obvious answer was that it hade from another cultivator. Except, he hadn¡¯t sensed anyone else nearby. That didn¡¯t mean that there hadn¡¯t been one. He could <em>hide</em> from other cultivators. While he hadn¡¯t seen or felt anyone else do it, it stood to reason that the ability couldn¡¯t be wholly unique to him. If he could <em>hide</em> from everyone, someone else could do the same thing to him. Yet, his teachers had always told him to look for the simplest exnations first before looking for some exotic exnation. Someone else with a hiding ability identical to his own sounded like an exotic answer to the problem. Had Li Hua done something? It was the simplest answer. One final attempt at revenge on Lo Meifeng made sense. Of course, that did leave the how of it unclear.


    If the woman had triggered a technique powerful enough to destroy an entire building, he should have sensed something from her. Beyond that, the woman was either an air qi specialist or a wind qi specialist. There was a lot of ovep there, but neither type of qi should have been able to create devastation on that scale. At least, Sen didn¡¯t think they should at thete core formation level. Maybe in the nascent soul stage, where he was pretty sure that summoning wind storms that were powerful enough to topple stone walls would prove entirely feasible. Then again, Sen could generate a lot of destruction when he was trying or being careless. Maybe Li Hua had tried to get creative in herst desperate moments. That exnation would fit most of the facts he had to hand, but it didn¡¯t fit those facts well.


    Li Hua hadn¡¯t simply been on the edge of death at the end. She had been in the process of actually dying. Having been there himself, Sen knew what it took to pull off onest big technique. He had gone into the situation looking for that oue or something simr and prepared himself mentally for it. While preparation wasn¡¯t an absolute requirement, it did a lot to keep the mind headed in the right direction. He had also been angry, probably as filled with rage as Li Hua had been, with one key difference. He¡¯d been finding ways to work past that rage for months. Her rage had been both blind and of the moment. Thinking past that kind of thing was, while technically possible, not very usible. He had to admit that she might have set up some kind of formation as a fail-safe, but he hadn¡¯t spotted anything out of the ordinary. An effect that big would have taken a powerful formation, and he was well-equipped to spot a formation like that.


    No, the best exnation for what had happened was that some powerful third party saw Li Hua fail and tried to take advantage of the moment. If that was the case, then he and Lo Meifeng had more problemsing their way than just crashing into a wall. Havinge that close to either killing or badly injuring them, Sen doubted that whoever it was would simply shrug and think, <em>Oh well</em>. Odds were good that something or someone was alreadying. So, Sen needed to deal with the immediate problem of falling out of the sky at speed, and prepare, as well as he could, for whatever was going to follow in the wake of that event. He was already using that dome of hardened air he¡¯d formed to create some drag that had slowed them to a less destructive speed, but the real problem was where tond. It wasn¡¯t enough to just settle onto some rooftop. He¡¯d be putting everyone in the immediate vicinity in danger if someone arrived immediately after to pick a fight.


    His eyes scanned the area below, looking for anywhere he could direct them that would at least limit the mortal casualties. In the end, though, there was no helping it. He saw a park area, but it was both too far away and at a severe angle from their current direction. He might be able to redirect them there, but not without blowing through a lot of qi he suspected he was going to need very soon. Instead, he aimed for the roof of what looked like some kind of warehouse. He started summoning qi tforms that they crashed through, but each tform slowed their descent even more. By the time they touched down on the roof, they were floating more than they were falling. Sen leaned over and nted Lo Meifeng on her feet. She red at him.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Saved your life. You¡¯re wee, by the way.¡±


    ¡°I meant to that building.¡±


    ¡°Me? That wasn¡¯t <em>me</em>. I was just waiting around for you to finish up your personal business. Someone else turned that building into a crater.¡±


    Lo Meifeng paused, cast a dubious look back the way they hade, and then shook her head. ¡°Then, we need to get moving, because someone is probably alreadying.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how I read the situation. Split up or stay together?¡±


    ¡°Stay together, at least for the moment. We should drop down to street level. It may not slow them down much, but it might make tracking us harder. We need to put eyes on whoever this is.¡±


    Sen nodded and they jogged over to the edge of the building. Sen felt another twinge in his intuition, grabbed Lo Meifeng¡¯s robe, and dragged her over the side with him. As they dropped through the air, Sen looked up and saw a big chunk of the roof and wall above them explode into rubble. He formed a vertical qi tform. He nted his foot against the tform andunched them away from the falling rubble. A few pieces still clipped him, but they were mostly annoyances that hurt, rather injured. He used air qi to cushion them as they dropped into a nearby alley. Sen immediately <em>hid</em>. Then, he looked at Lo Meifeng, who didn¡¯t enjoy that same protection. Master Feng had said that he thought Sen might be able to do something simr for someone else eventually. Sen decided that <em>this</em> was the moment to find out if he could.


    ¡°Come here,¡± he ordered Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Why?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Because I want to try something and you need to be close for it.¡±


    ¡°Even if I were interested, this is hardly the right moment.¡±


    ¡°Even <em>I</em> know that this isn¡¯t the time for jokes.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Lo Meifeng, walking over until she was almost pressed up against him. ¡°Close enough?¡±


    ¡°I hope so. Now, let me concentrate.¡±


    Of all the things that Sen could do, his ability to hide was his oldest. Yet, for all the time he¡¯d been able to do it, it was all the ability he understood the least. His teachers hadn¡¯t understood how it worked. Lo Meifeng hadn¡¯t understood how it worked. Without guidance, Sen had been left to his own devices toprehend it. Despite having spent a lot of time thinking about it, he¡¯d never gotten anywhere. Some of it was simple hesitation to experiment with something that even nascent soul cultivators didn¡¯t understand. Mostly, though, he was simply blocked by his own ignorance. Sen was keenly aware that there was so much he didn¡¯t know. His recent time with the dragon and learning about auric impositions was just the most recent case in point.


    Now, though, he didn¡¯t have the luxury of being afraid to experiment. Whoever was out there, Sen hadn¡¯t caught so much as a hint of their presence. That meant they were doing what he could do, or they wereunching attacks from beyond a distance that he could sense them. Either way, he needed an edge here, and needed Lo Meifeng alive to help him. Setting aside his reservations and his almost superstitious fears about his own ability, Sen got down to the hard business of trying to make it do something he¡¯d never made it do before. Since he couldn¡¯t rely on knowledge to guide him, he¡¯d try to do it the same way he¡¯d done so many other things. He¡¯d try to feel his way through it.


    Ignoring the information his mind kept trying to force into the center of the process, Sen focused on the literal, visceral feel of the technique. There wereyers andyers to it, but he refused to get lost in all of those nuances. There would be a time to explore thoseter. For the moment, he just needed to pin down the general sense of the ability. Sen didn¡¯t think that it was exactly the right word, but it felt as though he was folding something inside of himself and around himself. It created an overwhelming sense that there was precisely nothing in the space he upied. The exact what he was folding was, for his immediate purposes, almost irrelevant. He just needed to replicate that feeling to include an area that extended past his own skin. His first few attempts failed miserably, but he kept after it. Kept pushing himself harder, willing that sense of nothing to push outward.


    Every step of the way, it felt like the ability itself was fighting him. Like it didn¡¯t want to do what he wanted it to do. He ignored that resistance, ignored his own mounting sense of urgency, ignored the trickle of blood he felt from his nose, and pushed harder. Inch by inch, he pushed it outward, forcing the area immediately around him to conform to his will. It felt like it took hours, but eventually Lo Meifeng was inside a small bubble that told everyone and everything around them that nothing was there. With an effort of will that feltughably easy inparison, Sen cycled shadow qi and cloaked them in darkness. Despite his belief that a ridiculously long amount of time had past, he suspected that had mostly been inside his own mind. Lo Meifeng was staring off toward the warehouse that they had been standing on.


    For a minute or two, nothing happened. Sen gritted his teeth and kept that bubble in ce around them. Then, a figure appeared on the rooftop. He was a bulky man with a thick beard, although one he kept trimmed short. Sen could sense nothing about him. With all of his own senses dulled by the hiding technique, the man was simply too far away. Sen watched as the man red around the area, and then felt it as the man swept the area with his spiritual sense. Sen worried that his altered use of the <em>hiding</em> ability might not work as effectively, but the man¡¯s spiritual sense brushed passed them without a pause. The strength of that spiritual sense gave Sen pause, though. Whoever the man was, he was either an overwhelmingly powerful peak core cultivator or a formidable early nascent soul stage cultivator. Sen found himself leaning in the direction of thetter. The sheer force and range of the man¡¯s attacks suggested something that went beyond core cultivation to Sen.


    The man jumped down from the roof and began searching the area. However, the search was a half-hearted thing that the man soon abandoned with a muttered curse. Sen hadn¡¯t realized she was doing it, but he heard Lo Meifeng release a breath she¡¯d apparently been holding. She went to say something, but Sen waved her off.


    ¡°Once we¡¯re back at the inn,¡± he said, the strain evident in his voice.


    The pair kept mostly to the shadows, but Lo Meifeng kept shooting worried nces at Sen. Keeping that ability up and running was taking a toll on him that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to just shrug off with a night of sleep. Yet, he didn¡¯t dare drop it until they were somewhere he could put up obscenely overpowered protective and offensive formations. Eventually, they scaled the wall of the inn and went back in through the same window they¡¯d left from. Sen didn¡¯t say anything. He just started assembling formations around the room, forcing Lo Meifeng to stay within arm¡¯s reach of him at all times. He dropped a small fortune of spirit beast cores on the ground to fuel those formations at need. Only when he felt the formations lock into ce did he release the hiding ability. Then, he slumped to the floor, everyst bit of his mental energy and formidable willpower spent.

 Book 4: Chapter 54: Problems and Solutions

    Book 4: Chapter 54: Problems and Solutions


    ¡°You not going to pass out again, are you?¡± asked Lo Meifeng in an extra-dry tone.


    Sen gave her a death re from where hey sprawled out on the floor. ¡°Just give me a minute. That wasn¡¯t as easy as I made it look.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t make it look that easy.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! And I¡¯m telling you, it still wasn¡¯t as easy as I made it look.¡±


    Lo Meifeng frowned and a sliver of genuine concern crossed her face. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°No. Not really. There might be a right way to do what I did, but I <em>didn¡¯t</em> find it. I just brute-forced it the whole way. As you can see,¡± he said, wiping some of the blood off his face and holding up his hand, ¡°there were some consequences.¡±


    Sen let his head drop back against the floor and just reveled in the wonderful feeling of not having to do anything. To Lo Meifeng¡¯s credit, she let him, choosing to sit down on her bed. While she wasn¡¯t putting any overt pressure on him to talk or act, Sen could almost hear her thinking hard. He ignored that, and everything else in the known universe, for five glorious minutes. He wasn¡¯t even close to recovered. He was pretty sure he was going to have to go digging around inside his own body and make an elixir or five to make that happen. But he was pretty sure he could manage a conversation. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and scooted until he could rest his back against the wall. Lo Meifeng gave him another concerned look that didn¡¯t fade entirely.


    ¡°How much damage did you do to yourself back there?¡± she asked in a no-nonsense, don¡¯t-you-lie-to-me voice.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I¡¯d have to use qi to examine myself, and I¡¯m not doing anything with qi for at least another half an hour. Otherwise, I actually might pass out,¡± said Sen, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. ¡°So, that bearded guy we saw. Thoughts?¡±


    ¡°Powerful. Dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I sort of got those things from the building exploding underneath of us. I was hoping that you might have more specific insights.¡±


    ¡°Nothing more than suspicions. I mean, by the time he was close enough that I might have sensed anything, you¡¯d already done whatever it was you did. After that, I was basically blind spiritually. It was horrible, by the way. How do you put up with it?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t love it, but most of the time I don¡¯t need to sense anything farther away than fifty feet.¡±


    ¡°Fifty feet? You can still sense things that far away when you¡¯re doing that technique?¡±


    Sen opened an eye and looked at Lo Meifeng. ¡°Yeah. Why?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t sense anything, at all, at any range.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t expect that. That¡¯s what I get for messing with something I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    Sen closed his eyes again. He heard Lo Meifeng shuffling around for a few moments. Then, something damped was wiped across his face. His eyes snapped open and his hand shot out, wrapping around Lo Meifeng¡¯s wrist. It took him a second to realize that she was just holding a damp cloth. He could see a smear of red on it from where she¡¯d wiped it against his face. She looked startled and almost afraid. That expression faded when he let go of her wrist and closed his eyes again. For the next minute or two, she silently cleaned the blood off his face.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°You had three chances to let me die back there. You didn¡¯t. I¡¯m in your debt.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have the energy to think about that, so he just said the first thing that came to mind. ¡°Don¡¯t say stupid things. I wasn¡¯t going to leave you there to die. Like I told you before, I need live allies, not dead friends.¡±


    ¡°Would we be friends if I were dead?¡±


    ¡°Grievances are for the living because the living can make amends. Death washes all sins clean.¡±


    ¡°Do you really believe that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what Master Feng taught me. I think I believe it. Once someone is gone, there¡¯s no point in holding grudges. Even <em>if</em> you somehow managed to find them again in their next life, it¡¯s not like they¡¯ll remember. At that point, the only person you¡¯re punishing by hanging on to your grievances is yourself.¡±


    Sen shifted around, looking for a position that felt better to his back. After ten seconds of useless adjustments, he gave up. He opened his eyes and looked at Lo Meifeng, who was pointedly looking away. He smirked and continued.


    ¡°I will say that if leaving you behind would have caused you horrible embarrassment, I¡¯d have abandoned you <em>immediately</em>.¡±


    Lo Meifeng burst intoughter and the somber mood in the room was broken.


    ¡°I believe that,¡± she said. ¡°Whoever that cultivator was, I think we¡¯ve just seen the face of the enemy.¡±


    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s nascent soul level?¡±


    Lo Meifeng seemed to give that question a lot of thought before she answered. ¡°It¡¯s hard to know for sure. Some peak core cultivators are absurdly powerful. They might as well <em>be</em> initial nascent soul cultivators for the sheer force they can unleash. If you survive that long, I expect you¡¯ll be one of those people.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Maybe. It doesn¡¯t make much difference now.¡±


    ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t. Still, core cultivators do have some limitations that nascent soul cultivators don¡¯t, specifically on range. If he was a core cultivator, he should have been close enough that I would have felt him preparing those attacks. I didn¡¯t. That doesn¡¯t automatically make him a nascent soul cultivator. Just because I haven¡¯t seen something before, it doesn¡¯t make that impossible. It is suggestive, though. How did <em>you</em> sense those attacks?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say I sensed them. I mean, I did, but not until they were right on top of us. It was just an intuition.¡±


    ¡°One time, maybe. Two times that close together, it wasn¡¯t just intuition. It might not have been as obvious as seeing something in your spiritual sense, but you picked up on <em>something</em>. You should try to figure out what it was. If you can figure that out, you might be able to hone it a little finer. Make it something more dependable. That reminds me. I¡¯ve been meaning to ask. What¡¯s the range of your spiritual sense.¡±


    ¡°I never really thought about it. Why?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, I think you¡¯re seeing farther than I am. I¡¯m just trying to satisfy my curiosity.¡±


    ¡°Well, I never really tested it with another person. My best guess is a mile, maybe two.¡±


    ¡°A mile! Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think so. Give or take,¡± said Sen. ¡°Let me guess. That¡¯s more than it should be?¡±


    Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t exactly sulk, but she didn¡¯t look happy. ¡°It¡¯s not¡­wholly unprecedented, but it¡¯s not usual for someone at your stage of development. For most people at your development level, it¡¯s about half that. Assuming it¡¯s not closer to two miles than one mile.¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re sensing at about the same range as I am. So, if we both didn¡¯t sense that guy, it makes it more likely that he¡¯s a nascent soul cultivator.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I was leaning in that direction myself, but I wanted to hear what you thought.¡±


    ¡°You realize that it¡¯s a massive problem if he really is a nascent soul cultivator, right?¡±


    Sen looked from Lo Meifeng to the formations around the room and then back. ¡°It did not escape my attention.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you clearly realized that he was an immediate danger, but it goes beyond that. We can only hide in this room for so long. The minute either of us goes outside or even leaves this room, we¡¯re vulnerable to attacks that we¡¯ll barely seeing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s less of a problem for me. He couldn¡¯t see through that technique, or ability, or whatever the hells it is. Granted, that only helps me, but it¡¯s also something I can keep up all day. At least, it is as long as I¡¯m just hiding myself. And, if he can¡¯t see me, there¡¯s a good chance that nobody else can either. But my being able toe and go as I please doesn¡¯t help the rest of you. On the flip side, though, it may be less of a problem than you think.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with a few nascent soul cultivators and they are, if nothing else, territorial. I watched Uncle Kho kill a handful of cultivators for having the nerve to simply <em>step</em> onto his mountain. There are a handful of big sects here and at least a few nascent soul cultivators. Obviously, they can¡¯t be going around killing every cultivator who intrudes on their territory. I suspect the tradeoff is that the nascent soul cultivators agreed not to do anything in someone else¡¯s territory. I¡¯d be willing to bet that guy just stepped <em>all over</em> someone else¡¯s territory throwing around power like that and doing massive damage to buildings. Setting aside how much that¡¯s going to infuriate the mortal government, those areas are almost certainly under the nominal control of a sect. I¡¯m sure you noticed that he didn¡¯t hang around to look for us.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t, did he?¡±


    ¡°I bet he was running home before someone showed up toin with a nascent soul-powered groin kick.¡±


    ¡°So, you think we¡¯re, what, safe to move around?¡±


    ¡°Safe? Not even slightly. Safe from being attacked by a nascent soul cultivator every time we stick our heads up? Yeah, probably.¡±


    Lo Meifeng was nodding along. ¡°It makes sense. People <em>that</em> powerful living in such close proximity would have to have very strict rules about how they behave. Otherwise, this city wouldn¡¯t still be here. If some nascent soul cultivator keeps attacking us everywhere we go, he¡¯s likely to make some equally powerful people very angry, very fast.¡±


    ¡°Plus, I have to imagine that part of the deal the sects made to set up shop in the capital is that the most powerful cultivators would keep each other in line. While it¡¯s probably too much to hope that the sects will do our work for us and just kill him, it¡¯s probably not too much to hope that they¡¯ll keep that guy pinned down hard for the foreseeable future. That little disy isn¡¯t just bad for him, it¡¯s bad for all the sects. They aren¡¯t going to want a lot of repeat performances.¡±


    ¡°So, who do you think he is?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Exactly the same person you think he is. I think he¡¯s the person in charge of the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t take him in a straight fight,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Not unless we can get up close to him, and work together, and I¡¯m not sure we could kill him even then.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t say anything for a while because he wasn¡¯t entirelyfortable with his own line of thinking. In the end, though, he didn¡¯t see a better way.


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend for us to fight him directly. Like you said, it''s really risky and there¡¯s a lousy chance we¡¯d win. What was it you said, something about lists, patience, and poison? Well,¡± said Sen holding up a hand with a storage ring on it, ¡°I¡¯ve got poison. Probably even something that can kill a nascent soul cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Just to be clear, you¡¯re saying that you think we should assassinate him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I¡¯m saying.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯refortable with that solution?¡± asked a clearly dubious Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Gods, no. I¡¯m notfortable with it at all. But he¡¯s not going to stop being a problem for us, even if he can¡¯te at us directly. I don¡¯t feel like spending every minute I¡¯m in this city looking over my shoulder for the next attack. Some problems, you can ignore. Some you can walk away from. Some problems, you just have to deal with or they¡¯ll get worse and worse. I¡¯m pretty sure that this is one of those. I wish there was a better solution, but assassination is the solution at hand.¡±


    Lo Meifeng came over and sat next to Sen. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯ll hold until tomorrow. Tonight, you need to get some sleep and make yourself one of those absurd elixirs of yours.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not absurd.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who told you that lie, because they <em>are</em> absurd. Just like you, they are absolutely, utterly ridiculous.¡±


    Sen thought of about ten things to say but settled on, ¡°I¡¯m not going to win this one, am I?¡±


    ¡°You are not.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 55: What Honor?

    Book 4: Chapter 55: What Honor?


    Two days, several healing elixirs, and a lot of sleepter, Sen felt more like himself again. Shi Ping seemed horrified at even the possibility that a nascent soul cultivator might attack them, while Falling Leaf seemed ready to storm out of the inn to find someone to kill. Sen told them both to just sit tight while he ran an experiment or two. His first stop was to see the prince. He was, not surprisingly, aware of Sen¡¯s recent adventures and not particrly pleased.


    ¡°Do you know how many people died during that little escapade of yours?¡± demanded Prince Jing.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Thirty-seven people. Those are just the ones we know about.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry about that, but I was only involved directly in two of those deaths. Both of those people were cultivators who came to attack us. I <em>wasn¡¯t</em> the one knocking down buildings.¡±


    ¡°I know. That was Tong Guanting.¡±


    ¡°Is that his name? Burly cultivator with a beard.¡±


    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s the head of the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I thought he might be, but I didn¡¯t know for sure.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know!¡± shouted the prince. ¡°Do you routinely get attacked by people you haven¡¯t met?¡±


    Sen thought for a second. ¡°Actually¡­ Yes. It happens with an almost dreary regrity.¡±


    The prince had seemed to be building up to what he probably meant to be an extended screaming or lecture session. That admission on Sen¡¯s part seemed to bring that all to a crashing halt as the prince just stared at him.


    ¡°That really happens to you? Random people just attack you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how random they are, but people I don¡¯t know or haven¡¯t met before do attack me all the time. Some of that just goes with being a cultivator but not all of it. I¡¯ve made some enemies.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± said the prince, rolling his eyes with theatrical ir. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, did you feel that you didn¡¯t have enough of them here? Decided to make a few more?¡±


    ¡°This one isn¡¯t on me. They attacked me first, <em>unprovoked</em>, while I was having a breakthrough in my cultivation. Then, they attacked me again with no provocation. At that point, I told them to get out of the city or I¡¯d do it for them.¡±


    ¡°That seemed like a good idea to you? You didn¡¯t think there might be repercussions?¡±


    ¡°I assumed there would be repercussions. I obviously didn¡¯t expect them to knock down a building and kill a bunch of mortals.¡±


    ¡°So, now that you have their attention, why in the hells did youe <em>here</em>?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m testing a theory. I think Tong Guanting overstepped his bounds the other day. If I¡¯m right, he won¡¯t lift so much as a finger in my direction.¡±


    ¡°What if you¡¯re wrong?¡±


    ¡°Then, he¡¯ll probably kill me the minute I leave this ce. I doubt he¡¯d dare level your home just to get at me. No cultivator wants an all-out war with a mortal army. It¡¯s worse for him because he has an organization.¡±


    ¡°Why does that matter?¡±


    ¡°For someone like me, I can just grab my people and slip away into the night. Sure, an army could chase me, maybe even catch me, but I¡¯d have a lot of advantages. You can¡¯t do that with an organization. Plus, once word got out that the mortal authorities were moving against him, every cultivator with a grudge woulde out to take their vengeance. It¡¯d be a bloodbath.¡±


    ¡°Why did they attack you in the first ce?¡±


    ¡°I assume someone pointed them at me. I only had the one chance to ask, and I was so busy making threats that I forgot about it.¡±


    ¡°You said you were attacked more than once. Why did you only have one chance to ask?¡±


    Sen tilted his head a little to one side as he studied the prince. For a second or two, he thought the royal was mocking him. Then, Sen realized that the prince probably hadn¡¯t done that much of his own fighting over the years.


    ¡°Because everyone else was usually dead by the time it was over.¡±


    It was the prince¡¯s turn to study Sen for a moment. ¡°How many people have you killed since you¡¯ve been here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t count them. I can tell you it¡¯s been more than I wanted to kill when I came here.¡±


    ¡°How many did you <em>want</em> to kill?¡±


    ¡°None. I came here to get that manual, not get into fights to the death or start a feud with a criminal sect. I was hoping to avoid killing anyone while I was here.¡±


    ¡°So, that¡¯s not really something you¡¯re good at?¡± the prince asked.


    ¡°Apparently not. I did have other reasons foring here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t risk the lives of everyone here just to satisfy your curiosity. I think I¡¯d have to be very angry with you if you did something like that.¡±


    ¡°No, if I <em>just</em> wanted to satisfy my curiosity, I¡¯d have found some open-air market and done some shopping. Right out in the open, but also an easy ce to run away from.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t running away dishonorable?¡±


    ¡°Probably. Honor isn¡¯t usually at the top of my list of concerns when peoplee looking to kill me. If I need to run away to find myself an advantage, I¡¯m perfectly willing to do it. Generals do it all the time, except they call it a strategic retreat or a tactical withdrawal. I guess it sounds better than, we ran away and will try againter when the odds favor us more.¡±


    The princeughed a little at that. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard it described quite that way before.¡±


    ¡°My teachers didn¡¯t really believe in pretending one thing was something else.¡±


    ¡°So, you won¡¯t die to preserve your honor?¡±


    ¡°What honor?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t have to worry about reflecting badly on a great house or noble family. One of the privileges of being an unimportant orphan is that I can ignore all of that. I don¡¯t have to stand and fight against impossible odds just because someone will say nasty things about me if I refuse.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not worried you¡¯ll get an inurate reputation?¡±


    ¡°I already have an inurate reputation. If someone wants to publicly announce that I¡¯m a coward or an honorless dog, I¡¯d <em>wee</em> it. Anything that blunts that Judgment¡¯s Gale reputation is a good thing in my mind.¡±


    The prince raised an eyebrow at Sen. ¡°You don¡¯t enjoy being a noble folk hero?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t. It¡¯s asionally useful, but no one can ever really live up to those stories, can they? No one is ever as wise, noble, generous, or kind as the stories would make them out to be. I¡¯m certainly not.¡±


    ¡°Is that what they say about you?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t, but the point stands. People tell those stories because they need or want something to believe in. So, they make their heroes into an ideal. The thing they¡¯d want their hero to be, instead of whatever they actually are.¡±


    ¡°What do people say about you?¡± asked the prince.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t checked in on it recently. Thest time I did, they were talking some kind of nonsense about how the heavens sent me to be some kind of righteous wind that scours away the wicked.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said the prince with a sour expression. ¡°I can see why you wouldn¡¯t enjoy that kind of reputation. It¡¯s almost a foregone conclusion that you¡¯ll fail to live up to it.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Very well. What did youe here to discuss.¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to speak, and then really thought about what he was going to say in context. He shook his head and changed his mind, deciding to start with the second thing.


    ¡°Have you heard anything from or about your sister?¡±


    Prince Jing winced. ¡°I have, and it¡¯s not good news. My father has decreed that her wedding will move forward.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°I guess it was too much to hope that little project would go smoothly. I can¡¯t imagine that Chan Yu Ming took it well.¡±


    ¡°She did not,¡± said the prince with an amused smile. ¡°As I understand it, there was massive water damage to arge portion of the pce. It¡¯s going to cost my father a fortune to have it all repaired in time for the ceremony.¡±


    ¡°I take it your mother declined to help?¡±


    ¡°No. In point of fact, the word is that she made a very strong, very pointed argument in support of Chan Yu Ming marrying literally anyone except someone from the house of Choi. Some of the options she offered as better than a Choi included a goat, a toothless beggar, a piece of driftwood, and a random housent that she pointed at.¡±


    ¡°A housent?¡± snickered Sen.


    The prince nodded. ¡°Yes, by all ounts, she was in fine form that day.¡±


    ¡°And your father didn¡¯t want to hear it?¡±


    The prince shook his head, although Sen read it more as disbelief than anything else.


    ¡°He just told mother that the matter was settled. She was none too pleased by that.¡±


    ¡°So, this is going to be harder than everyone expected,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°It appears that way. Although, honestly, I¡¯m not sure what could change father¡¯s mind at this point. It might be better if Yu Ming were to simply be, let¡¯s say, carried away by a roguish cultivator hero.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not kidnapping your sister, even if I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯d <em>love</em> it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. The point is, I don¡¯t want a mortal army chasing <em>me</em> halfway across the kingdom. When¡¯s the ceremony happening? I need to know how long I¡¯ve got to work with.¡±


    ¡°Six weeks.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll see what I cane up with on my end after I deal with my current crisis and, hopefully, after I get that damn manual.¡±


    ¡°On that subject, I have inquired with the Golden Phoenix sect about the manual. They¡¯re being unusually reticent about it. I assumed they¡¯d simplye back with a list of demands. Instead, it¡¯s like they don¡¯t even want to acknowledge it exists.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°The person we sent to approach them about it has, as near as I can tell, been getting the same treatment. I wonder what the issue is?¡±


    ¡°<em>That</em>, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate you making the effort.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee. So, what was the other thing you wanted to talk about?¡±


    Sen took a deep breath and plunged forward. ¡°I¡¯m nning to kill everyone in the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate and assassinate Tong Guanting.¡±


    At first, the prince just looked bbergasted. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. After a little while, though, Sen saw the spark of amusement in the man¡¯s eyes. Then, theughing started. Sen just nodded. He understood.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°That certainly won¡¯t do <em>anything</em> to reinforce your reputation as a merciless divine wind sent to cleanse away the wicked.¡±


    ¡°The irony isn¡¯t lost on me, your royalness.¡±


    ¡°Your royalness,¡± he wheezed between fits ofughter. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to use that. Yu Ming will hate it.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t tell her you got it from me.¡±

 Unintended Cultivator Vol. 1 Publication and Chapter Takedown

    Unintended Cultivator Vol. 1 Publication and Chapter Takedown


    The official publication date of Unintended Cultivator Vol 1 is almost upon us. So, that sadly means that most of Volume 1 will need toe down off of Royal Road per Amazon exclusivity rules. A stub will remain in ce so people can at least get a look at the first handful of chapters.


    Right now, I''m nning on taking those chapters down on either Sunday the 17th or Monday the 18th barring some other advice from my publisher. It''s been a wild ride here on Royal Road so far and I will continue to publish new chapters of Unintended Cultivator for the foreseeable future. I''m currently about 40,000 words (that''s probably about 35-40%) into Volume 6 with solid ideas to take me out to Volumes 10 or 12, and probably quite a few beyond that. So, I hope you stick around for it.


    You are all awesome, and I appreciate the love and support you''ve shown this little cultivation story!

 Book 4: Chapter 56: Keeping Promises

    Book 4: Chapter 56: Keeping Promises


    Sen considered the wreckage of what had once been a gambling den run by the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate. In the wake of his interrogation of... Sen thought back. He hadn¡¯t bothered to get her name. He reminded himself that he really needed to do a better job of covering the essentials when he was asking people questions. In the wake of that interrogation, the group had done its best to move the operations they could. Unfortunately for them, there were just a limited number of avable spaces, even in a city as big as the capital. Under the protection of his hiding ability, Sen had simply walked into the part of the city controlled by the criminal element and asked a few questions. Everyone there knew where the Syndicate had their businesses. Sen had made a mental list. He¡¯d still visited the spots the Syndicate woman had told him about, but most had been abandoned. There had been traps set at a few of those ces, but traps were hard to spring on someone you couldn¡¯t see or feeling. Sen had just left bodies in those locations.


    As for the rest of the ces he¡¯d visited over thest few days, he¡¯d all but filled his storage rings to capacity with stolen goods, cultivation resources, and money. A <em>lot</em> of money. He¡¯d done his best to return the stolen goods, but it wasn¡¯t always clear where they hade from in the first ce. He kept some of the things he was certain he could use. The things he couldn¡¯t return and had no use for, he left at City Guard stations around the city. It was possible that they¡¯d have better luck than he did at getting those things back to their rightful owners. He¡¯d gone through the cultivation resources with Lo Meifeng. He¡¯d been worried that it might include demonic cultivation materials that he just hadn¡¯t sensed. Most of it was, ording to her, standard fare for formation foundation cultivators and useless for her or him. Sen knew that Falling Leaf didn¡¯t advance the same way they did, but he let her look through them anyway. She¡¯d poked at a few things and promptly announced that she didn¡¯t want any of it. Then, Sen had let Shi Ping go through them.


    ¡°So, what can I have?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    ¡°Take whatever you can use,¡± said Sen waving at the pile on the floor.


    Shi Ping had gone a little bug-eyed at those words. ¡°I can just <em>have</em> whatever I want.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to pay for it?¡±


    ¡°Shi Ping, I don¡¯t know how to say this any more clearly. Take. What. You. Want.¡±


    Sen had half-expected Shi Ping to grab all of it. Instead, the man methodically went through the pills, natural treasures, and a small collection of elixirs. He picked out about ten things and set them aside. Shi Ping seemed to waver over a few more but ultimately decided against them. In the small pile of things that Shi Ping had decided to keep, there was an elixir vial. Sen walked over, picked it up, and used his qi to scan it. Sen could tell that it was designed to help someone break into the core formation stage, but he was appalled at the elixir itself. It had clearly been made using substandard ingredients by an alchemist who had only been half-trained at best. He looked from the bottle to Shi Ping.


    ¡°Why would you use this? It¡¯s garbage.¡±


    Lo Meifeng came over and plucked the vial from Sen¡¯s hand. He felt her qi examine it. She gave him a quizzical look.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± she asked. ¡°This is better than most of the elixirs that people use.¡±


    Sen stared at her in horror.


    ¡°That¡¯s appalling,¡± said Sen before he looked over at Shi Ping. ¡°Do not use that elixir. I¡¯ll make you one that doesn¡¯t look like it was made by a monkey and a child throwing things at a cauldron.¡±


    Shi Ping frowned a little and nced at Lo Meifeng, who was nodding furiously at him.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said and gathered up the rest of the things he¡¯d picked out.


    ¡°And don¡¯t try to break through to core formation here,¡± said Sen. ¡°When you¡¯re ready, tell me. We¡¯ll go outside of the city.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not <em>that</em> irresponsible,¡± said Shi Ping, ring at Sen. ¡°I know there¡¯s a tribtioning my way. I wouldn¡¯t do that in a city.¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯m a little sensitive about mortal bystanders at the moment.¡±


    Shi Ping straightened a little and his expression softened. ¡°That makes sense. I guess it is good to keep safety in mind.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯s high time we found new lodgings. I consider it nothing short of heavenly intercession that this ce hasn¡¯t been burned to the ground, ttened by an earth qi attack, or otherwise destroyed.¡±


    Lo Meifeng sighed but nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. I just like this ce. It¡¯s clean,fortable, and the owners don¡¯t spy on their guests. Thatbination of things is hard toe by.¡±


    Sen gestured at the bed and summoned some of his recently acquired wealth. Bags and bags of taels appeared on the bed. ¡°Then go buy us somewhere to live. That might even be better. I can set up permanent or at least semi-permanent protections in a ce like that. Certainly better than what I can do here.¡±


    Shi Ping and Lo Meifeng stared open-mouthed at the bags.


    ¡°Where did all of thate from?¡± asked Shi Ping in awe.


    ¡°It was a donation from our friendly Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate neighbors.¡±


    ¡°They just let you walk away with all of that?¡± asked Shi Ping.


    ¡°Let?¡± asked Sen. ¡°What makes you think that there was anyone left to object?¡±


    ¡°You know that they¡¯re going toe looking for all of this at some point,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I do. All the more reason to spend a bunch of it on something expensive they can¡¯t just steal back. Also, a good reason for us to relocate sooner rather thanter. We all knew there were risks to bing cultivators, but I don¡¯t want mortals getting stuck in the middle again.¡±


    ¡°I never signed on to fight a nascent soul cultivator,¡± said Shi Ping.


    ¡°Has one been bothering you?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I, well, no.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. I was pretty sure the rest of the nascent soul cultivators in the city were going to back Tong Guanting up hard into a corner, and it seems they have. Don¡¯t get me wrong. If he cany hands on me in his own territory, I¡¯m a dead man. But out in the rest of the city, he¡¯ll have to sendckeys. Lackeys we can deal with if need be.¡±


    ¡°Speak for yourself,¡± said Shi Ping. ¡°You and Lo Meifeng can take care of yourselves just fine because she¡¯s ate-stage core cultivator and you¡¯re some kind of freakish cosmic anomaly. I¡¯m pretty sure that Fa Ling Li can handle most people one-on-one, at least well enough to get away. I¡¯m not like the three of you. If a core cultivatores looking for me, I¡¯m a dead man.¡±


    ¡°Why do you think we told you not to wander off by yourself?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°That¡¯s not really my point,¡± said Shi Ping.


    Sen looked at the pile of cultivation resources that Shi Ping still held in his hands. ¡°Why do you think I let you take all of that? I¡¯m not blind to the fact that you¡¯re the person who¡¯s the least equipped to face our current situation.¡±


    Shi Ping stared down at the resources in his hands. ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee I¡¯ll seed at breaking through. What happens if I try and fail?¡±


    Sen almost said something flippant, but there was genuine fear on Shi Ping¡¯s face. He wasn¡¯t just worried about the threats around them, or about not breaking through, he was terrified. It was a stark change from the man who had said Lo Meifeng couldn¡¯t order him around. It seemed that Tong Guanting¡¯s attack had rattled Shi Ping more than Sen would have credited. So, Sen pushed down the glib remark and really thought it over.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll send you on your way with my blessings.¡±


    ¡°Just like that?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the alternative? If you weren¡¯t on the cusp of breaking through now, I¡¯d have already done it. As an initial core cultivator, you¡¯ll have a fighting chance in most situations. It¡¯s not ideal, but it¡¯s not an obscene level of risk. As you are now, it¡¯s less a question of if than when you¡¯ll get killed. And you¡¯re right, you didn¡¯t sign on for <em>that</em>.¡±


    Seeming deeply relieved that there was an out for him if he utterly failed to break through to core formation, Shi Ping retreated from the room. Lo Meifeng gave Sen a curious look.


    ¡°Why not just send him away now?¡±


    ¡°Because he¡¯s made actual progress. If I let him go now, I expect he¡¯d be right back where he started in six months. That¡¯s a lot of <em>my</em> time, energy, and training wasted. But I¡¯m not going to make him stay just to die. Especially if things y out the way I¡¯m starting to think that they will.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s just a suspicion right now. There¡¯s no point in spreading it around until I¡¯m more sure about it.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s next on your agenda?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s another gambling den I¡¯m going to wreck.¡±


    The Syndicate had tightened up their security a lot since Sen began his one-man war of annihtion against them, but he¡¯d been expecting that. He¡¯d started by eliminating the people set to watch, the hidden ones, and then moved on to the ones who were theoretically guarding the ce out in the open. All it had taken to clear out the customers was him dragging two corpses through the door and throwing them onto nearby tables. The staff were either more afraid of their boss or more confident than they should have been in their skills. Not that Sen hade out of the fight unscathed. He was sporting a deep gash in his side, several burns, and more superficial cuts than he could count. Still, they were all dead, and he wasn¡¯t. That was the part that counted. He used his wind qi to gather up all of the loose money and direct it into his storage rings, stripped the staff of any valuables, and then took a moment to let his wind qi explore the building.


    The discovery that these businesses were using empty walls and hidden spaces to store their money had been the real turning point for Sen. Not that he cared that much about the money, but he did care about hurting the Syndicate. He dashed through the building, scooping up the hidden riches, and anything else of value he saw. He didn¡¯t waste time going through everything, though. Nascent soul cultivators could move very fast. So, he grabbed what he could. Then, he slipped out of the back and into the shadows. He moved away as fast as stealth would allow, but he didn¡¯t go too far. He saw what he expected to see a couple of minutester. A burly, bearded figure dropped out of the sky almost into what was left of the gambling den. The man stormed inside. There was a moment of silence, and then bellows of rage as the man destroyed the building with nothing but brute strength. Satisfied that he¡¯d aplished his goal, Sen slipped away into the night.

 Book 4: Chapter 57: Nothing But Bad Choices

    Book 4: Chapter 57: Nothing But Bad Choices


    Tong Guanting hadn¡¯t felt this kind of rage in centuries. It was one thing to, however unwillingly, ept the demands put on him by other nascent soul cultivators. That was a matter of mutual survival if nothing else. He had seen nascent soul cultivators battle once, nearly a thousand years before. It had leveled a kingdom. Not a city but an <em>entire</em> kingdom. That event had left an indelible mark on his soul and guided his actions. He was aware of just how dangerous it was for nascent soul cultivators to lose control. Not that he particrly cared if a bunch of mortals died, but too much death was bad for business. And if Tong Guanting loved one thing in the world, it was money. He was also aware that money wasrgely meaningless for someone like him. He didn¡¯t need it to buy food or shelter. He doubted there was an environment anywhere in the world that could actually kill him. He only ate food because he wanted to. What few cultivation resources that existed for someone at his stage couldn¡¯t <em>be</em> bought. Even so, he still loved money. He loved the way it looked. He loved the heft of it in his hands when he scooped up golden taels. He loved that it <em>could</em> buy him anything he wanted if he decided that he wanted something.


    Somehow, that damnable boy had figured that out and seemingly made it his purpose to steal everyst tael that Tong Guanting had worked so hard to get. He wasn¡¯t hypocrite enough to say earned. He didn¡¯t earn money. Earning money was for peasants, not cultivators. What was even worse was that the kid was <em>good</em> at it. He¡¯d been systematically killing all of Tong Guanting¡¯s employees, stealing everything that was worth more than a copper tael, and vanishing. No, that wasn¡¯t the right word for it. He¡¯d have to be able to be sensed to vanish. It was like that kid was made of smoke. He came and went and <em>no one</em> felt him. The very worst part was that the boy was doing it in Tong Guanting¡¯s own territory. Not that he could act against the kid even there. The other nascent soul cultivators in the city had told him, in no uncertain terms, that they weren¡¯t going to let him kill someone who was barely into core formation in a fit of pique.


    He''d known when he tried to kill the kid out in the open that would probably happen. It had been a calcted risk and, like it or not, sometimes they didn¡¯t pay off. He¡¯d run enough gambling dens in his time to understand that sometimes the other people won, even if you thought you had the game fixed. Of course, when the other powerhouses in the cityid down that decree, Tong Guanting had never imagined the river of money that the kid was going to siphon away, to say nothing of the small mountain of corpses he was leaving in his wake. That name, the one that had sounded so ridiculous at first, didn¡¯t sound ridiculous to Tong Guanting anymore. He felt like he¡¯d pped a giant, and the giant was pping him back¡­much, much harder. If he¡¯d had any inkling of the trouble he¡¯d be bringing down on his own head when he originally agreed to kill that kid, he¡¯d have never taken the job in the first ce. With everything the kid was doing, he¡¯d gone back to the other nascent soul cultivators toin about the restriction. It was not going the way he expected.


    Feng Baiughed. ¡°You want us to let you turn your power against that boy because he¡¯s costing you money?¡±


    Tong Guanting red at the patriarch of the Steel Gryphon sect. ¡°It¡¯s not a joke. He¡¯s bleeding me dry. He''s killing my people by the score.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s one man,¡± said a sweet voice.


    Tong Guanting turned his eyes on Lai Dongmei, hot words ready to spill from his lips, only for those words to catch in his throat. He had to look away from her almost immediately. Lai Dongmei, the matriarch of the Golden Phoenix sect, was so beautiful that it was physically painful for most people to spend more than a moment looking at her. It was unnatural to such a degree that even nascent soul minds rebelled at the very sight of it. Tong Guanting had often thought that she must have been heartrendingly beautiful even before she was a cultivator for what she became to be the end result. He expected that she was as close as he was ever going to get to looking at a goddess.


    Lai Dongmei continued, ¡°He¡¯s a lone core cultivator, and barely that, against your <em>entire</em> organization. If he¡¯s such a threat, send peak core cultivators after him.¡±


    ¡°I did!¡±


    ¡°And?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He hung them up on a wall like they were art.¡±


    ¡°In that case,¡± mused Lai Dongmei, with a cruel edge in her voice, ¡°perhaps you shouldn¡¯t have chosen a fight with someone you didn¡¯t understand. Do you think a man gets a name like Judgment¡¯s Gale because of his forgiving nature? As I understand it, he did give you a choice.¡±


    ¡°A choice? He told me to leave the city <em>or else</em>. I¡¯m not going to let some core cultivator order me around.¡±


    A slender, elegant man lifted a hand. Tong Guanting grudgingly turned to face the man. He hated Jin Bohai almost as much as he hated the boy. Jin Bohai had made his feelings about Tong Guanting perfectly clear several centuries earlier. The slender man had stated outright that the only reason he didn¡¯t simply kill Tong Guanting was because Jin Bohai considered it beneath him.


    ¡°And <em>we¡¯re </em>not going to let you take petty vengeance on a man more than a full stage below your cultivation because you were <em>stupid</em>. You¡¯ve made half a dozen attempts on his life already. At this point, as far as I¡¯m concerned, this is a disaster of your own making.¡±


    ¡°Then I intend to go and clean it up, personally.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Lai Dongmei. ¡°We have been abundantly clear on this matter.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll destroy everything I built.¡±


    Tong Guanting couldn¡¯t see it, but he could feel the smile on her face when she spoke.


    ¡°Yes, and won¡¯t <em>that</em> be such a pity.¡±


    ¡°You intend for the boy to do what you cannot or would not,¡± snarled Tong Guanting.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Lai Dongmei. ¡°You are a cancer on the body of this city. If the boy can cut you out, all the better.¡±


    ¡°Besides,¡± said Feng Bai, ¡°even if we¡¯d allow it, you pathetic piece of trash, you can barely handle the student. You are in no way prepared to handle the storm of his masters. And they <em>would</em>e.¡±


    For the first time in weeks, something other than rage filled Tong Guanting. ¡°You mean, those stories are true?¡±


    Feng Bai nodded. ¡°They are. Do you think you¡¯re ready to face down the wrath of my brother, the Living Spear, and Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden?¡±


    It galled him to let the word slip between his lips, but he did it anyway. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± said Jin Bohai, ¡°sense has not abandoned you entirely. You have three choices. You can continue hurling your men against this Judgement¡¯s Gale until he has killed them all. An eventuality that seems increasingly likely regardless of your choices. You can try to act against the boy directly, in which case we will stop you. Rather, they will stop you. I¡¯ll simply kill you. Or, you can do as the boy demanded and run away with what¡¯s left of your people. Personally, I hope you try to attack him again yourself.¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯m to have nothing but bad choices?¡±


    ¡°You speak as though you are due something more,¡± said Lai Dongmei. ¡°You seek mortal riches above all other things. You built an organization that brings nothing but suffering to others. You are barely better than a demonic cultivator. I find it utterly mysterious how you ever managed to break into the nascent soul stage in the first ce without bing a demonic cultivator. Yet, it is that single bit of difference that has preserved your life and nothing more. You should take your life and be <em>grateful</em>.¡±


    The ocean of loathing and contempt that Lai Dongmei poured into those words made Tong Guanting flinch. He knew better than to expect respect from these three. They had no more use for him than they did for a roach. They tolerated him, barely, only out of some vague acknowledgment of his cultivation stage. If they could be rid of him, though, they¡¯d be happy to see it. If they could set the stage for someone else to destroy him, they were perfectly happy to do so. And even if they weren¡¯t an immediate threat and deterrent to his desire to destroy the boy, the threat posed by the likes of Fate¡¯s Razor, the Living Spear, and Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden was all but incalcble. He could run from them, but not forever. Still, if the boy died by someone else¡¯s hand, or as part of a robbery gone wrong, that might be enough wiggle room to get everything that Tong Guanting wanted.


    Before that, though, he needed to pay someone a visit and thank them for setting this catastrophe in motion in the first ce. He couldn¡¯t simply obliterate their holdings with a massive qi technique. The other people in the room with him would stop that. Still, he didn¡¯t see any reason why he couldn¡¯t just take a sword and kill everyone in their bloodline the old-fashioned way. He might not get them all before Feng Bai, Lai Dongmei, and Jin Bohai intervened, but he was pretty sure he could get most of them. Yes, it had been far too long since he exacted terrible retribution on someone. If he couldn¡¯t get at Lu Sen, he could get at those who put Lu Sen in his path.

 Book 4: Chapter 58: Necessary, Difficult Things

    Book 4: Chapter 58: Necessary, Difficult Things


    ¡°Did you do something?¡± demanded the prince.


    Sen squinted at the man. The prince was agitated, frightened, and gesturing wildly. Sen had never seen the man like that before. What he couldn¡¯t understand was what could have possibly left the usually calm and collected man in such a state. Nor could he understand why the prince thought that Sen had done whatever it was. Sen had certainly done plenty in recent weeks, but nothing he hadn¡¯t explicitly told the prince he nned to do.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Sen ventured. ¡°Maybe. I think it kind of depends.¡±


    ¡°Did you kill them?¡±


    Sen frowned. That was a very vague question considering what Sen had been up to.


    ¡°Yes? Maybe? It depends. Who are we talking about?¡±


    ¡°The house of Choi,¡± said the prince, his gaze trying to bore a hole through Sen¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen, rxing. ¡°Then, no. I mean, I might have gotten around to them <em>eventually</em> if there wasn¡¯t some other fix for Chan Yu Ming. But I¡¯ve been focused on the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate.¡±


    ¡°It really wasn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I honestly had nothing to do with <em>that</em>. I assume it was a massacre, or I doubt I¡¯d be here answering questions.¡±


    The prince pressed two fingers to his left temple and began rubbing it in a circr motion. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if the man was thinking or trying to encourage a headache to go away.


    ¡°Yes, it was a massacre if an iplete one. One man walked into theirpound, drew a sword, and killed his way through most of their family. Sound familiar?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Yeah, that sounds like some of the things I¡¯ve done recently. Still, not me.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± asked Sen in genuine curiosity.


    ¡°Because you have no incentive to lie to me. If you did it, there isn¡¯t anything we can do to you. We can¡¯t even keep you in the city against your will without involving the sects, and I get the impression that they aren¡¯t inclined to bother you at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because most of them have said that they aren¡¯t inclined to bother you at the moment.¡±


    Senughed. ¡°You actually asked?¡±


    The prince gave Sen a cool look. ¡°You¡¯re an extraordinarily dangerous and powerful man. If I¡¯d been wrong about you, and you turned out to simply be a wanton killer, I wanted a contingency in ce.¡±


    Sen wanted to feel offended, but he couldn¡¯t quite dredge up the emotional energy for it. In the prince¡¯s ce, Sen would probably have wanted some kind of backup n to deal with a powerful, crazy cultivator. He nodded.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s fair. Since it wasn¡¯t me, do we have any idea who¡­,¡± Sen trailed off. ¡°Was it Tong Guanting?¡±


    The prince sighed. ¡°We don¡¯t know for sure. The handful of people who survived the attack weren¡¯t really in a state to give a coherent ount of events. The descriptions we got of the attacker could have been him, or you, or my mother, or a flying cart. Since it was just one person and the number of deaths was, let¡¯s say, excessive, I¡¯m tentatively concluding it was a powerful cultivator. The sects don¡¯t go in for killing local nobility for obvious reasons. That limits the pool of candidates.¡±


    ¡°And, since it wasn¡¯t me, that doesn¡¯t leave a lot of options. Still, who other than me has a reason to go after the Choi?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what makes the timing suspicious. You¡¯ve been putting a great deal of pressure on Tong Guanting¡¯s organization. With you ripping apart his organization at the seams, we know he wants to kill you. Although, it seems you¡¯ve found a fix for that problem.¡±


    ¡°Not me, although someone has clearly intervened to keep him from just wiping me off the face of the world. I¡¯ll have to send them a gift of some kind.¡±


    ¡°My guess is that the Choi were the ones who aimed him at you in the first ce. If he¡¯s a bitter man, he may well have decided to me them for his current situation and took action.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°It sounds usible. He¡¯s certainly angry enough to make those kinds of rash choices. I don¡¯t suppose he did us all a favor and killed Choi Zhi Peng, did he?¡±


    The prince grimaced. ¡°He didn¡¯t. Choi Zhi Peng wasn¡¯t there when the attack happened.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? That lucky bastard,¡± muttered Sen. ¡°What in the hells was he doing while his family was getting ughtered?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure, although I can make some educated guesses. All of them are¡­off-putting.¡±


    ¡°Sounds about right, at least if what Chan Yu Ming told me is true.¡±


    The prince gave Sen an odd look. ¡°You always refer to her so formally. If you¡¯re going to try and sell yourself as a rival suitor, you¡¯re going to need to break yourself of that.¡±


    ¡°Chalk it up to the fact that I don¡¯t really know her that well. Besides, with the house of Choi in shambles, I have to assume the wedding is off.¡±


    The prince closed his eyes and leaned his head back. ¡°It isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± demanded Sen.


    ¡°Father is adamant that the wedding move forward.¡±


    ¡°Why? It was one thing when the house of Choi was strong and powerful. Now, though, won¡¯t the other houses just swoop in and take all of their holdings?¡±


    ¡°That seems the most likely scenario. As for why? I don¡¯t know, and father refuses to disclose his thoughts on the matter,¡± said the prince, lifting a hand to stop Sen¡¯s next words. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s suspicious.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more than just suspicious. It sounds like your father is trying to buy them off with Chan Yu Ming.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°And what do you n to do about it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Without understanding what¡¯s driving father¡¯s decision, I can¡¯t make an appropriate n.¡±


    Sen gave the prince a narrow-eyed look and then stood. He offered the prince a bow. ¡°Thank you for your teachings, Prince Zhang Jing. They were very enlightening, but I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s necessary for me to take up any more of your time.¡±


    Sen turned and walked toward the door. The prince called out after him.


    ¡°I failed your test, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Sen paused with his hand on the handle of the door. ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±


    ¡°The Diviner warned me. He told me that you had no use for nobles. That you think we¡¯re all selfish and stupid.¡±


    When Sen said nothing, the prince carried on.


    ¡°You¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m one of those, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    Sen considered it for a moment. ¡°Are you still breathing?¡±


    ¡°What? Of course, I¡¯m still breathing. Why?¡±


    ¡°Because that¡¯s how you know that I haven¡¯t decided that you¡¯re one of those.¡±


    ¡°But you did decide something?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°May I ask what you decided?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t look back when he answered. ¡°No.¡±


    Then, he left the prince¡¯s home.


    ***


    Despite what the prince clearly thought, Sen wasn¡¯t angry with him. He¡¯d just realized something that he thought the prince was choosing to overlook. Sen coulde and go from this situation with the royal family as he saw fit. The prince couldn¡¯t. For Jing, that situation was permanent, and he needed to operate within its established rules. His association with Sen was, more likely than not, the kind of thing that would <em>harm</em> him more than help him. Especially with the things that Sen expected he was going to have to do next. By walking away in a fashion that convinced the prince that Sen was done with him, it offered the royal a kind of instion. No one would call the prince to ount for the things that Sen did if that rtionship was fractured.


    It had stung more than Sen had expected. He genuinely liked the prince, seeing in him the flicker of possibility of what nobles could be but so rarely were. Feigning that he¡¯d found the prince wanting in some way had been trying, but he¡¯d done hard things before. He was quite certain he would have to do them again. He couldn¡¯t skip the necessary things just because they were difficult or painful. He hoped that he¡¯d get the opportunity to exin the situationter, but he knew better than most that the world often got in the way of what people wanted. Still, better by far to leave the prince with the wrong impression and a level of protection, than leave him an obvious target of retribution for those who couldn¡¯t get at Sen.


    What Sen found at least a little bit amusing was the idea that Tong Guanting hadrgely solved a problem <em>for</em> him. Oh, the man certainly hadn¡¯t intended to help Sen. Odds were good that he was justshing out at whoever he could reasonably get his hands on. Still, he had, however obliquely, done Sen a service. With so much of the house of Choi dead, he suspected that it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to solve Chan Yu Ming¡¯s problem permanently. Lo Meifeng had been getting more and more restless recently, forbidden as she was to apany him on his excursions into the criminal part of the city. It wasn¡¯t that he doubted her skills or her usefulness. He''d have been happy to take her along, but he couldn¡¯t realistically hide her and him the way he¡¯d need to that deep into Tong Guanting¡¯s territory. Something like this, though, was something she¡¯d probably find interesting. He¡¯d have to bring it up with her and see what she thought.


    Even as he was thinking all of that, Sen had summoned a spear to his hand. He¡¯d felt the group of cultivators approaching him in a clump and, by the time they came into sight, lightning was already crackling around the head of the spear. The entire group came to a dead stop when they saw the spear leveled at them. Sen had schooled his expression into an emotionless mask. A few weeks ago, these same cultivators might have sneered or called out taunts. They were, after all, all of a higher cultivation level than Sen. Yet, everyst man and woman paled at the sight of him standing there, clearly prepared to fight with them. It wasn¡¯t an idle threat, either. He had cut, stabbed, burned, crushed, and eviscerated his way through people just as strong as them and under much worse conditions. The apparent leader of the group waved a hand at the rest, who all backed off. Then, he stepped forward and offered Sen a bow.


    ¡°I am Chin Hao-Yu of the Golden Phoenix sect.¡±


    When Sen didn¡¯t so much as twitch, the man seemed perplexed about what to do next.


    ¡°Are you the one they call Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡±


    Sen provided only the most infinitesimal nod.


    ¡°The matriarch of our sect wishes to speak with you regarding the request you submitted to us.¡±


    ¡°I have an agent for these matters. Speak with him.¡±


    Chin Hao-Yu got an affronted look. ¡°It is a great honor to be invited to speak with the matriarch.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but that assumes that you are who you say are. I don¡¯t trust you. I don¡¯t trust anyone who shows up <em>in force</em> to deliver a message. It rather suggests that you mean to take me somewhere regardless of what I say.¡±


    Chin Hao-Yu¡¯s face darkened. ¡°You dare question the honor of the Golden Phoenix sect?¡±


    Sen felt torn between utter weariness and the urge tough. ¡°In my experience, those words are almost immediately followed by someone doing something incredibly dishonorable.¡±


    Sen had the feeling that the situation was about to devolve into violence when he felt the presence of a nascent soul cultivator approaching. He let his killing intent fill the spearhead until the lightning turned void ck and gave off the hazy purple afterglow he¡¯de to associate with Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. He didn¡¯t know if it would do anything to a nascent soul cultivator, but he wasn¡¯t about to let any nascent soul cultivator get that close to him without at least preparing. The group of cultivators were all staring at his spear with looks of such deep fear that Sen felt like he might as well have summoned a devil up from the hells. Chin Hao-Yu even took a stumbling step backward. When the nascent soul cultivator descended on them, the group of Golden Phoenix sect cultivators dropped to their knees. Sen nced around and realized that all of the mortals had simply fled. Sen gawked for a moment as the single most beautiful person he¡¯d ever seennded on the street between him and the other cultivators. She gave his spear a spective look, which gave Sen enough time to regain his mental equilibrium.


    ¡°I am Lai Dongmei, matriarch of the Golden Phoenix sect,¡± she said, giving Sen a small smile.


    Sen considered the situation objectively. While he might have stood a chance against the core cultivators, he didn¡¯t stand a chance against them and the nascent soul cultivator. With nothing better on offer, he just offered the woman a smile in return.


    ¡°Hello,¡± said Sen, giving the sky a curious look. ¡°The weather in the capital is very strange.¡±


    The woman seemed taken aback by his words. ¡°How so?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t normally rain beautiful women with sad smiles where Ie from.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 59: What Makes You Think I’m Playing

    Book 4: Chapter 59: What Makes You Think I¡¯m ying


    It took everyst bit of Sen¡¯s considerable self-control not to burst intoughter at what followed those words. Everyst one of the cultivators who had originally approached Sen was staring at him with expressions that ranged from simply aghast to, in the case of the leader, furious and aghast. It was like they couldn¡¯tprehend how he had dared to utter such words to their honored matriarch. As for the matriarch herself, her mouth moved soundlessly once or twice before she seemed to remember herself. She turned and gave the kneeling cultivators a look of mock surprise. She waved a negligent hand in their direction.


    ¡°Leave us,¡± she ordered.


    Their looks of shock, horror, and anger almost instantly converted into ones of surprise and, in the case of the leader, hurt. <em>Oh</em>, <em>so that¡¯s how it is</em>, thought Sen. <em>I wonder how long he¡¯s been carrying around that doomed and unrequited love</em>? Yet, none of the cultivators dared to defy their matriarch. They rose and started to shuffle away, although most of them took the time to shoot dirty looks his way. Chin Hao-Yu looked like he was ready to rush over and stab Sen in the eye. Sen didn¡¯t bother looking at them. He simply looked <em>through</em> them, as though they had ceased to exist the second that Lai Dongmei dismissed them. For all practical purposes, they had. While they were taking their time in leaving, Sen let his killing intent and lightning qi drain out of the spear before he stored it. Once Lai Dongmei seemed satisfied that her minions were out of earshot, she turned an amused look on Sen.


    ¡°Were you trying to put me off bnce?¡± she asked.


    Sen cocked his head to one side for a moment before he casually walked closer to the woman. Once he was close enough that both of them could theoretically do something drastic to the other, he gave her a half-smile.


    ¡°Would you like me to put you off bnce? I could always catch you if you fall.¡±


    There was another moment where she looked like she didn¡¯t quite know what to do before she finally spoke in an almost disbelieving tone, ¡°Are you flirting with me?¡±


    Sen sped his hands behind his back and took another step toward the woman. He gazed into her dark eyes for a long moment.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said in a low voice. ¡°Would you like me to stop?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the <em>matriarch</em> of a sect,¡± she said.


    ¡°So you are. Fortunately for me, it¡¯s not my sect. That leaves me free to simply <em>appreciate</em> you. After all, how often does a man have the opportunity to stand in the presence of perfection?¡±


    If Sen hadn¡¯t been standing so close to her, even he might not have spotted it, but a faint blush appeared on Lai Dongmei¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that I might strike you dead for daring to speak to me this way?¡±


    Sen let a thoughtful expression settle over his features before he shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not worried.¡±


    Lai Dongmei lifted an eyebrow at him. ¡°And what makes you so confident?¡±


    Sen leaned in a little and Lai Dongmei did the same. Sen let his voice drop to nearly a whisper.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me to stop.¡±


    ¡°No. I didn¡¯t,¡± she admitted with a small smile.


    ¡°It must be terribly lonely. Always the matriarch. Always the nascent soul cultivator. Always the impossible ideal in someone¡¯s eyes. How long has it been since someone looked at you and just saw¡­you?¡±


    There was a look on the woman¡¯s face that Sen couldn¡¯t entirely understand, but he recognized parts of it. There was need there. There was also a hunger.


    ¡°A very long time,¡± she said, before lifting a finger and trailing a fingertip along Sen¡¯s jaw. ¡°A loneliness of which I expect you have some small understanding.¡±


    ¡°A little. People who spend enough time with me get used to it, <em>eventually</em>. I doubt the same is true for you. Of course, I¡¯m spared the burden of position.¡±


    The matriarch walked a slow circle around Sen. ¡°Are you, though? I am merely a matriarch, while you, well, you¡¯re a <em>story</em>. A folk hero. Almost a legend in your own right. What burdens does that carry?¡±


    Sen smiled at her. ¡°More than I¡¯d like. Are you trying to put me off bnce?¡±


    ¡°No. Although, I have the sneaking suspicion that very few things can put you off bnce. I¡¯d just like to understand the man who means to seduce me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t imagine that will pose much of a challenge. I¡¯m a simple creature.¡±


    The matriarchughed. ¡°Oh, I know that¡¯s not true. You¡¯re a series of masks, all of them interesting. With that fool Tong Guanting, you¡¯re the ruthless killer and thief. With those you don¡¯t trust, you¡¯re cold and imperious. With the prince, you¡¯re approachable and friendly. With me, you y at seduction.¡±


    Sen let his eyes trail the length of Lai Dongmei¡¯s body before he met her gaze. He let some of his very real desire for her show through, not on his face, just in his eyes.


    ¡°What makes you think I¡¯m <em>ying</em> at seduction?¡±


    Lai Dongmei froze in ce. Sen couldn¡¯t describe exactly what the difference was, but it felt as though that look from him had stripped away some kind of pretense from their interaction. The faint blush that had appeared on the woman¡¯s cheeks came back and much more visibly.


    ¡°If we¡¯re to continue this conversation,¡± said Lai Dongmei, ¡°I think it should probably be somewhere more private.¡±


    ¡°Somewhere with a door,¡± Sen offered helpfully.


    ¡°Somewhere with a <em>bed</em>,¡± countered Lai Dongmei.


    ¡°I suddenly find myself with no pressing engagements,¡± said Sen. ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    ***


    Three dayster, as Seny in Lai Dongmei¡¯s bed, the woman herself sprawled on top of him, he realized that he was probably going to get an earful from just about everyone. He considered that prospect for a moment and decided that it waspletely worth it. Lai Dongmei made an inarticte noise of quiet rage when someone with a death wish knocked on her door. She didn¡¯t actually scream <em>go away</em> at the person, but that feeling radiated off of her in almost tangible waves. Sighing, she rolled off of Sen, rose, put on a robe, and answered the door.


    ¡°What?¡± she demanded of whoever was out there.


    The tone she used was hard enough that it could have shattered steel. So, Sen wasn¡¯t surprised when he heard a hasty bevy of words issued in an extremely nervous voice. Then, Lai Dongmei nodded and promptly mmed the door in the person¡¯s face.


    ¡°Is the real world intruding?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°It is,¡± she said before turning around and looking at him.


    Sen expected that she¡¯d tell him that some sect crisis or another was demanding her attention. Instead, she just stared at him for a long moment. Then, she took her robe back off and climbed on top of him again.


    ¡°It¡¯ll wait until tomorrow,¡± she said in the voice of someone who had just decided something very, very firmly.


    ***


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there something you wanted to talk about?¡± Sen asked. ¡°I mean, before all of this.¡±


    While he waited for an answer, he lowered his mouth and ate one of the berries that Lai Dongmei had put out on her smooth, taut stomach. She shivered as he did, and then sighed discontentedly.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s about that manual you want so badly.¡±


    Sen ran a finger along her inner thigh, causing more shivers. ¡°You don¡¯t have it.¡±


    Lai Dongmei sat straight up, sending the berries in every direction. ¡°You knew?¡±


    Sen gently pushed her back down onto the bed and began cing the berries back on her stomach. ¡°I suspected. It was one thing when your people were giving the person <em>I</em> sent the runaround. When the <em>prince¡¯s</em> people were getting the same treatment, I figured that there had to be a prettypelling reason for it. You could have extracted a lot of advantages by giving him the manual. The simplest answer was that you didn¡¯t have it to give.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I would have given it to you or to the prince. Well, maybe not give. I¡¯d have charged either of you outrageously for it.¡±


    Sen nodded. He¡¯d been slowly learning how sects handled things like selling cultivation resources. With rare cultivation manuals, outrageous pricing was the norm, regardless of how bad a reputation the actual techniques in the manual had. He¡¯d been prepared to pay just about any price they asked for it and pay it dly. After all, it was mostly going to be Tong Guanting¡¯s money and resources funding the purchase.


    ¡°Did you ever have it?¡±


    ¡°Not since I assumed the role of matriarch. We supposedly had a copy at some point, but it was gifted or stolen. The records are hazy about it. Intentionally, I suspect.¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t hold back his sigh. He¡¯d suspected something like this wasing, but it was still a disappointment. He wasn¡¯t looking forward to tracking down Fu Run, the probably crazy nascent soul cultivator. He ate another berry off of Lai Dongmei and let the happy little noises she made distract him. If the manual wasn¡¯t in the capital, it wasn¡¯t in the capital. Being frustrated about it wouldn¡¯t help matters. He¡¯d just have to settle his business in the city and be on his way.


    ¡°Is there something else you want? Something we might actually have?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s less that I <em>want</em> the manual, than that I <em>need</em> the manual. I was nudged onto that body cultivation path by a smug turtle that I¡¯m starting to think wants me dead.¡±


    ¡°You met Elder Bo?¡± asked Lai Dongmei.


    ¡°Does everyone know that stupid turtle?¡±


    Lai Dongmeiughed. ¡°Only if they¡¯re nascent soul cultivators. Most of us have had at least one encounter with him.¡±


    ¡°And no one decided to make him into soup? I¡¯m surprised.¡±


    ¡°I wonder why he pushed you onto a body cultivation path that would be so difficult toplete,¡± mused Lai Dongmei as she picked up one of the berries and popped it into her mouth.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. If I¡¯d realized what a monumental pain the ass it was going to be, I might have asked a few more questions. Although, the tribtion was a pretty big distraction.¡±


    ¡°I imagine so. They just get worse and worse as you go along. I¡¯ve been putting off advancing again for a long time because of that.¡±


    Sen was about to ask her more about tribtions, but someone knocked on the door. That time, Lai Dongmei was less restrained.


    ¡°Go away!¡± she yelled, before grabbing a pillow and hurling it at the door.


    In the hands of a mortal, a pillow was a fairly safe object. In the hands of a furious nascent soul cultivator, it hit the door hard enough to send a crack right down the middle. There was a terrified yelp from the other side of the door and the sound of someone running away. Sen tried not tough and <em>almost</em> seeded.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to go back out there at some point,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I know,¡± she said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean I have to be in a hurry for it. I don¡¯t get to be Dongmei very often. Once I go back out there, I have to be the matriarch again. It¡¯s tedious.¡±


    ¡°Then, leave.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll just up and quit being the matriarch of the Golden Phoenix sect. Nobody does that.¡±


    ¡°Why? You¡¯re a nascent soul cultivator. You can do whatever you want. It¡¯s not like anyone can <em>make</em> you stay.¡±


    ***


    The next morning, after a ridiculously long and vigorous bath he¡¯d shared with Lai Dongmei, Sen was getting dressed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little depressing watching you put your clothes back on,¡± the woman observed from across the room. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose I can¡¯t tempt you to stay.¡±


    Sen shamelessly stared at the still-naked Lai Dongmei and smiled. ¡°You know you can. But I¡¯m pretty sure that your sect thinks I¡¯m holding you hostage in here. I keep waiting for them to break down the door to rescue you from that worthless peasant of a wandering cultivator.¡±


    Lai Dongmei snorted and started getting dressed. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t dare. So, what¡¯s next for you?¡±


    ¡°I still have one or two things to take care of here before I go looking for that manual. I¡¯m not quite done with Tong Guanting, yet. And there¡¯s that nonsense with the royal family.¡±


    ¡°Yes, the wedding. The word is that you¡¯re her true love and will disrupt the proceedings somehow. Won¡¯t all of <em>this</em>plicate that?¡±


    ¡°It might, except everyone knows that it¡¯s all made up. In the end, I¡¯ll just kill Choi Zhi Peng if he¡¯s too much trouble.¡±


    Lai Dongmei gave him a troubled look. ¡°It might be made up for you, but it may not be as made up for Chan Yu Ming. She may be more invested in the idea than you are.¡±


    Sen nodded in acknowledgment of the point. ¡°Maybe, but my agreement with her was to get her out of the wedding. Beyond that, she knows my priorities.¡±


    ¡°What about Tong Guanting? You¡¯ve practically bankrupted him. You¡¯ve killed most of his people. What¡¯s left?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to murder that man.¡±


    A very profound silence settled over the room. Sen nced over to see Lai Dongmei staring at him.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re absurdly powerful for your advancement, Sen, but you can¡¯t beat him in a fight.¡±


    ¡°Who said anything about fighting? I said murder. I don¡¯t need to put a sword in his eye to kill him. There are <em>other</em> ways.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re serious? You really think you have a method that will kill him.¡±


    ¡°I <em>know</em> I do.¡±


    Lai Dongmei considered those words for a moment before she nodded. ¡°Once you wrap up your murdering and wedding disruption, you shoulde back here. I thought of some other things we should try.¡±


    ¡°Well, how can I turn down an offer like that?¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 60: Actions and Consequences

    Book 4: Chapter 60: Actions and Consequences


    Sen made sure that he kept a neutral expression as he walked through the Golden Phoenix sectpound. He didn¡¯t imagine for one minute that <em>anyone</em> in the ce was ignorant of how he¡¯d spent his time there. Still, he thought sauntering around was bad form. Plus, it seemed likely to trigger an act of violence from at least one of the dozens of angry, heartbroken men and women who red at him as the matriarch of their sect escorted him to the gate. While Sen was working hard to not offend people he¡¯d rather not fight, the matriarch looked positively smug about the whole thing. When Sen had asked about it in a hushed tone, she¡¯d just smiled at him.


    ¡°What are they going to do about it? As you said, I¡¯m a nascent soul cultivator. They can¡¯t <em>make</em> me do anything. All they can do is talk about me, and that will only happen once.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine for you, but they might attack me in a murderous rage.¡±


    She let out a lightugh. ¡°No. They¡¯ll think about it. A few of them will fantasize about it, but none of them will actually do it.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because none of them want to find out what I <em>might</em> do about it. Not everyone is as cavalier as you are about nascent soul cultivators.¡±


    Sen nodded. She probably had a point. Not that he was actually cavalier about them. After all, Sen worked very hard to not get seen anytime he invaded the territory of the of one who wanted him dead. He doubted he¡¯d be in any more of a rush to tempt the anger of someone who was the absolute final authority in his own organization if he was part of one at any rate.


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± he agreed.


    ¡°Then why do you look nervous.¡±


    ¡°I just know what¡¯s waiting for me. There¡¯s going to be yelling. I might get hit a few dozen times by my friend.¡±


    ¡°Not much of a friend.¡±


    ¡°She truly is,¡± said Sen. ¡°She¡¯s just very protective about my general health and well-being, and I¡¯ve been going off and doing dangerous things by myself a lottely. She wasn¡¯t happy <em>before</em> I disappeared for the five days.¡±


    ¡°A lover?¡± asked Lai Dongmei in a <em>too-casual</em> tone.


    ¡°Would it matter if she were?¡± Sen asked, just as casually.


    The matriarch¡¯s expression soured briefly before she huffed a little sigh. ¡°No. I don¡¯t suppose it would matter if she were.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if all those ridiculous stories about me cover this ground, but I don¡¯t take many lovers.¡±


    Lai Dongmei nced at him before she shook her head. ¡°None of the stories I heard mentioned it one way or the other. Fawning, unrequited adorationes up a lot, but nothing about you actually doing anything about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you of all people understand exactly how off-putting that kind of attention can be.¡±


    ¡°Some men, <em>most</em> men, would love it.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t. I gave serious consideration to giving myself a scar on my face for a while. Then, I realized that it¡¯d probably just go away the next time I advanced my cultivation.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have helped,¡± said Lai Dongmei. ¡°In fact, it probably would have made it worse. You¡¯d have looked dangerous, mysterious, and still been absurdly attractive.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not rational but that doesn¡¯t make it any less true.¡±


    ¡°Good to know.¡±


    They came to a stop just before the gate. The often elusive but never quite gone mischievousness in Sen¡¯s soul came out for a moment. He offered Lai Dongmei a deep, formal bow. She rolled her eyes before offering him a shallower one.


    ¡°Doe back before you leave the city. I don¡¯t know exactly where Fu Run is, but I may be able to help you narrow down where to look.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that,¡± said Sen, before he added, ¡°but I¡¯lle back regardless. Assuming the gate guards will let me in.¡±


    Lai Dongmei cast an imperious re at the gate guards who were pretending not to be listening in on the conversation.


    ¡°They will,¡± she stated in the tones of an absolutemand.


    ¡°Then, I look forward to our next meeting.¡±


    ¡°As do I.¡±


    With a wink and a smile, Sen walked through the gate and back out into the city. While his little interlude of rtive safety had worn some of the razor edges off of Sen¡¯s paranoia, it only took a couple of minutes of walking before he was on high alert again. He didn¡¯t really expect an attack, but he didn¡¯t see that as a good reason to invite one by being negligent about his own safety. He did take his time about making his way to the house that Lo Meifeng had acquired for them with a suspicious speed. She¡¯d announced that purchase less than a day after he¡¯d loaded her down with money. Sen had almost made the mistake of asking her about the details of the purchase, then better sense had taken hold. He was certain that he didn¡¯t want to know the details.


    Sen had spent the better part of two full days reinforcing the walls around that rtively modest structure. He¡¯d applied everything he¡¯d learned about formations in his time away from the mountain making that ce both as secure as he possibly could. He¡¯d also taken a cue from Uncle Kho and set up formations to help concentrate the environmental qi on that property. His formations weren¡¯t nearly as efficient as the ones Uncle Kho might have done, but they almost tripled the qi density in that small area. Given how thin the qi in the city was, it was like walking into a wall of qi every time he set foot on the property. If he hadn¡¯t known all of those protections were in ce, and seen plenty of evidence that Tong Guanting was limited to sending underlings to bother people outside his territory, he doubted he¡¯d have gone with Lai Dongmei. There would have been too much danger for everyone.


    Of course, danger came in lots of forms, which was why Sen was dragging his feet on the way back. He didn¡¯t normally avoid the consequences of his actions, but he didn¡¯t normally do things that were quite as selfish as having a tryst in the middle of a crisis. And it had been selfish, something that was just for him. He¡¯d wondered briefly why he¡¯d done it in the first ce, but the answer was obvious. He¡¯d been pushed onto a body cultivation path that put a very firm cap on his life if he didn¡¯tplete it. He¡¯d been pushed into intervening between the fire cultivators and the water cultivators. He¡¯d been pushed into fleeing for his life from vengeful demonic cultivators and their minions. While he recognized that he had to own some of the responsibility for all of those situations, outside forces had been acting on him, driving his choices, and he¡¯d been tired of it. Going off with Lai Dongmei had been, in some small way, an act of rebellion on his part.


    It hadn¡¯t been the responsible thing to do. It certainly hadn¡¯t been the smart thing to do. It had simply been the thing that he <em>wanted</em> to do, instead of the thing that he <em>needed</em> to do, and that had been enough in that moment. Of course, he¡¯d also left everyone else to wonder what had be of him. They had probably worried. Then, they¡¯d probably gotten angry, and rightfully so. And he¡¯d left them to stew in that worry and anger for days. Sen knew that what was about to happen wasn¡¯t going to be pretty, and he¡¯d brought it all down on his own head. Taking a breath to fortify himself, Sen stepped through the formations that guarded their temporary home.


    He hadn¡¯t known quite what to expect, but the punch that took him across the face hadn¡¯t been the first thing he¡¯d expected. It wasn¡¯t a tap to get his attention either. Someone had put their all into it. His body had been sufficiently hardened by his cultivation practices over the years that it didn¡¯t break his jaw, but it did <em>hurt</em>. It also flung him across the small courtyard. Sen looked back to where he had been standing and saw Falling Leaf standing there, fists clenched, and eyes alight with fury. Sen considered her briefly before he pushed himself up to his feet. Once he was upright, she stalked over to him and punched again. They repeated that process enough times that Sen stopped counting. When it seemed that she¡¯d finally vented enough of her anger, she spun away and walked back inside without a word. Sen stood up, brushed off his robes, and went inside. Lo Meifeng and Shi Ping were waiting for him. Neither looked happy to see him.


    ¡°So, not dead,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Pity,¡± said Shi Ping.


    It was a little surreal for Sen to see those two as a united front, but he supposed that stranger things had probably happened¡­at some point¡­maybe.


    ¡°Not dead,¡± Sen agreed. ¡°Do you two want to tell me all the things you have to say together or take turns.¡±


    ¡°I want to know what in the hells you¡¯ve been doing for thest five days at the Golden Phoenix sect,¡± said Shi Ping.


    Sen looked at the man and shook his head. ¡°You really don¡¯t.¡±


    Shi Ping didn¡¯t pick up on it, but Lo Meifeng did. This time, it was her eyes that lit up with fury.


    ¡°Unbelievable. You just wandered off without a word for five days so that you could have <em>sex</em>?¡±


    Shi Ping¡¯s head whipped around to look at Lo Meifeng. ¡°Wait. What? He was off having sex? With who?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sen, do tell? Who was so intriguing that you decided that it was fine to abandon us in the middle of <em>everything</em> that¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not an appropriate question,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t want inappropriate questions,¡± said Shi Ping, ¡°maybe you shouldn¡¯t have acted like an ass. I want to know, too.¡±


    Sen thought about digging his heels in, but he supposed it was going to end up being an open secret, if not public knowledge, very soon. Sighing, he lifted his hands in surrender.


    ¡°Lai Dongmei.¡±


    Sen watched as that information reached their minds and slowly sank in. Shi Ping¡¯s mouth sort of fell open, and the man stared at Sen like he was some kind of strange, mythical animal that appeared in front of him. Lo Meifeng¡¯s reaction was less amusing, but probably more appropriate. She buried her face in her hands for a moment before she gave Sen a look of defeated weariness.


    ¡°I just wish that I thought you were lying,¡± she said, before turning and walking away.


    Sen could hear her muttering under breath and he was sure he heard her say <em>ridiculous</em>, <em>impossible</em>, and <em>pain in my ass</em> at least three times each. Sen looked at Shi Ping who had recovered from his initial shock. The man was shaking his head and clenching his jaw.


    ¡°I just,¡± started Shi Ping. ¡°You. It wasn¡¯t enough that you had beautiful women chasing after you and helping you. No, that wasn¡¯t good enough for the great Judgment¡¯s Gale. You decided that you needed to go out and find the literal most beautiful woman alive and go to bed with her?¡±


    Sen tilted his head to one side. ¡°Is that a rhetorical question?¡±


    ¡°I hate you so much.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 61: Back to Business

    Book 4: Chapter 61: Back to Business


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that you could have sent a message,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen held his tongue for three seconds to make sure he wasn¡¯t about to make things worse before he answered. ¡°And what should I have said in the message?¡±


    ¡°That you hadn¡¯t been kidnapped. That you were fine. That you were,¡± Lo Meifeng trailed off.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, ¡°that was the part that tripped me up. I wasn¡¯t going to tell you what I was really doing in a message that anyone could intercept. And realistically, after five days, would it have really changed anything? I get what you¡¯re saying. I should have let you all know that I was okay. I knew you were going to worry. I am sorry about that part. But I also know you. You would never have just epted some vague assurance that I wasn¡¯t under duress. And, frankly, it wasn¡¯t anyone else¡¯s business.¡±


    ¡°I know you haven¡¯t figured this part out yet,¡± said Lo Meifeng with an unusual chill in her voice, ¡°but every damn thing you do is our business.¡±


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It <em>is</em> because we¡¯re the ones it¡¯s most likely to blow back on. Every time you pick a fight with a sect, take sides in some political situation, or decide to bed the nascent soul <em>matriarch</em> of the biggest sect in the city, it puts us in the line of fire. By the way, I hope you haven¡¯t deluded yourself into thinking there won¡¯t be any fallout from thest one.¡±


    ¡°What? Why would there be?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not that stupid. Na?ve sometimes, but not stupid. Not unless you¡¯ve decided to be. Her list of would-be suitors and lovers could stretch from here to the ocean. So, naturally, you wander into the situation, ignore the existence of all of those people who would now dly murder you, and spend most of a week locked in a bedroom with her. And you think <em>nothing</em> is going toe of that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I married her,¡± said Sen, feeling a little defensive.


    ¡°A fact that I¡¯m certain calls for offerings to at least one god or goddess that has more wisdom than <em>you</em>. Also, not really relevant. What is relevant is that, as usual, you¡¯ve made enemies you won¡¯t know until they decide to act.¡±


    At that, Sen¡¯s patience ran out. He stood up from the chair he¡¯d been sitting in for his lecture.


    ¡°Enough! I understand that you¡¯re angry with me. But I am not going to apologize for the time I took for myself. Two years. Not even two years. That¡¯s what I have left at the rate we¡¯re going. So, if I decided that I could take a handful of those days and forget about the fact that I¡¯m dying, forget about all of the killing, forget about stupid mortal political situations, I will not let you try to make me feel ashamed about that. You don¡¯t have the right. You canin to me all you want about how badly I failed atmunicating what was going on. I have thating. You <em>don¡¯t</em> get to judge how I choose to spend what little time I have left.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s face had gone ashen beneath Sen¡¯s abrupt tirade. Sen turned and started to leave the room.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± she asked in a weak voice.


    Sen looked over his shoulder at her. ¡°To do what everyone seemingly wants me to do. I¡¯m getting back to business as usual. I still have a nascent soul cultivator to murder.¡±


    ¡°Sen,¡± said Lo Meifeng, ¡°that isn¡¯t what I meant.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Sen, before he left the room.


    ***


    While Sen was at the house at times over the next few days, he wasn¡¯t present in any meaningful way. When he was there, he kept himself locked away in a room that he was using as a makeshift bedroom and alchemyboratory, only asionallying out to eat something. When he wasn¡¯t sleeping or working on alchemical projects that he refused to discuss with anyone, he was gone. When the others offered to go with him, he refused them all with a t expression and said that they couldn¡¯t go where he was going. It was true, as far as it went. Only Sen could hide from the normally all-seeing spiritual sense of a nascent soul cultivator, but he could tell that his coldness and withdrawal from the group had them all worried. Yet, he didn¡¯t see another way.


    If he really was going to have to go and find Fu Run, that was a danger he refused to drag others into. It was one thing to risk himself on a quest to find a mad cultivator when he was already dying. It was something else entirely to ask people who weren¡¯t dying to face a situation where their deaths weren¡¯t just possible, but probable. Beyond that, he had taken Falling Leaf with him once before where his death had almost urred. It had changed her. He refused to take her with him when his death was a near certainty. Sen refused to have that be her final memory of him. He also knew that there was an element of cowardice in it. He didn¡¯t have it in him to watch her die. It would be too much. It would break him. So, when he left the city, he nned on leaving it by himself.


    Still, leaving by himself didn¡¯t mean that he had to leave them all in a terrible situation. He could resolve some of the problems and dangers he¡¯d created for them <em>in</em> the city before he did. To that end, he¡¯d been plotting Tong Guanting¡¯s entry into his next incarnation. The cultivator criminal had been busy during Sen¡¯s brief break. He¡¯d consolidated what was left of his men into one location. Sen assumed it was meant as either a threat or a lure, but that wasn¡¯t the building that interested him. The building that Sen was interested in was the one that Tong Guanting had tried to keep hidden. It had taken a while to find it. The nascent soul cultivator had hired someone to put up misdirection formations. They didn¡¯t hide the building so much as make people want to focus their attention on other nearby ces. Sen had also identified a number of nasty defensive formations.


    Whoever Tong Guanting had found for the work had been good, but Sen had spent countless hours working with formations while his life and the lives of others hung in the bnce. It had propelled his knowledge forward in ways that only life-or-death scenarios can. It took a little mental effort, but he figured out how to bypass those formations one by one without setting them off. That was important. He needed those formations to look like they were still active and working properly until he was ready for them to alert Tong Guanting that something was wrong. Sen couldn¡¯t be entirely sure that the building contained the remains of the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate¡¯s fortunes, but all the precautions suggested that¡¯s what it meant. He¡¯d also spent more than a little time tracking Tong Guanting¡¯s movements. Sen wanted at least a general sense of where the man usually was at any given time, so he could make his move at the most opportune moment.


    For all theining that the others had done about his little vacation, Sen had the sneaking suspicion that it was ultimately going to benefit this particr project. Sen understood just how hard it was to maintain constant vignce. If he¡¯d attempted what he was nning a week earlier, it might have failed. He suspected that everyone would have been too vignt. With Sen¡¯s reappearance in the city, he expected that everyone in Tong Guanting¡¯s employ had been very vignt for a couple of days, yet Sen hadn¡¯t acted. He was able to very nearly watch the apathy start to set in. Guards paid less attention. Patrols happened less frequently. In the end, too much time had passed since thest attack. He imagined that they were all thinking that Sen had finally gotten tired of persecuting their entire organization.


    He supposed they were even right about that in some ways. If they were just a gang of formation foundation cultivators and core cultivators, he probably would have just tracked down their leadership from the get-go and killed them. A power struggle would have taken ce and the group might have simply fallen apart from the internal strife. Even if it didn¡¯t, it would have been a long time before they were as organized and functional as they had been. Sen hadn¡¯t spared anyone and the ranks of the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate had dropped precipitously. Just as importantly, unlike a regr gang, those people were more difficult to rece. The number of cultivators looking to be full-time criminals was exceedingly low. Cultivators were, as a rule, spoiled for options that didn¡¯t involve crime if they spent even a little time looking.


    In the end, though, Tong Guanting was simply too much of a danger for Sen to leave the man alive behind him. That was especially true if he nned to leave Falling Leaf, Lo Meifeng, and Shi Ping behind when he left. Tong Guanting was exactly the sort of man to take out his anger on the people he could reach. As long as Sen was in the city, being visible and interesting, the other nascent soul cultivators would keep a close watch on Tong Guanting. Once Sen left, he suspected that their interest would swiftly wane. That is when the man would strike out at the people Sen cared about. Since Sen couldn¡¯t be sure that they¡¯d leave the city to protect themselves, he¡¯d just have to take a little some preventative measures.


    Still, he didn¡¯t rush things. He took his time. He watched. He waited. He developed countermeasures to things he suspected that Tong Guanting might try. Most importantly of all, he worked on the alchemical surprises he was cooking up just for the nascent soul cultivator. It turned out that making things that hurt people was infinitely easier than making things that helped them. Still, Sen didn¡¯t just need things that could hurt a person. He needed something that could hurt a nascent soul cultivator. So, he worked and refined his elixirs until he was almost afraid to get near his own creations. It was only when he¡¯d perfected the deadly little gifts that Sen decided it was time to make the final move in his war on Tong Guanting.

 Book 4: Chapter 62: The Trap

    Book 4: Chapter 62: The Trap


    For all that Tong Guanting was doing to keep that one building out of mind for everyone, Sen didn¡¯t believe for a moment that it wouldn¡¯t be defended. In fact, he expected heavy resistance. That meant that he needed to either work very quickly or very quietly once he got inside. Otherwise, he ran the risk of someone getting away to warn Tong Guanting. While Sen was confident that he could kill the man, he had zero confidence that he could aplish that goal while also trying to avoid getting crushed into a bloody paste by the nascent soul cultivator. His n depended on surprise, not direct force. The main advantage he had was that no one was going to know he was inside until after it was far toote to stop him. The subtle apathy his extended break had prompted would help as well.


    Still, Sen didn¡¯t want to assume that everything was going to go ording to n. So, when the true dark of night fell, he spent a little time setting up a backup option in the form of a formation of his own. It wouldn¡¯t necessarily save him, but it might give him enough breathing room to get away if everything went tragically, horribly wrong. With the formation in ce, he scaled the back wall wrapped in shadows. While hiding was limiting his senses, he was still getting enough information to understand where people were inside the building. He picked a window on the second floor, away from the main concentration of people, and used that as his way in. He did need to remove boards that someone had put on the inside of the window to keep anyone from doing exactly what he meant to do. It wasn¡¯t that the boards could really stop anyone who wasn¡¯t mortal, but that it would be difficult to do it quietly.


    Fortunately, Sen had some extra advantages. His metal qi let him liquefy the nails that held the boards in ce. Then, it was simple enough to move them out of his way with a gentle application of wind qi. With that aplished, he slipped inside. Once he was inside, he took his time again. Listening and sensing what he could. The information wasn¡¯t as perfect as it could have been, but it was enough to tell him there were twelve core formation cultivators in the building with him. Three of them were on the top floor with him, while the rest were clumped together on the first floor. He waited for nearly thirty minutes, just to see what people would do. The cultivators on the first floor moved around asionally, but the three on the second floor hadn¡¯t moved at all. Sen suspected that meant they were asleep.


    Satisfied that he had learned what he could by waiting, he opened the door to the room he was in, using a little strategic air qi to ensure that no sounds would escape from the hinges. He crept down a spacious hallway to the first room where he sensed life. Using the same air qi trick, he opened the door a little and stole into the room. There were a pair of beds in the room, although only one was upied. He observed the pair briefly before he summoned a jian from his storage ring. He reinforced the de with metal qi, which also helped ensure that the edge was sharper than any metal could normally hold. When he¡¯d first begun this campaign against Tong Guanting, he¡¯d found himself hesitating in moments like this.


    He didn¡¯t know anything about these cultivators or why they were part of the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate. He¡¯d rationalized that maybe they¡¯d been forced into the group by some desperate need. Then, once they were in the group, they couldn¡¯t get out. But those had been the fantasies of a child, desperate to avoid grisly work. Hard experience had taught him that. These weren¡¯t qi-condensing cultivators who had no choice but to follow the instructions of their elders. The cultivators in that bed werete-stage core cultivators. They had choices and options. They had chosen to keep doing this when they could have chosen to do something else. Maybe being criminals wasn¡¯t <em>all</em> they were, but it was the only part that mattered to Sen. If he let them wake up, they would attack him. So, he didn¡¯t let them wake up. After his jian passed cleanly through their necks, he wiped the de down on a nket and left them where theyy.


    Sen returned to the hall and pushed his senses hard. If the cultivators downstairs had been paying attention, they¡¯d have felt the lives of those two cultivators wink out of existence. It would have altered them to his presence. Instead of feeling a rush of cultivators headed his way, he heard the sound ofughtering up a short stairwell. Sen wasn¡¯t worried about the people downstairs discovering his presence. That was inevitable. He just wanted them to discover it on his schedule. Sen walked farther down the hall. He noted a door that was sealed with a formation but chose to ignore it for the moment. He snuck into another room and, a few momentster, he left a corpse behind him. Only then did he return to the room that had been sealed with a formation.


    Sen was impressed. While the work on the formations protecting the building had been good, the work around the door was excellent. He thought it might even be good enough that Uncle Kho wouldn¡¯t have sniffed in derision. <em>Well</em>, he thought, <em>maybe not quite that good</em>. To call Uncle Kho¡¯s standards exacting was a profound understatement. Sen did think that Uncle Kho might have said that the person who put the formation around the door wasn¡¯t entirely hopeless. As with the formations outside, Sen didn¡¯t just want to get through it. Breaking a formation wasn¡¯t easy, exactly, but it was straightforward. The problem with breaking it was that it tended to set off anything in the formation designed to alert someone to tampering. Sen wanted to go through the formation without breaking it.


    Keeping an ear open and his senses open as much as he could to alert him to anyone approaching, he put most of his mind to work mentally disassembling the formation. It was actually cunning with those alerts he¡¯d been worried about looped back into the areas that Sen would normally have used to bypass the formation. In the end, rather than try to work around the formation, he ended up adding to it to redirect the alerts to endlessly cycle back on themselves. Then, he opened the door and walked in. Much as he¡¯d suspected, the room was full of money, natural treasures, and cultivation resources. While Sen thought that the formation on the door had been reasonably challenging, he doubted that was thest trap in the room. He spent another ten minutes identifying all the things in the room that were cursed in some way or intended as tracking devices. He was careful to leave all of those things untouched in exactly the ces they had been left. Everything else, he stole.


    He took the time to look in the rest of the rooms on the second floor but didn¡¯t find anything of note. epting that he¡¯d done all the damage he could upstairs, he made his way over to the short set of stairs that led downstairs. Once he got closer, he could smell the wine and hear the raucous calls between the men. Shaking his head, Sen fed lightning qi and killing intent into his jian. He¡¯d discovered in one of his recent fights with Tong Guanting¡¯s people that just leaving the technique in the sword was more devastating against a group than unleashing it. As Heavens¡¯ Rebuke coalesced in the de, Sen walked down the stairs. Everyone was so distracted with their drinking and joking that they didn¡¯t even notice Sen. He just walked over to the nearest man and beheaded him. Everyone was so shocked that he¡¯d driven his de through a second man and nearly cut a third in half across the belly before anyone reacted.


    The terrible destructive power of Heavens¡¯ Rebuke was muted when it kept it contained to the sword, but only until the jian came into contact with something. One of the more sober ones managed to pull a dao and attack, only to see the de sheared clearly into two pieces. She died a momentter with the same corrosive force chewing away at the wound across her neck. It was only then that someone thought to try a qi attack. Sen felt someone cycle for fire qi. He didn¡¯t even bother cycling anything. He just grabbed the nearest person and threw them into the path of the fireball. The fire qi wielder stared in shocked horror as his attack set hispanion on fire. Sen briefly ignited his qinggong technique, shot across the intervening space, and bisected the fire cultivator with a vicious upward sh.


    Sen finally cycled for something other than lightning. The remaining cultivators, who had already been verging on panic at the ruthless ughter that had seeminglye upon them from nowhere, tried to flee. Sen had been cycling for water and fire, turning all of the wine in the room into makeshift ice spears. Those frozen wine spearsunched themselves at the disorganized and frightened core cultivators. Sen didn¡¯t particrly need the spears to do any damage, although he was pleasantly surprised when the spearsnced through two of his less attentive enemies. What he needed them to do was hold the cultivators in ce for a moment to divert the attacks. In that critical moment when they couldn¡¯t flee, hended in the middle of them. The ones he could kill immediately, he maimed. Cultivators lost arms or legs and kept screaming as Heavens¡¯ Rebuke stripped away flesh and bone as it worked its way inside of them. Sen didn¡¯t especially feel like a warrior in that moment, although he supposed some fool would probably have described him that way. He simply continued moving and cutting until he was the only thing left alive in the room.


    He took a long moment to look around at what he¡¯d done. Remembering the cultivator he¡¯d thrown in the path of the fireball, Sen walked over to the man who had struggled to his feet and found a spear somewhere. It was clear that the man had taken some damage to his eyes by the way he kept squinting and blinking in Sen¡¯s general direction.


    ¡°Who are you? Why are you doing this?¡± demanded the burned cultivator.


    Sen didn¡¯t say anything. There was no point. He didn¡¯t draw things out. He wasn¡¯t there to torture people or get information. Sen sidestepped a half-blind thrust and cut the spear in half. Then, he closed the distance and took the man¡¯s head. It was as quick and clean as he could make it. Then, he got to work. One by one, he pulled vials from his storage ring and ced them around the building. He put them on the floor, on shelves, and on tables. He put them on the beds in the room upstairs. He even left a few in the room that had been sealed. Each one was linked to the rest by tiny formation tes that Sen had been making while he waited for alchemical solutions to boil down or mix properly. Once he¡¯d put thest vial and its hideously dangerous contents in ce, he checked the formation onest time.


    With that done, he just stood there for a few seconds and looked around. He felt like he was waiting for something. Then, he realized that what he was waiting for was for things to go wrong. He really hadn¡¯t expected the n to go off without a hitch. They almost never did. <em>Almost isn¡¯t always</em>, he told himself. <em>There¡¯s nothing to do now but see if it works</em>. Sen went out the same way he¡¯d gone in. Once he was a rtively safe distance away, he intentionally activated the defensive formations around the building. He leaned back against an alley wall and waited. If Tong Guanting was true to form, he¡¯d arrive within two minutes. It was barely a minuteter when the nascent soul cultivator crashed down through the roof of the building. Sen gave it five seconds, then activated the formation attached to the vials. It took about ten more seconds, but then Sen heard Tong Guanting start screaming in agony.

 Book 4: Chapter 63: Conversing with the Dead

    Book 4: Chapter 63: Conversing with the Dead


    The first few moments of screaming were so loud that Sen suspected that anything made of ss or fine pottery in the immediate area probably broke. Even at a bit of distance, the sound hurt Sen¡¯s ears. He was just d that there weren¡¯t many people living nearby. Bit by bit the screaming reduced in volume to something more like what a normal human being would do. When Sen heard a noise that was probably something breaking through a door or a wall, he made his way back over to the building. He found Tong Guanting sprawled out on the street. There was already a stink of roting off the man. Sen focused for a moment, cycled earth qi, and shaped two stone chairs that rose out of the street facing one another. Sen sat down in one. He briefly cycled air qi, lifted Tong Guanting, and dumped him in the other chair. The nascent soul cultivator forced his eyes open. The whites of the man¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and yellowing, while there was a milky film obscuring his irises. He still saw well enough to recognize Sen.


    ¡°Poison,¡± coughed Tong Guanting. ¡°Tell me what it is.¡±


    Sen regarded the man with a calm expression. ¡°I didn¡¯t dose you with one poison. I dosed you with twelve. Honestly, I don¡¯t even think any of them have names. I made them for you.¡±


    ¡°Damn you.¡±


    ¡°I expect you¡¯re wondering why you can¡¯t do anything with your qi right now. If I were you, I¡¯d want myst act in this world to be taking me with you. I suspect you¡¯re trying right now.¡±


    Tong Guanting sat up a little straighter, fury giving him a moment of strength. ¡°What did you do!¡±


    ¡°I destroyed your qi channels.¡±


    A look of unadulterated horror spread across Tong Guanting¡¯s face. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I spent some time in Inferno¡¯s Vale a while back. Are you familiar with it?¡±


    The nascent soul cultivator slumped back down in his chair, no longer able to support himself. When he didn¡¯t answer, Sen continued.


    ¡°It¡¯s a strange ce, but it is just overflowing with fire qi. I did something scary while I was visiting, so no oneined when I went and took a bunch of natural treasures from the parts of the valley they didn¡¯t go to very often. In fact, I¡¯ve spent a lot of time in ces where people don¡¯t normally go. I collected a lot of dangerous things. I used some of them to make something very specifically designed to burn your channels to nothing. I wasn¡¯t sure how strong it needed to be, though, so it¡¯s entirely possible that it burned up your dantian along with your channels. The point is that, even if you still have qi, you can¡¯t do anything with it. I wasn¡¯t going to let you take half the city with you when you die.¡±


    Tong Guanting started shaking his head. ¡°Impossible. It¡¯s impossible. You¡¯re <em>just</em> a core cultivator.¡±


    ¡°I get that a lot. Here¡¯s the thing. I¡¯m pretty sure that I¡¯m not supposed to be here.¡±


    The dying cultivator in the other chair started coughing so hard that blood dribbled out of his mouth and down over his chin. When he finally managed to catch a little breath, he red at Sen.


    ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t think I was supposed to end up here. Not if things went the way they¡¯re supposed to with reincarnation. It took me a while to figure it out. I didn¡¯t know any better for a long time. It wasn¡¯t until I got out into the world that I started to see it. I¡¯ve got way more power than I should for my cultivation stage. I mean, I did some things to help that along, but those aren¡¯t enough to exin it. I¡¯m also advancing too fast. So fast that we actually have something inmon. We¡¯re both dying. It¡¯s ironic really. All anyone needed to do if they wanted to be rid of me was wait a little while. None of this needed to happen. You¡¯re dying for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Why tell me this?¡± wheezed Tong Guanting.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re going to be dead very soon, and I wanted to tell someone. I know you¡¯ll keep the secret because you won¡¯t have a choice. Plus, since I made you my victim, it only seemed fair.¡±


    ¡°Fair,¡± sneered Tong Guanting. ¡°When has fair ever meant anything.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°Maybe it doesn¡¯t mean anything. It¡¯s probably not fair that you got killed by someone a full cultivation stage behind you. Then again, I expect that your gang has probably killed a bunch of people who didn¡¯t have iting. Maybe this is just Karmaing around on you.¡±


    ¡°You talk too much.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I don¡¯t mind if you die in silence.¡±


    Sen sat and patiently watched as Tong Guanting slowly deteriorated. He saw the veins and arteries darken until they were inly visible through the man¡¯s skin. The muscle beneath the man¡¯s skin started wasting away, and his head started to loll to one side. While Sen was content to ride out the rest of Tong Guanting¡¯s life without speaking again, it seemed the cultivator criminal wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Where should¡­you have gone?¡± the man asked in a choked whisper.


    Sen thought about it. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. A higher ne, maybe. A different world. Some ce where my advancement would have been more natural. I guess that didn¡¯t fit in with someone¡¯s ns.¡±


    ¡°ns?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a guess. Things have been arranged a little too neatly for me here. I think someone is trying to race me through advancement so I¡¯ll ascend. Then, I expect I¡¯ll find someone waiting for me, expecting me to do their bidding.¡±


    Tong Guanting let out a choking, wheezingugh at that. ¡°Won¡¯t¡­they¡­be surprised.¡±


    Sen got half a smile that he was sure the other man wasn¡¯t physically capable of seeing.


    ¡°Maybe. Not if they¡¯re paying attention, though,¡± said Sen.


    He could feel the nascent soul cultivator teetering right on the edge of life and death. So, he asked thest questions that Tong Guanting would ever hear.


    ¡°Are you leaving anyone behind? Family? Children?¡±


    ¡°Why? Want to¡­kill them¡­too?¡±


    ¡°No. I have no quarrel with them. I¡¯d just rather not see them left destitute and without a home.¡±


    Sen thought that the man wouldn¡¯t answer or maybe even couldn¡¯t answer, but the criminal cultivator managed to gasp out a fewst words.


    ¡°No family. No one.¡±


    Then, thest flickering remnants of life drained out of Tong Guanting. Sen wondered if a death like the one he¡¯d just witnessed was waiting for him if he failed toplete his body cultivation path. He found the idea painfully usible, so he tried not to dwell on it. He still had a little bit of time left to work with. Not <em>all</em> hope was lost, yet. Sen pushed himself out of the chair and considered the body before him, and the building behind that corpse. Neither was safe for anyone to get near in their current states. The poisons Sen had used were so deadly and unique that even he only partially understood them. Fortunately, he had some options to work with. He started by cycling up some fire qi and burning the body and everything mmable in the building to ashes.


    He was <em>very</em> careful to keep those ashes contained with abination of wind and earth qi. Once he couldn¡¯t burn the body or building any more than he already had, he stopped cycling for fire and focused most of his attention on earth qi. He drove that qi deep, deep beneath the city until he could feel the very bones of the world beneath him. He slowly turned that stone to liquid and pulled it up to the surface. He encased the ashes and what was left of the building in that liquid stone, sealing away any remnant poison in an impermeable stone cocoon. Then, he pushed that cocoon back down into the earth, so deep that no one could possibly get at it by ident. And even those who might, in some fit of madness, try to get at it on purpose would struggle to bring it back to the surface. Where the building had once stood, Sen summoned fresh soil. He used his wind qi to gather seeds and sprinkle them over the soil, and then wood qi to encourage their initial growth. It wasn¡¯t much, in Sen¡¯s opinion, but a small oasis of nts sprung up where so much death had happened.


    Sen felt theming long before they arrived. When the three nascent soul cultivators touched down behind him, Sen didn¡¯t look at them. He <em>really </em>wasn¡¯t in a mood to talk to anyone.


    ¡°You actually killed him?¡± asked Lai Dongmei.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen, feeling very vulnerable.


    He had considered the very real possibility that if he sessfully killed Tong Guanting, the other nascent soul cultivators in the city might decide he was a threat that needed to be eliminated. Their immediate arrival gave some credence to that suspicion.


    ¡°How?¡± asked Feng Bai.


    Sen ignored the question. ¡°I¡¯ve had more than enough killing tost me a long time. I¡¯d appreciate it if someone could be sent to tell what¡¯s left of the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate that it¡¯s time to find a new line of work. I¡¯d do it, but I think it¡¯d just turn into a massacre.¡±


    ¡°I asked you a question, boy,¡± said Feng Bai, his voice cold and demanding.


    Sen took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. This had been his other fear. That they would demand information or that he provide them with the poisons he¡¯d used. He had no intention of doing either. Sen felt that no one, including him, should know how to do what he¡¯d just done. He slowly turned and looked at his master¡¯s brother. Sen didn¡¯t have a good sense of his own emotional state, so he wasn¡¯t sure about his expression. He decided that it must have been fairly ghastly because Feng Bai¡¯s imperious re almost immediately cracked into uncertainty. When Sen answered, his voice was utterly t, emotionless, like the voice of a dead man who never quite made it to his grave.


    ¡°Would you like me to show you?¡±


    Feng Bai seemed to realize that he¡¯d crossed a line that he shouldn¡¯t have because he took on a more conciliatory tone.


    ¡°You¡¯ve had a difficult day. We¡¯ll discuss this at a more¡­,¡± he started to say only for Sen to cut him off.


    ¡°We won¡¯t. I have no intention of sharing the means or the methods I employed. That knowledge is <em>mine</em>. If you want it, <em>earn</em> it for yourself.¡±


    ¡°You need to learn your ce, boy,¡± said Feng Bai. ¡°My brother obviously didn¡¯t do a good enough job teaching you that.¡±


    ¡°Spare me your posturing. Do you think I¡¯m too stupid to realize that the three of you let me deal with the Tong Guanting problem for you? I don¡¯t owe you anything. You owe <em>me</em>.¡±


    Feng Bai was trembling with rage. He drew a fist back.


    ¡°Enough,¡± said the man Sen didn¡¯t know. ¡°That isn¡¯t going to work, Bai. Look at him. Really look at him. He¡¯s <em>not</em> afraid of you. He¡¯s not afraid of any of us. Even if he didn¡¯t have the power to destroy us, which he apparently does, what happens if you injure him or kill him? You¡¯ll just draw the wrath of your brother down on us all.¡±


    ¡°To say nothing of Kho Jaw-Long,¡± added Lai Dongmei.


    ¡°And Ma Caihong,¡± said Sen.


    Sen found it deeply amusing that while the threat of Master Feng and Uncle Kho hadn¡¯t appreciably moved Feng Bai, the mention of Auntie Caihong made the man flinch. The angry nascent soul cultivator lowered his fist, took a shuddering breath, and shook his head.


    ¡°Ming always warned me about my temper,¡± said Feng Bai. ¡°I overstepped. I apologize.¡±


    Sen just wanted the frustrating conversation to be over, so he offered Feng Bai a bow. It was just barely deep enough to suggest that Sen acknowledged Feng Bai as a superior, but it <em>was</em> deep enough. Face was saved. Catastrophe was averted. Sen decided to take his wins where he could find them. Feng Bai was savvy enough to see the out that Sen was offering and epted it, immediately taking his leave and flying away on a qi tform. The man Sen didn¡¯t know gave him a long, contemtive look.


    ¡°You have ice water in your veins, I think,¡± said the man, giving Sen a faint smile. ¡°I am Jin Bohai. When you reach the nascent soul stage, seek me out. I suspect that there will be things we could learn from each other.¡±


    With that, he too ascended into the air on a qi tform, leaving Sen along with Lai Dongmei. She gave him an uncertain look.


    ¡°I thought you were boasting when you said you had a way to kill him.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You knew we were using you?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that hard to figure out. All three of you are more powerful than Tong Guanting was. Any of you could probably have driven him out or killed him. As a group, he wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance against you. I presume you all had some obscure reason for not doing it, but you weren¡¯t going to pass up an opportunity for someone else to deal with him.¡±


    ¡°I thought you¡¯d be angrier about it.¡±


    Sen rubbed his face with his hands. ¡°What would that aplish? I¡¯d be angry, and the three of you wouldn¡¯t care. I¡¯ve spent thest few days being angry with my friend and that didn¡¯t aplish anything either.¡±


    Lai Dongmei studied him briefly and seemed to be weighing something before she said, ¡°I¡¯d care.¡±


    Sen studied her back. She could be lying to him, but he didn¡¯t think she was. There wasn¡¯t really anything to gain from it. He¡¯d already done what they wanted him to do. He felt some of the numbness inside of him recede and something rose up to take its ce. It wasn¡¯t affection, but it might have been affection¡¯s cousin.


    He gave her a small smile. ¡°Okay. Maybe <em>you</em> would have cared.¡±


    She smiled back before her eyes looked off into the distance. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it that the rest of Tong Guanting¡¯s people get your message.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I''m honestly too tired to go and deal with them.¡±


    ¡°You should get some rest. You look tired, which you really shouldn¡¯t as a core cultivator.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll need it. This was just one of the problems on my te.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 64: Ruminations

    Book 4: Chapter 64: Ruminations


    Sen trudged through the door of the house in the middle of the night. It was blessedly quiet. He found his way into the kitchen and made tea. He took his time with it, making it the way he had once done when he lived with Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong. Then, he sat down and simply held the cup in his hand for most of a minute. He didn¡¯t experience the warmth of it the same way he once had, which sapped some of the pleasure from the experience. Yet, the ritual and the smell of the tea still soothed him. He lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip, savored the subtle mix of vors, and then swallowed. He hadn¡¯t bought the tea, but it was very good. He¡¯d have to ask the others where they got it.


    Sen¡¯s body felt heavy, and it was like his mind was stuffed full of loose material. It had been a long time since he¡¯d felt a tiredness like that, and he knew it wasn¡¯t just from pushing his body too hard. His physical resilience was still as potent as ever. He was tired in ces that had nothing to do with the body. He hadn¡¯t killed a few of Tong Guanting¡¯s people or even dozens of them. He¡¯d killed hundreds. It hadn¡¯t even been fighting really. For all intents and purposes, Sen had gone on a rampage as bad as any spirit beast attack and figurately bathed himself in a river of blood. He''d only gotten away with it because they were all cultivator criminals, and anyone who might have stopped him had turned a blind eye.


    The civilian government probably couldn¡¯t have stopped him, but they could have made life impossibly difficult for him. Yet, they¡¯d probably been overjoyed to have someone ughtering semi-immortal criminals who were beyond their normal reach. The other sects in the city had likely seen Tong Guanting and his people as a blight but didn¡¯t want to start a cultivator war in the streets. He still wasn¡¯t sure why the other nascent soul cultivators had tolerated the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate and its leader, but he suspected their answer wouldn¡¯t make sense to him. He supposed he could always ask Lai Dongmei if he really wanted to know, but he didn¡¯t suppose he cared that much or even thought that it mattered.


    Now that it was over, though, all of those people got to just move on. Sen was the one with all that blood on his hands. He could admit to himself that he didn¡¯t feel the kind of overwhelming guilt he had thought he might. They <em>were</em> all criminals. He¡¯d had personally witnessed some of them threatening and even harming mortals, then watched themugh about it after. Those kinds of things had gone a long way to assuage his conscience. Yet, he wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to think that <em>every</em> person he¡¯d killed had been irredeemably evil. With so many deaths on his hands, it only stood to reason that some of those people might have been redeemed. Of course, the problem he¡¯d faced was the same problem that soldiers faced on the battlefield. Knowing that some of the people on the other side probably didn¡¯t deserve to die was something wholly different than being able to know them on sight.


    For all his strength and all his gifts, Sen couldn¡¯t see into the minds and souls of others to judge them in an instant. Whatever cultivators liked to tell themselves, and whatever mortals might think about them, cultivators weren¡¯t gods. Not until they ascended, at least, and Sen suspected not even then. He had fragmentary memories of seeing other worlds while he was recovering from Lan Zi Rui¡¯s vicious attack all those months ago. Worlds where cultivators had truly godlike powers, yet even there they hadn¡¯t been true gods. He was willing to admit that those might have been hallucinations his consciousness generated to help protect him from the pain of massive trauma. They hadn¡¯t felt like hallucinations, though. He¡¯d had plenty of those too, and the hallucinations had, forck of a better word, a spongy quality to them. Those visions of other worlds had had a quality of depth to them, as though they were underpinned by something more substantial than Sen¡¯s meager imagination.


    He had much clearer memories of brushing up against that organizing power that seemed to permeate all of reality and the vast reaches of its domain. His mind wisely shied away from Sen¡¯s direct memories and experiences of the unspeakable distances contained in that domain, but it couldn¡¯t wholly lock away the overwhelming sense of the gulfs of space so grand that Sen had no vocabry to describe them. Those experiences had been sitting in the back of his head for a while now, and he¡¯d considered them in idle moments, trying to soak meaning and understanding from them. While he hadn¡¯t gotten any specific enlightenment from those ruminations, they had led him to the inevitable conclusion that the reality was a dramatically moreplex affair than most people credited. Yet, recognizing thatplexity had in many ways made things harder for him.


    As troubling as karmic consequences had seemed before, they seemed vastly more mysterious and difficult to assess with the sense that people didn¡¯t just live on this one world. While Sen suspected that most people¡¯s karma didn¡¯t extend beyond this one world, that was no guarantee. For all he knew, he had unintentionally influenced the karma of people beyond this world with his ughter. Maybe it had been for the better, but maybe it had been for the worse. It had been that troubling line of thoughts that had ultimately taken him to the idea that maybe he didn¡¯t belong on this world. He¡¯d rejected it at first. It had sounded silly and far-fetched. Yet, that made more sense to him than the idea that he was just some kind of unparalleled, once-in-history cultivation genius. Even among genius cultivators, simply <em>getting</em> to core cultivation was normally the work of decades and that was considered meteorically fast. Moving through the stages of core cultivation could take someone centuries.


    Sen could recognize that he was rtively intelligent and had more than a little natural aptitude for the cultivation. He was also willing to work brutally hard to make gains. But he knew in his heart that he <em>wasn¡¯t</em> a genius. He wasn¡¯t crashing through advancement after advancement on his own merits and vast insights. He didn¡¯t think for a moment that he was better at fire cultivation than Shi Ping or Lo Meifeng. He doubted he could hold a candle to Chan Yu Ming¡¯s understanding of water cultivation. He kept surviving through abination of excessive qi reserves, brute force, superior training, cultivation flexibility, and a kind of ruthlessness that made him feel like a stranger in his own skin at times. Those things made him seem more capable than he actually was in objective terms.


    If he was advancing on his own merits and rtive understanding of cultivation, Sen estimated that he should probably still be somewhere in the low end of foundation formation. The irony was that he¡¯d probably still be considered a unique talent in any sect, at least if he was operating in anything like normal circumstances. Yet, looking back, he could see moments where he¡¯d aplished things that only made sense if he¡¯d gotten profoundly lucky or had some instinct that he couldn¡¯t have gotten by being born on this world. Any time he considered that frankly insane experiment he¡¯d done to expand and reinforce his qi channels and dantian, he¡¯d marveled that he hadn¡¯t simply killed himself. He <em>should</em> have died. It <em>shouldn¡¯t</em> have worked. Not doing it the way he¡¯d done, in a mad rush to finish with advancement bearing down on him. The creation of Heavens¡¯ Rebuke was another moment where he¡¯d done something that no one had ever told him to do or even described. It had just felt like the thing to do.


    He suspected that somewhere deep in his soul, he carried some kind of instincts with him from wherever he¡¯d been before or maybe from wherever he was supposed to be. He didn¡¯t really understand the ins and outs of reincarnation, so there was more guesswork there than he¡¯d like. Looking beyond that, though, he could almost feel an invisible hand at work, arranging situations for him. Creating encounters that would rush him forward in one way or another. Encountering Master Feng alone was so unlikely that, considering it in hindsight, it strained Sen¡¯s sense of credulity. Of course, lucky encounters did happen, but they were rare. They kept happening to him. Unlikely situations, unlikely encounters, unlikely moments of enlightenment, and all of them racing him toward ascension. He could dismiss some of these things, but not all of them.


    Even if he was supposed to be where he was, someone or something was taking a hand in his life. Arranging things to ensure that Sen wrung the maximum cultivation value out of his time. Yet, those same situations were also pushing Sen to be a more effective weapon. While even he still struggled to ept it, he <em>had</em> killed a nascent soul cultivator. It should have been impossible at his level of development. Sen doubted that anyone else in the early stages of core cultivation had the exact rightbination of talents, skills, and experiences to replicate that feat. He cringed inwardly at what he might be capable of if he survived to be a nascent soul cultivator. He suspected it would be equal parts awe-inspiring and terrifying. And Sen had be too jaded to believe for a moment that someone was going to all of the trouble to help make that happen out of some altruistic impulse. If or when he ascended, someone was going to want a return on their investment. And Sen feared that they were going to be the exact kind of people that he would feelpelled to tell no.


    Sighing, Sen lifted the cup to his lips again, only to discover the tea had gotten cold. Frowning, he cycled fire qi and warmed the liquid in his cup and the teapot. Hourster, when the others got up, Sen was still sitting at that table, a cup of cold tea held forgotten in his hand.

 Book 4: Chapter 65: There’s Always a Next Step

    Book 4: Chapter 65: There¡¯s Always a Next Step


    ¡°You should be able to move freely in the city again,¡± said Sen, ¡°Although, I rmend being a little cautious. There are a few Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate members floating around. If they¡¯re smart, they¡¯ll pack up and go or work very hard to find something else to do. But people aren¡¯t always smart.¡±


    Lo Meifeng gave him a searching look. ¡°You really pulled it off.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Shi Ping caught up with the conversation then. ¡°You killed that nascent soul cultivator?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    Lo Meifeng and Falling Leaf seemed to take that in stride. Shi Ping looked like he thought I was t-out lying to him.


    ¡°How?¡± demanded Shi Ping.


    Sen gave the man a wan smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t answer when three nascent soul cultivators put that question to me, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll tell you either.¡±


    Shi Ping frowned, eyed Sen, and asked, ¡°It¡¯s really safe to go back out?¡±


    This time, it took Sen a moment to catch up. He rolled his eyes. ¡°Yes, you can go back to the brothels if you really must.¡±


    Shi Ping gave Sen an assessing look.


    ¡°You went off for a five-day vacation with Lai Dongmei. You don¡¯t get to judge me.¡±


    Sen¡¯s immediate reaction was to tell the man off, but he didn¡¯t feel like he had a lot of room to criticize. Especially not after he¡¯d taken Lo Meifeng to task for judging how he spent his time. He felt like there <em>was</em> a difference between what he¡¯d done and what Shi Ping nned to do, but it would just start a fight that Sen didn¡¯t feel like having.


    ¡°Alright. I hear you,¡± said Sen, trying to be conciliatory.


    ¡°Good,¡± said Shi Ping, who sounded more surprised than pleased. ¡°Now, hand over some of that money you stole.¡±


    ¡°Why would I do that?¡±


    ¡°Because we were the ones who had to hide in this house, praying that your insanity was going to work, with no way to even keep tabs on what was happening. I think that deserves somepensation. Plus, are you really going to pretend that you need <em>all</em> of it?¡±


    Again, Sen felt like there was probably a principle that he could cower behind to avoid paying for Shi Ping¡¯s time in a brothel. Again, he recognized it as a fight that he might be able to win, but one that he just didn¡¯t want to have. Waving a hand over the table, Sen extracted half a dozen bags of taels from one of his storage rings. They made heavy thumping noises as they dropped onto the table. The wood of the table actually groaned a little beneath the weight.


    ¡°Divide it up as you see fit,¡± said Sen.


    Lo Meifeng and Shi Ping took an active interest in inspecting the bags and moving some of the taels around. Falling Leaf only gave the bags a cursory look, then just waited for the other two to finish. They each made two bags disappear into storage treasures. Shi Ping beamed at everyone.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you all eventually,¡± he announced, and promptly left the house.


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. ¡°You realize he has enough money now to basically <em>live</em> in one of those brothels for about a year.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s his life. I keep trying to make him into someone more like, well, us. It¡¯s clearly not working. Honestly, I¡¯m not even sure why I thought it would. You can brute force change in yourself if you want it badly enough, but you can¡¯t force that kind of change on someone else. At the very least, I won¡¯t keep pouring time and energy into him if he¡¯d rather go whoring. <em>I</em> don¡¯t have the time for that. I¡¯ll do onest thing for him that I¡¯d said I do, but then he¡¯ll have to decide who he wants to be.¡±


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll leave this terrible ce soon?¡± asked Falling Leaf, hope burning hot in her eyes.


    It was the most life Sen had seen in her in weeks. He¡¯d been distracted, but he¡¯d noticed the listlessness of the transformed spirit animal. It was only a theory, but he was starting to think that she <em>needed</em> to be somewhere that thend hadn¡¯t been quite so thoroughly civilized. He nodded.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll leave this awful ce very soon. I only have two things left to do here, and then we¡¯ll go.¡±


    Shame burned in his stomach at the lie, but he kept it off his face and out of his voice. <em>It¡¯s for the best</em>, he reminded himself. <em>She may hate you for it, but it¡¯s for the best</em>. He summoned another bag of taels and deposited it in front of Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get us some provisions.¡±


    It only urred to Sen after he¡¯d thrown the money on the table that it was a ridiculous sum for provisions. Falling Leaf could probably buy out entire warehouses of food with what he¡¯d just offered her.


    ¡°And anything else you think we need or that you want,¡± he added.


    Falling Leaf eyed the bag dubiously, but it seemed the promise of imminent departure was enough to get her excited. She grabbed the bag, stored it, and announced that she was going to get them everything they¡¯d need. Lo Meifeng gave Falling Leaf a bemused look as the former ghost panther headed for the door.


    ¡°She seems happy,¡± noted Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°That¡¯s not very surprising. She hates it here even more than I do,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Do you? I wouldn¡¯t have guessed it.¡±


    ¡°Very much so. I only really came here for one thing, which I didn¡¯t get. The rest of it was just,¡± Sen searched for the right word, ¡°incidental. Now that I know the manual isn¡¯t here, I can¡¯t wait to leave. The people, the sects, the politics, all of it brings out the worst in me. There are just too many things here I don¡¯t like, which makes it very easy for me to make bad choices.¡±


    ¡°Like fighting with nascent soul cultivators?¡±


    ¡°For example. Or picking fights with people who are trying to talk sense to me.¡±


    ¡°Listen, Sen, I was,¡± Lo Meifeng began.


    ¡°Right. You were right. I didn¡¯t think it through. I didn¡¯t think about how it might affect the rest of you, or how many enemies I might make. At the time, I don¡¯t even think I cared. I just saw something that I wanted, and I acted. It was the same with Tong Guanting. The only difference there was that I saw something I wanted <em>gone</em>.¡±


    ¡°Those weren¡¯t exactly the same kind of situations. Tong Guanting <em>was</em> sending people to kill you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there was that little detail.¡±


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s expression looked like she was biting into something sour. ¡°I <em>may</em> have been a little judgmental about the Lai Dongmei situation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± agreed Sen with an emphatic nod.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be an ass.¡±


    Sen smiled and held up his hands in surrender. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± said Lo Meifeng, ¡°I assume you¡¯re ready to do whatever it is you¡¯re nning to do about the Chan Yu Ming situation.¡±


    ¡°I do need to do something about it, but I¡¯m not sure what. I thought that Tong Guanting butchering the house of Choi would have put a stop to the wedding. I¡¯d also thought about asking you to help me make Choi Zhi Peng just disappear one night.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly a workable n,¡± said Lo Meifeng, perking up. ¡°Quiet and low risk. Who gave you that idea?¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes at her. ¡°Very funny. I thought it was a workable n, too, until the wedding was still on after Tong Guanting paid them a little visit.¡±


    Lo Meifeng frowned. ¡°That <em>is</em> strange. The house of Choi doesn¡¯t exist anymore in any meaningful way. There¡¯s no good reason for the royal family to marry anyone to that family now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought, but they¡¯re moving forward anyway.¡±


    ¡°Well, if there isn¡¯t a good reason, that just means that there¡¯s a bad reason we haven¡¯t seen. Probably some kind of indiscretion that no one wants made public.¡±


    ¡°You really think it¡¯s ckmail? I thought about it, but ckmailing a royal family seems like a huge risk for a noble house.¡±


    ¡°Not really. The royal house could probably have crushed the house of Choi in a straight military conflict, but they weren¡¯t <em>in</em> a military conflict. If the royal family decided to purge the house of Choi that way, they¡¯d have to exin it. If one of them did something that they don¡¯t want anyone to know about, they might decide that it¡¯s more practical to just buy the Choi family off with whatever they¡¯re asking for.¡±


    Sen thought it over for a while. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯m not sure there is a next step to take. Short of finishing the house of Choi off, which is a step I¡¯m not prepared to take.¡±


    Lo Meifengughed. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. There¡¯s always a next step to take. You even had the right idea.¡±


    ¡°Which was?¡±


    ¡°We start by taking Choi Zhi Peng. We just have a nice, long talk with him before he discovers exciting new opportunities in his next life.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve done this sort of thing before?¡±


    ¡°Lots of times. This won¡¯t even be that hard. I¡¯m usually up against cultivators, not mortals.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll leave the nning in your hands. Otherwise, it¡¯ll turn into some kind of catastrophe.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The earth will probably open up beneath us, and we¡¯ll find ourselves stuck in some outer region of the hells with no way to escape.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s just a ridiculous-,¡± Lo Meifeng trailed off as she gave Sen a strange look. ¡°No. You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll handle the nning.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 66: Choi Zhi Peng

    Book 4: Chapter 66: Choi Zhi Peng


    A murderous headache was pounding in time with the increasing pace of Choi Zhi Peng¡¯s heart rate. He did his best to maintain a calm fa?ade, but the headache had been a constantpanion ever since that bastard Tong Guanting had shown up and murdered nearly everyone. In doing that, Tong Guanting had identally elevated him to the role of house patriarch. <em>House patriarch</em>, sneered Choi Zhi Peng internally, <em>what a joke</em>. He had always assumed that he¡¯d assume that role one day, enjoying all of the status and luxury that came with being the patriarch of a major noble house. The problem was that there had to <em>be</em> a house for there to be a patriarch. Nearly every close blood rtive Choi Zhi Peng had ever had was dead. All of their most knowledgeable and valuable servants were dead. Even the servants who had worked in the kitchen were <em>dead</em>. Not that Choi Zhi Peng really cared about any of those dead, but that one cook had always made pork fried rice just the way he liked it. That man¡¯s loss was a true tragedy.


    The only thing that had kept the house even nominally functional had been Choi Zhi Peng working nearly around the clock and massive ouys of money. He¡¯d needed to hire mercenaries to guard his home because that damnable Tong Guanting had killed most of the house guards as well. He¡¯d also needed to hire extra security for all of their holdings and businesses or the other houses would gleefully seize them. The costs were enormous and, he knew, unsustainable. Choi Zhi Peng had given brief consideration to grabbing whatever taels he couldy his hands on and simply running. Yet, not everything was as hopeless as it had seemed at first. He¡¯d made it clear to the king what would happen if the man tried to back out of their deal. The fact that the royal house hadn¡¯t moved against him had seemed to have a chilling effect on the enthusiasm of the other houses to finish the work that Tong Guanting had begun.


    The thought of having Chan Yu Ming in his power, <em>finally</em>, was enough to bring a smile to his face even through the headache. He¡¯d tried to court her when they were younger and the full extent of her cultivation prowess wasn¡¯t clear yet. He¡¯d been shocked when she didn¡¯t even try to hide her loathing. It wasn¡¯t just loathing for his house, which wasmonce enough, but for him personally. She had told him that, as far as she was concerned, he had less value than rat droppings. Those words had burned themselves into his mind. He hadn¡¯t been able to do anything to her then, because of her station and because she was a cultivator. He suspected that she thought being a cultivator would let her deny him. She was wrong. He had what he needed to bring her to heel. <em>Won¡¯t she be surprised</em>, he thought. <em>Then, she¡¯ll find out what it means to be lower than rat droppings</em>.


    As the pain in his head grew even worse, Choi Zhi Peng epted that he wasn¡¯t going to get any more work done. He thought about going to bed, but he knew that he¡¯d just toss and turn if he didn¡¯t do something to rx. Fortunately, he had just the thing for that. Pushing away from the financial scrolls that continued to assure him that he couldn¡¯t keep spending the way he had been, he made his way to a particr panel on a particr wall that, with the deaths of so many in the family, only he knew about. He checked the hallway, making sure that none of the new and wholly untrustworthy servants were lurking, and opened the panel. He slipped inside the narrow, hidden stairwell and closed the panel behind him. The stairwell was a cramped thing with stone steps and wooden walls, but he didn¡¯t care about that. All he cared about was the peasant that was waiting for him at the bottom of those stairs.


    The foolish boy had dared to re at him after Choi Zhi Peng had allowed his parents the honor of providing him with a free meal. The parents had known their ce, at least, but the boy didn¡¯t. As it had done so often in the past, the duty to <em>instruct</em> the boy until he learned manners fell on Choi Zhi Peng. Of course, the boy¡¯s parents had begged and pleaded for the boy. He had enjoyed the sight of them on their knees, kowtowing to him as all peasants should. Still, that wouldn¡¯t teach the boy his ce. That¡¯s what whips, knives, and broken bones were for, after all, to educate the ignorant. He just hoped the whelp didn¡¯t die before he was done with his instruction. Choi Zhi Peng felt a stirring in his groin just thinking about it. <em>Yes</em>, he decided, <em>this will be exactly what I need</em>. He didn¡¯t let himself rush down the stairs. He took the steps at a measured pace, let his anticipation build, and savored the prospect of whimpering cries of pain.


    As he entered the special room that his family had used for such activities for generations, he called out.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for you to learn your proper ce, boy.¡±


    ¡°Funny,¡± said a woman who standing right behind him. ¡°I was thinking something remarkably like that about <em>you</em>.¡±


    No matter how startled he was, or how impossible it was that a stranger could be in this ce, he¡¯d been trained to defend himself. Choi Zhi Peng spun around and sent a fistshing out. A smirking woman dodged the blow like it was nothing. Then, as if to drive home to him just how little respect she had for him, the woman pped him across the face. Choi Zhi Peng¡¯s world exploded into shades of white and red. When he could put thoughts into order again, he realized that casual blow had knocked him off his feet. He could taste blood in his mouth and he was having trouble opening one of his eyes. His thoughts were so muddled that it took him almost half a minute to realize the obvious.


    ¡°Cultivator,¡± he slurred.


    ¡°Oh, look who¡¯s back,¡± said the woman.


    Her tone was cheerful, but there was something in it that turned Choi Zhi Peng¡¯s blood to ice. All in a rush, rity returned and the true horror of the situation dawned on him. He was in a ce that no one else knew about with a cultivator who clearly meant to do him harm. Worse still, even if he screamed for his mercenary guards, no one would hear him. That was the whole point of this room. Desperate to escape, Choi Zhi Peng scrambled toward the stairs on his hands and knees. Thatsted until someone grabbed the back of his robes and threw him across the room. He collided with a wall. After that, he drifted in and out of consciousness. He was vaguely aware that he was being moved. It wasn¡¯t until he was being hoisted into the air that he snapped back into awareness.


    He¡¯d been suspended from the ceiling. He looked up and saw the manacles on his wrists, which were connected to hooks on the ceiling meant for that express purpose. He¡¯d nned on doing this exact thing to that boy. Hope sprang to life in his chest. <em>The boy can run for help</em>, he thought. Choi Zhi Peng looked around wildly, but all he saw was the woman who pped him and a green-eyed girl. Even knowing that the woman was a cultivator, the look the green-eyed girl gave him sent lightning bolts of terror through him. There was nothing in those eyes that suggested she saw a person when she looked at him. It was like she saw a collection of things that she thought it would be interesting to <em>take apart</em>. The woman was looking around the room as if she was trying to understand what he was looking for.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said. ¡°Wondering where that poor kid went? I expect he¡¯s been returned to his family by now. There wasn¡¯t any need for him to witness this.¡±


    Her tone was casual, nonchnt even, but that just made it worse. He was helpless here and they were going to hurt him. <em>No</em>, he finally admitted to himself, <em>they¡¯re going to kill me</em>.


    ¡°I can pay you!¡± he shrieked. ¡°I¡¯ll double what you¡¯re being paid. I¡¯ll triple it. I¡¯ll get you anything you want.¡±


    The woman gave him a pitying look. He turned his gaze on the girl only to feel his dder let go. She had wandered over to one of the tables, picked up a barbed hook, and was giving him a spective look while she hefted it.


    ¡°Please. Please don¡¯t do this,¡± he begged.


    He felt a hot stab of shame as he felt the tears rolling down his cheeks. This wasn¡¯t how things were supposed to be. He was the patriarch of the house of Choi. He felt anger welling up in him. He screamed and thrashed while the woman and girl mostly ignored him. As time ticked away, he started to think that this was all some borate joke or hoax. If they were going to torture him, they should have started. Choi Zhi Peng felt his own eyes go wide as the wall opposite him, a wall carved out of bedrock, seemed to turn to liquid and pull away. A tall, obscenely handsome man stepped out of that darkness. He nodded to the woman and the girl, then turned his gaze on Choi Zhi Peng. However frightening that girl was, she was nothing, <em>nothing</em>,pared with that man. His dark eyes might as well have been chiseled out of ck ice. All of Choi Zhi Peng''s hopes that this had been some mistake or joke died the moment that his eyes met those of the cultivator who had stepped through solid rock. Those eyes, those pitiless eyes, belonged to the kind of man who was capable of <em>anything</em>.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± whispered Choi Zhi Peng.


    ¡°My name is Lu Sen. I¡¯m the man your family tried to have assassinated by Tong Guanting and his little band of helpers. I¡¯m also an acquaintance of Chan Yu Ming.¡±


    ¡°Oh gods,¡± whimpered Choi Zhi Peng.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± said Lu Sen. ¡°But maybe one day. I¡¯m going to exin to you what¡¯s about to happen here. Somehow, you¡¯ve managed to convince the king to give Chan Yu Ming to you. This, in spite of the fact that your house is in shambles and being reincarnated as pig feces would be too good a fate for you. Now, clearly, I¡¯m never going to let you have her, but I do want to know how you¡¯ve made that deal with the king stick. So, I¡¯m going to leave you to the tender care of these two finedies for a while.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you,¡± screeched Choi Zhi Peng.


    Lu Sen stared at him for five full seconds which felt like five hours to Choi Zhi Peng before the man said, ¡°I¡¯m not feeling patient today. Talk quickly.¡±


    Choi Zhi Peng exined everything his family had learned about the king and how they leveraged that information to arrange the marriage. Lu Sen said nothing, but his expression grew even colder and less forgiving with each passing word.


    ¡°Is that everything?¡± asked Lu Sen.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Choi Zhi Peng, nodding as hard as he could. ¡°Will you let me go now?¡±


    Lu Sen just lifted an eyebrow. ¡°I see you didn¡¯t understand. Regardless of whether you told me anything or not, I was <em>always</em> going to leave you with them.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± asked Choi Zhi Peng, his heart pounding in his throat.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. They aren¡¯t going to kill you. <em>I¡¯m</em> going to kill you. I¡¯m just going to wait until they¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± shouted Choi Zhi Peng as Lu Sen walked over to the woman and the girl.


    ¡°How long do you think?¡± Lu Sen asked the woman.


    ¡°Two hours should do it,¡± said the woman.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back then,¡± he said.


    Choi Zhi Peng screamed at Lu Sen as the man disappeared back through that solid rock of the wall. The screams choked off as the woman walked over to him with a long narrow de in her hand. She looked up at him with an all-too-familiar loathing on her face.


    ¡°A child,¡± she said, then drove the de into his kneecap.


    It didn¡¯tst forever. On some level, Choi Zhi Peng knew that it didn¡¯t. It just <em>felt</em> like forever. Yet, for all the suffering, all the muttion, all of his pleas for death, they didn¡¯t kill him. When they finally stopped doing things to him, it didn¡¯t matter anymore. The pain just kept going. There wasn¡¯t a part of him, what was left of him, that wasn¡¯t sending waves of agony to his mind. A voice reached that part of him that was still a little sane. He managed to open the one eye he had left and saw Lu Sen staring down at him with that same imcable expression.


    ¡°You know what the sad part is? I sincerely doubt that you¡¯ve suffered enough, but you¡¯ve cost me enough time. I will leave you with a parting gift, though.¡±


    Choi Zhi Peng didn¡¯t really understand what was happening until his body fell. When he struck the bottom of the hole that Lu Sen had made, he screamed as all of his injuries lit up with the fresh trauma.


    Lu Sen spoke down to him. ¡°No one will ever know what became of you. You¡¯ll just disappear.¡±


    ¡°End this,¡± wheezed Choi Zhi Peng, desperate for it just to be over. ¡°Just kill me.¡±


    ¡°I <em>am</em> killing you. The way you killed. I¡¯m killing you slowly. You will die alone, afraid, sealed away in the darkness.¡±


    It took Choi Zhi Peng a long moment to understand what the man intended. As the rock at the top of the hole started to run back together, Choi Zhi Peng screamed onest time.


    ¡°Kill me!¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 67: Courtyard Chat

    Book 4: Chapter 67: Courtyard Chat


    Sen stood outside in the small courtyard of the house that was theoretically his. He mostly thought of it as Lo Meifeng¡¯s house. It wasn¡¯t a home he¡¯d have chosen. It was just a ce to sleep and work while he was stuck in the capital. He intended to give it to Lo Meifeng when he left. She seemedfortable in the city and, Sen presumed, that her work would bring her back to the city in the future. It would be convenient for her to have a ce that was legitimately hers. He supposed that he would need to leave some money so she could hire servants to maintain the ce when she wasn¡¯t around. She could probably afford it herself, but she¡¯d only bought the ce at his request. No reason to burden her with financial problems when it wasn¡¯t necessary. Plus, he doubted he¡¯d ever return to this city after he left. Nor, he imagined, would he be especially wee after he did what was necessary.


    Sighing a little to himself, Sen peered up at the sky but found it frustrating. Something about being in the city obscured the sky, reducing the number of stars he could see. Still, he persisted, quietly cultivating and considering his next steps. He¡¯d been standing there like that for almost an hour when he sensed something. He didn¡¯t hear her, so much as felt Falling Leaf approaching. She certainly hadn¡¯t lost all of her stealthiness in the transformation from ghost panther to human form. He¡¯d been surprised, at first, when she¡¯d decided to go along with him and Lo Meifeng to deal with the Choi Zhi Peng problem. When he considered how little she¡¯d had to do and how often he¡¯d gone off without her recently, the choice had made more sense. She <em>had</em>e all this way to watch out for him. Plus, he had the distinct impression that Falling Leaf¡¯s world was divided into two very distinct categories.


    There were the people she liked or at least tolerated. That was an exceedingly short list that mostly consisted of Sen himself, followed distantly by Auntie Caihong, Uncle Kho, and Master Feng, and followed even more distantly by Lo Meifeng and Chan Yu Ming. Then, there was everyone else. In the case of someone like Shi Ping, she seemed to put up with him because Sen put up with him. Beyond that, though, Sen didn¡¯t think that Falling Leaf cared <em>at all</em> about human beings. That seemed to give her a disturbingly casual attitude about whether any specific person lived or died. Not that she¡¯d go out of her way to hurt anyone. She¡¯d never been malicious. But once it became clear to her that Sen intended for Choi Zhi Peng to suffer and die, though, she¡¯d epted it the same way she might ept that it was raining that day or that they¡¯d be eating chicken for dinner.


    The recognition that, when it came to humans, Falling Leaf was disinterested at best had brought up some old guilt for Sen. He¡¯d worried that this transformation had taken her away from everything she cared about and reced it with things she didn¡¯t. That might have been okay in the short term because she¡¯d had a lot of distractions in thest six months or so. In the long term, though, he worried that she¡¯d regret that choice to change herself more and more. He feared that she¡¯d learn to resent him for it. Especially if he left her behind to go face the danger of Fu Run by himself. Forcing a smile onto his face, he spoke before he could see her.


    ¡°Did you get everything we¡¯ll need?¡± he asked.


    Falling Leaf made an annoyed huffing sound. ¡°I miss being able to sneak up on you. It was funny.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. Should I pretend to be startled next time?¡±


    Falling Leaf stepped up next to him, gave the sky a quizzical look, and shook her head. ¡°No. It¡¯s not the same. What are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really looking at anything. The sky is just slightly more interesting than the walls around us.¡±


    Falling Leaf considered that for a moment, then nodded. ¡°True. I got everything we¡¯ll need for now. Lots of food. I¡¯d have gotten more, but my storage ring is full.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen. ¡°I can help with that.¡±


    He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small handful of storage rings he¡¯d emptied recently. He¡¯d been umting them at an almost appalling rate during his conflict with the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate. It was only in thest day or so that he¡¯d finally had the time to start looking at them. He hadn¡¯t even gotten around to looking in the storage ring the Steel Gryphon sect had sent him after his confrontation with Tang Ehuang. Sen idly wondered if they really had imprisoned her or just told her to stay out of sight until after he left the city. He hoped that they had locked her up. He didn¡¯t need yet another person sending killers after him. Looking over at Falling Leaf, he took her hand and emptied that pile of storage rings into it. He found it a little sad howmonce the storage treasures had be to him. Once, they had seemed like a miracle. Now, he handed them out like they weren¡¯t really valuable at all.


    He supposed the wonder he¡¯d once felt about them had simply been extinguished by knowledge and exposure. Even if he couldn¡¯t make one himself, he had at least a working understanding of the kinds of qi maniption it took to make one. That had bled away most of his wonder at them. Looting them from the corpses of dead enemies had soaked up the rest. There was nothing miraculous or wondrous about that. Falling Leaf gave the storage rings a happy smile and put them into a pocket.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ll be able to get enough food tost for years.¡±


    ¡°Did you get anything other than food?¡±


    She squinted at him in confusion. ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Did you get anything for yourself?¡±


    She looked even more confused. ¡°I got food.¡±


    It took Sen a moment to reorganize his thinking. As much as she looked like a young woman, Falling Leaf was still a ghost panther in her thinking. She didn¡¯t care about things that normal people cared about. Fine clothes meant nothing to her, save that the material might be a little morefortable. Money meant nothing to her, save that it could get her the things she wanted. And, for a ghost panther, wants were basic in the extreme. She cared about food and water. She cared about shelter. Anything beyond that just wasn¡¯t important to her. She already had a tent, so shelter wasn¡¯t a concern. All that left was food.


    ¡°Well, if you see something you think is nice or pretty, you should get it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°So, you can have itter to look at or enjoy.¡±


    Falling Leaf frowned at me, then shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t need to <em>buy</em> things to look at.¡±


    ¡°As you say.¡±


    ¡°When we go, we¡¯ll seek the mad one?¡±


    Sen nodded, keeping an iron grip on his guilt. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°The mad are dangerous. Unpredictable.¡±


    ¡°They are.¡±


    ¡°How will you convince her to give you what you need?¡±


    Sen had given that problem some thought ande up with exactly nothing. Saying something was insane was like saying that a nt was green. It told you something, but it didn¡¯t really give you any context. After all, there were a lot of different kinds of green out in nature. By the same token, there were different kinds of madness. Sen had asked some questions about her on the off chance he was forced to seek out Fu Run, but the best anyone hade up with was that she was erratic. That put Sen in the worst possible position. He couldn¡¯t n. He just had to wait and see what he got when, or rather if, he managed to find her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t even know that I can convince her or that it will even be necessary. Do you remember what Uncle Kho said about her? He said that, if I catch her in the right frame of mind, she might just give it to me, pat me on the head, and send me on my way.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t say she¡¯d pat you on the head,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    ¡°He implied it.¡±


    ¡°He also said she might just kill you for bothering her.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°He did. At this point, though, it doesn¡¯t change anything. I need that manual, and she¡¯s thest person who might have it.¡±


    ¡°We hope.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°We hope.¡±


    ¡°What will you do about the king?¡± asked Falling Leaf in a tone that suggested she was only mildly curious.


    If it had been anyone else in the entire world, he would have thought that this whole conversation had been about getting to that question. With Falling Leaf, he believed that she really was only mildly curious.


    ¡°About what you¡¯d expect.¡±


    A faint line appeared on Falling Leaf¡¯s forehead as she thought about those words. ¡°If you kill him, won¡¯t Chan Yu Ming be angry with you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I expect that she¡¯ll be <em>very</em> angry with me.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should get someone else to do it.¡±


    ¡°Like who?¡±


    ¡°One of the other royal people? He has sons, doesn¡¯t he? Let one of them challenge to be pride leader.¡±


    While Sen knew that things didn¡¯t work quite that way, it did give him an idea.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°Being you.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 68: Hello, Your Majesty

    Book 4: Chapter 68: Hello, Your Majesty


    Sen lounged on the throne, feeling both bored and ufortable. While security around the royal pce was probably very tight for any malicious mortal trying to find a way in, it had been stupidly easy for him to infiltrate the ce. It had also been absurdly easy for him to subdue the various guards and servants who found their way into the throne room. He¡¯d made a pile of them in a corner. Sadly, at least one of them was snoring loudly, which was aggravating at the best of times. Yet, it was the throne itself that Sen found the most annoying part. It was a big, ornate thing with lots of gilding. It looked expensive and impressive, yet had seemingly been designed by someone who didn¡¯t care about the way that a human body actually worked. The corners of everything were too sharp as if to cut into the flesh of anyone that moved too fast. If he wasn¡¯t a body cultivator, he didn¡¯t think he could tolerate sitting on it for hours on end. If he was the king, he¡¯d make someone build him a better throne.


    When he¡¯d first thought this idea up, it had seemed like a good one. After an hour of waiting, though, he was wishing that he¡¯de up with something else. He¡¯d assumed that the disappearance of so many guards and servants would have caused more of a stir, especially around the throne room. Yet, no one hade to investigate. Sen considered going and looking for his quarry when he heard the sounds of lots of footsteps rushing toward the throne room. He sat up straight and adopted a disdainful air. He summoned a jian from his storage ring and casually rested it across his knees. When the doors burst and pce guards poured in, he knew that he was finally making progress. The armored guards lined up in two rows on the far side of the room. Behind them, he saw an older man with long gray hair pulled back into a topknot with golden rings. At the sight of Sen sitting on the throne, the older man¡¯s eyes filled with fury.


    ¡°How dare you?¡± the man roared.


    ¡°Hello, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Seize him!¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow as he reached out to all of the guards with his killing intent. Compared to cultivators, the mortal guards had no defenses against such an attack. Sen waved a hand.


    ¡°Sit.¡±


    Every single guard was driven to the floor in a crash of weapons and armor. A brief application of wind qi mmed the doors closed behind the king.


    ¡°That is my throne. You will remove yourself from it!¡±


    Sen had to give the man credit. He knew he was facing off against a cultivator, but he hadn¡¯t descended into fear or blubbering.


    ¡°No. It <em>was</em> your throne. Now, it¡¯s <em>my</em> throne until I decide what I¡¯m going to do with it.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t how things are done. I am the-,¡± the king started.


    ¡°Silence,¡± ordered Sen, letting some of his auric imposition settle on the king.


    The older man¡¯s words choked off into spluttering. With another gesture, Sen seized the older man in a fist of air qi and dragged him across the room. While it was a trivial disy of power on Sen¡¯s part, the King¡¯s eyes finally went wide with fear. Sen dropped the man in front of the throne. The king started to stand, only for Sen to drive him to his knees with a burst of air qi. Rage contorted the king¡¯s expression as he started bellowing.


    ¡°I will not be treated this way in my own pce. I will have you killed, you worthless cultivator dog.¡±


    Sen backhanded the man. He was careful to restrain his strength. He didn¡¯t want to kill the king before the show was over. Even so, the king was knocked over. The king red up at Sen from the floor.


    ¡°I <em>know</em>,¡± said Sen, before the king could work himself up into any more bluster.


    That was all it took. The king went from trying to put on a show of imperious self-assurance to begging through bloodied lips.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you whatever you want. Just tell me what it is, and I¡¯ll give it to you. Money. Lands. Women. Anything you want.¡±


    ¡°I want you to be silent. Don¡¯t worry, your family will be here soon. Then, you can exin to all of them why I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know <em>who</em> you are, let alone why you¡¯re here.¡±


    Sen feigned an expression of chagrined horror.


    ¡°Did I not introduce myself? Oh, what terrible manners on my part. My name is Lu Sen. I¡¯m acquainted with your daughter. She might have mentioned me. Oh,¡± said Sen, ¡°she might have called me by this silly little title that¡¯s been going around in some stories recently.¡±


    The king had gone perfectly still at the mention of Sen¡¯s name. He¡¯d grown paler and paler with each passing word.


    ¡°What title?¡± whispered the king


    ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale. Apparently, I¡¯ve developed this reputation for blowing through ces and destroying the wicked. Especially those who have abused their power. I can¡¯t imagine why.¡±


    ¡°You have to understand,¡± said the king.


    Sen fixed the king with a look and let the tiniest sliver of his killing intent slip free. The king¡¯s jaw snapped shut, and he refused to meet Sen¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Do not speak again until you are bid to do so. Now,¡± said Sen, pointing to a spot in front of the throne, ¡°kneel.¡±


    The pair of them sat there in utter silence for almost half an hour before Prince Jing ushered the rest of the royal family into the throne room. Chan Yu Ming¡¯s eyes met Sen¡¯s and a bright smile started to form before she fully took in the state of the throne room. She looked briefly confused before anger took root. The rest of the royal family wore stunned expressions. Even Prince Jing, who had known that something was going to happen, seemed to be struggling to take in the sight before his eyes. The room remained locked in that state for a moment before the guards who hade in behind the royals came to their senses. They surged forward, only to be driven into unconsciousness by Sen¡¯s auric imposition. The sudden copse of the guards shocked even Chan Yu Ming. She took a step forward.


    ¡°Sen, what is the meaning of this?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Choi Zhi Peng is dead,¡± Sen announced. ¡°They won¡¯t find his body, but I assure you that he is quite dead.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming¡¯s face couldn¡¯t seem to settle into any one expression. There was hope, fear, more confusion, more anger, and then it cycled back to hope again.


    ¡°He¡¯s really dead?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He is.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at her. He¡¯d thought that the answer was pretty obvious, but he answered anyway.


    ¡°I executed him.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming¡¯s expression finally settled on one emotion. Relief.


    ¡°I thought,¡± she started. ¡°I hadn¡¯t heard from you. I thought you changed your mind.¡±


    ¡°I said I¡¯d help you. I hadn¡¯t nned on it happening this way, but I adapted to the circumstances. Still, that isn¡¯t why we¡¯re all here.¡±


    An older woman stepped forward, casting a baleful look at Sen. ¡°Who do you think you are to treat the royalty this way?¡±


    Sen met the woman¡¯s eyes. ¡°I would take great care in the words you choose to utter in this room. I haven¡¯t decided how many of you are going to survive the next hour.¡±


    ¡°Sen!¡± shouted Chan Yu Ming, appalled at his words.


    A hard look from Sen brought her up short.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring you here to talk to me. I brought you here to listen,¡± said Sen. ¡°Your <em>honorable</em> king is going to exin to you why I¡¯m here. Why he was going to trade Chan Yu Ming to the Choi family. He¡¯s going to tell you everything. Isn¡¯t that right, your majesty?¡±


    When the king didn¡¯t say anything, Sen unleashed a little more of his killing intent. The king flinched and then cried out.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll tell them.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. Face them. Look them in the eyes while you tell them what you traded away your honor for. What you were willing to sell your daughter to keep secret.¡±


    The king slowly pushed himself up off the floor. He stared up at Sen with a naked plea for mercy in his eyes. Sen looked back at the man with nothing but cold resolve on his face. Not finding what he wanted in Sen, the king turned to face his family. He opened his mouth and froze, feeling the point of a de on the back of his neck.


    ¡°If you lie,¡± said Sen, ¡°I will make you suffer in ways you cannot imagine.¡±


    Sen heard the king swallow. Then, the king started speaking in a halting burst.


    ¡°I sold people,¡± he said. ¡°I sold people to demonic cultivators.¡±


    ¡°What people?¡± demanded Prince Jing.


    ¡°Yes, your majesty,¡± added Sen, ¡°what people?¡±


    ¡°Men. Women. Children. Whatever they asked for. Whatever they needed for their rituals.¡±


    While the king was speaking, Sen was studying the faces of the royal family. It was clear from the distress on Chan Yu Ming¡¯s face that she hadn¡¯t known. The blind fury on Prince Jing¡¯s face suggested that he hadn¡¯t known either. The other prince, who Sen didn¡¯t even have a name for, looked guilty. Sen hadn¡¯t expected that. The other princesses looked too stunned to get a clear read on them. The queen had better control over her expression than her children, but Sen could see it in her eyes. She had known.


    ¡°Father, how could you?¡± shouted Prince Jing.


    Sen held up a hand to stop any more outbursts and poked the back of the king¡¯s neck with his jian. ¡°Tell them the rest.¡±


    ¡°I kept some people for myself,¡± he said through clenched teeth.


    ¡°Remember that suffering we talked about,¡± said Sen. ¡°The time for that is rapidly approaching. Exin it to them in in terms. Who did you keep?¡±


    ¡°Boys.¡±


    ¡°What did you do to them?¡±


    ¡°I made them pleasure me.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t give any more warnings. He grabbed the king¡¯s left elbow and squeezed until the bones shattered. The king screamed. Chan Yu Ming lurched toward them, only to stumble to a stop as Sen let some of his killing intent loose on her. She stared at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face. She¡¯d never been on the receiving end of his killing intent, not even during their duel on the battlefield in Inferno¡¯s Vale. No one moved as the king¡¯s screaming slowly ebbed away to choked sobs.


    ¡°Try again,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I raped them.¡±


    ¡°How often?¡±


    The king¡¯s face turned down toward the floor until Sen screamed at him.


    ¡°Look at your family!¡±


    The King forced his head back up to look at his wife and children, most of whom were staring at him in disgust.


    ¡°Now,¡± said Sen. ¡°Tell them how often.¡±


    ¡°Over and over and over.¡±


    ¡°For how long?¡±


    ¡°Years.¡±


    ¡°And when you were done with them,¡± said Sen in a voice that felt like it was made from gravel, ¡°what did you do? Be. <em>Specific</em>.¡±


    ¡°I choked them to death while I pleasured myself.¡±


    Sen grabbed the king by the shoulder and drove him back to his knees, eliciting another scream of agony from the man. Sen gave the rest of the royal family a hard look.


    ¡°Your king. How noble he is. And how noble you two are,¡± said Sen, looking first at the queen and then at the other prince. ¡°Knowing, and bravely doing nothing.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming whirled on her mother.


    ¡°You knew!¡±


    Chan Yu Ming¡¯s mother lifted her chin. ¡°He is the king.¡±


    ¡°He was,¡± said Prince Jing.


    The prince stormed over to his father with a jian in hand. Sen could see the prince gripping the hilt so tightly that his knuckles were white. There was no art to it or delicate maneuvering of the de. The prince drove his jian through his father¡¯s heart with nothing but main force. Sen heard the ribs break in the king¡¯s chest.


    ¡°No!¡± screamed the queen. ¡°Jing, how could you?¡±


    ¡°How could I?¡± he roared, ripping his jian out of the king¡¯s chest and spinning toward his family. ¡°How could <em>I</em>? How could you <em>not</em>?¡±


    Prince Jing started walking toward his mother, his chest heaving, the sword trembling in his hand. Sen could feel the murderous rage boiling off of the prince. Chan Yu Ming was staring at her father¡¯s corpse like she was in a daze. Her sisters were screaming and wailing. The queen was slowly backing away from her apoplectic son. She looked to the other prince.


    ¡°Liwei,¡± she shrieked, ¡°help me.¡±


    The other prince gave Jing a malicious sneer. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this for a long time. After I cut you down, <em>I¡¯ll</em> sit on that throne.¡±


    Liwei drew his own jian and advanced on Jing. It was a shockingly brief fight, even by Sen¡¯s estimation. Jing barely broke his stride toward his mother. He took a half-second pause during which he parried a clumsy thrust by Liwei and then opened his brother¡¯s throat. As Liwei choked and gurgled hisst on the floor amid the hysterical reactions of his sisters, Jing closed on his mother. Chan Yu Ming came out of her daze at that point.


    ¡°Jing!¡± she screamed.


    Where all else had failed to cut through the prince¡¯s incandescent fury, Chan Yu Ming screaming his name seemed to bring the man back to sanity. He paused.


    ¡°Jing, please don¡¯t,¡± begged Chan Yu Ming.


    That moment seemed to stretch out as Jing stared at his terrified, sobbing mother, and Chan Yu Ming stared at her brother. Finally, Jing spoke.


    ¡°Find a guard. Have them bring <em>chains</em>.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 69: Mirror

    Book 4: Chapter 69: Mirror


    There was chaos in the throne room after the prince¡¯s rather decisive to, in effect, im the throne. Guards and servants were summoned. The guards took the queen away in chains, cursing her unfilial child all the way. The servants were tasked with taking away Chan Yu Ming¡¯s hysterical sisters and rousing all the people Sen rendered unconscious. In the midst of all of that, Sen tried to fade away into the background. It was almost a sessful venture. He¡¯d gotten as far as a side door before the prince called out after him.


    ¡°So, is that it? You send the kingdom into chaos and turmoil, and then you leave without a word.¡±


    Sen turned and met the prince¡¯s angry eyes. ¡°The kingdom was already in chaos and turmoil. All that¡¯s changed is that now you <em>know about it</em>.¡±


    ¡°You nned all of this, didn¡¯t you? You expected me to kill him.¡±


    ¡°He needed to die. I knew that much. It was better for the kingdom if someone in your family did it. Yes, it was also better for <em>me</em> if someone in your family did it. If one of you hadn¡¯t killed him, though, I would have.¡±


    ¡°And what if we¡¯d closed ranks to protect him.¡±


    Sen let the silence linger between them for several seconds. ¡°What do you imagine I would have done?¡±


    ¡°The person who visited my home and discussed politics with me? I think that man would have left in disgust. Except, you aren¡¯t that man. <em>This</em> is who you really are. If we¡¯d chosen to protect him, I think the man standing in front of me would have in us all.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s <em>an</em> answer. You were wrong about two things, though.¡±


    ¡°Was I?¡± asked the prince.


    ¡°Yes. First, I am both of those men. I lesson I had to learn the hardest possible way is that I can be <em>more</em> than one thing. The second thing,¡± said Sen, ¡°is that you didn¡¯t fail my test.¡±


    Jing was caught so off-guard by that statement that it seemed to disrupt the not entirely unreasonable anger he was feeling at Sen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°You are, against all odds, a decent man. The fight I was in at the time was no ce for a decent man. A break with me was the surest protection you could get. As my ally, you were a target with no real defense against the people who would havee for you.¡±


    ¡°Do you even recognize how patronizing that is?¡±


    ¡°I¡­what?¡±


    ¡°Your excuse is that it was all for my own good. You made that decision like I wasn¡¯t intelligent enough to understand the dangers inherent in the situation. Do I strike you as stupid?¡±


    ¡°No. You do not.¡±


    A wearying realization that he¡¯d been here before settled over Sen. Hadn¡¯t he done the same thing with Lifen? Withheld information because he didn¡¯t think it would benefit her to know it. He remembered how angry she¡¯d been when she found out. He thought she¡¯d been almost as angry as the prince was with him now.


    ¡°It probably never even urred to you that I could have helped you. The same way that I could have helped you do this,¡± he swept his hand around the room, ¡°in a way that wouldn¡¯t require my sisters to live with the memory of me butchering our father and brother.¡±


    ¡°This <em>needed</em> to happen,¡± said Sen, anger bleeding into his voice.


    ¡°Of course, this needed to happen. I knew it. You knew it. Everyone in this room <em>knew</em> it. But there were other ways to do it! And if you would have just talked to me, like a friend, I would have told you that! Instead, you forced my hand and put me in a position where I <em>had</em> to act.¡±


    Sen felt like his heart stopped. He remembered hurling nearly identical words at Lo Meifeng. He¡¯d felt so sure about those words. He¡¯d been so certain that he was in the right. Yet, here he was doing the same thing to someone else. The scale wasn¡¯t quite the same. The prince had only killed two people, and Sen was very confident they¡¯d both had iting. The offense itself, though? That was close enough that it was all but indistinguishable save for some details. <em>No</em>, thought Sen, <em>it isn¡¯t the same</em>. In a grim moment of realization, he saw that what he¡¯d done was worse. Lo Meifeng had acted in a moment of desperation. She had stumbled onto a full-scale cultivator battle and reacted.


    He had <em>engineered</em> the confrontation. He¡¯d ensured that everyone would be present. He¡¯d taken his assessment of the prince¡¯s character and judged that the prince would likely do what Sen wanted him to do. Sure, it was almost certainly for the greater good. The kingdom would probably be better off for it in the long run. Sen truly believed that anyone who was so fundamentally broken as a person that they could do the things the king had done was likely a terrible ruler. And exactly none of that mattered to the prince, or likely to Chan Yu Ming, or their sisters. Just like none of Lo Meifeng¡¯s reasons had mattered to him because the pain wasn¡¯t measured in abstractions like the greater good. Pain was fundamentally a personal experience, and he had caused all of these people pain. He suspected much of it had been unavoidable pain, but he also thought that he¡¯d made it worse than it needed to be. Sen had manipted someone he thought of as a friend to get the result he wanted. When it was all said and done, that was what the prince would take away from the situation because it was the truth. Sen was so caught up in his thoughts that it startled him when the prince spoke again.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have anything to say?¡±


    Sen hesitated and then spoke. ¡°If it¡¯s a constion to you, there is a very good chance I¡¯ll be dead inside of two years.¡±


    ¡°Why would <em>that</em> be a constion to me? You being dead doesn¡¯t solve anything.¡±


    ¡°I just meant that it¡¯s unlikely that I¡¯ll trouble your kingdom again.¡±


    ¡°Is that what you think I care about?¡±


    ¡°No. I expect you want an apology.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    Sen suppressed the urge tough at the bitter irony of it all. ¡°I would. I¡¯d also want the person to mean it.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that a simple apology is <em>beyond</em> you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the pain I¡¯ve caused all of you,¡± said Sen. ¡°But I made what I thought were the best choices based on what I knew and believed at the time. Put in the same position with the same information and beliefs, though, I¡¯d make the same choices. I¡¯m sure that isn¡¯t what you want to hear, because it wasn¡¯t what I wanted to hear when I was on the other side of this conversation.¡±


    The prince¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°If you¡¯ve been on my side of this conversation, why would you ever do that to someone?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t always see ourselves clearly. At least, I don¡¯t. You don¡¯t always recognize when you¡¯re walking down the path to a bad decision,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°That¡¯s an easy excuse.¡±


    ¡°You know that it¡¯s not an excuse. It¡¯s a truth. One I hope you avoid when you¡¯re sitting on that <em>profoundly</em> ufortable throne.¡±


    The prince turned away with his fists clenched. Sen remembered that anger and the hurt that drove it so well. Sen consoled himself with the knowledge that the prince could at least send him away. <em>He could even banish me</em>, thought Sen. <em>He is the king or just a hair¡¯s breadth away from it</em>. Although, the prince probably recognized how futile it would be to try to banish a cultivator like Sen. And, the prince was also savvy enough to know that, if Sen lived, he would be good for a favor or three down the road. Favors from higher-level cultivators weren¡¯t something that smart rulers threw away on a whim or in a fit of pique. It took a little while, but the prince¡¯s fists eventually unclenched. Sen watched as the prince frowned at the throne.


    ¡°It really is absurdly ufortable, isn¡¯t it?¡± said the prince.


    ¡°You should get a new one,¡± said Sen, taking a few steps so he stood beside the prince.


    ¡°I think I will,¡± said the prince. ¡°You realize that it¡¯s going to be a while before I stop being angry about all of this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I know it better than anyone.¡±


    ¡°Will you speak with Yu Ming before you leave?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    The prince eyed him. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s the best course of action?¡±


    Sen offered the other man a half-shrug. ¡°If I was her, I¡¯d probably me me for all of this. She won¡¯t want to see me. Or, she¡¯ll <em>definitely</em> want to see me, just so she can try to put a jian through me. Either way, better for everyone if I¡¯m just not here.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps so. I take it you¡¯re leaving the city.¡±


    ¡°I am. Soon.¡±


    ¡°In that case, travel safely if you can.¡±


    ¡°Rule well, your majesty.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 70: Hey!

    Book 4: Chapter 70: Hey!


    Feeling more than a little conflicted about what had happened, Sen managed to escape the throne room without any more encounters with people he really didn¡¯t want to talk to for so many reasons. Yet, it seemed that fate or Karma or luck was feeling particrly unkind toward Sen that day because he¡¯d barely made it two dozen steps before there was an enormous crash and the sound of water sshing behind him. Sen took two deep breaths to steady himself, certain that he was going to regret his choice to walk instead of run or even fly away from that room. That certainty was validated when a woman yelled at him in cold fury.


    ¡°Hey! You don¡¯t get to just walk away from me after that.¡±


    Sen turned around to see Chan Yu Ming storming toward him, almost glowing with all the qi she was cycling. He considered his options, then drew his jian and leveled it at her. Regardless of how angry she might be, he wasn¡¯t simply going to let her kill him. She almost stumbled to a stop at the sight of the unsheathed de before directing an incredulous look at him.


    ¡°What?¡± she demanded. ¡°Did you think I was going to attack you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen, pushing lighting qi into the jian.


    His answer and the sight of lightning crackling around the sword appeared to give the woman pause. She didn¡¯t stop ring at him, but she did stop cycling qi like she intended to drown him in it. Sen released his own qi cycling and, almost against his better judgment, sheathed his jian. He didn¡¯t let go of his hyper-alertness, though.


    ¡°You look like you still think I¡¯m going to attack you,¡± she used.


    ¡°You still <em>look</em> like you¡¯re going to attack me.¡±


    ¡°And why wouldn¡¯t I? You killed,¡± she started.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Sen ordered in a voice that could shatter stone. ¡°Stop right there. <em>This</em> is why I was leaving. You¡¯re angry. You¡¯re hurting. You <em>want</em> a fight. And if we fight in here, we¡¯ll leave this ce in <em>ruins</em>.¡±


    ¡°Or you think I¡¯ll kill you, you coward.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°That isn¡¯t going to get you what you want.¡±


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°No. Because even if I was stupid enough to let you goad me into a real fight, at the end of it, we¡¯d still be right here. And you¡¯d still be angry.¡±


    ¡°You think you know me that well?¡±


    ¡°I know <em>anger</em> that well,¡± said Sen, walking toward her. ¡°Or have you forgotten why it was I went and found that dragon in the first ce?¡±


    As he narrowed the distance between himself and her, something clicked in his head. He tapped into the part of him that created the auric imposition. Instead of directing it at her, he let the auric imposition swell around him. While he no longer felt driven by the anger that had fueled the heart demon, he remembered how it had felt inside of him to <em>be</em> that angry. He let that feeling suffuse the auric imposition. As he moved toward her, tiles shattered beneath his feet. Stones in the walls around them broke or burst into dust. Small pieces of furniture simply exploded. He started speaking, although it struck Sen more like something or someone else was using him to convey those words.


    ¡°I know what it is to feel rage inside of you. To feel like you can never break enough things or hurt enough people to ever make it go away. To look around and want to see everything burning. To want to leave nothing in your wake.¡±


    He stopped when Chan Yu Ming was at the very edge of that field of auric pressure and anger. Then, he let it fall away.


    He took a breath and then continued. ¡°Even if we fought. Even if I let you <em>kill</em> me, it still wouldn¡¯t make that anger go away.¡±


    ¡°You killed my father! My brother! It¡¯s your fault!¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I made your father sell people to demonic cultivators? I made him murder children? I made your brother keep quiet about it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re twisting it all around! <em>You</em> decided that you just had to do something about it when you found out. You couldn¡¯t just leave it alone! Not you. Not the great and wise Judgment¡¯s Gale. Except, it wasn¡¯t your ce!¡±


    The hold on reasonableness that Sen had been desperately clinging to slipped from his grasp at the words <em>it wasn¡¯t your ce</em>. Abruptly, Chan Yu Ming was transformed from being someone that Sen was trying to not hurt into another noble looking down on him. Something very cold was born in the center of Sen¡¯s chest and it shot through every part of him.


    ¡°Not my ce,¡± said Sen in a tone that reflected the ice inside of him. ¡°I am, after all, just a <em>peasant</em>.¡±


    Chan Yu Ming stepped back from him, her belligerence disced by sudden fear. ¡°That isn¡¯t what I said.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you didn¡¯t <em>say </em>it. Nobles never say anything directly. It¡¯s just what you meant. Well, let me ask you this, your most honorable and noble princess. Where do you think those children came from? The homes of your noble friends? The well-to-do merchants?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me like that,¡± shouted Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°Or what? You¡¯ll look down on me? Oh, we did that already. I guess that means we¡¯ll move on to the threats to let me know my ce. Then again, maybe you¡¯ll just try to put me in my ce by force. After all, I am just a peasant. How hard could it be? Well, go ahead, princess. Try to put me in my ce. See how well it works out for you. I¡¯ll tell you this much, though. I won¡¯t <em>miss</em> this time.¡±


    A voice in the back of Sen¡¯s head was screaming at him to stop talking, to stop hurting her, to stop trying to make her into one of those nobles he¡¯d hated as a child. He could see the tears in the corners of her eyes. He could see that she was shaking. He might not have stabbed her, but he knew he was drawing blood. He was piling emotional injuries on top of fresh wounds. He knew he should stop. Yet, despite that voice trying to warn him that he was making things worse, again, the words kepting.


    ¡°Since you apparently don¡¯t care where the children that your father was <em>raping</em> and <em>murdering</em> came from, let me clue you in, your highness,¡± he said with scorn dripping from thest two words. ¡°I¡¯ll bet you a thousand gold tael that they were taken from the streets. Where I grew up. I could have <em>been</em> one of those children. So, don¡¯t you dare talk to me about <em>my ce</em>! As far as I¡¯m concerned, those walking piles of shit you called a father and brother got off easy!¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to say one more thing, but the words caught in his throat. As angry as she¡¯d made him, if he said what he was going to say next, he really would be a monster. He¡¯d be giving voice to what was probably her worst fear. It might even be enough to break her. And the cruelest irony of all was that every word of it would be true. <em>All I have to say</em>, he thought, <em>is that none of this would have happened if she¡¯d just left me alone</em>. Sen felt like time slowed and stretched. He could see two roads in front of him. Down one of those roads, he said the words. Down the other road, he didn¡¯t. If he picked the road where he said the words, he had the sense that life would be easier for him in some ways. The catch was that it would get easierrgely because he would stop caring about anyone.


    The other road would definitely be harder because it meant giving a damn. And, as much as he wanted things to be easier, he <em>did</em> give a damn. He lost sight of that sometimes when he got angry, but he didn¡¯t want to hurt Chan Yu Ming that profoundly. So, Sen swallowed the words. They felt like a burning coal in his throat, but he swallowed them anyway. That suspended moment popped like a bubble and everything started moving again. He was still filled with that icy anger, but it wasn¡¯t quite as uncontrolled as it had been. Chan Yu Ming was staring at him with wide eyes, her face utterly devoid of blood, and tears streaming freely down her cheeks.


    ¡°Get out,¡± she whispered.


    Sen didn¡¯t do anything for a moment before he turned and started walking away. He tried to ignore all of the damage he¡¯d done to the hallway. He consoled himself with the idea that it wasn¡¯t quite a ruin. He was about to round a corner when Chan Yu Ming tossed off a parting shot at him.


    ¡°I never want to see you again. Do you hear me, Judgement¡¯s Gale? Never again!¡±


    He knew that he should just keep walking. It wouldn¡¯t cost him anything to let her get ast dig in to salve her wounded pride if nothing else. It was the smart thing to do. It was the right thing to do. It was the kind thing to do. And if Sen had been less angry, it was the thing he <em>would</em> have done. Instead, he turned and gave her a mocking bow.


    ¡°As youmand, your highness.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 71: Knowing the Risks

    Book 4: Chapter 71: Knowing the Risks


    Absolutely no one tried to stop Sen as he stormed through the pce halls looking for an exit. Servants fled at the mere sight of him. Guards pretended that they didn¡¯t see him. Briefly, he worried that he¡¯d somehow reignited that heart demon, but there was a difference between getting angry at something and being angry at everything for no reason. He wasn¡¯t angry at everything. He¡¯d gotten angry at the king for things the man had actually done. He¡¯d gotten angry at Chan Yu Ming for acting like he should have just turned a blind eye and taking that attitude of unearned superiority. Yet, Sen recognized the problem. Whether the anger was blind or felt justified, it was still a very short route to doing things you¡¯d almost instantly regret. So, he went from being angry with Chan Yu Ming to being angry with himself. He could see that there had never been a good way to handle that confrontation. She¡¯d been in too much pain for that, but he¡¯d taken, almost on reflex, the path to the worst way to handle it.


    ¡°And there¡¯s no taking that back,¡± he muttered as he used air qi to st open doors that mercifully led outside.


    He stepped through the doors and onto a qi tform that lifted him into the air. He flew up and over the pce walls. The cool morning air washed over his face and helped him loosen his grip on anger. It was reced, as it had been so often ofte, with an emotional fatigue he couldn¡¯t seem to shake. He looked out over the city and into the countryside that he could barely see in the distance. <em>I could leave right now</em>, he thought. <em>There¡¯s nothing to stop me</em>. He could literally just fly away from politics, death, and all of those decisions he¡¯d never wanted any part of. The temptation was potent and seductive. No more having to answer to people, justify anything, or worry about anyone but himself. The allure of that possibility was so strong that it took Sen a moment to realize that he¡¯d started aiming the qi tform at the edge of the city. He let himself indulge in the fantasy for a few moments before he closed the door on that idea. He¡¯d made enough things worse already. No need to add that pile. Plus, he did still have onest thing to do.


    He flew over the city for a while before descending to street level. He didn¡¯t want to get back to the house too quickly. He needed to organize his thoughts and let his emotions settle a little more. So, for the first time since he¡¯d arrived, Sen just walked around. He stopped and bought food from streetside vendors. He found a teahouse and engaged an elderly woman in conversation. He learned about her children, who had made ces for themselves as bureaucrats and soldiers. She talked about how much the city had changed since she was a young woman, both for the better and the worse. To the good, food shortages had beenmon in her youth but had be quite rare. To the bad, crime had be moremon. When the woman asked about him, he passed himself off as a caravan guard. When she said that sounded dangerous, he regaled her to some very toned-down tales of frightening off spirit beasts to keep a caravan safe. She gasped at all the right ces with a merry gleam in her eye, both of them in on the secret of his poorly concealed fibbing.


    He spent most of his day out in the city, meeting strangers and eating foods he¡¯d never seen before. From time to time, he¡¯d cross paths with other cultivators, but they all decided to mind their own business. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because they recognized him or simply because they had better sense than most of the sect cultivators he met. Either way, he was grateful that they chose not to start any problems. He ended his day by sitting and listening to a busker y the erhu. The man was eptably skilled, but Sen was a little startled to realize that Shi Ping was actually the better musician despite only ying the instrument rarely. Feeling more like a human being and with sunset approaching, Sen finally returned to the house. While Lo Meifeng and Falling Leaf were both there, there was still no sign of Shi Ping. Sen shook his head at that.


    ¡°So, what happened?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°There¡¯s been a change in leadership in the kingdom,¡± answered Sen.


    ¡°Did you do it?¡±


    ¡°No. Prince Jing was the one who struck the final blow. He killed the king and his brother.¡±


    ¡°What about Chan Yu Ming?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°She mes me. Hates me. Never wants to see me again.¡±


    Falling Leaf frowned at that. Lo Meifeng just nodded along.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Lo Meifeng, ¡°that¡¯s not entirely surprising, is it?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Sen, ¡°I guess it isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°So, off to find the manual, then?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    Sen knew that it would be so easy to just nod and then vanish into the night. The idea of having the argument that he knew woulde if he told them his intentions very nearly convinced him to just go with that disappearing n. It was the original n. It had the elegance of simplicity. Instead, he gestured at some chairs.


    ¡°Yeah, we should talk about that,¡± he said, dropping into one of the chairs.


    Sen was vaguely amused to see both of the women giving him narrow-eyed looks. They both settled into chairs and then Lo Meifeng spoke first. It was about how he¡¯d expected it to go.


    ¡°So, what is there to talk about?¡±


    Sen had been thinking about how to have this fight all day. He¡¯d toyed with the notion of easing into it, but that just seemed likely to make the conversation longer. That idea hadn¡¯t appealed to him. So, he¡¯d settled on being direct about it and getting right to the fighting.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you toe with me,¡± he announced. ¡°Either of you.¡±


    There was yelling and shouting after that, most of which boiled down to the single sentiment of <em>you¡¯re being stupid</em>. He simply endured it until both of them had gotten it out of their systems or at least gotten tired of shouting at him with no response on Sen¡¯s part. When Falling Leaf and Lo Meifeng were both seated again and just ring at him, he sighed.


    ¡°I know what I get from having you along for this stupid stunt. I get somepany. I¡¯ll admit, that¡¯s probably not a bad thing for my frame of mind on a long journey. It would probably be safer in some respects. But that¡¯s only true right up until we actually find Fu Run. At that point, there¡¯s nothing either of you can realistically do to protect me. More importantly, there¡¯s nothing I¡¯ll be able to do to protect you. The only reason I was able to kill Tong Guanting was because I had time to prepare the ground. We won¡¯t have that advantage with Fu Run because we can¡¯t know when we¡¯ll find her or when she¡¯ll find us.


    ¡°If she was like other nascent soul cultivators, that wouldn¡¯t be a concern. They¡¯d probably just tell us to go away as long we¡¯re polite, but she¡¯s insane. She¡¯s as likely to kill us all on sight, as she is to speak to us. That¡¯s a level of danger I¡¯m not willing to put either of you in. Lo Meifeng, I don¡¯t know exactly what kind of arrangement you have with Master Feng, but I doubt he¡¯d consign you to certain death as part of a babysitting job,¡± said Sen before he turned his gaze on Falling Leaf. ¡°I¡¯ve already cost you enough. I don¡¯t think I can live with the prospect of costing you your life, which seems an all too likely oue here.¡±


    Sen could see that both of them were about to explode with words, so many more words. He lifted a hand to stall them.


    ¡°What benefit will either of you get out ofing with me?¡± asked Sen. ¡°That¡¯s a serious question that I want you to really think about. What will <em>you</em> actually get out of it? I¡¯ve been thinking about this for weeks, and I can¡¯t think of a single advantage for you ining with me. The other possibility, arguably the worse possibility, is that we won¡¯t find her at all. If it goes down like that, anyone who¡¯s with me will get to watch me die. I suspect that it won¡¯t be a good death. It¡¯ll probably be painful and slower than anyone would want. And I doubt either of you is in a hurry to see that. I know that I¡¯m not in a hurry for you to see that or get stuck as my caretakers in thest few months of my life. So, that¡¯s the future as I see it. A fifty-fifty chance of certain death for everyone on one side, and my slow lingering death on the other.¡±


    Sen braced himself for the explosion of words, but it didn¡¯te. Falling Leaf looked troubled. Lo Meifeng looked thoughtful. <em>At least they¡¯re thinking about it</em>, thought Sen. <em>That¡¯s probably as close to a win as I¡¯m going to get here</em>. He gave them a few minutes to think about it. He didn¡¯t usually talk that directly or that much about anything, so he figured it would take a bit before the shock wore off.


    ¡°I have my orders,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I¡¯ll write to Master Feng,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll exin the situation and that I told you, point nk, not toe along. He¡¯ll understand.¡±


    Lo Meifeng looked like she wanted to say something, but also like she didn¡¯t quite know what she should say. In the end, she just stayed silent. Sen looked at Falling Leaf to see if she wanted to say anything, but her expression remained clouded and uncertain. Sen considered the situation and what he¡¯d want to hear if someone had just given him that speech.


    ¡°Look. I¡¯m not going to forbid you toe along or try to ditch you, tempting as that might be. You¡¯d just follow me or try to, and I don¡¯t want you scouring the wilds from here to the Mountains of Sorrow looking for me. That¡¯s just as likely to get you killed asing along. I¡¯ve got a few things to wrap up here. So, take the next couple of days and think about it.¡±


    Sen retreated to the room he¡¯d been using as a bedroom andb and got to work. It would have been better to have Shi Ping around for the process, but Sen had interacted enough with him to have a pretty clear picture of the man¡¯s cultivation. He started sorting through his storage ring, looking for the rightponents. He¡¯d been working for about an hour when someone knocked. He gave the door an annoyed look but pushed the annoyance down.


    ¡°Come in,¡± he said.


    He continued to adjust the heat he was applying to the pot he¡¯de to think of as his alchemy pot. Lo Meifeng came into the room and just watched for a while as Sen added things to the pot, stirred it asionally, and fine-tuned the elixir he was making. When the silence started bothering him, Sen spoke.


    ¡°I owe you an apology.¡±


    He saw Lo Meifeng¡¯s expression be guarded from the corner of his eye.


    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I was very hard on you for using me like you did back in Inferno¡¯s Vale. I couldn¡¯t imagine how you could do that to a friend. So, I was¡­ I was cruel to you, at times. I¡¯d convinced myself that you deserved it. It turns out, it was a damn sight easier than I thought to do something like that. I did it to Prince Jing without even recognizing I was doing it. I set him up to kill his own father. Even got him to help arrange it. All I could see was what I thought needed to happen. I didn¡¯t even consider what it might <em>mean</em> for Jing or Chan Yu Ming at a personal level. Not sure what that says about me as a person. Nothing good, I think. Do you know what the worst part is?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°He was furious with me for using him that way. Furious that I hadn¡¯t trusted him or talked to him. Yet, he took it with a lot more grace than I did. He could see that there was a kind of necessity to his father¡¯s death. I never even gave you that courtesy. I understand now, though, what you said then. About being sorry about the pain you caused me, but not being sorry you did it. So, for whatever it may be worth to you, I¡¯m sorry. I was pretty self-righteous about the whole thing. I treated you badly because of it. I can¡¯t say you didn¡¯t deserve <em>any</em> of it, because I¡¯m pretty sure <em>I</em> deserve some of it, but you certainly didn¡¯t deserve everything I dished out to you.¡±


    Lo Meifeng didn¡¯t say anything for long enough that Sen looked up from the pot. She looked fragile. When their eyes met, it seemed to jar her out of some kind of reverie.


    ¡°I,¡± she hesitated. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s awkward now, isn¡¯t it? I made it awkward.¡±


    Sheughed.


    ¡°Yes. You made it awkward, you ass,¡± she said while giving the pot a curious look. ¡°What in the world are you making?¡±


    ¡°This?¡± asked Sen, gesturing at the pot. ¡°This is for Shi Ping¡¯s advancement. Otherwise, he¡¯ll use that garbage we found earlier.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you care.¡±


    ¡°I said I¡¯d do it, so I¡¯m doing it. Caring doesn¡¯te into the equation.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°Fine. I don¡¯t find him entirely objectionable anymore. And, if he¡¯s going to advance, he might as well do it with a quality elixir. This can¡¯t be what you came up here for.¡±


    ¡°Did you mean what you said, about writing to Feng Ming?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that? Yeah, I meant it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you wrote that letter.¡±


    Sen nodded, feeling a wave of relief pass through him, even as Lo Meifeng looked entirely miserable.


    ¡°It¡¯s the right call,¡± said Sen. ¡°You probably think it isn¡¯t, but it is. There¡¯s just nothing in it for you.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t why. I mean, you¡¯re right. I wouldn¡¯t stand to gain anything, probably, but that¡¯s not why. It¡¯s the other part. I don¡¯t want to watch you dying slowly if you can¡¯t find Fu Run.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be worried about your mind if you did want to watch that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious.¡±


    ¡°So am I.¡±


    Lo Meifeng studied his face. ¡°You know that she¡¯s going to go with you, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hoping she¡¯ll make the smart choice at thest minute. But¡­ Yeah, I know.¡±


    ¡°You mean to let her?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I keep trying to make choices for other people. It keeps turning into a disaster for me at a personal level. I can¡¯t keep doing that. I can¡¯t keep carrying that kind of weight around. It¡¯s grinding me down. I made my arguments. She knows the risks. If she decides that going with me is more valuable to her than all of the other options, then that¡¯s her call. Even if I think it¡¯s the wrong one.¡±


    ¡°As long as you¡¯ve thought it through.¡±

 Book 4: Chapter 72: Departure

    Book 4: Chapter 72: Departure


    ¡°Just the one night?¡± asked Lai Dongmei.


    Sen gave her an amused smile as he adjusted his robes. ¡°Oh,e on. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re suffering for options. The only reason you picked me was because you knew I was safely temporary. A wandering cultivator with a reputation for moving on to the next disaster. No real strings attached. I suspect that made me just about the ideal distraction.¡±


    She snorted and stretched. ¡°I won¡¯t deny that those considerations <em>may</em> have crossed my mind. Those weren¡¯t the only reasons. You are very, very easy on the eyes. And you do have a certain wolfish charm about you.¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯m told. Assuming I survive the next few years, I may even find myself here again. Assuming you¡¯re not otherwise engaged, I expect I could distract you again for a little while.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that. You know, there are all sorts of rumors flying around about you at the moment.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing new. What are they saying about me now?¡±


    ¡°All kinds of deliciously absurd things. They¡¯re saying that you were the one who destroyed the house of Choi. You supposedly stormed the pce and killed the king. You¡¯re nning on seizing the throne for yourself. My favorite one is that you¡¯re not really even a man, but a holy spirit sent to cleanse the wicked from our midst.¡±


    ¡°Dear gods, it just gets worse and worse. Nobody would think I was a holy spirit if they¡¯d seen all the bloody clothes I¡¯ve thrown away in thest year or so.¡±


    ¡°The wandering cultivator¡¯sment. Clothing costs.¡±


    Senughed softly at that while belting on his jian. He thought about leaving it alone, but lingering guilt pushed him to say what was on his mind.


    ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯d do me a favor,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound enthusiastic about this favor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not, mostly because it involves breaking my own rules about getting involved with politics. But I figure that I¡¯ve already crossed that line here.¡±


    ¡°And you want to drag me into it, now?¡±


    ¡°No, not particrly, and not overtly, but I can¡¯t really fix what I broke here. Any more involvement on my part would just add to the chaos. So, I¡¯m trying to do what I can to quell the problems from the shadows.¡±


    ¡°Understandable, all things considered. I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m thrilled with the idea of involving myself or my sect in most of that, though. I don¡¯t get to just move on. We have to live here.¡±


    ¡°I can see that which is why I¡¯m not asking for anything too public. I would appreciate it if you would have your people whisper in the right ears that your sect is favorably disposed toward Prince Jing. In case you¡¯re wondering, I put the same request to Feng Bai.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I bet he loved that after you tly refused to tell him how you killed Tong Guanting.¡±


    ¡°He was not particrly receptive when I first broached the idea. There was grumbling andining. He said something about overly lucky core cultivators who have inted ideas about themselves. In the end, though, he grudgingly agreed that stabilizing the local political situation was ultimately a benefit to his sect.¡±


    Lai Dongmei sat in pensive silence for several seconds before she sighed. ¡°Bai can be a blunt instrument at times. If even he can see the benefits, I can hardly pretend they don¡¯t exist. Very well, I¡¯ll do as you ask.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m grateful. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s just for your benefit,¡± said Lia Dongmei. ¡°Be careful, Sen. Where you¡¯re headed is poorly explored, at best, and the true wilds at worst. Fu Run has earned her reputation. I¡¯d be disappointed if you never came back to distract me again.¡±


    Sen considered the woman for a long moment and then smirked. ¡°You and me, both.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Are you serious? He¡¯s <em>still </em>at a brothel?¡± demanded Sen.


    Lo Meifeng gave him a put-upon look. ¡°I assume so. And don¡¯t look at me like it¡¯s my fault. It¡¯s not like I told him to go. You¡¯re the one who gave him the bags of money.¡±


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s fair,¡± said Sen, rubbing a spot between his eyes. ¡°I guess there¡¯s nothing for it.¡±


    Sen pulled out the elixir he¡¯d crafted for Shi Peng¡¯s advancement and held it out to Lo Meifeng. She rolled her eyes but took the vial from his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see that he gets this. Well, I will if he ever gets tired of whoring. Since you¡¯re leaving, though, what do you want me to do with this house?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s up to you. It¡¯s yours.¡±


    ¡°What? What am I supposed to do with a house?¡±


    ¡°Historically, people have chosen to live in them. Madness, I know, but you can¡¯t fight history.¡±


    ¡°Very funny,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen gave her a bright smile. ¡°You can always sell it. I assume that before all this craziness started your work brought you here from time to time. It might be nice to have somewhere to stay that you know is rtively secure. I mean, I did put in all those formations. They shouldst for decades just soaking up the environmental qi. You shouldn¡¯t even need anyone to look at them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I wasn¡¯t thinking about it like that.¡±


    ¡°Plus, if you do decide to keep it, and Falling Leaf and I beat the odds and survive this little excursion, it¡¯ll give us a ce to start looking for you. Or leave you a message if nothing else. Food for thought.¡±


    Lo Meifeng opened her mouth, then shook her head. Sen lifted an eyebrow in her direction.


    ¡°I was going to ask how long you think you¡¯ll be gone, but there¡¯s no way to know. Do you at least know where you¡¯re going?¡±


    ¡°I have a general location. Very general,¡± said Sen, pulling out his horribly inurate map.


    He ran his finger in a circle in an area that was probably hundreds of miles to the northwest of the capital.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of ground to cover by yourself,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°I know. I thought about asking Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong to help me look, but I¡¯m worried that it¡¯s a terrible idea.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t very¡­subtle. Well, I don¡¯t know about Ma Caihong, but I¡¯ve heard the stories about Feng Ming and Kho Jaw-long.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. I¡¯m worried they¡¯d go in with the best of intentions and end up getting into a fight with Fu Run over the manual. If that happens, she might never give it to me.¡±


    ¡°You should at least tell them where you¡¯re going.¡±


    Sen smirked at her and pulled out two envelopes from his storage ring. ¡°The letter I promised you, and one telling them where I¡¯m going.¡±


    Lo Meifeng gave Sen a skeptical look. ¡°Did you really tell them where you¡¯re going? Or did you say that just so I¡¯d stop talking about it?¡±


    ¡°I actually told them.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t usually that-,¡± Lo Meifeng searched for the right word.


    ¡°Reasonable? Rational?¡±


    ¡°I was going to say practical.¡±


    Sen felt his expression going a little nk. ¡°I want them to know where to go to find the body if things go badly.¡±


    Lo Meifeng let that grim statement hang in the air before she said, ¡°That makes sense.¡±


    Sen made himself put a happier expression on. ¡°Anyway, enjoy your house if you keep it. Tell Shi Ping¡­hells, tell him not to ck off with his jian practice.¡±


    Lo Meifeng burst intoughter. ¡°I¡¯ll pass that along.¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t see you again,¡± said Sen, ¡°live well, Lo Meifeng.¡±


    Not for the first time, Sen had the impression that Lo Meifeng was going to say one thing to him, only to change her mind. She gave him a sad smile instead.


    ¡°Good luck, Sen.¡±


    Sen took a few steps away so that Lo Meifeng and Falling Leaf could say their goodbyes in private. The women exchanged a few earnest-looking words with each other, and that was it. Falling Leaf walked over to Sen and gave him an expectant, happy look.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± he asked.


    ***


    They managed to pass through the city without attracting either notice or trouble. Falling Leaf looked happier and happier the closer they got to the gates. Sen had mixed feelings as they joined the line to leave the city. He¡¯de to the capital hoping to find his personal salvation, only to fail utterly in that pursuit. Instead, he¡¯d caused upheaval for the royal family, the sects, and probably the criminal underworld as well. He¡¯d left a river of blood and a small mountain of corpses in his wake. No matter how deserving most of those people had been, that wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d left the mountain to do. He¡¯d never meant to be the kind of person who could do those things, but it had happened anyway. He feared some of it was a failure of character on his part, but he also feared that the world was simply too broken for the kind of life he wanted to lead. Unless he was willing to learn how to turn a blind eye, he worried that his road would remain one of violence. Sen was so caught up in those thoughts that he was startled when the guards at the gate stopped them.


    ¡°You said that your name was Lu Sen?¡± the guard asked.


    Sen thought back. He had answered the question about his name without even realizing he¡¯d done it.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°Wait here,¡± said the guard.


    Sen felt Falling Leaf tense beside him. He put a reassuring, and possibly restraining, hand on her arm. The guard disappeared for several minutes before he returned with an older man who carried an air of authority. The old man eyed him critically.


    ¡°You¡¯re Lu Sen? The one they call Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡±


    Sen cast a wary eye around them, looking for some kind of trap. He didn¡¯t see one, but that didn¡¯t make him feel better. Just because he couldn¡¯t see it, that was no assurance that a trap wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°I am,¡± he said cautiously.


    The older guard nodded and extended a scroll. ¡°I was bid deliver this to you when left the city.¡±


    ¡°What if I¡¯d left from another gate?¡± Sen asked, taking the scroll.


    ¡°I¡¯m given to understand that there is a copy of that scroll at every gate.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen. ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± said the older guard. ¡°You¡¯re free to be on your way.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Sen.


    He didn¡¯t rx until they were several hours away from the city wall. They weren¡¯t clear of all the surrounding towns and viges, but Sen no longer worried that a trap was waiting for them.


    ¡°What does it say?¡± Falling Leaf eventually asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find out,¡± said Sen, breaking the seal and opening the scroll.


    <em>Sen,</em>


    <em>I¡¯m writing this without fully understanding my own motives for doing so. On the one hand, you have undoubtedly rendered a service to this kingdom. My father¡¯s depravities were a blight not only on this house, not only on this kingdom, but on decency itself. His removal was a terrible necessity. Yet, in achieving that goal, you have left my family in tatters. My mother remains a prisoner, as I suspect she will for the remainder of her life. Of my sisters, only Yu Ming will speak to me, and then only to curse me and you for our respective roles in the deaths of our father and Liwei. She seems to have forgotten entirely that you freed her from the ns of Choi Zhi Peng. In one fell moment, you became both benefactor and bane to me and my family.</em>


    <em>I am also aware of your efforts to ensure that the throne remains in my hands. Word has trickled back to me that several of the most powerful sects in the city have informed the other noble houses that they are content with me on the throne. While your name was never mentioned, it seems highly unlikely that those sects acted in a spontaneous outpouring of affection for me. The far more usible conclusion, I think, is that you acted in some way to encourage those sects to quietly endorse me. While I have concerns about what kind of precedent may have been set, I cannot argue with the results. The quiet rumblings that perhaps another house should lead have been utterly silenced. </em>


    <em>I honestly cannot say whether I am awed or terrified by how easily you affected such change in my nation, to say nothing of the influence you exert on the sects. Nor can I pretend that I do not worry what greater changes you might achieve if or when you return. Wisdom tells me that I should ask you to stay away. My advisors begged me to banish you. I had to point out to them that we have no way to enforce such an edict, even if I were to banish you. In the end, though, I will not banish you or even ask you to stay away. Instead, I hope that you find sess on your journey. One day, if you return, perhaps we will speak of what has happened here in recent days with calmer minds and the perspective that only time provides. I know you did what you thought was right. While I may wish you had done it another way, I don¡¯t think I can ask anyone for more than that they do what they believe is right. </em>


    <em>Jing</em>


    It took Sen a long time to realize that he¡¯d stopped walking. He finally looked up to see Falling Leaf staring at him with both concern and annoyance in her eyes.


    ¡°What does it say?¡±


    Sen looked back down at the scroll. ¡°It says that Prince Jing, King Jing now, is a better man than I will ever be.¡±


    Falling Leaf eyed the scroll and Sen with a dubious expression. Apparently losing interest in the conversation, she looked up at the sky and sniffed at the air.


    ¡°We should go,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s going to rainter. I wish to be well away from this city by then.¡±


    Sen rolled up the scroll and stored it in his storage ring. ¡°Me too.¡±

 V4 Bloopers

    V4 Bloopers


    ¡°Crudely put,¡± said Liang Daiyu, drawing Sen¡¯s attention again, ¡°but she has the crux of the matter surrounded. You say that you¡¯ve experienced moments of enlightenment before. Do you recall how many?¡±


    Sen thought back about it. ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact number offhand. Maybe two dozen.¡±


    Silence fell all around the table, which made Sen nce around at the dumbstruck faces of the water cultivators around him. Liang Daiyu seemed to recover first.


    ¡°Two dozen? In how many years?¡±


    ¡°At this point, six or seven I guess.¡±


    Liang Daiyu¡¯s mouth worked a few times without any noisesing out. Chan Yu Ming was staring at him like he¡¯d casually announced that he was going to break through to the nascent soul stage in precisely three minutes and forty-seven seconds. The man who had originally answered his karma question broke the silence.


    ¡°You¡¯re averaging three to four moments of true enlightenment <em>per year</em>?¡±


    Sen found himself wishing that he¡¯d asked other people a lot more questions about their experiences with enlightenment. It had just never urred to him to ask about how often they¡¯d had them. Still, he was alreadymitted to answering. He nodded a little self-consciously.


    ¡°I am,¡± he said.


    ¡°How?¡± demanded Liang Daiyu.


    ¡°I¡¯m on a n.¡±


    Confusion crossed the jade beauty¡¯s face. ¡°A¡­n? What do you mean?¡±


    Sen knew an opportunity when he saw it. ¡°I just went to . They offer all these ns. They were running a sale, so I got the deluxe package. If you go, say that I referred you. Ten percent off.¡±


    As everyone started shouting questions at him, Sen rubbed his mental hands together in greed. Ten more referrals and he¡¯d get an enlightenment for free.


    ***


    After nearly ten minutes of walking, Sen finally emerged from the tunnel into a brightly lit expanse of meticulously tended grass and flower gardens. For a moment, he thought he might be in the middle of another illusion, but a quick examination with his earth, wood, and water qi revealed that where he was standing, it was all quite real. Sen found himself d that he hadn¡¯t simply tried to fly over the wall. He was willing to bet that there was some kind of deeply unpleasant surprise waiting for any water cultivator that thought they could skip over the work of finding their way through the door. After taking a moment to examine his surroundings, the alchemist in Sen started frothing at the mouth in naked greed. Nearly everything in the gardens was useful in alchemy in one way or another, assuming you needed water-attributed ingredients. Sen¡¯s hands twitched toward a flower before he stilled them. He wasn¡¯t there to <em>steal</em> from this sect. He was there to see the spring.


    That good intentionsted for almost ten minutes before he came across an incredibly powerful water-attributed sparkling dew flower. Sen stared at it, then down at his storage ring. Then he looked around at all of the alchemical resources that abounded around him.


    ¡°On second thought,¡± said Sen, ¡°I¡¯m going to rob these people blind.¡±


    ***


    Sen rolled his eyes and gave serious thought to going and yelling at Chan Yu Ming. Then, he thought about it a little harder. There was no upside to going back and yelling at her. It likely wouldn¡¯t change anything. At best, she¡¯d probably just follow them more discreetly. Plus, even if he <em>knew</em> she was following him, and she <em>knew</em> she was following him, he couldn¡¯t actually tell her not to travel in the same direction as them. So, all a confrontation would aplish would be that he got to yell at someone. That sounded like a terrible use of his time and energy. So, he shrugged.


    ¡°That¡¯s her business. It¡¯s not an <em>us</em> problem unless she makes it one.¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t care that she¡¯s following you?¡± asked Lo Meifeng with a troubled expression. ¡°And, let¡¯s be clear here, it¡¯s you she¡¯s following around, not us.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I care that she¡¯s following <em>us</em> around,¡± said Sen. ¡°But what do you suggest I do about it?¡±


    Lo Meifeng immediately opened her mouth and then hesitated. Then, she frowned. ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you see my problem. There¡¯s basically nothing I can do to make her stop, other than killing her. Do you think I should <em>kill her</em>, Lo Meifeng?¡±


    Lo Meifeng sat in thoughtful silence for a moment before she nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡± demanded Sen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just have this feeling that she¡¯s going to be more trouble than she¡¯s worth. We already have Shi Ping for that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sitting right here,¡± said Shi Ping.


    ¡°I <em>know</em>,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°So irritating.¡±


    Sen just stared at Lo Meifeng for a second before he said, ¡°So, you want me to kill her because she <em>might</em> be irritatingter.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, pretty much.¡±


    Sen thought it over for a moment. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to kill her for that, but you do you.¡±


    Lo Meifeng immediately stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Anything interesting happen?¡± Lo Meifeng asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s an owl about a quarter mile that way,¡± said Sen, pointing in the right direction. ¡°Aside from that, I haven¡¯t noticed anything.¡±


    ¡°Good. I like it when things are quiet on the road,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen red at her. ¡°You just had to say it, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on, that¡¯s aplete myth,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    No sooner were the words out of her mouth than they both heard a loud boom in the near distance.


    ¡°Myth, huh? You stay here. I¡¯ll go check it out.¡±


    ¡°Why you?¡±


    ¡°Because you <em>know</em> it¡¯s Chan Yu Ming. So, I might as well be the one to go deal with it.¡±


    ¡°What do you think she¡¯s fighting.¡±


    ¡°Since the universe is mocking us, it¡¯s probably a giant snake,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Why a giant snake?¡±


    ¡°Because Shi Ping wasining about them earlier. Honestly, I¡¯d be a little disappointed if it wasn¡¯t a giant snake. It¡¯d feel like the universe wasn¡¯t really trying.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll watch the kids.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Sen.


    He took off back the way they hade earlier, moving as fast as his qinggong technique would carry him. It didn¡¯t take him long to find Chan Yu Ming. She wasn¡¯t being subtle. Sen was so certain that he¡¯d find a giant snake when he arrived that it caught him off guard when he found her in a big clearing fending off half a dozen spiders that were as big as horses. He just stared at the big, creepy things for a long moment before Chan Yu Ming noticed him.


    ¡°Are you going to help or just stand there?¡±


    ¡°But where¡¯s the snake?¡±


    Chan Yu Ming lopped off part of a spider leg that got too close before gesturing with her jian. ¡°It¡¯s over there.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± shouted Sen before he charged at the ridiculously huge snake.


    ***


    Then, he thought of Master Feng. There were questions that Sen had always meant to ask the old man, about why he¡¯d picked Sen, about why he¡¯d never tried to ascend, but it had always seemed like there was more than enough time. Most of all, though, he asked himself what Master Feng would do in a situation like this. Sen smiled then. He felt bloody spittle drip from his bottom lip. He knew exactly what Master Feng would do. He¡¯d make a statement. He would burn this moment into the dragon¡¯s memory forever. So, that¡¯s what Sen would do. He started cycling for everything. It hurt, splitting his attention that many ways, but what was pain in the face of death but a minor, very temporary, inconvenience? It wasn¡¯t like he needed to worry about healing from it. He pushed his qi channels to their limits, feeding each cycling pattern as much qi from his core as they could handle.


    Then, he startedyering it all together. Weaving it all together like a rope. Forcing the strands to merge, to fuse, to be something else, something more, something terrible. He wrapped that hideous, monstrous energy around his fist. Then, he fed it his pain, his anguish, and his regrets. So many regrets. <em>How could anyone my age have so many</em>, he wondered. He fed it his killing intent, everyst scrap of it, because why hold back in thest moments? Then, he fed it his rage. He pulled on that anger that had haunted him and hounded him. He drew on that inferno of fury until it was nothing but embers inside him, and then he drew on those. <em>Hold nothing back</em>, he thought. <em>Nothing at all</em>. While all of that had felt like it had taken forever to his battered mind, he dimly realized that he¡¯d been in the middle of that odd, almost elerated state of mind he fell into sometimes when fighting. He lifted his eyes and saw the dragon bearing down on him, moving almost impossibly fast even to Sen¡¯s enhanced eyes and thoughts. Then he let his gaze drop down to the hand where he¡¯d summed up everything he had to fight with, everything he¡¯d had left to give, or borrow, or spend.


    He couldn¡¯t even see his hand anymore. He didn¡¯t even think that there was a human word for the color of it. It didn¡¯t look like a technique. It wasn¡¯t a thing of beauty or bnce. If hate could look like something, if it could take color, form, and shape, that was what was in his hand. Personified hate. Sitting in his palm was a kitten¡­if one that only the hells could spawn. It looked at him, fury and malicious intent in its eyes. Sen looked at that hate-kitten for the briefest of moments, and then he threw it at the dragon. The kitten yowled in rage as it hurtled toward the ancient spirit beast.


    ¡°Oh crap,¡± said the dragon, his eyes going wide at the sight of a technique he hadn¡¯t seen since before the age of mankind.


    The name of the technique filled Sen¡¯s Mind. <em>Ruination Kitten</em>.


    ***


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to mistake this for mercy. You¡¯re going to take a message back to your masters for me. Pack up and leave. The Slovenly Chicken Foot Gang is done in this city, one way or the other. If they make <em>me</em> do it, I¡¯m adopting a scorched earth policy. As for you, if you think what you just went through was bad, I have things lying around that would make that seem like a restful nap. If I ever see you again, I¡¯ll make you eat one of those things. Then, I¡¯ll hang your ckened, rotting corpse from a wall as a warning to everyone you know and love. Do you understand me?¡±


    The woman was shaking, and Sen didn¡¯t think that it had anything to do with the residual poison. He gave her a smile that would offer nofort.


    ¡°You can just nod,¡± he said.


    The woman¡¯s head started bobbing up and down so fast that it looked almostical. Sen stood up and walked over to the edge of the roof. As he was getting ready to make the leap back to ground level, the woman worked up the nerve to speak.


    ¡°Who are you? Who are you really?¡±


    Sen paused. He¡¯d been resisting it for a while, but the world had a way of making you do things you didn¡¯t want to do, be things you didn¡¯t want to be. Sen decided this was just one more of those things. However much he tried to resist it, he kept finding himself drawn into situations that called for him to be something, if not precisely better, than <em>more</em> than Lu Sen could be on his own. He kept needing to be the kind ofrger-than-life person that only existed in a story. He supposed that it was convenient that he had just such a story right at hand. It wasn¡¯t really relevant that he was learning to hate that persona as much as he hated killing. It was the need of the moment.


    ¡°I am Bat-,¡± Sen cut himself off and looked around with a deeply suspicious expression before continuing. ¡°I am a generic and wholly uncopyrighted cowled vignte.¡±


    Sen immediately started looking around again.


    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± asked thepletely baffled woman.


    ¡°The most dangerous enemy of all. Intellectual propertywyers.¡±


    ***


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring you here to talk to me. I brought you here to listen,¡± said Sen. ¡°Your <em>honorable</em> king is going to exin to you why I¡¯m here. Why he was going to trade Chan Yu Ming to the Choi family. He¡¯s going to tell you everything. Isn¡¯t that right, your majesty?¡±


    When the king didn¡¯t say anything, Sen unleashed a little more of his killing intent. The king flinched and then cried out.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll tell them.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. Face them. Look them in the eyes while you tell them what you traded away your honor for. What you were willing to sell your daughter to keep secret.¡±


    The king slowly pushed himself up off the floor. He stared up at Sen with a naked plea for mercy in his eyes. Sen looked back at the man with nothing but cold resolve on his face. Not finding what he wanted in Sen, the king turned to face his family. He opened his mouth and froze, feeling the point of a de on the back of his neck.


    ¡°If you lie,¡± said Sen, ¡°I will make you suffer in ways you cannot imagine.¡±


    Sen heard the king swallow. Then, the king started speaking in a halting burst.


    ¡°I¡­I served red wine with fish.¡±


    Looks of abject horror crossed the faces of the royal family. The queen¡¯s face remained stoic, but she paled at this revtion.


    ¡°Go on,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I y games on my phone instead of paying attention during meetings.¡±


    ¡°Father!¡± cried Chan Yu Ming.


    ¡°Tell them the worst thing,¡± ordered Sen. ¡°Be specific.¡±


    A look of pure and well-deserved shame crossed the king¡¯s face. ¡°I cut in line at the amusement park.¡±


    Sen just shook his head. ¡°Despicable.¡±


    Unable to restrain his fury at the king¡¯s deplorable behaviors, Prince Jing summoned forth the greatest punishment of all. Storming over to his father, the prince dropped the links of the chain around his father¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Guards!¡± shouted the prince.


    Guards marched into the room. Jing pointed at that former king.


    ¡°Take that thing away and cast it out of the pce.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t quite know what to make of the happenings, so he turned to the prince. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. What¡¯s a big red letter U mean?¡±


    ¡°Unworthy.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 1: The Power Over Life and Death

    Book 5: Chapter 1: The Power Over Life and Death


    Falling Leaf dove through the narrow space between two intertwined trees. Her palm pressed down on the cold snow. She felt the strength in her arm as she used it to drive herself back up into the air. She twisted, spun, andnded on her feet just in time to knock aside the st of fire that chased her through the tree. She exulted in the feeling of danger, the perilous game of hunter and prey, and dancing in the hazy space where the difference between hunter and hunted could turn on a moment, a thought, a mistake. She knew her human boy didn¡¯t like it when she danced along that edge of oblivion, but he hadn¡¯t been raised as she had. She snorted in amusement. That one hadn¡¯t been <em>raised</em> at all. His pride had cast him aside, the mad fools. If they had known what he could be, they never would have done so. Then again, if they hadn¡¯t cast him aside, he might never have be what he did. With a burst of qi, Falling Leaf shot back through that narrow gap, her hand extended, wreathed in shadows made harder than steel. The foolish bear-cat tried to stop its forward momentum, but it was toote. A bare movement of her hand and the creature¡¯s vile head was removed from its equally vile body.


    Falling Leaf felt no sympathy for it, not even an echo of the empathy she might feel for other spirit beasts caught beneath her killing ws. The reason was simple. They had been <em>warned</em>. Sen had told them that it was war between him and them, and his wars were her wars. Most of their kind fled before them like birds before the great wind storms. Every once in a while, though, one of them was brave, foolhardy, or suicidal, and it came for her human boy. She took it upon herself to deal with the minor annoyances like the corpse thaty before her. Yet, Falling Leaf also understood her limitations. As strong as she had be, as theoretically equal to Sen as she was, she <em>knew</em> better. In some ways, she had always known better. She knew the ways of the spirit beasts were not the ways of the humans. The ways they learned were different. But all must train. That was when she knew he was different. She had trained with her kind as a kit, learning to stalk, to move among the shadows. She had been diligent and talented.


    Her human boy, though, for him training had been a kind of madness. He had pushed himself like no creature she had ever seen. Ceaselessly, season after season, never giving himself the luxury of rest unless driven to it by the ravages of advancement ormanded to do so by the Kho, or the Feng, or the Caihong. She had thought it would wear him away to nothing, as the water wears away the stone. Yet, she had misunderstood. He had not been the rock. He had not been the water. He had been the sun. She saw it best when she saw him fight. And there had been so much fighting in thest year. Their journey to the north in search of the mad one with the manual Sen so desperately needed, a journey deep into the truly untamed wilds had been almost relentless battles. Sometimes against other cultivators who had not understood that they faced something beyond their understanding. More often, though, they had fought against the spirit beasts who hated all humans. Those fights had been hard on Sen, but they had also benefited him in ways that she was sure he didn¡¯t see. They had perfected him. She only needed to look to the sky to see that.


    Her human boy stood there on his tform of qi, face calm, body rxed, and jian held almost negligently at his side. Opposite him flew a wyvern, pale blue scales looking nearly translucent in the afternoon sunlight. It screeched its fury at Sen, castingnces of hardened air at him by the dozens. His expression never changed. His posture never stiffened. She watched as he lifted his jian and, so casually it looked like he didn¡¯t even know he was in a fight, he swept the de in front of him. She heard it and felt it as thosences of air shattered against the terrible strength Sen wielded against them. She saw his expression change into a look that was sad and almost pitying. She felt the swell of qi that he summoned. So fast. It was also so fast. Yet, this was different. This was the sort of power that could rend mountains.


    The wyvern clearly felt it too, because the beast tried to flee. Yet, oncemitted to the fight, Sen would not let the enemy escape. She felt the qi condense around the jian into something impossibly dense and infinitely sharp. He swept the de in an upward arc and a de of something that Falling Leaf couldn¡¯t even name swept across the sky. The wyvern tried to defend itself, but that de was as imcable as gravity. It shattered the wyvern¡¯s meager defenses. At least, they looked meager in the face of that technique. Falling Leaf was quite certain that she would have found those defenses all but impossible to breach. With a final screech of pure terror, the wyvern was split in half. Falling Leaf watched with a kind of grim fascination as the two pieces of the beast fell away from each other and showered the trees below with blood.


    She looked back to her human boy. His face looked briefly regretful before it returned to its normal calm. A very small part of her feared him. It wasn¡¯t fear that he might hurt her. She knew with absolute certainty that he would never harm her, nor willingly let harm befall her. No, what she feared was something else, something more specific than Sen. She feared the power he held. Power like that, it was truly the power over life and death, as so many spirit beasts had learned in their final moments. It would be foolish not to fear that. Her human boy sheathed his jian and flew off in the direction of the fallen wyvern. She turned her attention to the piles of bear-cat corpses that surrounded her. She began removing their cores. This deep into the wilds, nearly everything had a core, and Sen could use some of them. She assumed that was why he had gone off to investigate the wyvern¡¯s body. It had been powerful in its own right, which meant its core should be potent. Perhaps, she fervently hoped, potent enough to do something to help Sen. It took her a few minutes of work to remove all of those cores. By the time she looked up again, Sen was standing there giving her a curious look.


    ¡°You know, I could have done that for you. Spared you from getting your clothes all bloody,¡± he said.


    ¡°It washes out,¡± she answered, not really seeing the problem.


    She watched in amusement as he looked for something to say, almost said something twice, and then just gave a resigned shake of his head. It made her happy that he was as baffled by her as she was so often baffled by him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± he said.


    She nodded her agreement and the pair dashed off through the woods at speeds that would have made them all but invisible to mortal eyes. She felt it the moment they passed into Sen¡¯s domain. He would have said it was their domain, but he was silly about many things. He had done as the Kho had done and set up powerful formations. It was his qi and his presence that permeated the area. Eventually, they reached the stone den that he had made for them. He had crafted it for them when they arrived in the area where the mad one supposedly resided. She thought it was muchrger than they truly needed, but she would never tell him that. He seemed to take a childlike delight in the ce that he had made, and there was so little left in him that was childlike or took delight in anything. She understood why that was, but she mourned every day as his very real worries stole those things from him piece by piece. They went inside the stone den and Sen waved his hand around the room. She watched with a wistful sigh as logs burst into mes in the firece, and orbs of fire appeared in the many nooks in the walls that he had apparently put there for that purpose.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a bath,¡± said Sen.


    She nced over at him, judging his face. Sometimes, when he was in one of his sillier moods, she would join him in the bath to watch him splutter and be embarrassed. She still didn¡¯t understand that reaction, but it was terribly funny to see it. Today, though, she could tell that he wasn¡¯t in that kind of silly mood. Much like his delight, his silliness had be rarer and rarer. Something else she mourned, although she took great pains to make sure he never saw it. Instead of looking for ways to make her human boy make hrious expressions, she wandered into the room where he did his alchemy. She had watched him often enough to know what she could safely touch and what she should never touch for any reason. That day, though, she simply deposited the cores she had collected on a table before she went to wash the blood off her hands and arms. She might have imed the bath first, but the truth was that she didn¡¯t particrly enjoy them. They were useful enough for staying clean, but something inside of her found the immersion in the water unnatural. By the time she had cleaned herself up and changed into clothes that weren¡¯t charred, ripped, and bloody, Sen hade back and started making food.


    They ate a quiet meal together before Sen announced that he was going to go sleep. Falling Leaf just nodded as though it didn¡¯t mean anything, but a sliver of ice in her soul grew a littlerger. There had been a time when he could go for weeks on end with barely any sleep. Now, he could barely go a day or two without it. His iplete body cultivation was catching up with him, as she had known it must. She spared a moment to curse that damnable turtle as she did every day, hoping that some deity of vengeance would visit a thousand gues on the old creature that had set her human boy on this path. For all that Sen¡¯s power had grown, for all that he held the power over life and death for others, he was <em>dying</em>. It wouldn¡¯t get better. It would only get worse. She had known that when she came with him. She also knew that he did his best to hide any symptoms from her. But he couldn¡¯t hide his need for ever-increasing amounts of sleep. It burned inside of her that she couldn¡¯t help him. All she could do was hope. Hope that they found the mad cultivator. Hope that this Fu Run was feeling less insane on the day they found her. Hope that the woman would give Sen the manual. Hope that it all happened in time to save him.

 Book 5: Chapter 2: Searching

    Book 5: Chapter 2: Searching


    Sen¡¯s eyes cracked open. He sat up on the bed and sighed. The sleep had helped, sort of. While he¡¯d felt fine during the fight with the wyvern, the cost of that fight had hit him hard in the aftermath. Everything was hitting him hardtely. No, it wasn¡¯t just hitting him hard. It was hitting him and sticking with him. He could feel it even now. Things were going wrong deep inside of him. It had been umting for months. He¡¯d been able to ignore it at first and just power through. That wasn¡¯t true anymore. He was tired all of the time now. It was a tiredness that kept building day by day, and no amount of sleep could fix it. He could just tell that things that once had been smooth, efficient processes in his body were breaking down. They weren¡¯t broken yet, but he¡¯d been forced to grow ever more efficient with his qi control. He couldn¡¯t rely on his body to support him through a sustained fight.


    There was a certain irony to it. His mastery over qi, his ability to exercise power in the world, was probably at the very zenith that it had ever been. He¡¯d be an expert in overwhelming, single-strike techniques. It wasn¡¯t that he¡¯d particrly wanted to master such skills. With the certainty that his body would fail him more and more, it was a necessity for survival. Sen tried to push those thoughts away, knowing they would only lead him through a mental spiral that would make it hard to convince himself to even get out of bed, and he <em>needed</em> to get out of bed. They needed to resume the search. After the previous day¡¯s fight with the spirit beasts, it was highly unlikely that anything would bother them for a few days. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure why that was, though.


    Part of him thought that the spirit beasts were temporarily frightened, but he and Falling Leaf had slowly umted a small mountain of spirit beast corpses since they¡¯d set up at their current location. If the sheer volume or frequency of death was going to inspire fear, he suspected that the spirit beasts would have abandoned attacking them altogether. There was something else at work there. He also suspected that he wouldn¡¯t solve that mystery any time soon. It wasn¡¯t ack of interest, so much as a recognition of his need for singr focus. He had one all-consuming goal. Find Fu Run. Unless or until that happened, he didn¡¯t dare spare any of his focus for anything else.


    Sen just let himself sit on the bed for a few moments to gather himself for the day. They had spent months traveling to the area where Fu Run was supposedly located. They had spent months systematically searching the area since then. He would asionally move the location of their temporary home when travel times became too unwieldy. He¡¯d done so recently and hoped that it would be thest time. He didn¡¯t believe it would be, but how he hoped. Having allowed himself to briefly wallow, he put on a more upbeat attitude along with his robes. He walked out of the room that served as his bedroom and gave Falling Leaf a smile. She¡¯d cobbled together something that vaguely resembled breakfast. She hadn¡¯t really mastered cooking but had taken more of an interesttely, so he did what he could to encourage her. He ate the very basic fare she had prepared, a basic rice porridge and some fruit she¡¯d no doubt conjured from the literal warehouses of food she had in her storage rings.


    ¡°Thank you for making breakfast,¡± said Sen.


    Falling Leaf shrugged it off. ¡°You were asleep.¡±


    ¡°True enough,¡± said Sen.


    He waved his hand over the dishes and used abination of techniques to render them clean and safe to use again. He noticed Falling Leaf staring at what he¡¯d done with an expression that wasn¡¯t quite envious but came close. He supposed he had started taking his ability to use multiple types of qi a little too much for granted. Then again, he was taking almost everything not rted to finding Fu Run for granted. He studied the transformed spirit beast for a moment and decided that distraction was the best medicine for what ailed her.


    ¡°We went north yesterday. Shall we go south or west today?¡±


    Falling Leaf pondered that question with far more seriousness than Sen thought was really justified, but he kept his mouth shut. <em>Better that she takes it too seriously than not seriously enough</em>, he thought. Although, taking it seriously had never really been a problem for Falling Leaf. She knew the stakes as well as he did.


    ¡°South,¡± she finally dered.


    ¡°South it is,¡± agreed Sen.


    With nothing left to do at the galehouse, the pair set off to the south. They didn¡¯t follow a straight line. Instead, they moved back and forth with the limits of Sen¡¯s spiritual sense as the border. He always made sure it ovepped a little with each pass. They had discussed different ways to do it. Falling Leaf had even suggested that they separate to cover more ground. Sen had rejected that idea with what might well have been the firmest ¡°no¡± in all of recorded history. When the sheer panic that the idea induced in him wore off, he exined that he didn¡¯t want to chance hering face-to-face with the mad cultivator while alone and at a distance. He¡¯d left out that he nned to use himself as a human shield to buy her time to flee if it became necessary. It might have been her choice toe along, but he¡¯d concluded long ago that she would live if it came down to a choice between his life and hers.


    After all, she could live for centuries, possibly even for millennia more if things cut her way. That made it a simple math problem to Sen. If Fu Run reacted badly to them, he was a dead man anyway. The difference was that he¡¯d be sacrificing a year to possibly buy her thousands of years of life. As far as Sen was concerned, some trades were so obviously right that even <em>he</em> could see it. Of course, as the weeks had turned into months, Sen had grown increasingly more certain that they weren¡¯t going to find her. He was ever more certain that she simply didn¡¯t wish to be found. And if a nascent soul cultivator decided that core cultivators weren¡¯t going to find them, they didn¡¯t get found. That didn¡¯t stop him from searching relentlessly, day after day, because there was nothing else to do. So, they worked their way south, flitting through the heavily forested area at absurd speeds. When they reached the absolute outer limits of where people thought Fu Run might be found, they traveled west for a time and ran the same pattern moving north again.


    Sen was d to discover that he¡¯d been right that the spirit beasts had decided not to bother them that day. What spirit beasts he sensed either ran away or hunkered down. As long as they were willing to pretend that they didn¡¯t see him, Sen was perfectly happy to pretend that he didn¡¯t see them. He hadn¡¯te out to the wilds to fight spirit beasts, no matter how often they pushed the issue. To him, it was just time wasted that he¡¯d much rather be spending on other things. He figured that they¡¯d get at least one more day without interference. If they were lucky, they¡¯d get two days. Another attack woulde the day after. It always did.


    Not for the first time, Sen wondered if he could figure out how to advance in Five-Fold Body Transformation by himself. It sounded good, in theory. With his alchemy knowledge, he was confident that he could <em>make</em> anything he needed to do the job. The problem was figuring out <em>what</em> to make. Knowing, in general, what elements he needed to focus on just wasn¡¯t a good enough starting point. There were simply too many possible routes to take, too many possible ingredients to use, and if he got it wrong, his life was reduced from a year or so to minutes. All too likely, minutes defined by unspeakable agony. Yet, as the time avable to him dwindled, he found himself returning to that possibility more and more often. He also had to admit to himself that a time <em>would</em>e when this approach to searching would simply be too much for him. He feared that time wasing sooner thanter.


    Once that happened, he would have to turn to a desperate measure like trying to stumble his way through the dangerous body cultivation method. He didn¡¯t even necessarily need to figure it out. Even if he could simply stabilize his body cultivation, that could buy him some time. He knew that wasn¡¯t a real fix, but it would be a vast improvement over the certainty of death. By the time they were ready to call it off for the day, the afternoon had bled away into evening. Sen had been trying to wring as much value out of each day as he could, and that day had been no exception. Still, he felt the ache in his eyes as that persistent tiredness wed at him, sapping his endurance and making him crave theforts of sleep. The disappointment of yet another failure added to that desire to slip into the oblivion of unconsciousness or at least the surrealndscapes of dreams.


    When they returned to the galehouse, Sen made himself stay awake and cook a real meal for them. He knew it wasn¡¯t strictly necessary. Neither of them really needed food the same way they once had. Even in his current state, he rarely experienced hunger. Still, it was one of the only things he could do for Falling Leaf as a wholly inadequate gesture of gratitude for her continuedpany. He didn¡¯t deceive himself. If she hadn¡¯t been there, he might well have crawled into bed one day and simply not gotten back up for days or even weeks. He was, however, grateful that Falling Leaf wasfortable in silence. He didn¡¯t have much to say about anything not directly rted to their search anymore. So, he cooked, and they ate in silence. When the meal was over, he did his trick to clean their tes and utensils. Thatst necessary taskpleted, he shambled to his room and copsed into bed. Then, he did his best not to dwell on the very real possibility of his death.

 Book 5: Chapter 3: Symptom

    Book 5: Chapter 3: Symptom


    As the weeks bled into each other and thest remnants of winter faded away, Sen found himself having to work harder and harder to keep up the pace of their search. At first, he simply supplemented his body with some of that liquid qi that was constantly forming in his dantian. It worked, for a while. Yet, he could feel it growing a little less effective each day. Finally, he started making excuses to take breaks during the day just so he could rest for a few minutes. The true seriousness of the problem became apparent to him in the middle of a cool spring afternoon. Sen had his spiritual sense spread, scanning the area for anything that might even hint that a nascent soul cultivator had been there. He was searching for any trace of the kind of overwhelming qi that he¡¯d felt so often from Master Feng. He was so focused on his spiritual sense that it caught him wholly unprepared when a pain exploded in his stomach. Sen jerked attention back to his body, but it was toote.


    He''d been running at a ridiculous pace through the trees and that pain had interrupted his stride. The next thing Sen knew, he was crashing and bouncing along the ground. He tried to summon air qi to halt the wild tumble, but more pain made his vision go white. It felt like someone was shredding his organs from the inside while simultaneously setting fire to them. Sen was only vaguely aware of it as his body mmed against a tree. The pure momentum of his body shattered the trunk and barely slowed him. He was pretty sure that he hit more trees, but that pain inside of him was simply overwhelming. Sen had been hurt before. He¡¯d learned to cope with pain under the tutge of Master Feng and Uncle Kho, or so he¡¯d thought. This agony was something altogether new. It hade on him so fast and with such strength that he simply hadn¡¯t had any time to prepare himself for it.


    In the end, all Sen could do was curl in on himself and endure. He clenched his jaws so hard against the screams that wanted to escape his lips that he was shocked his teeth didn¡¯t shatter, again. Bit by bit he pushed the pain away from the center of his consciousness. It wasn¡¯t gone, but he carved out a space in his mind where he at least had a chance to put one thought in front of another. Bit by bit, he reimed reason from the howling insanity of pain. When he finally managed to secure enough control that he could open his eyes, he found Falling Leaf crouched over him. Her face looked drawn like she thought he might die right then and there. Sen forced himself to sit up. He went to give her a wan smile but realized he could taste blood in his mouth.


    ¡°What happened?¡± she asked.


    Sen looked down at his stomach. He didn¡¯t know what to tell her. He didn¡¯t know what specifically had happened. Then again, he supposed he didn¡¯t need to know specifically what had gone wrong. He did know what was happening. He offered Falling Leaf a shrug.


    ¡°What we knew would happen,¡± he said. ¡°My body is starting to fail.¡±


    ¡°We should go back,¡± she said. ¡°You should rest.¡±


    Sen shook his head and spat out the blood that was still in his mouth. ¡°This won¡¯t get better. We have to use the time we have. While I can still move.¡±


    Falling Leaf red at him. ¡°We won¡¯t find anyone if you kill yourself today.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t die today,¡± said Sen, not sure he really believed it.


    ¡°Then,¡± she hesitated, clearly uncertain what she could say, ¡°then you will rest here. For a little while.¡±


    Sen wanted to protest but the very idea of standing up, let alone running again, made him want to whimper.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said, giving in to her demands and his own deepest desire. ¡°For a little while.¡±


    Sen let himself sink back down to the ground. After a moment, he pulled a nket out of a storage ring and used it as a makeshift pillow. He let his eyes close and went back to reiming control of himself. It was harder than he thought it would be and took almost half an hour of focused effort, but Sen managed to push the pain away enough that he felt almost normal. The pain wasn¡¯t gone, but it wasn¡¯t the center of Sen¡¯s universe anymore. Finally able to think again, he went looking for the cause of the pain. He cast his senses inside of his body. His first thought was that something had gone wrong with his dantian or core, but those both looked perfectly intact and healthy. He turned to his organs next. They seemed fine, as did his muscles, and the nearby bones.


    Sen couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. The pain didn¡¯te from nowhere. He knew that much. Perplexed, Sen just hovered for a moment before he decided to try to look or at least sense deeper. He plunged his awareness down into the tissues of his muscles and organs. There, he finally found the problem. The tissues themselves were starting to break down. He just didn¡¯t understand the mechanism. They weren¡¯t decaying. It was more like they were fraying and unraveling. Despite all of his attempts to understand what the problem was, Sen couldn¡¯t find an insight that would exin it to him. Without that insight, he didn¡¯t have any chance ofing up with any fix for the problem that would be more than a temporary measure. He knew he could shore up his body for a while with elixirs and pills. Yet, that wasn¡¯t a fix for something like this. Those elixirs and pills were meant to work with a body that was, for the most part, functioning as it should. His body clearly wasn¡¯t. Without that damn manual, he couldn¡¯t even be sure what was supposed to be happening with his body.


    Sighing to himself, Sen withdrew his awareness from inside his body. He took out a general healing elixir and drank it. He waited until it hit his stomach and then did his best to direct its healing properties to the tissues in his body. The pain he¡¯d kept shunted to the side started to fade, but it didn¡¯t go away entirely. <em>I guess this is the new normal</em>, thought Sen. <em>Constant pain</em>. Not letting himself groan the way he really wanted to, Sen got up from the ground and stowed the nket back in his storage ring. He felt Falling Leaf watching him from nearby. After it was clear he meant to resume their search, she came over to him.


    Sen spoke before she could. ¡°I know. You think I should rest. There isn¡¯t time for that. At some point, I won¡¯t be able to do any of this. That means, pain or not, we have to keep going while I still can.¡±


    While Sen had learned to read Falling Leaf¡¯s expressions more urately over thest several seasons, there was still something fundamentally alien about how she thought and reacted to some things. In those moments, her expressions were often an opaque mystery to Sen. It seemed that she was in full-blown panther mode in that moment because he had no idea what her expression meant. In the end, she simply nodded.


    ¡°It is your life, Sen. I cannot tell you how to spend it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for understanding.¡±


    Falling Leaf gave him a much easier-to-read expression of pure frustration. ¡°I didn¡¯t say I understand. I just know that you will ignore me if I insist. There is no benefit in that for either of us. If you¡¯re going to spend your energy, you should spend it searching. Not wasting it in a pointless argument.¡±


    Sen wanted to feel a little offended. He wanted to, but he didn¡¯t. She was right. He was going to proceed whether she wanted him to or not. Even if she¡¯d decided to scream at him for an hour, he would still continue the search. It <em>was</em> his life, and it was also bing very clear to him that he was running out of chances to save it. He would keep going until he literally couldn¡¯t drag himself out of bed. A fate he feared would arrive far sooner than he would like. Yet, despite Sen¡¯s intentions, there was a part of him that thought that this was a doomed venture. For all the method he was putting into the search, it didn¡¯t mean much. Unless he literally stumbled over the woman¡¯s home, Sen knew that it would just be a matter of pure luck to find Fu Run or for her to find them. As the afternoon wore on, Sen could also feel the elixir slowly losing the battle. If he had done as Falling Leaf suggested and rested for the rest of the day, it might have helped more.


    Unfortunately, even if he¡¯d been willing, they were miles and miles from the galehouse. In fact, they probably should have moved to a new one already, but he¡¯d been putting it off. Now, he wished that he¡¯d done it sooner so they wouldn¡¯t have as far to travel at the end of the day. Even worse, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d have the focus necessary to make another one. Plus, there were things he¡¯d left in thest one that they¡¯d need to collect. He also knew that he was going to have to start pouring time into making the elixirs he¡¯d need to stumble his way through the next month or two. If the pain he¡¯d experienced that day was any kind of indication of what he could expect in the future, there woulde a point where he wouldn¡¯t be able to push the pain away. When that dark day arrived, it was over.

 Book 5: Chapter 4: Final Act

    Book 5: Chapter 4: Final Act


    Sen had been ignoring his symptoms for the better part of two months. He masked the symptoms with an ever-increasing number of healing elixirs, core qi spread through his body, and one of his dwindling supply of Auntie Caihong¡¯s healing pills in moments of true desperation. The knowledge that he was fighting a losing battle was something he pushed to the back of his mind in the same ce he pushed the mounting pain. All he thought about was covering more ground in his search for Fu Run. <em>I can keep going</em>, thought Sen. <em>Just one more day</em>. He told himself so often that he even started to believe it. Right up until the moment when the pain cracked through the walls of barriers he¡¯d put up in his mind. One moment he was forcing himself to run and sweep the forest around them with his spiritual sense. In the next moment, he was on the ground screaming and vomiting up blood. The only mercy was that pain drove him into unconsciousness in a matter of moments.


    The next thing he remembered was being driven back out of that sweet, ck nothingness by the same pain. He managed to stifle his screams and in an act of will that left him pale, sweaty, and trembling, he painstakingly rebuilt the walls in his mind that held back the pain. Yet, the moment he tried to stand up, the walls threatened to copse on him. <em>No</em>, he thought. <em>No, not yet</em>. For a time, he justy there and only slowly realized that he was back in the galehouse. He couldn¡¯t remember how he¡¯d gotten there. They¡¯d been a long way off from the ce. He tried to dredge up some kind of memory from that missing, in-between time, but there was nothing to find, no knowledge to glean, just a hole in his mind where knowledge usually lived.


    Eventually, when the barrier between him and the pain felt a little more stable, Sen managed to sit up. He looked down at himself and grimaced. Where there had once been abundant muscle, he could see bones pressing against the skin. Whatever damage the body cultivation was doing to him, it was speeding up. The simple thought of standing felt like a goal beyond reach. As much as he wanted to get up, as much as he needed to get up, his body wouldn¡¯t have it. He¡¯d pushed it as far as he could, and it would be pushed no more. Yet, stopping meant giving in to inescapable death. Sen sat there, gathering what meager fragments of willpower he could muster, and prepared to make the attempt at standing anyway. <em>After all</em>, he wondered, <em>what else is there to do</em>? Yet, before he could summon the courage to try, the door to the room opened. Falling Leaf came in, stared at him with a nk expression, and spoke a single word.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I need to-,¡± started Sen.


    ¡°No.¡±


    Sen had never heard her speak that way before. Her tone was t and absolute. She hadn¡¯t spoken a word or made a mutable statement. It was a decree with the force of divinew.


    ¡°Then, what am supposed to do?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°You will rest,¡± she said, making those words another irrevocablemand from on high.


    There was no give in her. He could see it in her eyes. If she had to hold him down in that bed to make him rest, she would do it. He realized with a start that, in his current condition, she <em>could</em> do it. Everything in him wanted to ignore her, to rise from that bed, to keep searching. Yet, just as far out of reach as standing had felt, getting past her was just an empty wish. He didn¡¯t justck the strength of body. Hecked the strength of will to defy her. She had done everything he¡¯d asked of her. She had traveled thousands of miles. She had searched with him from dawn to dusk and never uttered a word ofint for months. In all of that time, she had never asked him for anything. She had let him pretend that he could keep going forever, even though she must have known he was burning through what little remained of his life. Now, she had gone along as far as she was willing to go. She had made her first demand on him. He couldn¡¯t fight that or deny her. He didn¡¯t have the right. Sen watched her for a time, looking for any crack in her resolve and he found none.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said and let himself mostly fall back into the bed.


    Only then did her expression soften. She came over and sat on the bed next to him. Her expression was grave.


    ¡°It will happen soon,¡± she said.


    ¡°I know,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I dragged you out here. I never wanted you to see this.¡±


    She gave him a small smile that he couldn¡¯t interpret. ¡°Foolish human boy. Thinking you could tell me where I can go. I would never willingly let you die alone. Now, rest.¡±


    Sen nodded and, for the first time in the better part of a year, he gave himself permission to just rest for a time. Sen¡¯s dreams were chaotic things. He saw disjointed images andndscapes where everything looked as if it was half melted, as though the world was made of wax and had been subjected to excessive heat. He saw fragments of memory from his time on the streets. Fights with the noble brats, sharing bits of stolen food with Grandmother Lu, and even the asional moments of serenity. Then, there were shes of his fights with spirit beasts. There had been so many of them, most of which he hadn¡¯t wanted to kill but there had been no other choice. He had to fight. It was the only way to survive. Yet, even as he drifted up from those dreams, the sounds of fighting persisted.


    Once more, hey on that bed and tried to understand what had happened. Was he still asleep? Was he hallucinating? It took Sen most of a minute to understand what his senses were telling him. Falling Leaf was outside, fighting the spirit beasts who had never stoppeding. The realization snapped him fully into waking reality. The once impossible feat of standing simply became a mountain of effort that he needed to scale. It felt like it took forever, but inch by inch, he forced his body to move. He flooded his body with qi, and even that was barely enough, but it <em>was </em>enough. <em>I can¡¯t let her fight them alone</em>, he thought. <em>She¡¯ll die</em>. Sen had promised himself that he wouldn¡¯t let her die in the service of this mad quest. He had made that vow, and Sen was a man who kept his promises. Staggering and stumbling, he made his way to the door. He stopped, just for a moment, letting his head rest against the door, gathering what little remained of his strength. <em>I promised</em>, he thought. <em>If it¡¯s my final act in life</em>, <em>I will see her safe</em>. Sen opened the door and stepped out.


    When he saw what Falling Leaf standing alone not against an attack, but a tide of enemies. He didn¡¯t know how long she¡¯d been fighting, but there were corpses everywhere. He could see that she was fighting a battle she couldn¡¯t win. She was already injured. He could tell by the way that she was moving. He saw that it would happen before it did, and the thought paralyzed him. Some massive insect thing took advantage of a moment of distraction and mped down on her leg with massive mandibles. He heard her cry out and then a bear-catshed out at her. There was a spray of blood in the air and everything else in the world fell away, washed from Sen¡¯s consciousness by a tide of wrath.


    Sen was nominally aware that he activated his qinggong technique, but all he cared about was the fact that the distance between him and Falling Leaf vanished. The insect that had mped onto her leg was converted to ash as he drove a pir of fire through it. Simultaneously, the bear-cat was reduced to little more than a meat hash by a tornado of wind and metal qi. Stone spikes shot up out of the ground in a semicircle around him and Falling Leaf killing dozens of the attacking creatures. With a wave of his hand, he scooped her up and sent her back toward the house. A little part of him could hear her calling out to him, telling him not to do anything, but the situation had gone beyond that now. All that remained in Sen was the need to murder everything that stood before him.


    He summoned everyst drop of killing intent he possessed and mmed it down on that horde of spirit beasts. Some died instantly, and some were less fortunate as that killing intent shredded whatever passed for their minds, burst blood vessels and arteries inside of them, and left them mindlesslyshing out at anything near them. Sen was aware of the blood pouring from his nose and building in his mouth. He knew it was bad, lethal probably, but he just didn¡¯t care. He couldn¡¯t fight this horde with fists or jian. He didn¡¯t have that kind of strength anymore. What he did have was a core and dantian bursting with qi and the foundation of a technique that was very good at destroying things. Sen cycled for everything and used himself as the medium. He twisted and fused all of that qi together. It was ripping him apart, but that wasn¡¯t a concern anymore. <em>One final act</em>, he thought. <em>Why not</em>?


    He recalled his killing intent. The withdrawal stunned the horde of beasts almost as badly as having the killing intent crash down on them. Sen forced his killing intent into that unspeakable mass of qi inside of him. Then, he drove the unbridled hatred he felt for anything that would harm his friend into the heart of that technique. He looked out over that mass of spirit beasts and smiled at them with bloody teeth. With a thought, he unleashed what he had wrought. A wave of destruction rolled out of Sen, and it spared <em>nothing</em>. The spirit beasts, the trees, the grass, and the very soil itself were simply annihted from existence as though they had never existed. The destruction didn¡¯t stop at the end of the spirit beasts. That wave traveled for miles and where there had once been life, the fruit of Sen¡¯s wrath wiped it away. The most profound silence that Sen would ever experience happened in that moment, as though even the heavens were rendered mute by what he had done. Sen stood there for a moment, gazing on what he had done butcking the energy to even have a thought about it. He was spent and, with the threat gone, the pain came for him again. As he copsed and darkness closed in on him for what he expected would be thest time, he heard Falling Leaf screaming his name.

 Book 5: Chapter 5: Fu Ruolan

    Book 5: Chapter 5: Fu Run


    Sen¡¯s eyes fluttered open. An act which, on bnce, he found absurdly unlikely. Thest thing he remembered was the beast tide. He¡¯d been in so much pain that the memories were blurry, but something had happened. No, he had done¡­ He had done <em>something</em>. Then, it flooded back. Falling Leaf being injured and, then, his mind wanted to shy away from thatst part. <em>What have I done</em>? He remembered it, but it felt like he¡¯d watched someone else doing it. Someone filled with so much murderous wrath that it was a miracle it didn¡¯t kill them. He remembered that wave of destruction and that it had just consumed <em>everything</em>. He could understand why he¡¯d done it. He wasn¡¯t sure that anything less than that would have been enough to keep Falling Leaf safe. But the sheer scale and scope of the ruination that technique had left in its wake, thend scoured clean of life, was something that Sen feared would haunt his nightmares.


    It was only after all of those thoughts had passed through Sen¡¯s weary mind that he realized he wasn¡¯t in the galehouse. The walls around him were made of wood. The nkets covering him were not his own. The smell of the ce was, while not unpleasant, wholly unfamiliar. Without really thinking about it, Sen sat up¡­and froze. There had been so much to process that he hadn¡¯t noted the absence of pain. He looked down. He was still emaciated, but the constetion of stabbing, throbbing, aching miseries that had afflicted him for months was just absent. He took a shuddering breath. He didn¡¯t know <em>what</em> intervention had been performed on his behalf to achieve that miracle. He only had one guess about the <em>who</em>. There was only one option. Fu Run.


    He supposed that his little fit of boundless fury must have gotten her attention. As well it might, considering the amount of qi he had poured into that final attack. He¡¯d been sure it would kill him. So, he¡¯d dragged every bit of core qi and liquid qi in his dantian and shoved it into that mad, half-understood technique. He suspected anything and anyone possessed of cultivation within a few hundred miles had felt <em>that</em>. Of course, it could have drawn the attention of many powerful cultivators, but only she possessed the manual. That meant that only she possessed the necessary knowledge of the body cultivation method to intervene. He wanted to take that as a good sign, but he remembered well the warnings he¡¯d received. She was fickle, entric, or insane. That she had helped him survive didn¡¯t mean that he was out of danger. It just meant that the mercurial winds in her mind had been blowing the right direction when she decided.


    Still, Sen had to take his victories where he found them. He had survived doing something that <em>should</em> have killed him. He was no longer in constant agony. If he was right about who had acted to save him, he might finally be within reach of the manual. <em>Damn that turtle and damn that manual</em>, thought Sen. <em>If I get through this</em>, <em>I¡¯m going to personally see to it that there is a copy of that stupid thing delivered to every sect this side of the Mountains of Sorrow</em>. He was fairly certain he could do it, too. He could think of few better uses for all of that money he¡¯d stolen from the Murky Magpie Hangnail Syndicate.


    Sen recognized that part of him was stalling. A quick look around the sparsely decorated room had revealed that he was alone, which worried him. Just because Fu Run had helped him, it didn¡¯t mean she¡¯d left Falling Leaf intact. The part of him that was looking for excuses to not leave the room was terrified that he¡¯d discover that the nascent soul cultivator had simply killed Falling Leaf out of hand. If that had happened, well, Sen would join her in death soon enough. As much as he wanted to prolong this unexpected extension of his life, he knew that he was fundamentally incapable of letting that go. Even if it would mean challenging and being killed by Fu Run. He knew it wasn¡¯t rational or smart, but that didn¡¯t make it any less true.


    Taking a steadying breath, he summoned clean robes from a storage ring. He dressed slowly, luxuriating in the ability to move without feeling like he had red hot knives in every joint. He suspected that seeing pain-free movement as a luxury was a testament to exactly how much damage his body had suffered from the iplete body cultivation method. Yet, despite taking his time with dressing, the moment came when he simply had no excuse left for procrastinating. He did everything he could to marshal his mental energies and checked his dantian. Despite the persistent activities of that strange double helix formation in his dantian, there was a mere puddle of the liquid qi at the bottom. A quick check of his core showed an equally limited level of core qi. Sen desperately hoped that he wouldn¡¯t be pushed into a fight because he had no resources for one. Feeling wholly unprepared for what came next, Sen opened the door and stepped out of the room. He found himself almost immediately eye-to-eye with a wild-eyed woman who gave off the oppressive pressure of a nascent soul cultivator.


    ¡°Oh, the sleepy sleepy boy is awake. Sleeps too much, too much, too much!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­,¡± said Sen, taken off-guard by her appearance and odd speech.


    ¡°And he stutters!¡± shouted the woman, pointing an usatory finger at him. ¡°Why does he stutter? Why? Why? Why?¡±


    Even having been warned about her nature, Sen found himself flummoxed by the actual experience of meeting this odd woman. He shook his head a little and tried to regroup.


    ¡°Are you Fu Run?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Are <em>you</em> Fu Run?¡± she asked.


    Sen blinked at her a few times, trying to decide if she was asking a real question or not, before he finally said, ¡°No. How could I be?¡±


    ¡°How could you be? Existence is a multiplex of ovepping and copsing probabilities. That chair could be Fu Run in the right universe,¡± she dered swinging her finger to point at, of all things, a table. ¡°Foolish boy. Foolish. Foolish.¡±


    Sen tried again. ¡°In <em>this</em> universe, are you Fu Run?¡±


    ¡°Dull question. Boring question!¡± shouted the manic woman. ¡°Ask an interesting question!¡±


    ¡°Where is my friend? Where is Falling Leaf?¡±


    ¡°Good question! Better question,¡± said the woman, devolving into an exuberant little dance. ¡°Pretty cat girl was angry. She was afraid. So, I made pretty cat girl sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    The mania seemed to drain out of the woman as she gave him a look of utter bewilderment.


    ¡°In a bed,¡± she said. ¡°Where else would pretty cat girls sleep?¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair,¡± said Sen.


    A fresh burst of madness seemed to ovee the woman. ¡°Ask more good better questions!¡±


    Sen had had a few moments to gather himself and the longer he interacted with the woman, the more suspicious he became. Whatever she had done to help him would have beenplex, difficult in the extreme, even for someone who knew what they were doing. It was not a task that could have been aplished by a mind as disjointed as the one on disy before him. He smiled at her.


    ¡°Does this act really work on people?¡±


    The change was instantaneous. From one second to the next, she went from a wild-eyed madwoman to an almost overbearing presence of calm, cool consideration.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that what you were told to expect? Did I not conform to your assumptions?¡±


    Having expected something along these lines, Sen wasn¡¯t thrown as badly as he had been by her insane yacting. ¡°Oh, it dovetailed rather nicely with what I was told to expect.¡±


    ¡°Yet, you were not fooled?¡±


    Sen considered his words for a moment. ¡°I get the feeling that you didn¡¯t really expect me to be fooled. Or, barring that, you hoped I wouldn¡¯t be.¡±


    A faint smile crossed her lips. ¡°Hoped. What gave it away?¡±


    ¡°Me. The whole standing here not screaming in pain part.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I thought that might ruin the illusion. Still, I couldn¡¯t have that tiresome old man you call a mastering here to bother me if you die. And he would.¡±


    Sen felt caught between a rock and a hard ce. He needed something from this woman, so his best interests were served by ying along. Yet, his loyalty to his master was a powerful thing. He didn¡¯t have a good sense for Fu Run or how she thought. Her face was an unreadable mask to him. He did the only thing that felt right to him.¡±


    ¡°Master Feng is a great man. A genius.¡±


    Fu Run waved that off with a negligent gesture. ¡°Of course, he¡¯s a great man and a genius. He wouldn¡¯t have risen to such heights if he wasn¡¯t a great man and a genius. Here¡¯s the catch. Those things and being tiresome are not mutually exclusive categories. All he really cares about is swordsmanship, forging, and you, apparently. It doesn¡¯t make for good conversation. I mean, honestly, he¡¯s been wandering around on this for longer than any of us and he doesn¡¯t even have a <em>hobby</em>.¡±


    Sen heaved a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that <em>I¡¯m</em> his hobby.¡±


    That sentiment seemed to strike the woman funny because she threw back her head andughed.


    ¡°Maybe so. Maybe you are his hobby, but that¡¯s not all you are to him. No, he takes his duties and responsibilities to his students very seriously. That¡¯s why I was surprised that he didn¡¯te here to get the manual. Why didn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask him to.¡±


    She gave Sen a spective look. ¡°And why not?¡±


    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t know what he would do or what you would do in response. And I need something from you, as you are clearly aware. I couldn¡¯t risk it devolving into a fight.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, now wee to it. The manual.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°The manual.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re certainly right that you need it. You¡¯re also right that I do have it. I suppose the real question is, why would I give it to you?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you? I can¡¯t see why you would need it. As I understand things, it¡¯s a method for core cultivators. That makes it useless to you. So, unless you have a sentimental attachment to it for some reason, it seems like it should mostly be a question of price.¡±


    Fu Run smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a very well-reasoned argument. I can see Caihong¡¯s influence on you there. Of course, that does overlook a couple of possibilities. One, do you honestly think you can afford it?¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°I am surprisingly well-funded at present.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. The other possibility you¡¯ve overlooked is that maybe I simply don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°It¡¯s possible, but then why bother to save me? You¡¯d just end up in the same position as if you¡¯d let me die without ever finding you. A tiresome old man woulde sniffing around to find out why you didn¡¯t just let me have the damn thing.¡±


    ¡°True enough,¡± said Fu Run with amusement in her voice. ¡°Well, at least your brain functions.¡±


    ¡°Was that a matter of debate?¡±


    ¡°That is <em>always</em> a matter of debate with cultivators.¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn tough. ¡°So, it¡¯s just a question of price, then?¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Fu Run.


    ¡°What is your price? Gold? Natural treasures?¡±


    ¡°Time.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°I want time. Five years of it.¡±


    ¡°From me?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because Ming, Jaw-Long, and Caihong got five years with you, give or take. They saw something in you that made them think you were worth investing their time and effort. I want <em>my</em> five years to see what they saw. From you and your little cat friend.¡±


    Sen had been prepared to agree to almost anything, right up until thatst. When she demanded that Falling Leafmit that way, though, everything in Sen hardened.


    ¡°No.¡±


    Fu Run looked genuinely startled. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay and do as you wish. But I will not impose that on her.¡±


    ¡°But you know she¡¯s going to stay.¡±


    ¡°Maybe she will, but it will be by choice. And if she decides that she wants to leave, that will be her choice as well.¡±


    Fu Run narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°And what if I say that it¡¯s non-negotiable?¡±


    Sen met her eyes. ¡°Then, I think our negotiations havee to an end. Please point me to my friend and we¡¯ll trouble you no more.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re serious? It¡¯d be a death sentence for you.¡±


    ¡°I murdered an entire beast tide to protect her life, knowing it would likely kill me. What could have given you the mad idea that I¡¯dmit her to very?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think that I just could <em>make</em> you both stay, regardless of what you want?¡±


    ¡°You could, but it wouldn¡¯t get you what you want. You can forcepliance, but not cooperation. You could threaten to hurt her to get me to do what you want. If you do that, though, you¡¯d just have to kill me anyway, because I¡¯d make it my life¡¯s work to end your life.¡±


    Fu Run beamed at him. ¡°Oh, you do not disappoint. You are <em>everything</em> your reputation makes you out to be. Very well, then. Five years from you. Your cat friend cane and go as she pleases with one caveat.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°She never says a word to anyone about me, ever.¡±


    ¡°Fine, with one caveat.¡±


    Fu Run lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°She can talk to Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong. She has rtionships with them already. It¡¯s unreasonable to ask her to deny <em>them</em> answers.¡±


    Fu Run scowled a bit but eventually nodded. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair. The bargain is struck.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 6: The Forge of Practice

    Book 5: Chapter 6: The Forge of Practice


    For all her talk of finding out what made other nascent soul cultivators find him so interesting, Fu Run took very little notice of Sen during his first few months there. Her only instructions to him were to heal and cultivate. A very small part of him felt annoyed with the woman for a couple of reasons. Some of it was simple ego. He didn¡¯t like that she was functionally ignoring him while she did¡­whatever it was that she did with her time. He was also annoyed with her because she¡¯d told him t out that she wouldn¡¯t give him the manual until she was satisfied that he was at least mostly recovered. Sen felt like that was a basic betrayal of their agreement and hadined to Falling Leaf about it. She was <em>less</em> than sympathetic.


    ¡°It sounds to me like she saw your basic nature,¡± said Falling Leaf while they ate dinner together.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± asked Sen.


    He felt mildly offended but struggled to put his finger on exactly what he felt offended about. She had given him a look that suggested he was being intentionally obtuse about something very obvious.


    ¡°If she had given it to you, what would you have done?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d have read it,¡± he said.


    ¡°Of course, and then what?¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d walked right into it. The very first thing he would have done if Fu Run had given him the manual would have been to try to take his body cultivation to the next step. Falling Leaf had clearly discerned that, and it seemed Fu Run pegged him for that sort as well.


    ¡°I¡¯d have tried to advance,¡± he said in a sulky voice.


    ¡°Naturally, and killed yourself doing it. If you survived the advancement, which you wouldn¡¯t, the tribtion <em>would</em> kill you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s notpletely certain,¡± Sen objected with zero conviction.


    ¡°You should be grateful that she didn¡¯t let you kill yourself being foolish.¡±


    ¡°I liked it better when you didn¡¯t like to talk.¡±


    It took Sen a moment to realize that he¡¯d actually said those words <em>out loud</em> instead of just thinking them. He¡¯d tried to apologize immediately, but the damage had been done. Her furious expression had told him that. The full month of total silence on her part that followed that ill-conceived statement convinced Sen that he did not, in fact, like it better when she refused to speak to him. That silence took on a life of its own. It loomed like some kind of unwanted guest in the galehouse he¡¯d constructed for them to live in during Sen¡¯s semi-unwilling apprenticeship to Fu Ruolon. At least, that was how Sen felt about the silence. It became ever more oppressive as time went on. Sen discovered that he had a burning need to be outside practicing a lot during those deeply ufortable weeks.


    He did discover that one upside of proximity to the nascent soul cultivator was that no spirit beasts dared toe within a mile of her. While he hadn¡¯t tested it, Sen had a suspicion that the local spirit beast poption would likely avoid him moving forward as well. It had been one thing when he was killing them off a few at a time. Killing off a few hundred in one fell blow, well, that sent a message on an entirely different level. Still, Sen appreciated that he could go outside and walk in rtive safety during those first few weeks when his body was truly too weak to help him do anything and his qi reserves were still so low. Over time, though, he found that his body was gradually putting muscle back on. Even though the memory of his pain woke Sen up in cold sweats at times, his fear that it would return was proved mercifully unfounded.


    So, he did as he¡¯d been told. He cultivated. He slept. He returned to his roots. Once more, he took to unarmedbat training and running. Once more, it was like being tortured on a daily basis. Despite the increasing reserves of liquid qi and core qi avable to him, though, he didn¡¯t fall back on them. For all the temptation they provided, they wouldn¡¯t provide growth. Sen found himself understanding what he¡¯d been taught in new ways. When he¡¯d been initially learning, everything had been aboutprehending the moves and mastering the forms. Yet, he could see how shallow his understanding had been. Even when he¡¯d moved beyond the stage of thinking his way through every attack and defense to responding on instinct and muscle memory, he hadn¡¯t had the experience or the mental bandwidth to see anything deeper. Nor had he understood himself well enough to know why he¡¯d liked some approaches better than others.


    Now, with far more experience than he¡¯d ever desired under his belt and a clearer sense of who he was, Sen could see those approaches to fighting in a broader context. He could recognize those hard forms not just as a channel for aggression, but as a kind of philosophy about the world. They saw the world as an inherently dangerous and violent ce that must be met with aggression in return. It wasn¡¯t a cheerful philosophy of life, but it did conform with Sen¡¯s experiences. The systems that adopted that philosophy were fundamentally focused outward. The softer forms, the ones that Sen had always found more appealing in the early days, were fundamentally focused inward. It wasn¡¯t so much that they saw the world differently, but that they saw an individual¡¯s rtionship to that world differently. The softer forms looked for ways to keep the individual in bnce not only with the world but with themselves.


    Sen supposed that he had, even then, recognized his failure to find bnce. It had been a problem then, and it remained a problem. His attempts to fix it had been universal failures. Some of that rested on his own shoulders, if for no other reason than he couldn¡¯t see a clear path to fix it. Yet, it wasn¡¯t entirely a problem of his own making nor was it entirely a personal failure to resolve it. Every time he tried to fix it, the world seemed to throw him into some new conflict that ended in a massacre and set him back again. He acknowledged that avoiding those situations could, in theory, give him the space to find a more permanent solution. Of course, avoiding those situations almost always meantpromising things he was apparently incapable ofpromising. As long as that was the case, Sen feared that ack of bnce would remain a fact of his existence.


    Yet, for all that such thoughts troubled him, the practice itself reminded him of his time on the mountain. It had been a hard ce in many ways, but it had also been a ce of rtive safety for him as well. He¡¯d been pulled away from a life that was likely to be violent and all too short. Granted, his new life had been violent as well, but the violence was different. Everyone who became a cultivator understood to one degree or another that they were epting that violence, maybe even embracing it. More importantly, to Sen¡¯s way of thinking, it was something that they epted as part of the price for striving for something more than mere survival. Cultivators might have to fight each other, but they also got to travel as they wished with virtually no interference from local governments. Cultivators werergely freed from any concerns about ss or rank. As a mere core cultivator, Sen had reshaped the politicalndscape in the capital. The fact that he¡¯d grown up poor and without so much as a family name simply did not matter. All that mattered was that he was aparatively strong cultivator.


    The kind of freedom was a prize in itself. Yet, the true prize was the possibility of ascension to immortality or godhood. At least, Sen thought that it was. He still hadn¡¯t made up his mind that ascension, immortality, and godhood were actually good things for cultivators. His own failings made him doubt that anyone would benefit from him ascending to such a lofty station. As much as he respected Master Feng, Sen struggled to imagine what kind of god he would be or make. Would he be a god of the de? One of overwhelming force? While Sen saw the possibility of his ascension as something that might happen at some point, Master Feng was much closer to that possibility. That proximity made the question of what he would be a much more pressing matter in Sen¡¯s mind, although he didn¡¯t think his input actually mattered all that much. Master Feng would be what he would be, and Sen just had to hope it would be a good thing.


    While Sen believed that all the reflecting he was doing would ultimately benefit him, the moment he relished the most was when he felt ready to once again resume his jian practice. While he found himself using the spear more often, he¡¯d spent more time with the sword than anything else. He had trained with it relentlessly on the mountain and diligently since he¡¯d left. During the months of searching, though, he¡¯d abandoned practicing anything. He cultivated because it was necessary and unavoidable. Yet, the pain he¡¯d been in had precluded anything as demanding as daily jian practice. That loss had, he realized in hindsight, unbnced him even more than usual by depriving him of an important outlet and routine. While too many routines weren¡¯t necessarily a good thing, Sen tookfort in the ones he allowed into his life. They gave him time in every day to consider his situation and evaluate options. Removing even one of those opportunities to evaluate his choices in any given day inevitably made him more reactive. It also made him unpredictable even to himself because he made more decisions based on instincts in the moment.


    So, it was with a deep sigh of relief that he drew a jian and began to rebuild the fluid grace and muscle memory he had once taken for granted. His form was rough, but that was something he knew he could repair in the forge of practice. What mattered in that moment was the simple act of having the sword in his hand and repeating motions that he had carried out thousands of times before. It soothed something that had been unsettled in him for a long time and let him focus his emotions. While it wasn¡¯t a cure-all for everything that ailed him, it was a step in the right direction.

 Book 5: Chapter 7: Absences

    Book 5: Chapter 7: Absences


    It took around four months, but Sen eventually reached a teau in his recuperation. While his muscles had filled out and his flexibility had returned, he was not what he had been. He could feel it. His strength and speed, while formidable again, had been reduced by as much as twenty percent. He struggled to pin it down to an exact amount, but it was enough that he noticed. He could use qi to offset that loss a bit by reinforcing his body, but there was no getting around the fact that he was both slower and weaker. He continued to practice and to cultivate, but all he managed was to maintain the gains he had made. <em>If Chan Yu Ming found and challenged me now</em>, he thought, <em>she¡¯d have a real chance to kill me</em>. That loss frustrated Sen. He had worked hard to get where he was, endured suffering, endured tribtions, and to have that progress turned back with no immediate way to fix it left him angry. He sulked for a few days, but Falling Leaf grew tired of that quickly.


    ¡°Would you like me to end your suffering?¡± she asked in a tone that suggested it wasn¡¯t really a joke.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen, shocked and appalled at the question.


    ¡°You¡¯re acting like it¡¯s the end of your life. I just wondered if you wanted me to make it permanent.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t fair. I didn¡¯t make any mistakes with my cultivation. I shouldn¡¯t have to suffer because some stupid turtle sent me down a path I couldn¡¯tplete.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± asked Falling Leaf in a confused tone.


    Sen¡¯s mouth dropped open in shock. ¡°How can you say that?¡±


    Falling Leaf shrugged. ¡°Life <em>is</em> unfairness. You knew that once.¡±


    Her words fell on Sen like a hammer blow to the head. He <em>had</em> known that once. There was a time when he would have simply epted that loss in strength and moved on, looking for a different path forward. Hells, he had a path forward. Fu Run hadn¡¯t given him the manual, yet, but he was rtively certain she was going to do it. He would be able to reim that lost strength in time. He was just annoyed because he couldn¡¯t do it on his own schedule. That made his anger seem petnt, even to himself. Somewhere along the line, he had gotten used to always moving forward with his cultivation. He¡¯de to see it as almost a right, but advancement wasn¡¯t a guarantee. He¡¯d known that once, too. Embarrassed by his childishness and pettiness, he turned his mind to something productive. It was something he hadn¡¯t done in a long time. Refining his sword skills.


    His months of practice had brought him back up to a level where he could perform at more or less the same skill level, minus a bit of strength and speed. Yet, he hadn¡¯t tried to improve on those skills. It would have been, if not pointless, thenrgely wasted effort before he teaued. Every increase in strength and speed called for minor adjustments. With those settled for now, he could focus entirely on improving his form and his precision. While he had initially harbored some doubts about how much room for improvement there really was, he was soon stripped of that fantasy. Some of his ws he could rightly attribute to the changes in his own body, but not all of them. While he could recognize that someone else might still see him as possessing mastery, he did not. He had achievedpetence, nothing more. It was inly evident to him that he¡¯d been getting by on superior strength and speed for a while.


    Sen decided to start over at the beginning. He took each thrust, parry, block, and sh and analyzed it. He practiced each one, searching for inefficiencies, searching for imperfections, and slowly correcting them. Only then, when he had perfected each move individually, did he move on to stringing them together into forms. Again, he sought anything in his execution that wasted motion or wasted energy. He reimed that relentless focus he had enjoyed on the mountain and drove himself as hard as he had then. No longer did he concern himself with his de being fractions of an inch out of ce. He concerned himself with the de being a hair¡¯s breadth out of ce. He trained until he could find nothing left to fix.


    Throughout it all, though, Fu Run was more like a ghost than an active presence. Sometimes, Sen would feel her spiritual sense wash over him. Sometimes, she would simply stand and watch him train for hours, her face betraying nothing of her thoughts. At other times, she would vanish for days or even weeks at a time. She offered no exnations for these absences, and Sen didn¡¯t ask. Her instructions had been simple, and he followed them. For six months, he didn¡¯t exchange more than two dozen words with the woman. Yet, he knew that everything he did was under scrutiny. It was all a test of some kind, even if he didn¡¯t understand the nature or purpose of the test. All he knew was that she was evaluating him.


    As agreed, Falling Leaf coulde and go as she pleased, and she did. Unlike Fu Run, however, she told Sen where she was going and why. In most cases, she was hunting. While he could advance through the umtion of qi, enlightenment, and the right body cultivation method, she still needed to consume the cores of other spirit beasts. As she¡¯d grown stronger, she had to find increasingly powerful spirit beasts that also used shadow qi. When he¡¯d grown stronger, Sen offered to go with her, but she always refused. She told him that she got more growth out of it when she was the one who killed the spirit beast. Sen didn¡¯t fullyprehend the why of that, but he trusted that she knew what she was talking about. Other times, she simply grew bored with the galehouse and went off to find, as she put it, something interesting.


    ¡°I¡¯m not interesting to watch anymore?¡± he asked, putting on an exaggerated air of hurt.


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you train like this before. When you were learning new things all the time and pretend fighting with the Feng, it was interesting. Now, it¡¯s just boring.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Sen,ughing a little, ¡°when you put it like that, I can¡¯t really disagree.¡±


    Then, for no reason Sen could ever discern, things changed. He was outside of the galehouse refining his spear forms when Fu Run showed up. Sen assumed that she was going to watch him train again, which she briefly did. He had just started to find a rhythm when she called out.


    ¡°Enough of that. You¡¯ve regained your strength, or at least as much of it as you¡¯re going to.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I think.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about your qi specialization.¡±


    Sen frowned at her. Did she not know? Had his use of multiple kinds of qi not been apparent after the incident with the beast tide? Was this some kind of a test? He struggled to imagine that she couldn¡¯t sense the different kinds of qi in his core.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have one,¡± he said.


    ¡°No?¡±


    Fu Run gave him a frown in response to that. ¡°Exin.¡±


    So, he did. He gave her a stripped-down exnation of Master Feng and Uncle Kho¡¯s choice to treat his cultivation experience as something of an experiment. He told her that, as a result, he hadn¡¯t developed a specialization in any one kind of qi.


    ¡°Foolishness,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯d waste too much time switching between qi types.¡±


    ¡°I did, for a while. Now, I just cycle for them simultaneously.¡±


    ¡°How many can you cycle for at the same time?¡±


    ¡°All of them. If I¡¯m going to cycle and use them for separate techniques, though, I usually try to keep it limited to two or three. Otherwise, my channels be a bottleneck. At two or three, I can still use enough qi to generate some serious results.¡±


    That seemed to give the nascent soul cultivator pause because she just looked at him for a time. It felt like she was waiting for him to say it was all a joke. When he just looked back at her, the woman frowned again.


    ¡°Show me,¡± she demanded. ¡°Three qi types.¡±


    Sen felt like he was putting on a show for her, but he reasoned that was more or less what he¡¯d signed on for in the first ce. Since he was already holding a spear, he cycled for lightning. Then, on a whim, he picked earth and wind qi. Once they were all up and running for long enough that she¡¯d be able to tell, he looked over at her. She gestured impatiently. He supposed the gesture could have meant a lot of things, but he took it to mean that she wanted some kind of demonstration. After a moment of concentration, he made a slender spear of stone shoot up from the ground. He sliced a foot off the top of it with a wind de that went spinning through the air. Then, he sent lightning from the tip of the spear to strike that still airborne piece of stone. It wasn¡¯t the most impressive disy of his abilities, but it seemed to at least convince her that he had more than a rudimentary understanding of how to use different kinds of qi effectively. He spent the next several hours demonstrating every technique he was willing to share with her. However, he withheld Heavens¡¯ Rebuke and he didn¡¯t even attempt the technique he¡¯d used on the beast tide. There were some things he didn¡¯t care to exin. Just as importantly, he had the feeling that she¡¯d want much more in-depth exnations about those techniques than he would care to give her.


    While he was confident that she knew he wasn¡¯t showing her his most powerful techniques, she didn¡¯t seem to care. She focused on his ability to wield multiple qi types. After that, she grilled him on how he achieved these feats. He gave her another run down on how he¡¯d learned to cycle more than one kind of qi at a time, along with a very vague exnation of his channel-widening experiment. While he could see the curiosity burning in her eyes at thatst, she didn¡¯t press the issue. He supposed she didn¡¯t need to do it right then. She still had him for years toe. Plenty of time to extract secrets, assuming she wanted them. Instead, she just nodded.


    ¡°Very well, then. I¡¯m satisfied for the moment. I have a task for you.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 8: Cabinet of Wonders

    Book 5: Chapter 8: Cab of Wonders


    ¡°What kind of task?¡± asked Sen.


    While there had been no overt change in Fu Run, Sen felt a subtle, gnawing apprehension go to work on him. It felt like his intuition had noticed something that had escaped his conscious understanding. He eyed the woman warily, expecting some kind of hideously impossible demand.


    ¡°I require three superior quality, air-attributed dusk mushrooms,¡± said Fu Run.


    Sen waited to see if there was more to it, but the nascent soul cultivator said nothing. After a few moments, her expression started growing bored. Realizing that only questions would secure him more information, Sen thought hard about how to phrase them.


    ¡°Why do you need them?¡±


    Fu Run nced skyward for a moment before asking in a casual tone, ¡°Does it matter? Are you saying that you¡¯d refuse to do it if I told you this was a pointless task?¡±


    Sen considered those questions. ¡°No. I suppose it wouldn¡¯t matter. I said I¡¯d do what you asked of me.¡±


    ¡°Good. Ming may have tolerated unchecked curiosity about his motives,¡± she paused. ¡°Knowing him, he encouraged it. We do not share that approach. My motives are my own to keep or share as I see fit.¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t say he liked having that knowledge gap imposed on him, but he also knew that there was precious little he could do about it. Even if her motives were off the table, he hoped she might be willing to share more practical information with him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with dusk mushrooms,¡± said Sen. ¡°We didn¡¯t have them where I was, and Auntie Caihong never mentioned them.¡±


    Fu Run pursed her lips for a moment before she nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you would have had them on that mountain of Jaw-Long¡¯s. Too far south. Too close to the ocean. You¡¯ll need to head north to Mt. Sce. You¡¯ll find them on the upper slopes if you look hard enough.¡±


    ¡°What do they look like? There are a <em>lot</em> of mushrooms in the world.¡±


    Fu Run snickered. ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly true. Follow me.¡±


    Sen fell in behind the woman as she led them back to the house she called her own. It was a strange building, constructed of wood, rather than stone or brick. It alsocked the formations that Sen would have expected from the home of a nascent cultivator. He would have thought it was a terrible security risk. Then again, any cultivator with even a scrap of sense would detect the residual qi of a nascent soul cultivator all over the ce and flee at the first opportunity. Anyone not smart enough to run away got whatever they deserved as far as Sen was concerned. While he wasn¡¯t a great example of knowing one¡¯s limits, even he knew that there were some mountains you simply didn¡¯t try to climb. Invading the home of a nascent soul cultivator was one of those mountains. Even if you did manage to steal something and escape with it, that was a profoundly temporary situation. More to the point, you¡¯d anger someone with all of the time in the world to hunt you down and turn you into a cautionary tale used to terrify the qi-condensing cultivators.


    After all, Sen had seen just a little bit of what nascent soul cultivators were capable of doing. It had painted a very stark picture He remembered very, very clearly the way that Uncle Kho had killed those core cultivators who had so foolishly intruded on his mountain. It had been a terrifyingly casual act on his part that didn¡¯t seem to strain the man at all. While Sen could do something simr, it wasn¡¯t easy. It also wasn¡¯t something he wanted to try to do to more than one person at a time. At least not until he reached peak core cultivation. He had a feeling that when he got that far along, he¡¯d find it a much more manageable task to call down lightning from a clear sky that resulted in total annihtion. Until then, he was content to leave such feats of strength to the nascent soul cultivators unless absolutely necessary.


    Fu Run took Sen inside her house. They passed through what would have been the public area if the woman ever had visitors, which she hadn¡¯t to Sen¡¯s knowledge, and into a room he hadn¡¯t been in before. He nced around curiously, but the room was as sparse as the rest of the house. There was a table and chair, although nothing so pedestrian as papers, books, or writing implements marred the pristine surface of that table. The only other thing in the room was a wide, shallow wooden cab that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Sen¡¯s eyes went wide when he got a familiar feeling from the cab. A feeling very much like the one he got from his own storage rings. That cab was a storage treasure. Fu Run noticed him noticing and smirked.


    ¡°One of the benefits of age, young Lu Sen, is that it lets you acquire interesting things.¡±


    ¡°Apparently so,¡± murmured Sen.


    Sen felt an incrediblyplicated interaction of qi between Fu Run and the cab. She¡¯s unlocking it, he realized. That process had been soplicated that Sen hadn¡¯t even been able to follow a tenth of it, and those were just the pieces he recognized. With the storage treasure unlocked, Fu Ruolon pulled open the doors to reveal a truly cavernous space inside. With a cry of dismay from Sen, she stepped <em>inside</em> the storage treasure. While Sen knew that certain storage treasures could preserve things like food and nts, he¡¯d been warned, repeatedly, that it was a death sentence to try to <em>enter</em> a storage treasure. Yet, Fu Run had done it without even a pause and to no ill effect, as far as Sen could tell. She just looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Are youing?¡± she asked.


    Gritting his teeth a little against the expectation that he would die if he entered the storage treasure, he stepped through the door. When he wasn¡¯t struck dead immediately, he heaved a sigh of relief. Fu Run shook her head in mild exasperation and started walking. Sen trailed along behind her and tried to drink in everything he was seeing. The storage treasure stretched beyond even his keen eyesight¡¯s reach. It was loosely divided into areas. In one part, he saw rack after rack of weapons, many of them giving off potent qi signatures of their own. They had to be heaven chasing grade weapons or better to do that. In another section, he saw countless storage containers filled with nts, herbs, and alchemical reagents. He stumbled to a stop and just gaped inplete awe of the collection. He could craft elixirs all day, every day, for the next thousand years and not burn through everything she had.


    A sharp sound of snapping fingers that sounded more like thunder brought him back to reality and he ran to keep up only to stop moving again when they approached row after row of shelving containing scrolls, books, and manuals. There had to be thousands of them, maybe even tens of thousands, just sitting there, waiting to be read. Sen realized with a start that the Five-Fold Body Transformation manual was almost certainly stored there. With a sinking feeling, he realized that even if he had unrestricted ess to that wealth of knowledge, it would take him years of searching to find the manual without help. That was not a problem shared by Fu Run as she confidently blew past shelf after shelf. Once more, Sen jogged to catch up with her. When they reached the right ce, she stopped, reached out with delicate fingers, and plucked a scroll off the shelf.


    She turned and held it out to Sen. He hesitantly took the scroll from her and, after an impatient gesture from the woman, he unrolled it to see what it contained. There were several carefully drawn pictures of the mushroom which he studied until he was sure that he¡¯dmitted the image to memory. With that done, he started reading. He got an overview of what conditions allowed the mushrooms to grow, the general medicinal and alchemical uses of the mushroom ¨C poisons, mostly ¨C and three locations where one might find them. Mt. Sce was the third choice and the closest, based on Sen¡¯s map. There was also some basic advice and tips for harvesting them. Sen took careful note of that information as well. While he was an experienced harvester of wild nts and fungus, it never paid to take for granted that you knew how to harvest a nt you¡¯d never seen before. Auntie Caihong had warned him not to be overconfident and that more than one cultivator had died by harvesting something the wrong way. Like almost everything she¡¯d ever told him, he¡¯d taken that advice to heart. Once he was confident that he¡¯d retain everything long enough to write down the important parts, he rolled the scroll back up and handed it back to Fu Run. She returned the scroll to its ce on the shelf and then shepherded him back out of the storage treasure.


    He looked back in yearning more than once at the ces where she had stored the scrolls, the nts, and even the weapons. Sen only had a good working knowledge of what the nts, herbs, and alchemical reagents were worth. Fu Run could likely buy a kingdom based on the value of what he had seen with his own eyes in that one section. It made the riches in his storage rings seem paltry. Once she had resealed the cab with another of thoseplex qi interactions, she turned to him.


    ¡°Are you sufficiently educated on the mushroom now?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Anything other pressing concerns?¡± asked Fu Run, with humor sparking in her eyes.


    Sen sighed, knowing full well that he would not be given ess to anything in that storage treasure even if he asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Not even going to ask?¡± she prompted.


    ¡°I suppose I could, but only someone who was actually insane would give another cultivator ess to something like that. I know that <em>I</em> wouldn¡¯t. So, why bother asking when I know the answer.¡±


    ¡°So, they did manage to beat some wisdom into you. That¡¯s encouraging.¡±


    ¡°Thank you?¡± asked Sen, not sure if there had been a backhandedpliment in there.


    Fu Run didn¡¯t answer, choosing to refocus on the matter at hand. ¡°You have three months to aplish your task.¡±


    Sen almost asked why but managed to hold the useless question back. He was certain that there was a reason, maybe profound, maybe prosaic, but certain to be withheld. He¡¯d operated under a cloud of ignorance before. He could do so again.


    ¡°I understand,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°When will you leave?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow. At dawn.¡±


    ¡°Will you take your cat friend with you?¡± asked Fu Run, ushering Sen toward the door.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I will if she wants to go.¡±


    ¡°Well then, good luck to you and her if she elects to go along. I¡¯ll see you in three months.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 9: Bonding

    Book 5: Chapter 9: Bonding


    For all of the fighting they had to do against spirit beasts to find Fu Run, there was virtually none as Sen and Falling Leaf began their journey toward Mt. Sce. This went a long way toward making Sen feel better about his absolute annihtion of that beast tide. He wished it hadn¡¯t been necessary, but it seemed that the spirit beasts in the surrounding area had decided that he was a harder target than they wanted to take on. Still, it surprised him a little. He had thought for sure that the spirit beasts woulde at them in numbers again. As the days turned into weeks with only the very asional attack by a lone spirit beast here and there, though, his paranoia settled down into something that Sen considered manageable. Still, he thought some insight might be beneficial. So, one night after he¡¯d put up a galehouse for them to stay in, he asked Falling Leaf about it.


    ¡°Why do you think that the local spirit beasts aren¡¯t attacking more often?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re afraid of you.¡±


    ¡°That didn¡¯t stop them before.¡±


    ¡°No, you made them cautious before. Now, they¡¯re afraid.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t remember much that makes sense after I set off that technique. Just fragmented images and impressions of destruction. I didn¡¯t want to think about it afterward, but I guess I need to know now. Was it as bad as I think it was?¡±


    Falling Leaf became very still as she looked at him. ¡°Yes. It was terrifying. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. What you did¡­ What you made¡­ It was <em>hungry</em>.¡±


    Sen tilted his head a little. ¡°Hungry? What do you mean? Techniques don¡¯t work that way. They just do what they¡¯re designed to do.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Usually, but not that one. It was,¡± she seemed to search for a word, ¡°more. It was just more, and it was hungry. It didn¡¯t just destroy. It consumed everything.¡±


    Sen leaned back and tried to process those words. ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly ominous.¡±


    Falling Leaf shrugged. ¡°It was for that spirit beast tide.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just d it happened out in the wilds. I can¡¯t even imagine how many people something like that would kill inside a city.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have used it in a city.¡±


    Sen gave Falling Leaf a serious look. ¡°Yes, I would have. If you¡¯d been in that kind of danger in a city, I wouldn¡¯t have thought twice. Consequences be damned.¡±


    She smiled at him. ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t have. You¡¯d have done something else.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Something just as terrifying but smaller.¡±


    Sen had mixed feelings about that reply. On the one hand, he was happy that Falling Leaf thought he had enough restraint not to unleash a technique like that in ce with lots of non-cultivators around. On the other hand, it was a little sad that she just assumed he¡¯d find something equally terrible to rece it with. He didn¡¯t think she was necessarily wrong, but it was a sobering thing to hear. He¡¯d never set out to be terrifying. He¡¯d just done the things that seemed necessary to him in the moment. That those things often seemed to leave other people chilled to the core was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because it seemed to encourage <em>most</em> people to think twice before they came after him. It was a curse because enough people didn¡¯t believe the stories that he kept needing to do awful but necessary things, which no doubt reinforced Falling Leaf¡¯s perception. Still, there was precious little to be done about it while they traveled, so he let it go. He just wanted to get to the mountain, get the mushrooms, and get back. He could worry about how to adjust people¡¯s perceptions of him after that.


    Sen decided that a topic change was in order. ¡°So, we haven¡¯t talked about this in a while, but how are you handling the transition to being human?¡±


    Falling Leaf was quiet for a time as she ate some rice without enthusiasm. When she finally answered, it wasn¡¯t what Sen expected to hear.


    ¡°I¡¯m not human. I look human, but I don¡¯t think like humans. I don¡¯t think I ever will. Too many years thinking like a ghost panther. I can pass among the humans without drawing too much attention to myself. That is enough.¡±


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t think you¡¯ll live among them?¡±


    ¡°I might if you did. But I wouldn¡¯t pick that. I might live near them. There are conveniences it¡¯s hard to find in the wild. Easy ess to food, for one.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have much use for humans, do you?¡±


    ¡°No. They are loud. Their cities smell. They¡¯re petty and divided. No pride could survive living as they do. I believe it is only by the heavens¡¯ grace that any of you survive to be adults.¡±


    ¡°Were things truly so different with your people?¡±


    ¡°Things were more direct. You always knew your ce in the pride. Leadership had to be won through strength and cunning. Humans are always lost.¡±


    ¡°Lost? In what way?¡± asked a perplexed Sen.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know where you stand. In theory, a king holds power over everyone, except you proved that isn¡¯t true very directly. That means that cultivators are really in charge, except you pretend that you¡¯re not. For humans who don¡¯t cultivate, they don¡¯t know who to fear or who to fear most. They don¡¯t know their ces in the world. Some of you run toward things. Some of you run from them. Yet, none of you seem to know why. It is madness.¡±


    <em>No wonder she doesn¡¯t care for humans</em>, thought Sen. <em>Everything about our lives seems foolish or bizarre to her</em>. Worse, Sen couldn¡¯t think of a good rebuttal to her arguments. He thought that she was oversimplifying things. Then again, he expected that he wouldn¡¯t understand the nuances if he ever ran across an intact pride of ghost panthers. He expected that much of what he saw would strike him as madness as well. He¡¯d just have to hope that, with time, Falling Leaf would be morefortable with the intricacies of human interactions. It wasn¡¯t as though she could go back to living the way she used to. Then again, maybe she could in time. If she gathered enough strength, she could do whatever she wanted and no one would say a word about it. She may just im a mountain for herself one day, the way Sen had suggested they do.


    Of course, Sen wasn¡¯t all that certain about his own grasp on human interactions. He was good at some parts of it, but others left him baffled. <em>He</em> might be better off just finding some ce that was human-adjacent to live and work on his cultivation. It wasn¡¯t as though his history with other people was a glowing list of sesses. By his reckoning, he¡¯d left a lot of wreckage in his wake and a fair bit of it was personal. He¡¯drgely been a disaster for Wu Meng Yao and the other Soaring Skies sect members he¡¯d met on the road. He¡¯d been, at the very best, a mixed blessing for Lifen. On bnce, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d done Lo Meifeng any favors. That was to say nothing of the tatters he¡¯d left the royal family in when he¡¯d left. There had been a few bright spots in there, as well, but far too few.


    ¡°Well,¡± Sen finally said, ¡°you¡¯re not entirely wrong about any of that. Humanity is a muddled mess a lot of the time. But some people do know where they stand. Some people know what they¡¯re running from or to. It sounds like it¡¯s much rarer for us than it was for you, but those people do exist.¡±


    Falling Leaf made a noise that Sen could have interpreted to mean just about anything. He chose to take it as her reserving judgment. Theypsed into afortable silence while they sat by a not-entirely-necessary fire. It took the chill off inside the structure, but neither of them really felt the cold the same way anymore. Sen had built it more because he enjoyed the light and crackling sounds of the wood burning. The firece was also more useful now than it had been in his early versions of the galehouses. Uncle Kho had given him some tips on how they were designed with smoke chambers and dampers. It had been a little tricky to make damperspletely out of stone, but he¡¯d worked it out. He¡¯d been amazed at how much control he had over the fire once he sorted all of that out. It turned out that he¡¯d been overbuilding the walls of those early versions, but he¡¯drgely hung on to that element. He¡¯d intended for them to help provide protection. Foot-thick bs of unbroken stone were a fairly sound basic defense against most mortal threats and lower-tier cultivator and spirit beast threats.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to intersect with a road again, soon,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯ll speed things up, obviously, but it¡¯ll mean we¡¯ll start running into humans and cultivators again.¡±


    ¡°That was inevitable. I¡¯ll admit that I don¡¯t mind inns. They¡¯re very convenient.¡±


    Sen smiled. ¡°That¡¯s certainly true. It¡¯s nice to leave things like making food to other people.¡±


    Falling Leaf made a sour expression like she didn¡¯t enjoy what she was thinking about. She nced his way before she asked him something he suspected had been on her mind for a while.


    ¡°Do you trust Fu Run?¡±


    ¡°Trust? No, not particrly. But I don¡¯t actively distrust her either. She could have killed us or let me die. She didn¡¯t. That earned her a little credit in my book, but I¡¯m taking a wait-and-see approach. Why? Do you not trust her?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think she may pretend sanity more than she pretends madness.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just an instinct.¡±


    Sen idly drummed his fingers against the stone floor as he thought about that. ¡°Well, I hope you won¡¯t take it personally if I hope you¡¯re wrong. I¡¯m stuck with that woman for now. All I can really do is stay vignt.¡±


    ¡°A wise course of action at all times,¡± said Falling Leaf before she changed the subject. ¡°When this is done and youplete your body cultivation, what will you do?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking about that earlier. When I left the mountain, I wanted to see the world. Now, I mostly want the people in the world to not see me. Everywhere I go, I end up doing things that just make me more recognizable. I¡¯m thinking more and more that I should go into some kind of seclusion. Give people time to forget about me. We talked before about iming a mountain of our own. Maybe I¡¯ll find myself a mountain by some little vige and make it my own. Or, I could pull a Fu Run and build a house out in the wilds. Except, maybe not so deep. Close enough to enjoy the conveniences of civilization, but not so close that people will bother me.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that will work?¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, no. All of the evidence suggests that <em>something</em> will happen to drag me away from that seclusion. But even if it onlysts for a few years, it might still be worth it. This time at Fu Run¡¯s has been nice. No sects. No politics. No demonic cultivators. No running for my life. I¡¯ve really benefitted from that, mentally at least.¡±


    ¡°You have,¡± agreed Falling Leaf. ¡°You¡¯re calmer now.¡±


    ¡°What about you? You going toe along with me or go find a mountain of your own?¡±


    ¡°That depends on whether you pick a bad mountain. You make poor decisions sometimes.¡±


    Sen squinted his eyes at Falling Leaf. ¡°Did you just tell a joke?¡±


    Falling Leaf squirmed a little before she said, ¡°Maybe.¡±


    Sen chuckled a little and said, ¡°Good for you. That was funny.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 10: Dinner and a Tale

    Book 5: Chapter 10: Dinner and a Tale


    While it had been a while since Sen was fleeing for his life, he couldn¡¯t help be feel a little anxious when they finally stepped out of the wilds and onto a road. Yet, all that happened was that a passing farmer pulling a small cart behind him gave them a disbelieving look before hurrying away. Sen supposed he couldn¡¯t me the man for that. Nothing <em>good</em> ever came out of the wilds. For an hour or two, they just walked, but both soon grew bored with that and started to put on some speed. They¡¯d been traveling through the wilds for weeks and, despite the rare spirit beast attacks, it had still slowed them down. While Sen had three months toplete the task, he didn¡¯t want to assume that everything would go smoothly on Mt. Sce. He wanted to create a buffer so that they could get back with time to spare. Soon, they blew past that first farmer they¡¯d seen. Sen had to suppress augh at the startled look on the man¡¯s face.


    They swiftly found a small vige but decided to keep going after a brief discussion. There were still several hours of daylight left, and they could go a long way at the speed they traveled. It turned out to be a good decision because they saw town walls in the distance well before sunset. Granted, no mortal could have made that journey in a day, let alone an afternoon, but cultivation did have its benefits. While they just barely got there before the gates were locked, two cultivators practically appearing out of nowhere startled the two guards so much that one of them actually dropped their spear. Sen snatched it out of the air.


    ¡°Here you go,¡± said Sen, handing the guard the spear.


    ¡°Th¡­ Thank you,¡± stammered the man.


    ¡°Are there any decent inns in town?¡± Sen asked.


    The two guards exchanged a look. The one who dropped his spear gave Sen a very uncertain look.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure we have anything that will meet your standards, honored cultivator.¡±


    It took Sen a moment to understand what was happening before he realized he was back out in a fairly rural area. While cultivators weren¡¯t unknown, they were rare byparison to a ce like the capital or even arger city like Emperor¡¯s Bay. These guards were basing their responses as much on stories of vengeful cultivators as they were on any direct experience. Sen was sympathetic. He remembered all too well how afraid he¡¯d been of Master Feng those first few days. He imagined these guards thought that Sen and Falling Leaf might destroy the town if they weren¡¯t happy with the avable amodations.


    ¡°We only require clean beds, a bath, and perhaps a meal. No luxury required.¡±


    Relief that bordered on the palpable flowed out of the two men.


    ¡°Of course, honored cultivator,¡± said the second guard. ¡°There is the Blue Lotus Inn or the Restful Tiger Inn.¡±


    ¡°Which is closer?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°The Restful Tiger,¡± answered the guard.


    ¡°Where is that?¡± she asked.


    The man who had mostly been paying attention to Sen had turned to give Falling Leaf his full attention. His eyes had gone a little wide and his mouth was hanging slightly open. Shaking his head a little, Sen reached out and closed the man¡¯s mouth with a finger before he turned his eyes on the first guard.


    ¡°Directions?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What?¡± said the first guard, his eyes shifting back to Sen.


    ¡°Directions,¡± repeated Sen. ¡°To the inn.¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course, honored cultivator. Please forgive his stupidity,¡± said the first guard, stamping down hard on the second guard¡¯s foot. ¡°I beg you to spare his life.¡±


    Sen waved it off and assured the men that he had no intention of killing them. They finally got the directions they needed and walked into the town. Falling Leaf cast a curious look back at the men.


    ¡°Why did they think you were going to kill them?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Because the one guard was staring at you.¡±


    ¡°I saw that. Why was he doing that?¡±


    ¡°Because he thought you were beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Foolishness," said Falling Leaf. "He should have seen me before. Then, I was beautiful.¡±


    ¡°You were. But to human eyes, you are beautiful now.¡±


    ¡°And they thought you would kill them for that?¡±


    ¡°They worried I would take offense," said Sen.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t worried <em>I</em> would take offense and kill them?¡± Asked Falling Leaf as she cast a hard look back in the direction of the gate.


    ¡°They would have if they were smart.¡±


    Falling Leaf seemed mollified by that answer and they found the inn with little trouble. After getting rooms, Sen went off to get a bath while Falling Leaf went in search of something hot to eat. As hey in the water, Sen used his water qi and tried to make shapes with it. While he still harbored more than a little resentment toward the patriarch of the Clear Spring sect, he had never forgotten the disy of mastery the man had put on with his water qi. It was something that Sen yed with in idle moments. While he couldn¡¯t make birds with individual feathers or a running horse, he had gotten far enough along that he could consistently make something vaguely horse-like in shape. He could also make spheres of water and even hold something that looked a bit like a house if he really concentrated. While he expected it would take him a thousand years to reach the kind of mastery the patriarch had shown, that wasn¡¯t what he was after. For Sen, it was one little corner of cultivation that he just did for fun. It would never be something he could use inbat. It had nothing to do with alchemy. It was just a calming pastime.


    When he felt he¡¯d gotten all he could out of the bath, he climbed out of the bath and dried himself off. He even used a bit of air qi to help dry his long hair before dressing in clean robes. Feeling much more human after nearly a month in the wilds, he finally felt ready to share space with other human beings for a while. He found Falling Leaf in themon area sitting at a table absolutely covered with food. He sat down across from her and gave the table a bemused smile. While Sen had moved beyond the need for food entirely during his captivity at that cult, he was unusual. However, most core cultivators needed very little in the way of food, and Falling Leaf was a core equivalent spirit beast.


    ¡°Do you even need food anymore?¡± he asked in curiosity.


    Falling Leaf looked over at him and shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t really <em>need</em> it. But I enjoy food. I got enough for both of us.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. That was thoughtful.¡±


    The two of them shared food and wine for a time. Sen half-listened to a man telling well-known stories of heroes and legends. Sen¡¯s blood ran a little cold when the man started telling stories about Judgment¡¯s Gale. Sen sighed at just how inurate they were. Some of the things were vaguely familiar but not at all as he remembered them. Others seemed to have been conjured from whole cloth. He¡¯d never even heard of, let alone visited, half of the ces the man talked about. He certainly hadn¡¯t saved all of the vigers he was supposed to have saved. And, somehow, oxen kept finding their way into the stories. While there had been oxen along the way, they hadn¡¯t taken a direct hand in most of his misadventures. He had no clue what the man was talking about when he spoke of a pair of wandering women on an eternal search to find him. Falling Leaf seemed to find the stories equal parts fascinating and hrious.


    ¡°Did that really happen?¡± she asked him for at least the tenth time.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Who cares about that guy,¡± someone shouted.


    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± said the storyteller. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯ll like this story better. It¡¯s a tale of Righteous Wu Gang.¡±


    Sen¡¯s head snapped around, and he focused on the man. Wu Gang had said he would continue his good works. While Sen doubted that this story would actually be true, it was a sign that Wu Gang was out there doing something. Falling Leaf noticed his attention and focused on the storyteller.


    ¡°There is a vige to the south called Monk¡¯s Bluff. You may know it, for it is famous for its many plum trees and the beauty of its plum blossoms. It is a peaceful ce. Many go there simply to meditate on beauty. Yet, not all respect the peace of Monk¡¯s Bluff, and bandits had begun making raids upon the vige. The men there tried to fight back, but most were farmers or tended to the plum trees. They were not ustomed to fighting and had no skill in it. Then, one terrible day the bandits came again, intent on destroying the town and all who lived there. They meant to y every man, woman, and child. They meant to burn down the trees. All in punishment for the minor resistance the vigers put up against them. When all hope seemed lost, a wind blew from the east and carried a storm over the vige. And from the heart of that storm stepped Righteous Wu Gang. Hemanded the bandits to leave the vige and never return. The bandit leaderughed and jeered.


    ¡°¡®You are a fool. You have no weapons.¡¯"


    ¡°It was true, for Righteous Wu Gang carries no de and no spear. Yet, he was not daunted. He simply shook his head and once moremanded the bandits to leave. He implored them to save their own lives. But the bandit leader would not listen. He drew his dao and tried to cleave Righteous Wu Gang¡¯s head from his body. With great sadness in his heart, Righteous Wu Gang delivered a swift and mighty blow against the bandit leader. The bandit leader was struck dead from that lone strike. A final time, Righteous Wu Gangmanded the bandits to leave that ce and never return. They did not heed his words. Instead, they attacked. One by one or in groups howling with mad rage, it did not matter. Righteous Wu Gang struck them down until none remained.


    ¡°When his terrible work was done, the storm passed and vigers rejoiced for they had been saved. The vigers wished to shower what small treasures they had on him, but Righteous Wu Gang would ept no reward for his deeds. He stayed in the vige for three days, asking only lodging and food. And each morning he would rise, and work the fields and tend the trees with the vigers, doing the work of ten ordinary men. On the fourth day, he took only fruit, bread, and rice. With a small smile for the vigers he had saved, he disappeared into the mists.¡±


    ¡°Where did he go?¡± demanded one of the other patrons.


    ¡°They say,¡± said the storyteller, pausing to sip from his wine cup, ¡°that he goes where the need is great. Beyond that, I cannot say.¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°Why did <em>that</em> story interest you so much?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Because I know Righteous Wu Gang. I¡¯m sure that story is mostly made up, but I expect there is a sliver of truth in its heart. It pleases me to know that he¡¯s still doing good works.¡±


    ¡°Who is he?¡±


    ¡°A man I probably should have killed and <em>didn¡¯t</em>. And I don¡¯t regret it.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 11: Shadow

    Book 5: Chapter 11: Shadow


    Traveling by road proved much faster for them as they headed north since it let Sen and Falling Leaf more than double their traveling time. Some of it was a simpleck of obstructions. While they encountered people, wagons, and the asional farm animal, they weren¡¯t constantly having to navigate around, over, or through natural obstacles. While no single change in navigation cost that much time, a hundred minor alterations in their direction every single day added up. The other part was that they weren¡¯t required to set up camp and protections every single night. Sen didn¡¯t begrudge that time because he knew how important shelter and protection were in the wilds, but it did cost time. On the road and at the speeds they were moving, they could usually find an inn or a farmer happy to have some extra taels.


    The constant change in location also let them narrow down where Mt. Sce was actually located, rather than a general area indicated on inurate maps. That, more than anything else, served to ease Sen¡¯s mind. The distances between locations on the continent had left Sen feeling ill at ease at the start of their journey. He had wondered more than once if they would have the time to get to the mountain and back again before the deadline ran out. Granted, Fu Run had never actually said it was a deadline, but Sen had walked away with the distinct impression that he would find Fu Run <em>much</em> less amodating if he wasn¡¯t back in three months. Much to Sen¡¯s displeasure, though, they would run across other cultivators from time to time. Some of them had the good sense to steer clear, but some were like the ones in front of Sen who were working very hard to test his limited patience.


    ¡°You should be happy to exchange pointers with someone from the¡­¡± said a puffed-up fool with too much muscle and not enough sense.


    ¡°If you utter your sect¡¯s name one more time,¡± said Sen, ¡°I will beat you unconscious, strip you naked, and tie you to a tree for the nearest spirit beasts to eat.¡±


    ¡°I would think that a wandering cultivator would know their ce better,¡± said the over-muscled sect cultivator.


    ¡°You know,¡± mused Sen, ¡°I can¡¯t actually remember anymore, but I¡¯m fairly confident that I¡¯ve killed just about everyone who ever uttered a sentence like that to me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very confident.¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m just running out of tolerance. So, let me be clear. If you make me draw this de, I¡¯m going to use it to kill you and yourckeys.¡±


    ¡°The Swift River Sect will never allow such an affront to pass.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t listen well,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What?¡± asked the sect cultivator.


    Sen didn¡¯t bother to answer. He just activated his qinggong technique and shot across the intervening space. The other cultivator seemed to realize what was about to happen a split second before it did because his eyes went wide. He¡¯d just started to move his hand toward his sword when Sen¡¯s fist crashed into the man¡¯s face. He pulled the punch enough so that he was rtively confident it wouldn¡¯t kill the man. It did, however, send the man flying through the air. As Sen casually ducked beneath a hasty blow from one of the other cultivators, he decided that it was better this way. No one would die, probably, and he could be on his way. Heshed out with a kick that drove all the air out of the second man¡¯s lungs and sent the other sect cultivator tumbling away. He felt Falling Leaf behind him and heard the rain of blows she wasnding on the other cultivators. He also heard their cries of pain. He looked over and saw a look of pure glee on Falling Leaf¡¯s face as she danced between their hasty attacks. It was pretty clear she didn¡¯t need his help, so he took a few moments to gather the unconscious and semi-conscious cultivators he fought.


    He kept half an eye on Falling Leaf as she toyed with her opponents, but mostly just focused on stripping the two men of everything they had on them. It turned out not to be that much. They had one minor storage treasure between them and some weapons that Sen wouldn¡¯t have bothered with in any other circumstances. But he couldn¡¯t back off now. He summoned some rope from one of his storage rings and bound the men at the hands and ankles before propping them up against a tree. The semi-conscious cultivator started to regain his wits, so Sen hit him again for good measure. Then, he leaned against a tree for a while as Falling Leaf made the sect cultivators look stupid. Even if Falling Leaf hadn¡¯t had his training, she had watched him train for years. She had listened to many of the lessons. She¡¯d also survived in the wilds for years. Anything shecked in training, she more than made up for with pure, savage instincts. By the time she got bored with the cultivators, one of them was bent over at the waist, hands on their knees, and heaving for breath. The other looked like she was barely managing to stay on her feet.


    ¡°I think they¡¯ve probably had enough,¡± said Sen.


    He made sure to use a tone that said he was only making a suggestion. He had zero intentions ofing between Falling Leaf and something she saw as her prey. That would be a great way to have her turn her fury on him. <em>Thanks</em>, <em>but no thanks</em>, thought Sen. Falling Leaf considered the two sect cultivators, sniffed, and looked over at Sen.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right,¡± agreed Falling Leaf.


    The one who was heaving for breath just copsed onto the ground. The woman looked from Falling Leaf to Sen and rxed a little.


    ¡°Thank the heavens,¡± she whispered.


    Sen smirked at her and gave the musclebound cultivator who¡¯d set all the stupidity in motion a light kick. ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous. I didn¡¯t kill this idiot. Why would we kill you?¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we killing them?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s no point. I doubt they¡¯re actually evil, and I can¡¯t go around killing everyone who annoys me. Well, I definitely <em>shouldn¡¯t</em> do that at any rate. Creates more problems than it solves. Embarrassing them, though? That¡¯s always on the table. Speaking of which, if you two wille over and join your friends.¡±


    The pair of sect cultivators reluctantly trudged over to Sen. The guy was covered with shallow cuts and bruises. It seemed the woman was a little more skilled because she had way fewer obvious injuries. He saw her look at the two propped up against the tree and her face went scarlet.


    ¡°Are you going to make me strip?¡± she asked, trying to sound haughty but mostlying across as scared.


    Sen considered that for a moment. ¡°I guess not. I really only threatened your leader over there with <em>that</em>. I will be taking any weapons and storage treasures the two of you have, though. I don¡¯t expect the rope to hold you for long, so I need to drive the lesson home another way. Come on. Hand them over.¡±


    The cultivators grudgingly handed over another storage ring and their weapons. Sen deposited the weapons in one of his own storage rings and dropped their storage ring into a pocket. He¡¯d look inside itter. He proceeded to tie their hands and ankles before he tied them all around the tree. After a moment of thought, he reinforced the ropes with qi. Again, it wouldn¡¯t hold them forever, but it would probably keep them upied for a few hours. More than long enough for Sen and Falling Leaf to put some distance between themselves and the sect cultivators. As he was getting ready to walk away and rejoin an impatient Falling Leaf on the road, the woman called out after him.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Sen gave her what he hoped looked like an enigmatic smile. ¡°Me? I¡¯m nobody. Just a shadow passing through.¡±


    The woman looked wholly unsatisfied with the answer, which made Sen supremely happy with it. The less he spread his name or his stupid, stupid title around, the better. Thest thing he wanted to do was start even more rumors about himself. Although, he supposed that this was probably a story that wouldn¡¯t cause that many headaches. Sure, there was some embarrassment, but it was the middle of the day and the nearest town wasn¡¯t that far off. Odds were good that they¡¯d get free and run home to their sect,ining about those mean wandering cultivators. Unless the higher-ups in that sect wereplete morons, though, they¡¯d recognize this mercy for what it was and let it go. That made Sen frown, though. Just because recognizing it as a mercy was the smart thing to do, it didn¡¯t mean that the sect would behave that way.


    Sen¡¯s experiences with sect elders were a mixed bag. Some of them were reasonable. Some of them were stupid. Some of them were prideful to the point of madness. And some of them were unadulterated evil. As much as Sen hated to lean on that reputation he¡¯d been building, it was the smart y for him if it could save him trouble. The problem was that he couldn¡¯t be sure it <em>would</em> save him trouble. It might make trouble for him just as easily. That was assuming his reputation had spread this far north. Although, it seemed like his reputation always arrived before he did. He should have asked Master Feng about leveraging an increasingly fearsome reputation. Sighing a little to himself, he turned back to the woman.


    ¡°If your elders be insistent on a name, tell them it was Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    The woman jerked at that, as did the one man who was still conscious. <em>Damn</em>, thought Sen. <em>It did beat me here</em>. They both stared at Sen with expressions that went back and forth from excitement to fear.


    ¡°You¡¯re Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± asked the man. ¡°Truly?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what they tell me.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so?¡± asked the woman.


    ¡°Because I was trying to avoid a fight,¡± said Sen as he turned and walked away. ¡°Not that it did me any good.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 12: A Politically Convenient Solution

    Book 5: Chapter 12: A Politically Convenient Solution


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll leave us alone?¡± asked Falling Leaf after they¡¯d traveled several miles down the road.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Sen. ¡°I hope so. I really don¡¯t want to kill them. We gain nothing from it.¡±


    ¡°And if theye looking for us? Will you just let them go again?¡±


    ¡°I might let them go. But I won¡¯t let them go unscathed. All mercy has limits.¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded as if that was what she expected. The pair fell back into their usualpanionable silence and afortable pace as the miles disappeared behind them. As the sun started to vanish over the horizon, Sen decided that they weren¡¯t going to find a town. He scouted some nearby areas with his spiritual sense and picked a promising location. He went about the usual tasks of erecting a galehouse, shaking his head a little as he realized he¡¯d just epted that name for the stone structures. As he was setting up the formation to disguise their presence at the location, he felt something out on the very edges of his spiritual sense. <em>And I was just thinking that those sect cultivators had made the smart choice</em>, thought Sen. He stuck his head into the galehouse. Falling Leaf was poking at the beginnings of a fire.


    ¡°I need to go deal with something on the road,¡± said Sen.


    Falling Leaf eyed him. ¡°What kind of thing?¡±


    ¡°Four pesky cultivators who don¡¯t know when to leave well enough alone.¡±


    Falling Leaf sniffed her indifference. ¡°Do you want any help?¡±


    ¡°Not unless you¡¯re bored.¡±


    ¡°Not that bored,¡± she said. ¡°I maye and watch.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± said Sen.


    He made his way back out to the road and admired some of the nearby trees. There were maples in the area. While Sen had more familiarity with evergreens, he had always appreciated the look of maple trees. It was a pity that they were passing through in summer. Maple leaves always turned spectacr colors in autumn, and Sen thought that he¡¯d appreciate that all the more with his enhanced vision. He held out hope that the trees might start turning before they made it back to Fu Run. There were some maples near where she lived, but not as many as there were in this part of the country. He was still contemting the trees when the four cultivators arrived. Sen ignored them as he stepped closer and picked up a maple leaf that had fallen to the ground. It must have fallen recently because it was still green and looked healthy. It had seven points, which Sen hadn¡¯t been aware that maple leaves could do.


    The musclebound leader of the group started to bellow something about Sen paying for some dishonor or another. That got old almost immediately. Sen dropped his auric imposition on the leader of the group like a hammer. The man crumpled to the ground with a strangled cry of surprise and pain. The other three cultivators all took a step back, their eyes moving back and forth from Sen to the writhing man on the ground. Sen finally turned his eyes to meet theirs, and the group took another step back. The woman looked especially miserable and guilty. She had clearly told them who he was and that it was stupid to follow them. The other two looked like they wished that were exactly anywhere else in the world. Anywhere at all.


    ¡°You¡¯ve put me in a bind here,¡± said Sen. ¡°I already took whatever wealth and weapons you had. So, I can¡¯t punish you that way again. Not that I would, since it obviously didn¡¯t work the first time. Shame didn¡¯t work either, so that¡¯s out. That doesn¡¯t leave me with a lot of options other than simply killing you or maiming you.¡±


    At the mention of maiming, the three cultivators he hadn¡¯t crushed to the ground looked ill. Sen drew his jian. He made a show of it, adding unnecessary flourishes to the motion. As he ambled toward the cultivators who kept trying to creep farther and farther back, he paused to look down at the leader. He continued speaking.


    ¡°I can see from your expressions that you understand what maiming means. It will very likely end your dreams of cultivation. It might be a mercy to simply end you all right here. I¡¯ve maimed people before and, frankly, it left a sour taste in my mouth. It¡¯s permanent suffering unless you can find a miracle, and I understand those are in very short supply. It¡¯s also more punishment than you deserve. Of course, all of this also means that I¡¯m going to have to deal with your sect. They won¡¯t be happy that I¡¯ve killed or impaired their people. That¡¯s a hassle I went out of my way to avoid that the four of you have forced onto me. That¡¯s put me in an <em>unforgiving</em> mood. So, maybe maiming you all <em>is</em> the way to go.¡±


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    Sen red at the three cultivators who were still on their feet. They were pale and trembling. It seemed that they, at least, were finally starting to understand the depth of their folly. Sen walked a slow circle around the cultivator on the ground. When he could find the focus for it, the cultivator red at Sen with hate and tried to say something. Sen assumed they were threats orments on Sen¡¯s character. He didn¡¯t really care, so he kicked the man in the face hard enough to send a spray of blood flying. Sen resumed his slow circle around the man and made the asional unhappy noise. He focused on the other three for a moment.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t know what I should do to you.¡±


    It was aplete lie. Sen did know what he wanted to have happen. He¡¯d even instigate it if the other three were too squeamish to suggest it themselves. He was genuinely curious to see if they¡¯d make the suggestion or not. He lifted an eyebrow at them.


    ¡°What would you do if you were in my ce?¡±


    The three cultivators traded frightened looks. The other one Sen had stripped naked tried to make a run for it. Sen sighed and sent a pir of air after the guy. It hit the man square in the back and knocked him down. Sen wrapped air around the man¡¯s ankle and dragged him so he was prone on the ground by the two still on their feet. Sen shook his head.


    ¡°No. You had your chance to run away. Now, you are in the time of consequences. So, what would you do?¡±


    The one Sen had just dragged back thrust an using finger at the musclebound cultivator. ¡°This is his fault. We didn¡¯t want toe. He made us.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Throwing your leader under the cart. The time-honored move of a coward. The problem is that you came. Are you trying to tell me that if, for example, you¡¯d caught me unawares, you would have simply stood back? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s very likely.¡±


    The pointing cultivator let his hand drop. He opened his mouth a few times but apparently couldn¡¯t find anything worthwhile to say. He averted his eyes when Sen focused on him. Shaking his head a little, Sen turned his attention to the two he had interacted with back at the tree.


    ¡°How about you two?¡± he asked. ¡°Anything to say in your defense? Any suggestions to make?¡±


    Both shook their heads, either unable to think of something or unwilling to put it to voice. Sen heaved a dramatic sigh. With a flick of his wrist, Sen beheaded the musclebound cultivator. The other three stared in shocked horror. Sen supposed that this wasn¡¯t what they thought of as honorable conduct. An honorable man would have let the idiot try to defend him inbat and then killed him. Sen wiped his jian clean on the dead man¡¯s robe before he spoke again.


    ¡°You have a few options avable to you. First option, you can try to avenge your friend here. Any takers?¡±


    The three remaining sect cultivators shook their heads or murmured, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Option two is that you go back to your sect and cause me more headaches by telling them what happened here. Then, I¡¯ll do what people increasingly expect me to do. I¡¯ll kill everyone and save the three of you forst. Any takers?¡±


    There were much more fervent shaking heads that time.


    Sen nodded. ¡°Option three, and this is the one that I rmend you take. You go back to your sect. You tell them all about how this idiot died heroically facing off against a surprise spirit beast attack. Tell them it was a pack of those bear-cat looking things. Those assholes are aggressive as hell.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll know we¡¯re lying,¡± said the woman.


    ¡°Of course, they¡¯ll know you¡¯re lying. This moron wasn¡¯t brave or honorable, but they won¡¯t give a damn. They¡¯ll have a nice, face-saving story to tell anyone who might care about him enough to ask. Those people will also know it¡¯s a lie if they knew him at all, but <em>they¡¯ll</em> have a nice face-saving story to tell anyone who asks about him. Most importantly, it spares me from having to deal with your sect. So, any takers?¡±


    The three cultivators traded on brief look before they all started nodding. Sen figured there was about a ny percent chance that their sect would jump on the story and never give it another thought. He also got to take a pass on doing something awful to the rest of them. That was very appealing to him. He offloaded everything he''d taken from them from his storage ring. He tossed the woman the storage ring he took from her. They at least needed to look the part when they got back to their sect. As the trio started to move away, Sen spoke again.


    ¡°You understand, I hope, that this kind of mercy will not be granted to you a third time.¡±


    The men flinched and took off running. The woman turned and gave him a formal bow.


    ¡°I will see to it that they understand,¡± she said.


    ¡°Please do.¡±


    The woman turned and dashed off after herpanions using a qinggong technique of her own. Falling Leaf stepped out of the shadows of the surrounding forest. She stared after the three fleeing cultivators.


    ¡°I thought you were going to kill them all,¡± observed Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I considered it. I think this is better, though. It gives the sect an excuse not to start a fight they probably don¡¯t want. We avoid unwanted hassles. It¡¯s a politically convenient solution.¡±


    ¡°If the sect does what you want,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Yes. If they do what I want. I think they will, though.¡±


    ¡°What if they talk about what really happened?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not an if. They will talk about it to someone, at some point. The story will get out. But, by then, hopefully, it will be far enough in the past that no one will care enough to try to do anything about it. It¡¯s just easier for most people to stick with the official story.¡±


    Falling Leaf lost interest at that point. ¡°We should make dinner.¡±


    ¡°We? I think you meant me.¡±


    ¡°I made the fire. I participated.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go make dinner.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 13: Authority

    Book 5: Chapter 13: Authority


    The closer that they got to Mt. Sce, the clearer it became to Sen that they had entered the true hintends of the kingdom. In fact, he wasn¡¯t even sure they were still in the kingdom proper. The borders got hazy this far north. Yet, it was the growing distance between settlements that told the real story. True towns all but ceased to exist and the viges were small, even by Sen¡¯s forgiving standards. Most nights, they slept in the wilds in the cool embrace of Sen¡¯s mini-fortresses. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly when he¡¯d started to think of them that way, but that¡¯s what they were. Tiny stone citadels to ward off those that stole through the dark with ill intent. He¡¯d even taken to sealing off the door at night simply to ensure that nothing with above-average strength could knock it down while they were unaware. As for anything that could put a hole through one of his walls with one blow, well, that was something that was probably going to be able to kill them no matter what. The first time he¡¯d sealed the door, Falling Leaf had given him an odd look.


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a feeling. I¡¯ve felt like something was watching us.¡±


    ¡°Did you sense anything out in the forest?¡±


    ¡°No, but my spiritual sense isn¡¯t perfect. Something more powerful than me could theoretically block or trick it. I prefer not to take a foolish chance when it¡¯s so easy to just seal the door. I opened up a few narrow air slits to ensure we maintain good airflow.¡±


    Falling Leaf frowned for a moment, then shrugged. It seemed she was willing to indulge his silly human concerns as long as they didn¡¯t inconvenience her too much. Despite that precaution, the feeling of being observed persisted for several days. Sen started to range out away from the road in both directions, just to see if his spiritual sense could pick up on something that might be keeping its distance. It didn¡¯t turn up anything, which actually made him feel worse instead of better. He¡¯d learned a long time ago to give his intuitions the benefit of the doubt. They were certain that something was observing him and Falling Leaf. When he poked at that intuition to see if it might cough up some more information, such as if they were in actual danger, his intuition remained silent. He interpreted that to mean that whatever signals he was picking up on weren¡¯t clear enough to indicate danger or ack thereof.


    He felt a little bad that his paranoia was infectious. He saw Falling Leaf start to watch the forest around them with more vignt eyes, which was saying something. She relied far more on her natural senses than he did and tended to be more guarded about potential dangers than he was most of the time. So, she spent far more of her time watching the trees than she did watching the road. Not that it really mattered much. She moved along the road with a grace that almost matched what she had been able to achieve in her ghost panther form. She navigated over loose stones and uneven spots as though they didn¡¯t exist. Yet, nothing appeared. At least, nothing appeared from the forest. Instead, the lurking watcher appeared in the middle of the road ahead of them. Sen recognized the figure, so he was just aggravated. Falling Leaf, on the other hand, was so stunned that she tripped. Sen caught her arm to prevent any unfortunate tumbles. The three eyed each other in silence for almost a minute. Sen could see that Falling Leaf¡¯s eyes were wide and her breathing was too fast. He intentionally put his body between her and the figure. He kept his tone neutral when he spoke, but he also kept his hand on the hilt of his jian.


    ¡°Hello, Boulder¡¯s Shadow. This is an unexpected meeting.¡±


    The panther man considered Sen¡¯s face before his feline eyes traveled down to where Sen¡¯s hand was obviously ready to draw the de.


    ¡°Unexpected and, it seems, unwee.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°The circumstances of ourst meeting were not what you might describe as ideal.¡±


    The evolved spirit animal inclined his head in acknowledgment of the point. ¡°They were not, but I kept our bargain.¡±


    This time it was Sen who was forced to incline his head in acknowledgment of the point. ¡°And I repaid that kindness.¡±


    ¡°Did you?¡± asked Boulder¡¯s Shadow.


    ¡°Have you seen Feng Ming recently?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I have not.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee. I very specifically asked him not to hunt you down. He agreed. I think he was more intrigued by the novelty of your existence than he was infuriated by the actions you and yours took. But do not mistake me. It was a <em>close</em> thing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it was. I knew Feng Ming long ago. He was not a man to be trifled with even then. I do not imagine his temper has grown less powerful.¡±


    ¡°It has not,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°Fortunately for you, I think it does take more to rouse it.¡±


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    ¡°A true mercy then. Still, thatplicates matters. I had hoped to leverage your debt to me. Now, it seems my position is weakened. Still, we have a matter to discuss.¡±


    Sen had been watching for it, so he saw the panther man¡¯s eyes flick behind him for just a moment. Right to where Falling Leaf was peeking around him. Sen closed his eyes and took three deep breaths. He supposed he knew that something like this was bound to happen eventually. He had revealed too much in that first meeting, however unintentional that revtion had been. Sen¡¯s simple knowledge of ghost panthers had said too much. He¡¯d been worried that the transformed panther man woulde looking for where or how Sen had learned about ghost panthers. The fact that Boulder¡¯s Shadow was here, now, meant that he had likely put two and two together. It also likely meant that the spirit beast meant to take Falling Leaf away with him. When Sen opened his eyes, Boulder¡¯s Shadow flinched at what he saw in them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± said Sen. ¡°Don¡¯t even suggest it. If you do, it¡¯ll be a fight. So, don¡¯t even put it in the air.¡±


    ¡°You interfere in matters you do not understand, boy,¡± growled Boulder¡¯s Shadow. ¡°This is pride business.¡±


    Sen drew his jian.


    ¡°Matters I don¡¯t understand. Pride business. Do you hear yourself? <em>I</em> don¡¯t understand. You mean to take my family. And for what? To participate in your dirty little war? <em>Die</em> in it? If you think I¡¯ll let that happen, you have sorely misjudged me,¡± said Sen.


    Almost as if summoned by Sen¡¯s rage, ck lightning that emitted a purple hue started crackling around his jian. Boulder¡¯s Shadow didn¡¯t step back, but everything about his posture went from aggressive to defensive in a moment.


    ¡°Do you even know what that is?¡± asked the panther man, his eyes locked on the de.


    ¡°No. But I do know what it does. Would you care to find out?¡±


    Boulder¡¯s Shadow shook his head. ¡°You speak as though you have a voice in this matter. You do not. She wille because she must. I am the pride father, perhaps thest in the world. She is a cub. It is her duty to obey. The authority is <em>mine</em>.¡±


    Sen considered that for a moment before he shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    Sen could feel the moment build toward an explosion of violence. He was ready for it. Sen didn¡¯t think he could actually defeat Boulder¡¯s Shadow. Then again, he didn¡¯t need to beat the spirit beast. He just needed to drive the panther man off. If Sen inflicted enough damage, the cost of trying to take Falling Leaf away would be too high. And if there was one thing that Heavens¡¯ Rebuke excelled at doing, it was inflicting damage. Sen lifted the jian and pointed it at Boulder¡¯s Shadow. When Sen was sure that the tension had reached its peak and violence would ensue, Falling Leaf spoke.


    ¡°He¡¯s right, Sen.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± demanded Sen.


    ¡°He has the right tomand. I must obey.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure exactly how he pulled it off, but Boulder¡¯s Shadow managed to look smug. Sen¡¯s mind raced. He was fighting a battle he only vaguely understood. In fact, all he really understood was the cost of failure. He knew with utter certainty that if he let her be taken away here, he would never see her again. He hazarded a nce at Falling Leaf. His oldest friend looked¡­ She looked lost. <em>He said that it was about authority</em>, thought Sen. Authority had toe from somewhere. In the case of the ghost panthers, it was about a social order. Sen had pieced together that much at least, but that social order was gone. It was as dead as all of those ghost panthers who had been purged by other spirit beasts. Boulder¡¯s Shadow was leaning on authority that just didn¡¯t matter anymore.


    Sen had a different kind of authority. Their family, their pride, was about as bizarre as it came. A street rat, three quasi-immortals, and one stray ghost panther, but they <em>were</em> a family. It wasn¡¯t just Sen who had included Falling Leaf. Uncle Kho and Master Feng had gone out of their way to be kind to her and include her. Auntie Caihong had taken months to teach her and included her in their search for Sen. Sen didn¡¯t imagine for one moment that they would all just shrug it off if they found out that some spirit beast waltzed in and took her. If Boulder¡¯s Shadow wanted to take her away, he wasn¡¯t just challenging Sen¡¯s authority. He was challenging the collective authority of Sen¡¯s entire pride. <em>And he knows it</em>, thought Sen. <em>Otherwise</em>, <em>he would have simply killed me in an ambush and taken her away</em>. <em>This only works if she goes of her own free will, and I let her do it</em>. Sen was deeply grateful for the vastly improved speed of thought that came with his cultivation level because Falling Leaf had only taken one step toward Boulder¡¯s Shadow when his handnded on her shoulder. He felt the tension leave her body like an explosion.


    ¡°You <em>can¡¯t</em> have her,¡± said Sen. ¡°She¡¯s of my pride now. If you take her, it <em>will</em> mean a war that you know you cannot win.¡±


    Boulder¡¯s Shadow ground his teeth, but Sen could feel the sense of defeat in the panther man. The spirit beast tried onest gambit. He turned his eyes on Falling Leaf.


    ¡°To my knowledge, we are thest. They will never understand you. They cannot understand you. I know who you are. I know what you are and what you need. Come with me,¡± he said, holding out a hand.


    Falling Leaf was silent for a very long time before she spoke.


    ¡°Where were you? When I was fleeing death at every turn, where were you? When I carved a ce for myself in blood, where were you? When I found a family, where were <em>you</em>? You may be a pride father, but <em>my</em> pride father is a dragon named Feng Ming. My pride sister is a queen of poisons named Ma Caihong. My pride brother is the very lightning itself, and his name is Kho Jaw-Long. And he,¡± said Falling Leaf, pointing at Sen, ¡°he is the storm that scours away the unworthy. The storm thates in judgment and in wrath. He is <em>my</em> storm.¡±


    Sen knew a cue when he heard one. He had to work fast, but at least it wasn¡¯t on quite the same scale. He wove qi in a mad frenzy before lifting his jian toward the sky. He unleashed the same technique he¡¯d used over Inferno¡¯s Vale. Boulder¡¯s Shadow stared up at the growing mass of death above them. When it had grown big enough, Sen called down pirs of fire, shadow, and lightning in a ring around them. Boulder¡¯s Shadow slowly lowered his eyes to look at Falling Leaf. He turned his gaze to Sen and found nothing there but the imcable stare of a man on an immutable course of destruction and, if need be, mutual destruction. Shoulders slumping a little, Boulder¡¯s Shadow turned and walked away without another word.

 Book 5: Chapter 14: Observers

    Book 5: Chapter 14: Observers


    ¡°Where <em>is</em> he?¡± demanded Feng Ming.


    Fu Run just lifted an eyebrow. It wasn¡¯t nearly as nonchnt as she made it look. No one with a functional survival instinct took Feng Ming lightly, not even other nascent soul cultivators. But she also knew that she couldn¡¯t simply acquiesce to his demands the moment he made them. If she did that, he wouldn¡¯t respect her. That would be catastrophic in the long run. Feng Ming had built his entirely deserved reputation on two pirs: strength and strategic ruthlessness. While he wasn¡¯t necessarily as flexible with his power as Fu Run or even Sen, he didn¡¯t need to be. In a straight fight, she would lose to him. It would take a while and cost him more than a little, but he would win unless she got some kind of divine assistance. She understood that when a man built his world around strength, there came a point where only strength would garner his respect. It didn¡¯t necessarily need to be strength of arms. Strength of character would do in a pinch, and Fu Run had lots of character. So, she leaned into that.


    ¡°You told him I was crazy,¡± huffed Fu Run. ¡°I don¡¯t see why I should tell you anything after you spoke ill of me, you sour old goat.¡±


    ¡°You are crazy,¡± growled Feng Ming. ¡°You always were.¡±


    ¡°There is a difference between being entric and being insane,¡± she shouted at him.


    Most days, she thought she was past those old hurts. She¡¯d always been different. She saw the world differently and often more deeply than others. Her methods of cultivation were different and took her down strange paths. It was why she¡¯d gone looking for the Five-Fold Body Transformation manual in the first ce. She hadn¡¯t thought she could use it herself, but that it might provide insights that could help advance her actual cultivation methods. Yet, those very differences had left herrgely cut off from other cultivators. She had been mocked, ignored, and even attacked in the early days. That was how she had met Feng Ming in the first ce.


    She¡¯d been in a bad spot. A group of traditional cultivators had cornered her, determined to put her in her ce. They had thought that ce was in the ground. Feng Ming, the arrogant bastard, had been sauntered by like nothing in the world could touch him. He¡¯d seen what was happening, and Fu Run had gotten a very up-close look at why he thought nothing in the world could touch him. He¡¯d been like an unstoppable force, casually batting away lethal techniques with his jian that would have felled her in an instant. He shattered swords, spears, and bones with negligent movements of his de. Then, he cut them down like they were nothing because, to him, they <em>were</em> nothing. It had been humbling. It had been terrifying. She had never been so grateful to another person in her life. That very, very old debt was a big part of why she¡¯d eventually decided to help young Lu Sen. That, and a curiosity that she¡¯d always known was unhealthy for her.


    Of course, she had also known that helping the boy would mean carefully controlling the dissemination of information. The boy had the same kind of curiosity she did and, she suspected, a little bit of that same insight she had always harbored. There was a feeling about him, as though he had touched on things much, muchrger than himself. Someone like that would often rush headlong into danger out of curiosity, seeing only the potential benefits and none of the pitfalls. The problem was that controlling the flow of information also meant keeping the kid around. Doing that meant that, sooner orter, Feng Ming would show up. It had taken him a while. She¡¯d done a very good job of hiding herself out in the wilds when it was no longer suicidal to do so. Even someone as powerful as Feng Ming couldn¡¯t casually brush aside the obfuscations that she¡¯d put in ce. That was why it had taken him months of dedicated searching to find her. Of course, by then, she¡¯d sent Sen and his interesting cat friend off to look for the mushrooms. She had been ready to just tell the man what he wanted to know, but his demanding tone had rubbed her the wrong way. That had inevitably spiraled into their current argument.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± said Feng Ming. ¡°There is a difference, and you fall definitively on the side of crazy.¡±


    Fu Run¡¯s eyes narrowed, and then she let them go wild and unfocused and spoke in a sing-song voice.


    ¡°Oh, where is the boy? Where is the boy? Maybe I sent him off to fetch me snacks. Maybe I sent him off to die. Maybe I put him in a pot to be my supper. Who knows? Who knows?¡± She said before she went back to her former expression and tone. ¡°I just can¡¯t seem to remember. After all, I am crazy. Us crazy people have such poor memories.¡±


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    Feng Ming¡¯s hand twitched toward his jian before the man made what was clearly a tremendous effort to stay calm.


    ¡°We both know you don¡¯t want to fight me. So, why are you making this difficult?¡±


    ¡°Why? Because he¡¯s mine for now. Because you were rude to me. Because I¡¯m crazy. Pick whichever reason makes you feel most like an ass.¡±


    Feng Ming stood perfectly still for almost ten seconds while Fu Run red at him. Then, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He took two or three more before he finally opened his eyes again. She could see that he¡¯d buried whatever anger had been bubbling up inside of him. He offered her a shallow bow.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I came to your home, uninvited, and I was rude to you. I let my concerns for the boy disce my manners. I apologize, Fu Run.¡±


    It took Fu Run a moment to realize that her mouth hanging open. She shut it before her shock became any more obvious. She¡¯d thought he¡¯d simply back off a little. A full-blown apology had not been on the list of reactions she¡¯d expected. It finally urred to her that she¡¯d let the stories about the man infiltrate her expectations of him, much like he¡¯d let very old impressions and stories about her set his expectations. It seemed that they¡¯d both gotten a lesson that day.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she managed to get out before heaving a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you imagined I was doing to him. I just sent him off to get an ingredient for that absurd body cultivation method that Bo set him up for.¡±


    ¡°Was he strong enough for that?¡±


    ¡°I stabilized his condition and let him recover what strength he could. I have no specific knowledge about where his capacities were before he came here, but he seemed capable enough to me. You only missed him by a few weeks.¡±


    Feng Ming¡¯s brow furrowed and he muttered. ¡°I¡¯m going to have words for that turtle the next time I see him.¡±


    ¡°Amon sentiment,¡± said Fu Run.


    Feng Ming snorted a little before he asked, ¡°Where did you send him?¡±


    ¡°Mt. Sce. There¡¯s a mushroom that grows there that he needs. There were substitutes that we could have used, but that¡¯s the best one. Given how far gone he was when he got here, I thought using the best options where possible was the best course of action.¡±


    Feng Ming nodded and hummed quietly. ¡°Very well, then. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±


    Fu Run rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re going to go check on him, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Why?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t always going to be there to clean up after him.¡±


    Feng Mingughed. ¡°I¡¯m almost never there to clean up after him. The only thing he ever intentionally brought me in on was that situation with the demonic cultivators.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Fu Run in surprise. ¡°Even so, it won¡¯t help him if he thinks you¡¯re going to swoop in when things get too difficult.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just going to peek in on him. I won¡¯t even say hello.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve never excelled in stealth.¡±


    ¡°Well, what do you suggest?¡±


    Fu Run thought it over and repressed another sigh. She knew what she was going to have to do. She just didn¡¯t want to do it. Still, she supposed it was better than letting Feng Ming ruin everything by hovering like a nervous parent. She gave him an annoyed look.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. I can keep us out of sight.¡±


    ¡°You sure you want to bother with it?¡± asked Feng Ming.


    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t want to bother with it. It¡¯s just better than him knowing you¡¯re interfering.¡±


    Feng Ming raised his hands in surrender. Fu Ruolon took a few minutes to gather the necessities, and then the two of them started the long journey to catch up. Even traveling at nascent soul speeds, it took them days to finally pin down Lu Sen and Falling Leaf, mostly because the boy was using absurdly effective masking formations to keep them off of everyone¡¯s radar. Once the upper-tier cultivators found their quarry, they kept themselves out of sight. Fu Run was ready to leave immediately, but Feng Ming wanted to stay for a while.


    ¡°Why would you want to watch them walking and camping?¡±


    ¡°How many chances am I going to get to see the boy operate without him knowing I¡¯m there? Besides, I have an inkling that something interesting might happen in the next day or two.¡±


    ¡°You never struck me as a divination cultivator,¡± observed Fu Run.


    ¡°I¡¯m not, but we¡¯re all surprisingly well-tuned to the world. It¡¯s just a gut feeling that I should stick around for a little while.¡±


    Fu Run grumbled about it for a while but ultimately agreed to stay. She was happy she¡¯d done so when the elder ghost panther turned up. He was transformed, but she could tell what he was. She watched in fascination as Lu Sen refused to back down an inch. It wasn¡¯t the kind of reckless fearlessness she¡¯d half expected based on the stories. He was just¡­resolved. Resolved to a degree that was probably bad for him. Yet, it was a resolve he was willing to take right to the bitter end. She was even more surprised that the cat girl epted it. No, she didn¡¯t just ept it, she waspletely bought in to it. More than once she assumed that she or Feng Ming would need to step in but it never happened. The elder ghost panther backed down.


    ¡°Well, well, well,¡± said Fu Run, as she watched the elder ghost panther trudge away in defeat. ¡°I certainly never saw thating.¡±


    When Feng Ming didn¡¯t reply, she nced over at the man. The sight that greeted her there was possibly even more startling than the one she¡¯d witnessed below. Feng Ming, a man she rightly feared, quite possibly the most powerful and dangerous being on the, had tears streaming down his ancient cheeks.

 Book 5: Chapter 15: Standing Aside

    Book 5: Chapter 15: Standing Aside


    Despite his many attempts to draw Falling Leaf into a conversation during thest week of their trip to Mt. Sce, Sen met with abject failure. She would answer questions with a lone syble or a shrug. While he recognized the root cause of it, Sen didn¡¯t believe for a moment that he <em>understood</em> it. She had rejected what might well be the only other one of her kind in the world in favor of him, Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong. He knew that had to have cost her something, probably something very dear, but he didn¡¯t know what it had been. The ignorance frustrated him because he had the feeling that someone else, someone who had grown up in something more like normal circumstances would have known, would have understood, would have been able to help. All he could do was just sort of be around on the off chance that she decided to unburden herself to him. After a week, though, he was starting to think that she wasn¡¯t going to do that. Or, at least, she wouldn¡¯t do that with him.


    Yet, for all his concern over her well-being, Sen couldn¡¯t simply abandon the task they were on. He needed to get those mushrooms, which meant they needed to keep pressing forward. He was relieved that Falling Leaf seemed eager to leave behind the scene of that confrontation with Boulder¡¯s Shadow. If anything, she was pushing harder than he was, which was part of what had him concerned. Still, he couldn¡¯t do anything if she didn¡¯t <em>want</em> him to do anything. He understood that much. At the end of the day, he could only wait for her to decide that she wanted to tell him and focus on the task at hand. And he did need to focus on the task at hand. The journey to the mountain had taken six weeks, which meant that they were already behind schedule. Of course, they hadn¡¯t known exactly how far they needed to go when they set out. Their initial pace through the wilds had been brisk, but they hadn¡¯t been pushing hard. They¡¯d often called it a day early when they came across a convenient inn. They would have to forego most luxuries and a leisurely pace back once they had the mushroom, assuming they could find them in the first ce.


    Sen was surprised to discover that there was some civilization at the base of the mountain. It wasn¡¯t a city as he understood the word, but it was probably the closest thing this far north. Sen would have called it a town anywhere else. He¡¯d had a few days to consider whether to bother with the ce and decided to simply bypass it altogether. He didn¡¯t have the time and wasn¡¯t in the mood to get caught up in any nonsense. He also knew that simply setting foot inside those walls was like sending out an open invitation to all of the local nonsense. So, he and Falling Leaf took a course that would send them wide around the town. It would cost them a little time but better a little wasted time outside the town than a lot of wasted time inside the town. Yet, it seemed the heavens were determined to make this part of the journey difficult for him. He¡¯d felt them approaching long before they arrived, so it was exactly no surprise when a dozen people stepped out of the surrounding cover of the forest to surround them.


    A quick sweep of his spiritual sense told him that most of them were regr mortals armed with crossbows. There were a few upper-tier foundation formation cultivators and one core formation cultivator. Part of Sen told him that it would be better to talk this out. Surely, there was some peaceful solution to this problem. Yet, the rest of him knew that it wasn¡¯t going to y out that way. These people hade out here to ambush them. Sen supposed it was his own fault. He¡¯d been experimenting on the trip with tamping down the expression of his cultivation level. The goal was simply to make himself less obvious without going in for full-on <em>hiding</em>. <em>Hiding </em>was helpful, but it limited his senses in ways that he didn¡¯t like in the wild. It was the only thing that Falling Leaf had shown an interest in during the wholest week, so he¡¯d exined it as well as he could and she¡¯d figured out her own version of the tamping-down technique.


    Of course, it also came with the problem of making him and her look like easier targets than they were in truth. The poption had been so sparse on their way to the mountain that it hadn¡¯t resulted in any incidents, but he supposed his luck had been bound to run out. Sen debated with himself briefly before he looked at Falling Leaf. She looked angry and eager. <em>Well</em>, <em>I guess that decides that</em>, thought Sen.


    ¡°Which ones do you want?¡± he asked her before anyone else could say anything.


    His tone was so, so very casual that he saw a lot of rmed looks exchanged among the would-be robbers. The core cultivator stepped forward. She was a tall woman with a piercing gaze. Her skin was pale and her features refined through the magic of advancement. Yet, her lips were pressed into a hard line as she red at the pair of them. She had an expensive spear in her hands and handled it with the casual air of someone who knew its use. The woman opened her mouth to say something when Falling Leaf¡¯s furious, bloodthirsty eyes met hers and the words died. Falling Leaf sniffed and gestured at the woman.


    ¡°She likes pointy sticks. Show her what the Kho taught you. I¡¯ll deal with the rest of them.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at her and then shrugged. Sometimes, the best thing a person could do for their friends was simply standing aside.


    ¡°As you say,¡± offered Sen.


    The woman with the spear finally found her voice.


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    ¡°You will¡­¡± she started.


    ¡°It¡¯s toote,¡± said Sen, summoning a spear from his storage ring.


    She opened her mouth again when, in a move that might have been choreographed, Sen and Falling Leaf both dropped the techniques tamping down their cultivation levels. The woman with the spear went pale.


    ¡°Run,¡± she ordered.


    Sen doubted anyone heard the order, though, because Falling Leaf was already among the mortals and the foundation formation cultivators and the screaming had started. Sen started walking toward the other core cultivator. She held her ground, but it looked like she would have far preferred to take her own order.


    ¡°Did someone send you?¡± asked Sen, reaching out and plucking a stray crossbow from the air.


    That move seemed to frighten the woman more than all of the bloody carnage that Falling Leaf was inflicting on the rest of the group. He saw her lipspress into that line again before she spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you anything.¡±


    Sen just shook his head. ¡°You will. Because I¡¯m not going to let you die until you do.¡±


    Sen felt one of the foundation formation cultivators cycling for fire. That foolunched a fireball at Sen who rolled his eyes, cycled for fire, and ripped the technique away from the man. There was a cry of pain, although Sen wasn¡¯t sure if was from the loss of the technique or Falling Leaf doing something painful to the man. Sen dismissed the concern and split the fireball into half a dozen smaller fireballs that he made burn hotter and hotter until they turned blue. The other core cultivator seemed to find her bnce then and sneered.


    ¡°A fire cultivator. You¡¯re all so easy to beat.¡±


    The woman started cycling for earth. Sen didn¡¯t do anything to disrupt her cycling. He just waited to see what she would do. And he waited. And waited. Sen didn¡¯t know who had taught this woman, but she had clearly not benefited from superior training. She also didn¡¯t seem to think that this long pause was unusual. <em>Well</em>, thought Sen, <em>if her training was this poor</em>, <em>it probably stands to reason that most people around here received simrly poor training</em>. When she finally managed to pull together her technique, Sen was disappointed. He had been expecting something massive, something unique, and what he got was a technique that he could probably deploy while half-unconscious. He felt a handful of earth spears forming around him. Sighing to himself, Sen cycled for earth and stamped his foot down once, driving his qi down into the ground and disrupting the woman¡¯s technique. She staggered to one side as the bacsh made blood leak from her eyes. Sen shook his head again.


    ¡°I guess this is what they mean by a teachable moment,¡± said Sen after sense returned to the woman¡¯s face.


    He cycled for earth qi again and drove it into the ground. A heartbeatter, the woman was staring with huge eyes at the dozens of razor-tipped earthen spears that sprang up around her.


    ¡°So fast,¡± she breathed in awe.


    Sen waved a hand and the spears copsed back into the earth. He gave the woman a hard look.


    ¡°Who sent you?¡± asked Sen before he shook his head. ¡°On second thought, I don¡¯t actually care who sent you. Are they going to be stupid enough to send anyone else to interfere in my business? Do I need to go to town and make an example of someone?¡±


    The woman looked around at the suddenly silent woods around them. Sen followed suit and realized that Falling Leaf had apparently finished her work. There was¡­ There was a <em>lot</em> of blood and limbs littering the surrounding area. Just as Sen was about to prod the woman for an answer a bloodcurdling scream cut through the silence. The woman stared in the direction that barely human noise hade from before she turned a ghastly expression on Sen.


    ¡°No. No one will bother you. Now, kill me. Kill me before shees back.¡±


    ¡°Before whoes back?¡± asked Falling Leaf, seeming to materialize out of nowhere no more than a few feet from the woman.


    ¡°Stay back!¡± shouted the woman as she stumbled away.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t kill her?¡± Falling Leaf directed at Sen.


    ¡°I just wanted to know how much of a hassle this is going to cause us. She says that no one will bother us after this.¡±


    ¡°Do you believe her?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I think she was probably too frightened to lie.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to let her go?¡±


    Sen looked inside himself and realized that he honestly didn¡¯t care. ¡°Up to you. I don¡¯t have an opinion.¡±


    Sen watched as shadows hardened around the ends of Falling Leaf¡¯s fingers into a very frightening set of ws. She advanced on the other core cultivator, who swung her spear almost reflexively. A blurred movement on Falling Leaf¡¯s part and the spear was sheared into two pieces. Falling Leaf had those ws sunk into the skin of the other cultivator¡¯s neck before the severed part of the spear hit the ground.


    ¡°Did you lie to him?¡± she asked.


    Sen could feel the earth cultivator trying to cycle, but her terror overrode her concentration. The woman finally spoke.


    ¡°No.¡±


    Falling Leaf seemed to weigh that word. ¡°I believe you. So, I won¡¯t make you suffer.¡±


    There was another fast motion, and the cultivator¡¯s head was separated from her body as neatly as the spear had been divided into two. Falling Leaf turned to face him, as though expecting him to say something. Sen nced at the dead core cultivator. He felt like he ought to feel something about all of this, but it was pretty clear that all of these people hade out here looking for easy victims. He was very confident that if he and Falling Leaf had been as weak as they were pretending to be that they wouldn¡¯t have survived. He didn¡¯t have any empathy to spare for people who operated like that. He¡¯d killed plenty of people in his life, but he tried not to victimize people who stood no chance against him.


    Instead ofmenting, he pulled out a container of water and a cloth. He walked over and gestured at Falling Leaf¡¯s hands as he took the stopper out of the container of water. He poured clean water over her hands and then handed her the cloth. Once she finished wiping her hands, she gave him an uncertain look.


    ¡°Did it help?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡­ It did.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Sen, ncing upwards and judging how much time they had left until sunset. ¡°We should get moving. Unless you want anything from these people.¡±


    Falling Leaf shook her head, and the two set off leaving the remains of the bandits to the mercies of nature.

 Book 5: Chapter 16: Guest

    Book 5: Chapter 16: Guest


    One of the lessons that Sen learned from collecting nts and alchemical reagents on Uncle Kho¡¯s mountain was that the finding all too often proved easier than the actual harvesting. Many of those nts had powerful defenses that could prove downright lethal to the careful cultivator. Beyond that, humans weren¡¯t the only ones who found those nts and reagents useful. While spirit beasts did not practice alchemy, at least not to Sen¡¯s knowledge, they <em>could</em> often consume those reagents for benefits. The more potent the nts and reagents, the more powerful the spirit beasts who would guard them. That had been at least part of the reason that Uncle Kho¡¯s mountain had been such a dangerous ce. There were many very useful things on that mountain, and many spirit beasts had moved in to take advantage. That was something that Sen reminded himself about again as he pulled his spear free from the body of some kind of bird of prey with a metal beak, talons, and even eyes.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t actually malicious,¡± Sen muttered. ¡°They aren¡¯t intentionally trying to stall you.¡±


    Of course, saying it and believing it were two different matters. Yes, Mt. Sce was even more remote than Uncle Kho¡¯s mountain. Yes, Sen strongly suspected that it had been harvested from even less frequently. So, he should have expected unhappy spirit beasts to slow him down. He¡¯d even blown off the first few attacks. What he had not expected was the constant stream of them. He¡¯d been awake and fighting for nearly three straight days as they crawled their way up the mountain. He knew he could keep going for a while, but there were limits. Going without sleep generally meant toning down thebat activities as much as possible. It freed up the qi for things like reinforcing the body as necessary. Whenbat was nearly relentless, the body only got reinforced here and there. Given that Sen didn¡¯t understand how Fu Run had stabilized his condition, he was not particrly keen on the idea of pushing his body to its limits for extended periods of time.


    It wasn¡¯t even that any given confrontation was that difficult. With lone spirit beasts, Sen could often immobilize them with his auric imposition or slow them down enough with it to get off other attacks. For attacks by groups, he¡¯d often deployed his killing intent like a nket over the area. That was often sufficient to end the threat by itself. But those tactics required concentration and, because Falling Leaf was nearby, a degree of precision. Using those tactics over and over and over again had worn him down mentally. He was still thinking far faster than any mortal, but the spirit beasts were only growing more powerful and faster the higher they went up the mountain. If things kept up the way they had been, Sen knew that he was going to make a mistake that would get him or Falling Leaf badly injured or killed. He leaned on the spear and gave Falling Leaf a grim look.


    ¡°We can¡¯t keep going on like this,¡± he said. ¡°I think we need to hole up for a night.¡±


    Falling Leaf stared up toward the peak of the mountain. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what she was feeling at the moment, but he was deeply relieved that she was pointing it at something other than him. Making a frustrated sound that never quite became a word, she gave him a questioning look.


    ¡°Do we have the time for that?¡±


    She was as aware of the schedule they were on as he was, and it was clearly on her mind. Sen considered it as he too stared up toward the peak. He had a vague idea of where on the mountain to look, but he didn¡¯t know how much farther they had to go to reach it. The mountain was vast. While they¡¯d gotten a goodly way up it, the peak vanished into the cloud cover overhead. It could still be days before they reached the right spot.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I do know that we can¡¯t afford for either of us to make a bad choice because we were too tired to make a good one.¡±


    Falling Leaf frowned at that before she finally nodded. ¡°Agreed.¡±


    Sen gave serious consideration to just throwing up a galehouse right there, but they had made a lot of noise and spilled blood. While the noise and fighting would keep other things away for a time, the smell of blood would draw attention to their location sooner thanter. Rubbing at his face with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding on to his spear, he looked down at the three dead birds on the ground. Loathing the lost time, he still stopped to remove their cores, beaks, talons, and eyes. He didn¡¯t need anyone to tell him that they would prove useful, valuable, or both. While he wasn¡¯t that worried about money, it was still stupid to just leave resources sitting around on the ground. Staring down at the remains of the dead birds, a random thought hit him.


    ¡°Do you think these things are edible?¡± he asked Falling Leaf.


    She shrugged. ¡°Most birds are.¡±


    Sen stored the corpses in a storage ring, then headed off looking for a better spot to put up a galehouse. It took about an hour that was mercifully free from any additional attacks before Sen found a ce that he considered eptable. Even after letting Falling Leaf grab whatever cores she wanted, Sen was still freshly stocked on a wide variety of them. He even had enough metal-attributed cores to set up his nasty spike formation. While he took the extra time to set up several formations outside of the galehouse, Falling Leaf took the birds and finished cleaning them. Not that Sen was especially worried that they would make him sick. Auntie Caihong had told him that core cultivators and dual cultivators like him could theoretically eat just about anything without suffering any ill effects from things that weren¡¯t specifically poisons and venoms. He was more worried that the birds just wouldn¡¯t taste good. Once he finished putting up the formations, which went much faster than he expected, he walked over to where Falling Leaf was considering the plucked birds. He eyed them, and then her.


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    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We can¡¯t cook them all inside,¡± she said. ¡°The firece isn¡¯t big enough.¡±


    Sen covered his eyes with his hands. Of course, the firece was fine for cooking in pots and pans, but these things needed to roast. He thought about it for a few minutes before he took a few steps away. Compared with the galehouse, what he made was simplicity itself. It was really just a shallow stone ring with raised sections where the ends of spits could rest. He took a moment to focus and cycle metal qi. It involved some effort, but he managed to dredge up enough metal from the ground to form three metal spits that should be able to hold therge birds. He gathered up some firewood while Falling Leaf got the birds onto the narrow metal rods. It only took a few minutes for him to turn the wood he gathered into a bed of coals that were throwing off a lot of heat. He helped Falling Leaf position the birds over the coals before they both sat down near the fire pit.


    Sen thought that they might talk, but it wasn¡¯t to be. He sprawled out on the ground and was soon asleep. What dreams he had were surreal, unintelligible things that he struggled to even remember when Falling Leaf gently nudged him. He woke with a start, his eyes darting around to find the danger. He rxed a little when he remembered where they were. It wasn¡¯t precisely safety, but it was likely as close as they were going to get on Mt. Sce. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Sen couldn¡¯t stifle a yawn. Even so, his mind felt clearer and less ragged around the edges. If nothing else, it didn¡¯t feel like work to think anymore. It was a small but important improvement to Sen¡¯s way of thinking. He blinked at the birds. They smelled like they were probably done. Falling Leaf was looking at the birds a bit nervously. When she noticed him watching her, she got a sheepish expression on her face.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know when they were done,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh. I¡¯ll show you,¡± said Sen.


    He stood, walked over, and grabbed one of the legs. He gave it a gentle tug. The leg came away from the bird cleanly. He held the leg out to her. She took it and lifted an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± she said.


    ¡°If the leges away with a little gentle pressure, it usually means the meat is cooked through,¡± said Sen, grabbing a leg for himself. ¡°Auntie Caihong taught me that.¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded as though now it all made perfect sense. A little hesitantly, Sen took a bite. The meat was a little gamey, but otherwise seemed edible to Sen. He had meant to sprinkle on some spices, but the nap had prevented that. <em>Oh well</em>, he thought. <em>Maybe next time</em>. Once it was established the bird was indeed edible, the pair of them polished off one whole bird between them in no time. Sen did wish that he¡¯d made something to go with it, but there were worse things than a simple meal. He also discovered that the meat was rich in qi. Very rich. Absurdly rich. He felt it crashing into his dantian and spreading out through his body. Falling Leaf seemed to be experiencing something simr since she¡¯d gotten up and started pacing a little. Sen was about to ask her about it when a voice called out from the darkness.


    ¡°Hello, the fire,¡± shouted a man¡¯s voice.


    Sen¡¯s jian was out and crackling with lightning before he¡¯d made a conscious decision about what to do. Falling Leaf was ring in the direction of the voice with those shadow ws coalescing around her fingers. The man was standing right at the edge of the area where Sen¡¯s formations would activate. The man seemed a little startled by their reactions but not afraid. That didn¡¯t sit well with Sen. So, he let some killing intent bleed into the jian until Heavens¡¯ Rebuke locked into ce, turning the already lethal jian into a personal apocalypse for the stupid and unwary. That got the man¡¯s attention and his almost nd expression turned into one of careful wariness.


    ¡°Not very friendly, are you?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°Being friendly with strangers is a good way to end up dead,¡± said Sen. ¡°Especially in the wilds.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re spending time with the wrong strangers,¡± offered the man with a cheerful smile.


    When that got exactly no response from Sen or Falling Leaf, the man actually looked a little hurt. When the silence stretched out to close to a minute with no one doing anything, Sen finally got tired of it.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s time that you moved on,¡± said Sen. ¡°You clearly know that there are formations in ce. Take those as a hint.¡±


    The stranger frowned as if he¡¯d abruptly realized that Sen was being deadly serious and not just posturing.


    ¡°You¡¯d leave a fellow traveler to the mercies of this mountain?¡±


    ¡°Thest fellow travelers we met here meant to rob and kill us,¡± said Sen. ¡°So, yes. If you aren¡¯t strong enough to protect yourself, you don¡¯t belong on this mountain.¡±


    ¡°Does your very pretty friend feel the same way?¡± asked the stranger, turning what Sen assumed the man thought was a charming smile toward Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I would have already killed you,¡± said Falling Leaf in a cold, t voice.


    The stranger blinked a few times like he couldn¡¯t quite believe that had failed to get him anywhere. He looked back over at Sen.


    ¡°<em>You¡¯re</em> the reasonable one?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m not reasonable at all. I¡¯m also out of patience,¡± said Sen, leveling the jian at the man.


    The stranger grasped that he¡¯d pushed his luck well beyond the limits of Sen¡¯s tolerance. He lifted his hands and backed away.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I bothered you,¡± said the man in haste before disappearing into the trees.


    ¡°He isn¡¯t really leaving, is he?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he is.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 17: Guest (2)

    Book 5: Chapter 17: Guest (2)


    ¡°He¡¯s still following us,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I know,¡± said Sen, stopping in ce. ¡°Stay here. I¡¯m going to go deal with this. We don¡¯t have time for this kind of distraction.¡±


    Sen turned on his heel and started back the way they hade. He¡¯d been putting up with the not-at-all-stealthy stalker who had been dogging their heels for nearly half the day. He¡¯d hoped that the man would just get bored or sick of dealing with the spirit beasts Sen kept sending his way, but the stranger had proven a bit more persistent than Sen would like. If the fool wouldn¡¯t take the not even remotely subtle hints that had been put in his path, Sen would take a more direct approach toward dealing with the problem. It only took him ten minutes of fast walking to find the man walking very nearly in their footprints. It took the stranger longer to realize Sen was waiting for him, jian in hand. When he did finally notice Sen, he gave Sen a big smile.


    ¡°Well, now that there aren¡¯t those pesky formations in between us, we can have a civilized talk.¡±


    ¡°Are you under the mistaken impression that the formations being gone makes you <em>safer</em>?¡±


    ¡°This posturing is ridiculous. I¡¯m of a higher cultivation level than you. You can¡¯t do anything to me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what the nascent soul cultivator I killed thought too. I expect that the dozens of core cultivators with a higher cultivation than me that I killed had that exact thought as well. Yet, here I am. People infinitely more dangerous than you have failed to get what they wanted from me. So, I¡¯m going to say this once. Turn around. Go back to wherever you came from. Never bother me again.¡±


    For the first time, the stranger seemed to really pause and consider what Sen had just said. It seemed to leave a sour taste in the man¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Then, you¡¯ll never bother anyone again. And you strike me as the kind of man who likes to bother people. Make the smart choice.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even know what I want,¡± said the stranger, trying to reim some of the affability he¡¯d shown before.


    ¡°Why do you think that matters?¡± asked Sen. ¡°You don¡¯t have anything <em>I</em> want, which is the part that matters to me.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°I do know that, because you already tried to pull the I¡¯m stronger than you nonsense. That means that you want something, and you thought I¡¯d get it for you. I imagine you thought that you¡¯d take it from me by force after the fact.¡±


    ¡°You have a very dim view of people.¡±


    ¡°That''s just because people have done such a good job of being lying, scheming, murderous pieces of shit. Especially cultivators. Most especially sect cultivators. Yes, I know you¡¯re from a sect. It¡¯s written all over you, and I¡¯m not impressed.¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°I was tiredst night, so I didn¡¯t piece it together right away. But only someone under orders, someone monumentally stupid, or both tempts the anger of someone like me. If you¡¯re under orders, then you¡¯re taking them from someone. That suggests a sect, but it¡¯s not conclusive. Then, there¡¯s your general air of self-satisfaction and your assumption of superiority. That was the real giveaway. People from sects are always arrogant to the point of being morons, and that¡¯sing from someone who has more than a passing rtionship with misced arrogance. Plus, I¡¯ve seen this approach before. You try toe off as all friendly, but deep down you think every wandering cultivator is there for your benefit or not worth the time of day. So, please, spare me the pitch and the threats. Just go.¡±


    The stranger regarded Sen in silence for a moment before he shook his head. ¡°They were right about you. You really do see everyone, absolutely <em>everyone</em>, that you don¡¯t love like family as a threat.¡±


    Sen frowned at the man. He¡¯d changed. It had been almost imperceptible, but the unearned arrogance, the false superiority had disappeared like it had never been there. This did nothing to reassure Sen, who started cycling for half a dozen different qi types. The stranger pointed at Sen.


    ¡°Case in point. You don¡¯t know what to make of me now, so you assume I¡¯m a threat.¡±


    Sen said nothing. Instead, he prepared to activate his qinggong technique. If the stranger so much as twitched in his direction, Sen was going to end this conversation permanently.


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    The stranger sighed. ¡°Even now, you¡¯re not going to ask any questions?¡±


    ¡°Questions would give you the false impression that I want to know you, or about you, or about whatever it is you came here for. I don¡¯t. I¡¯m here on business of my own. When that¡¯s done, I¡¯ll leave. <em>That</em> is all I care about.¡±


    ¡°So, no room in your life for new people? No room for curiosity?¡±


    Sen barked out a bitterugh. ¡°Do you have <em>any</em> idea what happened thest time I let new people into my life?¡±


    ¡°Yes. There was a rather abrupt change in official power in the capital. Along with the destruction of an old, powerful, deeply entrenched criminal organization.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°So, you know about that. Good. Then it will make perfect sense to you when I say that there is, in fact, no room in my life for new people. I¡¯m particrly disinterested in people who make their introduction under a veil of lies.¡±


    ¡°I simply wished,¡± began the man before Sen cut him off.


    ¡°Don¡¯t exin. I truly do not care. I wouldn¡¯t believe anything you said now anyway.¡±


    ¡°Would you have believed me if I¡¯d just told you who I was right at the start?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    That answer seemed to cause the stranger legitimate pain. ¡°A life without any trust is no way to live.¡±


    ¡°But it is a way to <em>survive</em>. And in this appalling world where might is the first,st, and only arbiter of right, that¡¯s the absolute best any of us can hope for,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°You truly believe that, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Believe? I don¡¯t believe anything. I know it. I¡¯ve lived it. I don¡¯t know what fantasy you grew up in. But if you believe anything else, you are a fool who will get cut down by someone who doesn¡¯t share your naivety.¡±


    ¡°Someone like you?¡±


    Sen hesitated at that. It was a more meaningful question than it sounded right at first. Sen was quite confident that he didn¡¯t share the man¡¯s worldview. All that ther about trust told him that much. Sen had seen firsthand that trust should be given rarely and only when the other person had earned it. He was willing to admit that his sense of what earning it meant had gotten increasingly difficult to meet. He also knew that was a reaction to the staggering number of people who utterly failed to meet even a minimum level of decency in his eyes. Yet, there was a meaningful gap between not trusting people and killing people because you didn¡¯t trust them. He¡¯d let a lot of people he didn¡¯t trust go on breathing. For Sen, it wasrgely about the situation.


    ¡°That depends entirely on you,¡± said Sen, after thinking it over. ¡°If you interfere with my purpose here, I will kill you. If you go on your way and leave me be, I have no interest in you one way or the other.¡±


    ¡°And you consider following you interfering with your purpose?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you can figure that out on your own,¡± said Sen. ¡°I doubt you¡¯d have gotten as far as you have as a cultivator if you can¡¯t put that one together.¡±


    The stranger nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°Since you won¡¯t extend me even an ounce of trust, I may as well be your enemy. Having an enemy at your back is a distraction. You already have plenty of dangers to face on this mountain, and a distraction could prove fatal. Hence, I¡¯m interfering.¡±


    ¡°Precisely.¡±


    ¡°If you think that, why haven¡¯t you attacked me already?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t <em>like</em> killing people. I¡¯ve already done more of it than I ever imagined I¡¯d have to. I won¡¯t hesitate if I must, but I¡¯m not looking for excuses to leave blood on the ground. So, if you decide to leave, I¡¯m inclined to let you.¡±


    ¡°If I actually were your enemy, wouldn¡¯t that just give me an opportunity to go get more people than you can kill?¡±


    Sen felt something drain away from his emotional state, which meant it drained away from his face. He couldn¡¯t identify exactly what it was, but he felt it go. It left him feeling hollow inside, empty, and remorseless. The stranger saw it go and the blood drained from his face. When Sen spoke, he could almost feel the winter chill in his own tone.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that many people.¡±


    The stranger swallowed hard and said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t imagine I do. Very well. I will leave you be.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for the best.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we will meet again,¡± said the stranger with more than a little hesitance. ¡°Perhaps it will be somewhere less fraught.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not looking for new friends.¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°That¡¯s very clear. It doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t need them. In case we meet again, my name is Yan Zixin.¡±


    Sen pointedly looked back down the mountain. ¡°Goodbye, Yan Zixin.¡±


    Sen kept track of the man with his spiritual sense until he was nearly a mile away down the hill. Satisfied that man was leaving or at least nning on keeping his distance, Sen walked back to where he¡¯d left Falling Leaf. He found her throwing rocks at a bird that circled high overhead, although he thought the word throwing undersold what was happening. The rocks were leaving her hand at speeds well in excess of a crossbow bolt. Sen was about to suggest that it was a futile endeavor with the bird circling so far above, but then he saw the bird careen out of control toward the ground. He lifted an eyebrow at Falling Leaf.


    ¡°It was bothering me earlier,¡± she said. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I encouraged him to leave. He took that advice.¡±


    Falling Leaf looked surprised. ¡°Unusually wise.¡±


    Sen frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t think he came for a fight.¡±


    ¡°Why did hee?¡±


    ¡°To get my measure, maybe? I¡¯m not certain. I am rtively confident that I didn¡¯t hear one honest word from his mouth. Even so, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s a <em>right now</em> problem.¡±


    ¡°But you think he will be a problem?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Down the road, yes. But I decided not to borrow trouble, for once. He left. That¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°You should have killed him.¡±


    ¡°What? Why is that?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°He took your measure, but you didn¡¯t take his. You left a possible enemy you don¡¯t understand behind you. That¡¯s always dangerous.¡±


    Sen tried to think of a good objection, but he didn¡¯t have one. He <em>had</em> let someone go that he didn¡¯t understand. He¡¯d just wanted to avoid adding to the pile of bodies he¡¯d left in his wake. He¡¯d also wanted to get back to the task at hand. It had seemed like a good strategy in the moment. Looking back, though, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Falling Leaf was right.

 Book 5: Chapter 18: Dusk Mushrooms

    Book 5: Chapter 18: Dusk Mushrooms


    It took the rest of the day and then most of another before Sen finally started seeing the kind of environment that the mushrooms would grow. The ascent also came with a few other benefits. The number of attacks by spirit beasts went down. Granted, that happened because the higher they went, the more powerful the spirit beasts became. That meant longer fights, but ultimately resulted in them making better time. The higher quality beast cores also became useful to Falling Leaf as they could provide potential fuel for advancement, rather than simply replenishment of her qi stores. They only acquired two shadow-attributed cores, but that was more than they had when they¡¯d started up the mountain. The other main benefit was that the trees thinned out. They were high enough up that it was simply too cold for most trees to maintain a real presence. That dramatically improved visibility, which cut way down on the ability of things to surprise them with an attack.


    Sen was a little surprised that mushrooms could survive this high up in the mountain, but he supposed they weren¡¯t really mushrooms in the traditional sense. They were more like vessels for a very specific kind of qi, and qi was often indifferent to such pesky mortal concerns as the temperature. Still, he also became more cautious as they started looking around. He was searching for shadowy areas with a lot of moisture. At the heights they were at, there weren¡¯t many of those. Sen was expecting a fight when they did finally find the mushrooms. Of course, that was tricky in and of itself. Fights between core cultivators and core equivalent spirit beasts were often hard on the surrounding environment. Sen had ttened more than one area of the wilds in his travels. Mushrooms were delicate, at best, and it wouldn¡¯t take much to destroy them. One errant wind de, one poorly aimed fireball, and they¡¯d be starting over from scratch.


    They spent a couple of hours searching before Falling Leaf waved him over to what from his angle, just looked like a crack in a rock face. When he got closer, though, he saw that the crack went straight through to some kind of an open area. He could see sunlight on the far side, although the details remained obscured. He could also feel the moistureing out of the crack and see condensation on the walls. Sen frowned at the narrow gap. He was pretty sure he could get through, but it was going to be a tight squeeze. Sen tried to get a sense of what was on the far side of the crack with his spiritual sense, but all he got back was a hazy, muddled impression. That could mean that the qi there was particrly dense, or it could mean that someone or something was intentionally obscuring the area. That left Sen feeling a little nervous. He didn¡¯t want to lead Falling Leaf into a trap, but he didn¡¯t want to leave her waiting outside the crack where anything couldunch an attack on her.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s on the far side,¡± said Sen. ¡°Someone or something is obscuring my spiritual sense. Can you sense anything?¡±


    Falling Leaf¡¯s eyes went a little distant before she shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t smell anything dangerous.¡±


    Sen just looked at that crack for a while before it was his turn to shake his head. Procrastinating wasn¡¯t going to solve anything.


    ¡°Do you want to follow me in or wait out here?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow you in,¡± said Falling Leaf after a moment¡¯s consideration. ¡°If there is something dangerous in there, it¡¯s better to fight it together.¡±


    ¡°I hope that¡¯s true,¡± said Sen, not feeling at all confident that it was, in fact, true. ¡°Alright. I guess there¡¯s no point in waiting.¡±


    Turning sideways, Sen started to shuffle through the crack. It was just as tight as he¡¯d feared it would be. During one particrly ustrophobic moment that made his heart pound, Sen thought he was stuck. It took a moment before he remembered that he could just manipte the rock with his earth qi. He snorted at himself for being foolish and started cycling for earth. Since he wasn¡¯t sure precisely what was above them, he was careful to just shift the rock enough that he could pass through it without getting stuck.


    ¡°Do you have enough room?¡± he asked since he couldn¡¯t easily look back at Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m fine,¡± she answered in an unconcerned voice.


    Satisfied that she wasn¡¯t having the same troubles, Sen proceeded through the crack. He didn¡¯t enjoy the feeling of dampness that soaked through his robes and made a mental note to dry them as soon as they got out of the crack. It made the spot between his shoulder des feel mmy, which was a little too close to the feeling of being watched for Sen to feelfortable. It wasn¡¯t until Falling Leaf gasped in abrupt pain that Sen realized something was wrong. Foregoing any worries about discing something above, Sen shoved enough rock away himself with his qi that he could spin and face Falling Leaf. He could see that she had crushed a positively huge spider against the wall, but she looked ill.


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    An intuition came in time for Sen to grab Falling Leaf and haul her against him before he wrapped them in a cocoon of fire. While he couldn¡¯t see what was happening outside of the cocoon, he could see the spots on the cocoon where the fire concentrated briefly. It happened over and over again, often with multiple bright spots happening at the same time. Sen realized that there must have been a colony of the spiders living in the crack. While Sen had been ready to simply ride out the spider storm, Falling Leaf hunched over, nearly putting her head into the fire cocoon. <em>That spider must have bit her before she killed it</em>, he thought. A spider that big would have injected a positively massive dose of venom, which meant Sen didn¡¯t have the time to simply wait things out.


    While he couldn¡¯t rely on his spiritual sense to give him urate information about his surroundings, his earth qi could give him exacting information regarding the crack if he pushed it hard enough. With Falling Leaf making increasingly distressed noises, Sen pushed his earth qi very damn hard. When he had a clear picture of the exact length, width, and height of the crack, he dropped his earth qi in favor of fire qi. With a roar of effort, he bathed the crack in fire from one end to the other at ground level. Then, with more a little malicious spite, he sent a wave of fire up the crack like it was a chimney. Even if he couldn¡¯t spot the spiders with his spiritual sense, he felt them die by the hundreds as his fire consumed them like so much dry tinder. When he couldn¡¯t feel any more spiders dying. He let the mes die and scooped Falling Leaf up into his arm. Not caring what he found on the other end of the crack anymore, he sted away the rock at ground level so he could carry Falling Leaf out the far side.


    After the briefest scan of the area to look for more threats and finding none, he put Falling Leaf down on the ground. In other circumstances, he might have tried to make something for her, something built specifically for her, but he could tell that she didn¡¯t have the kind of time. Instead, he dug into his storage ring and pulled out one of hisst two healing pills from Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°You need to swallow this,¡± said Sen.


    He hoped that the words would prate the clear agony that she was suffering. Understanding that he was taking a chance, Sen all but pried open Falling Leaf¡¯s jaws and stuffed the pill into her mouth. He huffed out a relieved breath when his fingers got clear of her teeth. The relief didn¡¯tst long when he didn¡¯t see her swallow. He didn¡¯t think she was even aware of the pill. He jerked a gourd of water out of a storage ring and poured some of it into her mouth. She swallowed reflexively, choked a bit, and then curled in on herself. Sen knelt next to her, hands clenching and unclenching in impotence as he waited and hoped. When he became certain that the pill wasn¡¯t going to help at all, the tension started to go out of Falling Leaf. It happened slowly enough that Sen was terrified he was imagining it, but she slowly eased out of the fetal position she¡¯d been all but locked into.


    Sen slumped in relief. He stared down at the blood on his palms where his fingernails had cut into his own flesh. That was a possibility he¡¯d never considered, but it was also a visible statement about how afraid he¡¯d been in that moment. He still felt remnants of that fear thrashing around inside of him. He took several deep breaths and beat that fear back until he felt he¡¯d mastered himself again. With his fear no longer out of control, Sen managed to examine Falling Leaf with his spiritual sense and his qi. It was an effort, even at close range. She was unconscious, and it would be a while before her body finished flushing out the venom, but Sen was fairly confident that she wasn¡¯t on the verge of death anymore.


    Finally able to think about something other than keeping Falling Leaf alive, Sen looked around. They were in a rtively small, hollowed-out area. A little waterfall fed a small pond and there was a bit of nt life around the edges. Yet, the high walls clearly kept direct sunlight out most of the day. Where Sen would normally expect to see more vegetation, there were mushrooms. Thousands of them lined the ground and much of the walls. Just at a nce, he saw dozens of varieties, but here and there he saw what they hade all this way to collect. Dusk mushrooms. They were by far the rarest of the mushrooms avable, but there were more than enough for his needs. Sen felt a brief moment of tion before he shifted his gaze back to Falling Leaf. They might have aplished their goal, but seeing her unconscious form made it feel like a hollow victory.


    Not knowing how long it would be before she woke up, Sen decided that he¡¯d get what he came for and get them out of this awful ce. It didn¡¯t take long to collect the mushrooms he needed. It would have been quicker, but he kept a very close eye on Falling Leaf. He wasn¡¯t going to chance something taking a shot at her while he was distracted. He did take samples of other nearby mushrooms on the off-chance that they might be useful for something. He couldn¡¯t really get a clear sense of any of them, so he¡¯d have to examine them more closely after they left. He did make a point of getting triple the number of dusk mushrooms he needed. Sen knew better than to assume that any alchemical process was going to go right the first time, and he <em>never</em> wanted to visit Mt. Sce again. ring around at the little hollowed-out area in the mountain, he picked up Falling Leaf and made his way back through the crack, sting out the parts that he hadn¡¯t on the way in to clear a path.


    He very briefly thought about setting up a galehouse right there but dismissed the idea. Just because he¡¯d killed a lot of spiders, it didn¡¯t mean he¡¯d gotten them all. Better to put some distance between them and the possibility of a swarm of angry, venomous monstrosities. Cradling Falling Leaf in his arms, Sen activated his qinggong technique and headed back down the mountain. He was shocked when nothing attacked them. It was onlyter that he realized he¡¯d reflexively unleashed his killing intent in a vast circle around them like a promise of death.

 Book 5: Chapter 19: The Stuff of Nightmares

    Book 5: Chapter 19: The Stuff of Nightmares


    Even with the sun going down fast, Sen managed to put substantial distance between himself and that little hollowed-out ce where he¡¯d found the mushrooms. Yet, even moving fast with his qinggong technique, there wasn¡¯t even a remote chance of getting to the bottom of the mountain before true dark set in. He just kept going until he figured he had enough time to put up a galehouse and set up some particrly nasty formations. While Falling Leaf hadn¡¯t woken up yet, she looked more or less healthy again. He figured she was just sleeping off the fatigue from abination of the venom and the healing pill. While he¡¯d never been bitten by a giant venomous spider, he had been injured plenty of times and felt the fallout from those healing pills. They weren¡¯t something you wanted to take without shelter very close by.


    When he found a clearing that was as level as he was likely to find on the side of the mountain, he gently put Falling Leaf down and got to work putting up the galehouse. He kept it small. It was really just two small bedrooms and amon area with a firece. After he got Falling Leaf settled on some nkets inside, he settled in for some serious formation work. While he hoped that he was wrong, Sen had a feeling that killing all of those spiders was going to have some repercussions for them. He wanted something a bit more substantive protecting them during the night. When he was finally ready to drag himself inside, he¡¯d created a multiyered set of extremely violent offensive formations, along with severalyers of defensive formations. Absolutely nothing was getting in or out of the area immediately around the galehouse without him knowing about it. He didn¡¯t even begrudge needing to use up a bunch of his recently acquired spirit beast cores to keep those formations active.


    It was only then that he let himself rx enough to go inside, seal the doorway behind him, and flop down next to the firece. While he didn¡¯t trust the situation enough to sleep, he did let himself drift down into a semi-restful doze. He¡¯d pushed harder than usual with both earth qi and fire qi. Combined with the concentration necessary to design and set up the formations protecting them, it had left him feeling mentally tired. His body was back to rebounding pretty fast, so he had to pay attention to how sluggish his thinking became. While the doze wasn¡¯t as helpful as true sleep would have been, he knew that it would take the worst edges off of his mental fatigue if itsted a couple of hours.


    While the gods of good fortune had seemingly been ignoring them earlier in the day, they did smile on Sen¡¯s quasi-nap. It was around three hourster before he heard the first sounds of something being killed by the formations he set up. Grumbling to himself, Sen got up, made a doorway, and walked outside. True night had settled on the mountain, so it took him several seconds to make sense of what he was looking at. A ring of fire formed a bright orange and yellow circle approximately thirty feet out from the galehouse. At first, all Sen could make out was that fire. After a moment or two, though, he saw the circle re up. As time passed, the fire red more and more. He finally understood that the undted writhing mass beyond the mes weren¡¯t just shadows but spiders. There were thousands of them. Many of them were no bigger than he¡¯d expect, but there were exceptions. Some of the spiders were as big as his own head. Some were asrge as dogs he¡¯d seen. All of them were the stuff of nightmares.


    Standing in the middle of that writhing mass of death, Sen could see a human figure or something that approximated the human shape. He also knew it wasn¡¯t a human being because he could see the firelight reflecting off of the chitin that the figure had in ce of skin. It chittered something at the spiders and a small tide of eight-legged death surged toward the galehouse. Sen watched that approaching tide with a bit of clinical detachment. The ring of fire was just the first line of defense, and it wasn¡¯t even down yet. Spiders died by the score in those mes. Sen immediately wished that he had thought to prevent the smell from getting inside the perimeter, but it was toote for those kinds of changes. When the ring of fire went out, the pseudo-human figure let out a chittering noise that sounded almost triumphant. The spiders surged again and set off the secondyer of the formations.


    Lightning crackled into life and punched through the ranks of the spiders. Many of the smaller ones simply exploded. Therger ones thrashed wildly on the ground, legs snapping in and out spasmodically and clearly without input from the spiders themselves. Their flopping motions were grotesque and stomach-turning to Sen¡¯s eyes. He found himself relieved when they finallyy still. Of course, more spiders crawled over their corpses only to receive the same treatment. That happened again and again until the beast cores powering thatyer of the protections gave out. The diminishing mass of the spiders threw themselves forward, just to trigger the thirdyer of offensive formations. Wind des twenty feet acrossshed out at different heights. Some of the des cut through the smaller spiders near the ground, while higher des deprived therger spiders of life. As all that death littered the ground, Sen simply stared at the humanoid figure with his eyes cold and his face impassive.


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    Like a great many people, Sen had a near-automatic aversion to spiders. Some of it was natural, and some of it stemmed from his childhood experiences with spiders taking shelter in the same ces he wanted to take shelter. That aversion made it very easy indeed to watch the death of all of those spiders with basically no care or concern in Sen¡¯s heart. He suspected at least some of them possessed self-awareness, but that had been subsumed beneath the will of the humanoid figure. Whatever those other spiders might have be in the future, it had been stamped down in a bid for vengeance or the simple need to kill whatever was different. Sen supposed it didn¡¯t make a difference in the long run. Dead was dead, no matter which way he looked at it. Yet, it seemed even that humanoid figure had limits to the losses it was willing to endure.


    With a burst of chittering, the spiders backed away and left what remained of their siblings and cousins in piles of smoking chitin and seared limbs. Sen wasn¡¯t sure what to expect, but the human figure stalked forward until it was standing just beyond the limits of the formations. Enough residual fire remained for Sen to see that it had retained the multiple eyes somon among spiders. Each of those eyes was ring ck, shiny hatred at him. He met that gaze without flinching, even though he very much wished to look away. He had a sneaking suspicion that any sign of weakness would force him to scour the mountain clean of every spider life on it. While he''d do it if he had to, he didn¡¯t want to do that. It was stupid and wasteful. Especially since he was leaving already.


    ¡°You killed my children,¡± rasped the figure in a voice that didn¡¯t sound even the tiniest bit human.


    Sen considered lying or making excuses, but there was no point. It hadn¡¯t been question. He knew that. He could feel it.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen. ¡°I did. Your children attacked us first. I acted in kind.¡±


    ¡°You trespassed.¡±


    ¡°The mountain does not belong to you.¡±


    ¡°Our territory! Our territory!¡± It shrieked.


    ¡°It¡¯s only yours if you can hold it,¡± said Sen. ¡°I was the stronger. How many more of your children must die before you ept that? A hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand?¡±


    ¡°We will kill you! Trespasser! Murderer! Thief!¡±


    ¡°Will you make me y all of your children? Will you make me y you? I am leaving this ce. I have no desire to kill more of you.¡±


    ¡°Lies! You speak lies!¡±


    ¡°You speak and expect to be heard, but you do not listen. You hear only your rage.¡±


    Sen knew that rage. He knew it all too well. It had driven him to so many acts that he wished hadn¡¯t happened. Now, he was on the other side of it and faced with the prospect of something else he feared he would regret. He wanted to make this matriarch of spiders understand, to make her retreat. If he couldn¡¯t find a way to pierce that rage, though, it was hopeless. If words wouldn¡¯t do the trick, perhaps a demonstration would. Sen fixed the matriarch with his gaze and leveled his auric imposition on her. It didn¡¯t drive her to her knees, but he could see that it had been a close thing. His killing intent followed on the heels of his auric imposition. That pressed her down. He couldn¡¯t see the fear in her alien eyes, but he could feel it all the same. Sen spoke again as he summoned a spear forth and began cycling for multiple threads of lightning.


    ¡°I have barely acted against you so far. Bear witness to what it would mean to truly face me.¡±


    He let one of the threads of lightning crackle around his body and the spear, giving himself the appearance of something wholly mythical. The rest of the threads were sent skyward as he thrust the spear upwards. With a downward swing of the spear, dozens of bolts of lightning fell into that horde of spiders, leaping from chitinous body to chitinous body, reaping lives by the hundred. Those bolts of lightning were apanied by thunder that exploded at ground level. The sonic shock tore through even more of those spiders like they were made of paper. Hundreds more were flung in every direction. Some even fell into the formations where even more lightning ripped them apart. Through it all, the spider matriarch was screaming and thrashing as more of her children died for nothing.


    Sen walked toward her, the formations parting around him like water as he closed the distance. That final thread of lightning still being fed from his own qi. A few brave or stupid spiders flung themselves at him and were vaporized before they got within three feet. He didn¡¯t stop until he was towering over the matriarch. He could see his reflection in her several eyes. He looked as inhuman in those reflections as the matriarch looked to him.


    ¡°Take your children, those that remain, and go. Do that, and I will not pursue you. I will not seek retribution.¡±


    While he retained the lightning around himself, Sen withdrew his auric imposition and his killing intent. The matriarch stared up at him for much, much longer than Sen thought was necessary before she chittered out something that was clearly amand. The mass of spiders slowly retreated until there was no sign of them in the darkness. The matriarch slowly rose, never letting her gaze leave him.


    ¡°We will not forget this,¡± she rasped.


    Sen knew she meant it as a threat, but he chose to take it another way. ¡°I sincerely hope that you don¡¯t.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 20: You Don’t

    Book 5: Chapter 20: You Don¡¯t


    Falling Leaf came around the next morning once Sen started cooking food. He didn¡¯t pester her with questions, just let her eat her fill. Only after plowing through bowl after bowl of rice porridge with pork in it and drinking a truly impressive amount of water did she even begin to look like she might want to talk about anything.


    ¡°How do you feel?¡± asked Sen.


    He could have just taken a look with his spiritual sense and his qi, but Sen tried to only do that without permission when there was no other choice. Falling Leaf tilted her head back and forth before she answered.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. At least, I feel fine.¡±


    ¡°No lingering soreness? No problems moving around?¡±


    Falling Leaf gave him an rmed look. ¡°Should there be?¡±


    ¡°Spider venom <em>can</em> do all kinds of terrible things to a body, but I got a healing pill into you pretty fast. I¡¯m just being cautious.¡±


    Falling Leaf rxed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just check for yourself?¡±


    ¡°I thought I should ask first. It¡¯s the polite thing to do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather you make sure I¡¯m okay than be polite. Be polite with other people.¡±


    Senughed gently. ¡°Fair enough.¡±


    He took his time with the examination. As near as he could tell, thebination of the healing pill and Falling Leaf¡¯s own recuperative abilities had washed the venom out of her system. Sen was a bit surprised by that. That spider had pumped a substantial amount of venom into her. He couldn¡¯t be sure if he¡¯d been underestimating the potency of the pills, Falling Leaf¡¯s ability to heal, or both. He¡¯d expected to need to stay for at least another day before they left. He also checked her tissues and organs, looking for any kind of necrosis. Again, he found nothing. Unless Falling Leaf reported some new symptom to him, he saw no need to hang around unless she said she wanted more rest.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything wrong. If you feel up to it, we can leave today, now even.¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded and stretched where she sat. ¡°I¡¯m happy to leave this mountain behind. When we pick a mountain, let¡¯s pick one without so many spiders.¡±


    Sen shuddered a little. ¡°Agreed.¡±


    While they didn¡¯t leave that very minute, it only took them about fifteen minutes to clean up and pack up the bare necessities that Sen had gotten out for sleeping and cooking. He made a door so Falling Leaf could get outside and took onest fast look around. He checked to make sure that the fire was truly extinguished. He wasn¡¯t worried about the galehouse itself, but there was always the possibility of sparks getting pulled out of the chimney. While he didn¡¯t have any particr love for Mt. Sce, that was a far cry from wanting to see everything on it burn. He checked the rooms and found them as bare as he expected. Nodding to himself, he stepped outside. He noticed that Falling Leaf was staring. Sen looked around and came up short.


    When he''d been confronting the spiders the night before, it had been dark. Far too dark to really see what kind of damage had been done. In the chill light of morning, though, it looked like some kind of war had happened. Trees as much as fifty feet away had been scorched to ash or blown apart. Where the ground didn¡¯t have craters in it, all of the ground cover nts had simply disappeared, leaving nothing but seared soil in their ce. And then there were the remains of the spiders. Everything from tiny bits of chitin to the charred corpses of the biggest spiders littered the area like a grim carpet. The scope of the destruction and death left Sen a little stunned. He¡¯d known it was serious, but not <em>that</em> serious. Falling Leaf turned her eyes toward him.


    ¡°What happened?¡± she asked.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°The spiders decided they weren¡¯t done with us. I discouraged them.¡±


    ¡°This was you discouraging them? How was this discouragement?¡±


    ¡°I let some of them live.¡±


    ¡°Will they being back?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be surprised if they did. I was very firm with them about leaving us alone.¡±


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    Falling Leaf shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear any of this.¡±


    ¡°You needed your rest.¡±


    It took Sen a few more minutes to take down the formations. He was always a little disgusted that putting them together took forever while taking them apart was almost simplicity itself. He supposed the old adage that it was easier to break something than make something was true. The pair set off at the fastest qinggong pace that Sen thought they could maintain. They¡¯d been taking their time on the way up to make sure they didn¡¯t miss an opportunity to find the mushrooms. Sen didn¡¯t n to stop for anything on the way down short of a full-on fight with a spirit beast. Despite his words to Falling Leaf, Sen kept a very close eye on the trees and shadows with his spiritual sense. While it might have been stymied in that little hollowed-out area, he knew that it would work out in the open. He didn¡¯t think that any of the spiders were going toe after them, but he didn¡¯t see any reason to be careless. Besides, there were other threats on the mountain.


    Nothing impeded them, though. In fact, it seemed that the remaining spirit beasts went out of their way to avoid Sen and Falling Leaf. While he was grateful to avoid the dys, he was less thrilled to know the cause. He¡¯d killed a lot of spirit beasts out in the wilds. If he kept doing that, he feared that it was ultimately going to make his life a lot harder. He didn¡¯t want to have to worry about hordes of angry spirit beasts hounding his steps every time he left a city. That would just push him into a position of running for his life or killing more spirit beasts by the score, assuming that some truly powerful spirit beast didn¡¯t decide to just shuffle him off to his next life. Granted, the number of spirit beasts with that kind of power was, thankfully, small and getting smaller with every advancement. It didn¡¯t mean that one of them wouldn¡¯t decide to make him their personal project.


    Sen wanted to avoid that kind of attention at all costs. He¡¯d gotten one nascent soul cultivator through tant trickery and deviousness. He doubted he¡¯d get that lucky with a nascent soul spirit beast. There wouldn¡¯t be some handy building that Sen could take over long enough to set up a deadly poison storm to soften them up. No, a spirit beast would just track him down and crush him with overwhelming force. Avoiding more mass killings of spirit beasts was going to be his goal for the foreseeable future, assuming that he wasn¡¯t already toote to avoid the problem. As midday rolled into midafternoon, Sen brought them to a stop. He¡¯d learned a while ago that taking a break was a good way to help keep the senses sharp. He considered their progress and guessed that they would be close to the bottom of the mountain by sundown. As he served up some food, he looked over at Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Is there anything you want to stop for in the town?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No. I got more than enough of people back in the capital.¡±


    Sen gave her a sharp look at thatment. They had been away from the capital for more than a year and a half. When they had stopped at inns, Sen had done all of the talking. Beyond that, they¡¯d kept to themselves. By Sen¡¯s reckoning, she¡¯d had more than enough time to shake off any bad feelings she¡¯d had since they left the huge city behind. The fact that she was still wholly disinterested in interacting with other people concerned him. She needed some kind of connection to people that extended beyond him. Even if those connective threads were tenuous, she needed them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to make friends?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± she said, frowning at him.


    ¡°I,¡± Sen started, then reconsidered. ¡°I guess that¡¯s true, but it¡¯s not the whole story. I avoid people because they¡¯re constantly trying to drag me into things I want no part of. I have a sneaking suspicion that Karma is making me work hard to pay off some old debts. I doubt that you¡¯d have the same kind of problems.¡±


    Falling Leaf gave Sen a dubious look. ¡°If you say so.¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to have no one if something happens to me. If Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho ascend, who¡¯s left?¡±


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯d just leave me behind?¡± she asked, a line forming between her eyebrows.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they would, but I can¡¯t promise you that either.¡±


    Falling Leaf thought that over for a little while before shaking her head. ¡°If that happens, it happens. I can¡¯t live in fear of something that <em>may</em> happen someday.¡±


    Sen wanted to push the issue, but he wasn¡¯t sure where he could take the point. He¡¯d stated his concerns. She¡¯d listened to them and demonstrated her fundamentalck of worry about it. He wasn¡¯t sure if the possibility was just too nebulous or if the uncertainty of the timeframe made it seem moot to her. Then again, maybe she was right to dismiss the concern. Falling Leaf was very much a person who lived in the now, rather than making deep ns for tomorrow. While Sen didn¡¯t invest a lot of time in thoughts of the future, it was inly evident that he spent more of his time considering it than Falling Leaf. Maybe that would change at some point. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t. He couldn¡¯t make her care about the future any more than he could make her care about other human beings. It was something she would have toe to on her own or not.


    All he could do was ask her about it from time to time and see where she stood. He could encourage her to make connections, but even that had to be done gently. He couldn¡¯t force her to like anyone. If he pushed too hard about it, he risked damaging his rtionship with her. While he did want her to have more in her life than just him, he wasn¡¯t going to sabotage what they had to make it happen. That could backfire in all kinds of ways that he couldn¡¯t predict. It was a bit of a mess in his opinion, but not a mess in need of immediate action. Sen finished the food on his te.


    ¡°Do you want any more?¡± he asked.


    Falling Leaf shook her head. ¡°We should get going again. I¡¯d like to be off of this mountain today if possible.¡±


    Sen peered up at the sky and judged the time. ¡°If you think you¡¯re up for moving a little faster, I think we can make that happen.¡±


    An eager nod confirmed her willingness.


    ¡°Alright, then. Let¡¯s get moving.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 22: Human Concerns

    Book 5: Chapter 22: Human Concerns


    Another week flew by without incident before Falling Leaf brought up the toddler at the vige.


    ¡°How did you know what to do? When that little girl grabbed my leg, how did you know what to do?¡±


    Sen gave her a surprised look. ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±


    Falling Leaf gave him an exasperated look. ¡°You obviously did.¡±


    Senughed and shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t. It worked, which was great, but I didn¡¯t <em>know</em> it would work. I was just looking for a way to distract her, and everybody likes presents. Plus, I figured a little qi magic would impress her. I think everything seems like a miracle when you¡¯re that age. So, I performed a miracle for her.¡±


    Falling Leaf¡¯s mouth was hanging open a little when she asked, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    Sen shrugged and nodded. ¡°I mean, yeah. What were you expecting? Someplicated answer that delves deep into the human mind?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    They¡¯d stopped to eat before venturing back into the wilds for their final leg of the journey. Sen figured that they should have plenty of time as long as they didn¡¯t slow down too much. He was sitting under a tree with his back up against the trunk. He let his head tip back until it rested against bark. He tried to think of a way to exin what he¡¯d done and why in a way that would make sense to Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Most people aren¡¯t thatplicated when you get right down to it. There are exceptions out there. Cultivators and nobles often have obscure reasons for doing what they do. The same applies to bandits but for different reasons. On the whole, though, your average person just isn¡¯t trying to runplicated schemes or be obscure. People want their basic needs met. Food, shelter, and a little bit of safety. Most of what they care about is going to be centered on those things. If they have a family, they worry about their family and try to think of ways to keep their family sheltered, fed, and safe. Anything beyond that is a bonus. For children, it¡¯s even simpler. They want attention. They want to be entertained. So, that¡¯s what I did. I gave her a little attention and provided a little entertainment.¡±


    Falling Leaf was frowning up a storm at thosements. ¡°Humans seem a lot moreplicated than that to me.¡±


    ¡°They are but that¡¯s when you¡¯re dealing with people you know. Personal history, personality quirks, and even your mood can influence how those things y out. When you¡¯re dealing with people one time and never likely to see them again, you can generally assume that food, shelter, family, and safety are their priorities. If you can throw in some entertainment or kindness, you¡¯ll probably be on safe ground more often than not. Plus, you¡¯re a cultivator. If you act a little strange, most people will just chalk it up to that.¡±


    ¡°You make it sound easy.¡±


    ¡°Well, easy is probably overselling it,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯s probably more urate to say that it¡¯s straightforward. You probably got a bit of a skewed view of things because most of the people you¡¯ve dealt with regrly have been cultivators, nobles, or both. Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho are so old and have so much experience that you can¡¯t use them as an example for anything except how really old nascent soul cultivators work. I end up dealing with cultivators and nobles all the time, so all of those people are bad examples too. You¡¯ve gotten an extraordinarily lopsided experience of people. I¡¯ll tell you what. I spent some time in a vige a while back. I just lived there with a family. I learned a lot from doing that. Once we get this business with my body cultivation settled, we¡¯ll find a ce like that. We¡¯ll just live there for a while. You can get to know people at your own pace. See how they live and how they interact. If you hate it, we¡¯ll move on.¡±


    Falling Leaf stared off into the forest for a while before she finally nodded. ¡°Alright. If you think it will help.¡±


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± said Sen with a chuckle. ¡°I make this stuff up as I go. I hope that it will help bnce out your ideas of what people are like. The way we travel and the nonsense we get involved with isn¡¯t a good way to learn about people. It¡¯s too chaotic, too violent. We¡¯re always there for the best day, the worst day, or the <emst</em> day of people¡¯s lives. It¡¯s extreme, and that¡¯s a terrible way to see how human beings are the rest of the time.¡±


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    Falling Leaf didn¡¯t say anything to that, so Sen let the conversationpse back into silence. It had been a while since hest thought about the Luo farm. He wondered how Luo Min and her mother were doing. He¡¯d meant to go back and visit, but he¡¯d barely had time to keep himself alive, let alone go and visit people. Thinking of the Luo farm also made him think of another little girl with a stuffed dragon named Jin-Jin. <em>How long ago was that</em>, wondered Sen. <em>Years</em>? That little girl with the toy dragon wouldn¡¯t be so little anymore. Luo Min might well have a husband and child by now. He remembered how overwhelmed he¡¯d felt those first days on the Luo farm and the frantic race to keep Luo Ping alive.


    Sen was a little stunned at how little of alchemy he¡¯d understood then. He thought it was a little miraculous that he hadn¡¯t killed her with his ineptitude. If faced with the same situation now, he could probably replicate all of those days of work with a single elixir. He could likely perform that minor surgery to remove the bone splinter from her leg with nothing but air qi. He needed to go back there if only to say hello. He did need to go find that damn turtle at some point in the rtively near future, so that would be a good opportunity to drop in on some old acquaintances. He wondered if that little girl with her toy dragon would even remember him. He smiled at the thought. Even if she didn¡¯t remember him, he¡¯d always have that memory of her.


    ¡°What¡¯s that smile about?¡± Asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I was just thinking about another little girl I met a long time ago. She had a stuffed dragon toy named Jin-Jin. It didn¡¯t look anything like a dragon. I don¡¯t even think it had wings.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t it have wings?¡±


    ¡°Why did she have a stuffed dragon toy? Actually, why didn¡¯t it have wings?¡±


    ¡°Children have toys. It¡¯s just how humans raise their children. As for why it didn¡¯t have wings, I expect it¡¯s because their family was poor. Her mother probably made it for her.¡±


    ¡°Humans are strange,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly true. I¡¯m going to go and visit them at some point. You¡¯re wee toe along if you want.¡±


    Falling Leaf didn¡¯t seem to have an opinion about that one way or the other. ¡°Okay. When?¡±


    Sen thought about it. He didn¡¯t know when. Sooner thanter, he hoped.


    ¡°Fu Run was clearly fine with me leaving for months on end. So, sometime in the next couple of years,¡± said Sen before sighing a little. ¡°Speaking of Fu Run, we should get moving. I¡¯d rather get back early than get backte.¡±


    ¡°Do you think she¡¯d refuse to give you the manual if you got backte?¡±


    ¡°I honestly have no idea what she¡¯d do. She might not be insane the way everyone thinks she is, but that doesn¡¯t make her any easier to understand. I mean, we spent six months living there and I think I had two conversations with her. She¡¯s as much a mystery to me now as she was on the day we met her.¡±


    Falling Leaf pursed her lips before she spoke. ¡°I think she <em>is</em> insane.¡±


    That made Sen pause as he was storing things back in his storage ring. ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t mad the way some people seem to be mad, but there¡¯s a smell about her. Even when she seems to be in control, her scent changes by the second. It¡¯s like she¡¯s wearing a very good mask. I¡¯ve never smelled anything like it before, but it makes me nervous. She might not kill us out of hand, but I don¡¯t think we should rush to trust her either.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen, trying to fit this new information into his picture of the nascent soul cultivator.


    ¡°I know you need her for that manual,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°Just don¡¯t assume her judgment is good. Not unless you see some signs that make you think she¡¯s got the right of it.¡±


    ¡°Well, that certainly doesn¡¯t make me feel good, given that I¡¯m stuck with her for another four years and a bit.¡±


    Falling Leaf looked down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t be sorry. I¡¯m d you told me. That would have been a <em>very bad thing</em> to learn the hard way.¡±


    Sen watched a bit of tension leave Falling Leaf¡¯s posture at those words. He wondered how long she¡¯d been debating whether to share that bit of suspicion with him. Given that he¡¯d been keeping back bad feelings and suspicious thoughts for a while, it might well have been months. The difference was that Sen knew he was over-primed to expect trouble. He didn¡¯t trust his own gut reactions to alert him in quite the same way he once did. Falling Leaf didn¡¯t seem to suffer that affliction of minor paranoia.


    ¡°You can always talk to me about it when you have concerns like that. You have excellent instincts for trouble, probably better than mine in a lot of ways. I¡¯d rather you tell me and have it turn out to be not true than get blindsided by something.¡±


    Falling Leaf perked up at that nket permission to vent her suspicions. ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Sen. ¡°With any luck, we¡¯ll get through thisst bit of the journey without much trouble.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 21: Gifts

    Book 5: Chapter 21: Gifts


    Much as he¡¯d expected troubleing down the mountain, Sen at least half-expected trouble when they were bypassing the town at the base of the mountain. They had killed a lot of people who, presumably, had answered to someone. If nothing else, some of those people <em>had</em> to have had families. When no trouble manifested, it didn¡¯t lighten Sen''s apprehension. If anything, it heightened it. He wanted to chide himself for being paranoid, but he¡¯d lost the idea that good things came out of his expectations going unmet. The longer he went without something bad happening, the worse he imagined the blow would be when it did finally arrive. He chose to share none of those persistent bad feelings and worries with Falling Leaf. He¡¯d been chided often enough for withholding information that he doubted he¡¯d do that again, at least with those closest to him. In this case, though, he had no information to share. Telling Falling Leaf would only make <em>him</em> feel better while giving her unsubstantiated cause for concern.


    So, he stewed in silence as a day turned into a week, and a week turned into two. The miles flew by as they made their way back to Fu Run¡¯s home as both Sen and Falling Leaf fretted about the three-month time limit that he¡¯d been given. They often ranter into the evening than Sen would normally have tolerated. That meant setting up galehouses and formations after dark. While it wasn¡¯t as risky a proposition for him as it might once have been, it was riskier than he liked. Sen was veryfortable having reinforced stone walls around him at night. Yet, his eye twitched a little any time he saw a spider taking what seemed like too much interest in them. He knew, intellectually, that the spiders he was seeing couldn¡¯t be connected to the matriarch he had faced. They were too far away for that. Every time he saw a spider, though, it took him right back to the moment when he realized that undting mass out in the darkness was thousands of spiders.


    He made a new type of formation a standard part of his setup at that point. He wasn¡¯t good enough yet to tune a formation to only kill spiders. That was a disappointment to him. He¡¯d have to ask Uncle Kho about that the next time they got together in a non-crisis moment. Sen was, however, good enough to tune one to kill any insect that wandered too close to the galehouse, assuming it wasn¡¯t toorge. Given that he routinely left small slots in the walls for airflow, it was all too easy to imagine hundreds of small spiders crawling in through them. The formation should prevent that horror show from urring, which made it easier to sleep at night. When trouble did eventually find them, it was far more mundane than Sen expected. The pair had stopped for the night at an inn in a smaller vige simply to take advantage of convenient baths and food made by someone else. After two weeks of fast travel, Sen also thought they could use a little break from the routine. When they went to leave in the morning, bandits descended on the vige. When they spotted Sen and Falling Leaf, they surrounded them.


    A pair of identical-looking men stepped forward, essentially dering themselves the leaders. They were both heavyset, with round faces and their eyes a little too close together. Sen idly noted that they might even look a little jolly if they smiled or at least smiled with less malicious intent on their faces. Sen nced around at the group while the leaders babbled about something Sen didn¡¯t pay any attention to. When noises stoppeding out of their mouths and they directed expectant looks at Sen and Falling Leaf, Sen tuned back in to what was happening. Falling Leaf waspletely disinterested and had pulled an apple from her storage ring and started eating it. The absolute unconcern showed by Sen and Falling Leaf made the bandits and the bandit leaders all trade wary nces.


    ¡°You have no idea what a magnificently bad day you¡¯re having,¡± offered Sen with a shake of his head. ¡°I mean, <em>really</em>, you just don¡¯t have any clue.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± sneered one of the twins.


    ¡°Because I usually give people the chance to run away. The only people I don¡¯t do that with are bandits. I only made that mistake once, and I¡¯ve regretted it ever since. So, none of you get to run away.¡±


    The bandits all startedughing and jeering.


    ¡°Oh ho, is that right?¡± asked one of the twins. ¡°You think you¡¯re tough. That jian isn¡¯t going to help much against all of us. Or maybe you¡¯re a cultivator. Is that it? Are you a mighty qi-condensing core cultivator? Well, so what? Half a dozen poison crossbow bolts will put you down just as fast as anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Qi condensing? No,¡± said Sen. ¡°Core cultivator, yes.¡±


    That put an immediate end to theughter and jeering. Sen had been trying to decide about the best way to deal with the bandits. He didn¡¯t have any specific animosity toward them, so he didn¡¯t want to draw things out or make it as painful as possible. <em>Quick</em>, he thought. <em>Yes</em>, <em>quick is the best way</em>. Sen started cycling for wind and split it into enough separate threads that he could get all of the bandits. They didn¡¯t need to be massive techniques. It¡¯d be easier to control the direction and speed if he kept them small and contained. He fixed the positions of all the bandits in his mind using his spiritual sense for reference. One of the bandit twins opened his mouth when Sen raised a hand and snapped his fingers. A dozen or so tiny wind des shot away from him and cleanly parted heads from bodies. As the bandits¡¯ corpses slumped to the ground, Falling Leaf looked around in annoyance. She only said one word.


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    ¡°Fools.¡±


    Sen briefly considered burning the bodies so as not to leave a mess for the vigers. In the end, he left the bandits where they were. The vigers could pige the bodies for weapons and any loose taels the bandits might have had. Before they could make good their exit, the vigers poured from their homes. They were shouting, cheering, and thanking the wandering cultivators for freeing them from the bandits who had gued their vige on and off for years. Sen wanted to feel a little annoyed that the vigers hadn¡¯t risen up in their own defense, but he remembered just how fragile he¡¯d felt as a mortal boy with no training in how to defend himself. He suspected that many of the vigers had wanted to fight back against the bandits but simply didn¡¯t know how. Sen let the vigers go on for a little while, mostly so they could feel that they¡¯d said thank you. He could see it on her face that the people crowding around them made Falling Leaf ufortable.


    ¡°We need to prepare a feast for you,¡± a gray-haired elder with a thin mustache announced.


    Sen needed to kill that idea in a hurry. He didn¡¯t want to spend the time, and he doubted the vigers could afford the extravagance. He waved the elder off.


    ¡°There¡¯s truly no need for that. It¡¯s better if you save that food for yourselves,¡± said Sen.


    Sen and the elder did the dance of insistence and respectful refusal for a few moments. The elder looked relieved and grateful that Sen had declined. When the formalities had been taken care of, Sen and Falling Leaf started slowly migrating toward the edge of the vige. They had just about made it to the edge of the vige when a toddler stumble-ran out of the collected vigers and wrapped her arms around Falling Leaf¡¯s leg. Sen had to hide a smile as a look of panic briefly crossed Falling Leaf¡¯s face. She shot an imploring look at Sen.


    ¡°Just talk to her,¡± whispered Sen.


    Falling Leaf red at him, but patted the girl¡¯s head.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± asked Falling Leaf, seemingly at a loss for what else she could say.


    The little girl mumbled something into Falling Leaf¡¯s Leg. Even with his enhanced hearing, Sen couldn¡¯t make sense of it. Once more looking at her wit¡¯s end, Sen took pity on the ghost panther. He crouched down next to the girl.


    ¡°That¡¯s a very pretty name,¡± he said.


    The little girl turned her face so she could peek at him with one eye. He smiled at her and mentally took inventory of what he had in his storage rings. He didn¡¯t have anything appropriate for a child tucked away, not even a few basic toys. He made a mental note to remedy that. A couple of toys would take up practically no room in his storage ring and would make situations like the one before him so much easier to manage. What he did have plenty of was money. Ridiculous, absurd piles of it filled his storage rings. He summoned several silver taels from his storage ring. The little girl eyed them curiously but clearly didn¡¯t know what they were. Sen decided that was for the best. He cycled metal qi and giving the girl a wink, he slowly fused the metal before he started stretching the taels out. The girl¡¯s eyes went wide with wonder. Sen tried not to take too long with it, worried that the child would grow bored, but the girl never took her eyes away from the magic that he was performing. It took a lot more concentration than he expected, but Sen managed to form the metal into a series of extremely fine links. Working with the silver gave him some insight into just how soft it really was, so he scanned the area. With an effort of will, he snapped a small piece of steel off of one of the bandit¡¯s daggers and summoned it to himself. He reshaped the metal into a basic blunted hook and a ring. He connected those to the final links on either end of the chain. He showed the girl the ne.


    ¡°What do you think? Do you like it?¡±


    The girl¡¯s eyes were opened as wide as they go. She nodded enthusiastically. Sen smiled and gestured for her toe a little closer. She wobbled forward a few steps, and Sen gently hooked the impromptu ne around her neck. Then, because he was already feeling good about this part of his day, he withdrew one of the smallest beast cores he¡¯d used to store divine qi. It was a trivial amount to him, but if the girl ever started cultivating, the qi inside it could help take her a big step on the path of cultivation. Plus, it was one of the prettier beast cores he¡¯d seen with swirling greens and blues across its surface. Even if she never figured out what it really was or what it contained, it would be a small point of beauty in her life. He eyed the core that rested on his fingertips before he gave the girl a long look.


    ¡°Do you mind your parents?¡± he asked her in a mock-serious voice.


    The girl nodded as her little fingers wrapped around the ne.


    ¡°Are you kind to others?¡±


    That one seemed to stump the girl, and she sucked in her lower lip for a few moments. Her face brightened and triggered another nod. She had probably remembered sharing something with someone. Sen smiled again and held out the core.


    ¡°Then, this is for you.¡±


    The toddler¡¯s face lit up as she plucked the core from his hand. She cradled it in her hands for a moment before she stumble-ran back to a young man and woman who both wore shocked expressions. The little girl began showing her parents the core as though they hadn¡¯t just watched Sen give it to her. Clearly a favorite with the adults, they clustered around the little girl, making appropriately impressed noises. Sen stood back up and pointed at the road. Looking relieved and maybe a little frustrated, Falling Leaf fell in beside him. By the time anyone from the vige thought to check on the strange, generous cultivators, they were gone.

 Book 5: Chapter 23: Trouble

    Book 5: Chapter 23: Trouble


    Sen used his qinggong technique to kick off the ground at terrifying velocity, just to m his knee into the underside of a dragon¡¯s open maw. The knee struck with enough force to shatter stone and it forced the mouth closed right in time for the dragon¡¯s breath technique to erupt. With no way to escape into the outside world, the technique exploded inside the dragon. Sen was aware that it happened, but he didn¡¯t actually see it. He was looking the other way and sending waves of lightning down onto four of those damnable bear-cat spirit beasts that were trying to nk Falling Leaf, who was busy fighting with some kind of shaggy beasts with burning eyes and long floppy noses. If they weren¡¯t so hideously dangerous, they might have lookedical. Sen didn¡¯t wait to see if the lightning killed the bear-cat beasts.


    Instead, he whirled in the air and swiped the heaven chasing spear across the dragon¡¯s eyes. The beast was powerful, probably the most powerful thing Sen had ever fought in earnest, but it had also been stunned by Sen¡¯s blow and its own technique going off inside its mouth. The qi defenses it might normally have mustered and even the simple solution of dodging was unavable to brain-rattled creature of myth. Between the physical sharpness of the spearhead and the brutal destructive force of the lightning, the dragon¡¯s eyes exploded. Its mouth opened in a terrible roar that left Sen bleeding from both ears, but he refused to lose focus. He cycled for wind and let loose a scream to rival the dragon¡¯s as he drove a wind de down its throat. The wind de split the dragon¡¯s head and neck, the two parts flopping in different directions as blood sprayed everywhere.


    If it had been anything but a dragon, Sen might have turned his attention elsewhere. Despite what looked like a lethal wound to the beast, he wasn¡¯t satisfied. Launching himself upward from a tform of qi and aided by a quick air qi technique, Sen flew high over the violence. He hung in the air like a celestial object for a heartbeat or two, then he hurled himself back down toward the dragon. He drew back a fist and brought it down between the dragon¡¯s wings. There was a thunderous boom that Sen could hear through his damaged ears followed by an almost equally loud crack of breaking bone. The dragon plummeted toward the earth, wings flopping uselessly, the split pieces of its neck twisting and spinning the air. It touched down with so much force that trees were snapped in two from the shockwave. Still not satisfied that the beast was well and truly dead, Sen let his gaze drop to the ground, cycled for earth, and drove that qi before him. As his feet touched down razor-tipped stone spikes as big around as his legs shot up into the dragon¡¯s body sending another spray of blood into the air.


    Mad with fury, Sen began spinning his spear overhead, using it as a focal point for his next technique. It was something he¡¯d been toying with and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to take it out for a test. He fed the technique more and more power, going so far as to tap into the qi stored in his core. The world itself seemed to protest as the technique caused a howling cacophony in the air. The technique built and built until it was at the very edge of Sen¡¯s ability to control it. He fixed his gaze on Falling Leaf and shouted one word.


    ¡°Down!¡±


    Falling Leaf dropped as though she¡¯d gotten amand from the heavens. With a howl of primal rage, Sen loosed his technique, and for everything in a half-mile radius, hell became utterly real. It was part wind de and part fire. It exploded out from Sen in a ring that hovered exactly a foot off the ground. The ring itself was three feet thick from top to bottom. The leading edge was a wind de backed with enough force to rival a hurricane. Immediately behind that wind de came the small wall of blue me. Together, they made no distinctions between wood, flesh, and bone. Everything in that half-mile radius that stood more than a foot tall simply <em>died</em>. The top part of trees crashed down, the lower parts of their trunks sliced and vaporized. The partial remains of spirit beasts dropped to the forest floor with wet, stomach-turning sts. With a final effort of will and expulsion of qi, Sen doused the fires that would turn the forest into an inferno if left unchecked. Falling Leaf rising to her feet momentarily captured Sen¡¯s attention before all the strength left him. He copsed to his hands and knees, vision swimming dangerously, and his¡­<em>everything </em>crying out for qi.


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    He did his best to soak up qi and catch his breath, desperate to avoid passing out. He felt air moving over exposed skin and open wounds. His robes were little more than tatters. He¡¯d been wed across his back, bitten in a leg, and one of the dragon¡¯s ws had punched through his chest and out his back. He¡¯d been burned in half-a-dozen ces and there were worrying ces where he couldn¡¯t feel anything from his body. Gathering what focus he could, he summoned healing elixirs from his storage ring. They were general-purpose elixirs and the best he could do at the moment. One after the next, he tipped them into his mouth, barely even registering it when they hit his stomach and started going to work. <em>That¡¯s bad</em>, he thought. He heard Falling Leaf¡¯s quick steps racing up to him and he groggily summoned more healing elixirs, scattering them on the ground where she could get them.


    <em>Don¡¯t pass out</em>, he ordered himself. <em>Don¡¯t you dare pass out</em>. It was a horribly close thing as tunnel vision threatened him more than once. It was only after the wound in his lung healed up that he stopped feeling unconsciousness loom over him like an unwee guest. He focused on dragging qi into his dantian. He hated that he needed to spend attention on it to keep the qi in the proper bnce, but life was full of hard things. It wouldn¡¯t do him any good to feel lousy about the ones that let him perform superhuman feats like killing a dragon. Granted, it had been a small dragon, probably young, but he didn¡¯t care about that. He had <em>killed a dragon</em>. While part of him exulted at the aplishment, another part of him was deliriously happy that no one aside from him and Falling Leaf would know about the aplishment. He did <em>not</em> want that particr tale to be part of his Judgment¡¯s Gale legend. He¡¯d never get another moment of peace if it did.


    When he was certain that he wouldn¡¯t just lose consciousness at any moment, Sen pushed himself into a sitting position. He saw Falling Leaf hovering nearby with concern etched into her features. He waved off the show of concern.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± he rasped.


    An arched eyebrow and discontented noise told him all he needed to know about her opinion of that littlement.


    ¡°Eventually,¡± he added.


    Falling Leaf shifted her gaze past Sen for a moment. He turned his head to see what she was looking at. It was the smoldering remains of the dragon, not that there was all that much left of it. There were fleshy stumps where its legs used to be and most of its underbelly had survived. Sen could see parts of its spine that had been higher than thatst destructive technique he¡¯d fired off. He idly wondered if the beast core had survived. Then, he wondered if any of the beast cores had survived that brief inferno. It¡¯d be a waste if none of them had. Sen would like to get something out of all of that fighting other than the dubious benefits of naked fear and experience.


    ¡°You killed the dragon,¡± said Falling Leaf with some awe in her voice.


    ¡°It was a small one,¡± observed Sen.


    She shot him a look. It had some pointed things to say that mostly boiled down to <em>shut up</em>. Sen shut up. Falling Leaf nced at him, clearly trying to decide if he was safe to leave on his own. Satisfied that he wasn¡¯t going to die that very minute, she walked over to the dragon''s remains. Sen kept half an eye on her as she grabbed a heavy stick and started poking around in the pile of dragon parts. Mostly, he focused on cultivating. His body was soaking up the qi almost as fast as he could drag it in from the environment like soil long deprived of rain. He sat like that for nearly an hour before he actually felt well again. His dantian was still nearly empty, but the mere thought of standing didn¡¯t leave him feeling exhausted. When he stood up and took a hard look around at the destruction he had wrought, Falling Leaf came back over. She gleefully summoned a pile of beast cores from her storage ring. Sen looked them over.


    ¡°Take whatever you can use,¡± he told her.


    She frowned at him. ¡°These are yours. Your kills. Your cores.¡±


    He just smiled at her. ¡°Take what you can use. I¡¯ll take whatever is left. There¡¯s no point in me hoarding cores that you can use for advancement. That doesn¡¯t help either of us.¡±


    The panther girl looked deeply dissatisfied with that response, but she picked out a couple of cores and stowed them. Sen gave her a t stare until she started to blush. She picked out several more and put those in her storage ring. He took the rest, pausing only to look at thergest of the cores. He assumed it came from the dragon, but he was still too tired to do much of anything aside from looking at it. He¡¯d have to give it a more thorough examinationter. Assuming there was ater and fresh wave of spirit beasts didn¡¯te to kill them. Frowning around, Sen finally got a chance to ask the question he¡¯d been thinking about all through the fight.


    ¡°Where in all the hells did these spirit beastse from?¡±

 V5

    V5


    While Sen¡¯s healing elixirs had more or less gotten them back to being healthy, recovering enough qi to travel safely in the wilds was another matter entirely. Sen insisted that they leave the area where they had fought. He found the prospect that other spirit beasts woulde sniffing around looking for easy resources or just an easy meal was too much of a risk. He only took them a few miles away, but far enough that he thought they would be able to set up for the night. Raising a galehouse was harder than it had ever been for him, but also more necessary. For once, they truly needed that protection. Falling Leaf hadn¡¯t used up as much qi as he had, but he wouldn¡¯t want to put her in a fight. Setting up the formations was mercifully just a matter of getting everything in the right ce, since he had a fresh batch of beast cores to help fuel them, and the wilds were always ripe with environmental qi to draw on.


    That night, Sen and Falling Leaf threw around ideas about where the spirit beasts hade from while they recovered. It was more to have something to do while they cultivated than an exercise in figuring anything out. The beasts might have been sent by the spider matriarch. They might have attacked on their own. Fu Run might have directed them. Any of those things were possibilities, but they had no information or even any clues. Most of the beasts hadn¡¯t possessed the kind of self-awareness that someone like Falling Leaf developed. The dragon had been self-aware, but it didn¡¯t feel like chatting with them. Sen had briefly entertained the idea of capturing it. That fantasy had been exposed for what it was in a hurry. It had been everything Sen could do to simply kill it. Capturing it would have taken more power and skill than he possessed. He conceded to himself that a n might have helped as well, not that there had been any time to make one.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to get the impression that the spirit beastmunity as a whole just doesn¡¯t like me,¡±ined Sen.


    Falling Leaf shook her head. ¡°Can you me them? I don¡¯t know that you¡¯ve killed more spirit beasts than any other human being, but you¡¯ve probably killed more than anyone this side of the Mountains of Sorrow.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on! That¡¯s an exaggeration. I haven¡¯t killed <em>that</em> many,¡± said Sen before he really thought it through.


    ¡°Is it?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    When he searched his memory, he didn¡¯t especially like the picture he saw. He had personally seen off more than his fair share of spirit beasts. It wasn¡¯t that he went out of his way to do it. Quite the opposite. Unfortunately, he had been present for countless beast tides during their search for Fu Run and those numbers added up fast. He honestly didn¡¯t know how many of those spiders he¡¯d killed. Hundreds? Thousands? It was easy to think of them as a singr mass, but they weren¡¯t. Any of them, possibly even all of them, could have grown into sapient spirit beasts. Of course, that thought didn¡¯t make it any better for Sen. He didn¡¯t like spiders, so he was hard-pressed to feel bad about preventing a swarm of them from bing smarter and more dangerous. The point still stood, though. In an almost incidental way, Sen had personally reduced the poption of spirit beasts in the region by a lot. He wondered if they told stories about him. He doubted those stories were quite as ttering as the Judgment¡¯s Gale stories.


    If they didn¡¯t insist on attacking him in giant hordes of bloodthirsty madness, he would never have gone looking for them on his own. He couldn¡¯t decide if he was the bad guy in that scenario or not. He didn¡¯t feel like the bad guy. He hadn¡¯t had ill intent. In most of those cases, it had been pure and simple self-defense. He was aware that he had routinely been intruding in their territories. Yet, he hadn¡¯t been hunting anything. He had left the spirit beasts he sensed alone if they did him the same courtesy. Realizing that he was stuck in a circr problem that likely had no clear answer, Sen gave up trying to decide where he stood morally. The truth was probably that he bore some of the me, but not all of it. He nced over at Falling Leaf and her expectant eyes.


    ¡°Okay, maybe it¡¯s not <em>entirely</em> an exaggeration. I¡¯d stop killing them if they stopped attacking me.¡±


    ¡°If you asked them, I imagine they¡¯d say that they¡¯d stop attacking you if you stop killing them and invading their homes.¡±


    Sen waved a hand in defeat. ¡°I already had that argument in my head. It doesn¡¯t lead to an answer. I can¡¯t get where I need to go without asionally passing through the wilds. I¡¯m going to keep defending myself, however much it makes them hate me.¡±


    ¡°You should defend yourself. You should also expect them to keep attacking you in numbers until you reach the nascent soul stage. Most of them won¡¯t dare when you get to that point. There¡¯s anger, but there¡¯s also survival. Right now, one of them might get lucky. The chances of that go down every time you advance again.¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°There¡¯s a cheerful thought,¡± said Sen. ¡°I guess we¡¯re staying here an extra day or two. If we have to fight like that again, I don¡¯t have the qi for it right now.¡±


    Falling Leaf shook her head. ¡°You won¡¯t have to fight like that again. It takes time to put together a group of spirit beasts and get them to cooperate. Especially the ones who aren¡¯t self-aware. It¡¯s more like herding than convincing.¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes sense. Still, no need to take unnecessary chances when we¡¯re this close.¡±


    ¡°Do we have the time to spend?¡±


    Sen waggled his hand in a so-so gesture. ¡°It¡¯ll cut things close, really close, but dying because we couldn¡¯t fight properly won¡¯t fix anything.¡±


    ¡°I guess there is something to be said for a bit of caution.¡±


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s not my usual style, but getting as close to death as I did¡­ I won¡¯t say it changed me at some fundamental level. It did give me an appreciation for being alive. I worked hard to get this far. I don¡¯t want to throw it away and start over again just because I¡¯m a little impatient to be done with this particr journey.¡±


    Falling Leaf mulled that over while Sen abandoned active cultivation in favor of cooking. His passive cultivation would keep drawing in qi but limit how much he drained from the immediate area. That should make things easier for Falling Leaf. The formation he¡¯d put up to concentrate qi around the galehouse would help as well. It wasn¡¯t aplicated meal. He just made rice, steamed some vegetables, and warmed up some leftover meat he¡¯d made a few days prior. As they ate, Falling Leaf teased him a little about hisziness in preparing such a sparse meal. He rolled his eyes at her but smiled through it. Her understanding of human humor had been developing slowly, often stalling, but he didn¡¯t want to discourage her from doing things like poking fun. It wasn¡¯t always appropriate, but she had to practice on someone. Plus, if she practiced on him, he could help her understand when she might identally offend someone through simple poor timing.


    When Falling Leaf decided it was time for her to sleep, Sen kept his mouth shut. He knew that she didn¡¯t actually need the amount of sleep she got at her cultivation stage. She probably couldn¡¯t go as long as he did without sleep since she wasn¡¯t on a true body cultivation path, but she definitely didn¡¯t need to sleep every day. He¡¯d puzzled over that for a while before the very obvious truth hit him. She just liked sleeping. She¡¯d done an almost absurd amount of napping when she¡¯d been a ghost panther, and it seemed she didn¡¯t n on giving up sleep as a pastime. For him, every waking minute was an opportunity to explore some facet of cultivation he didn¡¯t fully understand, improve his techniques, or simply to practice hisbat skills. That was to say nothing of breaking new ground.


    With that thought in mind, he withdrew the mushrooms he¡¯d collected on Mt. Sce from his storage ring. He spent most of his time examining the dusk mushrooms. They had heavy shadow attributed qi, but he caught hints of other things in there as well. There was a bit of wood qi and at least one other he couldn¡¯t put his finger on. He made a mental note of it and resolved to figure out what the other qi type was, preferably before he used the mushrooms in anything. The dusk mushrooms were exceedingly potent. They threatened to overwhelm the environmental qi with shadow qi, so he put them back in his storage ring. He did take the opportunity to soak up some of the shadow qi for his own use. Finished the dusk mushrooms, he turned his attention to the other samples he¡¯d gathered.


    There were some that he quickly realized were simply poisonous now that he was out of the obscuring effect that had been in ce in the little hollowed-out area. He wished he had been able to study that effect more. It might have given him insights into his own <em>hiding</em> ability, but he¡¯d had more pressing concerns at the time. One of the mushrooms, a small, pale mushroom with blue spots on the cap drew his attention. As unimpressive as the mushroom looked, it had a trulyplex array of qi types in it. The longer he studied it, the more convinced he became that he could use those mushrooms in healing elixirs. With the right reagents andplementary ingredients, he suspected he could improve his general healing elixir¡¯s performance by nearly twenty percent. That was something worth investigating. The problem was that he had a very limited supply of the mushrooms and no easy way to grow more. He didn¡¯t n on revisiting that mountain for more of them. He decided that he would set some aside for Auntie Caihong. She had more natural aptitude with gardening than he did. Maybe she could do something with them.


    Once he finished looking over his dubious prizes from Mt. Sce, Sen settled himself near the firece. He let the sounds of the burning wood soothe away his concerns and lull him into a meditative state. Sen could brute force the right mindset for cultivation, but getting there naturally typically garnered better results. His guess was that it had something to do with the pressure he had to exert on himself to force the right mindset. It likely reduced the efficiency of the cultivation process. As he let active thoughts slowly slip away, other concerns surfaced. Most of them were nebulous, temporary problems that he could easily dismiss. The prospect of always facing tides of murderous beasts wasn¡¯t so easily brushed aside. He let that upy his mind for several minutes and looked for a solution. He considered some ridiculously impractical options, but the conclusion was inevitable. There wasn¡¯t anything he could do to prevent it short of avoiding the wilds entirely. Even that might not do the trick, as the first spirit beast tide he¡¯d faced had happened in a town.


    epting his inability to resolve the problem let him set it aside. Then, there was nothing left but him, his cultivation, and the slow process of replenishing his qi-starved core and dantian.

 Book 5: Chapter 24: Spirit Beasts and Mushrooms

    Book 5: Chapter 24: Spirit Beasts and Mushrooms


    While Sen¡¯s healing elixirs had more or less gotten them back to being healthy, recovering enough qi to travel safely in the wilds was another matter entirely. Sen insisted that they leave the area where they had fought. He found the prospect that other spirit beasts woulde sniffing around looking for easy resources or just an easy meal was too much of a risk. He only took them a few miles away, but far enough that he thought they would be able to set up for the night. Raising a galehouse was harder than it had ever been for him, but also more necessary. For once, they truly needed that protection. Falling Leaf hadn¡¯t used up as much qi as he had, but he wouldn¡¯t want to put her in a fight. Setting up the formations was mercifully just a matter of getting everything in the right ce, since he had a fresh batch of beast cores to help fuel them, and the wilds were always ripe with environmental qi to draw on.


    That night, Sen and Falling Leaf threw around ideas about where the spirit beasts hade from while they recovered. It was more to have something to do while they cultivated than an exercise in figuring anything out. The beasts might have been sent by the spider matriarch. They might have attacked on their own. Fu Run might have directed them. Any of those things were possibilities, but they had no information or even any clues. Most of the beasts hadn¡¯t possessed the kind of self-awareness that someone like Falling Leaf developed. The dragon had been self-aware, but it didn¡¯t feel like chatting with them. Sen had briefly entertained the idea of capturing it. That fantasy had been exposed for what it was in a hurry. It had been everything Sen could do to simply kill it. Capturing it would have taken more power and skill than he possessed. He conceded to himself that a n might have helped as well, not that there had been any time to make one.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to get the impression that the spirit beastmunity as a whole just doesn¡¯t like me,¡±ined Sen.


    Falling Leaf shook her head. ¡°Can you me them? I don¡¯t know that you¡¯ve killed more spirit beasts than any other human being, but you¡¯ve probably killed more than anyone this side of the Mountains of Sorrow.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on! That¡¯s an exaggeration. I haven¡¯t killed <em>that</em> many,¡± said Sen before he really thought it through.


    ¡°Is it?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    When he searched his memory, he didn¡¯t especially like the picture he saw. He had personally seen off more than his fair share of spirit beasts. It wasn¡¯t that he went out of his way to do it. Quite the opposite. Unfortunately, he had been present for countless beast tides during their search for Fu Run and those numbers added up fast. He honestly didn¡¯t know how many of those spiders he¡¯d killed. Hundreds? Thousands? It was easy to think of them as a singr mass, but they weren¡¯t. Any of them, possibly even all of them, could have grown into sapient spirit beasts. Of course, that thought didn¡¯t make it any better for Sen. He didn¡¯t like spiders, so he was hard-pressed to feel bad about preventing a swarm of them from bing smarter and more dangerous. The point still stood, though. In an almost incidental way, Sen had personally reduced the poption of spirit beasts in the region by a lot. He wondered if they told stories about him. He doubted those stories were quite as ttering as the Judgment¡¯s Gale stories.


    If they didn¡¯t insist on attacking him in giant hordes of bloodthirsty madness, he would never have gone looking for them on his own. He couldn¡¯t decide if he was the bad guy in that scenario or not. He didn¡¯t feel like the bad guy. He hadn¡¯t had ill intent. In most of those cases, it had been pure and simple self-defense. He was aware that he had routinely been intruding in their territories. Yet, he hadn¡¯t been hunting anything. He had left the spirit beasts he sensed alone if they did him the same courtesy. Realizing that he was stuck in a circr problem that likely had no clear answer, Sen gave up trying to decide where he stood morally. The truth was probably that he bore some of the me, but not all of it. He nced over at Falling Leaf and her expectant eyes.


    ¡°Okay, maybe it¡¯s not <em>entirely</em> an exaggeration. I¡¯d stop killing them if they stopped attacking me.¡±


    ¡°If you asked them, I imagine they¡¯d say that they¡¯d stop attacking you if you stop killing them and invading their homes.¡±


    Sen waved a hand in defeat. ¡°I already had that argument in my head. It doesn¡¯t lead to an answer. I can¡¯t get where I need to go without asionally passing through the wilds. I¡¯m going to keep defending myself, however much it makes them hate me.¡±


    ¡°You should defend yourself. You should also expect them to keep attacking you in numbers until you reach the nascent soul stage. Most of them won¡¯t dare when you get to that point. There¡¯s anger, but there¡¯s also survival. Right now, one of them might get lucky. The chances of that go down every time you advance again.¡±


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    ¡°There¡¯s a cheerful thought,¡± said Sen. ¡°I guess we¡¯re staying here an extra day or two. If we have to fight like that again, I don¡¯t have the qi for it right now.¡±


    Falling Leaf shook her head. ¡°You won¡¯t have to fight like that again. It takes time to put together a group of spirit beasts and get them to cooperate. Especially the ones who aren¡¯t self-aware. It¡¯s more like herding than convincing.¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes sense. Still, no need to take unnecessary chances when we¡¯re this close.¡±


    ¡°Do we have the time to spend?¡±


    Sen waggled his hand in a so-so gesture. ¡°It¡¯ll cut things close, really close, but dying because we couldn¡¯t fight properly won¡¯t fix anything.¡±


    ¡°I guess there is something to be said for a bit of caution.¡±


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s not my usual style, but getting as close to death as I did¡­ I won¡¯t say it changed me at some fundamental level. It did give me an appreciation for being alive. I worked hard to get this far. I don¡¯t want to throw it away and start over again just because I¡¯m a little impatient to be done with this particr journey.¡±


    Falling Leaf mulled that over while Sen abandoned active cultivation in favor of cooking. His passive cultivation would keep drawing in qi but limit how much he drained from the immediate area. That should make things easier for Falling Leaf. The formation he¡¯d put up to concentrate qi around the galehouse would help as well. It wasn¡¯t aplicated meal. He just made rice, steamed some vegetables, and warmed up some leftover meat he¡¯d made a few days prior. As they ate, Falling Leaf teased him a little about hisziness in preparing such a sparse meal. He rolled his eyes at her but smiled through it. Her understanding of human humor had been developing slowly, often stalling, but he didn¡¯t want to discourage her from doing things like poking fun. It wasn¡¯t always appropriate, but she had to practice on someone. Plus, if she practiced on him, he could help her understand when she might identally offend someone through simple poor timing.


    When Falling Leaf decided it was time for her to sleep, Sen kept his mouth shut. He knew that she didn¡¯t actually need the amount of sleep she got at her cultivation stage. She probably couldn¡¯t go as long as he did without sleep since she wasn¡¯t on a true body cultivation path, but she definitely didn¡¯t need to sleep every day. He¡¯d puzzled over that for a while before the very obvious truth hit him. She just liked sleeping. She¡¯d done an almost absurd amount of napping when she¡¯d been a ghost panther, and it seemed she didn¡¯t n on giving up sleep as a pastime. For him, every waking minute was an opportunity to explore some facet of cultivation he didn¡¯t fully understand, improve his techniques, or simply to practice hisbat skills. That was to say nothing of breaking new ground.


    With that thought in mind, he withdrew the mushrooms he¡¯d collected on Mt. Sce from his storage ring. He spent most of his time examining the dusk mushrooms. They had heavy shadow attributed qi, but he caught hints of other things in there as well. There was a bit of wood qi and at least one other he couldn¡¯t put his finger on. He made a mental note of it and resolved to figure out what the other qi type was, preferably before he used the mushrooms in anything. The dusk mushrooms were exceedingly potent. They threatened to overwhelm the environmental qi with shadow qi, so he put them back in his storage ring. He did take the opportunity to soak up some of the shadow qi for his own use. Finished the dusk mushrooms, he turned his attention to the other samples he¡¯d gathered.


    There were some that he quickly realized were simply poisonous now that he was out of the obscuring effect that had been in ce in the little hollowed-out area. He wished he had been able to study that effect more. It might have given him insights into his own <em>hiding</em> ability, but he¡¯d had more pressing concerns at the time. One of the mushrooms, a small, pale mushroom with blue spots on the cap drew his attention. As unimpressive as the mushroom looked, it had a trulyplex array of qi types in it. The longer he studied it, the more convinced he became that he could use those mushrooms in healing elixirs. With the right reagents andplementary ingredients, he suspected he could improve his general healing elixir¡¯s performance by nearly twenty percent. That was something worth investigating. The problem was that he had a very limited supply of the mushrooms and no easy way to grow more. He didn¡¯t n on revisiting that mountain for more of them. He decided that he would set some aside for Auntie Caihong. She had more natural aptitude with gardening than he did. Maybe she could do something with them.


    Once he finished looking over his dubious prizes from Mt. Sce, Sen settled himself near the firece. He let the sounds of the burning wood soothe away his concerns and lull him into a meditative state. Sen could brute force the right mindset for cultivation, but getting there naturally typically garnered better results. His guess was that it had something to do with the pressure he had to exert on himself to force the right mindset. It likely reduced the efficiency of the cultivation process. As he let active thoughts slowly slip away, other concerns surfaced. Most of them were nebulous, temporary problems that he could easily dismiss. The prospect of always facing tides of murderous beasts wasn¡¯t so easily brushed aside. He let that upy his mind for several minutes and looked for a solution. He considered some ridiculously impractical options, but the conclusion was inevitable. There wasn¡¯t anything he could do to prevent it short of avoiding the wilds entirely. Even that might not do the trick, as the first spirit beast tide he¡¯d faced had happened in a town.


    epting his inability to resolve the problem let him set it aside. Then, there was nothing left but him, his cultivation, and the slow process of replenishing his qi-starved core and dantian.

 Book 5: Chapter 25: Welcome Back

    Book 5: Chapter 25: Wee Back


    Thest few days on the way back to Fu Run¡¯s home weren¡¯t precisely peaceful, but it felt that waypared to fighting a beast tide that included a dragon. Even without his core or dantian topped off, Sen found that most of the challenges they faced were¡­ He hesitated to frame it exactly as trivial, but he couldn¡¯t think of a better term for it. The beasts who attacked them seemed trivial byparison. Falling Leaf had the right of things about it taking time to gather a substantial number of beasts for an attack. That didn¡¯t solve the mystery of why such a beast tide had urred in the first ce, which bothered Sen more than he liked to admit. When the pair of them finally emerged from the wilds into the semi-tame area that was Fu Run¡¯s domain, Sen exhaled in relief.


    He didn¡¯t necessarily feel safe under the nascent soul cultivator¡¯s watchful gaze, but he did feel safe from random spirit beast attacks. They all steered clear of her, lending more credence to Falling Leaf¡¯s im that they would trouble him less often the higher he scaled the mountain of cultivation. Not that her im really needed any confirmation. The spirit beasts had all given Uncle Kho¡¯s home a very wide berth as well. It hit Sen that the same thing must have been true of her before the ghost panther effectively adopted him. He¡¯d never really considered that she had been knowingly taking a risk even getting near the ce, especially before she knew that Uncle Kho had a soft streak a mile wide. He didn¡¯t realize that he¡¯d been staring at Falling Leaf until she stopped in ce and stared back.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°I just never thought about how dangerous it might have been for you toe to Uncle Kho¡¯s house. Why did you do that?¡±


    Falling Leaf squinted a little like she didn¡¯t entirely understand what he was getting at. ¡°The Feng was polite to me. You were nice to me. It stood to reason that the people you went to see would be simr.¡±


    ¡°Really? You just took it on faith that they¡¯d also be nice to you?¡±


    ¡°Plus, I¡¯m difficult to catch if I put my mind to it,¡± she offered with a smile, but then the smile faded. ¡°I was difficult to catch. I¡¯m not as stealthy as I used to be. You humans never see me if I don¡¯t want to be seen, but other spirit beasts can always seem to pick me out.¡±


    Sen resisted the urge to apologize again. Falling Leaf wouldn¡¯t like it. She¡¯d told him more than once that she¡¯d made her choice and didn¡¯t regret it. She was just struck from time to time by what the choice had cost her. It had been a while since itst came up, and Sen had thought she¡¯de to terms with it. Still, on the scale of her lifespan, it hadn¡¯t been that long at all. He shouldn¡¯t be surprised that she was still grappling with such a life-altering transition, even if she didn¡¯t bring it up. He looked for a way to lighten the mood.


    ¡°Well, you got fingers. That seems like a fair trade.¡±


    Falling Leaf held up a hand and peered hard at her fingers. ¡°They <em>are</em> terribly useful. I don¡¯t have to carry everything in my mouth. They aren¡¯t beautiful like my paws were, though.¡±


    Sen saw an opportunity to cheer her up. ¡°That¡¯s true. You had very lovely paws.¡±


    Falling Leaf beamed at him. ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand these things.¡±


    Sen smiled and started walking again. He mused on the fact that it had been exactly three months to get out to Mt. Sce and back. It made him wonder if Fu Run had some kind of divination technique. Had she <em>known</em> that it would take them exactly that long, or had she simply made an educated guess about how long it would take them? He didn¡¯t expect that she would tell him either way. Sharing didn¡¯t seem like Fu Run¡¯s style. His experience with her storage space told him that much. He was dead certain that there were things in that storage space that could propel him forward in countless ways with his understanding of cultivation, new techniques, and probably a hundred other things he couldn¡¯t imagine. It was also equally clear that she had no intention whatsoever of letting him roam around in that space and look at things. Just thinking about all of the medicinal nts she had stored in there was enough to make him think unsafe and greedy thoughts.


    <em>That¡¯s the problem right there</em>, thought Sen. <em>Even if you didn¡¯t take anything without permission, you¡¯d want to</em>. He expected that truth had been written all over his face when he¡¯d taken his little stroll with her into that storage space. For someone like him, though, that had been a monumentally unfair test. All of that knowledge and all of those resources would have tempted anyone, not just him. In his case, though, he knew that he could put alchemy resources to good use, immediately, no study time required. That was a very different kind of temptation from the books, which offered the possibility of growth, but that he couldn¡¯t simply use right now. Not that he would have turned that down either. No, he¡¯d just have to content himself with what she decided to offer. He wasn¡¯t above stealing from his enemies, but Fu Run wasn¡¯t his enemy. While he wouldn¡¯t put her in the friend category either, he thought she nominally fit into the ally group. If Sen wanted to keep her in that group, and he did, then stealing from her or even trying to steal from her was out of the question. Hard as it might be to ignore the existence of all those scrolls and alchemy resources, he¡¯d make himself do it.


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    Fu Run wasn¡¯t waiting for them when they came into sight of her strange little house. That was a relief to Sen¡¯s mind. He wasn¡¯t quite ready to deal with the questionably sane woman. Instead, he and Falling Leaf made their way over to the more extravagant version of a galehouse that Sen had made for them. It wasn¡¯t exactly nicer than the ones he might make out in the wilds. Shaped stone was shaped stone regardless of location. It was more spacious and came with a few extra bells and whistles. Sen had made a proper stove for the kitchen using nothing but metal qi and his imagination. He had not told Falling Leaf that it took him six tries to get it right. There was a room for him to do alchemy, as well as a dedicated bathhouseplete with drains.


    He had been thinking about how to get water to run into the house for the kitchen and bathhouse, but that was more a matter of convenience for Falling Leaf than anything else. He could fill and heat the bath with his qi. Summoning water in the kitchen called for nothing more than a careful application of qi or simply dipping into his storage rings. So, running water persistently got put off. The furniture in the ce remained the stone constructions he had initially made with a fewter modifications for basicfort. If they were going to spend years in the ce, though, he thought he should probably invest in morefortable furniture the next time he ventured out to civilization. Even cultivator bodies could get stiff and sore sleeping on stone blocks for long enough.


    It was the bathhouse that Sen was most interested in. He¡¯d been thinking for days about soaking in the tub and letting it wash off the residual dirt and stress from the journey. He very nearly imed it first, but in an act of what he saw as supreme self-sacrifice, he let Falling Leaf go first. He was happy that Fu Run waited until after he got his turn to soak before she showed up. She even did them the courtesy of knocking. Sen opened the door and invited the elder cultivator inside. She looked around, curiosity glinting in her eyes, but seemed a little disappointed by the space. Neither Sen nor Falling Leaf had much interest in decorations. Everything in the ce had a useful function of one kind or another. After satisfying her curiosity, Fu Run turned to them.


    ¡°Wee back,¡± she said.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Sen.


    Falling Leaf nodded, but chose not to speak.


    ¡°I take it you seeded,¡± said Fu Run.


    Sen essed his storage ring and summoned three of the dusk mushrooms he¡¯d collected. He held them out to Fu Run. She looked at them, and Sen felt her spiritual sense touch them for a moment.


    ¡°Good. You can put them away.¡±


    Sen frowned at the woman. Why had she sent him all the way to Mt. Sce for mushrooms that she didn¡¯t intend to take? Still, he did as he was told. She smirked at him in a way that suggested she knew exactly what he was thinking. He tried to hide his annoyance and mostly seeded. Fu Run flourished her hand and a piece of paper appeared in it. She held it out to him.


    ¡°I would like you to make that,¡± she said.


    Sen took the paper and read it over. His frown deepened. It was an alchemical recipe for a pill. A recipe that used the dusk mushrooms.


    ¡°I don¡¯t make pills,¡± he finally said.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you an alchemist?¡± she asked sweetly.


    ¡°I am,¡± said Sen, feeling like he was stepping into a trap.


    ¡°Alchemists make pills,¡± said Fu Run.


    ¡°This alchemist doesn¡¯t,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Then, you aren¡¯t an alchemist. Not really. More to the point, you agreed to do as I said. I <em>want</em> that pill.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to make pills. I never learned.¡±


    ¡°Caihong was too soft on you,¡± said Fu Run flourishing her hand again and producing a small manual. ¡°I suggest you learn. You have two months.¡±


    She tossed him the manual and left the galehouse. Sen looked down at the manual. The cover was nk, so he opened it up and leafed through a few pages. It was an alchemy primer. At least, he thought it was at first. Looking more closely at it, he realized that only the first part was a primer. The rest of the manual got into increasinglyplex applications of alchemy, a fair bit of it that Sen only understood in the vaguest of terms. The time pressures that had finally lifted from his heart when they got back descended on him again twofold. He honestly didn¡¯t know if he could learn what he needed to learn in two months. Pill refining wasn¡¯t something that people just picked up as a hobby. It was practically its own discipline inside of alchemy.


    ¡°You look ill,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    Sen tried to smile at Falling Leaf, but he worried it came out as more of a grimace. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure she just set me up to fail.¡±

 Book 5: Chapter 26: Celestial Vista

    Book 5: Chapter 26: Celestial Vista


    The impulse to start reading what Sen recognized as a full-blown, if highly condensed, alchemy treatise almost overwhelmed him. The pressure of that two-month deadline bore down on him as well, but a tinge of wisdom had crept into Sens thinking since his days on the mountain. Regardless of what his low-level panic told him, starting that day wasnt going to help. He was mentally drained from the journey and everything hed done on it. Fighting all of those spiders, to say nothing of the dragon, had taken a toll on both his qi and state of mind. It wasnt regret precisely. He didnt initiate those conflicts. He had simply ended them with brutal decisiveness. Once more, though, the scale of the death and destruction weighed on him. Sen wanted to be more than that.


    So, he set aside his instincts to begin and forced himself to take the rest of the day off from everything that wasnt critical to his survival. He didnt train with the sword or spear. He didnt try anything new with his qi or cultivation. He didnt even let himself think about what Auntie Caihong had taught him. <em>You have two months for all of that</em>, he reassured himself. <em>Give yourself until tomorrow morning to just rest</em>. So, he sat beneath a tree near the galehouse and cultivated. Dinner was an extravagant affair with several kinds of meat and vegetables, a stir-fry, soup, and even some basic pastries that he wasnt entirely sure had proper names. Falling Leaf pounced on the food with a level of glee that bordered on abandon. Sen was more restrained but ate at least as much as she did. Hed need his strength.


    When the day wound down, he retreated to his bedroom with the manual in hand. He put it down on a stone table hed created when it became clear that the room needed some kind of t surface for temporary storage. A sigh of mild relief escaped him when Sen dropped onto the bed. It wasnt one of physicalfort. The bed was still stone, after all, even if it did hold a makeshift mat stuffed with wool and a sizeable pile of nkets. Rather, he felt happy to be back in a ce that was <em>his</em>. The galehouses on the road were nice because they reminded him of this ce. Coming back, though, he saw the little quirks that made this galehouse into his galehouse. There were little striations of ck and dark green in the rock of the wall. There were hooks of stone that grew out of one wall where he could hang spears or swords.


    He even had a beast core sitting on the stone table. It was one of the cores that had held divine qi, but the qi had been used up. Now, it was just a sphere of pure white shot through with reds and oranges that reminded Sen of sunset. They were tiny things, trivial really, but they were the things that made this ce home for him, or as close as he was going to get for the next several years. Once the good feelings at being home faded into the mental background for him, though, his fingers itched to open that alchemy manual. His eyes kept drifting over to it, as though drawn by some kind of visual gravity. It took an effort of will to drag his gaze away each time. He stayed on the bed for almost twenty minutes before it became clear that no amount of positive thinking about rxing for a night was going to help. Abandoning his bedroom and the galehousepletely, he strolled out into the night.


    He did a casual sweep of the area with his spiritual sense out of habit. He was looking for spirit beasts of which he found none. What he did find was Fu Run. Frowning, he made his way over to where she was just standing and staring up into the night sky. He recalled Falling Leafs suggestion that the woman might actually be insane. If she was caught in the grips of a moment of insanity, Sen should just leave her be. Otherwise, she might turn her power on him. Even at his very best, he didnt think he could stand her off for long, and he wasnt at his very best. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor in that particr case, he turned to walk away.


    Did you need something, Lu Sen? asked Fu Run in a calm, collected voice.


    I No, not particrly, said Sen, realizing it was true as the words left his lips. I didnt even know you were out here until a minute ago.


    Is it so unimaginable that I might enjoy the night air and gazing on the splendor of the heavens?


    The question left Sen feeling more than a little awkward. Up until that moment, he <em>would</em> have considered that unimaginable. He could easily imagine her studying the stars and looking for insights. He could imagine her using the subtle change in qi that happened when night fell for some kind of experiment. The idea that she might just want to take a walk and look at the night sky seemed too mundane for someone at her cultivation level.


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    It just seems too he tried to find a diplomatic way to put it.


    Fu Run sniffed. Mortal?


    Yes, admitted Sen. It seems too mortal for a nascent soul cultivator.


    And should such simple mortal pleasures be denied to me simply because Im a cultivator? Why should any of us find the beauty of the heavens beneath our notice? Do <em>you</em> find the sight of the heavens trivial? she asked.


    Sen turned his gaze upwards and just looked at the sky for the first time in what felt like centuries. He wasnt scanning for threats or evaluating the weather. He was just looking at that impossibly vast expanse of stars. He considered the moon that hung low on the horizon. It was a thin crescent of light that looked huge, although he knew it would seem much smaller as it slid across the night sky. That celestial vista asked nothing from him. It didnt even know about him. There was afort in that knowledge. To the night sky, he would always be anonymous, just a tiny, frail observer that it neither acknowledged nor troubled. That was a rtionship he could rely on to remain fixed and firm until the day he ascended. And it provided so much in return. The night sky would always be beautiful in its cold, eternal way.


    No. I dont find it trivial, answered Sen as he stepped up next to Fu Run.


    The nascent soul cultivator nced at him before returning her gaze to the sky above. They stood there like that for nearly an hour, each lost in their own thoughts and concerns. It was Fu Run who finally broke the near-trance that Sen had dropped into while he stared at the stars. She turned to him and lifted an eyebrow.


    Id have thought youd be elbow-deep in alchemy by now.


    Sen shook off his dazed mental state. The temptation is there. I <em>want</em> to go open that manual this very second.


    Why dont you?


    Sen didnt speak immediately but gave himself time to frame the answer. Not all work is equal. Were cultivators. Were trained to push hard and keep pushing. I dont think you can advance without that mindset.


    Agreed, said Fu Run.


    But pushing too hard at the wrong time can set you back even more. You can harm yourself. You can develop wrong assumptions. Alchemy is subtle andplex. You cant master it with a brute-force approach of constant practice. You need stillness in your mind and calm in your heart. I dont have either right now.


    I see, said Fu Run, revealing nothing of her thoughts. So, what will you do?


    Ill sleep. Ill meditate. Maybe Ill cook us all overblown meals that we all know we dont need. Ill do whatever I need to do to find the right state of mind. Until then, theres no point in even cracking the cover open on that manual.


    Fu Run watched him without uttering a word for so long that Sen finally offered her a bow and turned to leave.


    Lu Sen, said Fu Run, halting his steps. More than one cultivator has failed at the bottleneck between core formation and the nascent soul stage because they could not differentiate between knowledge and wisdom. It is not enough to know things. If knowledge alone could bridge that gap, there would be no bottleneck. You must move beyond knowledge and into understanding. Some of that understanding is about qi, cultivation, techniques, and the like. Yet, just as much of it is about understanding yourself. Your strengths, your failings. Its also about understanding the needs of a situation.


    You could have taken that manual and rushed forward. Many would have, blindly confident that they could ovee any obstacles without regard to the needs of the situation or their own weaknesses in the moment. You did not, despite the rather potent encouragement I ced in your path.


    Sen frowned. A test, then?


    In a way, and if you choose to see it that way. I saw it as an opportunity for us both. It was an opportunity for you to see the truth of the situation clearly. It was an opportunity for me to see if you would.


    And now that weve both seen? asked Sen.


    She shrugged. We both understand things now that we didnt yesterday. Isnt that enough of a boon?


    Sen cocked his head to one side before he nodded. I suppose it is.


    Three months, said Fu Run, turning her eyes skyward again. You have three months toplete the pill.


    Sen froze. It didnt sound like much. It might have sounded like nothing to someone else. Sen knew better. Two months had never been enough time to learn what that manual contained. He knew enough about what it contained to know that it would have been impossible. Three months, though? That shifted things from the impossible to the possible. Not easy. It wasnt going to be anything even close to easy, but it was <em>possible</em>. Sen offered Fu Run another bow.


    As you say, Fu Run.

 Book 5: Chapter 27: Cauldron

    Book 5: Chapter 27: Cauldron


    Time is a cultivators ally. Sen had heard Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Ma Caihong all say something simr at one time or another. However, as often as not, time seemed to work against Sen. He always felt under pressure to aplish an advancement, reach a goal, or simply be somewhere. He had felt the same way about the two-month deadline that Fu Run had given him to make that pill. The addition of just one month had changed everything for him. Instead of feeling like he needed to w his way to the right frame of mind as fast as possible, he felt liberated to spend the time he needed to get there. The irony was not lost on him that by granting him extra time, Fu Run had made that task easier. He was able to shove aside the sense that he couldnt do it, that <em>no one</em> could do it, and let his mind and heart find an equilibrium. Instead of taking some uncertain amount of time, it took him three days.


    Instead of opening the manual with a sense of howling urgency and the need to consume it as fast as he could, Sen opened it prepared to learn. That wasnt to say that there were no problems. The manual assumed that the reader had a true alchemist cauldron. While Sen certainly had the resources to acquire one and likely could have gotten one with ease in the capital, he was nowhere near the capital. In fact, he was nowhere near anywhere that he could realistically acquire one. The reality was that sects were the primary source for alchemist cauldrons. They werent just heavy pots. If they were, any cksmith in the world could make them.


    A true alchemist cauldron needed to be forged under special conditions and with the right bnce of qi. They needed to be treated with special alchemical sents to ensure that everything washed awaypletely after every use. Otherwise, the alchemist risked contaminating their pills with everything that had been made in the cauldron before. Granted, that could yield a gain to the potency and usefulness of the pills. There was no guarantee of that, though, and the wrong kind of contamination could turn a healing pill into a health-destroying poison. It was a chance that, ording to Auntie Caihong, some lesser alchemists were willing to take. While Sen hadnt been interested in using a cauldron, Auntie Caihong insisted on exining the basics to him. If nothing else, she contended, it would help him distinguish between alchemists that he could trust and those he couldnt.


    Sen used his own methods to ensure that the pot he used for elixirs remained free of contamination. Yet, after reading through the initial section of the alchemy primer, he was confident that he couldnt substitute his pot for a cauldron. Among other things, cauldrons could be sealed in such a way that they remained both airtight and rejected environmental qi, another way that pills could be contaminated. While Sen thought that he could, in theory, replicate those effects using his qi and the right formations, it would addplications to a process he didnt understand. Everyplication brought with it an added risk of failure. If he had years to perfect his techniques, he might have even gone that way. He didnt have boundless time. That meant he needed to simplify the process as much as possible. So, with more than a little reluctance, he visited Fu Run. He found her tending to a small vegetable garden outside her home. He patiently stood at the edge of the garden as there was no chance she had missed his presence. She didnt make him wait long before she cast a curious nce his way.


    Is there something I can help you with? she asked.


    Sen had considered various ways he might broach the subject of a cauldron, but anything other than a direct inquiry seemed deceptive to him. Steeling himself for the possibility that he might well need to make another journey and at the absolute fastest he could manage, Sen took the straightforward path.


    Ive been reviewing the primer you gave me, he said.


    Fu Run nodded at his words. Faster than I expected, but I trust you waited until you were ready.


    I did, he confirmed. The primer makes it clear that pill refining requires a cauldron.


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    Yes. What of it? Every alchemist has a cauldron.


    Almost every alchemist. Im afraid that I dont, which brings me to the point of this visit. I wanted to ask if you have one that I can use for the next three months.


    For the first time since hed met her, Fu Ruolon seemed positively bbergasted. She struggled to find her voice for several seconds before she finally managed to say something.


    You dont have a cauldron? I was under the impression that you had fashioned numerous elixirs of near-miraculous quality.


    The miraculous nature of the elixirs is a matter of debate, but I have made a substantial number of elixirs.


    And how, pray tell, did you aplish this elixir-making without the services of a cauldron?


    I used a pot, said Sen.


    A pot? Just a pot? What kind of pot? demanded Fu Run.


    Lifting a shoulder in a semi-shrug, Sen summoned the pot he used from a storage ring and held it out.


    This pot, he said.


    Narrowing her eyes at him, she took the pot from his hand. He felt her qi briefly invade the pot and her spiritual sense bear down on it. She frowned and did both things again. The nascent soul cultivator hefted the pot a few times before returning her unhappy gaze to Sen.


    Is this meant to be some kind of ill-conceived joke?


    Sen looked from her to the pot and back again. No. Its not a joke.


    You expect me to believe that you made elixirs in <em>this</em>, she almost shouted at him. Theres nothing remarkable about this pot at all. Its just in metal. It hasnt been infused or treated in any way.


    Sen nodded along. Yes, thats all true. Im not sure why youre upset with me.


    Because youre lying to me or youre deluded. No one could make an elixir that could do anything useful in this pot.


    Sen felt his expression go hard. Well, <em>I</em> did. If you return my pot, Ill prove it to you.


    Fu Run thrust the pot back at him. Oh, I cannot wait to see this.


    Seizing the pot from her hand, Sen stormed back to the galehouse and made a beeline for the kitchen. Fu Run walked right behind him, clearly expecting him to fail. Sen stoked the fire in the stove, dumped some water into the pot, and got to work. He summoned ingredients almost by reflex. He was halfway through making a superior healing potion before he even realized that was what he was doing. The familiar activity did serve to calm him, though. He could maybe understand her skepticism, but the utter denial of the possibility that he could make elixirs in that pot still rankled him. He had helped a lot of people with products that came out of that humble pot. Who was she to say that hed made that up? Why would he make something like that up? He didnt need to impress anyone. And if he was going to try to impress someone, hed just tell them about fighting a dragon, not make up stories about how he did alchemy.


    As time passed, though, Sen had to stop fuming and concentrate on the task at hand. Making the superior healing potions required a lot of attention from him in terms of managing the reactions inside the pot, to say nothing of keeping the heat at a stable temperature. He blotted everything else out of his sphere of attention and gave the elixir his full attention. He could feel the elixiring together properly, the discrete ingredients fusing to make something more, something better. For Sen, this was alchemy at its purest. There was a part of him that wanted to experiment. Hed had some ideas about improving this elixir into something even more potent. He thought that there was even the possibility of making a version that might help restore qi, but that wasnt the point of this exercise. This was just a demonstration.


    Sen ignored those distracting thoughts and monitored the contents of the pot until theyd reached the perfect moment of fusion. Then, with a wave of his hand, he cooled the potion. He summoned a ss vial and a piece of cheesecloth from his storage ring. A moment or two of effort and hed filled the much rarer ss vial with the elixir. In most cases, he used stone vials because they were sturdier. For this, he wanted her to be able to see the elixir and its faint blue glow, not just feel it. Keeping his expression neutral, he turned and handed the vial to Fu Run. She just stared at the vial for several long moments before giving herself a slight shake. She reached out and took the vial. Sen felt her examining it, no doubt assessing its strength and nature. Her expression wasplicated and difficult for Sen to read when she finally found something to say.


    I stand corrected, she offered in a soft voice.


    Sen squashed the desire to gloat or anything else that didnt directly involve his goal. So, about that cauldron.


    Cauldron? she asked, her mind clearly not on the question. Oh, yes. Of course.


    She waved a hand and a cauldron appeared on the stove. Fu Run didnt say anything else. She turned and walked out of the galehouse with her eyes still fixed on the elixir in her hand.

 Book 5: Chapter 28: Inequity

    Book 5: Chapter 28: Inequity


    As her feet carried her away from the stone house that Lu Sen had summoned from the earth with such casual disregard that shed wanted to p him for it, Fu Run didnt see anything around her. Even in a world where the heavens intervened directly, if only asionally, it was rare to witness anything that one might call truly miraculous. But that was what she had just seen. For perhaps the third time in her very, very long life, Fu Run had witnessed a miracle. That it was a miracle made up entirely of subtlety took nothing away from it. That the person performing it had the same casual disregard for it that he had for the feat of earth qi maniption that raised his home took nothing away from it. If anything, those factors had enhanced the miracle.


    She hefted the vial in her hand. The elixir itself wasnt some heavens-defying product. Oh, it was a top-shelf healing elixir that wouldmand a fine price if the boy could be bothered to make enough of them to sell. Nobles and royal houses would snatch them up. However, Fu Run had the distinct sense that Sen probably handed them out to anyone who crossed his path with some minor mdy. Shed heard vague stories about the impossible acts of healing hed done after the scuffle between those fire cultivators and a water sect. There had been some rumors about how hed single-handedly swept away all sickness and infirmity in some vige out to the east somewhere. Shed been skeptical about those ims.


    Granted, he was a student of Ma Caihong and a year or two of her direct instruction was worth about thirty years of direct experience. Experience didnt make an alchemist into a healer of legend, though. It made someonepetent. In rare cases where talent and practice were joined, it made people brilliant. Ma Caihong was an example of that. It had been a burr in Fu Runs side for longer than she cared to think about that she would only ever be apetent alchemist. She understood the processes. She possessed vast knowledge about the various nts and reagents alchemists used to create their pills and elixirs. She had devoted countless hours to honing her capacities. In the end, though, she would only ever bepetent.


    Shecked that spark of insight, that touch of genius, that let Ma Caihong elevate her craft into something more than mere alchemy. That extra sliver of discernment was what made Ma Caihong Alchemys Handmaiden. Fu Run had always assumed the woman was simply a once-in-a-cultivators lifetime genius, her like never to be seen again. Shed thought that right up until shed seen that boy craft the elixir in her hands in a battered, unremarkable pot that might be found in any farm kitchen. Shed genuinely thought hed been boasting or downying what hed learned from Ma Caihong. Alchemys Handmaiden would never send a student out in the world making absurd ims and wholly unfamiliar with the process of pill refining. Unless, of course, the boy didnt <em>need</em> to make pills and could back up those absurd ims. Fu Run imagined the other womanughing until she cried as those mad, unbelievable stories spread about her student. After all, she would have known they were true.


    Her foot bumping into something solid made Fu Run look up. Her steps had carried her unerringly back to her own little home. Sighing to herself, she opened the door and went inside. She found somewhere to sit so she could go back to her brooding about <em>the miracle</em> that had happened <em>in a pot</em>. If she hadnt been struck so hard by it, she might have been angry with Lu Sen because he didnt know. An even worse possibility urred to her. What if he simply didnt care? Did he understand the sea change what hed done represented? Did he know and simply couldnt be bothered to acknowledge it because it mattered so little to him? Fu Run didnt let herself chase those thoughts. If she did, she might kill the boy in a fit of rage. That would be disastrous for so many reasons.


    Feng Ming woulde calling with destruction on his mind. That might, <em>might</em>, be a manageable situation. Ming was always a direct soul and misdirection had be Fu Runs specialty. She thought that she could evade him. Of course, the man was also inexorable. She didnt want to have to hide from him until all of the universes went cold. Still, he wasnt the one she was really worried about. In some ways, Jaw-Long made her more nervous. Ming might rain down destruction when he thought it was warranted, but he preferred the personal approach. Jaw-Longs go-to move was a cascade of lightning that nketed an area. It was damn hard to hide from something like that because he could keep it going for days if he really put his heart into it.


    However, it was the idea of Ma Caihong seeking vengeance that poured true dread into the soul. She was the least likely to go on the hunt for someone, but Fu Run had heard and confirmed some of the stories about what the woman had done when Lu Sen went missing for half a year. Only a true madwoman would tempt the fury of someone who could turn the air you breathe or the tea you drink into something that could melt even nascent soul flesh from bone. As a fellow if lesser alchemist, she was better equipped than most to understand the magnitude of the threat someone like Ma Caihong posed to those who crossed her. Fu Run did not want to join that particr group because, to her knowledge, its ranks wereposed entirely of corpses.


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    She forcefully pushed those thoughts aside. She wasnt actually going to do anything to Lu Sen. No matter how it might look, she didnt think he was intentionally trying to frustrate her. If hed been of a different sort of character, she might have thought differently. Observation had taught her that he wasnt malicious by nature. For all the destruction hed left in his wake, it sounded like hed spent more time trying to avoid fights than find them. Hed been polite to her, even when he hadnt been sure what she would do or how she would act. She suspected that hed much prefer to spend his time in libraries and alchemybs than going out and carving his name into history. She wasnt certain about it, yet, but she had the notion that outside forces were working very hard to keep him away from that preferred life. <em>And no wonder</em>, she thought.


    She let her mind drift back to what she had witnessed. Hed started the process out innocently enough by bringing some water up to temperature. Hed moved on to throwing ingredients into the pot. Shed been a little appalled at how little he prepared them. Most ingredients needed to be processed to some degree. Some things were chopped, some were crushed, and others ground, but it was rare that you just tossed a whole ingredient into the cauldronor pot, apparently. That was usually reserved for the rarest ingredients where the fundamental benefits were carried throughout the entire nt, not just in the stalks, roots, or leaves. Just as importantly, it ought to reduce the quality of the end product. Still, shed kept her mouth shut. He could fail on his own terms. Everyone had that right, as far as she was concerned. That was when things started to get strange.


    One of the reasons why <em>every</em> alchemist used a cauldron was because temperature control was so critical. A true alchemist cauldron was made by master smiths in sects to ensure the metal maintained uniform thickness throughout the base of the cauldron and the sides, which typically thinned out a little near the top. Sens ridiculous cookpot was not uniform anywhere. So, by all logic, it should have been heating everything unevenly. The second he started throwing things into the pot, though, hed started doing something to even out the heat. She assumed it was fire qi, although her ownck of affinity there made it hard to judge. More to the point, he hadnt seemed to be doing it actively. It was like a reflex. What she could observe was what was happening inside the pot. Shed been keeping a close eye on the reactions.


    She had always believed that those reactions were governed by immutablews. Add certain ingredients, apply the right amount of heat, and you could replicate the same reactions over and over again. It was the very heart of alchemy. What Sen did bore only the faintest resemnce to those familiar processes. She watched as reactions that should have failed were cajoled by Sen, infused with qi at precisely the right moment in precisely the right amounts. She watched as overheated or underheated reactions suddenly found the right temperature. She had heard other alchemists theorize that such things could be done, but everyone had given it up as a lost cause. The sheer number of adjustments that youd have to make would overwhelm anyone because youd need to calcte the temperatures, the amount of qi, everything, on the fly. The math alone would stun the minds of even nascent soul cultivators. Unless, it seemed, you just didnt bother with the math.


    She watched as he made those adjustments on instinct, often doing dozens of them simultaneously without so much as breaking a sweat. If anything, hed looked like he was in a state of peaceful meditation. To make matters worse, she could tell hed been doing other things, things she couldnt clearly perceive, things at some substructural level of the ingredients or the elixir. While she didnt know what hed been doing, it had helped turn a bunch of ill-prepared ingredients that had been dumped into a cheap damn pot into a superior-grade healing elixir. She resisted the urge to hurl the elixir at the wall. <em>Its not fair</em>, she thought as frustration seethed inside of her. Shed been chasing the mysteries of alchemy for a thousand years, devoting her time, energy, and kingdoms worth of resources to it. Even if shed never be its true master, she had hoped to one day find a worthy student. Shed prayed to find someone she could push to greater heights than her own, and it was Ma Caihong who got this prodigy dropped in herp to shape and mold as she saw fit. To add insult to injury, the woman hadnt even trained him to use <em>a cauldron</em>! It was the most basic piece of equipment in the alchemists trade.


    Its not fair, she said, elixir still clutched in her hand.

 Book 5: Chapter 29: Failure

    Book 5: Chapter 29: Failure


    Sen stared down into the cauldron in disgust. The misshapen, burned lump of ingredients that sat at the bottom of the alchemists tool seemed to mock him. If this had been the first such failure, or the twentieth, or even the fiftieth, it wouldnt have bothered him so much. Sen had lost count of how many times his attempts at making even the simplest healing pill had copsed into abject defeat. He didnt know what the problem was, precisely, but the entire thing felt unnatural to him. He had been following the instructions and advice in the primer to the letter. It should be working. It clearly did work for <em>other</em> people. He just couldnt seem to make it work. Dousing the fire in the stove with a burst of qi, he stormed out of the galehouse and intoSen came up short. It was nighttime. He rubbed at his face, certain it had been morning just an hour or two ago.


    He stood in the cool night air, taking deep breaths, and trying to get his frustrations back under lock and key. They werent any use, except maybe as an asional prod, but he had plenty of incentive to learn already. He didnt know what Fu Runs n was, but he was certain that she had a n of some kind. First, the trip to fetch the mushrooms, and then this crash course in pill refining, all to the end of making some pill. It was too structured to be anything other than a n. The problem was that he couldnt tell if she meant to shore up something she saw as a weakness in his education or if this was leading to some other destination. He wasnt sure if knowing the point of the exercises would prove helpful, but his experience with nascent soul cultivators suggested that they didnt do things on a whim.


    Despite his best efforts, Sens frustrations welled up and burned likeva inside his chest. In desperate need of some kind of release, he kicked a rock that was sitting nearby. He felt a momentary burst of relief. That was immediately followed by chagrin as he heard the rock impacting trees. He winced preemptively as the tops of trees with shattered trunks crashed down to the forest floor. His enhanced hearing could hear the mad scramble of startled animals fleeing from the area. He closed his eyes when the inevitable happened. He heard Falling Leaf burst from the galehouse and dash toward him. Before she could get a word out, the presence of a nascent soul cultivator appeared in the clearing in a blur of speed. There was a long moment of silence as Sen imagined the two women scanning the area for the threats and, finding none, turning narrowed eyes on him.


    It was me, he said in a defeated tone before either of them could demand answers. I kicked a rock.


    He expected some kind of lecture about control from Fu Run. He thought Falling Leaf might just hit him for startling her for no good reason. Instead, there was another protracted silence before Fu Run snickered. His eyes snapped open and he turned to look at her, assuming his hearing had lied to him in some way. Her lips were pressed together so hard that her mouth was just a white line in her face. Her shoulders were bouncing as she tried to resist bursting intoughter. Sen whipped his head around to gaze at Falling Leaf who was looking at him like hed lost his mind.


    Why would you kick a rock? asked Falling Leaf in a tone of perplexed innocence.


    That was more than Fu Run could take, apparently, because she startedughing hysterically. First, she pointed at Sen. She followed that up by waving a hand at the forest. She kept trying to say things, but Sen barely caught a word here or there.


    Your face, Fu Run eventually managed to wheeze out. Your face! You looked like a little boy expecting to have his sweets taken away.


    Sen felt a flush of embarrassment heat his face and didnt quite know what to do with his feelings. The woman wasnt being unkind. It barely amounted to teasing. It was just so very unexpected. Sen didnt think hed heard a genuineugh from the woman since theyd met. Now, she was wiping tears from her eyes as mirth threatened to spill out of her again at any moment. Unable to settle on any specific emotion, Sen felt his face contort into some kind of expression. One look at that expression set Fu Run off into more merry gales ofughter. She shook her head back and forth in some kind of negation, pointed at Sen onest time, and then disappeared back in the direction of her own home.


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    Sen shook his head a little and turned his attention back to Falling Leaf. Falling Leaf had her face turned in the direction the nascent soul cultivator had gone with a cautiously amused expression. When she noticed Sens lifted eyebrow, she gave him a shrug.


    I thought you didnt like her, said Sen.


    Falling Leaf weighed those words before she shook her head. I havent decided about that. I said I thought she might be insane.


    Sen dug through his memories, certain that she had said something about not liking the woman. His memories backed up Falling Leafs version though. She had been extremely cautious of the nascent soul cultivator and concerned about the womans sanity, but shed never actually said she didnt <em>like</em> the woman. Sen decided that he must have been projecting his own rather mixed feelings about the woman onto Falling Leaf.


    I guess you didnt, at that, he admitted.


    Why did you kick a rock? asked Falling Leaf, resurrecting a topic hed hoped she would abandon.


    Because I was frustrated.


    By the rock?


    No, not by the rock.


    Then why did you kick it?


    A sh of irritation coursed through Sen, and he nearly snapped at Falling Leaf. He pped that reaction away. He wasnt irritated with her. He was irritated with alchemy and his ceaseless failures at it. He was also still feeling the vague sting of embarrassment. Hed acted like a child when he kicked that rock. Hed probably only knocked down a couple of trees, but that rock <em>could</em> have struck anything out there. He had a picture in his head of some nocturnal animal wandering by, minding its own business, getting killed by a rock that came out of nowhere. Feeling his shoulder sag, Sen just fessed up.


    Its not going well with the alchemy.


    Saying it out loud gave the situation a gravity it hadnt had before. It wasnt that he was making slow progress. He was making no progress. That had to change and soon, or that extra time hed been granted would slip between his fingers. Falling Leaf seemed wholly unsurprised by that revtion because she just nodded.


    No thoughts? asked Sen.


    I dont know anything about alchemy. I cant help you with that.


    Sen nodded. I know.


    What did you used to do? When Ma Caihong was teaching you?


    Id ask her about it.


    So, ask the other one, said Falling Leaf.


    She gestured in the direction that Fu Run had gone. Sen didnt speak or even look away at those words. They were words he truly hadnt wanted to hear because he knew she was right. He should have done it already. His exact reasons for not doing it were a little hazy to him. Hed half convinced himself that she wouldnt wee such questions, but even hed recognized that as an excuse. She might not <em>answer</em> his questions, but he didnt honestly think shed be angry with him for asking. Shed probably just give him a look or tell him to work it out on his own. If hed gone and asked her, he would know where she stood. That would have provided him with some kind of direction. He wasnt sure he could find the kind of help he needed if he had to seek it elsewhere, but at least he would know.


    He recognized that it wasnt like him to avoid asking questions. After that disaster early on with Master Feng, hed made a point of asking questions. It was the best way to learn when you didnt know the answer and couldnt work it out on your own. He searched inside himself. Why hadnt he just gone and asked her? The answer left Sen less than impressed with himself. It was just pride. The same kind of basic, stupid pride that hed mocked in others. Hed been so sessful with elixirs that hed just assumed he would be sessful with pill refining. He could ept that it hadnt been an entirely unjustified assumption on his part. Hard work and some natural talent had let him go a long way with just about everything. At least, everything hed devoted serious time and effort to master. Hed expected that there would be some transfer of aptitude between making elixirs and making pills. He could forgive himself that error of arrogance. What he couldnt forgive in himself was not seeking help when it became clear that wasnt the case.


    Hadnt he chastised the alchemists of the Clear Spring Sect for being too caught up in their own way of thinking? Looking at his actions, he struggled to see himself as any better. Practice and failure were part of the process, but hed continued to let himself fail long, long past the point where either practice or failure could teach. It had been pride, and he didnt have the time to waste on it. Recognizing his folly for what it was, Sen gave Falling Leaf a wan smile.


    Youre right, he said.


    Sen almost let himself leave it for the morning, but better sense saved him from more folly. If he let himself get some sleep, if he felt better in the morning, there was every possibility that hed convince himself that just one more day of trying would let him glean the secrets that had eluded him so far. Repressing his sigh, he turned and trudged toward Fu Runs home.

 Book 5: Chapter 30: Everything Right

    Book 5: Chapter 30: Everything Right


    While Sen had felt a <em>little</em> uncertainty about asking for help, Fu Runs reaction had caught him off guard. Her face lit up like hed just given her the best gift of her life. The woman seemed almost giddy at the prospect of helping Sen figure out what hed been doing wrong. Shed looked ready to get started immediately but had ultimately told Sen to get some sleep.


    Better to start fresh, she said.


    Sen had almost objected with a reference to the time limit that <em>she</em> had imposed on him. A moment or two of reflection told him that was the path of foolishness. He was in no fit state of mind to learn. Aside from his brief adventure in rock kicking, he wasnt even sure when hedst taken a break, let alone slept. With a nod to her, hed retreated to the galehouse, eaten something, and made himself go to bed. When he woke up in the morning after having dreamed about failing at pill refining over, and over, and over, he knew hed made the right choice. While he didnt consider himself an expert on the mind, it didnt take an expert to recognize that those kinds of dreams were a bad sign. When the waking mind was so fixated on something that it became the fixation of your dreams, Sen figured it was a short step to some kind of a breakdown. He''d made his way over to her house and found her waiting. He did his best not to give her sidelong looks as the woman almost bounced on her toes. She took him to a room he didnt remember from his previous visit. Inside, shed set up an alchemyb.


    She beamed around at the room before turning a more serious eye on him. Alright, I need to know what you already know so we dont waste time. So, take a seat and tell me what you know about alchemy.


    Sen looked around and found a small stool. He nced over at Fu Run who waved an impatient hand at him. Dropping onto the stool, Sen gathered his thoughts. What did he know about alchemy? He rarely considered the total information he had at his disposal on the topic. Most of the time, he only needed little slivers of that information to finish whatever he was working on at any given moment. Only after being asked to sum it all up did he start to understand exactly how much hed learned. Realizing that there probably wasnt a right answer to the problem, he picked a spot and started talking. He talked, and talked, stopping asionally to summon water from a storage ring and take a few sips. For the first three hours, Fu Run stood there in near-total silence, neither interrupting nor even reacting. That came to an abrupt stop when he started talking about some of his personal insights into alchemy. Then, the questions came fast and furious. It was nearly nightfall before Fu Run waved him to a stop, her eyes ssy and her expression a little ck.


    Im not going to pretend that I understood everything you were talking about. Ma Caihong might, she said with a bitterness that Sen could hear, but I dont think thats your problem. You clearly grasp the fundamentals of alchemy itself and then some. Your problem must be somewhere in the pill-refining process itself. What have you been trying to make?


    A basic healing pill, said Sen, trying to mask his own bitterness.


    She frowned at that. What ingredients and reagents are you using?


    He had to stop and consider that question. He used the same ingredients for it every time, but it had been a while since he named them to himself while using them. Closing his eyes, Sen took himself back to his countless repetitions over the damn cauldron.


    Ginseng, angelica root, Emia Sen listed off ingredients and reagents as he mentally watched himself throwing them into the cauldron.


    Fu Run nodded, only raising an eyebrow once or twice. Those are all fairly standard. Nothing <em>too</em> exotic. A few atypical choices, but I dont see how those would interfere with the refining process.


    Thats what I thought, but many, many failures tell me otherwise.


    Youve followed the instructions and advice in the primer regarding preparation and heat? she asked him pointedly.


    I have.


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    Theres nothing for it, said Fu Run. We arent going to solve this by talking it through. I need to see whats happening.


    She gestured at the cauldron that had been ced on a heavy table nearby. Sen checked the stove to ensure that there was a bed of hot coals sufficient to heat the cauldron. He could do it himself if he needed to but preferred not toplicate the process with more interference than necessary. He wanted to replicate his process as precisely as possible in the hopes that the more experienced cultivator would see what he had missed. He entertained the idea of pulling out the manual to reference the instructions. That notion was dismissed almost immediately. Hedmitted those words to memory at this point. Instead, he got to work. It seemed that Fu Run was taking the same approach that he was and made no suggestions as he ced the cauldron over the heat, prepared ingredients, and added them to the cauldron. The only thing she did was keep an eye on what was happening in the cauldron with her spiritual sense as Sen worked. A part of him hoped with a kind of raw desperation that this time he would seed.


    He followed every instruction to the letter. He didnt interfere with the process at all, at any level, despite his instincts to do so. He was so intent on the task that he was startled when Fu Run stormed over the cauldron and yanked the cover off. She red down at the contents of the cauldron which were, as Sen saw when he peered down into it, decidedly not anything like a pill. It was the same mass of wasted ingredients and reagents it had been every time before. Fu Runs face went from anger to disbelief. It took Sen a second to realize that he hadnt made any mistakes. What she saw in that cauldron was not what she had expected to see.


    I dont understand, she said. You did everything right. This <em>should</em> have worked.


    Something in Sens chest unclenched. He had been certain that it was him, that he had failed in some way to follow the instructions hed been provided. The fear that he had been burning time he couldnt afford to lose through some fundamental failing of his own was erased. It was only in that abrupt loss of fear that Sen saw how deeply it had infected him and how heavy that fear had been. He took a deep breath, feeling free for the first time since hed agreed to Fu Runs bargain. Hed either kept most of that off his face or the nascent soul cultivator hadnt been paying much attention to him. She just flicked a nce at him before staring with disbelief down into the cauldron. With a technique that felt a lot like auric imposition to Sen, Fu Run scoured the inside of the cauldron clean and threw the discolored blob of unfused ingredients into a nearby pail. She pointed at the cauldron imperiously.


    Again! she demanded.


    With a far lighter heart but no less exacting attention to detail, Sen repeated the process with simr results. Fu Run had him do it four more times. She grew increasingly agitated with each failure, muttering under her breath. When the final attempt generated nothing but a gooey, half-charred mass in the cauldron, the woman threw her hands up in the air.


    This is infuriating. The ingredients are fine. The heat is fine. Youre putting everything in when you should. This, she said through clenched teeth and gesturing into the cauldron, should not be happening. Its a <em>basic</em> pill. Students with two months of experience can make this pill with a little guidance.


    Sen thought thatst might be overstating things a little, but what did he know? Maybe for students who started out working with cauldrons, this was an achievable pill after a couple of months. The part that he cared about was that something strange was going on. Something that wasnt his fault, and something he couldnt have expected or bypassed was happening.


    So, its not me? he asked, needing a bit of reassurance.


    She looked over at him. Im quite confident that it <em>is</em> you, but its not a failure of technique. If anyone else had done the things that you did, they would have five minor healing pills sitting on this counter. No, whatever is happening here, its stranger than that. Im just not sure what it is.


    Sen felt a fresh tightness take root in his chest.


    If thats the case, said Sen, Im not sure that I can reasonably deliver the pill you want by the deadline youve given me.


    Fu Run blinked at him with apleteck ofprehension on her face. He saw her mouth the word <em>deadline</em>. When understanding did dawn in her eyes, she just waved a hand like it was nothing.


    Theres no point in giving you a deadline until we sort this mess out. I cant rightly expect you to make anything if following precise instructions generates only failure for you. Well revisit that <em>after</em> we solve this mystery.


    It wasnt exactly the reprieve that Sen had hoped for, but it was <em>a</em> reprieve nheless. While they tried to figure out why it wasnt working for him, hed have time to study the primer. Even if he couldnt make any of the pills in the primer, he could at least study the techniques hed need to use for making the more advanced pills. It felt a little bit like cheating to him, but the pragmatic self that had helped him survive on the streets ruthlessly murdered that feeling. In the end, getting the manual shed promised him was all that mattered. If that took a bit of cheating, he wasfortable with it. It was his life on the line, after all.

 Book 5: Chapter 31: Curiosity

    Book 5: Chapter 31: Curiosity


    Sen had hoped that Fu Run had been satisfied that his failures meant the problem wasnt with his technique. Instead, he spent nearly two full weeks running one failed attempt after another. On each attempt, Fu Run would change one thing in the refining process. The whole situation was tedious and frustrating, but Sen had done simr things in the early days of learning cultivation. It was the brute force method of learning something and, much as he hated to admit it, the method works with enough patience. Yet, two weeks and hundreds of permutations of the processter, all they had really done was confirm the initial assessment that the problem wasnt with Sens technique.


    He desperately wanted to say that it had been a colossal waste of time but couldnt quite bring himself to do it. He had assumed that the problem wasnt with how he carried out the process. Fu Run assumed the same. However, there would have always been the niggling doubt if they hadnt done all of those variations to <em>know</em> it with certainty. Now, they both <em>knew</em>. He had been relieved that theyd done all of that work using Fu Runs stockpile of nts, herbs, and reagents. It wasnt that Sen couldnt afford to rece them. He just didnt have easy ess to a ce where he could rece them. It would have taken a trip to somewhere that supported a big enough concentration of sects that theyd have everything he needed. The only ce he knew of where that would be the case was back in the capital. Even moving at his best speed, that was a trip that would take months.


    If they had been using his limited supply, much of which hed burned through with his initial round of failures, his only real option would have been to go out and gather more in the nearby forest. While he likely could gather much of what he needed there and eventually would do just that, it took time. And even in a ce as lush as the wilds, there was only so much in any given location. Just recing what he had used up could take him weeks, assuming he could find it at all. Some things that he had carried with him from Uncle Khos mountain simply wouldnt grow in his current location. Hed have to find alternatives which would also take time. Beyond that, the prime growing season wasrgely over with autumn approaching fast.


    As it was, he was going to have to take a few days and rece what he could before the local nt life died off entirely. Sen had been so engrossed in his thoughts about what hed need to do and even what hed need to find that hepletely missed Fu Run directing a question at him. It was only when she snapped her fingers in front of his face that he came back to himself. He jerked back from the motion and noise, almost dropping the cauldron in his hands. Fu Run shook her head and rolled her eyes in a double indication of her minor annoyance.


    What? asked Sen.


    I asked if you were done cleaning that yet.


    Oh, said Sen. No, just a moment.


    Sen gestured at the inside of the cauldron and used his version of the auric technique that he had seen Fu Run use on a cauldron a couple of weeks prior. With a gesture and a slight burst of wind qi, he tossed the waste into the small bucket where the rest had gone. He bled thest of heat from the cauldron with a quick application of fire qi and set it on the table. He turned to ask Fu Run something that immediately evaporated from his mind when he saw her staring at him with her eyes bulging. He took a step back. It was the most insane expression shed given him since that first day.


    Where did you learn how to do that? she asked in a weak voice.


    Sen struggled to find his voice for a moment. I saw you do it. It looked easier.


    You saw me do that? When?


    That first day when you asked me to show you how I was trying to refine pills.


    You saw me do that once, and managed to figure out how to do it for yourself in <em>two weeks</em>?


    Sen shook his head. No. I learned a simr technique. It just never urred to me that I could use it that way. Once I saw you do it, though, it was just practice.


    What technique did you learn?


    The person who taught me called it auric imposition.


    But youre a <em>core</em> cultivator, said Fu Run.


    Sen recognized that she meant something specific by that, but he wasnt sure what it was. He couldnt tell if she thought he shouldnt know the technique, shouldnt be able to do the technique, or maybe even shouldnt have met anyone who could teach it to him. Whatever the reason for that reaction, he didnt know what response she wanted or expected. So, Sen fell back on what he knew. He shrugged.


    Yes, thats true. Im a core cultivator.


    She just stared at him with those wild eyes in a way that made him feel like she was going to try to tear the information she wanted right out of his skull.


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    Where did you learn it? Did Feng Ming teach you that? Ma Caihong? demanded Fu Run.


    Sen met that demand with a t re. Cultivators might discuss what they know how to do, especially after theyve exposed a technique to the scrutiny of others, but it was something else entirely to reveal the source of that knowledge. It could unintentionally expose a teacher to danger, or reveal the existence of a scroll or even a ruin that the cultivator wishes to keep secret. It was taboo to even ask, particrly among wandering cultivators. After all, they were far more likely to have a fortunate encounter during their constant travel than their sect-restricted cousins. While Sen thought that the dragon who taught him the technique could take care of himself, he also believed the dragon would not appreciate it if a nascent soul cultivator showed up making demands or being insane. On the other hand, there had been an almost hysterical edge to Fu Runs voice when shed been asking those questions.


    I had a fortunate encounter with a dragon, said Sen.


    It wasnt exactly an answer, but it was as far as he was willing to go. He figured that would be enough information for her to understand how hede by the technique, but not enough for her to actually track down the source of information. Sen had covered a lot of ground since he left Orchards Reach. He and Falling Leaf were the only people who knew exactly where theyd encountered the dragon. Neither of them was likely to give up that information. Even if Fu Run found the general area where theyd left the roads and traveled into the wilds, she could spend a long time looking for the dragon and never find him. That was particrly true if the dragon didnt <em>want</em> to be found. After their talk, Sen had walked away with the impression that the dragon, while clearly lonely, didnt make himself known to anyone who didnt meet some particr standard. The nature of that standard was wholly opaque to Sen, but he didnt need to understand it to recognize that it existed. While Sen followed the trail of thoughts, Fu Run just gaped at him.


    A dragon spoke to you? she asked.


    Yes.


    A dragon <em>taught</em> you?


    Yes, said Sen, feeling that answer was self-evident.


    Why would a dragon teach you? Why would a dragon even speak to you?


    I have no idea, said Sen. Boredom, maybe. It said it was old.


    Define old, said Fu Run.


    Older than you, hedged Sen.


    Where did she started and Sen held up a hand.


    No. Im not going to tell you anything that might expose the dragons location or identity, said Sen.


    He could see the anger re in her eyes. That didnt make him happy, but hed known that she wouldnt like that. Nascent soul cultivators just didnt hear the word <em>no</em> that often. Granted, that was because saying <em>no</em> to one was a great way to bring your life to an abrupt end. Inherently dangerous or not, it was still necessary. Before that anger could explode onto Sen in a life-ending burst of violence, he spoke again.


    The same way I wont expose your location or identity if someone poses a simr question to me about something I learn from <em>you</em>.


    That deration brought her up short. He could see the war of opposing wants on her face. She wanted to know about the dragon. She wanted her privacy. Demanding or forcing information from Sen about the dragon would mean forfeiting any and all hope that he would respect her want for privacy. If anything, it would all but guarantee that Sen would tell anyone and everyone who asked exactly where to find her. While she was strong enough to kill almost anyone who bothered her, that would still mean interrupting her day to do it. She couldnt have it both ways. She knew it, and she hated it. He saw the resignation on her face before she said anything.


    Very well. I wont try to make you tell me, she said in a defeated voice. Still, it begs the question of who you are or who you were. No one has the kind of luck youve had. It defies reason. Its fundamentally unnatural.


    Sen said nothing. He had his own suspicions about the source of that dubious luck, but he wasnt about to share those suspicions with Fu Run. He hadnt even shared them with the people closest to him. She stood there, clearly waiting for him to say something. When he just looked back at her with a nd expression, she threw her hands up into the air.


    You cant me me for being curious, she dered.


    Sen thought that over before he nodded. I dont me you for being curious. I think curiosity is even a good thing.


    But you still wont answer.


    Questions dont always have answers. Neither do the people those questions are put to. More importantly, not every question deserves an answer. A friend of mine told me once that not everything was her business. Curiosity doesnt justify itself, especially when that curiosity is about a persons past.


    Youre telling me that youve never dug into someones past?


    I have, admitted Sen. That doesnt mean I was right to do so. Ive also let it go when I thought it wasnt my business, even to my own detriment.


    Sen couldnt help but think of Chan Yu Ming. If hed really known who she was from the start, so much trouble could have been avoided. Of course, avoiding that trouble would likely have left the old king on his throne. That certainly wouldnt have been a <em>better</em> oue, at least not for the children he was murdering. Even with a lot of time to reflect on those events, he wasnt sure what he thought of them. Hed done a lot of damage there, and hed done a lot of good. He wasnt sure it bnced. He wasnt sure about the karma of it all, or what kind of price he might pay down the road for those actions. He did wish hed handled parts of it differently. He wasnt sure that any version of events would have changed how he left things with Chan Yu Ming, but he might have left things on better terms with the prince. He might haveSen shook those thoughts off with a grimace.


    Hed ridden that spiral of thoughts all the way down and they didnt go anywhere but a dark ce. No matter what he might have done, it didnt change what hed actually done. There would be consequences. There would be a price. Hed just have to pay when it all came due. He felt Fu Runs gaze on him and nced up. Whatever anger or frustration shed been feeling had been reced with a look that bordered on concern. He gave her a half smile and shrugged.


    Sometimes, not asking questions is the wrong choice, offered Sen. With me, though, theres nothing to learn. Im just a street rat who got very lucky.


    Some would say too lucky, retorted Fu Run.


    Yes. Some would. It doesnt make them right.

 Book 5: Chapter 32: Freedom’s Call

    Book 5: Chapter 32: Freedom¡¯s Call


    Sen pushed open the door to galehouse and looked around. He did that every time he came into the ce. He knew that he was looking for changes, but it was a fruitless little bit of paranoia. The interior of the galehouse never changed. Still, it soothed some small part of his heart to find the ce as hed left it, even if hed only left it for a few days. The tedious weeks of crafting failed variations on the healing pill had left Fu Run stumped. Sen had pounced on that moment when the womans imagination failed her and suggested that he take a few days off to replenish what he could of his own nt and reagent stores. She had given him one of those narrow-eyed, lips-pursed expressions that Sen was sure that all women learned as babies. It was the look that said she knew exactly what he was doing. In the end, though, she had conceded that it was a practical use of his time since she wasnt sure what they should do next.


    It had been such a moment of relief for him that he hadnt hidden the fact well enough in his expression. It had only been on her face for a blink, but Sen could see that hed hurt Fu Runs feelings with his eagerness to be away for a few days. That had soured his mood because it wasnt her, specifically, that he wanted to get away from. It was the constant failure. Hed wanted to go out and harvest nts because it was necessary, true, but also because it was something at which he could seed. When hed been endlessly testing different patterns to cycle qi, part of what made it endurable was that hed done it alone. Hed been the only one to witness his failure. Hed thought it would be the same working with Fu Run, but it wasnt. Having a witness to all those botched attempts made them cut a little deeper. If it had only been a few or if there had been asional glimmers of progress, he could have just shrugged it off. With the defeats at the hands of pill refining soaring up to the dozens and then more than a hundred with no progress at all, it had weighed on him. It had been a death of a thousand small cuts for his confidence in alchemy.


    While confidence wasnt a central element in sess, it yed a role. Second guessing a choice at a crucial moment could make the difference between crafting an adequate elixir or a superior elixir. In the worst-case scenario, it meant the difference between making something that worked and making useful nts and reagents into useless garbage. Sen didnt think that anyone could rightly be med for wanting an escape from something that only ever ended in that garbage-producing option. Yet, it didnt change the fact that the relief in his expression hadnte with that convenient exnation attached. All Fu Run had seen was that she said he could go away from her, and he looked relieved. It was a bad assumption on her part, but it was also an understandable one.


    He would have exined it then and there, but hed spent enough time around people to understand that she wasnt in the mood to hear it. So, he had taken his leave and ventured out into the wilds. Hed invited Falling Leaf toe, and shed declined to make the brief trip with him. Hed been a tiny bit surprised by that, but shed lost that almost obsessive protectiveness shed had when hed been dying right in front of her. While he thought that it was probably a good thing, hed have liked herpany. And, shed made a good point at the time.


    What would I do? Watch you dig up nts? Ive seen you do that before.


    I might get in trouble, hed said.


    Shedughed at that. In what way? Thest time you got in trouble you killed a dragon. I think youd have finished that fight faster if I wasnt there.


    Sen shook his head. More help in a fight is never a bad thing. I might have finished them off by myself, but it wouldnt have been faster.


    If you say so, she said.


    The look she gave him said how very much she doubted those words, but that she appreciated hed said them. Once hed gotten out into the wilds by himself, though, he found that there was a value in going by himself. It returned a level of control over his life that had been missing for a long time. He could move at the exact pace that he wanted without giving any thought to how fast anyone else could move. Granted, Falling Leaf could keep up with him, but she couldnt do it indefinitely. His qi stores were deeper and, he suspected, that his techniques were more efficient. Sen didnt always concern himself with efficiency. There were times inbat when speed trumped efficiency. When not underbat conditions, he made a conscious effort to refine his techniques. Before his body had started to betray him, that constant striving for efficiency had served him very well. Hed been able to make small improvements on a fairly regr basis.


    He''d found that wasnt as true in the wake of whatever Fu Run had done to stabilize his condition. Hed made improvements here and there but nothing like hed aplished before. It was a small source of frustration that he suspected contributed to his poor tolerance for failure with pill refining. In many ways, he felt like he was stuck. He couldnt go back. He couldnt go forward. He had very little say in changing that situation. That made the freedom of gathering in the wilds alone an almost euphoric experience. For a few days, he was his own master again. Even so, he didnt forget that hed made a mistake with Fu Run. That was why hed gone farther than hed nned. In fact, hed ventured well beyond the range where her influence kept the spirit beasts at bay. Hed been prepared to do some fighting if he had to, but the spirit beasts seemed to have once again taken to staying as far away from him as possible.


    He used the unexpected but weeck of distractions to go looking for something that the nascent soul cultivator might want. Even if she did live in the area, Sen knew better than most that the natural world was ever-changing. A ce that had nothing of interest six months ago might well contain a full-blown natural treasure today. Just as importantly, Sen thought that Fu Run purchased most of what she used in alchemy as a matter of convenience. With the cavernous storage treasure that she could enter, it made more sense to buy in bulk every so often. Minimally, Sen didnt think hed ever seen her go out with the intention of harvesting. With that in mind, hed tried to find something special amidst the more mundane gathering he did for himself. While Sen wasnt opposed to rare ingredients, he didnt lust after them the way some alchemists seemed to do. He preferred working with things that were more readily avable.


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    It took him most of two days to find that special item. Hed actually been harvesting a root when something tickled the very edge of his spiritual sense. Hed looked in the direction of that faint niggling sensation, as though the act of looking would somehow extend his perception. It did not. Shaking his head at his own foolishness, he finished the task at hand and then ventured in the direction of what hed felt. The closer he got the more confused he felt. He was getting the impression of ice-attributed qi. While hed felt it plenty of times before, he was quite certain it hadnt been cold enough in recent days for it to just be a function of the shifting seasons. If theyd been a little closer to winter, perhaps hed have just thought it was a byproduct of the weather. That didnt track for him in the early fringes of autumn.


    When he pushed through some densely packed undergrowth to see a frozen pond in the middle of nowhere, Sen wasnt surprised. It was still a sight that made him stop and look on in appreciation. The entire area was covered in a thinyer of ice that refracted and amplified the limited sunlight that filtered through the canopy. If his eyes werent reinforced and improved through body cultivation, it might have even been blinding. Instead, he was able to appreciate the way the ice covered still-green leaves and made the nearby grass look like slender des thrusting toward the sky. As lovely as the spot was, though, it was what he saw in the center of the pond that drew his attention. Resting on the surface of the frozen pond water was a lotus, or at least something that looked like a lotus. Instead of merely being infused with ice qi, the gently curving petals <em>were</em> ice.


    Sen had heard of such things from Auntie Caihong, but hed never seen an example in person before. The qi was so potent that it simply overpowered the nt and transformed it into something that hovered in some strange middle ground between the nt and the qi type. Under normal circumstances, Sen would have expected to face a fierce fight to acquire that lotus. Yet, a sweep with his spiritual sense told him that no spirit beasts were nearby. Happy that a little good fortune was smiling on him, Sen made his way to the center of the pond. Extracting the lotus took a while because he had to work around its icy nature. It took a carefulbination of fire and water qi to get it free without causing damage to the innate properties of the lotus. The instant he freed the flower from the pond, he thrust it into his storage ring. He headed for home immediately. Just because the spirit beasts were being cautious around him, they might find their courage for a prize like the qiden nt.


    Stepping back into the galehouse and finding it as he left it let Sen focus on what he meant to do. He left a qi-heavy fruit hed found sitting on the stone table for Falling Leaf to find whenever she returned. With that task aplished, he made his way to Fu Runs home. He felt a little hesitation as he approached. He worried that the gesture might look as if he was trying to buy forgiveness. It wasnt his intention. He reconsidered his approach and decided that hed do things in the opposite order that hed envisioned. Sen found Fu Run tending to her garden, as she seemed to do most days. It looked like most of her efforts were turned to preparing the soil for the winter weather, as most of her small patch of vegetable crops were beyond growing anything new. She nced at him but didnt say anything. He crouched down at the edge of the garden, thinking about what he wanted to say.


    Have you ever failed at something? he asked.


    The question seemed to catch the woman off-guard because she stopped what she was doing to give him her full attention.


    Every cultivator has failed at something, she said. You know this.


    He nodded. Have you ever failed over and over again at something? Something you knew was important?


    Her expression went abruptly neutral. I have.


    I thought I had as well. Except, I hadnt. Not really. I failed, but I progressed. I saw where I was making mistakes, or had it pointed out to me, and I improved. I was never just stuck. Not like I have been with pill refining. Until now, if I worked hard enough, strove hard enough, I could master what has been set before me. Ive worked as hard at pill refining as Ive ever worked at anything, and Ive gotten nowhere. Those weeks of trying to figure out what was wrong ate me alive. When the chance came to escape all of that failure, I couldnt wait to get away from it. I just needed to do something, <em>anything</em>, where there was the possibility of sess. The point is, I wasnt eager to get away from you. I was eager to get away from that relentless pit of defeat. I dont know if that makes sense. Its the best way I know how to exin it.


    Fu Run sat there in motionless silence for most of a minute. Sen wondered if he should just go and let her decide when to pick up the conversation. Before he couldmit one way or the other, she shook herself a little.


    I see, she said. I do understand that feeling. That hopelessness. It can consume you if you let it.


    Sen nodded along. He was just happy that she seemed to understand. He very much did not want her angry with him. That would only slow down any possibility of future progress. Plus, alchemy involved a lot of potentially lethalbinations. He didnt think shed kill him, but she could make him horribly sick without trying very hard just by exposing him to certain kinds of nts or mixtures. Even with his status as a core cultivator and body cultivator, it was a real possibility. Ready to call it a win, Sen was shocked when she continued.


    I may have made certain unkind assumptions about you. I Im sorry about that.


    Sen floundered for a response to that apology and finally just said something to fill the hole it had left in the air.


    Its fine. So, no hard feelings?


    She gave him something that could have been a smile. No hard feelings.


    Good. Because I have something for you.


    While the shriek of delight that Fu Run let out at the sight of the lotus left Sen half-deaf, he decided that definitely counted as a win.

 Book 5: Chapter 33: Clarity

    Book 5: Chapter 33: rity


    Sen was happy to discover that the tension that had hovered between him and Fu Runrgely dissipated after their conversation. However, he suspected the gift of the extremely rare ice lotus helped as well. That tranted into unexpected but wee changes in how they worked on his pill refining. The mystery of his persistent failures remained unsolved, but she paid much closer attention to his state of mind. When she thought that he was getting too frustrated or disheartened, she would have him do other things for a day or two. Sometimes, shed have him make elixirs. Sometimes, shed just tell him to go and practice his martial forms. Not that he needed any encouragement for thatst part. Hed often end his day with hours of practice out in the dark, viewing it as an opportunity to hone his skills in adverse conditions. During those months, Falling Leaf would often vanish for days or weeks at a time. Sen didnt question it until he found morefortable furniture in the galehouse one day.


    Where did thise from? he asked, gesturing at a chair.


    I bought it, said Falling Leaf.


    Where?


    She shrugged. I went back to the one of the towns on the road.


    Sen stared as he tried to make sense of what shed said. Falling Leaf had made a habit of venturing out into the wilds to hunt for spirit beasts that could help her advance. Shed done fairly well at it from what Sen could sense of her advancement. Sometime in the previous few months, shed once again snuck past his own level. The disparities between them were harder to judge. He was fairly certain that the new upper limits on his power meant that she was stronger than he was, at least in terms of pure shadow qi. On the whole, though, he was less confident. They might be on equal footing again. He might be a little stronger. Still, it had <em>never</em> urred to him that she might seek out human beings on purpose.


    You went by yourself?


    You were doing alchemy with the madwoman, said Falling Leaf.


    Sen chose not to argue about Fu Runs degree of sanity. Im just surprised. You dont really enjoy human beings.


    Falling Leaf nodded enthusiastically to that sentiment, which made Sen close his eyes as he tried to repress his disappointment. Hed hoped that maybe her trip had been a sign that she wasing around on people. Then again, people kept going out of their way to prove to Falling Leaf that they werent to be trusted or liked.


    I dont like humans, but your stone chairs and beds arentfortable. The humans at the town sold things to me.


    Sen wondered if they had taken advantage of her, then thought better of it. He could picture exactly how those negotiations had gone. Falling Leaf would have been ring like she meant to kill someone. The shop owner would have been trembling and sweating. If anything, that poor person had probably taken a loss just to get her out of his store as fast as possible. The scene in his mind was enough to make him snicker a little. He knew he shouldnt find someone elses terror amusing, but he just couldnt ignore the humor in it. He noticed Falling Leaf giving him a quizzical look and waved it off, not wanting to have to try to exin human humor again. While she had worked out some of the essentials of making a joke, she rarely saw or understood the humor in a situation.


    The madwoman isnt having you try to make pills today?


    Were both out of things to try, so were taking a break until one of us has a good idea, said Sen. Or, if Im being honest, any idea at all.


    We should fight, said Falling Leaf.


    What?


    If you arent making pills, we should fight.


    I dont want to fight you.


    Not real fighting. The pretend fighting you do.


    Sparring, said Sen. Its called sparring.


    He thought it over and then gestured toward the door. They stepped into the cold air. Their feet crunched on the thinyer of snow that covered everything in sight. Sen cleared an area down to bare ground with a gesture and some wind qi. He felt a reflexive little stab of guilt. Master Feng would have made him fight in the snow. He also knew that there was a good chance that he or Falling Leaf would end up on the ground at some point. Since Sen didnt particrly care for practicing in wet clothing, hed learn to live with the minor shame hed incurred with his memory of Master Feng. Suffering might build character, but minor difort was just annoying. Theyd barely stepped inside the bare area when Falling Leafunched her first attack, an attempt at sweeping his leg out from under him.


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    It might not be considered honorable, but that didnt matter much to Sen or Falling Leaf. In a real fight, people didnt wait for you to get ready. He lifted his foot to avoid the blow and sent a punch at her face. There had been a time when Sen might have tried to pull his punches with her, but hed moved past that foolishness. Sparing her in a spar did nothing to prepare her for the rigors of a real battle. She ducked beneath the punch and sent one of her own into his ribs. The angle was poor, so he didnt catch the full power of the strike. Still, it hurt plenty. It had also been faster than Sen expected. He slipped away from her and managed to put a bit of distance between them. Theyd be standing right next to each other, which was less than ideal for both of them. The distances and angles were strange enough that they were more likely to hurt each other by ident.


    More to the point, making here at him straight on let him take advantage of his greater reach. He kept her at bay for a little while with a series of kicks, but she evaded them all. If hed managed tond one, he might have slowed her down a little. In a battle of pure speed, he was pretty sure he was overmatched. It wasnt a big gap but even small gaps in speed could spell disaster in a one-on-one fight. It was less important in the chaos of a battle with lots of participants because fighters could use other people or spirit beasts as distractions, negating the small but real advantage. Sens concentration slipped for a fraction of a second at an unexpected sound out in the forest. He didnt even take the time to identify it. Still, that brief moment of hesitation was enough for Falling Leaf tond a blow on his thigh. He tried to pull the leg back, but it wasnt reacting as fast as he expected.


    Then, Falling Leaf was inside his reach and there was no room for thinking. It was all instinct and honed reactions as their fists and elbows moved in a blur. The sounds of their blocks echoed like distant thunder through the nearby trees and sent the winter birds in the area fleeing for the sky. Even with his disadvantage, Sen found himself smiling at the purity of their sparring. It was direct but spontaneous. The exact opposite of what hed been trying to do with pill refining, which was often indirect and rigid. Sen was caught off bnce when Falling Leaf disengaged instead of blocking one of his strikes. He took a stumbling half-step forward to regain his bnce. Sen felt the blowing more than saw it and threw out a hasty block, but it came toote. Falling Leafs foot connected with the side of his head. He staggered away and another quick strike drove him down into the snow.


    Seny there for a moment to regain his wits. Falling Leaf certainly hadnt held her blows either. His head hurt and there was a dull whine in his ears. He also felt the melting snow soaking through his clothes. Shaking his head, he pushed himself back up to his feet. Falling Leaf looked pleased with her victory, but she wasnt gloating over it. Instead, she looked vibrantly alive and happy. He had been leaving her to her own devices a great deal in thest few months. While Fu Run had all but required that Falling Leaf stay, the elder cultivator didnt seem to have any actual n for the panther girl. Sen had been so caught up in his own concerns that he hadnt done anything to remedy that situation. Rolling his head to loosen up the muscles in his neck and shoulders, he gestured for her to attack. Eyes wild with anticipation, Falling Leaf lunged at him. They kept that up until both of them were making sloppy mistakes that meant a lot of bruises the next day.


    I think thats enough for today, said Sen, pressing his hand against a cut that Falling Leaf had opened along his ribs.


    I can keep going, answered Falling Leaf while trying to catch her breath.


    Really? asked Sen.


    The panther girl looked at him and offered a weak, No.


    The pair went back inside and Sen pulled out two healing elixirs. He handed one to Falling Leaf and downed the other. He let out a relieved breath as the collection of minor injuries hed suffered started to close or fade. Slumping down into one of the new chairs, he gave it an appreciative pat.


    You were right, said Sen. These are way morefortable.


    She smiled a little as she sat down in one of the other chairs. As Sen waited for the elixir to finish its work, he smiled. He wasnt sure it would work, but he and Fu Run had tried everything else. The only thing they hadnt tried was for Sen to just try to do it the way he made elixirs. Hed discounted the possibility because hed assumed that the process required that absolutely rigid approach. However, all of the evidence said that it wouldnt and maybe even <em>couldnt</em> work for him. It bothered him that he hadnt figured out why it wouldnt work for him, but he supposed that the why could wait. While she hadnt gone into detail, Fu Run had told him that he <em>needed</em> to use pill refining to make use of the Five-Fold Body Transformation. The manual only detailed the pills. She admitted that there were probably ways to make something simr in elixir form but thatponents were rarely the same, even if a pill and an elixir did the same things. Sen recognized the problem immediately. Hed need to see the pill version, maybe even see it used, before hed be able to make reasonable guesses about how to create an elixir alternative.


    To make matters worse, the pills were so precise that the person using them had to make them. Introducing anyone elses qi to the pill creation led to inevitable failure. It was one of the reasons why the body cultivation method was so rarely used. The number of body-cultivating alchemists in the world was so small that they practically didnt exist. Sen suspected those problems were also why it had killed so many people. Even if he managed to get it right, body cultivation was still a gamble. It could still kill him. But he was on borrowed time. What Fu Run had done to stabilize him wasnt a permanent solution. She hadnt told him that, but hed worked it out on his own. His inability to make any meaningful forward progress was the real clue. Shed figured out a way to restore most of what hed been before and lock it in ce. It had probably been an impressive bit of alchemy, but it was also unnatural. At some point, it would break down and hed start to deteriorate again. He remembered with terrible rity the kind of pain hed been in at the end, and he wasnt eager to experience that a second time. So, hed take a chance and see if his intuition paid off.

 Book 5: Chapter 34: Hope and Fear

    Book 5: Chapter 34: Hope and Fear


    Sen had nned to wait until the next day and take his n to Fu Run, but it nagged at him as he tried to focus on reading the primer. He found himself rereading the same passages over and over again as his attention slipped from the book to the possibility that he might finally crack the problem of pill refining. Of course, that came with equal parts excitement and trepidation. If it worked, it would be a fantastic triumph. If it failed, Sen cringed to imagine the blow that might deliver. While he and Fu Run had spoken optimistically about finding some new approach or idea, Sen didnt think it was going to happen. He was pretty sure that they had exhausted the list of likely and unlikely options, and there had been plenty.


    He had thought that perhaps his passive qi gathering was interfering with the process somehow. While Fu Run had been a little startled by the revtion that he was doing such a thing, she had agreed it was worth exploring. Then, she had suggested that his aura might be muddying up the process. That had taken a little exnation. While Sen was aware that there were such things as auras and had even used his to some extent, the dragon hadnt been big on exining exactly what auras were or how they functioned under normal circumstances. It turned out that it was simply a small field of energy around a person. Cultivators generally enjoyed more powerful ones that were also much more tightly controlled, which was what allowed for things like auric imposition. Sen had tried to bypass that problem by <em>hiding</em>. He assumed that whatever it was that he was drawing inside himself included his aura. That much had been true but didnt yield sess.


    They had tried changing to ingredients grown in different locations. They had tried other simple recipes. They had tried changing cauldrons, changing locations, and even using mes generated entirely from fire qi. Fu Run had even made some of the alchemical recipes under identical conditions, only to end up with perfectly functional pills. He wasnt sure who was more upset by that, him or her. He thought he might have edged her out with his despair, but it was still a close thing. With so many ideasing up empty for them, it was hard to feel like this idea was any better, but any idea beat no idea. And it <em>might</em> work. That was what had kept him going more than anything else, the distant possibility that something might actually let him make a pill.


    He had even entertained the idea that his disdain for pills had somehow poisoned the process. After examining his feelings on the matter, though, he had to dismiss it. Whatever hard feelings he once possessed had been burned away by the fact of his overwhelming need. No matter what he might have thought before, he hadnt been so bought into those ideas that he was ready to die for the principle. He was no saint who had taken a vow to forsake pills forever. Hed probably always view them askance, but hed taken pills in the intervening time since his first, traumatic experiences with them. They were just another tool that cultivators employed. He would always default to elixirs when given the option, though. He had a strong sentimental attachment to them that he didnt expect to ever lose.


    The part of Sen that took hope in the possibility of sess urged him to go and simply try to do it. There was no benefit to waiting since he had a new idea to test. The sooner he knew, the sooner he could take appropriate next steps. If it worked, he had a viable pathway forward and could start testing out other recipes in the manual. That would let him both build confidence and develop his own skill base with the new approach. The part of him that had beenshed by failure wanted to wait. Granted, if he failed again, which seemed far more likely, it would only be him there to see the failure. It would still cut, but maybe it would wound him a little less deeply. That part argued that it would be to try with Fu Run there. Even if he failed, she might spot something that would give her an idea about how to move forward.


    Those opposing impulses warred inside his head, gaining and losing ground, and generally preventing him from thinking about anything else for more than a minute or two at a time. Sen finally settled the debate by deciding that he would test it out tonight and again the next day. If he failed, he could face that first failure in private. That might make another failure in front of Fu Run sting a little less. Plus, if he somehow seeded, hed want a chance to replicate the sess with a witness present. Sen hade to realize that he didnt really understand what he was doing when he made elixirs. He barely even engaged his mind while he was doing it. He felt his way through the process, rather than thinking his way through it. He grasped that his intuitive feel for it was a major contributor to his sess with elixirs, but hisck of insight into his own methods made them difficult to exin and all but impossible to teach to someone else. While that wasnt a major concern for him, it was something that troubled him in the abstract.


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    Shaking those thoughts off, he dropped the primer onto the stone table hed made for such things and went into themon area of the galehouse. Falling Leaf was stretched out on a nket near the fire and sound asleep. He didnt know how she managed to sleep so much. He didnt think he was physically capable of it unless he was injured or had skipped rest for too long. He also knew her senses were at least as sharp as his, so he made a point of keeping quiet when he entered the kitchen. He sealed the door with air qi so that he wouldnt identally wake her up. He red at the cauldron that was set aside on a stone counter that looked like it had grown straight out of the wall.


    You and I have had our differences, cauldron, said Sen. If you think you could cut me some ck for a while, Id really appreciate it.


    The cauldron didnt say anything, but Sen didnt sense any active malevolence from it. He decided that was probably the best he was going to do. He closed his eyes and centered himself the way he would before conducting his sword or spear forms. No matter how badly he wanted this to work, he still needed to approach with a calm mind. Otherwise, hed be likely to fail because he rushed something that he should have handled more slowly. He felt the qi in his channels moving at the steady pace of his passive cultivation. He looked at his dantian and had mixed feelings. He had recovered much of the qi hed spent fighting those beasts in thest push to get home, but he worried about what might happen if his dantian got full again. That strange double helix formation around the edge of his dantian was just going to keep making that dense liquid qi. There woulde a point when there simply wasnt any room left. His mind started to drift in that direction as he wondered what he might do in that situation, but he refocused and let those concerns wash away. They were real concerns but not ones that required immediate attention. Going down that road was a distraction and nothing more.


    It took longer than it should have, but Sen eventually found the calm that he wanted. With onest mildly suspicious look at the cauldron, he stoked the fire in the stove and put the alchemist tool on top of it. He did a quick mental review of the ingredients and then set to work. Every time hed attempted to make the healing pill, the process had felt unnatural to him, unnecessarily forced and rigid. So, Sen discarded anything in the process that felt that way to him. He added the ingredients in the order that seemed best to him, which was not at all the order the recipe insisted on. When he felt that intuition to adjust something, be it heat or the amount of qi in some specific spot in the cauldron, he did it. He dropped into that almost trancelike state he usually assumed when making elixirs. It felt <em>right</em>.


    The process didnt fight him anymore. He didnt feel failure loom at every moment. Instead, he felt the ingredients fusing and merging in ways that he didnt think the recipe writer ever anticipated. He suspected that whoever hade up with the recipe would have abandoned the process long since under the mistaken belief that it would fail. With each passing moment, though, Sen became more and more certain it was working. He didnt celebrate victory early. He knew better than to dere sess before he had the pill in hand but worry stopped nibbling away at his confidence. He entered into what he might think of as a dance with the contents of the cauldron. Theponents tried to move one way and, if it felt right, he let them. If it felt wrong, he guided them back to where they needed to be. He was a partner in the movements, not a king to dictate motion.


    He lost himself in that dance, releasing his conscious mind more and more until silence reigned inside of him. He let instincts guide his qi until, abruptly, there was nothing more to do. His eyes snapped open and he swept the cauldron off the stove, bleeding the heat away with a swift application of fire qi. He set the cauldron on the counter and took a deep breath as he tried to ward off both hope and fear. When hed steadied himself, he lifted the lid from the cauldron. His eyes scanned for the charred mush hede to expect and, instead, locked onto a perfectly spherical object that gave off a dull blue glow. With a trembling hand, he reached down and gently picked up the pill between two fingers. He let it roll back into his palm and just looked at it. Disbelief and joy did a little dance inside his soul as his hand closed around the pill. He lifted his fist over his head.


    Yes! he screamed in a voice that shook the galehouse.


    One secondter, Falling Leaf crashed through the kitchen door, eyes wild and barely conscious. Her eyes locked on him and relief flooded her expression. Then, her gaze tracked from his face to his arm and his upraised fist. A feeling of deep dread took root in Sen, as the relief on her face transformed into a murderous re. He scurried back as she stalked toward him with shadow ws forming around her fingers.


    Oh shit, said Sen.

 Book 5: Chapter 35: Pills

    Book 5: Chapter 35: Pills


    Sen managed to escape Falling Leafs wrath <em>mostly</em> unscathed. Her fury had been pretty halfhearted after he waved the pill in front of her. She clipped his chin with a w and drew a negligible amount of blood. He thought shed done it mostly to prove a point. <em>Dont wake me up from a nap unless theres danger imminent</em>. On the whole, it was a sentiment with which Sen agreed. That ultra-mild chastisement did nothing to dampen his good mood. He had seeded in making a pill. He didnt even care if it was the right kind of pill, although his general impression of it told him it was. The fact of the pill was far more important to him than the nature of the pill. He <em>could</em> do it. Hed have to worry about making the right kind of pills, of course, but that was a worry for the next day, week, and probably several months. He allowed himself to simply bask in his sess for a moment, letting the exuberant inner light heal over the thousand cuts his confidence in his alchemy skills had taken.


    After that initial glow of sess wore off, he exited the galehouse  quietly  and made his way to Fu Runs home. He had no idea if the woman slept at all, but he thought it was probably the exception, rather than the rule. She answered the door with a frown, but it didnt look like hed woken her. At worst, she had the look of someone who had been interrupted while deep in thought and whose mind was still mostly on the task shed walked away from. He gave her a big grin and triumphantly held up the pill between two fingers. She blinked at it before her eyes went wide. She seized his arm and dragged him into the house.


    How? she demanded. How did you do it?


    Sen kept the exnation concise. Shed observed him making elixirs a few times, so he didnt need to go into any depth to get across the essentials of the process hed employed. After he finished, she sat there with a finger idly tapping against her cheek. He didnt know what she was pondering but decided it was best to let her speak when she was ready. He nced around the room, but the decorations were sparse. There were some touches that made it feel like a home. He saw afortable nket folded up on a chair. There was a cup of tea that looked like it had gone cold hours before. There were a few scrolls scattered about. His eyes lingered on those. From what he could see, they were alchemy scrolls. His fingers twitched with a desire to grab them, but he knew better. Shed just tell him to put them down or give them back. Shed already given him the only text about alchemy she wanted him using for the time being. And he couldnt reallyin. The primer had a lot of incredibly useful information in it. He just wanted more. There was never too much knowledge in his opinion.


    May I see the pill? asked Fu Run.


    He turned his head back to her. She had an amused look. No doubt, she had guessed at his thoughts. He withdrew the pill from the storage ring where hed stored it for safekeeping. Reaching over, he dropped the pill into her outstretched hand. He felt a faint swirl of qi and the barest whisper of her spiritual sense as she examined the pill. His own examination of the pill hadnt revealed any problems with it that he could identify. Of course, his inability to identify them wasnt a guarantee that the pill was as it should be. There could be issues with it that hecked the experience to recognize. The longer Fu Run sat there with the pill, the more nervous he became. Eventually, she made a discontented noise and handed it back. Sen lifted an eyebrow at her.


    Is there something wrong with the pill?


    Wrong? she asked. No, I wouldnt characterize it as wrong. Come with me. I want to show you something.


    Sen followed her back into her miraculous storage treasure. They didnt go nearly so deep that time. Instead, they stopped at a set of shelves that had dozens of small boxes on them. None of them werebeled, much to Sens disappointment, but Fu Run picked one up off the bottom shelf. She flipped it open and pulled out a small round pill. She handed it to him. He held the pill in his hand and then did much as she had done with his, examining it with his qi and spiritual sense. He frowned at it. It was a healing pill, technically speaking. It just wasnt a very good one. At best, it might help speed up the healing of a broken bone. He supposed it would probably be good for mortals who needed some help healing cuts, assuming they were also getting stitched up and properly bandaged. A quick look at Fu Run revealed an expectant expression. <em>Right</em>, he thought. <em>This must be what I was supposed to make</em>. He pointed at the pill in his hand.


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    This is what the recipe is meant to produce?


    She nodded. Indeed. Is your pill like that?


    Sen put the pill he had made next to the one Fu Run had given him. While they were the same size, the simrities ended there. While his pill gave off a dull blue glow, the other pill was simply dull blue. He could feel the qi radiating off his pill, if only gently, while he had to search for the qi in the other pill. It was very clear that what he had made was a much better version of that pill. He really wanted to simply enjoy his sess, but he could understand why Fu Run was unhappy. If the pattern held true and all of his pills were of a better quality, then the results of making the pills for his body cultivation might be unpredictable. Unpredictable results were not a good thing with body cultivation. Bodies already reacted somewhat unpredictably. Adding unpredictability on the pill side of the equation enhanced the danger for the cultivator. It made the odds of failure much higher.


    Normally, Id see this as a good thing, muttered Sen.


    Fu Runughed a little. So would I, in any other circumstance. This is one time when you <em>want</em> to make exactly what the recipes call for.


    Sen paced back and forth. If push came to shove, he could just take his chances. No, he would take his chances. His apparent inability to move forward was uneptable. At some point, stagnating would catch up to him and deliver different kinds of bad results. There was also the possibility that he could fine-tune his pill refining once he got a better handle on it. Just because this one pill was better than the recipe normally produced, it wasnt a foregone conclusion that every pill he made would be like that. They needed more information.


    We dont know enough yet to be forecasting problems. Hells, we dont even know if Ill be able to repeat this minor miracle.


    Speaking of that, we should go test it right now.


    Agreed, said Sen, suddenly very interested to see how a second attempt would turn out.


    They left the storage treasure behind and entered Fu Runs alchemy workshop. Theyd spent so much time in that space working together that they dropped into familiar routines immediately. Sen got the fire stirred up a little and settled the cauldron on the stove with some water in it. Fu Run produced the nt and reagents hed need. The biggest difference was inside of Sen. Where fear and worry had once dominated his mind, now there was hope and some of that old confidence hed felt. He moved through the process with a calm assurance. Having done the recipe this way once already, he had a better idea of what to expect and when to expect it, which let him prevent problems hed had to solve or fix the first time around. While he dropped almost instantly into the space where he wasnt thinking, he was aware that he was smiling so hard that it might have hurt if he was still a mortal.


    In what felt like no time at all, he was done and lifting the cauldron away from the heat. Bleeding the heat away, he set the cauldron on a table. While he didnt know exactly how well the pill would turn out, he was very confident that hed seeded again. Eyeing Fu Run, he gestured to the cauldron. Shed been there for all of those failures. He thought she might enjoy being the one to reveal a sess.


    If youd care to do the honors, he said.


    With a little nod, she walked over and lifted the lid. She peered down briefly before ncing over at him. She dipped a hand into the cauldron and came up with another round pill. Sen grimaced. He didnt even need to take out his original pill to tell that the new one was an improvement over his initial sess. The glow was brighter and the sense of qi around it was stronger.


    Well, its not substantive proof, but it looks like a trend is forming here.


    Sen closed his eyes. You know what? Thats a problem for future Sen.


    Future Sen?


    Yes, future Sen. The me who will be trying to make the pill for my body cultivation. Today Sen is just going to be happy that I finally made pill refinement work.


    Fu Runs brows furrowed, and she almost started to speak a few times before she shook her head.


    Youre right, she said. This is critical progress. You <em>should</em> be happy about it. We can worry about those other problems when they actually be problems.

 Book 5: Chapter 36: Tone It Down

    Book 5: Chapter 36: Tone It Down


    For all the stagnation that had marked the months he spent trying to make pill refining work as others did it, the time after he figured out the trick followed a path of meteoric mastery that even he wouldnt have credited if he hadnt experienced it personally. He flew through the primer. The early recipes seemedughably easy to him when he let his instincts guide the process. There were days when hepleted half a dozen new pills even when intentionally maintained a leisurely pace. That wasnt to say it was entirely smooth sailing. While his pills would generate the right kinds of results, they were routinely much more potent than they should be.


    At first, he simply shrugged it off. It was possible that he was working with better or more potent ingredients. He had collected many of his nts from far deeper into the wilds than most people ventured. The harvesting in those areas was much lessmon and the qi was often denser, which allowed nts to grow longer and absorb more qi. It was also possible that he was simply enjoying better results because his process was more efficient in some inscrutable way. He couldnt really test that because his process diverged so much from the process other alchemists used to make their pills. The kind of one-to-oneparison that would have provided answers to that question simply wasnt possible under those conditions.


    As the results piled up around him, though, it became harder to ignore. Hed never lost sight of the end goal of learning pill refining. It was so he could make the pills for the Five-Five Body Transformation and save his own life. The persistently much-higher-than-average potency of his pill refining jeopardized that end goal. He didnt want to kill himself in the bid to save himself, and a twice as powerful pill for that body refining could kill him. Granted, he was much healthier than he had been when hed first arrived on Fu Runs doorstep, and surviving that kind of body refinement depended a great deal on personal willpower. Still, the body itself had to be able to withstand the pressures of the change. He might be willing to stack his will up against the demands of more powerful versions of those pills, but he was less certain that his body could hold up. It was a concern that Fu Run shared.


    Part of me is ecstatic with these results, said Fu Run, waving at Sens most recent batch of pills. Ive been meaning to ask. What youre failure rate with these?


    Sen nced at the pills on the work table. Zero.


    Fu Run closed her eyes and took a deep breath. You arent just saying that to get under my skin, are you?


    Why would I do that?


    Thats what I thought. Dont ever let that bit of information slip to another alchemist. They might well try to murder you.


    Why? asked Sen.


    Because no one has a failure rate of zero. <em>No one</em>. Its half the reason that pills and elixirs are so expensive. A thirty percent failure rate is considered outstanding, exceptional even, especially with moreplex pills and elixirs. I imagine that someone like Ma Caihong has a better sess rate, but I doubt even she gets it right every time.


    Sen thought back about that. It was true that Auntie Caihongs pills and elixirs <em>usually</em> came out fine but not always. He could remember times when she would throw something away out of a cauldron in disgust.


    Thats true. I saw some of her attempts fail. I just assumed she was trying to make something especially difficult.


    Ha! She probably <em>was</em> trying to make something difficult. I dont know why shed waste her time on anything that wasnt difficult. Theres no point in making simple things when you have that kind of skill. Its literally a waste of time. The point is that your freakish sess rate is the kind of thing that will make other alchemists hateful and vengeful. Everything you make costs you less and, judging by these, is worth more. People have killed for a lot less than that.


    I will bear that in mind, said Sen, offering Fu Run a bow.


    You do that. Still, as happy as your results make me, its still troubling. If you cant figure out a way to tone this down, I cant even begin to guess what kind of pills youll get for your body cultivation. Have you tried to tone it down? To make something less potent on purpose?


    Sen shook his head. I wouldnt really know where to start. I think I know, in a vague, general sort of way, why theyre better. But I dont understand the details nearly well enough to be able to say, oh yeah, if I just dont do this, Ill get weaker pills.


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    Thats one problem with intuitive genius. Well, I suggest that you start experimenting. I doubt that youll be able to get them notched all the way back to what a <em>normal</em> alchemist does. If you can reduce the improvement by even twenty-five percent, though, it will make a big difference when ites time to make your body cultivation pills. If you can get it down by fifty percent, that might even let us make some predictions about what will happen with those pills.


    Any suggestions about where to start?


    Fu Run''s brows lowered into a scowl. I can make suggestions, but theyd be guesses. I can only see part of what youre doing and the how of it is lost on mepletely. My best bit of guesswork advice is to not aim for perfect fixes. When you adjust temperatures and qi inside the cauldron, it looks like you always aim for a perfect result. Stop doing that. Aim for a less-than-perfect adjustment. See what happens.


    Everything inside of Sen railed against doing that. It felt fundamentally wrong not to do his best. On the flip side, hed done a lot of things he didnt like when his life was on the line. Hed just add trying this approach to the list. Besides, even if it didnt work, it might give him a better idea of what to try. Hed done enough healer work to understand that extra potency wasnt always the best thing for the person receiving the elixir. Of course, in those days, his best efforts were generally something that peoples bodies could tolerate. When hed been helping after the battle between the fire cultivators and the water cultivators, he remembered in a misty, dreamlike way that he had tailored elixirs to the needs and physical capacities of the injured. He just couldnt remember how hed done it. Hed been in a trance-like state for most of that time, and it only came back to him in patchy shes.


    I guess its worth a try, said Sen, still feeling a little doubtful.


    Fu Run shrugged. Like I said, Im guessing as much as anything else. I have no idea if that approach will work or not. I just know that youre going to want better control over the oue with your body cultivation pills than youre getting right now.


    Fair enough.


    Since you already know you can make these, you can always experiment with them. Youll have a good frame of reference with the original pills. Obviously, theres no way to know exactly how much weaker any given pill is, but you should be able to make a decent estimate.


    That makes sense. I may pick one of the earlier pills, though. Maybe even that first healing pill. The ingredients are moremon and less expensive. No point wasting valuable resources on things I may end up having to throw away. If I figure out a way to reliably make less potent healing pills, then it might make more sense to try it on recipes like those, said Sen, gesturing at the pills on the table.


    As you think is best, said Fu Run.


    Sen hesitated to bring up his next point, but hed already been putting it off for a while. Theres something else I wanted to talk to you about.


    Oh?


    Falling Leaf.


    Fu Run tilted her head slightly as if shed expected something else. What about her?


    You made a big deal about getting her to stay. I always assumed you had a n for her as well. But, at this point, it seems like you dont. Am I wrong about that?


    Fu Run heaved a little breath. I wanted her to stay as an incentive for you to stay. As willful as you are, it seemed entirely likely that youd just up and disappear one day if you got fed up with me.


    Is <em>that</em> why you never gave me the manual?


    It was a consideration, but it was mostly because of the reason I originally gave you. You cant be trusted with it. Well, maybe you could be now that you have a clearer picture of whats at stake, but certainly not before. Youd have killed yourself with it, for sure.


    Sen grumbled something under his breath, but it was mostly for show. He probably <em>would</em> have killed himself with the manual if shed given it to him. Impatience and fear would have driven him to a rash decision. Even now, he wasnt confident that he wouldnt make a bad choice if he had free ess to the manual.


    Fine. There might be <em>something</em> to what youre saying. Back to the topic at hand. Falling Leaf?


    I had some vague notion that I might teach her something while she was here, but I dont know that shes really suited to learn anything that I have to teach.


    Shes not stupid, said Sen, feeling very defensive on Falling Leafs behalf.


    I know she isnt stupid, but shed not inclined to this kind of work, is she?


    Well, Sen paused, no. I guess shes not.


    I dont think you recognize it, but shes still far more panther than human and probably always will be. Shes very oriented on physical action or things thatplement physical action. My areas of expertise are, forck of a better term, more academic.


    Sen gave a begrudging nod. I expect thats all true, but youve still bound her to this ce. You let here and go as she pleases, for which Im very grateful, but shes bored. She has been for a good long while now. I try to do my part, but I think she feels left out. Mostly because she is being left out. Thankfully, shes not resentful by nature, but give it another four years and she might get there.


    Fu Run frowned. What is it that youre asking for?


    Can you please <em>try</em> to find something to teach her? I cant imagine youve gotten this far without mastering some kind of weapon. She hasnt shown a lot of interest in them so far, but she might get interested if a nascent soul cultivator offers to teach her.


    Fu Run drummed her fingers on the table for several long moments before she nodded. I suppose you have a point. If Im going to insist that she remain bound to this ce for several years, the least I can do is offer to teach her something.


    With a palpable sense of relief, Sen offered a deep, formal bow. Thank you, Fu Run.

 Book 5: Chapter 37: Work Quickly

    Book 5: Chapter 37: Work Quickly


    Sen spent several weeks trying to weaken the pills he was making. While he found that he could consistently reduce their potency, he couldnt reliably reduce the amount. Some of it was simply the unpredictability of how the ingredients interacted with each other. He could never fully replicate any method because the conditions inside the cauldron were simply too chaotic from one session to the next, even if he was making the exact same kind of pill. It went deeper than that, though. Sometimes, the limitations he put on tampering with the process would reduce the potency by more than half. Other times, the potency was only marginally lower, even when limiting himself in the same ways. Sen came to believe that there was simply more at work than he could see, some deeper level to the process that he could inadvertently touch but not directly control.


    And he <em>tried</em> to see it. Attempt after attempt, he tried to peer into the depths of those alchemical mysteries. Every once in a while, he thought hed catch the tiniest sh of what was happening, but he eventually had to ept that he was at the limits of his perception. Maybe, after he advanced his cultivation again a few more times, he might have a chance. It seemed wholly unlikely that hed unravel those mysteries in time to be useful. He didnt even bother asking for advice about it. He could see that Fu Run was thoroughly invested in his sess. If she had seen those deeper pieces of the process, she would have told him about them to bolster his odds of sess. If he was going to make the pills weaker, hed have to rely on a measure of blind luck to achieve that end. He hated it, but that was the reality in front of him. Denying it wouldnt do him any good, especially now that he was back on a clock.


    Fu Run hadnt given him a deadline. His body had done it for her. The fix she had used to stabilize him was starting to fail. Hed asked some pointed questions about it after theyd established a more amicable rtionship and gotten some less-thanforting answers. It was a one-time kind of fix, which at least made sense to him. The effects were so unnatural, effectively pinning him and his cultivation in ce, that he assumed that there would be <em>all kinds</em> of limitations on it. Hed been right. A second attempt would, at best, damage his cultivation. At worst, it would leave him with a shattered body and broken mind. Its intended purpose was to buy a cultivator time to find a fix to a lethal problem. Hed gotten more than a year.


    Now, he was noticing little things. Tiredness where he wouldnt have felt it before. Lingering aches in his joints. Problems that no cultivator who spent most of their time in an alchemyb should ever be feeling. Worse, the symptoms hed been experiencing before woulde back much faster than theyd developed the first time. It was another of the lovely limitations on the temporary fix. Sens rough estimate based on what Fu Run had told him was that he might have a month left. When he drew that conclusion, his instinct was to keep it to himself. There was nothing anyone could do to help him at this point. Telling Falling Leaf and Fu Run would just make them worry and hover, which would be distracting. Of course, it would be bad for him if they found out after the fact, and he knew that they would figure it out. He didnt know how theyd figure it out, they just <em>would</em>.


    Shaking his head, he went looking for them. He found Fu Run first. She was practicing with a three-section staff. Hed never worked with one of those before, so Sen paid close attention to what he was seeing. The three-section staff was a terribly versatile weapon from what Sen could see. While hed never want to try it himself, he could see that it would be useful for blocking, striking, and potentially even trapping someones limbs. He supposed that you could choke someone with it if they let you get too close. Hed have to be very cautious if he ever came into conflict with someone who specialized in the weapon the way Fu Run did. Hed have to practice against her when he had fewer desperately pressing matters. She turned her attention to him after she finished what looked like a form. Sen inclined his head in respect.


    Your friend is a frighteningly quick study, and Im rusty, noted Fu Run. Im only keeping ahead of her because Im stronger and faster. You tell yourself it doesnt really matter but neglect a weapon for a mere fifty years and its like starting over.


    Fifty years? asked Sen, trying to wrap his head around ignoring something for that long.


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    It only sounds like a long time because youre so young. When you get to be my age, decades go by like <em>that</em>, said Fu Run, snapping her fingers for emphasis.


    Ill take your word for it. Im not surprised that Falling Leaf is a quick study. She picked up a lot of unarmedbat just from watching me train. Im pretty good because I practiced so long and so hard that its basically second nature for me. Shes a natural at it. A born fighter.


    Fu Run shook her head. Close, but not quite. Shes a natural predator. There <em>is</em> a difference.


    Sen pursed his lips as he thought that over. Hed only ever seen Falling Leaf being violent when it was a life-or-death situation. Of course, that didnt mean she wasnt violent back on the mountain when he wasnt around. She was a panther back then, and she had to be hunting and eating something. It was easy for him to overlook that now that she looked human. But he suspected that Fu Run had the right of it. Those instincts probably werent buried very deep. Maybe they werent buried at all, and shed just made a point of shielding him from it.


    I guess thats true.


    Dont look so depressed. Its not a <em>bad</em> thing.


    Are you saying its a <em>good</em> thing?


    No. Im saying that its <em>a</em> thing. A thing you should keep in mind. She doesnt care what I think. Im not sure she cares what anyone thinks, except you. She cares a lot about what you think of her.


    Sen tried to pierce through the vagueness and get at the meat of whatever point Fu Run was trying to make. Twist and turn the words, though, he couldnt seem to find anything totch on to.


    Ive never been good at this kind of wordy. I dont understand what youre trying to tell me.


    The nascent soul cultivator shook her head in disappointment. What Im trying to tell you is that she can tell that you want her to be more human. That you disapprove of her acting like her panther self. So, she tries to be more human for you.


    What?! Thats not what I want.


    Really?


    Yes, really! I want her to be able to <em>navigate</em> around humans. Maybe find enoughmon ground that she can find humans other than me that she considers tolerable. Thats it.


    I promise you, thats not how it looks to her. Ive seen you two interact. It just looks like disapproval whenever she strays too far from what you see as the human normal. I mean, honestly, did you think she got that furniture for her benefit? She slept in caves for most of her life. Caves! Not a lot of cushions in caves.


    Damn it, muttered Sen. Okay. Ill fix it. Somehow.


    If it matters to you, your reasoning was sound. She will need to know how to move in human society. Or as you put it, navigate around other humans, but that doesnt necessarily mean bing more like them. There is a difference, said Fu Run, echoing her earlier sentiment.


    Sen wanted to berate himself for not making note of that difference on his own, but that would just be something to make him feel better. Hed have to think about a better way to get that information across to her. As important as that was, though, he really did have more pressing concerns to deal with in the immediate future.


    Ill work on it, said Sen, but thats not what I came here to talk to you about.


    Another breakthrough with the pill refining?


    No. Your fix for my situation is wearing off. I dont know exactly how much time I have left, but I cant keep experimenting. I need to work through the rest of the primer and then make the pill I need. Ill try not to overpower it too much, but its not going to matter if I dont make it soon.


    Fu Runs lips tightened and her expression looked grim. If youve noticed symptoms, youve probably got less time than you think. You were in extraordinarily bad shape when I found you. Those symptoms will bounce back fast. A week or two, maybe three if your pain tolerance is very, very high, and then theres nothing anyone can do. Work quickly.


    I will, said Sen.


    You should tell Falling Leaf before you seal yourself in your alchemyb.


    Sen gave Fu Run a slightly pitying look.


    Theres no need. Shes standing over there, he said, pointing to a particrly dark patch of shadow.


    Fu Run gave the shadow a prating look until Falling Leaf stepped out of it.


    How long were you there? demanded the nascent soul cultivator, only to be ignored. How long was she there?


    Sen shrugged. Who knows? Falling Leaf?


    The panther girls green eyes hadnt left Sens face since she stepped into the light.


    Why are you still here? she demanded. You heard the madwoman. Work quickly!


    Sen gave Falling Leaf a very proper bow and then strode toward the galehouse. He heard the two women talking as he moved away.


    Im not really mad, you know? said Fu Run.


    Of course, you are. Youre training him. Only the mad do that, said Falling Leaf.

 Book 5: Chapter 38: Final Test

    Book 5: Chapter 38: Final Test


    For Sen, the following week was nothing but a blur of alchemy. While the primer only provided the most tangential guidance in terms of method, it did force him to manage increasinglyplex assortments of ingredients and reagents. He rarely struggled with the early recipes. As the reactions and interactions inside of the cauldron grew increasinglyplicated, though, he found that even his intuitive abilities were hard-pressed to keep pace. When he very nearly failed toplete a pill, he forced himself to stop, eat something, and rest. He didnt want to, but he could feel the various pains umting in his body. <em>Its happening so fast</em>, he thought. <em>Im dying again. and its happening so much faster</em>. As he drifted in a ce between the waking and sleeping world, he relived hisst year or so in fits and starts. He kept wondering if he had truly wasted time somewhere along the way that might have given him even a day or two more.


    Yet, try as he might, he didnt see how he could have spent his time better. No one, not even Fu Run, had known how much time her stabilization would give him. Under those conditions of uncertainty, Sen had spent his time as well as he could. There had been the long days of fruitlessly trying to make pill refining work the way it did for other people. Yet, he couldnt say they were truly wasted. If he hadnt spent that time the way he did, he wouldnt have had the confidence to abandon that path and try something else. He would have wondered if hed just stuck with it a little longer if it would have worked. There were those months spent retrieving the dusk mushroom. He had long thought of those as wasted months, but they hadnt been. He might not have benefited directly, but Falling Leaf had benefited. Shed used many of the cores they collected to advance her cultivation level past his. He couldnt make himself view that as a waste, as much as his bitterness might want him to see it that way.


    When he did sleep, it was restless and marked with dreams of a terrible darkness closing in on him, relentlessly pursuing him. He fled from that darkness. It was ravenous, all-consuming, and it wanted to enfold him in its savage embrace. While Sen might not always recognize a losing battle when he saw one, he did recognize an utterly hopeless battle when it threatened to destroy him utterly. That darkness wasnt something he could stand against. It wasnt even an enemy in the strictest sense. It was something far too primitive and primal to be an enemy. Much as that vast and terrible consciousness that hed felt at the edges of the world, that darkness simply <em>was</em>. So, in the endless expanses of his own dreams, Sen fled before that darkness as all other things fled before it. He fled to escape the terror. He fled to preserve his life. When hed exhausted his strength and could no longer run, he would wake in cold sweat, shivering in fear.


    Hed let himself sit with that fear for a few seconds and let his waking mind get a true taste of it. Then, hed use that fear as fuel and return to the cauldron. He didnt return with more strength. He always returned with more focus and determination to seed. He knew what was waiting for him if he failed. He had no wish to meet that darkness in truth, in the waking world, where he couldnt hope that waking up would provide him a swift and easy escape. As terrifying as those thoughts were for him, he also knew that they werent literal. Oh, there was something waiting for him if he died. Of that much, he was sure. He had a sense that whatever it was, it wouldnt be as obviously oppressive as all-consuming darkness. He feared that it would be equally terrifying in some other way that his mind couldnt process. So, he worked feverishly, driving himself forward at a pace that would have been wildly reckless under literally any other circumstance.


    Falling Leaf and Fu Run were ghostly presences in his awareness. He knew that they hade into theb at times. Falling Leaf brought food. Hed found it sitting off to the side and waiting for him. Fu Run observed. He was dimly aware of her gaze on him, or her spiritual sense observing his work. Yet, neither spoke to him or tried to interrupt. They knew as well as he did that the price of failure was death. When hepleted thest recipe in the book, if only just, he was left at a loss. He just held the book in his hand for a long time, although he couldnt ever rightly remember how long. He knew that it was important that there were no more recipes, no more guidance. It was only after staring at that primer for far, far too long that he remembered he wasnt really done yet. There had been one more recipe. One more pill to make. He summoned that recipe that Fu Run had given him in what felt like a different life.


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    Part of him thought he should sleep, or eat, or even just go outside and see the sun. He ignored that part of him. <em>Its clearly the part of me that wants to die</em>, he thought. He pushed aside the mounting pains in his body. That ever-rising crescendo of pain had convinced him as much as anything else that he should move forward with thisst recipe. Once hepleted it, there would be nothing left for him to do but make the pill for his body cultivation. <em>One final test</em>, he thought. Hedplete thisst recipe. Then, hed let himself sleep for a little while. Long enough to prepare his mind for making the pill for the Five-Fold Body Transformation. Even he wouldnt dare make something that important when he was as tired as he was at that moment. He did let himself sit down, though. Hed fashioned a chair of stone in his alchemyb and sank into it, shuddering as his joints and back formed a coalition of anger that made him bite his tongue to keep from crying out.


    He sat there in a stupor for a time, his vision fading in and out of darkness. Or maybe he was just blinking. He couldnt tell anymore. He didnt sleep. He was too tired to sleep, but he did just sit for a time while his overtaxed mind skittered from thought to thought without ever reallynding on one thing to focus on. Hed been maintaining nearly undivided focus for long enough that it felt like his head might explode if he didnt let his mind go and look at all those things hed been ignoring. After a few minutes or hours of that, he forced himself back onto his feet. His mind was, well, happy was probably the wrong word for it, but it was less unhappy after its mad scramble to look at all of those distractions hed denied it. His head felt less stuffed full of distractions. Sen rubbed his face with his hands, took a deep breath, and picked up the recipe.


    It looked simple at a casual nce, but he knew better. Hed worked with nearly every ingredient on that list at some point in thest week. He knew what they were, what they did, and that anyone versed in traditional pill refining would say that most of them had no business being in a cauldron at the same time. Still, he could sense that there was something underlying that apparent madness. He began summoning ingredients from his storage ring. He started with dusk mushroom. It took an effort not to re at the thing. He couldnt see it without thinking about that horde of spiders that hed fought and driven off. Nor could he avoid the memory of the carnage hed seen the next day. It might have been truly avoidable, but he still loathed that hed had to do it. Sen very intentionally turned to the next ingredient, a fire-attributed phoenix shard. It was likely the rarest reagent hed ever personally worked with, and he had no idea where Fu Run had acquired a chest full of the crystals. After that came an air-attributed sky rose and a water-attributed serpents root coil. He stopped thinking about the ingredients and simply summoned the rest.


    He just stood there with them for a time, feeling their energy, and letting his intuitions guide him. Although he didnt know it, he stood that way for nearly ten hours. He wore an abstracted expression as his spiritual sense and qi nketing the ingredients and reagents. Then, as though some silent signal was given, he went to work. He casually tossed things into the cauldron. That those ingredients and reagents should have exploded when in proximity and exposed to heat meant nothing to Sen. He was too deep into the moment, too deep inside the process, and he simply made the things in the cauldron behave as his intuition told him they needed to behave. The minutes dragged out into hours as he scorched, simmered, and browbeat the ingredients to do as he willed them to. Yet, even his indomitable will and preternatural insight couldnt wholly ount for the uncertainties of the refining process.


    There were moments when the reactions got away from him in ways that would level the galehouse if he didnt get them back under control. He spent frantic moments cutting off paths to destruction a dozen at a time and driving the concoction toward that one nebulous path of sess. There were other moments when the fusing process threatened to stall and die, and he had to drive them along with his own qi and sheer force of will. It was as harrowing as a true battle and just as exhausting. Toward the end, it was only his will to endure that let him push the pill topletion. He felt it when the ingredients finally gave up the struggle and coalesced into the pill he wanted to them to be. He absently doused the fire in the stove and bled the heat from the cauldron without any real awareness that hed done it. He picked up the cauldron and moved it to a work counter. He lifted the lid with a trembling hand and stared down at an oval-shaped pill that gave off a dull red glow.


    Well, thats done, he said to no one.


    As he copsed to the floor, he had a chilling thought. If this pill was such a struggle to make, it would likely take a miracle to finish the one for his body cultivation. Fortunately, that thought and the fear that would havee with it were snuffed out by Sens precipitous descent into unconsciousness.

 Book 5: Chapter 39: Take the Pill

    Book 5: Chapter 39: Take the Pill


    It was, much to Sens deep disappointment, pain that woke him from the warm depths of dreamless sleep. It wasnt just regr pain, though. Hed learned to cope with garden variety pain years before, ignoring it the way a horse would ignore a single ant on the ground before it. This was something else, something more profound. It was pain that throbbed, that stabbed, and twisted in the deepest parts of him. He felt it in the marrow of his bones, in the tissues of organs, he felt it in his blood. He remembered this pain. <em>Too soon</em>, he thought desperately. <em>Its too soon for this</em>. It had taken him months and months of slow, steady deterioration to reach this ce of agony thest time. That slow descent had given him time to adapt and learn to wall off the desperate howling of his body as it ate itself alive. He hadnt been this far gone when hed been making thatst pill. He wondered if he had trulypleted it or if that was a fragment of some fever dream hed been in. He was fairly sure hed finished. An image of a red glowing pill at the bottom of his cauldron had the kind of firmness he associated with things hed seen in the real world, but he wasnt sure.


    Not that it mattered at the moment. While concerns floated at the edge of his consciousness, it was the pain that upied the majority of his thoughts. It pressed itself into every thought, as inescapable and irrefutable as an oing tsunami. He reminded himself between gasping breaths that he had found a way to function with this kind of pain once before. He had done it once. He could do it again. It was slow work. He had to find something to anchor himself or risk being washed away and lost forever in a sea of torment. Hetched on to the image of a jian. In his minds eye, he drove that weapon, that symbol of strength, solidity, and purpose into the bedrock of self. He clung to it. Let that strength, solidity, and purpose imbue him, and uplift him.


    With a roar that only happened inside his own mind, he pushed the pain away. It was a tiny little bubble of control in the center of his consciousness, but it existed. He had a ce where he could think and reason. It was the tiniest bit of progress, but it provided him with a foundation he could build on. He could feel the pain on the outside of that bubble. Feel the pressure of it trying to copse his minuscule sphere of control. He took heaving breaths in this one ce where soul-shivering suffering was not the order of the day. Then, that moment of respite all he would allow himself, he sat down and began the arduous process of expanding that sphere of control. He didnt have any illusion that he could ignore the painpletely. Pain existed for a reason. It was part of the natural order. As such, neither the body nor the mind was designed to dismiss it outright. If people could do that, they would, and continue to do so right up until the moment the problem killed them. Nature would never allow for anything so suicidally stupid.


    No, he knew that he couldnt push the pain away entirely. He could find a bnce with it, though. Blunt it enough that he could do what needed to be done. That bnce was his goal. He set his will against the pain and pushed. That sphere of control trembled, threatened to buckle, but it held. He kept up the outward pressure and slowly, so very slowly, the sphere of control expanded. At first, it was everything he could do to reim territory inside his mind. Bit by bit, though, he remembered how it had felt thest time, the sensation of keeping the pain at bay. He tried to recall that feeling, emted it, and let it suffuse his consciousness. Almost grudgingly, the overwhelming sense of pain receded. It didnt vanish, but it retreated enough that Sen could function again.


    He took stock of himself. He wasnt as far gone as he had been when theyd first encountered Fu Run. Unfortunately, that situation didnt seem likely tost. He didnt know how long hed slept, but Sen didnt think it could have been for <em>that</em> long. It seemed that Fu Runs prediction that the symptoms would bounce back fast had been all too urate. It wouldnt be long now before hed be back at the point of no return. He forced his eyes open, pretended that the light from the nearby candle didnt bother him, and sat up. Someone had moved him from the alchemyb to his bedroom. It probably hadnt made much difference in his condition, but theyd at least tried to make him morefortable. He sat up and took deep breaths as old familiar pains racked his joints and limbs. They were distant and, individually, he could probably have just powered through them. Except, they were everywhere inside of him. There was nothing that didnt hurt. The sheer umtion of pain meant that, even with that mental distance, a lot of it still bled through.


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    It took Sen a lot longer than he would have liked to dress himself and step out into themon area of the galehouse. Fu Run and Falling Leaf sat at the table, talking quietly. When he came out of his room through, they turned to give him spective, concerned looks. He wanted to brush those off, but it was probably toote for that.


    How are you? asked Fu Run.


    He beat back the urge to downy his condition. Underselling it wouldnt do him any good.


    Bad, he said. But we all knew that wasing.


    I suppose we did, said Fu Run.


    How long was I asleep?


    A day and a little, said Falling Leaf.


    Those words fell on Sen like rocks tumbling down a cliff. <em>Only a day</em>? <em>Im this bad after just a day</em>? He didnt have the concentration to spare for things like controlling his expression, so his shock and horror bled through in a pure form.


    I take it thats not what you expected, said Fu Run.


    No, said Sen, his voice shaky. If Im this bad now, Ill be useless in another day.


    Well then, offered Fu Run, I suppose we should be d that you didnt sleep for another day.


    Sen did his best to shake off his shock and focus on the essentials. His condition didnt matter. He needed to make the pill for his body cultivation before he was too broken to use the damn thing. It was entirely possible he was already too far gone to use it now.


    Did I finish the pill? The one you gave me the recipe for?


    Fu Run nodded. I dont think you managed to reduce your usual improvements very much. Its frighteningly powerful.


    Sen heaved a sigh of relief. He <em>had</em> done it. Everything from thatst day was so blurry and uncertain that he had truly wondered if hed hallucinated it, but he hadnt. He didnt think he could call himself a master pill refiner. Then again, he didnt need to be a master pill refiner. Competent was enough. At least, it was this time around. Nodding to himself, he fixed his attention on Fu Run.


    Ill need the manual. I have to make the next pill for my body cultivation.


    Fu Run didnt say anything for so long that Sen felt a cold sweat break out across his body. Terrible thoughts crashed around inside his head, threatening the sphere of control that kept the pain at bay. Had she been lying to him this whole time? Did she not actually have the manual? Was she going to keep it from him? Hed never actually confirmed that she had it. Shed said she did. Hed just assumed that she was telling the truth, but he hadnt demanded to see it. You didnt make demands like that of nascent soul cultivators if you enjoyed being alive. Before he spiraled into aplete mental breakdown, she shook her head.


    I thought you put it together already. That pill you made before you copsed <em>is</em> the pill for your body cultivation. Which isnt to say that I think you should take it. I wasnt joking when I said its <em>frighteningly</em> powerful. I cant tell you what to do, but Id try to make a lesser version of it. Taking that pill as you are now, its an even bet that you dont survive it.


    Sen digested that in silence. He supposed it was obvious in hindsight. If it had just been part of the training cycle, why not put the recipe in the primer? Hed thought that she wanted thatst pill for herself, but he didnt think shed ever said it was specifically for her use. Shed just told him that she wanted it and let him do whatever he wanted with that information. Hed drawn wrong conclusions. All things considered, though, it was probably better that he hadnt known. Knowing would have made him overly cautious. He would probably have fumbled the pill refining and, considering his present condition, that lost time might have proven fatal.


    I dont have the time to try again. It took me nearly twenty-four hours to make that pill the first time, and I was in better shape then. I dont think I couldplete it now. If I failed, lost another day to sleep he trailed off.


    Take the pill, said Falling Leaf.


    Fu Run started to object, but a swift and murderous look from Falling Leaf shut that down immediately. Falling Leaf looked at Sen again.


    Take the pill. You will survive.


    There was no second-guessing in her tone. The only thing he could see in her was bedrock certainty. If she was putting on a show, it was a very, very good show. He wanted to believe he would survive. Hisck of faith eroded his confidence, so he borrowed hers. It was enough.


    Nodding, Sen said, Breakfast first. Im hungry. If Im going to face down death, I should do it on a full stomach.

 V5 Chater 40 – Body Cultivation

    V5 Chater 40 ¨C Body Cultivation


    Breakfast had sounded like a good idea to Sen, and a great way to procrastinate for a little while. Hed been waiting for the moment for so long that having it right at his fingertips felt unreal. Part of him was waiting for the moment when he discovered it wasnt going to happen. The rest of his was thinking about how much he didnt know about what that pill was going to do to him. Hed started thinking over the list of ingredients and the bits and pieces of what he could recall about making the pill. The more he thought about it, the less confident he was that he understood what he was in for. Most of the body cultivation pills hed taken had strongly favored one of his affinities. That wasnt true for this pill. It had attributes inmon with some of his affinities, but it wasnt predominantly any one thing. It didnt help that he only had a vague grasp of what the elixir that Elder Bo had instructed him to make had actually done.


    The more he thought about it, the more nervous he became. The more nervous he got, the more unhappy his stomach got. He found himself mostly pushing food around instead of eating it. He wasnt paying attention to either Falling Leaf or Fu Run. They were talking about something, but it was just noise in the air to him. Assuming he managed to survive this advancement, he was going to insist that Fu Run show him the manual. He needed to know what he doing to himself so he could prepare for what was going toe next. The kind of secrecy that the nascent soul cultivator had shown initially did make sense. He had been too eager, too <em>desperate</em>, for her to give him the manual. That wouldnt be true after this pill. If everything shed said was true, he should be healthy again. If anything, he should be noticeably stronger than hed been in a long time.


    Youre not eating anything, said Falling Leaf right into his ear.


    Sen jerked away in surprise and then sucked in a pained breath as his back tried to spasm and fresh pain exploded from his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut and took several shuddering breaths. He focused inward, trying to reinforce the sphere of control that kept that pay somewhat at bay. It helped a little. He forced his eyes open when he felt a little more in control. Falling Leaf was staring at him with wide eyes.


    Its that bad? she asked.


    Yeah, he said. Its <em>that</em> bad.


    Im sorry.


    Sen shook his head. Its gotten worse since we sat down. I need to stop putting this off.


    Both women gave him somber looks as he stood up from the table. He considered making a joke about it but then reconsidered. They should look somber. This might well be thest time either of them saw him alive. He looked to Fu Run.


    I appreciate the training.


    Ill expect you to pick it back tomorrow. Well, maybe the next day. Im crazy, not heartless.


    Sen made himself smile at her attempt at humor. If she wanted to deflect, hed let her. He turned to Falling Leaf.


    I dont think I ever thanked you foring with me. So, thank you.


    Foolish human boy, go take your pill before you run out of time.


    He inclined his head and retreated to his alchemyb. The pill was still in the cauldron and still giving off that dull red glow. With his mind in better condition, he finally understood what Fu Run meant about the pill being frighteningly powerful. He could feel the power trapped inside of it rolling out into the room in waves. If there hadnt been thick stone walls in the way, he probably would have felt it out at the table. He quickly revised his original n to simply take the pill right in theb. He truly had no idea what it was going to do to him, which meant he wasnt going to take it anywhere near other people. He put the pill into a storage ring and was shocked to feel how much resistance the ring put up. He usually only felt that when a ring was getting too full. He wondered if there was a simr limit on how much qi a ring could contain. That was a sobering idea if it was true. It was also a question for another day.


    He got a couple of startled looks as he headed outside, but he just said something about being careful. Neither Fu Run nor Falling Leaf looked happy about that, but they didnt object. Sen trudged away through the snow. He was tempted to use his qinggong technique. It would make things faster. Even so, he resisted the urge. He suspected that taxing his cultivation in any way before he took that pill would be monumentally stupid. <em>Besides</em>, he thought, <em>Im not going that far</em>. He only meant to go far enough to make sure that everyone was out of harms way if things went catastrophically wrong. Or even if things went right. There was no guarantee of a tribtion but the possibility existed. There was no reason to risk someone else getting caught up in that particr bit of unpleasantness.


    Sen walked through the snow for perhaps half a mile before he decided that hed gone far enough. Even if the pill did something absolutely ridiculous like make him explode, it shouldnt reach all the way back to the galehouse from that far away. Sens mind tried to race off and chase the possible oues of him exploding, but he shook off those thoughts. He was stalling again. The sheer power of that pill had unnerved him, but there was nothing to be done about it. He could feel himself getting worse by the minute and was thankful he hadnt tried to make a less potent version of the pill. He would have doomed himself for sure. Doing what he could to steady his nerves, Sen took the pill out of the storage ring. For just a moment, he could have sworn he heard the ring groan in relief.


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    Okay, now youre imagining things. Just take the stupid pill, Sen admonished himself.


    Before he could procrastinate any longer, he popped the pill in his mouth and forced himself to swallow. When the memory of prior body cultivation advancements sprang to mind, he hurriedly sat down. The melting snow quickly soaked through his robes. By the time that might have be a true frustration, though, Sen had bigger problems to confront.


    The pill didnt seep into his system the way others had. It erupted inside of him. Sen was dimly aware that he was screaming. He noted in the back of his mind that his screams were infused with qi. He heard the trees around him shatter under the force of that screaming and splinters and shards of the wood rained down on him. All of that, though, was background information. The only thing he had room for was what the pill was doing to him. He felt like the pill was peeling him from the inside out, one infinitesimalyer at a time, opening his bones, muscles, and organs like the petals of some kind of grotesque flower. If not for all of those months learning to distance himself from every-increasing pain, the sheer incandescent agony of the pill working on him would leave him either unconscious or insane. As it was, his waking mind tried to pull away from the pain, tried to hide from it, but Sen knew that was a short path to death. He had to stay with the process. Whatever his mind was telling him, he knew that some part of him was gently guiding the process. If he withdrew from the pain, he would withdraw that guiding hand as well. The process would go out of control and that would be the end.


    He reminded himself that this pain, like most other pain, was a temporary condition. It might feel like it was going tost forever, but it wouldnt. He simply needed to endure. Much as he had done on waking, he fastened his mind on the symbol of the jian. It gave him a focal point, a ce where he could feed that pain. With eachyer that was peeled back, the torture became more acute, invading every corner of his consciousness. It felt like it was spilling over into his very soul and making a home for itself there. He wrapped his hands around that mental construct of the jian and began to work his way through the forms he had mastered. There had been pain in that process as well. He had survived that. He could survive this. He began timing the motions of his mental image of himself with the peeling back of eachyer inside of him.


    It didnt hurt any less, but with something to do, he could channel that pain into his forms. Despite everything, he even had a notion about a new attack. It wasnt the time experiment, even in his own mind, but he did tuck the idea away forter examination. If he was right, it might even impress Master Feng. It took Sen several seconds to realize that his mental projection of himself hadnt moved for a while. There hadnt been any new pain. <em>Thank the gods</em>, he thought as he pulled in ragged breaths. <em>Thatsted forever</em>. He didnt rx, though. Hed only reached the eye of the storm. There was more headed his way.


    As that very notion crossed his mind, all of that intermixed qi started to infuse the deepest exposedyers of his entire being. The screaming started again. At least, he thought it started again. Maybe it had never stopped. He hadnt been paying enough attention. As agonizing as the metaphoric peeling process had been, this process of infusion was something on a whole other level. The qi wasnt just infusing him, but it was searing away all of those parts of him that had been damaged in his protracted wait to begin this advancement. He <em>knew</em> it was necessary. He <em>knew</em> it would benefit him. He knew it, but he couldnt make himself believe it. There were limits to what someone could endure, and Sen was certain that he had reached his. He thrashed around inside his own mind looking for anything, anything at all, that could help him hang on to his sanity, to say nothing of his life. When he was sure that hed be sucked down into an abyss of madness, he heard words echo out of his memory.


    Take the pill. You will survive.


    Falling Leaf had believed in him. She had believed he could survive the pill, despite everything that had gone wrong on the journey to get there, she <em>believed</em>. And because she believed, Sen believed. It was a tenuous thread to cling to, but he clung to it with every bit of his strength. Even when he was sure that his body was simply to rip itself apart Even when he was sure that the destruction of all that damaged bone and flesh would wrench his mind away from him, he wrapped his consciousness around those words. He let them give him what he needed most, belief, in and simple belief. Yes, the Five-Fold Body Transformation killed most of the people who attempted it, but it didnt kill them <em>all</em>. He had survived on the mountain. He had survived against demonic cultivators. He had survived imprisonment with the cult. He had even survived a conflict with a nascent soul cultivator. <em>Maybe Falling Leaf was right to believe</em>, he thought. <em>If I could survive all of that</em>, <em>I can survive this</em>.


    Sen didnt have the will to watch how his body was changing, even as he felt the changes happening. He only had room for the echo of those words, that precious lifeline, and they carried him through the other side of the storm. When the raging torrent of misery inside of him finally abated, the absence of pain was so jarring that Sen was thrashing on the ground in confusion. He only slowly realized that he was done and that he had survived. He forced himself up onto his knees and looked around at the wastnd of destruction that radiated outward from where he sat. As exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him, all he could think was that he hadnt gone far enough away from the galehouse.

 Book 5: Chapter 41: Taking Stock

    Book 5: Chapter 41: Taking Stock


    Sens first instinct was to return to the galehouse, make sure everyone was safe, and then sleep. He ruthlessly suppressed that instinct. Fu Run and Falling Leaf were survivors. Fu Run had survived what was possibly the least forgiving process of all, cultivation. Falling Leaf, well, shed survived a genocide and then forged a ce for herself on a decidedly hostile mountain. While both might appreciate his concern, it was highly improbable that either of them actually required it. He was also very confident that Fu Run would have protected Falling Leaf if it was necessary. Letting his best friend get injured or killed would not make Sen more receptive to anything that the nascent soul cultivator wanted to teach him. So, there was a certain level of self-interest involved in ensuring that Falling Leaf didnt die from something stupid and avoidable, such as the fallout from one of Sens advancements.


    Sen also knew that his galehouses were built to withstand a staggering amount of punishment. In all likelihood, the two of them could probably have ridden out his entire advancement undisturbed while drinking tea inside the galehouse. Sen briefly worried about some kind of damage to Fu Runs less obviously sturdy home, with its wood construction and ss windows. He snorted at that and let the thought pass from his mind. Sen didnt know for sure what protections shed put in ce, but he was quite certain that she <em>had</em> ced them. A flurry of boulders would probably just sound like a gentle rain from the inside. She simply had too much of value inside to leave it unprotected. No, neither of them needed Sens concerns at the present moment.


    That was for the best because he needed to gather himself in case a tribtion came for him. Hed find it profoundly petty of the heavens to send him a tribtion after all of the suffering hed been through. He had nearly died a slow agonizing death finding Fu Run, and the pill itself hade within a hairs breadth of snuffing him out. Sen felt like that was suffering enough, but that didnt mean that the heavens agreed with him. After all, thest time hed advanced his body cultivation, the heavens had been very keen to express their displeasure. However, he had to ept that he didnt know why that tribtion had happened or been so intense. It might have been aimed at him or it might have been because of Elder Bos interference. In fact, the tribtion might have been a message directed <em>at</em> Elder Bo, rather than at Sen. It had been terrifying at the time, but it had also ended before it did him any real,sting damage. He was quite certain that the heavens could have kept it up until he was nothing but a dark stain on that beach. Sen sighed. There was just no way to know, which was probably the point.


    Still, he couldnt go back until he was confident there wasnt a tribtioning his way. He kept his gaze turned to the sky, waiting for any indication of heavenly wrath about to descend. The sky remained a pale, cid winter blue. Everything Sen had heard suggested that tribtions were almost immediate. His own experiences supported the idea, but he wasntfortable just assuming thats how it always worked. Half the things in his cultivation journey didnt make any sense, so it seemed foolhardy to assume that tribtions would make sense either. After an hour passed without incident, though, Sen finally let himself rx a little. Mostly, that meant he only spent half his time checking the sky for threats.


    He stood up from the kneeling position hed been maintaining and moved around in the clearing, trying to get a feel for what had changed. Hed known that there were changes, but it wasrgely impossible to judge them without actually testing out his body a little. Just walking around, he could feel surges of unfamiliar physical strength. This wasnt merely a restoration of what hed had before, but a fundamental step forward. He tried throwing a basic punch at nothing in particr and was nearly dragged off his feet by his own momentum. He stared down at his fist in consternation. That hadnt even been a full power strike. This was It was beyond his expectations. It also meant that he was going to have to relearn how to do everything, <em>again</em>. Still, that was to be expected. More important to him, though, was the feeling of being healthy and free to advance again.


    The entire time he had been with Fu Run, there had been a subtle wrongness to his body. Bodies werent meant to be held in a static state for indefinite periods of time. He hadntined about it because it had been the only thing keeping him alive, but it made his body feel separate from him in ways that he hadnt experienced before. He hadnt recognized just how alien his body had felt until now. With his body once more behaving as a body should, undergoing infinite tiny changes and adjustments in every moment, he finally felt like himself again. It was as though his entire physical being had been locked in a cage with no room to move for more than a year, only for the cage to have suddenly fallen away. Sen took a shuddering breath of relief. Hed have to continue down the pathid out in the Five-Fold Body Transformation manual to keep feeling healthy and normal, but that was just the way of things with body cultivation. The key was not to get trapped part of the way through the process.


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    Sen took an hour to work through some of the basic martial forms hed learned from Master Feng. He took it slowly, building up his speed until he reached the tipping point between control and strength. That gave him a much clearer sense of how much he had gained and how much work was truly in front of him. He estimated that he could exert about seventy percent of his new strength and speed while maintaining actual control over his strikes and blocks. <em>Months</em>, he thought. <em>Its going to take me months of persistent work to get back to the level of control Im used to having</em>. It wasnt that he couldnt still defend himself. He was sure he could do that if necessary. Hed just have to be incredibly careful not to lose his temper. If heshed out with his full strength now in a fit of anger, he could easily kill people he had no intention of harming.


    Sen settled back down onto the ground. Now that the actual advancement was more or less done, the recuperative power of his body was back, not even back, working even more efficiently than it ever had before. He didnt feel weak or tired. If anything, he felt energized. Of course, the physical fallout was only half the battle. Advancement taxed the mind as much as the body, and Sen wanted to give his mind a little time to recuperate before he went back and faced the flurry of questions that he was certain that Fu Run had prepared for him. He wasnt concerned that they would be worried for his well-being. He hadnt gone so far that he was beyond the reach of Fu Runs spiritual sense. She would know that he was still alive and could tell Falling Leaf as much. For that matter, he might well be within range of Falling Leafs spiritual sense. Not that hed felt either of them scan the area, but he hadnt been paying particr attention. Hed had a lot going on just recently.


    Sen let himself fall into a meditative calm, something he found far easier now that he was weighed down with the looming threat of death, the desperate need to advance, and the haunting fear that he might fail to make a functional pill for his advancement. Much like the statis of his physical form had been like a cage for his body, those worries had been like a cage for his heart and soul. Sencked the words to describe the joy he felt as those burdens dropped away from him. Oh, there was always a bit of pressure to continue advancing, but he didnt mind a little pressure. It had been the absolute nature of the pressure hed been under that Sen was happy to cast aside. When everything had taken on a do-or-die quality, it started to taint his perspective. There had been no room left for what Sen wanted. All that had existed was what he needed. Finding calm in the middle of that had been challenging at best.


    With those weights no longer bearing down on him during every waking moment, it was almostically easy to slip into a state without thought or concern. He let himself drift like that for hours. It wasnt true sleep, but it was a kind of rest that was almost as important for him. For a little while, his mind could just rest. It didnt need to run through aplex bncing act of weighing rewards and risks. It just could be. He sat that way, wholly indifferent to and even unaware of the freezing air around him or the snow that was slowly umting on top of him. He was nominally aware that a birdnded on his shoulder and eyed him curiously, no doubt wondering what kind of strange new tree had sprung up in the forest. He remained there, motionless and untroubled by thoughts for a full day. This time also allowed his body to finish making whatever small adjustments it needed to make. When he opened his eyes, though, he knew it was time to go back. Falling Leaf would leave him out there for a time, but her patience would only stretch for so long. Standing and stretching, he snickered as the snow dropped off of him in wet clumps. Then, he began the walk back to the galehouse and took stock of the damage hed done along the way.

 Book 5: Chapter 42: Prove It

    Book 5: Chapter 42: Prove It


    Yan Zixin sat alone in a tea shop, watching the foot traffic of the capital city move by in great waves. A few people had tried to invite themselves to sit with him, young women mostly, but one particrly ardent young man as well. He had fended them off as kindly as he could. He might have weedpany at another time. He enjoyed conversation and mortals were often surprisingly good at it. He supposed not spending months or even years at a time in near-total seclusion kept them in better practice. For once, though, he was too distracted for that kind of verbal y. More and more over thest months, his mind had turned back to that brief, unbelievably hostile encounter hed had with the man some called Lu Sen and some called Judgments Gale.


    Zixin had heard stories about him traveling withpanions, but those stories had been muddled and contradictory. Some imed he traveled with a bevy of beautiful women, others imed that he traveled in a small group that had both men and women. The woman who had been with him certainly had been beautiful, hauntingly so if Zixin was being honest with himself. Yet, she had been even less receptive to his presence than Lu Sen had been. The whole situation had left him baffled and off-kilter. The stories about the man had not done him justice, nor proven adequate preparation for that initial meeting. The stories painted a picture of a man as likely to work kind miracles as deliver terror. Yet, the man Zixin met had been <em>all</em> terror and no kindness. Looking back, he could tell that hed botched that introduction and botched it badly. He had poisoned the well by presenting himself as something other than he was.


    Most people would have forgiven the minor deception once they learned who he was and what he wanted, but the conversation had never gotten that far. Lu Sen Zixin shook his head. No, that man had been Judgments Gale. The kind of man who could bully two sects into an unwanted peace. The kind of man who could call down the wrath of nascent soul cultivators on his enemies. The kind of man who could singlehandedly change the leadership in a kingdom with one damn meeting that, by all ounts,sted less than twenty minutes. Zixin suspected that Lu Sen was the man who bestowed kindnesses on children, restored the elderly to youthful vigor, and dragged the mortally wounded back from the shores of death. He hadnt met <em>that</em> man. That man might have been willing to have a conversation with him.


    Once he became aware of the deception, Judgments Gale was <em>done</em> with him. And it was all so stupidly unnecessary. Zixin hadnt actually wanted anything from the man. At least, not in the ways that Lu Sen had assumed. Although, in hindsight, it was abundantly clear that many others had abused what little trust the man had in his soul. Zixin had even heard some stories and rumors about that as well, but he hadnt given them enough consideration. Hed just assumed that the stories were overblown or that Judgments Gale would be more reasonable. Maybe he should have thought a little harder about that folk hero name. It wasnt the kind of name that suggested someone was reasonable. It made him sound more like a force of nature, and thats certainly how hede across. Zixin had, foolishly, acted like his superior cultivation level was a trump card. That had been the moment he became aware of exactly how minor of a threat Lu Sen considered him. The man hadnt acted like he <em>thought</em> that he could <em>probably</em> beat Zixin if the fight dragged on long enough. That response could be understood in someone with a lot of strength and skill.


    Lu Sen had treated victory as a foregone conclusion. It wasnt just that he was ignoring their cultivation difference. He had seen that difference and considered Zixins threat level as trivial. That kind of magnificent indifference and confidence in victory only stemmed from experience and a lot of it. That had forced Zixin to the very ufortable conclusion that Judgments Gale really had killed scores of cultivators who were, on paper at least, more powerful. There was always an element of doubt about what people had or hadnt done when you heard about them through stories. The revtion that it might all be true had forced him to abandon the whole encounter because, the longer it went on, the more certain Zixin had be that Lu Sen was <em>right</em>.


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    Since Zixin hadnt gone there to start a fight, it was the only path left open to him. If he had it to do all over again, hed have taken a very different approach. It might not have seeded, but it probably also wouldnt have closed off so many other possible avenues. Still, he was stuck with the situation that he had created for himself. If he was going to win the man over, he was going to have to do it the hard way. He just wished that he knew that pursuing that goal was for the best. Hed been told it was for the best and that they would both benefit from establishing a friendship, but divination was murky at best. The future was predictable to some extent, but it was also mutable. He had to ept the possibility that his mishandling of the situation might have pruned away that potential future. That drew a frustrated grunt and a bit of soft muttering.


    Damnable divination.


    Most cultivators who lived long enough learned that you couldnt rely on divination. You also couldnt ignore it. Minimally, you had to ount for it. Some people tried to work their ns around it, usually to middling sess. Others tried to work with it, also usually to middling sess. So, he supposed his failure was just on the bad side of middling, rather than the good side. He had heard that the king had a once-legendary diviner in his household, but one whose powers had faded over the years. Given the kings recent rise to power with the improbable assistance of Judgments Gale, perhaps that diviners powers had been underestimated by everyone. Zixin considered the possibilities of gaining ess to that man. Second opinions for divination were hard toe by, but it might rify his next steps if he could get a second opinion.


    Of course, that assumed hed be able to find Lu Sen again. The man had vanished without a trace into the deep wilds with hispanion. How theyd managed to survive out there for any length of time was another mystery for which hed pay a small fortune to get an answer. The wilds were notoriously unfriendly to human beings in general and cultivators in particr. Yet, it seemed that this Lu Sen treated the wilds as a convenient ce to go when he didnt want to be bothered and had been doing so for quite some time. If he was going to do anything, he needed more information. First-hand information. Hed done some digging and there was a woman in the city who had supposedly traveled with Lu Sen for a time. Of course, her reputation suggested that she was only marginally less hostile to strangers than the man himself. Still, beggars didnt get to be choosers. He had ready ess to exactly one person who might be able to give him insight. Hed just have to be more cautious with her.


    With that settled in his mind, he left the tea shop behind and went to the location hed been given of the womans modest home. Or, at least, it was supposed to be a modest home. Zixin was no formation expert, but he could see the telltale signs of a staggering array of formations around the house. It would have taken a true expert to even let that many formations co-exist in the same ce. He couldnt tell them apart, but he could feel defensive, offensive, and qi-gathering formations all operating on a passive basis. <em>Had Lu Sen done this before he left the city</em>? <em>Providing a close friend with dangerous defenses</em>, <em>perhaps</em>? Either way, he was very cautious as he approached the wall. The formations didnt burst to life and no servants appeared to announce him, so he stepped inside and <em>slowly</em> walked across the small courtyard to the door. He didnt want anyone getting the wrong impression.


    He knocked at the door and took three respectful steps back. He made sure to keep his hands in view. No cultivator was ever truly disarmed, but not actively holding a weapon was a symbolic gesture. There was a brief wait and then the door opened. Apparently, the stories that Lu Sen surrounded himself with beauty were more fact than fiction. Although, much like the other one, this one stared at him with eyes that had no empathy, nopassion, and deep, deep distrust.


    What? demanded the woman.


    Are you the one they call Lo Meifeng?


    The woman started closing the door without uttering a sound.


    I saw Lu Sen, he blurted out, hoping it would encourage the woman to speak to him.


    The door paused.


    When? she asked.


    A few months ago.


    Alive?


    That struck Zixin as a particrly odd question. Yes. In fact, I got the distinct impression that man would prove particrly difficult to kill.


    Prove it.


    Zixin floundered for several seconds. <em>Prove it</em>?


    How?


    Tell me what happened. In detail.


    Deception hadnt gotten him anywhere with Lu Sen. He hoped that honesty would get him farther with her. So, he started talking.

 Book 5: Chapter 44: No Direct Pressure

    Book 5: Chapter 44: No Direct Pressure


    Youre wee toe along, of course, said Sen in the most offhanded and casual tone he could manage.


    After discussing his ns with Fu Run, hed reflected on how hed taken it almost for granted that Falling Leaf woulde with him. He didnt like that hed done that <em>at all</em>. While he had valid if obnoxious reasons to venture back into those old familiar territories, she didnt to his knowledge. Shed certainly never expressed a desire to do so, except for the very asionalment that shed like to see Uncle Khos mountain again. That made sense to Sen. Falling Leaf might not be afflicted with a lot of nostalgia, but that mountain had been home to her for a very long time before hede along and turned everyones lives upside down. He wasnt going there, though.


    So, if she dide along, it would only be to keep himpany while he went and did things that didnt really stand to benefit her. If she stayed, she could continue her training with Fu Run. In fact, shed probably get more and better training without him around to distract both her and the nascent soul cultivator. He couldnt make the decision for her, either way. He could, however, avoid putting any kind of direct pressure on her. He was certain that shed do it without hesitation if he asked her toe. If he just threw it out there that she coulde, if she wanted to, that let her make the choice that worked best for her without feeling like she had to tell him no. Hed also considered that some of the little side errands he was considering might actually be easier if he was traveling alone.


    As the silence dragged on for a while, Sen nced over at Falling Leaf. She looked torn. He couldnt me her for that. He would have died without her help when theyde looking for Fu Run. Hed have pushed too hard and gotten himself killed by some spirit beast a dozen times without her watching out for him. Of course, the situation wasnt the same. Once he knew that hed be traveling, hed gone ahead and formed anotheryer to his core. He wanted it done and out of the way before he left. Especially if there was going to be a tribtion attached. It seemed the heavens truly did believe hed suffered enough recently because thered been no hint of divine lightning or anything else that one might think of as a tribtion. Granted, he had substantial work to do in getting full control over his advancements which carried some risks, but he wasnt dying this time. He could still push too hard, but it wasnt a foregone conclusion that it would kill him anymore.


    I want to stay, said Falling Leaf, sounding frustrated at her own words.


    Thats a good n, said Sen. Youre in the middle of training with a weapon. Its better if you learn all of the essentials together. I just wanted you to know that you <em>could</em>e if you wanted to.


    The guilt in her expression didnt fade away entirely, but it was mostly gone the next time he nced at her. He decided that was going to have to be good enough. Hed done everything he could to let her stay behind without feeling bad about it. She had to decide for herself that it was okay. She gave him a curious look.


    Will you go straight to the turtle?


    Sen shook his head. No, Ill make at least one stop along the way. See if Lo Meifeng is still in the capital. Shes still the most efficient way to get a letter to Master Feng that I know.


    Is that wise? There may be people there who are angry with you.


    Sen let out a softugh. There are people angry with me for one reason or another all over this kingdom. If I just never go ces where they might be, Ill have to leave the kingdom entirely.


    Thats probably true. Still, Chan Yu Ming might be in the capital. Could you kill <em>her</em> if you had to?


    Sen felt the smile fade from his lips. Hed been making an effort not to think too hard about what might happen if he saw the princess again. He desperately hoped that time had given her some perspective on what had happened because he didnt want to fight her. Of course, that wasnt the question that Falling Leaf had asked him. <em>Could I kill Chan Yu Ming</em>? A moment of soul-searching gave him an answer. It wasnt one he liked but liking the answer wasnt required.


    Yes. If she pushed it that far, I could kill her.


    But you dont want to fight her.


    Of course not. Shes got plenty of reasons to be angry with me. Its hard to fault her. Besides, I thought she was someone you liked.


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    Falling Leaf grimaced. She is. Even I can understand why shed want to hurt you. But if its a choice between her and you, I pick you.


    Id never ask you to do anything to her. Id never ask you to pick.


    I know. It doesnt mean it wont happen anyway.


    Sen hated when she said things like that. It always felt like some kind of awful prophecy that was definitely going to happen now that shed voiced the words out loud.


    Well, Ill do my best to steer clear of her. The odds are good that shes gone back to the Clear Spring Sect. It has been a while.


    Falling Leaf didnt look convinced but let it go in favor of another topic. Do you know how long youll be gone?


    Sen offered her half of a shrug. Ive got some educated guesses. I mean, Im not nning on stopping anywhere for long. Plus, there wont be any pesky searching going on. I know exactly where to go. Assuming I can move as fast as I think I can, a few months of hard travel. Is there anything you want me to get you while Im traveling?


    No, said Falling Leaf, seeming wholly disinterested.


    Really? Nothing at all?


    She just shook her head at him. Sen wasnt sure why this surprised him. Aside from her brief adventure in buying furniture, shed never shown any interest in things before. Hed have to keep an eye out for something she might like. <em>Maybe another warehouse of food in a storage ring</em>, he thought.


    Any messages for Auntie Caihong, Uncle Kho, or Master Feng?


    Falling Leaf seemed to give that question much deeper thought. Shed developed a much deeper rtionship with Auntie Caihong when theyd all been out searching for him. Yet, theyd partedpany easily enough. Hed never been quite sure what the story was there and hadnt pried. As Lo Meifeng had told him, curiosity wasnt its own justification. It simply hadnt been his business if she didnt want to share the details with him.


    You can tell them about my new training, she said, nodding to herself as though shed made some good decision. Im sure theyll be interested.


    Sen resisted the urge to ask a bunch of questions. <em>Not your business</em>, he reminded himself.


    Ill do that, he said and moved on to the practicalities. I know the cold doesnt really bother you, but I went ahead and split some wood for the fire. You should have enough for a couple of weeks, but youll need to gather more after that.


    I can do that.


    Youll also need it if you want warm baths, he noted.


    That seemed to get her attention. Sen usually warmed the water in the bath using his qi, a feat that Falling Leaf couldnt duplicate. She nodded a little more vigorously. He tried to think of anything else he might need to tell her or remind her about and came up empty. Their lives were <em>so</em> simple that there just werent that many things to discuss about it. He checked his storage rings onest time to make sure he had the essential camping gear and food. Much like Falling Leaf, he could simply ignore the winter cold. Just because it wouldnt kill him, though, it didnt make enduring it more pleasant. Sen was not of the opinion that self-inflicted suffering built character. In his experience, it usually just led to poor sleep. Having dealt with everything he could think of, he stepped toward the door.


    Be careful, Sen. Do not let your new strength make you careless of your safety, said Falling Leaf.


    He gave her a serious look to show that he was giving her words their due weight. I will be ever mindful.


    Seemingly satisfied, she stood from her chair and stepped outside into the winter cold with him. Hed only get a few hours of real travel in before early winter evening set in, but a motivated core cultivator at his stage could cover an almost absurd amount of ground in a few hours. Enough ground that he would have thought it was just something someone made up when he was a child. He smiled a little. Every once in a while, he tried to imagine what that younger version of himself would make of what he had be in the years between. Would he have been able to recognize himself, or would the older Sen have seemed like some impossible thing from a story? He wasnt sure, but he thought it was a useful exercise. Cultivators spent so much of their time looking forward and striving toward the heights of those geniuses who came before them. Sen wasnt immune to that habit, but he thought it sometimes blinded cultivators.


    Looking back let him see how far he hade. That child Master Feng first found looked almost unrecognizable to him now. Even the person who first stepped off the mountain to go explore the world struck him asrgely a stranger. That young man had been full of grand ideals, most of which had been rather unceremoniously smashed to pieces. Hed been nave to just how harsh and unforgiving the world could be to the unwary. Not that it had all been bad, and not everyone had turned out to be awful. Luo Min and her mother back on that farm. They had been kind. The patriarch of the Clear Spring Sect had his moments of kindness. Sen had been more disappointed by that mans failings than angry about them. Prince Jing had turned out to be so honorable that Sen wasnt sure what to do with him. Grandmother Lu and her employees had proven themselves time and time again. Even the Stormy Ocean Sect had turned out to harbor those with more sense than arrogance. No, it hadnt been <em>all</em> bad, and it was important to remind himself of that on asion. Otherwise, he could fall into the trap of seeing enemies absolutely everywhere.


    On a whim, Sen turned and gave Falling Leaf a hug. Hed thought she might pull away, but she didnt. They stood there like that for a long time, tiny snowkes falling around them. Sen finally pulled back and smiled at her.


    Ill be back before you know it.

 Book 5: Chapter 45: Self-Mastery

    Book 5: Chapter 45: Self-Mastery


    Sen had thought that traveling alone again might feel different now that he was subject to someone elses will. And he supposed there had been a heady sense of extra freedom for the first couple of hours. Yet, Fu Runs demands on him had thus far been extremely light. She hadnt needed to put him under any pressure because the situation was taking care of that all by itself. Hed pushed himself <em>hard</em>, probably harder than had been safe or wise, but it also meant that hed stillrgely felt in charge of himself in a big-picture sort of way. Plus, hed done so much traveling that there was very little about the experience that was new. He did have to clear away some snow now and then, and he put up far fewer galehouses. Those had mostly been for the benefit of those traveling with him, not something he did for himself. So, he quickly fell back into old routines, traveling fast during the day and setting up a basic camp at night,plete with dangerous defensive and offensive formations, along with a qi-gathering formation.


    The newyer to his core had drained away all of the liquid qi in his dantian, so it made sense for him to gather as much qi as he could while he was in the wilds. The qi there was already denser, and the formation made it even thicker. It significantly sped up the pace of his recovery, although nothing would ever make refilling a dantian after forming a newyer to his core a fast process. Still, he would settle for <em>faster</em> and be happy. Of course, there were important differences during this trip. Nearly all the traveling hed done since leaving the mountain had been done under a cloud of some kind of threat. Looking back, he suspected hed imagined that some of those threats were more dire than they were in truth, but that didnt change the fact that hed believed in the threats. Certainly, the threats from the demonic cultivators had been real, and the threat to his life from his own body cultivation had proven much more pressing and dangerous than hed understood.


    The prospect of hovering doom no longer dogged his every step. He could stop for a time if he wished. He knew he needed to get back to Fu Run and whatever shed train him in next, but if it took him four months instead of three, he doubted the millennia-old cultivator would even notice. Shed all but told him that she didnt notice time passing with any kind of sharp acuity. It left Senrgely free to explore as he wished. Except, he didnt really feel like exploring. There were still many things he wished to see, but the kingdom hadrgely proven a ce that was hostile to wandering cultivators in general, and hostile to him specifically. In the back of his head, he had the notion that if he did go exploring, it would just end with him stuck in some conflict that would force him to do something drastic and violent. So, he remained fixed on his goals. His first goal was the capital.


    Sen had rather thought that the local spirit beast poption might try something with him moving through the wilds alone, but it seemed that hisst confrontation with them had an impression. While he felt spirit beasts from time to time and even saw them on asion, they all fled as soon as they took note of him. He let them go. He wasnt looking for more beast cores, and hed lost his taste for killing spirit beasts long ago. With nothing attacking him, though, it left him free to practice, which was the thing he needed more than anything else. Every night, he practiced something. At first, it was mostly his unarmedbat forms. Hed been doing them the longest, so they were the easiest option for him to adapt to his newfound strength and speed. Yet, he didnt focus on strength or speed. He spent all of his time and effort on control. Adding speed and strength meant nothing if he couldnt be absolutely certain that he knew where and how a blow wouldnd.


    <em>Theres no rush</em>, he reminded himself. <em>You didnt learn these forms in a day</em>. <em>You wont adapt them in a day</em>. Instead, he trusted in the process and in his instincts. Bit by bit, he felt himself relearn the thousand tiny ways that a body moved to execute a punch, a kick, and a block. As that knowledge slowly filtered into his mind and burned itself into his body, he felt himself rx. While the process of body cultivation theoretically happened in small, short bursts, Sen found the process substantially less straightforward. The body went through most of the changes all in one fell swoop, but it didnt stop then. After that, he had found that even monthster, it was still going through countless micro-changes based on the things he was or wasnt doing. So, the persistent practice wasnt just about mastering the changes, but refining them so they served him and his needs most effectively.


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    Of course, it wasnt just his body that changed. Adding anotheryer to his core was, in some ways, an even more startling difference. Every technique threatened to run out of control on him. He hadnt just taken a step forward or at least it didnt feel that way. When he had been younger and wondering what it must be like to be a nascent soul cultivator, the power he held now was what he had imagined. He wasnt sure if that suggested ack of imagination on his part or if moving into the nascent soul realm truly meant entering some other kind of world that his mind just wasnt prepared toprehend. As it stood, he worked just as diligently trying to relearn control with his qi techniques. That, fortunately, was easier in some ways. It was a pure power increase, rather than a fundamental change in how his qi interacted with the world. The interactions remained the same. He simply needed to get a handle on how much less he needed to use to aplish the same ends, and what it meant if he stretched himself.


    By the time the capital city came into sight, Sen felt far better prepared to navigate any conflicts that mighte his way. He still had a lot of practice ahead of him, but those lingering fears that he might identally kill someone were put to rest. If he killed someone, it would have to be intentional. Not that he had any ns to kill anyone. His intention was to spend a day in the capital, at most, and see exactly one person. While hed entertained the possibility of seeing the king, he couldnt think of a good way to do that without identally announcing his presence to people he didnt n to see on this trip. He didnt think that the prince would tell anyone that Sen asked him not to tell, but the castle was full of people who were good at listening. If word got around that Judgments Gale had returned to the capital, it might be cause for celebration, but it might also be cause for a riot. Sen wanted no part of either possibility. Visiting the king was something that hed have to do, but he was content to let that happen someday a little farther into the future. A year just wasnt that long for everyone to have moved on to other concerns. Sen thought that returning for an official visit after his time with Fu Run was probably the best course of action.


    So, Sen slipped into the city quietly amid the many merchant wagons carrying the food and other necessities that kept the city running in the cold, deste days of winter. The guards barely gave him a look as he walked by, and Sen soon found himself walking on streets that were both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He hadnt been gentle with the streets or buildings during his various fights thatst time hed visited the city. He saw entirely new structures in ces where he expected to see repairs. The urge to go explore was strong in those moments. He particrly wanted to visit the part of the city that the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate had controlled. If the king had been on task, hed have taken control of that part of the city as soon as he realized that the old criminal organization was gone. If he didnt, Sen suspected some other and probably less savory organization would have filled that void. His readings of history had been clear that someone will <em>always</em> fill empty ces in a power structure. Smart rulers made sure it was their own people who took those roles, but they often left it for too long only to find themselves with a different problem.


    Of course, thest thing he should do is go wandering around in that part of the city. While he expected that most of the Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicate members who survived had fled the city, there <em>could</em> still be plenty of people there who would recognize him on sight, and then hed be back to that riot he wanted to avoid. As much as Sen had allowed his story to be a weapon that he could use against other people, it was a method that had drawbacks. He was always going to have to be careful visiting ces where hed done something substantial. It would be troublesome, but it was toote to change things in the capital. He had been <em>very</em> visible during hisst visit. It might not be so bad in other ces. He could probably get away with openly visiting most ces in Emperors Bay. There, hed just need to steer clear of the sects and one or two specific streets. Some intangible tension went out of Sen when he saw the house that had, ever so briefly, belonged to him.


    That tension returned when he saw that the formations were all active. It wasnt an impediment to him, but that they were active at all was concerning. Lo Meifeng shouldnt have needed anything that powerful to keep herself safe. Frowning, Sen scanned the immediate area with his spiritual sense. He didnt find anything that looked or felt out of ce. Keeping his senses active, he walked straight through the formations and walked up to the front door. He gave the door three sharp raps and turned to scan the area again. Lo Meifeng wasnt prone to overreactions, which made Sen feel like he must be missing something. When he heard the door open behind him, he gave the street onest re before he turned and gave Lo Meifeng a bright smile.


    So, how are things? he asked in a tone so nonchnt it was obnoxious.

 Book 5: Chapter 46: Stabbing You Is Always on the Table

    Book 5: Chapter 46: Stabbing You Is Always on the Table


    Sen watched as several conflicting emotions battled for supremacy on Lo Meifengs face. There was shock, which hed expected. It wasnt like hed let her know he wasing. Hed made the general assumption that since none of his other teachers hade looking that they knew he was still alive. Hed also sort of assumed that Master Feng would have let Lo Meifeng know, either directly or indirectly, that Sen had survived his most recent brush with death. Still, he supposed it was possible that no one had told her and that shed been bracing herself for news of his death. Based on the anger he saw in her expression, he had to revise the assumption that someone had let her know. There was a healthy dose of relief there as well. There was even some happiness lurking beneath all of the other things. He waited with a kind of academic fascination as she decided how to react. When she did finallye to a decision, it wasnt quite what hed thought it would be. She kicked him in the shin and, as far as Sen could tell, she did it as hard as she possibly could.


    Ow! the pair shouted in unison.


    Sen stumbled back from the angry woman. Grimacing at the unexpected pain and the assault itself, he massaged his aching shin. He nced up and saw Lo Meifeng limping in a small circle. Sen rubbed the injured spot for a little while to give them both a chance to gather their wits. Satisfied that there wouldnt be any additional angry kicks, he stood and gave Lo Meifeng an unamused re.


    What that really necessary? he asked.


    Necessary? she asked, as stalked toward him with murder in her eyes. You left with barely a word and then nothing. Nothing! Not so much as a letter to let me know you were alive.


    Okay, there is he began


    <em>For</em>. <em>Two</em>. <em>Years</em>. she growled, punctuating each word with a hard poke to his chest.


    Sen winced at the words and the pokes, which he suspected were going to leave bruises.


    Okay. I guess I can see how I might have handled that better.


    You think! she yelled at him.


    Well, Im alive. Yay, he said weakly.


    Lo Meifeng closed her eyes and took several deep, shuddering breaths, clearly trying to get a grip on her anger. When she opened her eyes again, she was only scowling at him, which Sen considered a vast improvement over the zing fury shed had going on mere moments before.


    I suppose you shoulde in, she said.


    Sen lifted a dubious eyebrow. Should I? You arent going to stab me, are you?


    I should! Now stop being a baby ande inside.


    Sen followed her inside and cast curious nces around the ce. He was surprised to see that the ce was all but unaltered since thest time he was there. There were no meaningful personal touches, although he did see a vase with flowers in it. They werent in season, which made him wonder if Lo Meifeng was using fire qi to get around that problem or if she had a servant who was particrly good with earth qi. He turned to ask her about it, took one look at her face, and decided that it would be a great idea not to ask any questions right at that moment. He could satisfy any casual curiosities when she didnt still look like she wanted to stab him over and over again. She led him to the kitchen where she busied herself for several minutes making tea. She didnt bother with the stove, instead relying on a deft application of fire qi to heat the water. By the time shed poured them both a cup, she seemed to have found her equilibrium again, making Sen d he hadnt asked stupid questions.


    So, you advanced again, she said, making it a statement rather than a question.


    I did. Body and spirit cultivation.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I expect that will please Feng Ming, said Lo Meifeng, falling into the rigidly neutral expression and tone she used when she didnt want her true feelings exposed.


    Hell be happy Im not dead. Although, I expect he knew that already. Ive been gone for, he chose his next words carefully, long enough that he would havee looking if he didnt know. I take it that he didnt pass word along.


    He did not, said Lo Meifeng through clenched teeth.


    I thought he would, said Sen. Im sorry about that.


    Why didnt <em>you</em> send word?


    Sen reached up and rubbed at his forehead. Ive been out in the wilds. Way out in the wilds. But the truth is that it was a desperately close thing. I was on the brink of death when we finally found Fu Run. After that, well, I spent most of a year holed up in an alchemyb. It was still close.


    Lo Meifeng must have seen something on his face or heard something in his voice that gave her pause because her expression softened.


    How close? she asked.


    If Id waited even one more day to try, the attempt would have killed me. As it was, he trailed off.


    The memory of those desperate hours clinging to life by the barest of threads rose in his mind like a monster from the depths of the sea. He shoved them away before they could consume him. Hed lived through it once and that was enough. He forced his mind to the present and continued.


    I wouldnt ever want to try something like that again.


    But it did work? she asked.


    It did. Im still consolidating everything. You know how it is after an advancement.


    She nodded in understanding. Thats cultivation. You get to relearn everything after every advancement.


    Sen tried to think of something meaningless to talk about, but when his mind came up with a whole lot of nothing, he plunged forward.


    I should have made more of an effort to let you know I survived. Looking back, I had a few opportunities to send word, but I was, he tried to find the right word.


    Focused? offered Lo Meifeng.


    Obsessed. It was literally do or die. <em>I</em> had to make the pill and, well, I wont bore you with all the details of what that entailed. Ill just say that there was a lot of failure before there was even a glimmer of sess.


    Lo Meifeng raised an eyebrow. You made a pill? I didnt think you cared much for pills.


    I <em>dont</em> but the certainty of an agonizing death has a way of rearranging your priorities.


    I expect it would. So, youre healed?


    As far as it goes. Its probably more urate to say that Im on track again. As long as I keep advancing along my body cultivation at the proper pace, I should be fine.


    So, no more waiting until thest minute for the thrill of it?


    Sen barked out augh. No more waiting until thest minute. I think Ive had more than enough of that.


    An awkward silence descended over the two.


    Im still angry with you, said Lo Meifeng.


    I know.


    I suppose you did have a lot on your te with the looming death thing. I guess it wouldnt be appropriate to stab you.


    Was that still on the table?


    Stabbing you is always on the table.


    That seems a little, started Sen.


    Two years, said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen frowned and thought about it. Yeah, thats probably fair. I was a little surprised to find you here.


    Why? You gave me this house.


    I dont mean Im surprised you still have it. I meant I was surprised that you were physically here at the moment. I assumed Id find a servant I could leave a message with. I figured once you were rid of me that youd be off doing secret and possibly nefarious things for Master Feng.


    Aplicated expression that Sen couldnt begin to unravel came and went on Lo Meifengs face.


    Im taking a break, she said.


    Sen could tell that there was a lot more to it, but he didnt have the context to piece together exactly what she meant by that. He almost asked her about it, but changed his mind at thest second. If she wanted him to know, shed tell him. Instead, he cast around for something else to talk about.


    So, how are you keeping busy these days?


    She shot him another re. Mostly, Im still dealing with <em>you</em> problems.


    What? How can you be dealing with me problems? Ive been gone for the better part of two years. Most of which I spent buried so far out in the wilds that almost no one could have found me.


    Youd think so, wouldnt you? said an annoyed Lo Meifeng. But your problems found their way to me all the same.


    Sen rubbed his face with his hands. What is it? It wasnt the royals, was it? Chan Yu Ming?


    Oh, your bitter ex-girlfriend came by more than once looking for a way to track you down.


    Shes not my ex-girlfriend.


    Sen, Im supremely confident that you are the only person who thinks that.


    So, shes looking to kill me?


    Lo Meifeng paused at that. You know, Im not sure if even she knows.


    Oh, thats fantastic. Anything else?


    Well, justtely, someone named Zixin has been making himself supremely aggravating. Kepting around and asking questions about you.


    I knew I should have killed that guy. Falling Leaf told me to.


    Lo Meifeng shook her head. Well, at least its not just me that you dont listen to.

 Book 5: Chapter 47: Catching Up

    Book 5: Chapter 47: Catching Up


    Sen briefly brooded about the missed opportunity to deal with Zixin but decided it was something he could put off for at least one more day. Based on what Lo Meifeng had told him, the guy had beening around on an almost daily basis.


    Is that why the formations are active? asked Sen in a sh of realization.


    It is, said Lo Meifeng, her expression going dark. I keep hoping hell get the message.


    Im a little surprised that you havent killed him, noted Sen, standing up and walking over to the stove.


    He started pulling ingredients out and rummaging around for pots and pans.


    Ive thought about it, but the sects here dont like it when unaffiliated cultivators start murdering each other. I dont have a nascent soul sect matriarch lusting after me to keep the rank and file at bay.


    Sen shot Lo Meifeng a dirty look. She isnt lusting after me.


    Yeah. Sure, she isnt.


    After a little more fruitless searching, Sen gave Lo Meifeng an exasperated look. Dont you ever cook anything?


    She blinked at him a few times and said, No. Have you <em>ever</em> seen me cook anything?


    Sen thought back. Now that she said it, he couldnt really remember her ever cooking anything moreplicated than some basic rice. Even that was only asionally and usually only half edible. Shaking his head, Sen started pulling out the pots and pans he used to cook in camp. There wasnt anything wrong with them, but theyd been chosen more for their durability than their quality. Still, hed cooked a lot of pretty good food in them, so he just went to work.


    You really should get some pots and pans. Even if you dont cook, you know that <em>I</em> do.


    Well now that I know you arent dead, Ill think about it, she snapped in a waspish tone.


    Sen winced. I guess had thating.


    Youve got a lot more than thating.


    Well, maybe just save it up until after I finish cooking.


    She looked from him to the piles of food hed pulled out and nodded. I suppose I dont want to distract you if youre cooking.


    So, what have you been doing if youre not problem-solving for Master Feng?


    Sen focused on chopping vegetables for a time before he looked over his shoulder at the silent Lo Meifeng. If he didnt know better, hed have thought that she looked almost sheepish. She noticed him looking at her and straightened up in her chair. She got an almost defiant look on her face.


    Ive been focusing on my cultivation.


    Oh, said Sen, a little surprised. Good for you.


    No need to sound so surprised.


    It just never seemed like a high priority for you.


    Do you mean when I was chasing you across half the kingdom, or when we were fleeing for our lives from demonic cultivators? Or, maybe you meant when I was trying to figure out if you were going to get us all murdered by cultivator criminals.


    Sen didnt have a good answer to any of that, so he tried redirecting. So, tell me more about your cultivation efforts. Are they paying off?


    Lo Meifeng sighed. I spent too much time around you. Watching you advance every other week made me feel like I was falling behind. It turns out, its still a slow process for everyone who isnt you. Even doing it here.


    What do you mean, even doing it here?


    The qi concentrating formation you set up. This house is probably the best ce in the entire city to cultivate.


    Right. I guess that makes sense. Remind me to fix those formationster.


    Fix them? Whats wrong with them?


    Sen shrugged. Theres nothing <em>wrong</em> with them, exactly. Theyll all function as designed. Ive just had some time to think about them. I did kind of throw them together in a rush.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    You were in a mad scramble to save your own life and learn how to refine pills, and you found time to think about these formations.


    Its less absurd than you might imagine. All I was doing was alchemy. Its a great way to learn, but theres a point where thinking more about something bes counterproductive. You get stuck in the same lines of thought and stop having new insights. Thinking about something else, somethingpletely unrted, is helpful. Even if its just for an hour or two. Doing that once or twice a week doesnt take anything away from what youre trying to learn, but it adds up over the course of a year.


    Theres a certain logic to that, admitted Lo Meifeng. Do you really think can you make the formations around the house better?


    Oh yeah, easy, said Sen, throwing some meat into a pan that had a bit of hot oil in it. Seeing them active today helped. I spotted some of the ces where theyre not as efficient as they should be. Its always like that with rushed work.


    They always looked pretty efficient to me.


    Theres always room for improvement.


    Sen focused on the pan and getting a good sear on the meat before he moved it to a te. He dropped some of the chopped vegetables into the pan and tossed them a few times to get them coated with a bit of the oil. Lo Meifeng watched in interest as he let the vegetables finish cooking, added the meat back into the pan, and started adding in ingredients to make a thin sauce. Once he was satisfied with the sauce, he moved the pan off the heat. He dished up some rice onto tes he pulled from a storage ring and topped it with the vegetable and beef stir fry hed made. He handed one of the tes to Lo Meifeng before he sat back down at the table. He gave Lo Meifeng a bemused look as she took a deep breath through her nose.


    I forgot that youre this good at cooking, she muttered. I guess I will have to get those pots and pans if youre not making fresh ns to run off and die.


    Sen snorted around a mouthful of food and shook his head. No ns to run off and die that Im aware of. Ive got other ns and some annoying responsibilities, but no dying for me.


    The twopsed into silence as they ate. Sen wondered what, if anything, he should do about Zixin. He didnt appreciate the maning around and bothering one of his friends or trying to get more information. At the same, he hadnte to the capital to make noise or get noticed. He had brought this annoyance down on Lo Meifengs head, however unintentionally, so he felt like he ought to do something about it. He waited until she finished eating before he brought it up again.


    Do you want me to do something about that Zixin guy?


    Lo Meifeng smirked at him. Are you offering to kill him for me?


    Sen waggled a hand in the air. I guess I could. I was more thinking that Id <em>threaten</em> to kill him slowly if he ever bothered you again and see if he took it seriously. Go from there.


    I suppose thats the more reasonable n. It might have a bit more weight if ites from you.


    He clearly doesnt understand who hes dealing with if he thinks that Im more dangerous than you are.


    Thats one of the benefits of being unbelievably loud when you decide to make a statement. People pay more attention when you threaten them.


    Im not that loud.


    Lo Meifeng gave Sen a decidedly t stare. Oh really?


    Im not <em>always</em> that loud.


    Lo Meifeng shook her head and held out her te. More please.


    Sen loaded up her dish with another serving. d youre enjoying it.


    I usually need to go find a restaurant to get a real meal. Not that I have to eat that often, but its still nice to have someone cook for me here.


    Couldnt you hire someone for that? I mean, I left money for that.


    I cant stand the idea of some stranger being here all the time.


    You stayed in inns all the time, objected Sen.


    Yeah, but you know there are going to be strangers there. You also know youre going to leave. I <em>live</em> here. Its different.


    Sen mulled that over before shrugging. Its your home. You should befortable.


    So, what are you doing here? I am happy to see you, but I have been wondering.


    I wanted to pass along a message to Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong. I figured you were my best bet for pulling that off. Then, its off to see the stupid turtle.


    Youre going back to that beach?


    Thats the n, said Sen, before scooping a bit more food into his mouth.


    Does that seem wise? I mean, its not like it worked out all that great for youst time.


    I have it on good authority that not going back will be worse than just going. If I decide to go, I can at least control the timing.


    Yeah, but should you go when youre this angry about it? asked Lo Meifeng.


    Sen hadnt even realized that he was scowling. He made a conscious effort to smooth his features.


    I dont know. Maybe not. But I dont want a divine turtle showing up to have a chat when Im in the middle of some crisis.


    Are you nning a crisis?


    Does it matter if Im not nning on one?


    I suppose it doesnt. One will just show up to find you if you dont find it first, said Lo Meifeng.


    That does seem to be the pattern. Im crisis-free at present, though. While its not ideal in terms of how angry I am, its the best time to do it. I dont think Im going to be any less angry at that turtle in a year or five. So, why put it off?


    As long as youre sure, said Lo Meifeng. Are you nning on seeing any of your royal friends while youre here?


    Sen shook his head almost violently. That seems like a decidedly bad idea. Especially if Chan Yu Ming is still around. I''m not here for a fight with anyone. Well, except maybe with that Zixin guy. I might need to fight with him if he insists on being an idiot.


    I have to be honest. This all feels kind of surreal. Youre making sensible choices. Actively avoiding unnecessary fights. Are you feeling well, Sen?


    Oh, ha, ha. Youre living the quiet life. Are <em>you</em> feeling well?


    Lo Meifeng let out a musicalugh. Thats a fair point.


    Sen went to ask a question when he heard a sound he very much didnt want to hear from outside. Lo Meifeng frowned at him before she cocked her head to one side.


    Whats the noise? she asked.


    Unless I miss my guess, said Sen with a sigh, its that crisis I wasnt nning on having.

 Book 5: Chapter 48: Deferred Anger

    Book 5: Chapter 48: Deferred Anger


    You should stay inside for this, said Sen as he stood from the table.


    Why? asked Lo Meifeng.


    Because whatever trouble is out there, its not here for you. No point in dragging you into my problems any deeper.


    Oh, said Lo Meifeng. I dont n to get involved. I just n on watching.


    Sen gave her a look. Watching?


    Well, I have to assume that someone has made some catastrophic misjudgment about you. It should be entertaining to watch you correct that.


    Suit yourself, said Sen as he walked over to the door and stepped outside onto the porch.


    Sen hadnt been entirely sure what to expect when he walked out the door, so he wasnt really surprised by what he saw. Chan Yu Ming was standing out in the street, nked by half a dozen people. A swift scan revealed them to all be middle core formation or higher, although there were no nascent soul cultivators in the mix. Sen gave them all a thoughtful look. There was one incredibly bulky man who had an eager, arrogant expression on his face as if he was certain that Sens reputation was all talk and no action. The others looked warier, ever nervous, but Sen let his gaze settle on the face of Chan Yu Ming. She was ring at him, her fists clenched at her side.


    Did you really think you coulde back here and not have to face me? she demanded.


    Dont you mean you and your six friends? asked Sen his tone indifferent.


    I know what you can do. Im not stupid enough to fight you alone.


    Sen let his eyes sweep over the people Chan Yu Ming had hired, cajoled, or otherwise convinced toe with her on this little mission. He lifted an eyebrow.


    Apparently, you are, if this is the best you could do. I suggest you go home, think this through, and find some more people.


    You are nothing! bellowed the bulky guy. I am


    Sen chose that moment to move. He activated his qinggong technique, all but ignored the intervening distance, and smoothly drove his fist <em>through</em> the huge mans chest. Sen was back where he started before anyone could blink. The sound of the bulky man copsing to the ground drew the attention of Chan Yu Ming and the other people standing with her. They stared at the gaping bloody hole in the mans torso, then turned to stare at Sens arm. The arm in question was covered to the elbow in the mans blood. Sen waited until they were all focused on him before he flicked his arm and used a bit of air qi to send the blood in a spray thatnded at the feet of the assembled cultivators. They all took a step back, looking pale and shaken. Sen unleashed his killing intent on the fiveckeys. Two dropped to their knees, one ran away, and thest two started screaming in naked terror. While all of that was going on, Sen never looked away from Chan Yu Ming.


    Sen debated if he should kill the cultivators. They hade to kill him. It would send a clear message. Then again, aside from the one hed already killed, none of the others had seemed all that invested in the fight. It looked more like Chan Yu Ming had called in some favors and maybe hired a mercenary or two. This wasnt some organization that he needed to leave terrified. They were just individuals. Killing them wouldnt serve any purpose other than expressing his annoyance at them for bothering him. That might make him feel a little better, but it wasnt a good enough reason for them all to die. He withdrew his killing intent.


    Leave. Now, Senmanded.


    The two semi-coherent cultivators seized the ones who had been screaming and dragged them at speed, no longer interested in <em>anything</em> that had to do with Sen. He watched them for long enough that he was sure they werent going to double back before he started walking toward Chan Yu Ming. She didnt precisely flinch when he looked at her, but her whole body leaned back like shed been caught in a powerful wind. The closer he got to her, the wider her eyes grew. He stopped closing the distance when he stepped outside of the active formations. Sen gave her an expectant look.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Well? he asked. I assume you came here to fight. Shall we take it beyond the city walls? Im not interested in killing a bunch of civilians just so you can get this out of your system.


    You murdered my father! she screamed at him.


    No. I didnt. But make no mistake, said Sen, his voice and expression going devoid of any human emotion, I would have slit his throat without a second thought because he had iting, and you <em>know it</em>.


    The noise that Chan Yu Ming made was less a human scream than a howl of animal fury. She charged at Sen, drawing her jian and shing at him with it. There had been a time when the pair had been more or less evenly matched, assuming Sen stuck purely to swordsmanship. Since his advancement in both body cultivation and solidifying a newyer to his core, that bnce had shifted dramatically in his favor. That was something that he was happy about because Sen didnt want to kill her. Hed had some time to think about how she might see things. While Sen didnt have parents, he did have Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho. He had heard stories about them. While none of them had done things thatpared in sheer disgusting awfulness to what Chan Yu Mings father had done, they had <em>all</em> left rivers of corpses in their wake.


    Given how many mistakes Sen himself had made, he had to assume that they had all made mistakes in their early days, killed people they shouldnt have, and left more than one loved one with a thirst for vengeance. Their ascent to the heights of the nascent soul stage had insted them in all practical ways from anyone actually taking that vengeance. Yet, Sen had still considered how he would have felt if someone did manage to kill one of them. Hed asked himself if he would care why theyd done it. The answer was <em>no</em>. He wouldnt care why. He wouldnt even ask why. Hed just start nning his own vengeance. Sen recognized that these were the exact patterns that created blood feuds, but he also knew he wouldnt care about that either. If someone took Master Feng, Uncle Kho, or Auntie Caihong from him, there would be no peace. If it took a hundred years, or a thousand, he would hunt them down. Knowing those things about himself, he couldnt bring himself to hold Chan Yu Mings rage against her. He wouldnt just let her kill him, but he wasnt going to deprive her of life if he could avoid it. And, he <em>could</em> avoid it.


    All of that time hed spent focusing on unarmedbat served him well as he stepped, slid, bent, and twisted out of the way of Chan Yu Mings attacks. He never struck back, just moved himself out of the way, his hands calmly sped behind his back. Sometimes she missed by inches and sometimes by barely a hair, but she always missed. Sen watched the frustration mounting in her face as she realized that her hard-won skills with the jian werent enough to even wound him, let alone kill him. The attacks became wilder, less controlled, and less effective as she tried to rece skill with speed and brute force. He felt her qi swirl and adopted a simr defensive stance.


    She tried to split him open with water des or run him through with hardened water spears. He deflected the attacks, taking care to drive them down into the street, up into the air, or into the defensive formations protecting Lo Meifengs home. While she might not care at the moment, Sen knew Chan Yu Ming well enough to know that she would care a great deal afterward if she killed innocents in her bid to kill him. She was driven by fury at him, not indifference toward life. The failure of those attacks to reach him seemed to drive the woman to the point of true madness.


    Why wont you fight me, you bastard!


    She threw herself at him, abandoning any pretense of defense, and putting it all into a thrust meant to drive the de through his heart. Realizing that he needed to put a stop to this fight before Chan Yu Ming did something that he couldnt protect the innocents from, he stood his ground. As the jiannced toward his heart, he reached out and grabbed the de, stopping its forward momentum between one heartbeat and the next. He used his enhanced speed to seize her hand and pull it away from the hilt of the sword. While she wouldnt have had time to even realize it, Sen knew her forward motion would have slid her unprotected hand along the razor edge of the de. Instead, her body crashed against his and was thrown back.


    Shey on the ground in a daze for a second or two before her senses came back to her. She looked around with wild eyes for her jian before she saw it still grasped in Sens immutable grip. For a moment, she simply gazed up at the de in disbelief before she seemed to copse in on herself, a look of utter despair on her face. While Sen was well aware that his skills with other people were lopsided, at best, even he knew that there was nothing that he could do in that moment that wouldnt make it worse. As he looked on, helpless, Chan Yu Ming broke down into sobs of anguish and grief that Sen suspected had been held at bay since the day her father died. He felt it as Lo Meifeng came to stand next to him. He looked over at her. Lo Meifengs attention was on the princess and the expression she wore wasntpassionate, but he thought he saw a little understanding there. He silently held out the jian. Lo Meifeng plucked the de from his hand.


    Go find something to do, she told him. Ill see to this.

 Book 5: Chapter 49: Formation Flags

    Book 5: Chapter 49: Formation gs


    Sen had mixed feelings about leaving Chan Yu Ming to Lo Meifengs dubious mercy. While Lo Meifeng didnt have any particr malice toward the other woman that Sen knew about, she also wasnt the sort who <em>needed</em> any particr malice. Staying wasnt an option, though. Unless he wanted to put an end to Chan Yu Ming, which he was mostly certain he didnt, staying could onlyplicate matters. With a shallow nod, he left the two women and the corpse of the bulky guy with a big mouth behind. He didnt have any particr destination in mind, but he supposed he didnt need a particr destination. The city was so vast and filled with businesses that he wouldnt have to travel far to find something to upy his time. He spent a little time at a tea shop simply to give himself a little break from everything.


    After that, he remembered something that he had meant to do thest time he was in the city that had never happened. He tracked down an alchemy shop and traded a few of what he considered lesser healing elixirs for some information about where he might find formation gs. He had gotten the ones he had from Uncle Kho and more than a few had been damaged over the intervening years. While Sen thought that he could probably make them himself, it seemed more prudent to get them from someone who specialized in them more than he did. It turned out to be a practical decision. While he could approach any of the sects for such an essential cultivation tool, he wanted to avoid doing so.


    Passing through for a day or two without stopping in would likely be shrugged off. The nascent soul cultivators in charge would assume that he had pressing business, which was mostly true. If he showed up at any of the sects, however, he would have to be greeted, formally acknowledged, and endure days of meals and meetings he would rather avoid. If nothing else, their leadership would want to know about his progress and would no doubt press their cases to be told the whereabouts of Fu Run. Even with the reputation for madness that the woman had carefully built, there would always be those who would want to send promising students her way. Sen knew that she would not thank him for revealing her location. Given that he still owed her several years of his time, hed prefer that she not be angry with him that entire time. If nothing else, it would make for a terribly tense learning experience.


    Fortunately, the sects werent the only sources for formation gs. It turned out that there were a few independent cultivators who lived outside the walls proper of the city who tread a careful path of mutual benefit with the sects. They were people like Sen himself and most sessful alchemists, those who had specific and useful skills, but also those who had no interest in dealing with the expectations of sect membership. Instead, the independents traded their specialized products with the sects to acquire cultivation resources. While the alchemist told stories of the sects asionally pressuring the independent cultivators to join, it wasrgely frowned on and actively discouraged. After all, every sect could benefit from a talented cultivator with no specific sect ties. That was particrly true in the case of those with crafting skills. As often as not, Sen suspected, only thergest sects could actually provide enough work to justify having someone who specialized in something like making formation gs or formation tes. For smaller sects, having someone who just took orders would prove far more useful.


    That was how Sen found himself passing back through a gate and into one of the adjacentmunities. It didnt take him long to find the home of the cultivator, although he was a little surprised to discover that the man had no actual formations protecting his home. It seemed a strange oversight for someone who made formation gs. Shrugging at the minor oddity, Sen approached the house and knocked politely at the front door. At thest second, he remembered to summon a bottle of wine from his storage ring. It was perilously close to time for the evening meal, so it wouldnt do to show up empty-handed. The door opened and a gray-haired woman eyed him critically.


    You sect boys get prettier every year, said the woman.


    Sen could tell that she was a cultivator, but only in thete formation foundation stage. Judging by her gray hair, she had been there for a very long time. He gave her a shallow bow.


    Im not from any of the sects, said Sen. I am but a humble wandering cultivator in search of formation gs.


    The woman frowned at him. Humble wandering cultivator? Well, one of those three things are true. Youre certainly a cultivator.


    Despite himself, Sen found himself rather enjoying the womansplete disregard for his advancement. Everything about her expression and bodynguage said that shed seen his like before and found them allcking. He smiled and presented her the bottle. She took it and did a double-take. He hadnt bought the cheap stuff.


    Well, at least someone brought you up right, said the woman, standing aside and waving him inside.


    He stepped inside the house and waited while the woman decided what she wanted to do next. It turned out that she felt some rules of hospitality were in order because she made them tea and even summoned a te of small cakes that tasted of citrus and berries. Sen made appreciative noises at the cakes. It wasnt long after that the man Sen hade to see stepped through a door and found his wife and Sen talking animatedly about cooking and baking. Rather than interrupt, the man simply sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and listened to the other two talk. He gave the pair of them an amused, indulgent smile while he ate one of the few cakes that had survived Sens enthusiasm for their vor. The woman eventually looked over and sighed.


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    This young man needs some formation gs. Dont be slow about it. He has actual important things to talk to me about, she announced.


    Of course, dearest, said the man, his eyes crinkling at the corners. I am Tan Lin. Youve already met my wife, Ung Wen. And who might you be?


    Sen gave the man an abbreviated sitting bow. I am Lu Sen, wandering cultivator.


    Tan Lin stiffened in his chair as though the name itself had given him a bad shock. Lu Sen, you say? You arent also known as Judgments Gale, are you?


    Sen did his best to hide the weariness that the mere mention of that name caused him. It always seemed to cause trouble whenever anyone identified him that way.


    I am sometimes called that.


    An expression that wasnt quite fear crossed Tan Lins face. Sen thought for sure that the man would ask him to leave when Ung Wen came to his rescue.


    Oh, stop that. Hes been perfectly polite since the moment he arrived. He even brought us wine. I doubt he brings expensive wine to people he means to harm.


    Sen gave the woman a big smile. Thats very true. I really just came for formation gs. I was told that you make the best ones.


    Tan Lin rxed a little at those words. Well, I dont know about the best, but my gs are quite good.


    Dont listen to him, said Ung Wen with a dismissive gesture. Hes just worried people will think hes getting above himself.


    Sen nodded along with a serious expression. He thought that Tan Lin probably had the right approach if sect members came looking for formation gs, but he wasnt going to say it out loud. Tan Lin leaned in and studied Sen for a moment.


    I thought youd look a bit more seasoned with all the stories about you.


    I cant help what people say, said Sen.


    No one can, except maybe the king.


    Sen shook his head. Ive met Jing. Hes a kind man. Hed never concern himself with something like that.


    Humble wandering cultivator, said Ung Wen. Yes, I can see it so much more clearly now.


    Senughed. Well, I truly am a wandering cultivator.


    Tan Lin shook his head. Come along and lets see about getting you some formation gs. Assuming I have anything that suits your needs.


    Sen followed the man outside. Evening had fallen over thendscape and the chill air of the day had turned to a much sharper cold that would likely have driven most mortals indoors. Tan Lin led Sen to a small barn-like structure, pulled open a door, and gestured Sen inside. Sen could feel the qi in the air, much of it radiating off of benches and tables where he could see piles of formation gs in various stages ofpletion.


    Can I see what youve been working with? asked Tan Lin.


    Sen produced a few of the undamaged formation gs from his storage ring and handed them over. Tan Lin carried them over to a bench and spread them out in front of him. He started talking under his breath in a tone that suggested he liked what he was seeing.


    Who made these for you? asked Tan Lin.


    I honestly dont know. I got them from the man who taught me about formations. He might have made them, but I never thought to ask.


    Well, these are excellent quality. Not quite the way I would have made them, but thats more of a matter of style than anything else. This is a very traditional approach. Solid qi conduction without favoring a particr kind of qi. Some of it has to do with the material itself. This is a kind of treated spirit boar hide. Its not quite a leather, but its close. Again, very traditional. Harder toe by these days, but it holds up well if you can get it. You should ask your teacher where they got these to see if you can get some more of them. I dont have anything quite like these, but I should have some things that will see you through well enough. Assuming you can afford it.


    Tan Lin said thest without any bias in his voice. It was just a statement of fact. Before Sen addressed that issue, though, he had a different question.


    If you had the right materials, could you make formation gs like the ones Im already using?


    Tan Lin looked up from the bench. Sure, I could, but theyd cost you a small fortune. Like I said, the materials are hard toe by. Probably take a while too. I have gs I can sell you right now that would cost you a lot less and perform close to as well.


    Sen summoned a bag of taels and tossed it onto the bench. Is that enough to get what you need?


    Tan Lins gaze moved slowly from Sens face to the bag of money. He reached over, opened the bag, and looked inside. His eyes bulged and he hastily closed the bag, as if afraid that someone might see the money through the walls of the barn workshop.


    Yes, choked the man. Yes, thats more than enough.


    Great, said Sen. I do still need some recements in the meantime. So, what do you rmend?


    It took Tan Lin a few minutes to get over the shock of seeing all of that money in one ce, but he eventually put together a stack of formation gs for Sens inspection. Sen made a few small formations just to test the gs. They werent quite as good as the ones he was using, but he was pretty sure he could make up the difference as long as he assembled the formations with care. He nodded and stored the gs in one of his rings.


    How long to make the new gs? he asked. Ill be gone for a few months, so Im just trying to decide if I should stop on the way back through.


    Tan Lin frowned hard. Six months to a year at the earliest. Itd be faster if this was all I was working on, but I have existing orders. Plus, I have to find someone to get the materials to me


    Sen waved off the exnation he was sure was about to happen. Thats fine. It takes however long it takes.


    Tan Lin looked grateful. I wish all of my customers were that understanding.


    Im an alchemist. I understand better than most that nothing goodes from rushing the work.


    Tan Lin went still and a hungry look entered his eyes. An alchemist. How good of an alchemist are you?


    Sen thought about it for a moment. <em>How good am I</em>, <em>really</em>?


    Im very, <em>very</em> good.


    The formation g maker looked at the bag of money. He let out a resigned sigh before he looked at Sen.


    I have an idea for a different kind of bargain.

 Book 5: Chapter 50: Sen Problems

    Book 5: Chapter 50: Sen Problems


    Lo Meifeng watched Sen wander off to do whatever he was going to do and hoped it wouldnt involve anything showy. Not that he usually went out looking to do things that drew attention unless someone made him very angry or picked a fight. Unfortunately, there didnt seem to be anyck of people ready to pick a fight with him, which she found perplexing. When left to his own devices, Sen was generally an affable person. Still, she had another Sen problem to deal with in the form of a weeping princess. Shed sort of thought she was done with Sen problems when he went off to find an insane nascent soul cultivator in a final, desperate bid to get that manual he needed. On some level, she knew she shouldnt be surprised that hed actually done it. Shed seen him do one impossible thing after the next, but that had seemed like one impossibility too many.


    Then, the bastard showed up like nothing had happened and barely a day had passed. She wished she hadnt kicked him because it had been such a juvenile thing to do. If only it hadnt been such an immensely satisfying juvenile thing to do. She was going to cherish the look of total shock that had been on his face for the rest of her life. Sighing, she turned her attention to Chan Yu Ming. The smart thing to do would be to just kill the girl and be done with it. Sen had made it pretty clear he wasnt going to do it. The idiot. But shed been on the receiving end of his cold fury before, and it wasnt an experience she was in any hurry to repeat. <em>I guess Ill have to do this the hard way</em>, she thought. She nudged the princess with her foot. The girl looked up at her with a tear-streaked face.


    Youre making a spectacle of yourself out here, said Lo Meifeng. Come inside if you n to keep doing that.


    Turning back to her home, she turned the formations back to their passive state and went inside. She left the door open. The princess would eithere in or she wouldnt. Lo Meifeng gave the leftover food a longing look before she set about to make fresh tea. She cleared the table and sat down. Lo Meifeng estimated that there was a fifty-fifty chance that Chan Yu Ming woulde inside. The young woman slunk into the house and closed the door. <em>Damn</em>, thought Lo Meifeng. Shed rather hoped that the girl would slink off to somewhere else.


    In here, called Lo Meifeng.


    Chan Yu Ming came into the room. Shed clearly made an effort to clean herself up a little, although there was still a bit of puffiness and redness around the girls eyes that her cultivator constitution hadnt had a chance to deal with yet. Lo Meifeng slid a cup across the table and gestured at a chair.


    You may as well sit.


    Chan Yu Ming hesitated and looked around before she finally sat down. Wheres Sen?


    Lo Meifeng resisted the urge to strangle the girl. <em>Of course</em>, <em>thats the first thing she wants to know</em>.


    Hes not here. Can you me him?


    Chan Yu Ming worked very hard not to make eye contact and slowly lifted the cup to her lips. Lo Meifeng didnt want to have this conversation, so she was content to let it wait a little longer. <em>What is it with Sen and his terrible rtionship decisions</em>? Lo Meifeng sipped at her own tea and watched Chan Yu Ming get more and more ufortable. Suppressing another sigh, she broke the silence.


    So, did you get what you wanted from that exercise in futility?


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    Of course, I didnt. Hes still breathing, isnt he?


    Oh please. You knew that was going to happen before you ever showed up here. You didnt stand a real chance against him <em>before</em> he went off and found <em>another</em> nascent soul cultivator to be his teacher. The only question was whether or not he was going to kill you. So, relieved or disappointed?


    What? asked Chan Yu Ming.


    Are you relieved he didnt kill you or disappointed by his restraint? In case you dont know, Im in the disappointed camp.


    He killed my father.


    You keep saying that. Do you think that if you say it often enough itll magically be true?


    Its his fault.


    Is it? The way I recall events, he refused to let youe with us. Then, he told you that your n was bad. He tried to say no to you over and over again. In fact, the only reason he got involved at all was his trivial desire to <em>not die</em>. Despite your many promises, you didnt help him with that at all.


    It isnt like that. He started Chan Yu Ming.


    He what? Got you out of that engagement you didnt want? Exposed the king as an evil bastard who liked to rape and kill children? Saw to it that your brother, a man who wouldnt sell you to the highest bidder, assumed the throne? Yeah, Sen really did you one bad turn after another. Oh, and while he was at it, he singlehandedly removed a cultivator criminal organization that no one else in the city could or would take on.


    Youre twisting things all around!


    Okay. Exin it to me. How am I twisting things all around? What truly happened?


    Chan Yu Mings mouth worked several times without any noisesing out. Lo Meifeng was actually interested to see if the princess had even bothered justifying all of this craziness to herself.


    He didnt have to do it the way he did.


    Seriously? Thats what all this is about? You dont like the way he handled it? No offense, princess, but what in the thousand hells did you expect him to do? You <em>saw</em> what he did back in Infernos Vale. You heard the stories about him. No, this was about something else. Youre not this stupid.


    He left! shouted Chan Yu Ming. He left me here alone!


    Lo Meifeng calmly reached across the table and pped Chan Yu Ming across the face. Hard. The princess stared at Lo Meifeng in shock.


    He didnt leave you. He left because he was dying and there was no one here that could help him. You know that. Besides, youre in no position to have any expectations about him. Especially after what you did.


    What I did?"


    You promised him help. The only thing you did was waste time he didnt have to waste. The fact that he didnt kill you two years ago remainspletely mysterious to me. <em>I</em> would have killed you. Just about any cultivator would have killed you in those circumstances. Sometimes, he has morepassion than he should.


    Of course, youd defend him. Youre in love with him.


    Lo Meifeng kept her face rigidly neutral. We arent talking about me.


    Did you think it was a secret? Its written all over you.


    Says the woman who was so heartbroken he left that she brought people to try to kill him.


    I dont have to listen to this, said Chan Yu Ming standing up in a huff.


    You also dont need to leave this room alive, said Lo Meifeng in a supremely calm voice. Now, sit.


    Chan Yu Ming studied Lo Meifengs face. Then, she slowly sat back down in her chair.


    You mean to kill me? asked the princess.


    Sen doesnt want to kill you. I think he feels bad about how things went for your family. Its skewed his perspective. As for me Im indifferent to your survival. Now, you can do what you should have done from the start and talk to him. You can also leave him alone. Those are your options.


    Or youll kill me? You really think you can?


    Yes, said Lo Meifeng with the kind of absolute assurance that onlyes from knowing a thing is true.


    Chan Yu Ming sat very still for nearly a minute before she nodded her understanding. She rose from the table and started toward the door.


    Princess, said Lo Meifeng. You should pray that youre wrong about me.


    How so? asked Chan Yu Ming.


    If I was in love with him and someone did the things youve done, what do you imagine I would do to you before I finally let you die?


    Hed never forgive you, said Chan Yu Ming, her eyes wide.


    Hed never find out.

 Book 5: Chapter 51: Not Funny

    Book 5: Chapter 51: Not Funny


    Sen left the home of Tan Lin and Ung Wen feeling much more thoughtful than he ever would have expected. Hed been of a mind to make a simple deal and get some formation gs. Instead, hed left with a challenge. He was rtively confident that he could meet the challenge. At least, he thought he could if Fu Run had the right resources avable. Tan Lin had been willing to make the formation gs that Sen wanted in exchange for a pill that would help his wife break through. Sen had immediately rejected that idea. Sen <em>was</em> willing to make the pill. He actually liked the idea of taking on amission like that. Itd be like his days making elixirs back in that vige. What he wasnt interested in doing was helping Ung Wen break through to core formation just to leave the pair penniless. Given that Tan Lin was also seemingly trapped at the cusp of core formation, Sen had offered them a different bargain. Something that stood to benefit all of them. Knowing that he was going to be using formations possibly for centuries or even thousands of years, Sen wanted someone who could initially act as a regr supplier for him.


    In the long run, though, he wanted to learn how to make the gs if he could. There was, of course, no guarantee that was possible. While Sen had a lot of confidence in himself, he also knew that not everyone could learn how to do everything to the same level ofpetence. For all of the time and money that Fu Run had poured into learning alchemy, she wasnt a match for Auntie Caihong. She wasnt even really a match for Sens raw talent. However, he was under no illusion that he could match the raw scope of her knowledge about nts, reagents, or traditional alchemical techniques. While he could do things that she couldnt, the reverse was also true. He was utterly, almost hriously hopeless in using the techniques that most alchemists considered essential. If he could master the techniques used in creating formation gs, though, it would be an invaluable skill for the rest of his life. Sen was more than happy to craft something that would help them both break through in exchange for a ready supplier and, when Sens time was his own again, instruction.


    It was with those thoughts swirling around in his head that he made his way back to Lo Meifengs home. He noticed that the formations were in their passive state, but didnt give it much thought. A knock on the door brought Lo Meifeng, who just gave him an exasperated look.


    You dont need to knock, she said. This ce belongs to you more than it ever belonged to me.


    Sen shook his head. I gave it to you. Its yours. Besides, I wouldnt want to walk in on anything that you might consider embarrassing.


    Lo Meifeng lifted an eyebrow. Such as?


    Sen stumbled mentally at that question.


    You know, he said.


    Know what? she asked, the picture of perplexed innocence.


    You might have a guest, said Sen, feeling off-bnce.


    Why would that embarrass me?


    Sen started to answer when he realized what was happening. She was having fun at his expense. He had to admit that shed done it so nonchntly that he hadnt seen iting. Sen decided he might as well try to turn the tables.


    I just thought you might not enjoy it if I walked in while you were in the throes of passion and screaming your lovers name.


    Lo Meifeng didnt miss a beat. Whatever gave you the impression that <em>Id</em> be the one screaming someones name.


    Sen didnt have a good answer for that. Lo Meifeng turned and walked back into the house with a look of triumph on her face. Sen followed her in and closed the door. <em>Whats with her today</em>? He found her lounging on a small mat and sipping something that his enhanced senses told him was alcoholic. He settled on another mat and leaned his head back against the wall. A quick scan of the house with his spiritual sense told him that they were alone. He went back and forth in his head before he finally asked the question he always knew he would ask.


    What happened with Chan Yu Ming?


    Oh, I killed her, said Lo Meifeng with a negligent motion of her hand.


    Sen felt his mouth drop open as he stared at the woman. Hed been a little apprehensive about leaving Chan Yu Ming with Lo Meifeng. Hed even casually considered the idea that she might do something to the princess, but hed dismissed it. Shed avoided killing that Zixin guy because she said she didnt want trouble from the local sects. Killing Chan Yu Ming would bring a whole different kind of trouble to her door.


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    You killed her! Why?


    Lo Meifeng rolled her eyes. Oh, she just kept crying and wailing about her father. It got tedious.


    Sen couldnt figure out if he was angry, horrified, stunned, or all of them at the same time. Hed known he couldnt do anything useful, but hed just assumed that Lo Meifeng would send the princess on her way if she became too annoying. Hed never really considered that Lo Meifeng would just murder the girl, especially not for something as trivial as being tedious. He felt himself about to explode with some emotion when Lo Meifeng burst into hystericalughter. He found himself staring at her again. She pointed at him.


    Your face!


    Sen closed his eyes and took several deep breaths while he tried to figure out exactly how he felt now that hed had the rug pulled out from him. That just seemed to set off even moreughter from Lo Meifeng. He opened his eyes and red at her. She had one arm across her stomach and had set her cup down, apparently not trusting she could keep it steady.


    Not funny!


    The woman started waving her hand at him as she gasped for breath. He wasnt sure what the waving hand meant. It could mean that she wanted him to stop talking. It could just as easily be her brushing away hisment.


    Im serious, he said. That wasnt funny.


    No, she gasped. It was hrious. The look, she wheezed, on your face.


    Why would you even say that? he demanded.


    The truth became self-evident after he gave it even a second of thought. She was still punishing him for letting her wonder if he was alive or dead for two years. He didnt think that this little stunt was the best way to express her lingering anger at him. It was just mean. And he still wasnt sure that she was joking.


    So, shes not dead.


    Lo Meifeng managed to get her evil cackling under control. <em>Okay</em>, Sen admitted to himself, <em>it isnt actually evil cackling</em>. <em>Probably</em>. Lo Meifeng took a couple of deep breaths.


    No. I didnt kill her. I told her some things she didnt want to hear and sent her on her way.


    Things she didnt want to hear? Like what?


    That she was acting like an entitled brat, mostly. That she got everything she asked you for and didnt hold up her end of literally anything.


    Sen felt like he ought to protest that description, but it was urate. Sen had just written the whole thing off as another learning experience about not getting involved with mortal politics and nobility. Still, Lo Meifeng sort of had a point. Chan Yu Ming had promised him that manual, and hed <em>still</em> had to go off and find a copy for himself.


    Shes not evil, said Sen, even though he wasnt sure why he said it.


    Lo Meifeng gave him another look. Maybe, but thats no assurance that she wont make more stupid decisions that could eventually get you killed. It was six people this time. It might be double that next time. You cant just let her get away with this nonsense because you feel bad.


    Sen leaned his head back against a wall. Thats not why I did it.


    Uh-huh.


    Alright. Fine. Its not the <em>entire</em> reason I did it. Do you know how many people Ive killed?


    Lo Meifeng sat up a little straighter and her expression became more serious. No.


    Neither do I. I knew when I left that mountain that Id probably have to kill, but I never imagined it would be so many. I mean, Ive only been a wandering cultivator for a handful of years, and Ive <em>already</em> lost count. I dont see that as a good thing or as an aplishment. Thats not even considering how many spirit beasts Ive killed. I guess that some cultivators might see that as normal or just the way of things, but I never really wanted to kill anyone. I was looking for a reason not to kill her. The fact that shes not evil was a reason. So, I took it.


    Sen, said Lo Meifeng, sounding very, very concerned, you can always find a reason not to kill someone. It doesnt mean you should always take it.


    I know. Way back when I sort of thought Id be the exception and never have to kill anyone. Ive seen now that there are some people the world is better off without. There are some people who wont leave you that choice. There are people you have to kill because, if you dont, they will seek vengeance on youter. But do you honestly think Chan Yu Ming is one of <em>those</em>? She came here with six people and only one of them really wanted the fight. So, I killed him. She could have recruited a hundred people who had a real shot at killing me.


    Lo Meifeng thought it over before offering a reluctant nod. Shes probably not that kind of person. But that doesnt mean she wont be one of them. Time has a way of making people think that theyre right.


    Maybe so. And if she does, Ill do what I have to do. Right here, right now, though, I dont have to kill her. So, Im choosing not to.


    I dont know how many people Ive killed, said Lo Meifeng, frowning.


    Sen decided to get back at her a little bit. Well, I guess thats to be expected.


    Why is that?


    I mean when someone gets to be as venerable as you Sen began.


    It was only an inhumanly fast movement that saved Sen from getting hit in the head with a wine bottle. He let out augh and dodged a cup, a small table, and the mat that Lo Meifeng had been sitting on. Sen held up his hands.


    I surrender, he said, stillughing.


    Now <em>that</em> wasnt funny, said Lo Meifeng, glowering at him from across the room.


    It was a little funny.


    Eyes wild with fury, Lo Meifeng started looking around the room. Sen presumed it was for something else to throw at him.


    Okay. Okay. Im sorry. It wasnt funny.


    Lo Meifeng sniffed at him and walked out of the room.

 Book 5: Chapter 52: Calculation

    Book 5: Chapter 52: Calction


    Morning found Sen sitting out in the courtyard. A small part of him made note of the citying to life around him, not the city was ever truly silent. Even in the deepest parts of the night, there was still activity. Most of his attention was focused on his cultivation. Lo Meifeng had been right that her property likely was the best ce in the city to cultivate. Minimally, it was the best ce outside of one of the sectpounds. Sen knew enough about formation to know that the sects likely had formations simr to or even better than the ones he had ced around the property. Not that he particrly needed to cultivate. His passive cultivation methods were usually more than enough for his needs. It was simply the best way for him to get a feel for any minor weaknesses in the qi-gathering formation that he may have overlooked during his initial examination.


    Once he felt that hed spotted all of the problems he was going to find, Sen got to work. The qi-gathering formation was, much to his surprise, still in good shape overall. That wasnt to say it was great because it wasnt. He could tell how much of a hurry hed been in when he first set the formation up. He took an hour to make about a dozen adjustments that improved the efficiency of the formation by close to ten percent. He could have made something much better but it would have required tearing down the wall around the property and starting over. Even with his solid control over earth qi, that was a process that would be very loud and attract a lot of attention. Hed already drawn enough attention for one visit. So, Sen decided to go with the quieter solution, even if it did bother him to use the lesser solution.


    The defensive and offensive formations hed made were another matter entirely. Hed gotten a lot of practice making those in much more dangerous conditions than the city. He considered what hed done before and just shook his head in disappointment at himself. It would be a kindness to call them sloppy work. There were gaps that could be exploited by someone who knew formations well. There were spots where the energy being fed into the formation fluctuated in strength. Some of that wasnt Sens fault. The demands on environmental qi in the city were higher and more unpredictable than they were out in the wilds. Qi flows that had looked stable when he made the formations would fall off in strength depending on the time of day. He solved some of those problems by burying minor natural treasures at strategic points around the property. Those served the dual purpose of stabilizing the qi flows and providing a more reliable source of qi if there was an exceptionally strong draw from somewhere else in the city.


    It wasnt a permanent solution, but Sen estimated it would hold up for at least ten years as long as no one too powerful tried to breach the formations. He did have ns for permanent fixes. Assuming he could find the right nts, he could set up a kind of qi garden that would help to reinforce the environmental qi on the property and inste it somewhat from fluctuating qi in the surrounding area. Part of him wanted to stay and set up that garden, but it would require months of effort and multiple trips out into the wilds. Plus, it was the wrong season for that kind of work. Hed just have to do what he could and live with it for now. He also gave some consideration to purchasing the surrounding properties and turning the whole thing into a kind ofpound. With that additional space, there were things he could do that wouldnt make sense within the rtively small confines he had avable. He tucked that idea away to give it some more thoughtter.


    By the time Lo Meifeng came out to see what had been upying him since before dawn, it was closing in on midday. She spent close to fifteen minutes wandering around the property and examining what he had done. When shed finished her inspection, she walked over to him and started shaking her head.


    What? he asked. Its better now.


    It was good before. This is Im going to have to be careful that one of the sects doesnt try to steal this ce from me.


    Sen frowned at her. Why would they?


    Youre still ridiculous, she said, although her tone was fond rather than chiding. Youve made this ce an ideal location for anyone looking to advance through the core stage.


    Sen shook his head. This is just a quick fix to all the things I screwed up the first time. Maybe someone will bother you after I do the permanent fixes, but I doubt it.


    Why is that? Cultivators dont like hearing <em>no</em> for an answer.


    Because the nascent soul cultivators in the city dont know how I killed Tong Guanting, said Sen, his mind briefly shing on the rather gruesome end of Shadow Eagle Talon Syndicates leader. And believe me, they <em>wanted</em> to know. None of them are eager for me toe back here looking to take revenge because some sect idiot tried to take what I gave to you.


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    How did you keep that information from them? asked Lo Meifeng. I was always curious.


    Youre right that cultivators dont like hearing the word <em>no</em>. Even cultivators will ept it when you say it the right way. I said it very firmly.


    And they just went along with that?


    Well, I was in a bad mood, and I had just tantly and publicly <em>murdered</em> a nascent soul cultivator. I suspect that they were unnerved. They certainly didnt seem to be in a hurry to test if I could do it again.


    No, I dont imagine they were, said Lo Meifeng in a thoughtful tone before she let out a lightugh. I wish I could have seen their faces when you refused to answer.


    I thought the veins in the one guys head were actually going to rupture he was so angry.


    Where did you find the nerve for that? Most people would have caved in that situation.


    Like I said, bad mood. Plus, I was already dying. It was a lot easier to be recklessly brave when I only thought I had a year to live. In the end, though, I had more to gain by not telling them. Things you understand arent as scary. I dont know what exnations they dreamed up, but I bet they all lost sleep thinking about it happening to them. At the same time, I also made it pretty clear that I wasnt looking for a fight with any of them. From their perspective, its better if they just let me go my own way. Making sure that theirckeys dont do stupid shit like bothering my friends is just good business.


    What if they decide that killing you makes more sense? No offense, but I think thats what Id decide.


    Sen shrugged. Its possible but nascent soul cultivators y the long game. Sure, Im a potential threat to them. As threats go, Im a pretty passive one. Itd be one thing if I was openly hostile to their agendas, but Im not. So, what does killing me get them? It might make them feel a little better, but it risks bringing down the wrath of Master Feng. Besides, why break a tool when you can potentially aim it at your enemies down the road?


    I dont remember you being quite this calcting in your decision-making, said Lo Meifeng.


    Dont give me too much credit. I didnt think of any of this stuff until after the fact when I was trying to figure out why they hadnt killed me.


    Maybe you should do a little more of this kind of thinking before you make decisions.


    I have been trying. It doesnte naturally to me. Plus, the situations I find myself in dont always allow for it.


    Lo Meifeng gave a halfhearted nod. I remember. Things do seem toe at you out of nowhere a lot of the time. Still, its worth trying to think through the ramifications before you jump straight to the <em>Im going to do something terrifying and impossible</em> option.


    For what its worth, Ive been doing my best to keep my head down thest year or two.


    You''ve been out in the deep wilds for thest year or two. How hard is it to keep your head down when the nearest people are a weeks travel away?


    Yeah, thatd be fine if people were my only problems. Do you remember that empty town where I fought all those spirit beasts?


    I do. Why?


    The ghost panther man I met there turned up again demanding that Falling Leaf go with him.


    What happened?


    Sen gave Lo Meifeng a smile that made chills run down her spine. I said no, very firmly. Falling Leaf told him that she wasnt going to go with him. Id like to think thats the end of it, but I doubt thats thest Ive seen of him. No doubt, he sees me as the obstacle to iming what he imagines is his.


    So, youve spent your time in the deep wilds making enemies of the spirit beasts. Well done.


    Oh, you have no idea. They came after us in hordes. A bunch of times. We were killing them by the hundreds.


    Im not sorry I missed out on that adventure.


    I wish <em>I</em> could have missed out on it, said Sen. Its a lot more fun to listen to stories about adventures in the wilds than to live them.


    Theres usually less blood involved with listening.


    Agreed, said Sen before he turned and gave her a warm smile. Well, its about time for me to go. I did the things I came here to do. If I stay much longer, sect people are going to start turning up or the king will insist that I go see him. Im honestly surprised neither of those things have happened yet.


    Lo Meifeng hesitated before she said, Do you want somepany? I could stand to get out of the city for a while.


    Sen was a little surprised by the offer. He didnt think that Lo Meifeng had particrly enjoyed their time together on the road before. Then again, the circumstances had been quite different. Hed been a job for her before. A tiny little part of him whispered about trust and betrayal, but Sen ignored it. Hed had plenty of time to think about all of that and decide that it just wasnt worth hanging on to that old grudge. Before Sen could actually answer, a voice called out from the gate.


    Id be interested ining along.


    Sen and Lo Meifeng both turned deeply unfriendly looks toward the gate. Zixin stood there looking like he feared hed made a terrible miscalction about the situation. Sen was trying to decide exactly what to do about the man, but it seemed that Lo Meifeng had reached the end of her patience. A sword made of pure fire qi appeared in her hand, and she started walking toward the panicked Zixin. The man looked at Sen with a pleading expression.


    You brought this down on your own head, said Sen.

 Book 5: Chapter 53: Exits

    Book 5: Chapter 53: Exits


    Hes a quick bastard, isnt he? observed Sen from where he was leaning against a wall.


    He and Lo Meifeng watched as Zixin ran around a corner at speed, his robes still on fire. It had been a short and brutal exchange of pointers that had mostly involved Lo Meifeng pelting the man with small fireballs when she wasnt punching or kicking him. For all that Zixin hade out on the losing side of that exchange, he had held up under the barrage better than Sen would have expected. <em>I guess I could throw him at an enemy if hes ever stupid enough to bother me again</em>, thought Sen. Although, that seemed pretty unlikely after what Lo Meifeng had done to him. Sen had simply stood aside and watched, despite Zixins repeated entreaties for him to intervene. Why the man had thought Sen would take his side or do anything to help him was a minor mystery that Sen nned to put zero effort into solving. Watching Lo Meifeng hand out a beating had been fun to watch, but Sens interest in the situation ended there.


    Hes faster than I thought hed be, said Lo Meifeng. Im tempting to chase him down.


    I dont think its worth the effort. Im pretty sure he got the message that hes not wee here.


    Lo Meifeng looked a little put out at Sens casual denial of her n to keep injuring the fleeing man for fun, but she gave him a reluctant nod.


    I guess he didnt bother me so much that he deserves to die for it.


    Plus, if hees back, you can always activate the formations. They pack a bit more punch now than they did.


    Thats true. Its always nice when someone volunteers to test formations for you, said Lo Meifeng, before she frowned at him. You dont want me to go with you.


    Sen waggled a hand in the air. Its less that I dont want you to go than I dont think youd enjoy the trip very much. Im basically running morning until night, every single day. Im not nning any more stops between here and the coast. Itd be like when we were running away from the demonic cultivators.


    Except with fewer life or death situations.


    Yeah, Id really like to think thats how its going to go.


    You dont?


    Its me, said Sen. When does it ever go smoothly when I travel?


    There is that, agreed Lo Meifeng.


    Besides, if youre going toe along, it might as well be somewhere interesting. My time is mostly spoken for, at least for the next four years. After that, though, Im getting out of this kingdom.


    Oh?


    Well, it keeps trying to kill me. So, Im not all that enthused about staying. I figure I might head south and see how Grandmother Lu is doing. After that, maybe Ill cross the Mountains of Sorrow and see whats there. If nothing else, there should be fewer idiots like that Zixin guy actively looking for me. I expect those trips will be more fun for you. Less rushing, less camping, and more inns.


    Lo Meifeng was nodding along. Yeah, that definitely sounds better to me. Dont get me wrong, as camp shelters go, your galehouses are pretty fantastic, but theyre not asfortable as inns.


    Theyre really not, and I havent been making many of them on this trip. Its mostly tents and formations to keep the weather and spirit beasts away.


    Why are you traveling at this time of year? Its not very good nning.


    There was no nning involved. Its just how the timing worked out. Its not like the weather bothers me very much these days. I dont even really feel the cold.


    That must be nice.


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    You dont get that with pure spirit cultivation? asked Sen.


    I dont feel it the way that mortals do, but its more that I can safely ignore it. Its not anything that Id describe asfortable. You genuinely dont feel it?


    Sen shook his head. Im aware that its hot or cold, but thats about as far as it goes. I dont like it when my robes get soaked through, which happens pretty much every day. And I do like hot food, so its convenient for me to stop and build a fire. It lets everything dry out and gives me a chance to cook.


    Couldnt you do the same things with fire qi?


    Probably. Its not the same, though.


    Yeah, a good campfire is its own kind of magic.


    You almost sound nostalgic, said Sen, nudging Lo Meifengs arm with his elbow.


    Im not, but I can appreciate the simplefort that a campfire offers, especially out in the wilds. Its like a little piece of civilization that you can take with you.


    Sen gave Lo Meifeng a startled look. After a few moments, she shifted ufortably under his gaze.


    What? she demanded.


    Id just never thought of it in those terms.


    Well, you children arent deep thinkers, are you?


    Sen burst intoughter. I had that oneing, too.


    Yes, said Lo Meifeng with a look of smug satisfaction. Yes, you did.


    Alright, I guess its time to get going. Otherwise, Ill find an excuse to stay another day.


    Fu Run must be truly terriblepany if youd chance getting tangled up with the sects and the royals just to spend more time here.


    Lets just say that she can be taxing at times. She forgets that Im not a nascent soul cultivator who can skip sleep indefinitely.


    Fair enough. Do try to send a message asionally to let me know youre alive.


    Sens eyes went wide.


    That reminds me, said Sen, summoning a scroll from his storage ring. I know youre taking a break, but do you think you could get this to Master Feng for me.


    Lo Meifeng took the scroll. I can do that.


    Thank you. I appreciate it. I could send it to one of Grandmother Lus shops, but who knows how long it would take them to deliver it.


    Lo Meifeng nodded and rested a hand on Sens arm. Try not to start any sect wars or make any gods angry with you. I know its asking a lot, but you should still try.


    Sen grinned at her. No promises, but Ill see what I can do.


    I guess thats all anyone can ask, said Lo Meifeng in a mock mournful tone. Do try to travel safely.


    Sen put on a more serious face. Thats the n. I may stop in briefly on the way back, just to let you know how things with the damn turtle went.


    Would it make a difference if I told you not to attack the divine spirit beast?


    Sen tilted his head back and forth a few times before he said, No, probably not.


    Then, I wont.


    Be safe, Lo Meifeng.


    She gave him a nod and Sen set off before he found another excuse to hang around. Things hadnt exactly gone smoothly in the capital, but Sen had missed spending time with people who didnt expect him to constantly learn things under impossible deadlines or survive impossible challenges. Lo Meifeng just expected him to be ridiculous, and that was an expectation that Sen found he could usually live up to without having to bet his life in the process. Leaving was the right move, though. It was probably a matter of hours before someone important started demanding that Sen do things he didnt want to do. Yes, it was definitely better to just slip away before any of that nonsense came crashing down on his head. He felt a little guilty because Lo Meifeng was the one whod end up having to tell a bunch of people that Sen was already gone, but there wasnt much he could do to prevent that. Even his brief presence hadnt done anything to improve the calm in her world. He just hoped that the improvements to the formations would serve as some kind ofpensation for the irritation shed no doubt feel over the next few days.


    Sen made his way to the citys southern gate and had a moment where he was sure everything was about to go sideways on him. One of the guards at the gate kept staring at Sen like she recognized him. There had been a lot of guards hovering on the day that hed entered the city with Chan Yu Ming. It was entirely possible that she did recognize him, even if it had been a couple of years. He heaved a sigh of relief when the woman didnt say anything as he passed through the gate. Hed been convinced that she was going to stop him and say that there was an order from the pce that he be sent there or detained in some way. He didnt waste any time once he was away from the gate. He took off down the road as fast as his qinggong technique and the safety of the other travelers would allow. It wasnt as fast as he would have liked, but it would have taken someone on a very fast horse to have a hope of catching up with him.


    It took a few hours, but he finally got beyond the outer towns and viges that dotted thendscape around the capital. That let him pick up the pace and ensure that he left anyone trying to catch up with him far, far behind. He even made a point to keep moving until well after the sun set, just to give himself a little more breathing room. Sen wasnt sure that someone was going to try to drag him back to the capital, but he figured that there was no benefit in taking the chance when he didnt need to. When he did finally stop for the night, he made sure he was well off the road and put up the full range of formations, including an obscuring formation. <em>Better safe than sorry</em>, he told himself.

 Book 5: Chapter 54: Exceedingly Patient

    Book 5: Chapter 54: Exceedingly Patient


    The farther away from the capital he got, the more confident Sen felt that hed outrun any potential pursuit. Not that he expected that pursuit would herald any violence, just the imposition of deeply unwanted obligations. If the king had asked for his presence, Sen would have been hard-pressed toe up with a good reason why he couldnt go. It wasnt really Jing that Sen wanted to avoid. It was the prospect of some formal event in which he would be required to pretend to care about the things that nobles would say to him or try to rope him into. The very idea was enough to make his skin crawl. Sen thought hed have found it personally easier to say no to the sects. Hed had a lot of practice at saying no to sects or at least saying no to sect members. On bnce, though, he expected that would end up having more negative consequences for him in the long run. He was just happy that hed managed to avoid the problem on that visit.


    He was less hopeful that hed escape so easily on his next visit unless he was very sneaky abouting and going. Not that city walls posed any kind of real obstacle to him, but he had to imagine that there were people assigned to watch for things like cultivators tantly ignoring protections like walls. Although, even there, he did have advantages he could deploy that would make getting noticed unlikely. Still, every additional step and sneaky move was an opportunity to draw a lot more attention than he wanted on him. Still, with the capital well behind him, Sen stopped feeling like it was an absolute requirement to set up an obscuring formation every single night. Hed discovered that most spirit beasts were quite willing to detour around dangerous formations. He didnt know if they recognized the formations for what they were or instinctively sensed the danger they represented. He didnt think it mattered that much on his side of things. He didnt need to understand as long as they found somewhere else to be.


    Yet, it seemed the heavens were simply waiting for him to rx his vignce. The second evening that he decided to forgo the obscuring formation, things immediately took a turn for the weird. Sen had barely gotten his fire started when he felt someone simply walk through his formations like they werent even there. That was enough to give him pause. Doing something like that meant that they had either forcibly suppressed the reactions of the formations, which pretty much limited the possibilities down to nascent soul cultivators, or someone understood those formations even better than he did. Neither option left Sen feeling warm and secure. When a figure strode over to the campfire, they were met by the sight of Sen standing there with a spear in hand. They studied each other for long moments across the crackling campfire, faces impassive.


    Sen didnt know what to make the man. He looked to be of an approximate age with Sen, which he knew meant nothing. From what he could glean, the stranger was approximately the same level of advancement, which Sen also knew meant practically nothing in terms of what people could actually aplish. For someone who had been through the fires of multiple advancements, though, the man was surprisingly in. He had a wider face with smooth cheeks and heavy eyebrows. Sen couldnt read anything from the mans face about what the stranger was thinking. The man eyed the spear curiously but didnt seem nearly cautious enough about it to suit Sen.


    Are you always this friendly? asked the man.


    When people barge into my camp after forcing their way through my formations, yes.


    I dont mean you any harm.


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    Said every bandit and murderer in history.


    Thats a fair point. Perhaps we could just speak for a moment.


    Lets not.


    If I did mean you harm, do you really think you could stop me?


    Yes, said Sen.


    The icy assurance in Sens voice seemed to give the man legitimate pause. He gave the spear a longer look.


    Thats a very basic weapon for a core formation cultivator.


    Sen looked down at the spear. It was the one hed used through most of his time as a foundation formation cultivator. He gave the man a bleak smile.


    Its killed plenty of core cultivators who thought too much of themselves and not enough of me, said Sen. There. We talked. You can go now.


    Id have thought someone so hostile would have attacked me by now.


    Dont mistake my reluctance to get blood all over this campsite as reluctance to send you to your next life.


    My name is began the stranger.


    I dont care, said Sen and let lightning qi infuse the spear.


    The stranger took a step back when lightning started to crackle around the spearhead. The passive expression the man had worn up until then shifted into what Sen thought was a much saner wariness.


    That isnt necessary. We dont have to fight.


    It seems like we do since you refuse to leave.


    Why do you assume Im your enemy?


    Im not even going to dignify that. Let me be as clear as I can be. Im not interested in whatever youre selling.


    Heaving a tremendous sigh, the man spoke again. If I beat you in a fight, will you at least listen to me?


    No. Because I dont fight for fun. If we fight, one of us dies.


    The man looked positively baffled at that response. Havent you ever heard of sparring?


    Sparring is for children, training, and people you trust. So, I suggest that you take your life, be grateful for it, and leave me alone.


    The stranger lifted his hands in a way that Sen guessed that he was supposed to read as peaceful. He wasnt moved by this disy. If anything, it made him even more tense.


    Is there some other circumstance in which you would be willing to hear me out? At an inn, perhaps?


    So you can have hostages to threaten? No. I dont think so.


    Hostages? Why would I need hostages?


    Because people dont like hearing the word no, said Sen, as he started pouring earth qi into the ground. A truth that youve repeatedly proven by <em>not leaving</em>.


    The stranger took several breaths. Im not leaving because I was sent to find you.


    Yes, Im sure you were. Sent by a sect, or a king, or someone else that <em>you</em> think I should think is important. Well, I dont think theyre important. I dont want to meet them. And I have no intention of getting involved. Im <em>done</em> getting involved with other peoples problems.


    The stranger looked at Sen like it was the first time he was truly seeing him. You mean that dont you? You truly dont care why Im here, where I came from, or who sent me. There are literally no words that will convince you of anything I say.


    You do understand. Good. Now, please leave me alone.


    What could have possibly happened to fill you with this much disdain and distrust for people you dont even know?


    Oh, thats easy. I have lived to regret it nearly every time Ive ever listened to a stranger. It always leads to the same ce. Me standing over a mound of dead bodies, said Sen.


    That isnt what I want.


    Its never what anyone says they want, but its always the price of getting what they want. Except Im the one who ends up doing the killing. Well, <em>not this time</em>. If there are people who need killing, go home and do it yourself.


    They told me this would be difficult, but I never dreamed you would be this broken.


    Whatever tenuous grip on civility that had kept Sen going through the very aggravating conversation disappeared. It was reced with a familiar, deadly calm.


    Were done now, said Sen.


    Wait, I


    I have been exceedingly patient with you. Thats over. Were done. You can go, or you can die.

 Book 5: Chapter 55: That Sounds Like a You Problem

    Book 5: Chapter 55: That Sounds Like a You Problem


    The strangers jaw worked back and forth like he was fighting not to express some very angry words. Sen watched this struggle with empty indifference. Hed been trying so hard to get the man to leave and avoid the necessity of violence. He was still willing to let the stranger just walk away. Hed hoped that he wouldnt have to spill any blood on this journey, as far-fetched as that had felt to him. Now, it seemed like that was going to happen despite Sens best intentions. Sen wondered if he could have avoided this problem if he just listened to the man, but he knew that for the trap that it was. If he had listened to whatever story the man had to tell, it would have given the false impression that Sen was open to whatever proposal was going to follow it. And it was very clear that this man had been sent there to recruit Sen to someones purpose. That would have ended with them right where they were, except it would have taken longer. When Sen considered the mans approach, he made an obvious connection.


    You were sent here by whoever dispatched that fool, Zixin, werent you?


    The strangers angry expression vanished beneath a very concerned one. What did you do to him?


    Me? I didnt do anything to him, said Sen.


    Thank the gods.


    But he was beaten half to death, on fire, and running away thest time I saw him.


    What? I thought you said you didnt do anything to do him, said the stranger, his eyes shing with barely contained rage.


    I didnt, but he also failed to recognize when to walk away and leave people alone.


    The crackling from the campfire was the only thing to break the silence in the campsite for several seconds, and then several things happened all at once. The stranger drew his jian in a move so swift that it told Sen the other man was also on a path of body cultivation. At the same time, narrow stone shafts shot out of the ground beneath the stranger, and Sen loosed an arc of lightning at the man. While Sen didnt expect both attacks to work, he was shocked when neither attack managed tond. The stranger had used an air qi technique tounch himself into the air. It was barely enough to keep him ahead of the stone shafts, but it was enough. It was also enough to let the man avoid the arc of lightning.


    Sen would haveunched another lightning attack, but it was only intuition and his own superhuman reflexes that let him activate his qinggong technique and move out of the way of the wind de that shot at him. While he usually found wind des a simple matter to deal with, he rarely had to deal with them at such close range. By the time Sen recovered from the hasty move, the stranger was already closing on him. It seemed the man was determined to make this a fight that relied primarily on weapons. Sen almost felt bad for him. Almost. Yet, that initial arrogance was soon reced with something that bordered on concern. Whoever the man was, he had been trained by someone who knew their business with the jian. Sen found himself having to really work to keep pace, but he had been trained by Uncle Kho. He used the superior length of the spear to keep the man at a distance. A fact that obviously frustrated the stranger. Sen could appreciate that frustration. The jian wasnt the ideal weapon to fight someone with a spear. It was a close-range weapon that relied far more on finesse than brute strength.


    Against the qi-infused durability of the spear, the match wasrgely even. The man was too fast and too strong for Sen to simply overpower him with the spear, but Sen was too fast and too strong for the other man to close the distance. As long as Sen could keep the pace up, the bnce would eventually tip in his favor. Superior range wasnt impossible to ovee, but it was a massive advantage. Sen only had to get the tiniest bit lucky to start inflicting injuries. Once that happened, the other man would start to slow down. Cultivator healing was impressive, but it was by no means immediate. Without time to consume some kind of healing pill or elixir, time that Sen would never give him, injuries would hamper the other cultivator in many of the same ways that they hampered mortals. Coming to the same conclusion, the stranger tried to fall back on qi attacks to break Sens concentration and pacing.


    The look of astonishment on the mans face when Sen blocked the wind de attacks with wind des of his own almost aplished the task of breaking Sens concentration. It was all he could do not to burst intoughter at theical expression. Unfortunately, it was enough of a distraction that he missed the window of opportunity to inflict an injury. Still, Sen realized that he had been too focused on the fight with the weapons and not focused enough on ending the fight. It had just been so long since hed faced anyone who had the kind of skill that the other man disyed that it had narrowed Sens focus too much. Sen started sending fireballs at the man from strange directions. Sen had no idea if they would deal actual injuries to the man, but they were distractions that often forced the man to move in the direction that Sen wanted him to move.


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    The stranger clearly saw what Sen was doing, but Sen was more than prepared to y the waiting game. It took several minutes, but when he sent a pair of fireballs at the man, one from the side and one from behind, it seemed that instincts took over. The man took a step in the wrong direction and couldnt get his jian around in time to block the spear. The spearhead did double damage. The edge on the spearhead opened a wound across the top of the mans thigh, while the lightning Sen had never stopped cycling dove into that open wound. The stranger didnt scream, but he did clench his jaw hard. He tried to throw himself away from Sen with a burst of air qi but still caught a ncing blow to the head from the haft of the spear. Sen dashed after the man, intent on capitalizing on the moment of confusion that always happened after getting hit in the head. He swung the spear in a vicious arc that would split the other man in half if it connected.


    It seemed that whoever had trained the stranger had imposed a simr philosophy of battle to the one that Sen learned. The stranger looked stunned and a little confused, but he reacted with the instincts that could only be honed through countless hours of practice under the harshest of conditions. The stranger stepped inside the arc of the spear and brought his jian down with what Sen assumed was his most powerful blow. It was Sens turn to be stunned and disoriented as the spear was sheared in half, shattering the qi techniques that hed been using to infuse the weapon. The bacsh felt a lot like taking a blow to the head, and Sen was vaguely aware of the blood that ran out of his nose. His senses or instincts warned him, and he activated his qinggong technique. It only carried him about ten steps away from the stranger, but he hadnt escaped unscathed. He felt a hot burn across his back where the stranger had caught him with a shing attack. Sen stumbled and, once again alerted by his intuition, dove into a sloppy roll. The wind de hed avoided tore up the dirt behind him. It was a short reprieve, but long enough for Sens mind to recover.


    He stood and faced the other man, who was quickly limping in his direction. When the stranger saw that Sen had gathered his wits, he slowed and stopped. Sen nced down at the severed half of the spear haft in his hand, frowned at it, and dropped the mostly useless piece of wood to the ground. He looked back at the stranger, who abruptly looked very uncertain. Sen wasnt sure it had always been going toe down to this. Part of him considered summoning another spear to finish the fight, but he was ready for it to be over. Hed spent the entire fight studying the other mans use of the jian. He knew how to end this quickly. Sen drew his own jian and walked toward the other man. As the stranger watched Sen approach with the jian, watched the way Sen moved with it, his uncertainty devolved into genuine concern. Sen approved of that reaction. As much as he liked the spear and as well-trained as he was with it, the jian was his true weapon.


    There was no art to the exchange that followed. Maybe if they were both fresh and using the swords, it would have been different. As things stood, the stranger was injured and tired. Sen batted aside thrusts, dodged shed, and Sen watched the fear grow in the other mans eyes every time their des met directly. It took less than thirty seconds before the stranger made a visible effort to disengage from the fight, and Sen let him. The other cultivator looked down at the badly damaged de in his own hand. There were deep gouges in the edge where their des had met. The stranger looked over at the pristine edge of Sens jian. Closing his eyes, the man dropped his jian to the ground. The stranger opened his eyes, and Sen saw the resignation in them. He also saw a kind of peace that he didnt entirely understand.


    I cannot defeat you, said the stranger. I only ask that you make my death a clean one.


    Sen stared at the other man. <em>What in all the hells is he doing</em>? What he was seeing made no sense to Sen. Sen had been in hopeless fights before, but hed never just stopped fighting. As long as there was a weapon in hand, qi in the body, or simply the will to survive, there was a chance. It would never even ur to Sen to just quit. Sure, everyone would be reborn, but that was no excuse to just give up on the life you were in. Sen couldnt decide if he should kill the man or try to shake some sense into him. <em>Who taught this man</em>? <em>Master Feng would be horrified by this disy</em>, thought Sen. It wasnt cowardice. The man wasnt begging for his life or trying to run away. But this kind of eptance of death struck Sen as horribly unnatural. Death was part of the cultivator world. It was always a possibility. It was only wisdom to prepare oneself for that possibility of it, but that wasnt what Sen was seeing. <em>Damn it</em>, thought Sen. However much he had been ready to kill the man in a fight, killing the stranger while he just stood there and passively epted it would leave Sen feeling like an executioner. He had no interest in carrying around that kind of uncertainty or guilt.


    If its suicide youre after, do it yourself, said Sen. Just make sure you do it somewhere else.


    Sen turned to walk back to what was left of the campsite, but the other man called out after him.


    I dont understand.


    Sen turned back to the man. He weighed all of the possible answers he could give. Then, he shrugged.


    That sounds like a <em>you</em> problem.

 Book 5: Chapter 56: Why Me?

    Book 5: Chapter 56: Why Me?


    Sen was working extremely hard to only pay attention to what was in front of him. Unfortunately, it was a task made difficult by the excessive boredom involved with that. There were no spirit beasts or even any other travelers to upy his thoughts. asionally, at the farthest reaches of his spiritual sense, hed catch the briefest snatches of the presence of spiritual beasts. Hed been hopeful that he might be able to make use of those to deal with his other problem. Sadly, they all fled in pure terror at the merest touch of his spiritual sense. Sen didnt bother extending his spiritual sense behind him. He knew what hed find there, and it wasnt something he felt like dealing with at present. While he could avoid noticing the man with his spiritual sense, he couldnt close off his regr senses.


    That left him hearing it every time the man failed to avoid a tree branch or some other obstacle in a mad rush to keep pace. Sen had done nothing to make that any easier, futilely hoping that if he made it difficult enough that the stranger would just go away. Hed been hoping for that ever since he walked away from the stranger after refusing to kill him. Sen had returned to the campsite and made a galehouse with an angry burst of earth qi. The stranger hade stumbling up behind him and demanding that Sen satisfy honor, only for Sen to m a very heavy stone door in the strangers face and seal the door for good measure. That had seemed like it would be a sufficient message.


    Yet, when Sen had gotten up the next morning, hed found the stranger kneeling outside the galehouse. The moment hed seen Sen, hed started demanding that Sen kill him so that the stranger could die with honor. Sen had shaken his head at the idiot and taken off toward the road using his qinggong technique. Instead of taking the not even remotely subtle hints, the man had started chasing him, yelling that Sen was denying him his rightful death. Sen had picked up the pace until the stranger had lost the breath to continue berating him. That had reduced the amount of noise, which relieved Sen, but the man hadnt stopped chasing after him. Sen had eventually stopped to eat something for lunch. The stranger hade staggering up, given the food in Sens hands an astonished look, and immediately started demanding that Sen finish their fight. For <em>honor</em>. Sen had stood up and stowed his food in a storage ring before shaking his head again.


    Why me? hed asked, his eyes turned heavenward.


    That same irritating process had continued more or less unabated for thest two days, making Sen ignore towns and viges where he might otherwise have stopped for a slightly morefortable night of rest. Some part of him hoped that the relentless travel might wear the other man down. Unfortunately, while Sens qinggong technique was a little better and a little more efficient, letting him keep a bit of distance between himself and the stranger, it seemed that the other mans body cultivation wasnt going to give out on him soon. Having already decided that he wasnt going to give the man what he wanted, he didnt n to back down on that now. Yet, it also left him with a persistent irritation. Realizing that his patience was going to wear down eventually and that hed do something rash, which was no doubt what the stranger was hoping for, Sen left himself slow down and stop. He turned and waited for the stranger to catch up. The mans eyes brightened when he saw Sen standing there. Before the stranger could get a word out, Sen spoke.


    Why do you persist in this pointless pursuit?


    Because you owe me an honorable


    Sen cut him off with a gesture. I owe you <em>nothing</em> and honor least of all. What possible reason could <em>I</em> have to release you from your imaginary shame.


    Honor demands


    Honor is an empty te. It feeds no one. It serves no purpose. It is a poor excuse cultivators use to kill each other and that the powerful invoke to impose their wishes on others.


    The stranger looked appalled and incensed at Sens brusque denial of honor, its demands, and its hold over them. Sen was hard-pressed to care about the mans overblown reaction. He supposed it would be some kind of mild heresy in some circles, but Sen didnt usually travel in those circles. Even when he did, hed seen a lot more posturing about honor than actual honor. All of those nobles and cultivators could learn a thing or two from Wu Gang. That was a man who took honor seriously and, as far as Sen could tell, for the right reasons. Sen was fairly certain that hed left honor behind in Tides Rest when hed killed that sect fool. Every time he thought back on it, the more he hated that hed done it. In hindsight, Sen had a far better understanding of what hed been capable of at the time. He could have simply disabled the sect idiot and left him for someone to find. Of course, he hadnt known that at the time. Hed suspected he could, but suspicions were poor armor in a fight. Sen sighed. And hed been so angry at the time. He knew why now, but that felt like a poor excuse too. Some of that had to havee from him, and this stranger seemed determined to pull on those same strings, to anger Sen until he did in anger what he wouldnt do in cold blood.


    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Honor is what guides us all, said the stranger. It ensures we behave in the proper way to the proper people.


    Really? And when you invaded my campsite and refused to leave? What t of honor were you serving? When you attacked me, where was your honor?


    Thats, the man paused, thats different. I was serving the wishes of my master.


    And his wishes allow you to ignore all other demands of honor? It excuses you for imposing your unwantedpany on me. It pardons your attack on me. That is cheap honor indeed.


    The stranger flinched as though hed been pped.


    Sen continued. Beyond that, you expect <em>me</em> to uphold <em>your</em> honor. Why should I do this for you? Why should I help you maintain the fantasy that you ever possessed honor in the first ce? That helps only you while imposing karmic debts on me. You dont want honor. You want the veneer of honor. And I will not give it to you. Seek your redemption elsewhere.


    With that, Sen turned and continued on his way. For a blissful period of about five minutes, he thought that his words might have aplished something. Then, he felt the stranger moving behind him again. Sen mentally braced himself for more demands that he kill the man or more ranting about honor. However, when Sen stopped that evening, the stranger kept his distance. Sen wasnt sure what to make of it. He gave serious thought to the idea that the man would attempt to force the issue or n some kind of ambush. Nothing came of it, though. Instead, the next morning Sen felt the stranger exactly where hed left him. Far enough away not to be an obvious problem, but close enough that he could keep track of Sen. Sen mostly dismissed the man from his thoughts. <em>If the idiot wants to follow me around</em>, <em>he can</em>, thought Sen. <em>Ill leave him behind when I reach the coast</em>. Sen knew that he could simply <em>hide</em> and move through the forest itself, but that was a lot of trouble and effort. The road was far more convenient, even in the winter.


    Sen mostly managed to ignore the strangers presence, but it wasnt until the afternoon that the man truly fell away from Sens attention. Sen was standing on a small rise and staring down at a vige when the stranger finally approached him again. The man looked down at the vige for a moment before turning his eyes to Sen.


    Do you mean to stop here? asked the man.


    Sen nced over at the stranger and said, Yes. Once Ive steeled myself.


    The other man looked back down at the town and stared hard at it. It was as if he thought he could force some answer from it through sheer willpower. When his efforts revealed nothing, he looked to Sen again.


    I dont understand. What is down there that could make someone like you hesitate?


    Sen once again wished the man would simply disappear back to whatever master had sent him in the first ce. Taking a deep breath, he stowed his feelings as much as he could. They wouldnt be helpful in that vige. He gave the stranger a pitying look.


    Theyre dying, said Sen. All of them are dying.


    A gue vige? No one should go there.


    Ignoring the man, Sen started walking down the road. He had heard about things like this from Auntie Caihong. It was almost always impossible to figure out how the illnesses found their way into the vige or town, but it was usually one of the elders or children who got it first. Sen corrected himself with a mental snarl. One of the poor elderly or children contracted it first because their health was always fragile. Of course, the more prosperous people didnt see it as a problem. Just one less poor person, but the illnesses never stayed confined to the poor. Themunities were always a little too tight-knit and the sickness invariably spread. More than one ce had been left all but abandoned in the wake of these illnesses. There were asional survivors, but a handful of people couldnt rebuild theplex set of crafts, food production, and services that let amunity survive. Sometimes they tried, but more often than not they simply migrated somewhere else.


    The stranger called after him. Why would you go there?


    Sen turned and gave the man a re that made the stranger take a step back.


    What do you have to fear, cultivator? demanded Sen, contempt dripping from every word. Bearing witness to something unpleasant? No mortal illness is going to infect you. Im going there because no one else will, and theres a chance I might be able to save a few who would otherwise die. If I cant do that, then I may be able to ease their suffering. If that tiny measure of mercy is tooplex an idea for your vaunted <em>honor</em>, then be gone!

 Unintended Cultivator Book 2 Official Takedown/Publication Notice

    Unintended Cultivator Book 2 Official Takedown/Publication Notice


    Hey Everyone!


    Okay. That glorious time known as publication day is almost upon us for Unintended Cultivator Volume 2. As per Amazon''s exclusivity rules, I need to take down most of Volume 2. I will leave the approximately 10% allowed as a sample on here and mark the volume as a stub. I''m nning to do that on March 8, 2024, approximately four days ahead of publication. So, if you want to read the rough-ish draft version of Volume Two on here, you have until then.


    As for the official Amazon release, you can put in a pre-order for the ebook over<strong> here</strong>.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    It will also be avable on Kindle Unlimited. Fun fact about Kindle Unlimited, even if you download the ebook and don''t open it, it still helps with the rankings. So, I''d be super grateful for anyone who downloads it.


    I didn''t make a big announcement on here about it before, but Unintended Cultivator Volume 1 is now avable in audiobook form over on Audible. If you prefer hearing your books, you can grab that <strong>here</strong>. We managed to snag Adam Verner as the narrator, and he did a great job!


    Okay, that''s enough talking from the writer monkey.


    Thanks!


    Eric


    Also, here''s the official cover for Volume Two.

 Book 5: Chapter 57: Plague Village

    Book 5: Chapter 57: gue Vige


    It didnt take Sen very long to realize that hed been mistaken. There were more dead than dying in the vige. He just hadnt recognized the signs. His spiritual sense was attuned to find life and qi. Dead bodies rarely had either. Still, he kept walking. No one else was going to help those people. Even if theyd sent for a doctor, there was little chance of one arriving before everyone was dead. If a mortal doctor came, it was unlikely that they could have done anything for what few vigers remained. Even with his alchemical training, Sen wasnt sure that <em>he</em> could do anything for them either. The people he could sense were already terribly weak, their lives teetering on the brink. Still, it was possible. Maybe. If he was skilled enough, he might be able to save some of them.


    While Orchards Reach had never had a true gue, winter had been a terrible time for those on the streets. It had been terrible even for those like Grandmother Lu who could afford some meager shelter. There was never enough food to go around. While Sen hadnt understood why certain kinds of food were good for people back then, he had understood that not getting enough to eat seemed to make people weak and more likely to get sick. And people <em>did</em> get sick. Entire families would die each winter, and the town guard would clear away their bodies. The guards would grant them the courtesy of a funeral pyre, usually, but Sen had always thought that giving them that wood to stay warm before they died would have been more useful. Those annual deaths had been another reason that Sen didnt try to make friends. There was no way to know if any particr person, himself included, would still be alive in the spring. Why befriend people you might have to mourn after a season or two?


    As if the thought of funeral pyres had conjured one, Sen saw an old man standing by a pile of wood. The shrouded figure on top of the pyre was small, too small. Sen closed his eyes for a moment, then forced a look of calm onto his face. He walked over and stood next to the man. The ground there had been scorched recently and, unless Sen missed his guess, often in recent days. The smell of charred wood and the vaguer smell of scorched flesh assaulted Sens nose and it took a supreme act of will to do what he set out to do and not simply flee that odor. The old man stood there with a torch in hand, trembling, unshed tears in his eyes. Sen reached out and wrapped his own hand around the torch, but he didnt take it. He looked at the old man.


    I will do this thing, grandfather, if you wish it, said Sen.


    The old man looked at Sen without really seeing him. Sen didnt know what the man <em>was</em> seeing, although he could guess. Memories of that tiny body on the pyre, back when it was filled with life andughter. The old man nodded and his grip slipped away from the torch. Sen rested a hand on the mans shoulder for a moment. Then, mustering what dignity and reverence he could, he slowly lowered the torch to the pyre. The wood had been doused with something and caught swiftly. Sen walked back over to the old man, who had tears streaming down his face as he watched the pyre burn.


    She was still healthy for so long, said the man. I thought shed make it. I thought shed live. <em>Why</em> have the heavens done this to us?


    I dont know, grandfather.


    Please, I, the mans voice choked off.


    Do you want to be alone?


    The old man nodded, his eyes never leaving the pyre. Sen gave the man a bow and walked back to the road. The stranger was standing there, aplicated look on his face. Sens voice was deceptively calm when he spoke.


    Would you like to say something to me about your honor now?


    The stranger stared at the grief-ravaged old man and the pyre. No. No, I would not.


    Sen nodded. Wise. When the pyre burns down, take the man to his home. Otherwise, he might stay out here until he freezes to death. Give him tea. If he wishes to speak, listen.


    I can do that. What will you do?


    Sen looked at the vige, where he could feel the emptiness in so many homes. I will tend to the dying.


    Sen had been well-trained by Auntie Caihong, who had faced these situations before. She had always been uncharacteristically detached when she spoke about them. As though she was describing something someone else had told her about. As the hours wore on, Sen found himself helpless to do anything for most of the people. If they had been cultivators, he could have saved them all. They wouldnt have needed to be advanced cultivators or body cultivators. Even if theyd just been qi-condescending cultivators at the very earliest stages, he <em>could</em> have saved them. Instead, all he could do for most of them was brew weak elixirs to ease the worst of their pains. Anything that might have restored them enough to save them would have killed them. They were simply too far gone. As the time drew out and the vigers died, Sen started to understand Auntie Caihongs reaction a little better. He would need to distance himself from this to ever talk about it, otherwise the helpless rage he was feeling would spill out in every direction.


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    As the days drifted together into a haze of misery, Sen found himself building pyre after pyre. He stood watch over those who had no family left. Mothers or fathers who had already watched their families die. The old who had no one left to mourn them. The young who had outlived their brothers, sisters, and parents. He offered the prayers and begged intercession from gods of mercy andpassion. Silently, he railed against the indifference of the heavens. He had known cruelty, but this was worse. To make people watch everyone and everything they had ever cared about crumble away beneath the unknowing and uncaring steps of a sickness spoke to a callous viciousness that Sen found abhorrent. However much he railed inside, though, he kept it there. The dying didnt need his fury. They needed a kind word and a gentle hand to ease their fear as they faced theirst moments.


    Sen took sce in the knowledge that he did manage to save three lives. They had been young enough, healthy enough, and he arrived soon enough that he had been able to nurse them through the worst of it. It had been slow work and exacting to a degree that he thought was beyond him. In the end, the desperate needs of the moment had allowed him to find that razors edge of bnce he needed to keep them breathing. Hed had to build their bodys ability to fight off the sickness first, although he suspected they would have been far more thankful for a swift death. Only after their bodies could fight the illness was Sen able to augment their vitality and strength. The questions came after that, about family and friends. He was as gentle as he could be with the news, but there was no good news to share. He feared the fresh losses might sap their wills to live. In the end, they seemed to find strength in each other, but he heard each of them curse him for not letting them die with everyone else.


    Sen had assigned the stranger the less onerous task of burning clothes, bedding, and anything else Sen thought might carry the illness. He had, in a moment of desperate sadness and a need for something akin to normalcy, asked the mans name. The man had stared at him with vacant eyes for nearly ten seconds before the words came out of his mouth, hollow and lifeless.


    Kong Zi Han.


    Yet, after learning the mans name, Sen found he had nothing more to ask. His heart and mind were too weary for anything else. They spent a week in that vige before the illness had carried off nearly every living soul. The three that Sen had saved, the old man, and two others that the illness had not touched were all that remained. Confident that the three he had treated would survive, Sen simply stepped out of the building where he had been caring for them and started down the road. Kong Zi Han caught up with him a few momentster. The other man looked at Sen in confusion.


    Why do you leave now?


    Because I could only do more harm by staying.


    I dont understand.


    Sen considered his words with care before he spoke. You probably think those people should be grateful, right?


    They should be. You saved them. Offeredfort to those you couldnt save.


    They may be grateful for that, someday, said Sen, but right now they hate me. They likely hate you as well.


    Why?


    Many reasons. They hate us both for being cultivators who could so casually ignore the threat of the illness. They hate me for noting sooner. If I had arrived a week earlier, I might have saved most of the vige. At least, they think so. The three I healed hate me for sparing them from death. They think that death would be preferable to living on. They believe I stole something from them.


    What?


    The chance to reincarnate with their loved ones. They may be right to hate me for that. Letting them die might have been a deeper kindness.


    If thats true, why did you save them?


    Because I could. Because Im not a god. I dont know their fate or their karma. They might have things left to do in this life. I did it because no one else would have even tried, said Sen, stopping and turning to look at Kong Zi Han. Mostly, I did it because those people felt abandoned by the heavens. There is nothing worse than feeling abandoned when death looms. So, answer me this. Can you tell me honestly that your master will suffer as those people suffered if I donte? Will your master feel as though the heavens have turned their eyes away? If you can, I will listen.


    Kong Zi Han looked back toward what had once been a vige and now stood only as a cold monument of death.


    No, he said. I cannot say that.


    Then, return to your master or leave them behind to find another path, but this is where we part ways.


    Turning from the man, Sen walked away, his head down and shoulders sagging beneath a weight he didnt know how to bear.

 Book 5: Chapter 58: Heavens’ Shadow

    Book 5: Chapter 58: Heavens¡¯ Shadow


    The speed of Sens travel slowed considerably for a time. While he started every day using his qinggong technique, he always found himself simply walking along the road by the time afternoon rolled over him. While his qinggong technique didnt call for much attention when using it in small bursts, using it all day required sustained attention. He didnt have it to give. His mind kept turning back to the gue vige. Parts of it came back with utter rity, such as his initial exchange with the old man. Sen feared that the sight of that mans grief had imprinted itself on his mind in a way that would be hard to escape in dreams. Other parts, he knew from direct experience, would haunt his nightmares. Hed already spent more than one night endlessly building funeral pyres for a mountain of bodies that never grew smaller. His actual memories of building the real pyres blurred together, which simultaneously made him feel better and worse. He didnt want to remember all of them, but he felt like someone should. It made it hard to know what was best.


    Sen suspected that their time in that vige had affected Kong Zi Han more than the frustrating messenger had realized. It was all too easy for cultivators to brush off the deaths of mortals, so long as they didnt have to actually see what those deaths meant. Yet, every cultivator started their lives as mortals. Bing cultivators didnt excise those human emotions, though it often seemed to blunt them. Confronting the hopelessness in that vige, the sheer magnitude of the loss, and impossible levels of grief had seemed to reconnect the man with those dormant emotions. Sen didnt know if it would mean anything in the long term, but perhaps Kong Zi Han would find some spark of enlightenment from it all. If nothing else, it seemed to put the mans ridiculous ideas about honor in perspective.


    Sen hadnt been immune to the mirror that vige provided either. As harsh as he had been with Kong Zi Han, Sen didnt think that he was much better. Their failings were different but no less severe. While foolish ideas about honor had blinded Kong Zi Han, Sen had let himself be blinded by self-interest. Sen could forgive that in himself if only a little. His self-interest in recent years had been driven by life-and-death stakes. If he hadnt been entirely focused on his survival, he <em>would</em> be dead. Yet, it had made him into someone who met any attempt to impinge on his time with naked, unbridled hostility. There were also traces of that old hatred of nobles mixed in there. The more entitled and powerful the person trying to impinge on his time, the more hostile he felt. It had felt like everyone he met in thest few years was someone entitled and powerful who thought they had a right tomand his time and attention.


    However, Sen knew that wasnt true. Hed certainly met more of those people than he would like. It hadnt been everyone, though. Assuming that everyone approaching him represented someone like that had just made his life simpler. It let him reflexively say no, to not listen, to be as callous as every other cultivator out there. <em>It was simpler</em>, thought Sen, <em>but it wasnt better</em>. In the face of the suffering hed just witnessed, Sen saw how petty hed been. His worries about being used by people he saw as entitled were just trivial. Not that Sen thought he should let himself be used if he saw iting, but it wasnt rational to react to everyone like they were trying to get something out of him that would only benefit them and hurt him. Hed been acting like a child, throwing fits when things didnt go the way he wanted, andshing out to keep people at bay.


    <em>The people in that vige would have traded ces with me without a second of hesitation</em>, Sen realized with a sh of guilt. As much as he didnt reflect on it, he had be one of those distant and powerful cultivators somewhere along the line. He only felt out of his depth because he was constantly surrounded by people who towered over him. Yet, in most rooms, <em>he</em> was the person to fear. <em>He</em> was the person who could act with impunity, neither caring nor considering what the local authorities might do or even what most other cultivators might do. The differences between him and a nascent soul cultivator were all but meaningless to any mortals he encountered. He might as well be a nascent soul cultivator to them. The level of freedom he enjoyed and the amount of pure choice at his disposal were things mortals could only dream about. And he had taken them for granted because there were a handful of people out there who could, if they noticed him, potentially impose their will. <em>What a tiny concern that truly ispared with mortal frailty</em>, thought Sen. <em>Evenpared with qi-condensing and formation foundation cultivators</em>, <em>what I have must look all but unattainable</em>.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    He thought of all those vigers as they died. The looks of fear, anguish, and also the looks of relief. For them, the next life was a hope that they might escape the powerlessness of this life. A hope that they might achieve some tiny sliver of what he considered not enough. To him, every advancement was just a brief stop on the way to the moment of his ascension. Sen didnt even know when he had decided that he would ascend. He knew there had been a time when he didnt think he would. He had fears about what he might find there. Who he might find waiting there to exploit him. He didnt know when hede to the conclusion that ascension wasnt just possible but inevitable. He tried to find a specific moment when hed decided that, but it didnt exist. There had never really been a moment, just a slowly growing eptance that he would, one day, leave this world behind him.


    Sen shook his head. Other cultivators spent centuries hoping and praying that they would be able to take just one more step. <em>Here I am</em>, <em>having already decided that Im going to surpass them all like Im just deciding whether to order more rice</em>. Sen couldnt help but wonder if those vigers had been more right to hate him than hed thought. Thinking back, his younger self probably would have hated him on sight, seeing an arrogance that dwarfed any nobles. Sen was so distracted by these thoughts that he didnt even notice it when three people approached him moving in the other direction. When he did finally notice them, he just moved to the far side of the road to let them pass. When the three moved to block his path, he felt a great swell of apathy inside of him. He didnt have the energy to deal with bandits or cultivators or anyone else. Still, it seemed that the world had other ns for him. One of the three stepped forward and started boasting about their sect. The words broke against Sens apathy like waves on a rock, making no impression. He simply stared nkly at the three. The one who was apparently in charge got angry.


    I said, what is your name?


    The weight inside of Sen made dragging any words out of himself feel like a task that was difficult beyond measure.


    Youre blocking the road, said Sen in a voice that sounded listless to his own ears.


    The one in charge started talking again about his sect and honor and a bunch of other things that Sen did not care about. It sounded like an infuriated bird chattering to him. The bird noises eventually stopped and the one in charge was looking at him with an expectant and self-important expression. Sen stared at the ridiculous little man without speaking for several seconds.


    Youre still blocking the road, observed Sen in that same lifeless tone, barely able to dredge up the will to care about what these people were doing.


    Sen felt them ready their qi. He could sense how affronted the three were that he hadnt acknowledged their He didnt even know what they had wanted him to acknowledge. He stood there as they prepared to attack, doing nothing. He knew he could kill them. It wouldnt be hard. It was just so pointless. A waste. There was a spark of memory from when hed been advancing, an idea for a sword technique that hed nned to try out. Hed never done it because it had always felt iplete. Now, though, now he knew what had been missing. He even knew what others would call it. Heavens Shadow. The qi inside him stirred, almost as if it had been roused by the mere thought. He felt the shadow qi gather, but also a thread of divine qi, and all of that terrible sorrow he felt. The qi surged into his jian as his handnded on the hilt. He drew the de in a fluid motion and swept it in front of him in a wide arc.


    A fog of shadow rolled forward, lit from within by a kaleidoscope of iridescent colors. It surged toward the other three cultivators, obscuring them even as they tried to defend against the technique. Sens qi ignored their defenses and crashed into them. The qi suffused their bodies, briefly turning their skin the same color as the shadow fog, with iridescent color ying over their faces, hands, and any other exposed skin. Then, it dove deeper inside of them, carrying the pain and sorrow Sen had been carrying and searing it into their hearts, their souls, and possibly their very flesh. He didnt know. All he knew was that it wouldnt kill them. It wasnt meant to kill them. It had been Kong Zi Han who had let him understand. The way the man had slowly reconnected with those blunted human emotions. This technique did the same thing, but it did it all at once.


    The only difference was that Sen had infused the technique with what he was feeling, what he had felt back in that vige. Sen sensed it as the qi the other three had roused flickered and went still. Then, he watched as horror, shame, guilt, and pain as deep as the sky were etched onto their faces. One of them began wailing, falling to his knees and covering his head. Another simply passed out. The leader sank to his knees and began shaking as tears streamed down his face. Sen stared at the three for a time before he simply walked past them, his weary eyes fixed on the horizon, searching for the coast and the ships he could find there.

 Book 5: Chapter 59: Humanity Found

    Book 5: Chapter 59: Humanity Found


    As the days wore on, Sen found himself encountering more viges and towns. At first, he simply trudged through them, almost heedless of the fact that there were living, breathing human beings in them. Most of the people he encountered on the street simply stared at him. A few times, he felt cultivators start to approach him. They all stopped short and let him pass after taking one look at his eyes. They clearly saw something in them that made them very nervous. Bit by bit, though, the presence of living people started to cut through the haze of sorrow inside of him. It was painful at times. He saw children running around under the watchful gazes of elders. At first, that simply made him remember the old man and the funeral pyre or brought on a cascade of memories of standing over funeral pyres.


    Bit by bit, though, the sight of people who were healthy and alive started to restore his equilibrium. He didnt feel as he had before the vige. Somehow, that well of sadness had drowned the instinct tosh out at anyone and everyone who looked like they might even try to impose on him in some way. However, the thought that he should listen to anyone who approached him started to fade. That had been an overreaction, his mind fleeing in thepletely opposite direction of what he had been doing. There truly were people out there looking to exploit him. He needed to be mindful of that reality and remain utterly immovable in his rejection of those attempts. He had a reputation. Regardless of how he felt about that reputation, he couldnt keep running from its existence. That reputation alone was something that the powerful would look to weaponize to their own ends. No, neither nket hostility norplete openness was appropriate. He needed to follow a middle path of wary caution.


    As these realizations seeped into his waking thoughts and stabilized his emotions, he became more conscious of the ces he was passing through. As terrible as things had been in the gue vige, life carried on. His experiences there had changed him. That sadness would always live inside him, but it wasnt <em>all</em> that lived inside him. As that shell of misery started to crack, Sen tried to remember thest time he had slept or eaten. He knew he had slept a few times since the vige, but not when. He tried to remember how long he had walked in that haze or simply how far he hade. His mind conjured no answers for him. It might have been days. It might have been weeks. Sen didnt know how long he could go without food or sleep anymore, having not tested it since well before hed found Fu Run. Still, he suspected that could use a night of sleep, hot food, and a bath.


    In the next town he passed through, he found an inn. The thought of interacting with anyone still made him feel tired, but it was inevitable. There was no use in putting it off any longer. He opened the door and stepped inside. A middle-aged man with a wispy beard and an enormous stomach bustled over to him. The inns owner frowned at Sen like he was contemting telling the young man to leave.


    There are cheaper started the innkeeper.


    A small shower of silver tael ttered to the floor, summoned from one of Sens storage rings. The innkeepers eyes went wide with shock and greed. He dropped to the floor and started gathering up the money like a squirrel desperately gathering nuts for the long winter.


    My key? asked Sen.


    The words seemed to hit the innkeeper like a blow. He looked up at Sen and seemed to regain hisposure, a faint blush of shame turning the mans cheeks pink.


    Of course, honored guest, said the man.


    He hastily scooped up the coins and hurried away before returning with a key to a room. The innkeeper led Sen to what he thought was probably the best room in the ce. The man talked ceaselessly. Sen couldnt tell if the man was filling the air out of embarrassment over his behavior or simply to try to ingratiate himself with a well-heeled traveler. Maybe it was both. Sen shrugged the thought away and made a noise now and then to indicate that he was pretending to listen. When the innkeeper began extolling the virtues of the windows, it snapped Sen out of his stupor. He really looked at the man and saw beads of sweat on the mans forehead. He hadnt been talking out of nervousness but fear.


    Yes, said Sen, bringing the rivers of works to an immediate stop. The windows seem fine indeed. Do you offer meals? Baths?


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    Some of the panicked look in the mans eyes faded as Sen asked about familiar topics.


    Yes. We offer food in themon room, said the innkeeper before the panicked look redoubled in his eyes. Or we can bring the food to your room.


    Sen suppressed a weary sigh. Food in themon room will be fine. Do you offer baths?


    We do, honored cultivator, said the man.


    Sen wondered what had given it away before reason asserted itself. <em>What didnt I do to give it away</em>? He used a storage treasure right in front of the man. Hed thrown what probably looked like a small fortune to the innkeeper onto the floor like it was nothing. He couldnt have shouted that he was a cultivator any louder short of simply announcing that he was a cultivator for all to hear.


    Please have a bath prepared for me, said Sen.


    Of course, honored cultivator, said the man before a frightened look crossed his face. Will you require any assistance?


    It took Sen a moment to process the meaning of thatst question. <em>Assistance</em>? He realized that the innkeeper probably had a daughter somewhere in the inn. No doubt pretty enough that some men had tried to press a im on her. But no mortal in their right mind would deny a cultivator who threw around silver like it was dirt. Sen looked at the man for a moment.


    No. I wont require any assistance.


    The innkeeper indicated his understanding with a jerky nod, but Sen could see the relief in the mans eyes.


    Of course, honored cultivator. Ill have the bath prepared immediately.


    Thank you.


    The innkeeper made an absurdly deep bow before he left the room as fast as his legs could carry him. Sen sat on the bed and did his best to put his mind back into the ce it needed to be if he meant to keep moving through civilization. He started a little when a light knock came at the door. Shaking his head at his own inattention, he went over and opened the door. The innkeeper was waiting there, looking moreposed than had earlier. The rotund man led Sen to the bath and, after asking if Sen needed anything else, retreated. Sen lounged in the hot water. He could only feel a few people in the inn, so he let himself soak for longer than he would if the ce was full, confident that he wasnt preventing other people from taking a bath. Getting clean and putting on fresh robes did a lot to help Sen feel more like a person. He made his way down to themon area to see if there was any food to be had. He was happy to find that there was someone ready to cook. A young woman who looked nervous and jittery came over to ask if he had any requests. Sen just told her to bring him whatever she liked best. She gave him a startled look, then hurried away to what Sen assumed was a kitchen.


    Sen found a spark of amusement as tray after tray of food was brought out to him. He only recognized about half of it, but it all smelled good. He sampled things from each tray, finally settling on a dish of chicken and vegetables that had a spicy sauce on it. Once he started eating, though, he found it difficult to stop. He emptied te after te of food, asionally stopping to sip from a cup of water or pop a dumpling into his mouth. Once hed finished thest of the food, the young woman came over with an awestruck look on her face.


    Does the young master require more food? she asked in a halting voice.


    No. Thank you. That was more than sufficient.


    The woman nodded vaguely, her eyes on the piles of empty tes that surrounded Sen. He was just going to let her take the tes when a thought came to him.


    Perhaps you can help me, said Sen thoughtfully.


    The young woman turned her full attention on him, possibly for the first time, and she went a little ssy-eyed. Sen sighed. Hed forgotten about that. He pressed forward anyway.


    Do you know how far the coast is from here? he asked.


    She blinked at him several times before seeming toe to herself.


    The coast? Ive never been there, but they say its a weeks travel from here.


    Sen gave her a small smile and nodded. Thank you.


    He retreated to his room after that. He wondered if he should bother locking the door. He doubted anyone in the entire town could hurt him even if they tried, not that he expected they would try. Aside from that awkward initial conversation with the innkeeper, Sen was fairly certain hed been a polite guest in the town. Smirking to himself, Sen locked the door anyway. While no one might try to injure him, there was always the possibility of someoneing to his room for other reasons. Better to avoid any unnecessaryplications. Once he settled onto the bed, though, Sen had no distractions left. The sorrow came back to trouble him. It didnt seize him in an iron grip the way it had, but it drained away the majority of the good feelings hed managed to umte over the course of the day. <em>I guess this is how its going to be for a while</em>, he thought. It wasnt ideal, but it was livable.


    He tried to imagine what he must have looked like on the road or passing through towns. Had he looked like a specter? Had he nketed the area with his pain and sadness? He couldnt recall having been forced to fight anyone or anything, although that was hard to trust. Hed been so far inside his own grief that much of the journey to reach the inn was simply lost in a fog. He hoped that he hadnt done anything terrible to anyone. In the state of mind hed been in, hed have likely killed anyone that provoked him in any way.

 Book 5: Chapter 60: Insult and Injury

    Book 5: Chapter 60: Insult and Injury


    Li Yi Nuo frowned up at the sky. The winter was nearing its end, but it wasnt over yet. Based on the clouds overhead, it seemed that the season was preparing to remind all of the world that winters fury was nothing to dismiss. She hated the winter. She hated the cold and the snow. She hated how nothing grew. Being forced to leave the sect and thefort of her warm home to discover the fate of three missing disciples had not left her in a good mood. It wasnt the task itself. Those missing disciples were members of the sect. If some misfortune had befallen them, the sect had a duty to either retrieve them from the danger or at least retrieve their remains for a proper funeral. Yet, she couldnt imagine what misfortune could have befallen them.


    They were only foundation formation cultivators, but they had been sent on a simple mission to kill a spirit beast that was troubling a town. While anything could happen, these requests of the Vermilion de Sect were routine. The sect used them to help lower-level disciples gain experience and advance their cultivation. If the beast was powerful enough to kill all three of them, it should have been powerful enough to destroy the town and not merely trouble its inhabitants. Those oddities had been enough to convince the sect elders to dispatch an inner disciple to discover their fates. Li Yi Nuo had found herself selected for the honor of this task, but she knew the truth. It was a punishment for rejecting the advances of Elder Joeng.


    The woman had been relentless in her pursuit, wholly uncaring that Li Yi Nuo had no sexual interest in other women. She had thought that exining that would be enough, but it seemed the rumors were true. Elder Joeng wanted what she wanted and did not ept rejection well. Li Yi Nuo had assumed that the stories of other women simply submitting to put a stop to the endless rain of undesirable tasks were just that, stories. Now, she knew better. Her own cultivation had been set back months by the Elders wounded pride. Yet, she knew it could have been much worse. She had been at least partially shielded by her teacher, but his power in the sect was limited. He had reached the end of his cultivation journey long ago and was now reaching the end of his long life. He was respected, but that respect was waning as the kind old mans life waned. She feared that the time woulde when she would have to leave the sect or find herself stopped entirely in her cultivation path.


    She shook off those thoughts as she traveled down the road, her qinggong technique propelling her at speeds that would have killed a mortal horse after only a few miles. She was torn between a desire to finish this mission as quickly as possible and a desire to take her time. Finishing quickly would let her return home and escape hated winter but that would also mean falling again beneath the gaze and power of Elder Joeng. Taking her time would leave her free from the unwanted attention, but it might endanger the lives of the missing disciples. In the end, duty had won out over her personalfort and she traveled as fast as she could. That decision had been at least partially driven by strange, unountable tales of a wraith wandering through this region of the kingdom. She had initially assumed they meant it was some manner of hungry ghost, but this was something else.


    The wraith wasnt violent, not directly. It simply walked steadily forward with its eyes fixed on some far-distant destination. It didnt react to human beings. Yet, its presence was something terrible for all who beheld it. It seemed this wraith was an avatar of despair. In the wake of its passage, there had been suicides and violence from those who lost all hope. It was said that even cultivators fled from it. If the disciples had encountered such an avatar of despair or, worse still, tried to battle it, she shuddered to imagine what it might have done to them. Wounds to the body could be healed. The body was well understood and there were many paths to repair it. Everything from basic acupuncture to advanced alchemy could restore the body.


    Afflictions of the heart and soul were often difficult or impossible to treat because the heart and soul were, in so many ways, inscrutable. Those who even could treat such afflictions were so rare and so expensive that even trying to hire one would bankrupt the Vermilion de Sect. For all the impossibility of it, one may as well try to hire Fates Razor for a battle. However, in her secret heart, Li Yi Nuo thought <em>that</em> particr man was a myth. She found it far more likely that his reputation was really the deeds of many cultivators of old distilled into one cultivator cautionary tale, not the actions of one impossibly powerful cultivator who stood at the absolute peak of the cultivation world. For that matter, she strongly suspected that there were <em>no</em> cultivators who operated at that level. After all, why would anyone who could ascend decline to ascend for so very long?


    No, they were just stories built up over time, like those stories about the blue-robed wandering cultivator, Judgments Gale. Blue robes weremon. Wandering cultivators weremon. It made more sense that people were simply confusing which wandering cultivator did what things. She had found those tales a little unnerving, though, given the things the man had supposedly done. Wandering cultivators were ill-trained or self-trained fools, by andrge. She felt bad for them because that poor training almost inevitably fated them to an early death. Elder Jeongs behavior aside, it took the constant discipline of a sect to bring out the true potential of a cultivator. Knowing that it took that kind of discipline is what made the stories about the man so disquieting. If some untrained wandering cultivator was out there performing even one of those deeds, it spoke to a genius talent. If, and she simply refused to believe it, but if <em>one</em> man had done all of those things, he was a true old monster in the making. She pushed those thoughts aside.


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    Dont be foolish, she muttered to herself. He doesnt exist. Not like that avatar of despair.


    Shed been inclined to dismiss those ims as mortal exaggeration. Not that it was their fault for exaggerating. They didnt have the skills necessary to identify and understand much of what transpired around them. In a world of qi, spirit beasts, and ascension, mortal senses simply werent enough. The farther north she got, though, the more she believed it. Spirit beasts weremon on the roads between viges, towns, and cities. She also knew that the farther north one went, the more likely you were to encounter a potent spirit beast. Yet, push her spiritual sense as hard as she could, she hadnt sensed a single spirit beast on her entire journey. <em>Something</em> had frightened the spirit beasts so badly that they had apparently fled into the deeper wilds and <em>not</em> returned. If a true avatar of despair had traveled these roads, though, that might have been enough to send the spirit beasts fleeing.


    Yet, even if there was such a thing wandering the area, she had to continue on. People recalled the three disciples passing through. That meant that they had been alive within the past few weeks. There was still a chance that shed find them alive if in desperate circumstances. That didnt mean she wanted to stumble blindly into a bad situation. She took every precaution she could think to deploy. She was confident in her own strength, but she doubted even her master could face down a thing like the creature of despair that people had described. Perhaps the collective strength of all the elders could pit itself against a divine messenger and send it back to where it hade from, but she was no elder. Not yet. She was a core formation cultivator. One who was only approaching thete stage. When she reached thete stage, perhaps, she might finally be considered for an elder position, but she understood well the limits of her own strength. She could not stand alone against the will of a heavenly messenger.


    Li Yi Nuo stumbled to a halt and looked around wildly. Her heart thundered in her chest. One moment, everything in the environment felt fine. The next moment, she had passed into a sphere of influence that made her want to scream, run away, and cry uncontrobly. She swept her gaze and spiritual sense around, trying to find the source, only to freeze in ce. She hadnt found the source, but she had found something else. Three piles of snow that she had mistaken for snow drifts were people. The coincidence was too much. She pushed past her fear and panic. Walking toward the snow-covered forms, she remained vignt for a trap of some kind. Yet, nothing impeded her. She crouched down by the first pile of snow and swept it away from the form beneath. She found what she feared she would. The robes of the Vermilion de Sect were revealed, but that barely registered in her mind. She rushed to the other piles, brushing the snow aside. She had found the missing disciples. At least, she had found what was left of them.


    She could feel the impossible power of some kind of technique inside of them. She couldnt even guess how long ago the technique had been used on them, but it had to have been days at least. For that kind of power to simply linger on them, it made her feel a kind of cold that had nothing to do with the winter weather. The man lying on the ground before her stirred, his eyes fluttering open. He stared through her with eyes that spoke of a thousand years of pain. He finally focused on her and a brief flicker of sanity took hold.


    Senior, he rasped.


    Yes. Be at peace. I will return you to the sect.


    A look of pure animal fear crossed the mans face as he seized her robe. No! No! Kill me! You have to kill me! <em>Please</em>!


    Thest word was barely human speech and quickly turned into a scream that cut off as the vacant look returned to the mans eyes. He shuddered violently as some interior horror dragged him back inside his own mind. Then, he went still. Li Yi Nuo crouched there in a stunned stupor. Shed never even heard of a technique that could do something like what she saw before her. There were ways to influence the mind, but this went so far beyond that. There was a brief war inside her as tried to decide what to do. She needed to report this to the sect as soon as possible, but she also had to take these disciples back for treatment if there even <em>was</em> a treatment. Proximity won the battle. The sect was at least a week away, moving at her absolute fastest and without rest. The disciples were right there, and they would die from exposure if she didnt help them now.


    She swiftly moved beyond the lingering aura of that technique and found a spot just off the road to set up a camp. Not knowing what shed find, shed brought along provisions and supplies for several possibilities. She put up tents and started a fire. Bracing herself, she stepped back into the oppressive sphere of influence and carried the disciples out of it. Part of her hoped that moving them might provide some help, but they remained all but catatonic as she piled nkets around them and positioned them by the fire. Once the three were asfortable as she could make them, she tried to understand what had been done. Cultivators often fought and killed each other. Shed prepared herself to discover that the disciples were dead, cut down by some unusually talented wandering cultivator or a rival sect. Death was an epted and even expected oue in those situations.


    It felt like some kind of punishment to Li Yi Nuo. What could they have done to be left in this state? Could that wraith of despair have done it? While she didnt understand the technique, it <em>was</em> a technique. There had been intent in it, although the specifics of that intent remained as obscure to her as the technique itself. That didnt seem like something that an avatar would have done. Their power wouldnt feel like a cultivators power. Somehow, a human cultivator had done this to all three of them. The cultivator had done it and then left them there in the road to die of exposure or from being attacked by a passing spirit beast. She struggled to imagine a sufficient insult to warrant such a brutal response. More importantly, who could they have so blindly and stupidly offended that had the power to exact such a punishment? Most importantly, would that cultivator seek vengeance on the sect itself for the insult?

 Book 5: Chapter 61: The Coast

    Book 5: Chapter 61: The Coast


    Sen could smell the ocean long before the great expanse of water came into view. He found the smell dredged up a mixed bag of emotions. There had been good things about the ocean journey. Hed learned a great deal about water qi on that ship. Hed managed to save the lives of those sailors from that first attack. Hed even managed to help Lifen learn a little bit about cultivation and protecting herself. However, it had also been a terrible time as they fled from the wrath of the demonic cultivators. Constantly worrying that they would be found, and all that hade after. The cult, the sect war, everything that happened in the capital, and those desperate, desperate days searching for Fu Run as his body drew ever closer to death. It made Sen realize that aside from that first year right after hed left the mountain, hed never really gotten a chance to be the wandering cultivator that hed set out to be.


    Everything hadpounded on itself as one disaster led into the next. Sen felt more than a little bitter about that. He had meant to see and experience the world. While he had visited much of the kingdom, he hadnt really seen any of it. Hed been too busy worrying about who was going to try to recruit him by force, use him, or outright kill him. It seemed like half the time hed been too injured to enjoy anything. The other half of the time, hed been too busy trying not to die. And he wouldnt call what hed been through experiencing the world. Hed been brutalized by the world. It may have helped to push his cultivation and reputation to a point that most sects would prefer not to make him an enemy, but hed never wanted any of that. Hed have happily spent the next hundred years slowly advancing his cultivation and wandering the world.


    He pondered all of those concerns, experiences, and his bitterness about them as he made his way closer to the coast. There was certainly a part of him that felt fully justified in that bitterness. Just as he might have stolen something from those vigers by not letting them die, the world had stolen something from him by not letting him advance the way other cultivators did. It would be easy to let that bitterness infect him. To let it drive how he chose to act in the world. Yet, that bitterness wasnt really his. It belonged to that very nave young man who hade down off the mountain. Sen could see that in some strange, misguided way he had been trying to get back to a ce where he could be that person. He kept trying to free himself from obligations so he could just be that humble wandering cultivator that, in truth, hed never really been. It had been a dream, a young persons dream, but Sen couldnt be that person.


    He had done too much. Killed too many people. Seen how the world truly operated beyond the confines of those half-heard stories hed listened to as a child. Stories were simple. In the stories, there were pure wandering cultivators of great skill who appeared like the wind and saved the vige. There were noble sects that put honor first. There were benevolent kings who ruled their kingdoms with justice. Life, he had learned the hardest possible way, was not like the stories. Hed been that cultivator who came in and saved the vige from bandits, but that salvation was a bloody affair carried out by a man who could callously put aside any concern for the human lives it would cost. He knew that there were honorable people to be found in sects, but sects themselves were not to be trusted. He actually knew a benevolent king, but he also knew how and why that man had taken the throne. Life was full of people with their own needs, agendas, and goals. There was nothing simple about that.


    So, he cast aside that bitterness over a lost life that he knew would never havee to pass. Even if he hadnt been thrown into the lethal circumstances that hed faced, he would have been confronted with other challenges and disappointments. He would have still had to learn the hard truth that life wasplicated and even people you care about may not share your goals or principles. He might regret that hed had to learn those lessons so soon, but no man got to choose the time or ce he received those lessons. The reality was that those lessons hade to him, and he couldnt unlearn them. And if those truths had hardened him in some ways, that was often the price of wisdom. Harboring bitterness over it wouldnt serve him, any more than clinging desperately to the dreams of another man. <em>Its time to find new dreams</em>, thought Sen. Maybe those dreams wouldnt appeal to the mind of a boy, but they would also be truer to who he had be.


    When he stopped for the night, Sen pulled something from his storage ring that he hadnt looked at for a long time. He spent hours sitting by the fire and holding that seemingly innocuous object, considering what it meant to him and what it would say to others. He had pushed it from his thoughts the way he had tried to push away everything that he associated with it. Then, with a bittersweet smile, he put on the blue robes that Auntie Caihong had given him those years ago. They didnt fit quite as well as they once had, but the material was still excellent quality and the minor enchantments on them were in working order, preserved by the magic of storage rings. He had run from those robes the same way he had run from the identity they represented in his mind. He could see that for the foolishness it had always been. Not wearing the robes didnt free him. It simply shackled him in denial.


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    No more hiding, said Sen, and headed out to cover thest few miles to the coast.


    The city on the coast was one of the smaller ones that Sen had seen, but he mostly dismissed it from his mind. He didnt n to stay in the city for more than a night if at all possible. Instead, he headed directly for the harbor. It was smaller than he hoped it would be as he walked along the docks, looking for a ship that would serve his purposes. He came up short as a ship that he recognized came into view. It was a nondescript vessel that wasnt too old or too worn and wouldnt draw attention unless you knew it.


    It cant be, whispered Sen.


    He walked toward the ship, only to see one of the sailors on the deck ship staring at him with huge, disbelieving eyes. The sailor disappeared and the captain appeared a few momentster, smiling and shaking his head. The man jogged down the gangnk and gave Sen a deep bow. The man looked older to Sen. The lines around his eyes and mouth were a little deeper. There was more gray in his hair. Even so, the man had a gleam of good cheer in his eye that Sen remembered from hisst voyage on the ship.


    Honored cultivator, it does this old mans heart good to see you again.


    Sen gave the man a smile and a bow of his own. Captain, its good to see you again. I fear that I rudely neglected to ask your name thest time I traveled with you.


    The captain gave Sen a thoughtful look. Now that you say it, we didnt exchange names, did we? I mostly dealt with the beauty you had withst time. I am Chen Ailun.


    Its nice to finally know your name. I am Lu Sen.


    Cultivator Lu, said the captain.


    Sen looked over at the ship with a frown. It was hard not to feel like the whole encounter was some borate setup just when he needed transport. On the other hand, he had to ask himself if it was really a surprise to find a ship he recognized. If Sen had found this ship at a harbor on the far side of the continent, that would be too suspicious. From the conversations hed had with the captain and crew, this was the exact part of the coast where they worked. Finding them at that particr harbor felt more like good luck to Sen than anything else.


    Captain, I cant help but feel that this may be a fortuitous encounter.


    Oh? asked the captain, giving Sen a spective look.


    Indeed. I am in need of transport to the same cove where we sheltered, and I find you here on the day I arrive. I dont suppose you have room for a humble wandering cultivator and a minor detour?


    Just you this time? asked the captain, sounding a little disappointed.


    Sen wondered if the captain had developed a little crush on Lo Meifeng. Just me this time.


    The older man idly scratched his chin. As far as Im concerned, you always have a ride on this ship when you need it. I dont forget my debts.


    There are no debts between us, said Sen. Well, none save the cost of passage.


    Sen had nned to outright buy a ship and the service of a crew, if necessary, but he felt much better about traveling with Chen Ailun than with some captain he didnt know. To that end, he had ced a meaningful amount of silver into a small pouch before he entered the city. He produced the pouch from his storage ring, causing the captains eyes to go wide with wonder. He held the pouch out to the captain.


    I hope that will be enough to suffice.


    The captain gave the pouch a wary look after he took it from Sen. He immediately tried to give the pouch back after looking inside, but Sen waved him off.


    Its too much, said the captain.


    Its not too much for my peace of mind. I trust you and your men. Id dly pay double that to secure your services.


    The captain straightened up with pride at those words. Well be ready to leave at your word.


    Sen considered asking to leave immediately, but he squashed that thought. I assume you have business here. When were you nning to leave?


    The captain hemmed and hawed briefly, but finally admitted, The day after tomorrow, but we can leave at any time you wish to go.


    Sen gave the man a gentle smile. Finish your business. Well leave the day after tomorrow. In the meantime, perhaps you have some grand tale of adventure from the sea.


    Well, said the captain with a thoughtful look, there was this one time when I had a couple of cultivators aboard, and the worst storm Id ever seen threatened to sink my ship.


    Senughed. A fine tale Im sure, but you must have seen something more interesting than some fool boy of a cultivator.


    The captain grinned. He waved at Sen to follow him to a cabin. Actually, now that you mention it, I saw the strangest-looking beast a year or two ago.

 Book 5: Chapter 62: Setting Sail

    Book 5: Chapter 62: Setting Sail


    Sen stepped onto the street from the inn. It had been a little disappointing. Some mild regret over not bringing Lo Meifeng with him stirred in his heart. The woman had a gift for finding good inns. Dismissing the merely adequate meal hed had for breakfast, he started walking toward the harbor. He was ready to finish this journey to visit Elder Bo. Sen couldnt figure out why the turtle wanted to see him again, and he mostly didnt care. Hed show up, let the turtle take a look, and be on his way again. <em>No more elixirs I dont understand</em>, thought Sen with a shudder. He was fully prepared to lie through his teeth that he had abandoned alchemy altogether if the turtle tried to coax him into making something. Theirst fortuitous encounter had been more of a cmitous encounter to Sens mind. No need to repeat the mistakes of the past.


    It didnt take Sen long to sense the people following him. A brief look with his spiritual sense told him they were core formation cultivators. <em>Theyre early stage if Im not mistaken</em>, he thought. <em>Best to just be done with it</em>. Turning on his heel, he fixed his gaze on a pair of sect cultivators. It was a man and woman with the annoyingly difficult to determine ages of cultivators. Sen didnt do anything overtly hostile, but he did rest his hand on the hilt of his jian. Sen reasoned that should be enough to let them know that he was ready for violence, but not eager for it. The woman gave the man an annoyed look.


    I told you we should just introduce ourselves, she said.


    How was I supposed to know hed spot us immediately?ined the man.


    By listening to any of the stories about the man, said the woman.


    The pair continued to bicker with each other in a way that made Sen wonder if they were rted. He listened with mild amusement for a full minute as they sniped at each other before he loudly cleared his throat. The man and woman both looked over at him before the woman red at the man and hit him in the arm with the back of her hand.


    Now look what you did, said the woman.


    Me? demanded the man with an incredulous look. What about you?


    What about me? she asked with a dangerous glint in her eye.


    Sen decided to take pity on the man. While this is all <em>quite</em> entertaining, I have somewhere to be shortly. I intend to be there.


    With onest furious re at the man, the woman marched over to Sen. Forgive my brother. Hes been struck in the head many times.


    The man rolled his eyes in a long-suffering way before he walked over to join his sister.


    Forgive her. Shes forgotten that politeness is a virtue in her old age, said the man, eliciting an outraged look from the woman. I am Hu Deming. This is my sister, Hu Li Na.


    Sen gave the pair a wary nod as he continued to scan the area. He wasnt expecting a trap, but he supposed that was why most traps worked.


    Lu Sen.


    The womans eyes went wide and she burst out with, Are you Judgments Gale?


    Sen looked from her to her brother. She looked excited. The brother looked skeptical. Sen was just confused because he couldnt decide what to make of them. He also realized that simply staring at them wasnt going to answer any of his questions.


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    Yes, he said. Some call me that.


    Hu Li Na shot her brother a look of pure triumph before she turned that excited gaze back on him. Is it true that you fought an entire sect to the death in Emperors Bay?


    What? No, of course not.


    It was Hu Demings turn to shoot a triumphant look at his sister. I told you!


    It was just a dozen or so sect members, said Sen. Well, maybe two dozen. Oh, and an elder.


    Hu Li Nas eyes were positively glowing. Hu Demings mouth was hanging open a little.


    You fought a sect elder? eximed Hu Li Na.


    I did. I didnt want to, but he wasnt really taking no for an answer.


    What happened? asked Hu Deming.


    Sen cocked his head in confusion. What do you mean?


    Well, youre still here. How did you convince the elder to let you go?


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. By killing him.


    He Deming was staring at him in a vaguely creepy, ck-jawed sort of way, which Sen decided was a good sign that he should disengage from the very odd conversation. Before he could execute his masterful n, the woman piped up again.


    Is it true that you fought a beast tide?


    Sure, said Sen in a distracted tone. A bunch of times. You cant avoid it if you go deep enough into the wilds.


    Youve been into the deep wilds? she asked with true awe in her voice.


    I have.


    Is it true that started Hu Li Na before Sen lifted a hand to cut her off.


    I dont wish to be rude, but I truly have somewhere to be.


    The woman gave him a wounded look that Sen had no idea what he was supposed to do with.


    Im sure that theyll understand, she said hopefully.


    Im afraid that my ship is due to leave, rified Sen.


    But, started the woman.


    Li Na, said Hu Deming in a sharp tone. You know the ships have to leave with the tide.


    I know, but when will I ever get a chance like this again? Its not like famous wandering cultivators who battle beast tides and demonic cabals show up here every day.


    Youre both core cultivators, said Sen. Im sure you had more than a few battles.


    Hu Li Na shook her head. We go out and fight spirit beasts if theyre too dangerous for the local viges, duel other cultivators sometimes, but nothing like the things youve done.


    Sen gave her a serious look that made the woman stand up a little straighter.


    Then, I am d for you. It seems that you sowed karma much more wisely in your past lives than I did. Mine has been a path of much pain for myself and others. Yet, the things Im most proud of, I didnt aplish with a sword. I aplished them with these, said Sen, withdrawing two of his better healing elixirs from a storage ring and pressing them into the womans hand.


    Hu Li Na nced down at the stone vials. Sen felt her spiritual sense pass over the elixirs. What she sensed in the vials made her stagger a little. She looked at Sen with a rapidly shifting expression.


    These are a she began.


    A way to sow more good karma, said Sen, ncing up at the sky. Now, I must go.


    Sen nodded at the pair and walked away, leaving the brother and sister staring after him with dumbfounded expressions. Sen hurried over to the harbor making liberal use of his qinggong technique to make up the time hed lost talking with the very strange brother and sister. He saw the captain giving the sky an unhappy look that smoothed out as soon as he saw Sen. A pair of sailors pulled the gangnk onto the ship after he stepped aboard and secured it while Sen walked over to the captain. The older man gave Sen a nod.


    I never did ask, said the captain, why do you want to go back to that cove?


    Sen offered the man a rueful smile. Im just keeping an appointment.


    The captain seemed to ept that answer without feeling the need to ask more. The man had a pleased look on his face.


    You seem happy, observed Sen.


    There are fair winds today and no signs of a storm. Thats always wee news on a ship.


    Sen gave the sky a considering look before <em>he</em> epted the words without feeling a need to ask more. If the captain said it was good weather for sailing, Sen believed him. Soon after, the real work of getting the ship out to sea began. Sen retreated to a spot on the deck that he remembered would keep him out of the way while the sailors worked. He felt the tug of recent sorrow on his heart, but he kept his eyes turned to the ocean. His emotions were sharp and fresh, but the ocean was vast enough to soothe even that pain. As the ship took on a gentle rise and fall over the water, a faint smile tugged at Sens lips. Perhaps there would be storms in the future but, for that moment, there was no storm to gue him.

 V5 Bloopers

    V5 Bloopers


    Oh, the sleepy sleepy boy is awake. Sleeps too much, too much, too much!


    I I, said Sen, taken off-guard by her appearance and odd speech.


    And he stutters! shouted the woman, pointing an usatory finger at him. Why does he stutter? Why? Why? Why?


    Even having been warned about her nature, Sen found himself flummoxed by the actual experience of meeting this odd woman. He shook his head a little and tried to regroup.


    Are you Fu Run? he asked.


    No! Im a pretty, pretty, fairy princess! shouted the nascent soul cultivator.


    A what?


    With that, the woman burst into light, transformed into a human-sized fairy with gossamer wings. She held something out to him in her hand.


    Have a cookie, kid.


    Not sure how to react, Sen just took the thing she called a cookie. He nced down at the round t object in his hand and lifted an eyebrow. What do I do with it?


    ***


    A quick sweep of his spiritual sense told him that most of them were regr mortals armed with crossbows. There were a few upper-tier foundation formation cultivators and one core formation cultivator. Part of Sen told him that it would be better to talk this out. Surely, there was some peaceful solution to this problem. Yet, the rest of him knew that it wasnt going to y out that way. These people hade out here to ambush them. Sen supposed it was his own fault. Hed been experimenting on the trip with tamping down the expression of his cultivation level. The goal was simply to make himself less obvious without going in for full-on hiding. Hiding was helpful, but it limited his senses in ways that he didnt like in the wild. It was the only thing that Falling Leaf had shown an interest in during the wholest week, so hed exined it as well as he could and shed figured out her own version of the tamping-down technique.


    Of course, it also came with the problem of making him and her look like easier targets than they were in truth. The poption had been so sparse on their way to the mountain that it hadnt resulted in any incidents, but he supposed his luck had been bound to run out. Sen debated with himself briefly before he looked at Falling Leaf. She wasnt looking at any of the would-be ambushers. Shed pulled out a roasted chicken that Sen had forgotten hed made a few weeks back. She was pulling hunks of meat off the bird and chewing them.


    What do you think? Sen asked.


    Let Larry deal with it, said Falling Leaf around a mouthful of chicken.


    The core cultivator stepped forward. She was a tall woman with a piercing gaze. Her skin was pale and her features refined through the magic of advancement. Yet, her lips were pressed into a hard line as she red at the pair of them. She had an expensive spear in her hands and handled it with the casual air of someone who knew its use.


    Who is Larry? she demanded.


    He is, said Sen, gesturing to the side with a thumb.


    At those words, a spirit ox that stood twice as tall as Sen exploded from the forest.


    Run! screamed the core cultivator.


    While Larry the spirit ox rampaged through the would-be robbers with world-shaking moos, Sen reached out to pluck some of the meat off the chicken. Falling Leaf pped his hand.


    Get your own.


    ***


    Falling Leaf was frowning up a storm at thosements. Humans seem a lot moreplicated than that to me.


    They are but thats when youre dealing with people you know. Personal history, personality quirks, and even your mood can influence how those things y out. When youre dealing with people one time and never likely to see them again, you can generally assume that food, shelter, family, and safety are their priorities. If you can throw in some entertainment or kindness, youll probably be on safe ground more often than not. Plus, youre a cultivator. If you act a little strange, most people will just chalk it up to that.


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    You make it sound easy.


    Well, easy is probably overselling it, said Sen. Its probably more urate to say that its straightforward. You probably got a bit of a skewed view of things because most of the people youve dealt with regrly have been cultivators, nobles, or both. Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho are so old and have so much experience that you cant use them as an example for anything except how really old nascent soul cultivators work. I end up dealing with cultivators and nobles all the time, so all of those people are bad examples too. Youve gotten a really lopsided experience of people. Ill tell you what. I spent some time in a vige a while back. I just lived there with a family. I learned a lot from doing that. Once we get this business with my body cultivation settled, well find a ce like that.


    And do what? asked a perplexed Falling Leaf.


    Conquer it, obviously.


    ***


    As time passed, though, Sen had to stop fuming and concentrate on the task at hand. Making the superior healing potions required a lot of attention from him in terms of managing the reactions inside the pot, to say nothing of keeping the heat at a stable temperature. He blotted everything else out of his sphere of attention and gave the elixir his full attention. He could feel the elixiring together properly, the discrete ingredients fusing together to make something more, something better. For Sen, this was alchemy at its purest. There was a part of him that wanted to experiment. Hed had some ideas about improving this elixir into something even more potent. He thought that there was even the possibility of making a version that might help restore qi, but that wasnt the point of this exercise. This was just a demonstration.


    Sen ignored those distracting thoughts and monitored the contents of the pot until theyd reached the perfect moment of fusion. Then, with a wave of his hand, he cooled the potion. He summoned a ss vial and a piece of cheesecloth from his storage ring. A moment or two of effort and hed filled the much rarer ss vial with the elixir. In most cases, he used stone vials because they were sturdier. For this, he wanted her to be able to see the elixir and its faint blue glow, not just feel it. Keeping his expression neutral, he turned and handed the vial to Fu Run. She just stared at the vial for several long moments before giving herself a slight shake. She reached out and took the vial. Sen felt her examining it, no doubt assessing its strength and nature. Her expression wasplicated and difficult for Sen to read when she finally found something to say.


    Fu Run turned her gaze upwards as though she was staring at the gods themselves and yelled, This is some bullshit!


    ***


    She gestured at the cauldron that had been ced on a heavy table nearby. Sen checked the stove to ensure that there was a bed of hot coals sufficient to heat the cauldron. He could do it himself if he needed to but preferred not toplicate the process with more interference than necessary. He wanted to replicate his process as precisely as possible in the hopes that the more experienced cultivator would see what he had missed. He entertained the idea of pulling out the manual to reference the instructions. That notion was dismissed almost immediately. Hedmitted those words to memory at this point. Instead, he got to work. It seemed that Fu Run was taking the same approach that he was and made no suggestions as he ced the cauldron over the heat, prepared ingredients, and added them to the cauldron. The only thing she did was keep an eye on what was happening in the cauldron with her spiritual sense as Sen worked. A part of him hoped with a kind of raw desperation that this time he would seed.


    He followed every instruction to the letter. He didnt interfere with the process at all, at any level, despite his instincts to do so. He was so intent on the task that he was startled when Fu Run stormed over the cauldron and yanked the cover off. She red down at the contents of the cauldron which were, as Sen saw when he peered down into it, decidedly not anything like a pill. Fu Runs face went from anger to disbelief. It took Sen a second to realize that he hadnt made any mistakes. What she saw in that cauldron was not what she had expected to see.


    I dont understand, she said. You did everything right. This should have worked.


    Sen reached down into the pot and pulled out the strange thing he had made. It was white and squishy.


    What is this thing?


    Fu Run gave the thing a defeated look. Its called a marshmallow.


    ***


    The captain seemed to ept that answer without feeling the need to ask more. The man had a pleased look on his face.


    You seem happy, observed Sen.


    There are fair winds today and no signs of a storm. Thats always wee news on a ship.


    Sen gave the sky a considering look before he epted the words without feeling a need to ask more. If the captain said it was good weather for sailing, Sen believed him. Soon after, the real work of getting the ship out to sea began. Sen retreated to a spot on the deck that he remembered would keep him out of the way while the sailors worked. He felt the tug of recent sorrow on his heart, but he kept his eyes turned to the ocean. His emotions were sharp and fresh, but the ocean was vast enough to soothe even that pain. As the ship took on a gentle rise and fall over the water, a faint smile tugged at Sens lips. Perhaps there would be storms in the future but, for that moment, there was no storm to gue him. No sooner had that thought passed through his mind than he felt a massive swell of qi from the mouth of the harbor.


    Kraken! screamed one of the sailors.


    Son of a bitch! yelled Sen in frustration.

 Book 6: Chapter 1: Petty Vengeance

    Book 6: Chapter 1: Petty Vengeance


    Li Yi Nuo looked at the gates to the Vermillion de Sect with aplex set of feelings that were somehow still numb. There was relief that the journey was done. A trip that she might have made in a week, or even a few days if she pushed herself hard enough, had taken weeks. She looked over her shoulder at the three men in the back of the wagon. It had taken all of her very meager skills in healing to simply keep them alive. Getting them to even eat anything had been a daily chore that consumed hours. If they hadnt been left on the road in the middle of winter to die, it might not have been so bad. By the time shed found them, though, they had been close to death. She had second-guessed her choice not to let them die a hundred times. Their moments of lucidity were mercifully infrequent because she found it hard to bear their pleas for death. Part of her had fervently hoped that taking them away from the site of their attack would relieve them of some small part of their pain, but that hope had been in vain.


    Another cultivator had wanted these men to die but had also wanted them to suffer first. Whatever technique that mysterious, terrifyingly powerful, and pitiless cultivator had afflicted them with had done its work well. The shadow of that cultivator had hung over her the entire journey, growing in size with each passing day. She had gone days without sleep as the thought of the faceless specter tracking them down haunted her. After all, that person she so desperately wished to never meet had meant for those fellow sect members to die. She had interrupted that n. What if they knew? What if they came to punish her as they had punished the men in the back of the wagon? With that idea gnawing at her peace of mind,ing up to the sect gates was a relief. There were elders in the sect who could, if nothing else, provide her protection from whoever had done this thing to the poor wretches she had found.


    Yet, returning to the sect would bring with it an old problem that she had neither the patience to tolerate nor the power to stop. It was made worse by the fear that the unknown cultivator woulde to finish what they had started and include her in that dyed retribution. She <em>needed</em> the protection of the sect until they understood better what had happened on that empty patch of road. Staying meant enduring the unwanted advances of Elder Joeng, a woman that Li Yi Nuo had learned to loathe. Leaving meant epting all of the dangers of being a wandering cultivator and the phantom threat of a cultivator capable of imposing a technique of pain and horror that could endure for weeks, possibly even months. She could only hope that someone in the sect had some bit of esoteric knowledge that might shed light on the matter. As she drew up to the gate, she felt a weight lift off her heart. Her teacher was waiting for her with a kind smile. She climbed down off the wagon and approached him. She gave him a deep bow.


    Master.


    The old cultivator smiled at her, but there was a grave look in his eyes. Li Yi Nuo. You have returned atst. Were you sessful?


    She knew that he could already sense the men in the wagon, but he wanted the guards to hear her say that she had seeded in her task. A minor bit of sect politics, perhaps, but she would take every shred of political capital she could acquire.


    Yes, Master. Although, I fear their condition is grave.


    Li Yi Nuo trailed behind her master as he walked to the back of the wagon and looked down at the wayward formation foundation sect members. He studied those nearly inert forms for a long time. Then, he started issuing orders. Healers and alchemists were to be summoned at once. The wagon was brought inside the sect and a flurry of activity happened around Li Yi Nuo that she barely noticed. She had gotten back safely. Now, the responsibility for those men could be handed over to others with more skill or more wisdom. The elders would demand a report of her. She didnt look forward to that as she doubted she would be able to tell them more than the healers would discover. Any evidence had long since been erased or buried by the winter weather by the time she arrived. Still, it was a relief to be able to stop thinking, stop worrying, and stop nning, even if only for a few minutes.


    She followed her master to her own home, where he made sure that there was a fire to warm the small building. He made and poured her tea, waving off her halfhearted protests that she should serve him. He even sent someone to fetch her something to eat. He asked her a few gentle questions but seemed to sense that she had used up her mental resources. He told her to sleep and that the elders would summon her when they were ready. She had copsed into her bed, feeling ready to sleep for days. It seemed that fate was not feeling kind toward her because the elders summoned her the next day.


    The Vermilion de Sect was neither arge sect nor a small sect. They had a reputation for training cultivators of quality, but they were situated too far from any major city to be a true powerhouse sect. The sect patriarch and elders, with a few ring exceptions, encouraged a modest approach to building. They reasoned that money was best spent on resources and tools to support the sect and its disciples. There were no grand structures. Even the elders hall could have been mistaken for a small library building in the outside world. As her master had told her, it was foolish to equate opulence with power. Far better to judge based on the talent of the cultivators within those buildings than by the buildings themselves. Li Yi Nuo was more aware than most how much actual cultivation talent and power was contained in that modest building. While she didnt let herself hesitate as she approached it, she wished she could.


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    When she stood before the assembled elders of the sect, she was relieved that it was her own master who spoke first. She worked very hard not to look at Elder Joeng, fearing that she might see lust or fury in those eyes. After all, it had been that womans desire to punish her that sent Li Yi Nuo off in the middle of winter in the first ce. Instead, she kept her focus on her master.


    Describe to us what you found? her master asked in his gentle voice.


    She made the briefest of descriptions of her journey, taking only a moment to mention the tales of some kind of wandering spirit of sorrow she had heard. They might be foolish tales from mortals, but better to make the sect aware and let them decide how best to deal with it. Then, she came to the heart of the matter.


    I found them in the road, buried in snow. I dont know how long they were there, but all three were on the verge of death. They had been afflicted with some kind of technique, something that seemed to afflict their minds or hearts.


    The voice that Li Yi Nuo had least wished to hear cut her off.


    Do you fancy yourself a healer now? asked Elder Joeng.


    Li Yi Nuo steadied her nerves as she turned to face the woman who had been such a source of trouble for her. I do not. I inferred it.


    Based on what? Your vast experience? sneered the elder.


    Based on the way that they begged me to kill them <em>every</em> time they had a moment of lucidity.


    That seemed to sober Elder Joeng. The elders questioned her for hours, digging for every scrap of information she knew and every scrap she hadnt known that she remembered. They had her go over every feeling shed had where shed found the three men. By the time they finally dismissed her, Li Yi Nuo felt even more tired than she had the day before. Later that afternoon, her master came to her and told her that she was entering secluded cultivation for a time to recover from her trip. She didnt need him to exin to her that it was a convenient excuse to avoid Elder Joeng. There were some things that not even elders dared to interrupt without exceptionally good reasons.


    She was more than happy toply with the order. No one managed anything remotely like decent cultivation on a journey. It was always a struggle to simply maintain whatever progress you had made. In most cases, though, it meant some loss of the umted qi in the dantian. Li Yi Nuo had been no exception to this rule. She worked hard to rece what she had lost, but her efforts were a fractured thing. The shadowy figure behind the attack on those outer disciples had taken up residence in her mind. The attack itself was frightening enough, but thepleteck of information about whoever had done it was even more frightening. It could be anyone. That uncertainty had driven a sliver of fear inside her mind that she couldnt escape. Even in her sleep, a cultivator wreathed in shadow and death pursued her, consumed with the need to impose a reckoning on her for her interference.


    Her period of solitude was all too brief. Shed barely been back for two weeks when she found herself summoned before the elders. She wondered if they had more questions for her. That couldnt have been farther from the truth. Her eyes sought out her master, and the man looked like hed been driven fifty years closer to death. She didnt have to consider that grim change before Elder Joeng spoke.


    The men you retrieved have not improved. Our best healers and alchemists could do nothing. The technique used on those outer disciples attacks the heart and mind, announced Elder Joeng like it was new information and not the very conclusion that Li Yi Nuo had suggested. We summoned a man who specializes in such things at great expense. He informs us that while he can reduce the damage done, only the one who inflicted the technique can truly release them from it. Since you were the one to find these men, we deem it appropriate that you be given the extraordinary honor of seeing this task through. You will seek out the cultivator who did this. You will return them to us to undo this damage and face the sects justice.


    Li Yi Nuo couldnt breathe as she saw the malicious light in Elder Joengs eyes. This wasnt a mission. This was a glorified death sentence and all of the elders knew it. Any cultivator who could impose a technique that powerful and with that kind of longevity was a monster. The kind of cultivator who had bathed in blood and found it to their liking. The kind of cultivator who would kill her out of hand simply for bothering them. She also knew she couldnt refuse. If she tried, it was entirely possible that shed never leave the sectpound alive.


    H- How am I to find this person? asked Li Yi Nuo, her voice a hollow whisper.


    Elder Joeng smiled. It was a petty, cruel thing. She held up an object.


    Thispass will guide you to them.


    There were more instructions that Li Yi Nuo didnt really hear and thepass was ced in her hands. She had always known that cultivation might lead to death. Shed just never imagined it would be a death caused by the petty vengeance of an elder in her own sect. As she started walking toward the door, she felt an explosion of qi behind her that dwarfed anything she had ever felt in her life. She whirled around, her heart pounding in her chest, expecting to see the entire building in ruins. What she did see shocked her even more. Her master, the kind, gentle man who had seen himself as a guide and treated her more like a granddaughter than a disciple, was towering over the headless body of Elder Joeng. Her head was still in his hand, blood dripping from the severed stump of her neck.


    Her masters eyes were zing with a rage she had never witnessed in the man and his killing intent nketed the entire building like the barely restrained wrath of a god. Li Yi Nuo could see the shock and the naked fear on the faces of the other elders. These people had dismissed her master, pushed him out of the inner circles of the sect, and he hadrgely let them, content to train what he saw as his final disciple. She had never considered that such things lived inside the man. Yet, now that she considered it, he must have progressed as all cultivators progressed. He had grown through violence, and it seemed he had excelled at it. She could only surmise that the other elders, who must have known, had thought him a toothless tiger. His teeth, it seemed, were still strong and sharp.


    If she doesnt return, said her master in tones of pure granite, every elder in this room will die.

 Book 6: Chapter 2: The Calm and the Storm

    Book 6: Chapter 2: The Calm and the Storm


    Sen had enjoyed the first few weeks on board Captain Chens ship. Many of the sailors were new, but hed recognized more than a few of them. There <em>had</em> been a little bit of awkwardness the first few days, but it mostly stemmed from a lingering sense of awe from the men hed sailed with before. When hed taken over in the kitchen a few times and served them meals that included some qi-rich meat from the edible beasts hed killed in recent times, thest of that hesitancy had slipped away. Sen had discovered that food had a magical way of easing people into a state of mental and emotionalfort. Hed been more than a little pleased to find that the same thing applied to the men aboard the ship. After that, the crew of the ship treated him like a long-lost son or brother who hade home.


    He''d also spent more than a little time with the captain having wide-ranging discussions. The captain wasnt a noble but hade from a merchant family who sent him off to sea to help beat out a youthful wildness that had gotten the man into some manner of trouble. Little had they known that theyd sent the man off to find his calling. Sen had also discovered that the man had benefitted from an excellent education. That made him an ideal conversation partner for Sen. If nothing else, the man could help fill in some of the more mundane gaps in Sens own education. For all that Sen wanted to get some practical value out of the trip, though, he often found himself hanging on the captains every word as he described some harrowing experience that nearly destroyed his ship or some far-off exotic location hed visited.


    Youve been so many ces, said Sen. I was starting to think that I was well traveled, but its nothingpared with you.


    Captain Chen smiled at Sen, the skin around his eyes crinkling. Well, I think I may have a <em>few</em> years on you.


    Sen inclined his head in acknowledgment. I suppose thats true. Still, you used to sail to the far side of the continent. But no more?


    No. No more.


    May I ask why?


    Ha! Youre so polite to this lowly mortal.


    Sen shrugged. I <em>was</em> a lowly mortal not that long ago.


    Its easy to forget that cultivators start out the same as everyone else. As to your question, its no great secret. There are great fortunes to be made by sailing to the far side of the continent, but its also very dangerous. There are pirates, great beasts of the ocean, and a hundred other risks.


    Dont we have those here? asked Sen.


    We do, but Ive been sailing these waters for long enough that I know where to watch out for them. Plus, a trip like that can take years. Thats fine for young men with their whole lives in front of them and nothing waiting for them at home. I have a family. Im away from them more than Id like, but I still get to see them. Men who take those journeys to the far side of the continent oftene home to find that the children they remember are fully grown and utter strangers. Some mene home to find their families simply gone without a word, said Captain Chen with a look of old pain on his face. For me, no fortune is worth that risk.


    Sen nodded. I see. I hadnt fully considered the costs.


    The captain gave Sen a small smile. Well, its a mighty cost for a mortal like me. For a young cultivator with nothing but time ahead of him, well, why not go?


    Ive considered it, offered Sen. I have some obligations that I must fulfill before I can go, but I n to cross the Mountains of Sorrow at some point.


    The captain seemed shocked. Ovend?


    I expect so.


    Isnt <em>that</em> dangerous?


    Senughed. It can be, although I suspect that Id be alright. Im used to fighting onnd.


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    Captain Chen shook his head as though Sen were a madman but didntment on it. Sen poured them both another cup of tea and saw the captain roll his eyes at the inversion of courtesy. It had made the sailor deeply ufortable at first, but Sen simply waved it off with a vaguement about respecting his elders. The captain picked up his cup and took a contemtive sip.


    I suppose I should ask this question now since Im not likely to ever find another cultivator who has the time for a mortal.


    What question is that? asked Sen, his curiosity piqued.


    Do you have a n?


    Sen squinted his eyes at the other man. What do you mean?


    Well, mortals have to make ns. We work, n for the future, try to build something to pass on, and do it with the certain knowledge that someday well be gone. But cultivators live so long, I always wondered if you n that way.


    Sen leaned back in his chair and gave the question some serious thought. Eventually, he shook his head.


    I dont have a n like that. That isnt to say I have no ns, but theyre different. I n for advancing my cultivation. That can mean anything from finding a particr ingredient to securing the appropriate manual. But I cant say that Im nning in terms of building something to pass down.


    So, no family? No great love?


    Sen hesitated before he finally said, I have family, but probably not like yours. There are other cultivators that Im very close with, people that I trust with my life. As for love, Sen considered the few women hed been intimate with, no. Im not celibate, but theres no great love waiting to wee me home.


    The captain gave Sen a considering look. You should try it. I cant imagine youd have trouble finding someone who was willing.


    Sen groaned a little. Oh, theres plenty who would be willing. The problem isnt them. Its me. Im too Sen cut off as something moved into the sphere of his spiritual sense. Damn it.


    What? demanded the captain.


    I knew this trip was going too well. You should join your men on the deck. Im pretty sure I have to go have a fight.


    With who?


    One of those giant sea beasts you mentioned earlier, said Sen.


    The two men made their way up to the top deck of the ship, where the rest of the crew looked like they desperately wanted to panic. Sen walked over to the railing and stared out the water, his spiritual sense sweeping out and pinpointing the ocean-going spirit beast. Even at a distance, he could feel the beasts anger and desire to destroy. He didnt know what it was, having never felt anything like it before, but he decided to answer that aggression with aggression of his own. Heshed out at the beast with his own killing intent. Hed frightened off more than a few spirit beasts with it on the trip already. Still, he wasnt entirely surprised when it didnt work on this one. Sighing to himself, Sen summoned the heaven chasing spear from a storage ring. Hed been focused more on his jian recently, but he assumed that the spear would prove the better weapon against some massive sea creature. He gave the captain a look over his shoulder.


    Ill try to drive it off or kill it.


    Then, Sen hardened a qi tform beneath his feet and flew off the deck on a direct line with the massive beast. While the prospect of fighting a spirit beast didnt normally give Sen much pause, he felt nervous about fighting this one. He couldnt get a clear sense of its advancement, which was always a little unnerving. Beyond that, his spiritual sense was muted by all of the water. While he knew that the spirit beast was out there and that it was huge, he hadnt been able to glean a clear picture of what it actually was. Hed heard some strange stories from the captain about all of the fantastical beasts the man had seen. While those stories had ignited his imagination, they also tried to fill in for the totalck of information Sen had about what he was facing. That was not ideal because it might make him fall into a trap of wrong assumptions.


    Not that it would change his mind about facing off with the beast. It was headed straight for the ship. He wasnt just going to turn aside and let it kill all of the people who were on board. He knew some cultivators would do just that, considering it little more than a mild inconvenience. After all, it was just mortals on the ship. What were their livespared with the value of a heavens defying cultivator? Sen shoved that thought aside. Being angry with other cultivators wouldnt serve in the fight ahead. There was a part of him that still did the mental calctions, though. If everything went terribly wrong and he couldnt save the ship, he <em>could</em> get to shore on his own. Once he got there, he could travel by foot. With his qinggong technique, he could likely get to the cove faster than the ship would get him there.


    Of course, he wasnt going to do any such thing. Unless the beast somehow managed to get past him, sink the ship, and kill every sailor aboard, he wasnt about to head for shore. He knew that it was entirely possible that this exact event would have happened even if he hadnt been on board. There was also a very real possibility that his presence had attracted the spirit beast. Even if he wasnt responsible for attracting the beast, he was certainly the only person who could fight it. While mortals could and did bring down spirit beasts from time to time, it usually tookrge numbers of them working together. Theyd have no chance with something as big as whatever was lurking under the water. With onest burst of speed, Sen closed the gap and the spirit beast rose to meet him with an explosion of water.

 Book 6: Chapter 3: Here, There Be Monsters

    Book 6: Chapter 3: Here, There Be Monsters


    Sen had seen a lot of strange spirit beasts in the depths of the wilds, from the damnable bear-cats to birds made entirely of fire. Hed even once been attacked by something that looked like the bastard child of a pangolin and a massive ivy nt. However, all of his experience with spirit beasts had happened on <emnd</em>. Most of his incredibly limited experience with water life extended only to fish. Hed <em>heard</em> about other kinds of sea animals and spirit beasts from Captain Chen but that had been poor preparation for the thing thatunched from the surface of the ocean. As it drove upward, the water swelled briefly like a wet dome or some kind of bubble. When the dome burst, Sens mind didnt know what to do with the information it received.


    The front half of the spirit beast was a sleek body covered in ck, leathery skin that looked ideal for cutting through the water. Fins covered in that same leathery skin protruded from both sides of its body. Yet they glinted like polished ss in the sunlight, and he could see the razor edge. Those pieces of information immediately dropped into the background as he noticed other, far more pressing details. The creature had no eyes. Sen didnt know why but that bothered him on an atavistic level. It created a revulsion so profound that he wanted this thing dead on sight. As soon as that passed through his mind, it was shunted aside as the blunt nose of the beast spread wide into a gaping maw. Where he had expected to see teeth, there were rows and rows of jagged, broken ck crystals. He shuddered at the thought of how those crystals would rend and tear flesh. Even worse, he could imagine those crystals burying themselves inside flesh and then breaking off. Considering the condition of the ones he could see, it seemed not only usible but likely.


    The beast released a primitive roar that would have shredded the eardrums of anyone without some serious body cultivation behind them. Even at a remove, that roar drove a stench of rotting flesh and death up at Sen the likes of which hed never experienced. That all-consuming smell was like an attack of its own that momentarily stunned him. He felt like hed stepped into some kind of abattoir that had been left to bake in the high heat of summer. As if all of that hadnt been enough to assure Sen that this beast was alien in ways that nothing onnd could ever be, the bottom half of the creature finally emerged from the depths and into the light. Where hed expected to see some kind of tail, the back half of the beast bloomed outward like a grotesque flowerposed of tentacles instead of petals. The color of the tentacles bled away from ck and into a mottled pattern of dark and light grays. A handful of the tentacles were thick as trees, while most were smaller. Sen did note that every single one of the tentacles ended in a crystal spike.


    Worse, he felt dense concentrations of qi in every one of those crystals. Now that the beast was out of the water, he could feel that its cultivation was greater than his. He thought it was the equivalent of peak core formation, which put its actual power somewhere in the low nascent soul range if the usual power disparity between spirit beasts and human cultivators held true. Since he had no reason to doubt that the spirit beasts from the sea enjoyed that advantage, a sliver of real worry blossomed in his mind. Sure, hed beaten a nascent soul cultivator, once, but hed nned that confrontation out with some real care and cheated <em>outrageously</em> with borderline insane poisons. Hed used his understanding of human greed to trick the other cultivator into a situation where Sen had prepared the ground. This situation was nothing like that one. He didnt even know what the spirit beast was, let alone the best ways to fight it. And they were fighting near, if not directly in, the beasts natural environment.


    Still, there was no turning back now. He minimally needed to keep the beast upied long enough for the ship to escape. There were two main routes to achieving that end. He could get the beasts attention and try to draw it away with ranged attacks. The other and what felt to Sen like the less viable option was to kill the beast outright. He genuinely didnt like his chances in that kind of a fight without a much better understanding of what the twisted beast could actually do. <em>Distraction and evasion it is</em>, thought Sen. He wasnt above a fight to the death, but he wasnt prepared tomit to that unless it becamepletely unavoidable. With his decision made, he made a few educated guesses about what would hurt something that lived in the ocean the most.


    He cycled for fire, made the biggest fireball he could, and shot it into the open maw that was racing up toward him at shocking speed. He shifted the tform of qi he was standing on and used the ridiculous strength in his legs tounch himself out of the path of the beasts open jaws. At least, that was the n. As the fireball hurtled into that terrifying, rapidly approaching mouth and down the beasts gullet, it roared in pain. Sen didnt even see the tentacle that whipped up to drive straight at his chest. He felt the crystal on the end of it thrumming with qi. Years of battle experience took over. Sen drove all the lightning qi he could muster into the spearhead and swung it down to meet the assault. The spearhead connected with the crystal at the end of one of the massive tentacles and shattered it, which had gone ording to n. The explosion of ice qi that drove crystal shards in every direction was not ording to n.


    Dozens of cuts opened up across Sens body. He could have ignored that, having done so hundreds of times in thest half-decade. What he couldnt ignore was the shard of crystal that shot into his stomach and right out of his back. He also couldnt ignore that the explosion of qi had carried him up and away from the beast an odd angle that sent him miles farther out to sea. He was momentarily numb from the shock and the sheer concussive force of the st. Then, the agony hit him as remnant ice qi from the crystal tried to freeze his internal organs. Sen had endured a thousand shades of pain, but this was something unexpected and new. He felt it as the qi tried to turn his lung into something that would splinter into tiny fragments at a tap. He felt it encroaching on his heart, slowing the movement of the muscle and the flow of blood through his body. Body cultivators were robust, but Sen doubted that even he could survive it if his heart froze and shattered. None of the alchemical fixes in his storage rings could bring him back from that.


    The stark realization that he was moments from death shocked Sen back into rationality. He swiftly started cycling for fire qi again and flooded his torso with it. He had assumed that would be an easy solution, but it wasnt. Even though the body naturally rejected foreign qi and even though he was saturating his tissues with qi that it should readily drink up, he just barely managed to stop the spread of the ice qi. He redoubled his efforts, condensing the fire qi into something that hed normally consider dangerous for a human body. The ice qi fought his fire qi for what felt like centuries in Sens mind. Yet, for all the brute strength of that ice qi, it was limited while Sen had a full dantian and core to draw on. With a final burst of effort, he expelled the ice qi. He worried it might attack him again, but it was quickly swallowed up by the absurd levels of water qi in the environment. Sen almost heaved a sigh of relief. Then, blood burst from the open wound in his stomach, no longer trapped in ce by the ice.


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    Previously frozen and numb injuries came alive with vibrant agony that shot through Sen like bolts of tribtion lightning. He gritted his teeth against the pain and forced himself to assess the situation. While it had felt like an eternity to him, Sen realized it had only been a few seconds. He was still hurtling away from the beast and the ship. The beast was just starting to drop back towards the water, its agonized roars from Sens two attacks still ringing in the air. Sen focused and manifested a qi tform to arrest his flight. He didnt grasp how fast he was moving until he crashed straight through the tform, crying out in pain as fresh gouts of blood burst from his open wounds. When the white sh that erased all thought from his mind passed, he tried again. He took a different tack, coating his body in qi and expanding it to slow his wild flight through the air. He came to a stop and simply flopped down onto the qi tform.


    Part of him was certain that this was a losing battle and that retreat was the best option. Unfortunately, it was only the best option for him. If he left now, the enraged beast would likely kill everything it could find in the immediate area. He considered if he could simply carry the crew away on a qi tform to save them as he summoned his best healing elixir from a ring and downed it in a gulp. He thought it might be possible to carry them away like that, but he wasnt confident he could carry the entire lot to shore before his body needed rest. Even if he did manage to do that, they werent close to anything like civilization. Hed have to escort the entire crew through the wilds. That could take weeks or months. It would also deprive Captain Chen of his livelihood. <em>I could just buy him another boat</em>, thought Sen. It was a legitimate option, but it depended on getting everyone to shore. Chen would never abandon his men, and Sen wasnt sure he could save them all that way.


    Sen knew that was probably still the smartest move. Unfortunately, it also assumed that he could outrun that beast. It also assumed that the beast wouldnt follow them onto thend. It might prefer the sea, but that was no guarantee that it <em>couldnt</em> go ontond for short periods of time. <em>No</em>, thought Sen, <em>I need to deal with this here and now</em>. Teeth clenched and hand pressing against the wound in his stomach, Sen pushed himself up to a standing position on the tform. The beast was raging and thrashing in the water. That was a relief since it might have gone directly for the ship. Sen closed his eyes and took a breath. He was too far away for any of the things that he''d normally use to end a fight immediately. He needed something else. Something that could actually travel that far and hold together. A memory surfaced of his fight with that young dragon on his way back to Fu Runs. He nodded. That would do for now.


    Sen started cycling for wind and fire. Back during that fight, hed sent out a wind de followed by fire. Hed do something a little different this time. As the qi built up, he started weaving the fire and air together into a braid of something far deadlier than either could be alone. He built the technique up,yer by destructiveyer, as he fought against the water qi that saturated the area. He condensed that braided qi, squeezing the technique into something ever morepact with a force of will built in battles against countless cultivators more powerful than himself, against beast tides, against the will of the heavens itself. He swept the spear in front of him in a shallow arc. A de of fire fifty feet across exploded into existence. It was so bright that it eclipsed the sun and so hot that the surface of the seawater nearly a hundred feet below started to boil. In the blink of an eye, it shot away from Sen and toward the beast.


    The beast sensed the iing attack and whirled its massive body toward the fiery death bearing down on it. Sen was once more appalled that anything sorge could possibly move so fast. All of the tentacles swept forward around the beast like a cocoon with the crystals touching each other. A wall of ice formed in front of the beast just moments before thebined de of fire and wind crashed into it. There was a st of force and steam that sent a huge wave out in every direction. Panic seized Sens heart as his eyes swept toward the ship. Sen dropped everything else as he put his all into cycling for water. He poured liquid qi and core qi into the hasty technique he was building.


    He ignored the fact that he was falling out of the sky. He ignored the blood that was pouring from his wounds, from his nose, and his ears. All he cared about was driving that qi down into the water. He felt it race toward that wave that would crush the ship. He pushed the technique forward with his will, with his heart, with his very soul. The technique caught the wave and unleashed his intent. The wave split around the tiny vessel like a de had cut the water. Sen gave himself a mere moment to feel exultant triumph before he had to once more look to his survival. He managed to catch himself before he hit the water at lethal speeds, although the qi tform did plunge beneath the waves. Exhaustion burned in Sen as he forced the tform to carry him back up into the air.


    He looked to where the steam was finally clearing away. He groaned as he saw the spirit beast thrashing weakly in the water. Sen knew he wasnt thinking clearly, but he also knew that he couldnt leave that thing alive. The qi tform rose up in the air again and sluggishly carried him in a mostly straight line toward the beast. Sen was cycling the entire way. He was shocked to find that his qi reserves werent the problem. He had plenty of qi left. Focus was the problem. He was hurt. Hed already overtaxed his limits to craft that water technique and get to the ship in time. It took all of his meager mental resources to put together what he expected to be thest big technique hed do for a while. When he got close enough, he could see that the spirit beast had taken hideous damage. Most of its tentacles looked like theyd been torn apart or seared away to half their original length. The front half of the beast was charred and blistered. Sen stared down at the thing with baleful eyes. Then, he lifted his spear toward the sky. Lightningnced upward. He felt the qi moving through the atmosphere and gathering strength. Then, a bolt of lightning fell from the heavens like divine judgment and punched into the beast. It let out one final wail of pain and despair before Sen felt its life drain away in his spiritual sense.


    Unwilling to let this fight have no benefits, Sen found the strength and focus to split the beast in half with a massive wind de. He dropped into the stinking burned remains of the beast and, a minute or twoter, he rose from those remains with a beast core the size of arge melon. Sen deposited the core in a storage ring and drifted back to the ship. He dropped onto the deck and looked around at the crew. Most stared at him in ck-jawed awe. The rest looked stunned. He met the eyes of Captain Chen and gave the man a bloody-toothed grin.


    Well, that was exciting, mumbled Sen before he copsed to the deck.

 Book 6: Chapter 4: Conscience

    Book 6: Chapter 4: Conscience


    Sen was a little surprised that he didnt lose consciousness. Thats what usually happened after a battle where hed pushed himself that hard and been injured. He certainly would have weed an inky ckness that freed him from pain. <em>Then again</em>, he thought, <em>maybe its for the best</em>. While he trusted in the best intentions of Captain Chen and his crew, none of them were skilled healers. The sad truth was that Sen <em>was</em> the best avable doctor on the ship. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position as the captain rushed over to him. The man looked frantic and that expression only softened a little when he saw that Sen was still conscious. The man dropped down and reached out a hand to steady Sen when he started to list to one side.


    Cultivator, what can we do for you?


    Sen blinked slowly as his overworked mind tried to process the words. He shook his head and forced himself to focus. <em>What do I need most right now</em>?


    Clean bandages. Somewhere quiet to sleep, said Sen and then revised his statement at the troubled expression on the captains face. Quiet for the ship.


    I owe you my life and the lives of my crew. My ship. Is there nothing else we can do?


    Sen shook his head. I have healing aids. Ill recover.


    The captain looked profoundly unhappy at those words, but he nodded. Sen found himself ced on a sturdy bit of canvas and carried to a cabin. The captain threatened dire punishments for anyone who jostled Sen or, the gods forbid, dropped him. The threats didnt seem necessary to Sen based on the expressions of the men carrying him. He saw everything from gratitude and relief to outright reverence on their faces. He wasnt entirelyfortable with any of that, but he didnt have the mental energy to try to correct their attitudes. Hed done what was necessary. The captain hustled everyone out of the room and then helped Sen dress the open wounds on his stomach and back.


    Youre sure these will heal? asked the fretful captain.


    Sen nodded as he produced another elixir from his storage ring and drank it. He wouldnt normally drink two of them so close together, but he thought the injuries warranted that little bit of excess. He knew he was running some risk of toxicity, but that was a far more manageable problem than open wounds or death.


    I just need a bit of time and sleep, said Sen as he eased himself down onto the narrow bed. The elixir will do most of the work.


    It wasnt exactly true, but Sen didnt think the captain really cared about the technical details of how elixirs worked. The reality was that the elixir would hasten natural healing processes in his body, using its own qi first, and then drawing on his. Fortunately, Sen had plenty of qi for the elixir to draw on. He also had the advantage of body cultivation. Histest advancement had dramatically enhanced his bodys toughness and resilience. He wasnt sure he would have survived that crystal shard passing straight through him before. Sen <em>knew</em> he wouldnt have been able to keep fighting, at least not the way he had fought. Just as importantly, it had boosted his strength and speed again. While having the crystal explode in his face wasnt an ideal oue, making that block in time would have been beyond him before. He would have tried to do it, and he would have failed.


    It seemed that the Five-Fold Body Transformation truly was pushing him toward the ultimate goal of body cultivation. Body cultivators strove to make a truly immortal body to house and protect their mortal souls after ascension. For a dual cultivator like him, the goal was ultimately a perfected immortal body to house his nascent soul after ascension. While those goals were still a distant dream, he was curious about what his body would be like after the final transformation in the sequence. Sen might have spected about what benefits he might gain, but he never got the chance. With the immediate crisis over and his wounds tended as well as he reasonably could in the circumstances, he finally slipped into the painless oblivion of unconsciousness.


    Sen spent two days in that cabin. The first day truly was to let his body heal. The damage done inside him by that shard proved harder to heal than he expected, as though some will to harm lingered in his tissues and worked against the elixirs. The second day was simply to let everything else recover. He wasnt entirely clear what kind of internal resource he had spent during that fight with the spirit beast, but he had pressed well beyond some limit that left him utterly spent. He suspected it had something to do with that technique he had used to split the wave. He hadnt believed it would reach the wave in time. So, he had <em>pushed</em>. It had worked, but Sen didnt know why it worked or what he had pushed with to make it happen. He suspected that learning the answer to that particr question was something he needed to do before he tried to cross the threshold into the nascent soul stage.


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    During those two days, there had been a steady stream of crew members who found reasons toe by his cabin. There was always someone who wanted to make sure his tea was hot or to see if he needed something to eat. Sen wanted to send them away, but he understood what was happening. They wanted to reassure him that he was among friends. They also wanted to reassure themselves that he was actually healing. Sen was touched by their concern but it never stopped being awkward for him. Sen had grown veryfortable with hisrgely solitary lifestyle. It was a necessity for cultivators. People who couldnt handle being alone for the long stretches of time required for basic cultivation, to say nothing of gleaning insight into their techniques, simply werent going to make it as cultivators.


    As much as he wanted to simply hide in his cabin for another week, he realized he would have to make an appearance on deck. It would tell everyone that he was not, in fact, dying in that cabin. After cleaning himself up a bit, Sen looked at his robes. It seemed hed been underestimating the quality of enchantments on the robes Auntie Caihong had given him. The cleaning enchantment had stripped away all the blood that had soaked into them, and it had been a substantial amount of blood. Beyond that, the repair enchantments had mended the holes and cuts that had marred the fabric. Shaking his head at what the garment must have cost, he put it on and headed out onto the deck.


    No one noticed him right at first, but then Captain Chen saw him. He gave a curt order to the second inmand and walked over to Sen. Sen started to greet the man but the words died on his lips as the captain dropped to his knees and kowtowed, touching his head to the deck three times. Sen was caught so off guard by the action that he didnt have the wherewithal to stop the captain. The older man stood and looked at Sen.


    I can never repay the debts I owe to you.


    You dont owe me anything, said Sen.


    I do, insisted the captain with a strange light burning in his eyes. You were injured. You could have fled. Abandoned us to that beast. You could have let that wave wash us away. Many would have.


    Sen took a moment before he answered. Some might have, but I couldnt. I dont believe in honor, but I try to have a conscience when I can. No one with a conscience could have abandoned you to that beast. I did only what I had to do. As I said, you owe me nothing.


    The captain stared at Sen in utter disbelief. For a man who says he doesnt believe in honor, yours runs very deep. You may see no debt between us, but I do. Twice now youve saved my ship and crew from certain death. I would call you benefactor if youll allow it.


    Sen had to bear down hard on his knee-jerk reaction to say <em>no</em>. Saying no would be all about making himself feel better. The captain was doing everything in his power to show Sen gratitude and respect. Letting him do that would let the captain feel like hed given something back. It was a small enough price to pay.


    Of course, said Sen.


    The captain beamed at him and the Sen noticed the approving looks from the crew. It all seemed like foolishness to him, but he supposed there was no harm in it.


    This ship, this crew, is always avable to you. You need simply to call for us, and we wille.


    Sen wanted to flee from the moment of awkwardness. Instead, he buried that feeling and gave the captain a deep nod.


    No man could ask for a finer vessel, captain, or crew.


    It felt like empty ttery to Sen. He didnt know a good ship from a bad one. However, he got the impression that the captain and crew were people who knew their trade. The ship seemed sound enough. In the end, though, ttery or not, everyone stood up straighter, and the crew all grinned at each other like theyd gotten high praise from the god of the sea. Certain that he could only do damage if he stayed and said anything else, Sen looked at the captain.


    I find Im still weary from the battle. I think Ill go rest for a time.


    Of course, said Captain Chen. Is there anything we can do for you?


    Sen thought that the man might have some kind of breakdown if not given a task. So, he made one up.


    If someone coulde and fetch me for the evening meal, I would take that as a kindness.


    Ill see that its done.


    Thank you, captain.


    Thank you, benefactor.


    Sen considered it a personal victory of magnificent proportions that he made it back to the cabin without once letting anyone see how much being called benefactor made his skin crawl.

 Book 6: Chapter 5: Turtle Soup

    Book 6: Chapter 5: Turtle Soup


    The rest of the journey to the cove passed without incident, much to Sens relief. While his physical wounds had all healed and hed recovered much of the qi hed spent fighting that spirit beast, he could tell that <em>something</em> was still healing. The fact that he couldnt find or identify what that something was proved an ongoing concern. Not that it would necessarily prevent him from fighting. He thought that anything he considered a normal fight wouldnt prove problematic. There was a lingering cloud of uncertainty about fighting something on the level of monstrosity again any time soon. Of course, hed avoid fighting something like that again if he could. Sen had challenged things over his level more than once, but hed seeded more on luck and the weight of an unearned reputation than true ability. He was closing the gap between his actual abilities and what people thought his abilities were, but he wasnt there yet.


    Do you need us to stay? asked the captain. We can dy for a few days.


    The captain had, much to Sens relief, mostly reverted to how hed acted before the battle. The man was a little more polite and respectful, but nothing that made Sen automatically ufortable. The rest of the crew was a mixed bag. Some of them seemed afraid that they might identally offend him, while others seemed determined to elevate him to some kind of semi-divine status that <em>did</em> make him automatically ufortable. A very few simply treated him as a person and automatically became Sens favorite people in the crew. For his part, Sen did his best to treat all of them respectfully. Of course, none of that stopped Sen from taking advantage of that deep well of respect they all had.


    Since none of them wanted to question his actions, he found itughably easy to work a variety of formations into the very structure of the ship. It had been a way to ease himself back into cultivation after healing up, while also forcing him to challenge himself a bit. For all the time that hed spent out in nature, he didnt use wood qi all that often. He knew that it could be a devastating weapon in the right hands, but hed built hisbat style around other types of qi. He was much more apt to use it in tiny, controlled doses during alchemy than out in the world. With a ship made entirely of wood, though, it had forced him out of thefortable areas he knew best. Since he had nothing but time on his hands for several weeks, though, he was able to work through the process slowly, carefullyyering the formations one on top of the next. By the time he was finished, the entire ship would be harder than steel if anything tried to attack it.


    He knew it wasnt a perfect defense, but there were no perfect defenses. Hed needed to work primarily with water qi because the ship was already saturated with it and surrounded by it. It would prove weak against direct fire qi-based attacks and lightning attacks to a lesser degree, but Sen doubted the ship was likely to run up against too many fire cultivators with a grudge. Minimally, it would make the ship all but unsinkable in normal circumstances and provide potent protections against any cultivators operating below Sens own cultivation level. Hed given a lot of thought to offensive formations but found that theyd interfere with the qi-gathering aspects of the defensive formations.


    He could create ones that used beast cores as fuel but the cores would lose potency too fast with no cultivators aboard to keep them in a storage ring. Sen had heard about other kinds of storage treasures that anyone could use designed to prevent that problem, but hed never looked for any of them. Sen did have more sess integrating a minor wind formation around the sails. It wasnt much, but should help the ship be a little swifter. The hard part had been figuring out a way to ensure that it would turn off if the winds grew too fierce. That had taken days of thought. While he wanted to do more, hed have to content himself with the current measures until he had time to find one of those other storage treasures. Sen realized that the captain was giving him a quizzical look. Hed gotten lost in his own thoughts again.


    No, said Sen. Theres no need for that. I can make my way back from the cove. Besides, I need to return to where Ive been staying. Youre headed the wrong way.


    The captain frowned but gave a grudging nod. If you ever need us again, just send word. Ille as fast as the winds will carry me.


    About that, I put in some minor formations that should slightly improve the durability and speed of the ship. They shouldnt require any maintenance from you.


    The captain gave Sen a startled look. Is <em>that</em> what youve been doing all over the ship?


    Sen smiled. Just my selfish way of helping to ensure that youll be avable the next time I need your services.


    Captain Chen gave Sen a look that said he knew exactly what the cultivator was doing, but the older man just shook his head.


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    Well, selfish or not, you have my gratitude.


    Think nothing of it. I used it as an opportunity to develop my cultivation. However, I dont want people to think Im an inattentive benefactor. So, take this, said Sen, handing the captain a pouch. I think its high time that you expanded your business ventures. Perhaps you can find some younger people interested in taking one of those long journeys to the far side of the continent. Or maybe youd like an additional ship for this coast. Im sure a man like you can find some practical use for that money.


    The captain stared down at the pouch in his hands like he couldnt decide if it was a miracle or a trap. The man finally looked up at Sens small smile.


    Why?


    Why not? Youre a dutiful man. Perhaps this is simply Karma rewarding you, said Sen with a shrug. At any rate, I wish you safe travels, captain.


    Captain Chen gave Sen an almostically deep bow. My deepest gratitude. Safe travels and fair winds until we next meet, benefactor.


    Almost as one, every sailor on deck mimicked the captains bow. Sen nodded to them and then leapt over the railing. Sen conjured a qi tform that carried him over the water and settled him on the beach. He patiently watched as the ship moved back out to sea and disappeared from sight. He was only a little surprised when a massive turtle rose from the cove''s water and plodded over to stand next to him.


    Elder Bo, said Sen in a rigidly t tone.


    I think youll discover that was a very good investment in time. That captain has a touch of fate around him. Just a small touch, but thats more than enough for a mortal to achieve greatness.


    Sen eyed the divine spirit beast before turning his gaze back to the horizon. I see.


    Elder Bo watched Sen with inscrutable eyes the color of deepest night. No questions for me?


    No.


    Most cultivators would jump at the chance to seek advice from a divine spirit beast.


    Sen gave the turtle an icy, hostile look. Thest time I took advice from you, it almost killed me. If this meeting had happened six months ago, I would have done everything in my power to murder you and turn you into turtle soup. So, no, I dont want any more advice from you.


    Elder Bo looked genuinely shocked, or at least that was how Sen interpreted what happened to the turtles face.


    I dont understand. How did my advice almost kill you?


    Do you know how many copies of the Five-Fold Body Transformation manual there are?


    I cant say that I do.


    Two that anyone knows about. One of which is trapped inside a space treasure thats been locked from the <em>inside</em>. The other was in the hands of a nascent soul cultivator who did not want to be found. I spent years trying to find a copy of that manual. I was dying an inch at a time, my own body cultivation turning against me, while searching the wilds for that nascent soul cultivator. I was moments from death when she found me.


    But you did survive. Look at how powerful youve be.


    Powerful, snorted Sen. I almost died fighting a spirit beast a few weeks ago.


    A spirit beast that no other cultivator at your advancement would have even considered fighting. And <em>you</em> killed it.


    Sen red at the divine spirit beast. Was that your doing as well?


    No. But very little happens in these waters that escapes my notice.


    Sen could feel the doubt on his own face, but he pushed it down. Why am I here, Elder Bo? Is it merely to sate your curiosity?


    The turtle made a noise that Sen thought might be a sigh and settled onto the ground next to him. I suppose it was partly to sate my curiosity. You are uniquely suited to the method. I thought that it might enhance you in ways that it wouldnt enhance less suitable cultivators. Of course, there was no way to know for sure before you did it.


    And has it enhanced me in special ways? asked Sen, unable to resist that piece of bait.


    It has, said Elder Bo. At least, I think it has. Its hard to tell since youve diverged from the method all on your own.


    What? What do you mean that <em>Ive</em> diverged from the method?


    You didnt know? Interesting. Well, assuming you dont do anything else to change things, youre going to end up with a Six-Fold Body Transformation.


    What does that mean? Sen demanded, barely able to restrain himself from screaming at the turtle.


    I dont know how it happened. Somewhere along the line, you suffused your entire body with frankly absurd amounts of divine qi.


    Sen stared at the turtle in dumbfounded shock. He remembered doing that and then waking up in the middle of a fight with demonic cultivators. Thered been so much else going on that he hadnt given it much thought when nothing terrible had happened to him.


    Yes, confirmed Sen.


    You didnt think that did nothing to your body, did you?


    Well, Sen hedged.


    Young people, muttered Elder Bo. Most people at the foundation formation and core cultivation stages get divine qi in minuscule bursts. They use it to ignite an advancement or achieve some kind of insight. It looks like someone dumped akes worth of it on your head. Im honestly curious which heavenly beings you seduced to get that much divine qi all at once.


    The turtle gave Sen a long, expectant look that said it wasnt a joke. Sen rolled his eyes in frustration.


    I didnt seduce anyone. I just had an epiphany.


    About <em>what</em>?


    Something about not rushing into things when other people were involved.


    Elder Bo gave him a look that Sen was pretty sure meant the turtle was disgusted by that answer.


    Thats it? Your monumental, world-shaking, absurd levels of divine qi-generating insight was not to be an ass?


    It was a little more nuanced than that, said Sen, feeling very defensive.


    Okay, seriously, I need to know. Who was it? Was it that goddess of death? She likes them pretty.


    Sens face dropped into his hands as he thought, <em>I wish that stupid spirit beast had killed me</em>.

 Book 6: Chapter 6: Gaps

    Book 6: Chapter 6: Gaps


    I <em>did not</em> seduce a heavenly being, said Sen through gritted teeth as he red murder at the turtle.


    If you say so, muttered the turtle, clearly not believing a word of it.


    Can we please get back to the whole diverged from the method problem?


    I didnt say it was a problem. I just said that its a thing that happened.


    So, its not a problem?


    I didnt say that, replied Elder Bo with dignified equanimity.


    A murderous rage swelled inside of Sen. Hed already seized the hilt of his jian before he wed back a trembling, fragile thread of control. Sen had already been furious with the turtle and this unwillingness to keep speaking inly was stoking that fire. He forced himself to release the hilt of the jian but he was shaking. <em>Theres no point in continuing with this</em>, he told himself. <em>Youll just do something stupid</em>. Sen stared at the divine turtle for several long seconds before he turned on his heel and started walking away down the beach. As the distance grew, Sen started to believe that the turtle might let him leave. That hope was dashed when he felt a burst of qi behind him. Before Sen could even turn around to look, the turtle was looming in front of him.


    You dont respect started Elder Bo.


    That was as far as he got before Sens fist crashed into the bottom of his jaw. Much to Sens surprise, it seemed to stagger the turtle. Sen couldnt decide if it was the blow itself or simply surprise that he had dared to strike the divine spirit beast in the first ce. Either way, Sen wasnt about to let that momentary advantage pass him by. A second punch caught the turtle on the side of the head with a noise that boomed out across the water of the cove and sent an explosion of sand in every direction. Sen ruthlessly battered the turtles head and legs, unwilling to relinquish even a shred of the momentum, desperately seeking to keep the beast off bnce. Once hed thrown that first punch, Sen knew he wasmitted. Hed initiated this fight and there was only one way out the other side. He had to kill this turtle before it regained even a shred of equilibrium.


    If he let the turtle gather its thoughts or qi, Sen knew that he was done. Sen also knew that it was theoretically possible for someone like him to kill a spirit beast like Elder Bo, much like it was possible for someone like him to kill a nascent soul cultivator. Of course, it was also theoretically possible that a mouse could kill a cat through abination of luck and circumstance. It just <em>almost</em> never happened because the power disparity was so vast. Yet, through rash action, Sen had created one of those unlikely circumstances where he might, <em>might</em>, be able to pull it off. Hed caught the beast off guard and stunned it. If he wanted to win, though, there was only one way to do it. Relentless aggression until he could muster a lethal strike. Thatst part was the real stumbling block.


    While Sen had been thoroughly versed in unarmedbat, hed treated it as a foundation for learning weapons. He hadnt treated it as something to fully integrate as part of his fusion of cultivation andbat. Hed mostly limited that integration to leveraging his superior strength and speed to augment the existing blows. Hed never or at least very rarely tried to use his body as the direct channel for things like wind des, lightning, or Heavens Rebuke. His few experiments with thatst technique had been so horrendously destructive that he simply hadnt dared try to do more with it as his power grew. Instead, he had focused on channeling those techniques through his weapons.


    The ring w in that approach became obvious to him as he had to keep hitting the turtle as fast and hard as he possibly could to prevent a counterattack. He literally couldnt spare the time to draw his jian or even summon a weapon from a storage ring. Even that tiny break in concentration or aggression would likely give Elder Bo the breathing room he needed to bring the fight to an immediate and lethal end. Sen thought wildly about what he could do, searching for some insight, some method that would let him deliver that lethal blow instead of desperately buying himself more life one second and dozens of blows at a time. If he was going to use his body as a channel for something, it needed to be something he knew well. It also needed to inflict maximum damage on the turtle. There was only one real choice. Sen cycled for lightning. He almost reflexively tried to push the qi into a weapon that he didnt have in his hands. If his face wasnt already fixed in a snarl of aggression, it would have been a snarl of frustration at his own oversight.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    <em>Flexibility</em>, he reminded himself. Hed interpreted that as meaning flexibility with the types of qi and qi techniques he used and never considered it beyond that. Hed grown dependent on a handful of techniques, only innovating when life-or-death stakes forced him to do it. Granted, he fell back on those techniques because they were so effective, but it was also a failure of imagination on his part. Not that he med himself entirely. Hed fallen into that trap in part because his teachers had fallen into that trap. Of course, <em>they</em> could afford to do that. Sen wasnt even sure that anyone existed who could dislodge a jian from Master Fengs hands. Good luck to the mad fool who tried to take a spear away from Uncle Kho. Their power allowed them to fall back on the familiar because so few people could stand up to it. Sen might reach those heights someday, but he wasnt there yet. That meant that he couldnt afford those kinds of gaps in his conception of whatbat meant.


    Sadly, fixing those gaps meant surviving the fight in front of him. His mind churned frantically as he continued his barrage against the divine spirit beast. Hed never tried to do anything like what he meant to do before, wreathing his own hands in lightning. Where would he start? He didnt want to infuse his hands with the lightning. He had a very vivid image of charred ws at the ends of his arms. Fixable, maybe, but not something he wanted to test. <em>If this was alchemy</em>, <em>Id know what to do</em>, he thought bitterly. Then, it felt like a membrane inside his mind was yanked away and a great many things that hed felt his way through in alchemy rushed into his head. He <em>did</em> know what to do, on some level at any rate. Moving offensive qi where he wanted it to go wasnt really any different than moving qi inside a cauldron. The scale was different, but the process wasnt any different.


    Sen stopped trying to decide what to do and let himself slip at least part of the way into that hazy state of mind he usually fell into when he was doing his best alchemy work. Blinding light erupted around his hands as the lightning qi manifested where he wanted it. His strikes started to leave scorch marks on the turtle. <em>Now</em>, <em>all I need to do is</em>, Sen started to think. Pressure mmed into him from above and drove him to the ground. It felt like every bit of qi in his body was frozen in ce, unable or unwilling to follow hismands. He tried to rise, tosh out with his killing intent, to do <em>anything</em>. It all ended in abject failure, casually brushed aside by a will and a power that dwarfed his own. None of that stopped Sen from trying to wrest back control of his qi or rise to his feet again. It wasnt until a massive foot settled on his chest that Sen epted the inevitable. Nothing he did was going to prevent his death.


    A momentter, the reptilian face of Elder Bo peered down at him from above. The scorch marks from Sens enhanced blows were gone as if theyd never existed in the first ce. Hed had a brief window of opportunity to save his own life and squandered it with hisck of understanding. By the time hed figured out a little piece of what hed missed, it was toote. He stared back at the Elder Bo, still railing internally against the iprehensible power the turtle had used to so effortlessly suppress him. As much as he hated to be beaten, getting killed by a divine spirit beast that towered so very high above him wasnt the worst possible way to go. <em>It might even add to my ridiculous legend</em>, thought Sen. Still, he wasnt interested in hearing the beast gloat.


    Well, get on with it, said Sen. I havent got all day.


    Elder Bos unreadable eyes looked into Sens before the beast cocked his head a bit to one side, as if in confusion. Get on with what?


    Sens eyes narrowed. Killing me. Or do you n to drag it out?


    Why would I kill you?


    Thats usually how fights end between cultivators and spirit beasts, answered Sen.


    Fight?


    Elder Bos mouth opened and huge booming noises erupted from it. The sound was so loud that Sen felt like his brain was being mmed against his skull over and over again. He decidedter that was the reason it took so long for him to figure out that the turtle wasughing like Sen had said the funniest thing in all of history.


    A fight, said Elder Bo. Youre ten thousand years too early for us to have a fight. I was just waiting until youd worked out some of your anger. Seems like you had a little breakthrough there as well, which is always nice.


    Sen gaped up at the turtle, not sure whether he felt offended or relieved. He had to admit that the turtle didnt look to have suffered at all from what, apparently, the spirit beast had thought of as some kind of mild temper tantrum from Sen. Shaking his head, Sen looked at the massive foot that was, on bnce, resting pretty gently on his chest.


    Well, if youre not going to kill me, why are you pinning me to the ground.


    I just didnt want you to hurt yourself.


    Thanks, said Sen in the driest tone he could manage as he decided that offended was, in fact, the right reaction.

 Book 6: Chapter 7: Not Reassuring

    Book 6: Chapter 7: Not Reassuring


    Once hed regained his feet, brushed off his robes, and gathered the tattered shreds of his dignity around him like a robe of shame, Sen looked over at the divine spirit beast. The massive turtle gazed at him with a monk-like calm. It seemed that Elder Bo was going to wait for Sen to restart the conversation. Sen gave serious thought to simply trying to walk away again but suspected that he wouldnt be allowed to leave until the turtle got his say. Doing his best to pretend that he hadnt just been pped down like an overactive kitten, Sen looked out over the water.


    If you arent going to let me leave or kill me, can you please just say what you want to say?


    Youre still angry.


    Can you me me? Even if I wanted to take vengeance on you, I think you just demonstrated rather decisively how far out of reach <em>that</em> goal is for me. Not a lot to celebrate right now.


    Was that your n? To take vengeance?


    No, but it did make for a pleasant fantasy.


    Ah, said Elder Bo. I see. Ive stolen that fantasy.


    Sen shrugged as he tried to feign indifference. I knew it wasnt realistic.


    Are you always this disrespectful toward those with more power than you?


    Sen didnt need to think about it. Yes. Pretty much without fail.


    That strikes me as a poorly considered survival strategy. Even the threat of Ming, Jaw-Long, and Caihong wont stop everyone.


    I do my best not to lean on their reputations, said Sen with a hollow smile. It turns out that Ive got a reputation of my own to lean on these days. Its mostly smoke and mirrors, but people still believe it. Or they worry enough that it <em>might</em> be true that they dont want to cross me.


    Freeing you from concerns about retribution. A fine strategy until it fails.


    Im not blind to the possibility of retribution or the strategy failing. Clearly, there are things in this world that can kill me out of hand. I do worry sometimes that some petty bastard will try to get back at me by hurting people I care about. I dont worry about someone trying to kill me.


    Why is that?


    Because the worst they can do is kill me. Ive faced death before, lots of times, as both a mortal and a cultivator. Im not in a hurry to die, but its not a prospect that frightens me.


    Wouldnt it be easier to simply be respectful?


    Easier? Sure. Viable? Not at all.


    I assume youre respectful to Feng Ming and the others.


    Sen gave the turtle a sidelong nce and said, Im respectful to them because they earned it. Day after day, year after year, they earned that respect. They took me in, taught me, and made me a part of their family when there was nothing in it for them. Respect you have to demand from others isnt respect.


    Others have worked for their power. That has value. Some would say it demands respect by virtue of its existence.


    People think lots of stupid things. I respect what power can do, but thats irrelevant to who someone is. Give an entitled, scheming ass the power of a nascent soul cultivator, and theyre still an entitled, scheming ass. Pretending to respect them does nothing but make me less. If people want respect, they should act in ways that earn it. Being born into the right family or belonging to a sect or simply possessing power isnt enough.


    The spirit beast was quiet for a time. It must be a fine thing to know the hearts of others at a nce.


    Thats a nice trap you set up there, but I didnt im to know the hearts of others. I cant know the hearts of others. All I can know is what they do. If someone walks up to me, tells me they belong to a mighty sect, and then gets violently offended when Im not instantly impressed, thats someone who doesnt deserve respect. If someone offers me advice under the pretense of wisdom and that advice nearly kills me, respect is off the table.


    Elder Bo snorted in amusement. A fair point, I suppose.


    Is this what you wanted to talk about? asked Sen.


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    In part. Your teachers did you a disservice. Refusing to give even the illusion of respect to those who dwarf you in power is not noble, brave, or wise. It is foolhardy.


    I thought that for a time. That one should bend before the storm.


    No longer, it seems.


    No longer. Ive suffered one heart demon already and nearly caused my own death in a bid to be rid of it. Feigning respect for those I despise would simply give me another, and I cant count on a second fortunate encounter to cleanse me of its influence. While my power may be nothing next to yours, its more than enough to do a great deal of evil. Another heart demon would send me straight down that path. Better by far, I think, to risk my destruction.


    Stubborn, muttered Elder Bo.


    Sen shrugged. Id be dead long since if I wasnt stubborn. Its not always a bad thing. Besides, isnt acting against ones principles a sure way to end up with qi deviation? Damage your foundation. All that fun stuff.


    It is, but most people consider practicality or even just in pragmatism a principle worth employing at least some of the time.


    The mention of practicality made Sen smile as it reminded him of Grandmother Lu. So Im told. Practicality is fine. Its a great way to make sure you have enough supplies when you travel. Its useful for business arrangements. I have doubts about using it as a philosophy for guiding your life. But Im a wandering cultivator. Theres nothing practical about that. If I were actually practical, Id have joined a sect. Its safer if nothing else.


    What will you do if you manage to reach ascension? Will you treat heavenly beings the same way? If you find cultivators impatient about yourck of respect, divinities are even less tolerant.


    Well, who knows what theyll do when faced with a god? asked Sen as he gave the spirit beast a steady look. But since you bring up ascension, maybe youd like to weigh in on a little theory of mine.


    The normally rxed presence of Elder Bo immediately shifted into one of difort. He watched Sen for long enough that Sen grew nervous. The spirit beast finally spoke.


    What theory?


    The theory that ascension doesnt take you to the heavens, just some other ce thats pretty much exactly like this one. The theory that Im not supposed to be on this ne at all. The theory that someone is interfering with my life to serve some goal of their own.


    I think I prefer <em>not</em> to weigh in on any of that.


    Seriously? Nothing? How about this? If Im right, dont say anything. Just stand there looking like a giant turtle who isnt happy with me.


    Very amusing, said Elder Bo.


    Fine. Keep the secret. If you wont tell me about that, will you at least tell me about this Six-Fold Body Transformation?


    The turtle thought about it for a lot longer than seemed reasonable to Sen, but the spirit beast finally nodded in agreement.


    Most cultivators dont flood their bodies with divine qi the way you did until theyre nascent soul cultivators. There are reasons for doing it and reasons for the timing, but most of those reasons dont apply to you. At least, not at present. There are also good reasons not to do it before the nascent soul stage. It can interfere with core formation stage body cultivation techniques. With a little bit of luck, that wont be a problem for you. The main reason not to do it during the core formation stage is that it creates a stronger connection between your body and soul.


    That sounds like a good thing, not a bad thing.


    Elder Bo sighed. Its not a bad thing if youre connecting it to a powerful nascent soul. It is a bad thing if youre connecting it to a mortal soul. That connection lets your soul lend power to cultivation techniques and other acts of will. Again, not a bad thing on its own, assuming the soul is powerful enough. Mortal souls are seldom powerful enough, which creates issues. I expect youve been feeling tired and even out of ce recently.


    I have, said a wary Sen.


    You did something recently to strain your soul. Maybe even crack it.


    Sen shed back to those dreadful moments when he was watching the wave approach the ship. His desperation to make his technique get there in time was vivid in his memory. He remembered pushing with everything he had. That thought led him to other moments of desperation when hed done things he didnt really think he could pull off. Had he been borrowing against and possibly even damaging his soul in those moments? He was usually in such dire condition afterward that it often meant staying in bed for days and not doing anything strenuous for even longer. Had it been more than just physical damage? Was he waiting around during those times for his <em>soul</em> to heal? He wanted to dismiss it but feared it was all too usible. Sen gave Elder Bo an assessing look.


    This is what you wanted to talk about, said Sen.


    It is, admitted Elder Bo.


    What should I do about all of this?


    Stop straining your soul, said Elder Bo with exasperation. I thought that part was obvious. You wont have to worry about enemies killing you if you damage your soul too much. Youll do the job for them.


    Okay, but how do I know when Im doing that?


    Elder Bo paused in thought for a moment. Thats actually a good question.


    The spirit beast spent most of an hour trying to help Sen understand how to identify when he was straining his soul. Yet, much to Sens disappointment, it mostly seemed to boil down to a matter of just sensing when it was happening. There were no explicit signs when it was happening and, until Sen became a nascent soul cultivator, no way to see the damage. Beyond that, all he could do was watch out for the signs that it <em>had</em> happened.


    Anything else I should look out for? asked Sen.


    Too many things to even name them, said Elder Bo.


    That was not reassuring.


    If you want reassurance, ask a less fraught question next time, said the turtle in an amused tone.


    Theres going to be a next time?


    If you be a nascent soul cultivator, I expect well meet again.


    With that, the divine spirit beast disappeared back into the water of the cove. Sen frowned at the water, feeling deeply unsettled by everything that had happened with the turtle. With a shake of his head, Sen did his best to clear his mind. Hed kept his promise and showed up. Now, it was time to get back to Falling Leaf and Fu Run.

 Book 6: Chapter 8: Incongruity

    Book 6: Chapter 8: Incongruity


    Staring down at thepass in her hand, Li Yi Nuo felt a surge of frustration. <em>Just how far had this curse-wielding cultivator gone</em>? While she wasnt eager to find whoever it was, she no longer worried that it was a death sentence hiding as a sect mission. Her master hadnt been able to force the sect to rescind the mission, and he had tried. In the end, though, the outer disciples remained afflicted by the terrible technique that seemed boundless in its vindictive quest to punish. The matter hade so close to more violence that the reclusive patriarch of the Vermilion de Sect had made a brief appearance. He had approved the general details of the mission after summoning her.


    I know you dont approve, old friend, the patriarch had told her master, while Li Yi Nuo had stood trembling before the nascent soul cultivator. Yet, I sense the movements of greater things at work here. This will be an opportunity for your disciple if she can seize it.


    The other elders of the sect had assumed the patriarchs appearance meant salvation from the wrath of her master. The patriarch had crushed that optimistic hope beneath a merciless boot. When asked to intervene, the patriarch offered the casual opinion that he found it deeply unseemly that elders of the Vermilion de Sect had been so eager to throw away the life of a promising disciple. Thatment alone likely would have been enough to correct the behaviors of the elders. The patriarch had apparently wished to excise even the slightest ambiguity from their minds.


    If Bahn Huizhong chooses to act, then it simply means that the time hase to purge the dead wood from the sect rolls.


    Li Yi Nuos life had changed rather dramatically after that blood-chilling announcement. Sect elders who once sniffed in derision at her presence or who had openly mocked her became ardent benefactors. Powerful weapons, tools, cultivation resources, and natural treasures had rained down on her from the lofty heights of the sect. The miserly masters of the sect treasury had found truly staggering amounts of silver to give her. The only exnation ever provided was that these resources were meant to smooth the path to sess on her <em>very important mission</em>. She had found herself overwhelmed by both the resources and the attention, only partially understanding why it was happening. Her master, perhaps sensing her confusion, had exined.


    The patriarch met with you, personally, and chastised the elders for how they treated you. For all intents and purposes, he anointed you as the young mistress of the Vermilion de Sect, said Bahn Huizhong, a decidedly smug expression on his face.


    <em>That</em> revtion had resolved her confusion and reced it with a deep-seated feeling of inferiority. Li Yi Nuo knew she was talented, but she was no young mistress. Titles like that were reserved for those rare cultivation geniuses that came along once every thousand years in a sect. She didnt think she could live up to the expectations, but there was no escaping it. All she could do was try to not embarrass her master. The sheer urgency of the mission did provide her with some relief. She was able to fend off the flood of invitations to various private dinners with weak excuses about preparing for her mission. She all but ran out of the gates to the sect a few dayster. Once shed gotten clear of the sect and the chaos of its current politics, though, the realities of the mission had crashed down on her again.


    She was trying to find an incredibly dangerous and powerful cultivator who had already left three members of the sect on the cusp of death, and she was doing it <em>on purpose</em>. Worse, thepass wasnt a terribly efficient tool. It could point her in the general direction of the unknown monster. It would glow a little brighter as she drew closer, yet the kingdom wasrge. The continent was vast beyond reason. She could spend months, even years, searching for someone who might just kill her the second she found them. She had steadied her nerves and recalled the patriarchs words. <em>There is an opportunity for me in this</em>, she had reminded herself. <em>I just need to find and seize it</em>. With that thought firmly in mind, she had consulted thepass and set out.


    Standing on a road weekster, Li Yi Nuo stared down at thepass and wondered if it was broken. It had told her that she was traveling in the right direction and that she was getting close, but most of her encounters had been with spirit beasts, bandits, and farmers taking early spring crops to market. In fact, if she was reading thepass correctly, she thought that the cultivator should be within a mile or two. Frowning, she slipped into the forest by the road and did her best to suppress her qi. Thest thing she needed to do was alert the mad beast of a cultivator to her presence. That would spell disaster. Instead, she carefully made her way through the forest, shifting her eyes from thepass to the road. When people finally came into view, though, she couldnt make sense of what she was seeing.


    She stared down at thepass, then back out at the road where it was pointing at an impossibly attractive man, even when judged by the hardened standards of someone who spent decade after decade in the presence of cultivators beautified by advancement. She had been expecting someone who looked the part of a demonic cultivator from the stories or maybe even some half-human thing out of one of the darker legends. As if that wasnt incongruous enough, what the man was doing was just It was absurd. The man was nodding along attentively as an old farmer told some story, while he fed a carrot to the ox that was pulling the wagon. She just gaped at the scene before her while her mind refused to ept that this person was the dark cultivator who had left those three outer disciples in such desperate condition.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Li Yi Nuo red down at thepass and gave it a hard shake. It <em>had</em> to be working incorrectly. She heardughter from the road and looked up. The man thepass insisted was the person she was looking for had thrown his head back inughter. The farmer was beaming at him with a gap-toothed grin. <em>This doesnt make any sense</em>, thought Li Yi Nuo. <em>What kind of evil cultivator chats with farmers and feeds an ox while petting its head</em>? Even stranger to Li Yi Nuo was the ox itself. It was staring at the man with what she could only describe as pure adoration like it had just met some kind of mythical oxen hero or king. It was wrong. Everything about this was wrong. She was frozen with indecision. Should she approach the man? Should she enlist some other sect to make sure that thepass was functioning properly? She didnt know what to do.


    By the time her indecision broke, the man was gleefully, wildly overpaying the wide-eyed farmer for the vegetables in the cart. With a wave of a hand, the vegetables disappeared into a storage ring. Then, the strange cultivator was gone, disappearing down the road with a frighteningly controlled burst of qi and a qinggong technique Li Yi Nuo didnt recognize. She looked back at the road and saw the farmer and ox staring after the man with, respectively, confused and sad expressions. Another look at thepass and it was pointed straight in the direction the man had gone. <em>Something very odd is happening here</em>, <em>and Im going to figure it out</em>, thought Li Yi Nuo.


    Not sure what else to do, she started tracking the cultivator again. In one town, she spotted him cleaning out a local woodworkers supply of toys. Toys! In another, she thought shed gotten too close when he stopped in his tracks. He cocked his head like he was listening for something, and then changed directions. She watched in utter bewilderment as he found his way into the poorest part of the town, walked directly to one specific house, and knocked on the door. A woman who looked both exhausted and afraid had answered the door. He spoke with her for a few minutes, and Li Yi Nuo watched the womans expression go from frightened to confused and then to cautiously hopeful. Hed disappeared into the ramshackle structure, and perhaps an hourter, she felt a wave of healing energies ripple out of the house and wash over the entire area.


    When she thought her curiosity might actually kill her, the door to the house was yanked open, and a bright-eyed, if underfed, little boy crashed out into the street like a tornado, calling for his friends. She nced back to the house and saw the same woman sobbing uncontrobly, her face in her hands. The enigmatic cultivator stepped outside and watched the boy running around, an odd mixture of satisfaction and sadness on his face. He spoke to the woman briefly, who started bowing and thanking him and promising him a thousand years of loyal service. He just smiled at her, waved it all off, and started walking down the street. Then, seemingly just because he could, he waved his hand and a small mountain of food appeared. There were bags and bags of rice, piles of vegetables, enough bottles of sesame oil to bankrupt a minor sect, and so much more. Looking pleased with himself, the cultivator wandered off in all of the confusion.


    Li Yi Nuo <em>had</em> to know. She made her way over to the woman who the increasingly inscrutable cultivator had somehow picked out of an entire town. The woman gave her a hostile look.


    What do you want? asked the woman.


    Li Yi Nuo looked off in the direction the man had gone. Who was that?


    The woman rxed slightly but still looked wary. The divine cultivator didnt tell me his name.


    Divine? asked Li Yi Nuo, shocked at the suggestion.


    What else could he be?


    I dont understand.


    Who else but a divine messenger could have known? My son was dying. A sickness of the heart that stole his strength. I feared he wouldnt see another dawn. Then, the divine cultivator came. He knew my son was dying. He said he could help my son a little. A little, he said. Then he gave me a miracle.


    Li Yi Nuo looked over to the boy who was wrestling furiously with another boy over an apple. <em>A miracle</em>, <em>indeed</em>.


    I see, said Li Yi Nuo. Thank you.


    She started to turn away when the woman spoke again. He didnt tell me his name, but I know who he was. Who he had to be.


    Who? asked Li Yi Nuo, eagerness to solve the mystery burning inside her.


    That was Judgments Gale, said the woman in a reverent, hushed tone. The divine wind that scours away the guilty and rewards the righteous.


    Li Yi Nuo wanted to scoff at the idea, but then she looked at the little boy again. She looked at the oundish piles of food that were swiftly being carried into houses, food that would likely save lives. She thought about the stories of the man in the blue robes. She turned her head in the direction the cultivator had gone, that cultivator in <em>blue</em> robes. Li Yi Nuo nodded her thanks to the woman and started off in the same direction that the man had gone. She couldnt keep just following him, she needed to confront him and get to the bottom of all of this. Yet, the man had vanished. She was forced to resort to thepass again, going back out on the road. Two days out, though, the impossible happened. Thepass seemingly lost track of the man. She stared in iprehension as the needle in thepass listlessly spun.


    Before she could draw any conclusions, she felt the cold steel of a de at her throat. She shifted her eyes, not daring to move anything else. Theughing man with the farmer was gone. The self-satisfied man who had casually given away a fortune in food was gone. The man who looked at her with stony eyes and an icy expression of displeasure was something she knew, something she recognized. <em>This</em> man could have inflicted that terrible technique on those outer disciples without a second thought.


    Youve been following me for a while now, he said, plucking thepass from her hand. I tolerated it because you seemed harmless enough, but my patience has run out. Who are you? What do you want?

 Book 6: Chapter 9: Conflicting Objectives

    Book 6: Chapter 9: Conflicting Objectives


    Sen watched the woman as his patience slowly burned away. He supposed if he hadnt been immunized to all loveliness by the unearthly beauty of Lai Dongmei, he might have been taken off-guard by this woman. Almond-shaped eyes that were wide with surprise and fear stared at him. She had high cheekbones and delicate features with full lips that had parted in shock, as if she meant to speak but had forgotten how words worked. Hed felt her lurking since back when hed bought those vegetables from that hrious farmer. Sen smirked a little in his head at the way the man had painted rural life as a series of misadventures that usually ended with someone falling into a pile of ox dung, getting chased around the vige by an angry spouse, or a child apologizing to an elder while everyone red sternly and tried to keep straight faces. Hed have to track that man down again someday, just to listen to some more of his stories.


    Ever since then, though, this woman had been trailing him. <em>What was so interesting about buying vegetables</em>, <em>anyway</em>? She never interfered or got too close, but Sen had been chased enough by people who meant him harm to be thoroughly done with finding any novelty in being tracked by anyone, even a beautiful cultivator. <em>No</em>, he thought, <em>especially a beautiful cultivator</em>. He expected that she could get what she wanted out of most people with a smile and implied promises. As the silence dragged on and on, Sen found his annoyance growing. Sure, hed startled her but this was growing silly.


    You do know how to speak, dont you? asked Sen when his patience was down to a dim, flickering candle me inside of him.


    His words seemed to be enough to bring her out of whatever fear trance she was in because she <em>finally</em> started talking.


    I am Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion de Sect.


    Sen let a groan escape his lips as he lowered his jian and cast a hateful look at the sky.


    Another sect? Seriously? Well, no. Just no, said Sen before he shook his head at the woman who seemed baffled by his words. Look. Im sure your sect is great or powerful or some other positive word, but I <em>really</em> dont have the energy to deal with any more sects right now. So, please stop following me, and tell your elders not to make any more of these.


    Sen held up thepass and then crushed it into a tiny ball before he turned and threw it into the forest. He looked over at the woman who had cried out in horror as he destroyed the tracking treasure.


    What have you done? she demanded. That was a priceless sect treasure.


    Im not a fan of being hunted, said Sen in a cold tone that seemed to bring Li Yi Nuo up short. But I suppose I should give you something to make up for the loss. Here. Im told these would be valuable to most sects.


    Sen conjured a canvas sack from a storage ring and dropped a couple of dozen healing elixirs into it. He tossed the bag to the sect woman he wanted to escape as soon as possible. Her eyes bulged when she scanned the bag.


    These are she started.


    Potent, wonderful, other nice words. I get it. Our business is done. Have a safe journey back to your sect.


    Sen managed to take a few steps before the woman shouted at him.


    Wait!


    Gritting his teeth, Sen turned and looked at her.


    Im trying very hard to keep all of this civil and not start a war with your sect. That being said, Im also very, very tired of strangers and sects intruding on my life. So, Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion de Sect, please help me to aplish that goal.


    Her face shifted through several expressions before it finallynded on resolve. <em>Damn it</em>, thought Sen.


    A few months ago, were you to the west of here, traveling south? she asked.


    The question caught Sen a little t-footed. He had expected her to start making demands or spouting nonsense about the glory and the honor of her sect. He frowned at her.


    I was. Why?


    Did you encounter members of my sect on that road?


    Sen frowned a little harder. <em>Where is she going with this</em>? He couldnt help but wonder if she was going to dere some kind of duel on the spot depending on his answer. A big part of him thought he should just turn and walk away, but this situation was different from most of his encounters with sect members. Of course, he didnt know what she wanted to know.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I have no idea. I usually stop listening to someone when the word sectes out of their mouth. Once theyre out of sight, I never think about them again. Its possible I crossed paths with them, but I doubt Id remember unless they made me kill them.


    A look of genuine anger crossed Li Yi Nuos face at his words. He didnt have any vivid memory of a life-or-death struggle during that trip south. Still, it was possible that it just hadnt stuck with him.


    Is that what happened? asked Sen Did someone kill a member of your sect?


    Kill? No. That would have at least been clean. Someone afflicted three of our outer disciples with a technique of torment.


    Three? murmured Sen, something stirring in his memories of that murky time after hed left that doomed vige.


    A technique that attacks the heart, the mind, and the soul. Then, they were left to die on the road. I found them and returned them to the sect. With the help of a specialist, the elders managed to make that treasure into something that could track the person who did it. It led me to <em>you</em>, she said with a snarl.


    Sen wasnt even seeing Li Yi Nuo anymore. He was seeing a washed-out mockery of a memory in which three fools refused to leave him be. He saw it as that fog of shadow, divine qi, sorrow, and something else invaded those three. He hadnt fully understood what he was doing at the time. His mind and emotions had been sopromised. What had the other thing been? It hit him. Judgment. Thestponent had been judgment. He pulled away from the memory to see Li Yi Nuo ring at him.


    What? he asked.


    Was it you?


    Yes, he said.


    Apparently, she hadnt been expecting him to simply admit it because he was walking away by the time she collected her thoughts.


    Stop! shemanded.


    Sen didnt even bother to look back at her. He just kept walking.


    Stop! You must return to the sect with me to undo this <em>thing</em> that youve done.


    Sen did stop that time. He gave her a long look, so shed know that he thought about his answer.


    No.


    No? No to what?


    No to all of it. First of all, youre assuming that I <em>want</em> to undo it. Second of all, youre assuming that I <em>can</em> undo it. Neither of those things are true. Given that information, theres no point in me going.


    Li Yi Nuo looked bbergasted at Sens words. You dont want to undo it? Those men are suffering.


    That was the point. Ill admit, I wasnt really in the right state of mind to understand that technique when I used it on them. I didnt fully know or care what it would do. It was simply an alternative to ughtering them. So, I took it.


    What does it do?


    Its judgment. I threw in a small ocean of sorrow too, but thats not really what its for.


    Judgment? Whose judgment? Yours?


    Mine? asked Sen. Do you really think any judgment of mine could persist for months? Its <em>divine</em> judgment. Why do you think itssted this long? Why do you think I cant undo it? Im not the one punishing them. Im not the architect of their pain. Theyre being punished by their own actions.


    What are you talking about? What does that even mean?


    I mean that the technique forces them to see and understand what their actions wrought from the perspective of the heavens and the perspective of people who were affected by those actions.


    No. No, this technique came from you. You did it. You can undo it.


    You arent hearing me. Im not saying I cant because I cant be bothered with it. Im saying that I cannot. I am incapable of doing it.


    Thats a lie, fumed Li Yi Nuo. The cultivator can always stop their own techniques. Why would this technique be the exception.


    Because theres divine qi woven into that technique. Ive learned the hard way that divine qi does what it wants to do and nothing else. I cant make it stop doing what its doing any more than I can stop the heavens from sending tribtions. If those men are still suffering, its because the heavens think they havent learned what they need to, yet.


    You must return to the sect with me and exin this to the elders.


    No.


    Why not?


    Because Im not stupid. Your elders already know. Theyve already tried to break that technique using every method they can think of and failed. The only thing left to try is killing me, which also wont work, but theyd do it anyway. So, why would I ever surrender myself to people who intend to kill me?


    Li Yi Nuo seemed at a loss before she said, To atone.


    Atone? asked Sen. Atone for what?


    What you did to those men is unspeakable. Honor demands you surrender yourself.


    Sen burst outughing. Honor? Oh, you simply must meet this guy I know. Hes a big fan of talking about honor. Me? Not so much.


    Judgments Gale, the divine wind, isnt interested in honor?


    Sen rolled his eyes. Dont believe every story you hear. Listen, you arent going to be able to convince me toe of my own volition. Since your sect sent you here alone, Im going to assume that you arent weak. They probably loaded you down with a lot of other treasures and tools to either bring me to them or kill me outright. You <em>might</em> even be able to do it, but it wonte cheap. The most likely scenarios are that we either kill each other or I kill you.


    You really think youre better than me?


    Sen sighed. How have you spent most of your time over thest five years?


    What?


    In thest five years, what have you been doing?


    Why does that matter? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Humor me.


    Ive spent most of that time cultivating and training with my master. Why?


    Now ask me the same question.


    I dont see the point of this.


    The answer is killing. Ive spent most of thest five years running from one life-or-death situation to the next. The sad fact of the matter is that, despite my best efforts, I have be a <em>very</em> efficient killer. I dont have a real conflict with you. I dont want to kill you. Please dont put me in a position where I have to prove to you how good I am at ending peoples lives.

 Book 6: Chapter 10: Take the Hint

    Book 6: Chapter 10: Take the Hint


    Li Yi Nuo stared at the man she only knew as Judgments Gale and tried to decide what to do. She refused to let it show on her face, but hisst words had frightened her. They hadnt been boastful, the way she would have thought that something like that would sound. Hed sounded like a man earnestly pleading with someone not to make a terrible, terrible mistake. Worse still, he was calm. He was far, far too calm for a man who should be expecting at least the possibility of violence. There was a stillness to him, and that stillness spoke to a bone-deep resolve to do what had to be done, even if meant doing things he didnt want to do. Her heart told her to just let it go and run away as fast as she could. Hed let her. She knew that much. Hed all but said it. He didnt want the fight.


    Of course, if she ran away, she would fail in her mission. She would dishonor her master and his faith in her. Shed never be able to return to the Vermilion de Sect. Yet, if she didnt, elders would die by the score so she could avoid facing the consequences of her cowardice. <em>For all intents and purposes</em>, <em>he anointed you as the young mistress of the Vermilion de Sect</em>, her master had said. It might be an honor, but it was also a responsibility. She couldnt let her fear, however rational it might be, divert her from her course. She had been tasked to bring this man back to the sect. Thats what she would do. As if he could read her very thoughts and intentions, Judgments Gale looked at her with an expression of boundless sadness.


    So be it, he said.


    Li Yi Nuo summoned a spear from her storage ring, one of the treasures that had been bestowed on her. It was a heavens chasing spear. It was the kind of weapon that most cultivators could only dream about possessing. Weapons like those could turn the tide in a battle. She studied him as he gave the spear an interested look. <em>Will he relent rather than face such a weapon</em>? He shrugged at her and summoned a spear of his own. It was all she could do not to weep in frustration. Hed summoned a heavens chasing spear of his own. She couldnt even imagine where he, a wandering cultivator, had gotten such a thing. She watched the way he held the spear, the way he moved it, and quiet dread passed through her soul. He didnt just possess a uniquely powerful spear. Someone had trained him with spears.


    ***


    Sen watched Li Yi Nuo tense up when he summoned his spear. He wasnt sure what shed expected. Shed gotten out a nice spear, so hed done the same. He kept trying to think of some way to talk her back from the cliff, but he got the impression that she was doing this for reasons <em>other</em> than wanting to fight him. He sensed her cycling for a kind of qi he didnt recognize. She swept her spear in a horizontal arc that looked very familiar to Sen. Something that resembled one of his own wind des shot at him. Yet, instead of a mostly translucent wing of qi, this was the color of blood and even seemed to have hints of metal in it.


    Huh, said Sen. Thats new.


    ***


    Based on the stories shed heard, Li Yi Nuo had expected Judgments Gale to explode into a flurry of violence. Instead, hed just given her a mildly quizzical look and not even cycled any qi. That was fine by her. If he was willing to give her an opportunity tounch a technique out of overconfidence, that was his mistake. Shed considered several options. In the end, shed gone with what she knew best. The technique that had given her sect its name. The vermilion de. Shed struggled with it for a long time because it called for not one but two kinds of qi. Granted, it only needed a little metal qi, but even summoning that small amount of qi had proven an arduous challenge for someone with an air qi affinity. Learning to fuse those qi types the right way had nearly cost her a leg once when the technique failed to form properly. Still, she had persevered and mastered the technique.


    When shedunched it, shed assumed hed take on that aspect of grim iciness shed seen when he first appeared. What she got was him studying the lethal technique with interest as it careened toward him. <em>This isnt how people fight</em>, she thought. <em>What is wrong with him</em>? <em>Hes not even trying to defend himself</em>. If he had been nning on meeting the technique with one of his own, he was far toote to make that happen. If he meant to evade, he should have already started moving. All he could do now was simply take the strike and hope it didnt cut him in half. Li Yi Nuo was starting to think that shed been afraid of nothing. Maybe hed taken credit for things hed never done. Maybe bringing him back to the sect <em>wouldnt</em> be that hard. Just as a sliver of hope woke up inside her, Li Yi Nuo felt her insides shrivel.


    Faster than shed ever even imagined was possible, he was zing with qi. Lightning erupted around the head of his spear with so much intensity that it hurt her eyes. She felt more than saw that spearhead crash down on her technique and lightning ripped it apart from the inside out. Everything went white as pain ripped through her skull, courtesy of the bacsh from a broken technique. Despair supnted hope as she finally saw that he hadnt been trying to boast or intimidate his way out of this fight. It had never been a real fight. There were perhaps two or three other cultivators at her level in the sect who could, with preparation, do what hed just done with such offhanded ease. She instinctivelyshed out with her spear to keep the inevitable attack at bay as she tried to regain her equilibrium. When her mind and vision cleared, she expected to be on the receiving of that flurry of violence that hadnt appeared before. It never came. Instead, he was standing exactly where he was before and giving her a look she couldnt quite parse.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ***


    <em>Oh</em>, <eme on</em>, thought Sen. <em>Come on</em>! <em>Take the hint</em>. <em>Tell me you changed your mind</em>. <em>Then we can talk about that sweet technique you just used</em>.


    ***


    <em>Why is he just standing there like that</em>? <em>Is he mocking me</em>? Watching him crush her technique that way had convinced Li Yi Nuo that any pure contest of qi between them was not going to go her way. If she could get close enough, though, she might be able to create an opening. Clenching her jaw, sheunched herself forward with her qinggong technique. She felt a moment of legitimate outrage when she saw Judgments Gale roll his eyes. She suffused the heavens chasing spear with her wind qi, which would make her strikes swifter and leave cuts even if she didnt connect. She brought the spear down in a brutal overhand swing that was stopped cold. She felt a surge of triumph as a cut opened along one of his cheeks. That sense of triumph didntst long as he looked at her, shrugged, and spoke.


    Alright.


    Her blood ran cold as he suffused his spear with water qi and not tiny amounts like she normally used with metal. He was wielding water qi like someone who had a water qi affinity. <em>No</em>, she thought. <em>He can use more than one kind of qi</em>? Shed suspected that this fight might be hopeless, but now she knew. Multiple qi users were basically legends. Everyone supposedly knew it was possible, but no one ever really pulled it off. This entire mission had been a failure before shed ever even left the sect. Now, she was stuck in a fight that she had started and <em>could not</em> win. She unleashed a flurry of strikes and met a wall. Everything was blocked. Every block left her hands feeling numb. <em>How strong is this man</em>? She felt her frustration mounting as he didnt even try to attack, contenting himself with defense.


    She tried to bring down another overhand strike with all of her strength and everything from her fingertips to her shoulders went numb as the strike was simply <em>stopped</em>. She only had enough time to register that hed somehow caught her spear by the haft before her intuition tried to warn her. While shed been wasting precious mental energy trying to process what had just happened, hed swung the blunt end of his spear around. There was another explosion of white as the haft connected with her side. She shook her head and tried to bring the world back into focus. ncing around, she found herself in a pile of splintered wood and bark. Shed been tossed through a tree. Panic got her to her feet, even if half her ribs felt as splintered as that tree looked. Li Yi Nuo looked around wildly only to see Judgments Gale standing in the exact same ce hed been standing for the entire fight. His own spear was gone, no doubt stored, and he was looking at her spear.


    She couldnt understand what he was doing. He should have followed up after that hit. Shed been stunned and helpless. <em>What game is he ying</em>? <em>Does he mean to humiliate me before he kills me</em>? She ran through the list of weapons and treasures shed been given. Having seen some of his true capacity, she doubted that most of them would even slow him down. There was onest option, though.


    ***


    <em>This is a really nice spear</em>, thought Sen. It probably wasnt good enough to give to Uncle Kho, but Sen decided he needed to start keeping an eye open for something that would suit the old spear master. He nced over at the sect woman who was giving him looks that ranged from confusion to murderous rage and calction. <em>She''s not quick on the uptake</em>, thought Sen. <em>I may have to just tell her what to do to get out of this</em>. Before Sen could act on that n, Li Yi Nuo threw something at him.


    ***


    The Thousand Stone talisman left her hand and flew straight at the man. She felt it activate and heaved a sigh of relief when she heard him grunt. It was just a matter of time now. Shed held off on using it because that talisman was insanely expensive, but that didnt matter anymore. All she wanted at this point was to survive. A stabbing pain in her side stole her breath and made her vision tunnel. That throw had not been advisable for someone with shattered ribs. She had time now, though. The talisman would keep adding weight until it drove him to the ground. It would contain him there long enough to get the qi suppression treasure on him. She looked over, expecting to see him sprawled on the ground. Instead, he barely looked like he was under strain at all. He looked over at her.


    Thats a fun trick, he told her.


    Then, the end of the spear he was holding, <em>her</em> spear, turned some color that was perhaps a <em>thousand</em> times darker than ck, and she had purple afterimages in her sight every time she looked at it. He swung the spear once. There was a noise that made Li Yi Nuo feel like shed been present for the murder of some celestial being of peace and kindness. Earth qi exploded in every direction, kicking up a storm of dust and rocks that pelted her. When the dust settled, the man was back to looking at her spear. This was beyond futile and humiliating. This was a shame that would stain her and her sect when the story of her utter failure spread. If she could exin this to her master, he would understand. Defeat at the hands of a man like this was to be expected. If shed only known the truth. Then, he spoke.


    How convenient would it be if someone said that they changed their mind and preferred not to have a duel? he asked, turning an annoyed expression toward her. Imagine all of the problems that would solve.


    Li Yi Nuos mind tried to go several different directions at once. Part of her thought it was some kind of trick. Part of her wanted to weep in relief. Part of her reminded her about her duty. The end result was a confusing mass of half-formed thoughts that didnt go anywhere. <em>Is he trying to give me a way out</em>?


    Wait, she finally blurted out. What?

 Book 6: Chapter 11: Merciful

    Book 6: Chapter 11: Merciful


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at Li Yi Nuo. He thought hed been pretty clear. He wondered if maybe she wasnt that bright. Shed seemed smart enough when they were talking. Then again, she did have a lot of time to think about what she wanted to say to him before they met. He sighed.


    I said, how convenient would it be if someone he started.


    I <em>heard</em> what you said. What do you mean?


    Really? I thought I was being pretty straightforward.


    She narrowed her eyes at him. Youll just stop, after all that?


    I never wanted to fight in the first ce. So, its not much of a sacrifice for me to stop. I get what I wanted from the start. Besides, this doesnt seem to be going all that well for you. Are you in any condition to keep fighting?


    He could see her weighing his words and no doubt taking stock of her condition. She grimaced, pressed a hand to her ribs, and shook her head.


    Very well, said Li Yi Nuo. I think I <em>would</em> prefer it if we didn''t duel.


    Excellent, said Sen.


    He looked down at the spear in his hands. He <em>really </em>wanted to keep it, but he suspected that it was probably the best weapon she owned. He knew that hed go looking for someone if they took his best spear. Sen pushed aside his greed, if a little grudgingly, and walked over to Li Yi Nuo. She watched him with guarded wary eyes.


    Here, he said and held the spear out to her.


    She gave the spear a longing look. Its valuable.


    Sen red at her. Dont give me reasons to change my mind.


    Taking yes for an answer, Li Yi Nuo grabbed the spear and then leaned heavily on it. I Thank you.


    Yeah, well, said Sen, you should take one of those elixirs I gave you.


    She shook her head. Those arent mine. Theyre for the sect.


    Sen closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before he answered. Listen, there is such a thing as being too honorable for your own good.


    When it became clear that she wasnt going to do it, Sen summoned another elixir and thrust it at her. She started shaking her head.


    Sen growled through clenched teeth. Drink. It.


    Eyes a little wide, she took the elixir and drank it. Why?


    Because I dont want people looking to repair their wounded honor after this. Ive got enough problems already. Now, give that elixir a couple of hours and you should be able to travel.


    Sen felt that hed done all that could reasonably be expected of him under the circumstances and probably a bit more. As he made to leave this troublesome woman and her sect issues behind, she called out to him in a pained voice.


    Wait!


    Sen didnt turn around, just spoke over his shoulder. I think Ive been very reasonable with you, all things considered.


    You have, she admitted. But those men.


    Rubbing his hands over his face, he faced her again. I wasnt lying to you. There is nothing I can do for them.


    You could try.


    Back at your sect, I suppose, said Sen in a very t voice. Where they want to kill me.


    Li Yi Nuo opened her mouth and nothing came out. She closed her mouth and looked at the ground.


    Travel safely, Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion de Sect.


    Somewhere else, she said.


    Somewhere else, what? asked Sen.


    What if I bring those men somewhere else? Somewhere you pick. Will you try to help them if I do that?


    Sen frowned at her. Why does this matter so much to you? Do you know those men? Is one of them family to you?


    This content has been uwfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She hesitated, pressed a hand against her ribs, and winced at some internal pain. Sen supposed that the elixir was probably starting to work for real. He knew from personal experience that it hurt when bones broke and when they healed under the power of an elixir. She took a couple of steadying breaths and looked at him.


    You didnt see those men after what you did to them. They <em>begged</em> me to kill them when they could speak at all. I was the one who brought them back to the sect. I was the one who made them eat. It took weeks of travel to get them back. They suffered the entire time. Theyre suffering <em>now</em>. If you wont even try, then I put them through all of that for nothing. It would have been kinder to let them die on that road.


    While Sen felt no regret for what he did to those three fools, he did feel a twinge ofpassion for Li Yi Nuo. This had all clearly been weighing on her for a while. In an odd way, she was experiencing a version of something hed been through, even if they wereing at the experience from very different ces. Hed left bandits alive that he only realized in retrospect that he absolutely should have killed without hesitation or mercy. Shed kept people alive that she worried she should have let die out of mercy. He could even understand her regrets to some extent. Hed maimed Changpu in an act that had seemed, and probably been, necessary. In doing so, though, he had brought Changpus advancement as a cultivator to an absolute stop. Sen expected that was a kind of ongoing mental torture for the man.


    Cultivation was an all-consuming pursuit that ultimately forced a person to sacrifice all of their connections to their mortal lives. If they didnt do it willingly, time would do it for them. To have all hope of continuing that journey stripped away would make those sacrifices feel meaningless. It wasnt something Sen dwelled on, but it also wasnt something that sat easy in his soul. As he considered all that, he could see hope and concern flickering in Li Yi Nuos eyes. He supposed his long silence might have given her hope that he was considering her proposal. He didnt relish crushing that hope, but the woman seemed oddly nave about how the world worked. He didnt know if shed been sheltered by her sect or her master. Maybe she simply hadnt been put in many positions to be betrayed. Another possibility was that she thought her sect would act honorably. Sen suspected it was somebination of those factors. He simply didnt operate beneath those illusions.


    No, he said.


    Sen had to steel himself as he watched that hope wither in her eyes.


    Why?


    Because it wouldnt matter what ce I picked. Even if I trust your intentions, I cant trust your sect. Theyd never let youe alone. They would send someone to kill me. Someone they thought could get the job done. Maybe even one of your sect elders. Im sorry that you got caught up in all of this. Im genuinely sorry youre suffering for it. But I already know I cant help those men. Im not willing to die just to prove it.


    My sect is honorable, said Li Yi Nuo, anger shing in her eyes.


    Sen shook his head. Do you have any idea how many times people from <em>honorable</em> sects have tried to kill me? Those three men youre trying so hard to spare. I didnt just decide one day to test that technique on the next people I met. They chose to attack me and not because I threatened them. They did it because I was hiding my strength. They did it because they thought I was weak and that they could get away with it.


    No one from my sect would do that.


    Are you saying that because you know it? Or are you saying that because <em>you</em> wouldnt do that?


    Sen waited as Li Yi Nuo wrestled with her own thoughts. Grimacing, she answered.


    Its because I wouldnt do it.


    Listen. On bnce, loyalty is a good thing. Admirable even. Id probably be dead if I hadnt gotten more loyalty than I deserved from people I wasnt treating very well at the time. So, Im in no position to judge you for being loyal to your sect. But if youre giving loyalty, you should do it with your eyes open.


    Sen nced and the sky and gritted his teeth a little. It would be sunset before too long. Even if he left right that second, hed never get to somewhere with an inn before darkness fell. A subdued voice interrupted his brooding over the time.


    Did they really attack you?


    Would you believe me if I said yes?


    Yes.


    They were about to attack me. Cycling qi. Drawing weapons. I was just faster than they were.


    Then why didnt you just kill them and be done with it? You obviously could have, she said with a decided air of bitterness.


    Sen wavered about how to answer that question. There was more than one truth involved.


    I was, at the time, I was overwhelmed by grief. There was this vige and a gue and, Sens voice failed him as those memories threatened to drag him under again. Almost no one survived. I tended to the dying. And because there was no one else, I performed their funerals. Id seen too much senseless death. Men and women. The elders. The children. So, when those three fools tried to start something, I thought that I would punish them but spare their lives. I thought I was being merciful.


    Oh, said Li Yi Nuo, her voice subdued. Is that why you spared me? Mercy?


    Sen snorted. Hardly. I spared you for entirely selfish reasons.


    Hows that?


    Your sect may not like what I did, but theyll probably get over it. Those three are, what, outer sect disciples?


    They are.


    So, not very valuable to the sect as a whole. In other words, nobody will make avenging them a priority unless I do something idiotic like show up at the gates of your sect. Frankly, Im surprised they went as far as sending you. You have a master. With your advancement, youre probably an inner sect or a core member. Ending your life would cause a problem. <em>Someone</em> would make finding and killing me a priority. Leaving you alive is better for me in the long run.


    Thats a cynical way to see things, said Li Yi Nuo.


    Sen shrugged and gave the sky another look. How are your ribs?


    Theyre healing. Why?


    Because its going to be dark soon. Come on, said Sen, heading into the forest.


    Where are you going?


    To set up camp. Unless you want to do it all yourself, said Sen with a pointed look at where she was still holding her side.


    Li Yi Nuo looked like she wanted to protest but ultimately gave in with a weak, Fine.


    Even with the rapidly diminishing light beneath the forest canopy, Sens spiritual sense led them to a rtively clear area. He thought about just setting up a tent, butziness won out in the end. He erected a galehouse, only to find the sect woman staring at him.


    What? Its better than sleeping on the ground, said Sen.

 Book 6: Chapter 12: My Agenda Is to Survive

    Book 6: Chapter 12: My Agenda Is to Survive


    Aside from pulling afortable chair out of his storage ring and dropping it by the firece for Li Yi Nuo, Sen did his level best to simply ignore the woman. He kept that up for an hour as he made food, all while pretending he didnt notice her watching him anytime she thought he wasnt paying attention. It took a moment of minor concentration, but soon there was a small stone table standing in the center of themon area. Sen put a bunch of food onto the table and finally looked over at Li Yi Nuo. Sighing, he pulled a couple more chairs out of his storage ring and dropped them by the table.


    You may as welle and eat something, said Sen.


    Sen sat down and poured himself a cup of tea while trying to decide what he wanted to eat first. Li Yi Nuo seemed to have an argument in her head before she eventually stood up and joined him at the table. She didnt seem entirelyfortable, but it didnt look like every movement pained her anymore. Sen supposed he might have hit her a little harder than hed meant to. Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes and took a sip of tea. It had been a trying day and he wanted to snatch at least a moment of calm before questions started flying his way. He sat there like that for most of a minute, even as he felt her gaze boring into him. He didnt bother to open his eyes when he addressed her.


    Youre not eating anything. Do you think its poisoned?


    <em>You</em> arent eating anything, she said.


    Sen opened his eyes and gave her a level, unamused look. Then he deliberately took a little bit of everything and methodically ate it.


    Satisfied?


    Li Yi Nuo looked a little sheepish as she put food on her te. Sen went back to sipping tea with his eyes closed. He was able to bask in the rtive silence for nearly ten minutes before the inevitable happened.


    Who <em>are</em> you?


    No one important, said Sen.


    I think we both know thats not true. You can wield multiple kinds of qi.


    So can you.


    Not like you can. I can muster up a little metal qi to go with my wind qi. You throw around qi like you have an affinity for everything. You could join any sect on the continent and have them throwing resources at you. Theyd hail you as a genius.


    Sen opened his eyes again. Okay.


    Thats it? Just, okay.


    What should I say? Im not interested in joining a sect. I certainly dont care what they would think of me.


    Sen watched her expression sour at his clear indifference to sects and what he considered their very dubious benefits. He almost expected her to jump to the defense of her sect or sects in general. Instead, she visibly smoothed her face into something that didnt quite reach friendly but wasnt actively aggravated. He thought it was an admirable demonstration of self-control given that hed intentionally poked a sore spot. She focused on the thing hed initially ignored, although he hadnt ignored it spitefully.


    And what about being able to use more than one type of qi?


    Sen shrugged. What about it? Youve clearly seen me do it. I didnt think there was anything more to say about it.


    Where did you learn it? <em>How</em> do you do it?


    Sen gave her an amused smile. Im a wandering cultivator, not an idiot. You didnt really think Id answer questions like that, did you?


    Li Yi Nuo looked like she <em>desperately </em>wanted to press the issue, but she moved on. Fine. I guess we all have our secrets. Maybe youll be a little more forting about how you can summon qi so fast?


    Oh, well thats no kind of secret. Practice.


    Her eyes narrowed in a way that Sen recognized as socially dangerous if not physically dangerous.


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    Very funny.


    Its not a joke, said Sen, lifting a hand in a cating gesture. I practiced <em>a lot</em>. I pushed my limits as hard as I could. A lot more often than Id like, I did it under the threat of immediate death if I failed. It turns out that most things are possible if you <em>need</em> them to happen badly enough.


    Li Yi Nuo frowned at him in a thoughtful way. My master says that peril can drive cultivation but that the risks often arent worth the reward.


    Thats a whole lot of truth, right there.


    And yet, here you sit. A living, breathing counterargument.


    No. Im a cautionary tale.


    Powerful. Famous. What am I missing?


    It was Sens turn to frown thoughtfully. Youre missing the fear. The dread that goes with being hunted by those more powerful than you. Have you ever been hunted, Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion de Sect? Ever had to flee into the wilds because the possibility of powerful spirit beasts attacking you was a better option than traveling on the roads? Ever woken up in the middle of the night with your heart racing because there was a noise you didnt recognize, and you were certain someone was there to kill you?


    No, she said with a grim expression. Ive never faced anything like that.


    Thats a <em>good</em> thing, said Sen, trying to think of a way to condense his experiences into something useful. Youre also missing the sheer amount of death. My path through this world had been littered with the corpses Ive made. A lot of them deserved it, but Im also sure that some of them just picked the wrong side, the wrong friend, or simply the wrong day to be where they were. Youre a cultivator and couldnt have gotten to where you are without doing at least some killing. Still, how much blood do you really have on your hands? Im willing to bet its not that much. So, how much do you want there? How much time do you want to spend wondering if some of it is innocent blood?


    I I dont know how to answer that, said Li Yi Nuo, her face pale.


    Id be rmed if you could. The point isnt to have answers. The point is for you to have the questions. To be aware of the kinds of mistakes a person can make on their way to bing powerful and famous, said Sen, not hiding his contempt for the two terms most people would considerpliments. Or, at the very least, the kinds of mistakes that Ive made.


    Sen let silence fall as Li Yi Nuo seemed lost in her own thoughts. He honestly wasnt sure if he was helping her or not. On the one hand, she waspetent and strong. Shed obviously been trained by someone who wanted her to live and go as far as she could on the path of cultivation. Yet, there was also a kind of blind spot in her thinking that hed initially thought was naivety. The more they talked, though, the more he started to think it might be more akin to a kind of innocence. Shed spoken about her master a few times. Sen wondered just how much the man had shielded her from some of the realities of cultivation. Deciding hed given her enough time to think, he spoke again.


    Theres one other thing that youre missing.


    She focused on him again. What?


    When you be powerful and famous, or when you get a reputation for it, the more powerful will want to use you or that reputation for their own ends. Most of them dont care<em></em>if youre not interested in helping. Many of them would rather kill you than take <em>no</em> for an answer.


    The more powerful. Like who? she asked before understanding dawned. You mean sects. You mean <em>my</em> sect.


    For example, but its not just them. Sects, nobility, royalty, nascent soul cultivators. Almost all of them have agendas and see people as disposable tools. If youre not willing to be used, then they see it as a sign that you should be broken.


    Not everyone is like that. My sect didnt send me to make you serve some agenda. They sent me because you did something to those disciples. Something no one seems to know how to fix.


    But they didnt send you to ask questions, did they?


    Well, no, said a perplexed Li Yi Nuo.


    They dont care if those disciples did something to provoke me into doing what I did. I doubt they really even care if those disciples can be healed. They sent you to bring me back so they can take revenge. So they can restore the slighted honor of the sect. <em>That</em> is an agenda. In fact, I bet youve got some kind of suppression treasure to keep me in line, right?


    For all the good it did me. But what about your agenda?


    Sen blinked a few times as he tried to figure out what she meant. My agenda?


    You just said powerful people have agendas. Youre powerful. So, whats your agenda?


    Huh. I guess theres a logic to that, said Sen as he thought it over. Isnt it obvious?


    No. If it were obvious, I wouldnt have had to ask.


    Then I suspect youre crediting me with too much cleverness because my agenda is as simple as theye. My agenda is to survive.


    Li Yi Nuo rolled her eyes. Everyone has that agenda.


    Yes, but not everyone hase as close to death as I have as often as I have. Those experiences tend to strip away the inconsequential. You stop worrying about things like building a reputation, forging an empire, or protecting the illusion of your honor because youre too busy trying to make sure that youre going to see tomorrow.


    And you think that things like a sects honor are inconsequential?


    I know that itspletely trivial. But I have no intention of debating the value of honor with you. Ive already had that very tedious argument with someone, and Im not trying to convince you of anything. The point is that I stopped caring about those kinds of things about nine near-death experiences ago. I dont have someplicated agenda or long-term n that Im trying to carry out. All that Im after is to survive long enough to ascend. Thats it.


    You say that like ascension is a certainty.


    Sen just gave her an enigmatic smile and shrugged.

 Book 6: Chapter 13: The Jianghu Is a Hard World

    Book 6: Chapter 13: The Jianghu Is a Hard World


    Do you know something that I dont? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Probably, answered Sen. Then again, I imagine you know some things that I dont. So, were probably even.


    You know that isnt what I meant.


    Sen could see the obvious frustration on the womans face and tried to not take too much petty pleasure from it. Once she started asking questions, she seemed to forget how they ended up having the conversation. Sen hadnt forgotten, though. He didnt intend to let it slip his mind, either.


    No, I dont believe I know anything specific about ascension that you dont.


    Thats hard to believe, as you seem very confident that youre going to ascend when nearly every other cultivator alive is merely hoping that they <em>might</em> ascend.


    Believe me or dont believe me. I cant do much about that. I also cant speak to what other cultivators believe about their chances of ascension. All I can tell you is that Im pretty sure I got the same exnation about ascension as everyone else. You climb the ranks of the nascent soul stage and, if you reach the peak, you ascend. That sound about right?


    More or less, conceded Li Yi Nuo. I think the only meaningful difference I heard was that if you reach the peak you <em>must</em> ascend. That the world will make you ascend whether you want to or not.


    I hadnt heard that, said Sen, thinking about Master Feng. I doubt its quite <em>that</em> cut-and-dried, though.


    Why?


    Because when is anything in life that cut-and-dried? Everything else in the world happens with some level of uncertainty but this one thing is absolute. I dont buy it.


    They say theres an exception to everything.


    Maybe, said Sen.


    When Li Yi Nuo didnt immediately say something else, Sen did nothing to encourage the conversation. He gave it five minutes of increasingly awkward silence before he went to stand up. Hed only brought her along to make sure that she was healing up properly. Having given her an elixir and a meal, he was confident she was going to be fine. Or shed be fine enough that whatever healing pills and elixirs shed undoubtedly brought with her would be sufficient to finish the job. It probably wouldnt get her sectpletely off his back, but he hoped that his restraint and nominal courtesy would trante into a little bit of goodwill. Answering an extended round of questions, on the other hand, wasnt something he was enjoying. Just as importantly, he didnt think she was getting all that much out of it. However, the moment she realized he intended to go do something else, she seemed to scour her mind for something else to say.


    Who trained you in the spear? Was it your master?


    Do you actually care or are you just looking for a way to keep me engaged in this conversation? Keep me talking until you work up the nerve to ask me something you think I wont like or wont answer unless you build up a rapport?


    She sighed. Both.


    No, my master didnt teach me the spear. I had a different teacher for that.


    You learned from a true master of the spear.


    Why do you say that?


    Because I learned from a true master of the spear, and you beat me, said Li Yi Nuo.


    There was no arrogance in her voice. It was a statement to her. Just one more fact about the universe that upied her mind. He considered her briefly before he inclined his head.


    He is a true master, but dont give me too much credit. I have advantages you dont, said Sen, then his eyebrows went up as he got it. Thats what you want to know about.


    Youre a dual cultivator, right? Spirit and body cultivation?


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    Sen gave her an even look. If you thought to ask the question, you already know the answer.


    She hesitated and then rushed forward with the question shed apparently been hanging onto for the entire conversation.


    How do you beat someone like, well, you?


    You cant seriously be asking me to tell your sect how to beat me.


    No! That isnt what I- she shook her head. Im not asking for them. Im asking for me.


    Telling you is the same as telling them. Not that they necessarily need that information. Im confident that there are elders in your sect who are perfectly capable of killing me if they really put their mind to it or catch me off guard. Still, its not to my benefit to help arm them against me.


    Thats not what this is about, insisted Li Yi Nuo.


    Then what it is about, Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion de Sect?


    Why do you always say my name like that?


    Its so I never forget who you serve and where your real loyalties lie.


    Li Yi Nuo squinted at him like she couldnt make out his features. You arent always like this?


    Like what?


    I saw you with that farmer and with that woman whose child you saved. You were kind to them.


    And? asked Sen.


    So why be like this with me? So unforgiving. So hard.


    Theyre mortals. Life is cruel to mortals and often for no reason. A small kindness that costs me next to nothing can be a miracle for them. You are a cultivator, from a sect, and the Jianghu is a <em>hard</em> world. You should know this. After all, we face the heavens alone. Surely, your master taught you that.


    Li Yi Nuo sat up straighter in her chair. Every cultivator knows that we face the heavens alone, but Im not looking for help to face the heavens.


    What are you looking for from me? What is it that you think I can help you do that no one in the Vermilion de Sect can help you with?


    Its not that they cant. They wont. I had a friend, Xia. We joined the sect at the same time. Trained together as outer disciples. We watched out for each other.


    Sen pursed his lips as he thought over what hed just heard, but he picked out the most relevant word before long.


    Had, he said.


    What?


    You said that you had a friend. I take it she died.


    She didnt die. She was butchered.


    Sen nodded. So, you want to take righteous vengeance on the person who did it.


    Why shouldnt I want that? demanded Li Yi Nuo, her voice harsh and angry.


    Easy. Ive taken plenty of vengeance. Im not judging you for wanting it. The part I dont understand is where I, Sen paused. Oh, I get it now. She was killed by a dual cultivator like me. But you didnt know that I was a dual cultivator when you came looking for me. Damn it. Please tell me you dont see all of this as a fortunate encounter.


    Li Yi Nuo looked a little abashed. Of course not.


    Yeah. Right. So, your friend dies and you want revenge, but no one will help you. Not even your master, apparently. The question is why?


    My master wants me to have a more peaceful path.


    So, if I had to guess, he probably had a brutal climb to where he is today. He knows what it means and doesnt want that for you. Am I close?


    She nodded. Something like that.


    Of course, youre in a sect. Theres bound to be some hardened warriors there who know the ins and outs of fighting dual cultivators, but you say they wont help you either. So, whoever it is, it must be someone that your sect doesnt want you to go after. Which means there are some kind of sect politics involved. A young master of a rival sect, perhaps?


    Li Yi Nuo looked like she was going to object to the description, but she finally nodded. Close enough.


    So, your elders issue a quiet decree from on high that nobody can help you with this particr problem and your friend bes a sacrifice in the name of inter-sect peace.


    Yes.


    Then, this missiones along, and all of sudden you have ess to a dual cultivator. A famous and powerful dual cultivator with lots of ridiculous stories going around about how he punishes the corrupt and guilty.


    Yes, whispered Li Yi Nuo while her cheeks turned bright red.


    Sen pinched the bridge of his nose. This is a nightmare.


    Please. If you help me, Ill never tell anyone what you teach me. Ill take a vow before the heavens to remain silent.


    You must realize that the smart thing for me to do here is to send you on your way. If I actually do what you want, your master is going to be furious with me about it. Im not sure Id even me him. Given how good you are with a spear, Im not feeling great about the prospect of making your master an enemy for life.


    He wont be angry that you taught me things.


    Im not worried about offending him by teaching you something. Im worried about what will happen if I do teach you something and you die trying to get revenge.


    Sen stood up from the table and walked over to the firece. He stared down in the mes. He could feel the sect woman staring at him, willing him to agree to do what she wanted. Sen looked over to her.


    Im not going to decide right now, he said and raised his hand to stop the outburst he saw wasing. Im not going to decide right now, and you dont want me to. If I decided now, the answer would be no. It will probably still be no tomorrow, but Im willing to sleep on it for a night.


    Li Yi Nuo sat rigidly still in her chair, clearly forcing herself not to say anything until she was sure she could trust the words that woulde out of her mouth. In the end, she nodded.


    I guess Ill take a maybe over an outright no.


    Sen gave the door to the galehouse a longing look. Leaving seemed very appealing to him right about then. He could be long gone and, without thepass that he destroyed, it would take her a long, long time to find him. Rubbing his temples, Sen had the same thought again. <em>This is a nightmare</em>.

 Book 6: Chapter 14: Give and Take

    Book 6: Chapter 14: Give and Take


    After Sen had directed Li Yi Nuo to one of the bedrooms, hed retreated into the one hed made for himself. One that had a heavy stone bar that he could drop across the door. It wasnt meant to stop Li Yi Nuo if she tried to finish her mission in the middle of the night. It was just there to slow her down and buy the second or two hed need to defend himself. He stretched out on the small bed hed summoned from his storage ring. Sen found that he was d he didnt need much sleep because the hours slowly ticked away as he thought about why he hadnt just said he wouldnt teach her anything. That was the right decision. That was the decision that would keep him entirely clear of a sect-level conflict that, for once, didnt involve him in the slightest. However, there was a little piece of him that did want to help her.


    It took him a long time to unpack what was driving that small but insistent desire. He briefly considered that maybe base lust was at the root of it. While he wasnt easily swayed by physical beauty anymore, hed be lying to himself if he said he didnt find her attractive. He poked and prodded at that notion for a while but ultimately discarded it. In some other circumstance, he had no doubt that hed happily take her bed, assuming she was interested. That was a casual feeling, though. A general willingness to do something if the situation was different. Itcked the motive power to make him even consider inserting himself into other peoples problems. It took hours of deep thought to untangle theplex set of emotions underlying that traitorous urge. When he did finally figure it out, he shook his head in annoyance at himself.


    You really need to work through some of this shit, he muttered.


    With the mystery solved, he rolled over and finally managed to fall asleep. It was barely dawn when he woke up after a refreshing three hours of sleep. Hed been more tired than he thought. Most nights he only slept for two hours. Putting the bed back in the storage ring, he unbarred the door and went back out into themon area. He was surprised to find Li Yi Nuo already there, sitting in the chair that hed left by the fire. Her expression was distant, troubled, and he suspected that she hadnt noticed his presence. Hed been in simr frames of mind often enough to recognize it for what it was. She was thinking about killing someone. A modest surge of qi simultaneously caused a stone table to rise from the floor and drew Li Yi Nuos attention.


    She schooled her face into neutrality and smoothly rose from the chair. <em>I guess shes healed enough to travel again</em>, thought Sen. <em>My work here is truly done</em>. He summoned a tea set and took a few minutes to prepare the drink, although he used moremon leaves instead of the excellent tea leaves he reserved for people he actually liked. He made chairs appear and gestured that she should sit. He dismissed any notion of ying power games and waiting for her to pour the tea for them both, as tradition would normallymand. He was the stronger which somehow conferred a senior position through some breakdown in reason hed never fully grasped. He simply poured a cup of tea for each of them and lifted his own cup to take a sip. It would have seared a mortals mouth, but he found the heat pleasant. Li Yi Nuo touched the side of the cup and left it where it sat to cool for a bit longer. He supposed she didnt care about the tea, just his answer. He gave her a thoughtful look.


    The answer is no.


    Disappointment, anger, and a bone-deep frustration shed across her features. He half-expected a furious outburst from her. Instead, she remained quiet and still for so long that her tea cooled enough that she picked up the cup and took a sip. She finally met his eyes.


    May I ask why?


    Sen had known she would ask this question and debated about how much to say. He didnt <em>owe</em> her any kind of exnation. He could just say something enigmatic about karma or the direction of the winds and shed have to ept it. That would certainly be easier for him. He took another sip of tea and weighed his options.


    Id be lying if I said there wasnt a little part of me that wants to do you as you ask.


    Then why wont you?


    Because Id be doing it for the wrong reasons. If I was going to teach you something, it should be for your benefit. It wouldnt be. The part of me that wants to teach you doesnt really want to <em>help</em> you. Thats an unhealthy, dangerous ce for me to teach from and for you to learn from.


    Li Yi Nuos brow furrowed. Im not sure I understand your meaning.


    Ive been hounded by one sect or another for years now. I have a lot of resentment toward them. My motive for teaching you is that I see it as a great way to kick off a sect war that I dont have to fight in. I could just wait for the news to reach me that your sects are tearing each other apart and then gloat over my sess. And I <em>would</em> gloat. Even worse, the n would work better if I did a half-assed job of teaching you. Teach you enough to let you get to the person you want to get to, but not enough to win. If you get captured or killed, it implicates your whole sect. Thered be calls for wholesale ughter. That thought would be in the back of my mind the entire time. I could turn you into a weapon that harms both sects.


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    Li Yi Nuo had gone deathly white as Sen spoke, clearly having never considered the possibility that he might give her poisoned instruction.


    Why would you do such a thing?


    Because I hate everything that sects represent. I hate their unearned arrogance. I hate their presumption. I hate the way they bellow about honor while never possessing it. If I could snap my fingers and burn every sect to the ground right now, Id do it and never lose a moment of sleep, said Sen in a voice that was just barely beneath a yell. Now, is that the kind of person youd want to trust to teach you?


    No, said Li Yi Nuo.


    Good. At least your desire for revenge hasnt crippled your reason.


    If you knew all of this, why didnt you just say sost night?


    I didnt knowst night. I had to think it through to understand why I was even considering it. Besides, there are other reasons its not practical.


    Such as?


    For starters, I cant trust <em>you</em>. Your motives where Im concerned arepromised, at best. Your allegiances are something I could never look past. Learning takes trust that goes in both directions, and neither of us is in a position to give it. Id always be waiting for you to ambush me. Beyond all of that, though, I simply dont have the time.


    Youre a wandering cultivator. You have nothing but time.


    Yeah, youd think that, but its just not so. I have obligations. I wasing from fulfilling one and on my way to another when you showed up. I need to get back to that obligation.


    Li Yi Nuo gave Sen a pensive look. You arent what I thought youd be.


    Oh? said Sen.


    All those stories about Judgments Gale paint you as someone who leaps into action regardless of the consequences. They dont paint a picture of a thoughtful man. I just assumed that youd make a snap decision one way or the other.


    Well, the stories had to get something right, I guess. I have been that person before and probably will be again, but its caused me a lot of trouble and pain. Im trying to do better. I had the chance to think things through this time. So, I took that opportunity. Doing so probably spared both of us some pain and regrets.


    Li Yi Nuo gave him a shallow little seated bow. Then I am grateful, senior.


    She didnt look grateful to Sen. She looked like hed ripped away her hope, thrown it on the floor, and crushed it under his foot.


    Im not barren of sympathy for your situation. So, I am going to do something for you, said Sen.


    He summoned the writing kit that Auntie Caihong had given him and wrote out three things. One was a letter to her and Uncle Kho with a very abbreviated description of what hed been up to recently. That letter he sealed in an envelope with wax. The second thing he wrote was something akin to a letter of introduction. The third thing he wrote was a set of instructions about where to take those letters. He considered that small pile of papers before he turned his gaze up to meet Li Yi Nuos eyes. He wondered if he was doing the right thing, but this all felt like something handled by wiser heads.


    Ill take that vow to the heavens you spoke of yesterday. Except, youll vow not to reveal the existence of these documents or their contents, except as how Ill instruct you to do so.


    What are they?


    Vow first. Then, Ill exin.


    You want me to vow silence without even letting me see what you wrote.


    Yes. If you decide that youre not interested, you can always destroy them instead of delivering them.


    Sen waited her out as she tried to make her decision with basically no information. He truly didnt know which way she would go with it. In the end, she gave him a sour look and then made her vow. Sen nodded and held out one of the letters.


    This is a letter of introduction to the man who taught me the spear. I dont know if hell take you on, but if anyone can teach you to beat a dual cultivator, he can, said Sen. Its on you to convince him but the letter might help.


    She read it over and gave him a quizzical look. Who is Uncle Kho?


    It took a physical effort for Sen not to smirk at his next words. My teacher is Kho Jaw-Long. I believe some people call him The Living Spear.


    Li Yi Nuos eyes wentically wide and her mouth dropped open. She looked back down at the letter and her hands started trembling. Sen plucked the paper from her hands and sealed it in an envelope. He handed her the sealed envelope and the loose piece of paper.


    Youll find instructions about where to take the letter of introduction. You might have to wait for a while once youre there. Or, you know, you could just toss them in the fire.


    She pulled the envelope and loose piece of paper against her chest like she meant to defend them with her life. Those stories were true? You really <em>are</em> a student of Kho Jaw-Long?


    Yes.


    But why do this?


    You have talent. Hell appreciate that. More importantly, though, hes at a great remove from this entire situation. Hes in a position to listen to what you have to say impartially and make a decision about whether or not teaching you will be to your benefit. Things that I <em>cant</em> do. I trust his judgment.


    Thank you.


    Dont thank me, yet. I know you took that vow and it should be binding, but I want to be very clear. Uncle Kho values his privacy above almost everything else in the world. If you betray the whereabouts of his home to anyone, if you bring trouble or inconvenience to his door, Sens voice went deadly soft, you will <em>learn</em> what it means to be hunted, Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion de Sect.


    The woman stopped breathing for a moment before she swallowed hard. I understand, but


    But? asked Sen, his eyes hard.


    Ill have to tell my master where Im going, at least in general, to say nothing of why Im going.


    Oh, said Sen, rxing. I suppose thats unavoidable. Just him?


    Just him, she agreed.


    Fine, said Sen, handing the other envelope to her. Please give that to Uncle Kho as well.

 Book 6: Chapter 15: An Old Debt

    Book 6: Chapter 15: An Old Debt


    Once the business with Li Yi Nuo was settled, Sen returned the chairs and a handful of other items that he''d taken out for basicfort to his storage ring. Li Yi Nuo watched all of this with a mixture of curiosity and bafflement on her face. Sen looked at her.


    Are you leaving or staying? he asked.


    Leaving, she answered with a frown.


    Nodding, Sen extinguished the fire and the self-contained balls of fire qi he used to light the interior of the galehouse. He walked over to the door with Li Yi Nuo trailing closely behind. Hetched it behind him and started toward the road.


    Wait. Youre just going to leave that there?


    He nced back at the stone structure and shrugged. Why not? I maye back this way one day. Why make something twice?


    Li Yi Nuo seemed to want to say something but also seemed to be struggling to put her exact thoughts into words. Sen gave her a few moments before he simply continued walking toward the road. Now that he no longer felt like she was his problem, hedrgely relegated her to the background of his thoughts. Soon, hed be well away from her and could stop thinking about her entirely. As he stepped out onto the road, he peered in each direction. Hed vaguely hoped there might be a farmer passing by with some fresh produce. He still had plenty, but buying some would give him an excuse to have a conversation that didnt involve anything deep or life-altering. He could use a bit of that at the moment. Instead, Li Yi Nuo appeared in front of him. He nodded at her, turned in the general direction he needed to go, and started to walk. After a moment, she was walking next to him. He stopped and gave her a long look.


    Im pretty sure this is where we part ways, said Sen.


    She looked a little nonplussed. Well, thats fine, but my sect is that direction. At the very least, I have to go back and report what happened. And its safer to travel together, even for cultivators.


    Sen gave her a narrow-eyed, suspicious re before huffing out a breath. She <em>really</em> wanted to go learn from Uncle Kho. That much was obvious. A fact that Sen suspected had dramatically reduced the odds of an unexpected betrayal. He supposed, in a roundabout, wholly unintentional way, he might have solved his problem with the Vermilion de Sect simply by saying the name Kho Jaw-Long. He doubted the sect elders were in any way aching to find out how The Living Spear would react to them trying to kill his student. For that matter, Sen wasnt in any particr hurry to find out the results of that either. He had worked very hard not to lean on the reputations of his teachers, but this might be one time when it really would be for the best.


    Fine, said Sen, but were splitting up once we get within fifty miles of that ce.


    Li Yi Nuo just nodded her eptance. Grunting something unintelligible, Sen activated his qinggong technique and took off down the road. She could either keep up with him or get left behind. Hed thought they were done with each other, and hed been very much looking forward to some fresh solitude, even if it dide with the asional spirit beast attack. The knowledge that she was just going to be there for the next few weeks did not fill him with happiness. If nothing else, it meant that hed have to constantly watch what he said and which of his skills he put on disy. He was certain that the elders back at her sect were going to drag every detail of her experiences with him out of her, even if they decided not to pursue vengeance against him. The very thought of having to monitor himself all the time was fatiguing, but hed already agreed. Whining about it to himself wasnt going to change anything.


    It only took until the early afternoon for the first problem to show up. He felt an odd sort of flickering sensation from Li Yi Nuos qi. He nced back at her and it was obvious that shed been pushing herself too hard just to keep pace with him. He slowed to a stop and had to snag her arm to keep her from copsing to the ground. She was breathing hard and had a dazed look in her eye. He took her off the road and summoned a chair from his storage ring. She dropped into it and looked like she was ready to fall asleep on the spot. Shaking his head, he took the opportunity to eat an apple and some dried meat. He was sipping on a cup of tea when she finally spoke.


    How do you keep going like that? Your qi reserves must be like an ocean.


    Your qinggong technique is inefficient, said Sen as he watched a small red bird chase an insect through the undergrowth. It wastes almost a third of the qi you put into it. Its probably worth the time and effort to look for a new one.


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    Maybe so, but it still doesnt exin how you just keep going, said Li Yi Nuo, walking over to stand next to Sen. Its like you never run out of qi.


    Sen tossed her an apple and put the chair shed been using back into his storage ring. He walked back out to the road with an unhappy Li Yi Nuo following him. He gestured to a spot next to him and she warily walked over to stand there. Sen didnt usually go in for the shier ways that some cultivators used to travel, but he wanted to cover a lot more ground before nightfall. With that in mind, he summoned a qi tform beneath the two of them. It lifted them about a foot off the ground. Li Yi Nuo let out a surprised yelp and grabbed his arm. Sen barely nced at her before he had the tform carry them forward over the road. At first, Li Yi Nuo seemed to find the experience a kind of novelty. As the minutes turned into hours, she gave him increasingly incredulous looks, as though she thought he was showing off to impress her. Carrying two people took more effort and qi than he expected, but he found a bnce between what he was spending and the environmental qi he could gather. It took a kind of semi-active cultivation, but he discovered that was only marginally more difficult than the passive cultivation techniques he usually relied on.


    When he simply made a tform the next morning and carried them both all day, it seemed to strain something in Li Yi Nuos mind to the breaking point. When they stopped outside a modest vige, she whirled on him.


    That isnt possible.


    Clearly, it is, said Sen, before he went in search of an inn.


    They fell into a kind of routine after that. Sen would carry them down the road on a qi tform and Li Yi Nuo would try to dig information out of him. Rather than verbally spar with her, he mostly elected to ignore the questions or reply with non-answers. This tactic did not endear him to her, but hed never promised to divulge his secrets. As it was, he assumed that she was doing everything she could to observe how his qi was moving and trying to figure out how to replicate the feats for herself. He supposed if she managed to work it out on her own after hed shown her that such things were possible, shed earned the knowledge. This routine held for the better part of a week and a half. Then, something Sen had not expected happened. Hed felt the presence ahead and nearly crashed himself and Li Yi Nuo into a tree in his shock. He dropped them to the ground and stared up the road, looking for what hed felt. He didnt see anything, but that wasnt much of a surprise.


    You should stay here, he told Li Yi Nuo.


    What? Why?


    Theres something ahead that youre probably better off avoiding.


    Ive had plenty of time to restore my qi. Ill be fine in a fight.


    Suit yourself, said Sen as he started walking forward.


    They walked for several minutes without seeing anything. Then, there was a flicker of light and a fox with several tails appeared in the road. Li Yi Nuo summoned her spear and leveled it at the fox with a snarl. Sen shook his head.


    Put that away before he decides to do something about it, said Sen.


    Its a spirit fox. Theyre dangerous.


    Somehow, the fox managed to look amused at the exchange, although Sen couldnt put his finger on exactly what changed in the foxs face to give that impression.


    Shes right, you know, said the fox. We foxes are tricky and dangerous.


    Sen gave Li Yi Nuo a meaningful look. She didnt look happy about it, but she put the spear away. Sen turned back to the fox and gave it a respectful bow.


    Senior brother, said Sen. How unexpected to see you here.


    You know that thing, whispered Li Yi Nuo.


    Weve met before, said Sen.


    He didnt bother whispering. There was no point in trying to hide things from a fox.


    Im d you remember, said the fox. Are you going to introduce me?


    Dont! yelled Li Yi Nuo in obvious terror.


    Sen shook his head. Its toote for that now.


    The fox gave Li Yi Nuo a pitying look. Hes right. You really should have listened when he told you to stay back there.


    Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion de Sect, this is Laughing River. Laughing River, meet Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion de Sect.


    The fox nodded at the pale-faced Li Yi Nuo before turning his attention back to Sen. You owe me a favor, junior brother. Ivee to collect.


    Sen had worried that was the reason the fox had appeared. He wanted to say no but was also aware that would be a catastrophic mistake. One doesnt lightly renege on a favor owed to a fox. Even the gods tread lightly where foxes and favors were concerned. On the other hand, the timing couldnt have been worse.


    I dont suppose that this favor could wait for a short while. A few years perhaps?


    The fox gave him a nd look that made Sen feel very, very nervous.


    I expect youd be more eager if I looked like her, said Laughing River.


    There was a surge of qi, but it felt odd to Sen. It was like something else had been mixed into that most fundamental energy of creation. That line of thinking was dragged to a halt when a mirror image of Li Yi Nuo appeared where the fox had sat. The transformed fox gave Sen a coquettish smile that he doubted had ever appeared on the real Li Yi Nuos face.


    Are you more interested now? the fox asked.


    The whole situation was jarring and not just for him.


    Oh, that is creepy, said the real Li Yi Nuo in a hushed whisper.


    Sen never looked away from the fox when he answered with a sigh. A simple no would have sufficed.

 Book 6: Chapter 16: The Word Is Acquiring

    Book 6: Chapter 16: The Word Is Acquiring


    I might have settled for a simple no if I was dealing with that awful woman youve got yourself mixed up with. Frankly, Im surprised that Feng Ming was willing to tolerate it, said Laughing River.


    Awful woman? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    It doesnt matter, said Sen.


    Wait! Feng Ming! You mean those stories are true, too?


    Laughing River turned to look at Li Yi Nuo with her own face, then there was another brief flicker of light and a copy of Sen stood in ce of the fox. The false-Sen gave Li Yi Nuo a decidedly predatory grin.


    Oh, you sweet, sweet <em>innocent</em> child. Sen, did you know I wasing? Did you bring her along as a present for me?


    Sigh rolled his eyes. No, shes not a present.


    Pity, said Laughing River.


    Li Yi Nuo looked like she wasnt quite sure if she should be offended or appalled at the exchange between Sen and his fox copy. Before she could decide, the fox turned a look of smoldering intensity on her that Sen was sure had never adorned <em>his</em> face. Li Yi Nuo froze in ce as the full weight of that gaze settled on her.


    Girl, you should assume that every story you hear about, he started to point at his own chest before swinging the finger at Sen, <em>him</em> is true. The more oundish and impossible-sounding the tale, the more likely it is to have actually happened. Honestly, as a fox, I find it simply delicious that people think the lies about him are true and the truths about him are lies. The only annoying part is that hes done on ident what I have work to aplish. Still, you cant have everything, so I choose to focus on the deliciousness of it all.


    Sen saw Li Yi Nuo open her mouth to speak and hurriedly cut her off before she made things worse. As delightful as this banter is, I suppose we should get to the part about the favor.


    Li Yi Nuo shot him an annoyed re, and Laughing River sighed dramatically.


    Oh, very well, I suppose we should get to the boring business part. Simply put, I need your help to acquire a long-lost treasure of mine. Its a minor thing, but should nicely bnce the scales between us.


    A long-lost treasure of <em>yours</em>? asked a skeptical Sen.


    Oh, dont get hung up on the minor details. If it makes you feel any better, you wont be helping me acquire it from a living, breathing human being who will miss it.


    Sen frowned at that description. It was both oddly specific and profoundly vague. It was the sort of phrasing that could cover a multitude of sins and scenarios that Sen was confident he didnt fully understand. Not that it really mattered whether the fox was telling him nothing but lies or theplete truth. Either way, he was going to go along with this scheme. Even if he found out he hated every single part of the n once he discovered all of the details, he was still going to go along with it because he was <em>not</em> going to make an enemy of a spirit fox.


    In that case, said Sen as he turned to Li Yi Nuo, it seems that <em>this</em> is where we part ways.


    Oh no, said Laughing River in a hard, unforgiving voice. Bring her along. In fact, I <em>insist</em>. She saw fit to intrude on the affairs of a fox after being warned to stay away. Now, she will help.


    Sen gave Li Yi Nuo a sympathetic look. When all of this goes horribly, horribly wrong and violent, I want you to remember that I tried to spare you from it.


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    Dont say that, gasped Laughing River in a horrified voice. Youll scare the child. Besides, I estimate that theres only a seventy, seventy-five percent chance that things will go horribly, horribly wrong and violent.


    Oh, well that makes it fine then, muttered Sen.


    Li Yi Nuo red death at the fox. I am <em>not</em> a child.


    The fox threw back his copy of Sens head and roared withughter. It went on longer than Sen thought was wise, but he supposed that was the foxs business. When Laughing River finally got it out of his system, he had to wipe tears from his eyes.


    Oh, but to someone like me, you <em>are</em> a child. There are trees in this very forest older than you, and I was positively ancient when they were mere saplings. To me, you are like the freshest of morning dew on a de of grass.


    Li Yi Nuo fumed in silence, unable to refute the foxs words. Sen gave the fox a thoughtful look.


    You make a good point. You are very old and very powerful. Why would you need me for this task?


    Oh, you know how these things go. Someone has to carry the luggage and tip the bellhop.


    Sen blinked at the unfamiliar terms. Whats luggage?


    At the same time, Li Yi Nuo gave the fox a confused look and said, Whats a bellhop?


    What? asked Laughing River. Oh, right. I forget how limited human knowledge is on this little rock. Dont worry about it. I just meant that someone has to do the tedious things I dont want to bother with. Carrying things. Cooking meals. Being distractions for murderous, powerful, angry spirit beasts. The usual.


    What? said an rmed Li Yi Nuo.


    Oh, listen to me rambling on about my concerns. As for you, Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion de Sect, this is a golden opportunity. Old Sect Smasher Kho will certainly be a lot more receptive to you if he finds out that you helped Sen help me, offered Laughing River with a bright smile. So, you could say that Im actually doing you a


    Sen cut off the fox as a spike of unease speared his heart. What are we stealing?


    Laughing River gave Sen a knowing look and a smirk. Killjoy. And the word is acquiring, Sen. <em>Acquiring</em>. Stealing is Oh, whats that word?


    Wrong? offered Li Yi Nuo in a dry tone.


    Laughing Rivers eyes lit up. He snapped his fingers and pointed at her.


    Thats the one. Its wrong, and we know that Id never encourage you to do something <em>wrong</em>.


    We do? asked Sen.


    Of course we do, said a gleeful Laughing River. If I encouraged you to do something wrong, Caihong would be ever so cross with me. Im a fox, not a moron. Im not going to make that woman angry without an exceedingly good reason and probably someone ckmailing me. Fortunately, doing stupidly dangerous things is just part of being a cultivator. So, were all good.


    Stupidly dangerous, repeated Li Yi Nuo.


    Who said anything about stupidly dangerous? asked Laughing River with apletely straight face. Youre just going to carry the luggage, remember? Now,e along children. Weve got a long way to go.


    There was another flicker of light and Laughing River resumed his fox form. There was a merry twinkle in the foxs eyes that left Sen positively filled with dread and uncertainty about what came next. Then, the fox bounded off the road and into the forest, his many tails flickering in and out of sight. Sen could feel Li Yi Nuo staring at the side of his head. He turned to meet her gaze with a wan smile. She looked a little aggravated but mostly she looked very unsettled and afraid. That struck Sen as a sensible reaction to everything that was happening. He did feel a little bad that shed got caught up in whatever it was the fox had nned, but that sympathy wasrgely tempered by the knowledge that shed had ample opportunities to distance herself from him. Beyond that, he <em>had</em> warned her.


    You could have told me it was a fox, sheined.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. Youre an adult. Youve seen me in action. Youve heard the stories about the kinds of things I get involved in. Did you think I was just trying to keep secrets? Prevent you from learning about something?


    She looked away, her expression transforming into one of embarrassment. I might have thought something like that.


    Well, for future reference, I dont warn people off for idle reasons or my own amusement.


    Li Yi Nuo stared out into the forest in the direction that Laughing River had gone. That fox is going to get us killed, isnt he?


    Sen put on a thoughtful expression and rubbed at his chin with a knuckle. A little bit of the foxs attitude had infected him.


    <em>Ill </em>probably be fine. Hes got a vested interest in keeping me alive. As for you, he gave her a mournful look, well, theres always the next life.


    What?!


    Senughed and only narrowly dodged the punch that almost took him on the chin. Im joking.


    That was not funny!


    It was a little funny. Besides, I figure theres a good chance well both die. So, I have to get my jokes in while I can.


    Before Li Yi Nuo could take another swing at him, Sen activated his qinggong technique and took off after the fox. He yelled over his shoulder.


    Dont fall behind!

 Book 6: Chapter 17: Mortifying

    Book 6: Chapter 17: Mortifying


    It didnt take long for Sen to catch up with the fox who, for whatever reason, had decided to stick to running through the forest. Sen dropped the qinggong techniques and fell in beside the fox. Li Yi Nuo caught up shortly after, and the three of them were a trio of blurs in the trees until it grew dark enough that even Sen didnt entirely trust his eyes anymore. The fox slowed his relentless, miles-consuming pace and stopped when he found a clearing that he seemed to like. There was another of those flickers of light and anky man with a vulpine cast to his features stood where the fox had been. He was wearing red robes with intricate patterns embroidered into it. Laughing River surveyed the clearing with a pleased eye and then gave Sen an expectant look.


    What? asked Sen, taking a nervous step back from the fox.


    Oh,e on. Do it.


    Do what?


    You know what, said the fox. Its my third favorite thing that you do. Now stop stalling.


    Sen eyed the fox. You know about the galehouses. You even knew about me sending Li Yi Nuo to Uncle Kho. Just how long have you been following us?


    Laughing River gave Sen a huge, blindingly insincere smile. Following you? Whatever do you mean? I just happened toe across you. Consider it a matter of <em>pure</em> chance that you were very conveniently unupied by a cranky nascent soul cultivator.


    Very convenient, said Sen before he turned his attention to the ground.


    Laughing River was almost dancing with glee as the stone structure rose from the ground. Sen gave the fox a sidelong nce.


    Why do you like this so much? asked Sen.


    Because most cultivators never think to do practical things with their power. Theyre so boring. They just use it to fight. You woke up one day and apparently thought, <em>I should make a house</em>! Then, you actually pulled it off.


    The fox dashed inside as soon as Sen was done. Sen followed him in to see the fox dashing from room to room, looking at everything, and smiling with the uplicated joy of a child. Sen waved a hand and did his usual trick to light the building. He dropped some wood in the firece but didnt set it aze. The weather had warmed up enough that hed wait until he was ready to cook something. He left the fox inside and went back out to check on Li Yi Nuo. The run had seemingly tired her out more than him or Laughing River. She was leaning against a tree with her eyes closed. Since she didnt look like she was going to die or pass out, Sen upied himself with setting up formations. They were deep enough into the wilds that he didnt want to leave things to chance. Hed found his own tree to lean against and was staring out into the darkness when Li Yi Nuo found him.


    What do you see? she asked.


    He nced over at her. She was squinting out into the darkness like she thought she should be seeing something.


    Nothing. Darkness. Shadows. I wasnt looking for anything. Thats what the formations are for. This deep in the wilds, by the time I saw something, Id be in a fight for my life before I had a chance to think about it.


    When she didnt say anything, Sen went back to staring out into the darkness and wondering what kind of a mess Laughing River was about to drop them all into. Unfortunately, Sen didnt know the fox well enough to even guess. Hed asked Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho about the fox and found them both oddly reticent. What few answers he got from Auntie Caihong were evasive. Uncle Kho had just mumbled something about the fox being a mountain of trouble stuffed into a sack and then dropped the subject entirely. Laughing River wanted something, and anything hed want would be potent. Potent natural treasures or cultivation relics in the wilds were <em>always</em> defended.


    So, unless the fox had a very good n, that meant there would be fighting. Sen knew from personal experience that the deeper in the wilds they got, the more intense that fighting would be. Sens instinct was to ask Laughing River for specifics, except he didnt think he could trust any specifics he got enough to make a n. The fox clearly wanted them in the dark until they got wherever it was that they were going. Yet, it wasnt good strategy unless the fox believed that it was something that even Sen would object to doing, favor or no favor. If Laughing River kept it to himself until they were already there andmitted, then it became a moot point. None of that boded well for their chances. Sen was also aware that it was all spection. He was dealing with a fox, creatures renowned for their trickster ways. It was equally possible that the fox would take them deep into the wilds, pick a random tree, and demand that Sen climb to the top to pick an apple.


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    I owe you an apology, said Li Yi Nuo.


    There had been nothing but insect noises and the asional call of a night bird for so long that her voice sounded loud in the night. Sen jumped a little at the unexpected noise. He nced over at her, but the woman was staring fixedly into the darkness of the forest. He turned his gaze away since she obviously didnt want to look at him.


    Oh? asked Sen.


    Earlier, I wasnt expecting to see a spirit fox, let alone one as old and powerful as that. It unsettled me. Frightened me. I took that out on you. Im sorry about that.


    Ah, said Sen. Its fine.


    In the corner of his eyes, he saw her turn to give him an incredulous look.


    Thats it? No demands for groveling or kowtowing? Just, its fine?


    Senughed. Thest woman I made truly angry hired mercenaries and tried to kill me. It really moved my bar for what I should find offensive.


    What did you do to her?


    Sen opened his mouth, thought about <em>all</em> of the things hed have to exin for the story to make sense, and just shook his head. Its a long,plicated story.


    Li Yi Nuo frowned at that response.


    Howplicated are we talking here?


    Complicated enough that Id probably need to talk for the next half an hour to give you enough context for the story and my role in it to make any kind of sense.


    Okay, that does sound prettyplicated.


    Yeah. It wasnt any lessplicated living through it.


    Li Yi Nuo seemingly decided to save questions about all of that forter, because she switched gears. Where do you think that fox is leading us?


    I really dont know. Where <em>are</em> you taking us, Laughing River? asked Sen, tilting his head back and looking straight up into the tree.


    The fox was sitting on arge limb almost directly above Sens head, still in thenky form of a man. Laughing River smiled at Sen and gave him a wink.


    How long have you been there? demanded Li Yi Nuo.


    The fox shrugged. A while now. Two young people. The romance of the night. I thought something might happen, and I do so adore young love. What a disappointment you two turned out to be. Especially you, girl.


    Me? asked Li Yi Nuo in total confusion. What do you mean?


    Well, Sen here usually has the social instincts of a tree stump, but hees by it honestly. A rough upbringing will do that to a person, said Laughing River in a conspiratorial whisper. But <em>you</em>? Whats your excuse? Did you think I wouldnt notice you sneaking peeks at him all day? There will <em>literally</em> never be a better opportunity to take advantage of him than the one you squandered right here. Oh, the sordid tales youll never get to tell those precious young things at your little sect.


    The fox shook his head in the disapproving way that only an elder looking at a young person who has <em>truly</em> disappointed them can pull off. Li Yi Nuo was spluttering in embarrassment or outrage. Sen couldnt tell from her expression which it was. Before the woman could pull together a response to the pile of inmmatory things that had just been dumped on her head, the fox continued.


    As for the question about where were going, thats easy. Hither and yon. I expect well get there in the next few days.


    With that spectacr descent into vagueness, Laughing River dropped from the tree. He only paused long enough to give Sen and Li Yi Nuo another disapproving shake of his head before he wandered back toward the galehouse.


    Well, said Sen, that was wholly un-enlightening.


    Li Yi Nuo finally managed to find her words. Un-enlightening? That waspletely outrageous! Totally inappropriate! Can you believe the things he said to us?


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at the woman and thought it over. Yes?


    Yes?! How can you be so calm about all of this?


    First of all, hes a fox. As I understand it, being outrageous is pretty normal for them. Plus, to be fair, all he really said about me was that Ive got bad social instincts.


    That doesnt bother you?


    It might have if it wasnt true. I do usually have terrible social instincts. I cant get too mad at him for saying it out loud. But I understand why youd be upset.


    Thank you, she said, sounding slightly mollified.


    Having someone just point out that youre terrible at seduction even under ideal conditions, well, that had to be mortifying, said Sen, who pretended he didnt see the ck-jawed expression on her face. Anyway, Im sure you have some things to sort out. I think Im going to go eat something.


    Sen walked away with a smirk on his face.

 Book 6: Chapter 18: Alchemy and Ancient Ruins

    Book 6: Chapter 18: Alchemy and Ancient Ruins


    Dont re at <em>me</em>, said Laughing River in a hurt voice. I gantly left you alone after helpfully pointing out your mistake, and you wasted <em>yet another</em> opportunity byining about me. I mean, honestly, I dont know what more I could have done to help you there.


    Li Yi Nuo had spent thest two days glowering at Laughing River and Sen, far less amused than they had been about the things theyd said to her. With a quick exchange of nces, the two men hade to a mutual agreement that they would pretend that it wasnt happening. However, it seemed that Laughing River had run out of patience with the game. To his credit, he hadsted a lot longer than Sen had ever thought he would. The fox seemed to have a very limited attention span, although Sen thought that it was mostly a guise that Laughing River put on. After all, who would suspect clever nning from someone who got distracted by everything? Sen got around that problem by assuming that everything the fox said was a lie, a scheme, or a misdirection. It seemed to be working. Li Yi Nuos strategy of directing baleful res probably didnt protect her from the Laughing Rivers lies, but it had seemed to discourage any more observations about her personality or behaviors. At least, it had been working. With the foxstest statement, all of her irended directly on the fox.


    Help me? Help me! By doing what? Calling my character into question? Suggesting that I should be promiscuous with a


    When Sen gave her a sharp look, her voice cut off like hed seized her throat in one of his hands.


    Do tell? A what? asked Sen in an unfriendly voice.


    Stranger, she said weakly, the fire suddenly going out of her.


    Sure, said Sen, before he looked over at Laughing River and pointed. That direction?


    The fox nced in the direction Sen pointed. That would be the one.


    Ill go scout.


    As he started moving into the woods, he heard Li Yi Nuo.


    This is your fault.


    Laughing Riverughed. Oh, dear girl, you did that all by yourself.


    Not even remotely interested in hearing any more of that conversation, Sen <em>hid</em> and took off in the indicated direction. He didnt think there was much chance of finding anything as Laughing River just let him wander off alone. Sen focused on looking for signs of spirit beasts of which there were surprisingly few. When he thought about it, they hadnt encountered nearly as many as he would have expected given how deep theyde into the wilds. They werent near the true heart of the wilds. The way the kingdom had organized itself, civilization followed a loose ring around the edges of a vast area of untamed and arguably untamablend controlled by the spirit beast. Even though they had been traveling on an inward course at cultivator speeds for days, it would take weeks of travel to reach the true heart of wilds. Of course, that would also be a probable death sentence since the oldest and strongest spirit beasts in the kingdom were thought to rule there.


    Sen tried to remind himself that they were likely seeing ces that no one but nascent soul cultivators had seen for thousands of years. Of course, it would have been a lot easier to get excited by that if what they were seeing looked less like hundreds of miles of primordial forest with trees towering hundreds of feet in the air with trunks bigger around than a house. Not that Sen was feeling entirely sad about the journey into the wilds. He had taken the opportunity to rece a lot of the medicinal nts hed used over thest year with their much, much more potent brethren inside the wilds. Hed assumed that the spirit beasts would have consumed most of them, but the sheer volume of them that could be found in a single section of the pristine forest had shown him how foolish that thought had been. He imagined that this kind of environment was what the earliest cultivators had braved to make their versions of modern pills and elixirs.


    The experience also gave him some insight into why alchemy had be such a vital field among cultivators. He was almost dizzy with the possibilities the powerful ingredients would open up for him and dismayed with how poorly most of the ingredients he had used over the years would stand up to the new ones. If the earliest cultivators had used nts like the ones he was gathering, no wonder those pills and elixirs had be things of legend. As the medicinal herbs and alchemical reagents avable to sects and wandering cultivators in the civilized world got weaker, though, alchemists would have had to refine their techniques. They would have needed ever moreplicated processes to purify and amplify the benefits of those nts and reagents in a bid to replicate what hade before.


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    Sen was honestly impressed by how far they hade. He also knew that it was a losing game. Yes, an alchemist could improve the potency of the ingredients <em>to an extent</em>. Hed done it himself with cleverbinations ofplementary nts and reagents. That was to say nothing of his method of manipting the processes and even underlying structures of pills and elixirs. Even with all of that generational knowledge being passed down to him and the advantages of his unique methods, there were still limits. Try to concentrate something too much and youd simply destroy it or, worse, turn it into something toxic instead of beneficial. Alchemy frequently had to straddle that line in its bid to offer benefits, routinely relying on the sturdier constitutions of cultivators to process out the toxins over time or through the use of body cleansing pills. Of course, those pills often left toxins of their own, simply of a different kind.


    Using what hed gathered, Sen could avoid most of those pitfalls and make things that could rival the achievements of old. Elixirs that could seemingly resurrect the dead, although he knew that they merely rekindled the almost extinguished spark of life inside someone. Treatments that could possibly restore limbs and potentially even restore damaged qi channels. A feat long considered a mere fantasy among wounded cultivators. Pills that could shatter hopelessly imprable bottlenecks. The more he thought about it, the more excited Sen became. He had to force himself back from that excitement, though. He knew full well that giving such elixirs, pills, and treatments to the wrong people could mean instant death. Worse still, it could mean a lingering, excruciating death as the seeming alchemical miracle overwhelmed a body that was too weak. There <em>were</em> new opportunities, but those enhanced opportunities came with enhanced risks. Hed need to be <em>more</em> careful about what he made and for whom, not less. Still, he moved through the forest with a smile.


    The change happened so fast that it felt almost instantaneous even to Sen''s enhanced mind. Primordial forest gave way to open ground that gently rose to reveal ancient ruins. Sen struggled to put a word to what kind of ruins. He wasnt sure if he was looking at the surprisingly intact remains of an ancient city or perhaps a temple that had once been the size of a city. Not that it was perfectly preserved. Some of the structures had copsed. Many of them were overgrown with vines and mosses. One building had a tree that had grown up straight through it. The branches spread over the walls like a verdant, living umbre. Yet, most of the buildings still looked sound from a distance. There was one structure that rose up from what looked to be the very center of the city. It had a tiered tower that rose toward the sky like a supplication. Each tier was a masterwork of intricate craftsmanship that showed from even miles away.


    Beyond that, though, Sen could feel that this ce was holy, genuinely, truly <em>holy</em> in a way that most temples and shrines failed to achieve. Of course, anything that holy would also attract things that wished to see it desecrated. There was a horde of wailing ghosts and devilish creatures that looked like they surrounded the city. It was a veritable tide of evil the likes of which Sen had never encountered. He simply stood there in a tangle of reverential awe and abject revulsion. It was only harsh experience that let him drag his eyes away and stumble back into the cover of the forest. Standing out in the open with so many things that would like to see him dead nearby was like an open invitation to death. He did his best to shake off the awe and the revulsion. Then, it became a struggle to control his anger.


    By the time he got back to Laughing River and Li Yi Nuo, he barely trusted himself to speak. He stormed up to them. Laughing River opened his mouth to say something and Sen just looked at him. The white-hot rage in that nce made the spirit fox take three quick steps back and raise his hand in a gesture of peace and surrender.


    No, said Sen.


    Sen, said the fox in a friendly, reassuring voice.


    I said, no! roared Sen. I owe you a favor, but no favor is worth <em>that</em>.


    Sen stalked over to Li Yi Nuo, who looked terrified that he was going to attack her. She looked terrified and confused when he grabbed her hand.


    Lets go. Were leaving, said Sen and all but dragged her away from the bbergasted fox.


    Li Yi Nuo didnt try to fight Sens inexorable momentum. Instead, she tried to get a handle on the situation.


    What is happening? she asked. I dont understand whats going on.


    That bastard wants us to rob a temple.


    What? demanded Li Yi Nuo, not even attempting to hide her shock.


    You know, he wants us to just causally steal from a sacred ruin <em>after</em> we fight our way through an army of spirits, angry ghosts, devil beasts, and the gods only know what else. Well, you know what? Fuck that!

 Book 6: Chapter 19: Assailable Positions

    Book 6: Chapter 19: Assable Positions


    Li Yi Nuo waited to the side and watched as Sen and Laughing River stood a few feet apart, gesticted wildly, and yelled at each other like a pair of bickering siblings. It might have even been amusing, like some kind ofical theater performance. That is, it might have been if not for the fact that the bickering pair were two of the most powerful beings shed ever personally encountered, and they were standing in one of the most dangerous ces on the face of the. The total disregard that the pair showed for the possibility that some insanely powerful spirit beast might attack them was a more telling and chilling expression of their strength than any im either might have made. She didnt dare speak for fear of drawing down the wrath of either man or fox.


    She would never, ever have ventured this far into the wilds for any reason except the kind of dire, if implied, threat that the fox had issued. When they first entered the wilds, she had assumed that they would all move with utmost caution. Oh, how wrong she had been. The fox had treated it like a social outing with friends. But she supposed that was to be expected from the elder nine-tail. She had turned to Sen to find a kindred spirit in her fear. His reaction had almost been worse. While he spoke about being so deep in the wilds as though it should be treated as very dangerous, his behavior told a different story. He wasnt afraid. At best, he was <em>mildly</em> wary of their surroundings.


    He''de back from scouting a few times covered in blood and injured in ways that made her cringe. Then, hed make an offhandment about dealing with some beast, drink one of those impossibly potent elixirs as if it wasnt a priceless treasure, and just ignore the injuries like they were minor inconveniences. Every time he did something like that, treated the impossible like themonce, walked off injuries that would have left anyone in her sect calling for aid, or yelled at the fox, it made her look back at their battle and realize how lucky she had been that he hadnt wanted a real fight. He would have crushed her. It was only in hindsight that she realized that she hadnt felt a whisper of killing intent from the man. It wasnt until he came storming back from locating what theyde so far to find that she finally felt a little of it. It had been bleeding off of him and <em>that</em> had been more than enough for her. It wasnt even aimed at her and had left her shaken.


    When hed grabbed her hand and said they were leaving, she hadnt even entertained the idea of saying no. Li Yi Nuo had been wanting to leave ever since they started this journey into madness and death. Even if shed beenpletely on board, though, one look at his face would have silenced any protest. Granite cliffs in the depths of winter had more give and warmth than his face had shown. They hadnt gone ten steps before she felt a qi tform manifest beneath them and start to carry them back the way they hade at speeds she couldnt have produced and wouldnt have wanted to either. Shed been terrified that a stray tree branch would cut her in half, but Sen created a technique she couldnt even understand that moved ahead of them like some awful hand of destruction. Anything that might impede the straight line he had chosen was shredded, pulped, shattered, or blown aside.


    They traveled for miles that way before the fox finally caught up with them. Laughing River had positioned himself in their path. She was sure that Sen was simply going to drive that destructive technique into the fox. He might have intended to do so, but it seemed the fox was able to disrupt the technique if not the qi tform they stood on. Or maybe the fox had chosen not to disrupt it. Doing so would have sent her and Sen tumbling through the ancient forest. While Sen might have survived it, Li Yi Nuo was certain that she would not have lived to tell the tale. She might be as resilient as most cultivators, but she wasnt the all-but-indestructible tower of muscle and strength that Sen had somehow be through his body cultivation method. Given the choice between stopping or ramming the qi tform into the fox, Sen had thankfully chosen to stop.


    Laughing River did have the good sense to look a tiny bit relieved at that. While his ability to disrupt Sens technique had been a disy of truly awesome power, getting hit with anything moving that fast would still hurt almost anyone. What was more perplexing was the fact that Sen had not suffered any apparent bacsh from having the technique disrupted. Either the fox knew how to do it in a way that wouldnt result in a bacsh, a secret that any sect would bankrupt itself to learn, or Sen had simply ignored it. She wasnt sure which of those choices she preferred. Laughing Riven had given Sen a patient look when the qi tform stopped a bare foot from foxs chest.


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    We should discuss this, Sen.


    She nced over at Sen and saw him working his jaw so hard that the muscles in his face looked like they were twitching. The qi tform had dropped to the ground, and shed moved to get out of both mens direct line of sight.


    Discuss this? You want to <em>discuss</em> this? Do you know when the time to discuss this was? demanded Sen, who immediately cut off the fox''s attempted answer. The time was back on the road when you first arrived!


    Ill admit that I probably could have been a tiny bit more forthright about what wed be doing.


    A sacred ruin? Really? You actually thought that you could trade a favor for offending the very heavens and damaging my karma? Let me guess. You cant go inside, can you?


    The fox had gotten a very frustrated look at that point. No. The monks who used to live there took steps to make sure my kind couldnt enter.


    What a shocking level of <em>good sense</em> on their part! shouted Sen.


    Li Yi Nuo thought her heart would stop at those words. She was certain that the fox would kill them both on the spot. Instead of the instant murders she had expected, the fox started yelling back that the only reason the monks did it was because some overzealous initiate had stolen something from a fox in the first ce. Sen made the usation that the fox had probably stolen it to begin with, which made her heart pound in naked terror again. The fox had put on an affronted face and said that wasnt here or there. Things had only devolved from there to the point where Sen and Laughing River were mostly just throwing insults at each other. It was an activity that Li Yi Nuo could only interpret as some bizarre workaround to the duel to the death that any one of those insults should have demanded. Death by a thousand insults, perhaps? Still, Li Yi Nuo remained silent. While those two might have some obscure reason not to kill each other, she felt supremely confident that she was not included in that unspoken bargain. And then, damn him, Sen pointed at her.


    And why in the hells did you insist that shee along? Did you think I wouldnt back down from that deathtrap because Id be too embarrassed to do it in front of a beautiful woman?


    The fox looked from Sen to Li Yi Nuo, seemed to weigh his words with substantially more care than he had been for thest twenty minutes or so, and then he spoke to her.


    Sens got that right of that one. A mind-boggling number of young men have done <em>even stupider</em> things because a woman was watching them. I was ying the odds.


    Li Yi Nuo stared at Laughing River and was overwhelmed with lots of different kinds of anger.


    You brought me along as some kind of pride trap for him? she asked, thrusting a finger at Sen.


    Yep, said the fox with absolutely no shame or remorse.


    You put me in mortal peril and were going to put me into even more mortal peril as a <em>backup n</em>?


    You were there. It was an opportunity. Waste not, want not.


    And what was I supposed to do while you battled an evil army and offended the heavens?


    Laughing River blinked a few times, frowned, and shrugged. Cheer? Have lunch? Loot sacred relics? I dont know. Its important to have some initiative and seize opportunity when it arrives.


    So, you didnt, at any point, take into ount that Im a core formation cultivator with excellent training who might have been able to contribute?


    It might have given it more thought if you were a nascent soul cultivator, offered Laughing River.


    Hes not a nascent soul cultivator, either! shouted Li Yi Nuo.


    Laughing River looked over at Sen and lifted an eyebrow. Well, I suppose thats true. Its easy to forget when hes out there singlehandedly ughtering spirit beasts by the thousands, toppling regimes, and killing nascent soul cultivators. Oh, that reminds me, Sen. How <em>did</em> things turn out with that princess of yours? I never heard the whole story.


    Huh, said Sen, apparently surprised to be addressed again. Oh, she tried to kill me.


    Li Yi Nuo spun to stare at Sen. Is all of that true?


    She watched as the absurd man hemmed and hawed before he finally spoke.


    Theres a <em>lot</em> of context missing.


    Are you kidding me!


    Why are you yelling at me? asked Sen while waving a hand at the Laughing River. Go back to being mad at him.


    Hey! said the fox. That was just mean.


    You did drag her hundreds of miles into the wilds with the sole purpose of using her to shame me into doing what you want. Then, you basically told her that the, I dont know, probably decades of relentless work she put into advancing mean nothing and have absolutely no value in a serious situation.


    The fox gave Sen an exasperated look. You felt it was necessary to remind her of all that right now?


    It was an opportunity. Waste not, want not.


    You always were damnably sharp.


    Li Yi Nuo locked eyes with Sen. Are we leaving?


    He nodded. Oh, were definitely leaving.


    She marched over to him and grabbed his hand with the intention of pulling him along. She never got a chance to even take a step.


    Im dying, Sen, said Laughing River.


    Li Yi Nuo felt Sen stiffen at those words and knew the fight was over. Shed lost. Sen had lost. She just didnt know if Sen knew it yet.

 Book 6: Chapter 20: Fox Tale

    Book 6: Chapter 20: Fox Tale


    Those words rang in his ears. <em>Im dying</em>, <em>Sen</em>. How often had Sen himself uttered nearly the same sentiment? The effect of those words on him was almost primal. He knew the lengths that someone in that situation might go to. He understood that it would be a short step from where he himself had been not so long ago to finding it eptable to sacrifice anyone you needed to in order to survive. He didnt think that the fox had gone that far. He might have been willing to use Sen and Li Yi Nuo to get what he needed, but Laughing River had been at least a little halfhearted in his efforts. After all, hed let Sen scout ahead, even though the fox must have known that they were close to their destination. Letting Sen find it and see what was waiting there was almost certain a sign of some second thoughts about the whole thing. Of course, that assumed that what the fox was saying was <em>true</em> and not simply anotheryer of nning and deception.


    Li Yi Nuo was tugging on his hand, urging him to leave as he said they would. Yet, her expression suggested that she knew it was a lost cause. Sen wasnt as certain that it was a lost cause. He thought hard about the situation they all found themselves in. He <em>wanted</em> to just go. Things back at the ruins hadnt changed just because he had more possibly true information. He still didnt see a way to get into the ruins because that tide of unholiness around the ruins wasnt just going to let them walk in. Even his <em>hiding</em> ability would be all but useless. Sure, it might blind some of the monsters, ones that relied on spiritual perception rather than actual physical senses. Anything that had actual functioning eyes would be able to see him. <em>Of course</em>, <em>if I</em>, he started to think and shook it off. Making a n was pointless until he knew a whole lot more, starting with whether the fox was even telling the truth.


    Sen let go of Li Yi Nuos hand and turned to face the fox. The trickster with the twinkling eyes, the infectious grin, and the quick jokes was gone. In his ce, stood a lean figure with dark eyes and a deadly serious expression. Sen reminded himself that being a trickster could mean ying the serious part as well as ying the fool. He steeled his heart. Dying because he wasnt paying enough attention or let himself get taken in by a good story was not the way he intended to leave the world. Sen didnt say anything right away as he tried to get a read on the fox. Unfortunately, Laughing River had had lifetimes to perfect his performances. Sen expected that it would only be wholly unwarranted confidence that let him think he knew what the fox was up to at any given moment.


    Dying? Sen asked. Youll have to forgive me if Im a little incredulous. After all, dont you be immortal once you get yourst tail? Or something like that. Im a little hazy on the myths.


    Laughing River pursed his lips in dissatisfaction before he answered. We are immortal, but were also not. There are a bunch of rules about it that Ill spare you. Lets just say that, for the purposes of this conversation, Im not immortal <em>that way</em>.


    Sen waited for the fox to continue. When the fox didnte up with anything else, Sen shot Laughing River an annoyed re.


    Lets say, for the purposes of this conversation, that Im going to need a lot more than that.


    I really am dying. You can ask Caihong about it the next time you see her. You can even check for yourself.


    Sen nodded. Oh, rest assured that Ill do just that. What I dont understand is why youre dying or why you needed toe here to find a solution. Or why you couldnt find one somewhere else. I get the sense that dying business isnt new information for you. Just how long have you known? How long have you been looking for a fix?


    Thats a lot of questions, grumbled Laughing River. It could take a while to answer all of them thoroughly.


    Its fine, said Sen. I have the rest of your life.


    The fox gave Sen a look of genuine surprise. Thats pretty cold, Sen.


    Sen turned and very deliberately looked at Li Yi Nuo before turning back to Laughing River.


    Alright, said the fox. Ive got no room to point fingers about being cold. Seriously, though, well be here forever if you want a thorough, in-depth review of how I got here. Im a <em>lot</em> older than you are.


    How about we just start with the essential highlights and go from there, said Sen.


    Even that could take a while, muttered Laughing River.


    Nothing but time over here, said Sen walking over and leaning against a massive tree trunk.


    Okay, super high-level, big picture stuff. I like it here. I mean, sure, its dangerous and filled with violence-crazed cultivators like your girlfriends master, said the fox, gesturing at Li Yi Nuo, but look around you. Theres a lot more wilds to this world than human civilization. Its everything I could ever need.


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    My master is not violence-crazed, objected Li Yi Nuo.


    Didnt he cut off a womans head for trying to get you killed by our boy over there? asked Laughing River, pointing at Sen.


    Li Yi Nuo drew herself up. That wasnt the only reason he did that.


    Didnt he threaten to murder a room full of people right after that because they went along with her n?


    That might be true, answered Li Yi Nuo a little sheepishly.


    Sen shot her a questioning look. Seriously?


    Well talk about itter.


    The fox continued as if he hadnt been interrupted. Thats to say nothing of the fact that your glorious sect patriarch signed off on him doing it.


    Li Yi Nuos eyes bulged. How can you know that?


    Im a fox. I know everything. Then, theres Sen here. I mean, I love the guy, but he can barely get out of bed in the morning without leaving a few bodies on the floor.


    Hey! said Sen.


    Am I lying? asked the fox.


    No, admitted Sen. Its just sort of impolite to bring it up.


    Ironically, Sens tendency to leave literal piles of corpses in his wake <em>is</em> half the reason why I wanted him along for this little excursion. So, yeah, I totally have to own the hypocrisy of criticizing cultivator hyperviolence while also wanting to use it. But thats the world we live in.


    I suppose Im next, said Li Yi Nuo.


    The fox looked her up and down in an oddly clinical way. No. Youre positively docile for a cultivator. Im a little surprised youve made it this long without someone cutting your head off for jollies. Dont get me started on Sens teachers, though. I swear that the deities of death send those three gifts every New Year. Or is it four teachers now? Im not sure where the crazydy fits into the hierarchy. Sen?


    Sen rolled his eyes. Oh, who knows with her? I think weve drifted a little off-topic here, though. You were exining why youre dying and so on.


    Right, said Laughing River. My point is that I find this ne of existence veryfortable. Thats why I worked so hard to never get my ninth tail. It let me keep on doing what I wanted to do right where I wanted to do it, but things happened, and thatst tail just showed up anyway, the little bastard.


    Yes, immortality is such a burden, Im sure, said Li Yi Nuo.


    Laughing River gave her a stern look. Dont make jokes until youve tried it. Immortality isnt free, girl. Which is actually my point. I became immortal, but there were rules if I wanted to keep being immortal. In my defense, I did try to follow them. Mostly. Usually. Enough that the heavens didnt get too mad at me.


    The fox fell silent, seemingly lost in old memories. Sen let it go for a little while before he nudged the fox.


    But? asked Sen.


    But it turns out that I wasnt as good at not making the heavens mad as I thought. I was told to ascend or else. I may, possibly, have not taken that <em>or else</em> as seriously as I should have.


    Sen thought he had a sense of where this was going. So, you just went off and did whatever the hells you wanted until that <em>or else</em> started to settle on your shoulders.


    And then for quite a long time after.


    The heavens made you mortal again? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Um, its a bit moreplicated than that, but lets say that''s true for our purposes.


    Then, why not just ascend? asked Sen.


    Yeah, that was still possible for the first, oh, thousand or so years. Like I said, I like it here. I kept putting it off. When I finally decided that the heavens werent just joking around, it turned out that I waited a little too long. I dont have the power Id need to ascend anymore. Or, maybe I should say I dont have the right kind of power anymore.


    Sen started banging his head against the tree he was leaning against. And theres some relic or construct or artifact in those ruins that will let someone just ascend?


    Not just anyone. You couldnt use it. Not until youre quite a bit farther along your path. But there is something in there that <em>I</em> can use. I wont get into the finer points because neither of you has the right background to understand. The simple answer is that theres a treasure in there with a very strong time-space affinity. Itll be enough to let me get where I need to go.


    And you know how to use it? Are you a space cultivator? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Me? Oh, definitely not. But I have had centuries to figure out what I would need to fix my <em>tiny</em> little error in judgment. I spent that time learning the essentials and developing enough of an affinity to make this work.


    You cant just develop new affinities, said Li Yi Nuo.


    Human cultivators cant, said the fox while giving Sen a spective look. Im not human. And I was dying. I was quite motivated. Dont worry. Its so agonizingly painful that most spirit beasts would never put themselves through it. I wouldnt have put <em>myself</em> through it if there was any alternative other than death.


    Li Yi Nuo asked Laughing River a few more questions, but Sen wasnt paying attention anymore. The fox could be lying, but that story was just absurd enough that it had the ring of truth. Plus, there was a simple enough way to check the most essential fact of the story immediately. If Laughing River really was dying, it likely meant the rest of the story was true. If the ruins did contain a time-space treasure, that would give the story even more credence. Of course, that just brought them around to where they started. The treasure might be what the fox needed, but that in no way meant that it was possible to physically acquire that treasure. Plus, there was still the whole problem of offending the heavens by taking something from a sacred ruin and all the karmic fallout that would go along with it, if the wrath of the heavens didnt simply kill them. Even if he ultimately decided to go along with the mad scheme, he wasnt sure what to do about Li Yi Nuo. She had no stakes in this situation and no reason to risk death and karmic retribution. <em>One problem at a time</em>, Sen told himself. He looked at Laughing River, who cut off mid-sentence.


    First things first, said Sen. Open up and let me take a look. Then, Ill decide if we have anything more to talk about.

 Book 6: Chapter 21: Don’t I Get an Opinion

    Book 6: Chapter 21: Don¡¯t I Get an Opinion


    Laughing River got a gleam in his eye that screamed mischief. Sen thrust a finger at him.


    No! Whatever youre thinking, just no.


    Oh, you should have given it a minute. Youd have enjoyed it, said the fox, before shooting Li Yi Nuo a big smile. She probably wouldnt have. Did I mention that Ive met Lai Dongmei?


    Sen felt an abrupt sense of relief that hed put a stop to whatever the fox had nned.


    Youve actually met Lai Dongmei? Li Yi Nuo said in an awed voice.


    I have, said Laughing River. So has Sen.


    You have? demanded Li Yi Nuo whirling toward Sen.


    Yep, said Sen without borating at all.


    You have to tell me everything.


    Yes, Sen, you should tell her <em>everything</em>, agreed Laughing River with amusement dancing in his eyes.


    Im sure there will be plenty of time for thatter, said Sen through clenched teeth while he resisted ring at the fox. But I think weve all gotten distracted again. This conversation cant really progress until Ive confirmed that youre dying.


    The fox grumbled something under his breath about ungrateful nephews and trust issues, but he nodded. While Sens spiritual sense would tell him general information about the fox, he also knew that the fox was powerful enough to restrict that information. Instead, he was going to have to use abination of his spiritual sense and his qi to delve into the foxs actual body. While hed talked like it was no big deal, the idea made him very nervous. It was a big risk for him to do it and for the fox to allow it. In theory, Sen could do something pretty awful to Laughing River if the fox let Sens qi intrude into his body. On the flip side of that risk, the fox could also do terrible things to Sens cultivation with their qi in such close proximity. He probably wouldnt have even considered doing it if the fox wasnt so genuinely desperate beneath all the bantering.


    Taking a breath, Sen walked over to Laughing River and put a hand on the foxs shoulder. Up close, Sen could see that the fox was working very hard to control his expression, but there was a tightness around his eyes and mouth that betrayed just how ufortable he felt about what Sen was going to do. Before his nerves could get the better of him, Sen let his spiritual sense envelop the fox and pressed his qi into the foxs body. He was d that the fox had assumed a human form because it was at least nominally familiar, but Sen still found it confusing. The way the foxs body was organized <em>was</em> different. His qi channels were organized a little differently. Organs werent quite in the ces that Sen thought they should be and, he was pretty sure, the fox was simply missing some organs that Sen expected to find inside a human body.


    Sens awareness just hovered for a moment in that confusion before he shook it off. While those structural differences might be interesting at some other time, like when the situation was far less drastic, they didnt actually matter for Sens purpose. He wasnt there to see if Laughing River had perfectly replicated a human body. Sen was there to confirm if the fox was dying the way he imed he was. Figuring that out didnt take long. The signs were all there, even if they were as strange as the foxs strange body configuration. There was decay all over the ce, but it wasnt centralized. Instead, it seemed to Sen as if everything in the fox was breaking down, all at the same time, all at the same pace. Even the qi moving through the Laughing Rivers channels felt off like it was old and hadnt been cycled properly in a while.


    Part of Sen wanted to keep looking around, but he decided not to push his luck. For all of the damage he saw, Sen was also simply overwhelmed by the raw power and what felt like endless vitality that the fox was harboring. Dying or not, Sen was feeling quite motivated not to pick a fight with the fox if he could avoid it. Sen withdrew his qi and his spiritual sense. He gave the fox an empathetic look and stepped back. No one said anything for a few seconds, and then Li Yi Nuo broke the silence.


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    Well? she asked.


    I feel vited, observed Laughing River, although Sen could see a shadow of mirth on the foxs face.


    Well, I cant tell if the story he was telling about why its happening was true, but he is dying. Probably not that soon, but it looks like it has been going on for a while.


    Thats not very specific, said Li Yi Nuo.


    Hes not a human being. I have nothing simr topare this to. Im trying to take what I know about mortals and cultivators and apply that to the condition of someone who was never human. On top of that, he was also technically immortal and then sort of made mortal again. If you know of a treatise that covers this situation, Id love to get a look at it, Sen paused for a second. Huh. Im not even being sarcastic. If you know of something like that, Id really, genuinely love to read it. That would be fascinating.


    Li Yi Nuo shook her head. I think the fox is being a bad influence on you.


    Laughing River, who had still been moping a little, stood up straight and smiled at Li Yi Nuo.


    Thank you. What a nice thing to say.


    It wasnt apliment.


    Laughing River gave her a big, obvious wink. Right. Not apliment. I meant to say, oh no, youve caught on to my n to corrupt him.


    Li Yi Nuo tilted her head to one side, looked like she was going to say something, and then turned to Sen instead.


    So, what now?


    Sen gave her a thoughtful look. Now, I have to figure out what to do with you.


    What do you mean?


    I mean, Im going to try to figure out a way to help him that doesnt involve me charging headlong into that sea of evil for a fight. Who knows how long that will take? But hes getting his way, which means that he doesnt need you anymore. The problem is that I cant just send you back to the way we came by yourself.


    Ill be fine if I- she started to say.


    Really? asked Sen incredulously. You want to try to get back to the road by yourself?


    Li Yi Nuo sighed. No. Not really.


    Good. I was about to question your survival instincts.


    Says the man who is willingly getting involved with a scheme cooked up by a nine-tailed fox that involves robbing a sacred ruin. Oh, and that pesky army of evil and corruption surrounding it.


    That is That is a very valid point. Since were not talking about <em>me</em> at the moment, though, Im going to choose to ignore that and focus on you for right now. This was never your problem, and I dont see a good reason to drag you any deeper into it.


    Despite the two of you men thinking Im useless, I might be able to help.


    You dont want to help with this, said Sen and Laughing River at the same time.


    Li Yi Nuo looked taken aback by both the united front and the seriousness of Sen and Laughing Rivers faces.


    I dont understand. Why?


    Sen and the fox traded a look. Laughing River spoke and all the yfulness had gone out of him.


    Its because Sen knows as well as I do that even if wee up with a n to get him into the ruins without a fight, the odds are that this going to get bloody.


    Im not afraid to fight.


    I dont think you are, but I also dont think youve ever been in a real battle before.


    What does that even mean? demanded Li Yi Nuo.


    Sen piped up then. Youve fought duels and killed spirit beasts, right?


    Yes. Every cultivator does that.


    Sen nodded. Okay. Have you ever been on an actual battlefield? Been surrounded by people who were all trying their very hardest to kill you?


    Li Yi Nuo was thoughtful when she answered. No.


    Thats what this will be, only worse, said Sen. When youre fighting with other people, other cultivators, you expect them to act like people. These things wont act like people. They wont get scared or lose morale. Theyll just keeping. Plus, there are spirits down there, which means they might try to possess you or curse you. At the very least, we have to n around everything going wrong and it turning into that. Hes willing to risk it because there arent any other options.


    How do you know that? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    If there were another viable option that didnt involve these kinds of risks, wed be doing that right now.


    Li Yi Nuo nced over at Laughing River who gave her a nod. And you?


    Me? asked Sen. Im stupid. I owe him a favor. And Ive been where hes at, which makes me more sympathetic than is good for my long-term health. None of which applies to you. This brings us back around to my original point, which is that I need to figure out what to do with you. Taking you back would cost a week and a half of travel time, which isnt impossible but a long way from ideal. Having you fight is off the table for a lot of reasons. That leaves having you sit around and do nothing while we go do something stupid, except that isnt practical either. Because, if we die, youre stuck trying to get back to civilization by yourself.


    Dont I get an opinion in this? asked an exasperated Li Yi Nuo.


    No, said Laughing River and Sen in unison.

 Book 6: Chapter 22: What Would You Do?

    Book 6: Chapter 22: What Would You Do?


    Sen and Laughing River discussed what to do with Li Yi Nuo. Sen admitted it to himself. They bickered about it. Sen thought that Laughing River should take her back to the road. Having gotten a closer look at the foxs true strength, he was supremely confident that the fox could take Li Yi Nuo there and get back a <em>lot</em> faster than Sen. That would give also Sen time to scout out the area and see if he could figure out a n that was less of, as Lo Meifeng would probably describe it, a Sen n. It bothered him a little that not having a Sen n mostly boiled down to not running headlong into mortal peril and killing absolutely everything in sight. Getting manhandled or, perhaps, turtled-handled by Elder Bo truly had been a wake-up call.


    Sen had started thinking that hed won a little more often than was good for him. Hed gotten lucky sometimes. Hed taken advantage of other people underestimating him. Hed also t-out bluffed his way to victory more than once, relying on that scary reputation of his to do the real work for him. Granted, the gap between what his reputation said he could do and what he could actually do was shrinking. The problem was that a sneaky thought way in the back of his mind had started to convince him that maybe he could defeat anyone given the right circumstances. Elder Bo had shown him how wrong that thought had been. He still didnt like the turtle and probably never would, but he supposed that he should be grateful to the divine spirit beast. That sneaky thought would have gotten him killed sooner orter.


    It was with that in mind that hed decided that they needed to send Li Yi Nuo away. He couldnt assume they were going to survive this mad idea the fox had concocted, let alone emerge triumphant. Yet, as always, the details were the problem. For all of Sens very reasonable arguments about why the fox should take her back, the fox had plenty of reasons why Sen should do it. Laughing River countered that it was more practical for Sen to do it because <em>that girl</em> trusted Sen. The fox also argued that he was older, more experienced, and at least three hundred times cleverer and sneakier than Sen would ever be, which made Laughing River the proper person to scout and make a n. He followed that up with what Sen thought was probably the only actual reason that mattered to the fox.


    Most importantly, noted Laughing River, I dont want to.


    While that entire conversation had been going on, Sen could see Li Yi Nuo ring at them. Shed gone from annoyance to genuine anger as it became obvious to her that both Sen and Laughing River saw her aspletely dead weight theyd be better off without. Hed hoped to quickly settle things with the fox about who was going to get rid of her. He expected that they probably could find a use for her if they worked at it, but he hadnt been enthused about having her around as a very temporary travelpanion. He was even less enthused about having her involved in the fight he expected was ahead. She was capable enough, but he genuinely didnt want to have his life in her hands. Her motives were muddled at best. He couldnt watch her all the time if he had to fight a horde. It wouldnt be that hard for her to get him killed in the middle of something like that. And while she said she didnt want to go back to the road by herself, that was not the same thing as being unwilling to try if it helped her aplish her mission.


    Unfortunately, it seemed the foxs words were the breaking point for the woman. It was an oddlypelling moment as Sen watched her try to contain her anger, almost seed, only for it to bubble up into an eruption.


    Enough! yelled Li Yi Nuo.


    Sen and Laughing River both turned to look at her. While Sen meant to jump in and try to smooth things over a little, the fox beat him to speaking. The fox either wasnt feeling the same way as Sen or had wildly different ideas about what would smooth things over.


    Did you have something to contribute, dear? asked the fox.


    The question itself wasnt the biggest problem, although the gods knew it was condescending. The problem was that Laughing River had used the kind of sickly-sweet voice designed to send someone hurtling right off the cliff of anger and tumbling down into the tumultuous, crashing waves of rage-induced madness. Sen directed a look at the fox thatmunicated just one word. <em>Why</em>? The fox shot back a look thatmunicated two words. <em>Why not</em>? Sen supposed that summed up Laughing River in a lot of ways. Theres a creepy cave over there radiating danger on every possible level. Should we go look at it? Why not? Theres a secret that no one should ever learn about because it might end the world. Should we spill it? Why not? Theres a thin-skinned sect princess. Should we go out of our way to see if we can incense her enough that she literally explodes from anger? Why not?


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    The two of you are unbelievable! Talking about what to do with me like Im a sack of grain that someone you dont like tasked you with getting somewhere.


    Well said Laughing River, but Sen interrupted.


    Dont!


    Silence! Both of you! shouted Li Yi Nuo. A nine-tailed fox and a folk hero are about to go off and do something that people are going to tell stories about. Dont even bother telling me that people wont know because those kinds of stories always get out. If you two think you can drag me out here and then cut my sect out of that kind of glory, youre delusional! Im staying. And if you thought taking me all the way back was going to be inconvenient before, imagine how much more trouble it will be with me fighting you <em>the entire way</em>. So, which one of you is going to show me this so-called army of evil creatures and spirits?


    There was a protracted silence as Li Yi Nuo stared expectantly at Sen and Laughing River. Sen had been worried about something like this. He nced over the fox who had a thoughtful look on his face. It left Sen feeling unsettled. Laughing River looked at Sen.


    You know, I could always


    No, said Sen, feeling so, so tired.


    It really wouldnt be that hard.


    I know it wouldnt but still no.


    Really? asked the fox.


    What are you two babbling about? demanded Li Yi Nuo.


    Hes suggesting we just kill you, said Sen.


    Hes being all mortal and saying we shouldnt, offered the fox with a sidelong nce in Sens direction.


    Li Yi Nuo looked a little rmed but pressed forward. Dont you mean moral?


    The fox thought it over before nodding. Yeah, probably that too. Well,e along, girl. If he wont let me just kill you, Ill be happy to show you the so-called army.


    It took a depressingly short amount of time for the trio to make it back. Sen didnt say a word to Li Yi Nuo the entire way, despite her trying to engage him in conversation a few times. He just didnt have the patience to deal with her nonsense on top of dealing with the foxs nonsense. He let Laughing River guide them to where they could all take a look at what they were up against. Having been there before, it was easier for Sen to shake off the reverential awe and revulsion he felt. Li Yi Nuo took a little longer. She focused on the temple first, but her gaze eventually moved to the tide of awfulness surrounding the temple. The shock and disgust were evident on her face, but it was also clear that shed thought Sen was overstating the size of the problem. He gave her a big smile worthy of Laughing River.


    Arent you d you decided to stay for <em>all that glory</em>, instead of going home? Sen asked.


    Li Yi Nuo tried to smile back, but it looked more sickly than sincere.


    Yeah, she said in a weak voice. All that glory. I dont suppose I can change my mind, can I?


    She looked from Sen to Laughing River. Sen realized that they were both giving her a t stare.


    What do you think? asked Sen.


    I should have seized the opportunity to leave when I had it? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Laughing River leaned in close to her and peered at her face as though he was trying to see something.


    Mmm-hmmm, said the fox. I might have been mocking you a little for my own amusement, but he was graciously trying to save your life. At least, he was right up until you started telling us all about what wasnt going to happen. And there I was, gantly trying to give you <em>yet another</em> opportunity to throw yourself at him. An opportunity that you squandered, <em>again</em>. Honestly, girl, were you dropped on your head a lot as a small child? You should be happy that I am so wise and understanding. A less magnanimous fox might take offense at someone constantly rejecting their help that way.


    Li Yi Nuo seemedpletely at a loss as to how she should respond. Sen let her stew in that while he studied the area and the forces they would have to bypass. It didnt look any better the second time around. The horde below really wasnt an army in the traditional sense. There were no orderly ranks, no camps, nor anything that looked likemanders giving orders. It was just chaos. The things down there attacked each other as much as they tried to breach the protections of the ruins. There also wasnt anything like cover. The forest had been cut back long ago so there was nothing but open ground for nearly half a mile. He imagined that had been for protection. It was a good idea for anyone living <em>inside</em> the temple-city. It would have been next to impossible tounch a stealth attack so long as people remained vignt. It perplexed him that the forest hadnt reimed that ground, but the fact remained that it hadnt. So, Sen would have to cover that open ground like any other invader. That open ground controlled by a horde of violent, devilish beasts and all those other horrors. He finally looked back at Li Yi Nuo, who had been uncharacteristically quiet.


    Well, you insisted on staying, said Sen. What would you do to get us into that temple without starting an unwinnable fight?

 Book 6: Chapter 23: Plan Building

    Book 6: Chapter 23: n Building


    Sen suspected it wasnt an entirely fair question. Hed had a couple of hours to think about the problem ande up with a couple of possibilities. They werent what hed call great ideas. At least one of them would require that he spend some time looking around to see if it was even feasible. Still, he had something to contribute to a conversation about how to get things done. Asking Li Yi Nuo toe up with ideas on the spot without any clear understanding of what he or Laughing River could do made the question substantially harder for her to answer. There was also the knowledge gap about the capabilities of the things in that horde. Of course, Sen was working under simr levels of ignorance there. He only had best guesses about that. The upside of the question was that anything Li Yi Nuo came up with would have to be something that she thought would work for her. That was kind of the point. If she dide up with something that she might be able to pull off, there was a solid chance that Sen and, to a lesser extent, Laughing River could execute a simr idea.


    She gave him an incredulous look. He just gestured toward the temple. Realizing that he wasnt kidding, she gave the scene in front of them a hard look. He watched her eyes darting from ce to ce. He saw the moment when she recognized all of that open ground as the problem it was. Her grimace said it all. Laughing River watched her, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself for once. Sen took that as a good sign. For all of his easy glibness, the fox did take the actual goal seriously. The longer that Li Yi Nuo stared at the situation, the more unhappy she became. In the end, she shook her head.


    There might be a way to get someone to the ruins, assuming they can actually enter, said Li Yi Nuo. I dont see a way to do it without alerting them that someone else is present.


    So, if you had to try to get in there, what would you do? asked Sen.


    Those things down there are in some kind of a mad frenzy. I doubt anyone could sneak past them or through them. One of them would notice you or just crash into you and theres that fight you wanted to avoid. So, you have to draw them away. Create a distraction. If enough of them leave, it could create an opening. It might be enough time for someone to get in, assuming theyre fast enough. Of course, that leaves the problem of getting them back out again. Maybe another distraction would work but only if we can see a signal to activate it from the forest. Anything we can see those things can see. If any of them arent simply insane, theyll be alerted. That also assumes we can stay out here safely. Depending on the distraction, we might end up running for our lives.


    Sen looked at Laughing River. At least she sees the problems.


    Shes right about getting someone out. Thats going to be harder than getting someone in, said Laughing River. Ive been trying to crack that problem ever since I figured out that Id need to send you, dear nephew, in there to retrieve my little bauble.


    Dear nephew? asked Sen.


    Of course, youre practically the adopted child of one of my hundred dearest friends. Naturally, that makes you my nephew.


    Foxes must have very strange families, observed Sen in a deadpan equal to Laughing Rivers.


    Oh, you have no idea. Its always such a tangle to know if youre actually rted to someone. Makes seduction a dangerous business.


    Is this conversation critical to getting into that temple? asked a frustrated Li Yi Nuo.


    It could be. There might be foxes in there. I may have to seduce one of them, said Sen. What if were rted?


    That earned him a re from Li Yi Nuo and a proud smile from Laughing River. <em>Maybe he is having a bad influence on me</em>, thought Sen. He frowned out at the temple onest time.


    I may have an idea about a distraction, said Sen, but theres no point discussing it here. We should withdraw before something out there notices us and decides to make it an issue.


    Fine with me, said Laughing River. Ive been looking at that damn temple on and off now for years. Im not going to learn anything new.


    Li Yi Nuo simply nodded. They went back the way they hade until there were nearly ten miles between them and the temple. It was far enough that Sen felt mostly confident that he could put up a galehouse without drawing too much unwanted attention. Sen took extra care to build some formations into the walls of the galehouse and threw up a few more to help ensure they would go unnoticed and have some warning if anything walked too close. Once they were safely inside the building, Sen made a table with a shallow depression that ran the length of the table. He filled it with sand that he made from some of the rocks in the area. He sketched out a primitive representation of the temple, the open area around it, and where the forest started. Laughing River smirked.


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    Very urate, said the fox.


    Every cultivator dreams of being an artist, said Sen. Behold, my art!


    Cant the two of you be serious for five minutes? demanded Li Yi Nuo. This is dangerous business.


    Thats the time when not being serious is most important, observed Laughing River. Too much seriousness will take you down a bad road. Especially when things are dangerous. You get all grumpy and morose.


    Humor eases the tension. It might look frivolous, but its not, tranted Sen in a distracted voice before pointing at the drawing. Is that area of clearednd consistent all the way around?


    Yes, said the fox.


    I dont suppose theres some incredibly useful thing out in the nearby forest we can take advantage of?


    Like what? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Id really like some monks, said Sen. Those spirits out there make me nervous.


    More than the devilish beasts?


    Sen shrugged. You can kill devilish beasts with a sword or with qi techniques. There are some risks to that, but theyre manageable. Restless spirits are supposed to be harder to deal with.


    Thats the truth, said Laughing River. I wouldnt mind some friendly monks to help with them myself. Not that monks would help me, but they might help you two if you asked nicely. Sadly, theres nothing out there that I know about except more forest.


    Thats too bad. I usually have more advantages than this.


    Yes, your overwhelming strength is such a pitiful advantage, said Li Yi Nuo. Didnt you order two sects to stop fighting and they actually did it?


    Thats what Im talking about. I had advantages there that dont exist here. Those sects were made up of people who had just watched a lot of their friends die. Their morale was terrible. They were tired. None of them wanted to be there anymore. They all wanted an excuse to stop. I gave it to them.


    I heard you set the sky on fire, said Laughing River.


    I <em>did not</em> set the sky on fire. Thats aplete exaggeration.


    I heard you threatened to kill everyone there, said Li Yi Nuo.


    Sen sighed. That part may have actually happened, which is irrelevant because it wouldnt work here.


    You said you had an idea about the distraction, though, right? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Sen pointed at a spot just beyond where the forest started on the makeshift drawing. He ran his finger in a big circle that stayed beyond the clearednd.


    I think I can set up a formation that will do the job. Ill have to go wander around out there for a while to know for sure. Assuming the qi concentrations arent too different from where we are now, though, I should be able to set one up that will hurl fireballs into that horde from a particr area. It should be nice and distracting and help pull some of those things away in a specific direction for a little while. I mean, anything that destructive wont work for very long, but we dont need it to work for very long. If it can keep going for five minutes, that should be long enough. In an area that big, there must be at least one or two potent qi flows that I can tap into. Maybe lightning would be better, muttered Sen, thinking about how to make the formation work.


    When no one said anything right away, Sen looked up to find Li Yi Nuo and Laughing River giving him odd looks. The fox looked startled. The sect woman looked like she thought Sen was utterly mad.


    What? Sen demanded.


    Youre going to set up a formation that stretches for miles? A formation that can hurl fireballs for five minutes? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Yes. That sounds like an urate summary of what I literally just said less than a minute ago.


    Sen, I know that Jaw-Long taught you some things, offered Laughing River in a conciliatory tone, but what youre describing is incredibly difficult to do.


    Not really, said Sen. Its a bit more trouble to set up than a small formation because you have to cover so much ground. There are a few extra variables you have to ount for, but its not like the principles change. Its the same thing, just bigger.


    It is most certainly not the same thing, said Li Yi Nuo. What youre describing is the kind of project that formation masters talk about doing <em>someday</em>.


    They should set their sights higher. Ive got this idea for a formation that will use water, fire, and ice qi. Well, originally, I wanted to do one that was inspired by the seasons to give it bnce. Water for spring, fire for summer, ice for winter, but I couldnt think of anything for autumn. I mean, if theres such a thing as decay qi, that might work. If it exists, though, Ive never seen it, and I dont have an affinity for it. So, I decided to just go with three Sen trailed off at the looks he was getting. Well, I guess thats neither here nor there.


    After a long silence, Laughing River spoke up. After we escape that horde of doom, but before I go off and ascend into foxly godhood, theres this other ce we should go, Sen. It turns out that another little treasure of mine was stolen away. Ive been meaning to reacquire it.


    Sens shoulders slumped as Laughing River started making grandiose ns about a stealing spree the likes of which Sen had never even heard of before.

 Book 6: Chapter 24: I Should Have Known

    Book 6: Chapter 24: I Should Have Known


    The three of them sat around that table discussing possibilities untilte. Laughing River volunteered that he could probably provide a distraction to draw off the horde briefly if it came down to it. Sen had given the fox a questioning look at that. The fox just shrugged.


    I <em>am</em> a fox. Illusions are what we do. How do you think I got close enough to figure out that I couldnt get into the ruins in the first ce?


    That didnt seem like something to open with earlier? asked Sen.


    Ive found that it limits peoples creativity when they think they have a simple solution at hand. You came up with an alternative option when you thought you had to, Sen. And itll be a much more believable one since theyll be getting hit with actual fire. Or did you settle on lighting?


    Ill have to see what the qi looks like out there. I may find something unexpected. Itll probably be fire, though.


    But isnt an illusion a simple solution? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Maybe, maybe not. Theyve seen my illusions before. They might not be fooled. Dont forget, we also have to get Sen back <em>out</em> again. A little mortal peril is just Monday for cultivators. Im less enthusiastic about sending him into certain doom. That means well need distractions for both sides of this adventure.


    Whats Monday? asked Li Yi Nuo before Sen could do it.


    The fox heaved a tremendous sigh. Sen, remind me to give you a crash course on how reality works before I move to another ne like a magnificent specimen of fox perfection.


    Um, okay, said Sen with a bit of hesitance.


    He was unsure if the fox was offering a good thing or a bad thing. Sen usually thought more information was a good thing, but hed also benefited from not being given all the information as well. At the same time, the fox hadnt said it like it was a good thing. It sounded more like a necessary thing that would turn out to be a lot more trouble than Sen wanted to deal with at the moment. Li Yi Nuo gave Sen and the fox a mildly disgruntled look.


    Why no extra education for me? she asked.


    Hes going to ascend, said the fox as though that answered everything.


    It took a Sen a moment or two to unpack everything that simple statement contained. There was the surface statement that the fox either thought or somehow <em>knew</em> that Sen was going to ascend. If he did somehow know that, it begged the question of how the fox knew it and why he would share it. There was also the implication that the fox didnt think Li Yi Nuo was going to ascend. Sen wasnt sure that suggested any special insight over the fox simply ying the odds. Most cultivators didnt ascend, after all. Making it to core formation was a feat all on its own. Li Yi Nuo seemed to be making the same analysis he was because she gave a fox a cool look.


    You dont know that I wont ascend, she announced. You certainly dont know that hes going to ascend.


    Yeah, sure I dont. Its totally unlikely that the student of three or four nascent soul cultivators who went from a ragged street rat to a core formation dual cultivator folk hero in what, a decade, will ascend. Thats just a <empletely</em> preposterous notion. Its way more likely that the painfully orthodox sect girl who spent thest, hmmmm, two hundred years or so making her way to where she is will ascend.


    I need some sleep, said Sen.


    He immediately stood and made a beeline for the bedroom hed picked. He was quick enough that he was just shutting the door when Li Yi Nuos voice rang out behind him.


    A decade?! Wait!


    Sen had actually been getting tired, so it was only half of a dodge. He summoned a bed from his storage ring and flopped onto it while Li Yi Nuo banged on his door. He could hear the faint sound of Laughing River chortling in the background. <em>Damn that fox</em>, thought Sen. When Li Yi Nuo stopped her pointless pounding on the door, he was finally able to drift off to sleep. It wasnt even close to light out when Sen roused himself from sleep, so he took a little time to review the alchemy primer that Fu Run had given him. While he supposedly knew everything in it, Sen suspected that there were more than a few gems of insight still waiting to be found in those pages. They werent necessarily insights that Fu Run intended to exist in the pages, but rather the more naturalistic insights that Sen sometimes found came from looking at old material with more experienced eyes. He didnt find anything that day, but he supposed it never hurt to review the essentials, even if they were only tangentially rted to his process.


    When he felt dawn getting close, he went out and made tea, taking a bit offort in the steadiness of that routine. He poured himself a cup and took it outside. He watched the sunrise slowly transform the sky with color and light. He had an intuition that this would likely be thest real calm he enjoyed for a while. He heard light footsteps and nced over to see Laughing River holding a cup of his own. The fox looked pensive, but he took a moment to nod at Sen. A nce past the fox didnt reveal Li Yi Nuo.


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    Shes not awake, yet. Or shes pretending she isnt, which is fine by me, said the fox. Shes fun to tease, but I dont particrly enjoy herpany.


    Oh? asked Sen.


    Shes, not nave exactly, but shes had less experience than she should have for her age and advancement.


    Id have thought youd think much the same of me, observed Sen.


    You have the opposite problem. Youve had too much experience and advancement for your age. Itd be sort of amusing if I didnt know so many of the details. Why? Do you enjoy herpany?


    Eh, said Sen with a shrug. Its hard to enjoy thepany of someone you think might get you killed on purpose.


    The fox got a gleam in his eyes. Oh, I think that rather depends on <em>how</em> you spend your time with them. Danger can add a certain something to some experiences.


    Sen almost objected. I suppose theres a kernel of truth hidden deep down in there somewhere. At this point, Im mostly making her stay as punishment for not taking the out I offered her.


    A stupidity tax?


    Sen snorted. I wasnt thinking of it quite that way, but its a fair way to put it. I mean, seriously, she was talking about glory.


    Laughing River nodded. It does rather make one wonder what shes been reading, but thats neither here nor there. I was curious what you decided youd do today.


    Same as we discussedst night. I make a pass through the forest. Get a feel for the qi. Make sure theres nothing lurking out there that will cause too much trouble. If I have time, I might start putting together the formation today.


    Youre going to leave her with me all day? asked the fox in a long-suffering tone.


    Its not like I can take her with me.


    Oh, but you could.


    Im not taking her out there just to die.


    Fine. It was just a pleasant thought. What am I supposed to do with her, though?


    See if she has any skills that might actually be useful? asked Sen, sounding doubtful even to himself.


    How likely does that seem?


    It never hurts to check.


    The fox grumbled something inarticte, and Sen decided to go while he could still avoid Li Yi Nuo. He went inside, hurriedly drank another cup of tea, and then took off. He put his hiding ability to good use as he moved through the forest. It slowed him down a little because he could only sense a fraction of the distance he was used to, but it also let him avoid a few fights with spirit beasts. Hed need to deal with some of them, but he wanted to make aplete pass around the temple before he started to do anything that might be noisy. He was both relieved and a bit disappointed to discover that the qi in the area was more or less in bnce. It meant he could go with either fire or lightning, but couldnt expect any helpful boosts for either type of attack from convenient environmental features. He was also vaguely disappointed to discover absolutely nothing else that he might use to his advantage, such as a wandering band of monks or improbably ced holy relics. <em>I guess that would have been too convenient</em>, thought Sen. <em>If there are useful relics</em>, <em>theyre probably inside that temple</em>.


    Sen nced upward. He wasnt particrly nervous about being caught outside at night, but he also didnt see any advantage to it. He had a pretty good feel for what hed find in the forest during the day, but some spirit beasts were nocturnal. Still, he thought he had enough time to at least get started on the formation. Of course, setting up a formation wasnt nearly as fast as simply wandering through the woods and making sure there was enough of the right kind of qi to do what he wanted. He spent several hours getting the first third of the gs into position. He was debating about whether to do one more when his intuition warned him. It wasnt any of the usual triggers. He hadnt felt anything in his admittedly limited spiritual sense. He hadnt heard or seen anything. There had been no disturbances in the local qi. This was that deeper intuition born of hard, violent experiences. He spun and drew his jian in a smooth motion, leveling it at the stranger who had gotten within ten feet of him.


    The figure was wearing ck robes. They were androgynous with a slender build and a fine bone structure. They came to a stop and eyed the de in Sens hand. The look wasnt fearful, just respectful of what the de could do. They transferred their gaze up to Sens face and offered him a small, mysterious smile that suggested they knew a million things that Sen didnt. That smile told Sen that this person would aggravate him. The fact that Sen could sense absolutely nothing about them only made it worse.


    I suppose I should give you credit, said Sen. Im not that easy to sneak up on.


    You arent the only person with a facility for hiding.


    I suppose Im not. What do you want?


    Youre here with <em>him</em>, said the stranger, their voice as androgynous as everything else about them.


    It wasnt a question, but Sen thought that <em>him</em> was a rather vague term.


    Him, who?


    The trickster. The liar. The nine-tail.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. Isnt that just three ways to say that same thing?


    The stranger paused then, seemingly uncertain about how to proceed. <em>Maybe I said something they didnt expect</em>, thought Sen.


    Perhaps, said the stranger. Arent you going to ask me who I am?


    I considered it, said Sen.


    And?


    I decided its probably pointless. Youll either tell the truth or youll lie, but I wont know the difference.


    True, admitted the stranger.


    They went to take a step forward, and Sen responded by pushing lightning qi into the jian. The area around them lit up irregrly as lightning crackled and danced along the de. The stranger gave the jian a much longer look.


    I think were probably close enough, said Sen. So, I expect this is when you tell me what <em>you</em> think I should do.


    The stranger looked to Sens face again. It is. You should let <em>him</em> die.


    I should have known it was going to be something like that.

 Book 6: Chapter 25: Diplomacy

    Book 6: Chapter 25: Diplomacy


    Sen tried to work up some anger, but all that he coulde up with was an overwhelming sense of not caring. He shook his head.


    Ive been working on being a fraction more diplomatic, said Sen, so please just say what you need to say and be done with it. I still have more work to do.


    So, you dont mean to heed my words even after I speak them.


    Of course not. Thats what being diplomatic is. I pretend to listen so you cant pretend offense. Then, I do what I was going to do anyway.


    That isnt what being diplomatic means, said the stranger in a very unamused tone.


    Isnt it? Well, I guess I could have thrown in something about lying a lot, but I havent gotten to that yet. Im still working on pretending to care. So, Ill listen to your story.


    You arent taking this seriously.


    I always take it seriously when assassinse calling, said Sen.


    Im not an assassin.


    Yeah, they never are. Its totally normal and nonthreatening to sneak up on someone in a wildly hostile environment.


    The stranger gave Sen a narrow-eyed look. <em>You</em> were hiding your presence.


    Sure, from spirit beasts and that enormous mass of evil roaming around out there, said Sen, waving in the general direction of the temple. You were hiding from me. There <em>is</em> a difference.


    Youre trying to distract me.


    No, Im trying to make this conversation so aggravating that you give up and leave. Believe it or not, this is actually an improvement over what I used to do.


    The androgynous stranger seemed to weigh those words. What did you used to do?


    Instant hostility. Threats of violence. Actual violence. You know, the usual.


    You dont consider that lightning-infused sword hostile or a threat?


    I havent stabbed you with it, have I? I even said Id pretend to listen.


    I dont want you to pretend to listen. I want you to actually listen.


    No. That isnt what you want. Thats never what anyone like you wants. At the end of all of this, you want me to do what you want. The problem is that I dont know you, which means I have no reason to trust you.


    You dont know <em>him</em> either. So, why does he get to skate on the whole trust thing?


    First, I dont owe you that exnation. Second, what in the thousand hells is a skate?


    Oh,e on. Its when you ck off from the stranger trailed off as an expression of understanding dawned on Sens face.


    Oh. I get it. Youre a fox as well. Fantastic. Like I didnt have enough problems with just one of you running around out here. I take back the part about pretending to listen.


    Wait. What? Why?


    Youre a victim of your kinds reputation. All that lying, deceit, and betrayal doesnt really paint you as someone I should listen to.


    But youll listen to <em>him</em>?


    He needs me. Plus, he has very good reasons <em>not</em> to betray me.


    The stranger rolled their eyes. This isnt getting us anywhere.


    Yourepletely right. Its not. You should give up and leave.


    You dont honestly expect that, do you?


    No. I expect that this is where we get to the whole assassin part.


    Im <em>not</em> an assassin.


    You came all this way to maybe convince me but probably to kill me, right? That makes you an assassin.


    I cant let <em>him</em> seed, said the stranger.


    Sen loosened his shoulders a little, which made the stranger tense up.


    Yeah, and I suppose it doesnt matter who you need to go through to make that happen.


    Sen had never gotten any formal training in fighting illusions. It hadnt been something his teachers had known much about, having encountered it infrequently themselves. Still, he had been giving it some thought once he started traveling with a fox. Despite his words to the stranger, Sen had been considering contingencies for the possibility that Laughing River did turn on him. He knew that foxes preferred illusion and subterfuge. So, hed spent most of his time trying to figure out how he would fight against illusions. Hed made the assumption that he wouldnt be able to trust any of his senses, even his spiritual sense, because any illusions that didnt ount for those senses would be useless against cultivators.


    That didnt leave him a lot of options other than blindly throwing techniques around. He didnt want to do that for fear of attracting the attention of the horde. In fact, he didnt want to do anything shy if he could avoid it. He just had to hope that the fox felt like they were in the same situation. Of course, limited options didnt mean no options. He just needed to see what the fox would do. They drew a jian, although the design was a little strange. It looked a little heavier and shorter than the ones Sen was used to using. The fox took a step forward and there were three of them. Another step and there were six. The foxes scattered in several directions. They repeatedly crossed each others paths before forming a loose ring. They all moved their swords threateningly and threw outments. Sen frowned. <em>Well</em>, <em>it is an effective way to disguise which one is real</em>, he thought.


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    Sen started with what he expected would be the simplest way to expose the true fox. He nketed the immediate area with his killing intent. Five of them froze in ce while one off to Sens left cried out and stumbled back. Sen darted toward that one, bringing his jian around in a short, efficient sh. He had to give the fox credit. They got their jian up in time to deflect the blow. At least, thats what Sen thought would happen. Instead, his sword passed through the illusory fox. Sen let his momentum spin him around. He felt a hot pain across his shoulder but didnt let it distract him. As his spin brought himpletely around, he thrust at where he knew the fox had to be. The fox looked shocked that Sen was counterattacking so fast, but it might have been residual pain from Sens killing intent. There was blood running from the corners of the foxs eyes.


    The fox lurched to one side, avoiding a lethal strike in favor of a shallower cut on an arm. Both were off bnce and took a few stumbling steps away from each other. The fox eyed Sen warily as it took on a more stable stance.


    That was clever, said Sen. You used my expectations against me.


    Thats me, said the fox. Clever. Doesnt seem to hold up well against that kind of speed. Body cultivator?


    Sen shrugged. Oh, you know us cultivators. Were just full of tricks.


    Senunched an earth qi attack that had served him very well on more than one asion. Slender spears of rocknced upward where the fox was supposed to be standing. They passed straight through the illusion. <em>Damn it</em>, thought Sen. <em>This is going to be more work than I thought</em>. The illusion grinned at him.


    You didnt think itd be that easy, did you?


    A boy can dream, said Sen.


    As that illusion vanished, Sen scanned the area around him. The other illusions were gone. All he saw was undisturbed forest around him. ying a hunch, Sen cycled for water and sent a spray out in every direction, then leapt straight up to catch a limb overhead. For a split second, he saw a figure outlined in water. Switching to wind qi, he sent a small wind de at that spot. There was a muted grunt of pain and a small ssh of red, but even that ssh of red disappeared before long. That gave Sen pause. It was one thing to hide yourself, but something else entirely to mask environmental features. Sen realized that the way he was managing the fight wasnt going to work. Everything was too static. He needed to keep the conditions shifting. Force the fox to continually adapt to new environments. Force ws in the illusion. Most importantly, he needed to create a situation where he could put his hands on the fox.


    Sen pulled himself up onto the limb and then started leaping from tree to tree, using his qinggong technique to effectively bounce from trunks and limbs. Moving targets were harder to hit if you didnt want to throw around big techniques. It was also an opportunity to put some distance between them and the horde. Mostly, though, he needed to find a better ce to fight someone that used illusions. He needed somewhere with debris. To make matters worse, Sen couldnt take his time scouting for the right spot. True or not, he had to assume that the fox was at least as fast as he was moving through the forest. Assuming otherwise would be a great way to get himself killed. He followed a zigzagging path away from the ruins, his eyes and senses desperately searching for the right environment.


    He almost missed it butunched himself in a clumsy dive at thest second. He crashed into the ground in a stand of evergreens. There were dead needles everywhere. He took one second to push himself to a standing position and then sent wind racing around the stand of trees. The wind picked up the dead needles and sent them spiraling up and around the trees and Sen. He was hoping the chaos would prove tooplex for the fox to mimic immediately. It also helped that his qi was suffusing the area. It turned out that his lead was a littlerger than hed thought. It was almost ten full seconds before he saw the disruption in the needles. They pped up against something that was about the right size. Sen was moving immediately. It seemed that the fox was so distracted by the constant pelting and trying to enforce a fresh illusion, that they didnt realize that Sen was closing on them at breakneck speeds until the veryst second.


    Sen saw the foxs eyes go wide, and they tried to intercept him with their jian. It was too little, toote. Sen caught the foxs wrist and used his umted speed to carry the fox against a nearby tree. He mmed the foxs wrist against the tree over their heads and noted the jian fall away to the side in his peripheral vision. While the fox seemed stunned by the impact with the tree, they went for a dagger with their other hand. Sen caught that wrist and squeezed until the fox cried out and dropped the weapon. The other wrist joined the first over their heads. The foxs eyes danced with something. Fear. Excitement. Both. Sen wasnt sure. Their faces were mere inches apart.


    Enough, said Sen.


    Well now, said the fox. Isnt this sexy?


    Without any warning, the fox leaned in and kissed Sen hard on the mouth. It was so far outside of Sens expectations that he jerked back from the fox. Hed almost instinctively loosened his grip on the foxs wrists. Before he had a chance to gather his wits, the fox had ripped one hand free and jabbed him with something. He felt his body instantly react and try to fend off whatever hed been dosed with, but the battle between whatever alchemical recipe or poison the fox had used and his body robbed him of his equilibrium. He staggered back, reaching for his jian, and trying to think of what might be in his storage rings to counteract whatever the fox had used. He didnt manage to pull his jian from its scabbard or summon anything from his storage ring before the fox hit him in the side of the head with something hard.


    He felt himself falling, but it was disjointed, slow, and then the ground caught his body. He tried to push himself up, but his limbs only reacted with the asional twitch or jerk. He tried to speak, but only slurred nonsense came out. There was a terrible moment of vertigo as he was flipped onto his back. His vision spun for a while before it finally came back into something akin to focus. He saw the vast limbs of the evergreens overhead and mere hints of the darkening sky through the canopy. Then, there was a weight on top of him. He managed to move his eyes enough to see the fox had straddled him and was leaning down to look at his face. That same unidentifiable something hed seen before was dancing in the foxs eyes. Sen tried to speak, but the fox put a finger on his lips.


    Shhhhh. Theres no point in trying to talk right now.


    The fox leaned forward a bit more, nted an elbow on Sens chest, and put their chin in their palm. They seemed to be studying him, although Sen felt himself slipping further away from true consciousness with every second.


    I really should kill you, said the fox conversationally. Youre ridiculously dangerous, even for a cultivator. I mean, you had me dead to rights there. Do you have any idea how rarely that happens to a fox? That trick with the pine needles was inspired. Ill need to think long and hard about how to counter something like that in the future. I suppose I should be grateful that you showed me one of my weaknesses. Yeah, killing you would be the smart thing to do. Otherwise, youll probably wake up and make it your lifes work to track me down and end me. Still, youre just too damned pretty to murder out here in this godsforsaken ce. So, you take yourself a little nap while I go kill that awful old man.


    Thest thing Sen remembered was a pair of lips pressing against his own and an amused whisper. Thats how you do diplomacy. With a kiss and an ambush.

 Book 6: Chapter 26: Entirely Justifiable Paranoia

    Book 6: Chapter 26: Entirely Justifiable Paranoia


    When the world finally starteding back together for Sen, it didnt do it all at once. It was more like a patchwork of sensory information that came and went for a while before it finally, almost unwillingly, reassembled into something he could recognize. Even then, it was disorienting. Night had truly fallen. Beneath the canopy of the massive trees in the deep wilds, that meant it was almost lightless at ground level. It wasnt as bad for Sen as it would have been for other people with his body cultivation enhanced vision. Of course, that enhanced vision did depend on there being some light around. Right at first, though, he felt like hed slipped into someher-realm consumed by darkness. He supposed it was a good thing that it took a little longer to regain control of his body or he might have done something foolish.


    By the time he felt his control over his arms and legse back, hed had a little time to limate to the intense darkness. While part of him knew that he couldnt rush the process, it still galled him. Anything could have happened, could <em>be happening</em>, back at the galehouse. He didnt know if the fox could kill Laughing River. With a sigh, he recognized that he really should have asked for that foxs name instead of being intentionally obnoxious. <em>A little too clever for your own good there</em>, <em>Sen</em>, he thought. It had seemed like a winning strategy or at least a strategy less likely to automatically end in violence. Not that he thought that he could avoid all violence. The world had taught him better than that, but he could recognize that his actions sometimes invited it. Now, that stranger was just going to remain a nebulous entity he knew as <em>that fox</em> or <em>that stranger</em>. Granted, they could have just lied to him, but he doubted they came up with a fake name for every person they met. It would have been a clue if nothing else.


    Even so, he couldnt help but worry. He had visions of getting back to the galehouse and finding Laughing River and Li Yi Nuo dead. Worse still, he imagined getting back and finding nothing but a bloody scene with no bodies. With bodies, he would at least know they were dead. Without bodies, it would remain an open question. Even if the fox couldnt kill Laughing River, they absolutely could kill Li Yi Nuo. She wouldnt stand any kind of a chance against those kinds of illusions. Hed only gotten by because he could throw around so many kinds of qi, and hed still lost in the end. When the expected sense of dread didnt manifest, Sen examined his heart. He should be dead. Any cultivator would have killed him the moment they had that kind of advantage. <em>He</em> would have killed him in that situation. That proximity to death should be enough to evoke an emotional response in him. However, it seemed that hed simply crossed some threshold whereing close to death just didnt bother him as it once had. Sen considered it a dubious achievement.


    Pushing himself up to a sitting position, he looked around himself and frowned. The fox hadnt simply left him out there to live or die based on pure chance and the whims of the local spirit beasts. There was a formation around him. It was a strange formation, based on principles he didnt know, and using abination of qi he didnt have time to untangle. Strange as it was, though, he could get a feel for what it did. It was an obscuring formation. <em>Well</em>, <em>damn</em>, <em>thatplicates things</em>, heined to himself. He was very sure that the fox was going to interpret all of this as Sen owing them at least one favor if not two. He wasnt even sure that he could disagree. He was still alive. As much as he wanted to stay and dissect the workings of the formation, his curiosity would have to wait. He only stopped long enough to pluck the formation gs from the ground and drop them in a storage ring forter examination. If he was lucky, he might be able to learn something from them.


    Making his way back to the galehouse in the dark wasnt as slow as hed feared it might be. While his spiritual sense wasnt exactly a recement for daylight, it was enough inbination with his enhanced eyesight to let him avoid most problems. He tripped a couple of times over dead branches he missed. He identally ran into He didnt know exactly what it was. It had been too dark and chaotic for any kind of real assessment. It was some kind of spirit beast that he simply cut down with a flurry of cuts from his jian. Hed put that corpse in a storage ring, too. He figured that hed probably get a beast core out of it, as long as he remembered the thingter. When he got back to the galehouse, though, he hesitated. He remembered how utterly real the foxs illusions had been. He could walk in there and not even know if the fox was in the ce.


    He examined the formations. They seemed to be intact. They shouldnt have let the fox through, but he was woefully limited in his understanding of what they could and couldnt do with their illusions. Could the fox have simply walked right through the formations without triggering them? Sen simply didnt know. He did the best examination of the ground as he could. There were no obvious signs of violence, but he couldnt be sure he wasnt simply looking at another illusion. As his entirely justifiable paranoia grew, he started to understand just why it was that foxes and nine-tailed foxes in particr were feared. If you couldnt trust anything you saw, heard, or even touched, how far off could a descent into madness really be?


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    In the end, though, he couldnt just stand around outside the galehouse. Hed have to go in sooner orter and hope that he wasnt being deceived. Bracing himself, Sen opened the door and walked into the galehouse. After evaluating what he saw, he was fairly certain that he wasnt looking at an illusion. After all, there wouldnt be much point in showing him the scene he was looking at before him. There was food scattered across the table and floor. A broken teapot that made him clench his fists in anger. That was <em>his</em> teapot. The one hed left for the others in the morning as a vague act of kindness. Sure, he had other teapots, but hed used that one the most because he liked it. There were also sshes of blood here and there, although less than he might have expected. The most telling sign that it was real, in his opinion, was the fact that Laughing River was still there and looking none too dignified.


    The elder fox was sitting in a chair but didnt lookfortable. He had one arm pulled in close to rest across his chest. There was a makeshift bandage wound around the foxs head. His robes were inplete tatters. Sen hesitated at that sight, second-guessing his initial assessment. Healing pills and elixirs didnt work instantly but it looked like all of the violence had taken ce at least a few hours before. Long enough that the fox should have been able to take something to speed along the healing process. Sens hand fell to his jian as he focused on the person who might or might not be Laughing River. The fox gave him a smile that was a pale echo of the cheerful ones Sen had seen on that face before.


    Youre wondering if its really me or if this is all just an borate ruse meant to trick you.


    Something like that?


    The fox nodded, winced, and said, Thats the smart way to handle it. Theres no way to be absolutely certain, but you can try asking me questions. Things you think only Ill be able to answer.


    Sen agreed that it was a poor test. Laughing River had shown a rather formidable amount of knowledge that Sen wouldnt have thought he could have. It would only stand to reason that the other fox would have simr abilities. Still, it was probably the best of some very poor solutions to his problem.


    Where did we meet?


    Up on old thunder spears mountain.


    And what did you help me do?


    I helped you find that flower for Caihong.


    Sen kept his face neutral as the fox answered. No need to provide information if it was the stranger.


    What did she give you when you came for our New Year celebration that year?


    Nothing. I wasnt there.


    There hadnt been any of the kind of hesitation hed have expected from someone trying to remember information theyd gotten second-hand.


    What did you say to me at the time about the favor I owed you?


    The fox snickered, which triggered a grimace. Something about how much fun it would be collecting on it.


    Why arent you healing?


    The fox shifted in his seat, which made Sen almost pull his jian free. The fox noticed and held up a hand.


    Easy now. I am healing. Its just not as fast as you think it should be because its mighty hard to find healing aids that work on something as powerful as me. On the flip side, Im still dying. So, that process is interfering with my healing. Its a disgrace that my magnificence has been marred like this.


    Where is Li Yi Nuo? asked Sen.


    He didnt feel any particr loyalty to her, but Sen had wanted to at least get her back to her sect in one piece as a way to help manage the politics. If she was here, hed have thought shed be out and making a fuss already. The foxs expression soured like hed bitten into something rotten before saying what Sen knew he was going to say.


    She was taken.


    Oh, of course she was. Because that was just what this little adventure needed. A hostage situation. I assume that other fox intends to trade Li Yi Nuo for your death or simply getting me not to participate.


    Laughing River gave a desultory nod. Yes, I expect itll be something along those lines.


    I suppose that was n B since thest thing they said to me was that they wereing here to murder you. I dont suppose youd care to exin why another fox is so bent on seeing you die? Or is that normal for foxes?


    Its about as normal as cultivators trying to kill each other, said Laughing River. As for why that particr fox wants me dead, well, thats a ratherplicated story.


    Is it aplicated story? Or is it just a story youd prefer not to tell.


    The fox thought those questions over before he said, Its actuallyplicated. I just also happen to not want to tell it.


    Can you at least tell me who they are? I didnt even get a name.


    Shes my granddaughter. Great-granddaughter? Great-great-granddaughter? Laughing River asked himself as his face scrunched up. You start losing track of the family tree after a while. Let that be a lesson to you.


    To keep track of the family tree? Sen asked in confusion.


    No. Dont have kids.


    Ah, said Sen nomittally.


    Her name is Misty Peak, but shell probably stab you if you call her that. She goes by Sun Linglu, said Laughing River before he gave Sen a thoughtful look. Just how did you escape her?


    Escape? I didnt.


    Then, you should be dead.


    Sen nodded his agreement. She said I was too damned pretty to murder.


    Laughing River rolled his eyes. Kids these days. No sense of priorities.

 Book 6: Chapter 27: The Balance of Favors

    Book 6: Chapter 27: The Bnce of Favors


    Speaking of priorities, said Sen as he pulled out a healing elixir, you should take this.


    The fox shook his head. It wont help.


    It wont <em>hurt</em>, either. And if it speeds things along by even an hour, thats an hour we cant get back another way.


    Oh, fine. Give it here.


    Sen handed over the elixir and casually loomed until the fox drank it. Sen didnt expect that it would work any more than the fox did, but he did think it could take at least a little bit of pressure off Laughing Rivers natural healing. Sen took a few minutes to clean up the spilled food and turn it into ash with a quick application of fire qi. The blood on the floor got simr treatment. He lingered over the shattered teapot, feeling another quiet surge of anger. It had been a good teapot. It distributed heat well and did a reasonably good job of keeping its contents warm. Hed have to pick up another one somewhere on his way back to Fu Runs ce. In the meantime, he gathered up the shattered remains and, uncertain what to do with them, put them into a storage ring. Sen turned his attention back to Laughing River, who looked like the elixir might have helped him a bit.


    So, where do you suppose your granddaughter took Li Yi Nuo?


    The fox lifted an eyebrow. Is that question the product of some nave, sentimental streak? Were rid of her. Thats a good thing.


    No, its a short-term convenience. When this was all over, I nned to get her back to her sect. Well, most of the way back to her sect. If she neveres back, theyll just send someone else to bother me. The most advantageous oue for me is that she survives and goes home to tell them that bothering me is <em>bad</em> for the sects long-term survival.


    The fox made an annoyed face. Thats the kind of thinking that leads to a boring life. Embrace the convenience. Forget about her. Let future you deal with those pesky sect problems.


    Tempting, but no. And, no, Im not going to ignore what we came here for or try to help your granddaughter kill you.


    The fox tried to hide it, but he could see the relief on Laughing Rivers face. Well, good, you shouldnt ignore favors like that.


    However, continued Sen, all of this has moved us well beyond the bounds of any favor I might owe you.


    The fox opened his mouth to say something until he saw the look on Sens face. The look that simply dared the fox to disagree.


    I suppose we have, admitted Laughing River. So, what is it that you want?


    You seem rather knowledgeable about transforming between a human and animal form. Is that a true transformation or just an illusion?


    The fox gave Sen a suspicious look. Its a true transformation.


    Excellent. Well, a friend of mine transformed herself from a panther to a human form. I get the impression that shed like to go back or be able to transform at will. Youre going to help her with that.


    It wont work, said Laughing River. Foxes are <em>supposed</em> to be able to change their forms. Its not like that with other spirit beasts. Its all one-way for them.


    Youre going to try anyway, said Sen.


    Why?


    Even if youre right, <em>she</em> isnt absolutely sure of that yet. I dont want her spending the rest of what will probably be a very long life wondering if she missed something. If an elder spirit beast who is an expert in changing forms tells her that its impossible, shell probably believe it. If that same expert tries to help her change back and it still fails, shell almost certainly believe it.


    Youre assuming that being sure she cant change will be good for Falling Leaf.


    Sen nodded. I am making that assumption. I might be wrong. She may just tell you shes not interested. Maybe false hope is what she needs. If thats the case, your job is done, and were even. I just want her to have the option. Besides, you might be wrong. Maybe she <em>can</em> change back.


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    All of known spirit beast history would suggest that youre wrong about that. Do you think shes the first spirit beast who ever regretted that transformation? There are a lot of benefits but also a lot of sacrifices. There were spirit beasts who spent centuries trying to undo what they did to themselves once the costs became clear. They failed. <em>All of them</em>. Without exception.


    That you know of, countered Sen.


    Please dont tell me that youre counting on the infinitesimal odds that some spirit beast genius, somewhere, managed to pull it off and didnt tell anyone. Ive met Falling Leaf. Shes got more than a little talent and has, Im sure, been helped along in no small part by the field of cosmic absurdity that surrounds you. But shes not a once in ten-thousand-years genius.


    Sen snorted. Im not. I think that youre probably both right that its not possible. Im just hoping that getting that confirmation will provide her with a path to move forward.


    Youre a ridiculous creature, said the fox. You could have asked me for damn near anything, and all you want is for me to help your other girlfriend.


    Shes not my girlfriend. Shes my friend. And I <em>owe</em> her, which means that <em>you</em> now owe her.


    Laughing River shook his head. Fine. Fine. Fine. I suppose if theres anyone in the entire world that can help that foolish panther, it would be this glorious, gifted, and generous nine-tailed fox. The very paragon of


    Humility? asked Sen.


    The fox gave Sen a prating look. Did my granddaughter hit you in the head? Dont answer. She must have if you asked such an absurd question. Perhaps you should drink one of those healing elixirs.


    Sen decided that he didnt need to share that Sun Linglu had, in fact, hit him in the head. <em>No need to give that fox a gift like that</em>, thought Sen.


    Speaking of your beloved kin, do you have any thoughts about what she did with Li Yi Nuo?


    Gods, youre really not going to let that go, are you?


    Im not.


    I dont know what to tell you other than the obvious. She took your sect sweetheart and dragged her away. Theres no reason to do that unless she means to trade the girl to you. She knows that a ploy like that wouldnt work on me. I expect that well get a message of some sort in the next day or two. Or, shell find you again while youre working on that formation of yours.


    Then, it seems prudent that you shoulde along for that.


    Not really. Shed likely just avoid us. She already tried a frontal assault against me and failed. Well, I guess mying along would be good for getting the formation done, but itd be less helpful for getting that girl back.


    Sen eyed the nine-tailed fox. Couldnt you just, I dont know, sniff them out?


    Laughing River tapped a finger against his chin for a little while before he answered. Maybe. Probably not. Misty Peak would have taken measures to hide their trails.


    Is she so good that she could fool you?


    Youre assuming again. If it was just a straightpetition between her and me, Id alwayse out on top because


    Youre grand, magnificent, excellent. Yes, Im aware, said Sen impatiently.


    A good nephew would listen to me boast and take notes. Its an edifying experience, replied Laughing River with a judgmental expression. As for my granddaughter, I have no idea what kind of resources she brought with her. She knew full well what shed be up against. If I was in her shoes, Id have spent a lot of time, effort, and money gathering tools and techniques that could counter me. Or ones that could counter me for long enough to make good an escape.


    Do such things exist?


    Of course, they exist. Whether she could have gotten them, learned them, or afforded them is an open question. But, its more likely that she has them than she doesnt.


    Unless shes desperate. If she figured out what you were up to before she was ready, she might have had to make her move prematurely. Without all of those resources.


    Its possible, said Laughing River with a shrug. I can go out and try to find their trail, but Im warning you now not to get your hopes up.


    Thats fair.


    Sen gave real consideration to pressing the fox for details about why his granddaughter was willing to go through so much effort to keep him from ascending. He was sure that there was a story there. He just wasnt entirely sure it was worth the effort of trying to drag it out of Laughing River. If Sen pushed, he was sure that the fox would tell him <em>a</em> story. Given his reluctance to discuss that matter, though, it was all too likely that it wouldnt be <em>the</em> story. The fox might just weave some convoluted fiction of internecine intrigue and familial woe. Sen suspected that hed get more from Sun Linglu if they crossed paths again. Shed been downright eager to tell him about what a bastard her grandfather was until he made it clear that it wouldnt change anything. Hed have to try to get her talking about it, assuming she didnt just try to kill him again. That was a real concern. She might well try again, but she might wait until they were actually trying to implement the n. That would be the best time for it. Sen sighed.


    So, we need some contingency ns for if and when your darling granddaughter tries to disrupt me getting into the ruins.


    Such as?


    I dont know, but I do know we need them.


    Ever helpful, nephew, said Laughing River. Well, why dont you cook something up? I think we could both use a meal. Then, well see about some contingency nning.

 Book 6: Chapter 28: What Can I Do for You, Misty Peak?

    Book 6: Chapter 28: What Can I Do for You, Misty Peak?


    Laughing River and Sen had stayed up for hours trying to work out options that would let them get Sen into the ruins and then back out again. While they both concluded that getting him in was probably doable, it was the getting him out part that was disquietingly nebulous. Part of that stemmed from the fact that Laughing River had minimal information about what Sen could expect in the city. It might well be nothing but ruins and the temple that were simply guarded by a powerful and ancient protection. After the fox had put that idea forward, the two of them just looked at each other for a beat.


    So, I should assume that all kinds of awful things are waiting for me in there?


    Yes, said Laughing River, and no.


    Oh, thats helpful.


    You misunderstand. The ruins are a holy ce. You wont find devils or their ilk inside, but that doesnt mean you wont encounter other horrors. For some, fighting devils would be preferable to confronting the things that live in their own souls. Those are the kinds of tests and punishments that holy orders use to guard their temples.


    So, why cant you get inside? asked Sen, voicing a question that had been burning inside him for a while. You said there are protections to keep you out. What are they? It cant be the same thing keeping the horde at bay. That has the vor of something aimed against true evil. If the legends are to be believed, nine-tailed foxes arent actually evil.


    The fox gave Sen a big smile. Youre right. Were not evil. Just look at me. How could anything as dashing and charming as me be evil? Unthinkable. No, but those monks were clever indeed. They nted these simply terrible flowers that smell awful. One whiff of that hecious stink and I knew, I needed to send someone else. Someone younger. Someone with a less refined olfactory acuity. Someone used to putting up with a godsawful stench. A human in other words.


    Sen red at the fox. You could have just said you werent going to tell me.


    You could have not asked the stupid question, retorted Laughing River. Would you have answered that question?


    No, Sen admitted.


    There you have it.


    While the possibility of some divine challenge gave Sen a bit of pause, it was the time factor that truly bothered him. He might only be in there for a couple of hours, but if he fell into some kind of trap, it could be much, much longer. While his stores of food would likely let him survive for years in a situation like that, he couldnt expect Laughing River to simply wait an indefinite amount of time for him. Yet, Sen couldnt help but imagine himself getting stuck for a year or five or ten. It wasnt really that long for a core cultivator, but he didnt want to emerge from a trap just to discover he was caught in a city-sized trap surrounded by an impassable horde. That wait came with another problem.


    While Laughing River talked like he was confident about subduing his granddaughter should theye face-to-face again, Sen remembered the condition in which hed found the elder fox. Granted, the nine-tail was recuperating quickly, and Sen had seen the undeniable power still at the foxs disposal, but he wondered if Misty Peak had some trick up her sleeve to give her an advantage over her elder. It left him with the same problem. If he went into the ruins, and she killed Laughing River while he was still inside, he could find himself trapped in the city. Hed <em>really </em>like to have an alternate exit ready to go if it came down to it. Something that didnt rely on someone outside of the city to do something.


    Could we dig a tunnel? asked Sen.


    A tunnel? asked Laughing River.


    Yeah. Could we dig a tunnel from the forest to the city? Just bypass the horde entirely.


    Have you ever dug tunnels before? asked the fox with a serious expression on his face.


    No, said Sen.


    That exins it.


    Exins what?


    Foxes dig burrows for things like tending the young. So, you might say were casual experts about tunnels. This is everything you need to know about tunnels. Theyre dangerously fragile. If you try to dig one without the proper understanding, itll copse on your head.


    Dont you have the proper understanding?


    Sure, if you want a short, shallow tunnel appropriate for something the size of a fox. Youre talking about digging a tunnel that stretches from here to that ruin. Itll have to be big enough for you to get through. Plus, itll have to be deep enough that those spirits in the horde wont sense you. Anything that deep will need the right kind of supports in ce, which I dont know anything about. Then, theres the problem of knowing when youve gone far enough. Thats not apletely insurmountable problem, but it wouldnt be easy. Ive also heard you can run into problems with getting enough air in deep tunnels, said the fox before giving Sen a look. Do you still breathe?


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I do, although Ive never tested whether I can do without it.


    My point is that its a tremendous amount of work, even for a body cultivator like you, with a high probability of failure if you get even one thing wrong.


    Alright, it was just an idea. I dont want to get stuck in those ruins because your granddaughter kills you while Im inside.


    Have faith, Sen. Id never let you get trapped in there with my precious bauble.


    Rely on your overwhelming self-interest in my sess, in other words?


    Precisely! Well make a fox out of you, yet.


    Something to look forward to, I guess.


    Sen excused himself to go get a few hours of sleep before he headed out to tackle the next stage of the formation. When he woke up, he had an idea that might let him ensure his own escape from the ruins if the worst happened. He kept a sharp lookout as he worked his way along the same path hed followed the previous afternoon, setting up a parallel series of formation gs. He worked his way all the way around to the far side of the ruins, just about opposite of where the galehouse was. Hed set the g that was closest to the cleared area around the city before he moved a little deeper into the woods to set a second g. He pulled out a couple of beast cores that were fire attributed. It took a little work, but he finally managed to get the two cores resonating with each other. One went beneath the g, while he kept the second one. If all else failed, he should be able to use the core he kept to trigger the second formation.


    What are you doing? asked a familiar voice.


    Why do you ask, Misty Peak? replied Sen, ncing over his shoulder at the fox.


    He hadnt felt hering. Hadnt sensed anything at all. Assuming this didnt turn into another fight to the death, hed have to pick Laughing Rivers brain for ways to spot a fox that didnt want to be seen. There had to be a way to feel those illusions around him. At the sound of her name, the androgynous fox girl scowled at him.


    That isnt my name. Im Sun Linglu.


    Sen stood and put the core into a storage ring. Hed have to pull it outter and make sure leaving it in the storage ring wouldnt interfere with it resonating properly with the core attached to the formation. Sen gave the fox a thoughtful look.


    You shouldnt be so quick to discard a name. Take it from someone who grew up without one.


    Sen could almost see the angry words shed been about to throw at him die on her lips.


    What do you mean? You have a name, even if everyone calls you by that absurd title.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. Is it a title now? Gods, I hope not.


    What were you talking about when you said you grew up without a name?


    I didnt have a family name until I was, oh, thirteen. Well, I think I was thirteen. I dont know how old I am either.


    The fox girls expression started to go from confused to angry. You didnt babble like this yesterday.


    I never knew my parents, said Sen. I grew up on the streets. No family name. No family story. No idea when I was born. I got the name Lu from a very kind old woman who watched out for me a bit. Until then, I was just Sen. Id have given anything, <em>anything at all</em>, to have a true name. I dont even know if Sen is my real name. Its just what I grew up calling myself.


    The fox girl stared at him in silence for an ufortably long time. Why did you tell me that?


    So that youll know why I call you Misty Peak, instead of the fake name you toss around. You <em>know</em> your name, which is a luxury Ill probably never enjoy.


    I I dont care what you call me, she said, although the wordscked anything like conviction.


    Good. So, what can I do for you, Misty Peak?


    Ivee to talk about the idiotic sect girl.


    Is she alive? asked Sen.


    She is, for now. I assume you want her back in that condition.


    Sen shrugged, which seemed to throw the fox girl off her script. He did want to get Li Yi Nuo back, but not enough to offer up any real concessions. He knew hed have to y the situation just right. He was sure that Misty Peak didnt care about what happened to Li Yi Nuo one way or the other.


    It would be convenient for me to get her back, said Sen. Convenient, but not ultimately necessary.


    From your reputation, Id have thought youd be more loyal to an ally.


    Ally? Oh, youve rather badly misread the situation. Before you, she was thest person who showed up to kill me.


    She what? Why is she still alive?


    I was going to send her home to her sect as both a peace offering and a warning to leave me alone. Like I said, convenient but ultimately not a necessity.


    But why she started but Sen cut her off.


    Nope. You got a question answered. My turn now.


    Sen almost felt bad for the fox as she watched her n copse around her. She rallied, though, and gave him a terse little nod.


    So, what did your grandfather do that was so terrible that youvee this far to act out your revenge?


    Oh, <em>now</em> you want to hear the story. Where was all this burning curiosity when I tried to tell you before?


    Yesterday, there was an even chance that someone sent you to kill me specifically, and you used the fox an as excuse. Today, I know it doesnt have anything to do with me. Now you owe me two answers.


    But Oh fine. You damned humans. You want to know what my grandfather did that was so terrible. He sold us all out. All of the nine-tailed foxes. Hundreds of us died because of him, including my father.


    That gave Sen pause. It was damning if it was true. That story was very short on details though.


    Go on, said Sen.


    What do you mean?


    I mean, youre going to spill family blood. Im given to understand that kind of thinges with some pretty serious karmic consequences, even for a spirit beast, unless this is some kind of formal leadership challenge. This doesnt feel like a challenge. This feels like straight-up murder. So, I have to assume you have more details than that.


    Of course, I do.


    Well, lets hear them.


    Youre an outsider, said Misty Peak.


    Yeah, that might have held up before you followed me out into the forest, attacked me, and dosed me with whatever that was. Ill have questions about thatter, by the way. Once you did all that, though, I became an insider to this situation. Besides, we both know you want me to back off. That isnt ever going to happen unless you tell me something a lot morepelling than a wild and vague usation that he did <em>something</em> that got a bunch of your people killed. So, out with it.

 Book 6: Chapter 29: Answers

    Book 6: Chapter 29: Answers


    The silence between them drew out. There was a quality to it, a kind of sharpness that left Misty Peak certain she would cut herself with the wrong move. She kept her face, well, the face shed chosen for this task, neutral even as her mind raced for the right thing to do. Shed misread everything. The situation. The actual, terrifying strength of her long-estranged grandfather. Most of all, shed misread the man who stood in front of her. In some ways, he frightened her more than Laughing River did. Shed been following her grandfather on and off for a long time, so shed be aware of Lu Sen almost by ident. The elder fox had been It was not spying, never spying, because even traitorous foxes were too dignified for anything as pedestrian as spying. Her grandfather had been surreptitiously checking up on the boy. Following that, she had made a point to learn about the folk hero, Judgments Gale. At least, she thought she had.


    Where shed expected him to be almost mindlessly violent, hed been controlled. No matter what tale shed tell others, she lived only because he hadnt really been trying to kill her. It had taken a little while for that truth to settle into her mind. Shed walked away from that fight feeling pretty good about herself. Shed beaten a folk hero and even stolen a couple of kisses from the ridiculously pretty man. The longer she thought about it, though, andpared what had happened to the kinds of stories shed heard about him, the less good she felt. The man in those tales set the sky on fire, battled spirit beast tides, and singlehandedly ughtered an entire criminal organization. Even if those stories werentpletely true, she was willing to bet there was a lot of truth mixed in. If hed wanted to, he could have simply burned her to ash instead of grabbing her. Hed been trying to <em>stop</em> the fight, not <em>end</em> the fight.


    Now, he was standing there like he didnt have a care in the world. She couldnt stop thinking about that horde less than a half-mile away. One wrong move and all those terrible things could swarm into the forest and destroy everything in their path. And this mad bastard was out in these ursed woods like it was a fine summer day in the city. He was just oh so casually setting up some kind of formation, or was it formations, that she didnt even pretend to understand. It was also painfully obvious that he truly <em>did not care</em> what happened to that girl from the sect. <em>And why would he</em>? <em>If someone showed up looking to kill me, I wouldnt care what happened to them either</em>, she thought. If shed managed to grab someone he did care about, that might have gotten her some leverage. Then again, it might have transformed him into the avatar of doom that everyone already thought he was.


    Grabbing that girl had been a spur-of-the-moment act, anyway. Shed hoped it might pan out but couldnt be all that disappointed that it hadnt gotten her anything. Misty Peak studied the mans face and then had to look away. Looking at him wasnt helping her decide, just distracting her. She didnt need a distraction. Not right that minute, anyway. She shut down the more distracting routes her mind tried to take her by recalling Lu Sens killing intent. Their fight the day before had nearly ended at the moment he released the <em>thing</em> he called a killing intent. It had been abominable, domineering, and beneath it all shed felt a kind of icy wrath. Simply remembering it was enough to make her shudder.


    If you want to take a day and think about it, said Lu Sen, Ive still got a lot of work to do today.


    A quick nce revealed a kind of mild bemusement on the mans face. She red at him, but the man seemed all but immune to it. It wasnt a first, but it was close. She had an excellent re and knew it. What had the man seen that let him shrug off <em>her</em> re? The man was too self-possessed. She was used to knowing what people thought at a nce. Shed learned to rely on that. Now, it felt like she was navigating blind. She didnt know the best course to get what she wanted from the situation. <em>Out with it</em>, hed said. She wondered if she should just do what he wanted, but something quintessential to her nature, her very fox-ness, rebelled at the idea. Foxes didnt do as they were asked. They did as they wished.


    Are the tasks of the mighty Judgments Gale so pressing that he cant give a woman a few minutes to think?


    Is that what you were doing? said Lu Sen with amusement in his eyes. Then, by all means, please proceed.


    She watched as he looked around thoughtfully, nodded to himself, and walked over to a tree. Then, he leaned a shoulder against it and crossed his arms, shooting her a ridiculous grin. He looked so wildly overconfident that she was sure that it was meant as some kind of parody. People like him didnt need to put on acts like that. <em>Is it a ploy</em>? <em>Is he trying to make me second-guess myself</em>? <em>What kind of game is he ying</em>?


    ***


    <em>Im hungry</em>, thought Sen.


    Hed tried to take some of the tension out of the situation by putting a little space between them and leaning against a tree. Hed even tried to give her a friendly smile. It hadnt worked. If anything, the look on her face gave the distinct impression of someone who was constipated. While he waited for her to make some kind of decision, he pulled an apple out of a storage ring. The woman red at the apple like she thought he was going to attack her with it. He summoned another apple and tossed it to her. She grabbed the apple out of the air and then just looked at it like shed never seen one before. <em>Whatever</em>, thought Sen. <em>Maybe foxes dont eat apples</em>. Hed never given much thought to what foxes did or didnt eat. Laughing River hadnt seemed very picky. Sen took a bite out of the fruit in his hand and let himself enjoy the crisp sweetness of it.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He watched her watching him eat the apple. It made him feel a bit awkward having someone spend so much attention on him eating. Not that it stopped him. Sen had developed a fondness for apples in the years before he became a cultivator. Unlike so many other kinds of food, apples held up well. Any food that wouldnt go bad almost immediately was like pure treasure on the streets. He wouldnt go so far as to say that apples had kept him alive, but he wasnt quite willing to say that they hadnt either. While those terrible days of want and suffering were long behind him, the love of apples had remained. He finished the apple and hurled the core deep into the forest. Turning his eyes back on Misty Peak, he saw that she was still just holding the apple.


    If youre not going to eat that, give it back because I will eat it, said Sen, holding out his hand.


    The woman looked from his hand down to the apple she held in her hand. She drew it closer in what looked like apletely unconscious protective action before she took a bite of it. While she was busy eating and thinking about whatever it was that she needed to settle in her head, Sen withdrew the beast core hed stored earlier. He let his qi and spiritual sense wash over it. It was still connected to the other one. There was an almost visible tether between them and he could feel the resonance. <em>Good</em>, he thought. <em>It should work</em>. He stored the beast core and looked up to see that the woman was still studying everything he did. He decided to take inspiration from Laughing River.


    Yes, I am a magnificent specimen of human perfection. I suppose I cant me you for wanting to spend as much time as you can drinking in the glory that is me.


    Sen watched with interest as the womans expression turned to one of embarrassment and her cheeks went a little pink. It only took a moment before her eyes narrowed back into a familiar re.


    Youve been spending too much time with my grandfather.


    It was edifying. He said so himself.


    Im sure he did.


    Since the woman still wasnt bothering to tell him what hed asked about, he decided to ask a different question that had been bothering him a little.


    Is that what you truly look like or do foxes decide how youll look when you transform?


    Misty Peak rolled her eyes. Is that what you want to waste your second question on?


    Yes. Now you owe me another answer.


    For a brief moment, Sen thought the woman might actually stamp her foot in frustration.


    Stop that, she demanded.


    Stop asking me questions if you dont want to answer more of them. Standing here in silence while you brood isnt exactly thrilling. Im just trying to pass the time.


    I wasnt brooding. Brooding is reserved for men with inted opinions of themselves. The kind of men who believe theyre deeper and more interesting than they are. I was thinking. You should try it sometime.


    Sen pressed a hand to his chest and feigned a wince. Are you saying that Im thoughtless? Well, Ill certainly have to brood about that.


    I bet you think youre charming.


    I wouldnt know, said Sen. Ive been told that I have the social instincts of a tree stump. That sounded pretty usible to me. You still havent answered my question, by the way. Either question, actually.


    Misty Peaks lipspressed into a white line. Sen wondered if she was going to yell at him or even leave. In the end, she just shook her head.


    We decide.


    Interesting. So, does that mean you dont have a natural human form, or that you decide if youre going to adopt that form or something else each time?


    Why do you care? asked an exasperated Misty Leaf before realization struck her. Wait-


    Oh, Im just a curious man, by nature, said Sen with a big smile.


    We have a natural human form, said the fox through clenched teeth. We decide each time if well adopt it.


    Will you show me what you really look like? asked Sen.


    No, said Misty Peak with an expectant look in her eye.


    Sen knew that she wanted him to ask her why. It would let her reim control of the conversation. He cocked his head to one side.


    I understand, said Sen with a sympathetic tone and a knowing look. So, you were about to tell me what your grandfather did.


    Sen had to work hard to contain hisughter as he saw the strain it put on the fox to not ask him what he had meant with that <em>I understand</em>ment. He had to give her credit, though. She forced the question down.


    I dont see anypelling reason why I should tell you, said Misty Peak.


    Maybe there isnt one. Of course, telling me doesnt really cost you anything, either. Worst case, nothing changes. You havent gained anything, but you havent lost anything. Best case, you convince me.


    You dont strike me as someone who changes their mind very often.


    Sen shrugged. In that case, Ill leave you to decide what to do with the rest of your day. I do need to get on with my work.


    She let him get almost twenty steps before she called out after him. Stop.


    Sen looked back at her. Yes?


    Ill tell you.


    Sen walked back and leaned against the same tree again. Something about that seemed to annoy the woman, but he couldnt for the life of him figure out what.


    Regale me with your tale, said Sen.

 Book 6: Chapter 30: Traitor

    Book 6: Chapter 30: Traitor


    What do you know about nine-tail foxes? asked Misty Peak.


    Sen gave her a smirk and started to count on his fingers. The fox looked like she might actually lose a bit of her sanity when he did that, so Sen took a little pity on her.


    Lets assume that I know nothing about your people, or at least not enough to matter for this conversation.


    She frowned a little. It would be easier if you <em>did </em>know something. If you didnt know, foxes arent like other spirit beasts in a lot of ways. Were born with more, well, I guess youd call it self-awareness. We develop more like humans than beasts. We dont have to evolve out of being feral is what I mean. We also interact more with humans, which probably reinforces all of that. Because were more like humans, were a lot more fractured than most kinds of spirit beasts. Its more like loosely associated ns than a society. But there is a hierarchy based on how many tails you have and how much power you hold.


    Wait, said Sen. Arent those the same things for you? Number of tails and amount of power, I mean.


    Its about as true as the rtionship between your cultivation advancement and power. Generally speaking, more tails does equal more power. Much like having a higher advancement means having more power. As you well know, though, its not anything like an absolute. Some people are more naturally gifted and can get more out of what they have, which lets them bridge the gap. Some people, she said, giving him a look, are freakish anomalies who just ignore pesky things like the differences between levels of advancement and do whatever the hells they want anyway.


    Sen rolled his eyes. Its not as simple and carefree as I make it look.


    If you say so. At any rate, those same kinds of discrepancies exist among foxes just like they do among human cultivators. Some foxes are just better at being foxes. They advance faster, hold more power, and exert more authority. Once you get to be a true nine-tail fox, youre in a position to order around pretty much any other fox you meet. Ill give you one guess about the identity of the most powerful nine-tailed fox.


    Laughing River? asked Sen in a tired voice.


    Oh, good. You can draw straight lines when someone holds your hand.


    A piece of Sen felt like he ought to be surprised, but he really wasnt. Hed been running around with stupidly powerful beings for a long time now. What was one more? Still, it wasnt good news. If he was just some random fox, the whole betrayal thing seemed far-fetched. If he was something with a lot of authority among the foxes, it became more usible. Not necessarily likely but usible.


    Yeah, I can sip tea all by myself, too, said Sen. So, grandpa nine tails is a big mover and shaker among your fox ns.


    More like <em>the</em> big mover and shaker. He was, at any rate.


    So, this is where wee to the big betrayal?


    Misty Peak nodded. There are only a handful of foxes who have the power to call a gathering of all the foxes. He was one of them. And thats exactly what he did.


    All of them? Like every single one in the world?


    She hesitated at that. I suppose he could have, but it would have taken years for it to happen. He called for a gathering of all the foxes in this part of the world.


    The whole continent?


    For all intents and purposes, yes. We were to gather at a ce near the Mountains of Sorrow.


    Sen nodded. A midpoint for everyone. Makes sense. Go on.


    It wasnt a popr decision, as you might imagine. Were independent by nature, but most of the foxes went. The older and more powerful ones in particr. Laughing River had issued the summons, and you dont defy the most powerful fox alive. After they arrived, they were ughtered to thest man and woman. Yet, somehow, he survived a mass execution that killed every other true nine-tailed fox. All of our elders. You dont just walk away from something like that unless youre involved.


    Sen let all that information roll around in his head. There were holes in her reasoning, big ones, but he could understand why she thought what she did. All other things being equal, the person who survived when no one else did was usually either absurdly lucky or profoundly guilty. In her shoes, hed probably make the same assumptions. That didnt change the fact that they <em>were</em> still assumptions. He also got the impression that this wasnt especially recent. It had the feeling of a story that Misty Peak had heard from someone, rather than events she remembered herself. If it had happened in her lifetime, Sen suspected that it had happened very, very early in her lifetime. Sen knew better than anyone that stories had a way of mutating over time.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    There was also something eerily familiar about the story. The details werent exactly the same, but it was close enough to what had happened to the ghost panthers to make Sen wonder. Had Laughing River summoned them all there to decide if they were going to bow down to some kind of spirit beast king? Still, it didnt sound like the foxes had been hunted to near-total extinction. Had they been too spread out or was it just a betrayal? Sen didnt have enough information, and he didnt think Misty Peak had the information to give him. He was going to have to talk Laughing River. That thought raised a pertinent question.


    Did anyone actually talk to Laughing River after it happened? asked Sen.


    Why would we? You dont let a traitor justify themselves to you.


    Sen was tempted to challenge that entire line of thought, but he could see from her face that it wouldnt do any good. No argument based on pure logic was going to sway her thinking.


    Thank you for telling me, said Sen.


    You dont believe me, Misty Peaks almost snarled.


    I dont think youre trying to mislead me if thats what you mean. I believe that you believe what you said.


    But <em>you</em> dont believe it.


    I dont know what to believe, said Sen. Youve been living with this your entire life. This happened to your people. Ive been living with it for about two minutes. It happened to a people Im not going to pretend that I understand. I have to believe that there are nuances here that Im not getting. Most importantly, Ive only heard your side.


    What more do you need to hear? He betrayed us. Most of our people died. Itll be centuries before we recover if we ever do.


    And what if someone used you of something like this?


    Fury lit Misty Peaks eyes. I would never betray my people like that! How dare you even suggest it!


    Sen held up his hands in what he hoped would be seen as a cating gesture. I believe you. But <em>what if</em> someone did? Wouldnt you want <em>somebody</em> toe and ask you about it before they signed your death warrant?


    She wanted to say <em>no</em>. It was written all over her face that she wanted to tell him that he shouldnt go and ask, but hed backed her into a corner. No one would want to be used of such a heinous crime and then be dered guilty without ever getting to defend themselves. He could also tell that she hated him a little bit for making her confront that basic truth. Sen understood. Shed set out on what she saw as a righteous mission of well-deserved vengeance. He had made her put herself into her grandfathers ce, if only for a moment or two. He suspected that had taken some of the glow of righteousness off what shed been doing. He knew he wouldnt thank someone for doing that to him. And it wasnt as though he had a real opinion about it one way or the other.


    Laughing River might be guilty. He may well have sold out his people to ensure his own survival. He didnt seem quite that ruthless to Sen, but dying could change a person. He might have been more callous a few hundred years back. He might also be the sole survivor of something that Sen wouldnt wish on anyone. That was the kind of experience that would scar someone forever. The only way to find out was to do what Sen had suggested and talk to the elder fox. Sen hoped that it wasnt true because that would put him in a tough spot. Misty Peak had remained in a seething silence while Sen thought things over. When she finally did speak, it came out as a hoarse whisper.


    Yes. I would want someone to talk to me.


    Sen offered a single inclination of his head as a response. He didnt rub in his victory. It wasnt the kind of victory you celebrate if your brain was working properly. He was also distracted by a random thought that seemed to spring out of nowhere. A thought that made him want to start banging his head very hard against something very solid.


    If Laughing River was or is the most powerful nine-tail fox, and youre his granddaughter, Sen said almost against his will, does that make you some kind of nine-tail fox princess?


    The question seemed to leave Misty Peak a little flummoxed.


    What? I mean, we dont really have that sort of thing, but I guess you humans might think of it that way. Why?


    Gods damn it, said Sen as he directed a baleful re toward the sky. Not. Funny.


    Who are you talking to? asked the fox.


    The universe, muttered Sen. The big, stupid, <em>not funny</em> universe.


    I dont understand what you mean.


    Politics. Never get involved in politics. Youd think it would be easy, right? But, no! Apparently, its not easy at all if youre me.


    Politics? Whats political?


    Oh,e on! Youre brighter than that. Whatever your personal feelings about all this are, hes a king or the next best thing to it. You arent talking about killing your grandfather. Youre talking about deposing a monarch. It doesnt get any more political than that. And, since youre basically a princess, its not just deposing a king. Its a coup.


    Misty Peak just stared at him with her mouth hanging open a little. Shaking his head, Sen decided that hed had enough formation building for one day. He just turned and started trudging away in the direction of the galehouse. <em>Maybe some spirit beast will choose today to be monumentally stupid and pick a fight with me on the way back</em>, thought Sen. <em>I could use something to take out my frustrations on</em>.


    Wait, shouted the fox. Where are you going?


    To have an incredibly awkward conversation with a king, answered Sen. <em>Again</em>.

 Book 6: Chapter 31: Alternate Explanation

    Book 6: Chapter 31: Alternate Exnation


    Sen thought that Misty Peak might follow him, but a nce backward showed that she had either left or hidden herself with one of those nigh-impregnable fox illusions. <em>I wish I could learn that</em>, thought Sen. <em>How many problems would that let me just t-out avoid</em>? It was a pleasant fantasy. He saw himself just strolling through that monster horde and walking into the ruins. No fighting. No disaster. Easy. Of course, if he could just learn it, he expected that Laughing River would have taught him. The man might be dying, but he wasnt anywhere close to deaths door. If spending a little time to teach Sen would have vastly improved their odds of sess, it seemed rather unlikely that the fox would have rushed them out to try to do it a much harder way with much lower odds of aplishing their goal. <em>I guess I cant be good at everything</em>, thought Sen a little mournfully.


    After giving it a little thought, he concluded that one probably needed to be born a fox to use the illusions they did. Either that, or you needed very specific qi types at your disposal. While Sen had several qi types avable to him, he suspected that he didnt have all the ones he would need. He had shadow qi, but reason suggested that light would y some role in the process. He didnt really understand light and had never cultivated for it, but he recalled Uncle Kho mentioning that color and light were rted somehow. It had sure seemed like the illusions that Misty Peak used involved colors. Hadnt she blended right into the background?


    Sen chased a few more idle thoughts on the topic but soon dismissed them. What he was doing was little better than guessing, and that was foolish at best when it came to matters of qi and cultivation. If he really wanted to know, he should just ask one of the foxes. Of course, that presumed that Laughing River didnt kill him in a fit of rage for bringing up the elder foxs supposed participation in a mass ughter of nine-tail foxes. No, that shouldnt be problematic at all. Given how cagey the other one had been, Sen doubted that she was going to reveal fox illusion secrets to him. Not that he could me her for that. Its not like they were friends, and even friends often held secrets like that very close. He might very well go the rest of his life without getting any answers to those questions.


    As he made his way back to the galehouse, he found himself increasingly disappointed by the good sense of the local spirit beasts. He thought he caught telltale signs of a few of them, but none were brave enough to attack him. Probably as nervous about drawing the attention of that horde as I am, thought Sen. However, the horde had seemed oddly disinterested in anything happening in the forest. He and Misty Peaks hadnt thrown around a lot of shy techniques when they fought, but hed certainly used a lot of qi for some of what he did. He had to imagine that she was throwing quite a bit of it around as well, even if he hadnt been able to sense it. He reminded himself to add that problem to the list of things to ask Laughing River about if the fox didnt kill him. Still, they were close enough during that fight that the beasts and spirits in that horde should have been able to sense what was happening. Their totalck of apparent interest was odd.


    Sen supposed that, on bnce, it was good luck that they didnt seem to care what happened in the forest. It boded well for himpleting his formations with minimum disruptions. Assuming that the fox woman didnt decide that killing him was the most efficient way to solve her problem. Unfortunately, Sen could see quite clearly that removing him <em>was</em> the most efficient solution to her problem. If she could do it without killing him, that seemed to suit her. It didnt mean she wouldnt fall back on the whole killing Sen n if he didnt just leave on his own. If she did turn up again, hed have to see if he could talk her into letting Li Yi Nuo go. He thought hed sold the fox woman on the idea that the sect cultivator was of no value to her goals. Given the circumstances, keeping Li Yi Nuo would be an unprofitable inconvenience for Misty Peak. That might be a good enough reason to simply release her. It could also be a reason to simply get rid of her. Hed have to cautiously sound the fox woman out if they crossed paths again.


    Sen was surprised to find the galehouse empty when he got there. It seemed that Laughing River might have actually gone out looking for the trail. Maybe hed even found it. Sen felt a little surge of hope. It would make his future life much less problematic if the elder fox managed to retrieve Li Yi Nuo. <em>It would also be nice if someone else cleaned up a problem for once</em>, thought Sen knowing it was wildly unfair and inurate even as it passed through his head. He wasnt wholly responsible for this problem, but hed certainly yed a part. He also knew that other people had cleaned up his messes for him before. He couldnt feel too put upon if it fell to him from time to time to fix problems he hadnt really caused. He did think it probably was fair if heined about it in the confines of his own mind. When the fox returned alone, Sen struggled to hide his disappointment. The fox, ever sensitive to social cues, picked up on it anyway.


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    I honestly did try to track them down, said the Fox in an unnecessary defense. Misty Peak is adept, even for a fox.


    You warned me it probably wouldnt work. It just would have been one less worry about if you had found her. I know Im always happier when I can move something off of my te.


    Yes, I expect thats true. Still, you seem rather distracted. Did my fair granddaughter pay you another visit?


    Sen had hoped to put the conversation off for a little while longer, but he supposed it wouldnt be any more ptable in an hour.


    She did. She told me a story that I think we need to talk about.


    The foxs expression didnt change, but Sen still got the distinct impression that Laughing River was suddenly and profoundly tense. He gave Sen a long look, as though he could read something from Sens posture. Laughing River gave a curt nod as he walked over to a chair and sank into it slowly, looking more like an old man than Sen had ever seen before. The fox was very quiet for several minutes before he looked over at Sen.


    I expect the story goes something like this. I called for a gathering of the foxs elders and then sold them out, resulting in almost all of them dying. So, Im a traitor and deserve to die for it. Something along those lines?


    Something like that, agreed Sen.


    And?


    And what?


    What did you decide? asked Laughing River.


    I didnt. Ill tell you what I told Misty Peak. Ive only heard one version of this story. This is too big of an issue for me to just ept the first thing someone tells me about it. So, Ill listen if you want to tell me your version of what happened.


    The foxpsed into an ufortable silence while staring off into the distance. However, Sen suspected the fox was staring into a distant time, rather than toward a distant ce. A shudder ran through Laughing River, and then he started to speak.


    I imagine the bare bones of what she told you was mostly true. I did summon the other foxes. They did all die. It just wasnt any kind of betrayal on my part.


    No? So, what did happen?


    The fox gave Sen a sharp look at that question. You really have to ask? After all those years with that ghost panther, did you ever ask her what happened to her people?


    I did, but the situations arent exactly the same now, are they? Unless you and your granddaughter are the veryst nine-tail foxes in the world.


    The fox grimaced. No, I guess we didnt have it quite as bad as they did. Of course, there were a lot more of us. They seemed content just to wipe out the strongest of the foxes. I suppose they figured that it would just be too hard to track down <em>all</em> of the foxes. Were too good at hiding.


    So are ghost panthers from what Ive seen.


    Its not the same. Ghost panthers were good at sneaking around and not getting noticed, but they were always ghost panthers. It limited the way they thought. Foxes could be anyone or pretend to be anyone. We can slip into human cities and blend in. Its hard to kill spirit beasts who look and act just like everyone else in a crowd. We could just disappear.


    You have to admit that it doesnt look good that you were the only one to survive that particr massacre. It rather paints you as an aplice.


    Laughing River gave Sen a look so hard that he leaned back from the nine-tail fox.


    Who said I was the only survivor? I wasnt the only fox who made it out alive. I made <em>sure</em> I wasnt the only one. I only managed to save a dozen or so. I wanted to save more, but the numbers they sent after us It was all I could do. I cut those bastards down by the dozens, but it just wasnt enough.


    <em>Oh</em>, <em>this is not good</em>, thought Sen. He could feel himself getting pulled down into someone elses problem like hed been caught in a whirlpool. The elder fox might be lying, but it was a strange choice for a lie. It stood to reason that someone, not Sen if he had his way, but someone else could check to see if those foxes were still alive or had been after the supposed betrayal.


    Someone convinced Misty Peak that you were the only survivor. She believes it.


    Some part of this didnt add up for Sen. How could Laughing River not know that this story was going around about him?


    No wonder shes been hounding me for all these years.


    How is this new to you? asked an incredulous Sen. How could you not know about any of this?


    The fox took a long, long time to respond. I never went back.


    To the other foxes?


    How could I? How could I face them? demanded the fox in a voice made unsteady by barely controlled emotion. How I could face their <em>children</em> when I failed them all so badly? They were better off without me.

 Book 6: Chapter 32: You Should Come Inside

    Book 6: Chapter 32: You Should Come Inside


    Sen had no ready answer to that emotional outburst. Hecked even a basic frame of reference, let alone the necessary experience to understand what the fox had been through. Sen possessed no wisdom to offer. He didnt even have an empty titude he could mouth. His only sce was that Laughing River likely didnt expect him to provide any of those things. He hadnt really been asking questions. That was just the form the foxs grief and apparent guilt had taken in the moment. So, Sen remained silent while the fox regained hisposure. It didnt go quite the way Sen expected. Instead of looking lost or sad, the foxs expression grew stony in a way that left Sens insides feeling abruptly cold.


    It appears I may have been hasty in my decision to leave my people be, said Laughing River. After we finish our business here, it seems that I may need to go correct some wrong assumptions.


    Sen got the distinct impression that tranted into Laughing River killing the foxes who had started that rumor about him in the first ce. It almost had to be the foxes hed saved from the massacre. He supposed theyd seen an opportunity when Laughing River voluntarily stepped away from all of the foxes. They could have invented some story about how they were dyed and missed the ughter through luck or something simr. They would have all needed to be on the same page, though. Sen wondered if there had been some attrition in that group on the way home from the disaster. It sounded cold-blooded, but he supposed ambition often was cold-blooded in a way that made any obstacle look like it needed to be removed permanently. Hed seen enough evidence of that from the sect members hed been unfortunate enough to encounter over the years. The one thing that Sen knew was that he wanted to be far, far, <em>far</em> away from whatever corrections that Laughing River had in mind.


    You should probably start with your granddaughter, observed Sen, trying to keep the fox focused on the immediate problems in their vicinity. Were going to have a hard time finishing this little project of yours if she actively interferes. And shes going to get a lot of opportunities to interfere.


    Laughing River eyed Sen like he thought the cultivator was trying to trick him but gave a reluctant nod.


    I suppose I should. I guess Ill have to go try to find them for real.


    Seriously? What were doing all morning if you werent looking for them?


    I found a nice tree to take a nap in, said the fox with zero shame.


    You could have found them all along? demanded Sen.


    Oh, no. I wasnt lying about it being a very difficult task, even for someone with my extraordinary skills. I just wasnt motivated.


    Why?


    I dont like that sect girl. You didnt seem inclined to just kill her and be done with it. I figured that since my darling granddaughter injected herself into the situation, Id let her deal with it and spare your fragile conscience.


    You <em>know</em> why I dont want her dead, said Sen.


    Something about sects and, I dont remember, something else. It all sounded very tedious.


    Sen desperately wanted to yell at the fox, but he suspected that Laughing River was intentionally irritating him to reim some ground after having exposed such raw emotions. Shaking his head, Sen tried to think about calming things like choking the fox into unconsciousness. That mental image helped him feel a lot better.


    What are you thinking about? asked the fox. That smile is positively creepy. Dont ever smile like that at anyone you dont intend to kill.


    Sen looked directly at Laughing River without changing his expression and said, Noted.


    How droll, said the fox. Alright, I guess Ill go start searching for real. No time like the present to start finding out who I need to go murder for telling lies about me.


    Dont foxes lie all the time? asked Sen, feeling a little confused about where foxes drew the line about lying.


    Of course we do, but not about things that matter. Well, not about things that matter to us. What happened that day matters to every single nine tail fox alive, and foxes are lying about it. I wont let <em>that</em> stand.


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    A lot of questions half-formed in Sens mind before he decided that it just wasnt worth it. You know what? Im not even going to try to unravel that madness.


    For the best, really. That kind of work should be left to professionals.


    Professional what?


    Liars, said Laughing River with a bit of his old cheering back. If my granddaughter shows up here, you should try to keep her here.


    Why would she show up here? And how would I get her to stay?


    As for why shed show up here, who knows? But she keeps tracking you down, so its not impossible. As for keeping her here, the fox gave Sen a scathing look, try batting your eyshes at her, or propositioning her, or hitting her on the head. Honestly, Im starting to wonder if <em>you</em> were dropped on your head repeatedly as a child.


    Sen almost stifled a groan.


    Well, Im still here putting up with your antics, so it seems entirely too probable.


    Heh. A little on the nose, but thats the right spirit, said Laughing River before he slipped out the door.


    A few minutester, after realizing he didnt actually have anything specific to do, Sen went outside. There was still some daylight left but not enough for him to reasonably get much more of the formation made before night fell. He briefly considered doing some alchemy, but the entire situation had left his mind feeling dull and wrung out. That was the wrong ce to be when working with materials that might literally explode in your face if you treated them the wrong way. He thought he could probably force the necessary level of rity if it mattered, but there was nothing he <em>needed</em> to make that badly. Instead, he decided to work through his jian forms. That was something that didnt depend so much on him thinking as him finding the appropriate kind of mental state. Fortunately, it was a state of calm emptiness. He could do calm emptiness.


    It also helped that pure muscle memory would do a lot of the work for him. There was still some room for improvement since his body cultivation advanced. It seemed like a long time ago to Sen with so much having happened since then, but it hadnt truly been that long. With more fights in the near future being a near-certainty, it was as ideal a time as any to work out a few more of those kinks. Despite having done some of those forms thousands of times, they still felt vaguely off to Sen as the precision hede to expect wasnt quite there. He stopped after one particrly sloppy parry. <em>Youre still thinking too much</em>, Sen admonished himself. <em>Do first</em>, <em>and then analyze</em>. Sen resumed the first stance of the form and just stayed there for nearly five minutes. He let all of his recent concerns about Li Yi Nuos sect, the horde, the ruins, and what he might find in them drop away one by one. Only when his mind was truly clear, did he begin.


    Rather than trying to figure out what to fix as he went through the forms, he just did them. He was viscerally aware of when things felt wrong but let that information fade into the back of his mind. He didnt analyze anything. He just did. As hepleted one form and moved to the next, he was vaguely aware that things were happening more smoothly. By not trying to fix every little thing, hed given his body room to find more of an equilibrium between the stringent demands of the martial exercises and his bodys new capacities. It wasnt perfect. The body cant think its way through problems, but not all of the problems needed that kind of attention. Only after hed gone through all the forms he knew, including the one hed almost identally picked up from Shi Ping, did he stop and start letting his mind analyze what had been going on.


    Sen knew better than most how important control was when using a fist or using a de. Yet, looking back, he could see that hed been trying to overcontrol things in spots. When hed let go of that, some of the problems had self-corrected. The ces where there were still issues were ces where hed have to go back and practice individual moves until he relearned how they should feel under new conditions. He expected some people would find the work dreadfully dull, but it was the price of mastery. He was about to get started when he heard pping. He spun toward the sound. Sen found himself wondering if that damned old fox was a diviner. Misty Peak was smirking at him as she pped a little more.


    That was quite the performance, she said.


    It really wasnt, said Sen.


    The fox woman gave him a skeptical look. It looked pretty solid from over here.


    The formations must be clouding your vision, said Sen. Arent you worried that your grandfather is going toe back?


    No. Hes off trying to find me. I put down a false trail for him to follow. Itll be at least another hour before he figures it out.


    Id have thought youd have something better to do thane and watch me. I mean, hostages dont feed themselves.


    They dont keep themselves quiet, either,ined Misty Peak. I have to gag her to get a moment of peace.


    You could just let her go, said Sen. Surely, youve realized by now that shes useless as leverage.


    Dont be silly. I cant just <em>let</em> her go. What will you give me for her?


    I can probably find some loose pebbles around here somewhere.


    Misky Peak gave Sen a little pout. Well, thats not much of a gift, is it?


    Shes not much of a hostage.


    The fox woman looked past Sen, frowned, and gestured at the galehouse. Where do these things keeping from?


    Sen looked over his shoulder at the stone building and said, I make them.


    Really? asked Misty Peak with an expression of genuine surprise.


    A hand dropped onto the fox womans shoulder and mped down as Laughing River stepped out of nowhere. There was an expression of pure dread on Misty Peaks face.


    He really does, said Laughing River. You shoulde inside and see it for yourself.

 Book 6: Chapter 33: What Did I Just Say?

    Book 6: Chapter 33: What Did I Just Say?


    Sen watched with a mixture of amusement and sympathy as Laughing River dragged Misty Peak toward the galehouse. The fox woman reacted like a feral cat that had just been seized by something bigger. She kicked, scratched, thrashed, and screamed. Sen could just barely sense energy movement of some kind. He assumed that the pair of foxes were exchanging techniques that remainedrgely hidden by virtue of their fox natures. Based on the growing look of shock and horror on Misty Peaks face, Laughing River was shutting her down <em>hard</em> and making it look easy. Sen supposed that the elder fox had gotten injured in the earlier confrontation because hed been caught off guard or simply hadnt been inclined to bear personal witness to another foxs death. Sen couldnt really me him if it was thetter. Now, Laughing River had an agenda and he wasnt going to let a little tantrum by his granddaughter get in the way.


    Laughing River looked over to Sen and said, Ill need a little privacy to discuss some things with my granddaughter.


    Sen nced at Misty Peak, who gave him a desperate, pleading look as she tried in vain to escape her grandfathers iron grip. He realized that he probably <em>could</em> intervene here. He had some leverage and even some tenuous moral authority. They had both dragged him into things he wanted no part of, things that had or would endanger his life, and they both knew it. If Sen put his foot down, there was a decent chance that they would both listen. Of course, that might well also put him in the position of needing to moderate everything between the two from here on out. That was a job he didnt want. This wasnt the first time hed been in a position like this, either. Hed learned the hard way in that capital that there was simply no ce for him in other peoples royal politics. His good intentions were no substitute for direct knowledge and personal experience. If Laughing River and Misty Peak were going to make peace, it was on them to work out the details.


    This all strikes me as family business, said Sen. Things didnt go very well thest time I inserted myself into that kind of affair. So, Im going to sit this one out.


    Laughing River simply offered Sen a curt nod, while Misty Peak looked ready to start yelling at him. Thatsted until elder fox started dragging toward the galehouse again amid increasingly hysterical protests. <em>I really hope he doesnt kill her</em>, thought Sen. He didnt think that was what Laughing River had in mind, but Sen had misread people before. In the end, though, all of it was fundamentally other peoples problems. Hed gotten sucked into the middle of it through sheer proximity and nothing more. If Laughing River hadnt dragged him out into the middle of the wilds, if Misty Peaks hadnt tried to intervene, he wouldnt know or care about any of what those two had to talk about. He sort of wished that he hadnt learned what he had about the situation.


    He felt sorry for the foxes, in an abstract way, that things had turned out the way they did, but he was verymitted to the idea of staying out of other peoples problems whenever he could. It wasnt that he believed that was realistic. There were already too many people showing up at random and trying to get him involved for that tost. But he was going to do what he could to maintain that not getting involved policy for as long as he could. Getting back to Fu Run and her version of training would help a lot with that. It kept him out of sight, if not out of mind, and nicely inessible to most people. The kinds of people who could reach him there were the same kinds of people who would be generally uninterested in picking a fight with a supposedly crazy nascent soul cultivator.


    While he might not <em>like</em> shamelessly hiding behind someone elses power, he was starting to see that it could have advantages. And it wasnt as if hed gone to Fu Run asking to hang around her house for years. Shed insisted on it. If he was going to put up with the situation, he might as well extract a few benefits out of it. He reasoned that if he could keep that up for a while without too many excursions into the regr world, and then stay low profile for a while, he might be able to grow his own strength to the point where people would think twice about trying to strong-arm him into doing what they wanted. It wasnt a foolproof n because it depended on things happening the way he wanted them to happen, but he decided it was better than no n at all.


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    Sen heard a thump and the walls of the galehouse shivered for a moment. It brought Sen out of his spective reverie. Shaking his head, he ignored it. Instead, he returned to what hed been doing before hed been interrupted. With a bit of a break, he was able to objectively evaluate where he was weak and start working on those parts of his jian forms. It was slow, methodical work, but the repetition of moves let him fall into a meditative frame of mind. It was a state that let him look at his shorings without the judgment that can cloud someones thinking about their own skill level. After a couple of hours of that, night had fallen. Sen could have kept working, but there was a point at which you simply werent going to wring any more improvements out of a day. Hed built his skills over years. Correcting his current deficiencies wasnt the work of a day.


    Instead, with the galehouse still hosting the impromptu fox royal summit, Sen turned his mind to the matter of dinner. He ended up making several small fire pits with earth qi. He set one up as a spit to roast some meat. He cheated outrageously with fire qi to condense a modest pile of wood into a nice bed of coals and then buried some sweet potatoes to roast. A third fire was used to cook the all-important rice. Thest fire pit was used to cook up some dumplings that Sen found hiding in a storage ring. He knew he must have prepared them at some point but couldnt remember exactly when. Since food never went bad in a storage ring, they literally could have been in there for years. When the food was all more or less cooked, he made a pot of tea. When there was still no sign of the foxes, Sen checked his annoyance and went over to the galehouse. He opened the door and stuck his head in. Misty Peaks was sullenly staring away from her grandfather, while Laughing River was standing a few feet away from her looking positively imperious.


    Hey, said Sen, causing both foxes to shoot him res, youve been at this for hours. Theres food now. You can argue some more after you eat.


    Both res softened a bit at those words. Sen didnt wait to see if either of them would say anything, he just pulled his head out of the galehouse and closed the door. It took a few minutes, but the foxes dide out. The foxes found seats and gave each other unhappy, sidelong looks while Sen dished up food. As the food umted on each te, though, the foxes started looking at the food and him more than each other. He handed them each a te. Laughing River had seen Sen cook before, although it was usually less extravagant. Misty Peak was giving him a look like she didnt quite know how she was supposed to lodge this new information into her perception of him. He just smiled at her. Then, he poured them each a cup of tea. After he handed those out, he gave the foxes both a stern look.


    Someone, and Im not asking who, but someone broke my favorite teapot while you two scuffled yesterday. I expect it to be reced, said Sen.


    Laughing River gave Misty Peak a very distinct <em>I told you so</em> look. The fox woman sighed and nodded at Sen.


    I broke it. Ill see to it that you get a recement.


    Good, said Sen. With that out of the way, its time to eat.


    The three barely exchanged a word as all of the food slowly vanished. It was Misty Peak who finally broke the silence with a question for Sen.


    Arent you going to ask how its going?


    Nope, said Sen.


    You arent curious?


    Im not interested, said Sen, and then rified. Rather, lets say that the less I know, the less likely I am to get dragged any further into fox politics. I dont want random foxes thinking that I had anything to do with whatever you two finally decide about all of this.


    You really think itll be that easy? asked Laughing River.


    No, said Sen, but I can hope. Ive already got mortal humans thinking Im okay with interfering with their governments. There are zero benefits to me if the foxes start thinking the same thing. Thats a caravans worth of trouble that I dont need or want. It might be inevitable, but I dont have to help things along by actually weighing in on any of it.


    It seems like youve given this a lot of thought, observed Misty Peak.


    Thats probably because I have.


    And if I asked for your opinion? asked Laughing River.


    Dont, said Sen. Im happy to make food and give you somewhere to squabble in peace, but thats as far as Im willing to go. Youve already made one of <em>your</em> problems into <em>my</em> problem, and I let you. Ill be much less amodating if you try to do it again.


    Misty Peak looked stunned that Sen had spoken to her grandfather that way, but the elder fox just gave Sen an approving nod. Then, Laughing River turned to Misty Peaks.


    <em>That</em> is what you do when someone says something stupid to you like <em>your grandfather helped to murder a bunch of foxes</em>.


    Sen threw his hands into the air. What did I <em>just</em> say?!


    The elder fox just howled inughter.

 Book 6: Chapter 34: Slowing Down

    Book 6: Chapter 34: Slowing Down


    The foxes disappeared inside the galehouse again after the meal was over, but it had a perfunctory look to it. Less of them resuming an argument and more of Laughing River preparing to tell Misty Peaks how things were going to be. Sen wasnt sure if that was a sign that the elder fox had convinced his granddaughter or if she was just going along to see how things yed out. Even if she said she was convinced, it didnt really mean anything until she packed up and left. Again, he was perfectly happy to steer clear of it. Sen supposed he should be mildly grateful that Laughing River had provided him a golden opportunity to unequivocally say that fox business wasnt his concern. After all, Sen could tell Misty Peaks that he wasnt interested all day long and not have it be convincing. Telling the most potent nine-tail fox in the world to leave him out of it probably did a lot of convincing for Sen.


    The only real problems in front of Sen at that moment were the fact that the inside of the galehouse wasnt essible and Li Yi Nuos fate was still nebulous. <em>That woman has been a hassle from the minute she showed up</em>, thought Sen. With full night on them, neither of those problems had ready solutions. Not that Sen hadnt spent plenty of nights in the wilds, but he could usually go inside when he made a galehouse. Putting up a tent seemed redundant since Misty Peaks and Laughing River would finish their conversation eventually. It was ultimately theck of privacy that was eating at Sen. Not that a tent provided real privacy, but it did offer the illusion of privacy. With the amount of time it would take the foxes to wrap up their business an open question, Sen grimaced a little, extinguished the fires, and put up a tent.


    Closing the p of the tent and sprawling across some nkets was more of a relief than hed expected. He wondered if hed just been spending too much time with other people recently. Even at Fu Runs, hed often spent long stretches of time alone. Since he left, hed been in thepany of others almost constantly. He didnt mind the asional interaction with a farmer or caravan because they could break up the monotony of travel. They also provided an opportunity to pick up some local news and rumors and maybe do a little trading for things Sen wanted. Yet, those interactions were also short-term by nature. An hour here, an evening there, and then back to familiar solitude. By closing that p, hed sent a signal that he did not want to be disturbed. He had shut out the rest of the world and all of its problems.


    It would have been profoundly more convenient if hed been able to do that in the galehouse, though. While he could find ways to do things like read in the tent, it often proved more trouble than it was worth. He was paying too much attention to the environment to focus on anything. He could do some alchemy but that would invite Misty Peak or Laughing River to bother him if and when they came out. <em>When all else fails</em>, thought Sen, <em>cultivate</em>. A sect elder would probably tell him that hed been neglecting his cultivation recently. The reality was that hed been very intentionally limiting his active cultivation. Passive cultivation met most of his needs if he wasnt doing anything too spectacr or challenging. Active cultivation sped that process up a lot and brought him ever closer to forming anotheryer on his core. While there might be some immediate benefits to doing so, it would mean following a pattern of fast advancement toward which hed grown increasingly wary.


    He imagined that Li Yi Nuo or any other sect cultivator would probably spit blood if he ever voiced that out loud to them. Ridiculously fast advancement was the kind of miracle that most cultivators prayed would happen to them. Yet, the pitfalls of it were very real. While his foundation felt very solid to him and there had never been a hint of a problem like qi deviation, he wasnt confident that he had the necessary experience to <em>recognize</em> cultivation problems if they happened to him. That stupid turtle had pushed him straight through a couple of advancement levels in body cultivation when they first met. Levels that most people spent years gettingfortable with. Sen had decided that letting that rate of advancement continue as it had been was ultimately going to leave him with dangerous knowledge gaps about his own cultivation. Gaps that could and, knowing his luck, would be deadly liabilities to him.


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    So, he had done what he could to slow down. He had stopped actively cultivating most of the time. It was the one ce where he had real control. He couldnt stop people from showing up to fight with him. He got the impression that the heavens were going to actively push him into ridiculously dangerous situations. He knew there was a rtionship between learning about things like alchemy and cultivation advancements. Enlightenment was always a risk, but he couldnt stop learning. Fixing the problem with his body cultivation had forced his hand on that front. Plus, Fu Run wasnt going to just let him take naps and cook food for the four years he had left with her. Even if he didnt want to learn and advance too much, she would make him learn something. <em>Itll probably be really interesting</em>, <em>too</em>, thought Sen. <em>Because, of course, it will be</em>.


    Underpinning these concerns was his unverified but chillingly usible theory that someone or something was manipting his path through life with the goal of pushing him to ascend way before he was ready. He could even see the appeal for whoever or whatever it was. Sure, hed arrive with a baseline level of power but a frankly terrifyingck of experience. Someone like Master Feng would prove almost impossible to manipte. Hed spent thousands of years honing his will and solidifying his mind. Plus, hed have all that umted wisdom to fall back on. He might be pushed into a corner by something more powerful, but hed go into the corner recognizing it for what it was and with a n to escape it at some point. Sen wouldnt possess those advantages when he ascended. Worse, he suspected that he was going to need those advantages more desperately than most people who ascended. Manipting him would be far easier simply because hed be less prepared by experience to see iting.


    Slowing down was the only real defense he had against that oue. While an extra decade or two might not be that much in the wider universe, it would be incredibly helpful to him. It would give him time to understand his own cultivation better and shore up those knowledge gaps. It would let him umte more direct experience in dealing with others. A little extra time couldnt rece countless centuries, but for someone as young as he was, every minute mattered. <em>I need to do everything I can to prepare for what Im worried is waiting for me</em>, he thought. <em>Maybe it is a hollow concern</em>, <em>but Id rather prepare and be wrong than get blindsided the moment I ascend</em>. <em>After all</em>, <em>isnt that a big part of what cultivation is</em>? <em>Preparing for what might happen</em>?


    There was nothing specific that alerted Sen, but he had a moment of quiet dread. It was as though the heavens had been waiting for him to have those thoughts and wanted to remind him that he could deny fate all he wanted, but he was on the schedule the heavens decided, not the one he wanted. It also felt like a particrly obnoxious affirmation of his fears of what was toe when heavenly qi cascaded down onto him. Sen gave serious consideration to shunting some of that qi into empty beast cores as he had once before. That thought seemed to trigger an even more intense outpouring of heavenly qi that almost physically pushed him into the ground. He remembered a time when he had looked forward to these moments. Now, it felt like the universe used these moments as a way to make sure that Sen never, ever felt like he was the one making the real decision in his life.


    There was a part of him that wanted to howl in frustration at that. On some level, he had thought that bing a cultivator was a way for him to take a measure of control over his life. He supposed it was even true, as far it went. The problem was it didnt go nearly far enough for Sens tastes. Oh, he could make <em>some</em> decisions. He could decide about the clothes he wore and the food he ate. The heavens didnt seem to care all that much about who he had as friends or who he took to bed. The big things, though, the "shape your life to be what you want" things were out of reach. It was the kind of situation that could make a man resentful. When he considered it, though, he wasnt special in that regard. He was riding in the same boat as everyone else. The universe just seemedpelled to remind him about it a little more often. Sen took a deep breath, epted the inevitable, and started the process of building anotheryer to his core.

 Book 6: Chapter 35: The Heavens Are Definitely Mocking Me

    Book 6: Chapter 35: The Heavens Are Definitely Mocking Me


    Hed known that this moment would arrive at some point and prepared for it. Natural treasures and beast cores spilled from a storage ring and onto the ground. There were cores from lightning cranes, wind serpents, and some kind of strange shadow beast hed never been able to identify. There were wood, fire, and earth-attributed natural treasures that hed picked up on this trip through the wilds. Hed had simr, although dramatically less potent versions of the same cores and treasures before hed ventured into the wilds. It just seemed foolish to pass up the opportunity to maximize the potential benefits of the newyer to his core.


    There were lesser treasures and cores alignment to qi types he didnt regrly cultivate, but that hed still seen signs of lurking around the edges of his techniques. There was winter ivy for ice qi. Hed found himself relying on other techniques to make ice, but hed sensed the ice qi inside of him. There was a core from a stormhawk. Hed been hovering around the edges of making storms of his own for ages. Each core and treasure corresponded to something he was already using other techniques to do or things that he thought were realistic evolutions of things he was doing. After getting those treasures out, he had to focus. While the process was familiar to him, he was theoretically introducing new elements. That could mean instabilities in the process hecked the knowledge or experience to predict.


    Mostly, though, he needed to bend his mind and will toward drawing all the different kinds of qi he needed to mix with that divine qi to form the newyer of the core. Plus, there was thepression required. Hed been warned that each sessiveyer would likely require more effort. As with alchemy, Sen didnt try to actively control the process. He knew what he wanted and needed. He trusted his instincts to guide the details. Even as he focused onpressing the gathered qi, he felt other things happening. He felt the pool of liquid qi in his dantian drain away to be added to theyer. He felt himself dragging qi into his body and dantian from the cores and natural treasures. He felt the subtle maniption of all those disparate types of qi being fused, melded, and woven together in ways he could never have aplished with a conscious effort.


    The newyer grew over the old and, yet, it also grew into the previousyer, as though the process had liquefied the old surface of his core to allow for a better, more stableyer to form after the process waspleted. He got lost in the process, most of his mental energies devoted topressing that qi down into something ever-denser and morepact. Not simply ayer, but a shield that would protect the nascent soul growing inside his core from the dire tribtion that awaited him at the transition between core formation and the nascent soul stage. A tribtion that killed a dreadfullyrge percentage of the people who attempted to break through between those stages. A very legitimate fear of annihtion had stopped many cultivators cold at the peak of core cultivation. Sen just wished that he had that option. He was more certain than ever that if he tried to just stop advancing, the world itself would turn on him and force the issue.


    There was a momentary burst of relief as Sen felt the fresh and substantially thickeryer on his core solidify. That relief was immediately undercut by the heavenly qi that just kept pouring into him. For one terrifying second, he waspletely at a loss. Hed formed his core. There was nothing left to do. He imagined drowning in that river of qi before determination rose up to disce the animal fear that was threatening to unmake him. The newyer might beplete, but it wasnt as though he was nothing but a core. He seized control of some of that qi and used it to reinforce the spiral of divine qi that orbited his dantian. What had always looked rtively slender in his minds eye grew thicker and then thicker still.


    If it had been an object in the physical world, what he did next might not have worked. Inside him as it was, he was able to exert the same kind of pressure on that helix as he had on his core. Hepressed the qi of the spiral, making it denser and, he knew through some kind of intuition, more efficient. That helix of divine qi started to glow. With heavenly qi so abundant, he repeated the process and then repeated it again. The helix was so bright that it was almost difficult for him to look at it with his minds eye. Yet, he could also tell there was a problem. That spiral of divine qi was too potent. He could feel the pressure from it unraveling the other helix, that bizarre multicolored helix hed never reallye to understand. What he did understand was that those helixes worked in tandem now. The loss of one would be bad for him in some fundamental way.


    He desperately started dumping cores and natural treasures out of his storage rings until he was almost the image of a greedy dragon lounging among his treasures. He siphoned off whatever kind of qi felt right, weaving them together and into the second helix, his conscious mind only nominally in control as something deeper, something more profound, a part of him that Sen rarely interacted with directly took a hand in the process. Its my soul, Sen realized. That revtion was so jarring that it very nearly disrupted everything. There was a lurching sensation inside of Sen as the helixes threatened some kind of terrible mutual destruction. He knew that if that happened, he wouldnt survive it. Slowly, so slowly that Sens heart was racing in panic, the process stabilized again. He kept weaving more and more threads into that second helix until it reached a point where something needed to happen.


    Taking a chance, Sen did with the second helix what hed done with the first andpressed it. It took so much effort that beads of bloody sweat broke out on Sens forehead. At what felt like a cial pace, the second spiral condensed and transformed. Rather than countless threads of individual qi, it was a single strand of that multicolored qi. Sen would have cried out in joy at his sess if he hadnt known that hed have to keep doing that until the helixes bnced each other out. Meanwhile, that divine qi had just kept pouring into him. He took a brief moment to direct some of it into his core and his dantian. Then, he started cycling it out into his channels and letting it bleed into his body. Hed already done this once, so he doubted that hed be doing himself any harm by giving his body a second dose. Once he got that process started, he could relegate it to the back of his mind. There was so much heavenly qi that the process would sustain itself with only the barest direction from him.


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    He returned to the second helix. He pushed away his mental exhaustion and the screaming agony from his body as the heavenly qi did something that was reforging his organs, bones, tissues, and even something in his blood. He really wanted to go and investigate that, but there simply wasnt time. The helixes werent bnced, yet. Theyd been stable enough to let him take that quick break to make sure he didnt die, but that was it. He kept dragging in qi from the beast cores around him, the natural treasures, and the environment. He took a hint from making his core and wove a newyer on top of the multicolored spiral. That gave him a brief respite from exerting constant monumental pressure. A respite that vanished all too soon. Hed hoped that what hed just done would be enough, but the densities werent right yet. He had to do anotheryer, and then another. Some part of him said there was something important about the variance, but hed have to worry about thatter. The helixes finally settled into a state of equilibrium.


    He was certain, absolutely sure, that when he got that far, the heavenly qi would stop. It didnt. Bone-deep fear started taking root inside of Sen. Hed done everything he could think to do. He couldnt direct any more heavenly qi into his body. It was still trying to process what he was already feeding it. Hed added ayer to his core. Hed remade those odd helixes. There was nothing left, but the qi kepting. He wildly scanned the cores around him and started filling any that were empty. Then he searched his storage rings for any others that were empty and filled those. It was barely enough to give him a moment of relief. Everything inside of him felt like it was being scorched by the sun. Every piece of his body, his dantian, and even his usually shadowy core were zing with light. He didnt understand. Why were the heavens doing this? If they meant him to die, there were easier ways than burning him up with heavenly qi. And they could burn him up that way.


    Heavenly qi was a unique, powerful blessing, but it usually came in small doses. A fraction of what had been shoved inside of him was enough to trigger advancements and offer insights into the nature of existence. He felt like a fleshy sack that had been overstuffed and some negligent clerk was trying to cram more inside of him. If he was going to survive what was increasingly feeling like some kind of punishment or bizarre cultivator nightmare, he had to act. He needed to find something to do with all of that qi. It was anathema to everything cultivators believed, but he could expel it. Just dump it into the environment. He had no idea what that would do to the nts, animals, and spirit beasts in the area, but he was swiftly approaching the point of not caring at all about those kinds of things. Other cultivators would lose their minds at just discarding all of that qi, but other cultivators didnt risk dying from a so-called blessing.


    Resolved to do the unthinkable, Sen tried to push the divine qi out of his body. Hed barely even started before something from outside stopped him. It was an immutable force. A will the likes of which hed never felt that simply decided that he would not discard this gift from the heavens. Sen had thought that the pain in his body earlier had been severe, but that was a sip of cool fruit juicepared to the incandescent torture he was going through now. He couldnt tell if he was screaming or not. He thought he must be, but his mind had retreated from all of it in some act of sanity preservation. He struggled to find a solution, but anything he came up with simply wouldnt use enough of the heavenly qi to matter. Meanwhile, he could sense his body starting to unravel. Ive got seconds left before this really does just kill me, he thought with an odd level of calm.


    Maybe the heavens had expected him to find a solution and hed just failed. It wasnt like people overcame every challenge the heavens sent their way. He had done everything he could think to do ande up short. epting that truth let him move past the fear and panic. He supposed he could stop worrying about some master maniptor from beyond the stars waiting for him after ascension. That was liberating, even if it dide mere moments from death. As Sen braced himself for the final moment, he felt something odd. Something inside of him, something he couldnt see or ess directly, shifted a little. There was a tremendous crack that reverberated inside his being, and it was like a gate had opened to somewhere. All of that excess divine qi started draining away from him. No, he thought, not away from me. Its draining away from my body and my core. But where is it going?


    He tried to follow the path of the qi to whatever hole had opened upside of him, but he couldnt. He wasnt stopped like he had been when he tried to expel the qi. Nothing intervened to prevent him from doing it. He just didnt have the mental strength left to do it. Hed taxed his mind to its limits and then taxed it some more. Now, the price was due. He was conscious. He was aware. That was as far as it went. He had to satisfy himself with the reality that the qi was going somewhere and that somewhere wasnt causing him pain. He could feel questions or things that might be questionster swirling around somewhere below his conscious mind. There was, as usual, too much happening that he didnt understand. But as all that qi was dragged away to somewhere else, all he could really think about was that he wasnt going to die.


    A breath Sen hadnt realized he was holding exploded from his lips as the crushing pressure of heavenly qi finally relented. Thest of the heavenly qi was pulled away to its mysterious new home. Wherever that was. Sens head lolled to one side and he lifted a trembling hand to wipe away the wetness on his face. He blinked at the sight of his hand and then shook it off. Hed deal with thatter. He wiped his face and wasnt surprised to see the hand came away bloody. This hadnt been an easy advancement. Some of the physical misery he was still in leaked through to his conscious mind and Sen groaned.


    The heavens are definitely mocking me.

 Book 6: Chapter 36: Cold Comfort

    Book 6: Chapter 36: Cold Comfort


    Everything inside of Sen wanted him to No, it was begging him to sleep. The kind of overpowering exhaustion that came from having your mind, body, and cultivation taxed to their limits wasnt new to Sen, but it simply wasnt something that a person could ever learn to shrug off. It went too deep, and nothing could cure it but sleep. Unfortunately, Sen also knew that a tribtion could be headed his way at that very second. He really didnt want lightning burning a hole through his tent. <em>Itd let the rain in</em>, thought Sen. He knew that worrying about his tent when a possibly lethal tribtion might strike at any second was absurd on a level that bordered on the insane. Yet, the thought persisted and forced Sen to action. Fighting his body the entire way, Sen crawled out of his tent.


    He was surprised in a disturbingly distant way that it was night. He wasnt sure if it was the same night or a different night and couldnt muster the energy to care. Sen tried to stand, got as far as his knees, and simply couldnt rise any farther. His body either refused to stand or was incapable of it. Sen supposed that there wasnt much practical difference between those options, but it <em>felt</em> like an important distinction. His eyes kept threatening to close without so much as a courtesy check-in with his mind even as he tried to scan the skies. For all that hed just gained, and he knew that he had gained a <em>lot</em>, Sen felt horribly vulnerable. He wasnt sure hed be able to do anything more than simply take the hits and hope for the best if a tribtion descended at that moment. That cheery line of thought was interrupted by the near-hysterical voice of Laughing River.


    What in every singlest hell was <em>that</em>? demanded the elder fox.


    Sen managed to look over the fox, half lifted a hand to either wave the fox off or possibly just to wave. Parsing his own intentions through the haze of exhaustion was next to impossible. His vision was getting blurry around the edges as sleep threatened to im him regardless of his will in the matter. Misty Peaks eyes were open as wide as they could go and remained locked on Sen. He did his best to sum up what had just happened in the fewest possible words that would allow the other two to make sense of it. When he realized that no version of that exnation existed that only took one syble, he just grunted something wholly inarticte at them. He turned his eyes skyward again, hoping against hope that this would be one of those times the heavens opted not to send a tribtion.


    Did he always look like that? asked a perplexed Misty Peak.


    No, he most certainly did not always look like that. Sen, what- Laughing River started to say.


    It was thest thing Sen heard before the final flickering vestiges of willpower in him winked out. His eyes rolled up into his head, and he felt himself slump forward. He was unconscious before he reached the ground. When consciousness returned, it came back like a bolt of lightning. One second, there was blissful nothingness. The next second, he was wide awake and trying to stand. Except, nothing looked the same. That moment of confusion caused him to topple off the bed he was trying to stand on and drop onto the hard stone floor of the galehouse. The fall didnt hurt him physically. It just made him d there was no one else around to witness his supremeck of grace. Grunting in annoyance, he stood up and, after a moment of thought, sat down on the bed. He needed to take a moment and get his bearings.


    Okay, he muttered. No tribtion, I guess.


    Sen''s confidence that a tribtion would have killed him was nearing absolute certainty. He didnt want to specte too much about why hed gotten to skip the tribtion this time, but it was hard not to wonder. <em>Maybe the heavens were giving me a break since they were the ones who pushed it so far</em>, he mused. He hesitated to give the heavens that much credit, but it seemed like the only real exnation. Sen certainly hadnt been angling for a breakthrough. Quite the opposite. Hed had it pushed onto him. A not-so-subtle sign that his <em>slow down</em> approach wasnt getting any kind of approval from the heavens or at least a few figures in the heavens. Part of him wanted to believe that massive outpourings of heavenly qi werent the kind of thing that the heavens could do all that often. He wanted to believe it, but he didnt. While that had felt like an obscene amount of heavenly qi to him, it probably wasnt anything to a god or the heavens in general.


    It would be like him pouring qi down onto a qi-gathering cultivator. Amounts of qi that he took for granted would seem overwhelming to someone at that level of advancement, and he expected the gulf between him and ascended beings was a lot bigger than the one between him and qi-gathering cultivators. In short, if the heavens wanted to do something like that to him every day, they probably could. He suspected the only reason they didnt was that the constant strain on his body, mind, and cultivation would likely <em>kill</em> him instead of make him advance faster. <em>Now thats a coldfort</em>, thought Sen. <em>I only get these long breaks between massive, terrifying infusions of heavenly qi because its not a self-serving behavior for whoever does this</em>. He chased those thoughts around in a circle for a while before shaking it off. He only had suspicions at present. Annoying, logical suspicions, perhaps, but no actual proof. He couldnt ignore them, but he realized that letting those suspicions rule his life would likely lead to madness.


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    Instead, Sen turned his mind toward something else that had happened during that bizarre, unwanted advancement. Something he might actually be able to understand. When hed been sure that qi was going to kill him, something had changed. A door, or gate, or some kind of channel hed never felt before had opened and let the qi drain away. It had gone somewhere but somewhere that was still connected to him. He was sure of that much. Sen looked inside himself, trying to find the exact ce where that gate was located. He searched his memory and tried to match that with what he could feel and see. He found the spot, but it just looked like more of him. There was nothing special there. He pressed his mind against that spot and tried to press open whatever had opened there before. He ramped up the pressure until he was certain he was going to give himself a nosebleed. He bore down on that spot with his spiritual sense and tried to glean any kind of insight.


    There was <em>something</em> there, but it was out of his reach. It felt like it was trapped behind a barrier that was gossamer thin but entirely opaque and harder than steel. When his head was pounding at the strain of it, he released the pressure he was applying. <em>No wonder it took all of that qi to open that channel</em>, thought Sen. <em>I can barely sense it</em>. He toyed with a few possibilities but concluded that there was really only one ce where all that qi could have gone. Somewhere connected to him but almost inessible? His soul was the only real option. He supposed it also made sense that the soul was protected from meddling even by the souls owner. Not that it was wholly invible. Sen knew that much from personal experience. After all, he had a technique that could seemingly affect the soul. Although, he wasnt sure that technique would work the same way if he didnt use divine qi. It would probably still do something, and something <em>terrible</em>, but maybe not something that persisted for so long and resisted all attempts to change it.


    Of course, Sen wasnt sure what a sudden influx of heavenly qi would do to a soul. He had to assume that it would be helpful but helpfulness was often a matter of degrees. The right amount of medicine would help, while the wrong amount could kill. How much divine qi could a soul absorb without harm? The dumb turtle had said his soul was already under strain. Would that fresh qi heal that strain or add to it? He didnt know. Worse, he didnt think he knew anyone who would know. Cultivators dealt in bodies and cores, not the ineffable, transcendent presence that was the immortal soul. While he hadnt discussed it in depth with Master Feng, the elder cultivator had expressed his own belief that the nascent soul was something different than the immortal soul. Somethingyered over the immortal soul, rather than a recement. Master Feng had also admitted that it was only his own belief and that no cultivator hed ever met was sure about the rtionship.


    It left a disturbing amount of ground for uncertainty in Sens opinion, as well as reinforcing his own belief that cultivators didnt simply ascend into godhood. If nothing else, he thought that gods should understand souls as a basic requirement for that role in the universe. He supposed that there was the possibility that ascension unlocked that kind of knowledge, but he doubted it. Hed had to learn everything he knew about cultivation. Even the things he did on instinct only happened after he started learning about something. No, it seemed far more likely that the path to true godhood was a lot longer than most cultivators wanted to believe. Sighing, Sen realized that he was thinking about increasingly tangential things simply to avoid looking at something he didnt want to think about.


    ring a little, he lifted a hand and turned it back and forth. <em>I guess I wasnt imagining that part</em>, he thought. While he imagined that mortal eyes would just see a faint glow about him, Sens eyes could see what was really happening. There were thousands of tiny points of concentrated divine qi covering his skin. That was problematic for several reasons, but the biggest reason was that Sen didnt know what it meant for him. If he was just going to glow a little bit, that would be wildly inconvenient but manageable. His luck never seemed to run that way, though. It seemed far more likely that those points of concentrated qi were meant to do something. <em>And if I had the nonexistent manual for the Six-Fold Body Transformation</em>, Sen thought with more than a little annoyance, <em>it would probably be in there</em>. Deciding that glowing was too much to bear, he tried to consciously suppress the glow. Much to Sens surprise, it worked. Those points of condensed divine qi seemed to sink deeper into his skin.


    Well, at least one thing went right today, he said.


    As soon as the words passed his lips, those points reappeared on his skin.


    Oh,e on!

 Book 6: Chapter 37: Not that Special

    Book 6: Chapter 37: Not that Special


    After feeling disgruntled for a minute or two, Sen realized that suppressing the glow wasnt really any different than his passive cultivation. It was just one more thing he needed to do and then push into the background of his thoughts. With yet another core advancement and, maybe not an advancement, but a change to his body cultivation, he discovered that wasnt a real effort. Every advancement seemed to make his mind more efficient even as it made his core more powerful. With that reminder, he finally looked at his core. It wasrger than it had been but otherwise looked unchanged. He could feel the qi inside the core, more potent than ever. However, it was the state of his dantian that drew most of his attention. This advancement seemed to do naturally what hed done artificially all those years ago and expanded his dantian. That was wee news, as it meant that hed be unlikely to run dry of qi in any but the most extreme circumstances.


    What he wasnt sure about was what was filling his dantian. That strange double helix formation had sped up the process of refining liquid qi, but its transformation hade with a transformation to the qi it made. The liquid qi it had always made was now substantially thicker than it had been. It was still liquid, but it radiated a strength it never had before. Sen sighed. Hed been closing in on the end of adapting to his bodys new strength and speed and now this. The added potency his techniques would get from this new, denser, stronger qi would be wee if things went wrong getting into or out of the ruins, but it also meant hed be a danger to any ally that was too close by. While the horde had seemedrgely disinterested in rtively minor techniques being thrown around in the forest near them, he wasnt as confident that theyd ignore him testing his limits. It might also attract more traditional spirit beasts that hed rather not fight. If he had to fight, hed have to learn about his new strength as he went, which was the least ideal way of doing it.


    At least Im going into those ruins alone. No allies to identally injure while I do that, said Sen as he changed into fresh robes.


    When he stepped out of the room where hed been sleeping, he found Laughing River waiting for him. A quick nce around showed that they were alone in themon area of the galehouse.


    Shes not here, said the fox. I sent her back to feed and water that sect girl.


    Li Yi Nuo is a person, not a housent, said Sen.


    Laughing River waggled a hand in the air to indicate that he wasnt convinced about thatment.


    Sen rolled his eyes. You need toy off that poor woman. She isnt a terrible cultivator. Shes not even a terrible person. Shes just normal and inexperienced as cultivators go. Youre too used to dealing with nascent soul cultivators and freaks like me. Shes going to end up with a heart demon if you belittle her like that to her face.


    Laughing River went very still. I hadnt considered that. Alright, Ill try to be a little nicer to her if we ever see her again.


    Didnt you settle things with your granddaughter? Couldnt you just tell her to give Li Yi Nuo back to us?


    I did settle things with her, but I dont want the sect girl back. Sun Linglu knows that. Youll have to work out that trade for yourself.


    Sen frowned at the name, Sun Linglu, before he remembered that was what Misty Peak made most people call her.


    Great, like I didnt have enough things to do right now.


    Speaking of doing things, said Laughing River, would you care to enlighten me as to what in the name of Glorious Moon happened to you?


    Glorious Moon? asked Sen.


    Ugh! You humans and your terrible education. She was my great, great, great, great, Laughing River started counting on his fingers and then shook his head, bunch more greats grandmother. She was supposed to be the first nine-tail fox. Forged herself an empire thatsted for three thousand years. There was love, betrayal, tragedy, a vow of eternal vengeance. All the usual stuff. Now talk!


    I had an advancement. Added ayer to my core. Not that special.


    Ox shit! Ive seen thousands of advancements in my <em>very</em> long life, Sen. Exactly none of them looked even remotely like that.


    Sen offered a sheepish half-shrug. The heavens might have been sending me a little message.


    Laughing River leveled a t look at Sen. You dont say?


    Dont look at me like that. Its not like they sent a letter along exining what they were doing or why. Im making educated guesses here. And I really did advance, for the record.


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    Oh, I know you did. Its just somon for someone to jump from the middle stage of core formation clear to the end ofte stage core formation. Happens <em>all</em> the time. Just how thick was thatyer you formed?


    I, um, Sen hesitated. I honestly dont know how to answer that question. It was thick-er than the other ones Ive made.


    I should fucking well think so! Laughing River shouted.


    Why are you so angry at me?! Sen shouted back. I didnt n it.


    Laughing River, who was visibly shaking, made a very obvious effort to get himself under control. The fox paced around the room for the better part of two minutes. He turned to say something to Sen a few times, only to change his mind and continue pacing. Sen decided not to waste the opportunity. He started brewing tea and searching his storage ring for something to eat that didnt require preparation. There was still a stone table, but it was too big for his current needs. Sen waved a hand and some earth qi reshaped the table into something smaller. Laughing River and Sen both stared at the spot where the new table sat. Sen had gotten faster at reshaping the stone elements of the galehouses with time, advancement, and practice. This time, the process took a mere second or two. <em>Well</em>, <em>I guess thats useful</em>, thought Sen. <em>One test sessfullypleted</em>. He put the tea and fruit onto the table before summoning two chairs. He dropped into one of the chairs. Laughing River stared at the other chair briefly before he sat down in it.


    I apologize, said Laughing River. I shouldnt have been barking at you like some kind of crazed dog.


    Sen frowned. Are foxes some kind of dog?


    Laughing River looked like he wanted to say something cutting, but he resisted that impulse.


    Foxes are <em>distantly</em> rted to dogs. Were a little closer to wolves, but even that isnt a close rtionship. The distance only gets bigger when youre dealing with a nine-tail fox. Im probably more closely rted to you than to a dog or wolf.


    Huh. I never knew any of that.


    I guess that is the intended purpose of a question. To learn something. Seriously, though, you should never ask another fox that question.


    Why?


    Youll probably end up in a fight for your life. Its a cultural thing. Itd be a bit like me asking if youre some kind of monkey.


    Okay, I can see how that might not go over so well, said Sen before he thought of something. Am I some kind of monkey?


    You really want to ask me, a fox, a question like that?


    Sen thought it over and realized that it had probably taken most of the foxs restraint not to start mocking him immediately.


    Im thinking that the right answer here is <em>no</em>.


    As long as youre aware. The answer to your question is that youre rted, distantly. How do you not know this?


    How would I know it? asked Sen.


    Laughing River just looked at Sen for a second. Oh, right, wrong world. Damn it. I <em>need </em>to get you up to speed on some things. But not right this second. Right now, were talking about you.


    Apparently, said Sen. So, now that youre a bit calmer, can you tell me why youre so upset?


    Because that isnt how advancements happen, said the fox. That isnt how heavenly qi shows up, either. People strive for advancement. They work at it. They chase it. They dont have it shoved down their throats like medicine that tastes bad. As for divine qi, the barest sliver of what you got would have been enough to propel most people into an advancement. I dont even know how you survived that, let alone what you did with all that qi. It should have burned you up like a piece of tinder.


    Sen almost told the fox about where all that extra divine qi went, but he stopped himself. He liked Laughing River well enough. The fox might even have some insights to give him. However, that felt like a secret that he shouldnt share with anyone that he didnt have absolute faith and trust in. Without understanding exactly what happened and what it meant, revealing that information might put him in danger without Sen even realizing it. No, better to hold that back until he had a chance to talk with Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, or Uncle Kho. If nothing else, they could advise him about whether to share that information with anyone else. Well, hed tell Falling Leaf about it because she was Falling Leaf. He wasnt going hide something like that from <em>her</em>. Sen could tell that Laughing River was studying him.


    Youre not going to tell me, said the fox.


    No.


    Because you dont trust me.


    Thats not the only reason, but its one of them. I trust that you probably wont kill me in sleep, but giving you insights into the deepest parts of my cultivation. Come on? Who <em>would</em> tell you about that? I notice you havent volunteered any information about what you do or how you do it.


    The fox looked like he wanted to protest, but then he snorted and gave Sen a familiar grin. Yeah, I suppose thats fair. I see that the glowing thing was temporary.


    Yeah, I wish, said Sen.


    He rxed his control over the concentrated points of divine qi, and they immediately rose to the surface of his skin. The fox looked startled for a moment before he peered at Sen with curious eyes.


    You know what that is? asked the fox.


    I know what it is. Im hazier on what it does and why its there at all.


    Im not sure how much insight I can give you about the why. I assume its rted to your body cultivation, but anything beyond that is pure guessing. I have seen things that look like this a few times before. Qi thats embedded that way. There hasnt been much rhyme or reason to what they do, though. Sometimes, its defensive. Sometimes its involved in an offensive technique. Sometimes, I never saw it do anything.


    So, Im just going to have to figure it out the hard way.


    Probably, admitted the fox. Since its <em>you</em>, though, I imagine its part of an offensive technique.


    Why? asked Sen.


    Youre almost obnoxiously resilient. You dont particrly need more defensive measures. So, Im betting its something to help you fight.


    That sounds depressingly usible, said Sen.


    The two sat lost in their own thoughts for a time. Sen roused himself enough to warm the tea with his qi and lift the cup to his lips. He took a sip. Just as he was swallowing, the fox struck.


    So, have you seduced my granddaughter, yet?


    Sen choked on the tea.

 Book 6: Chapter 38: I Don’t Glower

    Book 6: Chapter 38: I Don¡¯t Glower


    After he finished coughing and wheezing, Sen threw the fox a death re.


    Why would you even ask me that?


    The fox arched an eyebrow at Sen. My amusement.


    Sen opened his mouth to say something with acid in it, paused, and then nodded. Yeah, I guess that was a stupid question. Still, what if I <em>had</em> seduced her?


    The fox shrugged. You probably would have choked a bit more? Id say congrattions? Im not really sure what youre getting at.


    At an utter loss, Sen stood up and said, I have a formation to finish.


    He got most of the way to the door before it opened and Misty Peak stalked in looking annoyed. Sen paused long enough to nod at her before he slipped past her and out the door.


    Youre leaving? she asked to the empty air.


    Yep, Sen shouted back over his shoulder.


    Wait! she shouted. I have questions.


    Nope, said Sen. We did that part already. Its formation-building time now.


    Sen heard the fox woman grumble something to her grandfather and then the telltale sound of very light footsteps racing to catch up to him. The fox woman came alongside him and leveled a hard look his way. Sen ignored it. Hed already been through one round of questions and wasnt feeling especially filled with joy at the prospect of another.


    If you keep ring like that, your illusions face will get stuck that way, observed Sen.


    Im not ring, said Misty Peak.


    Fine. Glowering.


    I am a fox. I dont glower. I give prating looks, she said while glowering at him a little harder.


    Uh-huh, said Sen.


    Youre doing that whole be aggravating so Ill leave thing again, arent you?


    Is it working?


    No, dered Misty Peak.


    Then, I definitely wasnt doing that.


    Very amusing.


    See, said Sen, pointing at her. Look at me being all funny and not aggravating.


    The pair fell into an awkward silence for a little while. Sen waited until they got to a particrly rough patch of terrain.


    Your grandfather thinks I should seduce you, said Sen in an offhand manner.


    Wha- Misty Peak started to say before she tripped over a root and fell.


    Watch your step there, said Sen without breaking stride. Lots of exposed roots around here.


    Sen caught a bit of Misty Peak cursing under her breath as she got to her feet and caught up. She tried to push him while she thought he wasnt paying attention. Sen sidestepped and the fox woman very nearly went down again. He turned to look as she caught herself on a root that was so thick it stuck out of the ground nearly as high as the womans waist. He lifted an eyebrow.


    I thought you foxes were supposed to be all sensual grace, said Sen while shaking his head in feigned disappointment. Oh, your ancestors must be weeping blood in their shame.


    Misty Peaks mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide with fury. Then, to add insult to injury, Sen stuck out his tongue at her and took off at a run.


    Dont you run away from me, you bastard! she all but screamed at Sen.


    <em>Way to announce our location to everything in the forest</em>, thought Sen. He almost immediately took his run up into the trees. With daylight as his ally, he was able to venture far higher than hed dared when shed been chasing him. Plus, it was a good way to get a feel for what his advancement meant in practical terms. That test very nearly got him killed when his qinggong technique shot him nearly a hundred feet farther than he meant to go and at speeds that would have meant serious injury if hed hit anything. He managed to slow himself down and bounce off another tree. For a few minutes, all Sen did was move in straight lines and try to figure out how to control his speed better. <em>I guess a flying sword or just flying on a qi tform is firmly in the you can do this as much as you want area now</em>, thought Sen. Between his already extremely efficient management of the technique and the staggering boost in power the augmented qi in his dantian gave him, the drain was almost negligible. Sen made a mental note to thank Master Feng for teaching him that particr qinggong technique the next time they saw each other.


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    Smirking a little to himself, he slowed down enough that Misty Peaks gained a bit of ground on him. It looked like she was working harder than he was to stay up in the trees, so the only thing to do was mess with her a little. He stopped on a thick limb and ate a piece of fruit while he watched her close the distance. When she looked like she was about two leaps away, he took off like a shot and <em>hid</em>. He spent the next five minutes keeping her just in sight before he slipped away and circled back. He ghosted along behind her until she finally drew to a stop on a limb. He had to bite his tongue to keep fromughing at the thoroughly frustrated look on her face. He formed a qi tform and floated over toward her until he was less than five feet away.


    What are you looking at? Sen asked.


    Misty Peak whirled around, gasped, and fell off the branch. <em>Well</em>, <em>hells</em>, thought Sen. <em>I didnt want that to happen</em>. He figured that she could probably catch herself but didnt want to run the risk that she couldnt. The idea of trying to exin to Laughing River that hed identally gotten the elder foxs granddaughter killed did not strike Sen as a great way to improve his chances of a long life. He anchored his feet to the qi tform and then flipped the whole thing upside down. He bent his legs at the knees andunched himself after her. A few quick applications of wind qi let Sen redirect his body so hed get close enough to grab her or let her grab him. It only took him a second or two to realize he was moving way too fast. Another fast use of wind qi slowed him down enough that he wouldnt yank her arm out of the socket. He extended a hand toward her, and when he got close enough, her hand mped down on his. Sen pulled her over to him, where she promptly locked her arms and legs around him.


    While the idea of the ground rushing toward him at speed would have induced terror at one point, now it was just one more hassle to deal with. He used wind qi onest time to turn them so they were falling feet first and made the widest qi tform he could. The tform caught the air and they slowed down so fast that Sen briefly worried Misty Peak might lose her grip. By the time they reached ground level again, they were floating as gently as a piece of dandelion fluff. After a second or two, he frowned as the fox woman remained wrapped around him.


    You can get down now, he said.


    After all that effort you put into saving me, she said, pulling back enough that Sen could see the wicked gleam in her eye. I mean, you were such a big, strong, manly hero. Arent you going to ravish me now?


    Sens eyes narrowed. You fell on purpose.


    And you dove <em>right</em> after me. My heart is just all aquiver. Or is it my loins? I get those mixed up sometimes.


    Oh, get off me.


    Misty Peaks got a sad look in her eyes. Dont you want your heros kiss?


    Im going to let you fall next time.


    She gave Sen a huge smile and shook her head. I dont think you will. Your secret is out. Youre one of those loyal, heroic types. I could just eat you right up.


    That would probably sound more appealing if you werent a fox who might actually eat me if you got hungry enough.


    Misty Peak made a disgruntled noise. There you go, ruining the mood with petty facts.


    Sen blinked at that. Wait. Seriously?


    The fox woman threw back her head andughed at that. Ill <em>never</em> tell.


    Well, do you think that you could never tell from the ground? Im not furniture, you know.


    Dont sell yourself short. I expect youd made a delightful bed. But, fine, Ill get down. After you pay the fee.


    What fee? asked Sen, narrowing his eyes at the woman.


    The fox woman grinned at him and pointed at her lips. You owe me a kiss, you dastardly man.


    For what?


    Making me fall off that tree, of course. Or the wicked things you said about my ancestors. Or making me run through this awful ce. You decide which.


    Oh, for the gods sake, muttered Sen.


    Dont bring <em>them</em> into it. Now, pay up.


    Sen thought about arguing, but he had the feeling that the fox woman would enjoy that just as much as extracting a kiss from him. And he had actual work to do. He took the path of least resistance and just kissed her. She made a happy little noise and untangled herself from him.


    Now, said Misty Peak, about my questions.


    Sen just looked at her for a moment, before he snorted and started walking toward where hed left off with the formation. She trotted after him and, when he didnt even try to engage her in conversation, she elbowed him.


    Does that ever work? asked Sen.


    Sometimes.


    Really?


    No. Why wont you answer any of my questions about your advancement?


    How about because its personal.


    Thats a terrible reason,ined Misty Peak.


    Why is that a terrible reason?


    Because its very inconvenient for me. Plus, keeping secrets after you kissed me like that. Very unchivalrous.


    You made me kiss you, objected Sen.


    <em>Made</em> you? Please. From what I hear, nobody <em>makes</em> you do anything, even when its the sanest course of action. Besides, why get all hung on trivial details.


    Somehow I doubt youd call them trivial details if I made you kiss me.


    Misty Peaks came to a stop, turned to Sen, and tilted her head back. Im ready. You can make me kiss you now.


    Sen reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. I need to meet new people.


    I <em>am</em> new people.


    I need to meet new, new people.


    Well, talk like that is no way to get a kiss. Why are we out here anyway?


    Im out here to work on that formation, said Sen. Im not sure why youre out here, other than to pester me with questions I dont n on answering.


    Oh, that sounds boring. We should do something else.


    Like what? asked Sen, throwing the fox woman an exasperated look.


    I dont know. Fight that thing, maybe, said Misty Peak, pointing ahead of them.


    Sen closed his eyes and muttered. I really, <em>really</em> need to meet new people.

 Book 6: Chapter 39: Something New

    Book 6: Chapter 39: Something New


    Sen opened his eyes and turned to look at the thing that Misty Peak was pointing at a little more urgently. Hed sensed it a while back and, perhaps foolishly, assumed that it would get out of his way. After all, hed left thousands of that things kin dead on the slopes of Mt. Sce. Standing in their way was an enormous spider. It was probably thergest spider Sen had ever seen with great hairy legs that were longer than his entire body. He regarded the spider with a neutral expression. It was likely it was there to kill them, but possible that it wasnt. He resisted the urge to attack it on sight. He wanted to attack it, but that was all about an old grudge against regr spiders from his days as a starving mortal. Picking a fight that hadnt picked him was something that he was less inclined to do under these circumstances.


    Arent we going to do something about that thing? asked Misty Peak.


    Well see, said Sen. You might have noticed that it hasnt attacked us yet, either.


    Neither has that horde. It doesnt mean it isnt going to happen at some point.


    Sen inclined his head in acknowledgment of the point, but he took a step toward the spider. It didnt step back, but its great bulk seemed to lean back and it crouched lower to the ground. Sen nodded to himself.


    You know who I am? he asked.


    There was a quiet surge of qi and the great spider morphed into a form that was eerily simr to that of the queen hed encountered on Mt. Sce. Dark chitin served as skin for the vaguely female form, while eyes like pools of reflective darkness stared at him. Even for Sen, that stare was unsettling.


    I know, said the queen.


    Not sure what else to do, Sen fell back on basics. What do you want?


    Why are you here? demanded the queen.


    Sen considered throwing that question right back at her but reconsidered. Hed assumed that she was being contrary by answering a question with a question. Of course, that applied human expectations onto something that was very obviously and disturbingly <em>not human</em>. If years with Falling Leaf and a few days that <em>felt</em> like years with the foxes had taught him anything, it was that pasting human expectations onto interactions with spirit beasts was a short path to misunderstandings. He had asked what she wanted. Maybe what she wanted was simply to know why he was in this forest. Sen decided to go with that until he knew otherwise. He gestured in the direction of the ruins.


    I intend to go into those ruins.


    The queen continued to stare at him with those creepy, unblinking ck orbs she had for eyes. Misty Peaks handtched onto his arm and squeezed hard. Shed finally noticed what hed been keeping his spiritual sense on. There were spiders everywhere around them. It was a disturbing echo of hisst experience with them, except he didnt have a convenient bunch of formations set up to help him. Of course, that had also been several advancements ago. He was pretty sure that he could aplish the same thing here without those formations if it came down to it.


    Sen nced over to the fox woman who looked more than a little unnerved. Not that he could me her. This was the kind of thing to give someone nightmares. He returned his gaze to the queen.


    If you dont want them harmed, said Sen, I suggest you tell your children not toe any closer. Your intentions are questionable at best. Im likely to assume the worst and act ordingly.


    There was an angry susurrus of insect noises from all around them. Individually, he supposed they wouldnt have amounted to much other than to be a little startling. Coming from so many of the spiders, it was almost a sound attack in and of itself. Worse, it was a noise that seemed to bypass reason entirely andnce right into the most primitive parts of Sens mind. The part that either wanted to fight or flee. The hand that Misty Peak had wrapped around his arm bore down painfully hard in what seemed like a reflexive response to that noise. The queen took a step forward.


    <em>Our</em> intentions, she said, the anger boiling up through her otherwise unreadable and alien face. Youre the one who murdered us by the thousands!


    Not by choice. I was pursued by another one of you queens. She hurled her children at me like one who was <em>insane</em>. I defended myself, said Sen and his voice dropped into a deadly calm, and I will do so again if you make me.


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    Sen had been so focused on the queen and all of the spiders around them that his extremely new practice of keeping the divine qi in his skin suppressed fell away. He only realized he was emitting a dull glow of heavenly qi when the queen let out a startled cry and took several hasty steps backward. He even heard a startled gasp from Misty Peak. He looked at the fox woman and smirked.


    What? he asked, pretending he nned to do it. Arent heroic types supposed to be blessed by the heavens?


    Her eyes narrowed. Were going to talk about this.


    Probably not, said Sen, turning his attention back to the queen and entirely ignoring the death re that the fox gave him.


    What is this? demanded the spider queen.


    Take it as a warning if you like.


    The silence that fell after thatment was more profound than Sen found entirely appropriate. He wondered if this was another one of those times when he was missing something because he didnt understand the nuances of some spirit beasts culture. After all, he could fit everything he knew about the spirit beast spiders into a very, very small ss. Had he just issued what amounted to a deration of war? Provided them with a way out? Initiated a courtship? He couldnt guess. As the silence stretched out, Sen became increasingly worried that violence was about to ensue. The exact kind of extremely visible violence that could well attract the attention of the horde. Sen thought that he could clear a path for him and Misty Peak to escape the spiders if nothing else, but he couldnt do it quietly. It would be big and loud because the spiders took a lot of killing. He needed to figure out something else.


    Why did you even seek me out? Sen asked the spider queen.


    When a predator invades your territory, you dont simply ignore it.


    Sen considered that before he said, Perhaps, but its not like I came looking for you. To my knowledge, I havent killed any of you here.


    And how are we to know that you wont when you finish with whatever brought you to this ce?


    You cant know it for sure. On the other hand, Im not really interested in you or your kind. The only thing Im interested in right now is in those ruins. Once I have it, Ill leave. You can ept that, or you can attack me.


    So, we are to take you at your word?


    Thats up to you. One thing you can know for sure is that if you do attack me here and now, I will kill many of your children, said Sen, and then using a trick of air qi, he made his voice resonate like he was making pronouncements from the heavens. They will die by lightning. They will die by fire. They will die by the de. And I will <em>be</em> interested in you.


    With each of those dire statements, the spider queen flinched. Then, because Sen didnt want to start a war immediately, he toned it all down and decided to try something very new for him. Hed negotiate.


    But neither of us wants that. So, I suggest apromise. I assume you know where Ive been staying?


    We do, said the spider queen in a voice that wasnt quite steady.


    I will restrict my movements. Save whening and going from that ce, I will not venture more than a mile in any direction from the edge of that cleared area around the ruins. If you ce watchers, I will not interfere with them. In return, I expect that they will not interfere with me or my purpose. When I am done in this ce, I will leave in that direction, said Sen, pointing toward the location of the distant road. If I do otherwise, youll know my word isnt to be trusted, and you should act ordingly.


    Another protracted silence ensued while the spider queen studied him. He got the feeling that she didnt quite believe him, but that she desperately wanted to believe him. <em>Maybe this one is saner than that other one I dealt with</em>, thought Sen. He waited her out. He was certain that nothing he added would have a meaningful impact on her decision. She was either going to take the chance that he was telling the truth to avoid the fight, or she was going to order all of those spiders to attack them. Sen was surprised to discover that waiting for her to decide caused him far more anxiety than actually having it all descend into chaos and violence ever would have caused. He thought about that while the spider queen pondered her decision. <em>Its probably because Ive got more experience with fighting</em>, Sen realized.


    Very well, human. We will wait. We will watch. We will see what the word of Judgments Gale is worth.


    The almost anguished words fell out of his mouth before Sen could stop them. Really? Even <em>you</em> call me that?


    Misty Peak drove an elbow into Sens ribs so hard that it actually hurt.


    Shut up, she hissed before turning to the queen. Honored matriarch, we are humbled by your forbearance.


    The queen finally turned her eyes to Misty Peak and made a noise that Sen might have thought was a snort.


    Foxes, said the spider queen. You always did know honeyed words.


    There was another gentle surge of qi and the queen transformed back into her massive spider form. Sen observed with his spiritual sense as the queen and her countless children withdrew into the depths of the forest, save for a handful that Sen assumed were left to keep a watch on him. Satisfied that the spiders were holding up their end of the bargain, he turned his attention back to the task at hand. He started to walk only to have Misty Peak seize his arm and spin him around. She was staring at him like he was a madman.


    Are you a madman? she demanded. You dont try to cut deals with the spider matriarchs.


    Sen frowned. Well, apparently, <em>I</em> do.


    Confronted with that fact, the fox woman seemed at a loss and changed the subject. I wonder how she knew I was fox?


    Its probably that fog of untrustworthiness around you.

 Book 6: Chapter 40: Fox Matters

    Book 6: Chapter 40: Fox Matters


    This is <em>boring</em>,ined Misty Peak for the fifth time.


    Sen ignored her while he finished adjusting the formation gs position. The work would have gone much faster if he hadnt had her tagging along and doing her level best to get him to do <em>anything</em> except finish the formation. Content that the g was in the best ce he could manage with someone constantly breaking his concentration, he stood and gave the fox woman a hard look.


    If I didnt know better, Id think that you were trying to make sure I dont finish this or that it wont work properly. Almost like youre still trying to make sure your grandfather doesnt actually get that relic he wants.


    Misty Peak rolled her eyes. Its not like hes dying immediately. Another day or two wont make a difference.


    Maybe not to him, and maybe not to you, but I have ces that I need to go after this. ces where Im already overdue.


    Im sure that theyll understand.


    Maybe, said Sen.


    He thought about Falling Leaf and Fu Run. It was all too easy to imagine how unimpressed both would be with his exnation about why it took him so much longer to get back than anticipated. While Falling Leaf might just give him the cold shoulder for a year or two, he cringed to imagine what kind of punishments Fu Run might dream up for him.


    You know, on second thought, said Sen, thats probably not true. At all. Besides, if youre this bored, go bother your grandfather. Or go fetch Li Yi Nuo and bring her back.


    I dont actually like him very much.


    Your grandfather? Why not? Hes personable enough.


    To you, maybe. Its different if youre a fox.


    How so? asked Sen.


    Well, he treats you like a person. No, thats not quite it. He treats you like a peer, which is just the most unfair thing ever. Because you arent even close to being on his level.


    Sen shrugged. True, but its not like I have any control over how he treats me.


    I know, said Misty Peak. It doesnt make it any less frustrating. He treats me like a child, and I let him. Which I hate.


    Why do you let him if you hate it so much?


    This is what Im trying to exin. I can hate him in my heart. I can even try to kill him. But outside of that, if heys down thew and Im not ready to challenge his position, I <em>have</em> to ept it. Its part of my nature. And since Im nowpletely sure I cant take him in a fight, and not at all sure the stories I heard about him were true, Im not going to challenge him.


    Oh, said Sen, that sounds wildly inconvenient.


    It is. As for the sect girl, I dont want to spend any more time with her than necessary.


    That sounds like an argument for giving her back.


    You havent made an eptable offer for her, said the fox in an absurdly exaggerated haughty tone.


    Not true, said Sen in an equally exaggerated reasonable tone. I offered you those fine loose pebbles. Pebbles that could only be sourced from beyond the bounds of human civilization. Pebbles that could only be acquired at great personal risk. That offer stands.


    I feel like someone might have told you that you were funny sometime in the past. You shouldnt have believed them.


    Im hriously funny but thats not the point. What is it that you want? asked Sen. Make a <em>reasonable</em> proposal, and Ill consider it.


    Fifty gold tael, said the fox.


    If thats what you want, ransom her back to her sect. They might let you extort them that way. I certainly wont.


    Oh fine. Youre no fun, she said before falling into a thoughtful silence. Take me with you into the ruins.


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    That gave Sen pause. He had been under the impression that foxes couldnt enter the ruins at all. Hadnt that been the reason Laughing River had recruited him in the first ce? Of course, hed gotten that information from the elder fox. That made it more than a little suspect. The fact that Laughing River hadnt gone in to get the treasure himself, however, did lend the idea a certain patina of believability. It minimally suggested that there was <em>something</em> blocking the fox from getting at what he wanted. Even if there were some kind of trick that would let Misty Peak get in, though, why would she want to? There were undoubtedly treasures of some kind in the ruins that shed want, but the risks were absurd for both trying to get in and get back out. It would likely be easier and less risky to get treasures and relics from somewhere else. Which meant that there was either something specific in the ruins that she wanted or something that she wanted to make sure that Sen didnt find. <em>Like a spatial treasure</em>, he thought.


    Why? he asked.


    Whats with that suspicious look?


    Its because of all of the suspicion Im feeling right now. I wear my heart on my sleeve.


    If only, muttered Misty Peak.


    Sen didnt respond to the obvious attempt to get him off-topic.


    Its an ancient ruin that hasnt been disturbed for probably thousands of years. There are bound to be all kinds of powerful, valuable, and unique things in there that a girl might want.


    Theres also a treasure that your grandfather needs to save his life. One that youd be ideally positioned to steal or keep me from getting if you were on hand. If it were to <em>identally</em> fall into your storage ring, that would certainly rectify that power imbnce between you two, now wouldnt it? I mean, hed probably do just about anything you asked to get his hands on it.


    Misty Peak got very serious in a hurry. You may be right about that. Heres the thing. Im not that suicidal. He might y at being the kindly old man with you, but y is all it is. He can turn ruthless as fast as any other old monster. You dont survive long enough to be an old monster without that capacity. Just look at you.


    What about me?


    Im smart enough to know that not all of those stories about you are true, but most of them have something inmon.


    Whats that?


    When you take a position, you are upromising to a level that most would consider madness. That makes you ruthless in the pursuit of your goals at times. Now, how ruthless do you think you could be if youd had a few thousand years to hone those tendencies?


    Sen didnt particrly like theparison or the implications, but he couldnt really deny them either. Pretty damned ruthless, I would imagine.


    Exactly. If I tried to hold that treasure hostage, the value of my life would drop to nothing, immediately. The best oue in that situation is that he hunts me down and does unspeakable things to me until I hand it over.


    Werent you worried hed do that if you interfered with me?


    Misty Peak sighed. Thats different.


    <em>How</em> is that different?


    I think youd need to be a fox to understand.


    Try me, said Sen.


    All right. If I could manipte you, trick you, or simply kill you, then Id have only outmaneuvered a human cultivator. Since you are kind of famous, Id havee out of it looking good. In the end, though, Id have only indirectly inconvenienced my grandfather. It wouldnt be seen as a direct challenge to his power or authority because I interfered with you, not him. He might have even been a tiny bit impressed, even if he was annoyed. If I <em>take</em> the treasure and try to use it to force his hand in some way, that is a direct challenge. And he would crush me.


    Sen tried to sort out the implications of what hed just heard, while also trying to decide if he believed any of it. While he sort of understood what she was getting at about indirect influence, it also sounded like a lot of ridiculous hair-splitting to him. That made it a challenge for him to believe. The problem was that hecked the background with the foxes to know if it actually was ridiculous, or if it just <em>sounded</em> ridiculous to him because he was a human. Given that the stakes were someones life, Sen decided that it simply wasnt his decision to make. Plus, there was the potential problem of actually getting her into the city.


    Im not going to pretend that what you just said makes sense to me, and Im not sure it particrly matters. Laughing River told me that there are protections in ce to keep foxes out of those ruins.


    The fox woman jerked a little at that as if it was new information. He really said that?


    He did. What? Did you think he recruited me for this on ark?


    Honestly, yes. You owed him a favor, I assume. So, why not send the human folk hero in to do the job instead of doing it yourself?


    Sen frowned. He hadnt considered that possibility. He was starting to wonder if he wasnt being paranoid enough about this entire venture. On the other hand, he didnt think that old fox was lying to him about that part of it, either. If it were his life on the line, Sen wouldnt trust the task to someone else unless he had absolutely no other choice.


    I suppose its possible, Sen admitted, but also not relevant for your purposes. So, heres what were going to do. And by we, I mean you, Misty Peak. If you can talk your grandfather into letting you go, Ill take you along. Getting into the ruins is on you, though. I dont have the knowledge or the means to get you past whatever protections are keeping your grandfather out.


    Hell never agree to that, objected the fox woman.


    I guess youll just need to be extra charming, instead of your usual level of charming.


    Im not sure <em>anyone</em> is that charming. Wait, what do you mean by my usual level of charming? Are you saying Im charming? she asked while grinning at him.


    Ignoring her question, Sen continued. Assuming you can talk him into it, and that you can actually get into the ruins, your safety is your responsibility. I dont know what well find inside, which means I cant make any promises about either of us getting back out.


    So, youd just callously abandon me if we get into trouble?


    Sen stroked his chin a few times before he said, Dont be silly. Im not a monster. It wont be callous.

 V6

    V6


    Sen was deeply relieved when Misty Peak, after throwing a few more verbal jabs at him, departed to go try to convince her grandfather to let her join Sen in the ruins. For his part, Sen thought it was a fools errand but a very useful fools errand. It served double duty by getting the fox woman out of his hair for a while and firmly cing the decision into Laughing Rivers hand. Sen thought there was about no chance in the world that the elder fox would let Misty Peak go along. If Sen had his doubts about the womans intentions, the vastly more experienced Laughing River surely had deeper and more nuanced doubts. It seemed deeply unlikely that the old man would put his own survival at risk, not even if it might be amusing for him to see what would happen. Sen hesitated at that thought, though. <em>I dont really understand how their society works</em>, he mused. <em>I may be misreading what the old fox will do</em>.


    Realizing that the damage was already done if he had misjudged, Sen turned his mind back to building the formation. The work did go much faster without the fox woman there constantly interrupting him. Unfortunately, shed slowed him down enough that hed never be able to finish before darkness fell. It would take at least one more day to finish building the formation and do some basic tests. He knew he couldnt fully activate it or even the horde with its seemingly unswerving fixation on the ruins would notice. Sen absolutely didnt want them to notice until he was ready for them to notice. Of course, even without Misty Peak there to distract him, there was still the distraction of the ever-present spider watchers.


    They werent actively impeding his progress. They were actually keeping to what he might almost describe as a polite distance. Close enough that they could observe what he was doing, but much too far away tounch an attack he wouldnt seeing. They were, regardless, still beacons in his spiritual sense. He wasnt sure if they stood out because he was looking for them, or if their focused attention on him forged atent connection between them. They served as a constant low-level source of distraction. It didnt slow him down that much, but Sen was starting to feel like the world was actively working against him ever finishing these formations. The knowledge that he wouldnt finish before dark did mean that he felt fine taking a break in the middle of the afternoon to eat. He wasnt hungry, but it took a lot of concentration to make formations. A quick meal gave him a mental break and let him appreciate the primal beauty of the forest around him.


    Or, he thought that was what would happen. Hed barely had time to start when something moving fast on the outer edges of his spiritual sense caught his attention. He realized it was some kind of spirit beast bird and almost dismissed the thing from his thoughts. Of all the spirit beasts in the area, birds probably had the least to fear from the horde below. They were simply too fast and usually too far above to get caught identally. Unless one blindly flew <em>into</em> the horde, they were likely safe. It took another moment before Sens cultivation-enhanced mind was able to project the birds path. Sen groaned. It was headed straight for one of the spiders because <em>of course</em> it was. His initial instinct was simply to let nature y out the way it should. He could hardly be med if a spirit beast bird consumed a big, creepy, sapient spider.


    However, the spider queen may not see it that way. Her precious children wouldnt be out in the woods, rtively exposed, if he wasn''t there. At the very least, they wouldnt be spending most of their attention on him. Theyd be watching their surroundings more carefully. Plus, the way that the horde had scared off most of the major spirit beasts in the area may have given the spiders a false sense of security while watching him. Still, he could just let it y out. The other spiders would report that he hadnt done the killing. Hed been sitting there, minding his own business and eating, while the mean sky predator swooped in and killed the queens darling little monstrosity. Shed never know any better. But he would know better. While their agreement to not interfere with each other didnt include providing any active protection, he supposed it might earn him a little goodwill from the queen if he intervened. Any additional goodwill he could earn would probably prove a good thing given how on-the-fence shed been about him. <em>So much for my quiet afternoon</em>, he thought.


    Leaving his food behind, Sen activated his qinggong technique and shot toward the spider that was perched up in a tree. Sen was fast on the ground, but he realized that the bird was faster. It would reach that spider before he did if he didnt change tactics. Remembering his initial attempts to master his qinggong technique, he startedunching himself up into the trees. He did some fast mental projections and, when he thought he had it right and had a clear path, he gathered his qi and sted off of the trunk of a tree. Now that he was closing on the spiders position at breakneck speeds, he got a look at the bird. It was a fire eagle. Of course, the spider was so fixated on him that it wasnt looking at the real threat. Sen summoned the heavens chasing spear from his storage ring. He couldnt tell exactly how strong the fire eagle was, but better to not take chances with a lesser spear.


    He let the spear trail along the side of his body so it wouldnt interfere with his flight. Sen almost cycled for water qi and then changed his mind, opting for ice qi instead. His affinity for ice qi wasnt quite as strong as his water qi affinity, but it was the better weapon against the fire-aspected bird. He pushed the ice qi into the spearhead and formed an ice de that trailed out behind him at nearly five feet long. It was heavy enough to slow Sens flight a little. He doubted that he could have even lifted it as a foundation formation cultivator, let alone swung it, but that was then. Sen could see the spider crouching against the tree trunk, oblivious to the bird, and ready to strike out at what it perceived as the real threat. Him. There was nothing he could do about that except hope that the spider wouldnt do something that Sen couldntpensate for. <em>This is going to be close</em>, thought Sen even as the trees rushed by in a blur. By his estimation, he was going to have about half a second to intervene.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The eagle was so fixated on the spider that it didnt notice Sen until thest moment. Even as Sen reached around to grasp the haft with his other hand and red wind qi to swing him from a horizontal flight through the air to an upright position, the eagle red its wings. With a heave that threatened to dislocate even his reinforced shoulders, Sen brought the spear and its massive ice de into a simple, brutal upward sweep. The bird altered its course slightly but that wasnt enough to save it. With a hissing shriek, the ice de carved most of the way through the eagles body. Then, something happened that Sen hadnt ounted it. The ice de exploded. He didnt have the time to erect any real defenses, and his momentum carried him straight into the explosion of ice shards and the still-burning corpse of the eagle. The ice sliced through robes and skin, where it didnt punch straight into him. Meanwhile, the corpse of the eagle burned him with the uncontrolled burst of mes that apanied its death.


    Sen and the bird mmed into one of the massive trunks of the ancient trees. Unlike so many other trees that Sen had crashed into over the years, this tree trunk did <em>not</em> break. Colliding with the eagle had slowed him down a lot but not enough. Sen was stunned by the impact as vision disappeared into strobing white and red and there was nothing but a dull whine in his ears. It was the pain of being burned that jarred him out of it. It took a precious second to realize he was still tangled up with the bird and another to realize that they were tumbling toward the ground like a drunk. Sen didnt need to look to know that there were massive roots waiting down there to snap even his cultivation-hardened bones like so many twigs. Ignoring how much it hurt, Sen pressed his hands against the inferno-hot body of the eagle shoved with all his might. The two separated in the air. <em>One problem down</em>, thought Sen.


    Several possibilities flickered through Sens mind about how to stop himself, but he was still tumbling. Worse, he didnt know how long he had until the unforgiving earth below was going to bring his fall to a jarring stop. He decided to take inspiration from the spiders. He cycled hard for air, wrapped himself up in the qi, and then sent arm-thick tendrils of it out in every direction. They wrapped around everything they came in contact with and Sen jerked to a hard stop, briefly. Several of the tendrils had seemingly wrapped around less-than-sturdy anchors. Those things ripped free and sent his body swinging. Before he couldtch onto anything else, he mmed into another trunk. It was only sheer determination on his part that kept the air qi strandstched onto whatever they weretched onto.


    Sen just let himself hang there and be happy that he hadnt been crushed to paste on the ground. He finally opened his eyes and had to hold back a shout as he realized that hed missed crashing into some of the massive roots by mere inches. The way hed swung earlier, if hed been any lower, those roots would have shattered his legs. Sen released the air tendrils and dropped to the nearest root. Everything hurt. He paused for a moment, summoned a healing elixir, and drank it before he walked over to what was left of the fire eagle. Even though it was dead, the corpse was still hot enough that it was threatening to set the entire area on fire. That was the <emst</em> thing Sen needed with the way he was feeling. Grumbling under his breath, he went to work with water and ice. He contained the outer edges of the mes and worked his way slowly back toward the body.


    He didnt make the same mistake a second time and avoided using ice on the birds remains. Instead, he cooled it slowly with judicious applications of water. Not too much water, though, as he had no wish to add steam burns to his already extensive set of cuts, puncture wounds, burns, and bruises. When the eagle was finally cool enough that Sen didnt think it was going to set anything else on fire. He squelched over to it through the mess of hot, muddy earth around it. He regarded it for a moment and then gave it a hard kick. <em>Always make sure</em>, he thought. When the bird didnt stir, he opened the beast up and retrieved the core. It was still blisteringly hot, so he just let it drop into the muddy soup around the bird until it stopped hissing and steaming. Only then did he put it into a storage ring. For good measure, he put the bird into a storage ring as well. <em>Its probably good to eat</em>, he thought.


    With the fire eagle sufficiently dealt with, Sen decided he was too injured and tired to do anything more with the formation. He turned to start the walk back toward the galehouse and came up short. There were half a dozen of the big spiders standing there, just watching him. If hed been less tired and in a little less pain, he might have even felt some apprehension. Instead, he just gave them a nod and started walking again. The spiders fell in around him, and it took Sen a while to realize that the creepy things were escorting him back to the galehouse. He decided that was fine with him. It wasnt like hed be revealing information. They knew where he was staying already. When he got back to the galehouse, most of the spiders disappeared back into the forest. One, maybe the one hed saved, Sen couldnt tell for sure, settled down near the galehouse and turned its gaze out toward the forest. Sen stared at it while his mind churned.


    Nope, muttered Sen. Thats a tomorrow problem.


    He pushed open the door and walked in on Misty Peak giving Laughing Riven a pleading look. They both turned to look at him and their eyes went wide.


    Charbroiled, said Laughing River. Im not sure thats the right look for you, boy.


    Ha, said Sen in a t voice.


    He walked over to his room, went in, and shut the door behind him. Sighing, he opened the door again and shouted into themon area.


    Theres a big spider outside. Dont kill it.

 Book 6: Chapter 41: Quiet Afternoon

    Book 6: Chapter 41: Quiet Afternoon


    Sen was deeply relieved when Misty Peak, after throwing a few more verbal jabs at him, departed to go try to convince her grandfather to let her join Sen in the ruins. For his part, Sen thought it was a fools errand but a very useful fools errand. It served double duty by getting the fox woman out of his hair for a while and firmly cing the decision into Laughing Rivers hand. Sen thought there was about no chance in the world that the elder fox would let Misty Peak go along. If Sen had his doubts about the womans intentions, the vastly more experienced Laughing River surely had deeper and more nuanced doubts. It seemed deeply unlikely that the old man would put his own survival at risk, not even if it might be amusing for him to see what would happen. Sen hesitated at that thought, though. <em>I dont really understand how their society works</em>, he mused. <em>I may be misreading what the old fox will do</em>.


    Realizing that the damage was already done if he had misjudged, Sen turned his mind back to building the formation. The work did go much faster without the fox woman there constantly interrupting him. Unfortunately, shed slowed him down enough that hed never be able to finish before darkness fell. It would take at least one more day to finish building the formation and do some basic tests. He knew he couldnt fully activate it or even the horde with its seemingly unswerving fixation on the ruins would notice. Sen absolutely didnt want them to notice until he was ready for them to notice. Of course, even without Misty Peak there to distract him, there was still the distraction of the ever-present spider watchers.


    They werent actively impeding his progress. They were actually keeping to what he might almost describe as a polite distance. Close enough that they could observe what he was doing, but much too far away tounch an attack he wouldnt seeing. They were, regardless, still beacons in his spiritual sense. He wasnt sure if they stood out because he was looking for them, or if their focused attention on him forged atent connection between them. They served as a constant low-level source of distraction. It didnt slow him down that much, but Sen was starting to feel like the world was actively working against him ever finishing these formations. The knowledge that he wouldnt finish before dark did mean that he felt fine taking a break in the middle of the afternoon to eat. He wasnt hungry, but it took a lot of concentration to make formations. A quick meal gave him a mental break and let him appreciate the primal beauty of the forest around him.


    Or, he thought that was what would happen. Hed barely had time to start when something moving fast on the outer edges of his spiritual sense caught his attention. He realized it was some kind of spirit beast bird and almost dismissed the thing from his thoughts. Of all the spirit beasts in the area, birds probably had the least to fear from the horde below. They were simply too fast and usually too far above to get caught identally. Unless one blindly flew <em>into</em> the horde, they were likely safe. It took another moment before Sens cultivation-enhanced mind was able to project the birds path. Sen groaned. It was headed straight for one of the spiders because <em>of course</em> it was. His initial instinct was simply to let nature y out the way it should. He could hardly be med if a spirit beast bird consumed a big, creepy, sapient spider.


    However, the spider queen may not see it that way. Her precious children wouldnt be out in the woods, rtively exposed, if he wasn''t there. At the very least, they wouldnt be spending most of their attention on him. Theyd be watching their surroundings more carefully. Plus, the way that the horde had scared off most of the major spirit beasts in the area may have given the spiders a false sense of security while watching him. Still, he could just let it y out. The other spiders would report that he hadnt done the killing. Hed been sitting there, minding his own business and eating, while the mean sky predator swooped in and killed the queens darling little monstrosity. Shed never know any better. But he would know better. While their agreement to not interfere with each other didnt include providing any active protection, he supposed it might earn him a little goodwill from the queen if he intervened. Any additional goodwill he could earn would probably prove a good thing given how on-the-fence shed been about him. <em>So much for my quiet afternoon</em>, he thought.


    Leaving his food behind, Sen activated his qinggong technique and shot toward the spider that was perched up in a tree. Sen was fast on the ground, but he realized that the bird was faster. It would reach that spider before he did if he didnt change tactics. Remembering his initial attempts to master his qinggong technique, he startedunching himself up into the trees. He did some fast mental projections and, when he thought he had it right and had a clear path, he gathered his qi and sted off of the trunk of a tree. Now that he was closing on the spiders position at breakneck speeds, he got a look at the bird. It was a fire eagle. Of course, the spider was so fixated on him that it wasnt looking at the real threat. Sen summoned the heavens chasing spear from his storage ring. He couldnt tell exactly how strong the fire eagle was, but better to not take chances with a lesser spear.


    He let the spear trail along the side of his body so it wouldnt interfere with his flight. Sen almost cycled for water qi and then changed his mind, opting for ice qi instead. His affinity for ice qi wasnt quite as strong as his water qi affinity, but it was the better weapon against the fire-aspected bird. He pushed the ice qi into the spearhead and formed an ice de that trailed out behind him at nearly five feet long. It was heavy enough to slow Sens flight a little. He doubted that he could have even lifted it as a foundation formation cultivator, let alone swung it, but that was then. Sen could see the spider crouching against the tree trunk, oblivious to the bird, and ready to strike out at what it perceived as the real threat. Him. There was nothing he could do about that except hope that the spider wouldnt do something that Sen couldntpensate for. <em>This is going to be close</em>, thought Sen even as the trees rushed by in a blur. By his estimation, he was going to have about half a second to intervene.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The eagle was so fixated on the spider that it didnt notice Sen until thest moment. Even as Sen reached around to grasp the haft with his other hand and red wind qi to swing him from a horizontal flight through the air to an upright position, the eagle red its wings. With a heave that threatened to dislocate even his reinforced shoulders, Sen brought the spear and its massive ice de into a simple, brutal upward sweep. The bird altered its course slightly but that wasnt enough to save it. With a hissing shriek, the ice de carved most of the way through the eagles body. Then, something happened that Sen hadnt ounted it. The ice de exploded. He didnt have the time to erect any real defenses, and his momentum carried him straight into the explosion of ice shards and the still-burning corpse of the eagle. The ice sliced through robes and skin, where it didnt punch straight into him. Meanwhile, the corpse of the eagle burned him with the uncontrolled burst of mes that apanied its death.


    Sen and the bird mmed into one of the massive trunks of the ancient trees. Unlike so many other trees that Sen had crashed into over the years, this tree trunk did <em>not</em> break. Colliding with the eagle had slowed him down a lot but not enough. Sen was stunned by the impact as vision disappeared into strobing white and red and there was nothing but a dull whine in his ears. It was the pain of being burned that jarred him out of it. It took a precious second to realize he was still tangled up with the bird and another to realize that they were tumbling toward the ground like a drunk. Sen didnt need to look to know that there were massive roots waiting down there to snap even his cultivation-hardened bones like so many twigs. Ignoring how much it hurt, Sen pressed his hands against the inferno-hot body of the eagle shoved with all his might. The two separated in the air. <em>One problem down</em>, thought Sen.


    Several possibilities flickered through Sens mind about how to stop himself, but he was still tumbling. Worse, he didnt know how long he had until the unforgiving earth below was going to bring his fall to a jarring stop. He decided to take inspiration from the spiders. He cycled hard for air, wrapped himself up in the qi, and then sent arm-thick tendrils of it out in every direction. They wrapped around everything they came in contact with and Sen jerked to a hard stop, briefly. Several of the tendrils had seemingly wrapped around less-than-sturdy anchors. Those things ripped free and sent his body swinging. Before he couldtch onto anything else, he mmed into another trunk. It was only sheer determination on his part that kept the air qi strandstched onto whatever they weretched onto.


    Sen just let himself hang there and be happy that he hadnt been crushed to paste on the ground. He finally opened his eyes and had to hold back a shout as he realized that hed missed crashing into some of the massive roots by mere inches. The way hed swung earlier, if hed been any lower, those roots would have shattered his legs. Sen released the air tendrils and dropped to the nearest root. Everything hurt. He paused for a moment, summoned a healing elixir, and drank it before he walked over to what was left of the fire eagle. Even though it was dead, the corpse was still hot enough that it was threatening to set the entire area on fire. That was the <emst</em> thing Sen needed with the way he was feeling. Grumbling under his breath, he went to work with water and ice. He contained the outer edges of the mes and worked his way slowly back toward the body.


    He didnt make the same mistake a second time and avoided using ice on the birds remains. Instead, he cooled it slowly with judicious applications of water. Not too much water, though, as he had no wish to add steam burns to his already extensive set of cuts, puncture wounds, burns, and bruises. When the eagle was finally cool enough that Sen didnt think it was going to set anything else on fire. He squelched over to it through the mess of hot, muddy earth around it. He regarded it for a moment and then gave it a hard kick. <em>Always make sure</em>, he thought. When the bird didnt stir, he opened the beast up and retrieved the core. It was still blisteringly hot, so he just let it drop into the muddy soup around the bird until it stopped hissing and steaming. Only then did he put it into a storage ring. For good measure, he put the bird into a storage ring as well. <em>Its probably good to eat</em>, he thought.


    With the fire eagle sufficiently dealt with, Sen decided he was too injured and tired to do anything more with the formation. He turned to start the walk back toward the galehouse and came up short. There were half a dozen of the big spiders standing there, just watching him. If hed been less tired and in a little less pain, he might have even felt some apprehension. Instead, he just gave them a nod and started walking again. The spiders fell in around him, and it took Sen a while to realize that the creepy things were escorting him back to the galehouse. He decided that was fine with him. It wasnt like hed be revealing information. They knew where he was staying already. When he got back to the galehouse, most of the spiders disappeared back into the forest. One, maybe the one hed saved, Sen couldnt tell for sure, settled down near the galehouse and turned its gaze out toward the forest. Sen stared at it while his mind churned.


    Nope, muttered Sen. Thats a tomorrow problem.


    He pushed open the door and walked in on Misty Peak giving Laughing Riven a pleading look. They both turned to look at him and their eyes went wide.


    Charbroiled, said Laughing River. Im not sure thats the right look for you, boy.


    Ha, said Sen in a t voice.


    He walked over to his room, went in, and shut the door behind him. Sighing, he opened the door again and shouted into themon area.


    Theres a big spider outside. Dont kill it.

 Book 6: Chapter 42: Glimmer of Night

    Book 6: Chapter 42: Glimmer of Night


    Confusion. He felt confusion. Even as he sat outside the strange stone cave and kept vigil, he didnt know what to think or how to feel. The day had been too strange, too uncertain, and he had carried that uncertainty in his heart. The matriarch had tasked him to watch the Cluster yer, the god of wrath who had killed and killed and killed their distant cousins. He was greatly honored to be singled out by the mother and given a task directly. Doubly honored, truly, to have been given a name all those years ago, and then given a task from the mothers lips. Honored or not, though, he had felt fear. So much fear. The weight of that monsters power was a terrible, terrible thing. And he could feel the dread beasts gaze on him, always on him, even when the creature was turned away. It made Glimmer of Night want to flee back to the nest, back to the mother, back to safety.


    As the awful sun had slowly crossed the sky, though, his fear had dwindled. It seemed the Cluster yer had other things on its inscrutable mind this day. It toiled at the ground, nting the strange gs the way he had heard that the human farmers nted things. Was the Cluster yer trying to growrger gs? Glimmer of Night didnt know and wouldnt have dared to ask, even if he could utter the human speech like the mother did. Just when he had concluded that the Cluster yer wasnt going to do anything evil, it happened. The beast had started racing toward him at speeds he couldnt believe. Nothing moved that fast. Then it had leapt into the trees and simply disappeared. Glimmer of Night had been sure he was about to die. Brought low by the monster who had killed so many others. Hed been so frightened that he hadnt even sensed the mighty fire eagle until its ws were almost to his carapace. Those ws that could slice through the armor of all but the mightiest of his kind. The mother could face the fell beasts of the sky, and a handful of others, but not him. It would take another century and countless beast cores before he could rise to those heights.


    With the bird descending and the Cluster yer vanished to only the mother knew where, he had been frozen in shock and horror, certain that his time on the earth was over. He thought of the sweet streams beneath the earth. He pictured the cool and gentle moon in the night sky, a tender shepherd for his kind. He thought of the mother. Would she be disappointed in him? Would she forget his name? He hoped that she wouldnt. Even as he could feel the heat from the fire eagle begin to scorch his legs and dry his eyes, the Cluster yer appeared from nowhere. He swung a great club of ice and all but carved the great bird in two. There was a terrible shattering noise, and the bird was carried away from Glimmer of Night by the appalling strength of the other monster.


    He had watched with trembling awe as the monster he had feared hurled the great bird to the earth below like it was nothing at all. Then, like he had been doing it all his life, the Cluster yer had cast a web of qi and swung himself to safety. Glimmer of Night had remained frozen in ce as the human beast had snuffed out the fire before it could spread to the rest of the forest and, in an act of contempt that drove ice into his heart, the human had kicked the fire eagle. It was only then that the others had found him, asked him questions he could not answer, and observed with awe like his own the sight of the felled bird. They had hurried down to the ground then, none of them entirely sure what to do other than keep watch as they had been bidden. The Cluster yer had opened the bird and cast the impossibly valuable core into the muddy water.


    All of his instincts told him to attack the human and retrieve the core, that it could fuel his ascent, but fear and good sense held him back. Any being who could bring down one of the fire eagles was not to be molested. They were to be revered, feared, and honored. Glimmer of Night had been struck with awe again as the human revealed that he possessed a storage treasure by putting the entire fire eagle into one. <em>Such wealth the creature possesses</em>, thought Glimmer of Night. When the human had turned and let his gaze fall on them, it was a fight not to flee before those eyes. Eyes that were colder than the deepest winter nights. Eyes that felt like they could cut with a nce. He was sure the human would attack them in a killing frenzy, unsatisfied with the great bird. Instead, the human had simply nodded at them and walked back to its strange cave.


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    Glimmer of Night had volunteered to stay and keep a watch so that the Cluster yer would remain undisturbed. It was in no ones interest for a power like that to be left in a poor temper. Far, far better that it should rest and return to its g farming, however mad that might seem to a young spider. As the hours had passed, though, he couldnt help but wonder why the human beast had protected <em>him</em>. He couldnt even be sure that it had acted to protect him at all. Perhaps, it had simply wished to kill the fire eagle. The humans valued cores as well or so the mother had instructed them. Of course, it could have let the eagle kill him and struck while the bird was distracted. That would have been easier. Its what most predators would have done. <em>Did it protect me</em>? <em>If it did</em>, <em>why</em>? He supposed that the stories of the Cluster yer may have been exaggerated in the telling. It wasnt in the nature of the spiders to exaggerate, but perhaps things were different among their distant cousins. He was certain that the mother had not lied to them. The mother never lied to them about anything.


    The confusion bubbled inside of him, making him feel as though he had eaten something that was bad for him. It reminded him of the time he had eaten an air squirrel. That qi had not agreed with him at all, and it had taken the intervention of an elder to save him in the end. That was a debt he had yet to repay, and he worried that now he owed a debt to that dread beast of a human. He wasnt sure he could live down a debt to the Cluster yer, but the human had clearly saved his life. Perhaps it wouldnt mean what he feared it meant. The human was a monster. He couldnt be forced to repay a debt to a monster, could he? The mother wouldnt insist on that, would she?


    As he wrestled with those thoughts, he felt the shift of stone against stone as someone exited the artificial cave. He knew there were others in the cave, ones that might harm him, so he prepared to flee into the forest if necessary. Yet, to his mixed relief and dread, it was the cluster yer who appeared. The monster tipped its head to one side and spoke to him.


    You didnt eat today, did you? No, of course, you didnt. Too busy watching me, I imagine. Well, I cant have you starving to death out here. You eat meat, right?


    The monster stared at him expectantly. Glimmer of Night was too dumbfounded to do anything. The monster was asking him about what he ate? What kind of monster did that? Then, the Cluster yer shook his head.


    Right, you probably cant answer. Well, you are a spider. I suppose you eat meat. Here, how about this?


    The monster gestured and a whole spirit boar appeared. Glimmer of Night could sense the core inside of it like a living heart. The monster gave him another questioning look and spoke again.


    If thats alright, could you poke it with one of your legs or something?


    Feeling numb, Glimmer of Night tentatively reached out a leg and poked the boar. That seemed to make the monster happy because it showed him its teeth. <em>Strange</em>, thought Glimmer of Night. <em>I thought its teeth would be sharp</em>.


    Great, said the Cluster yer. Ill leave you to it. Enjoy your meal.


    With that, the walking nightmare waved a hand at Glimmer of Night and disappeared back into the human cave it had constructed. The spider stared down at the boar and felt it again. Confusion.

 Book 6: Chapter 43: I Believe in You

    Book 6: Chapter 43: I Believe in You


    Why is that monster just sitting around out there? demanded Misty Peak.


    Sen steadfastly refused to engage in anything like conversation or banter with either her or Laughing River until hed had at least one cup of tea. The fight with the fire eagle had been brief but not without consequence. Healing taxed even cultivator bodies, and Sen had taken a lot more damage than he thought bringing that bird down. No single injury had been particrly dangerous, but hed umted a lot of them in that handful of seconds. Cuts, burns, bruises, and even puncture wounds from his own technique exploding in his face. He revised that thought. It had exploded inside the bird. His face had just been very close and growing closer when it happened to do that. Sen pushed the thought aside. He had won. Thats what mattered.


    Hed even managed to save the big spider. He saw that as a mixed blessing since it had followed him home and taken up residence outside. Sen was almost certain that the one that had stayed outside the galehouse was the one hed saved. He hadnt gotten the best look at it as he hurtled past the dreadful thing on his way to crashing into the fire eagle, but what other reason would it have to stay? Sen found himself pondering the nature of spiders. <em>Do they feel gratitude</em>? He suspected that the spider queen might, but he was far less certain about how independent or independently-minded the members of her brood were. Sen dropped that thought into a mental pile of <em>things forter</em> and focused on enjoying his tea. A task made more difficult by the increasingly annoyed look that the fox woman was giving him. He put down his tea with a disgruntled noise and turned to regard Misty Peak.


    Do I look like a spider to you? he asked.


    The fox womans eyes narrowed in suspicion. No. Why?


    Then why do you think I would have an answer to that question? Its not like I could ask it. The thing followed me back here and took up station out there.


    It just randomly followed you back here? asked Laughing River, raising an eyebrow.


    It may not have been <em>entirely</em> random, admitted Sen. I might have saved it from a fire eagle.


    The two foxes both gave him nk stares for an ufortably long moment. He picked up his tea and took a sip in the temporary silence. Misty Peak recovered her equilibrium or at least her ability to speak first.


    I dont know which question to start with, she said, shaking her head back and forth like all of the questions inside her head were causing her physical pain. Why did you save it?


    Seems like you figured out where to start, murmured Sen. I thought it might win me a bit of goodwill with the spider queen.


    Thats it? demanded Misty Peak.


    What were you expecting? asked Sen. I made the decision in under a second. Its not like I had the time to put a lot of thought into it. What difference does it make? Did the spider do something to you?


    Well, no. But it watched me with its disgusting spider eyes.


    Sen thought about that and then shrugged. They were already watching us. You can put up with it for another day or two.


    Laughing River perked up at those words. Youre that close to finishing?


    Sen gave Misty Peak a pointed look. I would have been done yesterday if someone hadnt been working so hard to distract me.


    The fox woman gave Sen a hurt look. Maybe you shouldnt be so easy to distract.


    Admittedly, it wasnt <em>all</em> her fault. The fire eagle didnt help. But, yeah, I should be done with it today. Ill test it as much as I can, but there just isnt a way to know for sure that itll work without activating itpletely. Tomorrow, Ill either get into the ruins, or were all going to have a very hard day.


    Thats excellent news, said Laughing River, getting up from his chair and pacing around.


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    Sen nced between the elder fox and Misty Peak.


    What about her? Sen asked. Is she tagging along?


    Laughing River gave Misty Peak a considering look before he turned that gaze on Sen. What do you think?


    I think that youre a fully grown fox who can make his own decisions. I believe in you, said Sen before he added. If she doese along, though, the oue is entirely on you. I wont be responsible for it if she steals the relic or does some other very fox-like thing in there.


    You could at least <em>pretend</em> that you trust me a little bit,ined Misty Peak.


    Oh, I just figured that youve probably been lying enough for both of us. We didnt need my amateur efforts in the mix, as well, offered Sen.


    The fox woman red at him. You have an uncanny ability to insult andpliment at the same time.


    Do I? asked Sen with feigned innocence. I have no idea what you mean.


    Im sure you dont, said Misty Peak. Well, Grandfather? Are you going to let me go along?


    The old fox looked at his granddaughter with apletely neutral expression before a gleam appeared in his eyes that made Sen a little nervous. Laughing River gave Misty Peak a big, toothy, predatory grin that raised Sens hackles. He didnt want the old fox to <em>ever</em> smile at him that way. The color drained from Misty Peaks face as she beheld that grin.


    Of course, said Laughing River. After all, what kind of grandfather would I be if I didnt give you enough rope?


    The two foxes locked gazes until Sen interrupted the incredibly awkward staring contest.


    It doesnt happen often, observed Sen, but I am asionally relieved that I dont have any family.


    Nephew, said Laughing River as he directed an aghast look at Sen, what a terrible thing to say to your uncle.


    Sen refilled his cup and raised it in salute to the two foxes. Im going to go drink my tea with the spider. I have a feeling that it might actually be betterpany right now.


    Suiting actions to words, Sen took his tea and went outside. He found the spider where hed left it. The boar hed given the thing was nowhere in sight. Sen hoped the spider had eaten it and not just dragged it off somewhere to rot, afraid that Sen had poisoned it. The spider shifted slightly to keep him in sight as Sen approached and then sat down on the ground next to it. He wondered what the spider was thinking at that moment. He knew some spirit beasts couldmunicate mind to mind, but the spider hadnt shown any signs that it could do such things. Then again, Sen wasnt sure he would want the spiders mind to touch his. It seemed all too likely that the spiders thinking would be utterly alien.


    Im not sure how much of what I say that you understand, said Sen, but I think you get the gist of it. So, heres whats going to happen today. Im going to go out into the forest again and finish making that formation. I should be able to finish it this morning. This afternoon, Ill make sure that its working correctly. Tomorrow, Ill make my run at the ruins. After that, I shouldnt be your problem for a while. If I make it back out, I expect well leave here as fast as possible.


    Sen sipped at his tea while he tried to think if there was anything else he thought the spider, and by extension the spider queen, needed to know. He supposed he was running a risk by even telling them as much as he had. Then again, not telling them that much might prove even more of a risk. He thought of onest thing that he could tell them. He went back and forth on it. If he didnt tell them, it might provoke a bad reaction. If he did tell them, it might provoke a different bad reaction. No matter which way he looked at it, it could be either a benefit or a problem to reveal or conceal the matter. In the end, Sen decided that he was the one at the most risk, so hed go with his instincts about it. Hed been inclined to be straightforward with the spider queen, so hed stick with that.


    You should inform your queen that the formation Im building will cast fire, said Sen.


    The spider hunched at that information, as though it feared Sen would conjure fire then and there. He lifted a hand to try to calm the huge thing before it did something rash.


    Sen quickly continued. If the formation works as intended, the only things that will suffer will be the horde by the ruins. Ill ask the others to make sure that fire doesnt spread into the rest of the forest.


    Sen studied the spider intently, trying to gauge its level of understanding. The thing was simply too unfamiliar to him. He had no doubt that it was giving off a dozen signs that another spider would understand immediately, but hecked the knowledge to even venture a guess.


    If you understand, just give me some sign, said Sen.


    The spider sat there with its inscrutable eyes on him for an interminable moment. Then, very slowly, the spider lifted one of its big legs and extended it toward him. Even though the spider wasnt moving aggressively at all, Sen had to exert an enormous amount of self-control not to flinch away as that leg approached him. The leg gently bumped against his chest, and then quickly withdrew, as though the spider was as afraid of what Sen might do as he had been of what it might do. Even so, Sen had to down the rest of his tea to wash away the dryness in his throat.


    Good, he said and rose. Ill be leaving shortly.


    He went back inside and the foxes abruptly stopped talking. Sen sighed. That probably meant that theyd been talking about him. He considered whether it was worth digging into, and almost immediately recognized that his life wouldnt be improved by that course of action. Instead, he looked straight at Misty Peak.


    You got your way. Shouldnt you be off retrieving someone for me?

 Book 6: Chapter 44: I Can’t See Your Legs

    Book 6: Chapter 44: I Can¡¯t See Your Legs


    Sen stuck around just long enough for Misty Peak to return with Li Yi Nuo. The woman from the sect was bound at the wrists with something that looked like ordinary rope, but Sen assumed was something wholly different. Li Yi Nuo was no body cultivator like him, but she was a rtively advanced core cultivator. Basic rope shouldnt be enough to hold her. He also lifted an eyebrow at the gag that was firmly fixed in the womans mouth. He thought about saying something but decided to just let it go. Otherwise, hed end up in some long, convoluted argument with the fox woman that would just end with Sen unsure if there had been a winner. He was going to finish that formation today and didnt n to let anyone get in the way of it.


    Sen had to suppress augh when he saw how wide Li Yi Nuos eyes went when she saw that shed been brought back to the galehouse. Misty Peak half-pulled, half-led the woman over to Sen. She gave him an expectant look. He gave her a quizzical look. She gave him an exasperated look. Not sure what he should do next, he just crossed his eyes and let his mouth hang open a little.


    Arent you going to thank me? she asked.


    For returning the hostage you said youd give back only if Laughing River agreed to let you tag along with me? No. Thats not something you get thanked for.


    You didnt have to paint it in the worst possible light. Youre so grumpy today.


    Sen almost objected, but he realized he was sort of grumpy. He changed the subject after he saw Li Yi Nuo shaking her bound wrists at him. He nced over at Misty Peak.


    Arent you going to untie her? he asked.


    Good gods, no. If I do that, shell take out the gag. Then, shell start talking again. None of us want that.


    Li Yi Nuo shot the fox woman a murderous re, and Sen thought that leaving her tied up might actually be safer for everyone. Still, it just wasnt practical in the long run. He gestured at the rope. Misty Peak gave him the <em>most</em> dubious of dubious looks, but sheplied. Sen was certain he felt a tingle of something at the very edges of his spiritual sense. <em>I wasnt imagining it</em>, he thought with triumph. While it was subtle enough that hed likely never spot it if he was under stress or in battle, he could sense the magic the fox was using a little bit. Hed have to be mindful about that in the future. As fascinating that as that confirmation was, he didnt have time to savor it after Misty Peak untied Li Yi Nuos hands. Sen felt the qi spike around the sect woman, and she ripped the gag off. <em>The rope was a qi-suppressing treasure</em>, Sen realized. Li Yi Nuo whirled toward Misty Peak.


    You abominable woman. How dare you tie and gag me like some kind ofmon beast. I am-, she started.


    Sen knew that he did not have the patience for the next thing the woman was about to say.


    So help me, Li Yi Nuo, if you utter one word about honor or your sect, I will put that gag back in myself, said Sen.


    Misty Peak shot Li Yi Nuo a triumphant look that Sen didnt quite understand.


    The sect woman turned toward him with utter shock on her face. But she-


    Did she hurt you? asked Sen.


    What?


    Did she do you any actual, physical harm? Aside from tying you up and gagging you, did she even threaten to do you any harm? Be honest. Did you ever even <em>feel</em> like you were going to be harmed?


    Li Yi Nuos mouth worked a few times before she finally said, Well No. Not really.


    Then all of this bluster you''re about to throw around is just about your wounded pride, and I do not have the tolerance for that <em>today</em>. When were out of this miserable forest, you can swear eternal vengeance on her andin to the heavens but not until then.


    The fox womans triumphant look vanished at Sensst statement.


    Wait, said Misty Peak, Im notfortable with this whole eternal vengeance thing.


    Sen gave her a withering look. Do you really feel like youve got a leg to stand on there?


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    I have two excellent legs to stand on. And dont think I havent seen you looking at them, said Misty Peak, throwing him a coy look.


    Sen lifted a hand to his face and rubbed at his eyes, suddenly certain that he hadnt given his body enough time to rest and heal. That <em>had</em> to be the reason he was feeling so tired.


    Youre wearing robes, said Sen. I cant see your legs.


    Not now, but Im sure you snuck a peak while I was bathing.


    What?! shouted Li Yi Nuo. Thats so dishonorable.


    Sen just shook his head and gave the fox woman a disapproving look. That was you, looking at me.


    The fox woman grinned. Oh yeah, it was.


    Li Yi Nuo was staring at the Misty Peak in horror. You didnt?


    I think the only real question here is why <em>you</em> didnt. Look at him.


    Sen just turned and started walking toward the forest.


    Where are you going? said Li Yi Nuo and Misty Peak at the same time.


    That conversation doesnt need me, and I have work to do.


    Remembering something, Sen turned around and went back. He walked past the two women and leaned around the corner of the galehouse.


    Hey, Im going. You should probablye with me, said Sen before he turned and looked at Li Yi Nuo. Dont panic. Its not going to hurt you.


    What isnt going to hurt me? she asked.


    Big spider, said Misty Peak in a nonchnt tone, as though she hadnt been all but yelling at Sen about it less than two hours before.


    Big spider? asked Li Yi Nuo before she let out a terrified shriek as the spider came around the side of the building.


    Sen kept an eye on Li Yi Nuo to make sure she wouldnt do anything theyd all regret and then resumed his walk toward the forest. The spider trailed along behind him, seeming unbothered by the terror all but radiating off of the sect woman. He tried to tune it out, but Sen caught a little bit of an exchange between the woman.


    What is that thing? demanded Li Yi Nuo.


    I think it''s his pet, said Misty Peak. Or maybe its the other way around. Its hard to tell with the spiders.


    Pet? asked Li Yi Nuo. How do you even make something like that into a pet?


    He saved it from a fire eagle.


    How?


    How do you think? asked Misty Peak.


    Sen picked up the pace at that point, not even remotely interested in hearing the story of something he did told secondhand. He wasnt even interested in hearing himself tell the story. The whole thing was pretty embarrassing. He wanted to think hed made lots of mistakes, but he really hadnt. Once hed decided to save the spider, the only way to get there fast enough was the way he did it, and everything that went wrong ultimately evolved from that. But even the things that went wrong hadnt truly been mistakes. Hed made a lot of decisions with exactly no time to make them. If hed had time to think them all through and been a little less foggy, he probably would have made other choices. Of course, it was easy to see where you could have done something else when you had all the time in the world to think it over.


    The fact was that he had seeded in the end. He just wished it had been cleaner and involved crashing into fewer trees. That was the only way in which considering all of the other options afterward was helpful. It let you make better decisions the next time you did something. As long as you didnt let it bog you down with uncertainty and indecision. It was a hard bnce to maintain. Too much certainty could lead you straight into your own death. Not enough certainty and you could hesitate yourself into the same position. Most days, Sen felt like he was striking the right bnce, but it was almost impossible to judge from the inside. Hed been lucky enough to survive the times he was wrong. He just had to hope that he was learning from those mistakes.


    Sen found where hed left off with the formation gs and got right to work. He let his spiritual sense spread out and was surprised to find that the number of his watchers had been cut in half. He also noticed that they were far less vignt. They moved around more, and he was pretty sure they all went off to kill and eat something while he kept working. Maybe he had achieved a bit of goodwill with the spider queen. At least enough that they didnt assume hed run off to murder all of the spiders without constant supervision. If so, hed take it as a win. He didnt love the sense of being under watchful eyes all the time, even if he had agreed to it.


    When he positioned the final g, he almost didnt believe it. There had been so many interruptions and dys, hed started to think the formations would never be done. Plus, hed been running short on formation gs. Even spacing them with a more generous distance than he felt entirelyfortable with, it had been close. Now that they were all in, though, all that was left was testing. He grumbled under his breath a little about the testing. He could run some qi through the formations, which was a mostly reliable test. It still wasnt the same as actually using the formation. It was just the best he could do under the circumstances. Sen held his breath and took the formation to the half-activated state.


    By touching one of the gs, he could get an impression from the entire formation. He could see that there were some minor problems, but they all felt fixable. He repeated the operation with the second formation hed set up. That one also had a few problems that closely mirrored the first formations problems, but he could make the adjustments that both formations needed as long as he didnt waste too much time. A little bit of excitement wormed its way through Sens mind. He was aware that they would do something very dangerous the next day, but he was ready to face that danger. He was ready to be through with this task and being stuck so deep in the wilds. Taking a moment to stretch, he fixed the positions of the problem spots with the formations in his mind. With a small group of oversized spiders in tow, Sen set out for the first of those spots with a determined step.

 Book 6: Chapter 45: Final Straw

    Book 6: Chapter 45: Final Straw


    Sen spent the entire afternoon and early evening making ever finer adjustments to the formation. He reassured himself several times that he was simply being thorough and not avoiding the galehouse and its current upants. <em>No</em>, he thought, <em>definitely not avoiding them</em>. <em>Just want to make sure that this formation is going to perform the way I need it to</em>. <em>Im just being responsible</em>. He spent so much time working on the formations that night had fallen by the time he made his way back to the galehouse. He tried very hard not to notice how invisible the big spiders that had trailed around after him became in that darkness. It was easy enough for him to keep track of them with his spiritual sense, but they would be absolutely lethal predators for anything without that advantage.


    He felt two of the spiders split off when he reached the clearing where hed erected the familiar stone building. The one that had stuck closest to him all day resumed its ce by the galehouse. Something about that triggered a mild feeling of foreboding. While Sen would never credit himself with any kind of divination skills, he felt a kind of premonition that the spider woulde to cause him trouble. He didnt think it would be some kind of direct harm, but trouble all the same. <em>Well</em>, <em>Ill need to survive long enough for that to happen</em>, he thought a little glumly. For all of his preparations with the formations, the reality of the situation had started to hang over him again.


    In some ways, the disinterest of the horde in anything not rted to the ruins had made it far too easy to ignore it. Not that the horde was ever really out of mind, but it never intruded as an active threat. He had always been too far away from the ruins to draw their attention. So, hed pushed that concern to the back of his head. Now, though, he <em>would</em> be getting close to the ruins. The idea of drawing away the horde with his formation felt less like a n and more like wishful thinking. It probably would attract the attention of some of them. Fire was hard on spirits and anything with a devilish influence alike, so they wouldnt ignore it. The idea that it would draw them all away seemed increasingly unlikely to Sen. That would just be too easy and straightforward.


    No, he was probably going to have to fight to get in, and he didnt have a good strategy for that. The horde was too densely packed to get a clear read of the strength of the spirits and devilish beasts. Given how far into the wilds theyde, though, itd be foolish to assume any of them were weak. Hed let himself indulge in that fools fantasy for a few minutes because of his fast defeat of the fire eagle, but that hadnt really been a testament to his skill. He had picked the right qi type for the fight, and that first blow hednded probably would have killed it eventually, but he suspected that having the ice qi de explode inside the bird was what had truly handed him a fast victory. And he hadnt been nning on that. It was a lucky ident.


    While some would say that legends can be built on such lucky idents, Sen wasnt one of them. He wouldnt reject luck if it interceded on his behalf, lest he discourage it from appearing again, but he preferred the surety of skill and the certainty of knowledge. It was the absence of thetter that worried him. While he trusted his skill to see him through most fights, he rarely faced fights where he knew so little about his enemies, let alone what waited beyond those enemies. Sen had tried on several asions to pry more information out of Laughing River about the monks who once resided in the temple city, but the elder fox had proved less than forting. The problem was that Sen couldnt tell if the fox truly didnt know, or simply chose to withhold the information for his own reasons. He had considered simply refusing to even attempt entry to the ruins if the fox didnt convince him, but Sen knew he wouldnt. His curiosity had been roused. He wanted to see what was inside those ancient buildings. Turning back now would leave him with a yearning for knowledge that would never go away. So, he set aside his misgivings and went inside.


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    Is it ready? asked Laughing River.


    Yes. Ill go in the morning, said Sen.


    I think you mean well go, corrected Misty Peak.


    Sen shrugged. I suppose.


    Why does she get to go? asked Li Yi Nuo as she red at Misty Peak from across the room.


    She negotiates better than you, said Sen.


    What does that mean? asked the sect woman.


    Sen waved a dismissive hand at the foxes. Take it up with them. Unlike the rest of you, I actually did something today. Im tired.


    I did something today, said Misty Peak. It was even a very annoying thing that I didnt want to do. I should get some credit for that.


    Sen started walking toward his room in the hope of getting clear before Li Yi Nuo worked out the obvious. He got most of the way there.


    Are you talking about me? demanded an angry Li Yi Nuo.


    Well, you are annoying, and I did have to do something with you. So, Im going to go with yes, said Misty Peak.


    I should kill you, said Li Yi Nuo in a low, dangerous voice.


    Dont you think you should intervene? asked Laughing River, not even trying to hide how entertaining he found the whole situation.


    Sen looked back at the room. I spent the entire day doing everything I can to try to ensure that I dont <em>die</em> tomorrow.


    That statement hit everyone in the room like theyd been sshed with cold water. Li Yi Nuo and Misty Peak both got guilty expressions, while the amusement faded entirely from Laughing Rivers expression. Sen nodded, finding their reactions wholly appropriate. He continued.


    I agreed to take her along so that shed bring you back, said Sen, gesturing at Misty Peak while ring at Li Yi Nuo. While I dont expect an outpouring of gratitude, it might be nice if you could stop looking for reasons to be angry every five minutes.


    I didnt mean-, started Li Yi Nuo.


    Sen turned to Misty Peak, who looked very nervous.


    And you. You say youve given up on your mission to kill your not-particrly-beloved grandfather, but words are cheap. Yeah, youre getting your way, but do you honestly think that makes me feel better about all of this? Now, I get to worry about the possibilities of enemies in front of me and enemies behind me. Thats always the best frame of mind to have when youre going into a life-or-death situation. That <em>definitely</em> wont prove a lethal distraction.


    Misty Peak looked like she was about to say something, but Sen transferred his re to Laughing River.


    And all of this to get something so that you wont die. Whats your contribution to enhancing my odds of survival? Encouraging these two to argue, which you know frustrates me. At every turn, the three of you have been a constant source of dys and distractions. While I can understand the need to lighten the mood a little from time to time, this ceaseless bickering is <em>not</em> helpful for me. While none of you may care what happens to me tomorrow, I do. So, no, Im not going to intervene. If you two kill each other, Im fine with it at this point. It just means two fewer things on my already long list of problems.


    After that tirade, even Laughing River looked a little embarrassed. Sen thought about giving the lot of them a chance to respond but decided against it. He just turned on a heel and went into the room hed been using since they arrived. He wondered if he might have been a little harder on the three than they actually deserved. He couldnt help but question if heshing out at them because he was afraid. It was possible, likely even, but not necessarily out of line. He hadnt said anything that was untrue. They had all been amusing, at times, but they had also been irritations that added days to his time out in the deep wilds. Time that he felt would have been better spent getting back to where he was going. As he dropped onto the bed hed set up in the room, he made a decision.


    If they act like that in the morning, Im leaving, he said.


    While he was mostly sure that neither Li Yi Nuo nor Misty Peak could have heard the words, he expected that Laughing River could. It was Sens final warning to the fox that his patience had run out. Hed made the good faith effort, even going so far as to ignore his initial misgivings. Sens tolerance for the people and the situation had simply run dry.

 Book 6: Chapter 46: The Ruins (1)

    Book 6: Chapter 46: The Ruins (1)


    Sen spent most of the evening and the night in something that wasnt quite a cultivation trance but came exceedingly close. He didnt want to think because that risked him getting caught up in a spiral of what-if contemtions that would do him little good. The absence of good information about the horde and what they would find inside the ruins simply didnt allow for those what-if scenarios to yield anything useful. All they <em>could</em> do was prime him with expectations that would surely lead him into assumptions. Rather than take that chance, he buried himself in the rigors of cultivation. It was a mixed blessing, as his qi stores were already straining the limits of his dantian, fed as they were by that enhanced double-helix formation. He spent some time considering that strange formation that seemed to provide benefits while aplishing little beyond pushing him faster toward ascension.


    When he grew tired of the cultivation trance, he went outside and fell back on alchemy to preserve his state of mind. He needed calm if he was to face the unknown. Fear and panic wouldnt serve him. Sen was well aware that danger was imminent, so fear had no ce. As for the panic that fear so often brought in its wake, that never served a useful purpose. In Sens experience, those who panicked, died. Since dying wasnt in his n, he would do his best to ensure that panic couldnt infect him. Instead, he made healing elixirs. There were other things he could make. Hed be terribly adept at making poisons in his run-up to murdering Tong Guanting back in the capital. But he already had enough poisons tucked away in his storage rings to make him a threat to entire armies of mortals without ever once using a technique. Healing elixirs were familiar, almost like old friends, so he made those. Plus, unlike poisons, he honestly believed that you could never have too many healing elixirs.


    He heard the door open behind him but didnt bother to look back. Part of him was focused on finishing the elixir he was making. The rest of him just didnt care enough to look back. This entire experience had taught him some things about himself. As with most self-knowledge, it came as something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, he had reimed his capacity for patience and tolerance. That was something that had been slowly eroded away from him, but hed let the erosion go too far. Reiming those capacities was a good thing on the surface. Unfortunately, they also made him prone to simply going along. Hed been so focused on being patient with everyone that hed let simple inertia keep him in this situation. With thest remnants of that patience expended, he recognized that he should have long since put his foot down with everyone involved.


    In fact, if he wasnt so curious about what might be hidden in those ruins, he would just call the whole thing off and let things y out. There was also the less immediate, but nheless salient, problem that Auntie Caihong considered Laughing River a friend. That didnt obligate him, but Sen didnt want to create a problem where there didnt need to be one. Sen was aware enough to know that letting her friend die when he could have done something was not a great way to achieve that end. Whether or not those were good enough reasons to stay was an open question to him. He saw Misty Peak in the corner of his eye but didnt say anything.


    Im not your enemy, she said.


    Sen nced at her. So you say.


    I know you dont believe that. I know I cant convince you. I just thought I should say it.


    Sen used his spiritual sense to gauge the elixirs progress and removed it from the heat. He bled the heat out of the pot and elixir before he set it aside on a rock. He stood and faced the fox woman. Her usual expression of amusement was gone, reced by one of tightly controlled concern.


    Well, replied Sen, youve said it.


    Youre not going to make this easy at all, are you?


    Like youve made it easy for me thesest few days? asked Sen.


    Misty Peak grimaced. I guess I had thating. Im just trying to say that I wont interfere with what youre doing.


    I hope thats true for your sake. The thing is that I get the feeling you and your grandfather are still ying out some kind of fox game here. I also get the feeling that youve both included me in the game like some kind of honorary fox. I might even be amused by that in other circumstances and y along. The problem is that Im not a fox and these are deadly circumstances. So, Im not ying along. If your <em>game</em> puts me in danger while were doing this, I will not hesitate to leave your cooling corpse in those ruins. So, Misty Peak, have I been in any way unclear?


    Her voice was a weak thing when she finally answered. No. No, youve been You were very clear.


    I hope so. If you have any preparations to do, you should get on with it. Were going to make our move at dawn.


    She stood there in silence for several heartbeats before she finally asked, Why at dawn?


    Because I dont want to be fighting that horde in the dark.


    Isnt the point of that formation to avoid fighting?


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    Sure, agreed Sen, but I find it best to just assume youre always going to have to fight. Youll suffer fewer disappointments that way.


    The fox woman seemed to regain a bit of herposure and almost managed to give him an amused smile. Well, thats a dour sort of pragmatism.


    Im sure its just the human in me. Were all kinds of dour and pragmatic.


    Misty Peak snorted. After an awkward silence, she retreated inside the galehouse. Sen made note of the watcher and returned to his elixir, depositing it into a stone vial. He watched the small fire hed built for nearly a minute before Laughing River stepped out of a shadow and sat down across from him. Sen lifted an eyebrow at the elder fox.


    You meant it, didnt you?


    The part about leaving or the part about killing her?


    I suppose I meant both.


    Yes. I meant it.


    The fox was quiet for a lot longer than Sen expected. He studied the elder fox and wondered just how different fox thinking was from how humans thought. It didnt seem that different on the surface, but he had seen that it diverged in important ways, even if he didnt fully understand that divergence.


    I dont think shell do anything in the ruins. Not after that talk. You scared her there.


    I intended to. She might be willing to die for whatever game youre ying. Im not.


    I think we, my granddaughter and I, both underestimated you a little. I shouldnt have. Caihong warned me.


    About me? asked Sen, a little surprised.


    She said that you were curious. She also said that you could be as hard as the bones of the earth. I listened too much to the first part, not enough to the second.


    Well, youre still getting what you want. So, I guess you won in the end.


    You can get what you want and still lose in the end, said Laughing River. Happens all the time in this world. I get the impression that no matter how this turns out, Ive made an enemy of you.


    Sen thought about that for a while before he shook his head.


    You havent made me your enemy, but I dont think well ever be friends. I dont like being used. I dont like being made a piece in other peoples games. Youve done both, said Sen, ncing up. We should get moving. Its going to be dawn soon.


    Ill get the others, said Laughing River.


    A few minutester, four humans set out from the galehouse. Sen wasnt surprised to find that the spider was trailing along behind them. He thought about sending it back to wherever the spiders lived, but he couldnt be sure that the spider would actually listen. <em>Itll probably go home when we make our mad dash for the ruins</em>, thought Sen. <em>Its the smart move</em>. When they reached the edge of the forest, it wasnt quite dawn. Even in the pre-dawn light, Sen could see that horde of devilish beasts and spirits moving around whatever protection was in ce around the ruins. The motion reminded him of water splitting around a rock. However, theparison failed a bit for Sen when he tried to imagine water being a great mass of evil. He nced over at Misty Peak. She was staring out at the horde with wide eyes.


    You dont have toe, said Sen.


    And let you have all the treasures in there. I dont think so, said Misty Peak, although there was absolutely no conviction in her words.


    Sen shrugged. It wasnt his job to convince her that everything was going to go well. She invited herself along, so she could convince herself. As the sky grew progressively brighter, Sen reached out with his qi to the formation g that was nted in the ground near his foot. He could feel the formation humming as if it were eager to spring to life and aplish its purpose. Sen shook his head to clear away the ridiculous thought. Sen looked over at the other two. Laughing River looked positively grim as he stared out at the horde. Li Yi Nuos face was a study in quiet horror. She must have felt his eyes on her because she looked his way.


    You sure you dont want toe along? he asked. Plenty of monstrosities down there for everyone.


    A look of pure, unadulterated panic crossed the womans face. No! Why would I want to do that?


    Sen gave her a nd look. All of that honor and glory for your sect. Wasnt that why you wanted to stay? What could be more glorious than facing down that horde up close?


    She started shaking her head and moving back from the group. Sen took pity on her.


    Calm down. Im not going to make you go. It was just a joke, said Sen. Well, mostly a joke. Probably.


    Li Yi Nuos face contorted like she wanted to be furious with him, but a nce at the horde turned into more horrified staring. Sen found himself very d that they hadnt given her an actual job to do in all of this. She was at least a century away from being ready for things like this at the rate she was going. Sen turned his attention back to Laughing River.


    Are you ready to do your part? Sen asked.


    The elder fox nodded. Yes.


    Misty Peak gave Sen and her grandfather a suspicious look. His part? What do you mean, his part?


    His part is verisimilitude, said Sen, being intentionally and obnoxiously cryptic.


    Why is this the first Im hearing about his part? she asked.


    And now were back to the fog of untrustworthiness I mentioned before, said Sen, and he continued before she could get ament in. Lets get this started.


    Sen extended his qi into the formation again and triggered it. Even as the person who designed the formation, the results caught him off-guard. The dim light of dawn was erased as a firestorm exploded on the far side of the ruins. The entire ancient city was lit up with red and yellow light. Simultaneously, there were roars of surprise and agony as the fire enveloped the horde on that side of the ruins. As swiftly as it came, the fire died out and was reced by blue-white lightningncing out of the forest and cascading through the horde. Sen locked eyes with Misty Peak.


    Get ready, he ordered.


    The lightning winked out and Sen could hear the muted cries of thousands of people and the thunder of all their feet. He could imagine the army that poured out of the trees and raced toward the horde. A nce at Laughing River showed the fox with an expression of deepest concentration. Sen turned his eyes toward the horde. He waited as the milling mass of creatures seemed to lose all focus and drifted in every direction for a moment before it surged toward the intruders. The horde started to thin out on the side of the ruins that was closest to their position. It was slow at first, and then the ranks got thinner and thinner. When Sen judged it was as good as it was likely to get, he surged forward into the cleared space around the ruins and gave a muted shout.


    Now!

 Book 6: Chapter 47: The Ruins (2)

    Book 6: Chapter 47: The Ruins (2)


    Sens pushed his qinggong technique hard. He wanted to cover the ground between him and the ruins as fast as possible. Ideally, he wanted to be moving fast enough to simply run around any beasts or spirits that might be a little slow to go after Laughing Rivers illusionary army. Even so, he didnt push the technique to the limit. He knew that Misty Peak was fast but not quite as fast as he was at top speed. He kept part of his spiritual sense trained backward. For all his tough talk to the fox woman, he didnt intend to simply throw her to the devilish beasts and angry spirits. Suspicion was one thing, but he wasnt going to actively sabotage her into an early grave. Yet, of all the things he had imagined might go wrong, having the big spider race out after them had never crossed his mind.


    The spiders actions were so unexpected that Sen nearly lost control of his qinggong technique. He came within a hair of stumbling. While it might not have proven fatal, it would have proven incredibly painful at the speeds he was traveling. He shot a quick look over his shoulder to confirm that he wasnt imagining things. He saw Misty Peak racing after him, mere steps behind, andgging behind both of them was the spider. Sen couldnt decide what was more shocking. The spider deciding to chase after them or the fact that it wasnt <em>that</em> far behind. Part of Sen was a little appalled that it could move that fast. Part of its speed stemmed from the fact that it was covering more ground with each step than he could. Part of it was the horrifying speed of its legs, which would probably have looked like little more than a blur to mortal eyes.


    However, Sen could see what was going to happen. As fast as the spider was, it was going to fall behind. <em>Stupid spider</em>, thought Sen. <em>If it gets itself killed chasing after me</em>, <em>who knows what the spider queen will do</em>. Sen could just imagine having to fight his way back out through the horde just to face another armyposed entirely of spiders. He tried to figure out a solution, but they were closing on the remnants of the horde fast. He wasnt going to have time to really think it through. Desperately wishing that he had some representative of the heavens or fate nearby that he could punch in the face incredibly hard, Sen slowed down. Misty Peak almost crashed into him before she shifted to the side a little and shot past him. She looked back to give him an incredulous look and all but screamed at him.


    What in the hells are you doing?!


    Sen just shook his head and gestured behind himself. Her gaze shifted past him and he watched her eyes go wide. Sen didnt look back again, just kept the spider fixed in his spiritual sense as it gained ground on them. Sen could practically hear Misty Peak grinding her teeth as she slowed down to match pace with him. She shot him an angry look and started to say something, which was why she missed the sh of misty gray when the spirit appeared in front of them. Sen nted a hand on her shoulder and shoved, sending the fox woman stumbling away. The split-second that it took him to do that wasnt much wasted time, but it was enough time that Sen collided with the spirit instead of running past it.


    Sens vision went the same gray color as the spirit had appeared and, for the briefest of moments, he felt as though he were floating in cool water. That sensation was almost immediately shattered when icy fingers seemed to plunge into his brain. Sen lost track of his qinggong technique. He lost track of his legs. Some echo of his consciousness told him that he was limply careening across the ground, but he had no room for that problem around the agony in his skull. He felt an abominable hunger explode to life inside of him like hed missed every meal for a year. He wanted to consume all of the food in his storage rings. He wanted to consume the spirit beasts around him, devilish beasts or not. He wanted to consume the grass, the soil, the spider, and even the fox woman. A thousand visions of sinking his teeth into anything that might help sate that unspeakable, unyielding hunger passed through his mind.


    Sen understood what was happening to him, in theory. He knew that certain kinds of restless spirits could inhabit living human bodies by suppressing the souls that lived in them. The process was hard on human bodies, which usually limited the amount of time a spirit could possess someone before the stolen body simply gave out. Of course, Sen didnt have a normal human body. He didnt know how long his body wouldst under the control of a spirit but it seemed likely that the spirit could use it to do terrible things for years toe. Something like memories spilled into his mind. Except they werent memories the way he understood them. They were devoid of all color, washed out, and the only thing that really stood out in them was the hunger. A terrible, inexhaustible need to consume. Sen also knew that spirits could drive a bodys soul out entirely. The soul was all tied up with the body when it came to humans.


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    <em>I need to fight this</em>, thought Sen. Yet, he didnt know where or how to begin. Hed only ever had discussions about how possessions worked and how to fight them. It wasnt the kind of thing that one could practice without having something try to possess you. He felt everything that made him who he was at the deepest level sinking away from the world. He was drowning in a world made of gray mist and hunger. Worse, there was nothing he could do about it. There was nothing to grab onto. No way to root himself in ce. There was only mist. Then, there was pain. Sen was only aware of it in the most distant of ways. Yet, it was there. Right in his skin and in the marrow of his bones. A fric energy that felt familiar to Sen started to ze up, and with it came the pain. It started as a dull burn that swiftly roared into an inferno of pain. Even in his sense-dulled state, Sen was aware of that pain.


    There was something like a scream that reached him down in that misty ce. It was an inhuman wailposed of equal parts denial, anger, and fear. That scream seemed to make the very foundations of the earth tremble. Sen thrashed beneath the tearing, rending force of that shriek. It was like icicles being driving into his heart. Before the pain of that subsided, the wail came again and Sen wanted to retreat somewhere, anywhere, that the scream couldnt reach him. He swung his head back and forth, frantic to find some kind of safe harbor or even just a handhold that he couldtch onto. Then, a light punched through the mist tond on him. It bathed him in a golden glow and helped to soothe some of the soul ache the shrieking had inflicted. He felt something firm beneath his feet and stumbled toward the light.


    The scream came again and threatened to drive Sen into unconsciousness. Except, he knew it would be something worse than unconsciousness. If he sumbed to that pressure, he would never rise from it again. His existence would be little more than a living death. He clung to the promise of that light the same way he clung to consciousness. He stumbled forward, pressing toward what he hoped was salvation with all the will he could muster. His focus condensed down to exactly one thing. Moving toward that light. There may have been more shrieks that tried to afflict him. He was so disoriented and in pain that it became less important to him. With one final agonizing push, Sen came back to himself.


    For a few awful seconds, he couldnt even understand where he was, let alone what he was doing. There was a terrible, blinding light. As sanity started to reassert itself, Sen realized that he was the source of that light. He also saw that the misty gray of the spirit was being driven out of him, but that wasnt all that was happening. The light pouring off of his very skin was boiling away whatever substance hadposed that spirit. There was another of those shrieks, except it was happening in the real world. Sen took a lurching step as that sound assaulted his ears, his mind, and something deep inside of him that he thought was his soul. He was certain he felt something rupture inside one of his eyes. Then, with onest burst of light, the spirit was gone. Sen copsed to his knees, drawing in ragged breaths as the different parts of his being tried to sort out what went where and exactly who was in charge.


    Sen forced himself to look up. Misty Peak was standing a few feet away and staring at him in both fear and awe. The spider was hovering closer to him, scuttling back and forth like a nervous viger who didnt know how to help an injured friend. Sen worked his mouth a few times and then spat blood onto the ground before he managed to say anything.


    Oh, hells, that hurt. I never want to do that again, mumbled Sen.


    Are you, well, you again? asked a hesitant Misty Peak.


    Yeah, said Sen.


    Okay, great. d youre not possessed. Sorry to add to your list of worries, but you need to get up. Right now!


    What? Why? demanded Sen.


    He followed the direction of her gaze and wanted to just cry. Devilish beasts were rushing at them. Muttering to himself and ignoring the world of pain that was still coursing through him likeva, Sen pushed himself to his feet. Misty Peak shot him a look that verged on open terror.


    What are you babbling about? she demanded.


    I said, <em>someone</em> is going to pay for that.

 Book 6: Chapter 48: The Ruins (3)

    Book 6: Chapter 48: The Ruins (3)


    All throughout Sens training, Master Feng had instilled in him the need for control. Hed striven for it at first because he trusted Master Feng. Then, hed gone out into the world and witnessed firsthand the destruction that uncontrolled techniques could unleash. Hed even been the cause of some of that destruction. A loss of control had the potential to end lives by the hundreds or, as a cultivator advanced, by the thousands. It could level homes. It could level <em>nations</em>. Those experiences and realizations had reinforced his belief in the absolute need for control. Sen could count on his fingers the number of times hed truly lost that part of himself. Even when the heart demon was at its worst, Sen had rarely fallen prey.


    Of course, he had also rarely been in a position where a loss of control stood to harm so few and destroy so many that deserved it. Nor had he ever been as powerful as he was at that moment, recent trauma aside. <em>It would be so easy</em>, he thought. Keeping a tight hold on techniques was the challenge. Letting them fail, well, that was childs y. <em>A heavens rebuke like that one I set off back in that abandoned town</em>, <em>perhaps</em>, mused Sen. It would likely wipe away every devilish beast rushing toward them. Any it didnt kill would likely be horribly injured by that detonation of qi. The idea seemed to take hold of Sen with a will of its own. He had already drawn his jian and started pressing lightning qi into it before he realized what he was about to do.


    He truly had no idea what that technique or an intentionally wed version of the technique would do at his current level of advancement. Yes, it would kill the enemy, but it might also wipe away half of the ruins or kill them all. He withdrew the lightning qi from the jian and decided that something else was more appropriate for these creatures. While his memories of why he performed the technique remained hazy, the mechanics of Heavens Shadow remained burned into his mind. Just as importantly, it wouldnt bring about mass destruction in its wake. Sen pulled on the shadow qi inside of him, frantically mixing and matching the other kinds of qi it needed, before he drew on that helix of divine qi, just the tiniest thread, to bring it all together. Then, remembering that he had inflicted his grief on those other cultivators, he picked something else he was all too familiar with to infuse the technique. Fear.


    He had spent most of his early life in a constant state of fear. Fear of starvation. Fear of beatings. Fear of death. His ascent into the ranks of cultivator hadnt freed him from fear, just given him new things to fear. Sen drew deep on those experiences and distilled that fear into something more basic, something purer, something primal. He squeezed that fear the way he might squeeze qi to condense it. He took that fear and shoved it into the technique. There was a moment of resistance before the technique let him add this other element. He nced over at Misty Peak.


    Get ready to follow me through, said Sen before shooting a look at the spider. That goes for you too back there.


    Misty Peak was staring at the jian in Sens hand like it was made of death. What are you going to do?


    Sen gave her a smile. Im going to share.


    Where hed almost instinctively limited the technique the first time hed done it, Sen put no such restrictions on himself this time. He swept the jian before him and a casual, almostzy arc. An avnche of shadow, divine qi, and the essence of fear rolled across thend in front of him, spreading out and crashing over the devilish spirit beasts and restless spirits alike. There was a hush as that technique inundated those fell creatures, seeped into them, and afflicted them. The avnche thinned as the technique took root in every living and unliving thing within its range. His mind a little more settled, Sen returned to pressing lightning qi and his killing intent into his jian. Right around the moment Heavens Rebuke coalesced and purple-hued ck lighting started to crackle around the de, the part of the horde that had been racing toward them quite simply went mad.


    The spirits tried to float away and attacked anything that got in their way. The devilish beasts tried to run in every direction except toward Sen. They crawled over each other or went through each other. Spirit beasts were trampled and crushed beneath the hooves and ws and more powerful devilish beasts. The noises of terror they made were so loud and omnipresent that Sen felt it in his teeth. Misty Peak had pped her hands over her ears to try to block some of the noise, and Sen had to wonder just how sensitive her hearing was. <em>Do foxes have better hearing than humans</em>? Sen suspected that they did and that it would only grow more acute as they gained power. The big spider was hunched low to the ground and violently shuddering, clearly pained by the noise but unable to cover whatever served to give it hearing.


    Sen wove a of air around them to cut down the noise. He didnt stop it entirely because it was madness to deprive yourself of one of your senses in battle. He just muted the noise so that it wasnt physically agonizing to experience it anymore. Misty Peak lowered her hands and the spider stopped crouching and shuddering. She looked at him and then stumbled back when her eyes fell on his jian. She pointed at the sword with a trembling finger.


    <em>What</em> is that? she demanded.


    Sen turned his attention back to the chaos ying out in the horde and answered, A sword.


    As the horde did its best to rip itself apart and run away at the same time, Sen nodded to himself. This was a far better option than mindless destruction. It was judicious control. As much as Sen would like to simply stand there and watch the foul creatures destroy each other, he knew it wasnt possible. His technique had only affected a small portion of the horde. As they died or fled, unaffected members of the horde would filter in to rece them. They needed to use the chaos in front of them as cover to get into the ruins. That meant they were going to have to cut their way through.


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    Keep up, said Sen and dashed toward the madness.


    Sen almost immediately decided that the only real saving grace to this approach was that they didnt need to actually kill everything in their path. They just needed to get around the devilish beasts. Testing an idea, he let the divine qi embedded in his skin rise to the surface and emit a dull glow. Every spirit that got near to him recoiled as if in agony and even some of the devilish beast shied away from him, which made Sen happy. He didnt even have names for most of the things he saw. They resembled spirit beasts in the loose sense that most of them had four legs, but the simrities tended to end there. He saw something that looked like a cross between a deer, a scorpion, and some kind of serpent. There was a beast that had no head, simply a chitinous body like a boar, and a long neck that ended in a maw filled with razor fangs. He saw a creature that had two heads, one of a bird and one of some kind of cat. The headsshed out at each other as often as at something else.


    Yet, those creatures were almostforting whenpared with the creature that was nothing but a mass of tentacles around a massive, pus-filled nodule that he thought served as its brain. The thing was so utterly vile, so purely revolting, that Sen went out of his way to hurl lightning at it. The lightning split open the nodule in a spray that coated nearby beasts and began to rot them immediately. Sen saw some of the human-faced spider things he fought with Chan Yu Ming what felt like a thousand years before. Sen meant to simply pass them by, but it seemed that his recent spiderpanion had something against them, because itunched itself in their midst with an outraged chittering noise. Sen clenched his teeth and followed the spider. His Heavens Rebuke-infused jian carved through the things like they werent even there. He actually felt their cores explode as soon as the de came in contact with them.


    He would have liked to stay and experiment, but he barely dodged a foot-long spine that something in the horde had fired off. He wasnt even sure that it had been aimed at him. It could have been aimed at something else, or nothing at all, or simply fired in some creatures death throes. He gave the spider a baleful re and the creature flinched back from it. They couldnt stop moving or theyd get bogged down in the horde.


    Lets go! ordered Sen, knowing that it was toote.


    Misty Peak had been flittering around the edges of their fight with the human-faced spider things, but the horde had shifted, bringing fresh monstrosities into their vicinity. The horde wasnt targeting them specifically. They were still caught in the throes of the panic that Sen had induced. Unfortunately, the devilish beasts were so thick on the ground that they didnt need to target Sens group specifically. Misty Peak was frantically battling with three fear-crazed things that Sen didnt look at too closely. He needed to make them a little breathing room. He started cycling for wind. It normally wouldnt be much of a challenge, but maintaining Heavens Rebuke had never really gotten any easier. It still demanded most of his attention. He also wasnt prepared to release it yet.


    Instead, Sen did what he knew best. He pushed himself. He forced his mind to find what it needed to cycle the amount of wind he needed. Then, he crafted wind des. Except, these werent the small wind des that he normally preferred. These wind des were massive things that were close to thirty feet long. With an effort of will and qi, he started to spin those wind des like they were attached to an axle with his small group in a tiny safe zone at the center of the carnage he was about to unleash. It took almost five seconds, a long eternity in battle, for the wind de to reach the speeds he wanted, but the effect was almost instantaneous. There was a hellish shriek as the wind des cut through the air and dangerous chaotic winds hurled some of the lighter devilish beasts away. As blood started trickling out of his nose, Sen smiled and was certain he must look slightly mad. <em>I did say someone was going to pay</em>, he thought.


    Misty Peak! Fall back! shouted Sen.


    She didnt hesitate. She flung herself toward where Sen was standing. As she did that, Sen pulled those massive spinning wind des down to the earth. He didnt have the words to describe the carnage he unleashed with that decision. Weaker devilish beasts were simply disintegrated by the des, while stronger beasts were flung away in pieces. The bone shrapnel from the beasts that were somewhere in the middle caused a wave of death that radiated outward from where Sen stood. There was also a great wash of ck blood that covered everything within sight. Misty Peak stared at the destruction with her jaw ck. Sen knew better than to waste time. He grabbed her arm and started dragging her toward the ruins. After a few steps, she shook off her shock and started moving under her own power again.


    The path to the ruins was more or less clear, and Sen found it interesting that the barrier that kept out the horde had also kept out the blood, bone shrapnel, and dismembered bodies. It also let them move a lot faster. It wasnt fast enough. A massive devilish beast mmed down between them and the ruins. It might have looked like Boulders Shadow if Boulders Shadow had leathery skin instead of soft fur and stood ten feet tall. Misty Peak started to slow down but Sen was tired and hurting. He didnt feel like bantering with whatever that thing was. He simply pointed his jian at it and unleashed Heavens Rebuke as a consolidated strike. He was interested to note that another little thread of divine qi jumped into the technique right as heunched it. The devilish beasts eyes widened as it saw the iridescent bolt of lightning streak toward it, and then punch straight through it.


    The lightning hit the barrier protecting the ruins. There was a moment of infinite horror inside of Sen when he thought hed made a lethal mistake. If Heavens Rebuke damaged the barrier, it might spell all of their deaths. Instead, it was as if a great hammer had struck a bell. A pure note rolled away from the barrier like a physical presence. Sen braced himself for the blow, but it passed through him. He spun to check on the spider, but it was just standing there and giving Sen a look that made him think it was confused. Sen turned to look at Misty Peak and froze at what he assumed was her actual appearance. <em>No</em>, he chided himself, <em>thats an inside-the-ruins conversation</em>.


    While that sound had left them unharmed, it was less kind to the devilish beasts. Some of them were ripped apart, some of them melted, but it seemed like all of them were hurt in some way. Sen knew enough not to waste that bit of good fortune. He activated his qinggong technique and raced toward the ruins. He flinched a little as he passed through the barrier, but nothing happened. He turned to watch as Misty Peak pulled something out of a storage ring and activated it. She looked incredibly uncertain as she passed through the barrier. Her eyes darted around like she expected something terrible to happen and only rxed when nothing did. The spider raced up to the barrier and passed through it without so much as a twitch in its steps. Sen let himself sink down to the ground and flopped back. <em>We did it</em>, he thought. <em>Were inside</em>. <em>I just wish I thought the hard part was over</em>.

 Book 6: Chapter 49: The Ruins (4)

    Book 6: Chapter 49: The Ruins (4)


    Sen didnt bother to stand as he pulled a healing elixir from a storage ring and downed it. He justy there for most of a minute, basking in the magnificent absence of people talking at him. Knowing it couldntst, though, he pushed himself back up into a sitting position. Misty Peak and the spider were standing next to each other and staring at him. The fox woman looked stunned. The spider looked like, well, it mostly just looked like a spider that was staring at him. Sen wished again that the thing could speak. Even if it sounded creepy, it would still be better than the almost entirely one-sided version ofmunication they had at present. Sen nced out over the ground that they had just covered.


    It was a gruesome sight. There were devilish beast parts everywhere. Beyond that were the bodies of all the beasts hed killed by ident with his wind de trick. And to make matters worse, it looked like a god had sshed a particrly viscous ck paint over the entire scene. <em>Im so d no one was here to see all of that</em>, thought Sen. <em>Then again</em>, <em>there were two foxes present</em>. <em>I may live to hear some demented retelling of all this yet</em>. Groaning, Sen dragged himself up to his feet. He gave the battlefield beyond the barrier onest grim look before turning his attention to the fox and the spider.


    Are either of you hurt? he asked.


    Silence.


    Are you injured? Sen asked a bit more forcefully.


    Silence.


    Hey! shouted Sen.


    That seemed to snap the pair out of some kind of stupor. Misty Peak flinched, while the spider scuttled back a step or two. The fox woman shook her head a few times as if trying to clear it before she settled a more focused on gaze on Sen.


    What? she asked.


    Are either of you hurt? Sen repeated.


    No. Im fine, said Misty Peak.


    Sen looked over at the spider, sighed, and said, Lift a leg once for yes and twice for no.


    The spider promptly lifted a leg up and again. Sen nodded.


    Then, lets get a little farther from the barrier. No point in announcing where we went when the horde fills back in.


    Misty Peak gave him a strange look. You think there are any left? Even after that weird bell thing you did.


    Im certain of it.


    Why?


    Because it would make my life easier if there werent any left. So, the horde is absolutely notpletely gone and will be waiting for us when its time to leave.


    You should try being more optimistic, observed Misty Peak.


    How much? Sen asked.


    How much what?


    How much money do you want to bet that the horde is gone? asked Sen, summoning a bag of taels from a storage ring and giving it a shake. Ive got this much that says theyre still out there when were done.


    Misty Peaks eyes traveled from Sens face to the bag of taels. No bet.


    I thought so, said Sen, storing the bag. Okay, lets get moving. At least until we find a spot where I can rest for a little while. Unlike you two, I didnte out of that unscathed.


    The three started walking deeper into the ruins. For all that time had taken its toll, Sen was surprised how much of the temple city was intact. He picked a building at random and went inside through a door that still functioned. It had clearly been someones home. It had also not been abandoned in haste. Everything was carefully packed away, as though the owner had expected to return after a long journey. Sen found himself frowning around at the order in the ce. Misty Peak poked through a few cabs and went into a few of the rooms, but didnt bring anything out of them. He supposed she might have tucked away a few treasures into a storage ring, but there was a thoughtful look on her face.


    Ive never seen hair quite like that before, said Sen.


    Misty Peak went from thoughtful consideration to a nk-faced statue from one moment to the next. Sen admitted to himself that he found it deeply satisfying to be able to spring something on the fox woman. While that strange tolling sound hadnt hurt the woman, it had stripped away the illusion. What was left in its ce wasnt dramatically different, but softer. The lines of her face were a little gentler, a little rounder, less aggressively androgynous, and more obviously feminine. The most obvious change was her eyes, which had taken on a slightly squinted look and dark orange color. The next most obvious change had been the reddish cast of her hair. Her hand shot to her face and then jerked a piece of her hair around so she could look at it.


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    Hells, she muttered.


    Im a little disappointed there arent any tails, said Sen with a grin.


    She red at him, which was much more effective with her orange eyes that seemed to ze briefly with an inner light. Just because <em>you</em> cant see them, it doesnt mean they arent there.


    Sen was tempted to tease the fox woman a bit more, but the oddity of the home nagged at him. He ended up just making a nomittal noise before he abruptly walked outside, picked another building at random, and went inside. His frown deepened as he moved through the rooms, a perplexed Misty Peak trailing behind him and giving him quizzical looks. Another house, more frowning, and increasingly annoyed looks from Misty Peak followed. When Sen went to go into another house, the fox had seemingly reached her limit.


    Are you just going to search every building hoping that you stumble onto the spatial treasure?


    Sen blinked at her a few times, trying to make sense of her words. <em>Spatial treasure</em>? It came back to him in a rush. They were in the ruins to get that spatial treasure for Laughing River. The strangeness in the houses had simply disced everything else and, with a touch of embarrassment, he realized he hadnt bothered exining what he was doing to Misty Peak or the spider. <em>The spider</em>, thought Sen. <em>I really need to just give that thing a name</em>. The spider didnt seem to care very much what Sen was doing. It just settled outside of whatever building Sen happened to be inside and did Sen didnt know exactly what it was doing. Maybe it was cultivating or meditating on the intrinsic beauty of webs or Sen came up with nothing. <em>Spider things</em>, he decided.


    Are you going to answer me or just keep giving me that nk look? I mean, itd be one thing if youd been struck dumb by my beauty but <em>that</em> clearly didnt happen.


    Shed said thatst bit with more heat than Sen thought was entirely necessary. She wasnt a heavens shaking beauty but she did have a vaguely predatory prettiness that Sen found appealing. Of course, Sen bted realized, he hadnt bothered to say anything like that to her either. Maybe that almost possession had done him more damage than he thought. He usually exined things to people. He considered that a little more. <em>I exin things to people</em>, <em>dont I</em>? A glowing-eyed re that threatened to punch a hole into his brain reminded Sen that he still hadnt actually uttered a word. He shook his head.


    Come with me.


    Oh, the time for that particr invitation was back at the <em>first</em> bedroom we came across. For someone with impable timing in battle, your social timing is terrible.


    Sen snorted, which just made the re intensify. Your grandfather made the same observation about my social skills not that long ago, but thats not what I was getting at. Seriously,e with me.


    Sen went into the building and, after a long enough pause to let Sen know that he wasnt in charge of her, Misty Peak followed. Sen gestured around the ce. The fox eyed the room they were in, which wasnt appreciably different from themon areas of thest few houses theyd been in during thest hour. She nced around the room before directing an unimpressed look his way.


    Yes, youve discovered the magic of walls. They do indeed make rooms. Congrattions.


    Amusing. So, answer me this. Why is all of the furniture still here in all of these houses? I mean, I can understand an odd piece here or there if the temple or city dwindled over the centuries. But furniture isnt cheap. People take it with them when they leave. Ive been on the roads enough to see it happen.


    Misty Peak looked around again, and it was her turn to frown. He could see it on her face as she mentally reviewed the other homes theyd gone into. Her eyes focused again. Sen waited in themon area as the woman marched around the house from room to room. She vanished into what Sen suspected was the kitchen and came back holding a wok. She was staring at the pan like it was keeping secrets from her and she wanted to shake them free from the stubborn metal. She held the pan up and flicked the bottom with a finger. It gave off the dull ng of thick metal being struck.


    This is the kind of thing that mortals pass down, she said. You could get another fifty years of service out of something like this.


    Sen walked over and cycled for metal. He let his qi settle into the pan. It was extremely well made with almost no ws. He suspected that Misty Peak had the right of it.


    It seems that way. So, why is it still here?


    Misty Peak gave the wok another hard look before she gave him a helpless look.


    Ill admit that its strange. Very strange. Annoyingly strange. Its also not what were here for.


    Sen gave her a long look. Its certainly not what Im here for. Im not so sure about you. Why are you here? Maybe just as importantly, why didnt you just give your grandfather that toy of yours that let youe in here in the first ce? Could have saved you, me, and that poor spider outside a lot of trouble.


    You saw that? Didnt you have more important things to be paying attention to at the time than me?


    You had just shed your disguise, however unintentionally. Plus, I was inside the barrier at that point. I was just enjoying the view.


    She lifted an eyebrow. Oh, were you?


    Stop fishing forpliments. You didnt answer my questions.


    Oh fine. It wont work for him. It barely works for me, she said before she turned her head like she was trying to look through the wall. Come to think of it, why in the hells is that spider here?


    Sen threw his hands in the air. I have <em>no</em> idea and didnt feel like spending three hours asking it yes or no questions to try and find out.

 Book 6: Chapter 50: The Ruins (5)

    Book 6: Chapter 50: The Ruins (5)


    As pets go, its really creepy, said Misty Peak.


    Sen gave her a level look. Its not a pet.


    It acts like a pet. It follows you around all the time.


    By that logic, <em>youre</em> my pet. Should I be scratching you behind the ears?


    The look of blind outrage on Misty Peaks face was too much for Sen. He burst intoughter, which didnt help things at all. She stalked toward him with bloody vengeance in her eyes. It was a challenge to duck and dodge all of the punches and kicks she threw his way while he was stillughing, but Sen wasnt one to let small things like debilitatingughter get in the way of saving his own life. By the time the fox woman got tired of notnding any blows, Sen had his amusement <em>mostly</em> under control. Mostly.


    Stop smirking at me, said Misty Peak with barely restrained fury.


    My other pet isnt nearly so demanding. Did you see how it just quietly waits for me?


    I will cut your throat in your sleep.


    Alright. Alright. Ill stop poking fun, said Sen taking up position by the door leading back outside.


    Its better for your health that way.


    Youre in a terrible mood. Did I forget to feed you today? asked Sen before darting out the door.


    Sen crouched in a shadowy corner behind a building while Misty Peak hunted for him, shouting his name, and issuing very graphic death threats. He decided then and there to leave out the part of the story where he ran away and hid in any future telling of the tale. He nced up at a soft chittering noise. The spider was clinging to the wall above him. While Sen couldnt be entirely sure, he felt like the spider was giving him a reproachful look. He eyed the spirit beast.


    What? asked Sen in a quiet voice. She had iting.


    When Misty Peaks anger seemed to have subsided, Sen and the spider cautiously emerged from hiding. They tracked the fox woman down, who was leaning against a wall, arms folded across her chest, and staring at Sen with eyes narrowed so much they were barely slits. As Misty Peak looked like she was about to say something, the spider abruptly moved sideways to put some distance between itself and Sen.


    Traitor, muttered Sen before he announced in a loud voice, well, important business to be about. Spatial treasures to find.


    The fox stalked right up until she was standing nearly nose-to-chin with Sen, ring up at him.


    Dont imagine for one second that were anywhere near done with the whole <em>pet</em> discussion. We are not.


    Sen formed a mental fist and seized all of thements that sprang to mind which he was certain would lead to instant bloodshed. He promptly crushed those thoughts and looked for anything less inmmatory to say.


    Yeah. I figured.


    With onest re, Misty Peak spun on a heel and started walking away. Sen gave her back a curious look.


    Where are you going?


    To find that spatial treasure.


    Do you know where it is?


    She stopped and turned around to look at him like he must be stupid. Really? A powerful cultivator treasure tucked away in a sacred city. I thought I might start with that huge building at the center of the city that looks like a giant temple.


    Sen looked past the fox and toward the inner part of the city. There was, in fact, arge structure rising above all of the other buildings. It did seem to fit with what Sen had seen from other temples. He gave the building an unhappy look. For some reason, it hadnt been visible from outside the barrier, which made Sen nervous. Having dealt with illusions just recently, he wasnt certain how much he should trust what he could see inside the city. But she had a point. It probably was the best ce to start the search.


    Oh. Well, yes, that would make sense.


    You hid from me for nearly two hours, said Misty Peak while rubbing at her forehead. What were you thinking about if not where to find the treasure?


    I was thinking about hiding!


    Misty Peak threw her hands into the air, made a noise that did an unreasonably good job of telling Sen how unimpressed she was with him right then, and stalked away. Sen looked over at the spider, which had been steadily putting more and more distance between them. Sen rolled his eyes.


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    She wasnt mad at you, he said and started off after the fox.


    The city wasnt massive, but the trip took longer than Sen expected. Part of it was that Misty Peak couldnt seem to let go of the mystery hed discovered. She kept stopping and walking into buildings she seemed to pick at random. Sen opted to wait outside while she did those things. <em>No reason to provoke her</em>, he thought. Every time she came back outside, she looked less happy.


    That one too, she said, breaking the silence for the first time in a while.


    I sort of thought it might be like that, said Sen.


    Any ideas?


    Nothing Id be confident about saying out loud, said Sen before he stopped and gave their surroundings an angry look.


    What? asked Misty Peak.


    This is taking too long.


    I wasnt taking that long in those buildings.


    Sen shook his head. Not that. This trip to the center of the city is taking too long. We saw this whole ce from the outside. It cant be more than a few miles across, but that temple is barely any closer. I havent sensed any kind of qi techniques at work. What about you? Are you sensing any illusions?


    The fox looked from Sen to the still-distant temple. Her eyes went briefly out of focus before she shook her head.


    Theres nothing nearby that I can sense. This is all real as near as I can tell.


    Sen took a moment to saturate the ground around them with earth qi. He focused on everything it was touching, and all he got back were normal impressions of stone and, much deeper, soil. He repeated the process with air qi in the surrounding area and didnt find anything out of ce. Not sure what else to try, but convinced that something was wrong, Sen summoned a cheap dao hed taken off of someone hed killed along the way. He walked to the nearest intersection and drove the sword down, burying the tip of the sword in the stone below. Misty Peak came over and tapped the sword with her foot.


    Whats this supposed to do? she asked.


    We need some kind of visualndmark that isnt part of this city. Something out of ce that can serve as a reference point. If we are actually moving in a line toward that temple, the sword should remain behind us at all times.


    You think we arent?


    Sen rocked his head back and forth a little. I think that something is going on here that were not seeing. Probably something were not meant to see. Something designed to keep us away from that temple. At least, thats my good theory.


    Is there a bad theory?


    The bad theory is that this city <em>is </em>bigger than it looks and that spatial treasure your grandfather wants so badly has warped it somehow.


    Misty Peak considered those options. Okay. I see your point. Im hoping for the first choice.


    Sen took the lead in their walk and kept ncing back to see if the sword was still there. For a short time, it was there. Then, it was gone from behind them and Sen could see it down a street to his left. He came to a stop and simply pointed to it. Misty Peak gave the sword an unsettled look before she finally asked a question.


    Did you even feel the environment change? she asked.


    I didnt. You know more about manipting what people see than me. What do you think we should do?


    Sen waited while the fox paced back and forth a few times with her brows furrowed. Whatever was happening to them was well beyond his experience, and he knew it.


    We keep going, at least for a while. Maybe we can piece together enough information to understand how this works. Right now, this feels like a trap, and I know <em>I</em> dont want to be stuck in here forever.


    No kidding, offered Sen. Ive got a few years worth of food, but Im not feeling good about what happens after that. I havent seen anything like food in here so far. Have you?


    A few <em>years</em> worth of food. What kind of disaster were you nning for?


    All of them, I guess. You cant ever really have too much food.


    Sen decided not to mention that he could get by without food if he had to do it. Hed done it before. He just didnt want to subsist entirely on qi, even if it would probably prove easier and easier to do so over time. That was just a step too far removed from humanity for Sens tastes. He knew that, if he ascended, there was a good chance that such things would bemonce. It didnt mean he felt a rush to embrace it. His teachers hadnt, after all. Pushing away the distracting thoughts, Sen eyed the sword and then their ultimate destination. He gestured to Misty Peak.


    Lead the way. Maybe youll have better luck than I did.


    For the next hour, Sen paid very close attention to his surroundings. Despite the temple always appearing as though it was directly ahead, the sword exposed that lie. It would appear and increasingly disappear from their sight, sometimes to their left or right, sometimes behind them, but slowly growing more distant. Sen picked an intersection and drove another sword he knew hed never use into the street. As they set out, Sen decided to take a different tack. He cycled for earth qi and used it to disce part of the road as they traveled over it. From time to time, hed give the spider a look, but it was just walking after them seemingly unconcerned about their current situation. <em>Either that</em><em>or it wasnt able to follow the conversation enough to understand what''s happening</em>, thought Sen. <em>This might all just look like human madness to it</em>. After another hour of watching the new sword appear and disappear seemingly at random, Sen figured that it was probably time.


    Lets stop here for a minute. I want to check something, said Sen.


    What is there to check?


    Our trail.


    Without bothering to exin himself beyond that, Sen formed a qi tform and rose up over the city. He kept expecting to find the barrier above, but he didnt. He wasnt sure if he just didnt get high enough or if it was somehow open at the top. He assumed it was the former, otherwise that barrier would just extend up into the sky forever. Sen understood the qi consumption of formations rather well, so he knew that an open barrier like that wasnt realistic just in terms of what it would cost in energy. He was able to get high enough to get a better sense of the city, which was perfectly circr. Yet, looking down on it, the city did look bigger than it had from outside the barrier. That started a sense of unease, but it was looking at the visual trail hed left behind that truly gave Sen pause. They had been weaving aplicated path through the outer edges of the city. When seen from above, though, that path inbination with the circr design of the city looked vaguely familiar. He stood on that tform for quite a while as he tried to dredge up whatever memory was associated with that pattern. When it finally clicked, he lowered himself to the ground.


    You took your time, said Misty Peak. You also dont look very happy. What did you figure out?


    What do you know about mands?


    That they exist. Thats about as far as it goes. Why?


    Because Im pretty sure were stuck in one.

 Book 6: Chapter 51: The Ruins (6)

    Book 6: Chapter 51: The Ruins (6)


    Misty Peaks head tilted to one side like Sen had started leaning and she was trying to keep him in sight properly.


    What do you mean were stuck in a mand?


    Sen considered a couple of approaches to exining, but their effectiveness depended a lot on her knowing something about mands. She didnt need to know a lot, because he didnt know a lot, but she did need to know something. Instead of trying to talk her through it, Sen decided to simply show her what he meant. He cycled for ice and leaned on his increasingly sharp memory to bring up a mental image of what hed seen from above. It took him a minute to craft a crude replica on the ground, but it was good enough for his purposes. It had the buildings and roads in all of the right ces at least. He gestured at it.


    This is the ruins were in, he said.


    That cant be. Thats way too many buildings and roads, objected the fox woman.


    Youd think so, but its what were dealing with. Just take my word for it, or fly up and take a look for yourself.


    Misty Peak gave him an annoyed look. I cant fly. Not like you did, just floating there in the sky like some kind of rock that got confused about gravity.


    Thats a very strange way to put it but okay. Then, youll just have to take my word for it. This, he said, gesturing at the hasty ice sculpture, is the ce were stuck in right now.


    Fine. Lets say thats true. I still dont see the connection.


    Sen nodded. This is the path weve been following.


    He cycled for fire and sent a small wisp of fire along the trail hed observed. It moved along the icy streets in the sculpture, leaving a melted trail where his earth qi had left a trail in the real world. When seen from this angle, the path was incrediblyplicated. It never crossed itself, but it did form a pattern. Sen didnt understand the pattern, or what it meant, but it was far too orderly to be anything other than intentional. Given that he and Misty Peak were both blessed with perception well beyond that of a mortal, it was a statement about the power at y that neither of them had so much as felt a thing as they were directed along that path. Where she had been giving him skeptical side nces before, the fox was wholly fixated on the sculpture now. She frowned when the wisp of me abruptly winked out. She shot him a questioning look.


    Is that where we are now? she asked.


    It is.


    The fox circled the sculpture a few times but still looked unconvinced. Sen considered the problem before he cycled for wind and made a shing gesture. A wind de passed through the sculpture just above the surface. He swept his hand in the other direction and wind scooped up the ice buildings and flung them away. It left argely t image on the ground with just the barest impression of where the buildings had once been. Sen squatted down by what was left of the sculpture.


    If we continue on as we are, I think that well end up circling the city, probably several times, constantly working closer to the temple at the center.


    Why, though? asked the fox.


    Some kind of defensive measure, maybe? I honestly dont know. I do know that mands have symbolic and even ceremonial significance to some groups of monks. But my teachers never exined any of it to me beyond those basic facts. Uncle Kho had a couple that hed picked up somewhere that he showed to me. I thought they looked interesting, pretty even, but cultivators dont use them. So, I didnt ask a lot of questions.


    I wish you had, said Misty Peak.


    So do I, agreed Sen. In my defense, I was learning at the limits of my abilities at the time. I didnt have any spare mental energy to spend on things like information I didnt absolutely need.


    Misty Peak made a nomittal noise, and Sen could see that she was only half-listening to him. She was still studying the ice sculpture. Shed crouched down next to him and was tracing the route theyd taken with a fingertip.


    How sure are you about this? she asked.


    It could go either way, admitted Sen. My intuition is telling me Im right about it, but my intuitions have led me down dead-end trails before.


    True of everyone, I would think, said the fox. Ideally, wed just cut straight to the temple, but it seems like that isnt an option. Going the other way, though, could take months. Of course, thats only a problem for us. Its less of a problem for my grandfather, I think.


    Sen gave her a sharp look. What do you mean by that?


    You were just flying up there. Did you not bother to look at the sky? It isnt just the environment thats strange here. Time isnt moving the same. I dont think that the sun has changed position since we came in here.


    Sen hadnt been paying attention to the sun. It wasnt like he got tired the way mortals did, at least not most of the time. After the healing elixir he drank right after they entered the ruins had really kicked in, he felt more or less fine. He probably could use an hour or two of sleep to let the healing consolidate, but he didnt feel like he needed it. All other things being equal, he suspected he could go a ridiculously long time without caving to the need for sleep. <em>A couple of weeks</em>, <em>probably</em>, Sen thought. <em>Maybe more</em>. With the steady decrease of that need hade a sharp decline in how acutely he sensed the passage of time. As long as it was light out, it was daytime. If Misty Peak hadnt brought it up, he might have gone a few days before he even noticed how long the sun had simply been hanging motionless in the sky.


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    I suppose we could try to go back. I mean, I know were supposed to get that spatial treasure, but its pretty clear that none of us expected this situation. I dont even know if the relic that lets me stay in this ce willst long enough for us to cover the whole city like that, she said with a gesture at the path they had followed so far.


    We could try, said Sen in an unconvinced voice.


    You dont think the ruins will let us leave?


    Well, if it is a trap, why would it let us leave? If its not a trap, then its probably some kind of test. I expect the only way out of that is to eitherplete it or fail it. Unfortunately, I have no idea what either of those things looks like. We might fail if we fall asleep. We might fail if we get to the temple without achieving some specific goal. Theres no way to know.


    We mightplete it simply by reaching the temple too.


    True, Sen conceded. Well, if were going to test if we can leave, we should get on with it. The sooner we know, the sooner we can make a n.


    After twenty minutes of pure frustration, it was clear to Sen that just walking out wasnt going to work for them. It was as if the city simply realigned itself around them to ensure that they never went anywhere except forward on the intended path. Misty Peak was a bit more determined, so they spent another half hour failing to get anywhere near to the barrier. Sen was calm about the situation. If they couldnt go back, that only left going forward. The fox was far less enthusiastic about being trapped in the city. Sen supposed that she had more on the line than he did. He wasnt sure what kind of measures the monks who once lived in the city had used to keep foxes out, but he suspected that being inside the city when they activated wouldnt be <em>good</em> for Misty Peak. Sen took a step back when the fox whirled and pointed at him.


    You can fly, she said, her eyes bright. You can fly us there. Skip all that walking entirely.


    Sen had his doubts that it would work. If the city could mess with space or their perceptions of it so smoothly that they didnt notice, it followed that the same would apply in the air above the city. However, he decided it made sense to try everything before theymitted to traversing the mand by foot. He left another sword in the street to mark where they left off and formed a qi tform big enough for him, Misty Peak, and the spider. The fox seemed deeply ufortable with having the spider so close. The spider seemed deeply ufortable with getting onto the qi tform and even lessfortable with flying. It crouched low as soon as they took off. The fox looked inordinately pleased with herself as they cut through the air, her gleaming eyes fixed on the temple. The glimmer of triumph soon winked out when she realized that the temple wasnt getting any closer. Eventually, Sen got tired of the exercise in futility and dropped them back down to ground level. When theynded next to the sword hed just driven into the street, even Sen couldnt help but give the de a sour look.


    Well, I guess that answers that question, muttered Sen.


    The spider scuttled off the qi tform immediately. Misty Peak started hurling profanities at the nearby buildings and asionally kicking loose objects she found. Sen nced at the sun and saw that it still hadnt moved. How long had they been in the city? He wasnt sure how long they had actually spent walking. It hadnt felt like that long, but they had covered a lot of ground. It just hadnt all been in a straight line, unfortunately. He decided that it was time for food. He might be able to go without and the same might hold true for the fox, but he doubted the spider could. Sen considered going into one of the nearby buildings and looking for a kitchen, but the idea left him feeling oddly ill at ease. He wasnt sure why, but he knew that it was a bad idea.


    Instead, he set up a campfire right in the middle of the street and set about making some food. The spider got one of the many in spirit beasts that Sen had dropped into his storage rings over the years. He always meant to take them out and harvest parts that might be useful for alchemy but almost never seemed to get around to it. He added it to a growing list of things he should make an effort to do more often. It was useful in this situation because it meant the spider had a steady food supply, but Sen couldnt picture being in simr circumstances very often. <em>Although</em>, <em>that might just be ack of imagination on my part</em>, thought Sen. When he was done cooking up a basic meal, he called Misty Peak over.


    Come and eat something, he said.


    Why? she asked in a waspish tone.


    Because things never look quite as bad after a meal. Plus, Sen gave the sky a look, Im not sure how long weve actually been in here. It seems like its just been part of a day, but Im feeling pretty doubtful about everything at the moment.


    The trio ate in silence. Misty Peak seemed lost in her own thoughts, while the spider was wholly invested in eating the spirit beast Sen had donated. It was a sight that neither Sen nor the fox looked at too closely. Sen spent the meal wishing he knew more about how time and space qi worked. Hed gotten a bit of insight about it from studying all the storage rings hed looted over the years, but that wasnt anything like real training. He also didnt have affinities for those kinds of qi. He thought that shadow qi might have a distant rtionship to space qi, but that was something else hecked the knowledge or experience to leverage. Even if the monks hadnt used time and space qi specifically, Sen suspected that having affinities for them would have made navigating inside the city easier. Eventually, he nced over at the fox woman. She looked defeated.


    We should get some sleep, said Sen. Its not like night is ever going to arrive to break up the days.


    I dont have time to waste, said Misty Peak.


    We arent going to walk non-stop for months. Even I cant do that with all of my body cultivation, and tired minds make bad decisions. Well have to sleep eventually. So, it may as well be now.


    Sen was both surprised and relieved when the fox didnt suggest they sleep in one of the buildings. He hadnt wanted to fight about it because he didnt have any facts, just intuitions. Being in the city meant that there wasnt anywhere he could anchor a tent. He satisfied himself by pulling out some nkets and piling them up on the ground. Hes slept in more ufortable ces. While he hadnt felt like he wasgging during the day, he felt himself start to drift off almost immediately. Hisst thoughts as he slipped into unconsciousness were about mands.

 Book 6: Chapter 52: Mandala

    Book 6: Chapter 52: Mand


    Things were quiet when they set out the next Sen pondered about the right word. It still looked like morning, but he suspected it was going to look like morning all of the time for the foreseeable future. Since there wasnt much to be done about it, he set the concern aside. Hed just call whenever they got up and started moving again morning. The rest had done him good, despite dreaming about inscrutable patterns that seemed like they ought to mean something and might actually mean something to someone else. He felt like his mind was much clearer than it had been the day before. It seemed that attempted possessions were no joke and best avoided in the future. Misty Peak seemed consumed with thoughts that troubled her, while Sen was wondering how long the journey would take.


    The spider seemed wholly unconcerned. Sen did spend some time considering how much he was taking the spider for granted. As docile as it seemed, it was still a positively lethal spirit beast. If it turned on them while they slept, Sen wasnt entirely convinced that he would be able to withstand the spiders poison long enough to both kill the thing and treat himself. He felt a little guilty thinking that. The spider hadnt done anything to make him think it had ill intent. He supposed that distrust stemmed from not knowing why the thing had run after them into the ruins in the first ce. <em>I wonder if theres something inside the ruins that it wants</em>, thought Sen. <em>That would at least make the spiders behavior explicable</em>. He also knew that if he truly wanted to know, he could simply endure the extended process of asking the spider endless yes or no questions, but Sen decided that he wasnt worried enough to put up with that just yet.


    At first, Sen tried to keep track of their progress by leaving a trail behind them as he had done before and flying up to see how far theyde. After what he thought was the equivalent of a few days, he simply gave it up as pointless. Theplexity of the path they were forced to walk made it all but impossible to measure progress in a meaningful sense. He simply gave in to the monotony of the walking. With the buildings all looking alike and the roads all made in the same way, the environment fell away from his notice. He drifted into something that was almost a trance. Every once in a while, hed snap out of it and call for a halt. Hed pass out food, and theyd all rest for a while. Yet, even those breaks started to blur together. Conversation was sparse and usually faded to nothing after a few minutes. For Sens part, it was simply that he didnt think of anything he wanted to say.


    He didnt notice when it was happening. The farther they walked, the less it looked like a city around them. The buildings melted away into a forest, and Sen found himself traversing a beaten dirt path that slowly carried him through foothills covered in tall grass that he didnt recognize. The path carried him to the base of a mountain where it transitioned from packed dirt into narrow stone steps that led up the mountain. His eyes tracked up and up. There had to be thousands of steps that he could see and likely more beyond that. However, he didnt hesitate. He simply ced a foot on the first step and started to climb. After all, what were thousands of steps to Sen. The ascent took hours, then days, then weeks, and still the mountain rose higher and higher. His steps fell on the stone with mechanical regrity, one after the next, each footfall making only a whisper of noise.


    As he climbed, memories came back to him. They were memories that weighed him down with regret. The way hed handled things in the capital with the king. The way hed left Lifen behind with the cult. The way hed treated Lo Meifeng. The bandits hed let live so long ago on that empty stretch of road. The prices that other people had paid on his behalf. He thought of the people he might have helped if hed been less distracted, less busy, less focused on himself. He thought of Grandmother Lu and how long it had been since hedst seen her. He didnt necessarily see these things in a new light. He slowly came to realize that his regret didnt stem from what he had done. In most cases, hed done as he thought was best or as circumstance had demanded. Sens regret was that he hadnt had the wisdom or the will to find other ways. Yet, after a time, he saw that even that regret was self-indulgence.


    Wisdom could be acquired. Will was something he had in abundance. If the regret was real, he would have worked harder to find more wisdom and apply that will to creating better options. His real regret, his true regret, was that it hadnt been easy. He had chosen familiar paths and familiar solutions because that was easier than finding new ways. Worse, the world encouraged people to choose those paths. Cultivators honed themselves in violence and consciously chose to impose their will on reality. After all, what were techniques if not a cultivators will over reality made manifest? What was ascension if not the ultimate expression of a cultivators will over reality by transcending it?


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    As Sen climbed those endless steps, he considered those revtions. The path of cultivators was fraught with pitfalls, but it was also a proven path. Just because he found the violence distasteful, hadnt he agreed to it by pursuing cultivation? Then again, his pursuit of cultivation had been drivenrgely by outside threats. Hed grown stronger as much out of pure necessity as anything else. If he hadnt gotten stronger, he doubted he would be alive. He struggled to identify just where to put the line between agreement and coercion. If the choice was between growing stronger or dying, Sen didnt think it was much of a choice at all. Still, he couldnt help but wonder if his ambivalence was a weakness that should be discarded or a sign that he should be forging in some new direction. The one thing he did know was that action took conviction, and ambivalence was a poison to conviction.


    He wrestled with that problem for what felt like years as his steps carried him higher and higher toward a peak that he thought must be some infinite distance away. In the odd moment when he took a break from considering the problem of conviction and ambivalence, he tried to guess how many steps he had climbed. Had it been thousands? Tens of thousands? If he looked around, he didnt seend anymore. There was no blue sky overhead. There was just the great expanse of darkness that one might see at night and the stars that lit glittering paths across the cosmos. And, somehow, the mountain still rose above him, the stone steps as hard and indifferent as the first one had been. As the climb continued, Sen eventually discarded his contemtion of ambivalence and conviction as a false problem.


    He was ambivalent, it was true, but it was almost always in the aftermath. He had only allowed that ambivalence to hold true sway asionally. In the moment, Sen held conviction. Sometimes, he might not like where that conviction took him, but he had it. He realized that the ambivalence was there to serve a purpose. It was a reminder that problems had more than one solution, not just a reason to question his value. <em>I can be more than one thing</em>, he reminded himself. It was that truth that he kepting back to, over and over again. He could be the ruthless cultivator, but he could also be the healer. He could be an enemy, but he could also be a friend. These things didnt make him weak. They didnt make him less. That duality wasnt just something in him. It was something in everyone. The drive to be only one thing was the true aberration.


    How many hours had he spent trying to figure out what and who he should be? How much energy had he spent trying to decide which face was his real face? They were all his faces, his truths, and trying to suppress one in favor of another was to weaken himself. Sen imagined that many people would disagree with that conclusion. They would probably think he was being weak for not picking one thing to be but that was a <em>them</em> problem. He was the one who had to live in his skin, look at his own face in the mirror, and find themfortable. He couldnt aplish that by discarding his sympathy in favor of disregard any more than he could aplish it by forgoing ruthlessness in favor ofpassion. He needed all of it to be himself.


    Sens foot came down on another step and the reality around him shattered like ss. The endless starscape fell away in pieces to reveal the ce he had been trying to go the entire time. His foot was on the first step that led up to the temple in the center of the city. Sen froze in ce as he tried to make sense of the experience. How long had he been walking through that city with no conscious awareness of where he was or what he was doing? Time had lost all meaning. Part of him was convinced that he had climbed up that mountain for hundreds or even thousands of years as he contended with his inner self. Another part of him was certain it had just been a second. Those two perceptions battled for dominance in his head, but neither felt more real than the other. <em>Maybe both are true</em>, thought Sen. He turned to ask Misty Peak what her experience was like, but she was nowhere to be seen. He scanned the immediate area. Neither she nor the spider were anywhere to be seen.


    Fantastic, said Sen. Thats just great.

 Book 6: Chapter 53: Individual Paths

    Book 6: Chapter 53: Individual Paths


    Glowering out at the empty city, Sen let his spiritual sense wash outwards. It was powerful enough that, while he knew he couldnt cover the entire city, it should cover most of it. Sen froze in ce. He had expected to get the usual flood of information about everything alive in the area. Instead, he sensed nothing. Nothing at all. It was as if he cast his spiritual sense into an utter void. The only thing he could sense was himself, the temple, and Sen whirled. Standing at the top of the steps was a positively ancient man in odd orange and yellow robes. Sen studied the figure with suspicious eyes, yet the man regarded Sen with a gentle smile. The mans face was so wrinkled that Sen could barely see anything of his eyes except for a twinkle of good humor. The mans positive demeanor made Sen take a cautious step back. He couldnt sense a core or the concentration of qi hed expect around a cultivator, but there was <em>something</em> about him. A kind of subtle, ineffable strength that made Sen very, very certain that he didnt want to fight the man.


    You cultivators, said the man with a surprisingly strong voice. Always so suspicious. So violent. Its almost like someone trains you to be that way.


    Then, as if hed told the worlds funniest joke, the old man burst intoughter. Sen didnt join him. Instead, his eyes darted around the area. <em>This must be some kind of trick or distraction</em>, thought Sen. As the seconds rolled by and the old mansughter ebbed, no attack came. No trap was sprung. The area around the temple remained as quiet and empty as it had been. The old man spoke again.


    You may call me Brother Khu. I am the, oh, I suppose you might say that Im the caretaker of this ce.


    Sen didnt want to talk to the man. He wanted to go find Misty Peak and the spider. In the end, though, he thought that simply talking might get him to answers faster than roaming the city. Besides, he might get caught in whatever had happened to him again. Sure, climbing all those steps had been useful to him in the sense that it had given him time to sort out some of the things that had been troubling him. That didnt mean he wanted to spend another few thousand years, or however long it had been, doing it again. He suppressed the annoyed noises and expressions he wanted to make. The man had introduced himself as Brother Khu, so Sen made the small leap of assuming the man was some kind of monk. Although, how the man had survived alone in the city for all the centuries since it must have been swallowed by the wilds was something of a mystery. Still, it was always wise to tread with care around monks. Sen offered the man a bow.


    I am called Lu Sen.


    The old man frowned. Perhaps you are called that, but its not your name.


    It was Sens turn to frown. Its the only name Ive ever known.


    Hmmmm, said the monk. Very curious. Well, if you dont know, I dont expect it would gain you anything to have me enlighten you about it.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. Isnt enlightenment what monks are all about?


    Heh. I suppose it is but only in matters less, let us say, prosaic.


    While Sen was mildly curious about what Brother Khu had meant, he had buried his need to know about his family long ago. They hadnt wanted him enough toe back for him when he was a poor street rat. Now that he was aparatively wealthy cultivator, he didnt want them. They had all gotten along just fine without each other. Sen saw no need to try to fix what was obviously working for all of them. Beyond that, Sen had more immediate and pressing concerns.


    How about the location of the people who were with me? Is that too prosaic a matter?


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    No. Its simply not a matter that you can do anything about. You walked your path to arrive here. They must walk their individual paths to do the same. Right now, they are beyond your reach or mine.


    Sen grimaced. So, the mand <em>is</em> a trap.


    A trap implies ill-intentions. The mand is a method to find a path. I even allowed your fox friend to continue.


    You knew?


    Of course, I knew. Her trinket was clever enough, but neither my eyes nor my mind are clouded. She cannot hide her nature from me.


    Sen nced back out at the empty city. He still wanted to go look for them, but he suspected that the monk was either telling the truth or was exerting an enormous, terrifying level of control over the entire area. Either way, Sen didnt think he would find them. Turning back to the monk, Sen decided to focus on his other goal.


    Should I assume you know why Im here?


    I have a reasonably good idea. There isnt much here of value to cultivators or foxes. So, Id guess that the old monster finally decided that it was time to ascend only to discover that the only thing that could help him do it was here. Am I close?


    That sounds about right. So, will you let me have it?


    The monk pondered that for a while before he shrugged and said, Okay.


    Sens mind stuttered along until it finally dragged to aplete halt. Hed been expecting to have to argue about it, or maybe pay some outrageous sum for it, or most likely fight for the stupid treasure. One of those things, or more likely all three of those things, would have happened if hed approached another cultivator for the treasure. Sen had been so primed for a conflict that hes just never considered what he would do if things went his way. He stumbled around mentally before finally managing to dredge up something appropriate to say.


    Oh, um, thank you.


    An almost palpable aura of amusement exploded from the monk and suffused the area. It wasnt domineering or oppressive the way Sen expected powerful auras to be. It was everywhere but rested as lightly as a feather on his senses.


    I bet you thought Id make you fight me for it, didnt you?


    Sen felt a little embarrassed about being so transparent. Well, yes. I mean you did set up all those defenses to keep the foxes out. Im here to help a fox. Its not that much of a stretch to think you wouldnt just give up the space treasure willingly.


    The monkughed. Is that what the old fox thought was happening? Those defenses werent there to keep him out. Not really. He could have gotten inside if he wanted it badly enough. They were there to make sure he didnte until he was truly ready to leave this world behind. He would have wasted the treasure if wed let him have it sooner.


    Sen gave Brother Khu a skeptical look.


    So, this was all for Laughing Rivers benefit?


    Of course. Im a monk. I know better than most that the path to enlightenment can take many forms. The old fox is just a little slower than most to find his way. He needed some assistance, even if he didnt know it.


    Part of Sen was screaming at him that this was all part of someplex ruse. He did his best to silence that voice in the back of his head. He was too used to things always going wrong or going the hardest way possible. It was possible that the monk was lying, but Sen couldnt think of a good reason why the monk would lie. There was no obvious benefit. If Brother Khu was as potent as Sen suspected, he could have simply denied Sen the treasure and sent him on his way.


    How long until the others arrive? Sen finally asked.


    How long did it take you to arrive? replied the monk.


    Sen tried to think of a good way to answer the question but found that he didnt have an answer that made sense. It had taken him as long as it had taken him. It would take the others as long as it would take them. The old man chuckled and waved for Sen to join him at the top of the stairs. Sen ascended the steps until he stood next to the monk. He was surprised to find he towered over Brother Khu by nearly a foot. The monk peered up at him with those deep-set, almost hidden eyes.


    Is everyone as tall as you, these days? Its been a while since I was out in the world.


    Sen thought it over before he shook his head. Im fairly tall, as those things go.


    Brother Khu nodded. Come along young man. Well have some tea, and Ill try to remember where I put that bauble the old fox wants. I know its around here somewhere.


    As Sen followed the monk into the temple, he considered the word bauble. Given that it was a space treasure powerful enough to help the equivalent of a nascent soul cultivator ascend, Sen wasnt sure that <em>hed</em> call it a bauble. Then again, he hadnt been living inside a mystical city that pulled double duty as a life-size mand that could seemingly pull people into some other ne or state of existence. So, what did he know?

 Book 6: Chapter 54: Webs

    Book 6: Chapter 54: Webs


    Glimmer of Night had followed along behind the Cluster yer, who he liked, and the other one, who he didnt care about. He had been quite uncertain about the Cluster yer at first. He had only followed them into the ruins out of a sense of obligation that ran so deep in his kind that it might as well have been amand from the heavens. He had feared that once they were in the city, the Cluster <em>No</em>, thought Glimmer of Night, <em>he is called Sen</em>. He had feared that Sen would fall back on his old ways and simply kill him. However, Sen had seemed genuinely concerned that everyone was alright. More importantly, the human cultivator had freely shared food from the impossibly vast reaches of his storage treasure.


    Not merely food, though, but entire spirit beasts with their cores intact. It also seemed that Sen didnt bother fighting weak spirit beasts. The human might not have realized it, but he had single-handedly pushed Glimmer of Nights advancement forward years ahead of schedule, possibly even a decade or two. Whatever the others in the cluster might think of him, Glimmer of Night was inclined to take his story about what happened with that other cluster at face value. After all, the human could have simply ignored him, let him go hungry, or even killed him. He had done none of those things. Of course, that was when they had all been traveling together. The situation had changed without warning. One moment, the spider had been trailing along behind them, thinking about how nice it was that the fox had stopped talking all the time. The next moment, he had been in <em>this</em> ce. Whatever this ce was.


    He was on a web. He knew that much, even if the web strands were impossibly wide. No spider could fail to recognize web qi when they saw it. Of course, that had left him with the persistent concern that some equally vast spider matriarch woulde along and crush the life from him. He had stood frozen in ce by that fear for longer than he would care to admit to anyone. Eventually, boredom had supnted the fear. If death was toe, it seemed it woulde slowly or, barring that, it woulde elsewhere. So, Glimmer of Night had set forth to find either information or his death, as it seemed no other good options existed.


    The great web on which he traveled seemed to be spread out across the empty space between the far-flung worlds. He knew of those worlds because his kind was sensitive to the web of life. They had long felt the tremtions in that web that came from much too far away to originate on their own world. Glimmer of Night was still too young and inexperienced to feel those quivering touches on the web himself, but his matriarch spoke of them. He had sensed a curiosity in her about what might be on those worlds, and it had sparked his own curiosity. Did his kind have distant cousins on those worlds? If they met, would they meet in war, or be greeted as long-lost family? He didnt have a preference. He could learn from either situation.


    He did notice that time moved strangely in this new ce. It had been like that in the ruins as well if less pronounced. He would walk for years at a time but not feel that passage as he should. He spent a bit of those early years of travel simply thinking about what he had done in life. The battles he fought. The friends hed made, lost, and even been betrayed by. He didnt hold hate in his heart for those betrayers. The world was not made for the weak and easily offended. Besides, it was easy to be magnanimous. He had in those betrayers to the veryst. No, looking back, he found he had no regrets. A part of him thought thating to that realization would bring this journey to an end. Hed believed it so firmly that hed even stopped moving and looked around, waiting for the transition back to the world he knew. It did note.


    Sighing a little, he continued this long walk. From time to time, the strand he walked on would intersect with other strands. Those strands would stretch out to lengths that defied hisprehension. He considered exploring one of those other strands, but his intuition warned him not to do that. Those strands were paths, but they were not <em>his</em> path. If he went down one of those, it could have either good or bad consequences. He did hesitate a little each time he came across one of those intersecting strands. If only he knew more about whaty down each, he might make a better decision. The heavens, it seemed, were not feeling generous toward him, because no burst of understanding or inspiration struck. With no information to work from, he decided to stay on the strand that had been selected for him.


    As boredom once more threatened to overtake him, he turned his mind to the glory of webs. And why not, as he stood upon what might well be the greatest of all webs. They could be delicate, sublime things that captured droplets of dew that scattered light in the most pleasing of ways. They could also be terrible things with shing spikes of hardened silk woven in to wound and punish. Yet, beautiful or fell, they demanded the deepest concentration. They were intricate and easy to mar with inattention or haste. When done correctly, though, they could rise to a level of art that even the non-spiders could appreciate. They could even spark enlightenment in the right kinds of minds. Glimmer of Night had some small talent in crafting webs, even able to infuse his webs with certain affinities that could enhance their functions. He aspired to one day make a web that would spark enlightenment, but that would be centuries away if it happened at all. He would need to survive long enough to nurture his small gifts.


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    As he considered the art of web weaving, and the nature of infusing those webs, time flowed around him like a great river. He delved deep into the traditional web patterns. He searched for understanding. He searched for insight. He considered deeply why those patterns were the patterns taught to every spider, and why even the spiders whocked self-awareness seemed to know those patterns. He theorized that it was a function of the web of life. The patterns must echo along that web so that even the lowest of his kin could feel them, even if they didnt understand them. When he felt that he had gleaned all that he could from contemting the patterns known to all, he started to consider the pattern that he was developing.


    It was still an ugly thing, half-formed, but he could feel himself reaching for a deeper truth every time he worked on it. With nothing but time and apparently freed from all needs, he let himself sink wholly into that nascent pattern. He built a thousand webs in his mind, then ten thousand webs, and then a hundred thousand webs, striving to find the internal geometry that would strike the spark of enlightenment and let him ess not simply <em>a</em> truth, but <em>the</em> truth hidden at the core of that pattern. So deep was his concentration that he did not feel it at first when he was lifted from that enormous strand, nor see the great ck eyes that peered down on him with distant, maternal amusement.


    When he returned to himself, he thought his life would flee from his unworthy body. He stood upon the leg of the most perfect spider he had ever beheld. There was not a blemish upon her carapace, nor a hint of weakness in her legs. Her eyes were the color of the deepest void. Glimmer of Night ttened himself against the leg he stood on, wishing only that he could lower himself even farther. He didnt stand before a matriarch for no such word would do her justice. This being transcended him, transcended all the matriarchs of his world and possibly any world. It was unworthy that she should be subjected to the sight of his weakness and imperfection. He feared she would strike him down for intruding on her.


    Be at peace, she said.


    The voice was light and sweet, even as it reverberated throughout the cosmos. He was bothforted and struck with fearful awe.


    You are not here by ident, she continued. You had many chances to turn aside from this fate. You could have ignored the debt to the human cultivator. You could have chosen any of the other strands to walk. However, you persevered and found your way to me. I am impressed, my son.


    It took longer than it should have for his quaking mind to remember that he could talk and that the protracted silence around him suggested that should talk.


    I am humbled by your regard, Ancient Weaver.


    Ancient? Do I look so old?


    Before the de of pure terror could sink itself into his mind, the great spider let out peals ofughter. The sound of thatughter washed away his fears and he suddenly found himself thinking of home.


    Tell me, my son, who is so very, very far from home, what boon would you ask of me?


    Glimmer of Night froze. A boon? His mind tried to go in a thousand directions at once. He thought of resources that would let him advance. He thought of secret knowledge. He thought of and cut off from the vicious cycle of violence his brethren experienced all the time. Try as he might, though, he couldnt bring himself to ask for any of these things. It was both too much and not enough.


    It is enough that I have seen you, said Glimmer of Night. To ask for more would be greed.


    There was more of thatughter that left him feeling warm and safe.


    Oh, I do believe you have been spending far too much time with that cultivator friend of yours. Still, it isnt the worst thing for one so young to be charming, said the great spider. Well, if you will not choose, then I suppose I must choose something for you. Before that, though, tell me about your cluster. Tell me about my children on your world.


    He spoke haltingly at first, still half-stunned by the presence of the great spider. Speaking about his home soon loosened his words, though. He told the great spider about his matriarch and the many caverns they had imed as their own. He told her about the wilds and their conflicts with the other spirit beasts in the area. He spoke about the human cultivators and the constant threat they posed in their hunger for cores. He didnt know how much time passed as he spoke, nor did he care as he sat beneath the attentive and interested gaze of the greatest of all matriarchs. When his words ran dry, she seemed to sense it.


    Thank you for speaking with me, she said. I so rarely get visitors here. I can see much through the web, but its not the same as listening to someone talk. Now, I do believe that I know what boons I will grant you.


    Glimmer of Night was so overwhelmed with pleasure at having rendered even that tiny service to this divine presence that it took a moment for the word to sink in. <em>Boons</em>? <em>Plural</em>?

 Book 6: Chapter 55: Compassion

    Book 6: Chapter 55: Compassion


    Sen sat at a table and sipped tea while Brother Khu muttered under his breath and searched through chest after chest that he pulled out of a closet that could never have held them. He considered offering to help the old monk, but Sen suspected that there were probably things in the chests or the closet that Brother Khu would prefer went unseen by an outsider. So, Sen did his best to wait patiently. That resolve was tested when the monk all but fell inside of a chest. It was a telling moment. It seemed the chests were storage treasures as well. Sen had been told that storage treasures couldnt hold other storage treasures. Uncle Kho had tried to exin why, but Sen had given up even trying to understand when phrases like dimensional integrity started getting thrown around. Hed contented himself with the exnation that trying to store one storage treasure inside another would end badly. However, the closet and chests seemed to defy that rule. Sen wondered if perhaps they were linked in some way to get around that problem.


    For all Sens concerns about Brother Khus safety, the monk emerged unscathed and held up a jade box that could rest easily on Sens palm. The monk casually flipped the chest closed with a foot and then proceeded to kick each of the half-dozen chests toward the closet. Sen watched with open curiosity as the chests slid into the closet without any apparent trouble. The monk closed the closet, wandered back over to the table, and sat down. He ced the box in front of Sen, then gave his cup of cold tea a mournful look. Sen cycled a bit of fire qi and waved a hand in the general direction of the teacup. Steam began to gently waft up off the liquid in the cup. The monk took a sip and nodded in approval.


    You cultivators do have your uses, said the monk.


    Im not an expert on, well, monks, but I have heard you have powers of your own. Is something like warming up a cup of tea not possible for you?


    Brother Khu lifted a hand and waggled it back and forth. Can I do something like that? Probably. Should I do something like that? Probably not.


    I dont understand. Its a trivial thing and would make life so much easier. Why not do it?


    Whoever told you that deploying power is a trivial thing? asked the monk.


    Sen stared nkly at the monk before he said, No one told me. Something like making your tea hot just <em>is</em> trivial. It costs virtually nothing.


    Perhaps, but perhaps not. Acquiring the kind of power you have takes most people decades if not centuries of sustained effort. You must work for it. You must sacrifice for it. As I understand it, building up qi is time-consuming and even difficult. Warming up the tea appears trivial because it is small, but not when you put it in context with everything it cost to be able to warm up the tea. For most cultivators, every scrap of qi is a treasure beyondpare.


    All of that gave Sen more than a little pause. He was pretty casual with his use of power, and it <em>was</em> inrge part because restoring his qi reserves was so stupidly easy. If he had to work for it the way other cultivators did, would he treat warming up as something trivial or as a waste of qi that bordered on a travesty? He honestly didnt know. Part of him suspected that he might still treat it as trivial. Hed always been more interested in what he could do with qi than in hoarding it toward future advancement. Then again, hed developed advantages that let him indulge that interest. There was just no good way to know how hed feel about it if his circumstances had been different. His circumstances <em>hadnt</em> been different. So, he was left with imagining how he might have seen the world differently. It was, however, a poor substitute for the lived experience, colored by his biases and attitudes.


    Sen gave the monk a helpless smile. Perhaps that is true for others, but not for me. And I seem to recall the question being about why <em>you</em> dont do it. It wasnt about why hypothetical cultivators would choose to avoid it. You dont cultivate like I do, so you cant be fretting about preserving qi in the distant hope of ascension. What prevents you from using your power in this way?


    Humility. Reverence. Fear of selfishness. There are many reasons. In the end, my path is one of service. I exist to aid others. Using what meager power I have on something as trivial, the monk winked at Sen, as warming my tea is to treat that power lightly and selfishly. Particrly so when I can simply make more tea over the fire. Its slower, Ill grant you, but it preserves my strength for my true purpose.


    Meager power? asked Sen with a raised eyebrow. I think its less meager than you pretend, but I do have a question.


    Please, ask, said the Brother Khu.


    You say your path is one of service, to provide aid to others, but foxes are notoriously troublesome. Not evil, necessarily, but few would ssify them as good. Why would you choose to aid one of them?


    Hmmmm, said the monk as he sipped his tea. I suppose you believe that empathy andpassion should be reserved for the worthy.


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    Sen didnt respond immediately. He felt like the statement was a trap of some kind, even if he couldnt quite see where the sharp edges were located. He frowned as he thought the sentiment over.


    I do, Sen finally agreed.


    If we reserve our empathy andpassion only for those who seem outwardly deserving of it, what manner of karma do we sow? How will souls be better in their next lives if they never experience empathy andpassion? How will we be better if we withhold empathy andpassion? I choose to aid the old fox out ofpassion, in the hope that it will help him be better, if not in this life, then in his next life. I cannot wash away his sins, nor free him from his karmic debts, but I can give him that small gift. The experience of one personspassion.


    Sen stared at the old monk with a mixture of curiosity and horror. He could see Brother Khus point, but he didnt agree with it. There were people and things in the world that didnt deservepassion or empathy or even pity. They only deserved death. It seemed the old man could read his expression without Sen uttering a word. The monk gave Sen a sad smile.


    You think that my path is a foolish waste.


    Sen considered his words with great care. I think that your path would treat many with more respect and kindness than they deserve. I believe your empathy andpassion might be better spent elsewhere.


    Spoken as someone who has, perhaps through no fault of their own, been taught that it is their right to decide who lives and who dies. Is your judgment so keen that you believe you can judge not only who deserves life but who deservespassion?


    Sens expression soured at the word <em>judgment</em>. Some seem to think that of me.


    For the first time, the monk seemed nonplussed by one of Sens answers. Whatever would make you think that?


    Ive I guess you could say that Ive acquired a reputation. It came with a name. More of a title, really. That titlees with a lot of expectations attached to it.


    What title? asked the monk, his face lit with curiosity.


    Sen let out a long breath, wishing hed never brought the subject up. But he had brought it up, and it was only fair to answer.


    Judgments Gale.


    The monk fell into reflective silence as he studied Sen from across the table. Then, the old man chuckled with a surprising amount of sympathy.


    Oh. I see. No wonder you looked as though youd bitten into something rancid when I used the word judgment, said the monk. A heavy burden for one so young. Saddled with the responsibility to pass judgment on others.


    Yeah, well, I do my best to avoid it when I can. Im no saint who can see into the souls of others.


    Yet, you kill?


    Sen once again considered his answer with exceeding care. I cannot see into the souls of others, but I can see what they do. If they act like ravening beasts, if they sacrifice the innocent, if they seek to do harm because they can, I will kill. If I am attacked, I will kill. I did not make the world this way, but I must survive in it.


    I survive in it, said the monk.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. Do you?


    The monk gave Sen a big smile. Perhaps not in the same way as you. I do enjoy a certain istion here.


    Just a bit. Speaking of istion, why do you tolerate that horde of devilish beasts and spirits outside?


    Better that they roam the world freely to do harm?


    I meant why do you tolerate them to live? I can understand why you might help the old fox, but you cannot tell me you think that those things deservepassion. They <em>are</em> evil.


    Brother Khu nodded. They are evil, although an argument might be made that they needpassion most of all. That has been a matter of open debate since before your master walked this world.


    My master?


    I didnt always live behind this barrier. I know of Fates Razor. I even met him once. I can see his influence in you. As for the horde, yes, I could destroy them.


    Then, why dont you?


    Because it wouldnt help. New evils would rise in their ce to restore the bnce. Suffering is a part of life. For suffering to exist, evil must exist. Except, those new evils would rise all over the world to cause havoc, chaos, and death. Here, they are contained.


    Sen hated that answer. He didnt hate it because it was a bad answer. Assuming the monk was right, keeping the horde in ce was likely the most responsible thing to do. He hated the answer because it meant that he would get no more help leaving the ruins than he had gottening into them. He didnt relish the fight he expected was waiting for him. He was just d that hed taken the trouble to set up that second formation. He didnt imagine it would work quite as well since the horde had seen something like it once already, but the horde didnt seem to be made up of mental powerhouses. Even if the formation just drew some of them away, it would make life easier. Sen felt another question forming deep down in his mind, but it never got a chance to fully spring to life. The monk perked up in his seat and smiled at Sen.


    It seems that one of yourpanions is arriving.


    Sen followed the monk back out to the steps where they waited. After a few minutes, reality seemed to unwind like the threads of a garmenting undone. A figure stepped through the hole in reality. Part of Sen watched as reality rewove itself like the hole had never been there. The rest of his attention was on the pitch-ck humanoid figure ring at him. Sen was immediately put in mind of the spider queens, but this creature was decidedly male. Sen wondered if this was the spider that had been following him around. The figure pointed at Sen.


    This is <em>your</em> fault.


    Before Sen could say anything, another hole in reality appeared, ringed in a phosphorescent glow. Sen took a step back as Misty Peak flew through the hole while hurling profanities at some unseen attacker. That was a bit startling, but the part that snagged Sen''s attention was that the fox woman was <em>on fire</em>. Sen summoned a heavy nket and activated his qinggong technique. He arrived just a second after Misty Peak came to a stop face down on the ground. He threw the nket over her and started patting at her to try to extinguish the mes.


    Lower! she shouted.


    Sen did as he was told and then stopped when he realized where his hands were. He turned his head to give the fox a look. She directed a huge and wholly unapologetic smile his way.


    Okay, she said, now squeeze.


    Sen closed his eyes. <em>So</em>, he thought, <em>its going to be one of those days</em>.

 Book 6: Chapter 56: Spiders, Glares, and a Pertinent Question

    Book 6: Chapter 56: Spiders, res, and a Pertinent Question


    Not even bothering to open his eyes, Sen disengaged his hands from the fox womans backside and stood up. He hadnt particrly missed this kind of behavior during the long years hed spent ascending that mountain that seemingly had no peak. He found himself oddly wistful for those quiet centuries of climbing. It had been frustrating at times but peaceful nheless. Sen also got the impression that while he had gotten a lot out of the experience, he hadnt gotten everything he might have if hed approached it with less urgency in his heart. <em>Maybe I cane back here and try again</em>, thought Sen. <em>Itd be way easier to get past that horde if I only needed to worry about getting myself inside</em>.


    Arent you going to help me up? asked Misty Peak.


    Sen opened his eyes and looked at the fox. She seemed very unimpressed by how much he wasnt being helpful. He shrugged.


    You seemed to get yourself down there just fine. I expect you can get up by yourself too.


    She narrowed her eyes at him. Well, you havent changed.


    You were on fire when you arrived here. Id say that neither of us has changed that much.


    Despite his words, Sen reached out to help the woman to her feet. She started to hand him the nket before she took a longer look at the scorched piece of material and winced.


    Sorry, she said, moving the ruined nket around in midair like she didnt quite know what to do with it.


    Its fine, said Sen.


    He took the nket from her and with a brief surge of qi, he incinerated it. He saw a coy expression cross the womans face but was saved from that problem with a different problem. The person who Sen assumed was the spider stormed up to the pair of them, his liquid ck eyes boring into Sen. While Sen had stared down a lot of troubling things, that re was surprisingly effective at leaving him feeling more than a little unsettled.


    This is <em>your</em> fault, repeated the angry spider man.


    Sen tried to sort through the many, many questions that rolled through his mind. He wasnt sure where to start.


    Were clearly going to need to have a long talk about a lot of things, said Sen, but why dont we start with what you think is my fault.


    This! shouted the spider, waving his hands at his body. Look at me. Oh, my legs. My wonderful legs are gone. And I got these useless things in return.


    Sen took a step back as the spider shook his arms in Sens general direction. Sen tried to regroup and grasp at sanity.


    Im sorry, said Sen. Im trying to understand, but I really need more information. How is this my fault?


    The Great Matriarch transformed me into this terrible thing because of you! She said it was the best way for us tomunicate. Except, I cant change back.


    Wait, said Sen. Your queen did this to you.


    No, open your ear holes. Not my queen. The Great Matriarch!


    Misty Peak leaned in and whispered to Sen, Im pretty sure hes talking about a transcendent spider. Some kind of primordial existence or a goddess maybe. He probably met her in the mand.


    Yes! shouted the spider. The promiscuous, ceaselessly talking one understands.


    Hey, I dont talk that much, argued the fox.


    Sen gave her a look. <em>Thats</em> the part that bothered you. Not the promiscuous part?


    Im a fox. Why would that bother me? You humans are the ones who have strange ideas about sex. Besides, are you going to pretend that youre celibate or something?


    Sen took a beat before he said, Okay. Thats fair.


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    She smirked at him like shed just won in some game that he hadnt even known they were ying. He turned his attention back to the spider, who was just staring at him.


    Before anything else, what should I call you? asked Sen.


    I am Glimmer of Night, said the spider.


    Glimmer of Night, repeated Sen. Alright. So, the Great Matriarch did this to you so we couldmunicate. What are we supposed tomunicate about?


    She did not see fit to tell me. She simply said that I should spend time in yourpany and all would be clear.


    Sen asked his next question with a sinking feeling in his stomach.


    Did she say how long she thought this would take?


    Not long, admitted the spider, giving Sen the briefest glimmer of hope. A few hundred years.


    Sen reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. She wants you to travel with me for a few hundred years. Looking like that. With the name Glimmer of Night. Yeah, that wont possibly create <em>any</em> problems.


    Misty Peak spoke up then. Im supposed to travel with you as well. For themunicating. Yeah. The fox ancestors said so.


    Im sure they were lying to you, said Sen. You know you cant trust anything that a fox says.


    What? Youre going to let Spider of the Darkness over there go with you without blinking, but I cante?


    Well, I dont think that hes lying to me, which is a big point in his favor. Plus, I dont particrly want a celestial spider to have me on a list of people she doesnt like. I might meet her one day, and Id like it to be friendly, thank you very much.


    You might meet the fox ancestors one day, said Misty Peak. Arent you worried about what theyll do to you?


    I just figured Id ply them with wine and tell them stories about how <em>I</em> set you on fire.


    You never set me on fire.


    The day is young, said Sen. Plus, we need to get out of here before any of us worry about where to go next.


    Dont we need something from the old monk guy first? asked the fox woman as she shot Brother Khu a sidelong look.


    I have it, said Sen in a tone that was far too casual to actually <em>be</em> casual.


    You already have it?! she demanded. How long have you been here?


    Oh, weeks and weeks, said Sen. I was thinking I might have to abandon you here.


    He is lying, said Glimmer of Night, his head tilted a bit to one side.


    The fox woman rolled her eyes. Of course, hes lying. Hes trying to wind me up.


    Im sessfully winding you up, said Sen.


    Is this some kind of courtship ritual? asked the spider.


    Yes, said Misty Peak.


    No, said Sen at the same time.


    Im confused, said Glimmer of Night.


    So is he, said Misty Peak hiking a thumb at Sen. I expect youll both get over it.


    Feeling himself reaching the limits of his tolerance, Sen walked over to Brother Khu. He would use the old man as a shield, even if it was a shield that would onlyst for a few minutes.


    Brother Khu, may I present to you, Glimmer of Night. He is one of the spider spirit beasts who dwell in the nearby forest.


    Hello, Glimmer of Night, said Brother Khu, directing a smile at the spider.


    Glimmer of Night seemed a little awkward and uncertain now that some of his anger had faded away. He nodded at the old man.


    Hello, Brother Khu, managed the spider.


    And who is this young woman? asked the old monk.


    Oh, her? Shes just a fox. Probably best not to speak to her.


    A fox, you say, murmured Brother Khu. Well, we cant have one of those running around inside the ruins. I suppose Ill just have to send her to one of the hells.


    The annoyed re that Misty Peak had been directing at Sen turned to one of genuine concern as she started to back away from the old man.


    Probably for the best, said Sen, earning an incredulous look from Misty Peak.


    Sen kept his expression neutral for as long as he could, but a snicker escaped his lips after a bare few seconds. Brother Khu, who hadnt moved an inch, gave Misty Peak a grandfatherly smile. The fox woman gave them both a death stare.


    Neither of you is funny, she said.


    She whirled to storm off, only toe to an abrupt halt. Sen figured that she had just realized that doing that might wellnd her right back inside of the mand shed just escaped. With her ability to storm off in a huffpletely undercut by uncertain circumstances, she settled for giving Sen withering res. The sidelong looks she gave the old monk were decidedly cautious. <em>Maybe he could have made good on that idle threat</em>, thought Sen. He made a mental note to learn about monks, someday, when he had the time. Sen made another mental note to try to find the time to learn about monks.


    Her name is Misty Peak, Sen told the monk.


    A look of real anger crossed her face at that. Only you get to call me that. My name is Sun Linglu.


    Sen considered the fox woman for a moment before he offered her a bow. I apologize.


    Misty Peak didnt look happy, but the genuine contrition in Sens voice seemed to mollify her a bit. She turned her gaze to the monk who remained serene at the exchange. He offered her another smile.


    Its very nice to meet you, Sun Linglu.


    Yeah, um, thanks. So, I have a question if you dont mind, said Misty Peak.


    Of course not, said the monk.


    Why are these ruins filled with buildings that look like theyre waiting for the owners toe back?


    Brother Khu turned to look at Sen. I rather thought that would be your first question. The answer, youngdy, is that it looks that way because thats exactly what will happen, eventually.


    What? asked Sen and Misty Peak at the same time.


    I told you, said Brother Khu to Sen, that Im the caretaker of this ce. There would be no need for a caretaker if no one wasing back.

 Book 6: Chapter 57: Mystery Unsolved

    Book 6: Chapter 57: Mystery Unsolved


    Sen so very badly wanted to ask the monk a mountain of questions, but he realized that it was ultimately a distraction. As interested as he was, and as much as he might want toe back and visit once those long-lost inhabitants came back, talking about it with the monk now would simply dy their return. Given that he had no idea how long it had been since they entered the ruins, he realized there was a question that should have been asked long since.


    Brother Khu, how long has it been for everyone outside of the barrier since we came into the ruins?


    The old monk frowned and offered a helpless shrug. I cannot say with any certainty.


    You dont know? asked Misty Peak, sounding wholly unconvinced.


    I did not construct the barrier. I know what it does, in general terms, but I cannot exin it in detail, said the monk, before he weighed the look on Misty Peaks face and continued. You use a storage treasure, correct?


    Yes, said Misty Peak.


    How much do you know about how it functions? Can you exin it in detail?


    A look of grudging eptance appeared on the fox womans face. I think I see your point. But I want to go back to the whole people areing back here thing.


    No, said Sen, earning a dirty look from the fox. Im just as curious as you are but that sounds like the kind of conversation that could take days. Given that we dont know how long its been outside, how much longer do you want to stay in here? We could walk out there and discover its been decades. Was there anyone you care about that you left in not great circumstances? People who might think you abandoned them? Even if you dont have anyone like that, <em>I do</em>. So, you can stay and ask all the questions you like, but Im leaving as soon as Brother Khu points me toward the best way to leave.


    Sen could see the frustration on Misty Peaks face. He understood it and even shared it, but he wasnt willing to stay in the ruins with the passage of time so uncertain. It might have only been a few days or weeks outside. If he found out that was the case, he might feel bad that he rushed everyone out but not nearly as bad as he would feel if he found out theyd been stuck inside for years. He cringed to imagine what kind of disaster it would have caused if he simply vanished for that long. His teachers might literally be picking up pieces of the kingdom and shaking them to see if he fell out. Or, they might think that he met his end in some deserted corner of the kingdom and mourned his loss. They would be happy to discover that he wasnt dead and might even just write the whole thing off as a cultivator misadventure with a happy ending.


    He didnt think Falling Leaf would respond with nearly so much calm. Given everything that shed done for him over the years, he expected that she would take it personally. Shed understand that he got caught in a ce where time moved differently. She might even forgive him for it, eventually, maybe. When he tried to imagine what that first conversation would be like, though, Sen shuddered. It would be ugly. When he realized it might be an unavoidable conversation no matter what he did, that prompted another shiver of anticipatory dread. The transformed spider moved a little in Sens peripheral vision. Sen felt like an ass. Hed left the transformed spider out of the conversation entirely. He turned away from the baleful stare of Misty Peak to address Glimmer of Night.


    Youll have to decide for yourself whether you want to leave now or stay and ask questions.


    The spider took a long moment to respond. These are human concerns. Ill warn my kind that humans will return here. Beyond that, I have no interest.


    <em>That was easier than expected</em>, thought Sen. He turned back to Brother Khu, doing everything in his power to not actually look at Misty Peak as he did.


    Is there a trick to leaving? Some special path we need to follow to avoid the mand?


    The monk shook his head. You have already tread the mand and gleaned whatever insights you will from it. For you, this ce is just an empty city now.


    Sen thought it might work that way, but he was so inexperienced with such things that he had wanted confirmation from a more knowledgeable source. He was a little disappointed that he couldnt use the mand again under better circumstances. On the other hand, thats often how it was with unexpected boons. He couldnt be too unhappy that it was a one-time thing. It was like finding a particrly potent natural treasure in the wilds. You didnt get angry because you only found one. You were just thankful that luck or fate smiled on you that day. Plus, his own thoughts on the matter aside, it was entirely possible that he <em>had</em> gotten everything he could from the mand.


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    It was something from a tradition and belief system entirely outside of cultivation. While some ideas and insights might cross over between those systems, it stood to reason that many would or even could not. Hed just have to be happy with what he had learned. After all, he hadnt been stuck with a transformation he didnt want or get set on fire by his ancestors. Hed juste to terms with some things that had been troubling him for a long time. Of the three people who walked that mand, he thought it was entirely possible that he had the easiest time of it. Of course, that almost certainly meant he hadnt gotten the most from it. However, he was so used to every advancement and insighting hand-in-hand with a world of pain that he was willing to trade a lesser experience for less agony this one time. He briefly wondered if that made him a bad cultivator, but it wasnt like hed made a knowing decision to take the easy road. Things just yed out that way. Shaking his head, he set those concerns aside and offered the old monk a bow.


    Brother Khu, it was very nice to meet you.


    Likewise, said the old monk. Who knows? Maybe well see each other again if our fates and karmas dictate it.


    Misty Peak looked ready to mutiny against the unfairness of Sens unteral decision. He thought she might decide to stay and satisfy her curiosity. Part of him hoped that she might. Then, he could go and do the things he needed to do and pick her brain about what she learned down the road. And he was quite certain that there would be a time down the road. Regardless of what happened with Laughing River, she seemed to enjoy vexing him a little too much to give up something that fun forever. No, even if they parted ways here, Sen was confident she would turn up again at some profoundly inconvenient time, throwing around innuendo and wildly inappropriate suggestions. <em>Shi Ping would love her</em>, thought Sen. After a bit of hemming and hawing, the fox woman exchanged goodbyes with the old monk. Glimmer of Night, who had looked increasingly bored, simply exchanged nods with Brother Khu before turning expectant eyes on Sen.


    Sen led them out into the city. He half expected to once more find them being turned this way and that by whatever power fueled the mand, but nothing happened. They simply moved through empty streets back toward the spot where they had entered the city. Sen had given a lot of thought to where the best ce to depart the ruins would be. It had been something of a toss-up for him. Where they entered came with the advantage of being the closest spot to the galehouse. The stone structure wasnt a proper fortress, but it was supported and reinforced by a number of formations. That made it a ce they could retreat to that would provide them with at least some protection. The other option was to simply exit the ruins at a randomly selected spot. Sen had given that option a lot of thought. He worried that the spot where they entered would be guarded. If they just left somewhere at random, theyd only need to deal with whatever part of the horde happened to be there. In the end, though, hed settled on leaving the ruins near to where theyde in. If nothing else, it was on the opposite side from where the second formation hed set up would be hurling fire and lightning.


    We could have stayed and asked a few questions,ined Misty Peak, breaking the silence for the first time.


    You can always go back, said Sen. I have good reasons to leave now. Glimmer of Night doesnt want to ask anything. Nobody is making you leave now.


    You know full well that I cant get past that horde by myself. If it was just devilish beasts, maybe I could do it. Not with all those spirits out there.


    To Sens surprise, Glimmer of Night asked the question that popped into Sens mind. Why would the spirits matter?


    Too many kinds of spirits just see right through illusions, and I cant just shake off a possession attempt.


    Sen stopped walking to look at the fox woman. How in the world would I have known <em>any</em> of that?


    Misty Peak stared at him with her mouth half open before she shook her head. I keep forgetting that youre not really a fox. Fine. I guess you wouldnt know full well that I cant get out of here by myself. Still, how can you just ignore that people who have been gone for thousands of years are just going toe back? Where did they go? Why did they go?


    Sen started walking again. I want to know all of those things too. Just not badly enough to stay when years could be shing by outside.


    Who could possibly be so important that youd give up finding out about all of that to get back to them?


    A madwoman, said Sen. The kind would very likely hold it against me until the end of time if I took any longer than absolutely necessary to get back.


    Youre rushing out of here because youve got some overly sensitive lover waiting for you?


    Sen snorted. Careful now. Your envy is showing, but I didnt mean a lover. I also wasnt exaggerating. I meant an actual madwoman. She just happens to be my teacher at the moment. Im already expecting to mountain of misery for taking as long as I have.


    Misty Peak didnt seem to know quite what to do with that information and fell silent. As they drew near to where Sen nned to exit the ruins, he pulled the beast core hed linked to the second formation out of his storage ring. He stared down at it and felt their odds of survival drop precipitously. Misty Peak seemed to pick up on his sudden change in mood.


    Whats wrong? she asked.


    I cant trigger the other formation, he said, showing them the beast core. I was going to use this but the link is broken.


    Misty Peak and Glimmer of Night both eyed the beast core.


    How was it broken? asked the fox woman.


    Its not like it was made by the gods. It probably happened when the mand took me wherever it took me. I didnt design it to work across different nes of existence. It was iffy just taking across the barrier.


    So, what do we do? asked Misty Peak.


    Well, given that were probably going to have to fight that horde on the way out, I suggest we eat a meal.


    The fox gave him an incredulous look. Eat? You want to eat? At a time like this?


    Glimmer of Night came to Sens rescue.


    No reason to die hungry, observed the spider.

 V6 Chapter 58: What’s a Core for, Anyway?

    V6 Chapter 58: What¡¯s a Core for, Anyway?


    Sen didnt actually care about eating, he just wanted to give himself a little while to think things through. The formation had only ever been a fallback n, but Sen was certain that the original n of signaling Laughing River also wasnt going to work either. There was a decent chance that the elder fox had waited for weeks and simply decided that they must all be dead. Sending up a signal also depended on people outside the barrier being able to see it. Sen wasnt at all convinced that was even possible, or that anyone outside would understand what they were seeing, depending on just how distorted time was in the ruins. He also hadnt thought to ask the old monk if the barrier included some kind of intentional visual distortion.


    He gave serious thought to going back and asking, but Sen doubted the monk actually knew the answer. He had the distinct impression that Brother Khu had been left as a caretaker based on hisbat skills, not his skills with barriers and formations. Going back risked wasting even more time with what seemed like a poor chance of learning anything. With the primary n unlikely to work and the fallback n ruined by the broken connection between the beast cores attached to the formation, Sen needed toe up with a n that at least had a chance of getting them all out alive. A direct assault on the horde had low odds. At least, it did unless Sen wanted to try something incredibly risky that could just as easily kill them all as save them.


    Sens mind threatened to keep circling the poor possibilities, but he noticed both Glimmer of Night and Misty Peak staring at him. Rather, Misty Peak was directing a very annoyed stare at him, and Glimmer of Night was directing a wholly alien expression at the core in Sens hand. Neither expression made Sen feel terriblyfortable. The spider lifted his gaze to Sens face.


    What is the beast core for? asked Glimmer of Night. Do you mean to eat it?


    It Sen a few seconds to unravel the seemingly bizarre question. It only made sense when he remembered two things. The spider hadnt been around when he set up the linked beast cores. Spirit beasts primarily grew by consuming beast cores. If things didnt feel quite so dire, it might have even been a little bit funny. As things stood, though, Sen just shook his head.


    I set up a second formation. I was going to use the beast core to trigger it.


    The spider perked right up at that. Oh! An entanglement. Clever.


    Sen blinked. Sure. I guess thats one way to describe it.


    May I see the core? asked the spider.


    Sen tossed it over without a second thought. Keep it. Its useless to me now.


    The spider caught the core and began studying it with an almost unwholesome level of focus. Shaking his head, Sen pulled a table out of a storage ring and piled food onto it. He also tossed a handful of beast cores on the table with different affinities. He wasnt sure what the spider could or would eat, so there was basically one of every qi affinity he had on hand. With the food issue sorted out, Sen walked away from the others to try to get a look at what was happening outside. He''d been so shaken by the possession attempt on their way in that he hadnt given the horde much thought right after theyd entered the ruins. By the time hed thought of it, they were well and truly snared in the mand. He hadnt truly trusted anything he saw or heard once he understood that situation.


    Unfortunately, he discovered that the mand hadnt distorted what hed been able to see of the outside world. It had simply looked like a blurry mess of fast-moving shapes. With so many spirits and devilish beasts in the horde, it was simply a dark mass moving on the other side of the barrier. There could be anything waiting on the other side from a disorganized group to ranks of beasts marching back and forth in orderly lines. Granted, the second option seemed less likely, but Sen didnt want to assume. Time might prove him wrong. They could walk out there and find nothing but a handful of beasts and spirits. The problem was that he had to assume that there would be a densely packed and organized group waiting for them. That would be the worst possible situation for them, so Sen almost felt like it had to happen that way.


    Sen stood there facing the barrier but not really seeing anything for long enough that Misty Peak came looking for him eventually. She took a moment to consider the indistinct world beyond the barrier before she looked at him.


    You dont look happy, said Misty Peak. I assume you didnt n for this situation, so you dont know how to get out.


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    Sen nced her way. Oh no, <em>I</em> can get out. Thats not the problem.


    You dont know how to get <em>us</em> out.


    Thats the problem.


    Well, how would you get out? she asked.


    Theres a couple of options. I think I could go right through them. Minimize the fighting and maximize the forward momentum. Im probably fast enough and strong enough for that. Id give myself good odds just going over them for that matter. You saw how fast I can be when I have something tounch myself off of. I could just make a qi tform and hurl myself toward the forest.


    Misty Peak frowned. Yeah, those could work. For you. Im not sure what the spider can do in his current form. Hells, he probably doesnt know either, but odds are he cant do either of those things. I know I cant. Im not as fast or as strong as you. My qinggong technique isnt anywhere near as good as that ridiculous thing you do. I might be able to sneak past them if not for the spirits.


    So, thats what Im trying to figure out, said Sen. How are you?


    She shot him a dirty look. I was a lot happier two minutes ago.


    Reasonable, observed Sen.


    I notice that none of your ns seems to involve a lot of fighting. Dont tell me that monk got to you with some nonsense aboutpassion.


    He tried, not that it did him any good. I dont want to fight that horde because its a losing proposition.


    You seemed to do pretty well against themst time, said Misty Peak.


    I almost got possessed. And I got lucky. If any one of a dozen things hadnt gone just right or cut our way, we never would have lived long enough to have this conversation. Plus, I cant count any of the things I didst time working again. I have to assume theyll have figured out counters to all of it.


    Even that thing you did with your sword? she asked with more than a little skepticism.


    Okay, maybe not that, but everything else.


    What did you do with your swordst time? she asked, an eager glint in her eye.


    Its something I dont talk about, said Sen.


    Youre awfully young to have so many secrets.


    Im a cultivator. Isnt being mysterious and having secrets like half of the job? asked Sen.


    Misty Peak let out a weakugh. Well, you arent wrong about that. Still, Ive heard the stories about you. People talk about you doing insane things like setting the sky on fire. Wheres that guy?


    I really wish people would stop telling that story. First, I did not set the sky on fire. Second, people stood around for the better part of three minutes and just watched me set that up without even trying to intervene. Finally, that whole thing was a bluff that depended on the people involved <em>already</em> wanting to do what I told them to do.


    Well, that does take a lot of the mystique out of the story. Even so, are you telling me you dont have something tucked up your sleeve? Something youve been saving up for a situation just like this.


    Being trapped inside an ancient ruin with a time-altering barrier around it and a horde of devilish beasts around that? I did not, in point of fact, ever imagine Id find myself in this situation, let alone n for it.


    That earned Sen a t look that made him want to shift ufortably, but he held strong and met the foxs eyes.


    You know that isnt what I meant, she said.


    Sen relented. Yes, I have some ideas for things like this. Half-formed techniques that might get the job done. They might also explode in my face and kill us all. Id like something with a bit more certainty and a lower chance of grievous injury or death.


    Youre lucky Im such a kind-hearted person. Most wives wouldnt put with all this whining, even if you are absurdly pretty.


    Sen was floundering for an appropriate response to that when there was a cracking noise that made everything inside of Sen shudder. It was immediately followed by a wave of intense heat and a tower of me reaching toward the sky not too far away. Sen followed the tower of me down and realized that it was just about where hed set up the table with the food on it. He traded a look with Misty Peak before they both took off running. They covered the distance in practically no time and found the spider hopping from foot to foot in what looked like a mad dance of maniacal glee as one of the buildings was entirely encased in a fire. Glimmer of Night didnt even seem to care that his carapace and the clothes Sen had insisted he wear were scorched and smoking.


    What happened? demanded Sen.


    The spider turned toward Sen, but he couldnt make any sense of the expression on Glimmer of Nights face. The spider rushed back over to the table and picked up another beast core. Sen could feel that it was an ice affinity core. Glimmer of Night hurried back over to them and held up the core. Sen lifted an eyebrow, not sure what he was supposed to make of all of this.


    Watch, said the spider in a tone that Sen could thankfully recognize as excited.


    The spider stared at the core for a second. There was another of those cracking sounds that sent another shudder through Sen. Then, Glimmer of Night threw the core at the burning building. The immediate environment felt wrong to Sen as two types of qi effectively dered war on each other less than fifty feet away. It set his teeth on edge, but he watched as the ice slowly overtook the fire. Before long the entire building was covered in ayer of ice at least a foot thick.


    Remember that secret thing up my sleeve you were asking about, said Sen to Misty Peak. I think we just found it.


    I think so, she agreed. Assuming he can teach us how to do that.

 Book 6: Chapter 59: The Calm

    Book 6: Chapter 59: The Calm


    It turned out that Glimmer of Night could not teach them how to do it. It wasnt for ack of trying, either. The spider had very patiently described his exact process for doing whatever it was he had done to the cores. It just hadnt taken Sen very long to figure out that Glimmer of Night was operating from an entirely different understanding of qi that used webs and various kinds of interconnection as the baseline. Given enough time and context, it was probably a decipherable method. They just didnt have that kind of time. So, Sen had turned to experimentation to see if they could still make use of the spiders ability. While the modified cores were unstable, they werent irreparably unstable. He had Glimmer of Night do his thing to a core and just set it on the ground. Then, the cultivator, the spider, and the fox had watched the core from a distance. When nothing happened, they traded nces.


    Alright, said Sen. I guess its my turn.


    He walked over to the core and gingerly picked it up. He held his breath for a moment as he waited for it to engulf him in some kind of qi explosion. Sen nced at the others. Misty Peak tried to give him an encouraging look that mostly failed. Glimmer of Night was staring at the core like he was almost disappointed that it hadnt done something terrible to Sen. Shaking his head, Sen moved on to his second experiment. He tried to put the core into a storage ring. As soon as the ring started to act on the core, he felt it. Sen threw the core up in the air and covered himself in a dome of hardened air. A massive torrent of water crashed down on him and flooded the nearby streets. When the water finally cleared away, he walked back over to Glimmer of Night and Misty Peak as they exited the building they had been hiding in. Sen just handed the spider another core.


    Maybe try doing what you do a little less this time, said Sen.


    As much as Sen wanted to get out of the ruins, he couldnt view the hours they spent experimenting on those cores as a wasted time. It took a lot of trial and error, but Glimmer of Night eventually figured out how much he could, forck of Sening up with a better word, crack the core and still let them go into a storage ring. A casual toss wouldnt set them off anymore, but a throw from cultivation-enhanced arms was still good enough. Sen didnt imagine that they would be enough to turn the horde back, but they should make a very effective distraction. Particrly if the horde was still behaving like a disorganized horde.


    It was something that Sen had to keep reminding himself about. He didnt need to <em>beat</em> the horde, just elude them. Given how little attention the devilish beasts and spirits had paid to anything happening in the nearby forest, he figured it was a safe assumption that most of the horde wouldnt chase them into the woods. As for the ones that did chase them, Sen felt a lot more confident about handling one or two dozen out in the trees. It was an environment that would likely favor him more than it favored them. He just needed to get them all there alive. First, though, everyone needed a rest.


    Sen wasnt sure how much it cost the spider to modify the cores, but it certainly didnt look easy. Plus, Glimmer of Night had been at it for hours during the testing and prepping cores for their initial exit. Sen was probably fine to go, but an hour or two of sleep should serve them all well. If nothing else, it would give their minds a break. Sen didnt even get the token resistance hed expected from Misty Peak. Not that he thought she was in a hurry to leave but simply because she seemed to enjoy being contrary. She must have read the thought on his face because she rolled her eyes at him.


    I dont disagree with everything, she said.


    Sen lifted both hands to her. I didnt say a word.


    Oh, you said plenty.


    Sen put a lot of extra effort into keeping his expression perfectly neutral, but Glimmer of Night came to the rescue again.


    No, he didnt say anything. I was listening.


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    Sen had to resist an urge to give the spider a hug. Misty Peak turned a re on Glimmer of Night that was, as near as Sen could tell,pletely lost on the spider. Worried that he might startughing if he kept watching, Sen picked a building and went inside. He threw a nket and pillow on the floor and stretched out. The other two came in shortly after. Realizing that the spider would have nothing even remotely like bedding or anywhere to store them if he did, Sen got back up. He took a minute to transfer everything out of a storage ring, and then store some essentials in the ring. That, in turn, led to a much longer conversation than Sen wanted about the ring itself and how it worked. The spider seemed fascinated by the ring, taking things out of it and putting them back in over and over. Sen reminded himself repeatedly that he was once in awe of the rings himself. With that problem settled, he returned to his nket.


    While thoughts of the fight toe threatened to drag him into a spiral of <em>what-if</em> thinking, Sen fell back on meditation techniques to clear his mind. It was simplicity itself to fall asleep after that. He was deeply surprised to discover when he woke up that he hadnt had any dreams that he could recall. Hed almost expected to have a nightmare about the horde killing them all. He looked at the others. The spider seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but there was a troubled expression on Misty Peaks face and she twitched asionally despite being asleep. <em>I guess she got the bad dreams this time</em>, thought Sen. He stored his nket and pillow back in the ring and settled in to prepare himself mentally.


    It was unusual that Sen had more than a moment or two to really think about what he might do in a fight. It was usually just a quick buildup and then a descent into violence. In this case, though, he discovered that there wasnt a lot of ambiguity. There was nothing in that horde that deserved to live another day as far as Sen was concerned. That bit of rity put things on the table for him that he might otherwise think twice about. Heavens Shadow and Heavens Rebuke were obviously on the table, although he had to wonder if there was something in the horde that could counter them. It seemed unlikely given that hed never met anything else that could, but it was never wise to assume. Of course, there was one other thing he could do or at least try to do.


    Hed done it when he was fighting the dragon, and again when Falling Leaf was fighting against that beast tide. Hed resisted any urge to do it again or even try to practice it. It wasnt refined or controlled enough to call a technique. He wasnt sure what to call it. He could replicate it, though. The fact that the dragon had withstood it gave him a little pause but what else could he expect from a dragon that old? It would have been more shocking if it <em>hadnt</em> shrugged it off. What he could remember about what it had done to that beast tide and everything else in its path was the real reason hed held back from doing it again. The utter devastation of it had been too much. Until now. Now, he faced foes that deserved that level of devastation, that kind of annihtion. He could only hope that it would destroy their souls if it came down to it. Still, it was ast resort. The first resort was simply to get away, but Sen took a certainfort in the knowledge that nothing was off the table in this fight.


    When the others woke up, they found Sen standing in the doorway to the outside. The spider cocked his head to one side like he was trying to figure something out. It was Misty Peak who looked at Sen with rm written on her face after she got a look at his expression.


    What happened?


    Sen lifted a shoulder in response. Pack up. Its time to leave this ce.


    There was a totalck of talking as Sen led them to the barrier. He frowned out at the blurry mess, wishing he had a better idea of what was waiting for them. He supposed it didnt matter. They were going out there one way or the other. He drew his jian and prepared Heavens Shadow like he had thest time with one minor alteration. He hadnt gone far enoughst time. Hed infused the technique with fear. This time, he infused it with unadulterated terror. The cold terror of being without shelter before the storm. The hot terror of facing down things you know can kill you. The existential terror thates with the certainty that a predator hase and is hunting you. Sen didnt want those things afraid. He didnt want them panicky. He wanted them to feel like they needed to flee before the arrival of certain death. In his other hand, he summoned one of the unstable cores. He looked at Misty Peak and Glimmer of Night.


    Whatever you do, stay behind me. If it looks like we wont be able to carve a path, Im going to do something that you do not want to get caught in, said Sen before he focused on the fox woman. Do you have a way to contact your grandfather? A way to send him a message?


    Misty Peaks brow furrowed as she thought it over. I think so. What message should I send?


    Sen turned back to the barrier, drawing his focus ever tighter. Tell him to take cover.


    Then, Sen stepped through the barrier.

 Book 6: Chapter 60: The Storm (1)

    Book 6: Chapter 60: The Storm (1)


    One of the truths that Master Feng had imparted to Sen through their countless hours of sparring was very simple to state. Seize the momentum. Of course, Master Feng hadnt ever said those words to Sen. He had shown Sen, over and over again. The person who seizes the momentum of the battle stands a better chance of victory. It wasnt an absolute edict. Momentum could be lost. It could be stolen. It could even be overwhelmed by sufficiently superior strength. In the world of cultivation, no advantage was absolute save pure strength. All else being equal though, if one <em>could</em> seize the momentum of a fight, one <em>should</em> seize it, because one more advantage is never a bad thing.


    Sen had that lesson in mind when he made his first move as he crossed through that barrier. Before his senses adjusted or he even regained his equilibrium. Before he could even clearly see what was on the other side, he unleashed Heavens Shadow. Sen even allowed himself one tiny, brief smile at the thought of what it would likely do to all those devilish beasts and spirits. When his vision was restored, however, the results were beyond even his expectations. While he had warned himself that the majority of the horde might well be waiting for them, he hadnt believed it would happen. Yet, he was able to watch as that terrible, beautiful technique wrapped once orderly rows of evil in utter madness.


    It was like what had happened on the way in, except amplified by an order of magnitude. The devilish beast didnt simply try to flee, they ripped into each other with tooth, w, and qi as they looked for any path of escape. A part of Sen thought he should just sit back and enjoy the sight of so many awful creatures doing awful things to each other. He felt like there was some kind of karmic justice at work. But Master Feng hadnt taught him to take things easy, so he got back to work. He took careful aim and waited for the right moment before he whipped the cracked core in his hand down the gullet of some kind of reptilian thing that had <em>dared</em> to take on the form of an ox. It <em>couldnt</em> be suffered to live, and it wasnt.


    The beast froze in ce, both figuratively and literally, as the cracked core discharged all of the qi inside of it. The reptile ox exploded as crystalline spears shot in every direction. Ice raced across the ground freezing devilish beasts in ce. That was particrly unfortunate for any that happened to be moving at the time, as their lower limbs shattered under the force of their forward motion. Then, the beasts crashed to the ground and were consumed by frigid death. Of course, by then, Sen was hurling cracked cores at any concentration of devilish beasts or spirits he saw. Since those groups were everywhere, he was throwing cores in nearly every direction as fast as he could summon them from his rings. Anywhere he saw spirits, he sent a core of fire or lighting their way. Anything that looked like it had a particrly dense skin or carapace got earth and metal.


    When the explosions of qi got so thick that Sen didnt think that throwing any additional cores could make it worse, he started adding his own vor of chaos to the mix. All-epassing shadow descended on the horde as if the very pits of the void had opened up to swallow creation itself. What had seemed like a peak frenzy of killing and death was made even more violent with the loss of vision. Anything that moved in that darkness was attacked, and everything was moving. Not wanting to let up for even an instant, Sen thrust his jian skyward and lightningnced into the sky like a signal to the gods.


    Sen pulled hard on that liquid qi that usually sat around inside his dantian and fed it into the lightning. Lightning arced and danced above them, gathering whatever it was in the air that made lightning. It built and built until it was on the edge of his control. When it reached that critical moment, Sen whipped his arm down and dragged all of that lightning to earth by his will. It didnte down in bolts but in sheets so bright that, for a few moments, they challenged the sun. Sen felt something rising in him, something he didnt recognize, something that was both him and not him. Without even knowing why he did it, Sen screamed. The words were a challenge and a promise.


    Judgment hase!


    ***


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    Tell him to take cover, said Sen, right before he disappeared through the barrier.


    Misty Peak was so stunned by the abrupt action that she just stood there staring at the spot where Sen had been just a moment before. She tried to make sense of the words <em>take cover</em>. She wondered what Sen thought he was going to do that would make her grandfather need to take cover. Perhaps the man was just a little too confident in his abilities. Sure, he could handle himself, but it was a long walk from being able to handle yourself to being any kind of a threat to someone like Laughing River. She sighed. It was probably her fault. She had been picking at his ego a little harder than was strictly necessary. She should do something to stroke his ego. Misty Peak was considering the best way to do that when the spider casually walked by her and through the barrier. <em>Oh</em>, <em>right</em>, she thought, experiencing the same frustration that all foxes experienced. Nothing could get a fox off task faster than a puzzle. Any puzzle.


    I guess we really should see about escaping before I decide if Ill seduce him or not, murmured the fox woman before she stepped through the barrier.


    The second she was on the other side of that barrier, Misty Peak was driven straight to her knees by the overwhelming pressure of whatever the hells was going on. She struggled to make sense of what her keen senses were feeding her. Death. It was just <em>death</em>. Everywhere. And at the heart of it all, jian pointed to the heavens, and zing like a dark star of destruction was Sen. Her mind tried to refuse the evidence of her senses. It just wasnt possible. Sen had only had a handful of seconds before she joined him on the other side of the barrier. There was no way he had done all of this in those few moments. A premonition of danger made her look up at what Sen was doing to the sky. He hadnt set it on fire, not that it helped in the slightest. All of that lightning was even worse. She cringed as she felt that ocean of flickering, arcing death descend. <em>Hell kill us all</em>, she screamed in her head. Shed tried to scream it out loud but her voice was locked away behind primal terror.


    When the lightning crashed down on the horde, she closed her eyes as tightly as she could. It still felt like someone had rammed white hot needles into those sensitive visual organs. As always, thunder followed the lightning, except this thunder was a voice that reverberated with the authority of the Heavens and, she realized with dawning horror and awe, the mandate of Chaos. Her very soul trembled and quaked as Sens voice rolled over them all.


    Judgment hase!


    Misty Peak made herself look up at Sens back. He burned with celestial light, no longer concerned about keeping the divine qi in his skin repressed. She shrank back as his jian took on that hellish purple-ck glow that screamed of utter annihtion to her senses. He stepped forward like a living god bent on the destruction of his enemies and the very world trembled at his passing. <em>This</em>, she thought. <em>This is where the storiese from</em>. <em>This is what people have seen</em>. <em>This is Judgments Gale</em>. Somehow, he had kept this truth buried from her sight and her intuitions, but she could see him <em>now</em>. This man was no core cultivator, except perhaps in the most technical sense. This was a nascent soul cultivator who was just taking his sweet time about wandering over that particr line of advancement.


    And she had mocked him. She had challenged him. He could have snuffed the life out of her any time he wanted to. Then, as if to add insult to injury, she felt him unleash his killing intent on the field. It wasnt even aimed in her direction and it turned her blood to ice. It felt like a living thing. A very angry, very hungry, living thing that meant to eat its fill today. Had her grandfather known? Had he known and just waited to see if Sen would end her out of hand? <em>No</em>, she thought. <em>Sen wouldnt have told me to warn him if Grandfather knew</em>. That thought was like cold water being dumped over her head. The Sen she thought she knew couldnt have done anything to her grandfather, but this merciless killing machine in front of her was another matter entirely. She hastily threw together an illusion construct and sent it as fast as it could go to her grandfather. She just hoped it got there in time.


    ***


    Glimmer of Night had stepped around the strings of fear and death that made up the web of destion that Sen had seemingly crafted on instinct. Perhaps there was more spider in the man than Glimmer of Night had given him credit for. He was d he could avoid those strings since they had driven the ceaselessly talking one to the ground. He looked around at what was happening to the devilish beasts and spirits. <em>This is good</em>, he thought. <em>I like my new friend</em>. Not wishing to be left out, Glimmer of Night began pulling the cores out of his new storage ring and throwing them at the horde.

 Book 6: Chapter 61: The Storm (2)

    Book 6: Chapter 61: The Storm (2)


    Despite the monumental amount of death Sen had just dished out, he knew they werent done yet. If he had been dealing with the same kinds of numbers they had to face when theyd approached the ruins, theyd have argely clear path. With the horde concentrated in this spot, though, hed justnded a serious but not critical blow. So, he stalked toward the enemy, fully intending to punch a hole right through their lines and then run for all he was worth toward the forest. At least, thats what he told himself. He knew thats what he should do at any rate. He found himself wondering just how the horde hade to be gathered up right where they came out, just as they left the ruins. Sen didnt know how long they had been in there. So, how had the horde predicted the moment?


    There were a frustrating number of possibilities and no way to narrow them down. It might have been divination. It might have been a betrayal of some kind. He didnt think that Misty Peak or Glimmer of Night would have given them away, but maybe one of them did. Maybe there was some way to track them inside the ruins that Sen hadnt recognized. He supposed there was even an outside chance that Brother Khu had tipped off the horde, although even Sen had a hard time believing that. Theck of an exnation stoked his anger, and he dropped his killing intent on the horde in front of him as a way to vent some of that frustration. The beasts that didnt copse into bleeding heaps on the ground all froze in ce, seemingly stunned by the ferocity of what they felt. Sen didnt let the opportunity pass him by. He activated his qinggong technique and shot toward them. He hit the massed devilish beasts like a meteor made of wrath. His fist connected with the chest of some kind of rock creature that stood nearly twelve feet tall.


    The shockwave that rolled out from that blow flung beasts into the air. Massive cracks appeared on the rock beasts chest as it was sent crashing and rolling through the ranks of devilish beasts. Senunched himself after it, lopping off heads and limbs as he went, before he brought his jian down and punched straight through the rock creature. The rock creature exploded and even Sen wasnt fast enough to avoid getting cut up by the shards or even to avoid being thrown up into the air. Rather than fight it, he decided to take advantage of his brief flight. He channeled for wind and, in an act of intentional spite, he infused a few dozen wind des with just a touch of divine qi. Those des carved into the horde like a finely honed butchers knife. They cut through bodies. They cut through spirits. More than that, though, the divine qi ignited the devilish beasts with holy fire that sent them howling and screeching into oblivion.


    Sen was so focused on the destruction below that he very nearly missed it when a massive spear closed on him. He twisted in the air and brought his jian down to intercept the spear. While he did manage to avoid the worst of it and divert the spears course slightly, it still tore a nasty gash across his chest. Worse, he could feel devilish qi trying to find its way inside of him. It was like a thousand worms with razor teeth chewing at the open wound. The divine qi in his skin took up the cause of protecting him, and Sen temporarily put that problem out of his mind. He could worry about it if he survived. Stabilizing himself on a qi tform, his eyes flickered across the battlefield as he sought out whatever had thrown the spear.


    It only took a moment before his gaze settled on a hulking figure that almost looked human. Yet, its eyes burned a deep crimson color, and its skin was mottled, looking ck in some ces and the purple of deep bruising in others. Long white hair whipped around its head in the strong wing conjured by Sens own actions and Glimmer of Night enthusiastically bombarding the field with more cracked cores. Sen locked gazes with the creature and felt a minor shiver of worry. Even at a distance, he could feel the unnatural, inhuman strength of the things power. He could also feel its hate burning bright, a hate for everything alive and divine. Grimacing, Sen lowered himself to the ground. There would be no escape as long as that thing remained. All of the other monsters might let them go or lose interest, but this devil would chase and chase until they were all dead.


    This was what Sen had worried might happen. A mindless horde was easy enough to disrupt with fear and surprise. For all of the malevolence radiating from it, this creature was intelligent. Eyeing the spear in the things hand, Sen let the harsh light of Heavens Rebuke fade from his jian and sheathed it. Holding out a hand, he summoned the heaven chasing spear. He wasnt sure it was a match for the monsters spear, which radiated a dark aura of its own, but Sen simply couldnt sacrifice that much reach. Focusing for a moment, he imbued the spear with the strength of Heavens Rebuke, but he didnt contain it to the spears head. The entire shaft began to radiate that ck and purple light. Sen briefly worried that he might harm himself using the technique that way, but its destructive power seemed indifferent to him.


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    Sen started moving toward the monster, batting aside or cutting down any spirits or devilish beasts that got in his way. The red-eyed creature moved toward him, ying its allies in an effort to reach Sen even faster. In no time at all, they stood a handful of paces apart, ring at each other.


    Who are you? asked Sen.


    The thingughed before it answered in gravelly tones. Well, if you are Judgment, little human, then I am Death.


    Those were the only words exchanged before the red-eyed monster attacked. It swept the spear at Sen in a move that would have cut Sen in half at the waist. Sen swung his own spear to block, only to find himself stumbling away, no match for the pure physical power of the blow. That might have been the end of the fight right there, except that Sen heard a shrieking noise and a bellow of anger from the devil. Hed concluded that it must be a devil, for what else could wield that kind of power in a blow that had looked so casual? ncing back, Sen saw that the devils spear was smoking, warping, and cracking apart where his own spear had touched it, the power of Heavens Rebuke simply unmaking the weapon. The devil cast the weapon aside and fixed Sen with an even more baleful re than hed used before. Straightening up, Sen suppressed the urge to smirk and dove to the side when his intuition warned him of danger.


    A beast that looked like it was mostly a fang-filled maw with four legs passed through the empty ce where Sen had been moments before. Without even thinking, Sen sent a wind de corkscrewing down the things throat. He didnt even get a chance to see if that worked before he had to pivot and cut down a spirit that seemed to have regained itsposure. That was a problem that Sen hadnt foreseen. Granted, the spirit had looked incredibly damaged, almost like it had severed pieces of itself, but that didnt make it less dangerous. If anything, it probably made the thing even more dangerous. Sen couldnt imagine that losing big pieces of what passed as its body did good things for whatever hold over rationality the spirit had. Fortunately, contact with the power of Heavens Rebuke seemed to be as catastrophic for the spirit as it had been for the devils spear.


    Sen didnt get to enjoy that bit of insight before he had to roll out of the way again, barely avoiding a swing of a new spear the devil had conjured from some storage treasure. The impact was enough to send a shower of dirt into the air that obscured everything. Knowing what he would do if he were on the other side of that dirt, Sen swung his spear through the cascade of earth and into the ce where he expected the demon to lunge through the dirt. There was a sense of resistance and a scream of agony so powerful that one of Sens ears went immediately deaf. He went blind under the spike of torment that felt like it tried to drive straight into his brain through that ear. There was no time to regain rational thought, just the bone-deep knowledge that he needed to put some distance between himself and that devil. Sen managed to get one foot beneath him, activated his qinggong technique, and sent himself sliding away along the ground.


    He was vaguely aware of things biting and wing at him, but those were secondary concerns until he could clear his head a bit. When his vision started toe back, he could see that he was surrounded by devilish beasts. <em>Nothing good cane from this situation</em>, thought Sen just as something mped down on his left shoulder. The flesh of his shoulder felt like it was on fire, and he felt some kind of poison or venom start to pump into his system. Roaring in anger and pain, Sen cycled for fire. He wasnt even entirely conscious of what he did with it, but when his voice died away, there was nothing within five feet of him but ckened earth and partial, smoking beast corpses that seemed to have been on the edge of the brief inferno hed ignited. He could feel the venom working on him already and the immediate response of his many-times refined body trying to purge it. He suspected that he <em>could</em> purge whatever it was, given time, but he wasnt going to get that time. The devil was already bearing down on him, red eyes lit with pain, rage, and madness.

 Book 6: Chapter 62: The Storm (3)

    Book 6: Chapter 62: The Storm (3)


    Even with time being a precious and limitedmodity in a battle, Sen couldnt help but notice that his strike had been more effective than he could have hoped. From just below the elbow, the devils left arm was simply <em>gone</em>. It also appeared that the lingering energy of Heavens Rebuke wasnt done quite yet. The stump seemed to be corroding. The energy eating away more and more of the flesh and bone as it worked its way up the arm. Sen expected that was what the devilish energy in the wound on his chest had meant to do something simr, only to find itself stymied by the divine qi in his skin. Sen couldnt guess how long that corrosive effect would keep working on the powerful devil. <em>Probably not long enough to actually kill it</em>, thought Sen with a bit of disappointment. But the injury provided a much more immediate benefit.


    The devil hadnt changed weapons to something that would function better using one arm. While that didnt mean the devil wouldnt switch, it likely meant the spear was the weapon it was mostfortable with. A weapon that, as Uncle Kho had taught him, required the use of two arms to use properly. It wasnt an absolute advantage by any measure. The devil was still hideously strong, but it was a strength that it couldnt bring entirely to bear anymore. With that gap in strength between them a little narrower, Sen thought he might be able to bridge it with pure skill. He reignited Heavens Rebuke in the spear, having lost his grip on the technique in the wake of that blindingnce of pain in his head. The devil saw the hellish ck and purple glow burst to life around the spear and faltered in its charge.


    Senshed out with it, and the devil shied away from the spearhead that threatened to decapitate it. That moment of initiative was immediately lost. The devil might rightly fear the wrath of that technique, but it was still apetent warrior. It swept its own spear at Sen, who had to leap out of the way with a burst of his qinggong technique. What followed probably looked like some kind of dance to anyone watching from the outside as Sen and devil traded sweeping strikes that were narrowly avoided by man and devil alike. It would only take one serious blownding and the fight would likely be over. Just as importantly, they both knew it. The problem was that the devil only needed to worry about himself, while Sen had to contend with anything from the horde that regained its senses or got too close. He was pressed harder and harder as the devil pushed him toward the heart of the milling, grinding mass of devilish beasts.


    <em>This isnt going to work</em>, realized Sen. <em>In a one-on-one fight</em>, <em>maybe I could take him</em>, <em>but not like this</em>. <em>There are too many distractions</em>. Even as he thought that, a random swipe from a beast that he hadnt noticed opened up the back of his leg. He reacted on instinct, mming the haft of the spear into the thing. It went insane as Heavens Rebuke ripped it apart. It had been nothing but a moment, a partial opening in his defense, but it was enough for the devil. All Sen could do was twist at the final moment to protect his heart. The devils spear punched through his chest. Sen could feel the devilish qi take root inside of him, trying to do to him what Heavens Rebuke had done to the devils arm. It was trying to unmake him. Between that and the venom, to say nothing of the wound itself, he could feel it as his bodys defenses started to crumble. It was too much, too fast. Without some kind of intervention to deal with at least one of those problems, he was a dead man.


    Sen made a weak thrust at the devil. If they had just been using normal spears, it would have been pitiful and easily blocked. Of course, Sen wasnt about to just hand this thing an easy victory. He finally used Heavens rebuke the way hed made the technique to be used. He shot that awful energy right at the devil. He was a heartbeat too slow. The devil leapt away at thest second, dragging the spear out of Sens chest as it went and avoiding the technique. Not that it went entirely to waste. The technique had found an environment absolutely filled with things to kill and it drew a line of death ten feet wide through the horde. It would have been the perfect path to escape if escape was possible. Instead, Sen copsed to a knee as each breath came with a cascade of pain. He had to move, to think, to do <em>something</em>.


    The devils killing intent crashed down on Sen. It was like a seething ocean of blood and hatred that tried to invade his mind. Even for Sen, it took a second to shake that off. He looked up and saw the devil had jumped high up into the air and was going to bring that spear down on him. A mad idea took him then as he watched his death descending on him. Sen summoned another cracked core from his ring. The stormhawk core fell into his hand. Hed drained some of the strength from it in his advancement, but there was still some power left. Sen had spent a lot of time thinking about tribtions, about what they were. While he couldnt manufacture a tribtion on his own, maybe he could make the next best thing to one.


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    Sen siphoned a thread of divine qi from that odd helix around his dantian and fed it into the core. Hed learned long ago that just a little bit of divine qi went a long way. The core began to glow and pulse in a truly threatening manner. Sen smiled up at the devil with bloody teeth, gathered his strength, and threw the core. The devils eyes went wide with panic as that core that glowed with divine light rose to meet its descending darkness. Sen wasnt sure why the devil did what it did then. It shed at the core. Where there had been disruption before, true chaos descended. A thunderstorm appeared out of thin air. Except, this storm wasnt high in the sky. It was practically at ground level. And Sen had fed it divine qi. Lightning that wasnt true tribtion lightning, but close enough to be a poor mans substitute, startedncing down into the horde. Sen found out then that thunder was not something best experienced at a range of a few feet.


    Every time one of those semi-divine bolts struck out at the horde or the ground, there was an explosion of noise that felt like Sen was getting kicked in the chest. He tried to find the devil but it was impossible. His spiritual sense was all but blinded by the horde and the storm. Beyond that, the clouds were so thick and so dark it was like night had fallen. Whatever power orpulsion that had kept the horde in ce around the ruins seemed to break. The beasts and spirits scattered in every direction. <em>I hope this chaos is enough for Glimmer of Night and Misty Peak to escape this insanity</em>, thought Sen as something crashed into him and knocked him to the ground. The pain in his chest was getting worse by the second and staying conscious was starting to feel like the wrong choice. Sen felt a pang from his intuition and looked up to see something that could have passed for a wolf in the current darkness. It bared its fangs at him and surged forward.


    Sen tried to cycle for something, but the pain that ravaged him was simply too much. He couldnt even make himself move his qi, let alone find a pattern. He tried to push himself up to his feet, but couldnt even manage that much. <em>This is a lousy way to die</em>, thought Sen with more than a little bitterness. There was a sh of darker darkness in the false night and a fist connected with the wolfs head, which burst under the force of the blow. The figure reached down, picked up the rest of the things body, and used it as a makeshift club to bat away anything else that got too close. When it had cleared a bit of space around them, it dropped what was left of the wolf, which wasnt much, and came over to Sen. The figure crouched down. Sen found himself looking up at the face of Glimmer of Night. The spider tilted his head to one side.


    We should go now, said the spider.


    The spiders tone was so calm and matter-of-fact that Sen found it both wildly inappropriate and oddly reassuring. With a heartbeat to think, Sen summoned a healing elixir from his storage ring and choked it down. With that task out of the way, he croaked out one painful word.


    Yeah.


    Misty Peak appeared from literally nowhere and gave Sen a concerned look. She turned to the spider.


    Hes too injured to move under his own power. Can you carry him?


    The spider looked from Misty Peak to Sen and shrugged. Then, in a disy of brute strength that Sen found shocking, the spider used one arm to pick him up and put him over a shoulder. The world around them seemed to go watery in Sens vision, and he heard Misty Peak speaking.


    That way, she said. Run.


    Sen lost most of what happened after that in an ocean of pain as the spider ran, jostling Sen hard with every step. By the time anything like reason reasserted itself, they were back inside the galehouse and Sen had been ced on something soft. He forced his eyes open and found four people hovering around him. Misty Peak looked concerned. Laughing River stared at Sen with an unreadable expression. Li Yi Nuo looked like shed taken a bad shock and couldnt quite meet his eyes. Glimmer of Night looked, well, Sen might have said the spider looked bored, but the spiders expressions were still aplete mystery to him. Sen was relieved to discover that the healing elixir had taken some of the worst edges off of the pain. Now, the pain was simply awful, rather than blinding. <em>Yay</em>, thought Sen. He looked from Misty Peak to Glimmer of Night.


    Thanks, he wheezed.


    The spider considered that for a moment before it just nodded. Misty Peak seemingly had things to say, because <em>of course</em> she had things to say.


    Oh, it was nothing, she tossed off in a causal note before she red at him. You madman! Is that thing dead?


    Sen thought back. Had the devil died? He hadnt seen it happen. He hadnt seen a body. On the other hand, the devil would have gotten a face full of everything inside that core. If it wasnt dead, Sen expected that it was probably wishing it was dead.


    Gods, I hope so, Sen got out between clenched teeth.


    He needs rest, said Laughing River. Leave him be.


    Two hours. Wake me up. Need to do more, gasped Sen, gesturing at his chest.


    Misty Peak looked like she had some thoughts about that, but Laughing River put a restraining hand on her arm. The old fox looked at Sen and nodded.


    Ill see to it, said Laughing River.


    Sen closed his eyes and let himself fall into something that was almost sleep. He kept himself just awake enough to try to direct some of the divine qi in his body to his chest. Enough to stave off the devilish qi was still working very hard to kill him. It wasnt rest, exactly, but it would have to do.

 Book 6: Chapter 63: Endure

    Book 6: Chapter 63: Endure


    When Laughing River woke him up, Sen didnt speak. He just forced himself to stand with gritted teeth holding back the pain. He stumbled to the firece, dropped down in front of it, and went to work. He wouldnt call what he did anything remotely like alchemy. That would have implied a lot more conscious thought than he had avable to give to the process. He relied almost entirely on his instincts and his understanding of what was wrong with him to guide what he made. Even as he worked, he could hear the other muttering to each other in concern over what he was doing or the things he was adding to his reliable little pot. He let those words wash over him without touching him. He didnt care that they didnt understand or didnt approve. That was a <em>them</em> problem.


    He pulled things from his storage ring that might have made even Auntie Caihong lift an eyebrow, and he added them in ratios that would have made any other alchemist go pale in the face. He didnt care about that either. He could feel that devilish qi inside of him, searching for a way in, searching for a way to end him. Caution and half-measures werent going to get the job done. And if he had to hurt himself as badly as he had hurt with that first cleansing pill, then <em>so be it</em>. Pain was nothing new. There were even certain truths to be found in pain. Pain could show you who you really were and what really mattered to you if you let it. In the deepest pits of agony, the things you clung to were the things that mattered. They were the things that defined you. Granted, only madmen intentionally sought enlightenment through pain. But if it had found you anyway, it only made sense to learn from it.


    Sen found himself in what almost felt like a conversation with the elixir he was crafting. Him telling it what he needed it to do, and it telling him what it needed from him to do it. It wasnt anything so explicit as words, the elixir wasnt alive. At least, Sen didnt think it was. Not quite. But he could tell where things wouldnt work the way he wanted them to work without adjustment. He was experienced enough to know what adjustments could work to remedy the problem. And, throughout it all, he was slowly infusing the elixir with divine qi. That was the spear that would drive the devilish qi from his body. The rest would support that effort and mend his body. It would just happen the hard way.


    When the elixir was finally ready, he poured the end result through a cheesecloth and into a ss vial. It zed so brightly that it looked like hed captured a star in a bottle. Pushing himself back to his feet, he started back toward the room hed been in. It was Li Yi Nuo who broke the tense silence that fallen over the others as hed gotten closer and closer to finished.


    Are you insane? she almost shouted at him. You cant drink that. No one should drink that! It <em>will</em> kill you.


    Sen stopped and turned enough that he could look at her. He thought maybe he should ignore what she was saying, but he couldnt think of why. He hurt too much to worry about anyones feelings, and letting this woman live had used up whatever kindness he was willing to expend on her. His lung was still damaged from the spear and the devilish qi, so his words came out as a grim rasp.


    Then, I expect youll be happy. Mission aplished, right?


    The sect woman faltered at those words. The foxes both had grim looks on their faces but elected to say nothing. The spider, either indifferent or uncaring about the mood of the room, walked over to Sen. It looked down at the vial for several seconds before it looked at him.


    The new one is right. That could kill you.


    So can being alive and unlucky, muttered Sen in that same rasp.


    The spider thought that over for a second before he nodded. True.


    Seemingly satisfied that hed said all he needed to, Glimmer of Night went back over to the others. Sen counted to five in his head to see if anyone else wanted to say things at him. When no one volunteered, he went into the room, closed the door behind him, and sealed it with the trickle of earth qi he could manage. That was followed by him dropping to his knees as nausea gripped him and white-hot shocks of torturous agonynced out from his chest wound. He lost track of time for a while as he tried not to pass out from the experience of that fresh hell. When the full-body shakes finally subsided, Sen slowly undressed. He wasnt sure exactly what the elixir was going to do to him, but he expected that it wasnt going to be pretty. Hed ruined enough clothes on this little expedition as it was. No need to add to that pile of things to burn. Not that he cared about the clothes themselves, but it wasnt like there was anywhere to rece them this deep into the wilds.


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    In the back of his head, Sen reminded himself, <em>again</em>, to just invest in a few dozen sets of robes that he could keep in one of his storage rings. Maybe see if he could get some like the ones Auntie Caihong had gotten made for him. Those had held up incredibly well. Sen shook his head as he realized that his mind was wandering. He supposed that part of him was trying to procrastinate about drinking the elixir. It was always harder to do when you <em>knew</em> something was going to be bad. Sen both knew it was going to be bad, and he even knew why it was going to be bad. He felt like that knowing why part ought to make it easier, but it didnt. Bracing himself for what was toe, Sen got asfortable as he could on the stone floor. He held the shining vial up and looked at it.


    Yeah. This is going to hurt, he said to no one or maybe the universe atrge.


    Before he could lose his nerve, he removed the cap and poured the elixir into his mouth. He knew it would take a few seconds before it reached his stomach and those seconds were both a short eternity and not nearly long enough. When it did reach his stomach, though, he knew immediately. A volcano of molten suffering ignited in his stomach and almost instantly moved over to his dantian and into his channels. It took a while for Sen to even realize that his body had arched into a bow and that he was making sounds that would havepelled him to put a demon out of its misery in an act of purepassion. The longer it went, the worse it got. Impurities werent being purged from his body through his pores. They were being burned out of him anywhere they were found.


    The worst was that wound in his chest as the elixir attacked the devilish qi. The feeling of heat in and around that wound grew and grew and grew until he was certain that his heart would be seared into coals and his ribs would melt. There was no escape from that pain, no respite, and part of him knew that the only thing keeping him tethered to life was his own will. All he had to do was let the mere thought that he wanted to die cross his mind and death woulde with the sweet kiss of nothingness. The torment would finally, mercifully end. However, he did not let that traitorous thought slip through. He clung to life with a tenacity that bordered on lunacy. In one clenched fist, he held the thought of Grandmother Lu, the family that had chosen him, and how it would hurt her to know he had died so far from friends and family. In the other, he clung to the thought of Falling Leaf. The person he would never abandon for any reason, let alone for something so trivial and mundane as pain.


    They were the rocks he clung to, and he would live to repay their kindnesses. He would live <em>no matter what</em>. Agony would pass. His body would heal. He simply needed to endure. If there was one thing that Sen had learned how to do in his life, he had learned how to do that. He drew on those long winters on the streets when it would have been so much easier to simply give up and die. He drew on those years he spent training on the mountain. Making himself get up and put in the hours of practice in spite of exhaustion, in spite of injury, and in spite of himself. He was the disciple of Fates Razor. He was the student of Ma Caihong and Kho Jaw-Long. He would not disappoint them. He would not fail this test. He was Judgments Gale, and he would oust this pain if he had the break the world to do it.


    While part of him had feared that the pain might never end, it did. His mind told him that it hadsted, well, forever, but it <em>did</em> end. He slumped down onto the floor. His groggy mind tried to understand that. <em>Was I floating</em>? He didnt know andcked the ambition to care. Sen had never felt so utterly hollowed out by anything in his entire life. He wanted to sleep for a year, eat ten thousand meals, and drink himself into a blind stupor all at the same. Instead, he made himself ess his storage ring. An elixir dropped into his hand. It wasnt anything special. Hed only made it as a change of pace. It was just a basic restorative. Something to help recharge the body and infuse a little qi into the dantian. Hed never imagined hed ever need such a thing, but here he was. It took a superhuman effort of will to lift that stone vial to his lips and drink the elixir. Once that was done, though, he could finally let himself sleep. It was the sound of voices that roused him out of that blessed rest.


    I still cant believe he survived drinking that bottle of death, said Misty Peak.


    Few could have, murmured Laughing River. Do you see now why I treated him cautiously and respectfully?


    Respectfully? asked Misty Peak with a touch of amusement in her voice.


    Well, respectfully for us, at any rate.


    Fair, said Misty Peak. I saw why outside those ruins. That man is terrifying. He didnt even hesitate to fight that devil. Who does that?


    He does, apparently, said Laughing River. And hes still in the core formation stage. Imagine what hell be like when he reaches the nascent soul stage.


    I shudder to imagine. Still, I can see how somehow who had Feng Ming and Kho Jaw-Long as teachers might end up acting that way in battle. Taking that elixir, though? He <em>made</em> it. He had to know what it was going to be like.


    Im sure he did. I think theres a lesson you should take away from all of this. Any time you let yourself imagine hes weak, remember this moment. Remember, that man is carved from stone.


    Growing tired of the conversation about him, Sen chimed in with, That man is awake.

 Book 6: Chapter 64: Pragmatic Advice

    Book 6: Chapter 64: Pragmatic Advice


    Deciding that since he was already awake, he might as well get up, Sen pushed himself into a sitting position and opened his eyes. And froze. The interior of the galehouse was in utter ruins. The only things left standing were the outer walls, and even those had deep cracks running through them.


    Sens mind worked furiously. Had the devilish beasts regrouped and attacked? <em>No</em>, he thought. <em>That would only exin the cracks in the outer walls</em>. As his spections grew increasingly absurd and unlikely, he finally gave it up.


    What in all the hells happened? he demanded.


    The foxes gave him identical, t stares. Misty Peak spoke first.


    What happened? <em>You</em> happened. You walking catastrophe. You just had to go and drink that elixir. Then, there was all the screaming. As if listening to that wasnt all kinds of fun, you moved on to trying to bring the entire ce down on our heads. We all had to run outside to save our own lives.


    Sen didnt remember doing anything with his qi, but he supposed he wouldnt remember. Hed had other things on his mind. He felt bad and embarrassed as a faint heat rose in his cheeks. The fox woman seemed satisfied by that.


    At least you have the decency to be ashamed, she muttered.


    Stop exaggerating, said Laughing River with a shake of his head. I estimate that there was only a seventy, maybe seventy-five percent chance that you would have actually died. Besides, he clearly wasnt in his right mind at that time.


    Misty Peak looked like she was going to say something or possibly try to murder the elder fox, so Sen cut in.


    Is everyone alright? he asked.


    Were all fine, said Laughing River. I think that the more important question is whether or not youre alright. Mind still intact? That kind of pain can <em>do things</em> to a person.


    Sen gave that idea a long moment of consideration. Hed never thought about whether the pain might damage him on some level. He searched inside himself for signs of madness. He didnt find anything that seemed wrong. Not that he was at all certain that hed know it if had gone insane. He shrugged at the foxes.


    I think Im fine.


    Misty Peak shuddered and said in a half-whisper, Monster.


    Sen gave the fox woman a bemused look. You say that like its new information.


    It was new to me, she said, shooting the elder fox a baleful look.


    Laughing River ignored his granddaughter and focused his attention on Sen. Your injuries?


    Healed, said Sen without even bothering to check.


    Youre sure?


    Im a <em>very</em> good alchemist. Healing the actual injuries wasnt trivial, but it wasnt any kind of real challenge. I healed moreplicated things than that as a foundation formation cultivator. There was this one woman who had this terrible infection in her leg from, well, I guess it doesnt matter. It was all through her body, just doing terrible things to her. I wish I knew then what I know now. I could probably fix that problem with <em>one</em> elixir if I came across someone like her today. Might have even been able to avoid that amateur surgery I performed, too.


    Sen nced up to see the foxes looking at him with looks of pure incredulity on their faces. He quickly moved on.


    Anyway, purging the devilish qi was the real challenge. I assure you that Id know if any of that was left inside me. Damn ufortable having that inside your body. Its gone now.


    Laughing River fixed him with an ufortably intense look. You purged devilish qi from your body? Sessfully?


    Sen leaned back a little from the look on the foxs face, but he answered.


    Sure. But its not like its some kind of a cure-all. I couldnt give that elixir <em>I</em> used to anyone else. Itd be no better than torturing them to death. Better to just slit their throats.


    Those words seemed to jar the elder fox out of some kind of trance he was in. He grimaced and nodded.


    Yes, I suspect youre right. Although, if you managed to get a devil to drink that concoction, it might be interesting to see what happened.


    Sen perked up at that idea. Getting them to drink it might be a stretch, but if he could inject it somehow But how? Sen frowned at the idea. Hed need to talk to some people about that. Hed never practiced much with ranged weapons, but there must be some kind of arrow or crossbow bolt meant to deliver poisons that way. Still, if he could get even a small dose inside of a devils body, he expected it would do just hideous, awful things to them. Sen felt a smile form on his lips. Misty Peak took one look at that before she red at her grandfather.


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    He doesnt need any help being scary, she told the older fox.


    Laughing River gave her a paternal smile. He might not <em>need</em> the help, but Im told being helpful is good karma.


    Misty Peak shook her head. Not when hes smiling that like that.


    Sen tucked that idea away for future exploration. It was interesting but not something he could use at the moment. So, he turned his attention to more pressing concerns.


    I think its high time we moved on from this ce, but first I need Sen looked around at galehouse again and sighed. First, I need to fix this ce. Then, food.


    ***


    While he still felt drained, having the devilish qi out of his body let his recovery take on its usual speed. Sen repaired the galehouse and got some food cooking. Li Yi Nuo and Glimmer of Night came back inside at a signal from Laughing River. The sect woman refused to meet Sens eyes for more than a fleeting second before she lowered her head in a sign of Fear? Respect? Both? Sen couldnt make sense of the constantly shifting expressions on the womans face. Glimmer of Night was far easier to read.


    The spider just looked around at the repaired structure and said, You fixed your cave.


    Not surprised Im still alive? asked Sen.


    Glimmer of Night shrugged. You would either live or die. Youre standing right there. You clearly lived. Why be surprised?


    Sen grinned at the spider. The more time he spent with Glimmer of Night, the better Sen liked him. The spider had a no-nonsense approach to the world that Sen appreciated. If the spider ever decided they were enemies, there wouldnt be any games. The spider would just attack him. If Glimmer of Night wanted something, he would just ask. More importantly, Sen got the distinct impression that the spider would ept whatever answer he received.


    Im nning on leaving this ce, soon, said Sen. Do you still mean to travel with me?


    Yes.


    Do you need to visit your matriarch first? Exin things?


    The spider looked over to the firece that Sen had dramatically expanded to support his cooking efforts.


    After food, said Glimmer of Night.


    Sen looked over at Li Yi Nuo. I expect that youre more than ready to leave this ce and get back to your sect.


    The womans eyes flicked up to meet his for the briefest fraction of a second. Yes, senior.


    Sen wanted to roll his eyes. <em>That</em> behavior was going to get tedious in a hurry. He went over to the firece and checked on the food.


    Arent you going to ask me? Or grandfather? asked Misty Peak.


    Hadnt nned on it. I know hes going with me. We have an arrangement. As for you, Sen gave her a very firm look and then shot a significant look at Laughing River, I assumed you had other things to do.


    Her mouth worked a few times. I do, but those things wontst forever. You could have at least invited me.


    Only if I wanted to get you killed. Youre frustrating, sometimes, but not enough to deserve death.


    That seemed to bring Misty Peak up short. What does that mean?


    Im returning to my training. The woman doing that training would not like you. If she decided to simply kill you, I couldnt stop her. At best, I might be able to slow her down a little bit. I suppose youre wee to travel with us as far as your grandfather is going, but after that, its just me and him, said Sen, gesturing at Glimmer of Night.


    Why does he get to go? pouted Misty Peak.


    He wont bother her. A celestial being told him to. He wont bother her.


    You said that he wont bother her twice.


    It seemed worth repeating to me, offered Sen.


    Misty Peak narrowed her eyes at Sen. Very funny.


    Soothe your wounded pride with some food, said Sen, gesturing at the firece. The food is done.


    After they finished eating, Glimmer of Night went off to talk to his spider family. Sen went back to where hed fought with the devil. Laughing River tagged along, telling Misty Peak and Li Yi Nuo to stay put until they got back. When they reached the edge of the forest, Sen looked out over the destruction hed helped to cause. He was a little surprised to discover that the horde hadnt reformed. He felt a little stab of guilt about that. If the surviving members of the horde had scattered to the four winds, he was going to be at least indirectly responsible for some deaths in the region. He tried to remind himself that he hadnt called the horde here. There was plenty of me to pass around and, realistically, most of it wasnt on his shoulders.


    Of course, he couldnt say that about the wastnd between him and the ruins. The earth was scorched and torn where he and Glimmer of Night had thrown around the cracked cores. Even beyond that central point of destruction, there were great swathes of ckened ground where his half-baked divine storm had unleashed his substitute tribtion lightning. Even now, he could feel a bit of divine qi hovering in the air. Not enough to do anything with or even gather up, but its vor was present in the area. He was a bit more surprised to see that devilish beast corpses had seemingly gone untouched.


    Im surprised the scavengers arent hard at work here, said Sen.


    They wont touch those things, offered Laughing River. Scavengers are wily. They know how to spot the things they shouldnt eat. Are you that smart?


    Sen shot the elder fox a perplexed look. What do you mean?


    I assumed you came here to harvest their cores.


    Oh, said Sen, finally understanding. No. Nothing of the sort. I came here to look for a body.


    The devil?


    The devil. I want to make sure its dead.


    And if its not? asked Laughing River.


    If not, then I get to add a new worry to my list.


    After nearly two hours of searching, Sen clenched his teeth in frustration as he did, indeed, get to add a new worry to his list. He resisted the urge to kick a devilish beast''s corpse, mostly because an image of the thing exploding all over him shed across his mind. Laughing River gave him a sympathetic look.


    He might still be dead, said the fox. He was right at the heart of that storm you summoned out of nowhere.


    Sen shook his head. Master Feng was always very clear about enemies like that devil. They arent dead until you stab their corpse to be sure.


    What a gruesomely pragmatic bit of advice, observed Laughing River.


    You disagree?


    Oh, heavens no. You should always make sure your enemies are really dead, said the fox, before he got a thoughtful look on his face. You should also make sure the corpse is actually them and not an illusion. Most people only make that mistake once.


    Because they figure it out?


    Because they get murdered by an enemy they stopped looking for.


    Duly noted, said Sen before giving the area around them a dissatisfied re. Alright, lets go. I am beyond ready to leave this ce.

 Book 6: Chapter 65: The Road Home

    Book 6: Chapter 65: The Road Home


    Li Yi Nuo had spent thest few weeks trying to speak and be noticed as little as humanly possible. The fox woman seemed to have dismissed her from mind entirely, which was a relief after the humiliation of being captured by the woman. Yet, it was the other two that made her shiver in fear. The elder fox radiated a kind of power that made it hard for her to breathe whenever he focused on her for more than a moment or two. She didnt even think it was intentional. If anything, she thought he was making a genuine effort to keep it repressed, which just made it even more frightening. Yet, her fear of the elder fox paled into nothingness whenpared with the naked terror Lu Sen inspired in her. The way he just ignored that pressure from the elder fox alone was chilling. It was like he didnt even notice.


    Every time shed imagined that she understood him, she discovered she was horribly wrong. It was like any time things got more dangerous, the man revealed an entirely newyer of frightening abilities, strength, and will. However, shed thought that she had witnessed the true culmination of that process during his fight with the horde. Li Yi Nuo still couldnt believe shed witnessed such a thing with her own eyes. She couldnt shake the image of him <em>punching</em> that rock-covered spirit beast so hard that she had heard the stone break from close to half a mile away. To say nothing of the spear duel with the devil. Not that shed seen the end of it, but hed been run through. Even cultivators couldnt ignore wounds like that. Yet, Lu Sen seemed to take it as a personal challenge and summoned something that looked frighteningly close to tribtion lightning along with a storm that had killed who knew how many devilish beasts and spirits.


    Yet, even that paled inparison to that elixir and what had followed. She had been certain, absolutely certain that no living thing could drink that elixir and survive it. But he had. It had been four nightmarish days of him screaming like someone was trying to rip out his soul and qi explosions that almost brought down that strange stone building hed made, but he had <em>lived</em>. Li Yi Nuo didnt understand what kind of new monster that old monster, Feng Ming, had made. She only knew that she needed to make sure that her sect never, ever came into direct conflict with Lu Sen. Because, every time she thought about it, she could only see one oue. Everyone in her sect left dead, and Lu Sen and that incredibly creepy spider person casually walking away from the smoking ruins of her sect and discussing what to have for dinner.


    To make matters worse, the vision in her head felt all too possible. While Laughing River seemed truly not to care about her, she and her sect had directly challenged Lu Sen. She had been sent to capture him. <em>What an absurd notion</em>, she thought. <em>Hes not invincible</em>, <em>but I doubt hed ever let himself be taken alive</em>. <em>Worse</em>, <em>it would cost an ocean of blood to do it</em>. More to the point, it had been to return him to the sect to face execution. A fact that he knew. A fact that might make him just decide that the world didnt need the Vermilion de Sect and strike first. The closer they got to the sect, the more likely it was that they would run across another disciple. She needed to leave before then. She just didnt know if they would let her. She didnt want to ask because they would pay attention to her then, but she didnt see another way. Gathering her courage, she spoke.


    Were close enough to the sect. I think we can part ways now if thats alright.


    She braced herself for anger. What she got was Lu Sen blinking at her owlishly. It was as if he didnt really know what she was talking about. She watched as the confusion cleared from his eyes. <em>Here ites</em>, she thought.


    Oh, yeah. Thats fine. I expect you can make it safely from here, said Lu Sen absently.


    As he turned back to continue his conversation with the elder fox, she could almost see it in his eyes as she simply ceased to exist for him. Part of her wanted to be angry about that. <em>Was I truly so trivial</em>? Sanity swiftly reasserted itself as pure relief flooded her heart. She could only be grateful that hed found her so unimportant. With any luck, that same disregard would apply to her sect. Assuming that she could convince her master to leave Lu Sen alone. As she watched the rest of the group grow steadily more distant, she got a crawling sensation on the back of her neck. She made herself turn around. The spider thing was there. It took all of her self-control not to flinch away from it. The spider wasnt doing anything. It just stood there, looking at her with its unreadable eyes and face. The dread certainty that the thing was about to attack her took hold. She started to cycle her qi in preparation.


    The spider tilted its head a bit to one side and asked, Whats a sect?


    The incongruity of that question, when shed been expecting violence, was enough to make her lose her cycling pattern. She tried to realign her thinking.


    Its a she tried out a couple of exnations in her head. Its a ce where cultivators gather and train.


    I see. Its a cultivator cluster. Thank you.


    Without so much as a backward nce, the spider became a dark blur that raced toward the others. The idea of a spider, a human-shaped spider, moving that fast made her skin crawl, but at least it was gone. Maybe without its constant presence, shed stop having bad dreams about the horrible thing killing and eating her. Not that she expected the bad dreams would go away anytime soon. Shed umted more than enough material to fuel those for the next few decades. Shivering onest time, she turned toward the sect and headed for it cross country. Before, she wouldnt have dared to leave the road for fear of entering the wilds. Now, she knew what was and was not the true wilds. Nothing she found in thergely pacified forests around the roads was going to be a problem for her. They never really would have been. She just hadnt understood how inconsequential the threats were whenpared to the deep wilds.


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    The guards at the sect gates looked shocked and a little bit awed when she emerged from the forest rather thaning down the road. <em>How foolish</em>, she thought. <em>It''s not like I did anything</em>. She greeted them with a bow, showed her sect token, and was ushered in immediately. It was afort to be behind the sect walls again. Everything there was familiar, like afortable nket that shed owned for years. However, it was also alien in a way she couldnt quite put her finger on. Some of it was simply the way that people stopped and stared at her as she walked toward her home. She looked down at herself. Her robes were clean. Even she was clean save for whatever shed picked up traveling that day. Lu Sen had included a kind of bathhouse in his strange stone constructions. Not that it had been for her benefit. Hed done it for himself, but he didnt care if other people used it.


    Still, she supposed she should clean up before she reported to her master. He took that decision out of her hands by arriving at her home at the same time she did. That zing fury shed seen in his eyes in the days before she left had settled down into something less wild. It was the heat rising off of hot coals instead of an inferno, although she imagined it wouldnt take much to reignite that inferno. She offered him a deep bow. Simply seeing him again made her feel safe. Yet, when she rose, there was a strange look on the mans face. She pushed open the door to her home and invited the man inside. She bid him sit while she started a fire, and set about the all-important task of making tea. Then, since the fire was already lit, she emptied some things out of her storage ring and started to make some food.


    It wasnt going to be as good as that stuff that Lu Sen had made, but shed watched him cooking often enough to pick up a few things. Throughout all of it, she felt her master observing her and weighing what he was seeing. When the food was done, the two ate a meal. As much as she wanted it to go away, she couldnt shake the feeling that things at the sect were alien. It was only as she went to clear away the dishes that it finally hit her. <em>Its too safe</em>, she realized. <em>Ive been in one kind of danger or another for months</em>. <em>Anything else feels wrong</em>. Frowning to herself, she sat back down across from her master.


    So, said Bahn Huizhong, you didnt find him?


    There was a second where wild, hysteria-filledughter threatened to burst out of Li Yi Nuo like water from a weak dam. She mped down hard on that feeling, but a bit of it must have slipped into her expression because her master looked genuinely concerned.


    I found him, said Li Yi Nuo, before lifting a hand to stop the next question. This will be easier if you let me tell you what happened.


    Her masters brow furrowed, but he gestured for her to proceed. So, she told him everything. She told him about her pitiful defeat at the hands of Lu Sen. She did nothing to hide or downy her shameful capture at the hands of the fox woman. She told him about the elder fox who frightened her so much, the ruins, and how Lu Sen, the fox woman, and a giant spider had gone inside, only to emerge a dayter. Then, she told him about the battle and the things she had seen that made her soul tremble. Finally, she told him about that terrible elixir and the impossible survival of Lu Sen after he drank it. As a bit of evidence to support her ims, she produced the elixirs that Lu Sen had given her. Her masters eyes had gone wide when he picked one up and examined it.


    He just <em>gave</em> these to you?


    He did.


    Her master leaned back in his chair and gazed down at the vial in his hand for a very long time. It was during that long silence that she remembered onest thing that had been pushed to the back of her mind by everything else. She produced the letter of introduction to Kho Jaw-Long. She held that precious bit of parchment in her hands before offering it to her master. He set down the elixir and took the parchment from her.


    Whats this?


    Its a letter of introduction for me to the man who taught Lu Sen the spear.


    Her master lifted an eyebrow but dutifully read the letter. Much as she had, he puzzled over one bit of it.


    Uncle Kho?


    Kho Jaw-Long.


    His master is Kho Jaw-Long?


    No. Kho Jaw-Long simply taught him the spear. His master is Feng Ming.


    At first, her master looked like he didnt believe her. But his eyes moved from the letter to the elixir and his eyes went wide again.


    Ma Caihong, he breathed in utter reverence.


    Master? asked Li Yi Nuo.


    Kho Jaw-Long has a wife. Not quite as famous as him but only because shes more restrained. She is a master of alchemy. The kind of alchemy that might produce something like this, he said picking up the elixir in his off hand. I cannot decide if you have been blessed with great fortune or terrible karma. In your opinion, what will be the result if we pursue this matter against Judgments Gale?


    Li Yi Nuo didnt even need to think about it. He will rain death on us until nothing remains of this sect but memories and salted earth.


    She watched as her master seemed to weigh the letter and the elixir before he turned his eyes back to her. He took in her expression and nodded. He lifted the objects in his hands a little.


    Then, we will ept his peace offerings.


    Li Yi Nuo let out a relieved breath that came to an abrupt stop when her master continued.


    Although, I think Id like to meet this man, this Judgments Gale.

 Book 6: Chapter 66: A Call from the Darkness

    Book 6: Chapter 66: A Call from the Darkness


    Misty Peak had given him an annoyed look when Sen put his foot down. Shed been trying to convince him to just take her along when he returned to Fu Run. He had, for his part, reiterated the point that the reception would not be good and that he wasnt going to be responsible for her pointless death. When the group had finally reached the town where Falling Leaf asionally went to buy things, Sen had called a halt.


    This is as far as you two go, Sen told the foxes.


    Laughing River, who seemed to have an inkling of just who it was that Sen was learning from, seemed perfectly happy to keep his distance. The old fox had not deigned to share that bit of information with his granddaughter. Sen had wondered why initially, only toter realize that the elder fox was just amusing himself. That it came at Sens expense was probably just a bit of payback. Sen <em>was</em> holding the spatial treasure hostage until Laughing River taught Falling Leaf what he could about transformation. Misty Peak opened her mouth to say something, but Sen just shook his head.


    You knew this was going to happen right from the start, he said. Noining.


    The fox woman briefly tried to re him to death before letting out a little huff of air. Fine.


    Im pretty sure thats the inn, said Sen, pointing at a building. Try not to start a riot.


    Sen looked over at Glimmer of Night and jerked his head toward the road. Sen had worried that the vigers and townspeople along the way might attack Glimmer of Night, but it hadnt been a problem so far. People mostly just kept their distance and town guards acted extra nervous. As long as the spider didnt do anything too threatening, though, everyone seemed to content to just leave him be. The spider gave the foxes a sort of half-wave and joined Sen. Once they passed through the town''s gates, Sen picked up the pace a lot. Hed been holding back a lot on the trip this far. Neither Li Yi Nuo nor Misty Peak could really keep up with him. The spider didnt seem to have that problem. Sen didnt know if it was some kind of movement skill or if Glimmer of Night was just that fast, but they started covering ground at a truly tremendous pace. As the miles disappeared behind them, an uneasy feeling started to grow in Sens heart. He found his gaze drifting to some ce farther north than hed initially nned to go. Sen tried to think of what could be that direction that he would care about. <em>Theres nothing out there but Mt. Sce</em>, <em>and I certainly dont want to go back there</em>, thought Sen.


    However, the feeling grew the farther they went until it burned inside him. If he didnt know better, hed swear that someone was trying to summon him like some kind of a spirit. Of course, that was absurd. Nobody had anything of his to try to do something like that. Sen lurched to a stop as it urred to him that someone did have something of his, or rather something that he had <em>given</em> to her. <em>That little girl from the vige</em>, he realized. <em>The ne</em>. He hadnt just given that to her. He had made that for her. It wasnt much, but he would have left a minor imprint of his own qi on it. Sen wouldnt have thought that trace could let her forge any kind of connection between them. If the girl was frightened enough, though, if she was desperate enough, that might be sufficient. Sen felt the spider looking at him.


    Just how fast are you? asked Sen.


    The spider pondered that for several seconds before saying, Fast. Why?


    I need to go check on something, said Sen, and possibly murder some people. This isnt your problem, but youll have to keep up if you mean toe along. I get the feeling that this is urgent.


    Oh, said Glimmer of Night, suddenly sounding interested. I can keep up.


    Good.


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    Sen activated his qinggong technique and disappeared in a blur of motion, followed almost immediately by a simr dark blur. The countryside shed by as Sen and Glimmer of Night flew down the road, veering around people and carts that looked all but motionless to their eyes. Sen didnt bother with niceties like gates. He simply bounded over town walls and used roofs as springboards before shooting away on the far side. Nor did he stop for inconveniences like nighttime or weather. The handful of fatally stupid spirit beasts that got in their way died swift and ignominious deaths. A trip that should have taken as much as another eight or ten days was made in one day. It still wasnt fast enough.


    Sen stood in what was left of the vige, his fists clenched and trembling with fury. He wasnt sure exactly what had happened beyond that the ce had been attacked by someone or something. Most of the building had burned down and there were bodies everywhere. Again, he couldnt be sure exactly what had happened because most of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. As near as he could tell, no one had been spared. There were heartrendingly small bodies that were far too small to be anything but children. <em>Im toote</em>, thought Sen as his fury grew so vast and intense that it threatened to rip his chest apart. He knew he couldnt be everywhere or help everyone. It seemed particrly cruel of fate to alert him of this danger only so he could fail to arrive in time. He couldnt even be sure that the little girl was among the dead. A spike of icy terrornced through him and brought him up short. He examined that feeling. He was no stranger to fear, his own fear in particr, and that fear hadnt been <em>his</em>.


    He whipped around to stare to the west as though he could see what he wanted to see through sheer force of will. He was surprised to see Glimmer of Night walking toward him from that direction. The spider gave him that same calm, unreadable expression he always did. Then, the spider turned and pointed to the west.


    They went that direction, said the spider. I thought you might want to know.


    I did want to know. Thank you, said Sen before adding another thought. You dont have toe along for this. Ill make a galehouse nearby for you to stay in.


    Why wouldnt Ie? asked the spider.


    Because I mean to kill some people. I dont expect you to bloody your hands in my fights.


    The spider shrugged. Blood doesnt bother me.


    Sen wasnt quite sure what to make of thatment, and he didnt have the time or mental energy to unpack it right then. What he did know was that there was a frightened little girl out there who had probably just been orphaned. Sen knew exactly how alone that made someone feel. He knew the fear of having no one to defend you from the many ills the world had to offer. In her time of need, it seemed she had not implored the heavens or the gods to help her. She had called out to <em>him</em>. While he might not be a god, whoever took her was going to have a damned hard time telling the difference. If the spider was willing to help him get that little girl back safely, it was enough.


    My gratitude, said Sen.


    Between the trail and the connection Sen could feel, it didnt take them long to find what they were looking for. The pair looked down on the scene from high up in a tall tree, wrapped in shadows that Sen had conjured to obscure them. Sen couldnt tell if they were bandits or something else, not that he particrly cared about the people he saw. It looked like half of them were drunk from the way they stumbled around. A handful were doing useful things like forging or cleaning up, but they were the exception. In the end, they were just dead people who hadnt figured it out yet as far as Sen was concerned. They had set up what they probably imagined was a well-fortified position far enough out into the wilds that most people couldnt or wouldnt follow them to it.


    For Sen, who had walked far deeper into the wilds than this, and the spider, who had lived in a monumentally more dangerous ce, getting to the encampment had been little more than a nice summer stroll. There were bamboo cages set up near the center of the makeshift vige. Sen could see the little girl and a few others huddled in those cages. Some of the bandits, or whatever they were, would go over and taunt the people in the cages or throw things at them. It might have been trash, but it could have been worse things.


    Protect the people in those cages, said Sen. Do you need a weapon?


    Glimmer of Night shook his head. I dont know how to use them. It would just get in the way.


    Remind meter to fix that, said Sen.


    I will. What will you do? asked Glimmer of Night.


    Sens hand closed so hard around the tree limb he was holding that he almost severed it from the trunk. Hed known what he was going to do from the second he saw the burned-out husk that used to be a vige. It had never really been a question.


    Pass judgment.

 Book 6: Chapter 67: Uncle Lu

    Book 6: Chapter 67: Uncle Lu


    The two men guarding the gate never even had a chance to be startled. One moment they were half-watching the forest. The next moment, their heads were rolling away as their bodies slumped to the ground. The heavy wood of the gate was no more of an impediment to Sen thance fabric. Wind des reduced it to so many wood shavings in a matter of seconds. Sen was striding through that hail of wood chips before anyone inside really understood that death now walked among them. However, Sen had been forced to modify his original n, which didnt please him. His first n had been simplicity itself. Kill absolutely everyone who wasnt in a cage.


    For all its simplicity, though, that n had suffered from a mild absence of reason. While everyone in the encampment likely shared in some measure of guilt, the ones he truly wanted were the ones who had carried out the massacre. Fortunately, those were the same people who were most likely to attack him. He stopped to look around at the stunned faces of the people who had been near the gate. Sen very intentionally lifted his jian and frowned at the blood on the de. He summoned a loose piece of fabric from his storage ring and wiped the weapon clean before he sheathed it. A hard-faced man with bitterness etched into his face decided that made Sen less dangerous. He rushed at Sen with an axe in hand and tried to bring it down in a crude overhand strike. Sen spun, snatching the axe out of the mans hand, and bringing it back around to strike the mans face with the handle.


    There was a collective inhtion of breath as the blow snapped both the handle and the mans neck. The body dropped to the ground and a little puff of dust rose around it. Sen regarded the broken handle before letting it side through his grip until his hand was right beneath the axe head. As the nearby men found their courage and charged at him, Sen noted the dark blur that flittered around them toward the cage. <em>Good</em>, thought Sen. <em>Now</em>, <em>I can focus</em>. Sen passed through that crowd like a fell wind. He sidestepped their clumsy blows and strikes. He saw their hands, the hands that had killed and burned without remorse.


    Appropriate punishment was meted out as the axe head removed those offending hands from their owners. Horrified screams rose from men as they stared down at the stumps that poured their lifeblood out in spurts. As weakness swiftly overtook the men and they fell to the ground, many of them turned uprehending eyes on Sen. He met their desperate looks with an impassive expression and arctic eyes. Then, so they would understand his true contempt for them, Sen simply walked away. Denying them even the tiny mercy of a clean death. As he strode toward the center of the encampment, it seemed that the sight of the carnage hed left near the gate had chilled the blood of the rest of the bandits or raiders. They shouted warnings or cursed him, but no one attacked. He thought he might have to take matters into his own hands to encourage them, but a massive brute of a man stormed out of one of the makeshift buildings.


    Attack him you cowards! bellowed the man.


    Sen let his eyes flicker over toward the cages and had to repress a smile of grim amusement. Glimmer of Night was casually beating three men with what looked like a leg with one hand while choking the life out of someone with the other. The vige prisoners were in good hands. Turning his attention back to the rest of the group. It seemed their recently learned fear of him was weaker than their entrenched fear of the brute. They tried to charge him as a group. <em>Maybe they think theyll bring me down with sheer weight of numbers</em>, reasoned Sen. Remembering what hed learned when meeting with Elder Bo, Sen summoned lightning around one hand and fire around the other.


    The mob finally reached him, it was only to be met with a new horror. Senshed out at one man, only for lightning to pass straight <em>through</em> that man andnce out into the bodies of a dozen others. He seized a man by the throat with his other hand. Charred bones dropped to the ground a momentter as everything made of flesh was incinerated. Sen backhanded another man, setting him alight, and hurling him into the crowd. Screams of agony and terror burst from the gathered men as that fire leapt from body to body under the guidance of Sens will. The will of the people at the back of the crowd broke then as they started shouting one word.


    Cultivator!


    They tried to turn and run. Sen couldnt have that. He finally let his killing intent free. It washed over what was left of the mob of bandits. Everyone within range of that killing intent simply died, their mortal lives snuffed out as though Sen had snapped his fingers and wished for it. The brute stared at the bodies of the men he hadmanded, his expression a mixture of anger and disbelief. Sen came to a stop in the middle of all those bodies. His spiritual sense swept through the encampment. There were a few people hiding. Hed have to deal with them eventually, but the real fight was over even if the brute didnt know. Sen turned that same impassive expression hed worn since the fight began on the brute.


    Did you think no one would notice? Sen asked. Did you think no one would be interested?


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    The brute opened his mouth to say something only for his eyes to go very wide when Sen appeared right in front of him. Nothing came out of that open mouth except choking gurgles and blood. The terrified brute of a man turned his wide eyes down to where Sens hand was buried inside his chest.


    I dont actually care what you think, said Sen.


    His hand closed around the brutes heart and reduced it from a life-sustaining organ into a mangled and useless hunk of meat. Sen jerked his hand free and brought the remains of the mans heart with it. The brute sank to his knees as the life started to fade from his eyes. Sen tossed the mans heart into hisp before he turned his eyes toward the cages. Glimmer of Night was standing by them, seemingly having traded his leg club for an arm club somewhere along the way. The spider was sttered with blood which made Sen look down at himself. It took almost a minute of applying water, wind, and fire qi to himself before he didnt look like the kind of monster who needed to be killed rather than the person who does that killing. He finally let himself go over to the cages.


    Theres a few people hiding, said Sen. Could you gather them up, please?


    Alive? asked the spider.


    Sen thought it over. Only if they arent too much trouble.


    The spider walked off methodically checking through tents and the handful of buildings. Sen turned his eyes to the cages. There were half a dozen people in them. A couple of them had expressions of deep satisfaction on their faces. The rest looked stunned to the point of insensibility. Then, there was the little girl. Sen didnt even remember her name. He wasnt sure hed ever even heard it. She was staring at him like she thought he was something imaginary. <em>Maybe I am</em>, thought Sen. He frowned at the cages for a moment before he cut them apart with qi and hurled the pieces away. It took most of the people a few moments to realize they were free, but the second the cage was gone, the little girl hurled herself at Sen. She wrapped her arms around his leg and started sobbing. Not sure what else to do, he reached down and picked her up. She transferred the grip shed had around his leg to his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.


    An older man, maybe one of the vige elders, stood up from where hed been crouching the cage. He gave Sen a nervous look, as though he expected the same treatment as the bandits had gotten. Sen didnt recognize any of the people from when he and Falling Leaf had visited the vige, so maybe it was to be expected. It took the old man three tries to finally get a question out.


    Who are you?


    I am Judgments Gale, said Sen.


    Under other, very different circumstances, the look of shock on the old mans face might have been a littleical.


    Thank you, honored cultivator. Thank you for saving us, said the man, recapturing something like a sense of propriety and bowing.


    The other people who had just been watching the exchange shot to their feet, murmuring their thanks and bowing as well. Sen let them do it, knowing that it would be more trouble than it was worth to stop them. One of the other prisoners, a younger woman, peered at Sen and then at the little girl in his arms.


    Did youe for her? asked the woman.


    It was true enough that Sen just nodded. I did.


    Why? Who are you to her?


    Sen nced down at the tiny form of the girl. I suppose you could say that Im her uncle. Uncle Lu.


    Sen was spared any more questions because Glimmer of Night returned at that moment, shepherding a small group of people who had survived Sens initial wrath. They all took one look at Sens face and dropped to their knees. Some pleaded for their lives. Others looked resigned. One even had a defiant sneer on his face. <em>Im probably going to do something about that one</em>, thought Sen before one of the freed prisoners rushed by him. The sneering mans expression evaporated into one of fear as the woman started screaming profanities and stabbing the man with a knife shed found somewhere. The little girl jerked from the semi-doze shed slipped into and started crying again. Sen stroked the back of her head.


    Dont worry. Its just a bad dream.


    Sen looked at the people hed freed and then over at the people that Glimmer of Night had rounded up.


    Anyone else need to settle a score? asked Sen.


    There was an incredibly tense moment of silence before the people he freed started shaking their heads. Sen waited until he was sure that no one was going to speak up. He turned his gaze on the kneeling people, who all averted their eyes or visibly flinched.


    Lifting a hand, he pointed toward the gate. Go.


    The man hed seen working as a cksmith looked Sen in the eye. Well never make it. This is no better than killing us yourself.


    Its more of a chance than their vige got, snarled Sen and let his hand drop to the hilt of his jian. You <em>might</em> survive if youre smart and careful. But we can go with the killing you myself n.


    Sen drew his jian and let them all get a good look at it. One by one, the kneeling men got to their feet. Before they could move away, though, Sen let his spiritual sense wash over them. His eyesnded on a skinny man who had kept to the back and tried to go unnoticed. Sen only said two words.


    The ring.


    The man looked like hed just as soon bite out Sens throat as give it up. In the end, though, he opened his hand and let the storage treasure fall to the ground. Clearly fearing that some reprisal would be forting, the man turned and ran toward the gate. The others hesitantly followed the would-be looter. Shaking his head, Sen put away his jian and picked up the ring. A quick scan told him that it contained more or less what hed expected it to. The skinny man had obviously looted whatever passed for a treasury and meant to make off with the money. There were a few other things in the ring that Sen didnt care about. Sen tossed the ring to the older man, who gave him a quizzical look.


    Youll need it when we get back.

 Book 6: Chapter 68: Temporary Solution

    Book 6: Chapter 68: Temporary Solution


    Sen stood on the opposite side of the road from Glimmer of Night. The two were tossing a spent beast core back and forth. <em>Well</em>, thought Sen, <em>I guess its tossing for us</em>. In reality, the core was zipping back and forth between the two so fast that it looked like a vibrating blue rope connected their hands. Still, it was more interesting than just standing around and waiting. Sen had a suspicion about what was going to happen and about fifteen minutester, he was proven right as a little girl toddled into sight with an expression of grim determination fixed on her features. It took her longer to see Sen with her mortal eyes, but her face lit with joy the moment she did. She ran at him with her little arms and legs pumping for all they were worth. Sen sighed and tried to decide on the right course of action.


    From the moment the vigers had been freed from those cages, the girl, who Sen finally learned was named Liu Ai, had simply refused to be separated from him. Shed sneak away from the other vigers to go look for him. On the rare asions he slept, hed invariably wake up to find her sprawled across his chest and gently snoring. Hed eventually concluded that it was just safer to keep her close at hand than having her looking for him in the wilds. While he considered the area where they were traveling all but tame, it was a different story for mortals. A child that small could and would get eaten by something if she kept leaving the group. By the time theyd gotten back to the road, he was getting worried.


    Hed escorted them to a nearby vige where one of the people hed rescued had a few family members. It was also big enough that absorbing a few more adults and one child shouldnt be an issue. Particrly since they had the money from the bandits. It wasnt a fortune, but it was enough to let them start new lives. Sen had nned to leave Liu Ai with the other rescued vigers. They, at least, knew her a little bit. When it had be clear that he meant to leave her behind, the girl had been inconsble. Left with no other recourse, Sen and Glimmer of Night had simply left. It seemed that the girl had not only evaded the adults that Sen had expected to take care of her but everyone else in the vige. People who should have been mindful of children wandering beyond the rtive safety of the vige.


    The problem was that if she had done it once, it was entirely possible that she would do it again. Except, next time, Sen wouldnt be waiting just down the road. Sen was rubbing at his eyes when the girl crashed into his leg and started trying to hug the leg and do a little dance at the same time. She beamed up at Sen before she looked across the road.


    Hi, Glimmerite! she cried happily.


    It was apparently the closest she could get to the spiders actual name. Sen had worried that Glimmer of Night might be offended, but hed seamlessly adapted to the mangled form of his name withoutment. The spider lifted an arm and waved at the little girl.


    Ill be right back, said Sen to the spider before hoisting the little girl up.


    Her lip started quivering as soon as she realized that Sen was carrying her back to the vige.


    Dont wanna go to the vige. Wanna go with you, she said in a tiny voice, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.


    Sen knew that it was a terrible, <em>terrible</em>, horribly awful idea to bring her with him. What did he have to offer a little girl? A life of constant fear and cataclysmic dangers she had no hope of defending herself against. On the other hand, if the destruction of her vige proved anything, it was that there was no promise of safety if he left her behind either. He wrestled with the decision as he walked back to the vige. When he got there and <em>did not</em> find people frantically searching every nook and cranny for the missing child, he felt his anger re. He marched up to the house where the rescued vigers were staying and, not trusting himself, he knocked on the wall of the house. The entire structure rattled. The older man who had been the sole surviving elder of the town hesitantly opened the door. He looked from Liu Ai to Sens furious eyes and went pale.


    Get her things and bring them to me, ordered Sen in a voice that quivered with rage.


    ***


    The rest of the trip back had been a learning experience for Sen. There had been one heart-stopping moment where hed put her down for a second to buy some fresh fruit from a stand. Hed turned around to give her a piece of the fruit, and shed just been <em>gone</em>. Sen had almost lost his mind in worry before he remembered that he was a damn cultivator and washed the entire town in his spiritual sense. She had been less than a hundred feet away. Hed all but flown to where she was only to find her in an alley, hiding behind Glimmer of Night. The spider had bodily lifted a man by the throat and pinned him to a wall. Sen lifted an eyebrow, but hede to have a little faith in the spiders instincts for danger.


    What happened? asked Sen.


    Ai thrust a finger at the stranger. He hurt me!


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    Sen could see where bruises were starting to form on her arm. He gave the little girl a serious nod. He crouched down and opened his arms. Ai ran over to him. He gave her a quick hug and picked her up. Glimmer of Night nced over with what Sen was pretty sure passed for a questioning look from the spider.


    Do what you think is best, said Sen. Catch up when youre done.


    Glimmer of Night nodded, and Sen carried Ai away from what he imagined was either going to be a grisly death or something that was nearly a grisly death. After that, Sen made sure he kept track of Ai in his spiritual sense at <em>all</em> times. He also discovered that getting children who could talk back to take elixirs was difficult, even if it was entirely for their own good. Hed been forced to rework the elixir so that it tasted like something she would drink. Not that bruises were necessarily going to be the end of the world, but Sen saw zero need for her to have them if he could fix it. That part had been almost amusing. What hadnt been even the tiniest bit amusing was when she woke up screaming in blind terror and needed to be held until she could fall asleep again. <em>I should have killed them all</em>, thought Sen.


    On the whole, though, Sen expected that Ai found the trip pretty easy. She couldnt keep pace with them, so he and Glimmer of Night took turns carrying her. At first, Ai would giggle andugh as thendscape blurred around them. Later, Sen was amazed to discover that she would fall asleep. He didnt think he could have fallen asleep moving at those speeds under someone elses power. It was a profound disy of trust. Maybe it was earned trust, though. After all, he and the spider had <em>shown up</em>.


    At one point, Sen had spotted a farmer meandering down the road with an ox pulling his cart. Hed insisted they stop to say hello. The farmer had been startled when they seemed to appear out of nowhere and kept shooting furtive nces at Glimmer of Night. Even the ox had eyed the spider warily before shooting a questioning look at Sen. Hed just nodded. Apparently taking Sens approval as divine truth, the ox mooed at the spider. Glimmer of Night waved at it from two feet away. Sen had chatted with the farmer for a bit while Ai gleefully sat on the ox, petted its head, and hugged its neck. Then, hed bought everything in the cart without haggling over the prices as a way to thank the farmer for indulging them.


    Eventually, though, they turned off the road and headed back into the wilds. Ai had been nervous at first, unaware that the three of them were moving inside a bubble surrounded by Sens killing intent. When nothing terrible happened after the first few hours, she rxed again and started pointing at all the interesting things, like big rocks and tall trees. Sen just nodded and agreed that they were indeed very impressive rocks and trees.


    ***


    Fu Run was giving Sen a decidedly t look. She had taken Glimmer of Nights presence in stride. Sen suspected that had a lot to do with the fact that the spider had lost interest in the group discussion almost immediately and wandered off to poke at an odd-looking flower. She had not been nearly so understanding about the presence of Liu Ai. Fortunately, the girl wasrgely unaware of the battle of wills happening around her. She was too busy hugging Falling Leafs leg while the ghost panther looked down at the child with more than a little panic on her face.


    Why did you bring the child here? demanded Fu Run.


    The nascent soul cultivator was making an obvious effort to keep her voice calm to avoid scaring the little girl. Sen had known this was going to be an uphill battle, so he bit back on the usual sarcasm he used when people asked him questions he found ridiculous. Instead, he gave the answer that was both true and most likely to get him the result he wanted.


    She has no one or no one I could find. Her family is gone. Her home is gone. She needs somewhere to be for right now. Somewhere safe. Can you think of a <em>safer</em> ce than the domain of a nascent soul cultivator?


    Fu Runs eyes flicked over to where Ai was dragging Falling Leaf by the hand to look at the flower that had caught Glimmer of Nights attention. Her expression softened, if only slightly.


    I suppose not, admitted Fu Run.


    Sen pounced on the moment of weakness.


    Its a temporary solution. Im only here for a handful of years. Besides, Im not deluded. Im no kind of parent. I have no business <em>whatsoever</em> trying to raise her. I will try to make other arrangements for her. Better arrangements.


    The nascent soul cultivators lips pursed as she made an objection even she didnt really seem to believe.


    The wilds are no ce for a child.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. Are you saying that youd let something happen to her?


    Dont be stupid. Of course, Im not going to let anything happen to her.


    Sen did everything in his power to keep his expression calm and neutral. Fu Run was not fooled. She rolled her eyes.


    Dont be smug,ined the nascent soul cultivator.


    Sorry, said Sen. It could be worse. At least shes adorable.


    You were probably adorable at that age, too. Look how you turned out.


    A dashing hero who saves little girls from bandits? Yeah, Ive reallye down from being adorable.


    She shot him a skeptical look before she sighed. No, thats fair.


    The pair stood there and watched as Ai demanded that Glimmer of Night pick her up. The spider dutifully lifted her from the ground and settled her on his hip. Falling Leaf turned and shot Sen a look that was easy to read even from a distance. <em>What in the hells were you thinking</em>? Fu Run snickered.


    What? asked Sen.


    Im just takingfort in the knowledge that your wife over there is going to give you an earful about this.


    Shes not my wife.


    Sure, she isnt. You realize that Im not going to go any easier on you just because you brought a stray home.


    It was Sens turn to snicker.


    What? demanded Fu Run.


    Sen just smiled a little as Ai ran up to them to thrust a tiny wildflower at Fu Run. The nascent soul cultivator looked taken aback. Helpless before the power of innocent adorableness, she leaned down and took the flower.


    Thank you, little one, she said, before shooting Sen a death re. Not one word.

 V6 Bloopers

    V6 Bloopers


    Sen had seen a lot of strange spirit beasts in the depths of the wilds, from the damnable bear-cats to birds made entirely of fire. He¡¯d even once been attacked by something that looked like the bastard child of a pangolin and a massive ivy nt. However, all of his experience with spirit beasts had happened onnd. Most of his incredibly limited experience with water life extended only to fish. He¡¯d heard about other kinds of sea animals and spirit beasts from Captain Chen but that had been poor preparation for the thing thatunched from the ocean''s surface. As it drove upward, the water swelled briefly like a wet dome or some kind of bubble. When the dome burst, Sen¡¯s mind didn¡¯t know what to do with the information it received. The beast looked like a massive stuffed child¡¯s toy that resembled a bear.


    ¡°What in all of the hells?¡± asked a dumbfounded Sen to absolutely no one.


    The enormous bear thing spread its arms wide and spoke in a voice that rolled like thunder across the water.


    ¡°I am the Gctic Friendship Bear. Sent to you with a message of peace and universal harmony.¡±


    Sen blinked furiously, certain that his eyes were deceiving him. However, the creature steadfastly refused to change into something that looked like Sen should kill it immediately. The bear spoke again, its voice reverberating in Sen¡¯s chest.


    ¡°I bring you tidings of goodwill, citizens of,¡± the thing paused, as though trying to remember something. ¡°Citizens of humanpatible, designate 12,783.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± said Sen. ¡°Peace, harmony, and goodwill? Did you evere to the wrong ce.¡±


    ***


    Sen gave the turtle an icy, hostile look. ¡°Thest time I took advice from you, it almost killed me. If this meeting had happened six months ago, I would have done everything in my power to murder you and turn you into turtle soup. So, no, I don¡¯t want any more advice from you.¡±


    Elder Bo looked genuinely shocked, or at least that was how Sen interpreted what happened to the turtle¡¯s face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. How did my advice almost kill you?¡±


    ¡°Do you know how many copies of the Five-Fold Body Transformation manual there are?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say that I do.¡±


    ¡°Two that anyone knows about. One of which is trapped inside a space treasure that¡¯s been locked from the <em>inside</em>. The other was in the hands of a nascent soul cultivator who did not want to be found. I spent years trying to find a copy of that manual. I was dying an inch at a time, my own body cultivation turning against me, searching the wilds for that nascent soul cultivator. I was moments from death when she found me.¡±


    ¡°But you did survive. Look at how powerful you¡¯ve be.¡±


    ¡°Powerful,¡± snorted Sen. ¡°I almost died fighting a spirit beast a few weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°A spirit beast that no other cultivator at your advancement would have even considered fighting. And <em>you</em> killed it.¡±


    Sen red at the divine spirit beast. ¡°Was that your doing as well?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± said Elder Bo as though it was all perfectly obvious. ¡°You can¡¯t run an experiment without solid empirical testing.¡±


    Sen went very still for five seconds before he drew his jian. ¡°Turtle soup time.¡±


    It turned out that the turtle wasn¡¯t particrly good at fighting, but Elder Bo did make for a fine soup.


    ***


    Li Yi Nuo stared at the man she only knew as Judgment¡¯s Gale and tried to decide what to do. She refused to let it show on her face, but hisst words had frightened her. They hadn¡¯t been boastful, the way she would have thought that something like that would sound. He¡¯d sounded like a man earnestly pleading with someone not to make a terrible, terrible mistake. Worse still, he was calm. He was far, far too calm for a man who should be expecting at least the possibility of violence. There was a stillness to him, and that stillness spoke to a bone-deep resolve to do what had to be done, even if meant doing things he didn¡¯t want to do. Her heart told her to just let it go and run away as fast as she could. He¡¯d let her. She knew that much. He¡¯d all but said it. He didn¡¯t want the fight.


    Of course, if she ran away, she would fail in her mission. She would dishonor her master and his faith in her. She¡¯d never be able to return to the Vermilion de Sect. Yet, if she didn¡¯t, elders would die by the score so she could avoid facing the consequences of her cowardice. <em>For all intents and purposes</em>, <em>he anointed you as the young mistress of the Vermilion de Sect</em>, her master had said. It might be an honor, but it was also a responsibility. She couldn¡¯t let her fear, however rational it might be, divert her from her course. She had been tasked to bring this man back to the sect. That¡¯s what she would do. As if he could read her very thoughts and intentions, Judgment¡¯s Gale looked at her with an expression of boundless sadness.


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    ¡°So be it,¡± he said.


    Li Yi Nuo summoned a spear from her storage ring, one of the treasures that had been bestowed on her. It was a heaven chasing spear. It was the kind of weapon that most cultivators could only dream about possessing. Weapons like those could turn the tide in a battle. She studied him as he gave the spear an interested look. <em>Will he relent rather than face such a weapon</em>? He gave her a nonchnt shrug and took out what looked like a scroll. <em>Is it a talisman</em>? Then, he started muttering under his breath about what sounded like the ingredients to some kind of food. She hurled herself at him in a fit of wounded pride. Ten secondster she was chasing after him as he strode down the road, smiling broadly, using her spear as a walking stick.


    ¡°Give it back,¡± sheined.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Please, give it back.¡±


    ¡°No. Misbehaving children lose their toys. Everyone knows this.¡±


    ***


    Laughing River got a gleam in his eye that screamed mischief. Sen thrust a finger at him.


    ¡°No! Whatever you¡¯re thinking, just no.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you should have given it a minute. You¡¯d have enjoyed it,¡± said the fox, before shooting Li Yi Nuo a big smile. ¡°She probably wouldn¡¯t have. Did I mention that I¡¯ve met Lai Dongmei?¡±


    Sen felt an abrupt sense of relief that he¡¯d put a stop to whatever the fox had nned.


    ¡°You¡¯ve actually met Lai Dongmei?¡± Li Yi Nuo said in an awed voice.


    ¡°I have,¡± said Laughing River. ¡°So has Sen.¡±


    ¡°You have?¡± demanded Li Yi Nuo whirling toward Sen.


    ¡°Yep,¡± said Sen without borating at all.


    ¡°You have to tell me everything.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sen, you should tell her <em>everything</em>,¡± agreed Laughing River with amusement dancing in his eyes.


    Sen thought it over. ¡°Alright. Well, to be perfectly honest, she spent most of her timeining about this <em>terrible</em> lover she had. It was some fox she had a fling with like a thousand years ago or something. Apparently, his manhood was less than magnifi¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± shrieked Laughing River, who had gonepletely white in the face


    ***


    ¡°Silence! Both of you!¡± shouted Li Yi Nuo. ¡°A nine-tailed fox and a folk hero are about to go off and do something that people are going to tell stories about. Don¡¯t even bother telling me that people won¡¯t know because those kinds of stories always get out. If you two think you can drag me out here and then cut my sect out of that kind of glory, you¡¯re delusional! I¡¯m staying. And if you think taking me all the way back was going to be inconvenient before, imagine how much more trouble it will be with me fighting you <em>the entire way</em>. So, which one of you is going to show me this so-called army of evil creatures and spirits?¡±


    There was a protracted silence as Li Yi Nuo stared expectantly at Sen and Laughing River. Sen had been worried about something like this. He nced over the fox who had a thoughtful look on his face. It left Sen feeling unsettled. Laughing River looked at Sen.


    ¡°You know, I could always¡­¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen, feeling so, so tired.


    ¡°It really wouldn¡¯t be that hard.¡±


    ¡°I know it wouldn¡¯t but still no.¡±


    Li Yi Nuo looked relieved at those words.


    ¡°Really?¡± asked the fox.


    ¡°Actually, the readers don¡¯t like her that much. Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± screamed Li Yi Nuo. ¡°The readers love me!¡±


    ***


    At first, Sen tried to keep track of their progress by leaving a trail behind them as he had done before and flying up to see how far they¡¯de. After what he thought was the equivalent of a few days, he simply gave it up as pointless. Theplexity of the path they were forced to walk made it all but impossible to measure progress in a meaningful sense. He simply gave in to the monotony of the walking. With the buildings all looking alike and the roads all made in the same way, the environment fell away from his notice. He drifted into something that was almost a trance. Every once in a while, he¡¯d snap out of it and call for a halt. He¡¯d pass out food, and they¡¯d all rest for a while. Yet, even those breaks started to blur together. Conversation was sparse and usually faded to nothing after a few minutes. For Sen¡¯s part, it was simply that he didn¡¯t think of anything he wanted to say.


    He didn¡¯t notice when it was happening. The farther they walked, the less it looked like a city around them. The buildings melted away into a forest, and Sen found himself traversing a beaten dirt path that slowly carried him through foothills covered in tall grass that he didn¡¯t recognize. The path carried him to the base of a mountain where it transitioned from packed dirt into narrow stone steps that led up the mountain. His eyes tracked up and up. There had to be thousands of steps that he could see and likely more beyond that. However, he didn¡¯t hesitate. He simply ced a foot on the first step and started to climb. After all, what were thousands of steps to Sen. The ascent took hours, then days, and just when he was certain it would be weeks, things changed.


    The path widened, leveled, and transitioned to some smooth rocklike material he didn¡¯t recognize. There were two lines down the middle of the path for no discernable reason. Sen was about to go poke at the lines to see if they did something when he heard this bizarre mechanical roar. He looked behind him and saw some manner of bizarre yellow¡­ Sen thought it must be a vehicle. It appeared to have wheels. It roared up to him and then came to a shrieking halt. A pale man with heavy stubble and a t, floppy hat squinted at him from inside the vehicle.


    ¡°Get in, kid. We ain¡¯t got all day,¡± said the man with a strange ent Sen didn¡¯t recognize.


    ¡°Who¡­ What are you?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m Louie, interdimensional cabbie to the stars and, apparently, wayward cultivators. Now, let¡¯s go. You¡¯re runningte, and the universe has a schedule to keep.¡±


    A door opened in the vehicle, exposing some kind of bench positioned behind the other man. Sen tentatively slid onto the bench. He eyed the door suspiciously when it closed on its own.


    ¡°Hang tight, kid. I¡¯m gonna have to give a bit of extra gas if we¡¯re gonna get you there on time.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s ga¡ª¡± Sen started to ask.


    The end of that question was lost in Sen¡¯s manful scream as the vehicle shot forward at entirely suicidal speeds.


    ¡°Kids these days. I tell you,¡± muttered Louie as he shook his head in disappointment.


    ***


    ¡°It¡¯s a temporary solution. I¡¯m only here for a handful of years. Besides, I¡¯m not deluded. I¡¯m no kind of parent. I have no business <em>whatsoever</em> trying to raise her. I will try to make other arrangements for her. Better arrangements.¡±


    The nascent soul cultivator¡¯s lips pursed as she made an objection even she didn¡¯t really seem to believe.


    ¡°The wilds are no ce for a child.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯d let something happen to her?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Of course, I¡¯m not going to let anything happen to her.¡±


    Sen did everything in his power to keep his expression calm and neutral. Fu Run was not fooled. She rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be smug,¡±ined the nascent soul cultivator.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°It could be worse. At least she¡¯s adorable.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°And when the other seventy-five kids arrive, you¡¯ll barely notice them.¡±


    This ends Unintended Cultivator, Volume Six. Sen andpany will return in Unintended Cultivator, Volume Seven.

 Book 7: Chapter 1: Help

    Book 7: Chapter 1: Help


    ¡°There you are,¡± squealed Misty Peak in, what Sen assumed, was feigned joy.


    She dashed across the room, wrapped herself around him in a manner that Sen thought was probably inappropriate for any situation outside of a bedroom, and kissed him. Sen felt the hateful looks from at least three other men in themon room of the inn where he¡¯d left the fox woman and her grandfather. It had been one day. One day! How could she have possibly ensnared three men that fast? <em>She¡¯s a fox</em>, Sen reminded himself. <em>It¡¯s what they do</em>. He wasn¡¯t sure how much longer the kiss might havested, but an icy wave of danger washed over him and Misty Peak. The fox froze. Her eyes snapped open, and her head swiveled over to where Falling Leaf was smiling at them. A smile that was <em>all</em> teeth and no friendliness.


    ¡°Ghost panther,¡± whispered Misty Peak in a hushed tone of fear and no little awe.


    Sen shook his head and took a half step back. His eyes scanned the room and fell on Laughing River. The elder fox was looking on with unrepentant glee in his eyes at the scene unfolding before him. The old fox had been the source of a lot of trouble in Sen¡¯s life just recently. Trouble that had culminated in Sen taking possession of an extremely potent spatial treasure and fighting a true devil. He gritted his teeth a little at that thought. The results of that fight were mostly a mystery, and Sen didn¡¯t like the idea of a devil out there biding its time and plotting vengeance. Not that he could do much about it right now. He gave Laughing River an annoyed re. The elder fox had clearly decided not to tell his granddaughter they¡¯d meet a ghost panther, probably so he could enjoy this very spectacle.


    Falling Leaf took a step closer to Misty Peak, her smile growing even bigger if that was possible.


    ¡°Prey,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    The fox woman took a hasty step back, clearly unprepared to pick a fight with something she saw as a superior predator. Then, Misty Peak turned an using look on Sen.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked in an annoyed tone. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you to make a spectacle of yourself in front of strangers.¡±


    ¡°You could have warned me,¡± she pouted.Sen shrugged. ¡°Probably.¡±


    Before anyone could do anything that everyone in the vicinity would regret, he started walking over toward Laughing River. Falling Leaf kept ncing at him with looks he couldn¡¯t interpret. That struck him as odd. He thought he¡¯d learned most of her expressions. Misty Peak trailed behind them, looking very put out by the recent turn of events. He didn¡¯t know what to make of that either. What had she been expecting? It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d been enthusiastic about her presence. Once they got close enough, Laughing River opened his arms wide. His appearance at that moment had a strange quality to it like he was a sly but benevolent grandfather. This time, it was Falling Leaf who looked uncertain in the face of a superior predator. She gave Sen a questioning look.


    ¡°He¡¯ll behave,¡± muttered Sen. ¡°He¡¯s paying off a favor to me.¡±


    The ghost panther instantly rxed. She eyed the elder fox with open curiosity. He supposed that spirit beasts at her level didn¡¯t often cross paths with spirit beasts of Laughing River¡¯s level, at least not and live to tell the tale. The old fox seemed almost as curious about her as she did about him. He eyed the ghost panther in a way that Sen did not like <em>at all</em>. That displeasure must have been written clearly on Sen¡¯s face because Laughing River held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.


    ¡°Easy, nephew. I¡¯m here to help, not indulge myself. I¡¯ll keep it professional,¡± said Laughing River.


    ¡°Do that,¡± said Sen in a tone hard enough to shatter steel.


    Sen was amused to note that the three men who had been ring hatefully at him earlier abruptly decided that they had pressing business elsewhere. They fled the inn, two of them leaving half-eaten meals behind. Sen sat down without an invitation. A momentter, Falling Leaf and Misty Peak joined them. Both the ghost panther and the fox woman wore expressions that told him they wouldn¡¯t have dared speak to the elder fox that way. Already weary of the foxes and their silliness, Sen got right down to business.


    ¡°Falling Leaf, this is Laughing River and Misty Peak,¡± said Sen, gesturing at the foxes.


    Falling Leaf inclined her head to Laughing River in a gesture of muted respect. She eyed Misty Peak askance for a moment before issuing a little sigh and nodding to the other woman.


    ¡°Hello,¡± said the ghost panther.


    ¡°Laughing River, Misty Peak, this is Falling Leaf. My friend,¡± said Sen, before he added something he thought was necessary. ¡°I will note that should I discover she¡¯s been drawn into any kind of fox plot, scheme, or foolishness, I will be <em>profoundly unhappy</em>.¡±


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    The foxes looked a little sheepish at thatst statement. Maybe they¡¯d both been thinking of some way to rope the all-but-mythical ghost panther into something. More to the point, they¡¯d both gotten a good look at what it meant when Sen decided he wasn¡¯t happy about something. Misty Peak already knew that she couldn¡¯t take him in a fight if he got serious about it. Sen sincerely doubted he could win in a fight with Laughing River, but that didn¡¯t make the elder fox eager to soak up whatever damage Sen could dish out. He reasoned that simply suggesting there would be consequences ought to be enough to keep the foxes in line for now. At least, he hoped it would. Thest thing he wanted to be doing was chastising the foxes when he had other things to do.


    Sen had been a little worried that Falling Leaf might take issue with him issuing threats on her behalf. She was plenty dangerous in her own right, but he¡¯d been worried that the whole spirit animal hierarchy might inhibit what she said to Laughing River. He worried a lot less about how Falling Leaf would deal with Misty Peak. He expected any friction there would be solved with swift and bloody action. He snuck a nce at the ghost panther to try to gauge her reaction. She seemed perfectly content with how things were ying out. If anything, she might have even looked a touch smug. Laughing River spoke up again.


    ¡°Like I said, just here to help.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure he actually believed those words, but his next thoughts disappeared as someone burst through the inn door. A look over his shoulder revealed someone vaguely familiar. A young man that Sen thought was a local. The young man was battered and even a little bloody. The man looked around the room with wild eyes.


    ¡°I need help!¡± the man shouted. ¡°A tree came down bad. My father¡¯s trapped under it.¡±


    <em>Damn it</em>, thought Sen. He¡¯d crashed through enough trees to have a sense of how heavy they were. It¡¯d probably take a dozen of the local men to move it, and then only with the assistance of ropes. That was assuming that they could even set them up properly. On top of that, the man would likely be injured. Depending on where the treended, the man might be too injured to move safely. <em>This isn¡¯t my problem</em>, thought Sen. <em>I can¡¯t help everyone</em>. The excuse sounded weak even to him. No, he couldn¡¯t help everyone, but this problem was right in front of him. More to the point, he was probably better equipped than anyone else to actually render aid. He gave Falling Leaf an apologetic look, but she just shrugged. He gave the foxes a t look.


    ¡°Behave,¡± he ordered, before standing up and walking over to the frantic young man. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± gushed the young man. ¡°As soon as we gather up¡ª¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll only need me,¡± said Sen, and then added, ¡°I¡¯m a cultivator.¡±


    The young man looked, in order, surprised, ted, confused, and then worried. He abruptly bowed, as though remembering something very important. ¡°Honored cultivator, we have no treasures to offer.¡±


    Sen waved it off. ¡°I don¡¯t need anything from you. Just take me there while there¡¯s still time to help.¡±


    The young man looked very uncertain but nodded. Sen followed as the young man led him outside and then out of the town. The pace seemed excruciatingly slow to Sen, despite the fact that the young man was all but running. Sen kept his spiritual sense extended and soon felt the flickering life of someone ahead. They didn¡¯t have time to move at the young man¡¯s pace. Sen grabbed the guy, threw him over his shoulder, and activated his qinggong technique. The guy shouted in surprise and fear as they sped through the trees. In no time at all, they were there. Sen put the young man down and focused on the scene before him. There was a mortal man in his middle years pinned beneath a tree. A quick look around showed that the man and his son had been doing some logging. There were a few other felled trees nearby along with discarded axes.


    Sen suppressed the urge to simply lift the log away with brute strength. That could make things worse just as easily as make them better. It could shift broken ribs, which might then pierce the lungs or heart. Instead, Sen knelt down next to the man and did a quick scan with his qi and spiritual sense. He stillcked anything even remotely like Auntie Caihong¡¯s skill at discerning injuries, but he got the general picture. The young man was almost vibrating in concern and his desire to <em>do something</em>. Sen decided to exin himself before the guy acted out of sheer impatience.


    ¡°I need to make sure moving the tree won¡¯t hurt him more than help him,¡± said Sen. ¡°Just give me a moment.¡±


    Having looked at the man¡¯s injuries, Sen was pretty confident that moving the tree was the worst thing they could do at the moment. Instead, he started searching the elixirs in his storage rings. <em>Too strong</em>, <em>too strong</em>, <em>too strong</em>, he thought as his mental fingers brushed the vials he had stored. It had been a long while since hest made something intended for a mortal. Anything useful to heal him would rip a mortal apart. He finally found some older elixirs tucked away and summoned one. He pulled the cork and slowly tipped the liquid into the pinned man¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± demanded the young man, trying and failing to sound respectful.


    ¡°It¡¯s a minor healing elixir,¡± said Sen. ¡°It should help some of his injuries. Make it safe to move the tree.¡±


    The young man looked dubious. He obviously believed moving the tree <em>right the hells now</em> was the right answer to this problem. Sen paused at that. He supposed that for anyone who didn¡¯t have a ready store of high-quality healing elixirs, that probably <em>was</em> the right answer. It was probably the only answer, now that Sen considered it. Fortunately for the man under the tree, Sen did have a ready store of elixirs. The young man grew increasingly impatient and even angry as they waited. Sen¡¯s attention was taken up with monitoring the pinned man¡¯s condition. The elixir was doing its work and stabilizing the man. Right around the time that the young man looked like he might tear out his hair, attack Sen, or try to move the tree by himself, Sen rose.


    ¡°Alright, it should be safe to move the tree now,¡± he announced.


    ¡°What should I do?¡± asked the young man.


    ¡°Just stand back,¡± said Sen.


    Sen repositioned himself, grabbed the tree, and lifted it off the man. He tossed it over by the other felled trees. Once the tree was gone, the young man was kneeling next to his father, interspersing whispered prayers and pleas for his father to wake up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get him back to the town,¡± said Sen, waving a hand and lifting the injured man on a tform of solid qi. ¡°No reason he shouldn¡¯t heal somewhere morefortable.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter Two – The Problems of Others

    Book 7: Chapter Two ¨C The Problems of Others


    Sen was a little relieved that the tree cutters lived near the edge of the town in a truly modest but well-tended home. He wasn¡¯t looking forward to making a show of carrying the injured man through the town on a qi tform. He would have, but it would been inconvenient. Cultivators made mortals rightly nervous, and overt disys of cultivator power made them very nervous. Fortunately, the young man was much more concerned with his father¡¯s well-being than with anything that Sen was doing. When they arrived at the house, the young man simply called out for his mother. She was distraught to discover her husband was injured, but it seemed she was cut from a simr cloth as Grandmother Lu. She focused on the practicalities, rushing around to set up a pallet near the stove they used for cooking and heating the little home. Sen settled the injured man on the pallet. Before he could make good an escape, though, the young man dropped to his knees and started kowtowing.


    ¡°That really isn¡¯t necessary,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°This Wang Bo can never repay the kindness of the honored cultivator.¡±


    Wang Bo¡¯s mother, who had been crouched and fretting by her husband, whirled to stare at Sen in mixed shock and horror. She scrambled over to mimic her son.


    ¡°This Du Fen begs a thousand times for the honored cultivator to forgive her disrespect.¡±


    ¡°Please stop,¡± Sen almost begged the pair.


    He wanted to think that they¡¯d heard one too many stories about arrogant and petty cultivators, but he didn¡¯t really believe it. He¡¯d met plenty of cultivators who would have, if they noticed this mother and son at all, treated them like trash. He imagined that those cultivators expected this kind of behavior. He had no stomach for it. It always took him right back to the streets of Orchard¡¯s Reach. Always hiding in dark corners to avoid the notice of the noble brats. Pleading with the shopkeepers who caught him lurking around their businesses to spare him a beating. He had no need or desire to harm the mortals he encountered, unless they were violent bandits, and this family clearly wasn¡¯t in that category. He didn¡¯t know if it was the pleading tone in his voice or a totalck of hostility on his part, but Wang Bo and Du Fen looked up at him hesitantly. It was almost like they were testing to see if he was trying to trick them. He quickly gestured for them to rise. Du Fen¡¯s eyes went immediately back to her injured husband.


    ¡°Tend to him,¡± said Sen in the gentlest tone he could manage.


    She didn¡¯t need any more encouragement. The woman swiftly returned to her husband¡¯s side. Sen looked at Wang Bo, who was looking uncertainly at him. Sen felt at a loss about what to say now that the immediate crisis was over. Instead of standing there in awkward silence, Sen fixed his attention on the injured man and checked the wounds again. They seemed to be healing up fine, but it was clear that the pace of healing was slowing. Sen pursed his lips. It could be that the elixir was wearing off, but he suspected it was more likely that the man simply didn¡¯t have the physical reserves in ce. While it didn¡¯t look like this family was starving, it was clear that they didn¡¯t enjoy any kind of wealth. They probably weren¡¯t eating all that well. <em>No doubt eating whatever they could afford and nothing else</em>, thought Sen.This family¡¯s problems weren¡¯t his problems. Sen knew that. But he had intervened. The first elixir he¡¯d given the man would almost certainly ensure his survival. Of course, he also knew that survival came in a lot of forms, not all of them good or advantageous. It wouldn¡¯t really cost him anything he cared about to help a little more. <em>I¡¯ve alreadye this far</em>, he thought. <em>I may as well finish the job</em>. He searched through his storage ring and found another weak elixir. He summoned it and held it out to the Wang Bo. The young man stared at the vial like he didn¡¯t dare touch it. Sen waited a little longer before he rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Take it,¡± he instructed.


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    Apprehension on his narrow face, the young man gingerly took the vial. He held it in his hands like it was a fragile infant. Sen realized that the young man probably had no idea what it was, let alone what to do with it.


    ¡°Give that to your father tomorrow at midday,¡± said Sen. ¡°No sooner.¡±


    His eyes going wide, the young man nodded furiously.


    ¡°It will be done as you say, honored cultivator,¡± said Wang Go, almost shouting the words.


    Sen looked over the young man¡¯s mother.


    ¡°Madame Du,¡± he said, causing the woman to shoot to her feet and look at him. ¡°Your husband will need hearty meals for the next several days.¡±


    The woman exchanged worried looks with her son.


    ¡°I¡­ I will do what I can, honored cultivator,¡± she said.


    Sen nodded as though he expected nothing less because this attitude was what the mother and son seemed to expect from him. He adopted a very mellow version of what he thought of as his young master mask.


    ¡°I have taken some small interest in this matter as your husband has received the benefits of my alchemy. I cannot have the elixirs¡¯ effects diminished by inadequate meals,¡± he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. ¡°No, I will have to ensure he is properly fed in order to test the quality of the elixirs on a mortal.¡±


    Sen waved a hand and summoned a truly absurd amount of food from one of his rings. Bags of rice and piles of vegetables appeared. Wang Bo and Du Fen gaped at the food, stunned by the good fortune that had seemingly dropped on their heads out of a clear sky. Sen continued to put on his young master act. He frowned at the pile.


    ¡°No,¡± Sen muttered to himself. ¡°That won¡¯t do. He needs meat to heal properly.¡±


    Sen peered around the room as if looking for something. He didn¡¯t see anywhere to store meat, even if only temporarily. He searched his rings and found a small table. He usually used it for tea, but he decided he could sacrifice it. After all, he could just make a table from stone if he really needed one. He summoned the table and piled several kinds of meat on it. He gave Du Fen a vaguely stern look.


    ¡°Hearty meals,¡± he ordered solemnly. ¡°I will return in three days to see the results of my elixirs.¡±


    The woman nodded slowly like it was taking her body a while to trante themands her mind was giving it. ¡°I will do as you say, honored cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Good. Good. I have other business to attend to now,¡± announced Sen.


    Wang Bo and Du Fen offered hasty bows. While they weren¡¯t looking at him, Sen seized the opportunity to activate his qinggong technique and run away through the still-open door. He expected that they would just assume he did some mysterious cultivator magic to disappear. Which, he realized on reflection, was what he <em>had</em> done. It was a relief to escape from their general awe and palpable fear of him, though. Reassuring people who were certain you might kill them at any moment was a mentally exhausting exercise for Sen. It was so much easier to deal with people who either didn¡¯t know he was a cultivator or had some experience dealing with cultivators. It gave him more and more respect for inn owners who managed to maintain some equanimity when they realized he was a cultivator.


    That thought reminded him that he¡¯d certainly left Falling Leaf alone with the two foxes for longer than was wise. He walked back to the inn. Before he even reached the door, he knew something was wrong. Sen would have liked to say that he picked up on subtle indications like changes in the ambient qi or telltale noises, but it was nothing like that. The door to the inn had been knockedpletely out of its frame and had what looked like an injured mortal sprawled across it. There were also the general sounds of fighting and yellinging from inside the inn. Sen pinched the bridge of his nose, just certain that Laughing River and Misty Peak were somehow responsible for whatever disaster he was going to find inside.


    ¡°This is what I get for thinking that I could leave them alone for any length of time. You brought this on yourself, Sen,¡± he muttered.


    He spotted a stray dog that looked at him curiously from a nearby alley.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how lucky you are,¡± he said to the dog. ¡°I bet there isn¡¯t a single nine-tail fox making any trouble for you.¡±


    The stray didn¡¯tment, just kept giving Sen a vaguely happy and curious look. Sen considered just walking away from the mess and letting the foxes sort it out for themselves. If it were just the foxes inside, he probably would have done exactly that. Unfortunately, there was a good chance Falling Leaf was in the middle of whatever mess they had made. She had direct and absolute ways of solving problems that he thought were probably overkill for whatever situation had developed in his absence. <em>Best to get her out of there as fast as possible</em>, he thought. Mentally imploring the heavens for a problem he could solve quickly, Sen squared his shoulders and stepped through the empty doorway.

 Book 7: Chapter 2: The Problems of Others

    Book 7: Chapter 2: The Problems of Others


    Sen was a little relieved that the tree cutters lived near the edge of the town in a truly modest but well-tended home. He wasn¡¯t looking forward to making a show of carrying the injured man through the town on a qi tform. He would have, but it would been inconvenient. Cultivators made mortals rightly nervous, and overt disys of cultivator power made them very nervous. Fortunately, the young man was much more concerned with his father¡¯s well-being than with anything that Sen was doing. When they arrived at the house, the young man simply called out for his mother. She was distraught to discover her husband was injured, but it seemed she was cut from a simr cloth as Grandmother Lu. She focused on the practicalities, rushing around to set up a pallet near the stove they used for cooking and heating the little home. Sen settled the injured man on the pallet. Before he could make good an escape, though, the young man dropped to his knees and started kowtowing.


    ¡°That really isn¡¯t necessary,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°This Wang Bo can never repay the kindness of the honored cultivator.¡±


    Wang Bo¡¯s mother, who had been crouched and fretting by her husband, whirled to stare at Sen in mixed shock and horror. She scrambled over to mimic her son.


    ¡°This Du Fen begs a thousand times for the honored cultivator to forgive her disrespect.¡±


    ¡°Please stop,¡± Sen almost begged the pair.


    He wanted to think that they¡¯d heard one too many stories about arrogant and petty cultivators, but he didn¡¯t really believe it. He¡¯d met plenty of cultivators who would have, if they noticed this mother and son at all, treated them like trash. He imagined that those cultivators expected this kind of behavior. He had no stomach for it. It always took him right back to the streets of Orchard¡¯s Reach. Always hiding in dark corners to avoid the notice of the noble brats. Pleading with the shopkeepers who caught him lurking around their businesses to spare him a beating. He had no need or desire to harm the mortals he encountered, unless they were violent bandits, and this family clearly wasn¡¯t in that category. He didn¡¯t know if it was the pleading tone in his voice or a totalck of hostility on his part, but Wang Bo and Du Fen looked up at him hesitantly. It was almost like they were testing to see if he was trying to trick them. He quickly gestured for them to rise. Du Fen¡¯s eyes went immediately back to her injured husband.


    ¡°Tend to him,¡± said Sen in the gentlest tone he could manage.


    She didn¡¯t need any more encouragement. The woman swiftly returned to her husband¡¯s side. Sen looked at Wang Bo, who was looking uncertainly at him. Sen felt at a loss about what to say now that the immediate crisis was over. Instead of standing there in awkward silence, Sen fixed his attention on the injured man and checked the wounds again. They seemed to be healing up fine, but it was clear that the pace of healing was slowing. Sen pursed his lips. It could be that the elixir was wearing off, but he suspected it was more likely that the man simply didn¡¯t have the physical reserves in ce. While it didn¡¯t look like this family was starving, it was clear that they didn¡¯t enjoy any kind of wealth. They probably weren¡¯t eating all that well. <em>No doubt eating whatever they could afford and nothing else</em>, thought Sen.This family¡¯s problems weren¡¯t his problems. Sen knew that. But he had intervened. The first elixir he¡¯d given the man would almost certainly ensure his survival. Of course, he also knew that survival came in a lot of forms, not all of them good or advantageous. It wouldn¡¯t really cost him anything he cared about to help a little more. <em>I¡¯ve alreadye this far</em>, he thought. <em>I may as well finish the job</em>. He searched through his storage ring and found another weak elixir. He summoned it and held it out to the Wang Bo. The young man stared at the vial like he didn¡¯t dare touch it. Sen waited a little longer before he rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Take it,¡± he instructed.


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    Apprehension on his narrow face, the young man gingerly took the vial. He held it in his hands like it was a fragile infant. Sen realized that the young man probably had no idea what it was, let alone what to do with it.


    ¡°Give that to your father tomorrow at midday,¡± said Sen. ¡°No sooner.¡±


    His eyes going wide, the young man nodded furiously.


    ¡°It will be done as you say, honored cultivator,¡± said Wang Go, almost shouting the words.


    Sen looked over the young man¡¯s mother.


    ¡°Madame Du,¡± he said, causing the woman to shoot to her feet and look at him. ¡°Your husband will need hearty meals for the next several days.¡±


    The woman exchanged worried looks with her son.


    ¡°I¡­ I will do what I can, honored cultivator,¡± she said.


    Sen nodded as though he expected nothing less because this attitude was what the mother and son seemed to expect from him. He adopted a very mellow version of what he thought of as his young master mask.


    ¡°I have taken some small interest in this matter as your husband has received the benefits of my alchemy. I cannot have the elixirs¡¯ effects diminished by inadequate meals,¡± he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. ¡°No, I will have to ensure he is properly fed in order to test the quality of the elixirs on a mortal.¡±


    Sen waved a hand and summoned a truly absurd amount of food from one of his rings. Bags of rice and piles of vegetables appeared. Wang Bo and Du Fen gaped at the food, stunned by the good fortune that had seemingly dropped on their heads out of a clear sky. Sen continued to put on his young master act. He frowned at the pile.


    ¡°No,¡± Sen muttered to himself. ¡°That won¡¯t do. He needs meat to heal properly.¡±


    Sen peered around the room as if looking for something. He didn¡¯t see anywhere to store meat, even if only temporarily. He searched his rings and found a small table. He usually used it for tea, but he decided he could sacrifice it. After all, he could just make a table from stone if he really needed one. He summoned the table and piled several kinds of meat on it. He gave Du Fen a vaguely stern look.


    ¡°Hearty meals,¡± he ordered solemnly. ¡°I will return in three days to see the results of my elixirs.¡±


    The woman nodded slowly like it was taking her body a while to trante themands her mind was giving it. ¡°I will do as you say, honored cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Good. Good. I have other business to attend to now,¡± announced Sen.


    Wang Bo and Du Fen offered hasty bows. While they weren¡¯t looking at him, Sen seized the opportunity to activate his qinggong technique and run away through the still-open door. He expected that they would just assume he did some mysterious cultivator magic to disappear. Which, he realized on reflection, was what he <em>had</em> done. It was a relief to escape from their general awe and palpable fear of him, though. Reassuring people who were certain you might kill them at any moment was a mentally exhausting exercise for Sen. It was so much easier to deal with people who either didn¡¯t know he was a cultivator or had some experience dealing with cultivators. It gave him more and more respect for inn owners who managed to maintain some equanimity when they realized he was a cultivator.


    That thought reminded him that he¡¯d certainly left Falling Leaf alone with the two foxes for longer than was wise. He walked back to the inn. Before he even reached the door, he knew something was wrong. Sen would have liked to say that he picked up on subtle indications like changes in the ambient qi or telltale noises, but it was nothing like that. The door to the inn had been knockedpletely out of its frame and had what looked like an injured mortal sprawled across it. There were also the general sounds of fighting and yellinging from inside the inn. Sen pinched the bridge of his nose, just certain that Laughing River and Misty Peak were somehow responsible for whatever disaster he was going to find inside.


    ¡°This is what I get for thinking that I could leave them alone for any length of time. You brought this on yourself, Sen,¡± he muttered.


    He spotted a stray dog that looked at him curiously from a nearby alley.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how lucky you are,¡± he said to the dog. ¡°I bet there isn¡¯t a single nine-tail fox making any trouble for you.¡±


    The stray didn¡¯tment, just kept giving Sen a vaguely happy and curious look. Sen considered just walking away from the mess and letting the foxes sort it out for themselves. If it were just the foxes inside, he probably would have done exactly that. Unfortunately, there was a good chance Falling Leaf was in the middle of whatever mess they had made. She had direct and absolute ways of solving problems that he thought were probably overkill for whatever situation had developed in his absence. <em>Best to get her out of there as fast as possible</em>, he thought. Mentally imploring the heavens for a problem he could solve quickly, Sen squared his shoulders and stepped through the empty doorway.

 Book 7: Chapter 3: Surprises

    Book 7: Chapter 3: Surprises


    Sen didn¡¯t quite know what to make of the scene that greeted his eyes. The foxes, who he had just assumed were going to be the problem, were still sitting at the table where he¡¯d left them. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean they hadn¡¯t caused the problem. In fact, he found it odd that they hadn¡¯t gone somewhere else. Sen didn¡¯t imagine that Laughing River really wanted to discuss the secrets of transformation in front of mortals. However, after he thought about it for a second, Sen realized that Falling Leaf had probably proven unwilling to go somewhere private with the immensely powerful nine tail fox. Sen didn¡¯t think the fox would have tried anything. Especially not with Sen holding the spatial treasure hostage. He couldn¡¯t fault Falling Leaf¡¯s caution if that had been the reason, though. Only a fool offers their hand willingly to a predator¡¯s teeth.


    By all appearances, however, it seemed that the ghost panther was the source of the trouble. There were bodies scattered everywhere amid the wreckage of shattered tables and splintered chairs. A quick scan with his spiritual sense revealed that those people were still alive, even if some of them were probably thinking they¡¯d rather be dead. The thing that truly captured Sen¡¯s attention was Falling Leaf. She had a foot nted firmly between the shoulders of a man, keeping him pinned face down on the floor as he thrashed. Meanwhile, she had seized the robes of a man nearly three times her size in one fist, while savagely beating him with the other fist. Sen couldn¡¯t even tell if the man was still conscious or if the ghost panther was holding his unconscious body up to continue the punishment.


    Frowning a little, Sen picked his way over to the small bar and peeked over the top. The inn owner was crouched behind it looking like he believed that the end of the world hade. The man looked up, saw Sen looking down, and flinched like he¡¯d been struck. Before Sen could get a word in edgewise, the inn owner started babbling.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know she was a cultivator. I didn¡¯t know!¡±


    When it became clear that he wasn¡¯t going to get anything useful out of the inn owner until after the fighting was over, Sen made his way over to the foxes. He had to step over some groaning, battered people to do it. He sat down at the table and gave the foxes an expectant look. Laughing River started to chuckle.


    ¡°I expect you think we did this somehow, but we didn¡¯t. This is all on the mortals.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is it?¡±


    Misty Peak quickly nodded. ¡°We were minding our own business. Then, that pack of idiots came in here. One of them decided that Falling Leaf was too pretty to sit with us and should sit with them.¡±


    Sen suppressed the groan he felting on. He could guess what happened, but he gestured for Misty Peak to continue. The fox woman nced over to where Falling Leaf was still administering object lessons.¡°Shouldn¡¯t you stop her?¡± asked the fox.


    ¡°Not until I know the whole story,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Misty Peak a little uncertainly. ¡°Well, she said no. She was quite firm about it. The man didn¡¯t like that, and he grabbed her. I think you can put together the rest.¡±


    She gave the destroyedmon room a halfhearted gesture. Sen nodded before he nced over at where the inn owner was cowering.


    ¡°Why is he so afraid?¡± asked Sen, hiking a thumb at the bar.


    Laughing River shrugged. ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything to stop it. He probably figures that once she¡¯s done with them, she¡¯ll turn her attention to him. Or maybe he thinks that you¡¯ll burn the ce to the ground because he let it happen.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I guess that¡¯s not an unreasonable assumption,¡± said Sen.


    Misty Peak got an interested gleam in her eyes. ¡°<em>Are</em> you going to burn it down?¡±


    Sen thought it over. ¡°No. I don¡¯t have anywhere else convenient for you to stay. I¡¯ve taxed the patience of my teacher already. I¡¯m certainly not adding to that by bringing you two there. Besides, it¡¯s going to cost a lot to rece all this broken furniture. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s punishment enough, but it is some kind of punishment. If Falling Leaf decides to do something to him, though, I¡¯m not nning to step in.¡±


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    Laughing River lifted an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you were all soft-hearted about the mortals. Didn¡¯t you run off to save one an hour or so ago?¡±


    ¡°Soft-hearted? Not so much. I went to help that young man¡¯s father because it was probably a life-and-death situation and because I could. A tree fell on the man. <em>Maybe</em> it was karmaing around on him, but I doubt he was doing anything objectionable at the time. The idiot who runs this ce lets some of his customers grab other customers. Whatever he gets, he deserves,¡± said Sen before ncing over to where he could hear someone blubbering.


    Falling Leaf had seemingly grown tired of beating the big man and had turned her ¡°gentle¡± attention to the one she¡¯d pinned to the floor. He was on his knees, crying, and pleading with the imcable ghost panther. The man¡¯s words were so garbled by his sobbing that Sen couldn¡¯t even understand most of it. Then again, he didn¡¯t need to hear the words to understand it. It all boiled down to one key idea. <em>Please don¡¯t kill me</em>. One look at Falling Leaf told Sen that those pleas werergely falling on deaf ears. Her eyes were still zing with cold fury. She probably wouldn¡¯t kill him given that she hadn¡¯t killed any of the others, but Sen didn¡¯t imagine that man was going to feel healthy anytime in the near future. When she started in on the man, Sen turned back to the foxes. They were both giving him mildly surprised expressions.


    ¡°You¡¯re really not going to do anything?¡± asked Misty Peak.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell those men to be stupid,¡± said Sen. ¡°They aren¡¯t innocents. If they grabbed Falling Leaf here, they¡¯ve almost certainly done the same thing in other ces to people who couldn¡¯t fight back. Besides, I don¡¯t know them. They aren¡¯t allies. Why should I get in the middle of it? More importantly, why do you care what happens to them?¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t,¡± observed Laughing River. ¡°Neither do I. Understanding you, on the other hand, is of interest.¡±


    Sen gave the elder fox a dubious look. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°The better we understand you, the easier it will be to avoid truly angering you,¡± said Laughing River.


    ¡°Is that really a matter of deep concern for you two?¡± asked Sen with a small snort.


    ¡°Of course, it is,¡± said Misty Peak. ¡°You can summon vengeful, terrifyingly powerful nascent soul cultivators. Do you think that they¡¯d say no if you asked them to kill someone for you? Equally important, all the evidence suggests that <em>you</em> will be a vengeful, terrifyingly powerful nascent soul cultivator. Probably sooner thanter. Teasing you is one thing, but I don¡¯t have a death wish.¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to speak but found he didn¡¯t have a ready response to that. She wasn¡¯t wrong about him being able to summon nascent soul cultivators. Master Feng and Uncle Kho probably would kill someone for him if he asked them to, not that he would. But he supposed that there was no way that the foxes could know that. He wasn¡¯t as sure about Auntie Caihong. She would likely hunt down anyone who did him true harm, but that wasn¡¯t the same thing as killing someone just because he asked. He was less thanfortable with the idea that he might be perceived as a vengeful figure of terror and doom. He sighed. It was probably toote to avoid that since so many of the stories painted him that way.


    ¡°I suppose I can understand your concerns,¡± admitted Sen.


    There was a particrly sharp sound of fist on flesh that drew Sen¡¯s attention. He saw Falling Leaf casually toss aside the limp form of the crying man. His spiritual sense revealed that she had spared even him. The ghost panther stalked over to the bar where she red down at the inn owner.


    ¡°Bring me food,¡± shemanded.


    ¡°Whatever the honored cultivator wishes,¡± cried the inn owner before he fled toward the kitchen.


    Falling Leaf nodded to herself and returned to the table. She sat down and picked up a cup of what had to be cold tea. She took a sip before she turned her gaze on Sen.


    ¡°Did you save the tree man?¡± she asked, all signs of violence gone save for the blood on her hands and speckled across her face.


    ¡°I think so,¡± said Sen.


    He retrieved a piece of fabric and a water gourd from his storage ring. He wet the fabric and handed it to the ghost panther.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    She took the cloth and wiped at her face and hands.


    ¡°I¡¯ll check on him in a few days to make sure,¡± said Sen. ¡°Sometimes, these things are trickier than they look at first. I wish Auntie Caihong were here. She¡¯s better at reading injuries than I am.¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded. ¡°The Caihong has great talent in healing.¡±


    Sen took no small measure of amusement from the increasingly baffled look on Misty Peak¡¯s face. Laughing River did a better job of controlling his expression, but Sen could tell that the elder fox also wasn¡¯t sure what to make of the conversation he was listening to.


    ¡°So, I heard someone tried to grab you,¡± observed Sen.


    Falling Leaf red at the unconscious men she¡¯d left in her wake. ¡°They thought to force me to sit with them. Force <em>me</em>. A ghost panther. The fools,¡± said Falling Leaf before she sat up straight and gave Sen a concerned look. ¡°You must teach the kit to protect herself from such as these. She has no ws. She must be shown, as you were shown.¡±


    ¡°Kit?¡± asked Misty Peak and Laughing River in unison.


    Falling Leaf eyed the startled foxes warily before she nced at Sen. He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug.


    ¡°Sen has taken in a lost human kit,¡± announced Falling Leaf.


    ¡°He did what?¡± demanded Misty Peak.

 Book 7: Chapter 4: A Vivid Imagination

    Book 7: Chapter 4: A Vivid Imagination


    Falling Leaf stared at Misty Peak like she thought the fox woman was particrly slow. She gave Sen a look that, for once, was not that hard to trante. <em>Why do you put up with this one</em>? The ghost panther adopted an expression of patience that bordered on patronizing.


    Falling Leaf spoke very slowly as she repeated her words. ¡°Sen has taken in a lost human kit.¡±


    Based on the way his features seemed to go tight, Sen guessed that it took an act of supreme self-control for Laughing River to keep a straight face. Not that it was much of a guess, since Sen was in the exact same position. It was not helped by the petnt annoyance that crossed the fox woman¡¯s face. Realizing that his self-control was a tenuous shield against making the situation worse, Sen made a swift decision. He stood up before anyone could do or say anything else that might make him burst intoughter.


    ¡°Well, it seems like you all have this under control. I¡¯ll be back in three days,¡± said Sen before turning his eyes on Falling Leaf. ¡°Do you need money for a room?¡±


    Falling Leaf looked at him fondly before she stared death at something beyond him.


    ¡°Do I need money for a room?¡± she asked.


    Sen turned to see the inn owner standing behind the bar again. The man stood absolutely straight and visibly trembled.


    ¡°N¡ª n¡ª no, Mistress Cultivator,¡± said the owner.


    Sen nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a good decision.¡±With a quick nod in the general direction of the foxes, Sen headed for, well, the open space where a door used to be. He frowned down at the still limp form that was sprawled across the remains of the disced door. <em>He¡¯s still breathing</em>, thought Sen. <em>I guess that¡¯s as good as it gets for these idiots</em>. Stepping over the unconscious man, Sen started toward the northern edge of the town. While he didn¡¯t burst intoughter over thatst interaction between Falling Leaf and Misty Peak, chuckles kept slipping free. Chuckles he had to suppress when he felt a familiar presence close in on him. Rolling his eyes, he said something that rang familiar in his ears.


    ¡°What can I do for you, Misty Peak?¡±


    The fox woman caught up and fell into step beside him. Her expression was fixed in mild anger.


    ¡°That ghost panther is insufferable.¡±


    Sen stopped walking. Misty Peak took a couple more steps before she turned to look at him.


    ¡°That ghost panther is my closest friend,¡± said Sen. ¡°She saved my life. She sacrificed for me. You don¡¯t have to like her. But if you speak about her in my presence, I suggest you choose your words with exceptional care.¡±


    The fox woman went very still. She seemed to realize that she hade within a hair of crossing a line that might well prove lethal. Sen decided that he might have turned up the intensity just a bit much in his desire to convey how much he did not appreciate negativements about Falling Leaf.


    ¡°You can think all the nasty things about her that you want. You can even say them. Just not to me.¡±


    Misty Peak rxed a bit when it became clear that Sen was making an effort to reduce how much threat he was projecting. She nodded slowly.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll keep mymentary to a minimum.¡±


    ¡°Appreciated,¡± said Sen as he resumed walking.


    The fox fell into step beside him again but remained quiet. As they approached the edge of town, Sen broke the silence.


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    ¡°Was there something you needed? I assume there was since you came after me.¡±


    After a much too lengthy pause, the fox woman spoke. ¡°You don¡¯t particrly care for mypany, do you?¡±


    Sen almost fired off a sarcasticment, but he caught himself. He had the nagging feeling that the fox was being unusually sincere. He waited until they cleared the gates of the town before he answered.


    ¡°Are you looking for an honest answer here?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sen gave the question more consideration than it probably deserved.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care for the kind of games that you and your grandfather y. And, as near as I can tell, nine-tail foxes are only about their games. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m any closer to knowing you today than on the first day we met. So, if there is a truthful answer to your question, it¡¯s this. I don¡¯t know if I care for yourpany or not because I have no idea who you actually are. Of course, there is an argument that you are what you do. If you¡¯re nothing more than the games you y, then, no, I don¡¯t particrly care for yourpany.¡±


    Sen found it interesting to watch Misty Peak¡¯s expression morph as he spoke. It started out as vaguely offending, changed to shocked, then moved on to hurt, and finallynded on thoughtful. He thought that there were a few others in there, but they came and went so fast he didn¡¯t get a chance to identify them. The problem was that he didn¡¯t know if he could trust anything he had just seen. He couldn¡¯t even be entirely certain that the face he was looking at was the fox woman¡¯s actual face. He thought it was, having stripped away at least one illusion, but that was the challenge with very good illusions. You never recognized the really good ones as fake. Misty Peak eventually nodded.


    ¡°I think I understand,¡± she said.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°Not going to defend your honor or the honor of all nine tail foxes?¡±


    ¡°Would it make a difference to you if I did?¡±


    She had him there. Sen inclined his head in acknowledgment of the point.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t imagine it would.¡±


    ¡°Then, I think I¡¯ll save my energy for things that might make a difference.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡±


    A bit of the amusement at the world he¡¯de to expect from the woman glittered in her eyes. ¡°Oh, now that would be telling. I can¡¯t ruin the surprise.¡±


    That drew a deep frown from Sen, which just made the foxugh.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to hate this surprise, aren¡¯t I?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I get the feeling that you hate every surprise.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s patently untrue. I¡¯m surprised every single time that things don¡¯t go horribly wrong at the worst possible moment to get me killed by a rampaging spirit beast that looks like the unholy union of a bear and arge cat. It¡¯s also great when I¡¯m not forced to negotiate with a nascent soul cultivator under threat of death because some half-wit sect elder in the capital has an overinted sense of her own importance. I <em>love</em> those surprises.¡±


    ¡°Those are remarkably specific,¡± observed Misty Peak.


    ¡°Yeah, well, I guess I just have a vivid imagination.¡±


    The fox woman sniffed. ¡°Imagination. Right. Those were totally made-up examples.¡±


    ¡°Completely made up. Every word of it.¡±


    An awkward pause fell over the two as Sen waited for the fox woman to either find something else she wanted to discuss or go away. It seemed that her ability to imagine things to talk about wasn¡¯t quite as vivid as Sen¡¯s. The fox eventually sighed.


    ¡°I suppose that this is thest I¡¯ll see of you for a while,¡± she offered.


    Sen nodded. ¡°I expect that¡¯s true. I¡¯ll certainly be busy for a while.¡±


    ¡°Raising a mortal child?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just providing her a safe haven for a while. I¡¯ll leave raising her to someone equipped for the job.¡±


    Misty Peak gave Sen a strange look before she shook her head a little. ¡°Goodbye, for now, Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, for now, nine tailed fox.¡±


    Sen turned to walk down the road and even managed to get a half-dozen steps before Misty Peak called after him.


    ¡°There¡¯s something you should know.¡±


    Sen turned to look at the fox. ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°No one is equipped for that job. Parents just do what they can. Try their best. It¡¯s all anyone can do. That and hope it¡¯s enough.¡±


    Sen gave Misty Peak a sharp look that seemed to make the fox woman very nervous. She shuffled her feet in a way he¡¯d never seen her do before.


    ¡°That sounds like the voice of experience talking,¡± said Sen.


    The fox regained some of herposure and smirked at him. ¡°Does it, now? How interesting.¡±


    With that, she turned and sauntered away. Sen might have appreciated the sway of her hips a little more than was strictly necessary. A fact that became apparent when the fox woman nced over her shoulder and caught him watching. She smirked at him and swayed her hips even more, just to let him know that she knew. <em>Damn it</em>, thought Sen. <em>That¡¯s just going to encourage her</em>. Rolling his eyes at his own behavior, he turned and headed back toward Fu Run¡¯s. Regardless of anything else, he¡¯d left poor Glimmer of Night to babysit a toddler with questionable behavior. That was to say nothing of Liu Ai. He should at least have the decency to relieve the spider of Fu Run.

 Book 7: Chapter 5: Sleep and Shadow

    Book 7: Chapter 5: Sleep and Shadow


    Despite his misgivings about what he might find when he got back, Sen was surprised to discover rtive tranquility. Fu Run had decided that the best thing for a young child was to have something to chase. So, she had conjured qi constructs for Liu Ai to run around with under the unblinking gaze of Glimmer of Night. By the time he got back, he found the little girl peacefully sleeping on a bed that had been incongruously summoned in a small grove of trees. That had apparently been a sign to Glimmer of Night that the best thing that he could do was construct an almost iprehensiblyplicated web of qi throughout the trees around the bed. Sen had spent nearly ten full minutes studying that web, certain that there was a pattern hidden in it. Before he could glean any true meaning from it, though, the spider hade walking up.


    ¡°Did she behave?¡± asked Sen.


    The spider nced over to the bed before offering Sen a shrug. ¡°She didn¡¯t do anything obviously harmful to herself.¡±


    After a pause, Sen nodded. He supposed it had been an absurd question to ask the spider. Glimmer of Night was likely only marginally less knowledgeable than Sen himself about what was or was not good behavior in a human child. Give the spider some obvious threat, and Sen had no doubt he would identify it immediately. Something as vague as what a mortal child should or shouldn¡¯t be doing, well, that was probably asking a bit much. Sen wasn¡¯t even sure if they should let the girl keep sleeping or not. He¡¯d made those kinds of decisions for himself back on the streets of Orchard¡¯s Reach and even on Uncle Kho¡¯s mountain now that he thought about it. Of course, he wasn¡¯t living what anyone would describe as a good life on the streets and the expectations were very different once he got on the mountain.


    The problem was that he wasn¡¯t trying to make himself a disciple. He just wanted the little girl to be healthy and feel safe. Beyond that, he hadn¡¯t thought it through. <em>She¡¯ll need to eat</em>, he realized, <em>and not just asionally</em>. While he and Falling Leaf ate semi-regr meals, it wasn¡¯t unusual for either of them to go a few days without bothering with it. He knew from personal experience that children could survive that, but it wasn¡¯t a good thing. Once he started thinking about it, though, he started realizing that she was going to need all kinds of things. She¡¯d need clothes, a room of her own, toys, and she would have to start learning things. <em>Uncle Kho might actually murder me if I don¡¯t make sure that she learns to read and write</em>, thought Sen. That thought brought Sen up short, and he turned to look at Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°Do you know how to read?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Read? What¡¯s that?¡± asked the spider.


    ¡°It¡¯s, well¡ª¡± Sen mentally cast around for the right description.


    He¡¯d literally never had to exin reading to anyone before, so he didn¡¯t have a good answer at his fingertips. He finally had a minor epiphany and summoned a scroll from his storage ring. He unrolled it and showed the spider the writing.¡°All of those symbols are called writing. Each character means something, and you string them together to exin or describe things. If you can look at them and understand it, that¡¯s called reading.¡±


    The spider tilted his head back and forth as he looked at the scroll. Eventually, he shook his head.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard of this writing before, but spiders don¡¯t do this thing.¡±


    ¡°Of course they don¡¯t,¡± said Sen, pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°Well, Ai needs to learn, so I guess I¡¯ll add teaching you to the list of things that need to be done.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked the spider.


    Sen felt a surge of empathy for Uncle Kho¡¯s reaction to learning that he couldn¡¯t read. It didn¡¯t seem important when you couldn¡¯t do it. Once you could, you realized just how many things in life were made better, easier, or simply possible by reading. Sen gave it a moment of thought before he answered.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to be moving through the human world, it¡¯s an essential skill.¡±


    Glimmer of Night¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change exactly, but Sen got the impression that the spider had just epted his words at face value. <em>Thank the heavens</em>, thought Sen. That was a fight he didn¡¯t want to have.


    ¡°If you say it is necessary, I will learn it.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Sen, turning his mind back to everything Ai would need.


    As the full scope of the responsibility he¡¯d taken on settled over Sen, he felt a tightness in his chest that he was pretty sure didn¡¯t have anything to do with his body. He wondered if he might not have done Ai any favors bringing her with him. Then, he remembered the way the other people from her vige had simply not paid any attention when the girl had gone missing. That still made him angry enough that he had to suppress an urge to go back and do¡­ He wasn¡¯t sure what. Do <em>something</em> to them. He had no idea if that¡¯s how all vigers were about other people¡¯s children, although he sincerely hoped not. If that was the standard, though, he doubted he would do worse than that. At least, he hoped he wouldn¡¯t. A soft snicker brought Sen out of his mental world. He turned to see Fu Run standing a few feet away.


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    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You have that look,¡± she said.


    ¡°What look?¡±


    ¡°The look of a man who just realized that something is going to be much harder than he thought it would. Tell me, have you figured out how you¡¯ll handle bathing the child?¡±


    Sen¡¯s eyes went a little wide. He <em>had not</em> considered that problem. The mild anxiety he¡¯d been experiencing exploded into full-blown panic. That went on for nearly ten seconds before Fu Run had finished having her fun.


    ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it,¡± she said. ¡°Or your wife can.¡±


    Glimmer of Night looked at Sen. ¡°You have a mate?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± said Sen. ¡°She means Falling Leaf.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that the ghost panther might eat the child?¡± asked the spider.


    That sent Fu Run off into a fit ofughter that Sen thought was a little inappropriate.


    He eyed the spider and said, ¡°Not really. Should I be worried that you¡¯ll eat the child?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Glimmer of Night. ¡°Humans don¡¯t taste good. Also, she is very small. I prefer spirit boar. That is a true meal.¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t decide if that answer wasforting in its pragmatism or not. After all, he had said he wouldn¡¯t eat her, but he also knew what humans tasted like. Sen gave the spider a thoughtful look and smirked a little.


    ¡°And you like her,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°She is not objectionable. Not like the always talking one.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure if the spider meant Li Yi Nuo or Misty Peak. <em>Probably both</em>, thought Sen. Shaking off that line of thought, Sen turned his attention back to Fu Run.


    ¡°I assume you didn¡¯te over here just to taunt me.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good enough reason?¡± asked Fu Run. ¡°Your expression was priceless.¡±


    ¡°So d I can entertain you,¡± muttered Sen.


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the smallpensations for being a teacher,¡± said the nascent soul cultivator. ¡°You get to make your students squirm.¡±


    ¡°That sounds productive.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not productive at all, but it is funny. Sometimes, you just have to sacrifice efficiency in the good cause of personal amusement.¡±


    ¡°You remind me of a couple of nine-tail foxes I know,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Well, they can be frustrating, but that doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re wrong about everything.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, did you juste over here to make me squirm?¡±


    Fu Run tapped her chin for a moment before shaking her head. ¡°You got to go off and have fun, but it¡¯s time to get back to work. I¡¯ve decided what you¡¯re going to learn next.¡±


    ¡°Fun? I don¡¯t remember having any fun,¡± said Sen, turning to Glimmer of Night. ¡°Do you remember having any fun?¡±


    ¡°It was fun watching you fight that horde of devilish beasts. I liked it when you made tribtion lightning,¡± said the spider.


    ¡°What?¡± demanded Fu Run. ¡°You made tribtion lightning?¡±


    Sen sighed. ¡°It wasn¡¯t real tribtion lightning.¡±


    ¡°It looked real,¡± Glimmer of Night helpfully added.


    ¡°It <em>wasn¡¯t</em>.¡±


    ¡°We are clearly going to need to have a longer talk about that at some point,¡± said Fu Run.


    ¡°If we must,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°In the meantime,e along Sen. I¡¯m sure your spider friend can keep watch on little Ai until we¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind watching her?¡± Sen asked the spider.


    ¡°I can watch her. I¡¯ll practice my webs while she sleeps,¡± said Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Sen, before trailing after Fu Run.


    They walked to her strange wooden house before the woman detoured over to her garden. It had surged back to life while he was gone, and he heard a few bees flying around it. The nascent soul cultivator took a moment to poke and prod a few of the nts and even picked a few ripe vegetables before she led Sen inside. She waved a hand at a teapot while disappearing into another room. Sen dutifully prepared the tea and poured a cup for each of them when she returned. She studied him while sipping at the tea.


    ¡°You¡¯ve advanced again,¡± she noted. ¡°I¡¯d say you did it a couple of times if I didn¡¯t know that was impossible.¡±


    ¡°I did advance. It was not what you¡¯d call a normal advancement.¡±


    ¡°In what way?¡±


    Sen released the suppression he maintained on the divine qi in his skin. One of Fu Run¡¯s eyebrows shot up when the glow from his skin added anotheryer of illumination to the room. He felt her spiritual sense wash over him and didn¡¯t try to resist it. He might be able to stop her but couldn¡¯t see the point of it. He simply endured the poking and prodding until it was over, at which point he suppressed the visual evidence of his changes.


    ¡°Well, that is certainly interesting. I¡¯d be curious how such a change came about.¡±


    ¡°The heavens like to y games with me. At least, that¡¯s the best answer I have.¡±


    ¡°Exin,¡± said Fu Run.


    Sen took a second to organize his experiences into something that another person might understand. Then, he walked her through that particrly unpleasant advancement. He did leave out the bit of opening some kind of gate inside himself where a bunch of divine qi drained away. He had the feeling that it was something he needed to keep to himself, at least until he understood it better. When he was done, Fu Run shook her head.


    ¡°You are either the luckiest or unluckiest core cultivator alive. I¡¯m honestly not sure which.¡±


    ¡°Any thoughts other than that?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°A lot, but I need to think about it. Plus, that¡¯s not what we¡¯re here about. We¡¯re here about that shadow qi affinity that you have shamefully neglected in its entirety.¡±


    Sen thought that he could argue that he hadn¡¯t neglected it, but he hadn¡¯t put it to a lot of good use recently either. He waited. Fu Run set down her teacup, stood from the chair, and walked over to a corner.


    ¡°This is the first thing you¡¯ll learn,¡± she said.


    With that, she took a step backward and vanished into a shadow. Sen shot to his feet as the other cultivator simply winked out of his senses. It was abrupt, jarring, andplete. She was there one moment, gone the next. He strode over to the corner to see if there was a formation in ce to hide the woman only to discover nothing. He examined the corner with his spiritual sense and his qi, but there was nothing special about the space itself. Just when confusion and curiosity were about to give way to annoyance, there was a strange rippling sensation that made Sen spin around. He watched in surprise and a bit of awe as Fu Run stepped out of a shadow on the other side of the room. She gave Sen a self-satisfied little smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s got a lot of names,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°Most people just call it shadow travel or shadow jumping. With your affinity for shadow qi, it¡¯s just appalling that you don¡¯t know how to do this yet. So, I intend to fix that.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 6: Inaccurate Analogy

    Book 7: Chapter 6: Inurate Analogy


    Sen turned his gaze back and forth from the corner to where Fu Run now stood. His teachers had told him about things that were <em>like</em> what he¡¯d just seen, but this was different. The techniques he¡¯d been told about were just advanced movement skills. They seemed to make someone disappear and reappear, but it was just magnified speed. There was also something called teleportation, where someone literally disappeared and then reappeared somewhere else. That had something to do with having a space qi affinity and remained firmly beyond Sen¡¯s understanding. Yet, that was supposed to be instantaneous, and with Sen¡¯s spiritual sense, he would have been immediately aware of their new location if they were close enough to be a threat. Fu Run had vanished from his senses and been gone for long enough that he¡¯d had the time to stand up and examine the corner. In fact, it had been about as long as it might have taken someone to casually walk across the room.


    Master Feng had also told him about shadow travel techniques, but the way they had been described it sounded more like a hiding technique than a true travel technique. The cultivators used shadow to obscure themselves, and some even managed to briefly take on the insubstantial nature of shadows. It made them harder to sense, find, and track, but that didn¡¯t seem to be what Fu Run had done either. She hadn¡¯t been obscured. She had been gone. Like she stepped outside of reality altogether and then stepped back into reality somewhere else. Sen frowned. He wondered if that was exactly what she had done. The very idea would have seemed impossible to Sen back in his mortal days, but he¡¯d been a cultivator long enough to only ever put things into categories like probable and improbable. Stepping out of reality sounded more like an improbable technique than a probable one, but he had to keep in mind that he was dealing with a nascent soul cultivator. Sen frowned.


    ¡°It looks like you aren¡¯t happy with the potential exnations. Good. That means you¡¯re likely on the right track,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°So, tell me. What do you think I just did?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± answered Sen. ¡°You say it¡¯s something to do with shadow affinity, but I don¡¯t see the connection. To me, it felt like you stepped right out of tangible reality and stepped back in again, somehow.¡±


    Fu Run lifted an eyebrow at Sen. ¡°Well, that was annoyingly urate. I guess Feng Ming and his cohorts wouldn¡¯t have put up with you if you weren¡¯t quick.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Besides, it¡¯s not like I know how you did it or where you went.¡±


    ¡°True enough,¡± conceded Fu Run. ¡°So, let¡¯s start with the where since that¡¯s probably the more interesting part. Where do you think I went?¡±


    Sen thought hard about it. No matter what he came up with, though, it just sounded absurd. Eventually, he just gave up and went with the stupidest idea that passed through his head.


    Laughing a little, he answered, ¡°I think you stepped through that shadow into some separate realm where all the shadows dance and y.¡±His amusement faded as Fu Run red at him. He swallowed hard to clear the sudden lump of concern in his throat.


    ¡°Did someone exin this technique to you?¡± asked Fu Run.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen before hurriedly adding, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that was the <em>actual</em> answer.¡±


    ¡°No? You just picked that out of the air and happened to be right?¡±


    Sen reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck, where all the hairs had suddenly stood up on end.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, his voice a little weak.


    A part of him wanted to exin, except that there was nothing to exin. He¡¯d guessed. No, he hadn¡¯t even guessed. He¡¯d picked the answer that he was certain was wrong. Yet, Fu Run seemed convinced that he¡¯d pulled some kind of trick on her, and Sen couldn¡¯t figure out how to convince the woman that it had just been a stupid coincidence. Fu Run eyed him suspiciously for an ufortably long time before she sniffed in a decidedly unimpressed way.


    ¡°Well, now that you sucked all of the fun out of the answer, that¡¯s what the technique does. Well except for that part about the dancing and ying,¡± she said.


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    ¡°How does that even work?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go ahead and assume that your working knowledge of space qi techniques is limited.¡±


    Sen frowned at that. ¡°I know a bit about how time eleration chambers work. Same for storage treasures. Beyond that, though, not really.¡±


    ¡°Why in the world would you know about time eleration chambers?¡±


    ¡°There was a copy of the Five-Fold Body Transformation manual stuck inside of one. I was trying to figure out how to get into the chamber to retrieve it.¡±


    ¡°You obviously didn¡¯t seed,¡± said Fu Run.


    ¡°The chamber had been sealed from the inside,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Oh, well, that would do it. And you thought you were just going to master space qi and get in there?¡±


    ¡°Nothing so grand. I wasn¡¯t really trying to figure out the chamber, just the seal. But it was hard to understand one without the other. I learned enough to know that I didn¡¯t have the time to learn what I needed to know.¡±


    ¡°Well, that might make for interesting discussion at some point, but it also means you don¡¯t really have the background to understand how the shadow realm works,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°So, I¡¯m going to give you a very inurate analogy that gets the basic idea across. You know how a manual is just a bunch of pages stacked together?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Well, you can imagine that reality is like a bunch of realms stacked up together the same way. The everyday world or realm that we deal with is on one page. The shadow realm is the next page over. Or, if you like, it¡¯s the space between this page and the next. If you know what you¡¯re doing, you can move between this page and the next page. Does that make sense?¡±


    Given that she¡¯d said it was a very inurate description, Sen was certain that it was a lot moreplicated than that. On the other hand, he supposed that it wasn¡¯t crucial for him to fully understand the nuances. After all, he didn¡¯t really know what lightning was but that didn¡¯t stop him from using it. He decided that this was the same thing. Until it became an issue, he¡¯d take it at face value.


    ¡°Yes, that makes sense.¡±


    ¡°The shadows in our realm can act as ess points between those pages. So, I stepped through the shadow in that corner to get to that other realm. Then, I used this shadow,¡± she gestured at the shadow she was standing in, ¡°to get back here.¡±


    ¡°So, you can just walk around in that other realm like you would here?¡± asked Sen.


    Fu Run waggled a hand in the air. ¡°Not exactly, but that¡¯s close enough for right now. With a technique like this, you can pass by enemies to escape or even attack them directly out of their shadow. That¡¯s to say nothing of walking through walls right into their very homes and strongholds.¡±


    ¡°I can certainly see the advantages to something like that,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I expected you would. Now, can you think of any potential disadvantages to a technique like that?¡±


    Sen thought about how he might deal with someone who could do that.


    ¡°Well, with enough light, you could simply erase every nearby shadow. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to do, but it could be done. It seems like that would be potentially catastrophic if you were halfway through to that other realm. I have to imagine that there are formations that prevent people from using the technique to pass through walls.¡±


    Fu Run nodded. ¡°Both are legitimate concerns. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t stay in that other realm for very long. Is there a limit on how long you can stay there?¡±


    ¡°For practical purposes, let¡¯s say yes. It varies from person to person based on a lot of things we won¡¯t get into right now, but there is a hard limit for everyone. Stay in that other realm for too long, and you don¡¯te back.¡±


    ¡°Because you die?¡±


    ¡°No one knows. People have their theories, but theories are all they are. Well, I suppose someone might now, but they aren¡¯t spreading the information. The only solid fact we have is that, beyond some threshold, you don¡¯t return. Maybe you die. Maybe you get transformed into something. As you might imagine, it¡¯s not a subject that anyone is eager is study firsthand.¡±


    ¡°You can add me to the list of people who don¡¯t want to discover the truth for themselves,¡± said Sen.


    Fu Run snorted. ¡°So, there is a tiny shred of caution buried deep inside of you. I was starting to wonder.¡±


    Sen considered everything he¡¯d just learned and noticed a bit of a logical disconnect.


    ¡°Are you saying that anyone with a shadow qi affinity can do this? If they could, it seems like something that Master Feng would have warned me about.¡±


    ¡°A shadow qi affinity isn¡¯t thatmon,¡± admitted Fu Run. ¡°In fact, it¡¯s one of the rarer affinities out there. As to your question, no, not every cultivator with a shadow qi affinity can do it. You need a strong affinity to use this particr technique.¡±


    Sen¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°How strong?¡±


    ¡°Quite strong,¡± said Fu Run without quite meeting his eyes.


    A suspicion formed in Sen¡¯s mind.


    ¡°How many people have a strong enough affinity? Ten percent of cultivators? Five percent?¡±


    ¡°Four,¡± said Fu Run.


    ¡°Four percent?¡±


    ¡°Four people that I¡¯m aware of, including you.¡±


    The value of the technique that he was going to learn went way, way up in Sen¡¯s mind. If it was that rare, it meant that it was something that most cultivators wouldn¡¯t be protecting against. <em>Hells</em>, he thought, <em>most sects probably wouldn¡¯t bother with it either</em>. <em>Why would they</em>? It was one thing for sects to protect themselves against threats that were likely. But only the most paranoid of sects or one with a reason to think someone with that skill would target them would bother defending against it. If nothing else, it meant that most sects would have a hard time holding him if he got even a brief window of opportunity to act. Sen smiled.


    ¡°In that case, what¡¯s next?¡±

 Book 7: Chapter Seven – Safe?

    Book 7: Chapter Seven ¨C Safe?


    Sen stepped out of Fu Run¡¯s home with a mildly perplexed expression on his face. It turned out that what came next was not even remotely what he thought woulde next. Sen had fully expected the woman to go into a full-blown exnation of the technique. Instead, she had instructed him to do something he thought was absurdly simple. It was something that he¡¯d figured out how to do years before.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need you to practice isting the shadow qi in your core,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s an essential step¡ª¡±


    ¡°Done,¡± said Sen, having carried out the order.


    Fu Run¡¯s face scrunched up in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s done?¡±


    ¡°I isted the shadow qi in my core.¡±


    ¡°Just like that?¡± asked the nascent soul cultivator.


    Sen got the distinct impression that Fu Run was aggravated with him, although he couldn¡¯t quite imagine why.


    ¡°Um, yes.¡±


    Fu Run closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Then, she opened them and gave Sen a very strained-looking smile.


    ¡°Has anyone ever told you how utterly ridiculous you are?¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to close his eyes and take a couple of breaths.


    ¡°It might havee up once or twice,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Well, you should sleep soundly in the knowledge that it¡¯s still true.¡±


    ¡°Terrific,¡± said Sen in an extra-dry tone. ¡°So, what¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°Now, you go away from me for a couple of weeks and y with shadow qi. Figure out what it can really do. Something I must assume you haven¡¯t bothered with given what I¡¯ve seen and the stories about you.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Fire and lightning, isn¡¯t it? Those are your preferred tools. No one ever talks about the things you do with shadows.¡±


    ¡°Just because they don¡¯t talk about it, that doesn¡¯t mean it never happens.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°When did youst use shadow qi in a battle?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been,¡± Sen paused and thought hard, ¡°a while.¡±


    ¡°And did you use it to do anything but nket the area in darkness?¡±


    ¡°I have used it to do other things,¡± hedged Sen.


    ¡°Recently?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to estimate these things with certainty, but shadow is possibly your strongest affinity. Yet, as near as I can tell, you don¡¯t even bother with it. I me Feng Ming and Kho Jaw-Long for that. You got most of yourbat training from them, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± said Sen, feeling protectively defensive about his teachers. ¡°But what does that have to do with it?¡±


    ¡°They both favor direct confrontation. Victory through pure, overwhelming strength. That¡¯s fine if you can back it up, which they can,¡± she said before giving Sen an appraising look. ¡°Granted, it seems you can as well, most of the time, but it¡¯s foolish to leave such a useful tool untrained. Shadow qi gives you more options. I¡¯ve never had a moment where I believed that having more options for ending my enemies was a bad thing.¡±


    Sen was hard-pressed to disagree with her without sounding like aplete fool. In his experience, victory was the goal. Any path he could stomach that would get him there was a good path. Plus, she had a point. He¡¯d always known he had a strong shadow affinity. He¡¯d even used it pretty regrly in the early days away from the mountain. Hells, Auntie Caihong had even made him that pill that seemed to enhance that affinity in some way. That he had neglected it in recent years was an oversight on his part. Any affinity could be a very useful tool in the right circumstances, but only if you knew what it could do.


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    On the other hand, he had been rather busy thesest few years with trying to escape demonic cultivators and not die. He hadn¡¯t been overwhelmed with time to explore affinities that didn¡¯t seem to contribute to his immediate survival. Fire, lightning, and earth had be his go-to options because they did just that. Now, though, he <em>did</em> have the time. More importantly, he was being outright told to take that time. To fight against that because she had made a slightly disparaging but ultimately urate observation about his other teachers would be¡­ Well, it would just be stupid on his part. A stupidity born of ego and misced loyalty. He had learned a great deal from Master Feng and Uncle Kho. Yet, their way wasn¡¯t the only way or even the best way in every situation.


    He expected that they would probably <em>agree </em>that he shouldn¡¯t ignore a practical tool. The fact that they had overlooked it probably had more to do with them trying to cram as much as they could teach him into his mind in the time they had. Looking back on it, he wished he had been less impatient. He wished he had been much less impatient. Given how much he had learned, how much more could he have learned if he had stayed for another five years or ten years? Part of him thought that he could go back, but it wouldn¡¯t be the same. <em>He</em> wasn¡¯t the same as he had been. They would wee him with open arms, no doubt, and teach him if he asked them to. However, Sen intuitively understood that some window of opportunity had closed when he left the mountain. It took Fu Run making an impatient noise to bring Sen out of his ruminations.


    Sen offered Fu Run a bow. ¡°As you say.¡±


    She had gestured toward the door, and Sen took his cue to leave. Once he was outside, though, he found himself a bit at loose ends. He understood, in general, what she expected him to do. It was the details that eluded him. He wondered if he had be a little narrow of vision in his relentless pursuit of survival. He didn¡¯t think that his younger self would have found this task difficult to understand. Now that he thought about it, his younger self probably would have reveled in the freedom of the opportunity. He would have let his imagination run wild with possibilities. <em>I need to recapture a bit of that mindset</em>, he thought.


    It was sobering to realize that he had sacrificed some piece of himself in the drive to live. He¡¯d done it and not even realized it. He wasn¡¯t even certain what it was, just that it was gone or so deeply buried that he was having a very hard time finding it again. He supposed some of that was down to having done a lot of difficult living in a rtively short period of time. He¡¯d made a lot of hard choices in that time. So much of what had seemed so bright and wondrous about the world had lost its shine for him. Instead, Sen had started simplifying the world around him to make it easier to deal with. He¡¯d started dividing everything into opposing camps. Things that help me, and things that don¡¯t. People I trust, and people I don¡¯t.


    As with so many things, he¡¯d taken it too far. The world was moreplicated than that. Someone who wasn¡¯t a trusted friend needn¡¯t be an enemy. Just because something didn¡¯t have immediate survival value didn¡¯t make it worthless. He could understand how he¡¯d gotten there. That mindset had even been necessary for him when everything was on the line and absolutely every second counted, but was everything on the line anymore? Sen still needed toplete the Five-Fold Body Transformation, but that was a perfectly achievable goal now. He wasn¡¯t being actively hunted by anyone that he knew about. In fact, his only real obligation was to Fu Run. It hit him all at once that he was, for all intents and purposes, safe. It was okay to rx, even if it was only a little bit.


    Sure, there were probably people out there still trying to work out a way to use him or his reputation to their advantage. But he didn¡¯t really care about those people. He had passed through worse trials than telling people <em>no</em>. Beyond that, at the pace he was advancing, he would soon grow beyond the reach of almost anyone to force him into doing what they wanted. The people he cared about werergely beyond reach or swiftly growing powerful enough that it would take true powerhouses to threaten them. It was true. It was actually true. He wasn¡¯t in any real danger anymore. He had simply been in the crucible for so long that he hadn¡¯t recognized it when he came out the other side. He hadn¡¯te out unscathed. Far from it. Yet, he hade through it. As Sen walked away from Fu Run¡¯s home, he started tough. If thatugh sounded a little manic or hysterical, he was alright with it.


    Sen choked off thatughter as he approached the little grove of trees where he¡¯d left Liu Ai sleeping. She¡¯d apparently grown bored with her nap because he could hear her giggling. Sen came to an abrupt stop at what he saw. It seemed that Glimmer of Night had created arge, t, tightly woven web of qi between several trees. Liu Ai was jumping up and down on the web. It seemed to flex slightly and rebound to send the girl higher into the air than it ought to. If the web hadn¡¯t been so big that the girl could only fall off of it if she tried, Sen might have been concerned. Plus, the spider was nearby, attentively watching the girl with his reflective ck eyes. Again, it might have concerned Sen if the spider hadn¡¯t already proven several times that he wasn¡¯t going to hurt the child.


    The glee on Liu Ai¡¯s face was uplicated. Even if Sen knew that there would be more nightmares toe, and a shadow that would hang over the girl for a time, there was none of that now. All that existed for her was the simple joy of jumping up and down on that absurd web. She didn¡¯t need anything else in that moment. It was enough to be alive and having that experience, to simply be, and have it fill her world with happiness. Sen eventually walked over to Glimmer of Night, and they stood side by side, a pair of deadly sentinels to keep the uncaring world at bay for however long a little girl wanted to jump andugh.

 Book 7: Chapter 7: Safe?

    Book 7: Chapter 7: Safe?


    Sen stepped out of Fu Run¡¯s home with a mildly perplexed expression on his face. It turned out that what came next was not even remotely what he thought woulde next. Sen had fully expected the woman to go into a full-blown exnation of the technique. Instead, she had instructed him to do something he thought was absurdly simple. It was something that he¡¯d figured out how to do years before.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need you to practice isting the shadow qi in your core,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s an essential step¡ª¡±


    ¡°Done,¡± said Sen, having carried out the order.


    Fu Run¡¯s face scrunched up in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s done?¡±


    ¡°I isted the shadow qi in my core.¡±


    ¡°Just like that?¡± asked the nascent soul cultivator.


    Sen got the distinct impression that Fu Run was aggravated with him, although he couldn¡¯t quite imagine why.


    ¡°Um, yes.¡±


    Fu Run closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Then, she opened them and gave Sen a very strained-looking smile.


    ¡°Has anyone ever told you how utterly ridiculous you are?¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to close his eyes and take a couple of breaths.


    ¡°It might havee up once or twice,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Well, you should sleep soundly in the knowledge that it¡¯s still true.¡±


    ¡°Terrific,¡± said Sen in an extra-dry tone. ¡°So, what¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°Now, you go away from me for a couple of weeks and y with shadow qi. Figure out what it can really do. Something I must assume you haven¡¯t bothered with given what I¡¯ve seen and the stories about you.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Fire and lightning, isn¡¯t it? Those are your preferred tools. No one ever talks about the things you do with shadows.¡±


    ¡°Just because they don¡¯t talk about it, that doesn¡¯t mean it never happens.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°When did youst use shadow qi in a battle?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been,¡± Sen paused and thought hard, ¡°a while.¡±


    ¡°And did you use it to do anything but nket the area in darkness?¡±


    ¡°I have used it to do other things,¡± hedged Sen.


    ¡°Recently?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to estimate these things with certainty, but shadow is possibly your strongest affinity. Yet, as near as I can tell, you don¡¯t even bother with it. I me Feng Ming and Kho Jaw-Long for that. You got most of yourbat training from them, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± said Sen, feeling protectively defensive about his teachers. ¡°But what does that have to do with it?¡±


    ¡°They both favor direct confrontation. Victory through pure, overwhelming strength. That¡¯s fine if you can back it up, which they can,¡± she said before giving Sen an appraising look. ¡°Granted, it seems you can as well, most of the time, but it¡¯s foolish to leave such a useful tool untrained. Shadow qi gives you more options. I¡¯ve never had a moment where I believed that having more options for ending my enemies was a bad thing.¡±


    Sen was hard-pressed to disagree with her without sounding like aplete fool. In his experience, victory was the goal. Any path he could stomach that would get him there was a good path. Plus, she had a point. He¡¯d always known he had a strong shadow affinity. He¡¯d even used it pretty regrly in the early days away from the mountain. Hells, Auntie Caihong had even made him that pill that seemed to enhance that affinity in some way. That he had neglected it in recent years was an oversight on his part. Any affinity could be a very useful tool in the right circumstances, but only if you knew what it could do.


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    On the other hand, he had been rather busy thesest few years with trying to escape demonic cultivators and not die. He hadn¡¯t been overwhelmed with time to explore affinities that didn¡¯t seem to contribute to his immediate survival. Fire, lightning, and earth had be his go-to options because they did just that. Now, though, he <em>did</em> have the time. More importantly, he was being outright told to take that time. To fight against that because she had made a slightly disparaging but ultimately urate observation about his other teachers would be¡­ Well, it would just be stupid on his part. A stupidity born of ego and misced loyalty. He had learned a great deal from Master Feng and Uncle Kho. Yet, their way wasn¡¯t the only way or even the best way in every situation.


    He expected that they would probably <em>agree </em>that he shouldn¡¯t ignore a practical tool. The fact that they had overlooked it probably had more to do with them trying to cram as much as they could teach him into his mind in the time they had. Looking back on it, he wished he had been less impatient. He wished he had been much less impatient. Given how much he had learned, how much more could he have learned if he had stayed for another five years or ten years? Part of him thought that he could go back, but it wouldn¡¯t be the same. <em>He</em> wasn¡¯t the same as he had been. They would wee him with open arms, no doubt, and teach him if he asked them to. However, Sen intuitively understood that some window of opportunity had closed when he left the mountain. It took Fu Run making an impatient noise to bring Sen out of his ruminations.


    Sen offered Fu Run a bow. ¡°As you say.¡±


    She had gestured toward the door, and Sen took his cue to leave. Once he was outside, though, he found himself a bit at loose ends. He understood, in general, what she expected him to do. It was the details that eluded him. He wondered if he had be a little narrow of vision in his relentless pursuit of survival. He didn¡¯t think that his younger self would have found this task difficult to understand. Now that he thought about it, his younger self probably would have reveled in the freedom of the opportunity. He would have let his imagination run wild with possibilities. <em>I need to recapture a bit of that mindset</em>, he thought.


    It was sobering to realize that he had sacrificed some piece of himself in the drive to live. He¡¯d done it and not even realized it. He wasn¡¯t even certain what it was, just that it was gone or so deeply buried that he was having a very hard time finding it again. He supposed some of that was down to having done a lot of difficult living in a rtively short period of time. He¡¯d made a lot of hard choices in that time. So much of what had seemed so bright and wondrous about the world had lost its shine for him. Instead, Sen had started simplifying the world around him to make it easier to deal with. He¡¯d started dividing everything into opposing camps. Things that help me, and things that don¡¯t. People I trust, and people I don¡¯t.


    As with so many things, he¡¯d taken it too far. The world was moreplicated than that. Someone who wasn¡¯t a trusted friend needn¡¯t be an enemy. Just because something didn¡¯t have immediate survival value didn¡¯t make it worthless. He could understand how he¡¯d gotten there. That mindset had even been necessary for him when everything was on the line and absolutely every second counted, but was everything on the line anymore? Sen still needed toplete the Five-Fold Body Transformation, but that was a perfectly achievable goal now. He wasn¡¯t being actively hunted by anyone that he knew about. In fact, his only real obligation was to Fu Run. It hit him all at once that he was, for all intents and purposes, safe. It was okay to rx, even if it was only a little bit.


    Sure, there were probably people out there still trying to work out a way to use him or his reputation to their advantage. But he didn¡¯t really care about those people. He had passed through worse trials than telling people <em>no</em>. Beyond that, at the pace he was advancing, he would soon grow beyond the reach of almost anyone to force him into doing what they wanted. The people he cared about werergely beyond reach or swiftly growing powerful enough that it would take true powerhouses to threaten them. It was true. It was actually true. He wasn¡¯t in any real danger anymore. He had simply been in the crucible for so long that he hadn¡¯t recognized it when he came out the other side. He hadn¡¯te out unscathed. Far from it. Yet, he hade through it. As Sen walked away from Fu Run¡¯s home, he started tough. If thatugh sounded a little manic or hysterical, he was alright with it.


    Sen choked off thatughter as he approached the little grove of trees where he¡¯d left Liu Ai sleeping. She¡¯d apparently grown bored with her nap because he could hear her giggling. Sen came to an abrupt stop at what he saw. It seemed that Glimmer of Night had created arge, t, tightly woven web of qi between several trees. Liu Ai was jumping up and down on the web. It seemed to flex slightly and rebound to send the girl higher into the air than it ought to. If the web hadn¡¯t been so big that the girl could only fall off of it if she tried, Sen might have been concerned. Plus, the spider was nearby, attentively watching the girl with his reflective ck eyes. Again, it might have concerned Sen if the spider hadn¡¯t already proven several times that he wasn¡¯t going to hurt the child.


    The glee on Liu Ai¡¯s face was uplicated. Even if Sen knew that there would be more nightmares toe, and a shadow that would hang over the girl for a time, there was none of that now. All that existed for her was the simple joy of jumping up and down on that absurd web. She didn¡¯t need anything else in that moment. It was enough to be alive and having that experience, to simply be, and have it fill her world with happiness. Sen eventually walked over to Glimmer of Night, and they stood side by side, a pair of deadly sentinels to keep the uncaring world at bay for however long a little girl wanted to jump andugh.

 Book 7: Chapter 8: Breakfast and a Checkup

    Book 7: Chapter 8: Breakfast and a Checkup


    Sen opened his eyes and looked down. A mop of disheveled ck hair met his gaze. Liu Ai was using his chest as her bed, havinge looking for him after another bad dream. He had still been awake, idly trying to make shapes out of shadow qi. He was taking Fu Run¡¯s instruction to y with shadow qi quite literally. It wasn¡¯ting as easily as he might like, but it felt like old instincts were stirring inside of him. He had heard Ai calling out in half-formed words for parents that would nevere. That had been painful to hear. He remembered his time as a child and waking up on the edge of calling out for help, for parents he couldn¡¯t remember, for safety, only to bite back the words lest he draw attention. His initial reaction had been to go to her, but he forced himself not to. She hadn¡¯t been calling for him. He didn¡¯t want to wake her up from the dream, only to be the source of heartbreaking disappointment when she realized he wasn¡¯t her father.


    When she had stumbled out of the room he had made for her, though, he abandoned his shadow y. She¡¯d climbed into hisp and told him a disjointed tale of fear and death. He¡¯d gently rocked her, stroked her hair, and made soothing noises until she¡¯d quietly cried herself back to sleep. It was all he could think to do. Now, though, her breathing was calm and steady. Sen took that as a good sign that, for the moment, her sleep was untroubled. He could hear the sounds of the world waking up outside. His superhuman senses alerted him to the shift from night to day even through the thick walls of the galehouse. Sen carried Ai back to her room and gently settled her on the pile of nkets he¡¯d assembled in lieu of a traditional bed, something else he¡¯d added to the list of things she¡¯d need. She stirred briefly as he settled a nket over her before settling down again.


    He let his mind go over what he needed to do that day as he started making breakfast. He needed to venture back to the town for several reasons. First of all, he needed to check on Falling Leaf and Laughing River. He didn¡¯t know if three days was enough for them to have made any progress, or even if the fox could help Falling Leaf transform back into her panther form, but it seemed like a bad idea to leave the fox unattended for any length of time. Then, there were all the things he needed to buy for Ai. He¡¯d made a list, and Fu Run had added several things to it. He didn¡¯t question her additions. Sen was all too well aware that he didn¡¯t have the right personal experience to second guess what a child did or did not need. He¡¯d worn the same tattered robes for years, after all. It had been a relief to get a second opinion, even if he questioned whether Fu Run was really in a better position to know.


    Finally, he needed to check on that man who had the tree fall on him. Sen was fairly confident that his elixirs would do the trick, but he hadn¡¯t made those elixirs specifically for the man. He also worried that he might have missed something. His senses were sharp, but injuries were tricky things. They could hide, just to kill someone who seemed like they should be fine. It was a small but real worry for anyone who dealt in healing. Plus, he was out of practice. He hadn¡¯t done much in the way of healing others since after that battle back in Inferno¡¯s Vale. While his alchemy skills had advanced by leaps and bounds, that wasn¡¯t a recement for practice and experience. He pushed that thought aside. He¡¯d find out soon enough. There was no use in worrying over a problem that might not even exist.


    Sen felt Glimmer of Night walking toward the galehouse. Not caring to walk to the door, he opened it with a gesture and a ratherplicated application of wind qi. He paused to consider what he¡¯d just done for a moment. A part of him was amused that he¡¯d used qi for something so utterly mundane. Yet, theplexity of what he¡¯d done and how much he¡¯d taken it for granted was telling. Using qi that way would have seemed very difficult not so many years ago. While he had be adept at using multiple kinds of qi, even using them at the same time, those hadrgely been big, destructive uses. Fine control was something that, ording to Master Feng, was almost always thest thing toe to a cultivator. That was if it ever did. While Sen took subtle uses for granted in alchemy, that was something that he¡¯d never understood. It certainly wasn¡¯t under his full control. Shaking his head, he went back to setting out food on the table.


    The spider came in, eyed the door for a moment, then closed it behind him. He sat down at the table and just watched Sen. It probably would have unnerved most people to have the human-form spider study them so intently. Except, Sen had seen the spider study rocks, trees, and des of grass with the same unwavering intensity. It was just how Glimmer of Night approached the world. He had also agreed to keep Ai entertained for the day while Sen took care of his various tasks in town. Sen had considered taking the girl with him, but he wasn¡¯t eager to expose her to Laughing River. He didn¡¯t think the fox would do anything to her, just that the fox would be himself and that was probably something the girl could do without. With the food ready, Sen turned to go get Ai, but she trudged out of her room with sleepy eyes and dragged a nket along with her. She brightened up when she saw the spider. The nket was abandoned as she ran over to the table and hopped up onto her chair. It was hers by virtue of Sen putting it on a raised section of the floor so she could reach the table more easily.


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    ¡°Good morning, Ai,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Morning, Sen. Morning, Glimmerite,¡± said the girl around a sudden yawn.Sen was still working out what kind of food the girl liked, so he served her a bit of rice porridge, some fruit, and a few other things. She ate like she hadn¡¯t seen food in a week, and filled in the silence with a story about a pretty bird she¡¯d seen the day before. Sen nodded along like it was new information, despite the fact that he¡¯d been the one to point out the bird to her. In the middle of her story, she gave Glimmer of Night a strange look.


    ¡°You¡¯re not hungry?¡±


    The spider seemed startled by the question. He nced at Sen as if looking for help. Sen took pity on the spider.


    ¡°Glimmer of Night eats different things than we do,¡± said Sen. ¡°Of course, he can eat some of this too if he wants.¡±


    Seeming to take that as encouragement, Ai picked a piece of dragon fruit off her te and held it out to the spider. Sen had to resist the urge tough as the spider hesitantly took the proffered food and then cautiously chewed on it. It was like he expected the mild fruit to taste terrible. That turned into a new game for Ai, as she grabbed one thing after another and handed them to the spider. Sen kept his mouth shut. The spider was going to have to learn how to say <em>no</em> all by himself. After breakfast, though, a mild crisis arose when Sen said he was going to be gone for the day. Ai immediately got teary-eyed and demanded to know where he was going. Then, of course, she wanted to go. Sen finally had to promise to take her next time before she would let go of his leg. He wondered if that had been karmaing back on him extra fast forughing at Glimmer of Night in his head.


    When he got to town, he poked his head into themon room of the inn. He frowned when he didn¡¯t see Laughing River or Falling Leaf. He almost searched the inn with his spiritual sense before deciding that might be taking things a bit too far. Instead, he went to the house of the injured and knocked. He waited patiently until Du Fen opened the door. Her eyes wentically wide, then she went into a ridiculously deep bow.


    ¡°This Du Fen greets the honored cultivator,¡± said the woman.


    Sen heard a choked sound from inside the house and rushed steps as Wang Bo appeared next to his mother. He went into a deep bow.


    ¡°This Wang Bo greets the honored cultivator,¡± said the young man.


    ¡°Mistress Du Fen. Wang Bo,¡± said Sen. ¡°I havee to see the results of my elixirs.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± cried Wang Bo. ¡°Come in! Come in!¡±


    The young man gently urged his mother back into the house and waved Sen to enter. The fearful formality was already grating on Sen. Yet, he understood it, and so he endured it. Sen was a little surprised to find that the young man¡¯s father was still on the pallet by the stove. He¡¯d have expected the man to be up and about. Sen pondered it before realization hit him. <em>No</em>, he thought, <em>he¡¯d be up now if he was a cultivator</em>. Healing took a lot out of mortals. He could feel Du Fen and Wang Bo studying him with worried eyes. <em>I should do something</em>, he thought. He walked over to where the man was on the floor and crouched down. Sen made an overly dramatic flourish with a hand andid it on the man¡¯s head. It was entirely unnecessary. He could probably have learned everything he needed to learn standing at the door. Yet, the yacting seemed to relieve the woman and her son.


    Sen was relieved to find that he had, indeed, been worrying about nothing. The elixirs had done their work. The man was essentially healed. At this point, rest was the best medicine. As long they kept feeding the man, he¡¯d probably be up and around in another day or two. Sen put on a thoughtful expression and nodded to himself before standing. He looked at the nervous pair who hovered a few feet away, their expressions shifting between apprehension and cautious hope.


    ¡°My elixirs have worked well. Give him another day or two of rest and food. I expect he¡¯ll be back to cutting down trees.¡±


    Du Fen slumped in relief as she gazed down at her husband. Wang Bo, on the other hand, stared at Sen warily. It was as though he expected something. Sen lifted an eyebrow at the young man, who immediately averted his gaze. Finally, after a very awkward pause, the young man spoke.


    ¡°What payment can this humble Wang Bo provide the honored cultivator?¡±


    <em>Oh</em>, thought Sen. <em>He¡¯s still worried about that</em>.


    ¡°I require no payment. This was¡ª¡± Sen forced himself to bite back the word that sprang to mind.


    No matter how trivial it might have seemed to him, Sen knew that it wasn¡¯t trivial to them. If the injured man had died, the young man might have been able to support his mother. On the other hand, he might not have been able to support her. All of that was before considering how hard the loss of a loved one might strike. He knew nothing of their circumstances. To say it was trivial would have been condescending. He could just imagine how it would look to them for him to treat it dismissively. He would be the image of the worst kind of young master. He chose his next words with great care.


    ¡°This was an excellent opportunity to see how well my elixirs work for a mortal. I am grateful that you allowed it,¡± he said, giving the pair a shallow bow.


    Wang Bo and Du Fen gave him stunned looks of iprehension. Sen supposed it was better than the alternatives. He did his best to make excuses to leave, his work there done, but still found himself having tea with the grateful family. He reasoned that letting them show him hospitality would make them feel better about all of it like face had been saved. Plus, the tea wasn¡¯t bad.

 Book 7: Chapter 9: Or I Will Do It for You

    Book 7: Chapter 9: Or I Will Do It for You


    It only took about an hour of wandering through the town for Sen to yearn for a ce like Grandmother Lu¡¯s shop. A ce where you could find a bit of everything, as long as it was meant for mortals to use. Instead, he had to ask where to find a tailor shop, only to be directed to the home of a very terse, very stern woman who told him in no uncertain terms that if she was going to make clothes for a child, she had to actually <em>see</em> the child. At which point, he was summarily dismissed with an admonition to acquire cloth for the clothes. It was sort of refreshing, if abrupt. From there, he had to track down a carpenter to make the bed, only to discover that man didn¡¯t deal with things like pads. On and on it went, with Sen crossing back and forth across the town a dozen times, only to get about a third of the things he had on his list.


    With the afternoon sun dipping toward the horizon, Sen finally went back to the inn. When Sen once more didn¡¯t find either Falling Leaf or Laughing River there, he walked toward the bar. The inn owner took one look at Sen and went very pale. Sen stepped up to the bar and ced his hand t on top of it. He stared at the inn owner as he started putting pressure on the bar. The wood creaked ominously, which made the inn owner¡¯s eyes go very wide.


    ¡°Where is my friend?¡± asked Sen in a tone that he would never describe as murderous.


    ¡°She¡­ She left.¡±


    ¡°She left,¡± repeated Sen, putting a little more pressure on the wood beneath his hand. ¡°When did she leave?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday, honored cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Did she leave me a message?¡±


    The inn owner shook his head back and forth while his eyes never left Sen¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Did she say where she was going?¡±¡°No, honored cultivator,¡± said the man, sweat streaming freely down his face.


    ¡°Did she leave <em>with</em> someone?¡±


    The inn owner nodded vigorously. ¡°She did! She left with that older man you were sitting with the day that¡­ The other day.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen, lifting his hand from the bar.


    The inn owner sagged in relief. Sen didn¡¯t say anything else. He simply turned and walked out of the inn. As soon as he stepped out of the inn, his spiritual sense crashed down on the town like a force of nature. Nothing was hidden from him, which was how he knew that Falling Leaf was nowhere to be found. While he normally made a point not to do anything that made it too obvious he was a cultivator, all he could think about right then was that Falling Leaf had gone somewhere with the elder fox. A being with countless centuries of crafting illusions behind him. While Sen couldn¡¯t imagine <em>why</em> the fox had taken Falling Leaf and left, he had done it. With a burst of qi so powerful that all of the mortals in the town felt it, Sen vanished heading south at qinggong speeds.


    He let his spiritual sense expand around him to its full extent, spreading out miles in every direction. He could tell that it was infused with his anger by the way that every living thing within range froze as soon as itnded on them, only for those same things to flee blindly in terror before it. He¡¯d assumed that they went south because there was very little to the north of them. Yet, as the miles fell away in a blur, he became less and less certain. He didn¡¯t even notice that the sun had gone down until he finally stopped. Frustrated by the failure he turned around and headed back. His anger was an almost physical thing writhing around him and barely under control.


    He wondered what the hell Laughing River was ying at. What could the fox possibly hope to aplish with this act? If it was just to infuriate Sen, then the fox had gotten that much done. It was all that Sen could do not to take the spatial treasure out of his storage ring and destroy it as a preemptive act of punishment. Even that was only forestalled by Sen¡¯s uncertainty about what destroying such a powerful treasure might do to the surrounding area. <em>I could go to the sea and hurl it as far as my strength with allow</em>, he thought. That would be a very long way indeed, and even Sen wouldn¡¯t truly know where it was after that, likely putting it beyond the fox¡¯s reach forever. The appeal of that idea almost made him turn east immediately.


    With the temper he was in and the thousands of spirit beasts he¡¯d ughtered over the years, he expected that crossing through the wilds would likely prove as safe for him as simply traveling the roads. After all, what spirit beasts would dare to challenge him when he was in such an obviously wrathful state of mind? Spirit beasts could be brave, but they generally weren¡¯t suicidal unless they were worked up into a frenzy during a beast tide. As much as he might wee such a challenge at the moment, and as much as he wanted to do something that would damage Laughing River, a tenuous thread of reason held him back. He didn¡¯t know what had happened yet. It was possible, <em>maybe</em>, that it was all innocent. It was also possible that the fox intended to leverage Falling Leaf¡¯s location to force the treasure out of Sen¡¯s hands. And he couldn¡¯t trade the treasure if he sank it to the bottom of the ocean miles from shore or smashed it to pieces. Those fragile threads of sanity left him with no other course than to return to the galehouse and wait.


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    Even as fast as he was moving, it still took time for him to get back. It was deep into the night when he was finally approaching Fu Run¡¯s domain. Yet, before he could even sense it, a presence rose up out of the darkness to hold him back. He jerked to a halt, hand dropping to his jian, and cycling for lightning. Yet, after a moment, he released his cycling pattern and loosened his grip on the weapon. He''d been so startled by the appearance of the other presence that it took him a moment to recognize it as Fu Run¡¯s. She rarely deployed it so aggressively. When she stepped out of a shadow, her face was as hard as Sen had ever seen it. Sen had witnessed the woman being erratic, frivolous, focused, contemtive, and studious. However, this was the first time that he truly saw her as the nascent soul cultivator that she was. The woman was imperious,manding, and there was not so much as a hint of the entric in her. She fixed him in ce with eyes that looked impossibly ancient and utterly without mercy.


    ¡°Calm your mind,¡± she ordered, the words mming against his body and spirit like hammer blows. ¡°Or I will do it <em>for</em> you.¡±


    Sen was so stunned by the transformation in Fu Run¡¯s demeanor that his mind went nk for several seconds as he tried to catch up. He did his best to shake off his shock and confusion. He gave her a quizzical look.


    ¡°What do you care?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I will not have you disrupt everything I have built here with an infantile temper tantrum,¡± she said, her expression not softening in the slightest. ¡°Then, there is the minor matter of the child. Would you prefer that I let you kill her with this outburst of yours?¡±


    Sen went rigid as he felt like someone had just poured ice into his soul. He hadn¡¯t even thought about Liu Ai. Someone that young would be utterly without defense against something like his anger-suffused presence. Fu Run hadn¡¯t been hyperbolic in her assertion that he could kill a mortal child that way. It wasn¡¯t just possible but nearly certain that thebination of pressure and fear would simply stop the girl¡¯s heart in her chest. For all her chill imperiousness, Fu Run had just saved him from the kind of mistake that Sen recognized that he would not have recovered from. It might not have shown immediately. If he had identally killed Ai, though, carrying that burden would have <em>broken</em> him. Utterly. Some people might have been able to live with it, but there would have been noing back from that for him.


    Reigning in his anger was beyond difficult. It had been growing since he discovered that the damn nine-tail fox had taken his friend and gone on the gods knew where. Bit by bit, he wed that nearly boundless fury back andpressed it until it was a white-hot coal in his chest. It wasn¡¯t gone. No, it most certainly wasn¡¯t gone. He had just tucked it away where it wouldn¡¯t hurt the wrong people. It could stay there until the right moment presented itself. Taking a deep breath, he gave Fu Run a deep bow.


    ¡°I am indebted to you, Fu Run.¡±


    He felt her presence recede into the background, and she sniffed in a way that was much more characteristic of her.


    ¡°Well, obviously. Now, exin yourself. You¡¯re usually much more self-contained. What brought this on?¡±


    ¡°It seems that Laughing River decided to wander off and take Falling Leaf with him.¡±


    Fu Run lifted an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s a remarkably stupid thing for him to do. Which is strange, because he isn¡¯t usually stupid. Well, setting aside the whole ignoring his entire species thing. Doesn¡¯t he know you¡¯re Feng Ming¡¯s disciple? Does he <em>want</em> someone hunting him until the end of time?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± said Sen. ¡°All I can think of is that he¡¯s going to use her to ckmail me for the spatial treasure.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to give it to him anyway?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± said an exasperated Sen. ¡°Which is what makes all of this so bizarre.¡±


    The nascent soul cultivator gave him a dubious look.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything drastic with that treasure, did you?


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°Hurl it into space? Drop it into a volcano?¡±


    Sen felt a mild inclination to act offended that she¡¯d even suggest such a thing, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. He had been contemting exactly such a thing. Instead, he just shook his head.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. It was a close thing, but I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s call that a victory for sanity. Come along. We can discuss the rest of this tomorrow. You should at least be there when the little one wakes up. She was all but inconsble when you didn¡¯te back. I think she thinks that you¡¯re dead.¡±


    Sen winced. It was hard to hear clear evidence that he hadn¡¯t done <em>nearly</em> enough thinking all day. But he could take a tiny bit offort in the knowledge that he hadn¡¯t done anything truly irrevocable.

 Book 7: Chapter Ten – Wisdom

    Book 7: Chapter Ten ¨C Wisdom


    Mindful of Fu Runs words, Sen relieved Glimmer of Night from watching over Liu Ai. Granted, it mostly involved telling the spider he didnt need to stand at the girls door, but Sen found it relieving that she hadnt been left entirely alone. That thought sparked more than a little guilt. He was so used to being responsible only for himself, that hed fallen into that mindset immediately when he went searching for Falling Leaf and damned nine-tailed fox. Unlike Falling Leaf, Liu Ai couldnt take care of herself. He hadnt given it a single thought. He hadnt truly left her alone, but he couldnt simply expect Glimmer of Night to watch her all the time. The spider hadnt taken responsibility for her, after all. <em>I cant run off like that anymore</em>, thought Sen as watched the little girl sleeping for a moment. He was once more struck by how much bigger the scope of what hed taken on really waspared to what hed imagined.


    How was she? Sen asked, turning his eyes away from the partially open door to the spider.


    The spider looked at him with that unreadable expression. Upset. Afraid.


    Sen nodded. I owe you an apology. I shouldnt have left you here with her like that. It wasnt fair to either of you. I wont let it happen again.


    The spider shrugged. The child is not offensive. Also, the nascent soul cultivator helped. She made food. Told stories.


    That surprised Sen. He tried to imagine Fu Run beingforting and found it more than a little difficult to picture. However, the spiderspleteck of incentive to lie gave the whole thing a certain air of truth. That meant Sen was doubly indebted to the woman for stepping in when hed failed so spectacrly. It wasnt afortable feeling. Sen eyed Glimmer of Night and wished he had a better sense of the spider. It wasnt as though they had made any kind of formal agreement or spent a lot of time together. Truth be told, Sen had thought the transformed spider would just wander off one day.


    I cant imagine this is what you expected when you came with me, said Sen. I doubt its what your Great Matriarch had in mind either. If you want to leave, I certainly wont hold it against you.


    Glimmer of Night didnt respond immediately. He looked at Sen for a time. Then, he looked through the door at Ai.


    I will stay, said the spider.Sen waited for some kind of boration that it became increasingly clear that the spider wasnt going to provide.


    Any particr reason why? prompted Sen.


    That question was met with another protracted pause before Glimmer of Night finally said, I was sent to learn. I am learning.


    About what? asked Sen.


    Humans. Cultivation. You.


    And thats enough?


    The Great Matriarch must believe it is, so I believe it is.


    Sen thought that the spiders must have a very different rtionship with their matriarch divine being than the one that humans had with their divine beings. He would have many doubts about the project if hed found himself in Glimmer of Nights position. He probably would have thought that some transcendent being was having a joke at his expense. The spider seemed perfectly content with his vague mission to seemingly tag along for Sens misadventures. Given that spiders were hunters by nature, hed expected more aggression from his newpanion. Yet, by all appearances, Glimmer of Night was at peace with the universe. <em>I wish I was thatfortable with the state of things</em>, thought Sen with more than a touch of envy.


    The Great Matriarch didnt exin what she expected you to learn? asked Sen, his curiosity piqued.


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    She did not.


    And that doesnt bother you? You didnt want to know why she told you toe with me?


    Glimmer of Night tilted his head a little to one side in a gesture that Sen wanted to believe was confusion or thoughtfulness, but he just couldnt tell. The spiders answer didnt particrly shed any light on the subject either.


    You ask many questions.


    Im sorry. I didnt mean to pry.


    I mean humans. You ask many questions. The child asks many questions. The nascent soul cultivator asks many questions. It is as if you received no wisdom from your elders, as though you do not understand what you are. Spiders do not ask many questions. We know what we are. We receive wisdom from our elders. We trust that wisdom. The Great Matriarch says I am to learn. I dont ask why she wishes me to learn. Even if she told me, I have no faith that I would understand her reasons. I am untempered by time, said the spider, before shaking his head. Young. You would say I am young. It is not for me to question the Great Matriarch. I simply trust that there is wisdom in what she asks of me. Before, you fought the corrupted beasts and angry spirits. You called down lightning touched by the heavens. Now, you learn of cultivation. You care for the child. I dont ask why you do these things. I simply trust that there is wisdom to be gleaned from it.


    Sen had to work to keep his jaw from dropping. That was the most words he had ever hearde out of the spiders mouth at one time. There was also a lot in those words. More than Sen could hope to understand without taking some time and really thinking them through. It was clear that Glimmer of Night enjoyed a <em>profoundly</em> different view of things than Sen. Elder Bo had thoroughly shattered any ideas that Sen possessed of simply trusting that divine guidance was a good thing. Then again, maybe the Great Matriarch was a more reliable source of advice and guidance than the turtle. Beyond that, even if Sen did trust divine guidance, he wasnt sure he could take that advice as unquestioningly as the spider. The problem in front of Sen was that he didnt know why the spider epted things as they were. Was it ack of curiosity? Ack of imagination? Or did the spider truly have such an unbreakable faith? Without that insight, he couldnt put most of what hed just heard into the proper context.


    I see, said Sen when he felt the silence had dragged out for too long. I suppose we, humans, do struggle with knowing what we are. Although, I dont think you can me our elders for that. It seems to me that most elders try to impart their wisdom. We just arent always very good at listening to it.


    That seems a sure path to destruction.


    Sen nodded. I expect thats exactly what it is for many.


    Then, why ignore wisdom that is freely offered?


    <em>What a question</em>, thought Sen. <em>Like I have any real idea</em>. Still, he thought he should take a stab at it. If the Great Matriarch had sent the spider to learn from him, Sen supposed she must think he had something worthwhile to offer.


    Pride, I guess. Its easier to think that youre right than ept that someone else knows better. Its also in our nature to question and confront. Asking questions is a way to get information, but its also a way to test our thoughts and ideas. The things other people tell us can shape how we see the world and how we understand truths. Not every person rejects the wisdom they receive. Of course, not every elder is truly wise. Everyone can be blind in some way.


    Is that true of you? Are you blinded in some way? asked Glimmer of Night, seeming truly curious for the first time.


    Me? Very much so. It happened today. I was blinded by anger at Laughing River. It made me forget that I had other responsibilities.


    Will knowing this change what you do?


    Sen actually let out a tiredugh at that question. If people were reasonable, it should and would change what I do. But people arent always reasonable. Changing things about yourself is hard for humans. Emotions are Well, for humans, theyre powerful and unpredictable. Its hard to see past them to the best course of action sometimes. Is that not the case for spiders?


    The spider considered that question for a long time before shaking his head. We dont feel things this way. We have anger, fear, and even affection, but they rarely overwhelm us. To survive, to hunt, one must be calm and patient. When emotions overwhelm us, we be the prey of others instead of the hunters.


    I guess that makes sense. Humans do tend to band together. It makes things a bit safer. It certainly lets us indulge our emotions more, said Sen before hauling in his curiosity. You dont need to stay and talk with me if youd like to be alone or to sleep.


    The spider didnt hesitate. Ill go. I wish to rest.


    Thank you for watching over Ai for me. I appreciate it.


    Glimmer of Night just nodded before disappearing out the door to return to his own little dwelling. Sen had helped him set it up when they first arrived. Sen would have just made another galehouse, but the spider wanted something smaller, round, and without rooms in it. It struck Sen as odd, but he raised it to make the requests. At some point, he might even ask the spider about it. In the meantime, he pulled a chair out of his storage ring and put it down near Liu Ais door. That way, hed be one of the first things she saw when she got up in the morning.

 Book 7: Chapter 10: Wisdom

    Book 7: Chapter 10: Wisdom


    Mindful of Fu Run¡¯s words, Sen relieved Glimmer of Night from watching over Liu Ai. Granted, it mostly involved telling the spider he didn¡¯t need to stand at the girl¡¯s door, but Sen found it relieving that she hadn¡¯t been left entirely alone. That thought sparked more than a little guilt. He was so used to being responsible only for himself, that he¡¯d fallen into that mindset immediately when he went searching for Falling Leaf and damned nine-tailed fox. Unlike Falling Leaf, Liu Ai couldn¡¯t take care of herself. He hadn¡¯t given it a single thought. He hadn¡¯t truly left her alone, but he couldn¡¯t simply expect Glimmer of Night to watch her all the time. The spider hadn¡¯t taken responsibility for her, after all. <em>I can¡¯t run off like that anymore</em>, thought Sen as watched the little girl sleeping for a moment. He was once more struck by how much bigger the scope of what he¡¯d taken on really waspared to what he¡¯d imagined.


    ¡°How was she?¡± Sen asked, turning his eyes away from the partially open door to the spider.


    The spider looked at him with that unreadable expression. ¡°Upset. Afraid.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I owe you an apology. I shouldn¡¯t have left you here with her like that. It wasn¡¯t fair to either of you. I won¡¯t let it happen again.¡±


    The spider shrugged. ¡°The child is not offensive. Also, the nascent soul cultivator helped. She made food. Told stories.¡±


    That surprised Sen. He tried to imagine Fu Run beingforting and found it more than a little difficult to picture. However, the spider¡¯spleteck of incentive to lie gave the whole thing a certain air of truth. That meant Sen was doubly indebted to the woman for stepping in when he¡¯d failed so spectacrly. It wasn¡¯t afortable feeling. Sen eyed Glimmer of Night and wished he had a better sense of the spider. It wasn¡¯t as though they had made any kind of formal agreement or spent a lot of time together. Truth be told, Sen had thought the transformed spider would just wander off one day.


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine this is what you expected when you came with me,¡± said Sen. ¡°I doubt it¡¯s what your Great Matriarch had in mind either. If you want to leave, I certainly won¡¯t hold it against you.¡±


    Glimmer of Night didn¡¯t respond immediately. He looked at Sen for a time. Then, he looked through the door at Ai.


    ¡°I will stay,¡± said the spider.


    Sen waited for some kind of boration that it became increasingly clear that the spider wasn¡¯t going to provide.


    ¡°Any particr reason why?¡± prompted Sen.


    That question was met with another protracted pause before Glimmer of Night finally said, ¡°I was sent to learn. I am learning.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Humans. Cultivation. You.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s enough?¡±


    ¡°The Great Matriarch must believe it is, so I believe it is.¡±


    Sen thought that the spiders must have a very different rtionship with their matriarch divine being than the one that humans had with their divine beings. He would have many doubts about the project if he¡¯d found himself in Glimmer of Night¡¯s position. He probably would have thought that some transcendent being was having a joke at his expense. The spider seemed perfectly content with his vague mission to seemingly tag along for Sen¡¯s misadventures. Given that spiders were hunters by nature, he¡¯d expected more aggression from his newpanion. Yet, by all appearances, Glimmer of Night was at peace with the universe. <em>I wish I was thatfortable with the state of things</em>, thought Sen with more than a touch of envy.


    ¡°The Great Matriarch didn¡¯t exin what she expected you to learn?¡± asked Sen, his curiosity piqued.


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    ¡°She did not.¡±


    ¡°And that doesn¡¯t bother you? You didn¡¯t want to know why she told you toe with me?¡±


    Glimmer of Night tilted his head a little to one side in a gesture that Sen wanted to believe was confusion or thoughtfulness, but he just couldn¡¯t tell. The spider¡¯s answer didn¡¯t particrly shed any light on the subject either.


    ¡°You ask many questions.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to pry.¡±


    ¡°I mean humans. You ask many questions. The child asks many questions. The nascent soul cultivator asks many questions. It is as if you received no wisdom from your elders, as though you do not understand what you are. Spiders do not ask many questions. We know what we are. We receive wisdom from our elders. We trust that wisdom. The Great Matriarch says I am to learn. I don¡¯t ask why she wishes me to learn. Even if she told me, I have no faith that I would understand her reasons. I am untempered by time,¡± said the spider, before shaking his head. ¡°Young. You would say I am young. It is not for me to question the Great Matriarch. I simply trust that there is wisdom in what she asks of me. Before, you fought the corrupted beasts and angry spirits. You called down lightning touched by the heavens. Now, you learn of cultivation. You care for the child. I don¡¯t ask why you do these things. I simply trust that there is wisdom to be gleaned from it.¡±


    Sen had to work to keep his jaw from dropping. That was the most words he had ever hearde out of the spider¡¯s mouth at one time. There was also a lot in those words. More than Sen could hope to understand without taking some time and really thinking them through. It was clear that Glimmer of Night enjoyed a <em>profoundly</em> different view of things than Sen. Elder Bo had thoroughly shattered any ideas that Sen possessed of simply trusting that ¡°divine¡± guidance was a good thing. Then again, maybe the Great Matriarch was a more reliable source of advice and guidance than the turtle. Beyond that, even if Sen did trust divine guidance, he wasn¡¯t sure he could take that advice as unquestioningly as the spider. The problem in front of Sen was that he didn¡¯t know why the spider epted things as they were. Was it ack of curiosity? Ack of imagination? Or did the spider truly have such an unbreakable faith? Without that insight, he couldn¡¯t put most of what he¡¯d just heard into the proper context.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen when he felt the silence had dragged out for too long. ¡°I suppose we, humans, do struggle with knowing what we are. Although, I don¡¯t think you can me our elders for that. It seems to me that most elders try to impart their wisdom. We just aren¡¯t always very good at listening to it.¡±


    ¡°That seems a sure path to destruction.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I expect that¡¯s exactly what it is for many.¡±


    ¡°Then, why ignore wisdom that is freely offered?¡±


    <em>What a question</em>, thought Sen. <em>Like I have any real idea</em>. Still, he thought he should take a stab at it. If the Great Matriarch had sent the spider to learn from him, Sen supposed she must think he had something worthwhile to offer.


    ¡°Pride, I guess. It¡¯s easier to think that you¡¯re right than ept that someone else knows better. It¡¯s also in our nature to question and confront. Asking questions is a way to get information, but it¡¯s also a way to test our thoughts and ideas. The things other people tell us can shape how we see the world and how we understand truths. Not every person rejects the wisdom they receive. Of course, not every elder is truly wise. Everyone can be blind in some way.¡±


    ¡°Is that true of you? Are you blinded in some way?¡± asked Glimmer of Night, seeming truly curious for the first time.


    ¡°Me? Very much so. It happened today. I was blinded by anger at Laughing River. It made me forget that I had other responsibilities.¡±


    ¡°Will knowing this change what you do?¡±


    Sen actually let out a tiredugh at that question. ¡°If people were reasonable, it should and would change what I do. But people aren¡¯t always reasonable. Changing things about yourself is hard for humans. Emotions are¡­ Well, for humans, they¡¯re powerful and unpredictable. It¡¯s hard to see past them to the best course of action sometimes. Is that not the case for spiders?¡±


    The spider considered that question for a long time before shaking his head. ¡°We don¡¯t feel things this way. We have anger, fear, and even affection, but they rarely overwhelm us. To survive, to hunt, one must be calm and patient. When emotions overwhelm us, we be the prey of others instead of the hunters.¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes sense. Humans do tend to band together. It makes things a bit safer. It certainly lets us indulge our emotions more,¡± said Sen before hauling in his curiosity. ¡°You don¡¯t need to stay and talk with me if you¡¯d like to be alone or to sleep.¡±


    The spider didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°I¡¯ll go. I wish to rest.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for watching over Ai for me. I appreciate it.¡±


    Glimmer of Night just nodded before disappearing out the door to return to his own little dwelling. Sen had helped him set it up when they first arrived. Sen would have just made another galehouse, but the spider wanted something smaller, round, and without rooms in it. It struck Sen as odd, but he raised it to make the requests. At some point, he might even ask the spider about it. In the meantime, he pulled a chair out of his storage ring and put it down near Liu Ai¡¯s door. That way, he¡¯d be one of the first things she saw when she got up in the morning.

 Book 7: Chapter 11: Settling In

    Book 7: Chapter 11: Settling In


    Liu Ai was ecstatic when she saw Sen in the morning, jumping up into the chair to hug him as hard as her little arms would let her. That held up for about five minutes. Then, she remembered she was angry with him.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t here!¡± she used, her eyes huge and brimming with unshed tears.


    Sen did his best to keep a straight face. It wasn¡¯t funny, exactly, but her unhappiness was so unfiltered and turned up so high that it almost became a parody of itself. The vague humor of the moment was neatly offset by Sen¡¯s stab of guilt. He nodded.


    ¡°I know. I should havee back sooner than I did. That was wrong of me, and I am sorry about that. I¡¯ll do my best to make sure it doesn¡¯t happen again.¡±


    Sen knew for a fact that he couldn¡¯t promise it would never happen again. A cultivator¡¯s life was too unpredictable for those kinds of vows, so he didn¡¯t make that mistake. The girl¡¯s face scrunched up a little in suspicion, as though she wasn¡¯t really convinced he meant it. She reluctantly nodded.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said.


    Figuring that was as close to forgiveness as he was going to get, Sen set about making breakfast. Liu Ai followed him around and kept up a stream-of-consciousnessmentary about what he was doing that was interspersed with stories about what she had done the day before. He nodded along and made an encouraging noise or exmation of shock and wonder from time to time to let her know he was listening. He was genuinely startled the first time she said something about someone called Auntie Ru. The hand he was using to stir the rice porridge stopped moving for a second when he realized that she was talking about Fu Run. <em>Auntie Ru</em>? He wondered if Ai simply couldn¡¯t say <em>Run</em> or if the diminutive was what the nascent soul cultivator had told the girl to call her.


    Sen briefly considered using the name himself the next time he saw her. He imagined the stunned look on her face and smiled. A brief mental sh of the imperious version of the woman who had met him in the forest killed that idea in a hurry, though. The adorable little girl might get to call Fu Run that, but Sen didn¡¯t think that the woman would find it nearly as charming if he did it. Not that she¡¯d necessarily do anything overt to him for it, but he expected she¡¯d find some more subtle way to punish him for overstepping those social bounds. <em>No</em>, he decided, <em>better to not intentionally aggravate the teacher I¡¯m stuck with for years</em>. Putting his attention back on Ai, he watched in fond amusement as she pretended a slice of orange was a bird that flew into her mouth.


    The rest of the morning passed in a strange state of distraction for Sen, which wasn¡¯t to say that it was entirely useless. His thoughts kept drifting back to where Falling Leaf might be and trying to figure out some exnation for Laughing River¡¯s behavior. He didn¡¯t get anywhere with those thoughts, but keeping Liu Ai entertained soaked up a lot of the mental energy he¡¯d normally use for brooding. They went for a walk, and Sen used the opportunity to make things out of shadows for her chase after. They didn¡¯t look like anything real. Instead, they were just vaguely animal-shaped blobs of darkness. But she seemed delighted by them. Laughing and running after them until she ¡°caught¡± and popped them like soap bubbles, which brought on more gales ofughter.


    When she seemed like she was getting tired, Sen decided she needed something more tangible to y with. It took a while to work it out, but Sen already knew he could fuse shadow with other things. He eventually managed to fuse shadow and air to make a ball that Ai could carry around, throw, or kick. It also had the added bonus that she couldn¡¯t lose it. Even if it fell into a stream and got carried away, which it did several times, or got kicked out into the forest beyond where Sen told her not to go, he could just call it back to them or make a new one. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if that was exactly what Fu Run meant by ying around with shadow or not, but he thought it probably qualified as practice.


    They came across Glimmer of Night at one point. He was standing on a rock out in the middle of one of the wider streams, almost wide enough to qualify as a river. There was a web made of gossamer thin strands of qi floating around him. Sen couldn¡¯t quite figure out what the spider was up to other than some kind of practice. It certainly took a deft hand to keep something thatplex under control. Without any kind of warning, part of the web plunged down into the water. It resurfaced a momentter. Sen¡¯s eyes bulged at the preposterouslyrge fish that was caught in the web, its great body thrashing and heaving. Glimmer of Night looked at the fish for a moment before dissolving the web. The fish dropped back into the water with a ssh. Little Ai squealed in glee.


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    ¡°Do it again!¡±


    The spider looked over at the little girl who was still clutching the shadow ball that Sen had made for her. Glimmer of Night hadn¡¯t given any sign that he was shocked to see them there and had presumably noticed them in his spiritual sense. He shrugged, and the web reformed around him with startling speed. Less than a minuteter, another absurdlyrge fish was pulled from the water. Sen gave the stream a dubious look. Some fish were carnivorous. Fish as big as the ones the spider was catching could pose a danger to Ai. He¡¯d have to make sure she didn¡¯t wander too close to the water when she was alone. The appearance of the second fish brought on just as much joy as the first.


    ¡°Again! Again!¡± shouted Ai, jumping up and down in excitement.


    Glimmer of Night repeated the trick several more times before Sen finally put a stop to it.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably enough, Ai,¡± said Sen.


    She gave him a pouty look, then remembered she still had the shadow ball.


    ¡°Catch, Glimmerite!¡± she eximed and threw the ball with all her strength.


    It flew a mighty three or four feet before it started plunging toward the water, far short of the spider¡¯s position. A miniature version of the web burst into existence and captured the ball. The web snapped back to Glimmer of Night, who took hold of the ball and examined it curiously. He looked over at Sen.


    ¡°You made this?¡±


    ¡°It was easy enough once I figured out how to do it,¡± said Sen.


    Glimmer of Night held the ball up close to his face so he could get a better look at it. He nodded in seeming satisfaction at something he saw in the ball before he casually lobbed it back to Ai.


    ¡°Catch,¡± called the spider.


    The spider had good aim because Ai didn¡¯t really need to catch the ball. It practically dropped into her waiting, outstretched arms. She hugged the ball to her chest with a big smile on her face. Sen stopped her before she could try to engage the spider in an ongoing game. It was close to midday, after all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave Glimmer of Night alone,¡± he said gently. ¡°It¡¯s time for lunch.¡±


    It took a little cajoling to convince her that lunch was better than more games, but hunger won out in the end. The morning¡¯s activities and the food seemed to overwhelm the girl¡¯s youthful vigor because she almost fell asleep while she was eating. Sen carried her limp, yawning form to her bed. She was asleep before he even left the room. He stepped outside and took a deep breath. Keeping up with Ai wasn¡¯t physically demanding, but it did require a lot more mental engagement than Sen had expected. He¡¯d need to figure out things that she could do that would keep her mind engaged for a while. Sen left the door to the galehouse open so that he¡¯d hear it when Ai got up from her nap and decided to take advantage of the brief lull in his day. Drawing his jian, Sen worked his sword forms. He felt Glimmer of Night approach but didn¡¯t let it immediately interrupt his work. When he finished the form he was working through, he stopped and looked over at the spider.


    ¡°Is this what you mean to teach me?¡± asked the spider.


    ¡°Among other things,¡± said Sen. ¡°The basics, at least. I can teach you some spear basics as well. We¡¯ll cover some of both, and you can decide if you like one of them better.¡±


    ¡°Why would I need this?¡± asked the spider.


    ¡°Most cultivators use a weapon of some kind. It¡¯s not impossible to fight them without a weapon of your own, but it¡¯s much harder.¡±


    ¡°And how long did it take you to learn it?¡±


    ¡°Years,¡± said Sen. ¡°But it sounds like you¡¯ll be around for years. Might as well take advantage of that.¡±


    Glimmer of Night nodded in agreement. ¡°Will you teach the child these things?¡±


    Part of Sen rebelled at the idea of teaching Liu Ai how to fight. <em>I¡¯ll fight anything that threatens her</em>, thought Sen. <em>She doesn¡¯t need to know how to do this</em>. He let himself indulge in that tant falsehood for a few seconds. Falling Leaf had been right, though. Even if Ai might never be a cultivator, she would have to live in the world, and Sen knew what kind of world it was. It didn¡¯t matter how much Sen loathed the very thought of Liu Ai ever needing to shed blood. She <em>did</em> need to know how to fight, at least against other mortals.


    ¡°I expect I will,¡± conceded Sen. ¡°Although, I¡¯m not expecting a lot of violence to find us here. Who would dare? I think teaching you both to read is probably more useful for the immediate future.¡±


    ¡°When will you begin this teaching?¡±


    ¡°Soon,¡± said Sen. ¡°I want to give Liu Ai a little while to feel a bit more secure here before I start putting demands on her. I remember how unsettled I felt when my master took me away from my home. I was a lot older than her when it happened. I understood what was being asked of me, and it was still overwhelming. Speaking of which, how are you finding it here?¡±


    ¡°I do not mind this ce. I have a nest. There is plenty to eat in the forest. What more could I need?¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. Well, if you do need anything¡ª¡±


    Sen¡¯s words evaporated as his spiritual sense detected a familiar presence at the very outer limits of his range. Everything in him demanded that he leave immediately and race toward Falling Leaf. He resisted insistent demand by looking at the galehouse and reminding himself that Ai could wake up at any time. He¡¯d said he wouldn¡¯t just vanish again. It hadn¡¯t been an absolutemitment, but leaving now wasn¡¯t a necessary act. It was just what he wanted to do. <em>She¡¯ll be here soon enough</em>, he told himself. <em>I can get answers then</em>. He made himself focus on what he¡¯d been doing.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°Like I was saying, if you do need anything let me know.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 12: Fox Deal

    Book 7: Chapter 12: Fox Deal


    Laughing River frowned as he thought about the ghost panther kit. While his transformation skills weren¡¯t the same as those used by other spirit beasts, he would have been willing to bet that he knew as much about the process as any spirit beast or cultivator alive. Yet, he hadn¡¯t been able to crack the mystery of why she couldn¡¯t change back into her original form. It was equal parts frustrating and intriguing. Every piece of knowledge he had gathered said she should be able to move back and forth freely with her beast core as advanced as it was. When she attempted the transformation with his guidance, it had certainly felt like the process started. However, it also felt like something intervened directly to prevent it from taking hold. Whatever that something was, he¡¯d never seen the like before. He couldn¡¯t figure out if she had employed some variant path to aplish her original shift or if, as unlikely as it seemed, some power had helped it along but at a price.


    The kit had seemed disappointed by the failure. He couldn¡¯t rightly me her for that. Being in a human form had its advantages. There was no question about that. It was hard to put a value on something like thumbs or passing unnoticed through cities. Despite those advantages, there was a deepfort to be found in resuming one¡¯s original form. Laughing River rarely did it around others because he knew the effect it had, but even he would change back sometimes. It just felt right to have dirt, grass, and snow beneath one¡¯s paws. For all her understandable disappointment, Falling Leaf hade across as wholly unsurprised by the turn of events. It was as if she had known all along that it was a hopeless endeavor and went along only to humor that human boy.


    Laughing River paused at the word <em>boy</em> and shook his head. <em>No</em>, he thought. <em>Boy is definitely not the right word for that being</em>. After what he¡¯d seen Sen do, what he¡¯d seen him endure, he wasn¡¯t sure what word would be the right word to apply to him. He just knew that <em>boy</em> was a word that fundamentally failed to capture the reality. However, he knew that the ghost panther¡¯s transformation problem was going to vex him and vex him until he figured it out. He just feared that he wouldn¡¯t find the answer until after he ascended, at which point it wouldn¡¯t be any use to the kit. If there were any hard and fast rules to ascension, the only one he knew was that there was noing back. Having waited far longer than he should to pursue his own ascension, he was uniquely qualified to understand just how unforgiving the world became to those who overstayed their wee. He couldn¡¯t imagine that the situation would be <em>more</em> friendly to anyone who came back.


    There was still a little time left to him before things turned utterly catastrophic, though. At the very least, he needed to go and pay his people a visit. Set the history straight. There might also be a bit of ruthless assassination in there somewhere, as well, given the lies that people had been telling about him. He supposed that was his own fault. He¡¯d just felt so guilty after the ughter of all those nine tail foxes who followed him to that cursed gathering. The idea of facing his people after that failure had seemed like too much. He could admit now that it had been a mistake. It would have been hard to do but not impossible. He¡¯d given himself the gift of a little bit of cowardice just to discover now that it was a gift covered in poison. At least he¡¯d learned about it soon enough to put some small pieces of it right.


    All he needed to do was collect that spatial treasure from Sen. He didn¡¯t expect that it would be too much trouble. He had held up his end of the agreement. He did wish he¡¯d been able to do more for the ghost panther, though. She wasn¡¯t happy in her human body, even if she¡¯d resigned herself to it. It was too bad, really. She was terribly fetching as a human. His granddaughter could learn a thing or two about shaping a human body from her. He had been harboring some vague hopes that she¡¯d seed in capturing Sen¡¯s attention. Securing even a little bit of whatever freakish luck he had would be a profound boon for the nine tail bloodlines as a whole. Unfortunately, she¡¯d misread him. They both had. He had been too maniptive with Sen, while she had been too aggressive. Sen did appear less overtly hostile to Misty Peak. He seemed to regard her more as a nuisance than anything else. Not the most auspicious start but something that she could recover from if she worked at it.


    He looked up to see the serving girl setting food down at his table. He directed a smile at her that made the girl¡¯s ears go pink. Not that he¡¯d do anything about it. Some prey was simply too easy to catch. One had to maintain standards after all. He nced around themon room. The inn owner had reced most of the broken furniture from the fight, even if much of it was mismatched. Laughing River wondered if the man had gone from house to house buying whatever he could from the townspeople. He supposed that was a viable short-term solution. The motley assortment simply offended Laughing River¡¯s aesthetic sensibilities. He reminded himself again that this was a small, rural town, not a major city where nearly anything could be had at a moment¡¯s notice if you had the money. <em>I cannot fathom why anyone would choose to live here</em>, he thought. <em>Fu Run must have chosen this spot</em>. It was the only exnation he coulde up with for why they were there at all.


    He¡¯d eaten most of his food when he saw the door open. Sen walked in holding a darling little girl in one arm. She looked around with open curiosity and zero fear. Not that she needed to fear much with a protector like Judgment¡¯s Gale keeping an eye on her. Sen put the girl down, and she immediately walked over to the biggest, most grizzled man in themon room. She stared up at the man who gave her a startled glower.


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    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± she asked with a bright smile.


    Laughing River watched in rapt fascination as the little girl innocently leveraged the power of cuteness to charm a man who looked like life had beaten him mercilessly with the stick of hardship. The man remained silent and still for a few seconds before the hard lines in his face softened into a gruff smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m Dai Bao. What¡¯s your name, little one?¡±


    ¡°Liu Ai,¡± she said suddenly looking shy.


    Awe. That was what Laughing River was feeling right at that moment. It was undiluted awe at how effortlessly that little girl achieved what a nine tail fox had to work so hard to aplish. Sen walked over and gave the girl a fond smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother the man, Ai,¡± he told her.


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s no bother at all,¡± said Dai Bao, casting a dark look around the room that promised dire consequences if he didn¡¯t like what he heard next. ¡°Is she?¡±


    There were hasty head shakes and a general exmation that the little girl was joyously weed by all. The little girl, Liu Ai, giggled and then mbered up onto a chair at Dai Bao¡¯s table, earning another gruff smile from the man. Sen gave the scene a skeptical look before he seemed to decide, correctly in Laughing River¡¯s opinion, that Dai Bao would casually murder anyone who decided to bother his new friend.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Sen asked the girl.


    She nodded enthusiastically at him.


    Sen turned an inquiring look at the gruff man. ¡°Do you mind if she sits here? I don¡¯t want her to trouble you.¡±


    ¡°No trouble at all,¡± said the man.


    Sen retrieved a snack for the girl from the very nervous inn owner and set it down in front of her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right over there if you need me for anything, okay?¡± Sen asked the girl.


    She nodded at him before turning her attention to Dai Bao.


    ¡°You want one?¡± she asked, holding out a piece of fruit.


    <em>That¡¯s it</em>, thought Laughing River as the gruff man took the fruit with a grandfatherly smile. <em>She owns that man for life</em>, <em>now</em>. Laughing River forgot all about the little girl right then because that was the moment when Sen focused on him. Every finely-honed instinct for danger that the fox had ever developed suddenly started screaming at him that bad things were iing. He met Sen¡¯s eyes as the cultivator approached and started scrambling to understand what had changed. Laughing River had seen more warmth in a frozenke. Not that he thought that Sen could actually beat him in a fight, but he was pretty sure the cultivator could injure him after that disy against the horde. The only thing that kept the fox from deciding he was needed elsewhere was the conviction that Sen wouldn¡¯t start a violent confrontation with a child so close at hand.


    Sen sat down across from Laughing River and just stared with those cold, cold eyes for an ufortable number of heartbeats. Then, in an act that seemed to be happening almost against his will, Sen summoned a box from a storage ring and pushed it across the table. Laughing River eyed the box with more than usual caution. He didn¡¯t need to open the box to know that it was the treasure he needed. He didn¡¯t reach for it. Instead, he lifted an eyebrow at Sen.


    ¡°You seem rather out of sorts with me.¡±


    Sen''s expression didn¡¯t change at all. ¡°What gave it away?¡±


    ¡°The overwhelming impression I get that you¡¯d like to bury your jian in my eye. Dare I ask what prompted this change of heart?¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You took my friend and left.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I took her away from the humans to practice.¡±


    ¡°You took my friend and left without bothering to provide so much as a clue about where you were going or when you might be back,¡± said Sen through clenched teeth.


    Laughing River realized, yet again, that he had misread Sen. He¡¯d assumed since they had an agreement in ce, Sen would understand that he wouldn¡¯t do anything to jeopardize that deal. If nothing else, Laughing River had too much to lose if things went wrong. Of course, that all hinged on Sen trusting him to keep his word. That all fell apart if he assumed that Sen didn¡¯t trust him. Under those conditions, it would look incredibly suspect to just leave with his friend without providing a note or message of some kind.


    ¡°You clearly know I did everything I could to help your ghost panther friend.¡±


    ¡°I do know that which is why I¡¯m giving you the spatial treasure as agreed. But that¡¯s not really the point, is it? You could have done anything to her. You could have taken her somewhere dangerous or somewhere she couldn¡¯t escape. You could have tricked her into thinking that you were me, for a while at least.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± said Laughing River.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do that. Given your history with me, I think saying <em>wouldn¡¯t</em> stretches credulity.¡±


    The fox almost fell into the trap of trying to defend himself, but he¡¯d been dealing with humans for a long, long time. The anger Sen was feeling was driven by very real fears, even if Laughing River didn¡¯t know the exact nature or source of those fears. Both anger and fear would fade with time as better sense eventually took hold. He had made a mistake. He just had to trust time to make that clear to Sen. Trying to convince him of anything now was a lost cause. Instead, he just nodded and took the spatial treasure.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your business,¡± said Laughing River.


    ¡°It would probably be best if we don¡¯t see each other for a while,¡± said Sen. ¡°Give my temper and my nerves some time to settle.¡±


    ¡°I expect the townspeople would appreciate us not destroying everything they¡¯ve worked to build here.¡±


    ¡°My thoughts as well. They don¡¯t deserve that.¡±


    ¡°Until I see you again,¡± said Laughing River.


    The fox left the inn immediately, not wanting topound the problem he had inadvertently created. He¡¯d hoped that trying to help Falling Leaf would mend things a little, but it seemed that had been too much to hope for. Even so, Sen had handed over the treasure with no fuss. There would likely be time to fix thingster. If there was one thing that ascended spirit beasts and cultivators had, it was time. Until the day arrived to have a more rational exchange, Laughing River would deal with his own people. There was plenty of work to be done on that front.

 Book 7: Chapter 13: I Am Not Weak

    Book 7: Chapter 13: I Am Not Weak


    ¡°You¡¯re angry with me,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    Sen nced over at the ghost panther, noting the unusually intense look in her eyes. He¡¯d known this conversation wasing. He just wished she¡¯d picked a more convenient time for it. Waiting until he was three feet in the air and bncing on a shaft of hardened shadow no wider than a finger was not, in his opinion, the ideal moment. Not that bncing was particrly difficult or that the fall would mean anything to him. The challenge was that he¡¯d just barely figured out how to make something out of pure shadow that was sturdy enough to support his weight and wouldst longer than a few seconds. It took nearly all of his concentration to maintain it. His slight nce and momentary loss of focus were enough to destabilize the whole thing. The construct burst into a puff of dispersing shadow qi, and Sen dropped lightly to the ground. He frowned down at a depression in the soil where the construct had been.


    It had been a week since Laughing River had gone off to wherever it was that nine tail foxes lived. Sen never bothered to ask where mostly because he was sure the elder fox would provide either no answer or would simply lie. He wasn¡¯t even sure he¡¯d me the fox for lying about it. Sen had something of an earned, if somewhat unfair, reputation for killing spirit beasts in truly staggering numbers. He couldn¡¯t deny that he¡¯d done such things, but he could say that he¡¯d rarely gone looking for it. Laughing River couldn¡¯t be sure about any of that, though, and his people had already suffered one mass ughter. It would be foolish to risk even the possibility of a second such urrence.


    Sen turned his full attention toward Falling Leaf. Sen had worked hard to stay clear of the ghost panther since the elder fox¡¯s departure, and she knew it. It was equally clear that she didn¡¯t understand why he was staying away beyond the simple observation that he was angry.


    ¡°I am,¡± said Sen, ¡°but I¡¯m not. It¡¯splicated.¡±


    ¡°Then, exin it to me.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know where you were.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°You often don¡¯t know where I am. It¡¯s never been a problem before.¡±


    That much was true. Sen had always possessed a lot of faith in her ability to take care of herself either by eliminating problems or escaping them. She¡¯d often left for weeks at a time while he¡¯d been feverishly trying to master pill refining. He¡¯d never had so much as a moment of pause over that. This had been different. At least, it had felt different.


    ¡°Laughing Riveres off as this nice old man, but he¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Falling Leaf with a definitive nod. ¡°Of course, all nine tail are dangerous in their way. It has always been so.¡±


    ¡°But you aren¡¯t always with a very old, very powerful, very dangerous nine tail when I don¡¯t know where you are. Or where you went. Or when you¡¯d be back. I¡¯m angry because you didn¡¯t leave me any way to know if you were overdue, or in trouble, or even which direction to search in if you disappeared.¡±


    Falling Leaf studied Sen without saying anything for a long time. When she did finally speak, there was no malice or judgment in her words, but theynded like she¡¯d kicked him in the stomach.


    ¡°You mean like when you went to have sex with that sect matriarch in the capital and didn¡¯t bother to tell any of us where you were?¡±


    Sen opened his mouth but discovered he didn¡¯t have any words. He wanted to deny theparison. He wanted to say that situation had been different. Except, he couldn¡¯t deny it. It hadn¡¯t been different. It <em>felt</em> different to him, but that was only because he¡¯d known the whole time that he was safe. Falling Leaf, Lo Meifeng, and Shi Ping hadn¡¯t known it. They¡¯d all been under threat then, and he¡¯d just up and vanished for days. He might have been dead, or captured, and they wouldn¡¯t have known. Sen¡¯s eyes narrowed. Had she set all of this up as some kind of lesson? Was this some bizarre, long-deferred act of petty revenge? That didn¡¯t seem like something Falling Leaf would do, but her words made it hard to judge.


    ¡°Do you do this on purpose? Was this meant to show me what it was like?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°I was clear about my thoughts then. Trying to teach a lesson now would be pointless. There is a certain simrity, though.¡±


    Sen cast about for some appropriate response and only came up with, ¡°I see that.¡±


    Falling Leaf waited to see if Sen had more to offer before she continued.


    ¡°I thought the nine tail sincere in his efforts. I didn¡¯t see a reason to leave word. If I thought he was a danger to me, I never would have gone with him. Not willingly.¡±


    Sen had known all of this if he was being honest with himself. Falling Leaf might have only been a human for a few years, but she had lived for centuries as a ghost panther without him looking over her shoulder. She¡¯d survived the near-total destruction of her species. She had survived on Uncle Kho¡¯s mountain, and that was before Master Feng had <em>pacified</em> the most dangerous spirit beasts on it. Sen could dress his reactions up any way he wanted, but the source of his anger wasn¡¯t that mysterious. That only made him feel worse about how he¡¯d treated Laughing River, who had taken the brunt of Sen¡¯s misced emotions. It was just easier to be angry than to admit the facts to himself.


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    ¡°I was afraid for you,¡± admitted Sen.


    <em>There it is</em>, he thought. That unvarnished truth hung in the air between them, and Sen couldn¡¯t decide if he should have just kept his mouth shut. He hated feeling so exposed, even in front of Falling Leaf who had watched him crawling toward death more than once. Someone who had seen him nearly copse from exhaustion after training too hard and too long. Someone who had watched him take enough blows from his teachers to bring an entire mortal army to its knees. Hate it or not, she deserved the truth from him. She¡¯d earned that a thousand times and more. Falling Leaf tilted her head a little to one side.


    ¡°Sometimes, I think you mad. Other times, I think that you are without fear. That you somehow seared your soul clean of it. The way you stand defiant before nascent soul cultivators, before tides of enemies, and even before death. Like nothing can truly touch you. Kill you, maybe, but never touch the things that define you,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°But that¡¯s only true when ites to fear for yourself, isn¡¯t it? That is something you can face without flinching. Fear for others? That is something you have not mastered.¡±


    Something icy passed through Sen at herst words that made him shiver. He stared at her and felt translucent, like a pane of ss that she was peering through. His voice was quiet and tight when he finally mustered something to say.


    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°No, I have not.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t protect us all the time,¡± said Falling Leaf with affection and sympathy. ¡°You want to. You think you can, even though this is foolishness. Danger <em>will</em> find us all.¡±


    ¡°I understand that,¡± said Sen. ¡°You of all people know that I understand danger is an inescapable truth of life.¡±


    ¡°You understand this, but you refuse to ept it. Regardless of your wishes, the world isn¡¯t made for the weak,¡± said Falling Leaf, before her voice went as hard stone, ¡°and I am not weak.¡±


    ¡°I know that,¡± said Sen, finding a bit of fire inside himself.


    ¡°Do you?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    She was on him before Sen could say a word, and it was no friendly sparring match. He was so shocked that he didn¡¯t even try to block her first blow. He discovered what a colossal error that was when her fist crashed into his chest. He felt like he¡¯d been struck by a stone battering ram. The blow lifted him off his feet and sent him hurtling through the air. Just about the time he was getting his wits about him, he plowed into a rock that was jutting out of the ground. A few years earlier, that impact would have shattered bones and probably left him unconscious. Now, it was just miserably painful as the stone cracked beneath the impact. All of that training under the unyielding expectations of Master Feng kicked in. <em>You can¡¯t stay down</em>, thought Sen. <em>That way lies death</em>. He pushed himself up to his feet, ignoring the pain, the shock of the attack, and his own wild emotions.


    It seemed that Falling Leaf had not wasted time because she was there practically the moment he was upright. He had to lean out of the way as she swiped for his throat with ws made of shadow encasing the ends of her fingers. Those ws looked more solid and dense than anything Sen could currently make. Even as he felt a brief stab of envy at the sight of them, he also realized that she would have torn out his throat if he¡¯d been a second slower. The distraction of that realization cost him again as shended a brutal knee strike to his ribs that sent him stumbling away. He didn¡¯t regain his feet. Instead, something wrapped around his ankle and jerked his leg out from beneath him. Hended facedown on the ground. Battle instincts started kicking in then, and Sen rolled to the side. Falling Leaf¡¯s foot mmed into the ground where his head had been, so close he felt the air move. He cycled for wind and used a burst of it to send himself sliding away from the seemingly enraged Falling Leaf.


    It wasn¡¯t a lot of breathing room, but it gave him the chance to regain his feet and set a stance. <em>Fine</em>, thought Sen. <em>If she doesn¡¯t want to y nice</em>, <em>then we won¡¯t y nice</em>. Yet, he discovered that was easier said than done. As fast and experienced as Sen was, Falling Leaf seemed to have no trouble anticipating his blows. She moved like, well, like a ghost. Every time Sen thought that he had her, she slipped out of the way and punished his hubris with a blow of her own or by raking shadow ws across whatever was convenient. Before he knew it, Sen was covered in blood that was leaking from dozens of shallow and not-so-shallow cuts. He could feel genuine anger bubbling away inside him, rising closer and closer to the surface, and threatening to erupt. He wasn¡¯t sure what he would do if that eruption arrived.


    ¡°Enough,¡± said Sen.


    Falling Leaf paused for a moment to look at him. With an almost sad look on her face, she shook her head.


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    She resumed the assault instantly. Sen found himself paying less attention to the fight with Falling Leaf than to the fight going on inside of him. He fought to keep that anger pushed down. Yet, that split focus just meant that Falling Leaf savaged him even more brutally. When those shadow ws left five deep gouges across one of his cheeks, Sen lost the internal fight. A hundred restraints he¡¯d imposed on himself without even realizing it fell away. He pped away two fast strikes on her part without even thinking about it before hended a blow to her chest that sent her bouncing and tumbling across the ground. Sen stormed after her. He saw her shake her head a little, spit out a mouthful of blood, and then fix her gaze on him. There was something feral in her eyes and her expression.


    ¡°There you are,¡± she snarled.


    The dynamic of the fight changed after that. This time, it was Falling Leaf on the defensive, dodging, weaving, and asionally diving out of the way of Sen¡¯s unrestrained strikes. It wasn¡¯t entirely one-sided either. With his angerrgely unchecked, Sen made mistakes he wouldn¡¯t normally make. Falling Leaf punished every one of them without mercy. When his anger started to die down again and the insanity of what they were doing finally started to sink in, Sen drew back.


    ¡°Enough!¡± he roared, unconsciously infusing the word with qi.


    The world around them shuddered, and Falling Leaf stumbled back. She blinked several times and seemed toe back to herself from some other ce. She spit out another mouthful of blood thatnded on the ground with a bright red ssh. She wiped her mouth with the back of a hand, winced, and then gave him an even look.


    ¡°I do not need your protection,¡± she said. ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    Sen nodded. He did understand.


    ¡°Good. Now, while I don¡¯t need your protection, I do need one of your healing elixirs,¡± said Falling Leaf and pressed a hand to her ribs. ¡°You hit very hard.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 14: A Beautiful Orchid

    Book 7: Chapter 14: A Beautiful Orchid


    Sen had a lot to think about when he took Liu Ai back to the town to get her new clothes. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that Ai had to poke his cheek to get his attention. He blinked and looked at her. He had a dim recollection that she might have asked him something.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°What did you ask me?¡±


    ¡°Can I see Dai Bao?¡± asked Liu Ai.


    Sen had to rack his memory. <em>Dai Bao</em>? Then, he remembered the grizzled man at the inn that the little girl had somehow befriended. Sen had mixed feelings about her spending time with the man. He was quite sure that Dai Bao had decided that Ai was part of his extended family and wouldn¡¯t do anything to hurt her. On the other hand, he thought that she¡¯d be better served by spending more time with other children and less time with yet another adult. She was already getting plenty of time with adults of varying species. That was to say nothing of the abnormality of spending all of her time with cultivators and spirit beasts. He wanted her to at least get a few glimpses of normalcy. The thing that gave him pause was the question of whether or not <em>he</em> would recognize normalcy if he saw it. Sen ultimately caved. In the end, what was one more adult in the mix?


    ¡°After we get your clothes, we¡¯ll see if we can find him.¡±


    She beamed at him and hugged his neck, which made him feel decidedly warm and loved. <em>Yeah</em>, he thought, <em>I¡¯m not a pushover</em>. <em>Not at all</em>. He kept his focus on what he was doing until they got into town and knocked on the door of the stern woman who made clothes. She opened the door, gave Sen a decidedly neutral look, and then smiled at Ai. The woman ushered the little girl inside, leaving Sen to follow on his own and close the door behind them. Sen settled in a corner out of the way and summoned what he needed to make tea from a storage ring. He kept half an eye on what was happening, but his thoughts drifted back to the¡­ He wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to call it a fight, a confrontation, or a very indirect discussion with Falling Leaf. There had been some surface talk, but that hadn¡¯t been the point she was trying to make. The discussion had never really been about protection. It had been about behavior and hypocrisy.


    He''d been angry and frustrated that Falling Leaf had gone off into what he had assumed was a dangerous situation without telling him anything about it. He¡¯d expected to be informed, but mostly because he¡¯d concluded that she was no match for Laughing River. And she wasn¡¯t. Of course, neither was he. All of which painted his reaction in a not particrly good light, because he¡¯d done simr things over and over and over again. He¡¯d gone off into the world and just expected everyone to ept that he would be fine. Even when he was traveling with others, he routinely went off by himself without a word to do things that could <em>only</em> be described as monumentally stupid and dangerous.


    He did those things and just expected people to go along with it because¡­ And that¡¯s where it all fell apart. Sure, he¡¯d survived those experiences but not because he was just that good. He might be just that lucky, but definitely not just that good. The cold truth was that he applied two sets of expectations to the world. He expected everyone else to treat him as though he was capable enough to handle <em>any</em> situation he might find himself in. An expectation that even he could recognize was patently absurd because it was patently untrue. However, he expected everyone else to recognize their limitations and keep him in the know when they exceeded them. All in the service of him being around to intervene if things went terribly wrong. Except, the people around him weren¡¯t ipetent. There might be a bit of power gap now between him and most of the people he¡¯d traveled with, but not enough of one that he could serve as a one-man rescue service in any situation. That was more in line with what Master Feng could bring to the table.


    The point Falling Leaf had been making wasn¡¯t that she never wanted his help or protection, but that she didn¡¯t want it on those terms. <em>And I can¡¯t really me her for that</em>, thought Sen. It was condescending, and doubly so because of the kinds of out-of-his-depth solo risks he made a habit of taking. He couldn¡¯t have it both ways. He either needed to tell people what was going on the way he expected to be, or he needed to assume that hispanions were capable of handling any situation in which they found themselves. Since option two was so wildly impractical, because almost no one was capable of that, he needed to stop treating his entire life like it was a solo venture. When he actually was off on his own or traveling with rtive strangers, it was fine to behave that way because he owed them nothing. When with people he loved and respected, he owed them better than that. A woman¡¯s voice jarred him from his thoughts.


    ¡°Your daughter is very well-behaved,¡± said the stern woman.


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    Sen¡¯s eyes shot up to the woman from where he was sitting on the floor with the tea set. He gestured at an empty cup he¡¯d set out and the woman nodded. Sen poured her a cup of tea and rose to hand it to her.


    ¡°She¡¯s not my daughter,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°No?¡± asked the woman, her eyes narrowing a little. ¡°Sister?¡±


    ¡°Her parents were killed by bandits in a raid. I¡¯m just,¡± Sen hesitated, ¡°looking after her for now.¡±


    ¡°And why would you, a mighty cultivator, deign to look after a mortal child?¡± asked the woman.


    Sen did his best to push thoughts of the burned-out vige from his mind.


    ¡°No one is born a cultivator,¡± said Sen. ¡°We all start out as mortals, and I happen to know from experience that life is very hard for an orphan child. I would spare her that.¡±


    Someplicated things happened to the woman¡¯s expression that Sen had trouble sorting out, but she finally settled on something that looked almost friendly.


    ¡°I suppose there are worse motives than that,¡± she said. ¡°I guess you wandering cultivators are a different breed.¡±


    ¡°Out of idle curiosity, how did you know I was a cultivator, and a wandering cultivator at that?¡±


    ¡°Everyone in the town knows. After you lifted a tree off a man and gave him elixirs, it was pretty obvious. To say nothing of what your wife did at the inn.¡±


    Sen reached up and rubbed at his eyes with his fingers. ¡°Why does everyone think she¡¯s my wife?¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t?¡± asked the surprised woman. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. That was just how everyone described her.¡±


    Sen waved it off. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like that¡¯s the first time someone made the assumption.¡±


    The woman sipped her tea, although Sen got the impression that it was mostly meant to buy her some time to think. He didn¡¯t press the issue.


    ¡°Well, all of that aside, she¡¯s a well-behaved girl. You should encourage that,¡± said the woman.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± said Sen.


    Liu Ai spared Sen more awkward conversation bying out from behind some folding panels. She was happily trying to adjust a robe and not doing a terribly good job of it. Sen set his cup down and went over to help her, gently tying the knots and settling the folds of blue and ck fabric around her. She held out her arms to each side.


    ¡°I¡¯m a flower,¡± she announced.


    ¡°You certainly are,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°A beautiful orchid.¡±


    A look of hesitant uncertainty crossed the little girl¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s an orchid?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very lovely flower,¡± said the woman from behind Sen.


    Reassured, Ai smiled at Sen. ¡°I¡¯m an orchid!¡±


    Before Sen could reply, he heard a dull roar from some kind of beast. Based on the way that Ai¡¯s head jerked and started swinging around, she heard it too. Sen had been keeping his spiritual sense reined in, mostly to limit the distractions in his world for a little while. At that noise, though, he let it spread out over the whole town. He heard several more roars at about the same time that he sensed the small pack of beasts on the far side of town. Not far from the home of that man he¡¯d helped before because, naturally, they would be there. Sen looked back at Ai and his first instinct was to sweep her up into his arms and carry her far from away from those beasts. He didn¡¯t get a chance to act on that instinct. The woman who had made Ai¡¯s new clothes grabbed his arm.


    ¡°You¡¯re a cultivator. Will you help us?¡± she pleaded.


    Sen wanted to p her hand away and get on with taking Ai to safety, but he forced himself to calm down. This close to town, on a road, any spirit beasts were likely things he could handle without even really trying. He could keep Ai safe by simply going to where the spirit beasts were and cutting them down. It likely wouldn¡¯t even take that long if he put a little effort into it. However, he couldn¡¯t take her with him for that. No matter how confident he might be that could win, anything could happen in the heat of a fight. She could get hit by a stray bit of qi or die from a ncing blow that wouldn¡¯t even disrupt one of his punches. That meant leaving her somewhere with people he barely knew. More importantly, it meant leaving her with people he didn¡¯t trust could protect her if the worst happened. <em>No</em>, he thought, <em>my priority has to be getting Ai somewhere safe</em>. The woman clearly saw the decision in his eyes because she took hold of his arm with her other hand.


    ¡°Please,¡± she begged and looked at Ai. ¡°She isn¡¯t the only child here.¡±


    <em>Damn it</em>, thought Sen. <em>Way to hit me where I¡¯m weak</em>.


    ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± asked Ai, her eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears.


    ¡°There are some bad things outside the town,¡± said Sen.


    Ai¡¯s lip started to quiver and a tear slid down her cheek. Sen knew he¡¯d probably said the wrong thing. Sadly, he didn¡¯t know the right thing to say, so he just took a guess and went with it. He wiped the tear from her cheek and gave her a confident smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They won¡¯t get you.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I am because I won¡¯t let them get you. I¡¯m an expert at dealing with monsters. But I need you to do something for me. I need you to help,¡± Sen nced at the woman and tried to remember if he¡¯d ever asked her name, ¡°the prettydy here to be brave. Can you do that? Can you help her be brave?¡±


    Ai looked from Sen to the woman. He could see that she wasn¡¯t sure about this whole thing, but she nodded at him. He put his hand on her shoulder and tried to ignore the roars that were growing louder and fiercer.


    ¡°That¡¯s my brave girl. You help her, and I¡¯ll go send those monsters running.¡±


    Sen shot the woman a look thatmunicated with utter rity how violently upset he was going to be if anything <em>at all</em> happened to Ai. Then he was out the door, activating his qinggong technique, and all but flying through town.

 Book 7: Chapter Fifteen – Group Tactics

    Book 7: Chapter Fifteen ¨C Group Tactics


    It took longer than Sen would have liked to get to the battle because he had to keep dodging around panicked townspeople. Granted, it only added a few seconds to his journey, but he knew as well as any warrior that seconds could cost lives. However, when he arrived at the scene of the fight by the simple expedient of jumping over the town wall, he couldn¡¯t help but pause. He wondered, <em>what in the hells are they doing</em>? Some of the men from the town were out¡­ Sen thought the right phrase was probably <em>defending their homes</em>, but it only applied in the loosest sense. They weren¡¯t working together, except for one or two pairs of men. It was just a loose collection of people armed with shovels and pitchforks. Plus, they weren¡¯t even putting those farm implements to good use. They were just waving them at the spirit beasts, or asionally thrusting them at the creatures. This had all the makings of a ughter and not one that favored the humans.


    Sen turned his attention to the spirit beasts. He didn¡¯t recognize them, but the wilds always seemed to be throwing some new thing at humanity. They were long and thin, slung low to the ground, but they moved fast. They had the kind of liquid ck eyes that were moremon to rodents than other beasts. Their bodies were covered in soft brown fur. It was also clear that their teeth and ws were as sharp as one might expect from the number of bleeding wounds that Sen could see on the men. He also saw two limp, lifeless bodies that had been dragged back. It was yet another reminder, not that Sen particrly needed one, that life was precarious for the mortals. He eyed the spirit beasts. If the men out here fell, those things could probably go right over the wall. Once they got into the town, it would get very ugly, very fast.


    For all the threat that the spirit beasts posed to the townspeople, Sen was pretty sure he could wipe them out with one volley of wind des. That would solve his problem, but it wouldn¡¯t do much to help the townspeople the next time something came looking to eat them all. He considered whether that was his problem. He had only agreed to help deal with the problem. He hadn¡¯t agreed to teach the people here basic group tactics. Of course, these people were also his neighbors for all intents and purposes. He got things here for Ai, and Falling Leaf had even bought some furniture here. Helping these people learn to defend themselves a little better was probably the neighborly thing to do. Sighing to himself a little, Sen strode forward and sent a half dozen small fireballs to drop between the humans and the spirit beasts. It was enough to make the spirit beasts back off a little but not enough to send them running. Sen took advantage of the pause in the fight to start barking orders the way he¡¯d seen some older city guards do when dealing with younger guards.


    ¡°Get into groups of three!¡± he bellowed. ¡°Two pitchforks, one shovel.¡±


    The men all stared at him in bewilderment. It wasn¡¯t until Dai Bao got involved that anything useful happened. The man red around for a moment before he started bellowing.


    ¡°You heard the cultivator! Do it now!¡±


    Sen sent out another wave of small fireballs to keep the spirit beasts wary while the men shuffled and bumbled their way into small groups. He strode up to the group with Dai Bao and gave the man a nod. Then, he addressed the group.


    ¡°Use the pitchforks to harass and distract. Spirit beasts are living creatures. They don¡¯t like pain any more than you do,¡± he said holding out a hand toward a young man with a pitchfork.


    The young man, practically still a boy, stared at Sen until Dai Bao rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Give him the pitchfork, idiot.¡±


    The young man flushed in embarrassment but promptly handed over the pitchfork. Sen swiftly showed them how to hold it.


    ¡°One hand high up. You use this for force. The other hand lower down to guide the blow. Stab, don¡¯t shake,¡± he said demonstrating the motion. ¡°You¡¯re there to keep the keep the beasts off bnce. Stab, then back off a step or two. Let the other people take their turns.¡±


    Sen handed the pitchfork back, sent a few more fireballs, and then held a hand out toward a man holding a shovel. The man handed it over without any prompting. Sen simply swung the shovel in a short arc.


    ¡°Blunt force. Hit them in the head. Nothing fancy. Wait until they''re distracted, then make your move. Work together!¡±


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    Sen knew he was taking a risk with these men¡¯s lives by not simply killing the spirit beasts, but he wouldn¡¯t always be there to protect them. They <em>had</em> to learn or this town wouldn¡¯t survive. The groups moved forward, spaced a little too loosely, but it was the best Sen could do on short notice. The spirit beasts seemed to sense that Sen wasn¡¯t nning on taking an active hand, and they charged forward. The strategy almost fell apart immediately. The groups had no experience working together, so the men with the pitchforks frequently tried to distract the spirit beasts at the same time. Sen would surreptitiously send small wind des as distractions when it looked like someone was about to get themselves killed. After a few back-and-forth exchanges with the huge rodent creatures, though, the townspeople started to figure out their timing. There was the metallic smell of blood in the air. Some of it human, some of it from the beasts, and all of it unpleasant.


    Sen heard a mild cheer from one group and focused there for a moment. The creature was lying still on the ground, but Sen¡¯s spiritual sense told him it was still alive. He shed over with his qinggong technique. He red at the men, who shrank back from that look.


    ¡°It¡¯s not over until you take off its head,¡± he growled. ¡°That thing is still alive.¡±


    The stunned men turned back to the creature that was starting to stir. They looked scared and wholly uncertain about what they should do. Sen decided that this was a teaching moment. He held out a hand to a bearded man with a shovel. The man gave it to him. Sen walked over to the beast, raised the shovel up over the beast¡¯s neck, and drove the sharpened edge of the shovel straight down. The creature¡¯s head flopped free in a spray of blood. One of the men with a pitchfork stumbled away and retched. The bearded man¡¯s lips thinned into a line, but he nodded in understanding. Sen gave him back the shovel. He hung back after that. In part, he wanted the townspeople to get some experience. In part, he was scanning the nearby forest with his spiritual sense. These creatures weren¡¯t acting the way he¡¯d expect experienced spirit beasts to act. They were more like, well, like that young man who hadn¡¯t realized he should give Sen the pitchfork.


    Sen was waiting for whatever had sent them this way to make an appearance. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before an ear-splitting roar shook the air and a simr spirit beast that was three times the size of the rest crashed out of the trees. The humans and the younger rodent creatures were all stunned motionless by the power of that roar. But Sen charged at it while sending red-tinged wind des, the vermilion des he¡¯d seen Li Yi Nuo use, flying out before him. The massive rodent beast roared again in anger and pain as those des tore deep gouges into its long body. There was a swell of qi from the beast and vines shot out of the ground. Sen dodged, but three of the vines managed to bury themselves in his left leg. The sheer power of his momentum ripped the vines free from the ground, but he was stunned that they had managed to pierce his skin. He¡¯d caught des swung by cultivators without getting a scratch.


    Worse, he could feel the vines still wriggling in his flesh, trying to find purchase. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. However, there was still a massive rodent bearing down on him. He was shocked that anything this powerful hade near both civilization and Fu Run¡¯s domain. He did his best to ignore the injured leg, although the vines were making it difficult to run. He hadn¡¯t nned on meeting the creature¡¯s charge head-on, but he¡¯d had an idea for a new de technique in the back of his head for a while now. He supposed this was as good an opportunity as any to test it. If it failed, he could always just fall back on Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. Sen grasped the hilt of his jian and began channeling for earth qi, swiftly infusing the de with it. He took a breath, focused, and drew the de in a smooth motion. The de followed an arc up toward the sky. As it went, the earth qi he¡¯d gathered was unleashed. A wall of stone as thin and sharp as a jian de shot out of the ground. The massive spirit beast was split cleanly down the middle.


    The vines still embedded in Sen¡¯s leg stopped writhing, which was a relief because it was painful and more than a little creepy to have something alive moving inside of him. He formed a qi tform beneath his feet and used it to lift himself out of the way of the two pieces of the spirit beast that were sliding toward him. The two parts fell away to each side, exposing the interior of the beast. It was a bit much even for Sen¡¯s hardened stomach to see the organs and blood spilling out onto the ground. Instead, he turned back to the men who had been fighting the smaller beasts. The bearded man he¡¯d been with before had a stoic look on his face as he decapitated thest of the smaller beasts. Satisfied that the threat was over for now, Sen reached down and started ripping the vines out of his leg. He grimaced and told himself that he needed to change before Ai saw him again. He wasn¡¯t as covered in blood as he had been on many prior asions, but there was more than enough on him to scare a small child.


    While he had the tform carry him back toward the men, he summoned a healing elixir and drank it. He let the tform drop to the ground and dismissed it before he looked around at the exhausted and injured men. He nodded at them.


    ¡°You did well,¡± he said. ¡°You should collect the beast cores and sell them. I¡¯d rmend investing some of that money in spears and halberds. They¡¯ll be more effective than farm implements the next time spirit beasts attack. Now, bring the wounded to me, and I¡¯ll see what I can do about speeding along your recoveries.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 16: Retrieve and Escape

    Book 7: Chapter 16: Retrieve and Escape


    Sen tried to work as quickly as he could to help the injured, but things only grew more chaotic as people poured out of the gates. Some came looking to find loved ones, while others simply wanted to see what had happened. There were wails of grief over the two men who had died, but Sen had to steel himself against them. There was nothing he could do for those people except offer empty words he was certain they wouldn¡¯t want to hear. By the time he¡¯d finished dispensing what immediate aid he could, nearly two full hours had passed since he¡¯d left Liu Ai in the care of the seamstress. Despite the injuries and the grief, most of the townspeople were jubnt that the spirit beasts had been killed and so few had died. Sen waited until no one was paying him any particr attention to quite literally slip away in the shadows. He still wasn¡¯t anywhere close to performing whatever technique it was the Fu Run had demonstrated, but he¡¯d be rapidly more proficient at manipting shadows, both the ones he made and the ones around him.


    He made a point to stop, wreathe himself in darkness, and change out of his bloodied robes. He even took a few minutes to wash his face, hands, and arms. Satisfied that he¡¯d done what he could to not scare Ai, he started walking back. The was happy confusion in the town as everyone realized that the threat had passed, but the details hadn¡¯t spread yet. Sen wanted to be well away before they did. Not that he expected that this incident would particrly add to the legend of Judgment¡¯s Gale, but he didn¡¯t want to announce to the world that he was in the area. Even if there weren¡¯t ruthless, murderous cultivators actively searching for him, it didn¡¯t mean that there weren¡¯t cultivators and sects passively monitoring for news of his whereabouts. He didn¡¯t want those cultivators descending on these people and throwing their weight around like the bunch of arrogant, entitled cultivators they would no doubt be. No, it was better if he slipped away in the confusion. Besides, he hadn¡¯t done that much, except right at the very end.


    Let the townspeople im this victory as their own and leave him out of it. Just some wandering cultivator who helped out a little and then went on his way. No reason for anyone to pay special attention to this ce or these people. As Sen approached his destination, he came up short when he saw Ai happily talking with another little girl as the pair of them drew on the ground with sticks of chalk under the watchful eye of the seamstress. His cultivation-enhanced eyes let him see crude drawings of flowers and birds. He released a gentle sigh of relief. She¡¯d gotten a touch of normalcy after all. Sen just watched the girls for a few minutes before he walked over to the woman. She nced at him, her eyes lingering on his robes.


    ¡°You changed,¡± she observed.


    ¡°The other robes weren¡¯t really fit for the eyes of children anymore,¡± he said.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Too much blood.¡±


    ¡°Yours or the spirit beasts¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Some of both. Who is that other girl Ai is ying with?¡±¡°My daughter,¡± said the seamstress.


    Sen gave the woman a longer look. There was love in her eyes as she watched her daughter. There was also pain there. There had been some kind of loss, not recently perhaps, but it still lingered. <em>No wonder she¡¯d been so desperate to get me to help</em>, thought Sen. She noticed his scrutiny and drew herself up a little. It was a subtle thing like she was wrapping a cloak of dignity around herself.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked, her stern sharpness returning.


    Sen very deliberately looked away and, rather than answer the question, he changed the subject.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe I ever asked your name,¡± he said.


    He could feel the look she directed at him, but he kept his eyes on the girls.


    ¡°Li Hua,¡± she answered in an almost reluctant tone.


    ¡°Lu Sen.¡±


    ¡°Is that the name you use when you don¡¯t want to use the name Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡±


    Sen closed his eyes and sighed. He hadn¡¯t been doing a lot to hide that he was that increasingly well-known folk hero. He¡¯d just hoped that no one in the town would figure it out quite this soon. It could make things inconvenient, or at least aggravating, if people started treating him like some kind of hero. The way most people already treated him as a cultivator was ufortable at best. Adding some kind of misced hero worship or heroic expectations on him would only lead to a lot of disappointment for them. As for the name, well, he had a simple enough answer to that.


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    ¡°No. It¡¯s just my name. That other person doesn¡¯t really exist.¡±


    ¡°You look real to me,¡± she said.


    He couldn¡¯t be sure, but Sen thought he caught the slightest trace of amusement in her tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled. I¡¯m entirely made up. Turn your back, and I¡¯ll vanish like smoke in a dream.¡±


    ¡°Can you¡ª¡± Li Hua hesitated. ¡°Can you really do that?¡±


    Sen went to deny the silly idea and then thought a little harder about it. <em>Could I</em>?


    ¡°Maybe,¡± he said. ¡°Probably not if anyone was paying close attention.¡±


    ¡°So, not all-powerful?¡±


    ¡°Not even remotely. Any cultivator who says otherwise is lying,¡± answered Sen. ¡°I think it¡¯s probably time for a quiet departure. Things are calming down at the gate.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°I can hear them,¡± said Sen as he walked over to collect Liu Ai.


    She noticed him and ran over, her eyes wide.


    ¡°Did you chase the monsters away?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I did, with some help,¡± said Sen, not feeling the tiniest bit guilty about the half-lie. ¡°But it is about time for us to head home. Otherwise, we¡¯ll never get there before dark.¡±


    The girl got a pouty look on her face. Ai wasn¡¯t generally a willful girl, but Sen had learned that she could get tired or cranky like anyone else. He wanted to cut that off before it turned into something ugly.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me what you were drawing?¡±


    Distracted by the task, she reached out, seized one of Sen¡¯s fingers in her hand, and pulled him over. She proudly pointed to a misshapen, vaguely flower-shaped creation and proimed it a beautiful orchid. Sen nodded gravely while the other girl awkwardly stared up at him, seemingly unsure what to do. He crouched down and spoke to Ai in a very loud whisper.


    ¡°Who is your friend?¡±


    ¡°Zhi,¡± said Ai. ¡°She drew birds.¡±


    Sen smiled at the other girl and made impressed noises at her bird drawings. They did at least have wings. That was close enough. Taking the opportunity, Sen scooped Ai up into his arms, making her giggle.


    ¡°Okay, we really do need to go now. Say goodbye to Zhi.¡±


    ¡°Bye!¡± shouted Ai as she waved furiously at the other girl.


    The other girl gave Sen a shy look before she waved back and said, ¡°Bye!¡±


    ¡°It was very nice to meet you, Zhi,¡± said Sen and nced over at the seamstress. ¡°And you, Li Hua.¡±


    She lifted an eyebrow at him but offered a shallow bow. ¡°It was nice to meet you, honored cultivator.¡±


    Sen again thought that he caught the edges of amusement in the woman¡¯s voice, but it was just subtle enough that he couldn¡¯t be sure. He gave the woman a casual wave before he set out for the gate that didn¡¯t have half the town crowding around it. Once they cleared the town, Sen activated his qinggong technique and wrapped Ai up in protectiveyers of air. He¡¯d done it instinctively the other times he¡¯d carried her, and he assumed that Glimmer of Night must have done the same. Traveling at those speeds would normally be dangerous in the extreme for any mortal. Once he realized he was doing it, though, he¡¯d decided to take a more active hand in the process. Ai remained blissfully unaware of the situation, talking excitedly about her new friend and how much fun drawing was for the better part of an hour. After the excitement wore off, though, she grew quiet. Sen felt her head settle onto his shoulder and quiet snoring soon filled his ear.


    He let his mind drift back to that spirit beast attack. Something about it didn¡¯t sit well with him. After sorting through the experiences, he settled on the simple answer that thest spirit beast had been too powerful. The town was quite rural, but not so rural that spirit beasts powerful enough to injure <em>him</em> should be attacking. Sen was starting to think that Master Feng¡¯s ongoing interest in the odd spirit beast behavior over thest few years was worth investigating. Not that Sen himself shared a yearning to investigate the issue. He had more than enough to shoulder for the moment, and it had been a long time since he wasn¡¯t surrounded by deadly threats. A bit of time focusing was just what he needed. Not that Fu Run would let him ck off. She might have told him to go and y around with shadow qi, but he had also sensed her lurking on asion. Since he was rtively certain she could hide from himpletely if she wished to, letting him sense her was a quiet reminder that he was there with a purpose.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t prevent him from contacting his master. <em>I should write to him about the spirit beasts</em>, thought Sen. <em>In fact</em>, <em>I should write to all of them</em>. He tried to remember how long it had been since hest spoke or wrote to Grandmother Lu and couldn¡¯te up with an answer. That made the answer all too clear. <em>It¡¯s been</em><em>too long</em>, he decided. He had eptable reasons for the long silences, but he knew that particr missive was long, long overdue. Given all of his advancements and experiences since theyst saw each other, he wondered if she¡¯d even recognize the person he¡¯d be. Then again, she¡¯d probably heard the stories. She¡¯d have some sense, however distorted, of what he had gone through. She was also a practical woman. She¡¯d probably had a far better idea of what he¡¯d face and what it would mean for him than he had the day he left Orchard¡¯s Reach. While a small part of him feared that she¡¯d be disappointed in him, the sensible part of him knew that wasn¡¯t likely. She¡¯d just be happy he was alive and not obviously evil. It was a low bar, perhaps, but not one he felt it wise toin about.


    He nodded to himself. He¡¯d prepare letters and send them out the next time he had a reason to visit the town. It would start to get cold in a few months, so Ai would need warmer clothes before too long if nothing else. That would be the perfect opportunity.

 Book 7: Chapter Seventeen – Web Lesson

    Book 7: Chapter Seventeen ¨C Web Lesson


    ¡°How in the world do you maintain this?¡± asked Sen.


    He was staring at the qi web that stretched for hundreds of feet between widely spaced trees. Sen wasn¡¯t sure exactly why the spider had constructed such a thing, but that question took a distant second position to the how of it. Sen was no stranger torge-scale techniques. The difference was that he often relied on the internal momentum of the techniques to keep them active. After all, once a storm got moving, it didn¡¯t usually need much help to keep going. What Glimmer of Night had done was apletely different animal. There were thousands of individual qi strands involved. To rub a bit of salt in the wound, the spider was frowning at the web like he was more worried about some imperceptible w in the pattern than the impossible mental strain of keeping all those strands active and stable. Sen was used to doing difficult things. This beggared his imagination, though. The spider turned his attention away from the web to look at Sen.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°I mean how can you possibly divide your attention so many ways? All those strands. How does your mind hold up under the pressure?¡±


    The spider regarded Sen in contemtive silence before repeating himself. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean that I couldn¡¯t maintain a web a fraction thisrge, and it would take everyst bit of my concentration to do it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Sen briefly thought that the spider was having a joke at his expense but dismissed the idea. Glimmer of Night sounded genuinely perplexed by what Sen was saying. He tried to think of a better way to exin it.


    ¡°I mean, assembling all of those individual strands and keeping them in ce would be a huge task.¡±The spider tilted his head a little to one side. ¡°What kind of human madness would possess you to do it like that?¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to respond to that question. He was sure that Glimmer of Night wasn¡¯t trying to insult him. There had been an almost horrified quality to the spider¡¯s voice, like he couldn¡¯tprehend why anyone, not just Sen, would do things that way. On the other hand, it also seemed like the spider took it for granted that there was a better way and that everyone should know it. Sen didn¡¯t know <em>how</em> everyone was supposed to possess that knowledge, though.


    ¡°What other way is there?¡± Sen asked, still half-waiting for the spider to let him in on the joke.


    While he had gotten better at reading Glimmer of Night since the spider¡¯s transformation, it was by no means a perfected skill. There were moments, like the one Sen found himself stuck in right then, where the spider remained a wholly alien being. Again, Sen didn¡¯t believe that Glimmer of Night was intentionally being unreadable. It was just that whatever spiders normally did to convey their emotions didn¡¯t convert terribly well to the vaguely human form that the spider now inhabited. Sen¡¯s automatic response for gauging people¡¯s state of mind was to look at their faces and eyes. Glimmer of Night¡¯s face was usually an impassive mask. The spider¡¯s eyes were just ck, liquid pools that conveyed nothing. After a moment of reflection, Sen reasoned that they¡¯d probably be downright unnerving for a mortal. He¡¯d simply faced down too many people and things that posed a literal threat to his survival to find strange eyes anything more than a curiosity. The spider must havee to the conclusion that Sen wasn¡¯t trying to be difficult.


    ¡°You hold the pattern in your mind and fill it with qi,¡± said Glimmer of Night. ¡°The web manifests from that mental pattern andrgely sustains itself, as long as you maintain the mental image.¡±


    It was a remarkably concise answer to have left Sen with so many uncertainties. Sen gestured at the massive web.


    ¡°You¡¯re holding <em>that</em> pattern in your mind, right now?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the spider, as though it were self-evident.


    ¡°You thought that up and can keep all the details straight?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± said the spider. ¡°I didn¡¯t think this up in its entirety. I modified one of the inherited patterns, although this one is a failure.¡±


    Glimmer of Night nced at the web, and the qi that made it up dispersed into the environment.


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    ¡°Inherited patterns?¡± asked Sen, certain that he was missing something crucial.


    The spider looked back at Sen and drew the obvious conclusion. ¡°You don¡¯t have those?¡±


    ¡°If I do, no one has ever made me aware of them.¡±


    ¡°That is unfortunate.¡±


    Sen waited for more information, but the spider just stood there looking at him.


    ¡°What are the inherited patterns? I mean, I get that they¡¯re web patterns that you somehow automatically know, but what are they for? What do they do other than let you make webs?¡±


    ¡°They let us understand, interpret, and influence theyers of reality,¡± said Glimmer of Night in such an offhand tone that the magnitude of the statement didn¡¯t fully sink in before the spider continued. ¡°They are, of course, simplified mechanisms based on the pure perfection that is the web of the Great Matriarch. Her web intersects with all truths and all universes. We, her children, are lesser beings. We cannot hope to withstand the knowledge and inherent power contained in the full reach and breadth of her web. In her benevolence, she gave us the inherited patterns, each of which touches on a single, lesser truth. By mastering each of the inherited patterns, we gain insight and grow in strength. Master them all, and we can begin to touch upon the greater truths and even, perhaps, receive instruction directly from the Great Matriarch.¡±


    Sen felt like he¡¯d taken a very hard blow to the head. He was dizzy and didn¡¯t trust that he had full control over his body. He was dimly aware that his mouth was hanging slightly open, which was probably making him look like an idiot. Yet, it was hard to focus on such mundane concerns with so many revtions dropped on him in short order. Laughing River had implied that there were other realities and dropped some hints about it, but Sen had sent him away before they ever really discussed it. Of course, he¡¯d also assumed that the elder nine tail was simply having fun at the expense of a young human cultivator because, after all, that¡¯s what nine tail foxes did. It seemed that all sapient spider spirit beasts took this piece of information for granted and even got knowledge imparted to them to help them understand and navigate that truth.


    Beyond that, it seemed that the Great Matriarch, a being that Sen was increasingly frightened of, had given her children the means to manipte reality. That wasn¡¯t quite as mind-numbing, as Sen himself manipted reality in some ways with qi. He was also aware of the fact thatyers of reality existed. Fu Run had made that much clear with her exnation of how the shadow walking technique worked. Yet, it seemed that manipting thoseyers was a normal and expected part of a spider spirit beast¡¯s life. The implications of that left Sen feeling a little cold, given how many of the spiders he had butchered back on Mt. Sce. Was the Great Matriarch the kind of ascended being that took those kinds of slights personally? Would she hold a grudge? If she could manipte theyers of reality, would Sen find himself stepping through a hole in the world to some terrible and lethal ce? <em>Oh</em>, <em>this is bad</em>, thought Sen.


    Glimmer of Night continued. ¡°You truly don¡¯t have the inherited patterns?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± murmured Sen, his mind still back on all of the other things that spider had said.


    ¡°A pity,¡± said the spider. ¡°How are you ever to understand reality without such insights? The gap in your knowledge will only grow more profound if you ascend.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t even begin to have the context to understand what the spider was getting at. So, he just tossed out the first thing that came to mind.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just have to stumble through. I wouldn¡¯t be the first to do so.¡±


    ¡°I wonder why the Great Matriarch withheld them from you. Perhaps it is because you are not her children.¡±


    Sen shrugged at that. ¡°Perhaps she couldn¡¯t. It might have been forbidden.¡±


    He could feel the skepticism radiating off of the spider, which gave Sen a bit of insight into the spider¡¯s view of the world. As far as Glimmer of Night was concerned, the Great Matriarch sat at the pinnacle of power in the universe. Sen had doubts about that but didn¡¯t feel any pressing need to express those doubts. He didn¡¯t have any proof that the spider was wrong. It was just an intuition that things were moreplicated than that. With his equilibrium returning, Sen recognized that most of what he¡¯d just learned wasn¡¯t something he had to explore immediately. He¡¯d need to think about it and ask more questionster, but he¡¯d had a purpose when he came over.


    ¡°So, you said that infuse the pattern in your mind with qi to make it manifest?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°How do you infuse something that only exists in your mind? I infuse objects with qi all the time, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever infused an idea with qi before.¡±


    ¡°You do it all the time,¡± said the spider.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You do,¡± insisted Glimmer of Night. ¡°Every time you shape a technique. You structure the technique in your mind and fill it with qi.¡±


    Sen frowned. It was sort of true, but it also wasn¡¯t. Those things didn¡¯t happen in his mind. At least, he didn¡¯t see it that way. He fashioned his techniques out in the world. It was aplicated intery of his qi, environmental qi, and mental maniption of both. Granted, he could build techniques using nothing but his own qi if he ever found himself in a ce devoid of environmental qi. Even then, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be doing what Glimmer of Night was describing. Maybe the spider was doing what Sen did and just didn¡¯t talk about it the same way.


    ¡°Could you show me?¡± asked Sen. ¡°Could you make a web? Just do it slowly so I can observe.¡±


    The spider nodded enthusiastically. Sen paid close attention to what happened with his spiritual sense. He felt Glimmer of Night¡¯s qi stirring, and then a web appeared. Sen frowned. The spider had definitely done something. Whatever he¡¯d done, though, it didn¡¯t involve constructing a technique that interacted with the environmental qi. Sen resigned himself to spending a long afternoon feeling like a novice again.


    ¡°Could you show me again?¡± asked Sen.

 Book 7: Chapter 15: Group Tactics

    Book 7: Chapter 15: Group Tactics


    It took longer than Sen would have liked to get to the battle because he had to keep dodging around panicked townspeople. Granted, it only added a few seconds to his journey, but he knew as well as any warrior that seconds could cost lives. However, when he arrived at the scene of the fight by the simple expedient of jumping over the town wall, he couldn¡¯t help but pause. He wondered, <em>what in the hells are they doing</em>? Some of the men from the town were out¡­ Sen thought the right phrase was probably <em>defending their homes</em>, but it only applied in the loosest sense. They weren¡¯t working together, except for one or two pairs of men. It was just a loose collection of people armed with shovels and pitchforks. Plus, they weren¡¯t even putting those farm implements to good use. They were just waving them at the spirit beasts, or asionally thrusting them at the creatures. This had all the makings of a ughter and not one that favored the humans.


    Sen turned his attention to the spirit beasts. He didn¡¯t recognize them, but the wilds always seemed to be throwing some new thing at humanity. They were long and thin, slung low to the ground, but they moved fast. They had the kind of liquid ck eyes that were moremon to rodents than other beasts. Their bodies were covered in soft brown fur. It was also clear that their teeth and ws were as sharp as one might expect from the number of bleeding wounds that Sen could see on the men. He also saw two limp, lifeless bodies that had been dragged back. It was yet another reminder, not that Sen particrly needed one, that life was precarious for the mortals. He eyed the spirit beasts. If the men out here fell, those things could probably go right over the wall. Once they got into the town, it would get very ugly, very fast.


    For all the threat that the spirit beasts posed to the townspeople, Sen was pretty sure he could wipe them out with one volley of wind des. That would solve his problem, but it wouldn¡¯t do much to help the townspeople the next time something came looking to eat them all. He considered whether that was his problem. He had only agreed to help deal with the problem. He hadn¡¯t agreed to teach the people here basic group tactics. Of course, these people were also his neighbors for all intents and purposes. He got things here for Ai, and Falling Leaf had even bought some furniture here. Helping these people learn to defend themselves a little better was probably the neighborly thing to do. Sighing to himself a little, Sen strode forward and sent a half dozen small fireballs to drop between the humans and the spirit beasts. It was enough to make the spirit beasts back off a little but not enough to send them running. Sen took advantage of the pause in the fight to start barking orders the way he¡¯d seen some older city guards do when dealing with younger guards.


    ¡°Get into groups of three!¡± he bellowed. ¡°Two pitchforks, one shovel.¡±


    The men all stared at him in bewilderment. It wasn¡¯t until Dai Bao got involved that anything useful happened. The man red around for a moment before he started bellowing.


    ¡°You heard the cultivator! Do it now!¡±


    Sen sent out another wave of small fireballs to keep the spirit beasts wary while the men shuffled and bumbled their way into small groups. He strode up to the group with Dai Bao and gave the man a nod. Then, he addressed the group.


    ¡°Use the pitchforks to harass and distract. Spirit beasts are living creatures. They don¡¯t like pain any more than you do,¡± he said holding out a hand toward a young man with a pitchfork.


    The young man, practically still a boy, stared at Sen until Dai Bao rolled his eyes.¡°Give him the pitchfork, idiot.¡±


    The young man flushed in embarrassment but promptly handed over the pitchfork. Sen swiftly showed them how to hold it.


    ¡°One hand high up. You use this for force. The other hand lower down to guide the blow. Stab, don¡¯t shake,¡± he said demonstrating the motion. ¡°You¡¯re there to keep the keep the beasts off bnce. Stab, then back off a step or two. Let the other people take their turns.¡±


    Sen handed the pitchfork back, sent a few more fireballs, and then held a hand out toward a man holding a shovel. The man handed it over without any prompting. Sen simply swung the shovel in a short arc.


    ¡°Blunt force. Hit them in the head. Nothing fancy. Wait until they''re distracted, then make your move. Work together!¡±


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    Sen knew he was taking a risk with these men¡¯s lives by not simply killing the spirit beasts, but he wouldn¡¯t always be there to protect them. They <em>had</em> to learn or this town wouldn¡¯t survive. The groups moved forward, spaced a little too loosely, but it was the best Sen could do on short notice. The spirit beasts seemed to sense that Sen wasn¡¯t nning on taking an active hand, and they charged forward. The strategy almost fell apart immediately. The groups had no experience working together, so the men with the pitchforks frequently tried to distract the spirit beasts at the same time. Sen would surreptitiously send small wind des as distractions when it looked like someone was about to get themselves killed. After a few back-and-forth exchanges with the huge rodent creatures, though, the townspeople started to figure out their timing. There was the metallic smell of blood in the air. Some of it human, some of it from the beasts, and all of it unpleasant.


    Sen heard a mild cheer from one group and focused there for a moment. The creature was lying still on the ground, but Sen¡¯s spiritual sense told him it was still alive. He shed over with his qinggong technique. He red at the men, who shrank back from that look.


    ¡°It¡¯s not over until you take off its head,¡± he growled. ¡°That thing is still alive.¡±


    The stunned men turned back to the creature that was starting to stir. They looked scared and wholly uncertain about what they should do. Sen decided that this was a teaching moment. He held out a hand to a bearded man with a shovel. The man gave it to him. Sen walked over to the beast, raised the shovel up over the beast¡¯s neck, and drove the sharpened edge of the shovel straight down. The creature¡¯s head flopped free in a spray of blood. One of the men with a pitchfork stumbled away and retched. The bearded man¡¯s lips thinned into a line, but he nodded in understanding. Sen gave him back the shovel. He hung back after that. In part, he wanted the townspeople to get some experience. In part, he was scanning the nearby forest with his spiritual sense. These creatures weren¡¯t acting the way he¡¯d expect experienced spirit beasts to act. They were more like, well, like that young man who hadn¡¯t realized he should give Sen the pitchfork.


    Sen was waiting for whatever had sent them this way to make an appearance. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before an ear-splitting roar shook the air and a simr spirit beast that was three times the size of the rest crashed out of the trees. The humans and the younger rodent creatures were all stunned motionless by the power of that roar. But Sen charged at it while sending red-tinged wind des, the vermilion des he¡¯d seen Li Yi Nuo use, flying out before him. The massive rodent beast roared again in anger and pain as those des tore deep gouges into its long body. There was a swell of qi from the beast and vines shot out of the ground. Sen dodged, but three of the vines managed to bury themselves in his left leg. The sheer power of his momentum ripped the vines free from the ground, but he was stunned that they had managed to pierce his skin. He¡¯d caught des swung by cultivators without getting a scratch.


    Worse, he could feel the vines still wriggling in his flesh, trying to find purchase. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. However, there was still a massive rodent bearing down on him. He was shocked that anything this powerful hade near both civilization and Fu Run¡¯s domain. He did his best to ignore the injured leg, although the vines were making it difficult to run. He hadn¡¯t nned on meeting the creature¡¯s charge head-on, but he¡¯d had an idea for a new de technique in the back of his head for a while now. He supposed this was as good an opportunity as any to test it. If it failed, he could always just fall back on Heavens¡¯ Rebuke. Sen grasped the hilt of his jian and began channeling for earth qi, swiftly infusing the de with it. He took a breath, focused, and drew the de in a smooth motion. The de followed an arc up toward the sky. As it went, the earth qi he¡¯d gathered was unleashed. A wall of stone as thin and sharp as a jian de shot out of the ground. The massive spirit beast was split cleanly down the middle.


    The vines still embedded in Sen¡¯s leg stopped writhing, which was a relief because it was painful and more than a little creepy to have something alive moving inside of him. He formed a qi tform beneath his feet and used it to lift himself out of the way of the two pieces of the spirit beast that were sliding toward him. The two parts fell away to each side, exposing the interior of the beast. It was a bit much even for Sen¡¯s hardened stomach to see the organs and blood spilling out onto the ground. Instead, he turned back to the men who had been fighting the smaller beasts. The bearded man he¡¯d been with before had a stoic look on his face as he decapitated thest of the smaller beasts. Satisfied that the threat was over for now, Sen reached down and started ripping the vines out of his leg. He grimaced and told himself that he needed to change before Ai saw him again. He wasn¡¯t as covered in blood as he had been on many prior asions, but there was more than enough on him to scare a small child.


    While he had the tform carry him back toward the men, he summoned a healing elixir and drank it. He let the tform drop to the ground and dismissed it before he looked around at the exhausted and injured men. He nodded at them.


    ¡°You did well,¡± he said. ¡°You should collect the beast cores and sell them. I¡¯d rmend investing some of that money in spears and halberds. They¡¯ll be more effective than farm implements the next time spirit beasts attack. Now, bring the wounded to me, and I¡¯ll see what I can do about speeding along your recoveries.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 17: Web Lesson

    Book 7: Chapter 17: Web Lesson


    ¡°How in the world do you maintain this?¡± asked Sen.


    He was staring at the qi web that stretched for hundreds of feet between widely spaced trees. Sen wasn¡¯t sure exactly why the spider had constructed such a thing, but that question took a distant second position to the how of it. Sen was no stranger torge-scale techniques. The difference was that he often relied on the internal momentum of the techniques to keep them active. After all, once a storm got moving, it didn¡¯t usually need much help to keep going. What Glimmer of Night had done was apletely different animal. There were thousands of individual qi strands involved. To rub a bit of salt in the wound, the spider was frowning at the web like he was more worried about some imperceptible w in the pattern than the impossible mental strain of keeping all those strands active and stable. Sen was used to doing difficult things. This beggared his imagination, though. The spider turned his attention away from the web to look at Sen.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°I mean how can you possibly divide your attention so many ways? All those strands. How does your mind hold up under the pressure?¡±


    The spider regarded Sen in contemtive silence before repeating himself. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean that I couldn¡¯t maintain a web a fraction thisrge, and it would take everyst bit of my concentration to do it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Sen briefly thought that the spider was having a joke at his expense but dismissed the idea. Glimmer of Night sounded genuinely perplexed by what Sen was saying. He tried to think of a better way to exin it.


    ¡°I mean, assembling all of those individual strands and keeping them in ce would be a huge task.¡±The spider tilted his head a little to one side. ¡°What kind of human madness would possess you to do it like that?¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to respond to that question. He was sure that Glimmer of Night wasn¡¯t trying to insult him. There had been an almost horrified quality to the spider¡¯s voice, like he couldn¡¯tprehend why anyone, not just Sen, would do things that way. On the other hand, it also seemed like the spider took it for granted that there was a better way and that everyone should know it. Sen didn¡¯t know <em>how</em> everyone was supposed to possess that knowledge, though.


    ¡°What other way is there?¡± Sen asked, still half-waiting for the spider to let him in on the joke.


    While he had gotten better at reading Glimmer of Night since the spider¡¯s transformation, it was by no means a perfected skill. There were moments, like the one Sen found himself stuck in right then, where the spider remained a wholly alien being. Again, Sen didn¡¯t believe that Glimmer of Night was intentionally being unreadable. It was just that whatever spiders normally did to convey their emotions didn¡¯t convert terribly well to the vaguely human form that the spider now inhabited. Sen¡¯s automatic response for gauging people¡¯s state of mind was to look at their faces and eyes. Glimmer of Night¡¯s face was usually an impassive mask. The spider¡¯s eyes were just ck, liquid pools that conveyed nothing. After a moment of reflection, Sen reasoned that they¡¯d probably be downright unnerving for a mortal. He¡¯d simply faced down too many people and things that posed a literal threat to his survival to find strange eyes anything more than a curiosity. The spider must havee to the conclusion that Sen wasn¡¯t trying to be difficult.


    ¡°You hold the pattern in your mind and fill it with qi,¡± said Glimmer of Night. ¡°The web manifests from that mental pattern andrgely sustains itself, as long as you maintain the mental image.¡±


    It was a remarkably concise answer to have left Sen with so many uncertainties. Sen gestured at the massive web.


    ¡°You¡¯re holding <em>that</em> pattern in your mind, right now?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the spider, as though it were self-evident.


    ¡°You thought that up and can keep all the details straight?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± said the spider. ¡°I didn¡¯t think this up in its entirety. I modified one of the inherited patterns, although this one is a failure.¡±


    Glimmer of Night nced at the web, and the qi that made it up dispersed into the environment.


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    ¡°Inherited patterns?¡± asked Sen, certain that he was missing something crucial.


    The spider looked back at Sen and drew the obvious conclusion. ¡°You don¡¯t have those?¡±


    ¡°If I do, no one has ever made me aware of them.¡±


    ¡°That is unfortunate.¡±


    Sen waited for more information, but the spider just stood there looking at him.


    ¡°What are the inherited patterns? I mean, I get that they¡¯re web patterns that you somehow automatically know, but what are they for? What do they do other than let you make webs?¡±


    ¡°They let us understand, interpret, and influence theyers of reality,¡± said Glimmer of Night in such an offhand tone that the magnitude of the statement didn¡¯t fully sink in before the spider continued. ¡°They are, of course, simplified mechanisms based on the pure perfection that is the web of the Great Matriarch. Her web intersects with all truths and all universes. We, her children, are lesser beings. We cannot hope to withstand the knowledge and inherent power contained in the full reach and breadth of her web. In her benevolence, she gave us the inherited patterns, each of which touches on a single, lesser truth. By mastering each of the inherited patterns, we gain insight and grow in strength. Master them all, and we can begin to touch upon the greater truths and even, perhaps, receive instruction directly from the Great Matriarch.¡±


    Sen felt like he¡¯d taken a very hard blow to the head. He was dizzy and didn¡¯t trust that he had full control over his body. He was dimly aware that his mouth was hanging slightly open, which was probably making him look like an idiot. Yet, it was hard to focus on such mundane concerns with so many revtions dropped on him in short order. Laughing River had implied that there were other realities and dropped some hints about it, but Sen had sent him away before they ever really discussed it. Of course, he¡¯d also assumed that the elder nine tail was simply having fun at the expense of a young human cultivator because, after all, that¡¯s what nine tail foxes did. It seemed that all sapient spider spirit beasts took this piece of information for granted and even got knowledge imparted to them to help them understand and navigate that truth.


    Beyond that, it seemed that the Great Matriarch, a being that Sen was increasingly frightened of, had given her children the means to manipte reality. That wasn¡¯t quite as mind-numbing, as Sen himself manipted reality in some ways with qi. He was also aware of the fact thatyers of reality existed. Fu Run had made that much clear with her exnation of how the shadow walking technique worked. Yet, it seemed that manipting thoseyers was a normal and expected part of a spider spirit beast¡¯s life. The implications of that left Sen feeling a little cold, given how many of the spiders he had butchered back on Mt. Sce. Was the Great Matriarch the kind of ascended being that took those kinds of slights personally? Would she hold a grudge? If she could manipte theyers of reality, would Sen find himself stepping through a hole in the world to some terrible and lethal ce? <em>Oh</em>, <em>this is bad</em>, thought Sen.


    Glimmer of Night continued. ¡°You truly don¡¯t have the inherited patterns?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± murmured Sen, his mind still back on all of the other things that spider had said.


    ¡°A pity,¡± said the spider. ¡°How are you ever to understand reality without such insights? The gap in your knowledge will only grow more profound if you ascend.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t even begin to have the context to understand what the spider was getting at. So, he just tossed out the first thing that came to mind.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just have to stumble through. I wouldn¡¯t be the first to do so.¡±


    ¡°I wonder why the Great Matriarch withheld them from you. Perhaps it is because you are not her children.¡±


    Sen shrugged at that. ¡°Perhaps she couldn¡¯t. It might have been forbidden.¡±


    He could feel the skepticism radiating off of the spider, which gave Sen a bit of insight into the spider¡¯s view of the world. As far as Glimmer of Night was concerned, the Great Matriarch sat at the pinnacle of power in the universe. Sen had doubts about that but didn¡¯t feel any pressing need to express those doubts. He didn¡¯t have any proof that the spider was wrong. It was just an intuition that things were moreplicated than that. With his equilibrium returning, Sen recognized that most of what he¡¯d just learned wasn¡¯t something he had to explore immediately. He¡¯d need to think about it and ask more questionster, but he¡¯d had a purpose when he came over.


    ¡°So, you said that infuse the pattern in your mind with qi to make it manifest?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°How do you infuse something that only exists in your mind? I infuse objects with qi all the time, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever infused an idea with qi before.¡±


    ¡°You do it all the time,¡± said the spider.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You do,¡± insisted Glimmer of Night. ¡°Every time you shape a technique. You structure the technique in your mind and fill it with qi.¡±


    Sen frowned. It was sort of true, but it also wasn¡¯t. Those things didn¡¯t happen in his mind. At least, he didn¡¯t see it that way. He fashioned his techniques out in the world. It was aplicated intery of his qi, environmental qi, and mental maniption of both. Granted, he could build techniques using nothing but his own qi if he ever found himself in a ce devoid of environmental qi. Even then, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be doing what Glimmer of Night was describing. Maybe the spider was doing what Sen did and just didn¡¯t talk about it the same way.


    ¡°Could you show me?¡± asked Sen. ¡°Could you make a web? Just do it slowly so I can observe.¡±


    The spider nodded enthusiastically. Sen paid close attention to what happened with his spiritual sense. He felt Glimmer of Night¡¯s qi stirring, and then a web appeared. Sen frowned. The spider had definitely done something. Whatever he¡¯d done, though, it didn¡¯t involve constructing a technique that interacted with the environmental qi. Sen resigned himself to spending a long afternoon feeling like a novice again.


    ¡°Could you show me again?¡± asked Sen.

 Book 7: Chapter 18: Focused Consideration

    Book 7: Chapter 18: Focused Consideration


    It was both fortunate and unfortunate that Glimmer of Night <em>loved</em> making webs, at least in Sen¡¯s opinion. The spider had made dozens of them at Sen¡¯s request without a singleint. If anything, he had seemed quite pleased with Sen¡¯s focused attention on the process. That meant there were ample opportunities to see how the webs were constructed. It also meant that there were ample opportunities for Sen to experience the true and magnificent depths of his failure to understand what the spider was doing. Glimmer of Night had tried to find other ways of exining what he was doing, but even Sen could recognize that the problem was with hisprehension and not the exnation itself. He did consider the possibility that the sapient spiders as a whole were simply interacting with qi in a fundamentally different way than human cultivators.


    Even if they were using different methods, though, those methods shouldn¡¯t be out of reach for him. Spirit beasts still relied on cores and qi channels. Qi coulde in lots of different types, but no one could make qi operate in ways that vited its basic nature. Even if Sen couldn¡¯t immediately see how it was done, the qi in the webs acted the way that he expected qi to act, even if he couldn¡¯t quite pin down what type of qi it was. It had qualities that reminded him of air qi, but there were other things mixed in with it. Types of qi that Sen was confident that he hadn¡¯t seen before. When he¡¯d asked Glimmer of Night about it, the spider had just shrugged and called it <em>web qi</em>. That struck Sen as a terribly specific andplex concept for qi, which was usually attuned to simpler and broader concepts, like air, fire, and shadow. Since hecked a better name for it, Sen was left with little choice but to ept the one the spider had given for it.


    More importantly, he wasn¡¯t focused on the web qi itself. That was little more than an interesting cultivation puzzle that he¡¯d think about in spare moments for months or even years toe. He was intent on finding a way of manifesting shadow techniques like Glimmer of Night did with webs. Sen could solidify shadow qi. He could already imagine the disruption to entire groups of enemies if he hit them with a solidified shadow web. The technique wouldn¡¯t even need tost more than a few seconds to do its work. That kind of shadow web would have caused havoc with the horde of devilish spirit beasts back at the ruins. <em>It¡¯s a good idea</em>, thought Sen, <em>if I can make it work</em>. The problem was that he couldn¡¯t take the time to brute force it during a battle. If he could co-opt whatever method the spider used for the webs, though, near instant manifestation of shadow webs would prove hard to defend against in the middle of a fight.


    Good idea or not, though, he couldn¡¯t seem to make it work. Falling Leaf could tell he was fixating hard on something and offered to keep watch over Ai while he tried to sort it out. He¡¯d spent thest two days away from the galehouse in deep meditation that was only asionally broken when he tried out some new idea to make it work. He¡¯d felt Fu Run keeping an eye on him from a distance, but she didn¡¯t interrupt. It seemed that she was satisfied that he was putting full effort into the task. Sen wasing to the unhappy conclusion that full effort wasn¡¯t going to be the key to solving the problem. He needed some kind of nudge or insight that was eluding him. Frustrated with himself and the overallck of progress, Sen turned his mind to the more obscure but equallypelling bit of information that Glimmer of Night had provided. That the inherited web patterns that the Great Matriarch had provided to all spider kind were some manner of roadmap to modifying reality or possibly essing theyers of reality.


    There was more than a little ovep between that and what Fu Run wanted him to do with shadow walking. Except, the spiders were taking it a lot further than mere shadow walking. What Sen couldn¡¯t figure out was why spiders didn¡¯t rule the universe if they could somehow change reality to suit their whims of needs. He¡¯d hesitated to press Glimmer of Night for more information because he had a few suspicions of his own. The simplest exnation was that the other gods, goddesses, and ascended beings had made it clear that they wouldn¡¯t tolerate such a situation. Another possibility was that there had already been a war of some kind over the matter and the Great Matriarch hade out on the losing side. Of course, it was equally possible that the spider divinity was working toward wholly inscrutable goals from utterly unfathomable principles that were well beyond theprehension of a lowly core cultivator like Sen. Without a better sense of which exnation was true, Sen didn¡¯t see many advantages to asking the questions.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    What he did wonder about was how those inherited patterns conferred knowledge and truths. Glimmer of Night was absolutely certain they did, so Sen believed they did as well. Sen considered that the inherited patterns might serve as a kind of spider code that served in the ce of writtennguage. The longer he thought about it, though, the less that felt right. No, whatever was happening there was touching on some deeper truths. He could feel it, the way he could feel vast powers moving behind the world if he concentrated just the right way. Not that he did that very often. There was insight to be gleaned by observing that world behind the world, but the risks to mind and soul were enormous while the benefits were in no way guaranteed. None of that stopped Sen from specting about whether he could ess the knowledge and truths in those patterns if he could see them. He doubted it, but he wasn¡¯t eager to neglect anything that would help him master shadow walking.


    He¡¯d have to broach the subject with Glimmer of Night. The good news was the spider was so direct that he¡¯d just tell Sen if it was forbidden. It seemed like there was a solid chance that was the situation given that the patterns seemed to form the central core of spider cultivation. Even so, just asking about it probably wouldn¡¯t cause any meaningful problems as long as he epted whatever answer he got with good grace. Even if some people wouldn¡¯t believe it was so, Sen was capable of acting with some decorum. He just didn¡¯t meet a lot of people who warranted expending that kind of effort. With a start, Sen realized that he was rapidly drifting away from the reason he had taken up station away from everyone else. That probably meant it was time to head back or at least take a break and do something else.


    It was still a couple of hours until Ai would need her evening meal judging by the sun. Sen made one of the shadow balls that he used to help distract the little girl. He tossed it back and forth between his hands as he idly examined the trees around him. Most of them were old. Very old. So old that the lowest branches were dozens of feet above him. With nothing but bark on the trees down at ground level with him, Sen got an idea. He drew his arm back and threw the ball at one of the trees. It hit the trunk and bounced off at an angle. Sen let it dissipate and formed a new ball rather than chase the other one down. He spent a few minutes figuring out how to make the ball bounce back to him, but then it got boring. Thinking about how the first ball had bounced away, Sen started trying to work out how to make the ball bounce between two trees ande back to him. It took close to half an hour to make that happen. Sen felt it as Glimmer of Night approached, but he kept at his game.¡°What are you doing?¡± asked the spider.


    ¡°Taking a break. Having fun.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to make the ball bounce between several trees and thene back to me without actively influencing it.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Glimmer of Night.


    The spider watched Sen¡¯s game for a while before he spoke up again.


    ¡°Can I try?¡± asked the spider.


    Sen gave Glimmer of Night a surprised look. He wouldn¡¯t have thought the spider went in for such trivial things, but maybe spiders had their own games. Sen handed over the ball and went to stand where the spider had been. Glimmer of Night took maybe six practice throws before he threw it hard enough to make the construct pop. Sen winced as the minor technique was broken, but the bacsh was minimal. He gave his head a little shake, made another ball, and tossed it to the spider. The spider nodded, turned, and threw the ball. Sen was torn between outrage and amazement as the ball bounced between six trees before flying back to the spider¡¯s outstretched hand. Glimmer of Night paused for a moment before he adjusted his position slightly. Another throw resulted in the ball bouncing between eight trees before flying back to the spider.


    ¡°This <em>is</em> entertaining,¡± said the spider. ¡°The geometries are fascinating.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m starting to understand why so many people don¡¯t like me,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Why is that?¡± asked the spider in a tone ofpletely unfeigned innocence.


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Sen didn¡¯t have the heart to exin. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Okay, so exin to me how you just did that.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 19: Sage Advice

    Book 7: Chapter 19: Sage Advice


    ¡°Finally got tired of lurking?¡± asked Sen.


    Fu Run¡¯s eyes went wide with outrage. ¡°I was not <em>lurking</em>!¡±


    ¡°Really? Because it looked a lot like lurking. Hovering just out of sight all of the time while watching me,¡± said Sen as he made a stupendous effort to keep a straight face.


    The nascent soul cultivator pointed at him and started to say something before her eyes narrowed. She slowly lowered her pointing finger and fixed him with a re that promised vengeance.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t funny,¡± said Fu Run in a very even tone.


    Sen couldn¡¯t help the smile that cracked his lips.


    ¡°I¡¯m a little funny.¡±


    ¡°Do you make a habit of taunting nascent soul cultivators? You know, that select group of individuals who actually <em>can </em>kill you.¡±


    Sen thought it over. ¡°On the whole, I¡¯m probably going to have to go with yes. It¡¯s not always taunting, but I definitely make a habit of defying them.¡±¡°Didn¡¯t anyone ever teach you manners? Or the basic order of things?¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to give her a look. A look that said, are you really asking <em>me</em>, of all people, the orphaned street rat raised by three old monsters, those questions? They locked gazes for a moment before Fu Run shook her head.


    ¡°Right,¡± she said. ¡°I forgot who I was talking to there for a second. Your master never knew his ce either.¡±


    ¡°I get the impression that holds true for most people who make it to the nascent soul stage.¡±


    Fu Run pursed her lips. ¡°That¡¯s true for wandering cultivators, as far as it goes. The part no one talks about is how many core cultivators get killed trying the same thing. Don¡¯t delude yourself. There is a real element of luck involved. Meet the wrong old monster, and they will kill you out of hand for too much insolence.¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t really argue that point. First, he thought she was almost certainly right. Second, there was no advantage in thinking she was wrong. If anything, he¡¯d probably be well served to at least keep that warning in mind when dealing with nascent soul cultivators. He didn¡¯t tell himself that he¡¯d follow that advice because he knew himself too well by now. There was something in him that just couldn¡¯t ept it when someone assumed he owed them obedience because they¡¯d started out on the path of cultivation a little earlier than him. He could respect that someone was more powerful than him, be wary of it, but never subservient. It just <em>wasn¡¯t</em> in him. And there was the distinct possibility that sooner orter he¡¯de across someone who wouldn¡¯t tolerate some lesser cultivator not being impressed with them and all they said. He¡¯d just have to hope that on that day, the gap between him and that person would prove smaller than they assumed. Sen nodded at Fu Run to at least acknowledge that he¡¯d heard her words. She rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Not everyone is afraid of Feng Ming,¡± pressed Fu Run. ¡°You can¡¯t assume that his reputation will get you out of every bad situation.¡±


    ¡°These days, I find that my reputation is often sufficient. I¡¯ll grant you that I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s a <em>good</em> thing, but it is definitely <em>a</em> thing. Besides, I try to avoid leaning on his reputation whenever humanly possible. I¡¯m not looking to bring trouble to his door,¡± said Sen before he directed a quizzical look at Fu Run. ¡°Are they really people who aren¡¯t afraid of him?¡±


    ¡°There are.¡±


    ¡°Are their minds functioning properly?¡±


    Fu Run hesitated at that before she said, ¡°Probably not, which is my point in a roundabout way. The kinds of people who don¡¯t fear him are also the kinds of people who will find your particr brand of disregard for them intolerable.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t control that,¡± said Sen. ¡°But I won¡¯t fake respect or obedience because someone else never developed a sense of self-worth.¡±


    ¡°How about self-preservation? A failure to develop that is an excellent way to die young.¡±


    ¡°I get the sense that you¡¯re worried about me for some reason. Are you expecting a visitor? Someone with no sense of humor and a terribly fragile ego?¡±


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    ¡°No,¡± said Fu Run with a visible shudder. ¡°I hate people. Especially visitors. But you will leave here very soon and once more inflict yourself on the wider world.¡±


    ¡°I still have a few years.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, very soon. I don¡¯t want to see my investment in you wasted because you never learned how to just do what you¡¯re told.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯d learned how to just do what I was told, I¡¯d have long since ended up the whipping boy in some crappy sect or been sucked into a particrly creepy cult.¡±


    ¡°Oh please. That might have been the case when you first started out. Now, sects would fall all over themselves to have you join. They¡¯d bury you in resources, training, and probably all the sect princesses you wanted if they thought there was even a remote chance of getting you into the fold.¡±


    ¡°That would onlyst until they had a conversation with me and realized exactly how little I care about things like sect hierarchy and their absurd notions of honor,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Well, yes, obviously, but you could milk them for resources before they figured that out.¡±


    Sen gaped at the nascent soul cultivator. ¡°Are you suggesting that I y some kind of game with the sects to get natural treasures and cultivation manuals? Isn¡¯t that, I don¡¯t know, sort of dishonest if I know for sure that I¡¯m never going to actually join their sect?¡±


    Sen gaped even more when Fu Run gave a disinterested shrug to his words.


    ¡°Do you really care about that?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you should do that to every sect. Just ones that you don¡¯t particrly like. It¡¯s not like every sect is evil. There are some that you might not hate. There are even a few that you might benefit from joining. For a while at least.¡±


    ¡°No thanks,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t dismiss the possibility out of hand. Sects serve a function.¡±


    ¡°Auntie Caihong said the same thing. I don¡¯t see it, though. As near as I can tell, all sects do is breed unearned arrogance.¡±


    Fu Run barked out a shortugh. ¡°Well, you¡¯re not entirely wrong on that score. Sects do excel at that. That isn¡¯t what I meant, though. The other thing that sects excel at is concentrating information and talent. For all that garbage about facing the heavens alone, most cultivators who reach the point of ascension get a lot of help along the way. Even your master, who has always charted his own course, benefited from lucky encounters and asionally interacting with some sects. Joining the right sect as a visiting elder, which is what most sects would consider you at this point, gives you ess to both of those things. It¡¯s worth exploring.¡±


    Sen did his best to push against his near-instantaneous rejection of the idea. He¡¯d had so many bad experiences with sects or at least their members that he struggled not to lump them all together in a big pile. Of course, at this point, he was fast-approaching if not already beyond the point where most sect members would willingly bother him. Even without his body cultivation, his spirit cultivation had evolved to somewhere around thete stage of core formation. He didn¡¯t think he was peak yet, but that extra-thickyer he¡¯d made during hisst advancement had muddied the waters for him. Either way, only someone supremely skilled, supremely confident, or supremely stupid was likely to ost him at this point.


    That didn¡¯t exclude the potential situation of several core formation sectckeysing after him at the same time, but the odds of that kind of trouble had gone down a lot. His rapid advancements had simply outpaced the kinds of trouble that most wandering cultivators dealt with for centuries. Of course, he was still harboring a lot of mixed feelings about that rapid advancement. Every attempt to slow it down had met with dismal failure. Still, he did have a nascent soul cultivator right at hand to clear up at least one minor mystery in his life.


    ¡°In terms of core cultivators,¡± said Sen, ¡°where would you ce my advancement? Late-stage core formation?¡±


    There was an ufortably long pause as Fu Run studied him. ¡°Assuming that I knew absolutely nothing else <em>at all</em> about you, that is approximately where I would judge your advancement. Not that you have any business being at that stage of advancement given where you were when you left to see Elder Bo. You should have had to toil for decades to make that kind of jump. I¡¯m honestly still trying to decide whether it¡¯s hideously unfair that heavens just heap divine qi on you the way you described, or if it''s something that I should be deliriously happy isn¡¯t happening to me.¡±


    ¡°You should be happy,¡± replied Sen in a tone of abject weariness.


    Remembering all of that divine qi pouring into him and not being able to funnel it off to somewhere else, the sense that he might be ripped apart by it, was one of the things that woke him in cold sweats. He knew that other cultivators would kill and die for chances like that but only because they didn¡¯t truly grasp what it entailed. It was impossible to convey the overwhelming helplessness that came along with the heavens doing what they wanted to him and offering no chance of escaping it. He didn¡¯t have the words to exin how profoundly desperate he became in his attempts to find a path to survival only for them to be closed off one after the next. Sure, he¡¯de out the other side of it stronger, arguably better, but it was just thetest in a long string of experiences that had scarred him in ways that didn¡¯t show on his skin. He would have immediately, unquestioningly, joyously traded that experience for decades of toiling toward advancement the way others did it. Sen did his best to mentally shrug off those memories and focus on the now.


    ¡°As for your advice about sects, I¡¯ll try to keep it in mind. Although, I like the idea of tricking them into giving me resources a lot better than the idea of joining one.¡±


    ¡°Do both,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°You did?!¡±


    ¡°Of course. You didn¡¯t think I filled that storage treasure with nothing but my own hard work, did you?¡±


    Sen gave her a sheepish look. ¡°Yes. I did think that.¡±


    ¡°There is such a thing as being too straightforward, Sen. A little subterfuge can go a long way in life. Now, you¡¯ve been distracting me into giving you sage advice for almost half an hour. It¡¯s time to get down to the actual business I came over here for. Tell me what you¡¯ve learned about shadows.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 20: That Isn’t How Learning Works

    Book 7: Chapter 20: That Isn¡¯t How Learning Works


    The order seemed odd to Sen. There was certainly a ce for discussing things, but he¡¯d generally found it more effective to simply demonstrate his understanding than fumble through verbal exnations that only partially captured the true meaning of something. For him, cultivation was at least equal parts clear understanding and intuition. Much of what he did he aplished because it felt right, not because he possessed some deep theoretical understanding of the topic. Adding to the oddness of Fu Run¡¯s order for him to exin was that she knew this about him.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier for me to just show you?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to show me what you can do with shadows. I¡¯ve seen that already. Just as importantly, there is often a rather steep imbnce between what someone can do and what they know.¡±


    Sen had worried she would say something like that. He summoned a chair from a storage ring and sat down in it. He could feel his eyebrows trying to meet each other as he thought hard about how to answer the question. However, no amount of hard thinking was going to turn intuitions into information, at least not in the space of a conversation. He finally said the only thing he really felt he knew about shadows.


    ¡°They¡¯re fuzzy. So, they¡¯re malleable.¡±


    After ten seconds of waiting, during which the nascent soul cultivator grew visibly and increasingly impatient, she said, ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± answered Sen.


    ¡°After weeks of focused study of shadows, the best you¡¯ve got is that they¡¯re fuzzy, so they¡¯re malleable?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve got.¡±¡°But I know that you know more than that. You couldn¡¯t have done things like make those shadow balls you, the spider, and Liu Ai y with all the time if you didn¡¯t know more.¡±


    ¡°No. <em>You</em> would know more. I expect Auntie Caihong, Uncle Kho, and Master Feng would know more. In fact, I bet almost any other cultivator would know more. All I really know is that shadows are less fixed than other things, which makes shadow qi less fixed than other kinds of qi. Hence, they¡¯re more malleable. Everything beyond that, it¡¯s just intuitions and experimentation. Even when things do work, I don¡¯t know why they work most of the time. For example, I know that I can harden shadow to the point of physicality. But that¡¯s all I know. I only knew that much because I¡¯ve seen Falling Leaf do it. Even having done it, I couldn¡¯t exin why it works. I certainly couldn¡¯t teach someone else to do it.¡±


    ¡°So, you didn¡¯t condense andyer the intrinsic matrix?¡±


    Sen blinked. ¡°What¡¯s an intrinsic matr¡ª¡±


    The words trailed off as a flood of connections formed inside of Sen¡¯s mind. Disparate pieces of knowledge, information, and intuition were forged into a moment of rity and understanding. Sen shot up out of his chair, spun away from Fu Run, and threw out his hand in a gesture that was wholly unnecessary, yet felt right to him. A narrow tower of shadow slowly rose out of the ground. Over the course of a minute, it rose to nearly thirty feet tall. Sen felt a swell of pride as it loomed over them in all of its pitch-ck glory. As he withdrew his active control of the qi, Sen crossed his arms and waited. The seconds felt like they were dragging by at one-tenth their normal speed, but he never let his eyes wander from the hasty construction.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Fu Run.


    ¡°I¡¯m waiting,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°For what? My patience to run out?¡±


    ¡°Just give it another ten seconds. Then, I¡¯ll know.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    Ten secondster, Sen beamed at the tower that was still just sitting there. It didn¡¯t crumble or dissipate under the fury of daylight. It just endured. Still smiling, Sen returned to his chair and snapped his fingers. The tower puffed out of existence.


    Stolen from its rightful ce, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen, ¡°I condensed andyered the intrinsic matrix.¡±


    Instead of saying anything, Fu Run closed her hand into a fist and started pounding it against her forehead. Sen watched this disy for a while before he couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    ¡°Why are you doing that?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to dislodge the memory of what I just saw.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure how seriously he should take that statement.


    ¡°Okay. Why?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Fu Run, letting the fist drop away from her forehead. ¡°Because that isn¡¯t how learning works. You don¡¯t just hear a phrase and attain instant understanding.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t what happened,¡± objected Sen.


    ¡°It¡¯s funny you should say that because it looked an awful like that¡¯s exactly what happened from over here.¡±


    ¡°It really didn¡¯t happen like that, though. I had some things half figured out, a few background guesses, but when you said intrinsic matrix, it brought it all together for me. But that wouldn¡¯t have happened if I hadn¡¯t spent thest few weeks trying things and failing at them a few hundred times. I never would have thought of it like that if you hadn¡¯t said something, though. Hey, do the other kinds of qi work like that as well?¡±


    Fu Run immediately started pounding her own forehead again. Sen thought he should intervene, but he wasn¡¯t sure how.


    ¡°You should probably stop that. It can¡¯t be good for your brain. Plus, what if you knock some of that alchemy knowledge away?¡±


    That brought the nascent soul cultivator¡¯s self-abuse to an immediate end. She still didn¡¯t look happy, though. Sen kind of felt like it was his fault, but he didn¡¯t see anything he¡¯d actually done wrong. He¡¯d just had an insight. That seemed like something that most teachers ought to be happy about triggering. Minimally, she should be happy about it because he was confident that he¡¯d just taken a big step toward being able to do the shadow walking technique. Having thought it over, Sen concluded that this was a <em>her </em>problem and not a <em>him</em> problem. If she didn¡¯t like the way he achieved his understanding, there was basically nothing he could do about that. While Fu Run dealt with her¡­ Sen didn¡¯t know what exactly it was she was dealing with. While she dealt with her issue, Sen had fun making stable objects out of shadow.


    He started with another chair. It felt strange when he sat down in it like it was there but not really there. Either way, it held his weight which was all he really asked from a chair. Next, he made a rope that was stretched taut between two trees. He made it so that was high enough that he had to jump up and catch it. He dangled there from the shadow rope for a while, just to see if it would maintain integrity. It felt like it would, but he dug a little deeper into what he now knew was called the intrinsic matrix. Even as he looked at it, Sen could tell that the rope was slowly breaking down. It might not evaporate in the next two minutes, but it wouldn¡¯tst for more than ten minutes. It was also getting progressively weaker as time went by. It seemed that even with the condensing andyering that shadow qi had firm limits on how long it could remain solid. He might be able to get a little more life out of it if he could condense the matrix a bit more or add additionalyers, but only testing would answer that question.


    He was far more certain that addingyers of other kinds of stable qi would vastly improve the total life of the shadow objects. He expected that earth would work the best since it was the most stable qi type or the most stable he had any direct experience using. Plus, earth qi was simply less hostile to shadow qi than metal qi. It seemed entirely possible to make temporary structures that were nearly as strong as a galehouse, but that would break down naturally after a day or three. He could capture most of the benefits of a galehouse but leave minimal evidence behind. That could prove quite useful if he found himself in hostile territory. Given the heavens seemed to both love and hate him, that situation seemed like an almost foregone conclusion.


    For fast and dirty work, though, Sen thought that metal qi would still work the best. He could already see much-improved versions of his shadow-metal qi spears. Ones that might wellst for hours, even as much as half a day, and would survive multiple uses. Something like that would have been extremely helpful when facing that horde. Even better, he could dissipate them right out of enemy hands if they grabbed them. As he considered the options, though, he knew that air qi and shadow qi were the most natural pairing. He could probably make one of those shadow balls for Ai that would hold up for a week or two. Maybe longer if he put it together the right way.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Fu Run.


    He''d been so lost in his own thoughts that Sen hadn¡¯t even noticed that he was still hanging from the shadow rope. He released his grip and dropped to the ground. He made a conscious effort to dispel the rope before addressing Fu Run.


    ¡°I was just testing something.¡±


    ¡°Did you at least learn something useful?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Care to share?¡±


    ¡°I think I can make a ball for Ai that will hold up better.¡±


    Fu Run¡¯s lips twitched a few times like words were trying to force their way out. Then, she turned on her heel and stalked away. Sen stared at her retreating form in confusion.


    ¡°What?¡± Sen called out after her. ¡°She likes them!¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 21: Writing Lesson

    Book 7: Chapter 21: Writing Lesson


    Sen got the distinct impression over the next week or two that Fu Run was actively avoiding him. Not that he necessarily minded that. It let him keep ying around with shadow qi and locking in his new understanding of the intrinsic matrix. He confirmed that all of the qi types he could ess relied on the structure. He also learned that his approach tobining qi types was horrifyingly crude. Layering the different qi types provided an incredibly stable fusion. It also made doing things like crafting his shadow-metal spears feel almost effortlesspared with how he used to do it. Knowing what he knew now, it wasn¡¯t shocking that his approach of simply mashing the qi types together and binding them through brute force and willpower was so strenuous. He¡¯d been working against the natural order of things, rather than with them.


    Of course, just because something was easier didn¡¯t make it automatic. He was quite certain that it was going to take time to makeyering the qi types an instinctive action. He¡¯d probably fall back on mashing things together for quite some time. He also hadn¡¯t tested how this newfound insight did or did not impact techniques like Heavens¡¯ Rebuke and Heavens¡¯ Shadow. The former was too wildly destructive to the material world to test near anything he cared about. Thetter was so dangerous to the mind and soul that he didn¡¯t n on using it within miles of another human being that he didn¡¯t know, without doubt, was irredeemably evil. He damn sure wasn¡¯t going to mess around with something that caused such instinctive revulsion in him near Liu Ai.


    Fu Run avoiding him also came with the side benefit that Sen could take more breaks than he should to go and y with Ai. She had been overjoyed to discover that the balls he made her now wouldst overnight. She¡¯d been taking one to sleep with her every night. He¡¯d had some doubts about how good of an idea that was, but he couldn¡¯t actually think of a specific reason other than it had been on the ground. Its basic nature meant that nothing stuck to it, so it wasn¡¯t as though she was dragging dirt to bed with her. She also seemed to have fewer bad dreams when she had the ball with her. Sen didn¡¯t understand minds especially well, but he had a hard time seeing fewer violent nightmares as a bad thing. If the ball gave herfort, he was willing to let the minor oddness of it pass withoutment. Falling Leaf hadn¡¯t batted an eye at it, but she probably wouldn¡¯t have batted an eye if the little girl wanted to take a sword to bed with her at night.


    However, as much as he was enjoying being more or less unwatched by his strange and asionally unsettling teacher, he wondered about her absence. The woman seemed very restrained around Ai, and her interactions with Falling Leaf were primarilybat instruction. When she had to interact with Sen on something like a personal level, though, he often got the feeling that she was forcing herself to do it. Almost like the action taxed her mind on some basic level. He wondered if that was why she¡¯d taken to lurking in the first ce. She could keep an eye on him and his progress but avoid those conversations she didn¡¯t like. Sen shook his head. He was just guessing and had no ns to ask her about it. If he was wrong, he¡¯d look like a fool and run the risk of truly offending her. If he was right, then that conversation would just be a mental and emotional strain for Fu Run. In short, there was no benefit to pressing the issue. She¡¯de back around when she did. In the meantime, he would do something that he¡¯d been meaning to do for a while.


    He sat down at the table where they all usually ate and pulled out the writing kit that Auntie Caihong had given him. It had gotten a lot less use than either he or she probably thought it would over the years. He finished with the inkstone and opened a clean scroll. He dipped the brush into the ink, gathered his thoughts for a moment, and started writing.


    <em>Auntie Caihong,</em>


    <em>You¡¯ll be pleased to know that I¡¯m using the writing kit you gave me. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware by now that I found Fu Run and essed the manual I needed. </em>


    While Sen provided a brief overview of the events that had transpired since theyst saw each other, Ai and Glimmer of Night came into the galehouse. She had convinced him to make webs for her to jump on, and they had been at that for hours. It seemed that she¡¯d grown tired of the game, but was immediately intrigued by what Sen was doing. She rushed to the table and peeked over the edge at the scroll.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked, transfixed by the motion of the brush.


    ¡°I¡¯m writing to my auntie,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°You have an auntie?¡± she asked, momentarily shifting her eyes to him.


    ¡°I do, but she lives very far away. So, I¡¯m writing this to tell her about what I¡¯ve been doing. I¡¯m writing about you right now.¡±


    Ai looked at him with big, curious eyes, before she climbed up into hisp to get a better look at the scroll.


    ¡°Where?¡± she asked, leaning forward to stare at the scroll from mere inches away.


    Sen carefully put down the brush and pointed to the characters for her name. ¡°That right there is your name.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen, and pointed to another part of the scroll. ¡°That¡¯s how you write Glimmer of Night¡¯s name.¡±


    ¡°Glimmerite!¡± she shouted, almost vibrating with excitement. ¡°Come look! Come look! Come look!¡±


    The spider, who had been hovering nearby, quickly closed the distance. His gaze locked onto the spot where Sen was pointing.


    ¡°That¡¯s your name!¡± she said, pointing at where Sen was pointing before moving her finger. ¡°That¡¯s my name!¡±


    ¡°Would you like to learn how to write your name?¡± Sen asked.


    The little girl¡¯s eyes went huge. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    Sen carefully set aside the nearlyplete letter he¡¯d written to spare it from any idents. He summoned another nk scroll from his ring and unrolled it.


    ¡°Okay, watch closely while I write your name,¡± said Sen.


    She nodded and barely blinked as Sen picked up the brush and dipped it. He made a point to exaggerate the characters and make them much bigger than he would in a scroll. He figured that just getting the basic shapes down would be more than enough for this first, impromptu lesson. Sen dipped the brush again and then showed Ai how to hold it. The brush was really too big for her small hands. Sen made a mental note to ask around and see if everyone learned with the full-size brush or if they had smaller ones for children. He watched as she applied the brush to the scroll and the inevitable disaster of smeared ink urred. Sen let her try a few more times but intervened before mild frustration escted into angry frustration and turned her against the idea of writing altogether.


    ¡°Is it okay if I help a little?¡± asked Sen.


    Ai looked up at him, her eyes filled with absolute trust, and nodded. It took Sen a moment to slow his racing heart. No one had ever looked at him that way before. He¡¯d seen trust before, of course, but never that kind of blind certainty that someone was safe with him. It was a kind of trust that couldn¡¯t be failed because it could never, ever be regained once lost. Sen didn¡¯t know how he knew it, but he knew it to his bones. He reached out and had to take a moment to still his shaking hand. Only after he¡¯d reimed control did he gently wrap his hand around Ai¡¯s. He remembered the way that Uncle Kho had guided his hand when Sen was trying to learn how to read and write. He did his best to mimic that gentle teaching. It wasn¡¯t any kind of automatic sess, nor did he expect it to be. But Ai picked up fast on the big things, like not putting too much pressure on the brush.


    It took a while, but she eventually managed to write something that could charitably be described as her name. Sen congratted her for writing her name, but he praised her outrageously for not giving up. Sen had learned a lot about cultivation, but he¡¯d learned a lot of hard lessons about life before that. Possibly the most important lesson he¡¯d taken away from both things was that enough perseverance could carry you through most challenges. If she never learned anything else from him, that was something he wanted to give her. She smiled and covered her face in something that wasn¡¯t quite embarrassment. She stayed in hisp and watched him finish writing his letter to Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°Do you want to put your name on it, too?¡± asked Sen.


    She gave him a shy smile and nodded. Sen dipped the brush and handed it to her. He worked hard to keep a serious expression as her little face scrunched up into a look of fierce concentration. Her tongue was sticking out a little and caught between her teeth. She worked with agonizing slowness. When she was done, though, a shaky, wobbly version of her name was on the scroll. Sen gently took the brush and then gave the girl a hug. Sheughed and giggled before hopping down to the floor. Sen looked over to Glimmer of Night. The spider had stood and watched silently.


    ¡°Were you paying attention?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°I was.¡±


    ¡°Good. Because you get to try tomorrow.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 22: It Hurts My Soul

    Book 7: Chapter 22: It Hurts My Soul


    Sen stared at the eager face of the young man. While only a handful of years separated them, Sen couldn¡¯t help the question that sprang to his mind. <em>Was I ever that young</em>? Whatever a calendar might say, Sen was quite certain that a massive canyon filled with experience stood between them. It was only the fact that he was acquainted with the Wang Bo that had kept him from simply ordering the young man to go away and leave him alone. Sen had barely set foot in town before people started osting him. They were kind enough about it. Coming up and thanking him for helping them with the spirit beasts. But Sen was getting tired of smiling and nodding and assuring everyone that he didn¡¯t need tea¡­ Or food¡­ Or a wife. He had been particrly gentle with thatst refusal since he could see the young woman in question hovering nervously in the background behind her father. No need to make her feel bad. Still, it all grew very tiresome, very quickly. When Wang Bo hade sprinting up to him, though, Sen was starting to wonder if he¡¯d ever actually get to the shops.


    ¡°Please, Master Cultivator,¡± said Wang Bo. ¡°You muste and see.¡±


    Taking a steadying breath, Sen gestured for the young man to lead the way. It would, no doubt, prove easier and faster to just go and look at whatever had the young man in such an excitable mood. Perhaps there was some other threat that required immediate action or an injured person beyond the aid of the local healers. Sen was feeling impatient with the situation, but he didn¡¯t want to let his impatience make a bad choice for him. So, he followed and made a noise now and then while the young man filled the air with words. So. Many. Words. He retreated into a semi-meditative state to withstand the verbal deluge, already wishing that he had gone somewhere else or simply stayed home. Ai could be noisy. There was no denying it, but that was noise he didn¡¯t mind. Wang Bo finally led them past the inn, where the grizzled Dai Bao caught sight of them. He shook his head and walked over to meet them.


    ¡°Quiet, boy,¡± barked the older man. ¡°Can¡¯t you see the man¡¯s had enough?¡±


    Wang Bo¡¯s mouth snapped shut as he cast a furtive, cautious look at Sen. He quickly turned his face away, apparently mistaking the distant, abstracted expression on Sen¡¯s face for some kind of anger. <em>At least</em>, <em>he¡¯s quiet now</em>, thought Sen and focused on the older man.


    ¡°Wang Bo seemed very insistent that there was something I needed to see,¡± offered Sen.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Dai Bao, burying his face in his hand. ¡°By the thousand hells, boy, don¡¯t you have any sense?¡±


    Wang Bo turned bright red at the, in Sen¡¯s opinion, light chastisement. The older man gave Sen an apologetic look.


    ¡°Well, he brought you this far. I guess there¡¯s no reason not to finish what he started.¡±Sen drifted in the wake of the other two, not making an effort to listen in while Dai Bao gave the much younger Wang Bo a stern lecture on not rushing things that didn¡¯t need to be rushed for no good reason. Eventually, they passed out the other side of town and stopped at a building that didn¡¯t look like it was attached to any particr property. Dai Bao picked up on Sen¡¯s confusion and interpreted it correctly.


    ¡°It¡¯s amunity building,¡± said the gruff man. ¡°We use it to store things when there isn¡¯t a better ce.¡±


    Sen nodded in understanding but didn¡¯tment. There had been a few buildings like that back in Orchard¡¯s Reach. He¡¯d even sheltered in them on rare asions, but it was risky. There were always a lot of peopleing and going, and the town guards had checked in the buildings regrly. Dai Bao pushed open the door and the trio stepped inside. Unable or unwilling to restrain his excitement any longer, Wang Bo rushed over to a pair of long, deep crates. He grabbed the top of one of the crates and shoved it out of the way.


    Dai Bao muttered something about damn children, while Sen stepped closer to the crate. Wang Bo was smiling like he¡¯d just discovered that his well produced silver tael instead of water. Sen peered down into the crate and saw that it was filled with tightly packed spears. He blinked at them a few times, but before he could ask anything, Wang Bo exploded into speech again.


    ¡°We did what you said. We sold the cores. Well, we bartered the cores for these spears, and for these,¡± he said, rushing over and pushing the top off the second crate to reveal simrly packed halberds.


    Wang Bo was staring at him expectantly, but Sen was still caught on the fact that they thought he told them to do this. Then, he remembered that he had made some offhand suggestion that they buy spears and halberds. They would certainly be more useful against spirit beasts. Sen nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± he said.


    Sen still felt a bit hazy about why he had needed to see it, but the young man was clearly excited. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to indulge that excitement a little. Wang Bo was still giving him that expectant look like he was sure that Sen was about to say something very interesting or very important. <em>Maybe I wasn¡¯t enthusiastic enough</em>, thought Sen. He tried again.


    ¡°That¡¯s very good.¡±


    Wang Bo was shifting back and forth on his feet, his eyes bright and hopeful. Sen knew that he was missing something here, but he just couldn¡¯t put his finger on what was escaping his notice. He felt like it must be obvious. He turned to look at Dai Bao. The gruff man had barely opened his mouth to speak when impatience won out over Wang Bo¡¯s painfully limited self-control.


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°When will you start?¡± asked the young man.


    Sen frowned at him. ¡°Start what?¡±


    ¡°Training us.¡±


    ¡°Training you to do what?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°To use the spears and halberds!¡±


    Now, Sen understood. This kid had taken that offhand statement Sen had made and exaggerated it in his mind into some kind of promise that Sen would be their teacher. He didn¡¯t have time for that nonsense. He had his own training to deal with. He had little Ai to take care of and teach how to write. This was not a problem of his making, and he refused to be bound by a promise he never made.


    ¡°When did I ever say I would do that?¡± asked Sen, with a bit too much steel in his words based on how the young man flinched.


    ¡°But you said to get spears and halberds,¡± said Wang Bo in a weak, confused voice.


    ¡°So you could defend yourselves against spirit beasts. Not so I could be your martial teacher.¡±


    ¡°We all warned you not to rush this, boy. We all told you not to assume things,¡± said Dai Bao.


    He used a more sympathetic tone than Sen would have expected, all things considered. Even so, the young man looked like a puppy that had just been unexpectedly kicked. Sen added that to a list of things that were not his problem. Instead, he pointed at Dai Bao.


    ¡°If you want someone to teach you how to use a spear, ask him,¡± said Sen.


    Fresh hope bloomed on Wang Bo¡¯s face, while an expression of horror crossed Dai Bao¡¯s face.


    ¡°What?¡± demanded the gruff man. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Sen barely even knew the man, and the words still sounded fake.


    ¡°Wow,¡± said Sen. ¡°You are a terrible liar.¡±


    Dai Bao heaved an enormous sigh. ¡°It¡¯s not a lie. I might have known how to use a spear twenty-five years ago. You don¡¯t forget everything, even after a couple of decades. But that was a long, long time ago, and I¡¯ve forgotten most of what I knew. Plus, I was never a teacher. Anything I show that boy is as likely to get him killed as save him from a spirit beast.¡±


    Sen shook his head. ¡°I cannot be responsible for training your entire town to defend itself. I already have obligations. I helped out with those spirit beasts because I was here, and because I could. It was also because someone was willing to throw aside any notion of honor and <em>begged</em> me to do it. I gave you the basics. You have the tools now. That¡¯s as far as I¡¯m willing to go.¡±


    Without another word, Sen turned away and left the barn. He pretended not to see the heartbroken look on Wang Bo¡¯s face or the resigned look on Dai Bao¡¯s face. He also pretended he couldn¡¯t hear the two talking.


    ¡°I thought he¡¯d teach us,¡± said a crestfallen Wang Bo.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know cultivators, Bo. That man has a soft heart for a cultivator. He helped your father. He helped us fight those spirit beasts. And he didn¡¯t ask for anything. Most cultivators would haveughed at you asking them to teach you anything if they didn¡¯t kill you for being insolent.¡±


    ¡°Kill me?¡±


    ¡°Cultivators are prideful. Arrogant. You¡¯re beneath their notice. You asking a cultivator to teach you something is like an ant asking you to teach them. He could have done anything he wanted to you, and no one could have stopped him. All he did was say no.¡±


    Sen forced himself to stop listening before the conversation made him feel sick to his stomach. He didn¡¯t feel kind. Maybepared to other cultivators he¡¯d been kind but that was a pretty low standard to reach in Sen¡¯s experience. Dai Bao was right, too. Another cultivator might well have killed that young man for the sheer audacity of asking them to sully themselves by training some mortal to use a weapon. In the end, Sen just didn¡¯t want to do it. He had other things, important things, that he needed to spend his time on. Things like finding a better brush for Liu Ai. So, that¡¯s what he went to do. He went to the shops and spoke with the owners. It turned out that the children who did learn to write almost always used the brushes made for adults. It wasn¡¯t what Sen wanted to hear, but he had to console himself with buying one that was thinner and lighter. While not a perfect solution, it should make things easier for little Ai.


    While he did that, he pretended that he wasn¡¯t paying attention to Dai Bao and Wang Bo with his spiritual sense. The two had gone a little way off from the town. Not in the true forest, but far enough away that no one would see them. Sen¡¯s spiritual sense wasn¡¯t quite precise enough for him to see what they were doing, but it gave him a clear enough picture that he kept wincing. Uncle Kho would be horrified. Stowing the brush in his storage ring, Sen found himself walking to where they were, grumbling under his breath, and cursing his own heart. He found them quickly enough and it was just as bad as he¡¯d imagined it was. Dai Bao hadn¡¯t been lying when he said he¡¯d forgotten most of what he¡¯d known about using a spear. Worse, he was passing on his iplete knowledge and bad form to someone else. It was more than Sen could bear to watch people using spears so badly.


    ¡°Stop!¡± he shouted, storming up to the pair. ¡°Stop! For the love of the gods, please stop. It hurts my soul just to see this disy.¡±


    Wang Bo looked torn between surprise and uncertainty.


    ¡°Um,¡± the young man said.


    Dai Bao just looked startled. Sen red around at the clearing they were in.


    ¡°Who owns thisnd?¡± he demanded.


    Dai Bao and Wang Bo traded a look. Wang Bo shrugged. Dai Bao scratched his cheek and gave the spot a thoughtful frown.


    ¡°The king? Maybe,¡± offered the older man.


    ¡°So, it doesn¡¯t belong to anyone in town?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Dai Bao.


    ¡°Good,¡± said Sen.


    He cycled for earth qi and went to work. Soon, stone formed beneath their feet into something that resembled the courtyard at Uncle Kho¡¯s home. The earth heaved and shook in every direction removing trees, undergrowth, and a few spirit beasts that thought they were being sneaky. Soon, a t square of stone, one hundred and fifty feet on each side, stretched out around them. Sen decided that was big enough for now, and walls started rising out of the ground,rgely closing in the area except for a singlerge opening that faced toward the road. Sen turned to look at the pair of inept, would-be spearmen. Wang Bo was gaping at him with his mouth hanging open. Dai Bao¡¯s expression was more subdued, but his eyes were opened as wide as they would go. Sen held a hand out to one side and summoned a spear from his storage ring.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to use spears, you should at least get the basics right,¡± said Sen. ¡°Rule one, you always, <em>always</em> keep two hands on the spear.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 23: That Was Sect Thinking

    Book 7: Chapter 23: That Was Sect Thinking


    Committed to his promise not to simply disappear because he got distracted, Sen limited his instruction of Dai Bao and Wang Bo to two hours. He drew a few conclusions from those two hours, though. The most important conclusion was that starting with someone who knew <em>nothing</em> about using a spear was infinitely better than starting with someone who had learned bad habits so long ago that they were practically instincts. He had to spend much longer working with Dai Bao simply to start correcting a lot of sloppy form. Some of that he was willing to chalk up to the years since the manst held a spear. Some of it, however, was ingrained enough that Sen could only assume that it was a product of some very shoddy instruction. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if Uncle Kho would have wept actual blood if he saw the abominations that Dai Bao wasmitting with a spear, but the elder cultivator would have had some strong thoughts on the matter. With Wang Bo, he was mercifully able to correct the worst habits before they ever got a chance to take root in the young man¡¯s form. <em>So much easier</em>, thought Sen.


    The second conclusion he drew was that neither man was destined for greatness with the spear. Dai Bao was a willing student but willingness could only carry you so far. Training could teach you the techniques and movements, but it couldn¡¯t give you a feel for the weapon. It couldn¡¯t give you instincts. Wang Bo was an eager student and did everything that was asked of him. But Sen could see in the boy¡¯s eyes that he simply didn¡¯t have the relentless drive to achieve mastery. He would work hard. He would bepetent. He would never do what Sen had done and drive himself to exhaustion with drills. Of course, that was sufficient for Wang Bo. He clearly didn¡¯t have any aspirations to be the greatest mortal spearman in the world. He wanted to know how to protect his family from spirit beasts andpetence was enough for that.


    Sen also concluded that aging as a mortal was awful. Dai Bao had problems that stemmed from his body starting to break down and wear out. Sen had sidestepped that entire process with not one but two cultivation paths, so it took him a while to understand that was what his senses and brief qi inspection were telling him. There wasn¡¯t that much he could do about natural aging. A lesson he¡¯d learned some time ago on the Luo farm. More concerning to Sen were the problems that the man was suffering from old injuries that had either never healed properly or never been treated properly. Those injuries reduced the man¡¯s range of motion, strength, and probably the length of his life if Sen was interpreting correctly.


    Dai Bao had learned to work around some of those problems, but those weren¡¯t real solutions. Those problems, Sen was pretty sure he <em>could</em> do something about. Auntie Caihong had always told him that treating old wounds was much harder than treating new ones. He hadn¡¯t fully grasped her meaning until he took a hard look at Dai Bao. With new injuries, the body was doing everything it could to fix the problem. Any alchemical treatments helped those natural processes along. With the old injuries, the body wasn¡¯t trying to fix it anymore. The body treated its current state as normal, based on what Sen was seeing. Any treatment would need to ovee the body¡¯s indifference to those old injuries. However, it wasn¡¯t impossible to do. Just harder. He¡¯d need to think about it and work out what to address first to maximize the value of any treatment, so he kept those basic ns to himself. Better not to say anything until he had solid information to share.


    Still, Sen needed Dai Bao in better condition than he was, because Sen needed someone who could do things like oversee training when he couldn¡¯t be around. With his own training still ongoing, he expected that was going to be a frequent fact of life for anyone in town who decided that they were going to learn how to use a spear. Dai Bao was ideal for that role. He was still young enough that he could do the work. It wasn¡¯t easy for him, but he could do it. The man was also old enough and grizzled enough tomand some innate respect from just about everyone. Still, Sen would need to make sure that the hierarchy was clear. That thought alone left such a sour taste in Sen¡¯s mouth that it was enough to make him nearly abandon the whole project. That was sect thinking, right there. It was a short trip from necessary hierarchy to all those things Sen hated about how sect members behaved. He¡¯d have to work hard to ensure that as little as possible of that foolishness infected these people.


    <em>Don¡¯t borrow trouble</em>, Sen told himself as he shed through the trees toward Fu Run¡¯s domain. <em>You recognized the potential problem</em>. <em>Take steps to avoid it</em>, <em>and then put the concern away</em>. He tried to take his own advice, but the idea lingered on the edge of his mind, like a fretful ghost intent on haunting his thoughts. He did his best to keep it at bay by thinking about how to treat Dai Bao¡¯s old injuries. The man did have some old bone injuries that had not gotten proper attention. Sen decided that those were probably the best ce to start. Bone misalignments and injuries could have a cascading effect of problems for the muscles, nerves, and even organs. Simply correcting those could alleviate some of the obvious pain the man was in. <em>Yes</em>, Sen decided. <em>I¡¯ll fix the bones first</em><em>and then the organs</em>. There weren¡¯t injuries to the organs, exactly, but Sen had seen some deficiencies there that suggested some kind of damage in the past. Getting those back in proper order would improve things like blood flow, which would make anyter healing of the other body tissues more effective and efficient. Sen¡¯s mind was still on the treatment n when a tiny body crashed into his leg and hugged it.


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    ¡°You¡¯re back!¡± shouted a joyful Ai.


    Senughed and rested his hand on the top of her head before giving her hair a gentle ruffle. She gave him a little scowl that did nothing to hide the happiness in her eyes.¡°I¡¯m back,¡± said Sen. ¡°I even brought something for you.¡±


    ¡°You did! What is it?¡±


    Sen crouched down and held out his hand with the palm facing up. He summoned the brush he¡¯d gotten her from a storage ring. She stared at it for a moment before snatching it up and bringing it so close to her eye that it made Sen a little nervous.


    ¡°It¡¯s for when you practice writing,¡± said Sen, not sure if he was telling her something she knew or not.


    She seemed a lot less interested in what she was going to do with the brush than what she could do with it right now. She smiled at Sen.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Then, she turned around and took off a sprint. Well, a sprint for her, which was a fast walk for Sen. He meandered after her, curious about what she meant to do. He finally understood when she burst into a clearing where Glimmer of Night was once more practicing one of those massive, hideouslyplicated webs of his. Ai ran up to the spider, waving the brush over her head.


    ¡°Glimmerite. I got a brush.¡±


    The spider looked down at the little girl and nodded. ¡°You did.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for writing,¡± she said in a conspiratorial whisper.


    ¡°I see,¡± said the spider before he abruptly looked over at Sen. ¡°Do I get my own brush?¡±


    Sen¡¯s mind nked out for a second. He hadn¡¯t thought about it. It just hadn¡¯t seemed important. He¡¯d only gotten Ai a brush to make the work easier for her. He¡¯d never even considered that Glimmer of Night might <em>want</em> his own brush. The spider didn¡¯t seem to want anything else. Why would he want a brush? Even as the question urred to Sen, he realized that it didn¡¯t matter why. The spider wanted a brush, and Sen had not gotten him one. As he tried toe up with an answer for the spider, his mouth failed him utterly.


    ¡°Um,¡± said Sen.


    The spider continued to look at him as Ai, in a wholly unintentional act of taunting, ran around Glimmer of Night¡¯s legs with a huge smile on her face and the brush held aloft like some kind of prize. Sen¡¯s mind finally lurched back into motion.


    ¡°Would you like your own brush?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the spider. ¡°I would like my own brush.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you one.¡±


    The spider gave Sen a nod before he looked down at Ai, who was still running in circles around him. Glimmer of Night seemed to be at something of a loss about what, if anything, he was supposed to do. Sen took pity on the spider.


    ¡°Ai. Why don¡¯t we take your brush inside so it doesn¡¯t get broken?¡±


    A look of panic crossed the girl¡¯s face. She skidded to a stop, almost fell, was saved by Glimmer of Night¡¯s lightning reflexes, and clutched the brush to her chest like it was a fragile baby bird. She hurried over to Sen and grabbed his hand. She started pulling him toward the galehouse. Sen waved a hasty goodbye to Glimmer of Night and let himself be ¡°dragged¡± along. Once they got inside, Liu Ai peered all around as if trying to find a ce that was safe enough to protect her new treasure. Sen smiled to himself.


    ¡°I have an idea,¡± he said and walked over to a wall.


    He picked a spot that was low enough that Ai could easily get at it, and close to the table where she practiced writing. All it took was a quick application of earth qi to create a small hollow in the wall with a little depression at the bottom. He hardened the stone again.


    ¡°There,¡± he said. ¡°It can stay in there, so you¡¯ll always know where to find it.¡±


    Sen upied himself making tea while Ai put the brush into the hollow and took it back out, over and over. Falling Leaf came in while this was going on and studied the little girl with a befuddled expression.


    ¡°What is she doing?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°She¡¯s having fun,¡± answered Sen. ¡°Let¡¯s leave her to it.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 24: Relationship Management

    Book 7: Chapter 24: Rtionship Management


    A cocoon of shadow surrounded Sen. He had made and sustained it all night while he sat cross-legged on the roof of the galehouse. The hope had been that immersing himself in shadow that way would help provide some insight into the shadow walking technique. That hadn¡¯t happened at all. It had mostly just served as a way to sharpen the other skills that let him evaluate the environment around him without recourse to sight. It wasn¡¯t a wasted effort since Sen couldn¡¯t know when an enemy might deploy a technique that would temporarily blind him. It just hadn¡¯t done much to help him understand how one stepped through a shadow into some other ce. He felt it when Falling Leaf jumped up to join him on the roof. He rxed his iron grip on the shadow qi and let it disperse, which revealed the pre-dawn illumination just barely lighting the horizon. Falling Leaf studied Sen for a moment before she sat down next to him.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you offer to teach me to write?¡± she asked without preamble.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t seem interested,¡± said Sen, frowning as he thought. ¡°Also, I guess I thought you already could since you can read. People who read can usually write.¡±


    Falling Leaf shook her head. ¡°I learned to read by watching the humans in town, and by watching you. The Caihong also helped me learn a bit more.¡±


    ¡°But no writing?¡±


    She lifted an eyebrow at him. ¡°Paws are not good for holding objects like brushes. There were other priorities since I got hands.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± said Sen feeling a little foolish for not recognizing the obvious there. ¡°Well, you¡¯re certainly wee to join in when I¡¯m teaching Ai and Glimmer of Night.¡±


    Falling Leaf looked away then. ¡°It¡¯s not important.¡±


    He squinted at the ghost panther in the dim light. <em>I don¡¯t understand what is happening right now</em>, thought Sen. She¡¯de outside, jumped up to the roof, and asked the question. Then, when he¡¯d told her that she could join in, she suddenly didn¡¯t care anymore. While social signals were often lost on Sen, even he could see that there was something else at work. If it wasn¡¯t about the writing¡­ Sen wanted to bury his face in his hands for being so oblivious. He¡¯d been pouring time and energy into taking care of Ai. He¡¯d been spending time with Glimmer of Night, trying to use the spider¡¯s insights to generate some of his own. He¡¯d been spending time with Fu Run before she stormed off in a huff. He¡¯d even been spending time with the people in town. He''d been spending time with everyone but <em>her</em>.¡°I haven¡¯t been a very good friend to you at all thesest few years, have I?¡± asked Sen. ¡°You¡¯re only here because of me, and I¡¯m gone or training most of the time. That¡¯s when I¡¯m not almost dying. I know you¡¯ve been training with Fu Run, but she¡¯s not a friend. Glimmer of Night is basically a stranger. And Ai¡ª¡±


    ¡°She is a kit,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°A kit must be tended and protected. All understand this.¡±


    ¡°True. Still, I haven¡¯t been making much time for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not foolish. I know much is demanded of you. I also know that what happens to me matters to you. You would not have brought the elder fox here if it didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Not that bringing him here did much good,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Perhaps not, but even the fox <em>thought</em> he could help. How could you know that he was wrong? You also could have demanded knowledge or treasures for your own use, but you bartered with him to help me. I do not doubt your care for me, human boy. It is simply that I miss you.¡±


    Rarely had Sen felt so damned by such a basic utterance as <em>I miss you</em>. When the person saying it shared the same home, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that it had gone beyond mere inattention and progressed into t-out negligence. It hadn¡¯t been malicious. Sen wasn¡¯t delusional. He had been insanely busy for most of thest few years. There had been long stretches where there just hadn¡¯t been <em>any</em> time to spend on anything other than surviving. Since he¡¯d gotten back from his little adventure with Laughing River, though, he could have found time. He could have, but he hadn¡¯t. For once in his life, though, the problem in front of him was something fixable.


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason why I can¡¯t teach you to write after Ai goes to bed for the night. It¡¯s not like we need that much sleep.¡±


    Falling Leaf didn¡¯t say anything. She just smiled at him and nodded. Then, as fast as she had appeared, she was gone from the roof. Sen didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d actually end up teaching her to write, although he might. It was a useful skill, and she¡¯d benefit from it. It was themitment Falling Leaf cared about. The reassurance that he would make time to spend with her now that madness and looming death weren¡¯t infecting every part of their lives. And it was such a small thing to ask for whenpared to everything she had given him. If he could find entire days to spend in meditation and travel to town to teach people how to use spears, he would find a couple of hours to spend with her most days.


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    Sen stayed up on the roof for a little longer. He watched as the sun slowly crested the horizon and considered if he was working hard enough to sustain any of his important rtionships. While Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho were used to long absences in each other¡¯s lives, he doubted the same was true for most of the other people he knew. He supposed it was easy to ignore a five or ten-year gap inmunication when centuries were trivial to you. Most people didn¡¯t have that perspective. Still, most of that was a problem for another day. His more immediate problem was utterly prosaic but oddly pressing. He needed to make Ai breakfast. It was going to be a busy day. She¡¯d been asking about Dai Bao and the little girl she¡¯d met, Zhi. So, Sen had promised he¡¯d take her with him to town the next time he went.


    <em>I should invite Falling Leaf</em>, thought Sen as he prepared some food. As had be her habit, Liu Ai groggily came out of her room, shadow ball clutched protectively in one arm and a nket dragging from the other. Sen settled the nket around her shoulders and put her in a chair, where she slowly woke up as he finished making breakfast. Falling Leaf came into the galehouse not too long after, which made Ai stir and hold out her arms. The ghost panther hade to some kind of amodation with her difort regarding human children. She dutifully picked up the girl, who put her head on Falling Leaf¡¯s shoulder and started snoring lightly.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to town today as part of my grand n for Ai to get glimpses of normalcy,¡± said Sen. ¡°You¡¯re wee toe with us. You¡¯ll get to see some mortals fumble around with spears.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t like me,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°After what I did at the inn.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what <em>they</em> like. <em>I</em> like you, and they can deal with it.¡±


    Falling Leaf still looked uncertain.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go because you simply don¡¯t want to go, I understand that. If you don¡¯t want to go because of what those townspeople think, to hells with that. That whole town owes me. If the only thing I ask for is that they behave nicely to my friend, they¡¯re getting off cheap.¡±


    Falling Leaf¡¯s face cleared up at those words. ¡°I¡¯lle along. I can leave if I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°Good n,¡± said Sen. ¡°Plus, you¡¯ll get to meet Ai¡¯s friends.¡±


    ¡°The grumpy man?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    Sen nodded. ¡°Yes. There¡¯s also a little girl there she seems to like.¡±


    ¡°Zhi,¡± mumbled Ai around a yawn. ¡°She draws birds.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she does,¡± agreed Sen.


    ¡°I draw orchids,¡± dered Ai.


    Falling Leaf looked to Sen for confirmation. He subtly shook his head in the negative.


    ¡°Ai does draw lovely flowers,¡± he added to try to give Falling Leaf some kind of context.


    The flower conversation was summarily ended by the appearance of hot food. Then, it was time to get ready to leave, at which point Ai couldn¡¯t decide if she should bring along her brush to show off. It was clear she wanted to, and equally clear that she was worried it would get damaged. Sen decided that letting her make the asional decision would probably be good for her in the long run. She eventually plucked the brush out of its cubby and brought it over to Sen. He could see her trying to formte the question. Confident that phrases like spatial treasure were beyond her, he didn¡¯t make her stumble through it.


    ¡°Would you like me to hang on to that for you?¡± he asked.


    She nodded. ¡°Please.¡±


    Sen held out his hand, and she gently rested it across his palm. He dropped it into his storage ring. As usual, this disappearing trick delighted the little girl to no end. If he was going to be storing things for her, though, he thought it was time she knew where the stuff went.


    ¡°Do you know where things go when I do that?¡± he asked.


    Ai shook her head. Sen held out a hand and pointed to one of the rings he wore.


    ¡°It goes in there.¡±


    Ai shook her head and smiled at him in a way that said she knew he was trying to trick her.


    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t,¡± she dered.


    ¡°It does.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too small,¡± she said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a magic ring,¡± he told her. ¡°And its magic power is to store things and keep them safe.¡±


    Clearly doubting Sen, Ai looked over to Falling Leaf.


    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°I have a ring like that, too.¡±


    An apple appeared in her hand, making the little girl gasp. Ai immediately ran over and poked at the piece of fruit as if to reassure herself that it wasn¡¯t some terrible grownup deception. Falling Leaf handed her the apple. Ai examined it closely before she came back over to Sen and very deliberately touched the apple to the ring he¡¯d pointed at earlier. He smiled.


    ¡°I have to use my magic to tell the ring to work,¡± said Sen.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly true, but he figured it was close enough. She gave him another dubious look.


    ¡°Really?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Do it again, and I¡¯ll tell the ring to work.¡±


    Ai once again pressed the apple against the ring. Sen activated the ring, and the apple disappeared. It was only after Sen made the fruit reappear and re-disappear several times that Ai seemed to ept that he wasn¡¯t tricking her. Then, she said something that Sen felt like he should have anticipated.


    ¡°Put me in the ring!¡± she shouted excitedly.


    <em>Thank the heavens Lo Meifeng isn¡¯t here</em>, thought Sen. <em>She¡¯d be encouraging the girl</em>.

 Book 7: Chapter 25: Then, Leave

    Book 7: Chapter 25: Then, Leave


    The trip took a bit longer than usual since Sen had to keep his speed down a little to let Falling Leaf keep pace for the entire distance. It waste morning by the time they arrived at the wall. While the guards knew to let Sen pass, they eyed Falling Leaf as if they expected her to burst into violence at a moment¡¯s notice. She just stared back at them with a bored, mildly impatient expression. The guards traded a look, seemed to realize that there was exactly nothing they could do to stop her if she decided toe in, and just let them pass. Sen was d the men hadn¡¯t made a fuss about it. The ghost panther did get a few nervous, sidelong nces from some of the people in town, but everyone restrained themselves from makingments. It wasn¡¯t clear if they did that because Sen was with her, or if they feared to anger Falling Leaf. <em>Maybe they just don¡¯t want to start anything because Ai is with us</em>, thought Sen.


    Once the fast part of the ride was over, the little girl had decided that she¡¯d been carried enough. So, Ai kept a firm grip on Sen¡¯s hand, well, it was her hand firmly wrapped around two of his fingers. They moved along at the little girl¡¯s pace, which wasn¡¯t fast at all. Every once in a while, she would release Sen¡¯s hand to run over and look at something. He only stopped her a few times, like when she¡¯d made to go inside the smithy. Sen had only ever peeked in on a cksmith¡¯s shop before, but that quick look told him that it was no ce for a child. Especially one that nobody would realize was there until something bad happened. She¡¯d made a few sad faces but epted his word that she might get hurt. It was basically the same reason he¡¯d given her for why she couldn¡¯t go inside the storage ring.


    Falling Leaf had been to the town a few times before, so she wasn¡¯t seeing anything new. Instead, she mostly stuck near to Sen. asionally, she¡¯d ask him about something that someone was doing that she didn¡¯t quite understand. She¡¯d seen two men sitting on either side of a barrel, their elbows up on top, and their hands locked together. That whole thing had mystified her until he exined that it was a test of strength. She¡¯d perked right up at that and wanted to try it.


    ¡°You do realize that you¡¯re almost certainly far stronger than every man in the vige, right?¡± asked Sen in a bid to avert disaster before it arrived.


    Falling Leaf¡¯s face fell at that.


    ¡°I forgot,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°Well, maybe we¡¯ll go to a town a bit closer to one of the big cities and find you some sect members. You can make them feel bad about themselves.¡±


    That suggestion seemed to cheer her up. However, Sen suspected that the sect members of the world would be less enthusiastic if they knew about the n. After a particrly slow walk across the town, they finally arrived at the home of Li Hua. Ai was very excited to show off the spot where she drew orchids to Falling Leaf. Sen left the ghost panther to her confusion while he knocked on the door. When no one answered after a respectable amount of time, Sen knocked again. When the knock went unanswered a second time, Sen gave Ai an apologetic look.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Zhi is here right now,¡± he told her.Ai looked at the house like it was telling lies before she turned sad eyes on Sen.


    ¡°Where is she?¡± asked the little girl.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Sen. ¡°But we¡¯ll watch for her. Plus, we can alwayse backter. She might be home by then.¡±


    cated by those words if not exactly happy, the trio set out again. Ai seemingly decided that Falling Leaf¡¯s hand needed to be held because she grabbed several of the ghost panther¡¯s fingers. Sen saw Falling Leaf make herself rx at the unexpected touch. It was a small step, but if any living human being was going to win the ghost panther over, it would be Ai. There was simply no malice in the child that Sen could see. He wasn¡¯t sure if all children were born with that kind of temperament or if she was just sweet by nature. After a few minutes, her good humor returned. She started to point out all of the things she found interesting. Some of the things she found interesting were baffling to Sen. He understood it when she was excited by a bright red bird that flew by. He did not understand it when she was just as excited about a weed growing between some stones outside of someone¡¯s house. Whether he could see why she thought something was amazing or not, he was determined not to deprive her of wonder. Sen, of all people, knew full well just how good the world was at ripping that right out of people. It didn¡¯t need his help to aplish that particr feat. So, he would dutifully attend whenever she wanted him to look at some new discovery. As they passed through the far gate, Falling Leaf gave him a curious look.


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    ¡°We¡¯re going to go and see how people are doing with the spears,¡± he said. ¡°I might even teach them something if anyone is around.¡±


    When it became clear that they were going to enter the forest again, Ai immediately ran over to Sen and held her arms out. It wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d told her to do. Somewhere along the line, she had just decided that going through the forest meant that he held her. Since that suited his inclination to make sure she was safe, he didn¡¯t intend to discourage it any time soon. He scooped her up, and she looked around like she was a queen surveying her kingdom. <em>Queen Ai and the Kingdom of Forest</em>, thought Sen. <em>It sounds like a legend just waiting to be told</em>. It didn¡¯t take long before the structure Sen had erected came into view. Ai gasped and pointed, while even Falling Leaf looked a little startled at the sheer size of it.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, ¡°I was a little out of sorts when I made it. It¡¯s a bit bigger than it needs to be.¡±


    They could hear voices and the sounds of people doing exercises of some kinding from inside the structure. Sen took that as a good sign. When they came through the opening in the wall, though, he came to an abrupt stop at the sight that greeted him. There were indeed some people practicing with the spear under the eye of Dai Bao. It seemed that all of those people were working very hard to ignore the confrontation that was happening between a big man Sen only vaguely recognized from the day they¡¯d all fought the spirit beasts and Li Hua. The big man was crowding Li Hua and talking in a menacing tone, but the seamstress wasn¡¯t backing down an inch. He also saw that Zhi was cowering behind her mother, the confrontation obviously terrifying the little girl. Sen did his best to put on a bright smile when he spoke to Ai.


    ¡°I want you to stay with Falling Leaf for a little while, okay?¡±


    Ai was staring at the argument with scared eyes, but she nodded. Sen gently passed her to the ghost panther, who held the little girl protectively while never letting her eyes move from the fight that was looking increasingly likely to turn violent. Sen strode over and heard the man speaking clearly for the first time.


    ¡°You don¡¯t belong here. Go home, seamstress¡±


    ¡°Who says she doesn¡¯t belong here?¡± asked Sen in a neutral tone.


    ¡°I do!¡± snapped the big man without even looking. ¡°She¡¯s a woman.¡±


    ¡°I noticed that,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°I expect anyone with eyes notices that. But what in the thousand hells does that have to do with whether or not she belongs here? Are you under the mistaken impression that you¡¯re in charge?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what game you¡¯re ying at. But women have no ce¡ª¡± started the man as he turned around.


    The words simply stopped as the big man saw Sen standing there with death in his eyes.


    ¡°Go on,¡± said Sen. ¡°Exin to me why women have no ce here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ Everyone knows that women don¡¯t fight.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Sen. ¡°Everyone knows that? <em>Everyone</em> in the whole world?¡±


    The big man seemed to realize that line of argument wasn¡¯t going anywhere as his eyes fell on Falling Leaf, who had casually beaten a dozen men half-to-death by herself.


    ¡°It¡¯s unnatural. I won¡¯t tolerate it,¡± said the big man.


    ¡°Then, leave,¡± said Sen in a voice so cold that the big man shivered. ¡°And thank the gods that there were children here to keep me from instructing you in exactly what I think of your opinions.¡±


    The big man¡¯s face turned bright red and then a shade of purple that looked profoundly unhealthy to Sen. The man went to storm past Sen, who stopped him with a look.


    ¡°Before you convince yourself that you¡¯ll deal with thister,¡± said Sen in a lethally casual tone, ¡°know that I consider her and her daughter my friends.¡±


    From the way the blood drained out of the big man¡¯s face, he¡¯d understood precisely what kind of murderous rage woulde crashing down on him if anything even remotely untoward befell the seamstress or her daughter. It was equally clear that Sen had predicted the man¡¯s intentions with stunning uracy. The big man did his best to gather up his pride and walked toward the opening in the wall that would let him escape the gaze of Judgment¡¯s Gale. It was Falling Leaf who made the man simply run away. She turned the most vicious, hungry, predatory gaze that Sen had seen on her in a long time toward the big man. He had to focus to hear what she whispered to him.


    ¡°It will be me.¡±


    There was a look of animal panic on the man¡¯s face, and the fear broke him. He turned and fled as fast as his legs could carry him away. Sen wiped the Judgment¡¯s Gale from his expression and turned a kind smile toward Li Hua, who was staring at him with an expression that Sen couldn¡¯t quite figure out.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Li Hua. It¡¯s also nice to see you, Li Zhi. You are, of course, both wee here.¡±


    Li Zhi slowly peeked her head out from behind her mother. When it was clear that the source of her terror was gone, the little girl hugged her mother¡¯s leg and began sobbing. Recognizing that he could only get in the way, he turned a glower on Dai Bao. The grizzled man at least had the good grace to look ashamed of himself.


    ¡°Dai Bao,¡± said Sen. ¡°Join me, please. I would have words with you.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 26: The Right Start

    Book 7: Chapter 26: The Right Start


    Dai Bao trudged toward Sen like a man marching toward his own execution. It was obvious from his expression the man knew that Sen wasn¡¯t happy and that he med Dai Bao for some of that. Sen did him the courtesy of walking them away from the small collection of townspeople and erecting a wind barrier to keep their voices from carrying. Sen knew that he might have some unkind things to say to the man, but he didn¡¯t particrly feel the need to shame Dai Bao publicly. It wasn¡¯t as though Sen had provided any guidance about how things were or were not to be handled here. He could see now that had been a failure on his part. He simply hadn¡¯t anticipated any of the men in town trying to bully a woman. After he put up the wind barrier, he gave Dai Bao a t look.


    ¡°So, that seemed eptable to you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Dai Bao with a shake of his head. ¡°But he was just saying what a lot of men think. It could have been what you think.¡±


    ¡°You see thepany I keep. You really thought I¡¯d object to women training here?¡±


    ¡°The pretty girl of yours is a cultivator. Not a mortal.¡±


    Sen waited for more, and then he realized that there wasn¡¯t any moreing. Sen forgot sometimes just how stark that divide really was, yet, hadn¡¯t he had a conversation with Jing about how cultivators were just visitors? That cultivators walked in a different world. Everyone in the town was, as far as Sen knew, a mortal. On top of that, cultivators weren¡¯t known to treat mortals all that well. Dai Bao was probably justified in thinking that Sen might well consider mortal women not worthy of training. Sen hadn¡¯t shared his thoughts about almost anything other than wielding spears with the man. <em>You can¡¯t expect him to read your mind</em>, thought Sen. <em>It isn¡¯t fair to be angry with him for not knowing expectations you never set</em>. Sen frowned but nodded.


    ¡°I can see why that might seem like something that would make a difference,¡± said Sen. ¡°This ce is open to anyone who wants to learn how to protect their homes and families. Men, women, and even children, though hopefully things will never be so terrible that children need to take up spears in their own defense.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Dai Bao.


    The man still looked like he expected some cmity to fall on his head any second. Sen couldn¡¯t help but think that the man had dealt with cultivators in some other part of his life. He¡¯d learned to wield a spear somewhere. It had probably been in a mortal army, but kingdoms sometimes hired cultivators to fight with their armies. Judging from the man¡¯s expectations of doom, his experiences with cultivators had been about as good as Sen¡¯s own experiences. Sen needed to do something to alleviate the man¡¯s fears.¡°I¡¯m not trying to start a sect here,¡± said Sen slowly. ¡°I¡¯ll help teach, but this ce shouldn¡¯t be about serving my ego or reputation. It needs a mortal face on it. I¡¯d like that to be you.¡±


    Dai Bao goggled at him. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The people here respect you. You¡¯ve had some experience with the spear. They¡¯ll listen to you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m too old and broken for that kind of responsibility,¡± said Dai Bao.


    They were the kinds of words that Sen would have expected to hold a lot of bitterness, but all he heard in Dai Bao¡¯s voice was a kind of sad resignation. He¡¯d moved beyond whatever anger he felt.


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t help you with the age part. The broken part is a different matter.¡±


    Sen exined to Dai Bao what he thought he could mend in the man¡¯s body and that he¡¯d try if the man would take on the daily responsibilities of the ce. He had to give the grizzled man some credit. Dai Bao didn¡¯t immediately ept the offer.


    ¡°You say that you can heal some of these old injuries. What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°In practical terms?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Please,¡± answered Dai Bao.


    ¡°It¡¯ll hurt. It¡¯ll hurt a lot. It might even hurt more than the original injuries. I can do some things to ease that pain, but it might mean spreading out the process for longer. Afterward, though, I expect that you¡¯ll feel about ten years younger. You should also be mostly without pain.¡±


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    Caution warred with hope in Dai Bao¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You can really do this?¡± asked the man.


    Sen nodded. ¡°I can really do this. You don¡¯t need to decide right now.¡±


    ¡°I want to do it,¡± said Dai Bao, grabbing Sen¡¯s arm in a desperate gesture. ¡°When can we start?¡±


    ¡°You should consider this carefully. I can¡¯t emphasize enough how much pain it will cause you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already in pain. All the time. Every day. If you can put a stop to even some of that, I¡¯ll endure whatever I have to.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll get started in the next few days. In the meantime, though, I should probably say something to everyone else. They¡¯ve been watching us for a while now.¡±


    Dai Bao let go of Sen¡¯s arm. He turned a hard look on the townspeople who weren¡¯t doing anything even remotely like practicing. They all hurriedly turned away, some even doing mostly eptable versions of basic spear thrusts. Sen removed the wind barrier, and Dai Bao walked back to where he had been. A quick nce around showed that Ai had gone over and apparently provided a distraction for Zhi. The two looked like they were ying some kind of made-up game using a rock that one of them had found somewhere. Sen didn¡¯t see Falling Leaf right at first, but he finally saw that she had grabbed a few of the townspeople and led them off a little way. She was encouraging them to attack her while she expertly fended off their thrusts with her three-section staff. He was uncertain and mildly concerned by that turn of events. At first, Sen couldn¡¯t understand why she had done it until he realized that she wanted to be helpful to him if not the townspeople. His concern was that she¡¯d identally hurt one of them, but she¡¯d limited her strength and speed to something a mortal could mostly manage.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Li Hua, drawing Sen¡¯s attention away from Falling Leaf. ¡°It wasn¡¯t necessary, but thank you.¡±


    Sen eyed the woman¡¯s expression. She was torn about the whole incident. There was relief on her face, but he saw frustration as well. Some of it was directed at him. He supposed he might have undermined her in some way, but he was hard-pressed to really feel bad about it. That man wasn¡¯t going to see reason. He also wasn¡¯t going to stop until she was gone. If that meant dragging her out by the hair, he would have done it. Sen was pretty sure that she knew it, too. On the flip side, Sen had to decide how things were going to happen in this ce. He might put Dai Bao out as the face of things, but everyone was going to look to Sen to make the rules. He couldn¡¯t let what that man was doing go unaddressed. And he was pretty sure that Li Hua also knew that. It was one of the situations where there had only been a handful of options, none of them ideal. Sen had chosen the one that suited him best. Still, he could help the woman save a little face.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really do it for you,¡± Sen lied.


    ¡°No?¡± asked Li Hua, lifting an usatory eyebrow.


    ¡°I did it for them,¡± he said, gesturing at Ai and Zhi. ¡°They might want toe here and learn someday. I¡¯d rather threaten one man now than be forced to murder someer because I didn¡¯t send a clear message.¡±


    ¡°You think you¡¯ll still be here when they¡¯re old enough to learn?¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I might not be, but it doesn¡¯t mean that this ce won¡¯t still be here. For all I know, you¡¯ll be in charge of it. But only if things get off to the right start.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± scoffed Li Hua. ¡°In charge of this ce?¡±


    Sen gave her a level look. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± she trailed off.


    Sen inclined his head to her. ¡°Excuse me. I need to make an announcement. It¡¯s that whole getting things off on the right foot thing.¡±


    Sen left Li Hua to her thoughts and walked over to where Dai Bao was drilling some younger men. The grizzled man called a halt to the drill and, at a signal from Sen, bellowed out an order.


    ¡°Everyone gather around!¡± roared Dai Bao.


    Around fifteen people clumped around Sen. Most of them were young men, but there were a few older men and Li Hua. Sen gave them all his best stern face, and everyone straightened a little under his intense gaze.


    ¡°As you all saw earlier, there is some confusion about what this ce is for. About who it is for. Let me clear up that confusion. This ce is for anyone who wants to learn how to defend their homes and families. <em>Anyone</em>. Men. Women. Children. All are wee here. The moment you decide that you know better who should or should not be here, expect to find that <em>you</em> are no longer wee. If you have grudges, you leave them at the town wall. If you have blood feuds, you leave them at home.


    ¡°If you bring your grudges and feuds into this ce, you make them <em>my</em> problems. I will solve those problems for everyone involved, immediately and permanently,¡± said Sen, and he watched more than one face pale. ¡°When youe here,e with an open heart. Do just that much, and I will do what I can to teach you. I will not lie to you. Mastering any weapon is something that takes years. It takes effort. It takes practice. Now, you all know Dai Bao. He will be in charge when I¡¯m not here. Do as he tells you, which will likely be that you need to practice more.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll be right,¡± growled Dai Bao.


    That got a fewughs, which broke the tension. A momentter, Ai snuck between some of the people and rushed over to Sen. He picked her up, and she looked around nervously at all the unfamiliar faces.


    ¡°This is Liu Ai,¡± said Sen before he gave her an encouraging smile. ¡°Do you want to say hello to everyone?¡±


    Ai gave everyone a shy smile and whispered, ¡°Hi.¡±


    Then, she buried her face in Sen¡¯s shoulder. He kissed the top of her head, which elicited a giggle from the girl. Dai Bao stepped up next to Sen and pointed at Ai.


    ¡°In case any of you were wondering, now you know who¡¯s in charge.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 27: The Value of a Demonstration

    Book 7: Chapter 27: The Value of a Demonstration


    Sen took a little time to review the basic thrusts he¡¯d taught Wang Bo and Dai Bao with the neers, before turning most of the gathered townspeople over to grizzled man. Sen focused most of his time and attention on the newest or most hopeless people, which included Li Hua. Of course, her main impediment was that her gaze constantly wandered the entire ce in search of her daughter. Sen had finally picked a corner, raised a small enclosure that was about a foot and a half high, and all but filled it with shadow balls. Liu Ai and Li Zhi had immediately lost interest in anything the adults were doing. The little girls¡¯ screams of delight carried over the townspeople as they practiced. With the question of where her daughter was now firmly answered, Li Hua became much more focused on the task at hand. Unfortunately, whenever Sen¡¯s gaze rested on her for more than a few moments, she became self-conscious and fumbled the spear. Suppressing a moment of frustration, he walked over to her. She met his eyes, briefly, and then found something on the ground to focus on.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be looking at you a lot,¡± said Sen. ¡°And yes, I will be judging you. It¡¯s the only way to know what kind of help you need. If you can¡¯t focus when I¡¯m looking at you, how will you focus when there¡¯s a thirty-foot snake closing in on you? Or a storm hawk swooping down on you with lightning on its wings? Or a bear-cat the size of a horse leaping at your child?¡±


    Li Hua¡¯s eyes shot up to his face again, and she grimaced. ¡°I haven¡¯t been a student in a long time. I forgot how humiliating it is to be terrible at something.¡±


    Sen gave her an amused smile. ¡°Do you imagine that I was any better the first time I picked up a spear? Or even the fiftieth time? Everyone starts right where you are now. That¡¯s as true for cultivators as it is for mortals. That¡¯s why we train. That¡¯s why we practice.¡±


    ¡°Do you still practice?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Will you show us?¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t nned on it. I mean that I don¡¯t know that it would do any good. I¡¯m trying to teach you to fight spirit beasts, not do what I do.¡±


    Sen could see the confusion on the woman¡¯s face before she even said the words.¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°I practice to prepare for fights with other cultivators. I practice to kill people.¡±


    Li Hua seemed momentarily lost for words. She just stared at him like she was seeing him for the first time all over again.


    She grimaced again and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a hard world,¡± said Sen absently as he looked around at the townspeople.


    They were not inspired. Even the ones working hard wore expressions that told Sen they wouldn¡¯tst for long unless something changed. <em>Perhaps that¡¯s for the best</em>, thought Sen. He had excelled because, at the end of the day, he wanted to excel with the spear. He wanted to be good if not the best. Uncle Kho likely had that position tied down hard for the foreseeable future, much as Master Feng owned jian mastery. It wouldn¡¯t be a tragedy if these people didn¡¯t want to pursue true mastery. Simply imparting the basics would give them a fighting chance against most spirit beasts if they worked together. <em>On the other hand</em>, mused Sen, <em>maybe Li Hua has a point</em>. They had only seen Sen fight the one spirit beast using a new, jian-centered qi technique. Seeing that he actually knew what he was doing with the spear might serve a purpose after all. Even if it only instilled a sense of confidence in the people about what they were learning, that had value in and of itself. He gave Li Hua a thoughtful look that seemed to make her very nervous.


    ¡°You should stick close. You¡¯ll want a good view of this,¡± said Sen.


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    He didn¡¯t make a big show of it. Sen just walked over to Dai Bao and asked to see the spear the man was holding but not currently using. Walking a short distance away from everyone, Sen acted as though he were simply examining the spear for problems and imperfections. In reality, he wanted the spear to force himself to keep things at mortal speeds. If he applied his true strength and speed with a mortal-grade spear, its haft would simply explode under the pressure. He didn¡¯t make any announcement or try to draw anyone¡¯s attention. He simply began. He had formed this ce with Uncle Kho¡¯s courtyard in mind, and the floor brought back a flood of memories from that time. All the hours of practice, of course, but also the times when Uncle Kho would startughing and tell Sen to stop so he could listen to a story. Those stories often involved Uncle Kho being in what sounded like, at the time at least, terrifying situations.


    Looking back now, he could understand why Uncle Kho hadughed. Sen smiled as he remembered fleeing from Tide¡¯s Rest, hiding in the forest, convinced that an army of cultivators was hunting him down. It had all seemed so dire at the time. Now, he could see how much he¡¯d overestimated the wrath of the Stormy Ocean Sect. Sure, they wouldn¡¯t have been happy about him killing that sect member. If he¡¯d been easy to catch, they would no doubt have punished him. But that lone formation foundation cultivator he¡¯d killed just wouldn¡¯t have been valuable enough to justify sending out a dedicated search party to find him. Even as those memories and thoughts washed over him, Sen felt the spear moving in his hands and cutting through the air as he took another tiny, incremental step toward the unreachable peak of perfection.


    He had long since passed through the basic moves and been progressing through the increasingly difficult forms that Uncle Kho had imparted to him. Being forced to move through them at what felt like a snail¡¯s pace let him spot those tiny ws in his form that no expert could ever truly seem to eliminate entirely. At the same time, he felt closer than ever to the reverence that Uncle Kho showed for the weapon. There was a simplicity to it, a natural directness of action and intention that wasn¡¯t found with the jian. The jian was the weapon of sharp-minded strategists who could often plot out their victory fifty exchanges in advance, depending on the choices of their opponents. The spear was a weapon that shared more inmon with farming tools than with most other weapons. It was a weapon used by people who had to meet immediate threats with immediate force. Complexity had beenyered on top of it over the countless millennia by geniuses, but it always came back to a simple thrust or sh to end the fight.


    Sen¡¯s body came to rest at the end of the final form he¡¯d learned. He paused because, for the first time ever, he felt like there should be something more. Another form, perhaps? He wasn¡¯t entirely sure. <em>Another question for Uncle Kho</em>, he thought to himself. He turned his attention to the spear in his hand. It wasn¡¯t an excellent spear, but it wasn¡¯t junk either. A craftsman who knew what they were doing had made it, likely to serve as weapons for caravan guards or town guards. It would be more than serviceable for the townspeople to fend off spirit beasts. Sen walked back over to Dai Bao who was staring hard at Sen. Sen nced around at the rest of the people there. That inspiration they hadcked was evident in their eyes. Li Hua looked like she¡¯d been given instructions directly from the heavens and meant to drag every bit of spear knowledge and insight from Sen¡¯s mind by force if necessary. Sen handed the spear back to Dai Bao, who took it and stared down at it like it was some kind of sacred relic. Even Li Zhi and little Ai had gone silent and were watching him with startled expressions.


    The only person who didn¡¯t look impressed was Falling Leaf. She looked bored, as well she might having seen him do far more spectacr things on more than one asion. She hadn¡¯t been the audience, though, even if her boredom did serve to keep him from being too dazzled with his own performance. Remembering all of the ways he had failed to find perfection in the forms, that seemed like a very healthy thing. He could never let himself be satisfied with his progress. There was always a next step to take, a better way, a more efficient or elegant delivery of any technique, blow, or form. He almost said as much to the people who were all still just staring at him but decided that idea was probably best reserved for those who showed both aptitude and perseverance. Dai Bao saved him from needing to say anything.


    ¡°If you think you can do that by standing around and not practicing, think again!¡± bellowed the grizzled man.


    The townspeople all jerked as though they were snapped free from a trance. There were some halfhearted attempts by some of them to return to practicing, but more of them seemed to want to talk about what they had just seen. Sen let it go on for a few minutes before he pped his hands. Empowered by his body cultivator strength, the p drowned out all other sounds and silenced everyone. They all turned to look at him.


    ¡°Continue with your practice,¡± said Sen.


    That time, everyone went back to work.

 Book 7: Chapter 28: Teaching

    Book 7: Chapter 28: Teaching


    ¡°Again,¡± said Sen doing his very best to keep the boredom out of his voice.


    Of all the things Sen had thought might happen when he agreed to teach the townspeople how to use spears all those months ago, he hadn¡¯t really considered tedium as a possibility. Of course, he¡¯d only evere at the process from the side of the student. As a student, everything was about mastering something new or solidifying a technique you¡¯d already learned. It was a race to keep pace. For the teacher, it consisted of watching people carry out actions that you¡¯d carried out thousands of times. That was a lot less fun. Oh, there were high spots, no doubt about that. He¡¯d seen more than one person bursting with pride when they¡¯d mastered some move that they had thought beyond them or bested someone in the <em>very tightly controlled</em> sparring sessions that Sen oversaw.


    There had also been moments of fun in changing the building as the warm summer weather gave way to the intense chill of a northern autumn. At first, it had simply been putting a roof on the ce to keep out the rain and the loose leaves that the autumn windstorms like to deposit everywhere. That took several failures, multiple experiments, and finally bringing in Glimmer of Night to help him work out a support system that could hold up the roof. The spider¡¯s keen understanding of webs had be invaluable in that process, even if looking straight up toward the roof from inside was a bit unsettling. It looked like stone webbing. It also didn¡¯t take much imagination to picture a massive stone spider waiting up there to pounce on unwary students. However, Sen had learned quite a bit about supporting roofs in arge, open structures that might prove useful someday. Not that Glimmer of Night seemed inclined to partpany any time soon. The spider had actually seemed a little sad when the roof adventure had been sessfullypleted.


    Of course, installing the roof had necessitated reshaping the walls to include windows for light. Otherwise, Sen just had a very big, very dark cave. That might have the asional use in training, but he didn¡¯t see it as ideal for daily use. Putting in windows had required him to first figure out how to make ss, and then figure out how to make ss strong enough to withstand said windstorms. That had been really interesting and finally healed the rift of silence that had persisted between him and Fu Run. He¡¯d gone to her and exined the fragility problem with the ss. He knew it wasn¡¯t an alchemy problem, at least not exactly, but it was close enough to get the pair talking. The issue had intrigued the nascent soul cultivator so much that she¡¯d actually <em>left</em> her domain for nearly two weeks to go and talk with someone she knew about it.


    She¡¯de back with a storage ring full of books, scrolls, and materials that Sen hadn¡¯t recognized. It had taken a lot more experimentation, but they had finally cracked the problem with abination of borrowed wisdom, Fu Run¡¯s massive experience with alchemy, and a bit of help from Sen¡¯s intuitive improvements to things under pressure and heat. Fu Run had even deigned toe and watch as Sen installed the ss in the building. As the weather grew colder, he¡¯d needed to add doors to the main entrance. Then, he¡¯d had to work out a way to heat the ce that wouldn¡¯t require turning the forest into fields of stumps for miles in every direction. Not that the townspeople would have objected, at first, but Sen knew that would turn into a catastrophe for thend in a hurry. Falling Leaf solved part of that problem for him.


    ¡°Just warm the stone of the floor,¡± she said.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Why do you think I always used to nap on those big rocks? The sun would warm them up, and they¡¯d stay warm for hours and hours. Often, they¡¯d stay warm well into the night.¡±


    It worked, as far as it went. If Sen warmed the stone of the floor in the morning, it would radiate heat all day. Of course, he wasn¡¯t there every day, so it wasn¡¯t aplete solution. A couple ofrge fireces also helped, but they worked best to keep the ce warm rather than make it warm. In the end, it took several trips even deeper into the wilds to find natural treasures that were strongly fire-attributed. He ced several of them into the stone of the floor, which served to keep the interior of the building warm all of the time. Of course, he¡¯d have to take them back out in the spring, and the solution would only work as long as he was around to manipte the stone of the floor. That was a problem that he could deal with down the road. For the moment, it was a functional solution that drastically reduced the amount of wood they needed to burn.This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Sen looked down at the fifty townspeople working their way through a spear form. Long gone were their days of spreading out in the space. Now, they assembled themselves into orderly rows. He had Dai Bao to thank for that particr improvement. The man had eventually shared that he was, indeed, a soldier in a long-ago time. Like many, he had chosen to join the army rather than follow his father into a trade. When he¡¯d discovered that war was little more than brutal violence and the constant threat of death, rather than some pathway to glory, he had gotten out at the very first opportunity. Even so, he had remembered some things, like how having people form up into lines could boost efficiency. Sen had never trained in a group with other people, let alone with a group of mortals. He¡¯d let Dai Bao¡¯s wisdom guide him in that. It had mostly been sessful. Sen had been forced to step in and decree who could stand at the front of the lines to put a stop to petty squabbling.


    For all the tedium of ying instructor, Sen wasn¡¯t wasting his time. He was sitting directly above the townspeople on a tform of hardened shadow that was supported by half a dozen lines of hardened shadow that he¡¯d anchored to the walls. He was also controlling a shadow construct that was about the size and shape of a veryrge dog that Ai and Zhi were, in turns, riding, petting, or chasing around at a safe distance from the practicing townspeople. It was apromise he¡¯d made with Fu Run, who said he still hadn¡¯t learned what he needed to learn about shadow qi yet. He coulde to town and instruct the mortals, but he had to practice and experiment with shadow qi while he did it.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just tell me what I¡¯m missing?¡± Sen had asked.


    ¡°I could, but I won¡¯t,¡± said Fu Run.


    ¡°Dare I ask why?¡±


    ¡°Because there are benefits to discovering the answers for yourself. I told you before, the transition into the nascent soul stage depends on understanding. If I give you the answer, what understanding will you gain about shadow qi or yourself?¡±


    ¡°None,¡± Sen grudgingly admitted.


    ¡°Just as importantly, the higher you climb as a cultivator, the fewer people there will be who can guide you. Even the advice of your other teachers, to say nothing of my advice, will be less and less valuable the closer you get to ascension. Our paths intersect with yours in some ways but they are not the same. As time goes by, you¡¯ll need to rely on yourself more and more for the insights that will push you forward. You might as well start now while the stakes are lower.¡±


    Sen had reluctantly epted that for the wisdom it was and gone back to work. He didn¡¯t feel any closer to a new insight about shadow qi, but he had to admit that he¡¯d be increasingly adept at manipting it. He took that as a small victory, even if it wasn¡¯t the victory he was looking for. He had found himself going back to Glimmer of Night to discuss webs. He felt sure that the key to understanding what he was missing could be found there. He just hadn¡¯t managed to find the right question to expose the information that could turn his mental iling intoprehension. Or, if the right information had been provided, Sen simplycked the necessary foundation to see it for what it was. Recognizing that rehashing that problem in his head wouldn¡¯t get him anywhere, he stood and jumped down to the floor. The tform and supporting lines dispersed at his will. The townspeople didn¡¯t stop their practice. They had grown used to his odd behavior by now.


    He walked a slow circle around them, noting which people needed a little more direct attention. Sen was about to call a few people over to him when one of the heavy main doors swung open and let in a burst of wind and snowkes. He stared at the open door for a moment before he let his spiritual sense sweep outward. Sen had discovered that while the mortal townspeople didn¡¯t know what it was, they could feel that spiritual sense when he had it active. It was a distraction that they didn¡¯t need and there was little use for it inside the building where he could simply see everything that was happening. What he felt were two cultivators. One was in core formation if just barely, while the other was still in early or maybe early-middle foundation formation. No threat to Sen, but a lethal threat to the townspeople. The pair stepped through the door, and Sen was standing between them and the children in a furious burst of qinggong speed. He almost let his killing intent loose but caught himself at thest moment. His fine control of it was world¡¯s better than it had been when he first set off into the world, but he didn¡¯t want the girls to feel so much as a drop of it if his control slipped.


    He did let his hand drop to his jian, though, as he fixed the pair with a look that wasn¡¯t quite hostile. Between the wind, snow, and the hoods pulled far forward, he couldn¡¯t get a clear look at them. One looked around, pausing briefly at the assembled mortals who were openly staring at the intruders. The other turned and closed the door. The one in front raised a hand and pulled back her hood before giving Sen something that was almost a smile, but marred with a substantial amount of uncertainty. Sen just stared at her. Of all the people he¡¯d thought might try to track him down one day, she hadn¡¯t even been on the list. She¡¯d seemed very keen to sever any rtionship with him thest time they¡¯d seen each other.


    ¡°You¡¯re not an easy man to find, Judgment¡¯s Gale,¡± said Wu Meng Yao.

 Book 3 Will Be Stubbed

    Book 3 Will Be Stubbed


    Okay, that glorious moment when Volume 3 willunch on Amazon is almost upon us. The book/ebook/kindle unlimited edition is scheduled to go live on July 2. That means that I''ll probably take down most of the Vol. 3 chapters on here around June 29th or 30th. In other words, if you haven''t read it yet/finished it yet, you have about two weeks before Amazon policies kick in. At that point, it''s toote. No FOMO going on here or anything.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Before anyone asks, there is an audiobook version of volume 3ing, I''m just not sure about the timing yet. I''m hoping it''ll be close to the book/ebookunch, but that all depends on factors over which I have staggeringly little control.


    Speaking of Volume 3, check out the cover below.

 Book 7: Chapter 29: Uncertain Reception

    Book 7: Chapter 29: Uncertain Reception


    Wu Meng Yao did her best not to stare at Lu Sen. It had been a long, long road to find him. She¡¯d been away from the Soaring Skies Sect for years now, dragging poor Shen Mingxia along in her wake. They¡¯d been gone so long, in fact, that she suspected they were members in name only by now. Not that the traveling had been entirely a bad thing. Like most members of her sect, she had rarely traveled far beyond the city walls, and on those rare trips only to deal with a spirit beast that was bothering the local farmers. In the intervening years, she had traveled countless miles, seen wonders and horrors, and even had a lucky encounter or two.


    Between the resources she¡¯d been given by the sect, those lucky encounters, and a deeper well of experience than most of her sect brethren, she¡¯d even managed to break into core formation decades ahead of schedule. She had the sneaking suspicion that with that advancement under her belt, she¡¯d be weed with open arms and hailed as some kind of minor cultivation genius when she did finally return. Shen Mingxia had even benefited indirectly and pushed her advancement forward. It hadn¡¯t been as fast as Wu Men Yao¡¯s own meteoric ascent, but it was enough that she¡¯d likely get some attention.


    Of course, any thought that she¡¯d been harboring that Judgment¡¯s Gale would be impressed by her advancement evaporated the moment she sensed his power. He was keeping it tightly contained, no doubt for the benefit of all the mortals who were staring at her in a mixture of curiosity, fear, and hostility. Even with that power suppressed, she couldn¡¯t believe what she was sensing. He waste core formation, maybe even verging onto peak core formation. She¡¯d heard the stories. <em>Everyone</em> had heard the stories of the deranged wandering cultivator who challenged sects and criminal empires, the man who walked the deep wilds without fear, the man who cast down beast tides, and the cultivator who toppled kings. She had assumed those stories were exaggerations built up around real but humbler exploits. Looking at him now, sensing that impossible power, power that hade centuries if not millennia before its time, she wondered how many of those tales werepletely urate or, an even more chilling thought, underselling the reality.


    Just as importantly, the man was obviously not happy to see her. He had positioned himself between her and the mortals like she was one of those savage young mistresses who took no ount of mortal lives. His hand was resting on the hilt of his jian. That casual gesture was enough to send icy waves coursing through her veins. She remembered him wielding that weapon with terrifying skill when he had been nothing but a foundation formation cultivator. She couldn¡¯t imagine what it would be like if he turned that de against her now backed with all of that newfound power and whatever experience he had umted in the intervening years. Part of her realized that it might be a profound experience that could push her cultivation forward. What made that problematic was that it would also certainly mean her near-immediate and dishonorable death. She realized that it was on her to start the conversation since she hade to find him.


    ¡°You¡¯re not an easy man to find, Judgment¡¯s Gale,¡± she offered.


    She desperately hoped that her tone hade off as light and friendly. Not that it seemed to make even the tiniest impression on the man. His expression didn¡¯t move at all from the inhumanly cold neutrality that he¡¯d fixed in ce. Wu Men Yao found herself abruptly wondering how many people had died after seeing that exact expression on that face. She could almost feel him making a decision about whether or not he should simply end her life and be done with it. The tension grew as the silence stretched out until it reached a point that made her want to scream. Then, as if sent by the heavens, one of the most adorable little girls that Wu Meng Yao had ever seen walked up to the pir of destructive power that was Judgment¡¯s Gale. There was absolutely no fear in the child at all as she reached up, grabbed two of the fingers on his free hand, and peered across the intervening space with curious eyes.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± asked the little girl.


    As if that child¡¯s touch had turned something back on inside of Lu Sen, humanity bled back into his face. He smiled down at the little girl with so much tender affection that Wu Meng Yao felt a brief stab of envy. Not so much that Lu Sen was looking at the little girl that way, but that she couldn¡¯t recall anyone ever looking at her that way, not even her own parents. She also felt like the shadow of certain death had fallen across her and that only a quirk of fortune had allowed her to escape it. Once that wave of relief passed, though, she found herself looking back and forth from Lu Sen to the little girl. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder. <em>Is that his daughter</em>? The girl didn¡¯t look too old. Enough time had passed that he could have a daughter that age, but she couldn¡¯t imagine when he would have found the time. By all ounts, Judgment¡¯s Gale had spent most of thest ten years moving around in the kingdom. By the way he was looking at the little girl and the pure trust she had in the man, though, Wu Meng Yao struggled to imagine that she could be anything but his daughter. Lu Sen turned his gaze from the girl back to her.


    ¡°Her name if Wu Meng Yao. We,¡± he paused, ¡°met a long time ago.¡±¡°She is so cute!¡± cried Shen Mingxia.


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    Wu Meng Yao wanted to shout at the other woman for undermining whatever scraps of dignity they had left. However, it seemed that the path into Lu Sen¡¯s good graces passed directly through that little girl. He directed a much warmer look at Shen Mingxia as he picked the little girl up.


    ¡°Ai, that is Shen Mingxia,¡± said Sen.


    The girl frowned a little, which made Wu Meng Yao¡¯s heart skip a beat, but it was all innocent enough.


    The girl slowly sounded out the name. ¡°Shen. Ming. Xia.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Sen.


    Wu Meng Yao nced over at Shen Mingxia and recognized a lost cause when she saw one. The other woman only had eyes for the little girl. She wore a huge smile on her face like she didn¡¯t even realize how close to utter destruction they hade. The little girl smiled back at Mingxia.


    ¡°I¡¯m a beautiful orchid,¡± the child announced.


    ¡°Oh, aren¡¯t you just,¡± agreed Shen Mingxia with an enthusiastic nod.


    That elicited an actual smile from Lu Sen, which frustrated Wu Meng Yao to no end. She¡¯d left the sect,e all this way to make amends, and Shen Mingxia was getting smiles. That was just so <em>unfair</em>. On top of all of that, he was even better looking than thest time she¡¯d seen him, which was a tall order. No doubt the product of all those advancements he¡¯d seemingly crashed through over thest several years. Improvements that most cultivators had to wait an eternity to enjoy had piled up on him like gifts from the heavens. It was almost difficult to look at him and not simply gawk. With a start, she realized she was doing just that and averted her eyes before he noticed.


    ¡°Alright, everyone,¡± said Sen. ¡°I think it¡¯s safe to say that we aren¡¯t going to aplish anything more today. You should head home.¡±


    The mortals all started to shuffle around and deposit spears on¡­ Wu Meng Yao studied the wall a little more closely. It looked like hangers had simply grown out of the stone so people could ce the spears there. She notices a simr arrangement where halberds hung. Beyond that, there were hooks where people had hung up their wet coats and cloaks to dry. Cultivators talented with earth qi could do such things, but the mortals seemed to take the conveniences for granted. And why wouldn¡¯t they? It was clear that this setup had been in ce for a while. What she couldn¡¯t figure out was what someone as powerful and infamous as Judgment¡¯s Gale was doing teaching mortals to use weapons. For that matter, she couldn¡¯t fathom why he would do such a thing. Maybe he¡¯d tell her, if she could ever thaw that cold unhappiness she¡¯d seen on his face when he first recognized her.


    Turning to say something to Shen Mingxia, she found the woman gone. Looking around, Wu Meng Yao found that the traitor had gone over to fuss over the little girl, who Sen had put back down on the ground. Feeling like there was a plot against her, Wu Meng Yao watched her student win another look of quiet approval from Lu Sen. The trio were quietly joined by another little girl who was holding what looked like a ball made of shadow. <em>Another daughter</em>? The other little girl seemed hesitant, her eyes locking on Lu Sen for approval. He gently rested a hand on the girl¡¯s head and introduced her.


    ¡°This is Li Zhi,¡± he told Shen Mingxia.


    Seemingly bolstered by Sen¡¯s presence and introduction, Zhi walked over to Shen Mingxia and Ai. The little girls immediately co-opted Shen Mingxia to y some kind of game with them. <em>Thank the gods there are no sect elders here to witness this</em>, thought Wu Meng Yao. She wasn¡¯t sure that either of them would ever live the encounter down. She kept her distance while Lu Sen had a number of brief conversations with the mortals. One of the mortal women eventually went over to im the girl, Li Zhi, who immediately ran away and hid behind Lu Sen¡¯s leg. It seemed this was some kind of ritual because the little girl started giggling as soon as Lu Sen began looking around like he was confused.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± he cried in the most theatrical of worried voices. ¡°Where can Li Zhi have gone?¡±


    The little girl giggled louder and louder as Lu Sen managed to look everywhere except at where she was standing.


    ¡°Whatever will we do if we can¡¯t find Li Zhi?¡± he moaned as he dropped his face into his hands.


    The other little girl took up her part in the ritual.


    ¡°Shadow dog!¡± shouted Ai. ¡°Shadow dog can find her!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right! Shadow dog can do it!¡±


    Wu Meng Yao had no idea what they meant by shadow dog until she felt a surge of qi from Lu Sen, followed by what looked like a literal dog made of shadow leaping into being out of nowhere. She felt her mouth hanging open at the sight, not sure if she should be horrified at the outrageously wasteful use of qi for a child¡¯s game, or astounded at the casually nonchnt way that the man formed and directed the shadow construct. It bounded around the huge building like an actual dog, looking as though it was sniffing for a trail. The little girl, Li Zhi, wasn¡¯t even bothering to hide anymore. Instead, she standing right next to Lu Sen jumping in happiness at the sight of the shadow dog. After what seemed like an unnecessarily convoluted trek through thepletely open space, the shadow dog suddenly turned to where Li Zhi was standing, its void ck tail started wagging back and forth, and it trotted over to her.


    ¡°Shadow dog found her!¡± shouted Ai.


    ¡°Yes, he did,¡± agreed Lu Sen, as the little girls petted the construct.


    With the ritualpleted, the mortal woman bundled up the little girl for the cold weather. Wu Meng Yao expected Lu Sen to disperse the shadow construct, but the other little girl immediately climbed onto it. She watched in stunned silence as Ai rode the shadow construct as if it were some kind of horse. She was pulled from her thoughts by the voice of Lu Sen.


    ¡°You¡¯ve advanced to core formation. Congrattions.¡±


    She turned to face him. The words had been neutral. Safe. A topic that any cultivator would respond to. She nodded.


    ¡°Thank you. Although, it seems no star burns as brightly as yours in the heavens¡¯ eyes when ites to advancement.¡±


    She had thought it was a safe enoughment, but Lu Sen grimaced at the words.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± he said, apparently ready to put away even the pretext of polite conversation. ¡°You¡¯vee a long way, Wu Meng Yao. What do you want?¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 30: Don’t Worry About It

    Book 7: Chapter 30: Don¡¯t Worry About It


    As Sen waited for an answer, he watched the woman¡¯s face. She seemed almost confused as she looked around at the building, and then over at Ai riding on the shadow dog. When she did finally look at him again, it was only for a few moments before her eyes shifted to look past him. He nced over his shoulder to see Shen Mingxia curiously staring at the pit of shadow balls he kept there for the girls to y in. The woman looked from the pit to Ai on the shadow dog, and then back to the pit. She reached down and picked one of the balls out of the pit. Sen felt Mingxia extend her spiritual sense and her qi. A look of muted awe crossed her face and she looked toward Sen. When she saw Sen and Wu Meng Yao looking at her, she jumped, squeaked, and hastily dropped the ball back into the pit. Sen snorted. Feeling amused, he held out a hand and formed another of the shadow balls. He threw it to her.


    ¡°Study it all you like,¡± he said. ¡°Who knows? Maybe you¡¯ll get an insight from it.¡±


    He turned his attention back to Wu Meng Yao and found her studying him with an intense look in her eyes. <em>Yeah</em>, he thought, <em>that¡¯s not off-putting at all</em>. Sen remembered thatst conversation they¡¯d had back in Emperor¡¯s Bay with a lot more rity than he¡¯d like. He remembered her telling him that he frightened her. It didn¡¯t sting the way it used to, but it wasn¡¯t the kind of thing that a person just shrugs off either. When Sen found his patience starting to wear thin, it must have shown on his face because Wu Meng Yao blurted out a hasty question.


    ¡°Is she your¡­ Is she your daughter?¡±


    Sen had to think hard about that question. It wasn¡¯t a question about where Ai stood in his heart because that answer was locked in stone. She was his, and anyone who tried to take her from him was going to discover that he was the kind of man for who phrases like scorched earth and no survivors were literal possibilities. No, the real question was whether he wanted any sect to possess a confirmation that he saw Ai that way. After a moment of thought, he knew with certainty that he did not want to confirm that kind of rtionship to any sect. Instead, he lied by saying something true.


    ¡°She is under my protection.¡±


    From the way Wu Meng Yao took a step back from him, she understood that questions on that topic would not increase her odds of a long, happy, healthy life. Sen thought that taking this approach was probably even better than simply saying she was his daughter. Saying Ai was under his protection meant that any action against her wouldn¡¯t mean the <em>possibility</em> of retribution but the absolute <em>guarantee</em> of it. With his reputation, that was a risk that most sects would go out of their way to avoid. Sen didn¡¯t particrly want to reinforce a reputation as a merciless, blood-soaked agent of doom. If someone threatened Ai, though, that¡¯s exactly what he¡¯d be. However, Sen didn¡¯t have any particr grudge against Wu Meng Yao, so scaring her to death was probably out of bounds. Besides, he got the impression that she¡¯d just asked him the first thing that sprang to mind. He did his best to tamp down the impression that he¡¯d murder people for asking the wrong questions. He softened his tone.


    ¡°Meng Yao, you didn¡¯te this far from your sect on a whim. Why are you here?¡±


    Part of Sen worried that she was here on some kind of misguided mission to recruit him to the Soaring Skies sect. Although, he had saddled Elder Deng with that list of demonic cultivators. Maybe she¡¯d been sent with message about that. Looking back, he felt a little bad about doing that to Elder Deng. The old man hadn¡¯t been all that friendly to Sen, but Sen also hadn¡¯t been that good for the Soaring Skies¡¯ reputation. A wandering cultivatoring in, killing their sect members, and piling them up in the street like trash. Murdering one of their elders while also exposing said elder as a demonic cultivator. He¡¯d probably set them back a few centuries in terms of the honor and prestige of the sect. In hindsight, it was downright miraculous that he¡¯d gotten out of that city alive. Although, Lo Meifeng had threatened to bring down the wrath of Fate¡¯s Razor on them all, so maybe it wasn¡¯t that miraculous.¡°Thest time we spoke¡ª¡± said Wu Meng Yao before she trailed off.


    ¡°I remember,¡± said Sen with more than a hint of dryness in his tone.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she answered, wincing a little. ¡°I was unkind to you. It wasn¡¯t until after you were gone that I understood what you¡¯d done for me.¡±


    Sen blinked at her. <em>I have no idea what she¡¯s talking about</em>, he thought. He scoured his memory and tried to think of anything he might have done <em>for</em> her. He hadn¡¯t given her anything. That was in the days before he made a habit of picking up absurdly powerful nts and reagents out in the wilds. No matter how hard he thought, he just couldn¡¯t imagine what action or event she was referring to. In the end, he did the only thing he could do. He shrugged.


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    ¡°Well, things worked out fine, I guess. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao stared at him, her mouth working a little, but she seemed utterly at a loss. Shen Mingxia spoke from behind him, a bit of wry amusement in her tone.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t remember,¡± she said.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? He has no idea what he did for you. For us.¡±


    Sen looked back to see Shen Mingxia still holding the shadow ball he¡¯d given her. She was still studying the ball.


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao with an incredulous expression.


    Sen gave her a helpless look. ¡°I really don¡¯t. I mean, it seems like it was important, and I¡¯m d it helped you, but a <em>lot</em> has happened to me since then.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao stoodpletely still for a few seconds before a littleugh escaped her lips. Once thatugh was out in the world, though, it was like the sect woman couldn¡¯t keep the rest of them in. Sheughed until she was wiping tears away from her eyes.


    ¡°I should have known,¡± she said.


    ¡°Known what?¡± asked Sen even if he wasn¡¯t sure he actually wanted to know.


    ¡°What you did was life-changing for me,¡± said Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°For both of us,¡± chimed in Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°But the life you live is so¡ª¡± she started, only to pause.


    ¡°Absurd?¡± offered Sen.


    ¡°I was going to say extreme or maybe intense. Your life is so intense that you don¡¯t even remember doing life-altering things for people.¡±


    Sen frowned. She wasn¡¯t necessarily wrong, but he also wasn¡¯t sure that she was right about this either.


    ¡°Yeah, but did I actually <em>do</em> anything? Did I personally do anything for either of you? I mean after that business at the Silver Crane. Because I honestly can¡¯t think of a single thing.¡±


    ¡°You told Elder Deng I could be trusted,¡± said Wu Meng Yao.


    Sen nodded at that. ¡°Sure.¡±


    She looked at him expectantly.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°You told one of the most powerful people in my sect that I could be trusted.¡±


    ¡°I know. I told him that because it was true.¡±


    ¡°So, you do remember,¡± said Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°I remember saying it,¡± said Sen.


    That was when Sen¡¯s brain finally caught up with the conversation that Wu Meng Yao had been trying to have with him. He hadn¡¯t been thinking about it in the big picture. To him, it had been an offhand statement of fact and maybe a way to help Shen Mingxia get some decent training. But, to Elder Deng, a man confronted with the fact that his sect had been infiltrated by at least one demonic cultivator, those words had probably carried a lot more weight. Coming from Sen,ing from the student of Feng Ming, those words must have sounded like a ringing endorsement. He could imagine how it came across to Deng. <em>Yeah</em>, <em>I think your sect is filled with garbage</em>, <em>but I found one diamond of a person that I think is trustworthy</em>. Sen didn¡¯t know exactly what that meant for her at the sect, but it must have been pretty good for her to go through all the trouble to find him. When he thought about thatst conversation they had, he realized that she must have been harboring some deep guilt about the whole thing.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen, before he decided that it didn¡¯t change anything. ¡°Well, I¡¯m d that worked out for you. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    The look of shock and even offense on Wu Meng Yao¡¯s face was not what Sen had expected. He¡¯d figured he could send her back to her sect, free of guilt, and never to trouble him again.


    ¡°I spent years searching for you so I could try to make amends. And you don¡¯t care?¡±


    That hadn¡¯t been what Sen was trying to say, but he could sort of see how it might look that way from her position. He¡¯d just meant to give her an easy out. <em>Why are these things always soplicated</em>? The problem was that he didn¡¯t know what she did want.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it. I genuinely appreciate what you¡¯ve done, and that you want to make amends. I¡¯m just not sure what you expected me to do about it. I mean, honestly, what can I do other than tell you it¡¯s fine and send you home?¡±


    ¡°Well, for starters, you could¡ª¡± she said before a look of uncertainty crossed her face.


    Sen narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°You thought that <em>I¡¯d</em> have a n for something like this, didn¡¯t you? Some task that I¡¯d want done? Some quest you could pursue? Something that would put us back on even terms?¡±


    ¡°Do you?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao in a weak but hopeful voice.


    ¡°No. What kind of a person has a n ready to go for this situation?¡± asked Sen as he pinched the bridge of his nose.


    He looked over at Ai who was still cheerfully riding around on the shadow dog construct. He had it bring her over to him. She hopped down off the construct and waved at it as it dispersed. Sen wondered if she thought it was sapient. <em>Now</em>, <em>there¡¯s a question</em>, thought Sen. <em>Could I make it sapient</em>? <em>I wonder how I¡¯d do that</em>, <em>assuming it¡¯s even possible</em>. He tucked that thought away for future consideration as he started making sure that Ai got her winter cloak settled around her. He very pointedly did not look at Wu Meng Yao while he did that. She had seemed both embarrassed and out of sorts, so a little time not being under direct scrutiny was probably a good thing. He finally turned his attention back to the sect cultivators.


    ¡°Do you two have rooms yet?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°Follow me. There¡¯s an inn in town. They probably have some rooms open. It¡¯s not a great inn, but it¡¯s dry, warm, and the food isn¡¯t terrible. I need to get you settled, so we can go home. Are you ready to go home?¡± he asked Ai.


    ¡°Home!¡± she agreed enthusiastically.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose we could¡ª¡± started Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°Definitely not,¡± said Sen, shuddering at the very thought of what Fu Run might do if he brought two sect members into her domain.

 Book 7: Chapter Thirty-One – Quest-giving

    Book 7: Chapter Thirty-One ¨C Quest-giving


    Falling Leaf just stared at Sen with those green of hers for a while, her hand gently stroking Ai¡¯s hair as the little girl slept in herp. That sleep was peaceful, for which Sen was deeply grateful. The awful nightmares of the first couple of months had slowly faded away,rgely Sen suspected, in lockstep with Ai¡¯s increasing feeling of safety and security. These days, the nightmares were the rare exception. To Sen¡¯s immense relief, those nightmares often featured imaginary threats conjured by the girl¡¯s imagination instead of the far-too-real human monsters of her past. Sen¡¯s eyes were drawn back up as Falling Leaf shook her head.


    ¡°What does the foolish human girl expect you to do? The guilt isn¡¯t yours.¡±


    That had been Sen¡¯s general feeling about Wu Meng Yao as well, but there was somethingforting in having the ghost panther agree with him. He¡¯d been wrestling with the problem of what, if anything, he should do about the sect cultivator since he left her and Shen Mingxia back at the inn. It was strange to have such different reactions to two people. Wu Meng Yao had immediately made herself into an issue, albeit a very minor one on the scale of Sen¡¯s usual problems. He¡¯d been certain that she¡¯d drag some huge cmity in her wake that would inevitably require him to do things he¡¯d rather not do. The reality was much more mundane and annoying than disastrous and deadly.


    He¡¯d actually been happy to see Shen Mingxia. It was a relief to know that she had escaped the kind of unwanted attention she¡¯d faced in the sect before. Based on her advancement, she¡¯d been the recipient of some good training, good luck, or both in the interim. Sen could even allow himself a tiny bit of satisfaction that he¡¯d yed some small role in making <em>that</em> happen. Sen was willing to admit that the woman¡¯s reaction to Ai <em>might</em> have disposed him to like her a little more than he otherwise would have. Of course, Mingxia had been willing to simply say a heartfelt thank you and leave it at that. If she was harboring some of the same feelings as Wu Meng Yao, she did a much better job of hiding them. As for what Wu Meng Yao expected from him, that was the mystery.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I can see where she¡¯sing from, a little bit, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s my problem to deal with. On the other hand, I don¡¯t want sect members in town all the time, bothering people, or bothering me.¡±


    ¡°Then give her something to do. Some task that she won¡¯t like that will eventually make her leave. Or, better yet, a task that will drag her away for a long time. Send her after a difficult-to-reach treasure.¡±


    ¡°<em>I</em> don¡¯t know where to find any treasures. Where am I supposed to send her?¡±


    Falling Leaf sat in thoughtful silence for a while before she smiled the kind of smile that makes people shiver.


    ¡°Send her to the Mountains of Sorrow. The Caihong said that there are many caves and many treasures hidden near the peaks of those mountains.¡±Sen lifted an eyebrow at the ghost panther. ¡°I¡¯m fairly certain that Uncle Kho said that there were also all kinds of monsters crawling around near those peaks.¡±


    ¡°What better test of her sincerity?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I¡¯m so d you don¡¯t get angry with me all that often,¡± observed Sen. ¡°Well, I suppose I have to send her after something.¡±


    ¡°Just tell her that it¡¯s a shadow qi treasure that she¡¯ll recognize as soon as she sees it.¡±


    Sen mulled it over. ¡°So, you figure that they¡¯ll go looking, realize how stupidly dangerous it is, or realize I sent them there just to get them out of here, and go home?¡±


    ¡°They will if they have any sense,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    ¡°What if they find something?¡± asked Sen.


    Falling Leaf rocked her head to each side a few times. ¡°Then, I imagine that you¡¯ll get a shadow treasure with no effort.¡±


    Senughed gently and shook his head. His gaze shifted when Ai stirred a little.


    ¡°Do you want me to take her?¡± asked Sen.


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    The ghost panther didn¡¯t actually hiss at him, but Sen got the impression it was a close thing. Instead, Falling Leaf gave him a t look.


    ¡°She¡¯s fine where she is.¡±


    Sen lifted his hands in a cating gesture. ¡°I was only offering. Just trying to be helpful¡±


    ¡°If you wish to be helpful, fetch one of those tedious history scrolls that the Kho gave you and read it to me. Since it seems I am truly to be stuck in this form forever, I should make an effort to know some of your human history.¡±


    Sen was startled by the request but did as he was asked. Reading it out loud wasn¡¯t that much better than reading it in his head, but Falling Leaf remained attentive. She even asked questions from time to time. After they put Ai to bed, Sen brought out his writing kit.


    ¡°I thought you were done teaching me,¡± said the ghost panther.


    ¡°Done is a strong word. You know enough to get by, but it¡¯s a skill you need to practice asionally.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Falling Leaf, sitting down at the table. ¡°What shall I write?¡±


    ¡°You heard a bunch of that scroll earlier. Write down some of what you remember.¡±


    That earned Sen a skeptical look, but Falling Leaf dutifully picked up the brush and began writing. At first, he just watched the characters appear on the scroll and marveled at the crisp control that went into forming them. After a little while, though, Sen really focused on what Falling Leaf was writing. Sen couldn¡¯t be sure without going and getting the scroll he¡¯d been reading, but it appeared that Falling Leaf was writing what she¡¯d heard nearly verbatim. Sen¡¯s memory was good. In fact, it was very, very goodpared to his mortal days, but he didn¡¯t think he could have pulled off the feat he was witnessing.


    ¡°You remember all of this?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I was listening carefully,¡± she said as she turned to look at him. ¡°I always listen carefully when you speak.¡±


    Sen felt inexplicably nervous under that look and shifted in his seat. Then, Falling Leaf broke the moment when she continued.


    ¡°You should try it sometime.¡±


    ¡°Very funny,¡± said Sen as Falling Leaf smirked to herself.


    ***


    Wu Meng Yao looked a little horrified at Sen¡¯s words.


    ¡°You want me to go to the Mountains of Sorrow and retrieve a treasure from one of the peaks there?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s about the size of it.¡±


    The woman swallowed hard. Sen did his best not to look at Shen Mingxia because she was giving him a very skeptical look.


    ¡°Which peak?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly which peak. It¡¯s supposed to be one of the peaks near the main pass through the mountains. I mean, if I knew exactly where it was and how to get it, I¡¯d just go myself.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any other information?¡± asked the sect woman.


    Sen was starting to feel bad about the whole subterfuge, but he carried on with it. ¡°It¡¯s a potent shadow qi treasure. It¡¯s in a cave. You should expect terrible weather, powerful spirit beasts, and probably some dangerous formations and qi traps. It¡¯s perfect for a fresh core formation cultivator. I get a treasure. You¡¯re freed from your debt. Everybody wins.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Do we need to leave immediately?¡±


    Sen wanted to say <em>yes</em>. Oh, he wanted to say it so very badly, but he¡¯d seen the map. There was basically nothing between where they were and where he was sending them. No major cities. He wasn¡¯t sure there were even any towns or viges. Sen might want them gone, but he wasn¡¯t cruel enough to force them to travel in the dead of winter to ces where there simply was no shelter. After all, they couldn¡¯t simply raise a galehouse and hole up for a month if they needed to. He shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯ll hold until spring, I expect.¡±


    A tiny little part of Sen hoped that she¡¯d decide to go back to Emperor¡¯s Bay until the weather broke, but it wasn¡¯t to be. She offered him a relieved smile.


    ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll just have to find ways to make ourselves useful around here until then.¡±


    Sen tried to smile back and almost made it. Wu Meng Yao stood.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get us something to drink,¡± she announced.


    The moment she was gone, Sen felt Shen Mingxia¡¯s eyes boring into him. He looked over at her and did his best to maintain a calm, neutral expression.


    ¡°There¡¯s no treasure, is there?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s definitely treasures up in those peaks,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°But not the one you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Sen said nothing.


    Shen Mingxia red at him. ¡°Are you trying to get me and her killed?¡±


    ¡°What? No. <em>Your</em> job is to wait until you get to the mountains and then tell her that I¡¯m a cruel liar who sent you after a non-existent treasure.¡±


    Shen Mingxia opened her mouth and the only thing that came out was a baffled, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s not my job to fix her guilt,¡± said Sen.


    She Mingxia frowned but eventually nodded. ¡°Okay. I can see that. But why all of this? Why not just say that to her?¡±


    ¡°Do you really think that if I just say, this is not my problem, go home, she¡¯ll actually do it? Because that would make my life so much easier.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Shen Mingxia. ¡°There¡¯s almost zero chance of that.¡±


    ¡°That was what I thought. This way, I waste a bunch of her time and send her on a fool¡¯s errand. You put a stop to it before it gets really dangerous. She stops feeling guilty and just thinks that I¡¯m an ass for doing that to her.¡±


    ¡°You <em>are</em> an ass for doing this to her.¡±


    ¡°As a wandering cultivator, you work with the tools you have. Besides, it¡¯s not like I have anything real for her to do. You¡¯re not dealing with a sect here. It¡¯s just me. I don¡¯t have jobs or missions or whatever you call them to hand out to people.¡±


    ¡°Still, this was the best you coulde up with?¡±


    ¡°Figure out something better,¡± said Sen. ¡°You have until spring.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 31: Quest-giving

    Book 7: Chapter 31: Quest-giving


    Falling Leaf just stared at Sen with those green of hers for a while, her hand gently stroking Ai¡¯s hair as the little girl slept in herp. That sleep was peaceful, for which Sen was deeply grateful. The awful nightmares of the first couple of months had slowly faded away,rgely Sen suspected, in lockstep with Ai¡¯s increasing feeling of safety and security. These days, the nightmares were the rare exception. To Sen¡¯s immense relief, those nightmares often featured imaginary threats conjured by the girl¡¯s imagination instead of the far-too-real human monsters of her past. Sen¡¯s eyes were drawn back up as Falling Leaf shook her head.


    ¡°What does the foolish human girl expect you to do? The guilt isn¡¯t yours.¡±


    That had been Sen¡¯s general feeling about Wu Meng Yao as well, but there was somethingforting in having the ghost panther agree with him. He¡¯d been wrestling with the problem of what, if anything, he should do about the sect cultivator since he left her and Shen Mingxia back at the inn. It was strange to have such different reactions to two people. Wu Meng Yao had immediately made herself into an issue, albeit a very minor one on the scale of Sen¡¯s usual problems. He¡¯d been certain that she¡¯d drag some huge cmity in her wake that would inevitably require him to do things he¡¯d rather not do. The reality was much more mundane and annoying than disastrous and deadly.


    He¡¯d actually been happy to see Shen Mingxia. It was a relief to know that she had escaped the kind of unwanted attention she¡¯d faced in the sect before. Based on her advancement, she¡¯d been the recipient of some good training, good luck, or both in the interim. Sen could even allow himself a tiny bit of satisfaction that he¡¯d yed some small role in making <em>that</em> happen. Sen was willing to admit that the woman¡¯s reaction to Ai <em>might</em> have disposed him to like her a little more than he otherwise would have. Of course, Mingxia had been willing to simply say a heartfelt thank you and leave it at that. If she was harboring some of the same feelings as Wu Meng Yao, she did a much better job of hiding them. As for what Wu Meng Yao expected from him, that was the mystery.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I can see where she¡¯sing from, a little bit, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s my problem to deal with. On the other hand, I don¡¯t want sect members in town all the time, bothering people, or bothering me.¡±


    ¡°Then give her something to do. Some task that she won¡¯t like that will eventually make her leave. Or, better yet, a task that will drag her away for a long time. Send her after a difficult-to-reach treasure.¡±


    ¡°<em>I</em> don¡¯t know where to find any treasures. Where am I supposed to send her?¡±


    Falling Leaf sat in thoughtful silence for a while before she smiled the kind of smile that makes people shiver.


    ¡°Send her to the Mountains of Sorrow. The Caihong said that there are many caves and many treasures hidden near the peaks of those mountains.¡±Sen lifted an eyebrow at the ghost panther. ¡°I¡¯m fairly certain that Uncle Kho said that there were also all kinds of monsters crawling around near those peaks.¡±


    ¡°What better test of her sincerity?¡± asked Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I¡¯m so d you don¡¯t get angry with me all that often,¡± observed Sen. ¡°Well, I suppose I have to send her after something.¡±


    ¡°Just tell her that it¡¯s a shadow qi treasure that she¡¯ll recognize as soon as she sees it.¡±


    Sen mulled it over. ¡°So, you figure that they¡¯ll go looking, realize how stupidly dangerous it is, or realize I sent them there just to get them out of here, and go home?¡±


    ¡°They will if they have any sense,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    ¡°What if they find something?¡± asked Sen.


    Falling Leaf rocked her head to each side a few times. ¡°Then, I imagine that you¡¯ll get a shadow treasure with no effort.¡±


    Senughed gently and shook his head. His gaze shifted when Ai stirred a little.


    ¡°Do you want me to take her?¡± asked Sen.


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    The ghost panther didn¡¯t actually hiss at him, but Sen got the impression it was a close thing. Instead, Falling Leaf gave him a t look.


    ¡°She¡¯s fine where she is.¡±


    Sen lifted his hands in a cating gesture. ¡°I was only offering. Just trying to be helpful¡±


    ¡°If you wish to be helpful, fetch one of those tedious history scrolls that the Kho gave you and read it to me. Since it seems I am truly to be stuck in this form forever, I should make an effort to know some of your human history.¡±


    Sen was startled by the request but did as he was asked. Reading it out loud wasn¡¯t that much better than reading it in his head, but Falling Leaf remained attentive. She even asked questions from time to time. After they put Ai to bed, Sen brought out his writing kit.


    ¡°I thought you were done teaching me,¡± said the ghost panther.


    ¡°Done is a strong word. You know enough to get by, but it¡¯s a skill you need to practice asionally.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± said Falling Leaf, sitting down at the table. ¡°What shall I write?¡±


    ¡°You heard a bunch of that scroll earlier. Write down some of what you remember.¡±


    That earned Sen a skeptical look, but Falling Leaf dutifully picked up the brush and began writing. At first, he just watched the characters appear on the scroll and marveled at the crisp control that went into forming them. After a little while, though, Sen really focused on what Falling Leaf was writing. Sen couldn¡¯t be sure without going and getting the scroll he¡¯d been reading, but it appeared that Falling Leaf was writing what she¡¯d heard nearly verbatim. Sen¡¯s memory was good. In fact, it was very, very goodpared to his mortal days, but he didn¡¯t think he could have pulled off the feat he was witnessing.


    ¡°You remember all of this?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I was listening carefully,¡± she said as she turned to look at him. ¡°I always listen carefully when you speak.¡±


    Sen felt inexplicably nervous under that look and shifted in his seat. Then, Falling Leaf broke the moment when she continued.


    ¡°You should try it sometime.¡±


    ¡°Very funny,¡± said Sen as Falling Leaf smirked to herself.


    ***


    Wu Meng Yao looked a little horrified at Sen¡¯s words.


    ¡°You want me to go to the Mountains of Sorrow and retrieve a treasure from one of the peaks there?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s about the size of it.¡±


    The woman swallowed hard. Sen did his best not to look at Shen Mingxia because she was giving him a very skeptical look.


    ¡°Which peak?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly which peak. It¡¯s supposed to be one of the peaks near the main pass through the mountains. I mean, if I knew exactly where it was and how to get it, I¡¯d just go myself.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any other information?¡± asked the sect woman.


    Sen was starting to feel bad about the whole subterfuge, but he carried on with it. ¡°It¡¯s a potent shadow qi treasure. It¡¯s in a cave. You should expect terrible weather, powerful spirit beasts, and probably some dangerous formations and qi traps. It¡¯s perfect for a fresh core formation cultivator. I get a treasure. You¡¯re freed from your debt. Everybody wins.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Do we need to leave immediately?¡±


    Sen wanted to say <em>yes</em>. Oh, he wanted to say it so very badly, but he¡¯d seen the map. There was basically nothing between where they were and where he was sending them. No major cities. He wasn¡¯t sure there were even any towns or viges. Sen might want them gone, but he wasn¡¯t cruel enough to force them to travel in the dead of winter to ces where there simply was no shelter. After all, they couldn¡¯t simply raise a galehouse and hole up for a month if they needed to. He shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯ll hold until spring, I expect.¡±


    A tiny little part of Sen hoped that she¡¯d decide to go back to Emperor¡¯s Bay until the weather broke, but it wasn¡¯t to be. She offered him a relieved smile.


    ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll just have to find ways to make ourselves useful around here until then.¡±


    Sen tried to smile back and almost made it. Wu Meng Yao stood.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get us something to drink,¡± she announced.


    The moment she was gone, Sen felt Shen Mingxia¡¯s eyes boring into him. He looked over at her and did his best to maintain a calm, neutral expression.


    ¡°There¡¯s no treasure, is there?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s definitely treasures up in those peaks,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°But not the one you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Sen said nothing.


    Shen Mingxia red at him. ¡°Are you trying to get me and her killed?¡±


    ¡°What? No. <em>Your</em> job is to wait until you get to the mountains and then tell her that I¡¯m a cruel liar who sent you after a non-existent treasure.¡±


    Shen Mingxia opened her mouth and the only thing that came out was a baffled, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s not my job to fix her guilt,¡± said Sen.


    She Mingxia frowned but eventually nodded. ¡°Okay. I can see that. But why all of this? Why not just say that to her?¡±


    ¡°Do you really think that if I just say, this is not my problem, go home, she¡¯ll actually do it? Because that would make my life so much easier.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Shen Mingxia. ¡°There¡¯s almost zero chance of that.¡±


    ¡°That was what I thought. This way, I waste a bunch of her time and send her on a fool¡¯s errand. You put a stop to it before it gets really dangerous. She stops feeling guilty and just thinks that I¡¯m an ass for doing that to her.¡±


    ¡°You <em>are</em> an ass for doing this to her.¡±


    ¡°As a wandering cultivator, you work with the tools you have. Besides, it¡¯s not like I have anything real for her to do. You¡¯re not dealing with a sect here. It¡¯s just me. I don¡¯t have jobs or missions or whatever you call them to hand out to people.¡±


    ¡°Still, this was the best you coulde up with?¡±


    ¡°Figure out something better,¡± said Sen. ¡°You have until spring.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 32: First Test (1)

    Book 7: Chapter 32: First Test (1)


    Sen had barely begun to walk away from the inn when his spiritual sense alerted him that there were spirit beasts near to the town. They were much too near to the town to be doing anything but preparing to attack. <em>I guess this day was alwaysing</em>, he thought. <em>Now</em>, <em>we find out if I¡¯ve been wasting my time or not</em>. Sen activated his qinggong technique and shed over to where the town had set up a gong. It was usually tucked away and only brought out for festivals, but Sen had made the argument that it could serve another purpose. It could be an alert for the town that danger was at hand. Sen flipped open the box that was there to offer the mallet some basic protection from the weather, seized the mallet, and struck the gong three times. By the time the third reverberating note was washing out over the town, Sen was crashing into the practice hall and hurriedly storing weapons in a storage ring.


    <em>This was bad nning</em>, he realized. He never went anywhere without his weapons. In fact, he kept backup weapons on him at all times. Granted, the mortals couldn¡¯t make use of storage rings, but they could keep spears close at hand. Needing to run to a building outside the city to arm themselves was a huge waste of time during which people could die. Of course, solving that problem meant getting more spears. <em>Well</em>, <em>it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have the money</em>, thought Sen. <em>Maybe I¡¯ll call it a loan to the town, and they can pay me back a copper tael each year until the end of time</em>. Having grabbed all the weapons, he shot back toward the town. He only paused long enough to toss Wang Bo over his shoulder. The young man was fast on his feet and lived the closest to the practice hall, so Sen wasn¡¯t entirely surprised to find him racing for the weapons. Sen did have to suppress hisughter at the high-pitched yelp the young man made when he was seemingly seized by an all-but-invisible force and carried back to the town. Sen went over the wall and dropped down on the inside of the gate. He was gratified to see that about half of the people he¡¯d been training were racing toward the gate. If all was going ording to n, the rest would be at the other gate. Sen put down Wang Bo, who looked a little nauseated and swayed on his feet. He turned and pointed to one of the people who was racing toward him.


    ¡°Go to the other gate. Fetch the rest. The threat is here.¡±


    <em>More poor nning</em>, thought Sen. <em>There should be a specific signal for which gate they should meet at</em>. The realization that people would have needed to carry spears to the far side of town just so the townspeople could arm themselves drove home just how badly he¡¯d thought all of it through. He consoled himself a little with the knowledge that no one else had thought of these things either. Plus, it wasn¡¯t like Sen had ever gotten any practical training in defending a town or city. He wasn¡¯t a general. He was just a wandering cultivator. He summoned an armful of spears and shoved them at Wang Bo. Then, he summoned an armful for himself. They started passing the weapons out. Sen could feel the rest of the peopleing from the far side of the town. He handed out a few more armloads of weapons and tasked people with arming the new arrivals.


    He strode back to the gate and turned to face the townspeople. He waited and did his best to look calm and project confidence. Once everyone was assembled and armed, he swept his gaze across the people. Some looked scared. Some looked excited. Some of the people who had fought thest spirit beasts to attack the town looked grim but determined. He saw Wu Meng Yao and Shen Mingxia drift toward the gathering. He¡¯d have to stop them from interfering unless things went terribly, terribly wrong. Taking a deep breath, he sped his hands behind him. <em>I need to give them something to focus on</em>, he thought.


    ¡°There are spirit beasts close by. They might just be passing by, but I¡¯m not willing to sit back and simply <em>hope</em> that¡¯s what happens. These are your homes, your livelihoods,¡± he locked eyes with Li Hua for a second, ¡°and your families. The fight will be hard. I can¡¯t promise that none of you will be hurt. I can¡¯t promise that no one will die. But you are the line between those spirit beasts and everything and everyone you hold dear. You are their shield. You are their sword. Will you fail them?¡±


    The townspeople stared at him as though transfixed. He waited. It was Dai Bao who broke the silence.


    ¡°No!¡± shouted the grizzled man.


    ¡°Is Dai Bao the only one? I ask you again. <em>Will you fail them</em>?¡±That time, fifty voices shouted out at him as one. ¡°No!¡±


    Some of them shouted in fear. Some shouted in defiance of the threat bearing down on them. Yet, they were united. It was the most he could ask for.


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    ¡°Good,¡± said Sen, giving them all a nod. ¡°Through the gate and into your teams.¡±


    He turned and pushed the gate open. The townspeople flooded past him, their eyes zing with purpose. Wu Meng Yao and Shen Mingxia came up on either side of him. Shen Mingxia watched the mortals organizing themselves with a thoughtful look on her face. Sen felt Wu Meng Yao extend her spiritual sense. She gave Sen a perplexed look.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. You could kill those spirit beasts without even trying. Mingxia and I could do it without any help.¡±


    Sen nced over at her. ¡°What about next time?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean that I¡¯m not always here. You won¡¯t always be here. But they will,¡± he said, gesturing at the people beyond the gate. ¡°They¡¯ll be here every day. They¡¯ll be here the next time spirit beastse looking for easy food or easy prey. So, I¡¯m trying to give them the skills they need to protect themselves. This will be the first test.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want us to interfere at all?¡± asked Shen Mingxia.


    Sen almost agreed, but the look of deep concern on the woman¡¯s face made him think better of it. He had two sect-trained cultivators just hanging around, at least one of them positively aching to be useful to him. Sen had fought with enough sect cultivators to recognize that, while he might not care for their attitudes on the whole, they were generallypetent to above-average fighters. Simply telling these two to stay out of itpletely was a poor use of avable resources. Yes, he wanted the townspeople to get some valuable experience. Yes, he wanted them to be the ones to make the actual kills. No, he didn¡¯t want either of those things to result in preventable deaths. And with three cultivators on hand, pretty much every certain death scenario for a mortal was preventable. Sen was new to this quasi-leadership role he¡¯d adopted, but even he could see that allowing deaths for no reason other than ¡°teaching¡± would undermine the townspeople¡¯s trust in him at best, and seem like a basic betrayal of trust at worst.


    ¡°The whole point of this is to help them build up some experience and confidence, so leave the fighting and killing to them. With that said, you can intervene to save lives. Get people out of certain death. Push the beasts back to let the townspeople regroup. That kind of thing. If something too powerful shows up, I¡¯ll deal with it. Or you two can.¡±


    Shen Mingxia looked relieved, while Wu Meng Yao looked eager. <em>Man</em>, <em>I should have sent her on that stupid fake quest immediately</em>, thought Sen. Still, he¡¯d be lying to himself if he didn¡¯t feel the pressure of responsibility on him reduce just a little bit. He knew that spirit beasts killed mortals all the time, the same way that cultivators killed spirit beasts and each other all the time. It was the way of the world. But he was at a remove from all of those people, cultivators, and spirit beasts. He hadn¡¯t tried to get the know the townspeople all the well, but he¡¯d inevitably be a casual acquaintance to pretty much every student. He considered a small handful of them as actual friends. Dai Bao, Li Hua, and Li Zhi, Wang Bo and his parents, and a few others. Thankfully, only some of them were getting ready to fight, but Sen recognized that this was a test for himself as much as it was for them.


    During that first fight with the spirit beasts, it had been easy to limit his intervention. He didn¡¯t really know any of them. Now, he did, and he needed to find out if he could stay his hand when things got bloody. Intervening for anything short of certain death would tell the townspeople that he didn¡¯t trust them, didn¡¯t trust what he¡¯d taught them, which would make them doubt what he¡¯d taught them. It was going to be hard because Wu Meng Yao was right. He could end the approaching spirit beasts by himself from the exact spot he was standing. The townspeople would never know, but he would know. He needed to be a little cruel right now so that they would learn, and so that they would be better preparedter. Sen put on a mask of cool confidence as he stepped through the gate.


    He watched as Dai Bao went from group to group, offering words of encouragement and making sure everyone¡¯s weapon was in fighting condition. During the first battle, there had been so few people that Sen broke them up into three-person teams. With fifty people, that was impractical. After some discussion with Dai Bao, they¡¯d settled on five-person teams. Three people carried spears while two wielded halberds. It was a cold calction, but that meant that up to two people could theoretically die and leave a team still capable of fighting or, barring that, retreating with some possibility of survival. With ten teams, it also meant that they could hold some teams in reserve to rotate in if the battle raged on for more than a few minutes. Sen remembered how tired he had been during the earliest days of his training and how fatigue made him sloppy. He had quickly learned that those memories were urate for mortals in general. Even healthy, fit adult mortals grew tired very fastpared with even a formation foundation cultivator like Shen Mingxia. He expected that would prove even more true in a situation like this where thebat would be far fiercer and demanding than even their most brutal practice sessions.


    ¡°They¡¯re almost here,¡± said Wu Meng Yao.


    Herment wasn¡¯t necessary. Sen could feel them even more clearly than she could. At least the woman had lost that eager expression. It seemed the reality of the situation was finally sinking in for her. Mortals were about to fight spirit beasts. Sen caught Dai Bao¡¯s eyes and nodded.


    ¡°Here theye!¡± bellowed the man. ¡°You don¡¯t let them see so much as a wisp of fear in your eyes. They don¡¯t know it, yet, but they came here to die!¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 33: First Test (2)

    Book 7: Chapter 33: First Test (2)


    It was all Sen could do to keep his breathing steady. If this had been his fight, he knew he would have been calm, collected, and focused. He might have even been a little excited. But this wasn¡¯t his fight. Not really. He was mostly a spectator to the danger. His eyes traveled across the backs of the townspeople, and he couldn¡¯t help but pick out the ones he knew and liked best. He could almost see the fear rolling off the people who had never been in any kind of a real fight before. Sparring was useful, but it wasn¡¯t the same as real fighting. Sen had learned that lesson back on the mountain when he¡¯d made his long trek to form his killing intent. Training helped prepare you, but it couldn¡¯t ever rece the actual experience of fear trying to w its way out of your chest, the thunderous pounding of blood in your ears like a drum that refused to be silent, or pressing need to simply be doing something, even if doing nothing was the best choice. That was a fight he couldn¡¯t help the townspeople win. That was a fight that would happen in their own minds and hearts, and they each needed to find something inside themselves that gave them the strength they needed to ovee.


    When the spirit beasts finally burst out of the forest, Sen very nearly broke every promise he¡¯d made to himself and the townspeople, all so he could go on a one-cultivator killing spree. It was a small pack of those gods damned bear-cats. He could kill them. He¡¯d vowed to kill them. It¡¯d be nothing, nothing at all, to cut them down like the waste of life and qi that they all were. It would be right. It would be good. It would be¡­ Sen didn¡¯t realize he¡¯d started to move until he felt a hand seize his arm. He stared down at that hand in nk iprehension before his eyes followed the arm back to the confused face of Wu Meng Yao. In a blink, Sen came back to himself.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked. ¡°You said not to interfere. That this was for them to learn.¡±


    Sen looked down and saw his hand wrapped around the hilt of his jian so tightly that it was amazing the weapon hadn¡¯t been damaged. He forced himself to let go of the hilt. He ordered his lungs to take in air. <em>She¡¯s right</em>, he told himself. <em>This isn¡¯t about you</em>. He took a few more steadying breaths and nodded to her. She didn¡¯t release his arm immediately.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± she asked.


    Sen red at the advancing bear-cats. ¡°I hate those things.¡±


    He was gratified to see that the bear-cats didn¡¯t quite know what to make of the group of armed mortals standing between them and the town. The spirit beasts shuffled back and forth a bit before the biggest of the group hiss-snarled something in what Sen presumed was the bear-catnguage. Letting go of their reluctance, they surged toward the townspeople.


    ¡°Do you think they can beat six of them?¡± asked Shen Mingxia, the doubt clear in her voice and on her face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Neither do they,¡± said Sen. ¡°That¡¯s the whole point of this. Besides, even if we weren¡¯t here, they¡¯d still have to fight them.¡±While Sen had harbored some dim, vain hope that that fight would be over quickly with the mortals earning a decisive victory, life was rarely so clean. Many of the townspeople were clearly unnerved by the charge of the spirit beasts, so their reactions were slow. The teams were slowly pushed out of shape as some people acted immediately while others remained frozen, if only for a moment or two. The groups who had been in front were pushed back toward the reserve groups until a voice cut through the noise and chaos.


    ¡°Fight!¡± screamed Li Hua.


    Her face was a mask of untempered rage, and her spearshed out at a bear-cat to draw blood. That single word seemed to break the semi-paralysis, but the townspeople had lost whatever advantage the bear-cats'' initial confusion might have bought them. It would all be uphill from here. Even that one split-second hesitation to unleash her battle cry nearly cost Li Hua her life. The bear-cat she¡¯d wounded turned and swiped at her. It was only the descending de of halberd that made the spirit beast shy away. Of course, that part was ording to n. Only a very exceptional few mortals stood a real chance against any spirit beast in a one-on-one confrontation. Sen had done his best to drive that one idea into their mind.


    ¡°You will not win against spirit beasts with brute force. You must kill them by attrition. It¡¯s not the stuff of legends, but if you cut a spirit beast a thousand times, it will die. You do that by working together. Distract. Harass. Cut. Then, when it¡¯s bled so much it can¡¯t move, you cut off its head.¡±


    As he kept his eyes moving across the fight, he saw the townspeople enacting that n, more or less. Fear had a real grip on some of the people. Some were simply more talented than others. Sen and Dai Bao had done their best to spread the talent out, but there was no way to predict who would sumb to fear. It meant that some of the fights were lopsided. The bear-cats were savage, but they weren¡¯t stupid. They could recognize where the threats wereing from and would attack the weak links. That forced the others to intervene, putting them closer to ws and teeth. On the whole, though, the strategy was working. Sen did wonder if this strategy could possibly endure the attack of a truly powerful spirit beast, but that wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d been teaching them to fight. If something truly powerful came looking for trouble, the best they could hope for was to buy time for people to flee.


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    Much as he had expected, Sen could see that people were getting tired. Spear thrusts were getting sloppy. Halberd swings wereingter than they should. Then, it happened. Wang Bo stepped on something and stumbled. If he had stumbled sideways or backward, it would have been fine, but he stumbled forward. Right toward the waiting jaws of bear-cat. Sen had restrained himself when people were taking minor injuries, but it took him less than a fraction of a second to analyze where everyone in Wang Bo¡¯s group was positioned. No one would be able to intervene in time. Sen activated his qinggong technique and gleefully put himself between the screaming Wang Go and the bear-cat. The spirit beast seemed utterly perplexed as its jaws closed around Sen¡¯s arm and found precisely no give in that body cultivation-hardened flesh. It was everything that Sen could do not to simply kill it on the spot, but he restrained himself to simply jerking his arm and sending the beast bouncing away on the ground. He turned and looked at the stunned group. It had probably looked to them like he¡¯d appeared from nowhere.


    ¡°Fall back,¡± he told them. ¡°Send a new team forward.¡±


    When Wu Meng Yao and Shen Mingxia saw what Sen had done, they followed suit. They intervened for two other groups that seemed to be the most hard-pressed by the fighting. The exhausted townspeople didn¡¯t need any convincing, simply retreating toward the wall. Three of the reserve groups came forward and none of them looked excited anymore. They¡¯d seen what fighting spirit beasts really looked like and realized that it wasn¡¯t glorious or anything like the stories they¡¯d heard. It was just danger and blood. The advantage was that they¡¯d had more time to master their fear, and they were fresh. The bear-cats were all injured to one degree or another, which made them a little slower. It wasn¡¯t a lot, but a little could mean everything in a fight. Once the new teams were situated, Sen fell back. He kept his attention and spiritual sense mostly on the battle, but there were injuries to tend and spirits to bolster. He went to each team, bandaged the more serious wounds he found, and passed out water. Before moving on to a new team, he met the eyes of every person while he made the same speech.


    ¡°You fought. You survived. The town is still safe.¡±


    That straightened backs and even triggered a few grim smiles.


    ¡°Now, rest,¡± said Sen ¡°You may be needed again before the end.¡±


    The fight seemed to drag on forever to Sen, although he knew that each group wasn¡¯t fighting for very long before they needed to be cycled out. What he couldn¡¯t understand was why the bear-cats didn¡¯t simply withdraw. It would have been the smart choice, at least on the surface. He knew that if they fled, he would hunt them down in the forest and ughter them all, but he didn¡¯t think that they could know that. Instead, they stayed and fought. <em>Maybe</em>, <em>they really are just that vindictive</em>, thought Sen. <em>They¡¯d rather stay and die with the hope of killing a few people than retreat</em>.


    Sen saw the life of one of the bear-cats wink out in his spiritual sense just a moment before a cheer went up from the resting teams. Sen was about to order that team back, but Dai Bao beat him to it. While the townspeople were happy, Sen knew that the bear-cats would be wilder and more vicious after one of theirs fell. The only saving grace was that the spirit beasts had been thoroughly bloodied. The townspeople couldn¡¯tnd many deep cuts, but, just as he¡¯d told them, enough cuts would do the job. Sen watched on in cold approval as, one by one, the bear-cats fell. Wu Meng Yao still had to intervene one more time to save someone. Sen thought she acted a little too hastily, but he decided he¡¯d rather that she act a little prematurely than not act soon enough. Shen Mingxia had appointed herself the person in charge of deciding when to have teams trade out. Again, Sen thought she was acting a little sooner than necessary, but it probably prevented some injuries. Ideally, there would have been group leaders to make calls like that, but it was just one more thing that Sen hadn¡¯t thought of. <em>I guess everyone is learning some things today</em>, he thought.


    Sen was a little surprised when it was Dai Bao who struck down thest of the bear-cats. He¡¯d handed off his spear andmandeered a halberd. The roar he let loose as he brought the de down on the bear-cat¡¯s neck could probably have been heard clear to the far side of the town. For a long moment, there was just the sound of the man taking heaving breaths. Then, he thrust that bloody halberd toward the sky and loosed another roar, this one of victory. The rest of the battle-weary townspeople momentarily forgot their wounds and their exhaustion. They all thrust their weapons into the air and took up that triumphant cry. Sen would have been content to leave it at that, but Dai Bao turned to look at Sen. There was something searching in the man¡¯s expression that Sen didn¡¯t quite know how to interpret.


    ¡°Say something, you idiot,¡± hissed Wu Meng Yao under her breath.


    ¡°Like what?¡± he muttered back, trying to not move his lips.


    ¡°They want your approval.¡±


    <em>Oh hells</em>, thought Sen. To buy himself a few seconds to think, he sped his hands behind his back and walked toward Dai Bao with a stern look on his face. When he reached Dai Bao, he could see individual droplets of blood that had sttered across the man¡¯s face. Sen inclined his head to Dai Bao and then turned to look at the rest of the townspeople. <em>I should say something inspiring</em>, thought Sen. <em>Inspiring is good</em>, <em>right</em>? <em>What the hells do I know about inspiring people</em>? Realizing that the right words were not going to find him, Sen just pushed forward and hoped he didn¡¯t screw it up too badly. He infused his voice with a touch of qi so it would resonate.


    ¡°You fought bravely. You fought well. You protected each other, and you protected your home. You, farmers, shopkeepers, woodcutters, mortals, took up arms and slew spirit beasts. It¡¯s easy to fight when you have the power and strength of a cultivator. You fought with nothing but your skill, your will, and your heart. After what I saw today, I can tell you that you carry the hearts of legends inside of you. And I could not be prouder of what you achieved here today.¡±


    <em>Oh</em>, <em>please let that be enough</em>, prayed Sen.


    The explosion of savage, joyous cheering that washed over him told him it was.

 Book 7: Chapter Thirty-Four – How Did We Do?

    Book 7: Chapter Thirty-Four ¨C How Did We Do?


    While Sen hadn¡¯t been able to predict exactly when another spirit beast attack woulde to the town, he had known with certainty that one <em>would</em>e. With that knowledge in hand, he hadn¡¯t wasted his time. He¡¯d made a habit of making at least some healing elixirs that mortals could use every week. With entire months behind him, he had a deep stockpile of the things just sitting around in one of his storage rings. That made it fairly easy for him to hand them out with the assistance of a few of the only lightly-injured townspeople. When Sen went to hand one to Dai Bao, the man actually shuddered at the sight of it. Sen had to simultaneously suppress augh and a wince of sympathy. The grizzled man gritted his teeth, took the elixir, and downed it. Sen watched in mild bemusement as Dai Bao squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of a mountain of pain. A mountain of pain that did not appear. The man opened his eyes and red at Sen.


    ¡°You could have told me this one wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    ¡°I thought it would be a nice surprise,¡± offered Sen without a hint of contrition in his voice.


    Dai Bao red a little more before he grudgingly nodded.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. To be honest, toward the end there, I thought you were just torturing me for fun. Today, though,¡± he said, hefting the halberd he¡¯d used to dispatch thest bear-cat, ¡°I saw what it was all for.¡±


    ¡°Worth it?¡± asked Sen.


    The grizzled man looked torn as he considered the question. Sen didn¡¯t me him. It had been a <em>lot</em> of pain. Dai Bao looked over the other townspeople he¡¯d fought with, and then out to the corpses of the bear-cats.


    ¡°It was,¡± the man finally said. ¡°Although, I don¡¯t think I could have made myself do it if I¡¯d known what I was in for.¡±


    ¡°Amon sentiment for so many worthwhile things, I would think,¡± said Sen.¡°That¡¯s the heavens¡¯ truth,¡± said Dai Bao before he gave Sen a discouraged look. ¡°I heard what you said after we finished, but how did we really do? Honestly.¡±


    Sen had expected this question. ¡°Everyone survived. Since that¡¯s probably the most important consideration, you did well.¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°These were very weak spirit beasts. To put it in cultivator terms, they were qi-condensing spirit beasts and just barely. If any of them had advanced to the point where they could manifest qi techniques, this would have gone very differently. Those things,¡± Sen gestured angrily at the bear-cat corpses, ¡°are mean, and their qi techniques are nasty. The stronger ones can cut you open from a dozen feet away with a single swipe of their ws.¡±


    Dai Bao¡¯s eyes drifted over the rest of the townspeople who had fought. Sen imagined the man was picturing them with torn open stomachs or their throats ripped out by things that never got close enough to hit with a spear.


    ¡°So, this was pointless?¡± asked Dai Bao.


    ¡°No. It wasn¡¯t pointless. Stronger spirit beasts generally don¡¯t care about mortals who aren¡¯t easy prey. They particrly don¡¯t want to run into cultivators, who see them as a big pile of resources to collect. So, they tend to stick to the deeper wilds where even cultivators don¡¯t want to go by themselves. That isn¡¯t to say that a stronger spirit beast won¡¯t wander out of the deep wilds asionally, but the odds are pretty low that <em>your</em> town will ever see one. I can¡¯t promise that every spirit beast you see will be as weak as these were, but many will simply leave if it¡¯s too much trouble.¡±


    ¡°So, that¡¯s the goal? To make it too much trouble to try to get into town?¡±


    ¡°Essentially, yes. Ideally, you¡¯ll be able to kill them. Beast cores are good for trade. But making them leave is almost as good.¡±


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    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you exin all of this before?¡±


    ¡°Would it have made fighting them any easier?¡±


    ¡°Well, no.¡±


    ¡°If you knew, would you have worked as hard? Would they have worked as hard?¡± asked Sen, nodding to the rest.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Dai Bao, his face scrunching with unhappiness. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little cold?¡±


    ¡°Probably. On the other hand, I¡¯m trying to get you ready for a time when I¡¯m not here. Would you want to depend on people who were only putting in a half-effort because they thought they only needed to scare something away instead of kill it? What if somethinges that won¡¯t be scared off, like what came today?¡±


    ¡°I understand why you did it,¡± grumbled Dai Bao. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I have to approve.¡±


    ¡°You can tell them if you think they should know,¡± said Sen. ¡°I won¡¯t try to stop you. I¡¯ll even admit it.¡±


    The grizzled man eyed Sen critically for several long seconds, and then he sighed.


    ¡°You would, wouldn¡¯t you? Knowing it would be useless or even destructive, you¡¯d still admit it. Well, don¡¯t bother. The ones who are smart enough to figure it out will understand it. The ones who aren¡¯t smart enough to figure it out probably don¡¯t need to know.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re sure,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Are all cultivators bastards like you?¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Not worried I¡¯ll strike you down?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t killed anyone, yet. I doubt I¡¯d be first on your list if you were going to start.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly a fact. I can¡¯t say for sure about every other cultivator, but we¡¯re all pretty cold bastards in my experience. Just goes with the territory. You have to be very selfish to challenge the heavens.¡±


    Dai Bao gave Sen a dubious nce. ¡°If you¡¯re so selfish, why help us at all?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I had some deep, obscure reason that will inevitably advance my cultivation,¡± said Sen in a pompous voice. ¡°Or, you know, I haven¡¯t perfected my selfishness, yet.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m sure it was one of those,¡± said the grizzled man before he frowned. ¡°We had to fight them for a long time. I know it wasn¡¯t actually forever, but it felt that way. How long did it take?¡±


    ¡°A couple of hours, give or take.¡±


    ¡°If those things were so weak, I don¡¯t know that we could have kept that up for another hour or two or five.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Experience counts in fighting. This was the first time out for most of them. I¡¯m not saying the next time will be easier, but it does get easier the more often you do it. I also have some thoughts on speeding things up at the beginning. It¡¯ll take a bit of investment.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much to invest.¡±


    Sen waved it off. ¡°Let me worry about that part for now. I¡¯m not looking to make you all penniless. There are some other things we can do that won¡¯t cost you anything but a little time and training. As for fighting longer, well, there are things you can do, but I¡¯m not sure how practical it is. Or how willing people will be.¡±


    Dai Bao snorted. ¡°Right now, those people would do anything you ask them to.¡±


    ¡°What about you? Having exposed my wicked deception, where do you stand?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a child. Leaders keep things to themselves. Sometimes, it¡¯s for a good reason. Sometimes, it¡¯s for a bad reason or no reason at all. I can stand in front and y at being their leader, but I can¡¯t teach them what you can. As long as you keep teaching them, I¡¯ll keep standing in front.¡±


    Sen nodded. He supposed that was the best he could really hope for in the situation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sell yourself short. They think of you as their leader more than you seem to think. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised the town elders haven¡¯t made more trouble about it.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think they haven¡¯t?¡± said Dai Bao with a partly-amused, partly-annoyed expression. ¡°I¡¯m just old enough to not care what they think, and they <em>can¡¯t</em> do anything to you. They won¡¯t dare do anything to make life harder for the people who stood out here today and fought.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t imagine that would go very well for them,¡± said Sen, summoning some silver tael from a storage ring. ¡°We can worry about all of this another time. Take them to the inn and buy them food and drinks. Let them celebrate. They did earn it.¡±


    Sen held out the coins to Dai Bao who almost choked at the sight of the money. Sen supposed he might have overestimated the costs, but he¡¯d already offered the money. It would be petty to take some of it back. The grizzled man hesitantly took the money.


    ¡°If there¡¯s any left?¡± asked Dai Bao.


    ¡°Think of something to buy that will benefit them all,¡± said Sen, his mind already drifting to other matters.


    He could see Wu Meng Yao hovering nearby. No doubt, she was waiting until Sen was alone so she could pounce and, well, he didn¡¯t know what. Annoy him, probably. He spoke on trivial topics with Dai Bao for a few more minutes before saying he¡¯de back in a few days and releasing the man to bestow well-earned rewards. As soon as the grizzled man began to walk away, Wu Meng Yao started toward Sen. He gave her a cheerful, toothy smile, waved, and activated his qinggong technique. Sen admitted that he¡¯d be lying to himself if he didn¡¯t find the look of startled outrage on her face hrious in the split-second before he vanished from sight. He just didn¡¯t have the time or patience for her at that moment. Besides, it was gettingte and there was a little girl who was no doubt impatient for his return. That was way more important than dealing with whatever Wu Meng Yao wanted to talk about.

 Book 7: Chapter 34: How Did We Do?

    Book 7: Chapter 34: How Did We Do?


    While Sen hadn¡¯t been able to predict exactly when another spirit beast attack woulde to the town, he had known with certainty that one <em>would</em>e. With that knowledge in hand, he hadn¡¯t wasted his time. He¡¯d made a habit of making at least some healing elixirs that mortals could use every week. With entire months behind him, he had a deep stockpile of the things just sitting around in one of his storage rings. That made it fairly easy for him to hand them out with the assistance of a few of the only lightly-injured townspeople. When Sen went to hand one to Dai Bao, the man actually shuddered at the sight of it. Sen had to simultaneously suppress augh and a wince of sympathy. The grizzled man gritted his teeth, took the elixir, and downed it. Sen watched in mild bemusement as Dai Bao squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of a mountain of pain. A mountain of pain that did not appear. The man opened his eyes and red at Sen.


    ¡°You could have told me this one wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    ¡°I thought it would be a nice surprise,¡± offered Sen without a hint of contrition in his voice.


    Dai Bao red a little more before he grudgingly nodded.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true. To be honest, toward the end there, I thought you were just torturing me for fun. Today, though,¡± he said, hefting the halberd he¡¯d used to dispatch thest bear-cat, ¡°I saw what it was all for.¡±


    ¡°Worth it?¡± asked Sen.


    The grizzled man looked torn as he considered the question. Sen didn¡¯t me him. It had been a <em>lot</em> of pain. Dai Bao looked over the other townspeople he¡¯d fought with, and then out to the corpses of the bear-cats.


    ¡°It was,¡± the man finally said. ¡°Although, I don¡¯t think I could have made myself do it if I¡¯d known what I was in for.¡±


    ¡°Amon sentiment for so many worthwhile things, I would think,¡± said Sen.¡°That¡¯s the heavens¡¯ truth,¡± said Dai Bao before he gave Sen a discouraged look. ¡°I heard what you said after we finished, but how did we really do? Honestly.¡±


    Sen had expected this question. ¡°Everyone survived. Since that¡¯s probably the most important consideration, you did well.¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°These were very weak spirit beasts. To put it in cultivator terms, they were qi-condensing spirit beasts and just barely. If any of them had advanced to the point where they could manifest qi techniques, this would have gone very differently. Those things,¡± Sen gestured angrily at the bear-cat corpses, ¡°are mean, and their qi techniques are nasty. The stronger ones can cut you open from a dozen feet away with a single swipe of their ws.¡±


    Dai Bao¡¯s eyes drifted over the rest of the townspeople who had fought. Sen imagined the man was picturing them with torn open stomachs or their throats ripped out by things that never got close enough to hit with a spear.


    ¡°So, this was pointless?¡± asked Dai Bao.


    ¡°No. It wasn¡¯t pointless. Stronger spirit beasts generally don¡¯t care about mortals who aren¡¯t easy prey. They particrly don¡¯t want to run into cultivators, who see them as a big pile of resources to collect. So, they tend to stick to the deeper wilds where even cultivators don¡¯t want to go by themselves. That isn¡¯t to say that a stronger spirit beast won¡¯t wander out of the deep wilds asionally, but the odds are pretty low that <em>your</em> town will ever see one. I can¡¯t promise that every spirit beast you see will be as weak as these were, but many will simply leave if it¡¯s too much trouble.¡±


    ¡°So, that¡¯s the goal? To make it too much trouble to try to get into town?¡±


    ¡°Essentially, yes. Ideally, you¡¯ll be able to kill them. Beast cores are good for trade. But making them leave is almost as good.¡±


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    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you exin all of this before?¡±


    ¡°Would it have made fighting them any easier?¡±


    ¡°Well, no.¡±


    ¡°If you knew, would you have worked as hard? Would they have worked as hard?¡± asked Sen, nodding to the rest.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Dai Bao, his face scrunching with unhappiness. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little cold?¡±


    ¡°Probably. On the other hand, I¡¯m trying to get you ready for a time when I¡¯m not here. Would you want to depend on people who were only putting in a half-effort because they thought they only needed to scare something away instead of kill it? What if somethinges that won¡¯t be scared off, like what came today?¡±


    ¡°I understand why you did it,¡± grumbled Dai Bao. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I have to approve.¡±


    ¡°You can tell them if you think they should know,¡± said Sen. ¡°I won¡¯t try to stop you. I¡¯ll even admit it.¡±


    The grizzled man eyed Sen critically for several long seconds, and then he sighed.


    ¡°You would, wouldn¡¯t you? Knowing it would be useless or even destructive, you¡¯d still admit it. Well, don¡¯t bother. The ones who are smart enough to figure it out will understand it. The ones who aren¡¯t smart enough to figure it out probably don¡¯t need to know.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re sure,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Are all cultivators bastards like you?¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Not worried I¡¯ll strike you down?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t killed anyone, yet. I doubt I¡¯d be first on your list if you were going to start.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly a fact. I can¡¯t say for sure about every other cultivator, but we¡¯re all pretty cold bastards in my experience. Just goes with the territory. You have to be very selfish to challenge the heavens.¡±


    Dai Bao gave Sen a dubious nce. ¡°If you¡¯re so selfish, why help us at all?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I had some deep, obscure reason that will inevitably advance my cultivation,¡± said Sen in a pompous voice. ¡°Or, you know, I haven¡¯t perfected my selfishness, yet.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m sure it was one of those,¡± said the grizzled man before he frowned. ¡°We had to fight them for a long time. I know it wasn¡¯t actually forever, but it felt that way. How long did it take?¡±


    ¡°A couple of hours, give or take.¡±


    ¡°If those things were so weak, I don¡¯t know that we could have kept that up for another hour or two or five.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Experience counts in fighting. This was the first time out for most of them. I¡¯m not saying the next time will be easier, but it does get easier the more often you do it. I also have some thoughts on speeding things up at the beginning. It¡¯ll take a bit of investment.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much to invest.¡±


    Sen waved it off. ¡°Let me worry about that part for now. I¡¯m not looking to make you all penniless. There are some other things we can do that won¡¯t cost you anything but a little time and training. As for fighting longer, well, there are things you can do, but I¡¯m not sure how practical it is. Or how willing people will be.¡±


    Dai Bao snorted. ¡°Right now, those people would do anything you ask them to.¡±


    ¡°What about you? Having exposed my wicked deception, where do you stand?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a child. Leaders keep things to themselves. Sometimes, it¡¯s for a good reason. Sometimes, it¡¯s for a bad reason or no reason at all. I can stand in front and y at being their leader, but I can¡¯t teach them what you can. As long as you keep teaching them, I¡¯ll keep standing in front.¡±


    Sen nodded. He supposed that was the best he could really hope for in the situation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sell yourself short. They think of you as their leader more than you seem to think. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised the town elders haven¡¯t made more trouble about it.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think they haven¡¯t?¡± said Dai Bao with a partly-amused, partly-annoyed expression. ¡°I¡¯m just old enough to not care what they think, and they <em>can¡¯t</em> do anything to you. They won¡¯t dare do anything to make life harder for the people who stood out here today and fought.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t imagine that would go very well for them,¡± said Sen, summoning some silver tael from a storage ring. ¡°We can worry about all of this another time. Take them to the inn and buy them food and drinks. Let them celebrate. They did earn it.¡±


    Sen held out the coins to Dai Bao who almost choked at the sight of the money. Sen supposed he might have overestimated the costs, but he¡¯d already offered the money. It would be petty to take some of it back. The grizzled man hesitantly took the money.


    ¡°If there¡¯s any left?¡± asked Dai Bao.


    ¡°Think of something to buy that will benefit them all,¡± said Sen, his mind already drifting to other matters.


    He could see Wu Meng Yao hovering nearby. No doubt, she was waiting until Sen was alone so she could pounce and, well, he didn¡¯t know what. Annoy him, probably. He spoke on trivial topics with Dai Bao for a few more minutes before saying he¡¯de back in a few days and releasing the man to bestow well-earned rewards. As soon as the grizzled man began to walk away, Wu Meng Yao started toward Sen. He gave her a cheerful, toothy smile, waved, and activated his qinggong technique. Sen admitted that he¡¯d be lying to himself if he didn¡¯t find the look of startled outrage on her face hrious in the split-second before he vanished from sight. He just didn¡¯t have the time or patience for her at that moment. Besides, it was gettingte and there was a little girl who was no doubt impatient for his return. That was way more important than dealing with whatever Wu Meng Yao wanted to talk about.

 Book 7: Chapter 35: Prime Your Mind

    Book 7: Chapter 35: Prime Your Mind


    Sen stared down at his own hand. He shook his head violently in the negative. <em>It can¡¯t be that simple</em>, he thought. He had to force himself to repeat the action. He waved his hand through the shadow the tree was casting. His eyes were locked on the snowy ground beneath. The sun overhead made the shadow of his hand crisp and clear as it simply disappeared into the tree¡¯s shadow, and then reappeared on the other side. <em>I refuse to believe that it¡¯s that stupidly simple</em>, he raged mentally. Yet, it was. All of the cultivation instincts he had honed over the years told him that this was the answer he¡¯d been looking for. It <em>felt</em> right. Part of Sen wanted to go and scream at Fu Run for withholding this piece of information from him. Yet, he recognized the futility of that. She had made the point to him, repeatedly, that he was approaching the transition into the nascent soul stage. That transition would require self-knowledge, as well as cultivation insight.


    Sen wasn¡¯t certain how much self-knowledge he had acquired through the months of fruitless, dead-end ideas and experiments. It may have helped to reaffirm his willingness to keep pursuing something he knew was possible no matter how many setbacks he faced. He supposed it had reinforced his patience, sort of. But he hated that she hadn¡¯t simply told him. It felt like an almost vindictive act because the answer was so simple. Sen forced himself to take a couple of deep breaths.


    ¡°If it were really that simple, you wouldn¡¯t have taken this long to figure it out.¡±


    As it was, he barely felt like he could take credit for figuring out how the shadow walking technique worked, at least in theory. It had ultimately been Glimmer of Night who gave him the final inspiration. Sen had been mostly just been sitting there watching the spider make thetest in a seemingly infinite number of variations on a web pattern. The spider had refused to divulge the actual patterns to Sen with some cryptic statement about Sen¡¯s current position in the web of all things. So, Sen had circled back to a question for which he¡¯d never gotten a wholly satisfactory answer.


    ¡°Can you exin to me again how it is that the Great Matriarch¡¯s web touches all realities?¡± asked Sen.


    Glimmer of Night had delivered what Sen had slowlye to recognize as the spider¡¯s annoyed look.


    ¡°I have tried many times and many ways,¡± answered the spider.


    ¡°Just one more time, and I¡¯ll never ask again,¡± pleaded Sen.


    He¡¯d never relinquished his belief that the key to understanding shadow walking was buried somewhere in that conversation if he just found the right way to approach it. Glimmer of Night fell silent for long enough that Sen thought that it was the spider¡¯s passive way of saying no. It turned out, the spider had just been deep in thought. He looked at Sen.¡°Observe. Perhaps this will make clear what words have not.¡±


    The web the spider had been working on disappeared and a much simpler web appeared strung horizontally between trees. The spider pointed at it.


    ¡°Our reality.¡±


    Another web appeared almost right on top of it. ¡°Another reality or ne or dimension. Pick the name you like best.¡±


    Another web appeared. Over the next minute, a couple of dozen webs appeared stacked nearly on top of each other. The spider gestured at it.


    ¡°Existence in sum.¡±


    Sen frowned but nodded. He understood in general terms that the spider had made a wildly oversimplified scale model of, well, everything as construed as webs. Then, another web appeared, anchored by nothing and to nothing. It was vertical and passed through the middle of all the other webs. Sen watched in fascination as the vertical web slowly began to turn as though it was affixed to an axis. It passed through the other webs without disturbing them, as though they were made of the same material, which Sen abruptly realized that they were. Of course, that web qi had no trouble passing through other web qi. The only real challenge would be making sure the qi didn¡¯t intermingle so much that it lost form.


    For someone like Glimmer of Night, with his vast experience, that would pose no challenges. Sen had stared at that construct for a long time, a sick feeling growing in his stomach as he realized the truth. That was when he¡¯d walked to the nearest tree and run his little experiment. Now, he was just trying to stay calm. He¡¯d only figured out part of it. He had the what, but the how was something else. He supposed he even knew that, but only in the big-picture way. He had the feeling that the details were going to matter a lot with a technique like this.


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    ¡°Well, you finally got there,¡± said Fu Run, unmasking her presence and stepping into view.


    Sen almost made a jab about her lurking, but it would have just been unwarranted spite talking. Instead, he gave her a level look.


    ¡°How do you know I figured it out?¡±


    ¡°Well, if you couldn¡¯t get there after Glimmer of Night¡¯s rather interesting disy, I¡¯d have questioned your mental capacity. Also, there¡¯s just no hiding the white-hot anger you¡¯re feeling. Everyone gets that look on their face the first time they realize their teacher kept something seemingly easy and obvious back from them.¡±


    ¡°Then, why do it?¡± demanded Sen.


    ¡°Because it <em>isn¡¯t</em> easy or obvious. If it were, you wouldn¡¯t have struggled for so long to put it together. How many times did you have conversations about how the Great Matriarch¡¯s web touched all reality?¡±


    ¡°Many,¡± said Glimmer of Night. ¡°Very many.¡±


    ¡°If you were to have those conversations now, it would seem easy. Obvious. But you had to prime your mind. You had to explore the other options and reject them. You had to be ready to consider possibilities beyond your prior experience. Until you were ready to do that, nothing was going to make things clear to you. If you had quit, which most do, then it would have been clear evidence that you were unfit for the technique and unlikely to pass into the nascent soul stage.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± eximed Sen.


    Fu Run gave him a self-satisfied smile.


    ¡°Did you think that you were the only one who could conduct tests? Granted, your tests with the mortals have been more straightforward, but they were still tests. As for my tests, why conduct only one when I could conduct two.¡±


    ¡°And if I had failed?¡±


    ¡°I would have taught you other things for the next few years, sent you on your way, and likely never given you another thought. But, as I expected, you did not fail.¡±


    ¡°So, does everyone approaching the nascent soul stage get a test like this?¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be silly. Most cultivators who enter the nascent soul stage only have the vaguest idea of why they seeded, just as most who fail are equally baffled by that failure.¡±


    ¡°But you have a test?¡±


    ¡°I have a method. The test is different for everyone.¡±


    ¡°If this method is so effective, why haven¡¯t you shared it?¡±


    Something cold passed over Fu Run¡¯s face then. It wasprised of old pain, bitterness, and anger. When she spoke, her voice was a metal rasp passing over stone.


    ¡°Why should I? Why should I ever help those people?¡±


    Sen honestly didn¡¯t know who she meant by <em>those people</em>. Sects? Wandering cultivators? Humanity as a whole? She could have meant any of them or all of them. Sen also realized that he had unintentionally stepped into one of those areas of Fu Run¡¯s life where he <em>did not want to go</em>. He had ultimatelye to the conclusion that Fu Run wasn¡¯t mad in a traditional sense, nor was she sane in a traditional sense. Some things brought out the less sane aspects of her personality, while some things encouraged her more rational side. Sen had identified certain topics that were more likely to bring out this angry, vengeful, and probably unhinged version of Fu Run. He probably could have deduced that hisst question would do it. He just hadn¡¯t thought it through before he threw the question out there. However, given that her killing intent was bearing down on him and he could actually feel damage umting inside his body, he wanted to calm her as fast as possible.


    ¡°Peace,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s your method. If you don¡¯t wish to share it, that is your decision. I should not have questioned your choice.¡±


    Fu Run snarled, ¡°It is my decision!¡±


    Sen just waited as calmly as he could. After a few seconds, Fu Run¡¯s expression became one of pain. She hunched a little as her killing intent slowly bled away. It appeared that the effort of suppressing it hurt her as much as unleashing it had hurt him. When the nascent soul cultivator had regained full control of herself, she met his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said. ¡°That was uncalled for.¡±


    Sen hesitated for a moment before protective ruthlessness took over. ¡°Liu Ai is curious. She trusts you. She <em>will</em> ask you questions. What you just did to me would have killed her before she even had a chance to scream.¡±


    The look on Fu Run¡¯s face was undiluted horror as those words sank home. Sen didn¡¯t relent.


    ¡°I brought that on myself. I know better than to ask a question like that. I also know how to walk it back. She won¡¯t know better. I <em>can¡¯t</em> put her at that kind of risk. So, tell me now, and tell me the truth, is this something you can keep under control?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± snapped the nascent soul cultivator.


    ¡°What if she asks why you don¡¯t have children? What if she asks where youe from? What if she asks why you live out here alone?¡±


    Fu Run looked like she¡¯d just been stabbed repeatedly. She didn¡¯t say anything as Sen¡¯s gaze bore into her. Sen could see her eyes tracking back and forth like she was reading something in her mind. There was genuine pain and distress in her eyes when Fu Run looked up at Sen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she answered.


    Sen nodded. ¡°Thank you for being honest.¡±


    ¡°What will you do?¡± asked Fu Run.


    ¡°The only thing I can do. I¡¯ll take Liu Ai somewhere else. I imagine Falling Leaf wille. Glimmer of Night can make his own decision.¡±


    The spider, who had watched the entire exchange with his usual impassive gaze, shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll stay for now.¡±


    ¡°What of our agreement?¡± asked the nascent soul cultivator.


    ¡°What about it?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll keep my word. It¡¯ll just be a whole lot less convenient.¡±


    Sen turned to walk away when Fu Run called out after him.


    ¡°When will you leave?¡±


    He wanted to say <em>immediately</em>, but he knew that wasn¡¯t practical.


    ¡°Tomorrow. We¡¯ll go tomorrow.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 36: Meanwhile…

    Book 7: Chapter 36: Meanwhile¡­


    Ma Caihong had never bothered much with the little town at the bottom of the mountain. There had simply never been anything there to interest her. Plus, it was tedious to deal with mortals as a nascent soul cultivator. While she hadn¡¯t been a great beauty in her youth, she had been fair enough to turn a few heads. The miracles of cultivation refined her modestly appealing appearance over thest several thousand years. Now, like most other nascent soul cultivators, she possessed an almost unearthly beauty that had a peculiar effect on the minds of many mortals. Simply walking among them was enough to start riots in some ces. The people in Orchard¡¯s Reach weren¡¯t quite that bad, but they were close. Yet, since Sen had departed, she had found herself visiting that charming little shop owned by the woman who had helped him as a child. While she¡¯d never admit it to Jaw-Long and most certainly wouldn¡¯t admit it to Ming, she¡¯d visited much more often than was necessary.


    It was a disappointment on most visits. Sen did write, but it was sporadic. The delivery of scrolls and other missives was also notoriously unreliable, and that was taking into ount the outrageous sums that she had learned Sen often paid to try to improve the odds that they arrived. At least the workers at the shop had stopped bursting into tears whenever they had to tell her that there were no parcels, letters, or scrolls for her. They seemed to have finally realized that she wasn¡¯t going to strike them dead or burn the shop to the ground if they offered her bad news. She could be as petty as any other cultivator in the right circumstances, but there was a difference between being petty and being <em>petty</em>. Those mortal workers had literally no hand in how frequently or infrequently her wayward student chose to put brush to paper. She wasn¡¯t going to punish them for something they couldn¡¯t hope to control.


    Yet, every once in a while, a letter did arrive. Most of them were frustratingly short and even more frustratingly short of details. They served more to say that he was still alive than impart any news. When he did mention some new minor miracle he had worked, there was never any of the salient information about how he had aplished such a feat. If someone else were doing it, she¡¯d think they were intentionally trying to make her angry. Yet, it was so quintessentially Sen to simply overlook the impossible as something that was, in terms he would use, kind of hard until he figured it out. When the improbable was an everyday urrence, and the inexplicable rained down around you like the heavens were determined to make you a figure of myth, what was one more master-stroke of cultivation insight that would make you the darling of any sect? It was nothing, which was exactly how he treated it when those things happened. So, she was left to sigh, shake her head, and try to work on her own how he¡¯d done something.


    So infrequently it nearly qualified as a holiday, that young man would seemingly feel the pull of some kind of qausi-filial duty. He would write out long letters that provided detailed retellings of his recent, to him at any rate, adventures. It was with no small measure of excitement that she raced up the mountain with one such dispatch in hand, massive explosions of snow erupting in the wake of her footsteps. She had been greedy in her initial excitement and read through the beginning before making herself stop. Jaw-Long deserved to see it at the same time she did. She burst into the house and went directly to the library where she could sense her studious husband.


    ¡°Put that nonsense away,¡± she ordered, as she strode into the room.


    Jaw-Long gave her that indulgent, loving smile that still made her heart beat a little faster.


    ¡°And why should I do that, dear heart?¡±


    ¡°Because I have a letter from Sen. A real letter,¡± she said, summoning the scroll from a storage ring.


    She smirked as Jaw-Long carelessly thrust the book he¡¯d been reading onto the nearest shelf.¡°You have myplete attention.¡±


    They stood together reading the letter. Sometimes, they shook their heads andughed at some youthful folly. Other times, they shook their heads at just how much and how fast he¡¯d grown into a frighteningly ruthless cultivator. A few times, they had to restrain one another from immediately setting out to use a rain of lightning or rivers of poison to exin to one fool or another exactly how <em>not pleased</em> they were with the way Sen had been treated. Not that such options were off the table. Far from it. They were just temporarily set aside for future consideration. There was a letter to finish reading if nothing else.


    Then, they had gotten to the very end of the letter. Sen had exined in terse terms what had happened at the mortal vige. She could almost feel his lingering fury over the events and the casual mistreatment of that child wafting up off the scroll from those characters. He went on to exin that he had taken the child in and reassured Jaw-Long that he was teaching her to read and write. Mostly, though, he just talked about the girl, Liu Ai. He described the things that made her smile orugh. The kinds of foods she liked, and the things that made her scrunch up her face. When she saw that little girl¡¯s inexpert, painstakingly written name signed at the bottom of the letter, Caihong felt like someone had reached out and seized her heart. She turned to give her husband a firm look.


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    ¡°We¡¯re going now.¡±


    The gods bless him, Jaw-Long didn¡¯t so much a miss a beat.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get our things.¡±


    ***


    They were sitting around a table andughing together. He knew them of old, those foxes. <em>Old friends</em>, sneered Laughing River mentally. They looked like they felt safe. Secure. Untouchable. Yet, here he was, mere feet away, and they had not recognized him. He¡¯d left Sen behind, for now, recognizing that he had crossed some line in the cultivator¡¯s mind. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but so few things in life were. If life were ideal, his people wouldn¡¯t have suffered so much, or faced such a staggering failure of leadership. He didn¡¯t exclude himself from being painted with that particr brush of shame. You couldn¡¯t live as long as he did without carting around a mountain¡¯s worth of mistakes and regrets. He¡¯d just like to make sure he didn¡¯t ascend before making sure that the disciple of Fate¡¯s Razor didn¡¯t follow him into ascension with a grudge in his heart. Having seen what the boy was capable of in core formation, he shuddered to imagine what kind of unstoppable monster that young man would be as a peak nascent soul cultivator. However, that was a problem for future Laughing River.


    The Laughing River of right now had more immediate problems that were simply aching for solutions best delivered with tooth, w, and de. Any leader worth a damn knew that you couldn¡¯t suffer traitors to live. And for all that he had been an absentee leader, he was still the oldest and strongest of the nine-tail foxes. He was their leader by right. It was high time he reminded them of why it was that the name Laughing River was one to conjure fear by. Laughing River let his mind settle for a moment. He was angry about what these foxes had done, the lies they had told about him to advance themselves. He knew he couldn¡¯t let that anger rule him, though. Fuel him, certainly, but not rule. When his emotions had finally settled into a kind of dull background noise, he rose from the table he¡¯d been sitting at. He took half a dozen calm steps, and then the sword at his hip was suddenly in his hand and passing through the neck of Summer Vale.


    It had happened so fast that the other three at the table looked on in confusion until Summer Vale¡¯s head dropped away from her body. Laughing River idly noted that she had a vaguely confused look on her face. He kicked away the chair containing the now headless corpse and snagged a less bloody chair from a nearby table. He ced it with deliberate care and sat down, giving the other three foxes a big smile. The aptly named Mountain Stone looked positively livid, his face going red right down to his massive neck. He was the single biggest fox that Laughing River had ever met, and there had long been rumors of some kind of dalliance outside the fox bloodlines. Moon Behind Clouds wore a wary expression, but she usually did. The waifish woman had one hand under the table, no doubt gripping one of the many daggers she kept on her person. The final fox at the table was the calmest. Pines in Winter wore a nd, almost bored expression that suggested he¡¯d seen worse and been just as uninterested in it.


    ¡°If you wanted to court death, fool, you should have just said so,¡± said Mountain Stone.


    ¡°The four of you¡ª¡± Laughing River shook his head like he couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d made such a foolish mistake. ¡°I mean the three of you have done quite well for yourselves. Although, I suppose I made it easy by not being around to deny your lies.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± demanded Moon Behind Clouds.


    ¡°You don¡¯t recognize me? After all those nights we spent together?¡± asked Laughing River in a mock tone of sadness. ¡°Were you just lying to me all those times you said I was a better lover than your husband? I mean, I expect everyone is a better lover than he is, but I thought I was more memorable than that. Such is the folly of ego. Although, maybe I shouldn¡¯t take it to heart. It turns out that you¡¯re an aplished liar.¡±


    That finally drew a reaction from Pines in Winter who couldn¡¯t seem to decide if he should be angry at his wife or the stranger throwing out insults and usations. Laughing River decided he¡¯d yed the mysterious stranger for long enough, so he continued.


    ¡°Oh, maybe it¡¯s this silly disguise I¡¯m wearing,¡± he said, wiping his hand across his face and dispelling the technique that was half-illusion and half-transformation.


    Mountain Stone looked like he had just taken a hard shot to the groin. Moon Behind Clouds went deathly white. Pines in Winter just swallowed hard before he rallied.


    ¡°Laughing River. It¡¯s been some time. We all thought you were dead.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you <em>hoped</em> I was dead or at least gone for good,¡± said Laughing River in a cheerful tone before his voice lost any trace of kindness. ¡°No. Such. Luck.¡±


    ¡°We did what we had to do,¡± said Moon Behind Clouds.


    Laughing River gave her a look of infinite pity. ¡°Are you under the false impression that this is a trial? Do you imagine defending yourself well enough will mean I spare you? This isn¡¯t a trial, lover. You are all guilty. This, my boonpanions, my dearest, most trusted old friends, is the execution.¡±


    Mountain Stone surged to his feet. ¡°You old fool. Do you really think you can take all three of us?¡±


    Laughing River looked up at the towering fox and shook his head. ¡°You always were stupid.¡±


    All it took was a momentary effort and the illusion that he had kept them all trapped in for thest two hours vanished. Where there had been themon room of an inn filled with boisterous locals and buxom girls handing out drinks and food, there were now only two dozen hooded figures, des in hand. While most people would have considered the armed figures the greatest threat in the room, the three foxes at the table with Laughing River stared at him in terrified awe. They were all masters of illusion in their own right. They had thought themselves beyond the reach of such trickery. In one act, Laughing River had shown them howughably inconsequential their skills were in the face of his power. He slowly stood and regarded the three of them with cold eyes.


    ¡°I just came to say goodbye. It¡¯s what you do when old friends are dying,¡± he said before he looked at one of the hooded figures. ¡°Kill them.¡±


    It was a fight, but not a very long one. One of the hooded figures came over to Laughing River when the grisly work was done.


    ¡°What now?¡± they asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to the old stomping grounds of a recent acquaintance of mine. A ce called Emperor¡¯s Bay. We have some extended kin there who require a bit of reeducation.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 37: I Am Begging You

    Book 7: Chapter 37: I Am Begging You


    ¡°She¡¯s really yours, isn¡¯t she?¡± asked Shen Mingxia.


    Sen looked at her briefly before returning his attention to Liu Ai and Li Zhi. The girls were running around outside the galehouse he had erected adjacent to the practice hall. While he didn¡¯t think any spirit beast would be stupid enough to try to snatch one of them with him looming nearby, he wasn¡¯t about to take any chances with their lives. Not that he¡¯d let them stay outside too long. He had the sense that the winter weather was drawing to a close, but it wasn¡¯t done with them yet. Even if he could stand outside in it without worry, he was keenly aware of how fragile those small lives were.


    ¡°What makes you ask that?¡±


    Instead of answering, she just stood next to him and observed the girls¡¯ free-spirited y. ¡°It¡¯s the way you watch over her. It¡¯s obvious. Even when you aren¡¯t looking at her, you always know where she is. Then, there¡¯s¡ª¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at her. ¡°I know why you think it. I¡¯m curious what made you ask. Simple curiosity? Orders from Wu Meng Yao? Reconnaissance for your sect?¡±


    Shen Mingxia¡¯s expression tightened for a moment before she sighed. ¡°Wu Meng Yao is, how to put it, <em>aware</em> that you prefer mypany to hers. But she hasn¡¯t asked me to try to get information out of you.¡±


    ¡°Gods, I hope she doesn¡¯t think that you¡¯ll somehow charm me into liking the Soaring Skies Sect with a nice smile.¡±


    ¡°Nothing so pointless,¡± said Shen Mingxia, shing that nice smile at him. ¡°I think she might be hoping that I¡¯ll charm you into liking <em>her</em> a little better.¡±


    ¡°I like Wu Meng Yao just fine. I always liked her. If all she wanted was to be my friend, everything would be fine. It¡¯s her intentions I find problematic.¡±¡°You say that like her intentions are evil.¡±


    Senughed a little at that. ¡°I know they aren¡¯t evil. They¡¯re just misguided.¡±


    ¡°You know she¡¯s not a bad person. You don¡¯t need to humiliate her with this made-up mission. You could give her something real to do. Are you honestly telling me that there¡¯s nothing you can think of that she could do for you? She¡¯s not some nobody foundation formation cultivator like me. She¡¯s a core cultivator.¡±


    Sen bit back an angry reply. They¡¯d been talking around the problem for thest month, but this was the first time either of them had directly addressed it. Plus, that word, humiliate, had given him pause. He hadn¡¯t thought about it in quite that way. Sen definitely wanted to aggravate Wu Meng Yao enough that she¡¯d give up on her ridiculous ideas about bncing the scales between them and go home. Still, he questioned if the imaginary task he¡¯d handed out would really end in some kind of shame. <em>Yeah</em>, he admitted to himself, <em>it would be humiliating</em>. Not scar her for life humiliation, but it would still leave a wound. He had to give Shen Mingxia some credit for standing up to him. To describe the difference in their cultivation as stark would be radically understating things. By calling him out about what he¡¯d nned, she wasn¡¯t risking simply annoying him. She was risking death. At least, that¡¯s what she¡¯d be doing if she was dealing with some sect core cultivator. She probably suspected that he wouldn¡¯t do something terrible to her, but those were shaky grounds to take a risk on. Especially when you were taking a risk on someone else¡¯s behalf.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sell foundation formation short,¡± chided Sen. ¡°Some of the things I¡¯m famous for happened when I was a foundation formation cultivator.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware. I was there for one of those of things,¡± said Shen Mingxia. ¡°The difference is that I am not you.¡±


    ¡°I assure you that¡¯s a blessing. And just what would you suggest I have Wu Meng Yao do? I could have her run more errands like that trip to the capital to buy weapons and deliver messages. How many more of those do you think it¡¯d take before she felt like she¡¯d done enough?¡±


    Shen Mingxia grimaced. ¡°A lot more.¡±


    ¡°That was my thinking as well.¡±


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    ¡°Let her join your sect,¡± said an exasperated Shen Mingxia, ¡°for a while anyway. Say she¡¯s a visiting elder who¡¯s here to teach.¡±


    Sen felt his jaw drop as he fully turned to look at the woman. ¡°What in the world are you talking about? I don¡¯t have a sect.¡±


    Shen Mingxia arched an eyebrow at him, turned, and gave the practice hall a long look. She faced him again.


    ¡°You will. Soon. You must know that there are already cultivators in town just trying to work up the nerve toe and ask.¡±


    ¡°I know about the cultivators. I was thinking it was about time to encourage them to move on. They¡¯ve been behaved so far, but we all know that won¡¯tst.¡±


    The expression on her face wasn¡¯t quite pity, but it was close enough to make Sen¡¯s skin crawl.


    ¡°You could chase them away, but they won¡¯t be thest. You¡¯re too famous. They¡¯ll just keeping because who wouldn¡¯t want to be taught by the Heavens¡¯ Scouring de?¡±


    ¡°Please tell me that¡¯s something you just made up. Please, <em>please</em> tell me that no one else actually calls me that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they do. I know a bunch more if you want to hear them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d really rather not.¡±


    ¡°I think my favorite may be the Hand of Chaos,¡± said Shen Mingxia with a gleeful little grin.


    ¡°I am begging you. Please stop.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll stop taunting you. The point still stands, though. This problem isn¡¯t going away unless you go back to traveling constantly.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡¯s a real solution. I mean, obviously, traveling didn¡¯t do much to keep me out of trouble,¡±ined Sen.


    ¡°There you go. May as well just start a sect,¡± said Shen Mingxia, ¡°and let Wu Meng Yao be useful in it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want a sect. I hate sects.¡±


    ¡°Yes, what a terrible life you lead. So famous and talented that people wille to you, shower you with gifts and money, and all for the chance to learn at your feet. It¡¯s a real tough road you¡¯re on there.¡±


    ¡°Wait? What are you talking about? Gifts and money?¡±


    Shen Mingxia gave him a look that said he was being exceptionally slow on the uptake. ¡°Yes, of course, they brought gifts and money. How else are they supposed to convince the mighty and elusive Judgment¡¯s Gale to take them on as students? The time-honored tradition of bribery. I assume that¡¯s how most sects finance themselves when they first get started. If nothing else, it¡¯ll make it cheaper to help the mortals protect their town.¡±


    That brought Sen up short. He truly did not have any interest in teaching other cultivators anything, but the idea of using their resources to support things he did care about held a certain appeal. Of course, if he took their money, he¡¯d be obligated to actually teach them things. It would give Wu Meng Yao something to do, though. That came with the pitfall that she¡¯d still be around, but at least she¡¯d be busy with something. She didn¡¯t lurk quite as much as Fu Run had used to lurk, but she was pretty bad about it. He did worry about getting distracted from his initial goal of training up the local mortals, but the reality was that most of them had gone as far as they were ever going to go with the spear. It wasn¡¯t ack of willingness. There just came a point where someone reached the limits of their native talent and physical ability. There were a few standout talents that he could take farther, but that was more on them to put in the work than it was on him to do anything.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about training cultivators,¡± said Sen, trying to deflect the conversation.


    ¡°But you had vast experience in training mortals and setting up a system for them to defend their town from spirit beasts?¡±


    ¡°Does it matter that I just don¡¯t want to?¡±


    ¡°Sure. If you don¡¯t want to, don¡¯t do it. Just understand that people are people, cultivators or not. If you say no all the time, it will discourage some, but it will make others even more determined.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± muttered Sen with zero enthusiasm.


    Shen Mingxiaughed. ¡°Okay. I had my say. I won¡¯t bother you about this anymore.¡±


    ¡°Ever?¡± asked Sen with a lot more enthusiasm.


    She gave him another of those nice smiles and said, ¡°Today.¡±


    Sen gave her a sour look before his head turned to the north, and he grunted to himself. Shen Mingxia gave him a questioning look. He held up a hand to keep her from asking anything immediately.


    ¡°Ai! Zhi! It¡¯s time to go inside!¡±


    The girls gave him the pouty looks that sometimes made him relent, but Sen just waved them over. They took a little longer than was necessary, but they came over. He squatted down so he wasn¡¯t towering over them.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± he asked.


    Both girls grew visibly happier at that question and nodded.


    ¡°Okay, well, you should head inside because I¡¯m going to make us all something really delicious soon. Plus, we¡¯ll even have a special guest with us.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± asked Ai with curiosity burning in her eyes. ¡°Is it Auntie Mingxia?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s certainly wee to join us, but that isn¡¯t who I meant. I meant her,¡± said Sen as he pointed.


    Fu Run stepped out of the forest and nced around. She gave Mingxia a cool, neutral look before she directed a bright smile at Ai.


    ¡°Auntie Ru!¡± squealed Ai, rushing over to tackle the nascent soul cultivator¡¯s leg in a hug.


    Zhi had walked in Ai¡¯s wake but seemed more hesitant. That hesitance vanished when Fu Run snuck the children some small candies that she¡¯d gotten somewhere. Sen studiously pretended not to see it happening. Sen noticed Shen Mingxia trembling, pale-faced, and silently mouthing the words <em>Auntie Ru</em>.


    ¡°You feeling okay?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°No warning that a nascent soul cultivator was about to descend on us? You really are an ass, sometimes,¡± growled Shen Mingxia.

 Dragon Con 2024 and Book Three Stubbing

    Dragon Con 2024 and Book Three Stubbing


    I''m not sure how much anyone will care about this, but it is the kind of self-promotional thing that I''m told sessful writers do. Therefore, I will be attending Dragon Con this year but primarily as an attendee. I applied to go as a professional guest but did itte. Dragon Con always has a full docket, so they didn''t grant me that elusive, exclusive professional guest status. That mostly means they aren''t going to put me on any panels. It''s a touch disappointing but not very surprising. I''m only a tiny bit inte famous at this point.


    However, my publisher will have a vendor table at the convention. That means that there will be scheduled times when I''ll do things. I expect those things will fall into two main categories:


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    1) Sign books


    2) Look like a terrified deer in the headlights as strangers ask me things and expect answers that involve coherent human speech. (I''m giving myself 50/50 odds on that whole coherence thing.)


    Once I have a location for the table and a schedule for when I''ll be there, I''ll post it for general stalking...er, that is to say, book signing purposes.


    So, if you''re nning on attending, swing by and say hello. That deer-in-the-headlights expression should be good for augh if nothing else.


    Moving on, Volume Three goes live on Amazon next Tuesday. That means Volume Three will be a stub in the next couple of days. If you haven''t read it yet, you''re almost out of time. You have been warned (<em>apply ominous viin voice</em>).


    Okay, I think that''s it.

 Book 7: Chapter 38: The Realities of Sect Building

    Book 7: Chapter 38: The Realities of Sect Building


    ¡°She¡¯s not wrong,¡± said Fu Run.


    After they had all eaten and Fu Run had spent some quality time listening to Ai regale her to tales of walking through town, ¡°training¡± with Dai Bao, and drawing orchids in the snow, the core cultivator had withdrawn to talk with Sen. The two had reached an odd sort of unspoken agreement after Sen had moved himself, Ai, and Falling Leaf to the new galehouse. Things had been incredibly tense that first week. Fu Run had been keeping herself under such rigid control that it looked unhealthy. It had taken a while for Sen to realize that she was trying to prove, maybe to herself, maybe to him, that she could keep herself from doing anything drastic. Sen had finally relented and brought Ai with him one day. He hadn¡¯t left the two of them alone, but Fu Run had seemed to take the gesture in the right spirit. Even so, Sen had been astounded when the woman hade to them for the first time. Her visits were unpredictable, and he didn¡¯t ask about it. They made Ai happy and seemed to soothe some inner turmoil in Fu Run. That struck Sen as just about the best possible oue in the situation.


    Of course, as soon as the elder cultivator withdrew from the girls, Shen Mingxia promptly became the designated doll for Ai and Zhi. They took turns putting, thankfully imaginary, flowers and ribbons in the woman¡¯s hair. If Mingxia minded, there was no sign of it on her face.


    ¡°She¡¯s not wrong about which part?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°About all of the parts. If you really need some excuse to send that girl away that isn¡¯t aplete fiction, there are plenty of real treasures in ces far less lethal than up on the Mountains of Sorrow.¡±


    ¡°You know where they are?¡±


    ¡°When you get to be my age, you have whole lists of treasures you¡¯re going to go and get when you have the time. I bet all of your other teachers have them too. I¡¯d even be willing to be that we all have at least a few of the same ones on our lists.¡±


    ¡°So, why don¡¯t you go and get them?¡±


    ¡°It just never quite rises to the level of a priority. Every once in a while, you find out you actually <em>need</em> some particr treasure. That¡¯s enough to get you out there and looking. Once you have it, though, you want to use it. You go home and run whatever experiment you were going to do or use it to reach that next level of advancement. By the time all of that is done, you¡¯ve fallen into old routines.¡±Sen couldn¡¯t help but nod. He¡¯d been running around, advancing at a breakneck pace, and rarely getting so much as a second to consolidate his gains, but that wasn¡¯t true for everyone. Uncle Kho had spent centuries up on his mountain, only leaving on the rarest of asions ording to Master Feng and Auntie Caihong. Even if he had one of those lists, his routines kept him firmly in ce. Sen could even see that happening to him. <em>Oh</em>, <em>heavens</em>, <em>that would just be glorious</em>, thought Sen. <em>Years or decades with nothing to do but focus on refining my skills and enhancing my qi understanding</em>? <em>Not constantly forced into situations where I have to kill</em>? <em>Where do I get in line for that</em>? Sen was so caught up in that beautiful daydream that Fu Run snapped her fingers right in front of his face to reim his attention.


    ¡°Where did you just go?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I was just imagining what it would be like to have no one bothering me for years at a time. Focusing all my energy on improving as a cultivator. It was beautiful,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s not as great as it looks from the outside,¡± said Fu Run, her eyes drifting over Liu Ai. ¡°Company isn¡¯t always a bad thing.¡±


    ¡°Speaking ofpany. Glimmer of Night isn¡¯t bothering you, is he? I don¡¯t expect he would, but I did bring him out there.¡±


    ¡°The spiderkin is wholly preupied at the moment. I think he had some minor breakthrough in¡ª¡± she hesitated. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure what it is that he¡¯s doing.¡±


    Sen gave the woman a startled look. ¡°Did you ask?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I asked. He even exined it.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°I said he exined it. I didn¡¯t say I understood him.¡±


    ¡°I know that feeling,¡± said Sen with some sympathy, all too familiar with how imprable the spider¡¯s exnations could get. ¡°If he does be a problem¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d just ask him to leave. It wouldn¡¯t ur to him to bebative about it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair. What about all of this,¡± Sen shuddered, ¡°sect nonsense?¡±


    ¡°Do you really need me to exin what was already exined to you?¡±


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    ¡°Not exactly. I need you to exin to me what I don¡¯t know. Yes, there are some dubious advantages to loosely taking on some students, but what are the pitfalls of having a sect? Official or otherwise.¡±


    Fu Run gave Sen a considering look. ¡°I¡¯m d to see that your mind and paranoia haven¡¯t abandoned you entirely in our quiet little corner of the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°I came by my paranoia honestly. I¡¯m just trying to use it to best effect these days.¡±


    ¡°Well, the most obvious pitfall is that other nearby sects won¡¯t like it. Most of them don¡¯t have the raw power to do anything to you, let alone make you stop, but you might draw the ire of the Vermilion de Sect. They could cause you some real trouble.¡±


    Sen lifted a hand, formed a vermilion de in the air, and dispersed it. ¡°I think I have a functional amodation with them. It should hold for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Now, that <em>is</em> interesting. You mentioned having a run-in with one of their members. Did you leave out a few details there?¡±


    ¡°I left out a lot of details there. Most of them tedious.¡±


    ¡°Stories are like that. They get dull in the details. The bigger concern you have to worry about with the other sects is that they won¡¯t target you personally. They¡¯ll target whatever students you take on.¡±


    ¡°What does that aplish beyond making me angry enough to do something about it?¡±


    ¡°This is where never joining a sect is going to work against you. There are a lot of rules that are simply understood by sects. One of those rules is that conflicts between juniors are left at that. Let¡¯s say that girl over there,¡± said Fu Run, ¡°gets into a fight with a foundation formation cultivator from some local sect.¡±


    ¡°Her name is Shen Mingxia.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure it is. So, the girl gets into a fight and gets hurt. The understanding is that you, as a vastly superior cultivator, to say nothing of being a sect patriarch, will not take it upon yourself to hunt down and kill the foundation formation cultivator who injured her.¡±


    ¡°What could possibly motivate me to ept that stupid rule?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I think you can figure that one out on your own.¡±


    Sen did know why. He just didn¡¯t like it.


    ¡°I imagine,¡± he said, ¡°the desire to avoid having core formation or nascent soul cultivators battling in the streets of this little town would probably top that list.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Just like the elders of other sects don¡¯t want someone like you showing up to do battle in the streets of whatever towns or viges are to be found near theirpounds. And there are nuances to all of these rules. Now, let¡¯s say the girl¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shen Mingxia,¡± repeated Sen.


    ¡°<em>The girl</em>,¡± insisted Fu Run. ¡°Let¡¯s say the girl isn¡¯t injured in a fair fight with someone of her approximate cultivation level. Let¡¯s say that she¡¯s ambushed by three cultivators of a higher advancement. Things get a lot murkier in a situation like that since there was a clear intent to do permanent harm. Now, you might have grounds to go hunting those three to express your displeasure. If you do, though, the expectation is that you¡¯ll dole out a more or less equivalent amount of injury. If you kill them outright, we¡¯re back to powerful cultivators battling in the streets and killing mortals by the hundreds.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re saying that there are a lot of these unwritten rules?¡±


    ¡°Dozens.¡±


    ¡°I hate everything about this.¡±


    ¡°As you should,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°That¡¯s without even considering the problem of people showing up to challenge you for control of the sect.¡±


    ¡°Who would want these kinds of headaches?¡±


    ¡°The kind of people who love power and can¡¯t be bothered with details. I will say that you have a big advantage on that front. Your reputation as someone who ruthlessly ughtered every enemy who got in his way as he crossed the kingdom will serve as a rather potent deterrent for most. Which leaves you with the more nebulous problem of poaching.¡±


    ¡°Poaching?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Sects tend to think of the nearby territory as theirs to recruit from. There¡¯s a reason that sects tend to keep a certain distance from each other. They won¡¯t like it if you start plucking up all the young talents.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not nning on recruiting at all. So, problem solved.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t see much difference between you actively trying to get students and students ignoring them to flock to the infamous Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    ¡°There is an <em>enormous</em> difference between those two things,¡± said Sen, already feeling the aggravation umting in his chest.


    ¡°Yes, and if they were using logic to understand the situation, they would acknowledge that. But they won¡¯t be using logic. They¡¯ll just see you as impinging on what is theirs.¡±


    Sen leaned his head back and thought hard for a little while. Something finally urred to him that he thought should have been obvious.


    ¡°All the people who areing around or will being around to get me to teach them or start a sect with them. I assume that at least some of them are aware of these issues, right?¡±


    ¡°It seems likely. The wandering cultivators may not know the nuances, but any current or former sect cultivators will certainly know,¡± agreed Fu Run.


    ¡°Then, why would any of them do it? Knowing it¡¯s likely to draw all kinds of trouble down on their heads and mine, why would they even want to start down this road?¡±


    ¡°Some will do it because you¡¯re a folk hero. Stories have a way of infecting people¡¯s minds. Most will do it because you¡¯re powerful, and they¡¯re desperately hoping that they¡¯ll be able to grab ahold of a piece of that same power.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you get power in any sect?¡±


    ¡°Can and will are, as you put it, enormously different things. Sect politics can hold a cultivator back just as effectively as it can push them forward. If people have tried the sect route and found the experience disappointing, they¡¯ll hope that things will be different with you.¡±


    ¡°Have I mentioned how much I hate everything about this?¡±


    ¡°You have.¡±


    Sen grit his teeth. ¡°It was worth saying twice. I also think that this is way more trouble than I want to deal with.¡±


    Fu Run started to speak, but Sen saw her eyes go out of focus for a moment. Then, they snapped back into focus and a look of cold anger crossed her face. She stood and gestured for Sen toe with her.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Sen as he fell into step beside her.


    ¡°I have unwanted guests. Two of them. Both nascent soul cultivators.¡±


    Sen came up short. Two nascent soul cultivators?


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen feeling abruptly sheepish. ¡°About that. I think I know who it is.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 39: Arrival and Introductions

    Book 7: Chapter 39: Arrival and Introductions


    Fu Run red at Sen. ¡°You <em>invited</em> them here?¡±


    ¡°No! No, no, no,¡± said Sen. ¡°I just sent them a letter telling them what¡¯s been happening to me in recent¡­ Um, years. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been stationary for a while.¡±


    ¡°You should have told me they wereing.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t <em>know</em> they wereing.¡±


    The awkward conversation was mercifully cut short as Ma Caihong and Kho Jaw-Long descended from the sky supported by nothing but the power of their qi. They alighted on the snowy ground outside the galehouse and looked around. Uncle Kho seemed very interested in the practice hall. Auntie Caihong smiled at Sen. Neither of them seemed terribly concerned by the thunderous look on Fu Run¡¯s face, which Sen wasn¡¯t sure was altogether wise.


    ¡°Do you two make a habit of invading other people¡¯s territory?¡± demanded Fu Run.


    ¡°Be still, Run,¡± said Auntie Caihong in a bemused voice. ¡°We aren¡¯t here about <em>you</em>. We came to see Ai.¡±


    ¡°Be still,¡± said Fu Run in an icy tone. ¡°How dare y¡ª¡±


    Her voice choked off as Uncle Kho went over and pulled the woman into a hug.¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, Ru. Even if that temper of yours hasn¡¯t improved at all.¡±


    Sen stood in mute shock as Fu Run¡¯s cheeks turned bright red. Then, a lot of hazy things snapped into sharp focus. The woman¡¯s constantparisons to Auntie Caihong. The quiet resentment that Fu Run seemed to hold for Ma Caihong. Sen had always just assumed it was jealousy over Auntie Caihong¡¯s talent, and that may have been a part of it. As he watched the woman p at Uncle Kho in a way that looked more yful than serious, it became evident that wasn¡¯t all of it.


    ¡°Let me go, you lightning-wielding oaf,¡± chided Fu Run, while she didn¡¯t actually do that much to escape.


    Sen traded a look with Auntie Caihong and saw the truth in her eyes. She knew, and she was wholly unperturbed by it. It was also evident that Uncle Kho <em>didn¡¯t</em> realize it. Sen wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d share Auntie Caihong¡¯s calm in simr circumstances, but he guessed that she must have long ago worked through any doubts she had about her marriage. Uncle Kho released Fu Run from the hug and stepped back. She tried to re at him but only managed a weak, sour expression.


    ¡°You could have at least sent word you wereing,¡± sheined.


    ¡°To where?¡± asked Auntie Caihong in a slightly too-sweet voice.


    The women locked gazed for a moment and universes of information passed between the two in that brief look. Sen resolved, then and there, that he would never, <em>ever</em>, for any reason, ask any of them a single question about what he had just figured out. There was the very pertinent reason that he simply didn¡¯t want to know, followed by the profoundly pressing reason that he didn¡¯t want to get involved. He¡¯d seen what happened when Master Feng and Auntie Caihong argued. He had zero desire to be present for a simr performance between Auntie Caihong and Fu Run.


    This absence of desire was fueled in no small part by the knowledge that Master Feng¡¯s self-control was substantial, while Fu Run¡¯s was not. After all, Master Feng had retained his wits enough to go take out his anger and frustration on dangerous spirit beasts. Those beasts probably hadn¡¯t had iting, but it was better than obliterating a small town. He had his doubts that Fu Run would show simr restraint if pushed to her breaking point. Yet, the sometimes-unstable nascent soul cultivator surprised him with her reaction.


    ¡°You obviously knew where toe. You could have sent a message to him first,¡± she said, pointing at Sen.


    ¡°Sen is rather famous for his wandering ways. There was no way to be certain that any message we sent here would actually reach him,¡± murmured Uncle Kho absently, wholly oblivious to the undercurrents in the conversation as he stared at the training hall. ¡°Sen, what is that?¡±


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    Oh, how Sen wished he shared that ignorance. However, the question gave him the golden opportunity to change the subject, and he seized it like a starving man seized food.


    ¡°That¡¯s the training hall,¡± said Sen, and then he kept talking to prevent anyone else from saying anything. ¡°I put it up so the mortals would have somewhere permanent to train. I went out and found some fire treasures to put in the floor to keep it warm in the winter. I thought about using a formation, but I couldn¡¯t work out how to make formations that the mortals could easily use and adjust. But you¡¯re here now, Uncle Kho, so I¡¯ll definitely want to see if you have any ideas that might work. I¡¯ve been training the mortals with the spear. I imagine you¡¯ll want to take a look at what they¡¯re doing. I mean, clearly, they can¡¯t meet cultivator standards, but they all work hard, and I¡¯d appreciate any advice you could give me. I¡¯ve never really trained people before, so it¡¯s been a steep learning curve. I certainly have a new appreciation for how patient all of you have always been with me. I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sen,¡± interrupted Auntie Caihong. ¡°Are you feeling well? You¡¯re babbling. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you babble before.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Uncle Kho with a worried look on his face.


    ¡°Did you break him?¡± said Auntie Caihong as she turned to look at Fu Run.


    Except, Fu Run was staring at Sen like she¡¯d never seen him before. Instead of answering Auntie Caihong, Fu Run spoke to him.


    ¡°Did you suffer a head injury recently that I¡¯m not aware of? I know cultivators are resilient, but you shouldn¡¯t ignore those.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± said Sen.


    He would much rather that they thought something might be wrong with him than continue down their previous conversational path.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Auntie Caihong, as her spiritual sense and qi washed over him. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t sense any injuries.¡±


    She gave him a spective look that let him know they would be discussing his current condition in more depthter. Sen realized that he might have glossed over a few too many details in that letter he sent.


    ¡°Well,¡± he said, putting on a forced smile, ¡°let¡¯s go see Ai. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be excited to meet new people.¡±


    Suiting actions to words, he started walking toward the galehouse and hoping that the power of adorableness would distract everyone even more. He felt a little bad using Ai that way, but it was going to happen anyway. So, he might as well put it to productive use. As soon as the group entered the galehouse, Sen remembered that there was another guest already inside. Shen Mingxia looked like she¡¯d just swallowed something very sharp and jagged as the presences of two more nascent soul cultivators were added to Fu Run¡¯s presence. Before Sen could do or say anything, Auntie Caihong grabbed his arm.


    ¡°There are two of them?¡± she asked, her eyes sparkling.


    Sen didn¡¯t quite know what she meant until he followed her gaze to where Ai and Li Zhi were using bits of charcoal to draw on paper that Sen had purchased. It only urred to him now that whoever made that paper would probably be horrified to know that Sen used the ridiculously expensive product to keep small children entertained.


    ¡°Oh, no,¡± answered Sen. ¡°The one on the right is Ai. The one on the left is Zhi, her friend from the town.¡±


    ¡°They are so precious,¡± said Auntie Caihong in a hushed whisper. ¡°Introduce me.¡±


    ¡°Ai,¡± called Sen. ¡°Come here, please. I want you to meet some important people.¡±


    Ai looked up, saw the new people, and immediately jumped to her feet. She ran over to them. She immediately started asking questions before Sen got a word in.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked Ma Caihong. ¡°Where are you from? Why are you so pretty?¡±


    Sen cut in before the torrent of questions could continue.


    ¡°Ai, this is my Auntie Caihong.¡±


    ¡°Your Auntie?¡± asked Ai.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Caihong, kneeling down. ¡°I¡¯m Sen¡¯s auntie, and I¡¯m very pleased to meet you, Ai.¡±


    Caihong reached out a hand and gently touched Ai¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Oh, you have such beautiful hair.¡±


    Ai suddenly found her shyness, because she ran over to Sen and hugged his leg while smiling at Caihong. Sen reached down and ruffled her hair, which made the girl giggle.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone else I want you to meet,¡± said Sen and pointed. ¡°That is my Uncle Kho.¡±


    Uncle Kho beamed. ¡°Hello, Ai. You can call me Uncle Kho too.¡±


    She gave Uncle Kho a little wave before she whispered in a voice that everyone could hear, ¡°Uncle Kho is tall, but not as tall as you.¡±


    The two men traded questioning nces before Sen asked, ¡°Am I taller?¡±


    Kho got a thoughtful little frown and shrugged like it wasn¡¯t that important.


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    Sen heard another whisper then, one he was pretty sure no one was meant to hear. But cultivator-enhanced senses being what they were, everyone heard it.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to get me killed.¡±


    Whatever color Shen Mingxia had left in her face drained away as three sets of nascent soul eyes turned to her. Then, Auntie Caihong got a vaguely predatory look that sent chills down Sen¡¯s back.


    ¡°Hello dear,¡± said Auntie Caihong as she stood back up. ¡°I¡¯m Ma Caihong. And who might you be?¡±


    The only reply she got was a tiny, little squeak.

 Book 7: Chapter 40: Panic, Chaos, Questions… And More Panic

    Book 7: Chapter 40: Panic, Chaos, Questions¡­ And More Panic


    Shen Mingxia just stared at Ma Caihong with her eyes so wide that Sen worried she might damage them. Then, the woman lurched to her feet, mmed her hands together, and bowed so low she was basically looking at the floor.


    ¡°Lady Ma Caihong, this unworthy one is Shen Mingxia. I apologize for¡ª¡± Her words trailed off when it finally seemed to ur to her that she hadn¡¯t actually done anything wrong. ¡°It is the greatest honor of my life to meet the esteemed Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden!¡±


    When no one said anything, Shen Mingxia lifted her head just enough that Sen could shake his head at her in disapproval. Taking pity on her, Sen walked over, grabbed her arm, and pulled her up straight. He gave Auntie Caihong a disapproving look because he could see that little twinkle of amusement in her eyes.


    ¡°Auntie, this is Shen Mingxia. You¡¯ll have to forgive her. Being in a sect has clearly <em>damaged her mind</em>. Shen Mingxia, you¡¯ve met my auntie. That is Kho Jaw-Long, or as I like to call him, Uncle Kho.¡±


    ¡°Kho Jaw-Long,¡± muttered Shen Mingxia, before her eyes threatened to do unnatural things again. ¡°The Living Spear!¡±


    If Sen hadn¡¯t kept a firm grip on her arm, she would have done another of those incredibly awkward-looking bows. Instead, she sort of flopped forward at an angle and her arm spun in Sen¡¯s hand. She lurched around and bumped into Sen¡¯s chest. She stared up at him, and he could read the near-perfect panic on her face. He just shook his head again. Sen nned to wait for her to calm down. When she just kept shaking and staring up at him like he was the only boat in a flood, he knew he¡¯d have to act. He lifted his free hand and poked her forehead with a finger. The tap seemed to jar loose a bit of sanity, which Sen came to understand might have been even worse. She started whispering at him.


    ¡°Sen, you need to get me out of here. You need to get me out of here right now! Do you have any idea what they¡¯re going to do to someone like me?¡±


    Ignoring her pleading, Sen spoke in a nd voice, ¡°Uncle Kho, are you nning to kill Shen Mingxia?¡±


    Uncle Kho, who had gone to sit on the floor next to Zhi and was eximing over her pictures, nced up.¡°What? Why would I do that?¡±


    ¡°No reason. I was just asking. Auntie Caihong, were nning on running some terrifying experiment on her with your alchemy?¡±


    Ma Caihong looked like she desperately wanted to say <em>yes</em>, just to see what would happen, but Sen¡¯s narrowed eyes put that idea to rest.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not going to run any experiments on her. The poor thing is a formation foundation cultivator in a sect. That seems far worse than anything <em>I</em> could do her.¡±


    Shen Mingxia was still staring up at him, although he could feel that her heart wasn¡¯t racing quite as fast.


    ¡°They¡¯re really not going to do anything to me?¡± she whispered.


    ¡°One, they can hear you. Two, they¡¯re my family, and you¡¯re my guest. Three, you¡¯re Ai¡¯s friend. Of course, they aren¡¯t going to do anything to you,¡± said Sen before he thought it through a little more. ¡°Well, they aren¡¯t going to hurt you. I make no promises about the kinds of questions they may ask you.¡±


    Sen would never know if it was hisments, his clearck of concern, or the reassurances from the nascent soul cultivators that let Shen Mingxia finally get a grip on her emotions. She did finally seem to realize that she¡¯d pressed herself up against Sen like he was some kind of sheltering wall. She hurriedly stepped back and her cheeks went a little pink. Giggling, Ai came over and grabbed the woman¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Auntie Mingxia, you made funny faces.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I sure did,¡± said Mingxia weakly.


    The little girl pulled the reluctant formation foundation cultivator over to where Uncle Kho and Zhi were sitting. Sen walked over to Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°Be nice,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°It was just a little fun,¡± she said.


    ¡°Not for her.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. I¡¯ll make it up to her,¡± said Auntie Caihong before she looked around the galehouse. ¡°Where¡¯s Falling Leaf?¡±


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    ¡°She said she was going exploring today. We¡¯re a bit close to the town for her liking and the forest is right there. I expect she¡¯ll be back before too long.¡±


    ¡°Idle curiosity, why is there a sect cultivator in your home? You don¡¯t usually get along very well with them.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s here because¡­You know what? That¡¯s a really long story, and if I¡¯m going to tell it, I should bring in that core cultivator who¡¯s lurking outside. You should feel free to have fun at that one¡¯s expense.¡±


    ¡°Sen!¡± eximed a scandalized Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°Oh, fine. Don¡¯t terrify her. Actually, we should do that tomorrow. The girls are going to be all riled up with new faces here. No need to add to that chaos.¡±


    As if to prove his point, the girls ran over to him yelling in unison. ¡°Shadow dog!¡±


    ¡°Sen, make shadow dog,¡± pleaded Ai.


    ¡°Please, Uncle Sen,¡± chimed in Li Zhi.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Have you been good girls today?¡± asked Sen.


    The two girls stared up at him with identical expressions of pure innocence and nodded. From the look he saw on Auntie Caihong¡¯s face, he thought she wanted to just scoop them both up and keep them forever. Sen stroked his chin in thought.


    ¡°What will you give me for performing this mighty magic for you?¡±


    ¡°Hugs,¡± said Ai.


    ¡°Hugs!¡± said Sen. ¡°How could I possibly turn down a treasure like hugs? Very well, I will summon forth the great shadow dog.¡±


    Sen made a big show of concentrating before thrusting his hand at a corner. The form of a dog the ck of deepest shadow sprang out and looked around.


    ¡°Yay!¡± cheered the girls.


    Sen leaned down. ¡°Where are my treasures?¡±


    The girls both threw their arms around his neck for a moment before crashing across the room toward the dog. Fu Run finally rejoined the conversation at that point.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve refined that one,¡± she said.


    Sen nodded. ¡°It¡¯s getting better. I still haven¡¯t figured out how to make it sapient.¡±


    ¡°Sapient?¡± asked Uncle Kho, rejoining the group. ¡°Why would you want to make it sapient?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d make a good guard for them,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What use is a shadow guard?¡± asked Auntie Caihong. ¡°Would ite and warn you?¡±


    That was when the Zhi climbed up onto the shadow construct and it began a slow meander around the interior of the galehouse. Ai walked behind them with her hands wrapped around the construct¡¯s tail. Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong look mildly stunned. Fu Run looked on with an air of smug satisfaction so thick it was almost tangible.


    ¡°Sen?¡± asked Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Is that charming little girl riding on top of a shadow dog that you made?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not really a dog. It¡¯s just a construct I made to look like a dog. If I can crack that sapience thing, though, I could make them a real shadow dog.¡±


    ¡°I think you missed the important part of my question,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°You made that shadow construct solid enough that it¡¯s safe for her to ride it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. That thing will stay tangible like that for five or six hours as it is. It was kind of a rush job. When I really focus on making one, it¡¯llst for a whole day. The problem is that I have to make it move around and interact with them. If I don¡¯t, it just stands there. Not much fun for the girls when it¡¯s like that.¡±


    ¡°How long have you been working to master this technique?¡± asked Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really a technique. This was just something I figured out how to do on the side while I was trying to figure something else out. I mean, it¡¯s got some uses in a fight, but it¡¯s kind of slow to make anything practical. So, I mostly just use it to make things for the girls to y with.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± asked Uncle Kho.


    ¡°All kinds of things. Balls are pretty easy to make. I do flowers. Stuff for them to climb around on. It turns out that you can make a big, fluffy cushion out of shadow even easier than using air qi. And it makes sure they don¡¯t get hurt when they fall. I make them houses to y in sometimes.¡±


    ¡°You make them <em>houses</em>?¡± demanded Auntie Caihong. ¡°Tangible houses that they can move around in? Made from shadow?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I do scale them down a little bit so they can reach everything. I also make sure everything stays a bit soft so there¡¯s nothing they can injure themselves on. You know, it¡¯s actually easier to do it that way than to make something that¡¯spletely rigid. Took me a while to realize that.¡±


    The longer Sen talked, the happier he saw Fu Run get. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to me her. She¡¯d had a hand in making this all happen. He supposed she was taking a bit of pleasure out of having taught him something that Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong found so impressive. The fact that this was just a byproduct of trying to figure out the true technique probably added a bit more enjoyment to the moment. <em>There¡¯s probably some ego involved with it too</em>, thought Sen. Fu Run was a nascent soul cultivator who had, as far as he could tell, been living in the shadows of Auntie Caihong, Uncle Kho, and Master Feng for a very long time.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if this felt like a bncing of some old inequity to her, but she was genuinely happy for once. Far be it from him to steal that from her. Sen did smirk to himself as he reached over and grabbed Shen Mingxia as she tried to sneak out while everyone was distracted. He pulled her over and draped an arm around her shoulder. It was everything he could do to keep theugh inside as she stared murder at him. Ignoring her re, he plucked the piece of paper she was trying to hide from her hand and nced at it. His heart melted a little at what he saw.


    ¡°It¡¯s a rather good likeness. Don¡¯t you agree, Auntie Caihong?¡± asked Sen, handing over the picture and ignoring the elbow that Shen Mingxia rammed into his ribs.


    The nascent soul cultivator took the paper and peered down at the picture of Ai that Shen Mingxia had rendered in shades of ck and gray. The girl wore a happy little smile while she pondered something unseen in the distance. Auntie Caihong looked up at the struggling foundation formation cultivator that Sen still had locked into ce with his arm around her.


    ¡°Come with me, dear,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°We have something to discuss.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± wheezed Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°I wish to buy this. We need to discuss a fair price.¡±


    Sen gave Shen Mingxia a big smile. ¡°See. Nothing to worry about.¡±


    Shen Mingxia¡¯s expression told him that she was certain he had lost his damn mind.

 V7Chapter 41: Payment

    V7Chapter 41: Payment


    It wasn¡¯t long after Auntie Caihong dragged a weakly protesting Shen Mingxia into a corner to negotiate for the picture that Falling Leaf arrived. Sen couldn¡¯t help but chuckle a little at the startled look on her face. The scene she had walked into was a little bit more exciting than what she was used to seeing. Two little girls were sitting on a shadow dog, cheering wildly as Uncle Kho made a tiny figure made of lightning dash across the wall, leap over windows like they were great chasms, and do battle with an appropriately-sized shadow dragon that Sen controlled. Having fought a dragon or two in his day, Sen naturally knew that the appropriate size was enormous rtive to the puny human figure that Kho had created. Sen was also using shadow construct appendages that he¡¯d temporarily affixed to a wall to help prep some food for a meal. The sheer noise and chaos had been too much for Fu Run. She had fled back to the quiet of her home. It seemed that the ghost panther was at a loss about what to address first. Finally, she turned to Sen.


    ¡°Sen, why does the Mingxia look as though she¡¯s about to start crying?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s afraid of Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho. Mostly Auntie Caihong, I think.¡±


    Falling Leaf considered that statement for a long beat before she said, ¡°Wise.¡±


    The epic battle between lightning man and shadow dragon yed out for a couple more minutes before the great beast fell. There was more ted cheering from Ai and Zhi. Uncle Kho looked over at Falling Leaf and smiled. The girls followed his look and ran over to the ghost panther, their words tumbling over each so fast that only the asional <em>lightning</em>, <em>shadow</em>, <em>Uncle</em>, and <em>Auntie</em> were understandable. In the end, it was just a wall of noise that crashed into Sen and Falling Leaf. Sen knew he¡¯d need to rein everyone in soon. The girls were getting overexcited, but he supposed that was part of being a child. It was also a little entertaining watching the ghost panther try to adjust to the sudden change in circumstance. She¡¯de a long way since the first time they¡¯d met Ai. Then, she¡¯d simply frozen up, uncertain what to do or say. Now, she was more ustomed to the children, but their sheer exuberance at that moment was a bit more than she knew what to do with.


    ¡°Okay, girls,¡± said Sen. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for quiet ying. I see some paper over that doesn¡¯t have flowers or birds or anything on it.¡±


    Seeing the obvious disappointment on their faces, Sen decided to take advantage of his guests.


    ¡°If you¡¯re good, Uncle Kho might even make something else out of lightning.¡±


    The girls immediately whirled to look at Uncle Kho, who stroked his beard thoughtfully. He dragged it out until the Ai and Zhi were practically dancing on their toes.¡°If you¡¯re good,¡± he finally agreed.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t quite that easy, but Sen eventually managed to get the girls settled down with the paper and charcoal again. He was about to go back to Falling Leaf and Uncle Kho, who had settled into chairs and were chatting about something, but Auntie Caihong turned and looked at him.


    ¡°Sen, can you join us please?¡± she asked.


    He dutifully changed course to join the alchemist and the miserable Shen Mingxia. The foundation formation cultivator alternated between giving him pleading looks and ones that promised vengeance as he approached. He supposed he¡¯d had more than his share of fun at her expense. It was time to extract her from this situation she¡¯d been wholly unprepared to face.


    ¡°Yes, Auntie Caihong?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We were discussing what would be an appropriate payment for the picture. Do you think you can make her one of your elixirs with this?¡±


    Caihong lifted a hand and summoned a delicate flower from one of her storage treasures. Sen didn¡¯t recognize the flower, but he could feel it positively bursting with air qi. That was the kind of natural treasure that sects normally had to organize entire expeditions to retrieve from the deep wilds. It was also the kind of treasure that he thought they probably reserved for their core formation members. Knowing Auntie Caihong, though, she¡¯d likely just picked it because she thought she might be able to do something with it someday. He briefly examined it with his senses and qi, confirming what he already knew, and then gave Shen Mingxia a questioning look.


    ¡°You¡¯re certain that an air qi focus is the way you want to go?¡± he asked her.


    It seemed that she didn¡¯t even hear the question at first because her eyes were locked onto the flower. It seemed like she was worried that it was some kind of an illusion that would disappear if she so much as blinked.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Mingxia,¡± said Sen with a bit more force.


    She did blink then and turned her attention to him.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked sounding confused.


    Sen shook his head a little and repeated his question. She gave it the kind of deep consideration that all decisions affecting the rest of one¡¯s life should get by immediately nodding.


    ¡°Yes. Yes! I am verypletely certain!¡±


    Sen looked at Auntie Caihong. ¡°Sure, I can make her something.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± she said and gave him the flower before walking over to show off her newly acquired picture to Uncle Kho.


    Sen swiftly stored the flower in his own storage ring to preserve its potency. The exaggerated disappointment on Shen Mingxia¡¯s face nearly drove him into a fit ofughter, but he fought it back. She didn¡¯t deserve that.


    ¡°It¡¯s best to keep nts like that stored until you¡¯re ready to use them,¡± he exined.


    ¡°I know,¡± said Shen Mingxia. ¡°It¡¯s just, how often am I ever going to see something like that in person?¡±


    ¡°Well, I mean, I¡¯ve got a storage ring full of things like that if you ever want to see some,¡± offered Sen in a bid to be helpful.


    Shen Mingxia closed her eyes and took several deep breaths before she said, ¡°It¡¯s very hard to know you some days.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°Seriously? If I came back to the sect with something like that flower, well, I¡¯d never be allowed to keep it. But I would also get massive rewards and all kinds of cultivation resources. And you¡¯re telling me that you¡¯ve just got a pile of things like that sitting in a storage ring.¡±


    ¡°Um, yes?¡± said Sen, uncertain if honesty was the best choice.


    ¡°Sitting in a storage ring,¡± said Shen Mingxia in a clipped voice. ¡°Sitting. Doing nothing. Just there for your convenience if you ever decide that you have some use for <em>inconceivably valuable</em> natural treasures.¡±


    ¡°I am an alchemist. Gathering natural treasures and doing things with them is pretty much the whole job.¡±


    She pointed her finger at him, grimaced, and said, ¡°It¡¯s really easy to forget that you¡¯re an alchemist. Still, a whole storage ring with treasures like that? Why don¡¯t you just go sell or trade some of them to the big sects in the capital? Hells, you could throw an auction all by yourself. You could finance ten new sects with the gold and resources they¡¯d throw at you.¡±


    Sen blinked at her a few times. A look of burgeoningprehension crossed her face. She closed her eyes again.


    ¡°It never urred to you to do that, did it?¡±


    ¡°In my defense, I¡¯ve had a lot of things to deal with since thest time we met.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the heavens¡¯ own truth.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Sen after ncing around, ¡°everyone is preupied. Let¡¯s get you out of here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    Shen Mingxia visibly rxed once they were outside and away from the nascent soul cultivators. She shuddered, and Sen didn¡¯t think it had anything to do with the cold. She peered at him and seemed oddly shy.


    ¡°What will you make with the flower?¡± she asked hesitantly.


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. It depends on you and what you¡¯re looking for.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°I <em>can</em> make all kinds of things with the flower. I can think of ten or fifteen things right off the top of my head. I could make something that would enhance your air qi affinity, for example.¡±


    ¡°Really? I mean, I heard about things like that, but it¡¯s not something I ever saw at the sect.¡±


    ¡°That may have more to do with the alchemists at your sect than anything else. A pill or elixir like that has to be made specifically for someone. It¡¯s not like healing pills. You can make those in batches and expect them to work more or less the same way for everyone. So, it makes sense for the alchemists at your sect to focus their time and energy on making things that everyone can use. I imagine they reserve specialized pills and elixirs for the inner sect disciples, core members, and elders.¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes sense.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t care about any of that. I can make whatever I want. That doesn¡¯t make the things I¡¯d think to make with that flower into things <em>you</em> need. It also doesn¡¯t make them things you could survive taking. We¡¯ll have to talk about it. I¡¯ll take a look at your qi, your channels, and your dantian. We¡¯ll take it from there.¡±


    ¡°Can you make me something that will help me advance?¡± she asked, eager and reluctant at the same time.


    ¡°Yes. The question is whether that¡¯s a good thing or even the most advantageous thing. I could make you something that would help you advance right now. I can probably also make you something that would help you break through to core formation and form a stronger core when the timees.¡±


    Sen held out his hands, palms up, and moved them up and down like they were bncing things on a scale. He continued.


    ¡°I get it. Everything in cultivation is focused on pushing forward. Not losing momentum. I¡¯m just saying that rapid advancement isn¡¯t always a good thing. Advancing too quickly can have consequences.¡±


    ¡°Easy to say when you¡¯ve advanced so quickly.¡±


    Sen nodded in acknowledgment of the point. ¡°It came at a steep price. Most of it paid in pain. Don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯m not saying I won¡¯t help you advance now. I will if that¡¯s what you decide you want. I¡¯m only suggesting that you consider the state of your cultivation. Look at all of the options. <em>Then,</em> make the best choice for you.¡±


    Shen Mingxia stood there in thoughtful silence before a little smile formed on her lips. She pressed her fists together and bowed.


    ¡°Yes, senior,¡± she said with merriment in her voice.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± groaned Sen.


    ¡°This humble Shen Mingxia is grateful for the patriarch¡¯s advice.¡±


    ¡°Gods save me.¡±


    ¡°You had thating, and you know it. Leaving me alone with that terrifying woman.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just Auntie Caihong.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what to say to that,¡± muttered Shen Mingxia as she turned and walked away.

 Book 7: Chapter 42: Talking

    Book 7: Chapter 42: Talking


    The rest of that evening passed in a glow of food, carefully curated conversations that steered away from anything too dark for the girls, and familial warmth. While Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong were very nice to both girls, it was clear that they were more focused on Ai. Falling Leaf surprised Sen by taking up the ck andvishing extra attention on Zhi, who eventually drifted off to sleep in the ghost panther¡¯sp. Even after the girls were put to bed, Ai possessively hugging a shadow ball, and Zhi snuggling a stuffed doll she took everywhere with her, the conversations stayed on the light side. Everyone knew there were more serious conversationsing, but no one seemed to be in a hurry to start them. That suited Sen just fine. Eventually, he did ask a question that he didn¡¯t necessarily need an answer to, but that he knew Fu Run was going to demand within two seconds the very next time he saw her.


    ¡°So, how long were you thinking about staying?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Looking to get rid of us old people already?¡± asked Uncle Kho as the corners of his eyes crinkled in amusement.


    ¡°Not at all,¡± answered Sen with a smile. ¡°But, if you¡¯re only thinking of staying for a few days, it doesn¡¯t make sense for me to make you your own galehouse.¡±


    Auntie Caihong gave him a wry smile. ¡°That name. It¡¯s a little on the nose.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯te up with it,¡± said Sen. ¡°And I have to call them something.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. I was thinking that we might stay for a while. Ming is bound to show up at some point, so we need to make sure that Ai loves us best before he turns up being all gruff and grandfatherly.¡±


    ¡°Caihong,¡± said Uncle Kho in an amused but chiding tone.


    ¡°What? You¡¯ve seen how he is with children. Honestly, it¡¯s annoying. The man¡¯s name alone is enough to send hardened sects screaming in terror, but children take one look at him and decide he¡¯s just the best thing that walks the world.¡±Sen looked to Uncle Kho and asked, ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly that way. She¡¯s exaggerating thi¡ª¡± started Uncle Kho before getting cut off.


    ¡°Yes!¡± insisted Auntie Caihong. ¡°It¡¯s <em>exactly</em> that way. It¡¯s like he¡¯s using a technique on them.¡±


    ¡°Is he?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Auntie Caihong. ¡°Which may make it even more annoying.¡±


    ¡°He makes them feel safe,¡± said Falling Leaf, chiming into the conversation for the first time in a while.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°He is a dragon in all but name. Ancient. Powerful beyond reason. A living, breathing nightmare for his enemies, but he would never see children as his enemies. It would never even ur to him that they could <em>be</em> his enemies. At worst, he might simply dismiss them. Should violencee, though, they can sense that he would shelter them beneath his wings. And what more absolute safety could there be than the Feng¡¯s protection?¡±


    Everyone considered that in thoughtful silence for a few moments before Auntie Caihong spoke up.


    ¡°How am I supposed to go on being unreasonably annoyed with him now?¡± she demanded of no one in particr.


    Sen and Uncle Kho both chuckled while Falling Leaf gave her a curious look. They spoke deep into the night before Sen finally excused himself to go outside and raise another galehouse, although one that strongly resembled their home on the mountain in structure. After he finished, he turned to find Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho standing nearby simply staring at the new structure.


    ¡°If you can make something like this,¡± asked Uncle Kho, ¡°why don¡¯t you make one for yourself?¡±


    Sen considered the question and asked, ¡°What would I do with it? It¡¯s just me, Falling Leaf, and Ai. Falling Leaf doesn¡¯t want anything. I don¡¯t need anything that I can¡¯t put into a storage ring. And Ai is happy as long as it¡¯s warm, dry, and I don¡¯t forget to make her a new shadow ball every now and then. I mean, maybe I¡¯ll make something bigger when Ai is older or I find somewhere that I want to live permanently. For now, it¡¯d just be empty rooms.¡±


    Auntie Caihong shook her head. ¡°I knew we focused too much on your training. There is more to life than cultivation, Sen.¡±


    He offered her a helpless shrug. ¡°Maybe there is, but I haven¡¯t had much time to think about it. If it makes you feel any better, I¡¯m sure Jing would be just as horrified by my humble little home. He¡¯d probably tell me it wasn¡¯t befitting someone of my power and stature.¡±


    ¡°Jing?¡± asked Uncle Kho.


    ¡°He means the king, dear,¡± said Auntie Caihong.


    Uncle Kho stroked his beard. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Some kind of strategic alliance there?¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.


    ¡°Nah,¡± said Sen. ¡°He¡¯s just my friend.¡±


    Auntie Caihong giggled, and Sen gave her a questioning look. She waved a hand in the air as if to shoo some errant thought away.


    ¡°I was just imagining all of the nobles across the kingdom spitting blood if they¡¯d heard you say that. They wouldn¡¯t be able to decide if they were horrified by yourck of ambition, envious of your position, or terrified that the king could call on your aid.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be all three,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be wrong, though. About having a ce befitting your power and stature. It is sort of expected that people getting as close to the nascent soul stage as you are will conduct themselves a certain way.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, I get the feeling that most people at that point have had a long time to develop other interests,¡± answered Sen.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably a fair assessment,¡± admitted Uncle Kho.


    Auntie Caihong looped her arm through Uncle Kho¡¯s and directed a smile at Sen. ¡°We¡¯ll go get settled in. There¡¯s no need to talk about everything tonight.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight,¡± said Sen and watched as Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho disappeared into the house he¡¯d made for them.


    ***


    ¡°How long will they be here for?¡± demanded Fu Run.


    Sen almost rolled his eyes at her. She¡¯dsted four seconds after his arrival before she¡¯d asked the question. Since she¡¯dsted nearly twice as long as he¡¯d predicted, he felt she should get some credit for that.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t specific. They said <em>a while</em>.¡±


    ¡°A while? Could they have been any vaguer?¡±


    ¡°I guess they could have shrugged at me,¡± offered Sen.


    He reassured himself that he¡¯d provided that answer with nothing but pure helpfulness in his heart. Not that his pristine intentions were understood by the out-of-sorts nascent soul cultivator who glowered at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like having them here,¡± said Fu Run.


    ¡°You¡¯ll notice that they aren¡¯t <em>here</em>,¡± answered Sen. ¡°They¡¯re back at the town and, as near as I can tell,pletely focused on keeping a certain little girl entertained. Far be it from me to say that I understand the motives or ns of my betters because history tells me that I assuredly don¡¯t. However, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re particrly interested in bothering you. They didn¡¯t even ask me where you are. Does that sound like they¡¯re nning to make some kind of unannounced visit to your home?¡±


    Fu Run grumbled something unintelligible before she fixed Sen with a hard look.


    ¡°You just keep them in line.¡±


    Sen returned her hard look with a lifted eyebrow and said, ¡°Sure, that sounds probable. I¡¯ll just order them around, and they¡¯ll do what I say.¡±


    ¡°I came all the way out here so I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with people,¡±ined Fu Run.


    ¡°You also bartered that manual to make me stay. Auntie Caihong and Uncle Khoing here was always a possibility, and you had to know that. It¡¯s also quite likely that Master Feng wille and visit at some point, which you also had to have predicted.¡±


    Fu Run pursed her lips. ¡°Perhaps. It doesn¡¯t make it any less distracting for you or annoying for me. You know full well that I have reasons to avoid others.¡±


    That was a point that Sen couldn¡¯t deny.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure they know that you don¡¯t want any guests toe calling.¡±


    ¡°That will have to do.¡±


    ¡°I will say that I specifically invited my Grandmother Lu to visit. I don¡¯t see how she could bother you, but I don¡¯t want it toe as a surprise.¡±


    ¡°Grandmother Lu? The elderly body cultivator you told me about? The one who,¡± she seemed to search her memory, ¡°started some kind of business?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s her.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not concerned about her. Aside from the distraction she¡¯ll provide. You have more than enough of those already. You¡¯re supposed to be learning, not adopting mortal towns and starting a sect for infatuated cultivator girls who bat their eyshes at you.¡±


    Sen struggled to formte an appropriate response. Part of him wanted tough at her description of the sect she thought he was starting. He¡¯d more or less decided that he wasn¡¯t going to start a sect. He was going to start something else. Something less likely to draw the ire or unwanted attention of established sects. He just needed to think it through a little longer and maybe consult with Uncle Kho a bit. Another part of him wanted to deny that he¡¯d adopted a mortal town, but there was more than a little truth in that. He didn¡¯t have anything like official control, but he¡¯d more or less bypassed whatever served as local government and instituted a militia. A militia that was likely more loyal to him than it should be.


    Those hadn¡¯t been his goals. All he¡¯d really wanted to do was give the mortals there a fighting chance against the kind of low-level spirit beasts that were likely to assault the town. Yet, there was a stark truth that whoever controlled the loyalty of the military controlled the area. For the moment, that meant him. Not that he thought the people he was training would ever do anything to harm the town. They all lived and worked there. That didn¡¯t mean that the local elders would see it that way. They probably saw him as equal parts resource and threat. On the one hand, he was providing the locals with what could only be described as excellent training. Training he was providing free of charge, at that. On the other hand, he was an outsider and cultivator with a powerful hold over anyone who passed through the training hall. They were also far from the reach of the kingdom¡¯s centers of power. It could very well look to them like Sen meant to set himself up as some kind of local king or warlord. And that was a problem he wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to remedy.


    ¡°What are you daydreaming about?¡± snapped Fu Run.


    ¡°I was just wondering if the local elders think that I¡¯m getting ready to use their town as the foundation for trying to set up my own little kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Why in the world would you be thinking about that? That¡¯spletely¡­ It¡¯spletely¡ª¡± she trailed off as she thought it over. ¡°Actually, that¡¯s probably more usible than it sounds on the surface.¡±


    ¡°Any advice?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°You¡¯ll need a lot more people than you have if you n on taking over a piece of the kingdom,¡± said Fu Run in apletely serious voice. ¡°Wars are messy business. You need a lot of bodies for them.¡±


    Sen gaped at her. ¡°I meant any advice on how to convince the elders that¡¯s <em>not</em> what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯m not, by the way. Just to be clear.¡±


    ¡°Oh. My mistake. I wouldn¡¯t care if you did. I¡¯m not particrly attached to this kingdom. It didn¡¯t even exist when I was young,¡± mused the woman. ¡°Plus, it¡¯d be very convenient if you were the local king. I could ask for favors.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not setting myself up as a warlord just so you can have me post soldiers to keep people away!¡±


    ¡°Calm down. It was just a thought. A really nice thought.¡±


    Sen pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°Any advice on aplishing my actual goal.¡±


    ¡°There is this one ancient stratagem you can try.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a mysterious, poorly understood technique called talking.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 43: Academy

    Book 7: Chapter 43: Academy


    ¡°Again,¡± said Sen.


    The townspeople, under the guidance of Dai Bao, started the form over again as Sen and Uncle Kho watched. The elder cultivator had seemed both curious and dubious about Sen¡¯s project to train the mortals to defend themselves against spirit beasts. As they worked through the form again, though, he could see Uncle Kho''s gaze turn considering as he evaluated the townspeople. He reserved judgment, though, electing to maintain his guise as a simple visitor for the moment. He¡¯d gotten more than one curious look from the practicing mortals, but they all had enough respect for Sen not to push for more information than he was willing to share. Sen was struggling not to send everyone home just so he could sate his curiosity about Uncle Kho¡¯s thoughts, but he resisted the urge. Everyone had made time for this, despite the demands of their own jobs and lives. He could do them the basic courtesy of giving this an honest effort.


    So, he slowly walked around the group and made mental notes. He saw some incremental improvement here and there, but nothing fundamental had changed. The handful of people capable of going further would need more direct instruction, while everyone else had reached their peak. Sen wondered if this was what running a sect was like for the core sect members and elders. Did they invest just enough time and effort to pick out the handful of unpolished gems, and then focus their attention on those few? He had the worrying feeling that, while things might not be <em>quite</em> that simple, the transition from outer sect disciple to inner sect disciple was probably handled in almost exactly that fashion. However, while most people¡¯s skills weren¡¯t progressing, other things that were just as important to surviving a battle with spirit beasts were improving. Things like stamina.


    During the first month or two, everyone¡¯s endurance had been pitiful. It wasn¡¯t that everyone was in terrible condition. A few, the ones who spent most of their time working with their minds rather than their hands, had been almost beyond hope. Most of the townspeople worked hard at some kind of manualbor. The problem was that thebor they were doing didn¡¯t necessarily trante into strength in the right parts of the body or sustained endurance. Wang Bo had been a good example. Sen knew that the young man could go out and do thebor rted to cutting down trees all day long. On top of that, he was still young even by mortal standards. He was likely at the very peak of what would be his strength and health. Yet, in the beginning, an hour of sustained practice with a spear had left him nearly beyond exhaustion. He was forced to use muscles he didn¡¯t normally use, or use them in ways he didn¡¯t normally use them. It had been like that for nearly everyone.


    Now, everyone who hadsted in the training could keep it up for a couple of hours. Sen had watched as this part of themunity had grown leaner and stronger. While it wasn¡¯t a substitute for body cultivation, he believed that using a rotation strategy would let them oust most low-level beasts. Whether they believed it was another matter. They had lucked out so far that no other beasts had attacked the town, so the question hadn¡¯t been put to the test as of yet. After the group finished the form, Dai Bao had them pair off and do some light sparring with blunted spears Sen had made for the purpose. Everyone present had developed enough skill and control not to injure each other out of pure ignorance or carelessness, which meant Sen no longer felt a need to oversee every spar. Instead, he moved between the pairs, sometimes just watching and sometimes offering pieces of advice.


    The small group he¡¯d identified as having more potential, a group including Wang Bo and Li Hua, he instructed to stay when everyone else left. It took a bit for the practice hall to clear out, but eventually the only people remaining were Sen, Uncle Kho, and the people he¡¯d told to stay. That group of five people shuffled nervously as he approached them. He hadn¡¯t told them why he wanted them to stay, so he couldn¡¯t rightly fault them for their nerves. He gave them all a gentle smile to try to alleviate their nerves. It didn¡¯t seem to help. <em>I guess I better just get on with it</em>, he thought.


    ¡°You five have the most room left for growth. So, I¡¯m going to offer you the opportunity for some additional training,¡± he said and held up a hand to quiet any immediate questions. ¡°There will likely be some changes happening here soon, which means that this extra training wille with extra responsibilities. I know that all of you have responsibilities already, so don¡¯t rush to agree. If you don¡¯t have the time or the energy to take on more, I <em>will not</em> hold it against you. Give the matter some thought, and then let me know your answers.¡±


    He could see the questions burning in their eyes. They wanted to know about the training and the changes he¡¯d been very vague about. He waited to see if they¡¯d give in to that curiosity or if they¡¯d do as he¡¯d asked. It was a test of sorts to measure their self-discipline. Wang Bo¡¯s lips twitched several times as Sen looked at him with some nd amusement on his face. The young man finally wrangled his curiosity into submission and left after a hasty goodbye. The others wandered out, casting curious looks in his direction, until he was left facing just Li Hua. He lifted an eyebrow at her.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked, certain she¡¯d ask about the changes.¡°Who is that man?¡± she asked, nodding toward Uncle Kho.


    ¡°You know who he is. That¡¯s Uncle Kho. You¡¯ve met several times now.¡±


    ¡°I know that¡¯s how you introduced me to him. But who is he? Why is he here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, now those are two very different questions.¡±


    ¡°Will you answer either of them?¡± she pressed.


    Sen considered her for a moment before he looked over to Uncle Kho and shrugged. Those weren¡¯t Sen¡¯s secrets to tell, so he manfully made it someone else¡¯s problem. Uncle Kho smirked at Sen, clearly aware that Sen was dodging responsibility, and walked over. He politely inclined his head to Li Hua.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Li Hua,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°I gather you have questions.¡±


    ¡°I, that is, yes. I do,¡± she said, suddenly nervous as Uncle Kho gave her a very direct look.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± he said.


    Sen kept his face perfectly neutral. Uncle Kho was having a little fun at her expense, which Sen didn¡¯t approve of but couldn¡¯t see a way to object to at the moment.


    Li Hua hesitated before she blurted out, ¡°Who are you?¡±


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    ¡°Kho Jaw-Long,¡± answered Uncle Kho immediately.


    Li Hua blinked at him with an uncertain look on her face. It was clear the name didn¡¯t mean anything to her, but equally clear she had sensed something about the man that unsettled her. She seemed to be looking for a question that would provide some rity and was having limited sess.


    ¡°Are you a cultivator? Like him?¡± she ventured, even more hesitant.


    ¡°A cultivator? Yes. Like him?¡± asked Uncle Kho with a look toward Sen. ¡°No. He¡¯s much more talented than I am.¡±


    When Sen rolled his eyes, Uncle Kho amended his statement.


    ¡°In some areas.¡±


    There was a long silence after that which prompted Sen to speak. ¡°Just ask, Hua.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d ever addressed the woman so casually before, but it seemed to hit her like a thunderbolt. She straightened and her eyes went a little wide. She hurriedly posed her other question.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°In this town or in this building?¡± asked Uncle Kho, a merry sparkle in his eyes.


    ¡°Both?¡± she asked, her voice a little higher than usual.


    ¡°I¡¯m in this town because Sen is here and he¡¯s adopted an adorable little girl that I wanted to meet. I¡¯m in the building because Sen asked me to offer my opinion on this project of his and the overall aptitude of his students.¡±


    Li Hua frowned. ¡°Why would he ask you about that?¡±


    This time it was Uncle Kho who looked at Sen and shrugged. It was up to Sen how much he wanted to reveal about that particr rtionship.


    ¡°Because Uncle Kho is the person who taught me how to use a spear.¡±


    That answer seemed to solve some mystery in the woman¡¯s head because her face cleared up.


    ¡°Oh! I see. That makes sense.¡±


    Sen frowned at Li Hua. ¡°What did you imagine he was here for? To kick me out and take over?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± said Li Hua, but the pink in her cheeks exposed the small lie.


    Sen shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m going to be here for at least a couple more years. So, no, that isn¡¯t the change that I was talking about.¡±


    She stammered a few embarrassed, half-formed sentences before Sen mercifully told her to go collect Zhi from Auntie Caihong. Li Hua all but ran out of the building.


    ¡°I¡¯m kind of surprised you told her your name,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to hide. Most people know better than to bother me.¡±


    ¡°And you do have that reputation to fall back on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re in a position to talk about reputations.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t remind me,¡± groaned Sen.


    ¡°Not enjoying fame?¡± asked Uncle Kho with a bit of sympathy.


    ¡°Not at all. How did you deal with it?¡±


    ¡°I moved to a remote mountain and killed everyone who came there to bother me.¡±


    Sen took a moment to think before he said, ¡°Yeah, I guess I already knew that.¡±


    Uncle Kho smiled and gestured around at the training hall. ¡°So, what was this all about? I watched you today, and it doesn¡¯t seem like you need any feedback from me. You picked out the people with real talent just fine. You¡¯ve brought the rest up to a point of basicpetence. Certainly enough to dy spirit beasts if not kill them outright. Or is this about you starting a sect?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s rted. I want to start something that is sort of like a sect, but I¡¯m for sure not starting an actual sect. It¡¯s a hundred headaches and responsibilities that I don¡¯t want. Especially when the benefits are so thin.¡±


    ¡°No desire for the blind adoration and obedience of others?¡±


    ¡°Gods, no. Plus, there¡¯s this nascent soul cultivator who just hates them. I don¡¯t want <em>that guy</em> showing up with an ax to grind.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve heard about him," said Uncle Kho with a smirk. "If you started a sect, he¡¯d definitely show up sooner orter.¡±


    ¡°Then, there¡¯s all the terror and screaming and foundation formation cultivators openly weeping. Who has time for that?¡±


    ¡°It does sound tedious. Although, there¡¯s a rumor going around that you already killed one nascent soul cultivator. What¡¯s one more?¡± asked Uncle Kho withughter in his eyes.


    ¡°Oh, you know how it is. Achieve one minor miracle and everyone expects you to do it again. People are so greedy. Besides, you have to join a sect to get any benefits from it, and mortals can¡¯t join.¡±


    ¡°So, what it is that you do have in mind that is apparently like a sect, but not actually sect, and that mortals can join.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking that I¡¯ll open an academy. A weapons academy with a focus on the spear and the jian.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ll let mortals join.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°What about cultivators?¡±


    ¡°That <em>is</em> the question. I don¡¯t know. If I let cultivators join, I¡¯d have to train them myself or recruit other cultivators to serve in that capacity since I can¡¯t have them mixing with the mortals. Even if they promise to behave, I don¡¯t believe for one second that some cultivator wouldn¡¯t immediately fall into that superior attitude almost immediately. If one of them injured one of the mortal students, I¡¯d have to act, which could well mean a mountain of trouble I¡¯d rather avoid. I could maybe bypass some of the problem by only epting wandering cultivators, but that could create its own problems.¡±


    ¡°Like sect cultivators showing up to challenge your students because they¡¯re wandering cultivators with no real backing?¡± asked Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Exactly, which would mean that <em>I¡¯d</em> have to be their backing, and I don¡¯t feel like dueling all the time. The other option is that I¡¯d ept wandering cultivators and sect members. If I do that, I can exert some control over the problem, but I don¡¯t see how to avoid making it a problem in the first ce. Basically, dealing with them would be a serious drain on resources. Plus, I¡¯d have to monitor them to make sure they don¡¯t abuse the mortals in town.¡±


    ¡°So, why not make it a mortal-only academy?¡±


    ¡°I really thought about it. It¡¯s what I wanted to do originally. But it won¡¯t work,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°There are already cultivators in town wanting to be the students of Judgment¡¯s Gale. If I open an academy and exclude cultivators, I¡¯d be right back to dueling all the time.¡±


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve at least thought about the problems. So, what do you need from me?¡±


    ¡°Advice. Assuming you couldn¡¯t just leverage your fearsome reputation to keep everyone in line, how would you limit the problems?¡±


    Uncle Kho stood in quiet contemtion for several minutes, idly stroking his beard, and making nomittal noises from time to time.


    ¡°You can¡¯t avoid the problems. Notpletely. These are people we¡¯re talking about and some of them are stupid. Some will think that the rules don¡¯t apply to them because they¡¯re nobles, or cultivators, or because theye from a sect. So, one option is that you make rules that include incredibly harsh punishments, and then enforce them mercilessly. You will end up having to kill a few people and deal with the consequences of that. Most people will fall in line fast enough if you execute a few who can¡¯t follow basic rules like do not bother the mortals. You can also ask for oaths to the heavens, but that¡¯s a losing proposition. Even those with no ill intent will avoid taking those oaths. They¡¯d rather miss out on an opportunity than y dice with the heavens.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t want to risk the heavens interpreting their oath?¡±


    ¡°Would you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I definitely would not. Any other thoughts?¡±


    ¡°Some logistical ones. You should charge cultivators outrageously for joining because they¡¯re going to be a hassle for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d nned on doing that.¡±


    ¡°You should also create a separate training space for them,¡± added Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Right. That would let me limit their interactions with the mortal students as much as possible. I suppose I¡¯d need to provide somewhere for students to live as well. It¡¯s not like the town has a lot of extra housing.¡±


    As they talked through the necessities, Sen became increasingly sure that this was the right choice. It should let him avoid actively antagonizing the sects in the region, train more mortals, and it would even give Wu Meng Yao something real to do. It would also give him an excuse to turn away cultivators who wanted cultivation training while also providing them with an alternative. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but very little in life was perfect. He could live with a little imperfection if it let him manage some of his problems.

 Book 7: Chapter 44: Academy (2)

    Book 7: Chapter 44: Academy (2)


    Sen focused his not-inconsiderable will on suffusing his entire body with shadow qi under Fu Run¡¯s watchful gaze. Her focused attention didn¡¯t bother him. In fact, he was grateful for it. When she¡¯d first described the process for her version of shadow walking, Sen had thought it would be easy. He¡¯d swiftly learned that there was a reason only a handful of people could perform it. It was a relentless battle against nature and his own body¡¯s desires. Sen had remolded that body again and again, infused it with everything from earth qi to heavenly qi, and the results spoke for themselves. He was the strongest and fastest he¡¯d ever been. But it came at a cost. Everyst piece of him had all of those different qi types as intrinsicponents. On top of that, nature didn¡¯t want human beings, or even body cultivators, to be made up of only one kind of qi. They were born as beings touched by all forms of qi, however lightly. Trying to superimpose shadow qi on top of all of that, through all of that, was proving a challenge that Sen wasn¡¯t sure he could ovee. With an exhausted explosion of breath, Sen released the shadow qi he¡¯d been controlling.


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep going,¡± he said.


    ¡°That was much better. You were much closer this time,¡± said Fu Run.


    He wanted to deny those words. It hadn¡¯t felt much better. He didn¡¯t have any intuitive sense that he was any closer to sess. Sen still nodded in eptance. Fu Run did not give false praise. She called false praise a misguided and futile attempt to bolster the ipetent. Sen wasn¡¯t sure he agreed with that position. Having spent a lot of time with children recently, he firmly believed that praise should bevished on them whenever they put honest effort into doing something. Of course, he was no child, nor was he a traditional student. He was a highly experienced cultivator getting direct instruction from an even more powerful and experienced cultivator. Instruction that was pushing the very limits of his current capacities. Sen had the suspicion that this technique wasn¡¯t even meant to be used by core formation cultivators. Either way, the expectation for someone like him <em>had</em> to be different, and he would get limited value from praise he hadn¡¯t earned. He knew it. Fu Run knew it as well. So, he epted her words as true. Even if he couldn¡¯t properly see the progress he¡¯d made, it wasn¡¯t a sign that it didn¡¯t exist.


    After he¡¯d had the initial insight, her exnation of how the technique worked had been little more than a confirmation of his suspicions. It was simplicity itself at the conceptual level. Turn yourself into a shadow and step through to the in-between ce, where you can release your shadow form and be corporeal again. Walk over to the shadow you want toe out of, be a shadow again, and step into the real world. Assume your human form once more. Easy. Sen had assumed there was more nuance involved, but he¡¯d drastically underestimated the difficulty. On the surface, it was a constant source of frustration. Yet, there was a part of him that found it oddly satisfying that this was something that wasn¡¯t easy for him to do. He didn¡¯t relish struggle when it seemed to be for no reason, but this kind of struggle had value. It burnished the will and his self-discipline. Improving those couldn¡¯t be anything but good for him. <em>Then again</em>, thought Sen as he tried to push through a fatigue that had settled in his bones, <em>there is such as overtraining</em>. <em>Even for me</em>.


    ¡°You¡¯reining in your head again, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Fu Run. ¡°You¡¯ve got that look about you.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I neverin.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you want to stop for the day and get back to building your sect for lovestruck cultivator girls.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a sect,¡± said Sen for at least the thirtieth time. ¡°It¡¯s not just for cultivators, and it¡¯s not just for women.¡±¡°You say that, but I remain unconvinced.¡±


    ¡°I noticed,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Fine. I suppose you¡¯ve put in an adequate effort, and you¡¯re clearly not up for another try. Be on your way.¡±


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    ¡°I was nning to visit with Glimmer of Night. Ai is with him.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, I haven¡¯t seen the spiderkin in thest few days. I should probably join you.¡±


    ¡°As you say.¡±


    The pair walked over to where Glimmer of Night had constructed an incrediblyplicated¡­ Sen wasn¡¯t sure that the word <em>web</em> truly epassed it. It criss-crossed dozens and trees and went up at least fifty feet. The spider watched on as Ai inexpertly climbed on it. Sen¡¯s heart almost stopped when she slipped and fell. Then, he saw that there was a tightly packed mesh of qi about three feet off the ground that would prevent her froming close to an impact. After she sank into the mesh, Ai let out a wild cry of glee as the mesh snapped back into ce andunched her back up into the air. The little girl cheerfully began climbing around on the web again.


    ¡°I guess she¡¯s not much of a spider,¡± observed Sen as they approached.


    ¡°She falls on purpose,¡± said Glimmer of Night. ¡°She likes the bouncing.¡±


    ¡°Of course, she does,¡± said Sen with a shake of his head.


    He didn¡¯t want Ai to be afraid of everything, but he wondered sometimes if she wasn¡¯t afraid of <em>enough</em> things. There were actual dangers in the world and, someday, he¡¯d have to let her go and find out about them. He shoved that thought away hard. <em>Someday</em>, <em>maybe</em>, he admitted to himself, <em>but not today</em>. Ai eventually noticed them and ¡°fell¡± again, before scrambling toward them. She flopped off the edge of the mesh and came over to Sen.


    ¡°Did you see?¡± she asked, eyes bright with excitement. ¡°I bounced!¡±


    ¡°I did see,¡± said Sen. ¡°Did you thank Uncle Glimmerite for making this for you?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± she said, her little head bobbing up and down.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I have an idea. Maybe you should show Auntie Ru how to climb on it,¡± suggested Sen with a look of pious innocence on his face.


    The nascent soul cultivator was not fooled. She directed a narrow-eyed look at him, but the enthusiastic way that Ai grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the web construct dyed any immediate vengeance. Sen snickered a little to himself.


    ¡°It seems unwise to antagonize her that way,¡± said Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°Oh, she doesn¡¯t hate it half as much as she pretends to. Besides, it¡¯s good for her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe I would ever treat a matriarch that way, good for her or not.¡±


    ¡°To be fair, neither would I,¡± said Sen. ¡°Those matriarchs of yours don¡¯t seem to have much of a sense of humor.¡±


    ¡°They do not. Humor is not highly valued among my people.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re missing out.¡±


    The spider was quiet for several moments before shrugging. ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you something. You know that you¡¯re wee toe and visit us whenever you want, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± the spider paused. ¡°I did not.¡±


    ¡°Well, that exins it. I wasn¡¯t intending to abandon you out here.¡±


    ¡°The humans in the town do not seem to like it when I visit.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll just have to get used to it. Changes areing here, and you¡¯ll probably be one of the politest of them.¡±


    ¡°So, you mean to open your sect for lustful, doe-eyed cultivator waifs?¡±


    Sen turned shocked eyes on the spider who wore his usual impassive look.


    ¡°Why would you call it that?¡±


    ¡°That is what Fu Run called it when she described it to me.¡±


    Sen was struckpletely speechless for almost ten seconds before he burst intoughter.


    ¡°Of course. <em>Of course</em>, she described it that way.¡±


    ¡°I take it she was engaging in humor?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen. ¡°I think she probably meant it, but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯m opening a weapons academy. Mortals and cultivators alike are wee to join. As are you.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then, why did she call it that?¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t approve of the idea. So, describing it in less-than-ttering terms is an indirect way to show her disapproval.¡±


    ¡°Why does she disapprove?¡±


    ¡°Mostly because she thinks it¡¯ll be nothing but lustful, doe-eyed cultivator waifs.¡±


    ¡°Will it?¡± asked the spider in evident curiosity.


    Sen opened his mouth, thought about it, closed his mouth, thought some more, and finally said, ¡°I don¡¯t think it will. That¡¯s not that n, anyway.¡±


    After that, the two fell into afortable silence while Ai exined to Auntie Ru how to climb on the web. Sen had to give Fu Run credit that she didn¡¯t lose her patience with the exnation or even get frustrated and simply use her qi to fly nearby. Sen didn¡¯t know if that was progress, but it was enough for the moment. Sen let the two of them y while asionally asking Glimmer of Night questions about the spider¡¯s ongoing quest to, if Sen understood correctly, discover a new aspect of truth through a newly discovered web pattern. Glimmer of Night had not achieved his goal but seemed undaunted by the ongoing work. If nothing else, it seemed that the environment and the work had allowed the spider to evolve his spirit beast core a little. He was radiating a more condensed qi energy than before. Before it got toote, Sen finally called an end to the y and headed back to town.

 Book 7: Chapter 45: Academy (3)

    Book 7: Chapter 45: Academy (3)


    Sen shook his head as he silently observed Wu Meng Yao trying to observe the galehouse. He¡¯d been standing about three feet behind her for five minutes. He¡¯d also been <em>hiding</em>. He realized it wasn¡¯t a fair test, but she had been lurking a lot thest few days. Maybe it was because spring was just about there. He wasn¡¯t sure if she wanted to ask him about the task he¡¯d set her or if she was just curious, but the amusement value in the whole situation had long since faded.


    ¡°That¡¯s creepy, you know,¡± said Sen.


    Wu Meng Yao jumped at least six inches off the ground and whirled to face him. Qi started to gather around her hands for some kind of technique. When the shock faded and recognition set in, she dispelled the gathering qi and directed an aggravated look at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s not funny to sneak up on people like that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not funny to spy on people¡¯s homes either,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°I¡ª¡± she started only to falter when Sen raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°Fine. I was spying.¡±


    ¡°Any particr reason or just basic voyeurism?¡±


    Wu Meng Yao turned bright red in embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m not a voyeur!¡±


    ¡°It was a joke,¡± said Sen in a nd voice. ¡°Which you were obviously in no frame of mind to enjoy. Come with me.¡±¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Does it matter? You¡¯re going to follow me either way.¡±


    ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t,¡± said Wu Meng Yao, falling into step beside him.


    ¡°Have you been preparing for your trip?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯ve prepared as much as one can for a trip like that. Which, incidentally, isn¡¯t much because <em>no one</em> does it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not true. Merchants go over those mountains all the time.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Over. On an established trail and with guards. Guards frequently obtained from a sect. Over. Not up,¡± said Wu Meng Yao in a voice that was almostining.


    ¡°A valid distinction,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°Idle curiosity, why have you been spying on my home?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°I have my guesses, but they¡¯re just guesses.¡±


    ¡°Shen Mingxia didn¡¯t tell you?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao, genuine bitterness in her voice.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask her,¡± said Sen.


    He chose not toment on that bitterness. There were too many possible reasons for it. Plus, he had more than a sneaking suspicion that asking about it would open him up to a lot of information he didn¡¯t want. Wu Meng Yao didn¡¯t strike him as particrly vtile but emotions could run deep in anyone. Plus, if her emotions were that close to the surface at the moment, asking about them could inadvertently end with her revealing things she¡¯dter wish she hadn¡¯t. No, it was better to just leave that alone for the moment.


    ¡°You have two legendary nascent soul cultivators who just dropped by for a visit. How could I not be curious?¡±


    ¡°You could have just asked to meet them,¡± noted Sen.


    ¡°How? You¡¯ve been avoiding me.¡±


    ¡°Have I?¡±


    ¡°Yes! You have,¡± she said with a fire in her eyes that abruptly went out. ¡°I get why, though. I keep making things awkward, and it¡¯s very clear that you don¡¯t enjoy awkward.¡±


    Sen stopped walking so he could turn to look at her.


    ¡°Do you know <em>anyone</em>, anyone at all, who does enjoy awkward conversations?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she admitted with a slight wince.


    ¡°Okay. I was wondering if I missed something along the way,¡± said Sen, resuming his walk.


    There was a short silence that Wu Meng Yao apparently found intolerable because she asked a question that Sen had sort of expected.


    ¡°Why are you so much nicer to Shen Mingxia?¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t make things awkward,¡± answered Sen.


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    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that enough? She treats me like a person. So, I respond in kind. What have I ever done to make you think that I care about all that hierarchy nonsense that sects impose?¡±


    It seemed that she didn¡¯t have an answer to that question, which was for the best since they¡¯d arrived at Sen¡¯s intended destination. They stood outside the door to the practice hall. It was almost exactly the same as it had always been, save for the addition of some characters on the wall. Sen stood there and looked at those characters until Wu Meng Yao took the hint and read them aloud.


    ¡°Deep Wilds Academy. What¡¯s this about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to train people here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re starting a sect?¡±


    ¡°Academy,¡± corrected Sen. ¡°A very specific kind of academy. I intend to teach the spear and jian here.¡±


    ¡°No cultivation training?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to say never. If the exact right person walked through the door, I might, <em>might</em>, take on a student for cultivation training. But that¡¯s not what this ce is for. This ce is intended to teach the spear and jian to anyone whoes along. Mortals and cultivators alike.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao was silent for a full minute before she spoke again. ¡°That¡¯s smart. If you¡¯re not training anyone to be cultivators, then people from any sect coulde here to learn the spear or jian from the infamous Judgment¡¯s Gale. At the same time, the sects won¡¯t worry that you¡¯re trying to recruit away their best disciples. Assuming they believe it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll send spies looking to prove that I¡¯m really running a sect here. As long as they pay the outrageous fees I¡¯ll charge, they¡¯re free to spy all they want. There won¡¯t be anything to find.¡±


    ¡°Have you considered the possibility of assassins? You aren¡¯t exactly everyone¡¯s favorite person.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t pretend that everyone loves me. But I¡¯ve survived assassination attempts before. Even one from a nascent soul cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Wait! What? Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been an interesting few years. It happened when I was in the capital a while back. There were a lot of people there who didn¡¯t like me. He just tried to do something about it. It didn¡¯t work out for him.¡±


    ¡°Did you leave the city before he found you?¡±


    ¡°No. I killed him when he wouldn¡¯t leave the city, but I¡¯d prefer it if you didn¡¯t spread that one around. Somehow, it¡¯s notmon knowledge yet. I¡¯d like to keep it that way.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao was staring at him with her mouth a little open. ¡°You¡¯re serious. You killed a nascent soul cultivator, as a core formation cultivator?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t leave me a lot of options. Well, no, that¡¯s probably not true. I expect that there were options, but I wasn¡¯t necessarily thinking all that clearly at the time. Mostly, I killed him because he deserved it, and because I wanted him dead.¡±


    ¡°If that weremon knowledge, you might not need to worry about assassins. Who would dare?


    ¡°There¡¯s always someone who dares. I also know that I¡¯m not invincible. Yes, it¡¯s possible someone mighte here looking to kill me, but that¡¯s true literally everywhere I go. I don¡¯t think that I¡¯m in substantially more danger here than anywhere else.¡±


    ¡°You have things here to lose.¡±


    Sen gave her a steady look. ¡°You mean Ai. You think someone might do something to her to get to me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°No. Anyone capable enough to have a serious chance of killing me is going to be someone who does that kind of work professionally. That means they¡¯ll be professional enough to recognize the <em>ocean</em> of vengeance that would drown them if they did something that stupid. I would erase them and anything they ever touched. That¡¯s assuming that Auntie Caihong or Uncle Kho didn¡¯t get there first. The word <em>safe</em> would simply vanish from their world. Anyone not professional enough to recognize that is going to be dead, or desperately wishing they were dead, before they can actually do anything to her.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao swallowed hard before she said, ¡°I¡¯m d to see that thest few years have toughened you up. You were so soft and forgiving before.¡±


    Sen met her eyes and then snorted. ¡°And you missed my whole angry time. This is soft and forgivingpared to those days.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m struggling to imagine that.¡±


    ¡°You met Lo Meifeng, right? She can tell you all about how full of joy I was then. But, we¡¯re way off topic. There¡¯s a question that you need to answer.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Do you really want to go do the imaginary task I gave you, or would rather stay here and teach?¡±


    ¡°Imaginary task,¡± said Wu Meng Yao a little numbly. ¡°The treasure up near the peak? It¡¯s not real?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I made the whole thing up. Well, actually, I expect that there probably is some incredibly powerful shadow treasure in one of those caves, but I don¡¯t know that for sure.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ You made it up? You were going to let me go to those mountains and risk my life for a treasure that <em>doesn¡¯t even exist</em>!¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I was going to let you go most of the way to those mountains. Then, Shen Mingxia was going to tell you the truth.¡±


    ¡°That little traitor.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on her. She owed me since before she even met you. And she¡¯s been trying to convince me to find something else, something real, for you to do since day one. You must be doing something right there because she¡¯s loyal.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Wu Meng Yao, looking a little chagrined. ¡°Still, why would you do something like that?¡±


    ¡°Is that a real question?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°No! But I¡¯m still angry about it. You could have just¡ª¡±


    ¡°Told you it was fine and not to worry about it?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± she snapped before the realization hit.


    ¡°Well, before you go off and feel angry with me for, well, however long that¡¯s going to be, back to the question at hand. Imaginary task or teaching here?¡±


    ¡°Teaching what? To who?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯repetent with the jian. So, you¡¯ll teach that. As for the who, it¡¯ll be the lower-level cultivators whoe here. I cannot spend all of my time teaching, and cultivators can only learn from other cultivators. So, if you feel like you¡¯ve got some debt or obligation to me, you can work it off that way.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t afford to stay here indefinitely.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be provided a ce to stay, food, and some kind of stipend. It can be gold, some reasonable cultivation resources, or abination.¡±


    The sect cultivator didn¡¯t say anything. She just kept staring at Sen and biting her lip.


    ¡°Do you need a day to think about it?¡± Sen finally asked.


    ¡°I want lessons,¡± she blurted out. ¡°The same lessons the other core cultivators get.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m going to be teaching, it only seems fair that I¡ª¡± she trailed off. ¡°It¡¯s fine? I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Well, that sounds like a personal problem that you should take up with the universe.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 46: Academy (4)

    Book 7: Chapter 46: Academy (4)


    Sen had been making excuses to avoid this task. He knew he¡¯d been making excuses to avoid it. Of course, it helped that his excuses were, by andrge, to do things like go train with Fu Run, train the townspeople, evaluate Wu Meng Yao¡¯s true skill level, and shore up some of her weaknesses. Most important to his way of thinking was spending time with Ai. In other words, he wasn¡¯t inventing mindless goals or wasting time. It was just that he could have, at any point, taken a break from any of those things to go and deal with this particrly troublesome task. If only it didn¡¯t involve cultivators. <em>You¡¯ve got to get over that</em>, Sen reminded himself. <em>If you¡¯re opening your academy to them</em>, <em>you¡¯re going to have to deal with them and all the things you don¡¯t like about them</em>. For all that, he still hoped that they would all decline when they found out the truth. Of course, that meant actually taking the step of talking with them. Sighing, Sen walked into the inn. He didn¡¯t even bother looking at them. He just pointed.


    ¡°You, you, and you. Come with me,¡± hemanded, then turned and walked out.


    They knew who he was. Half the town knew him on sight, even if they hadn¡¯t spoken directly with him. So, it was a foregone conclusion that the cultivators who had been in town for weeks and weeks had made a point to learn who he was. Oddly, none of them had gotten anywhere near to the practice hall or even, as near as he could, spoken with any of the mortals he was training. He didn¡¯t know if that was an overabundance of caution or just what they deemed a healthy measure of respect. He wasn¡¯t sure what, if anything, he would have done if the cultivators had approached any of his mortal students. He supposed it would have depended on how those interactions had gone. If the cultivators had been polite, he expected he would have let it go. If they had been more like the majority of cultivators Sen had encountered over the years, he probably would have turned the whole thing into a bloody, painful object lesson before <em>helping</em> that cultivator leave town. If that help resulted in them bouncing down the stone road for half a mile, that would been very sad. For them.


    His spiritual sense told him that the three had hesitated briefly, then hurried after him like ducklings chasing their mother. Now, they were walking along in his wake. Several times, he heard one or another of them take a breath like they intended to speak, only to change their minds at thest second. He led them out of town and to the practice hall. Sen had told the townspeople to take a day off, so there wouldn¡¯t be any interruptions of this meeting unless something big happened. Although, with Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong nearby, Sen felt a certain swell of pity for any spirit beast foolish enough toe looking for trouble. Uncle Kho would likely destroy it from a distance with lightning just to make sure the spirit beast didn¡¯t disrupt whatever fun he and Auntie Caihong were having with Ai and Zhi.


    Sen had initially felt like he was taking advantage of the elder cultivators since they always offered to look after the girls when some had something to do. When he¡¯d suggested that he could take the girls for a day, he¡¯d been met with such intive, hurt looks, that he¡¯d feltpelled to exin that he didn¡¯t want them to feel like he was using them. That had immediately soothed their feelings. Then, Auntie Caihong had metaphorically patted him on the head, told him he was a good kid, and shooed him out to go be productive. So, he had gone and fetched the cultivators who had been hanging around and acting like a mental lodestone for him. He took them inside the training hall, cycled almost unconsciously, and gestured. Three stone chairs rose from the floor. He turned to face them and sat. A fourth stone chair rose up to catch him.


    ¡°Sit,¡± he said.


    The three cultivators traded nces before taking seats. Sen looked them over. They all had the air of perpetual youth about them that made guessing their actual ages problematic. The one to the left was a young man with intelligent, dark eyes, and odd, short-cropped hair that looked more red than ck. To Sen, he felt like he was somewhere inte foundation formation. Sitting next to him was a positively tiny woman. She was so small that Sen might have mistaken her for a child if he¡¯d been distracted. The chair was big enough that her feet just sort of dangled over the floor. He frowned and concentrated for a moment. The chair slowly reduced in height until her feet could restfortably on the floor. She inclined her head to him in thanks. He judged that she was hovering at the cusp of qi-gathering and foundation formation.


    He turned his gaze to thest person and found himself grateful that there was at least one man in the trio. The woman in that chair looked at him with defiant blue eyes. He¡¯d heard about blue eyes, light hair, and extremely paleplexions. He knew that they were moremon beyond the Mountains of Sorrow. He¡¯d just never seen them before, let alone all on one person. It was almost jarring and might have even left him off-bnce if not for seeing Falling Leaf¡¯s eyes so often over the years. She was the only core formation cultivator in the group, which suggested that she was much older than the other two and probably much older than Sen himself. He let the silence drag out for an ufortably long time, just to see how they¡¯d react. The man and the tiny woman both started to fidget, but the blue-eyed woman never twitched. She just waited.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Sen asked.The other two gave the blue-eyed woman surreptitious nces, clearly expecting her to take the lead in whatever discussion was about to happen. She didn¡¯t disappoint them.


    ¡°I am here to learn from Judgment¡¯s Gale,¡± she announced.


    ¡°Really?¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she answered, confidence incarnate.


    ¡°And did he invite you?¡± Sen asked in a dangerous, casual voice.


    She faltered at that. The man turned a shade of green, while the tiny woman seemed to be trying to make herself even smaller. Splotches of red appeared on the blue-eyed woman¡¯s cheeks. It was a bit of a relief for Sen since it suggested that there might be a human being in there somewhere if he dug deep enough. He just looked at her and waited for an answer. He wasn¡¯t about to let her off the hook.


    ¡°No,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°Yet, here you are. Here you all are. I won¡¯t lie to you. The only reason you¡¯re sitting here right now is that you behaved politely in town. This ce is, for the moment, my home. I am protective of it. I have no tolerance for cultivators who believe that being cultivators gives them a right to abuse mortals. I have exceedingly limited tolerance for cultivators who believe that being in a sect makes them special. Any attempt to abuse the mortals here or to force those of a lower cultivation to do <em>anything</em> they do not wish to do will have lethal consequences. Have I been unclear in any way?¡±


    The core cultivator and the red-haired guy both looked a little stunned as they shook their heads. The tiny woman, on the other hand, looked ecstatic, as if she¡¯d gotten great news that she hadn¡¯t expected. Sen continued.


    ¡°I said all of that for a reason. I¡¯m about to tell you things you don¡¯t want to hear. So, I wanted you to understand what happens if you make a bad decision afterward. Despite what you may think, I¡¯m not starting a sect. Nor do I expect that I will ever <em>want</em> to start one. I am also not interested in taking on disciples.¡±


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    ¡°But¡­ But I am very skilled,¡± objected the blue-eyed woman.


    ¡°Of course, you are,¡± said Sen. ¡°You¡¯re a core cultivator. You don¡¯t reach the core formation stage if you¡¯re ipetent. I¡¯m not making a judgment on your worth as cultivators. There are a hundred sects out there that will be happy to do that. I¡¯m informing you that no one whoes here looking for cultivation instruction will get it from me.¡±


    The red-haired man finally piped up and swept his arm around at the training hall.


    ¡°Then, what¡¯s all this?¡±


    ¡°This,¡± mused Sen, ¡°is an academy. Or the beginnings of one. It will serve to train mortals and cultivators in the fine arts of wielding spears and jian.¡±


    ¡°Just weapons? No cultivation?¡± asked the tiny woman, finally deciding to join the conversation.


    ¡°Just weapons,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°Or, for you, I suppose just the jian. Even with cultivator strength, I don¡¯t believe a spear would serve you particrly well.¡±


    The red-haired guy snickered a little and whispered, ¡°Spears aren¡¯t for tiny people.¡±


    The tiny woman¡¯s cheeks went bright red with either anger or embarrassment, and she stared down at herp. Thatsted until Sen let his auric imposition crash down on the man. He looked at the panicked face of the man who was struggling to draw so much as a breath beneath that crushing force.


    ¡°Her size is a fact,¡± said Sen. ¡°A fact over which she clearly has no control. Your rudeness is entirely a choice. One with which I am <em>wholly</em> unimpressed.¡±


    He turned his attention to the tiny woman who was staring at him like he was some kind of hero. He inclined his head to her.


    ¡°My apologies,¡± said Sen. ¡°While you may not get what you wanted bying here, you most certainly didn¡¯te to be insulted. Since it happened in my training hall, I will see to it that you receive appropriatepensation.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said the startled tiny woman.


    Sen noticed the blue-eyed woman was watching all of this with keen interest. He finally turned his gaze back to the red-haired man, who was turning dark red. Sighing, Sen lifted the auric imposition. The barely conscious man slid out of the stone chair andy on the floor gasping for breath. They all waited with varying degrees of interest while the red-haired man regained his breath andposure. Rising, the man cast a fearful look at Sen before turning to the tiny woman, sping his hands before him, and bowing.


    ¡°I offer my sincerest apologies. I spoke carelessly and callously. It was unkind. I beg your forgiveness.¡±


    Sen was impressed with that apology. There was no way to know what motivated it, but it sounded sincere. The tiny woman looked a little flustered by the words, but she managed a nod.


    ¡°Of course,¡± she murmured.


    After the red-haired man sat again and refused to meet anyone¡¯s eyes, Sen continued.


    ¡°I¡¯m still deciding on exactly how I¡¯ll decide who can and can¡¯t join the academy. For the moment, I¡¯m allowing any mortal or cultivator to join, assuming they have the strength to actually wield the weapons. The fees for cultivators are substantial since they require training from other cultivators. Cultivators that I must recruit and pay. While I don¡¯t expect any one student to bear those costs alone, the fees will be in line with the costs. I may reduce those fees based on students providing other services.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡± asked the blue-eyed woman with a suspicious look.


    ¡°We¡¯re rtively deep in the wilds here. This town may be more or less safe from spirit beast attacks. It doesn¡¯t mean others are. Cultivators can move fast enough to provide aid in an emergency if we can figure out a way to get messages between towns fast enough. The town can use a sturdier wall. Cultivator strength would speed up the process of building one. Things like that.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said the woman, looking almost confused. ¡°How practical.¡±


    ¡°My grandmother is a strong advocate for practicality. Now, the three of you know what is and, more importantly, what is not on the table. You can make your decisions ordingly.¡±


    The red-haired guy almost ran for the door as soon as Sen finished speaking. The tiny woman went to leave, but Sen waved her over. She approached nervously like she wasn¡¯t sure what to do or say. He led her away from the blue-eyed woman who seemed intent on staying and talking more.


    ¡°There¡¯s still the matter ofpensation for the insult,¡± said Sen. ¡°Is there anything in particr that you need? A cultivation resource for your breakthrough, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I just¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± she said, looking like she was on the verge of tears.


    Sen frowned before a possibility struck him. ¡°No master to guide you?¡±


    ¡°There was a woman, in my vige, that taught me some things. But I¡¯m farther along than she ever got.¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°I see. So, now you¡¯re in the world trying to figure out your path forward. May I examine your dantian and channels?¡±


    The woman blushed like Sen had suggested something altogether different.


    ¡°Alright,¡± she squeaked.


    It barely took him three seconds to learn what he needed to learn. Her dantian and qi channels looked to be in good condition. Whatever the woman from her vige had taught her, it had been sound. She was focused mostly on water, but he thought that she had some affinity for wood as well. He resisted the urge to give her advice and then thought better of it. He could tantly ignore his own rules this one time because of what that fool had done. He also saw that all it would take to push her from qi-gathering to foundation formation was the tiniest nudge. He could make her something right here that would do the job. He nodded, mostly so she¡¯d have some sign that he was done.


    ¡°You¡¯re familiar with tribtions?¡± he asked.


    She looked very, very nervous at the word. ¡°Yes. The heavens send lightning to test you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more or less true,¡± said Sen as he pulled out his pot and created a stand from stone for it to sit on. ¡°There are some things you may not know about but should. Tribtions are mostmon at the transition between major stages of cultivation, like the one you¡¯re at. Tribtions <em>don¡¯t</em> happen every time someone moves between stages. I¡¯ve been through several advancements where there was no tribtion. The lightning also isn¡¯t the same for everyone. The heavens adjust the tribtion to your advancement. If you¡¯re strong and your early foundations are good, which yours are, it¡¯s highly probable that you¡¯ll survive one.¡±


    As he spoke, Sen created fire beneath the pot and began summoning things from his storage ring. He realized that he hadn¡¯t been using alchemy to make anything new for a long time now. He missed it. He also saw that his words had helped to sap some of the fear in the tiny woman¡¯s expression. Sen thought that ignorance about something like the nature of tribtions was probably almost as dangerous to a cultivator as having a shoddy foundation. He chose the ingredients he used with care, striking a bnce between wood and water qi-attributed nts and reagents.


    ¡°You may also be under the impression that you must choose only one qi type and focus on that,¡± said Sen. ¡°That¡¯s patently untrue.¡±


    He held up his left hand while using his right to continue stirring what was in the pot. Over his left hand, a ball of water appeared, followed by a sphere of fire, then shadow, and then lightning.


    ¡°That focus on only kind of qi is traditional but not a requirement. You have a natural water affinity, but you also have a wood affinity. Don¡¯t discard that second affinity unless you have no interest in it.¡±


    The tiny woman was staring at his left hand in pure awe, and even the blue-eyed woman had moved closer at that disy.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know any wood cycling techniques,¡± said the woman.


    ¡°They¡¯re simple enough to find,¡± said Sen, focusing on the pot for a moment to allow his intuition to guide the process more fully. ¡°I¡¯ll find one for you. Consider it part of yourpensation.¡±


    Satisfied that what he¡¯d made would be enough to push her into foundation formation and maybe help her along a little, Sen removed the pot from over the fire that existed only because he wanted it to. He bled the heat from the elixir and filtered the final product through a cheesecloth and into a stone vial. He sealed the vial and handed it to the woman.


    ¡°That should be sufficient to move you into foundation formation,¡± he said.


    ¡°What about the tribtion?¡± she asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s no predicting them, but you should take that elixir away from buildings and other people. I can¡¯t interfere with a tribtion. When you¡¯re ready to take that, though, I can go with you away from town. Make sure nothing interferes.¡±


    The woman wore such a look of profound relief that it made Sen ufortable.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± said the tiny woman.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± said Sen.


    Seemingly at a loss, the tiny woman bowed and hurried away, cradling the vial in her hands. Sen turned to face the blue-eyed woman.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Some might say that was excessivepensation for the insult.¡±


    Sen shrugged. ¡°I canpensate her as much as I feel is necessary.¡±


    ¡°That was a kind thing you did for her.¡±


    ¡°Which part?¡± asked Sen, reaching down to pick up his pot.


    ¡°All of it.¡±


    Sen looked up, but the blue-eyed woman was already gone.

 Book 7: Chapter 47: Academy (5)

    Book 7: Chapter 47: Academy (5)


    Soon Zi Rui¡¯s heart still thundered in his chest as he fled from the training hall. Never before in his life had he been so casually suppressed by another person. It had been an astonishing disy of raw, unknowable power that would have been even more impressive if it hadn¡¯t been directed at him. He didn¡¯t even have a name for <em>what</em> Judgment¡¯s Gale had done to him, let alone an inkling of <em>how</em> the man had done it. That pressure had been all-consuming, like a mountain had taken a personal dislike to him,pressed all of its weight into one spot, and dropped it on him. It wasn¡¯t just the incredible pressure, or the fact that he couldn¡¯t breathe, but that his qi had been utterly stilled inside of him that had been so terrifying. He couldn¡¯t have fought back. Not that fighting would have proven any kind of challenge for Judgment¡¯s Gale. That much was obvious. Whatever that technique had been, it hadn¡¯t taxed the man at all. He¡¯d simply carried on talking with the others.


    However, that pure inability to put up even a token resistance had shaken Soon Zi Rui to the core. He had beenpletely helpless, his life hanging on the whim of a living legend who was <em>not</em> legendary for his forgiveness. He¡¯d been surprised, not to mention thankful, when he regained himself enough to realize that the crushing, existence-ending pressure had lifted. Not that he could really remember what happened at the end. Had one of the others intervened? Convinced the blue-robed titan to stay his wrath? Or had Judgment¡¯s Gale simply lost interest? Soon Zi Rui just didn¡¯t know and didn¡¯t dare to ask. The insult had been stupid. He hadn¡¯t thought about it. He¡¯d just said it, the way he¡¯d said simr things a thousand times before. Except, the other thousand times, it hadn¡¯t been met with the instant arrival of death held in abeyance by only a hair¡¯s breadth. He¡¯d offered an apology because it was deserved, and also because he had no desire whatsoever to test the patience of that man a second time. Such a mistake could only lead to certain, dishonorable death.


    For all that, he hadn¡¯t been barred from entering the strange academy Judgment¡¯s Gale meant to open. Even if Soon Zi Rui couldn¡¯t receive direct instruction about cultivation, even learning about the sword or spear from the man would be valuable in ways that wouldst the rest of his life. It was a risk worth taking. He just needed to be mindful of his tongue. Ruthless. Imcable. Deadly. Those were the words spoken about the man, and he was exactly what Soon Zi Rui was expecting.


    ***


    Mo Kai-Ming left the training hall in a daze of wonder. She stared down at the vial in her hands, almost refusing to believe it. The key to foundation formation, to a new world of possibility, a key that eluded her for years, now sat in her hands. She hadn¡¯t known exactly why she¡¯d sought out Judgment¡¯s Gale. Mostly, it had been desperation. She¡¯d tried a few times to join sects, but they all wanted people who could fight as well as cultivate. She¡¯d never learned to fight and knew that it would never be one of her strengths. Physical size mattered less and less as cultivation progressed, but she was a qi-gathering cultivator. The lowest rung on adder that stretched to the impossibly distant heavens. They were expected to fight with swords or spears or other things she¡¯d never so much as touched in her life.


    What did a woman from a tiny vige know about weapons? There had only been two bows in the entire ce, both of them owned by the Ku family. Those hulking men had been the vige hunters. They were stern and dutiful, but she would never have dared ask them to teach her to use the bow. She wasn¡¯t sure she could have drawn one of them even <em>after</em> bing a cultivator. It had been something of a game at the autumn festival for people to try their hands with those bows. She had watched grown men, men made strong by the backbreakingbor of farming, fail to draw those strings back. No, she had no business even trying. Not knowing anything about true violence, she¡¯d tarried in her vige long past the time her teacher had told her she needed to venture into the world to keep growing. The world was vast, though, and filled with dangers she did not feel equipped to face.


    With each passing year, though, she¡¯d felt something in her diminish. She didn¡¯t know what, onlyter learning about the idea of momentum, but she felt it leaving. It was that mysterious, diminishingmodity she couldn¡¯t name that had finally forced her to leave, to seek out sects, and be summarily dismissed by them. It had been humiliation after humiliation. Mocked by those set to test applicants. Mocked by those in towns for her size. And when it wasn¡¯t humiliation, it was attacks. She had learned about violence the hard way and learned that everyone can drown if you try hard enough. When she¡¯d had all but decided to return to her vige, she started to hear strange stories about some impossible man. A righteous man who battled evil and cured the sick, working miracles with both de and alchemy. She¡¯d clung to those stories, the hope they gave her, and sought him out. She¡¯d chased those stories for years and finally, <em>finally</em>, she¡¯d found him, only to find herself hesitating. What if he said no? What if he mocked her? She¡¯d been trapped in indecision until he took the decision from her hands.


    Then, as if she was living in one of those fantastical stories, he had worked miracles before her eyes. Judgment¡¯s Gale hade to her defense, chastised that other cultivator so severely for his mockery that she wondered if the man would ever utter another insult in his life. He had taken her aside, been so polite, and then crafted the elixir right in front of her. There was always some battered pot in the tales, although she hadn¡¯t believed that part. But the stories were true! He had used a battered old pot to make something that was absolutely bursting with qi. Such a thing could havemanded a price beyond her life, and he¡¯d just <em>given</em> it to her. All while casually telling her things about tribtions and affinities that no sect member or even other wandering cultivators would tell her. He¡¯d even proven his words by using several types of qi in front of her. As if all that wasn¡¯t enough, he¡¯d promised to find her a wood cycling technique and even watch over her while she broke through. Kind. Generous. Honorable. Those were words used to describe him, and he was exactly what she expected.


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    Sua Xing Xing walked away from the training hall with only one thought circling in her mind. <em>What in the thousand hells did I just witness</em>? She hade here filled with confidence. She had heard the stories. It seemed that everyone knew someone who knew someone who had met, or been saved by, or been killed by, or been blessed by Judgment¡¯s Gale. Judgment¡¯s Gale, the entric cultivation genius who wandered thend doing whatever he wanted and surrounded by powerful, beautiful women. It had been so obvious, so clear to her, that she had formally withdrawn from her sect toe and find him. After all, with his reputation, why would he say no? She was powerful. She was skilled. She was beautiful, refined as she had been by cultivation. She was exactly what he looked for inpanions. She had left her sect knowing that she would find him, be epted by him, and stride in the wake of his greatness straight into the nascent soul stage. She had been so <em>sure</em>.


    When she¡¯d first arrived, Sua Xing Xing had simply assumed he would seek her out. He had to know she was there. She hadn¡¯t done anything to hide her presence. So, she had waited. As one day turned into two, and days turned into weeks, her confidence ebbed. She felt him, sometimes,ing and going. Every time, her hopes rose, only to be dashed as that presence passed her by. Again, and again, and again. She¡¯d been contemting whether it was time to leave when he had walked into themon area of the inn, bathed in absolute assurance. When he had pointed at her, it had felt like lightning was coursing through her body. <em>Finally</em>, she had thought. That electrifying moment had been short-lived, as he had pointed at the other two hopefuls that had been staying at the inn. She hadn¡¯t bothered to learn their names. Why would she? A qi-gathering cultivator and foundation formation cultivator? They were beneath her.


    She had still been invited to join him, and any trivialities like other cultivators could be ovee easily enough. She would win him over. Except, that had failed utterly. Not only was he not impressed, <em>at all</em>, by sect cultivators, he had barely even looked at her, let alone been charmed by her beauty. If anything, he seemed annoyed by her presence. That series of revtions had made her blush in embarrassment. She had remained quiet, looking for a way to regroup, while the entric man described his ns to open an academy to train people with weapons. She couldn¡¯t fathom why he would want to do such a thing. Then, that fool had tossed off an insult to the little qi-gathering cultivator and everything had changed.


    Up until that moment, Judgment¡¯s Gale had given off an almost feline quality ofzy indifference. The moment that insult left the foundation formation cultivator¡¯s lips, theziness vanished, and he was focused like a raptor. She¡¯d felt what he did then, even if she couldn¡¯t quite believe it. It was aplicated technique, the kind of thing that involved the soul, and she hadn¡¯t believed that such things were even possible before the nascent soul stage. And he¡¯d made it look <em>easy</em>. As that technique nearly ended the life of that insulting fool, the name Judgment¡¯s Gale took on a new reality for her. She was watching as he passed judgment on someone, and it was, well, it was thrilling. It was also petrifying because it was very clear that he took all of what was happening for granted. Then, he dismissed them.


    The foundation formation cultivator ran for his life, which Sua Xing Xing thought was an indication that the man might survive to see core formation. She had resolved to stay and see if she might find some other path into his good graces. Once again, he ignored her, choosing to speak with the little qi-gathering cultivator instead. Being in a room with that man was proving very hard on her self-worth. It was still a fascinating exercise, though, as he used the excuse of the insult to do exactly what he said he wouldn¡¯t do. He provided the little woman with cultivation instruction, while simultaneously performing a feat of alchemy crafting that should have been impossible given the ridiculous pot and the absurdly short amount of time he spent on it. Even so, she could feel the strength of that elixir from across the room. She didn¡¯t know how he had done it, but he had made that woman a cultivation resource that bordered on being too potent. He had been masterful, powerful, focused, and utterly upromising. He was not at all what she expected.


    ***


    Sen took a moment to store his alchemy pot and restore the training hall to its original condition. Then, he turned and looked at a particr shadow.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked.


    Falling Leaf stepped out of that concealing darkness and looked toward the door.


    ¡°About what?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Should I let them join?¡±


    ¡°The man is a fool, but most men are. If you refuse to train foolish men, you will have few students. The little one will love you forever. I don¡¯t know if that will make her a good student or a bad student, but she¡¯ll be a loyal student. The pale one¡ª¡± she trailed off.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen. ¡°She¡¯s trouble. I¡¯m just not sure what kind of trouble.¡±


    ¡°She has an agenda.¡±


    ¡°I expect that almost everyone whoes here will have an agenda.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± agreed the ghost panther, ¡°but her agenda is you. She means to have you.¡±


    Sen started to say something funny, but the words died on his lips when he saw Falling Leaf¡¯s hands were balled into tight fists. They were balled so tightly that he saw blood dripping from them. She turned to look at him. There was something lethal, primal, and fundamentally inhuman in that gaze.


    ¡°She means to <em>keep</em> you.¡±


    Sen considered that look for a moment before he answered.


    ¡°I guess she¡¯ll just have to live with the disappointment of that failure.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 48: Academy (6)

    <em>I guess it¡¯s for real now</em>, thought Sen. All along, he¡¯d thought of the academy as something of a safer middle ground and a half-baked idea that he could abandon at a moment¡¯s notice if it seemed like too much trouble. Once he¡¯d decided to ept students, though, the hypothetical nature of the academy became a fixed reality. Not that everything had gone smoothly. Word had slowly spread to nearby towns and viges that there was a ce to learn how to fight, which had meant a steady trickle of young men toward the academy. While Sen was aware that fighting wasrgely considered a man¡¯s job outside of the Jianghu, he also knew that it wasn¡¯t just men who wanted to learn <em>how</em> to fight. He¡¯d made visits to some of those viges with Li Hua and Falling Leaf for practical demonstrations. Li Hua had been decidedly nervous, while Falling Leaf had found the entire exercise to be hrious. After the pair of them had embarrassed the local vige men to the point of coughing up blood, Sen had made the announcement that his academy was open to any man or woman who wanted to learn. It hadn¡¯t changed the numbers a lot, but some women had started to show up.


    He''d also been vexed by the problem of money. Not that money was an actual problem. He could probably run the academy out of his own funds for decades. He just didn¡¯t want to. The problem was figuring out what to charge. He was intentionally charging any cultivators who showed up what most people would consider extortionate fees. It served the dual purpose of scaring away people who weren¡¯t serious, while also letting him pay Wu Meng Yao. He still needed to find someone else to handle teaching spear forms to the lower-level cultivators, who would also need to bepensated. The problem was that he was negotiating the extortion on a person-by-person basis. Painfully expensive to someone like Mo Kai-Ming was, he knew from experience, nothing to someone like Sua Xing Xing. Just as what would be nearly unpayable by a mortal wouldn¡¯t have made Soon Zi Rui blink. Sen thought that he¡¯d just have to settle on a number for lower-lever cultivators and leave negotiating to the core formation cultivators he¡¯d have to train personally.


    On the other hand, he wasn¡¯t extorting the mortal students the way he was the cultivators. This academy had mostly been created as a way to help them defend their towns and viges. Even so, he had to charge enough to at least cover the cost of their food and hire people to prepare the food. He had considered just giving people raw ingredients a few times a week, but a few conversations with would-be students put a swift end to that n. Auntie Caihong might have made sure that <em>he</em> knew how to cook, but it seemed that most of the young mortal men were helpless to make anything beyond tea. Plus, he had to give some consideration to the more talented townspeople he¡¯d picked for more advanced training. They were tasked with teaching new students. The time they spent teaching was time they weren¡¯t spending on their actual professions, which meant he needed to pay them enough to make up that difference. In the end, he didn¡¯t care if the ce made money, but he did want it to make enough to be self-sufficient.


    <em>At least Uncle Kho solved the heating problem</em>, thought Sen. It had been instructional for Sen to watch as a problem that had vexed him for months took the elder cultivator less than an afternoon to solve. Sen saw it as the difference between talent and experience. He was good with formations and could intuitively improve them, which gave him a lot of advantages. But he didn¡¯t have thousands of years of experience dealing with problems ranging from the purely mundane to the mind-bendingly difficult. Not only had Uncle Kho solved it, but he¡¯d also solved a problem that Sen hadn¡¯t been thinking about. High summer heat. While the stone he used to make buildings wouldn¡¯t absorb heat quickly, it would build up over time. So, rather than try to adjust the heat based on the weather, Uncle Kho just devised a formation intended to keep the temperature inside the buildings at a fixed point.


    Of course, that simple-sounding solution had been both hideouslyplex in the details and a pain to implement. Sen had needed to create the actual formations inside the walls of the buildings. More specifically, he¡¯d needed to addyers andyers of interlocking formations into the walls and then seal them up. The sheerplexity of those formations had taxed the upper limits of his understanding, as well as his abilities. He read that as just one more sign that he was nowhere even close to done learning about formations. Sen and Uncle Kho had taken a trip deeper into the wilds to acquire more fire-attributed treasures and some ice-attributed treasures. The formation could draw on those when the weather turned especially cold or hot. Then, Sen had needed to create special chambers beneath the buildings to house the treasures and contain their extreme heat and cold, which had turned into a secondary formation project all on its own. The good news was that unless something managed to damage the walls of the building, the system should function without any need for maintenance until the natural treasures ran dry. Sen estimated that would take at least a hundred years unless something drastic changed with how the weather worked.


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    However, the big picture details had slowly been dealt with or handed off, and training had begun. Of course, that had be a whole new pile of details to worry about. While the townspeople might only train a couple of hours a day, Sen didn¡¯t want the other mortal students left with lots of free time to wander around town and make trouble. They needed to have things to do, all day. Preferably things that would tire them out enough that only the most ambitious would inevitably get caught up in some romantic entanglements. Thest thing Sen wanted was a string of angry parents showing up to scream at him because their daughters or sons had gotten a little <em>too</em> friendly with a student who was going to leave in six months or a year. So, he had them do what he had done while training. He made them run. When they weren¡¯t running, they were training. When they weren¡¯t training, they were reading. Getting enough of the same scrolls for that had taken a trip to the capital and an obscene amount of gold to hire people to rush the copying. Sen had just paid for that and considered it an investment in future sanity. The students who didn¡¯t know how to write were put in sses to learn. Then, they ran some more. The schedule was brutal enough that Sen actually worried it might prove too much for some of the older people who turned up looking to learn or to improve their skills.


    Of course, he¡¯d had to recruit more people to oversee all of those things. He¡¯d been able to find a few in the town. There was an old man who couldn¡¯t handle physicalbor anymore, was bored out of his mind, and had no sense of humor. He did, however, possess the ability to write. So, Sen hired him to teach people to write. It had gone on and on, and he¡¯d thought it would never end. He found himself grateful that he didn¡¯t need to actually sleep every single day. Between dealing with academy problems, his own training, and being around enough that Ai didn¡¯t simply forget about him entirely, sleep was a high luxury. But, like all enormous tasks, the work did eventuallye to an end. That was how he found himself standing near a building in thergeplex of buildings that nowprised the academy just watching the mortal students grow increasingly winded as they ran.


    ¡°Is the grand and mighty patriarch deciding which of the children to cast out?¡± asked Shen Mingxia as she came over to stand next to him.Sen rolled his eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t actually have anything to do at the moment,¡± he told her.


    ¡°That sounds unlikely.¡±


    ¡°I know. I didn¡¯t believe it myself at first but here we are.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a little girl to take care of?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong are watching her. By watching, I naturally mean nning how they¡¯ll keep her.¡±


    Shen Mingxi gave him a sharp look and asked, ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± heughed. ¡°Well, probably not.¡±


    ¡°So, instead of sleeping, or cultivating, or doing anything even remotely productive, you¡¯re watching people run?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re only running because I said they had to. It only seems fair that I watch them do it from time to time to make sure I don¡¯t identally kill one of them.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not pushing them that hard,¡± said Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°Not if they were cultivators, but those are mortals. Things that a qi-gathering cultivator would shrug off in few days could cripple one of them for life.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just give them one of your healing elixirs?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but the goal is to train them. Crippling injuries run counter to that goal. Admittedly, there will be some injuries when they¡¯re learning the spear or jian. It¡¯s unavoidable. If they¡¯re copsing from exhaustion during a run, or damaging their muscles and joints, that¡¯s not training.¡±


    Shen Mingxia frowned. ¡°I guess I do take fast recuperation a little for granted.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just you. I expect most cultivators do that. I know I¡¯ve let myself take injuries to achieve victory because I knew I¡¯d recover.¡±


    ¡°Wu Meng Yao did say something once about finding you battered, bleeding, and unconscious in a crater.¡±


    ¡°I was <em>napping</em>,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°In a crater?¡±


    ¡°It was a veryfortable crater.¡±


    ¡°Was it?¡± asked Shen Mingxia with a skeptical expression.


    ¡°Not at all. I was in a lot of pain.¡±


    ¡°Well, since you¡¯ve got the time to chat about crater naps, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s time we talk about that flower you¡¯ve been keeping in your storage ring?¡±


    Sen looked at her nkly for a few seconds before it came back to him. ¡°Oh yeah! We should definitely do that.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 49: Consultation

    Sen led Shen Mingxia over to the building where he kept most of the people who dealt with problems he didn¡¯t want cluttering up his day. It seemed like there were more of them in there every day, some of them he had no memory of hiring, which made putting names to faces more than a challenge. As they walked through the space, Sen noticed that almost everyone was wearing a shade of blue simr to the robes he wore. It looked ufortably like a uniform to him. Everyone bowed and greeted him, which made him grind his teeth, but he knew that trying to put a stop to it would just create more problems. So, he endured it. Shen Mingxia looked around at the bowing people and gave him an arch look.


    ¡°Yeah, this isn¡¯t anything like a sect,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Thank you for that <em>very</em> helpful observation,¡± said Sen as he led her to what had be, mostly by ident, his working space.


    He summoned chairs from his storage ring for them both and sat down. Shen Mingxia looked around at thepletely barren room before turning a questioning gaze on him.


    He sighed. ¡°I used this room a few times, so everyone just thought it was mine. Now, nobodyes in here except me.¡±


    ¡°You should get a table or something. It¡¯s kind of creepy when youe in and it¡¯s just stone. Looks like a ce you might take someone to make them vanish forever.¡±


    Sen looked around at the room. He supposed it did sort of give that impression.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get a table for it eventually,¡± he said. ¡°Now, have you decided what you want in general terms? Immediate advancement? Future improvement? Stronger affinity?¡±


    ¡°What would you do?¡± she asked.¡°What would I do, or what would I rmend that you do?¡±


    ¡°Is there a difference?¡±


    ¡°There is a very big difference.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Shen Mingxia, her expression thoughtful. ¡°What would you do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. You¡¯d do nothing with the flower? Like, you¡¯d save it for something?¡±


    ¡°I meant a little more generally. If I had the chance to push my cultivation forward or expand an affinity or basically any of the options you have, I¡¯d choose none of them. And to answer your next question, it¡¯s because I don¡¯t want to advance my cultivation, and expanding one of my affinities would be more of a distraction than a benefit. If anything, I want to slow my advancement, not speed it up.¡±


    Shen Mingxia was very quiet for a time before she said, ¡°That¡¯s a strange attitude for a cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Probably. But that¡¯s where I¡¯m at. So, that¡¯s what I¡¯d do.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what you¡¯d advise for me, though.¡±


    ¡°No. You seem to be advancing at a perfectly sane pace. Faster than most, based on what I¡¯ve heard.¡±


    ¡°Not as fast as you or Wu Meng Yao.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a freakish anomaly who had advancement forced on me more often than I sought it out. I can¡¯t guess the details. In fact, you¡¯d probably know better than I would, but I have to assume Wu Meng Yao had some lucky encounters. Maybe found a few natural treasures along the way.¡±


    ¡°She did,¡± admitted Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°Then she¡¯s a poor example to measure yourself by. Lucky encounters and the right natural treasures have a way of unnaturally speeding advancement along.¡±


    ¡°Natural treasures like the flower.¡±


    ¡°Exactly like the flower.¡±


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t think I should use it to advance?¡±


    Sen leaned back in his chair and frowned up at the ceiling for a moment before he answered.


    ¡°There¡¯s so much a person doesn¡¯t know when they start out cultivating. So many things that are almost impossible to exin until someone is there. For example, it¡¯s hard to exin how important your own thinking, self-knowledge, and intuition are to the process. So, let me ask you this. Do you feel like you still have momentum?¡±


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    Sen watched Shen Mingxia wrestle with that question. She seemed to go back and forth with it before she finally gave a reluctant answer.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You wanted to say no, didn¡¯t you? So, you¡¯d have an excuse to push for advancement now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have known the difference.¡±


    ¡°One, I don¡¯t believe that for a second. Two, lying to you probably wouldn¡¯t lead to good advice.¡±


    ¡°Fair. Now, here¡¯s a harder question for you. How sure are you that you¡¯ll reach core formation?¡±


    Shen Mingxia took much, much longer to contemte that question. It was also clear that she didn¡¯t feel nearly as certain about her answer when she finally gave one.


    ¡°Pretty sure.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that because you believe it or because you were told by someone that you could?¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡±


    Sen nodded. ¡°A bottleneck can be mental or emotional. It¡¯s not just a question of umting enough qi to do it. If that¡¯s all it took, everyone would fly through these advancements. If you don¡¯t think you can or should, or if you think you don¡¯t deserve it, you¡¯ll never advance. You won¡¯t <em>let</em> yourself advance.¡±


    ¡°Did that happen to you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°But I was trained by people who have watched hundreds if not thousands of other people fail advancements. They exined it to me. I¡¯m willing to take it on faith that they know what they¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°I guess if anyone would know, they would.¡±


    ¡°I have, however, been through the advancements that you¡¯re working toward. I can tell you now that you need to know, in your soul, that you¡¯re going to advance. If you have doubts, you¡¯ll hesitate at a crucial moment and the whole thing will copse. Admittedly, a failure to advance from foundation formation to core formation isn¡¯t aplete catastrophe. At least, it¡¯s not from a pure cultivation perspective. The failed core will simply dissolve back into qi in your dantian.¡±


    Shen Mingxia gave him a hard look. ¡°But? I assume there¡¯s a but.¡±


    ¡°But the failure has a way of undermining people¡¯s confidence. The way I understand it, the number of people who seed on second or third attempts at core formation is¡ª¡± Sen paused. ¡°Let¡¯s say that the number is very low and leave it at that.¡±


    Sen gave her time to think while she chewed on her bottom lip in a way that looked painful to him. It got bad enough that he worried she might draw blood. She finally looked at him again.


    ¡°So, are you going to tell me what you would rmend?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re hoping that pushing an advancement now will give you confidenceter, I¡¯d rmend that you dispel that notion. Advancement doesn¡¯t change who you are, what you think, or how you feel. It only changes what you can do. At best, it¡¯ll give you a bit of false confidence that won¡¯t survive the first challenge.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t what I meant,¡±ined Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°I know. Here¡¯s my rmendation. You need to <em>decide</em> if you¡¯re going to be a core formation cultivator or not. I¡¯m talking about a true decision one way or the other. If you decide that bing a core cultivator is something that will absolutely happen for you, then I¡¯d rmend having me make something that will aid in that advancement. If you decide that foundation formation is as far as you¡¯re going to go, then ask me to make something that will help you make the most of what foundation formation has to offer.¡±


    Sen could see the disappointment on her face, even though she nodded.


    He gave her a mildly chastising look and asked, ¡°Were you hoping that I¡¯d tell you to go with the elixir that would help in the advancement to core formation? Use that as a confirmation that you would make it?¡±


    Shen Mingxia averted her eyes. ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. If I thought that would work, I¡¯d have done it. Unfortunately, no one can really decide your path for you. Not in cultivation. I don¡¯t know if it matters to you, but I¡¯ve seen you practicing since you¡¯ve been here. Your foundations are solid. Your control is good. I think you <em>can</em> reach core formation. You have what you need on the cultivation side of things. Whether you <em>will</em> advance is in your hands.¡±


    Shen Mingxia huffed out a breath and said, ¡°You certainly talk like a sect elder.¡±


    Sen put on a wounded expression and pressed a hand to his chest.


    ¡°There¡¯s no call to be mean.¡±


    The foundation formation cultivator snorted and looked around at the empty room again. She shook her head.


    ¡°Seriously. Get a table in here. Maybe pile up some scrolls on it. It would help a lot.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll get a table,¡± said Sen, who cycled for earth and made a stone table rise up out of the floor behind him. ¡°Better?¡±


    Shen Mingxia gave the table a dubious look. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a start, I guess. Maybe you could make it look a little nicer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make that my project when I have free time again next year. This brief window of idleness can¡¯t possiblyst.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because the universe hates me.¡±


    ¡°What? Do you think that a messenger is going to show up and tell you that the king wants to see you?¡± asked Shen Mingxia with augh.


    Herugh slowly dwindled at the aghast look on Sen¡¯s face.


    ¡°Why?¡± he asked. ¡°Why would you ever even put that idea in the air?¡±


    ¡°Come on. That¡¯s not going to happen.¡±


    Sen stabbed a finger at her. ¡°When it happens, you¡¯reing with me. Because you have to know that the universe is going to take thatstment as a challenge, and you¡¯ve now sealed it as absolute fate.¡±


    Shen Mingxia rolled her eyes. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s say that by some cosmic twist that it does happen, why would you take me along?¡±


    Sen gave her a wolf¡¯s smile. ¡°So that you too can experience all of the exquisite joys of spending time in a room full of nobles and royals. Since you¡¯ve opted not to join my academy, you can think of it as an alternative learning experience.¡±


    ¡°When you describe it like that, it doesn¡¯t sound like a good thing. Thank goodness that¡¯ll never happen, right?¡±


    Before Sen could answer, the door cracked open a little. ¡°Patriarch?¡±


    Sen had to resist the urge to strangle the man through the door for calling him that.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he called out.


    ¡°There¡¯s a messenger to see you. From the capital.¡±


    Sen red at Shen Mingxia who was staring at the still mostly closed door with a mix of utter disbelief and pure horror writrge across her features.


    ¡°This is your fault,¡± he hissed at her. ¡°Pack for a trip.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 50: Shield

    Book 7: Chapter 50: Shield


    The messenger was ushered into the room, and the immediate look of fear on the man¡¯s face told Sen that Shen Mingxia was right. The room was too stark and foreboding to be somewhere that good things happened. Those realizations simply furthered his intention to let her think that this whole thing was her fault. He knew, in his heart of hearts, that wasn¡¯t the case. In fact, he¡¯d been expecting something like this for a while. Not that he nned to tell her any of that. Why waste a golden opportunity to mess with the woman in a way that didn¡¯t involve her fearing for her life? The look on her face had been downright hrious. It had been so hrious that it took a monumental effort not tough. Sen had risen to the asion and kept a straight face. Laughing would have given the game away.


    Still, Sen couldn¡¯t tell himself that he was surprised that someone had shown up looking for him. He¡¯d been in and out of the capital a few times in thest year and had not stopped in to see anyone but Lo Meifeng. He hadn¡¯t even gone to pick up the formation gs he¡¯dmissioned. Plus, by now, rumors had to have gotten back to the city about where he was in general, and that some blue-robed lunatic was starting some kind of organization out in the wilds. Maybe a sect, maybe something else, but probably something that should be paying taxes. There was going to be a <em>line</em> of people in the capital wanting to ask him questions, with the king after the very front of the line, followed closely by some sect patriarchs and at least one sect matriarch. To Sen¡¯s way of thinking, if <em>he</em> had to go deal with that nonsense, he might as well share that experience with other people, and Shen Mingxia had been in the room.


    Sen and the messenger sort of looked at each other expectantly for a while before Sen realized that the other man wasn¡¯t going to break the silence first. Sen just wasn¡¯t sure what he was supposed to say. He studied the messenger, who was wearing robes of dark red and ck, but Sen didn¡¯t see anything that looked like a crest or sect emblem.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Sen,¡± he finally told the messenger. ¡°You have a message for me?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said the man.


    The messenger reached into a pouch and withdrew an extremely ornate scroll case that Sen recognized. He¡¯d gotten one like it before from the, then, Prince Jing. <em>I guess that solves that mystery</em>, thought Sen. He took the scroll case and nodded to the messenger.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The messenger got a very ufortable look that told Sen he¡¯d forgotten something.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°Am I supposed to pay you?¡±¡°No. I am well-paid by my employer. It¡¯s just¡ª¡± the man hesitated.


    ¡°It¡¯s not going to get easier to say if you wait another ten seconds,¡± Sen told him. ¡°Out with it.¡±


    The man winced a little and said, ¡°I¡¯m to wait for your response and return with it immediately.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you are,¡± said Sen.


    Then, just to make sure she knew that he hadn¡¯t forgotten about her supposed role in this social disaster, Sen gave Shen Mingxia a narrow-eyed look. She flushed a little and averted her eyes. Sen broke the seal on the scroll case, opened it, and removed the scroll inside. Unrolling it, he swiftly scanned the contents. It was filled with a mountain of formalnguage that Sen boiled down to a handful of quick sentences.


    <em>I¡¯m having a thing for important people</em>. <em>Don¡¯t be an ass</em>. <em>Show up</em>.


    <em>Jing</em>


    Sen considered the scroll for a while before he suppressed a groan. <em>No wonder he told the messenger to get an answer</em>, thought Sen. <em>He must have known that I would make a thousand excuses to not even open the scroll.</em> There was no getting around it. He would have to give the man an answer. As much as Sen wanted to say <em>no thanks</em>, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. Jing was, at the end of the day, his friend. The man could have done a lot to make Sen¡¯s life hard. That he hadn¡¯t done any of them was something that Sen couldn¡¯t just dismiss. He looked at the messenger.


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    ¡°Please inform the king that I will be in attendance. As will Honorable Shen Mingxia.¡±


    Shen Mingxia¡¯s head snapped up at that. He could see all the questions in her eyes, which he intended to ignore for the moment. Instead, he returned the ornate scroll case to the messenger, who tucked it back into the pouch.


    ¡°I will convey your message to his royal majesty,¡± said the messenger as he offered a deep bow.


    Sen nodded in acknowledgment and the man swiftly departed. Sen turned his gaze to Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°You¡¯re off the hook for the moment. We have a few weeks until we need to leave. We can push it to a month if necessary.¡±


    While that news seemed to provide a tiny bit of relief to the woman, she still looked unhappy.


    ¡°Honorable Shen Mingxia?¡± she asked. ¡°What was that about?¡±


    ¡°People keep giving me stupid titles. I should get to do it once in a while. At least yours is urate.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± objected Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°Well, I do,¡± said Sen, waving away her denial. ¡°Bring your nice robes.¡±


    ¡°How nice?¡± demanded Shen Mingxia with a look of panic on her face.


    Sen offered her a nk look. ¡°Very nice? Nice enough for an event at court.¡±


    Shen Mingxia pointed at the scroll that Sen still held in his hand.


    ¡°Can I see that?¡±


    Sen handed it over. Shen Mingxia grew paler and paler the longer she looked at the scroll. Sen wasn¡¯t sure why she was so worked up about it. Compared to hisst visit to the pce, this should be a bloodless affair. Apparently, that didn¡¯t matter, because she looked up from the scroll to re at him.


    ¡°You can¡¯t take me to this,¡± she insisted.


    ¡°Yes, I can. Besides, I already said you wereing.¡±


    ¡°This is a <em>formal</em> event. Representatives from foreign kingdoms will be there.¡±


    Sen frowned at her for several seconds. ¡°No, I¡¯m still not seeing the problem.¡±


    ¡°This is the kind of thing that, I don¡¯t know, sect patriarchs go to. Not a foundation formation cultivator from a middling sect in a middling city. I don¡¯t belong there.¡±


    That was enough to send Sen into fits ofughter.


    ¡°You don¡¯t belong there, but I somehow do?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re, well, you. You¡¯re famous.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, ¡°and isn¡¯t that just a gift that keeps on giving. Let me put this another way. You¡¯re talking to someone who spent his childhood eating garbage, actual garbage, from behind restaurants in a nowhere town. I trained on a mountain with people old enough to remember all the names of the kingdoms this kingdom used to be. My only real friend for that entire time was a spirit beast. Exactly how do you think that I¡¯m better equipped for this than you are?¡±


    ¡°Garbage? Really?¡± asked Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to see that you¡¯re staying focused.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to imagine you doing that. It¡¯s not an easy thing to picture.¡±


    ¡°My point is that you¡¯re aspetent to be there as I am. And you don¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°You know why.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t still be ming me for this,¡±ined Shen Mingxia. ¡°Do you think the universe just conjured that messenger out of nowhere solely to mess with you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d give it even odds,¡± said Sen. ¡°Plus, you¡¯re my shield. If someone is alreadying with me, then no one will try to <em>arrange</em> for me to take them.¡±


    That drew a particrly nd look from Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°Thank you, oh mighty Judgment¡¯s Gale. Nothing adds a bit of romance like telling someone they¡¯re a utility object.¡±


    That caught Sen a little off guard. He weighed the unintentional insult he¡¯d delivered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy you some nice robes to wear. Will that help to make up for my charmlessment?¡±


    ¡°They better be <em>very</em> nice. You know how shields are. We just don¡¯t perform as well when you don¡¯t treat us properly.¡±


    ¡°This is going to haunt me for a while, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°That depends on how often you swing this poor foundation formation shield into the path of danger to spare yourself.¡±


    ¡°You could have just said, yes.¡±


    Shen Mingxia giggled. ¡°I could have, but then I wouldn¡¯t have gotten to see that look of pain on your face. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t take me more than ten or fifteen years to forgive you.¡±


    ¡°Fifteen years!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s expensive to get to core formation. I can¡¯t let a resource like you off the hook when you just give me that kind of leverage.¡±


    Sen snorted. ¡°If I thought you meant that, I¡¯d be checking to see if you¡¯re actually a nine tail fox.¡±


    ¡°You could have at least pretended to be worried. And, if I were a nine tail fox, I¡¯d make myself way prettier than this.¡±


    Sen caught himself before he said anything and directed an unamused look at Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°Looking to see if I¡¯d give you more leverage?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t me a shield for trying.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 51: Shadow Walking

    Book 7: Chapter 51: Shadow Walking


    Sen pushed, and pushed, and pushed to suffuse his body with shadow qi. After months of effort, he finally felt like he was teetering on the very edge of sess, like all he needed was onest infinitesimal iota of strength, onest smidgen of insight, and he would finally achieve victory. However, it seemed the strength was not in him. That insight was elusive. He felt suspended there as if he were a rope bridge pulled taut between opposing sides of a deep canyon. He could touch both sides but was a part of neither. As the moment stretched out, the very fibers of his being almost hummed under the strain of maintaining the effort. <em>I¡¯m missing something</em>, thought Sen. <em>I know it</em>. <em>I can feel it</em>. There was too much resistance. Back on the mountain, what felt like several lifetimes ago, he would have tried more brute effort in his ignorance. Even back in the capital city when he and Lo Meifeng had been trying to escape from Tong Guanting, he had pushed his <em>hiding</em> ability beyond its limits and suffered for it. Fortunately, experience was the most fundamental of all teachers.


    He knew that he might be able to dredge up ast bit of strength and force the technique to work. If his life had been on the line, he might have even done it. The costs be damned. Forcing things to work the way he wanted them to, though, was not a winning strategy. When he¡¯d first started using his qinggong technique, it had been hard, very hard, but not because the technique was resisting him. It had been hard because the qi costs were so high. He had improved that technique with finesse, incrementally growing more efficient with it until, now, he harbored the suspicion that it would take a nascent soul cultivator to match his full speed. He needed to borrow from that experience to figure this out. Where was the resistanceing from? Where were the inefficiencies? Was the problem his entire approach?


    Sen had relied on the age-old wisdom his teacher knew best until he had evidence otherwise. This was the approach that Fu Run had provided. He had worked with it and worked with it, only to meet with failure. Had she, however unintentionally, led him astray? A mental head shake cut that line of thought short. <em>Start with the simplest exnation</em>, he reminded himself. The simplest answer was that he was the problem, not the approach he had been provided. He did his best to solidify his tenuous grasp on the technique and turned his attention inward. He watched the shadow qi course through his channels, dark as the void itself. He followed the qi as it bled out of those channels and entered his muscles, bones, and organs. He drifted with the qi as it spread out and approached his skin and¡­ Understanding bloomed.


    Shadow might exist under the heavens, but it carried more inmon with the void, with nothingness, the very antithesis of the eternal heavens. Based on the way the divine qi in his skin was reacting, shadow qi was a barely tolerated stepchild. The shadow qi was trying, and failing, to cover over the nodes of divine qi that lived in his very skin. The divine qi was continually shredding the shadow qi to let its own light ze, even if it wasn¡¯t visible to the eye. <em>No wonder I haven¡¯t run into any shadow cultivators</em>, thought Sen. If he had to guess, he would expect that they faced obstacles that people who cultivated other qi types simply did not. If nothing else, the heavens might simply weed them out with particrly brutal tribtions.


    As much as Sen loathed his tribtion experiences, he wasn¡¯t foolish enough to think that the heavens had truly tried to kill him. It was a test. A means to discover if cultivators possessed the skill and the will to endure the demands of the next stage. The survival rate of tribtions said it all. Yes, some people died during tribtions, but they were the exceptions rather than the rule. But if the heavens <em>wanted</em> to kill people with tribtions, it wouldn¡¯t be that difficult. Send a tribtion with the strength normally used for the next stage, and the cultivator <em>would</em> die. Of course, Sen recognized that he was just specting. It was just as possible that there were so few shadow cultivators because most people had no affinity for it. Having witnessed what was happening in his own body undermined his confidence in that possibility, but he couldn¡¯t reject the notion outright. Whatever the actual answer was, he¡¯d have to put aside looking for it for now. It wouldn¡¯t help him solve the problem in front of him.


    He needed to suppress the divine qi¡¯s natural reaction to shadow qi. Somehow. This was a demand wholly outside of Sen¡¯s experience. Cultivation was all about working with the natural tendencies of a qi type. You didn¡¯t call up wind qi and then ask it to stop moving. You didn¡¯t summon water qi and expect it to leave things dry. Complicating the problem was that he couldn¡¯t simply discard the divine qi the way he might with qi that he had cycled to produce. It had been¡­ Sen struggled to find the right word to describe what had happened. He supposed that it had been <em>cooked</em> into his very body. It was literally part of him now. That idea brought him up short. <em>It is a part of me</em>, <em>isn¡¯t it</em>? <em>I can tell other parts of me what to do</em>, he thought. <em>Maybe the same is true here</em>. Rather than try to think of someplicated cultivation solution to the problem, he treated it more like he would if he wanted to slow down his heart. It wasn¡¯t quite an active, conscious process, but he could do it.


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    He bent his attention on getting the divine qi to stop interfering with what the shadow qi was doing. The divine qi threw up immediate resistance to the idea, but he kept focusing, almost yelling at the divine qi to just let it happen. Slowly, <em>reluctantly</em>, the divine qi slowed and finally stopped shredding the shadow qi that got near it. The shadow qi slid over those divine nodes and that terrible resistance he¡¯d been struggling against simply vanished. It was so abrupt that he almost lost control of the technique. Pride and happiness swelled inside of him at seeding where he had failed so often. That glorious moment was cut short as a sensation of falling backward was apanied by an almost panicked shout from Fu Run.


    ¡°Wait!¡±Everything that Sen had been sensing in his environment with his spiritual sense disappeared in a blink. It was reced by a world filled with things that felt insubstantial, like objects made of mist. It was a world where he feared any motion would punch straight through the membrane of reality. In short, everything felt <em>wrong</em>. His eyes shot open at the same time he lost his grip on the technique. He looked down at his own hand and watched as inky ckness receded to expose smooth, pale skin. The color in that skin jarred against the monochrome world around him where everything was a shade that sat somewhere on a spectrum between white and ck. The total absence of color in anything except himself and his clothes was disorienting. That feeling was only made worse by the chaotic shapes that surrounded him that bore no resemnce to anything made by the hand of man. It made him want to squeeze his eyes shut to deny the sheer alien nature of the ce any hold in his psyche. The only thing that kept him from doing exactly that was the warning that Fu Run had given when she first started him down this path. He only had so much time before this ce would start to kill him.


    He shook off the disorientation and looked around. He was standing in a wedge of bright white that looked like, well, it didn¡¯t really look like anything. It was just a bizarre shape with hard edges. <em>That must be how the shadow I was in was shaped on the other side</em>, he thought. He was relieved that he hadn¡¯t done something stupid like start walking around. He¡¯d do that eventually, but not when he¡¯de here by ident. Even his natural curiosity was hiding in a hole somewhere, not even remotely interested in exploring this unsettling ce. Focus, he ordered himself. He worked backward this time and focused on suppressing the divine qi first and then suffusing his body with shadow qi. It was still hard. Every new technique was like that at first. He was sure that as he developed experience and strength, it would grow easier. Even so, it no longer felt like he was trying to lift an impossible weight over his head and keep it there. By contrast to what it had been like, this felt easy to him.


    He watched with an almost detached interest as that inky ckness covered his skin again. Casting onest look around and shuddering, Sen stepped into the wedge of whiteness and stumbled back into the Fu Run¡¯s home. He instantly released the technique, not wanting to chance an idental return to that awful ce. He stared around him, drinking in the familiar shapes and colors, and was overwhelmed with a sense of rightness restored. He took a few heaving breaths and then forced himself to calm down. He was back. He had made it. Everything had worked out.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Fu Run, ¡°that was a stupid thing to do.¡±


    Sen huffed out an almost involuntaryugh. ¡°You say that like I did it on purpose.¡±


    The nascent soul cultivator gave him a deeply suspicious look. It was clear that she didn¡¯t believe he¡¯d identally moved between nes of existence. He wasn¡¯t sure that he would have believed it, either, if he was in her shoes. The first thing most cultivators did when they figured out a new technique was use it. It was the only way that Sen knew for someone to master a new technique. Of course, most techniques didn¡¯te with the serious risk of being trapped in some awful other ce where nothing made sense, everything felt wrong, and staying too long meant your likely destruction. That kind of deadly risk was usually enough to make even cultivators wary about experimenting too much, at least without experienced guidance. After studying him briefly, Fu Run seemed to conclude that he wasn¡¯t outright lying to her. He had to think that his near-immediate return and manifest happiness at being back probably lent his words some credibility.


    ¡°You made it work. Congrattions,¡± said Fu Run without much enthusiasm.


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound that happy about it.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not happy about it. Do you have any idea how long it took me to do that for the first time?¡±


    Sen could almost feel the jaws of doom closing around him at that question. He just couldn¡¯t see a way to avoid them.


    ¡°A month?¡± he ventured, hoping that massaging her pride might help.


    ¡°A month? A month, he says. Not all of us are cultivation geniuses kissed by the heavens like you,¡± said Fu Run, even as Sen felt those jaws locking tight. ¡°Try <em>two years</em>.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 52: Shadow Walking (2)

    Book 7: Chapter 52: Shadow Walking (2)


    Sen realized that there was absolutely nothing he could say to make things better. All he could do was make things worse. So, he said nothing. Better by far to just let her get whatever it was out of her system. Especially since he was pretty sure her instability came from not getting things out of her system a thousand years ago, or whenever the bad things happened, and keeping them locked inside her for centuries. With nothing but time to fester and a decidedck of people in her life to talk to, it was no wonder. So, rather than be another figurative or literal heart demon for her, Sen decided the smart and possibly honorable thing to do was just stand there and <em>take it</em>. None of which made it fun. Fu Run stormed back and forth, gesticting wildly when she wasn¡¯t pointing at him, and generally spewing frustrations that Sen had a feeling were only partly to do with him.


    ¡°Unbelievable. <em>Unbelievable</em>! Countless years of alchemy. Investing in the bestponents avable. Doing everything as meticulously as possible. What does that get me? Competence. I¡¯mpetent. And then alonges Judgment¡¯s Gale, swaggering through the world, and throwing whateveres to hand into his stupid, old, battered <em>pot</em>! And whates out? Genius! Impossibly potent elixirs! Pills to make the heavens tremble. Not because he¡¯s earned it. Not because he¡¯s that good. No! It¡¯s just because he¡¯s lucky! Falling into the hands of not one, but three other geniuses who just poured knowledge into you like the empty vessel you are.


    ¡°As if that¡¯s not bad enough, then you show up at my door. I think that this is my chance to see what you¡¯re really made of. Is any of it you or is it all them? And you pick up shadow walking in six months. Six months! I did it in two years, and my master thought I was made of brilliance. And you do it in six months while you weren¡¯t even really trying! No, it wasn¡¯t enough to master a technique designed for nascent soul cultivators. You also found time to raise a little girl, train locals to fight, and start a damn school! It¡¯s not fair!¡± she almost screamed, before her voice fell into a hushed whisper. ¡°It¡¯s not fair.¡±


    Fu Run stood there, fists clenched by her side, and breathing through clenched teeth for a while before she slumped. While a lot of that had stung Sen¡¯s pride, something else was more important. At no point during that rant did she ever lose control of her killing intent. Granted, it was one time losing her temper and she might have been making a conscious effort to keep a grip on it, but Sen still took it as a good sign. When it looked like the full fury of the storm had passed, Sen finally spoke.


    ¡°Feel any better?¡± he asked.


    Her shoulder twitched in something that might have been a shrug before she added, ¡°Yes, actually. I do feel a little better.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I think I¡¯ll head out for the day.¡±


    ¡°No. Did you think I missed that look on your face when you came back? You¡¯d do almost anything to never go back there. If I let you leave now, you never will go back. Shadow walking is too useful to let you ignore the skill out of foolish fear. No, we¡¯re going into that realm.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s really not necessary,¡± said Sen, lifting a hand and taking a step back.It wasn¡¯t that he thought she was wrong about him or his reaction. He agreed with her. He <em>would</em> do anything to avoid going back to that ce and waspletely fine with that oue. That other ce was simply horrible. He¡¯d gotten along just fine without shadow walking until now. All of the other nascent soul cultivators he¡¯d met had gotten along fine without out. His <em>hiding</em> skill was practically shadow walking already. Sen felt confident that he could live without it and never feel as though he¡¯d missed out on anything. Why torment himself by going somewhere he didn¡¯t want to go when he could just <em>not</em>? However, he could see from the stern expression on Fu Run¡¯s face that she would not be moved by such arguments. She would just say that enduring pain was part of cultivation, and she¡¯d be right.


    He couldn¡¯t even argue that it would be needless physical pain. It was just mentally taxing and emotionally jarring to be somewhere that felt so fundamentally off from all of his expectations. That didn¡¯t stop him from a mad mental scramble to try to find some kind of argument, any kind of excuse, that might convince the nascent soul cultivator that they didn¡¯t need to go there right that minute. <em>Or any minute</em>, <em>ever</em>, thought Sen. Try as he might, though, Sen came up empty. The real problem was that he didn¡¯t have a good reason. He just didn¡¯t want to go because the ce made his skin crawl. That might be a sufficient reason for him, but it wouldn¡¯t satisfy Fu Run. He did consider just fleeing. His eyes drifted to the door even though he knew that wouldn¡¯t work. Sen remembered how easily Fu Run had locked him down when he¡¯d let his killing intent get out of control. He could run, but he couldn¡¯t escape.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he grumbled.


    Fu Run arched an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you¡¯d run for sure. You¡¯ve got that look in your eye.¡±


    ¡°We both know it wouldn¡¯t work. So, let¡¯s just get this over with.¡±


    ¡°You think we¡¯re only going to go in the one time, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Why?¡±


    ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t have anything important nned for this afternoon.¡±


    Sen gave much more serious consideration to running, but he eventually realized that would just end with him having to enter the shadow realm tired. Sen¡¯s head dropped a little as he epted the inevitable.


    ¡°You go first,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°I¡¯ll follow.¡±


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    Turning around and trudging back to the shadow, Sen prepared the technique. When he was ready, he stepped through. The shadow realm was just as bad the second time as it had been the first. The only real difference was that he didn¡¯t have shock to help shield his mind from the utter otherness of the ce. It scraped against his psyche like ws against stone. He grit his teeth and turned to watch as Fu Run entered the realm. What he could see of her skin was the same inky ck color that his skin turned. In other circumstances, he¡¯d have found watching that ck bleed away a mildly nauseating experience. It seemed to sink into her like some kind of parasite. In the shadow realm, it didn¡¯t even make an impression because that looked almost normal inparison to the mishmash of unrecognizable shapes and the absence of colors. Fu Run¡¯sck of obvious distress only made things worse. He wanted her to be as profoundly unsettled as he was. Instead, she just settled a steady gaze on him.


    ¡°What now?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°We just wait,¡± she said.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°For you to adjust or for our time here to run out.¡±


    Sen was not at all surprised that their time ran out before he adjusted. Or Fu Run¡¯s time ran out. He still felt fine but wasn¡¯t about to tell her that. He feared that she would make him stay there while he left. As much as he disliked her for making hime back to that ce, he was grateful that she was there to provide at least one touchstone of a familiar reality. He was almost stepping on her heels when they left. He fervently hoped that it would be a long time before they could go back, but it turned out that the nascent soul cultivator only needed about ten minutes before she was ready to go again. And that was how spent a very long afternoon. Moving in and out of the shadow realm, over and over again. The worst thing of all was that Fu Run had been right. Sen couldn¡¯t pinpoint a moment when it happened, but there dide a time when going into the shadow realm no longer made him immediately want to rip out his own eyes. Not that the change made him hate the ce any less. It just made him slightly less miserable to be there.


    Fu Run took the time to make tea and the pair of them sat there, drinking their tea in total silence. Sen was doing everything he could to soak up the normal that surrounded him. He¡¯d never been so in love with colors as he was in that moment. Never before had walls, floors, and ceilings seemed to possess so much divine grace. As for tea, tea contained in the achingly familiar shape of a cup, that was a miracle to be treasured in his heart until the end of all things. He just wanted to wrap his arms around everything that was as it should be and hold it to him. Of course, that blissful moment of peace couldn¡¯tst.


    ¡°You seem to have regained yourposure,¡± announced Fu Run. ¡°So, onest minor lesson, and then I¡¯ll set you free for the day. It¡¯s time that you actually do some shadow walking.¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t been doing that already?¡±


    ¡°Technically, I suppose we have, but going into a shadow anding out of the same shadow ten minutester isn¡¯t particrly useful. No, this time, we¡¯ll go in through one shadow ande out of a different one.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I mean, does it make a difference to the technique?¡±


    ¡°It can. The strength of the shadow on this side can affect how essible it is on the other side. We¡¯ve been going through a fairly dark shadow. You can go in through ande out of less pronounced shadows, but it¡¯s more difficult. More dangerous. Pick the wrong shadow and you can lose a piece of yourself in the transition.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°A hand. A leg. Your head,¡± said Fu Run without much apparently concern.


    With that casual pronouncement, they went back into the shadow realm. Fu Run started walking away, and Sen stuck close by, worried about being left behind.


    ¡°Right now, your main concern should be finding the brightest spots on this side. Those are the darkest shadows on the other side. They¡¯re the safest ones to use. Once you¡¯refortable with that, we¡¯ll move on to navigating to specific shadows,¡± she saiding to a stop and looking around. ¡°Pick one.¡±


    Sen looked around at the various shades of ck, dark gray, light gray, and nearly white. He almost pointed at one extremely bright patch, but realized it was too small. He¡¯d never be able to squeeze his body through. He searched the area again before settling on a swath of gray that was at least lighter than most of the others, although darker than the one they hade through. Fu Run watched him with a perfectly nk expression.


    ¡°That one,¡± he said and pointed.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± she asked.


    He hesitated, firmed his resolve, and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Fu Run shifted her gaze to the spot, considered it, and then nodded. ¡°Very well.¡±


    The inky ckness bled out of her skin and, without another word, she stepped through. Feeling more confident that he hadn¡¯t chosen wrong, Sen reactivated the technique. Having done it dozens of times now, it came faster and easier than before, although he suspected that it would nevere quite as easily for him as it would for someone without divine qi in their skin. He stepped into the gray spot and immediately felt the difference between stepping through a truly dark shadow and stepping through a less well-defined one. He had to physically push almost twice as hard and dramatically increase the amount of shadow qi he was spreading throughout his body to get back to his world. Only when he was certain that he was all the way through and not in danger of losing body parts did he release the technique. It felt like someone punched him in the base of the skull the moment the technique was gone. He dropped to a knee and had to put a hand on the ground to steady himself. He looked up to see Fu Run standing there, but she looked drained.


    ¡°That¡¯s why choosing the right exit is so important,¡± she said.


    Sen did not approve of that particr teaching method, but he had to acknowledge how effective it was. He now knew exactly how bright a spot needed to be for him to safely pass through. He also knew that he would work very hard to find much brighter spots in the future. It was only after a bit of controlled breathing, cycling a bit of healing wood qi, and finally downing a healing elixir that Sen could really take in his surroundings. They were outside of Fu Run¡¯s house and hade out through the rtively dim shadow of a tree. Pushing himself to his feet, Sen debated simply walking away. He wasn¡¯t going back into the shadow realm again that day. He knew it, and he figured that Fu Run knew it as well.


    As if reading his thoughts, she waved a hand and said, ¡°We¡¯re done for the day.¡±


    Sen took a few steps before his conscience got the better of him. Going through that shadow might not have been as bad for her as it had been for him, but he doubted she would have picked it herself. He summoned one of his best healing elixirs, one he thought might provide benefits to nascent soul cultivators, and held it out to her. She eyed the stone vial for a moment before she epted it. She didn¡¯t hesitate to drink it, either, telling Sen that the trip back hadn¡¯t been fun and games for her.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Fu Run.


    After she turned and walked back toward her home, Sen turned the other way and started the much longer trip back to his. And if he red at some of the shadows he walked past, he felt fully justified.

 Book 7: Chapter 53: Thunderous Sky

    Book 7: Chapter 53: Thunderous Sky


    Sen was in the middle of jian training with Sua Xing Xing when he felt the approach of several cultivators. Cultivators that he didn¡¯t recognize by feel. Cultivators that even he might feel inclined to acknowledge if his initial impression of their strength was urate. That was always a little dodgy at a distance. While cultivators arriving at the academy wasn¡¯t anything new, he had a premonition that this was going to be different. Different good or different bad, he wasn¡¯t sure, but since cultivators were involved, he assumed it would probably be bad. Sen had only been half paying attention to his spar with the pale woman, idly staying a step ahead of her aggressive attack pattern while he weighed what to do about the new cultivators. He made a point to meet new cultivators, if only briefly, when they first arrived at the academy.


    Sen decided that it was best not to break that pattern. With the exceptions of Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong, he was best equipped to deal with it if hostile sect members or wandering cultivators showed up. He was also less likely than they were to simply kill those cultivators out of hand if they proved annoying. He¡¯d done his best not to lean on their reputations as much as possible. It seemed wise to continue approaching the world that way. While Auntie Caihong might let cultivators go if they bothered her, Uncle Kho would not. If he started reducing cultivators to ash left and right, Sen would never convince anyone that this ce wasn¡¯t a sect. And if the other sects believed that Uncle Kho had finally, after thousands of years, decided to start his own sect with Sen as a figurehead¡­ Sen didn¡¯t know what the other sects would do. Nothing good. He was sure of that much. Sua Xing Xing¡¯s voice snapped him back to the present.


    ¡°You could do me the courtesy of <em>pretending</em> that this requires your full attention,¡± she said, stepping back and checking the edge of her jian before sheathing it.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen with a nk stare.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± muttered the woman.


    ¡°Sorry. We have new arrivals. People I should probably greet in person to avoid any unfortunate incidents.¡±


    A hint of interest sparked in Sua Xing Xing¡¯s eyes. ¡°More cultivators?¡±


    Sen nodded as he sheathed his own jian. He didn¡¯t bother checking the edge. The de had been stuffed with metal qi. He would have sensed it if the weapon had taken any damage. Walking toward the door, he called back.


    ¡°This shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡±She was walking next to him a momentter, having used a qinggong technique to close the distance. The woman gave him a little smile.


    ¡°Why would I intentionally miss out on this?¡± she asked. ¡°It should be interesting if nothing else.¡±


    Sen considered ordering her to stay in the training hall he¡¯d designated for cultivators. While she might be ying at just wanting to see what happened, it wasn¡¯t lost on him how it would look if she arrived with him. It would imply things to the cultivators about her position here, her rtionship with him, or both. Those were all implications that didn¡¯t please him because perception had a way of bing fact, and he hadn¡¯t decided what to do about her. He didn¡¯t want people assuming that they could influence him <em>through</em> her. On the other hand, the new cultivators were making their way toward the mortal training hall. Exactly where he didn¡¯t want them to go and interfere with people.


    He decided to just let it go this time, mostly because he didn¡¯t want to take the time to argue with her. Seeming to sense his resignation, her smile widened just a little into something that bordered on self-satisfied. That almost made him change his mind then and there. Of course, they were most of the way to the mortal training hall by then. <em>Damn cultivator speed</em>, heined to himself. As they neared the door, Sen saw three people who were all very obviously from some sect. They wore matching dark gray uniforms with yellow patterns stitched into them that resembled lightning. It didn¡¯t mean anything to Sen, but it clearly did mean something to Sua Xing Xing. The woman took one look, stopped short, and took a sharp breath. He gave her a look, but her gaze was fixed on the one who looked like he was inmand. The one about to shove open the door. <em>Can¡¯t have that</em>, thought Sen.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t students here,¡± said Sen in a qi-reinforced voice loud enough to make leaves shake free from nearby trees. ¡°That building is off-limits to any who aren¡¯t invited.¡±


    The trio by the door turned to look at him. He braced himself for the usual young master posturing. Instead, the trio ignored him almost entirely while staring at Sua Xing Xing in open-mouthed shock. The leader, a handsome man with narrow features and piercing eyes took a step forward. He couldn¡¯t seem to rip his gaze away from the woman standing next to Sen. For her part, she had drawn herself up and was leveling a cool, dispassionate gaze at all of them.


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    ¡°Xing Xing,¡± said the leader in a soft, disbelieving voice. ¡°You came <em>here</em>?¡±


    ¡°That is my affair and none of yours,¡± she said in words chipped from ice. ¡°You don¡¯t belong here, Sheung Tian Kuo.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t belong here,¡± said Sheung Tian Kuo in a low dangerous voice. ¡°None of my affair? We were supposed to¡ª¡±


    ¡°<em>Were</em>,¡± repeated Sua Xing Xing. ¡°No longer.¡±


    If this were happening almost anywhere else, Sen would have simply backed off and enjoyed the show. Unfortunately, it was happening at his academy with very fragile mortals far too close for the kind of destruction that would ensue if a fight broke out. Now that they were close enough, Sen could better judge the strength of the neers. In terms of pure spirit cultivation, Sheung Tian Kuo was actually sitting a little higher than Sen at true peak core formation. The pair who stood a respectful step behind were closer to Sua Xing Xing¡¯s level. All of which meant a lot of potential destruction if things turned violent. Given the way Sheung Tian Kuo was ring and even shaking a little, that felt like an almost inevitable oue.


    ¡°If the two of you have some personal matter to settle, do it elsewhere,¡± said Sen in a voice that was moremand than suggestion.


    Sheung Tian Kuo turned his attention to Sen and fought a visible battle for self-control. It was a battle that he seemingly lost because the next words out of his mouth sounded almost designed to trigger an immediate duel.


    ¡°Do not speak to your betters until spoken to, you jumped up little nothing. The Thunderous Sky Sect goes where it will, when it will.¡±


    Sen¡¯s first instinct was to simply kill the man where he stood and be done with it. There was a theoretical gap between them, but Sen had bridged much bigger gaps than that. Plus, this ce was <em>his</em> in ways that the newly arrived cultivators clearly hadn¡¯t discerned yet. On the other hand, the man was distraught. Sen didn¡¯t know the details but the broad strokes were clear enough. There was some kind of romantic history between Sheung Tian Kuo and Sua Xing Xing. A romance that she had apparently ended, and he hadn¡¯t gotten over yet. Sen generally thought that how people acted under stress was often a better indicator of their true nature than how they acted while calm. However, it left the issue of how this might have gone down if Sua Xing Xing hadn¡¯t decided to make an appearance something of an open question. The longer Sen stood there, simply staring at Sheung Tian Kuo like some kind of undesirable insect that he¡¯d stumbled across, the less certain the other man looked. It was like Sen¡¯s mere gaze held a weight that was slowly crushing the other man¡¯s confidence. It was Sua Xing Xing who finally broke the silence.


    ¡°Elder Yu would be <em>ashamed</em> of you.¡±


    Sen watched as those words struck the three sect cultivators like a condemnation from the heavens. Sheung Tian Kuo lost every bit of color in his face. The other two looked abruptly nauseated. Sen thought that he might want to meet this Elder Yu one day. A person who could evoke those reactions in core cultivators at the mere suggestion of their disapproval, well, that was someone formidable. That the elder would feel such disapproval at what Sen hade to think of as standard sect behavior also told him that the stories he¡¯d heard that not every sect was a collection of useless, awful people might hold some truth. Sua Xing Xing continued without a trace of mercy in her expression. Sen stared at her as she seemed to be an entirely different person. A person he might actually be able to like a little bit.


    ¡°Using the honorable name and reputation of the Thunderous Sky Sect as a club. Seeking to disrupt the education of others. Hurling insults at your host. Have you forgotten <em>everything</em> that you were taught?¡±


    Sheung Tian Kuo flinched back from the rebuke. He held out a hand toward Sua Xing Xing as if imploring her to stop. She was not moved. Her face was stone as the next words fell from her lips like an executioner¡¯s de falling on the neck of a disgraced foe.


    ¡°You shame us all.¡±


    As Sheun Tian Kuo¡¯s face went a little ck and sweat broke out on his forehead, it was obvious to Sen that those two had been extremely close at some point. It was the only way she could have known exactly how to break the man with a handful of cold, precise statements. It also told him some things about her. Things that he wasn¡¯t sure how to interpret. At the very least, it was a statement about howpletely she had severed that rtionship in her heart. What she had just done wasn¡¯t something you did to someone you still cared about. At the same time, she seemed to be deeply concerned about how the man¡¯s actions would reflect on her old sect. That was a rtionship that she hadn¡¯t severed so neatly. Sen took all of that as a warning not to put too much trust in her. Divided loyalties were a dangerous thing. As for Sheung Tian Kuo, he lowered his head, stared at the ground, and quietly mumbled to himself about honor and shame.


    The other two Thunderous Sky Sect cultivators looked at each other for some hint of what they should do. Sen could just barely hear them conferring in hushed, frantic tones. Finally, one of the pair stepped forward. The man gave Sua Xing Xing an uncertain look while she continued to exude imperious displeasure and towering disdain. Seeing no shelter from the storm there, the man turned his eyes to Sen.


    ¡°This one is Yim Haitao,¡± said the man, sping his hands and bowing.


    Sen gave the man an infinitesimal nod and said, ¡°I am Lu Sen.¡±


    Yim Haitao straightened, but he didn¡¯t get a chance to speak before Sua Xing Xing spoke.


    ¡°He is also known as Judgment¡¯s Gale, the Heavens¡¯ Scouring de, the Hand of Chaos, and¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m rtively confident he knows who I am,¡± said Sen, cutting off the litany of names.


    ¡°I beg the forgiveness of Judgment¡¯s Gale. This,¡± said Lim Haitao with a helpless little gesture around him, ¡°was not our goal or task. I ask that we be allowed to withdraw and tend to our brother disciple.¡±


    Sen considered those words for a moment before he asked, ¡°And just what was your task?¡±


    When he saw the man swallow hard, Sen just knew he wasn¡¯t going to like the answer.

 Book 7: Chapter 54: The Truth

    Book 7: Chapter 54: The Truth


    Lim Haitao bent everyst bit of his self-control on maintaining a calm expression, yet, the question rang in his ears like a death knell. <em>And just what was your task</em>? The man called Judgment¡¯s Gale had asked the question in a neutral tone. Too neutral. It was the pause before the hammer of disaster fell to crush the unworthy beneath its uncaring might. From where he stood, Lim Haitao felt decidedly unworthy, and the Judgment¡¯s Gale felt far too much like a hammer poised in the air, simply waiting for the signal to unleash doom. He had harbored the desperate hope that Sister Sua might intervene on their behalf. She had left the sect, true, but on cordial terms. She had witnessed the entire incident as well. He hadn¡¯t issued any threats or insults, nor tried to use the name of the Thundering Sky Sect in an inappropriate way. Nor had Shao Anhe let foolishness slip from her lips.


    However, it seemed that mere association with Sheung Tian Kuo had painted them with the same brush of guilt in Sua Xing Xing¡¯s eyes. When he had dared to look at her, all he saw was cold fury burning in her eyes. That meant that their only hope of escaping from this unmitigated catastrophe rested in the hands of Judgment¡¯s Gale. Except, that man had just asked a question to which Lim Haitao did not want to provide an honest answer. Not that he was prone to lying. Quite the contrary. The sect frowned mightily on dishonesty in all but the direst of circumstances. No, he contemted lying because a true answer could only bring them closer to certain death. In any other circumstance, he wouldn¡¯t have been the one trying to save their lives. He wouldn¡¯t have spoken at all, except perhaps to introduce himself if things went smoothly.


    Now, three lives hung on what he did next, and he had no idea what the right thing was to do. <em>Curse you</em>, <em>Sheung Tian Kuo</em>, thought Lim Haitoa. <em>You and your stupid obsession with that woman has damned us</em>. When a look of mild impatience passed over the face of Judgment¡¯s Gale, Lim Haitao knew he had to make a decision. He resisted the urge to look back at Shao Anhe. She was no better prepared for this than he was. In the end, a lie was too risky, too easy to expose. It only took one slip of the tongue, one moment of carelessness, and whatever tiny shred of trust or credibility he and the sect might have with Judgment¡¯s Gale would evaporate. The truth would have to do. He just wished that he hadn¡¯t heard so many stories about the man who was staring at him. Stories that never seemed to end well for those who roused his ire. Gathering his courage, Lim Haitao spoke.


    ¡°We were sent to,¡± he swallowed again, ¡°inspect this academy.¡±


    The look of detached annoyance that Judgment¡¯s Gale had worn disappeared as something imcable entered his eyes. The man¡¯s lipspressed into a hard line, and it felt to Lim Haitao that the very air seemed to squeeze him in sympathy with the other cultivator¡¯s anger.


    ¡°Inspect,¡± said Judgment¡¯s Gale.


    It was the same word, but it wasn¡¯t. Lim Haitao had tried to make the word sound as mundane and innocuous as possible. Nothing that important. Just a boring little procedure that no one needed to concern themselves with at all. When Judgment¡¯s Gale said it, it sounded like a filthy obscenity that had been dragged up from the depths of a cesspit. It sounded invasive. It sounded unclean. It sounded like another step on a very short road to a cliff¡¯s edge.


    ¡°You came here expecting to simply walk into my academy and <em>inspect</em> things. You expected me to allow that?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Lim Haitao, his voice a rasp of fear.Judgment¡¯s Gale walked toward him until he loomed like a tower. <em>The stories never said he was this tall</em>, thought Lim Haitao, aware that fear was making him irrational but uncertain how to stop it.


    ¡°Tell me, Lim Haitao of the Thunderous Sky Sect, what would your elders do if I came to your sect and demanded to <em>inspect</em> it? Would they throw open their doors and divulge their secrets to me? Lavish me with gifts? Would they wee my inspection with grace and provide me with a feast afterward?¡±


    Part of Lim Haitao wanted to flee beneath that imcable gaze and those impossible questions. If it just meant leaving Sheung Tian Kuo behind, he might have even done it. But fleeing would also mean abandoning Shao Anhe, and she had done nothing to deserve being left to the mercies of this man. The problem was that he didn¡¯t even need to consider what his sect would do. He knew. The Thundering Sky Sect would never tolerate such a thing. The insult alone would demand an immediate and deadly response. It made him wonder why they had been sent here to offer a simr insult to a man known for taking vengeance. It seemed¡­ It seemed inconsistent with the temperance that the sect taught from the very first moment someone entered as an outer disciple.


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    That realization begged an ufortable question. <em>Had</em> the sect sent them, or had Sheung Tian Kuo decided toe here for his own, rather obvious, reasons? Had the man somehow discovered the location of Sua Xing Xing and simply invented the inspection as an excuse toe find her? If so, why drag others down into the thousand hells with him? There was no way to know and no point in asking the fool who was still muttering about shame and honor.


    ¡°Well?¡± demanded Judgment¡¯s Gale. ¡°What would they do?¡±


    ¡°They would demand your immediate death,¡± said Lim Haitao in a hollow voice.


    He never saw the man move. He only felt the hot spray of blood on his face. His heart stopped for a moment before he realized that the blood wasn¡¯t his. Lim Haitao turned and watched as Sheung Tian Kuo¡¯s lifeless body fell into severalrge pieces. Judgment¡¯s Gale looked down at what was left of one of the Thunderous Sky¡¯s most promising disciples, and then he looked at Lim Haitao. The man¡¯s expression hadn¡¯t changed at all, which sent Lim Haitao¡¯s heart to pounding. <em>Does he mean to kill us all</em>? There was no fighting power like that. Even if Sheung Tian Kuo had been sensible, he doubted that the results would have been any different. Sheung Tian Kuo had been a peak core cultivator, had moved and fought like one, which had made him extraordinarily dangerous. But he would have stood no chance against that kind of speed. Lim Haitao tried to steel himself, to face death with the bravery expected from one of the Thunderous Sky Sect, but he couldn¡¯t find that courage inside himself while facing down a man who found peak core cultivators easy prey. In the end, the best he could do was stop himself from visibly quaking in terror before the gaze of Judgment¡¯s Gale.


    ¡°This academy is not open for inspection,¡± said the towering figure, who gestured toward the road with the still bloody de in his hand. ¡°Now go or I might decide to hold you all ountable for this insult.¡±


    Lim Haitao had to fight the urge to kowtow in pure relief. He fell into a deep bow instead.


    ¡°This Lim Haitao thanks the honored cultivator for his forbearance.¡±


    Shao Anhe copied him a momentter. He felt it as something in the air seemed to bleed away and a sense of impending death went with it. When Judgment¡¯s Gale spoke again, he sounded weary.


    ¡°Just¡ª¡± he hesitated. ¡°Just leave.¡±


    Shao Anhe fell into step beside him, and they did their best to maintain a shred of the dignity of the Thunderous Sky Sect as they walked away. At least, they did while Judgment¡¯s Gale and Sua Xing Xing could physically see them. The moment they passed beyond direct line of sight, the pair exchanged a look and, by unspoken agreement, they activated their movement techniques and fled at speed. They didn¡¯t speak or stop running for several hours, determined to put enough distance between them and Judgment¡¯s Gale that he would decide it wasn¡¯t worth chasing them down if he changed his mind. They eventually set up camp and started a small fire. Neither of them really needed the fire for warmth, but there was a deeper kind of chill inside Lim Haitao that the fire seemed to help stave off with its cheerful light.


    Shao Anhe wore a troubled expression she asked, ¡°What will we tell the elders?¡±


    ¡°The truth,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ll tell them the truth, and pray to the heavens that they don¡¯t send us back there to die.¡±


    It seemed that idea hadn¡¯t crossed her mind, because Shao Anhe sat up straight and stared at him in horror.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t do that, would they?¡±


    ¡°We insulted a very powerful cultivator. A cultivator that I imagine the elders would prefer to stay on good terms with. Arguably, we shamed the sect. Is it that hard to imagine that they might decide that the best way to deal with all of those problems is to give us to him? Let him take his vengeance on us and good rtions may be restored.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re core cultivators,¡± she said in shock. ¡°We¡¯re not that¡­ That¡ª¡±


    ¡°Disposable?¡± asked Lim Haitao.


    ¡°Yes!¡± shouted Shao Anhe.


    ¡°Normally, no, but these aren¡¯t normal circumstances. We¡¯re talking about a man who could very well send The Living Spear to instruct our sect in what he sees as appropriate behavior. That instruction is likely to leave very little standing in its wake. Compared to a threat like that, what value is there in the lives of a couple of core cultivators?¡±


    Shao Anhe didn¡¯t say anything, but he saw her eyes drift out to the road. He sympathized with what she was thinking, having thought something very simr not that long ago.


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you,¡± he said. ¡°If you want to go, I won¡¯t stop you.¡±


    Shao Anhe didn¡¯t meet his gaze when she stood.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she whispered. ¡°I won¡¯t let myself be sacrificed to make up for a dead man¡¯s stupidity.¡±


    Lim Haitao watched her disappear into the darkness and part of him wished he had the courage to join her.

 Book 7: Chapter Fifty-Five – Just a Visitor

    Book 7: Chapter Fifty-Five ¨C Just a Visitor


    Almost the second they were out of sight, Sen mentally dismissed the two cultivators he¡¯d let go. They might be a problem down the road, but the dead thing on the ground in front of him was much more likely to be a problem. It had been a situation without a way to win. If he simply let them all go, it would signal weakness. He¡¯d find himself hounded by entitled cultivators who would think they coulde to the academy and do whatever they wanted. The other path was no more ptable, it just offered the slightly better chance of preventing people from showing up and being insufferable. Still, it had been a while since he¡¯dst had to kill another cultivator. He hadn¡¯t missed it. He didn¡¯t move or speak until Sua Xing Xing stepped close and reached toward the body.


    ¡°What in the hells do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± asked Sen.


    She froze, straightened, and turned a very cautious look toward him. ¡°I was just¡ª¡±


    ¡°It was rhetorical,¡± said Sen. ¡°Nothing on that corpse belongs to you.¡±


    She shot him an affronted look. ¡°If not for me, do you really think you would have won that fight?¡±


    ¡°If not for you, do you think there would have been a fight? Do you think they even would have been here? I don¡¯t.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing opened her mouth but couldn¡¯t seem to find an answer.


    ¡°As for your question,¡± he said, ¡°yes. I most certainly would have won the fight with or without your intervention. None of which matters to this discussion. I¡¯m the one who did the killing, so I get whatever dubious rewards there are to have.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing¡¯s eyes drifted down to the jian Sen still held. She seemed to take it for an implicit threat, and Sen supposed that it probably was one. Her eyes moved from the sword down to the body. A sh of frustration crossed her face before she smoothed it to calm eptance. Maybe the man had something that she thought was hers, or maybe it was something that she thought would embarrass her. Then again, she might have just known about a treasure he possessed that she wanted. Sen almost asked before he decided that he didn¡¯t care what it was. She wasn¡¯t getting it. He wasn¡¯t so foolish as toy all the me on her for the way things had gone. He sincerely doubted that she hade along for the express purpose of alienating those cultivators. That didn¡¯t change the fact that her mere presence had immediately and irrevocably escted the situation. She wasn¡¯t getting rewarded for that.Sua Xing Xing bowed and said, ¡°As you say, patriarch.¡±


    Did he detect a bitter undertone to the word <em>patriarch</em>? Sen wasn¡¯t certain, but he wouldn¡¯t have been surprised. Core cultivators usually got what they wanted when they were out in the world away from their sects. <em>She¡¯ll just have to treat being shut down that hard as a new and novel experience</em>, thought Sen. There was a calcting part of him that hoped she would use this whole matter as an excuse to leave. It was, however, a dim hope. She might have seen all of this as an unexpected opportunity, but he doubted her failure to seize the opportunity would influence her long-term agenda. He gave her a t look.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a patriarch,¡± corrected Sen. ¡°This is an academy, not a sect.¡±


    ¡°Of course. My mistake. I apologize, founder,¡± she offered with a sickly-sweet smile before turning and walking away.


    Founder was only nominally better than patriarch, but Sencked the mental energy to pick that fight. It just wasn¡¯t worth the effort. If she needed to poke at him to assuage her bruised pride, then so be it. Instead, he focused on the body. An examination with his spiritual sense and qi revealed three storage treasures, as well as an amulet that did¡­ He could tell it did something. He pocketed all of them and took the man¡¯s sword. He¡¯d have to look in the storage rings and maybe ask Auntie Caihong about the amulet, but that would have to wait. He didn¡¯t want the townspeople walking out of the training hall to find a dismembered body. Sen cycled for earth qi to open a deep pit beneath the corpse pieces. They dropped down into the hole, where he incinerated them until nothing but ash remained. He closed the hole and used a bit of wood qi to encourage a fast bit of minor nt growth. It would be obvious to everyone that something had happened there but the details should remain obscure.


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    Sen looked down and was surprised to find he was still holding the jian. He used a sh of intense heat to burn away the blood that still coated it. That kind of heat would have warped a mortal-grade de or melted it outright, but it barely warmed the enhanced metal of a de made for those in core cultivation. With a flick of his wrist, the ashes fell away from the jian. He sheathed it and then tried to remember what else he needed to do. The altercation had pushed all other concerns out of his mind. He looked around at the buildings in a futile search for inspiration or maybe even just someone to ask where he was supposed to be right then. He was usually supposed to be <em>somewhere</em>. There was a telltale <em>tink</em> noise of something hard bumping against ss that drew his eye to one of the windows in the mortal training hall. He saw a cluster of faces pressed to the ss. When he turned his gaze directly on them, they all disappeared with varying looks of guilt, fear, and surprise.


    Sen debated just going back to the galehouse. He didn¡¯t want to talk to the townspeople, or the small band of cultivators who had joined the academy, or anyone else who saw him as a cultivator first. He just wanted to see Ai and listen as she regaled him with stories about pictures she drew, or how she¡¯d discovered some new bug, or how Uncle Kho had taken her flying. That wish was so powerful that he¡¯d walked nearly twenty feet before he stopped himself. As much as he loathed the thought of exining <em>anything</em> to <em>anyone</em> at that moment, he knew he needed to do it. Otherwise, rumors would spread. There were enough fake stories about him in the world already. He didn¡¯t need to add to that pile because he didn¡¯t feel like talking. Sen allowed himself ten seconds to just tilt his head back, look at the clear sky overhead, and take calming breaths. Then, he made himself walk to the doors of the training hall and go inside to do what needed to be done.


    No one was training. People were standing around in small groups and, there was no other word for it, gossiping. A silent, awkward hush fell over the space when he entered. Everyone stared at him with all of their questions barely held back behind their teeth. That silent regard was damning. The day before, they would have asked those questions in a tumultuous upswell of iprehensible noise. The day before, they saw him as, maybe not one of them, but not an iprehensible and dangerous outsider either. Now, he saw the fear that held their questions in check. He wasn¡¯t Sen to them anymore. Now, he was a cultivator, or the founder, or ¨C may the heavens shield him ¨C the patriarch in their minds. A remote, distant power that might offer some level of protection and teaching, but one that might also turn on them in a moment of capricious malice.


    Maybe, this had been inevitable from the moment he started to train the townspeople. That distance between him and them wasn¡¯t just in their imaginations. He had avoided it recently, but a cultivator never truly escaped the Jianghu. It was always going toe looking for him unless he followed Fu Run¡¯s example and hid himself away deep in the wilds. He¡¯d let himself overlook the truth for a time, but he did live in a different world from the mortal townspeople. He was, as he had once told Jing, just a visitor in their world. And now his world had arrived on the doorstep of these mortal bystanders. He might not owe them an exnation, but they still deserved one.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all wondering what just happened out there,¡± he said in a voice that even he thought sounded tired. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I can.¡±


    So, he gave them an unvarnished, if iplete, version of the facts. He omitted the information he¡¯d inferred about the rtionship between Sua Xing Xing and Sheung Tian Kuo. He also withheld his suspicions that this hadn¡¯t been a sanctioned action by the Thunderous Sky Sect. That was a different kind of rumor he didn¡¯t want spread around. If it hadn¡¯t been sanctioned and he kept that information from spreading, it could give him a bit of leverage if someone else from that sect showed up in some official capacity. If it had been sanctioned, spreading falsehoods was a sure way to <em>guarantee</em> that someone would show up with retribution in mind. No, silence on that matter only benefitted him and, while they¡¯d never know, the townspeople. No one interrupted his exnation. When he finished, everyone held their tongues, proving to him that they saw him differently. Helpless to alter that change, he did the only thing he could. He lived up to their expectations.


    ¡°Return to your training,¡± he ordered.

 Book 7: Chapter 55: Just a Visitor

    Book 7: Chapter 55: Just a Visitor


    Almost the second they were out of sight, Sen mentally dismissed the two cultivators he¡¯d let go. They might be a problem down the road, but the dead thing on the ground in front of him was much more likely to be a problem. It had been a situation without a way to win. If he simply let them all go, it would signal weakness. He¡¯d find himself hounded by entitled cultivators who would think they coulde to the academy and do whatever they wanted. The other path was no more ptable, it just offered the slightly better chance of preventing people from showing up and being insufferable. Still, it had been a while since he¡¯dst had to kill another cultivator. He hadn¡¯t missed it. He didn¡¯t move or speak until Sua Xing Xing stepped close and reached toward the body.


    ¡°What in the hells do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± asked Sen.


    She froze, straightened, and turned a very cautious look toward him. ¡°I was just¡ª¡±


    ¡°It was rhetorical,¡± said Sen. ¡°Nothing on that corpse belongs to you.¡±


    She shot him an affronted look. ¡°If not for me, do you really think you would have won that fight?¡±


    ¡°If not for you, do you think there would have been a fight? Do you think they even would have been here? I don¡¯t.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing opened her mouth but couldn¡¯t seem to find an answer.


    ¡°As for your question,¡± he said, ¡°yes. I most certainly would have won the fight with or without your intervention. None of which matters to this discussion. I¡¯m the one who did the killing, so I get whatever dubious rewards there are to have.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing¡¯s eyes drifted down to the jian Sen still held. She seemed to take it for an implicit threat, and Sen supposed that it probably was one. Her eyes moved from the sword down to the body. A sh of frustration crossed her face before she smoothed it to calm eptance. Maybe the man had something that she thought was hers, or maybe it was something that she thought would embarrass her. Then again, she might have just known about a treasure he possessed that she wanted. Sen almost asked before he decided that he didn¡¯t care what it was. She wasn¡¯t getting it. He wasn¡¯t so foolish as toy all the me on her for the way things had gone. He sincerely doubted that she hade along for the express purpose of alienating those cultivators. That didn¡¯t change the fact that her mere presence had immediately and irrevocably escted the situation. She wasn¡¯t getting rewarded for that.Sua Xing Xing bowed and said, ¡°As you say, patriarch.¡±


    Did he detect a bitter undertone to the word <em>patriarch</em>? Sen wasn¡¯t certain, but he wouldn¡¯t have been surprised. Core cultivators usually got what they wanted when they were out in the world away from their sects. <em>She¡¯ll just have to treat being shut down that hard as a new and novel experience</em>, thought Sen. There was a calcting part of him that hoped she would use this whole matter as an excuse to leave. It was, however, a dim hope. She might have seen all of this as an unexpected opportunity, but he doubted her failure to seize the opportunity would influence her long-term agenda. He gave her a t look.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a patriarch,¡± corrected Sen. ¡°This is an academy, not a sect.¡±


    ¡°Of course. My mistake. I apologize, founder,¡± she offered with a sickly-sweet smile before turning and walking away.


    Founder was only nominally better than patriarch, but Sencked the mental energy to pick that fight. It just wasn¡¯t worth the effort. If she needed to poke at him to assuage her bruised pride, then so be it. Instead, he focused on the body. An examination with his spiritual sense and qi revealed three storage treasures, as well as an amulet that did¡­ He could tell it did something. He pocketed all of them and took the man¡¯s sword. He¡¯d have to look in the storage rings and maybe ask Auntie Caihong about the amulet, but that would have to wait. He didn¡¯t want the townspeople walking out of the training hall to find a dismembered body. Sen cycled for earth qi to open a deep pit beneath the corpse pieces. They dropped down into the hole, where he incinerated them until nothing but ash remained. He closed the hole and used a bit of wood qi to encourage a fast bit of minor nt growth. It would be obvious to everyone that something had happened there but the details should remain obscure.


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    Sen looked down and was surprised to find he was still holding the jian. He used a sh of intense heat to burn away the blood that still coated it. That kind of heat would have warped a mortal-grade de or melted it outright, but it barely warmed the enhanced metal of a de made for those in core cultivation. With a flick of his wrist, the ashes fell away from the jian. He sheathed it and then tried to remember what else he needed to do. The altercation had pushed all other concerns out of his mind. He looked around at the buildings in a futile search for inspiration or maybe even just someone to ask where he was supposed to be right then. He was usually supposed to be <em>somewhere</em>. There was a telltale <em>tink</em> noise of something hard bumping against ss that drew his eye to one of the windows in the mortal training hall. He saw a cluster of faces pressed to the ss. When he turned his gaze directly on them, they all disappeared with varying looks of guilt, fear, and surprise.


    Sen debated just going back to the galehouse. He didn¡¯t want to talk to the townspeople, or the small band of cultivators who had joined the academy, or anyone else who saw him as a cultivator first. He just wanted to see Ai and listen as she regaled him with stories about pictures she drew, or how she¡¯d discovered some new bug, or how Uncle Kho had taken her flying. That wish was so powerful that he¡¯d walked nearly twenty feet before he stopped himself. As much as he loathed the thought of exining <em>anything</em> to <em>anyone</em> at that moment, he knew he needed to do it. Otherwise, rumors would spread. There were enough fake stories about him in the world already. He didn¡¯t need to add to that pile because he didn¡¯t feel like talking. Sen allowed himself ten seconds to just tilt his head back, look at the clear sky overhead, and take calming breaths. Then, he made himself walk to the doors of the training hall and go inside to do what needed to be done.


    No one was training. People were standing around in small groups and, there was no other word for it, gossiping. A silent, awkward hush fell over the space when he entered. Everyone stared at him with all of their questions barely held back behind their teeth. That silent regard was damning. The day before, they would have asked those questions in a tumultuous upswell of iprehensible noise. The day before, they saw him as, maybe not one of them, but not an iprehensible and dangerous outsider either. Now, he saw the fear that held their questions in check. He wasn¡¯t Sen to them anymore. Now, he was a cultivator, or the founder, or ¨C may the heavens shield him ¨C the patriarch in their minds. A remote, distant power that might offer some level of protection and teaching, but one that might also turn on them in a moment of capricious malice.


    Maybe, this had been inevitable from the moment he started to train the townspeople. That distance between him and them wasn¡¯t just in their imaginations. He had avoided it recently, but a cultivator never truly escaped the Jianghu. It was always going toe looking for him unless he followed Fu Run¡¯s example and hid himself away deep in the wilds. He¡¯d let himself overlook the truth for a time, but he did live in a different world from the mortal townspeople. He was, as he had once told Jing, just a visitor in their world. And now his world had arrived on the doorstep of these mortal bystanders. He might not owe them an exnation, but they still deserved one.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all wondering what just happened out there,¡± he said in a voice that even he thought sounded tired. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I can.¡±


    So, he gave them an unvarnished, if iplete, version of the facts. He omitted the information he¡¯d inferred about the rtionship between Sua Xing Xing and Sheung Tian Kuo. He also withheld his suspicions that this hadn¡¯t been a sanctioned action by the Thunderous Sky Sect. That was a different kind of rumor he didn¡¯t want spread around. If it hadn¡¯t been sanctioned and he kept that information from spreading, it could give him a bit of leverage if someone else from that sect showed up in some official capacity. If it had been sanctioned, spreading falsehoods was a sure way to <em>guarantee</em> that someone would show up with retribution in mind. No, silence on that matter only benefitted him and, while they¡¯d never know, the townspeople. No one interrupted his exnation. When he finished, everyone held their tongues, proving to him that they saw him differently. Helpless to alter that change, he did the only thing he could. He lived up to their expectations.


    ¡°Return to your training,¡± he ordered.

 Book 7: Chapter 56: Stars

    Book 7: Chapter 56: Stars


    ¡°They looked at me like a stranger,¡± said Sen, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.


    Falling Leaf turned her head to peer at him for a moment before she went back to looking at the sky. They were sitting on top of the mortal training hall, which had long since gone dark and silent for the day as everyone went home. The stone remained warm beneath them, despite the unusual chill of the night. Sen had retreated to the galehouse after telling the townspeople what had happened with the sect cultivators. Always happy to discuss what she had done during the day, Ai had proved the balm to his soul that he¡¯d imagined she would be. Her uplicated joy at everything from finding a pretty rock to experiencing the phenomenal powers of Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong was a sharp and wee contrast to the murkyplexities of so much else in his life. For her, everything was simple, because everything was a miracle.


    He had taken refuge behind the light of her joy for a time, and let it blind him to all else. But that kind of refuge was, by nature and necessity, a temporary one. After he had put her bed and entertained her with shadows dancing on the wall, everything he¡¯d been hiding from was still waiting for him. However, that brief respite had muted the sharp stab of immediate pain and allowed him to see it a little more objectively. It still hurt because he thought he¡¯d made at least a few friends among the townspeople. That he¡¯d pushed past all of the umted garbage that came with the word <em>cultivator</em> and been seen as a person. The deathly silence that greeted him inside the very training hall he now sat on had the put lie to that fantasy. Falling Leaf kept her gaze firmly fixed on the stars when she spoke.


    ¡°Did you imagine it would end any other way?¡± she asked.


    The words were said gently, with kindness, but also with a tone that suggested she was not surprised. Sen grimaced.


    ¡°Yes. No. I just¡­ I guess I just wanted it to,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°Was it too much to ask?¡±


    ¡°The Caihong tells me that those are made of fire,¡± said Falling Leaf, gesturing at the stars. ¡°She says that they are very far away, but burn so hot and so bright that we can see them here. She also says that many of them are sorge that they could consume our world without even noticing.¡±


    Sen gave her a perplexed look, wholly uncertain where she was going with this talk of stars and fire.


    ¡°She told me the same thing.¡±¡°Campfires are also made of fire, yet you would not expect a star to be a campfire. Nor would you expect a campfire to be a star. They are the same, but they are also not the same. It shouldn¡¯t be a surprise when a person fails to mistake one for the other.¡±


    Sen gave Falling Leaf a wan look. ¡°I take it that I¡¯m the star, expecting people to see me as a campfire?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°You want the mortals to treat you like a mortal. Perhaps it¡¯s because you are still so close to your mortal life. Those memories are fresh enough, close enough, that they seem right to you. But you are not like them anymore. Expecting them to see you as one of them, to treat you as one of them is unfair. It¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°While you might wee them treating you as ordinary, what other cultivator would? Do you imagine training them to treat cultivators with such casual disregard can end well for them?¡±


    Sen had to swallow hard when he considered it from that angle. He hadn¡¯t looked at all the possible consequences. All he¡¯d thought about was how much he hated the way mortals reacted when they found out he was a cultivator. Even worse, this was a lesson he should have learned long ago in Inferno¡¯s Vale. Hadn¡¯t the Matriarch of the Order of the Celestial me exined it to him? She tolerated all of the obeisance that she clearly despised because the alternative was <em>worse</em>. Falling Leaf was right. It would be dangerous for mortals to treat other cultivators the way he wanted them to treat him. It would get them killed. There were a few exceptions. Master Feng would probably find it amusing. Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong might tolerate it within limits. Most cultivators, though, would see it as grant disrespect and a grave insult. The kind of insult that would justify murdering mortals who would otherwise enjoy the safety of being beneath notice.


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    ¡°When did you get so wise?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Is it wisdom to see what is obvious?¡±


    ¡°If you expected all of this, why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±


    ¡°Some things can be learned by example or exnation. Other things are only learned through pain. I could have told you. You might have even stopped. But you wouldn¡¯t have believed. This was something that you could only learn through pain,¡± said the ghost panther.


    There was a current of empathetic understanding in her voice that snuffed the dim me of anger that Sen wanted to feel. This wasn¡¯t a sentiment that she had heard from someone. It was a lived truth for her. He didn¡¯t know which of her many difficult experiences she was thinking of right then. After a thoughtful moment or two, he realized it didn¡¯t matter all that much how she hade to that conclusion. She believed it with deep conviction. Sen leaned back until he flopped against the roof of the training hall.


    ¡°So, I just live with it?¡± he asked. ¡°I just live with the fear, and the false respect, and kowtowing?¡±


    ¡°The respect doesn¡¯t have to be false. You can earn that. You <em>have</em> earned that from many here. As for the fear and the kowtowing¡­ Yes, you just live with it. You live with it because that¡¯s what¡¯s best for these people. You can live apart, but they must live in the world as they find it.¡±


    ¡°I hate it, you know.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Sen rubbed his face with his hands in an act of mute frustration. <em>All this power</em>, he thought, <em>and I¡¯m still helpless</em>. He once again imagined finding some mountain of his own and building a manor in the sky like Uncle Kho¡¯s. That particr dream felt both closer and farther away in ways he couldn¡¯t articte, even to himself. Knowing that continuing the conversation would only lead them in circles, he picked a new topic.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to head to the capital soon,¡± he said.


    Sen could almost feel the tension in Falling Leaf¡¯s body at the mere mention of the capital. While Sen had disliked the ce, she loathed it with a near-religious fervor. He didn¡¯t keep her in suspense.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need toe.¡±


    She didn¡¯t copse in relief, but he did hear her release the breath she¡¯d been holding. Not that she was necessarily happy about the turn of events, though.


    ¡°Who will keep watch over you in that terrible ce?¡± she asked with a guilty edge in her voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m not expecting this to be a violent visit. And, if it does turn into that, I can always ask Lo Meifeng for help. She¡¯s not one to shy away from bloody business.¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded. ¡°She is capable enough in a fight.¡±


    ¡°And if things turn really, really ugly, I have one or two favors I can call in.¡±


    ¡°The sects?¡±


    ¡°The sects,¡± agreed Sen.


    ¡°Can you trust them?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it, but the people who matter owe me, and they know it.¡±


    ¡°You mean to take the Mingxia with you?¡±


    Sen snickered at the very thought. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°This is an unkind thing you mean to do,¡± chided Falling Leaf.


    ¡°Probably,¡± said Sen. ¡°There is value in experience, though.¡±


    ¡°Why not take the other one?¡±


    ¡°Wu Meng Yao? Mostly, it¡¯s because I need her here. Teaching. Someone needs to be in charge while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    Falling Leaf made a dissatisfied noise. ¡°And what about the <em>other</em>, other one?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what to do with or about her.¡±


    ¡°You could take her with you. Perhaps someone will kill her,¡± said Falling Leaf with far too much enthusiasm.


    Sen didn¡¯t particrly like Sua Xing Xing, but he definitely wasn¡¯t to the point where he was hoping someone would violently help her reach her next incarnation. She was outrageously selfish, self-involved, and arrogant, but that was an usation that could beid at the feet of just about every cultivator alive. Himself included. Aside from overstepping with the body of Sheung Tian Kuo, the woman hadn¡¯t actually done anything wrong that Sen knew about. She hadn¡¯t hurt or even been noticeably unkind to the townspeople. She hadn¡¯t destroyed anything that didn¡¯t belong to her. She¡¯d abided by his rule that higher-level cultivators couldn¡¯t order around those with a lesser cultivation. It was just her personality. She <em>bothered</em> people, and Sen didn¡¯t think that should be enough to warrant death. Then, a notion struck Sen that he almost dismissed before he turned a gimlet eye on Falling Leaf.


    ¡°The reason you want me to take her along is so she won¡¯t be here to aggravate you, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Sen sat through a pregnant pause with his gaze locked onto the ghost panther.


    ¡°No. Of course not,¡± said Falling Leaf in the most tant and badly delivered lie he¡¯d ever heard.

 Book 7: Chapter 57: Your Word Is Law

    Book 7: Chapter 57: Your Word Is Law


    ¡°It¡¯s a protection amulet,¡± said Auntie Caihong, eying the small object critically. ¡°It¡¯s actually quite a good one. This would probably stop an attack from someone in the early nascent soul stages. Just one attack, mind you, but that can be enough to let you escape. Where did you get it?¡±


    ¡°I took it off that sect idiot I killed,¡± said Sen. ¡°Which sort of begs the question of why it didn¡¯t stop me from killing him.¡±


    Auntie Caihong handed the amulet back to him with an amused smile.


    ¡°You have to activate it. He clearly didn¡¯t.¡±


    Sen nodded in understanding. Sheung Tian Kuo hadn¡¯t been in a right state of mind to do anything as practical as activating some kind of protection. It did lead Sen to a different question. He looked at Auntie Caihong who guessed the question before he uttered the words.


    ¡°I guess none of us got around to teaching you about these things,¡± she said, looking a little apologetic.


    ¡°Not so much, which is unfortunate. If I had known things like this existed, I¡¯d have gone looking for one. I could have used something like this when¡ª¡± Sen hesitated as a flood of memories where he was on the cusp of death passed through his mind. ¡°I could have used about twenty of these.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one of those things that we <em>should</em> have remembered to tell you about. Sadly, it¡¯s easy to forget about them when you haven¡¯t been able to use one in a thousand years. Once you be a nascent soul cultivator, there is a depressingly small number of people who can make those kinds of tools for you. The higher you climb, the fewer people there are, and the more likely it is that you¡¯ll have offended them at some point. Although, those kinds of permanent protection tools are rare even for lower-level cultivators.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±¡°Because they¡¯re stupidly difficult to make,¡± said Auntie Caihong with augh. ¡°This is wildly inurate, but think of it like trying to set up a protective formation. Then, imagine squeezing it into that tiny amulet, and providing it with enough power to stop a strike from a lesser sect patriarch.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen, looking down at the amulet with new appreciation.


    He thought, given enough time, he could set up a formation that would meet those requirements, but it would be big andplicated. It would take severalyers to provide enough stopping power and cover the main types of qi. Then, there were the power requirements. It could be done using beast cores if he had enough of them on hand. Otherwise, he¡¯d need to set up an entire, probablyrger, secondary formation to gather environmental qi and feed it into the defensive formation. The idea of trying to do all that in something only slightly bigger than the end of his thumb made his mind reel a bit.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t <em>as</em> difficult to make for lower-level cultivators because, if you¡¯re handing them out, it¡¯s only meant for something in the next stage,¡± offered Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°Right. You don¡¯t need as much power when you¡¯re dealing with a foundation formation cultivator¡¯s techniques as you do for techniques from a core cultivator. Still, how do they power them? That¡¯s the part I can¡¯t quite wrap my head around.¡±


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know all of the details. Some of it finding the right materials. We¡¯re alchemists, so we go looking for the right nts and reagents. Someone who makes these trinkets would go looking for the right metals and gemstones, I expect. If you start with something that already has powerful qi, it¡¯s a big shortcut. Beyond that, though, you¡¯re getting into thend of specialized techniques, processes, and secret knowledge. That¡¯s why sects are usually the only ce you get things like that. They can recruit people with the right kinds of affinities and build a tradition inside the sect. It¡¯s also why they don¡¯t hand them out to just anyone.¡±


    ¡°You said that you can <em>usually</em> only get them from sects. Why usually?¡±


    ¡°Oh, people find them in old ruins sometimes or inherit them from teachers. Those aren¡¯t the kinds of things you can n for, though.¡±


    ¡°In other words, don¡¯t just give it away?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Definitely not. It won¡¯t be useful forever, but it¡¯s certainly a useful toy for you to have for right now. Even if it just blunts an attack from a higher-level cultivator, as sturdy as you are, that might be enough to save you.¡±


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    ¡°Fair enough. Oh, is any of this of interest to you?¡± asked Sen.


    He summoned a small pile of pills and elixirs that he¡¯d found inside Sheung Tian Kuo¡¯s storage rings. While a few of them were interesting to Sen because they used strange ingredients, nothing had really stood out to him. Sen waited while Auntie Caihong frowned down at the pile and examined everything with her qi and her spiritual sense. She reached out and picked up one of the small vials containing one of the pills that used strange ingredients. She frowned at it.


    ¡°Now, this is interesting,¡± muttered Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°It¡¯s odd, but isn¡¯t it just a healing pill?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Oh, the pill itself isn¡¯t that interesting. The interesting thing is that I know who made it, and they¡¯re supposed to be dead. Remind me. What sect was this cultivator from?¡±


    ¡°The Thunderous Sky Sect,¡± answered Sen automatically.


    ¡°What were they doing here? That sect isn¡¯t even in this kingdom. They¡¯re in the far south.¡±


    Recognizing a rhetorical question when he heard one, Sen didn¡¯t interrupt Auntie Caihong¡¯s thoughts. She mulled over whatever problem was guing her before shaking her head.


    ¡°I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter for right now,¡± she finally said. ¡°Nothing that won¡¯t hold for a decade or two, at any rate.¡±


    ¡°A decade or two?¡± asked Sen. ¡°Isn¡¯t that kind of a long time for a problem to hold?¡±


    ¡°Maybe for mortals,¡± said Auntie Caihong before giving him a grin, ¡°or young prodigies. I can lose a decade on an interesting experiment. Why do you think other cultivators overreact every time a nascent soul cultivator makes an appearance? It¡¯s normal for them to disappear into secluded cultivation for decades or even a century or two.¡±


    ¡°Not in the capital,¡± grumbled Sen.


    ¡°Those sects are so big that they need a lot of active management and control. Smaller sects in more out-of-the-way ces tend to roll along without as much direction from the top. Speaking of the capital, though, are you sure this little visit you¡¯re nning is a good idea?¡±


    Sen huffed out a breath. ¡°A <em>good</em> idea? Probably not. But I owe Jing. I caused a lot of trouble thest time I was there.¡±


    ¡°Has it urred to you that he may be nning to use you for some end of his own?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s exactly what he¡¯s nning to do.¡±


    Auntie Caihong gave him a look that was both stern and concerned.


    ¡°Cultivators and mortal politics don¡¯t mix, Sen.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a littlete for that. I already stuck my nose in. I can¡¯t pretend now that it didn¡¯t happen.¡±


    ¡°Actually, you can do just that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t follow,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°This is the problem with advancing as fast as you have. You skipped over learning a lot of lessons other cultivators take for granted. You are powerful, Sen. Frighteningly powerful for your stage of cultivation. You¡¯re also primed to join the ranks of the nascent soul stage before too long barring some manner of cmity. Whether you recognize it or not, whether you want it or not, you havergely transcended the concerns and institutions of this world. Frankly, when ites to mortals, your word is <emw</em>. Whatever debt that king thinks you owe him means precisely nothing if you say it means nothing.¡±


    Sen stood absolutely still as those words washed over him like icy water. It wasn¡¯t even that she was saying things he didn¡¯t know. He knew that mortals often viewed cultivators as powers andws unto themselves. He knew that even kings tread with care around certain cultivators. He¡¯d just never quite made the connection that any of that applied to <em>him</em>. He was just a street rat who caught some very lucky breaks, not some unearthly being who decided fate for others. He was just a wandering cultivator who couldn¡¯t stay out of trouble. Sen sighed at the self-deception. That was the story he held in his head to make himself feel better. He <em>wanted</em> to just be a street rat and humble wandering cultivator because those things were simpler. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t been a simple anything since the day he met Master Feng. Of course, the flip side of all of that was that he could decide to be involved.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably true,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I could just tell him to go away and never bother me again. All things being equal, that¡¯s probably even the smart move. Just remove myself from the situation.¡±


    Auntie Caihong rolled her eyes and said, ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my friend. An actual friend. He helped me when he didn¡¯t have to, so now I¡¯m choosing to help him when I don¡¯t have to. Plus, whatever he¡¯s nning, I¡¯m fairly confident that it isn¡¯t aimed at harming me. If I had to guess, he wants me there as a kind of implicit show of force. It might be nothing more than a reminder to the nobles, or maybe he¡¯s trying to send a message to another kingdom.¡±


    ¡°And how far are you willing to take it? Will you just intimidate his enemies? Or will you go to war with his armies? How far does that friendship extend, and how much blood are you willing to spill to keep it?¡±


    Those weren¡¯t questions Sen had asked himself, so he had no answers to give. He thought for a moment and then shook his head. They weren¡¯t the kinds of questions you could resolve with a few seconds of deep thinking.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°You should decide before you get to the capital. You may need to know those answers, so you can draw a line at the right ce.¡±


    ¡°I will give it some thought. Speaking of needing answers to things, is Uncle Kho around?¡±


    ¡°He is,¡± said Auntie Caihong with a gleam in her eye. ¡°Do you need him?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Sen suspiciously.


    Smiling brightly, she said, ¡°Oh, well, I guess I¡¯ll just have to go steal Ai from him.¡±


    ¡°You know you can¡¯t keep her, right?¡± asked Sen in an exasperated voice.


    ¡°I know,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°I¡¯ll just borrow her for a little while.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a little while?¡±


    ¡°Not too long,¡± said Auntie Caihong with a wave of her hand as she disappeared deeper into the galehouse replica of her home. ¡°Just until she gets married.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 58: Spear Talk

    Book 7: Chapter 58: Spear Talk


    Uncle Kho wore a decidedly grumpy expression when he came out to the courtyard where Sen was waiting for him.


    ¡°Uncle Kho,¡± said Sen cautiously, nodding at the elder cultivator.


    ¡°You interrupted storytime,¡±ined Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Storytime?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Storytime! I tell her stories about the adventures I¡¯ve had,plete with tiny lighting people to act it all out.¡±


    Uncle Kho held out a hand, palm up, where a tiny version of him made entirely of lightning appeared. The miniature Uncle Kho thrust a spear in Sen¡¯s general direction, and a slender forking arc of lightning leapt the distance to hit Sen in the ear.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± shouted Sen, rubbing his ear with a hand. ¡°Was that necessary?¡±


    Drawing himself up and assuming a mantle of supreme dignity, Uncle Kho said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m sorry I interrupted storytime.¡±Uncle Kho¡¯s dignified visage cracked into one of amusement. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ve had my revenge. You needed something?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Sen before he reconsidered. ¡°What kind of stories are you telling her? I mean, it¡¯s nothing too scary or gruesome, is it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not. What kind of person do you take me for?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just... I¡¯ve heard some of your stories. There¡¯s a lot of destroying entire sects, and lighting leaving the earth a scorched ruin for miles in every direction.¡±


    Uncle Kho lifted a finger, frowned, and then nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± he said. ¡°I just tell her about things like me fighting spirit beasts.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen with a rush of relief. ¡°She likes stories where monsters lose.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I figured I¡¯d save those other stories for when she¡¯s older.¡±


    ¡°For the best, I expect. On the topic of when she¡¯s older, you have told Auntie Caihong that she can¡¯t just keep Ai, right?¡±


    Uncle Kho gave him a look of such profound pity that Sen found himself shuffling his feet a little bit.


    ¡°Sen, <em>you</em> can tell her that if you want, and you¡¯re feeling especially brave. I, your much older and wiser teacher, know better than to challenge powers that far beyond me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a nascent soul cultivator. Aren¡¯t you preparing to challenge the heavens themselves to ascend?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I picked a battle I at least have a <em>chance</em> of winning.¡±


    ¡°I have no answer to that,¡± said Sen.


    Uncle Kho let out a light chuckle and said, ¡°So, what are we talking about today?¡±


    ¡°A couple of things actually. The less interesting question is, would you be willing to step in and do a little teaching while I¡¯m gone?¡±


    Uncle Kho¡¯s brow furrowed a little. ¡°Exin how much teaching we¡¯re really talking about here.¡±


    ¡°The townspeople are covered. The advanced students can handle running them through drills and like. Wu Meng Yao is dealing with most of the sword instruction for the cultivators who are here. I still need to recruit someone to teach the lower-level cultivators the spear. So, that¡¯s who you¡¯d be teaching. The cultivators. I¡¯ve limited them to the first couple forms you taught me.¡±


    ¡°That sounds simple enough,¡± said Uncle Kho, his expression smoothing out. ¡°So, you were serious about not providing cultivation instruction here?¡±


    ¡°I was. I mean, didn¡¯t you agree that a sect would be more trouble than it was worth?¡±


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    ¡°I did. I just didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually take that advice.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Youth, mostly. Young people often ignore the very good advice their teachers and elders offer them. Also, founding a sect can have an appeal that overrides good sense. There <em>is</em> a kind of prestige that goes along with it.¡±


    Sen supposed he could see it, but the appeal was lost on him. He had more than enough fame to suit him. He didn¡¯t want to add anything more to that absurd legend that was growing up around him.


    ¡°Nope,¡± he said. ¡°Still too much trouble for not enough benefits. So, are you in?¡±


    ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t go on for too long. It¡¯s sort of a pain to hide the fact that I¡¯m a nascent soul cultivator when I¡¯m in the same room as other cultivators. If people figure it out, they¡¯ll be very tedious.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hoping this trip won¡¯tst very long. I expect that traveling there and back will take a lot longer than my actual stay in the capital.¡±


    ¡°Good n. The less time you spend in ces like that the better.¡±


    ¡°ces like that?¡±


    ¡°ces where mortal power andrge sects converge. It¡¯s easy to get dragged into things that have nothing to do with you in ces like that.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like the voice of experience,¡± noted Sen.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t move to that mountain just because I like the view. So, you said that teaching was the boring question. What¡¯s the interesting question?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the next spear form?¡±


    Uncle Kho quirked an eyebrow at him. ¡°What makes you think that there is one?¡±


    ¡°Intuition. I¡¯ve been working with the spear a lottely, and I can just feel that there¡¯s something more after what you taught me.¡±


    That statement brought on a protracted silence that made Sen nervous. When he did finally speak, there was a contemtive air around Uncle Kho.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s where you are. I did wonder if you¡¯d get there. Not everyone does.¡±


    ¡°And where is there, exactly?¡± asked Sen.


    Instead of answering, Uncle Kho posed a question of his own.


    ¡°What do you think a form is?¡±


    Sen squinted in confusion and said, ¡°A series of prescribed movements designed to impart fundamentals of motion, defense, and attack.¡±


    Uncle Kho nodded. ¡°An urate enough answer, but you¡¯re thinking about it too individually. Most of the martial forms that cultivators practice didn¡¯t originate with cultivators. They originated with mortals. We might enhance them with cultivation, but go far enough back and you¡¯ll find mortals with sharp sticks trying to find a better way to survive. Another way to think of the forms is that they¡¯re general patterns that work for most people. After all, what good is a form to a mortal army if only one person can do it?¡±


    ¡°Not much good, I¡¯d imagine,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Precisely. So, all of those idiosyncratic forms designed by geniuses for their own needs typically fall out of use as soon as they die.¡±


    ¡°While the forms that work for everyone live on.¡±


    ¡°Yes. At a certain point, though, if you go far enough with any weapon, you bump up against the limits of those general forms. You intuitively know that there¡¯s something more, or rather that there¡¯s something else that would work better for you. Something designed around your exact strengths and weaknesses.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that I need to create my own¡­ What did you call it? My own idiosyncratic form?¡±


    Uncle Kho shrugged. ¡°No. You can use what I already taught you to excellent effect, probably for the rest of your very long life. Innovation isn¡¯t inherently a good thing. It can even be a bad thing if it draws your attention away from more immediate and pressing needs. What I¡¯m saying is that you''ve gone far enough now, developed sufficient insight, that you <em>can</em> develop your own form if you decide you want to.¡±


    ¡°If I want to,¡± murmured Sen. ¡°This isn¡¯t quite how I thought this conversation was going to go.¡±


    ¡°What were you expecting? That I decided to only teach you some of what I knew?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, but not in a bad way. I just assumed that I needed more experience before I was ready to learn it.¡±


    ¡°Nope. You¡¯re going to discover more and more that the things you learn will be things that you develop on your own. Teachers can only guide you so far because, at a certain point, everyone walks a path shaped by their own insights, affinities, and experiences. The longer you live, the farther you go, the more those paths diverge. And that¡¯s not a bad thing. If you had good teachers, you <em>should</em> outgrow them and chart a path for yourself.¡±


    Sen saw the wisdom, but there was something mncholy about it too.


    ¡°That sounds lonely,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Cultivation is lonely. For all that cultivators gather into sects or travel in groups, it is a harsh truth that, if you reach that moment of ascension, you will face the heavens alone. Just you. No one else can face that final tribtion for you. You cannot carry another person with you. But that doesn¡¯t mean you have to <em>be</em> alone on your way there.¡±


    Sen smiled as a memory surfaced.


    ¡°I seem to recall you saying the same thing to Master Feng.¡±


    ¡°Many, many times. It¡¯s worth repeating, even if I know he never really hears the words. It seems that you, at least, heard them. It¡¯s a strange little family you¡¯ve built for yourself, but a family all the same. After all, how many little girls get a mad aunt and a spider on speaking terms with the Great Matriarch for an uncle? To say nothing of a legendary father.¡±


    ¡°Infamous, maybe. And I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m not more of an uncle, myself.¡±


    ¡°You should just go ahead and bury that lie,¡± said Uncle Kho.


    ¡°I suppose that makes you her grandfather.¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m just the much and rightly adored Uncle Kho. Or maybe Great Uncle Kho. Yes. Great Uncle Kho. I like the sound of that. Let Ming be her grandfather. He needs it,¡± said the elder cultivator before giving Sen a sly look. ¡°Although, I will give you five thousand gold tael if you tell Caihong she¡¯s very grandmotherly.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to tell her you said that.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t,¡± said Uncle Kho as panic and dread went to war on his face.

 Book 7: Chapter 59: Pressure

    Book 7: Chapter 59: Pressure


    Based on the look that Wu Meng Yao was giving him, she clearly felt less confident about the n than he did. He gave her a lopsided smile.


    ¡°What? I sense doubt. Do you question the wisdom of your glorious leader?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I do question the wisdom of leaving <em>me</em> in charge here while you¡¯re gone for some indefinite amount of time,¡± said Wu Meng Ya before a hint of a smile crossed her lips. ¡°If you could arrange an introduction to this glorious leader, though, I would like to meet them.¡±


    Sen blinked in surprise and thenughed.


    ¡°Better,¡± he said. ¡°And it won¡¯t be as bad as you think. I¡¯ve found someone to temporarily take over the spear training for the cultivators, and you¡¯ve got the sword training mostly in hand.¡±


    ¡°What about <em>her</em>?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao.


    Sen didn¡¯t need to ask who that <em>her</em> referred to.


    ¡°Sua Xing Xing will<em></em>be fine. I¡¯ll leave her with some instructions about how to train while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. You don¡¯t think she¡¯s going to listen to me, do you?¡±¡°She better listen to you, or she can leave exactly two seconds after I get back. Like I said, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Ideally, you won¡¯t have to interact with her at all. I will, however, make it abundantly clear to her who is in charge while I¡¯m away.¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± she sighed. ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be looking to recruit a few people to pitch in with training while I¡¯m in the capital. Some for both the sword and the spear.¡±


    ¡°You are?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao, sounding genuinely surprised.


    ¡°Yeah. What? Did you think I was just going to keep you here forever like some kind of ve?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty well paid for a ve.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± said Sen, ¡°but this was always a temporary arrangement for you. I don¡¯t know when you n to leave, but I¡¯ve always known you were going to. You have your own cultivation journey to attend to, which means going back to your sect. So, obviously, I need to find a recement that I can at least nominally trust.¡±


    ¡°Trust not to spy on you?¡±


    ¡°Trust not to try to kill me in my sleep. As long as they spy on me quietly, that¡¯ll be good enough.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought you¡¯d be so understanding about that,¡± said Wu Meng Yao. ¡°It seems like the kind of thing that would normally provoke a more extreme response.¡±


    ¡°Letting people do some basic spying is to <em>my</em> advantage in the short run. The real risk is that someone is going to think I¡¯m starting a sect. So, if I let people spy on me, they¡¯re going to discover that this ce is exactly what I¡¯m saying it is. And if the sects confirm that with their own spies¡ª¡± Sen trailed off.


    ¡°They¡¯ll be more likely to believe it and leave you alone.¡±


    ¡°Precisely.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao stared at him for a moment before she asked, ¡°Why are you taking Shen Mingxia with you?¡±


    ¡°As opposed to you?¡± asked Sen with an amused smirk.


    ¡°As opposed to literally anyone else. Is there something happening between the two of you?¡±


    The smirk vanished from Sen¡¯s face. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s an appropriate question?¡±


    ¡°Maybe not appropriate but relevant. Necessary. I¡¯m responsible for her while we¡¯re away from the sect.¡±


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    ¡°Including things that have nothing to do with cultivation?¡±


    ¡°If I think that it might end in her leaving the sect, yes,¡± said Wu Meng Yao with cold defiance on her face.


    Sen resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. It didn¡¯t actually help when he did that, except maybe psychologically. He wanted to just tell her it was none of her business or that it was a stupid question, but he held back. He didn¡¯t understand exactly what Wu Meng Yao¡¯s responsibilities were in regard to Shen Mingxia. However, he had to assume that it would go badly for her if Shen Mingxia died or had her cultivation damaged in some fundamental way. It would probably go even worse if Wu Meng Yao managed to lose the sect a promising disciple to some other sect or, worse still, a wandering cultivator like him. Well, maybe not <em>him</em>, specifically, given his history with the Soaring Skies Sect, but <em>a</em> wandering cultivator. So, while he was mildly offended on Shen Mingxia¡¯s behalf and his own, he decided that answering would solve the problem faster than raising more objections to the question.


    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing happening between us. Believe it or not, even if I was interested, I¡¯m not that obnoxiously irresponsible.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what that means.¡±


    ¡°You do. Or you will if you think it through for a second.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao frowned, and her forehead furrowed as she pondered the problem. Sen just waited patiently as she slowly worked it out. He saw it on her face when she put the pieces together.


    ¡°Being involved that way with you would make her a target. And she¡¯s not powerful enough to defend herself if your enemies were looking for a way to get at you.¡±


    ¡°She is not. Being a cultivator means that she would, inevitably, need to leave my sphere of influence. So, no, I have not been entertaining Shen Mingxia in my bedroom while you weren¡¯t looking. I¡¯m choosing to restrict that part of my life to people who don¡¯t need my protection just to survive.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao looked like she was going to speak a couple of times before she finally muttered, ¡°That seems like a very strange thing to thank you for.¡±


    ¡°It would be,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°As for the original question, it¡¯s exactly the reasons I gave her. She¡¯s going to serve as a shield for me. Keep those nobles and sect flunkies from hounding me to go as my escort. Also, seeing how things happen in the capital will be educational for her. Who knows? She might even make a useful connection or two while she¡¯s there. Being on friendly terms with one or two people in a big sect could prove useful for her in the long run.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao as she studied him carefully. ¡°Just that?¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine. It may also be, just a tiny little bit, for my amusement.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao thrust a finger at him. ¡°I knew it! You¡¯re going to throw her to that pack of ravening hyenas just so you canugh at her.¡±


    ¡°Ravening hyenas?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°You know what I mean,¡± she said with a truly magnificent re. ¡°And stop changing the subject.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I mean, ravening hyenas? Why not wolves?¡±


    The intensity of the re she was giving Sen went up about a hundredfold and threatened to set his robes on fire. Sen lifted his hands in a peaceful gesture.


    ¡°Yes, it will amuse me to see her interact with them, but,¡± said Sen, ¡°you know as well as I do that pressure is formative. A brief exposure to that kind of pressure now, while she¡¯s still developing her foundations and settling on her path, will pay off for herter.¡±


    ¡°Pressure can be formative, but too much pressure breaks people.¡±


    ¡°I, of all people, am aware of what too much pressure can do to someone. And my amusement doesn¡¯t extend to me watching her copse beneath all of that pressure. If it looks like it¡¯s getting to be too much, I¡¯ll step in.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to hold you to that,¡± said Wu Meng Yao.


    Sen was about to go find something else to do when a thoughtful look stole over the sect cultivator¡¯s face. <em>Damn</em>, thought Sen as Wu Meng Yao¡¯s re returned. She stepped closer to poke him in the chest.


    ¡°Is that what you¡¯re doing to me by putting me in charge?¡± she demanded. ¡°Putting me under pressure to help me develop?¡±


    ¡°That,¡± said Sen, doing his utmost to project an air of sincerity, ¡°would be far too much like providing you with cultivation instruction. Something that you know I do not provide here. Besides, that would have been particrly devious and rather clever nning. Do I seem like someone who is particrly devious and has clever ns to you?¡±


    ¡°You do now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m wounded. <em>Wounded</em> that you would think such things about me.¡±


    ¡°That would be a lot more convincing if I didn¡¯t know that you spent most of your time with nine tail foxes thest time you went on a long trip away from here. It seems like you might have learned a thing or two from them.¡±


    Sen let out a small groan.


    ¡°Oh, I learned some things from them. I don¡¯t know that I¡¯d call any of it useful, but I definitely learned some things.¡±


    ¡°Like being devious and making clever ns?¡±


    ¡°No, it was more like how to do witty banter and imbue unnecessary sexual tension into a conversation.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao gave him the ttest of t looks and said, ¡°Did you forget that we met before this? I can say, with absolute certainty, that the foxes didn¡¯t <em>teach</em> you either of those things.¡±


    Sen stood motionless and returned her t stare with a nk, innocent expression before cupping a hand to his ear.


    ¡°What¡¯s that? Ai needs me?¡± he said to the air.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re lying. It¡¯s not even a good lie.¡±


    ¡°Right now, you say?¡± Sen asked the air, before walking away and calling over his shoulder. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll have to cut this short.¡±


    ¡°You better not break my student!¡± she shouted at him.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine,¡± shouted Sen as he disappeared through the door of the training hall.

 Book 7: Chapter 60: Training Plans

    Book 7: Chapter 60: Training ns


    The trees rushed by beneath him as Sen kept his qi tform moving at a steady pace. He didn¡¯t try to go at full speed because he was rtively certain Sua Xing Xing couldn¡¯t have kept up. Of course, based on the growing look of concern she wore the deeper Sen took them into the wilds, keeping up was not her main concern at the moment. She was watching the trees below and around them like she expected something to rise up and attack them at any moment. Sen supposed it was possible, but he didn¡¯t let that take away from the nice day. The sun was up and shining, the sky was clear, and the morning air had a refreshing coolness to it that Sen let slip into the small area around him that he controlled. When he finally spotted what he was looking for, he took them down to a clear area that had arge vein of smooth stone covering most of it. He settled onto the rock and waited for Sua Xing Xing to join him. Shended close to him. Almost too close. Another sign that her nerves were getting the better of her. She looked at him and failed to hide her nerves.


    ¡°Is there a reason you¡¯ve brought me to this,¡± she gestured around her, ¡°this awful ce?¡±


    Sen looked around curiously. Aside from this patch of rock, the surroundings were a rather lovely, if somewhat primordial, forest. Everything looked healthy and lush. He even spotted some flowers that broke up the green with tiny explosions of color. The burbling sounds of a stream wafted through the air to add a gentle musical quality to the area. He lifted an eyebrow at Sua Xing Xing.


    ¡°Awful ce?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes. These are the deep wilds,¡± she said in a hushed tone, as though afraid that something would take notice of her. ¡°Cultivators onlye to ces like this in force or desperation. Toe so far is to court death.¡±


    Sen pondered that deration. He had gone far deeper into the wilds than this for months on end. He wondered if that experience had made him somehow less cautious than he should be about the dangers. He supposed it was possible. Short of a full beast tide, there wasn¡¯t much he¡¯d seen in the wilds that gave him pause anymore. That probably <em>was</em> a matter of pure exposure and the repeated experience of fighting while alone or with only a fewpanions. Experiences he suspected that Sua Xing Xing did not share. She looked like she was keeping panic at bay only through pure effort. At the very least, she believed that this was the deep wilds and that destruction was imminent.


    ¡°That kind of fear won¡¯t serve you well,¡± said Sen. ¡°This may be the wilds, but it isn¡¯t the deep wilds.¡±


    ¡°So, you say,¡± she snapped back.


    ¡°So, I say. Go another hundred, maybe two hundred miles in that direction,¡± said Sen, pointing, ¡°and you¡¯ll start to find the true deep wilds.¡±¡°How can you possibly¡ª¡± she stopped, realization making her eyes go wide. ¡°You¡¯ve been that deep into the wilds?¡±


    ¡°I have,¡± said Sen before he wandered over to the edge of the woonds and plucked a small flower.


    Sua Xing Xing made another effort to suppress her fear by focusing on the flower in his hand.


    ¡°Is that some special ingredient you need for your alchemy? Is that why we came here?¡± she asked.


    Sen nced down at the flower held between his thumb and forefinger.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s just a pretty flower. It smells nice, too,¡± he said, holding it out at about the height of her nose.


    The sect cultivator took a cautious sniff. Then, slowly, almost as if it pained her to make the admission, she nodded.


    ¡°Fine. It smells nice. Did you drag me all the way out here just so you could pick flowers?¡±


    ¡°Not particrly,¡± he said, nting the flower so it sat between her hair and her ear.


    A flurry of emotions raced across the woman¡¯s face. Confusion. Uncertainty. Anticipation.


    ¡°Then, why?¡± she asked, her hand rising to the flower in a gesture that looked unconscious.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving soon,¡± said Sen. ¡°I wanted to discuss what I¡¯ll expect of your training while I¡¯m away.¡±


    <em>That</em> had apparently not been the answer she was expecting, because a flush of anger or embarrassment stole across her cheeks.


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    ¡°My training,¡± she said slowly.


    ¡°Just because I¡¯m away, it doesn¡¯t mean that you get to skate on your training.¡±


    ¡°Skate?¡± asked Sua Xing Xing, bafflement momentarily recing annoyance.


    ¡°Damn foxes,¡± muttered Sen. ¡°I mean you don¡¯t get to stop training just because I¡¯m not around to directly supervise you.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± she said, before doing what Sen had expected. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to simply take me with you and continue my training that way?¡±


    ¡°I expect so. I¡¯m still not doing it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m from arge sect. I know how to behave around nobles and royalty. I could be an asset to you in the capital.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that all of that is true,¡± said Sen as he agreeably nodded along.


    ¡°And you never even considered it?¡±


    ¡°I did not.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯ll take that foundation formation girl from some backwater sect?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Sen dropped the affable mask he¡¯d been wearing.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple. I trust that foundation formation girl. I trust her to follow my lead. I trust her not to run some agenda that only serves to benefit her.¡±


    ¡°The corory being that you don¡¯t trust me. You think that I <em>will</em> engage in some self-serving agenda that will bring you no benefits or actively harm you.¡±


    Sen considered that and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe. Maybe not. That¡¯s the biggest problem with you, aside from your general, well, you-ness. I don¡¯t know you. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re really here. That makes trust a rather scarcemodity, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The woman was very still for a moment before she said, ¡°My me-ness?¡±


    Sen sighed. <em>Of course</em>, that was what she focused on.


    ¡°People don¡¯t like you,¡± Sen exined.


    Sua Xing Xing took a step back as if she were physically recoiling from the words. For just an instant, Sen saw a sh of legitimate hurt, pain, and regret. Then, it was gone. Covered over with the haughty attitude of a young mistress from a powerful sect.


    ¡°I don¡¯t require their affection,¡± she said, lifting her chin and staring into the distance.


    ¡°No?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°No,¡± she answered.


    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t need to eat anymore. I barely need to sleep. Yet, I eat every day. I try to get a little sleep most days. Do you know why?¡±


    She turned a wary eye toward him. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because there¡¯s more to life than simply what¡¯s required to survive. That¡¯s a lesson I learned the hard way. In the end, I just enjoy food. I like cooking it. I like eating it. It¡¯s not necessary for me, but it improves the <em>quality</em> of my life. Having friends, family, people I trust and who trust me in return may not be an absolute requirement for my survival, but they also improve the quality of my life. I would be diminished by their absence,¡± said Sen, and then he shrugged. ¡°But that¡¯s just me. Do with it what you will.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for such nonsense,¡± said Sua Xing Xing.


    ¡°Do I strike you as a man burdened by excessive free time?¡± asked Sen, but he kept speaking before she could answer. ¡°Speaking of which, on to the issue of your training. In addition to practicing what I¡¯ve already shown you, I expect you to work on this.¡±


    In a burst of motion and qi, Sen drew his jian and swept it up. A wafer-thin wall of stone almost fifty feet long and just as high shot up out of the ground. Sua Xing Xing just stared at it with a look of iprehension.


    ¡°Obviously,¡± continued Sen, ¡°you don¡¯t use earth qi. So, I expect you to adapt this technique to work with your water qi affinity.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing turned incredulous eyes on him. ¡°You expect me to do <em>that</em>? What happened to not teaching us about cultivation?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say a single word about how you should cultivate. I just showed you something I can do. If you manage to adapt the technique, it¡¯ll be because you taught <em>yourself</em> something about cultivation.¡±


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t have anything to do with swordsmanship,¡± she said weakly. ¡°It¡¯s not a fair test.¡±


    Sen reached out and adjusted the flower behind Sua Xing Xing¡¯s ear, which made her breath catch a little. She stared at him like she couldn¡¯t decide if she wanted to yell at him or kiss him. Sen thought that being unsettled was probably good for her.


    He offered her a bright smile. ¡°Test is such a harsh word. You should consider this an opportunity. Yes, it¡¯s an opportunity to impress me with your work ethic.¡±


    ¡°My work ethic?¡± Sua Xing Xing almost screamed.


    ¡°Your work ethic. Oh, by the way, Wu Meng Yao is in charge while I¡¯m gone. She knows you¡¯ll be training on your own, so I don¡¯t expect you¡¯ll cross paths with each other too often.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing spluttered. ¡°What? Her? You¡¯re leaving her in charge? But she¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m¡ª¡±


    ¡°She is a teacher at the academy. You are a student. You <em>will</em> respect those roles,¡± said Sen, his voice going very hard, ¡°or you will leave.¡±


    Sen waited to see if the indignity of it all would actually kill Sua Xing Xing. Judging by how red her face got, she was ready to explode. She opened her mouth once, looking for all the world like she intended to curse him straight into the thousand hells before she closed it hard enough that he heard her teeth m together with an audible crack. He could see the muscles along her jaw working furiously as she held back whatever enragedmentary was rushing through her mind. In the end, she offered him a very formal, very precise bow.


    ¡°It will be as you say,¡± she said through clenched teeth.


    Sen was tempted to make some glibment but recognized that it would be counterproductive. He¡¯d brought her out there, intentionally unbnced her, because he wanted to make a few points. He¡¯d made them. Anything else would just be him venting some of his own general dislike for her. She didn¡¯t deserve that treatment, no matter how satisfying it might feel. He was supposed to be her teacher, after all, and she wouldn¡¯t learn anything of value from him being unnecessarily cruel. Instead, he nced up at the sky.


    ¡°We should head back,¡± he announced to Sua Xing Xing¡¯s visible relief. ¡°There¡¯s still a lot to do before I leave.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 61: Elsewhere

    Book 7: Chapter 61: Elsewhere


    Li Yi Nuo had always thought of her sect as being rural. That was until she¡¯d gone off to meet Sen¡¯s nigh-mythological spear teacher. It had been a long journey. Longer than it needed to be. She found herself almost shaking with rage at the sheer number of times she¡¯d been dragged into some problem that had absolutely nothing to do with her. It was like the cultivators in this part of the kingdom simply had no respect whatsoever for cultivators from other sects, even core cultivators. And that was to say nothing of local nobles finding out about her and insisting she attend one ridiculous function or another, only to find out that they were trying to use her to advance some equally ridiculous scheme of theirs. To make it all even worse, she couldn¡¯t go a day without hearing a story about <em>him</em>. Judgment¡¯s Gale. The great cultivator. The hero.


    They had clearly never met the man. If they had, they would be a lot more afraid and a lot less worshipful. Li Yi Nuo sighed and chided herself for that unkind thought. If his experience in this part of the kingdom had been anything like her experience, it was no wonder the man was so deeply mistrustful of sects or anything that even smacked of official power. Such were her thoughts as she entered the town of Orchard¡¯s Reach. Looking around, she was struck by just how small the ce was. She struggled to imagine Lu Sen ever setting foot in such a tiny, dirty, unremarkable ce. How it had ever contained his personality, to say nothing of his person, was a mystery she feared would never be solved. <em>Although</em>, she thought, <em>I guess it didn¡¯t contain him in the end</em>.


    Her impressions of the ce did not improve much as she moved toward what could charitably be called the heart of the town. It got a little cleaner, but that was about the only positive change she noted. It was also clear that they didn¡¯t get a lot of cultivators in core formationing and going. Men and women alike stared at her. Some puffed-up local tried to saunter over to her and was stopped cold with a single, imperious look of disdain that made him go white in the face. She almost felt bad for the man. She¡¯d been in a sect for a long time, which meant she¡¯d already grown ustomed to the presence of ridiculously attractive people. On top of that, she¡¯d stood within a foot of Lu Sen. After all of that, the bar for what counted as attractive was just so damned high that almost everyone seemed ugly. With a sense of relief, she spotted the shop she was looking for and went inside.


    A young woman who seemed only mildly dazed by her presence directed Li Yi Nuo to the manager, a stern woman of middle years who greeted her politely.


    ¡°And how may Grandmother Lu¡¯s Heavenly Wares serve the honored cultivator?¡± asked the manager.


    ¡°I am looking for a man named Kho,¡± said Li Yi Nuo. ¡°I was told that I should be able to connect with him here by one Lu Sen.¡±


    The manager brightened at Lu Sen¡¯s name.


    ¡°The young master directed you here,¡± she said. ¡°He must not have known.¡±


    Li Yi Nuo felt a pit open up inside of her. ¡°He must not have known what?¡±¡°I¡¯m sorry, honored cultivator, but the one called Kho has left the area for a time.¡±


    Li Yi Nuo felt something trying to well up inside of her. <em>I came all this way</em>, she thought. <em>I came here</em>, <em>and it was for nothing</em>? It took her a moment to marshal herposure, but when she felt like she could speak calmly, she addressed the manager.


    ¡°Do you know where he went?¡± asked Li Yi Nuo.


    The manager looked particrly sheepish when she answered. ¡°I was told that he was going to go west. To see the young master.¡±


    Li Yi Nuo ground her teeth together to trap the thing that was ever more urgently trying to escape from inside of her. Kho Jaw-Long was going west. To see Sen. He was going to the ce where she had traveled from. She felt like the universe was mocking her.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said to the manager and left the shop.


    Once outside, she activated her qinggong technique and escaped the wretched little cesspit of a town as fast as she could. When she was several miles away, she stopped in the middle of the road, threw back her head, and screamed in raw frustration.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ***


    Feng Mingshed out with a kick that connected with the dragon¡¯s chest. Said chest imploded under the force of that blow, snuffing out the ancient creature¡¯s life in an instant. The massive corpse of the dragon rocketed away from the nascent soul cultivator and mmed into a mountain so deep in the wilds that no human name had ever graced the peak. After the dragon passed <em>through</em> the mountain and reduced it to arge pile of rubble, he realized that it wouldn¡¯t ever get that name. <em>I¡¯ll just call it Dragon¡¯s Folly</em>, thought Ming with a snort of amusement. He hovered in the air for a minute or two, waiting. When no one came out to greet him, he finally lost patience. Enhancing his voice with qi until it rang out like thunder, Ming spoke.


    ¡°You made me kill your pet. Now, why don¡¯t youe on out like a good little spirit beast and have a chat with old Grandfather Feng?¡±


    There was another long pause before a figure rose into the air to face him. The figure looked like a human man, with long, oddly pale hair, and dark eyes, but the man felt all wrong. He couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on why, but something told him that the figure before him had started out life as some kind of a serpent. The problem was that this was not the being Feng Ming hade looking for. The creature was strong, certainly, but not nearly strong enough. He sighed.


    ¡°Really? Ackey?¡± asked Ming. ¡°Oh, I see. He sent out the dragon and left you as a backup so he¡¯d have time to run away. That¡¯s some king you have. Afraid toe out and face a lone, old wandering cultivator.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s well aware of who you are. Why should he face you? That benefits only you,¡± said the snake man.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Ming, thoughtfully, ¡°it seems your coward, I mean, your king, has been stirring up the spirit beasts. Making them angry enough to do stupid things like invade human towns and kill everyone. I think it¡¯s high time for that foolishness to stop. Otherwise, there¡¯s going to be a war.¡±


    ¡°That war has always existed. Even if your kind doesn¡¯t know it.¡±


    ¡°No. There has <em>not</em> always been a war,¡± said Ming, his voice growing cold and angry. ¡°If there had been a war, none of you would still be walking this world.¡±


    ¡°Human cultivators,¡± sneered the snake man. ¡°Your arrogance will be your downfall. Look at you. You came all this way, just to die in a trap.¡±


    At those words, dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of spirit beasts rose into the sky to form a massive circle around him. Ming looked around curiously, then lifted an eyebrow at the sneering snake man.


    ¡°Is this all you brought?¡±


    The snake man seemed taken aback at the question. ¡°Your false bravado will not save you.¡±


    Ming looked at the jian in his hand for a minute, gave it a fond smile, and then sheathed it.


    ¡°The funny thing about being me is that, whenever I¡¯m within about a thousand miles of another human being or cultivator, I have to restrain myself. But here, with all of you, so far from the rest of humanity, I don¡¯t have to worry that I¡¯m going to identally scare some poor farmer to death or ignite a sect war just by acting. Here, I can actually stretch myself a little. Just a little, though.¡±


    The snake man narrowed his eyes. ¡°What are you babbling about?¡±


    Ming smiled and unleashed his killing intent. Spirit beasts died by the hundreds. Some of them simply fell from the sky, their lives extinguished. Others exploded under the pressure, sending a red rain down onto the forests below. The ones that didn¡¯t die immediately were rocked by the force of that intangible, terrible intent, and rendered all but insensate. Ming locked eyes with the snake man, who looked aghast at the carnage he was witnessing, and snapped his fingers. Thousands of wind des appeared all around him. Except, these were not the the wind des of lesser cultivators. They weren¡¯t vague distortions in the air. They looked like solid sheets of crystal, their edges so fine and sharp that the very air screamed as it was torn asunder. It was a sea of solidified death.


    The snake man understood what was about to happen and was rendered powerless to stop it as Ming seized him in bands of air stronger than any metal in the world. The snake man tried to scream a warning, but it meant nothing as the merciless will of Fate¡¯s Razor unleashed his anger. As those wind des raced toward the assembled army of spirit beats, a howl like something from the void itself rose around them. The rain of red turned into a flood that drenched the world below them. In mere moments, Ming and the snake man were only sapient beings within miles. Everything else with a mind to know had either died or was racing away like the jaws of death were closing around them. Ming floated over to the snake man.


    ¡°You tell your false king that the war he wants to start so badly is <em>over</em>. If he continues down this path, you will be hunted like prey. You will be killed like the base creatures of thend and sky. Your children will be caged and farmed like livestock. This is my promise to you,¡± said Feng Ming, his face a mask of conviction. ¡°Now, go.¡±


    With a trivial effort of will, he sent the snake man hurtling into the distance. <em>Well</em>, <em>that should buy us a little time</em>, <em>at any rate</em>, thought Ming. Looking around at what he¡¯d been made to do, he shook his head.


    ¡°What a waste,¡± he whispered. ¡°What a stupid, senseless waste.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 62: Observation

    Book 7: Chapter 62: Observation


    Sen stood motionless inside the shadow he¡¯d wrapped around himself and watched as Wu Meng Yao conducted a ss. Part of him hated to admit it, but he was pretty sure she was a better teacher. It wasn¡¯t a matter of knowledge. He was, by all meaningful measures, the better swordsman. He understood the weapon better. He knew more about using it. But it was bing clear that he wasn¡¯t necessarily better at showing someone else how to use it. For direct instruction, she simply had a quality that hecked. He viewed teaching students asrgely a matter of correcting ws in their stance and imparting additional forms. It was a decidedly one-sided rtionship where he provided information, and it was on them to incorporate it.


    It took him a while to figure it out because she never discussed it. He wasn¡¯t even sure if she thought about it. The primary difference between himself and Wu Meng Yao as teachers was that she <em>wanted</em> her students to improve. It was important to her. More than that, she wanted them to improve in some vague, holistic way that Sen struggled to understand. Almost as if she believed that if she believed enough in them, they would be better. It baffled him, even if he could see how it changed the way the students reacted to her. His students worked hard. They worked very hard, in no small part because he wouldn¡¯t ept anything less. Wu Meng Yao¡¯s students would work themselves to death if she asked them to. Of course, she never would, and he suspected they all knew that too.


    He wasn¡¯t heartless when it came to his students. Sen didn¡¯t want them to fail, but it wasn¡¯t going to influence his self-perception much if some of them did. Not every student was destined for greatness. Some deficits could be ovee through sheer tenacity and hard work. He knew that much from personal experience. He also knew that he¡¯d been lucky in many regards. He¡¯d had deficits. Looking back, he could see them all too clearly, but they had been the kinds of deficits that hard work <em>could</em> ovee. If his body had been slightly different, his ability to intuit certain kinds of tactical realities a little less acute, his mind a little duller, he would have been one of those failures. At a certain point, ack of talent, insight, and a hundred other things could and would bring someone¡¯s journey toward mastery to an irrevocable end. It was harsh, but it was also a fact.


    Armed with that fact, Sen didn¡¯t tie himself emotionally to the sess and failure of individual students. Particrly the cultivators he dealt with as students. He was looking to raise the overallpetence of arge number of people to maximize the survival chances of the small towns and viges that didn¡¯t have the questionable good fortune to be located right outside of a sect. Much as cultivators faced the heavens alone, those towns and viges would face the spirit beasts alone. They needed help and training they simply weren¡¯t going to get anywhere else. Cultivators, even wandering cultivators, had a lot of options. If they didn¡¯t like what they got from him, well, they could seek their training elsewhere. It seemed that Wu Meng Yao did not share that view, and he couldn¡¯t say that he was surprised. She was from a sect and steeped in sect thinking. She probably saw helping all those mortals as the distant, secondary concern of this ce, and helping cultivators as the real work to be done. She poured herself into the task.


    A tiny little piece of Sen envied that capacity in her, but he recognized that he couldn¡¯t afford to think or act that way. It would be a distraction that took the academy off of the path he¡¯d set for it. He had to think in terms of the big picture and broader goals so that other people could do things like worry about the progress of individual students. None of which made it any easier for Sen to ept that Wu Meng Yao was just better at this than he was. That was pride talking poison into his ear. He knew it. He just wished knowing that made it easier to ignore. He¡¯d just have to settle for not acting on it. Plus, even if he couldn¡¯t act that way, he could offer some support. As the ss was nearing its end, Sen stepped out of the shadow he¡¯d been¡­


    <em>Was I just lurking</em>? <em>Damn it</em>, thought Sen. <em>I was lurking</em>. He took sce in the fact that he¡¯d also been <em>hiding</em>, so at least no one would know he¡¯d been acting like Fu Run. The ss ground to an immediate halt when he stopped hiding. Everyone stared at him until Wu Meng Yao offered a bow. The dozen or so foundation formation cultivators in the ss hastily followed her lead. Sen inclined his head to them and then waved a hand.


    ¡°Continue,¡± he said.


    Wu Meng Yao gave the ss a withering look and pped her hands to draw their attention.


    ¡°You heard the man. Continue.¡±Sen could tell his mere presence made them all nervous, particrly as he circled around them like a great wolf picking the weakest deer in the herd. He zeroed in on the man with dark red hair he¡¯d been forced to chastise when he¡¯d first met Sua Xing Xing. He made sure to keep a cool, impassive expression on his face as he walked over to the man. Learning from past failures, he had at least made a point to find out the man¡¯s name. Soon Zi Rui tried and failed to maintain hisposure as Sen cast a critical eye over him. Without saying a word, Sen reached out with his foot and nudged the cringing cultivator¡¯s foot into the proper position. Then, he adjusted the man¡¯s grip on his jian.


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    ¡°You¡¯ll gain a fraction of a second on your strikes if you hold it this way,¡± said Sen.


    Soon Zi Rui gave a jerky nod of his head. Moving on, Sen took a moment with each student to offer some little nugget of wisdom or correction. He saved the tiny, childlike woman, Mo Kai-Ming, forst. She beamed up at him like he was her favorite brother. He offered her a gentle smile and some minor corrections.


    ¡°See me after you finish. I have something for you,¡± he told her.


    He said it casually like it was routine for him to stop by and tell one of the students to see him. He¡¯d done it on purpose. He saw the way the other cultivators treated her, the dismissal in their eyes, and he didn¡¯t like it. He didn¡¯t like it at all. Simply by inviting her to speak with him, her position in the social order of the ss had just been adjusted from the bottom to somewhere above the top. She offered him a surprised nod, and he retreated to stand behind and to the side of Wu Meng Yao. He¡¯d vited the natural bnce of things enough for one day. Wu Meng Yao closed out the ss with a firm admonition to continue practicing hard before she turned and bowed to him again.


    ¡°And we should all thank the founder for taking the time to visit with us today and impart his wisdom,¡± she said.


    The ss all bowed again, and Sen did what Falling Leaf had told him to do. He lived with it. He inclined his head to them again.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed. You should all thank your teacher for the very excellent instruction she has been providing to you.¡±


    Everyone in the ss straightened at the words and bowed to Wu Meng Yao.


    As one, they shouted, ¡°Thank you, Teacher!¡±


    Wu Meng Yao actually blushed and seemed at a loss for what to say, so Sen stepped up next to her.


    ¡°You are dismissed,¡± he announced.


    Most of the cultivators left, although he could see all of them shooting curious looks at Mo Kai-Ming. He also saw a few jealous looks sent her way as well. He wondered if he hadn¡¯t done her as much of a favor as he¡¯d thought. <em>Well</em>, <em>it¡¯s toote to take it back</em>, he thought. The tiny woman came over looking a little uncertain about what to expect. He smiled at her.


    ¡°May I see your de?¡± he asked her.


    ¡°Of course,¡± she said, hastily untying the weapon from her waist and handing it to him.


    He took it from her and unsheathed it. It was a de of decent quality for someone in the qi-gathering stage, but it would fall short in foundation formation. That wasn¡¯t the only problem with it. She was making do, but the weapon was simply too long for her. It had been obvious as the ss worked through their forms. He sighed and shook his head.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do,¡± he said. ¡°It won¡¯t do at all.¡±


    He sheathed the jian and handed it to Wu Meng Yao, who was giving him the same look of mixed concern and confusion as Mo Kai-Ming. After a brief search through his storage rings, he summoned a jian he¡¯d bought for this specific purpose and promptly forgotten about for months.


    ¡°I believe that this de will suit you better,¡± he said and offered her the sword. ¡°Consider a minor inclusion in your rpense.¡±


    Her eyes wide, Mo Kai-Ming reached out and took the sword. It was of a substantially better quality than the one she¡¯d been using. Just as importantly, it was shorter. While that loss in length woulde at a small cost in range, it would alsoe with a substantial improvement in control. He might find out he was wrong in the long run, but he considered an improvement in control to be far more valuable than a small gain in range. After all, cultivators could maintain range with speed and techniques. There was no substitute for control. Unsheathing the de, the tiny woman¡¯s eyes went wide. She immediately put it back into the scabbard and tried to return it.


    ¡°This is too expensive. It¡¯s too much. I¡¯ll be fine with the sword I have.¡±


    Sen looked to Wu Meng Yao. ¡°You¡¯re her teacher. You should exin it.¡±


    She shot him a look that was equal parts grateful and disapproving. It was as if she was happy he¡¯d left the exnation to her, but also unhappy that he¡¯d foisted the responsibility onto her. He gave her a knowing smile which prompted a brief scowl in his direction.


    ¡°This de,¡± said Wu Meng Yao, lifting the tiny woman¡¯s old sword, ¡°will swiftly fail you in foundation formation. It simply isn¡¯t made to withstand the force and pressure of the kinds of fights that you¡¯ll likely find yourself in. That de will serve you for some time toe.¡±


    ¡°And,¡± added Sen with a thoughtful look, ¡°you would shame me by refusing to ept this attempt topensate you.¡±


    Horror blossomed on Mo Kai-Ming¡¯s face. Her eyes darted from Sen to the sword she was still trying to shove back into his hands. She immediately yanked the sword back and hugged it to her chest.


    ¡°I will, naturally, of course, ept this fine weapon,¡± she stammered.


    ¡°My gratitude,¡± said Sen.


    When it became obvious that the tiny woman didn¡¯t know what to do next, Wu Meng Yao gently escorted her to the door, returning the old jian. As soon as they were alone, Wu Meng Yao whirled toward Sen.


    ¡°You could have told me you were going to do that.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to see how you handle things when you don¡¯t think you¡¯re being observed. I am leaving you in charge here, after all.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± asked Wu Meng Yao, doing a good but not perfect job of hiding her nervousness.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much teaching they let you do back at the Soaring Skies Sect, but you¡¯re good at this,¡± said Sen, stowing his wounded pride. ¡°You should do more of it when you leave here if you get the chance. As for me, I¡¯m satisfied that I¡¯m leaving things in good hands.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Wu Meng Yao like she¡¯d been preparing for a reprimand that never came. ¡°Thank you.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 63: Oh, By the Thousand Hells

    Book 7: Chapter 63: Oh, By the Thousand Hells


    ¡°And then the blue bird ate the bug!¡± eximed Ai as she mimicked a beak snapping shut with her hand.


    Sen smiled as he listened and made sure to gasp loudly at her pantomime.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± he shouted. ¡°The poor bug!¡±


    Ai¡¯s face scrunched up in thoughtful concentration for a moment before she shook her head.


    ¡°It was a yucky bug,¡± she announced.


    ¡°Oh, well, if it was a yucky bug, then it¡¯s a good thing that bird ate it. We can¡¯t have yucky bugs around here. Should we give the bird a present to say thank you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re silly,¡± giggled Ai. ¡°Birds don¡¯t get presents.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t?¡± asked Sen as if this were the most shocking news in the world.


    ¡°No!¡±She looked like she might say more, but that was when Zhi ran up, grabbed her hand, and pulled Ai away to y some new game the other little girl had thought up. Knowing he was leaving the next day made it hard for Sen not to call Ai back over to him. He wanted to soak up every second he could with her. He held his tongue, though. There had been precious little y, or fun, or joy in his childhood. He wouldn¡¯t deprive Ai of a second of those things if he could help it. Instead, he looked around at the odd mix of people in his home. Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong had imed a spot by the firece and smiled over the proceedings like a pair of benevolent deities who were well-pleased by what they saw. Sen barely contained his snort of amusement when Zhi decided that Unca Kho and Auntie Caihai ¨C a mispronunciation that never ceased to amuse Sen ¨C needed to join the game. A decision she announced by running over to them, unceremoniously grabbing their hands and pulling at them. He snorted when he imagined the hordes of cultivators who would probably choke to death on all the blood they spat up if they ever saw such a disy.


    He noticed that Falling Leaf had cornered Shen Mingxia and seemed to be imparting <em>something</em> to the other woman. Was it advice? Orders? Whatever Falling Leaf was saying had made Shen Mingxia go a little pale. He decided to leave it alone unless the foundation formation cultivator started shooting him desperate looks. That had be Shen Mingxia¡¯s go-to move whenever she felt in over her head around the nascent soul cultivators or human form spirit beasts who just sort of wandered around his home and academy whenever they got bored. He was d the nascent soul cultivators put in a little effort and masked their true power whenever they interacted with the students at the academy. Although, that had done very little to prevent all kinds of wild spection about who they were. The only rification Sen had ever offered was to call them his personal guests.


    Li Hua, who actually knew who Uncle Kho was, had kept that information to herself. She was there and had seemed to form some kind of pact of mutual uncertainty with Wu Meng Yao. They both hovered near therge table where Sen had put out a truly absurd amount of food for people to eat as and when they wished. Neither seemed all that sure about who they should talk to or even <em>if</em> they should interact with anyone. He had hoped that Li Hua might grow morefortable with everyone over time, especially given how close Ai and Zhi were, but she adhered to a firm code of formality with pretty much everyone but him. He supposed it was probably safer for her to do that. It would help prevent misunderstandings with so many other cultivators in the area. He had been very clear about his rules regarding how the cultivators at the academy were to interact with the townspeople, but cultivators were cultivators. He worried it was only a question of when, not if, he¡¯d be forced to kill one of them to prove that he meant the rules applied to <em>everyone</em>. Sen shook those thoughts away.


    He looked over to where Glimmer of Night was¡­ Sen frowned. <em>What in the world is that spider doing</em>? Glimmer of Night was facing a wall and gently running a finger across a particr spot on the stone. Unable to resist the minor mystery, Sen rose from his chair and walked over.


    ¡°Something about my wall troubling you?¡± asked Sen with an amused smirk.


    Glimmer of Night looked at him and said, ¡°Not troubling. Intriguing.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Whatever you did to make this wall, it changed the stone. There¡¯s a distinct crystalline pattern to it now that you don¡¯t normally see.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen slowly.


    It took another second before he realized that he didn¡¯t see at all. He had no idea what a crystalline pattern was beyond what he could infer from the name itself. He thought about asking but ultimately didn¡¯t. He was sure it would be interesting, but it would also consume his attention for the rest of the night. He didn¡¯t want to be distracted. He wanted to be here, present, and avable to the people around him. The spider, wholly unaware of these thoughts, nodded eagerly.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°I suspect that I might be able to learn something useful from this pattern. Possibly even adapt it for my study of webs.¡±


    Sen considered it and said, ¡°I hope it works out.¡±


    He turned to walk over to the table when the spider brought him up short.


    ¡°When do we leave tomorrow?¡± asked Glimmer of Night.


    It was casual as if he was asking about the weather or what to eat. It caught Senpletely off guard. He hadn¡¯t nned on taking the spider with him. The thought had never even urred to him. Taking Glimmer of Night into the heart of human civilization seemed like a monumentally bad idea. Sure, the people here had taken his presence mostly in stride, but the spider had enjoyed a bit of reflected goodwill from Sen. The townspeople had still been exceedingly wary, and it had taken months and months of the spidering and going and generally not murdering everyone to wear down all but the most irrational suspicions. Glimmer of Night would enjoy none of those protections in the capital.


    The mortals there would likely be terrified of him. The sects would probably want to capture and dissect him. Sen thought that he might be able to prevent thattter problem by sending some carefully worded messages to the sects about how he would not look kindly on someone killing his friend to sate their curiosity. The mortals, though? He didn¡¯t think he could do anything to prevent them from forming a mob. And there were a lot of mortals in the capital. Sen tried to think about the best way to approach the problem.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s wise for you to visit the capital,¡± Sen finally said.


    The spider stopped fixating on the wall and turned to look at Sen.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked the spider.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m worried that the mortals would try to kill you. Even if they didn¡¯t, there¡¯s a good chance one of the sects would try to grab you, so they could experiment on you. Live spirit beasts are notmon there. Powerful ones, even less so. You might be a prize they can¡¯t resist.¡±


    ¡°How would they know?¡± asked Glimmer of Night.


    Sen blinked a few times as his brain tried to sort out a polite answer. Sighing, Sen just gestured at the spider.


    ¡°You¡¯re kind of obvious. You¡¯ll draw attention.¡±


    The spider down at himself and then seemed to understand.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    Sen shook his head. The spider kept saying things that didn¡¯t make much sense. It was starting to make him feel twitchy.


    ¡°How is that not a problem?¡± asked Sen.


    Sen felt a small burst of qi that had an oddly familiar quality to it, although he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on what seemed familiar. That curiosity was swept straight out of his mind as the spider transformed from a pitch-ck creature covered in chitin to a young, <em>human</em> man. From one moment to the next, Glimmer of Night had gone from being something that would attract every eye to someone who could walk unmolested anywhere in the kingdom. Sen gaped at the transformation.


    ¡°What?¡± Sen demanded. ¡°When did you learn how to do this?¡±


    ¡°On the way here. I watched the fox who lusted after you.¡±


    Sen felt like his eyes were going to fall out of his head.


    ¡°You knew this <em>entire time</em>? Why didn¡¯t you change before?¡±


    Glimmer of Night held up an arm and scratched at it.


    ¡°It¡¯s itchy.¡±


    Sen wanted to yell at the spider for causing all of that worry in the town for nothing, but it seemed someone else had been listening because Auntie Caihong was suddenly standing next to them.


    ¡°What¡¯s this about a fox lusting after Sen?¡± she asked, eyes alight with the need to know.


    Before Sen could redirect the conversation, Glimmer of Night immediately decided to be helpful.


    ¡°It was the she-fox grandchild of the elder fox. She lusts for him,¡± said the spider with an enthusiastic nod. ¡°She was very vexed that he did not wish to mate with her.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Auntie Caihong, a wicked gleam of amusement in her eyes. ¡°Laughing River has a granddaughter?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen his tone resigned.


    ¡°And she propositioned you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Sen.


    ¡°And you declined? More than once?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen as just the memory of it all made him feel tired.


    Auntie Caihong startedughing. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what kind ofugh it was, just that it <em>wasn¡¯t</em> aughing together sort ofugh. It left Sen feeling deeply unsettled. He narrowed his eyes at Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°I¡¯m clearly missing something here,¡± he said. ¡°What it is?¡±


    Instead of answering, she called Uncle Kho over. He disengaged from Zhi and Ai¡¯s game and approached them while giving Auntie Caihong a questioning nce. It seemed to take a supreme effort of will for her to get through the exnation without bursting into moreughter.


    ¡°It turns out that,¡± she said, ¡°that Laughing River has a granddaughter, and she took an interest in Sen.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose most people spend a night with at least one nine tail fox,¡± said Uncle Kho, seeming to lose interest.


    ¡°No. That¡¯s the thing. <em>He didn¡¯t</em>. He turned her down. Repeatedly,¡± she said asughter started to sneak through.


    Uncle Kho stared at Auntie Caihong in baffled shock for a second before turning that look on Sen. There was a quiet moment before Uncle Kho burst intoughter. Sen felt his frustration start to rise. He didn¡¯t enjoy being on the wrong side of a joke he didn¡¯t even understand.


    ¡°What don¡¯t I know?¡± he demanded.


    Uncle Kho turned to see if Auntie Caihong wanted to exin, but she was doubled over withughter. Shaking his head, Uncle Kho gave Sen a look that was part pity, part sympathy, and a lot of humor.


    ¡°Sen, nine tail foxes grow bored pretty easily. So, if one expresses that sort of interest in you, giving in makes them lose interest and go away. They read it as ack of willpower on your part or something along those lines. Declining once, well, that¡¯s usually read as a signal that you have a more serious interest in them and that you have the strength of will to carry through on it. Saying no repeatedly. Well, how do I put this?¡±


    Auntie Caihong got control of herself just long enough to cut in with, ¡°You basically proposed to her!¡±


    It took five full seconds before Sen gathered himself and said, ¡°Oh, by the thousand hells.¡±

 Book 7: Chapter 64: Do It Again

    Book 7: Chapter 64: Do It Again


    For all that he had done his best to prepare her for it, and that he had made simr trips in the past, Ai seemed no more settled with the idea of him leaving than any of the other times he¡¯d gone. She refused to let him out of her sight, or her grip, for any longer than absolutely necessary. She kept giving him sad eyes and a quivering lower lip without ever actually bursting into tears. She finally gave him a serious look.


    ¡°I want toe,¡± she dered.


    For all that Sen knew it was a truly terrible idea, just for a second or two, he thought about it. If he took her with him, then he wouldn¡¯t have to miss her. Instead, he made himself act like an adult. He reminded himself that while the capital might not be the worst possible ce for him to take her, it had to be near the very top of the list. Just as importantly, even if he could protect her there, something he wasn¡¯t entirely confident about, that he might need to was enough reason not to take her along. Besides, even if she didn¡¯t know, he was pretty sure she¡¯d hate the ce almost as much as Falling Leaf. The children he had seen had mostly been working, which meant there would be painfully few children for her to befriend.


    Here, she had friends, and she was under the protection of people that Sen had absolute faith in. The sky would burn and the world would drown in poison before Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong let anything, anything at all, bad happen to Ai. That was assuming that Falling Leaf didn¡¯t find those poor, doomed, disastrously stupid souls first and turn them into tiny little pieces of unidentifiable red matter scattered through the forest. Sen also knew that trying to exin any of that to Ai would be pointless. The dangers were too abstract for her. Crouching down so they could look right at each other, he leaned into what she knew and cared about.


    ¡°I know you want toe. But if youe with me, who will y with Zhi?¡±


    Ai¡¯s brow furrowed like she maybe thought he was trying to trick her, but she still looked pensive.


    ¡°Plus, who will take care of Falling Leaf, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong if you¡¯re not here? Or show the birds which yucky bugs to eat?¡±


    He thought he¡¯d gotten her most of the way there with Falling Leaf, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho, but it was that bit with the yucky bugs that drew a look of severe worry. Ai was very concerned with the number of those bugs, and she went out of her way to tell whatever birds were in sight that they needed to be eaten. The disconcerting part was the birds seemed to go and eat those bugs more often than pure chance would ount for. Sen had added it to his long list of things to look into at some point. If she was somehow ordering birds around, that would be very odd. Not that Sen felt he had much room to talk about anyone else being odd. His own ascent through the ranks of cultivation was so improbable as to beughable, at least for anyone who hadn¡¯t been there for every painful step of the process.


    ¡°The birds <em>do</em> need me,¡± she said, looking torn. ¡°They¡¯re dumb.¡±¡°They do, and they are,¡± Sen agreed and steadfastly refused to unleash the smile that kept trying to push its way free.


    Whatever had been holding her tears back gave out.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to go,¡± Ai sobbed, throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms around his neck.


    Sen stroked her hair and patted her back while she got it out of her system. When the tears finally seemed to run dry, he gave her a smile.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go, but sometimes I have to do things I don¡¯t want to do. You know what, though? I am going to miss you <em>so much</em>.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡± she asked in a quavery little voice.


    ¡°This much,¡± said Sen, spreading his arms out as far as they would go.


    ¡°Promise?¡±


    ¡°I promise, and I promise that I¡¯m going toe back as soon as I can.¡±


    Ai seemed to weigh those words on some scale of sincerity that only existed inside of her head. Sen concluded that, while she might not be happy, she was at least mollified by the truthfulness of his promises.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said, her head hanging down.


    Sen scooped her up into his arms and nted a big kiss on her cheek. That got a littleugh as she rubbed at her cheek.


    ¡°Tickles,¡± she said.


    ¡°It does?¡± asked Sen, feigning ignorance, and then poking a spot on her belly. ¡°Does that tickle?¡±


    Soon, the sadness was, if not forgotten, then disced by peals ofughter. Sen eventually, reluctantly, put Ai down.


    ¡°You should go say goodbye to Uncle Glimmerite and Auntie Mingxia.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Papa,¡± she said and dashed over to tackle hug Glimmer of Night¡¯s leg.


    Not that Sen saw that, or heard anything that anyone said. His entire world had ground to a stop at the word <em>Papa</em>. He had never asked her to call him that. He¡¯d never even used the word in her presence. She loved him. There was no room to doubt it. She said it in a thousand different ways every single day. That was enough. It was <em>more</em> than enough. He had never needed her to see him as her father. He was her family. She knew that. But that word held a kind of power that made anything a cultivator could do seem trivial. It was a <em>truth</em>. An expression of a primal bond so powerful, so potent, that any attempt to describe it was doomed to fail. For her to choose to call him that left Sen feeling simultaneously like the most important person alive and like a horribly, irreparably inadequate imposter. Not that any of that mattered. Just as she had once called for him, now she had chosen <em>him</em>, and he would find a way to be what she needed him to be. Bowing his head, Sen reached up and brushed away the tears that had gathered in his eyes. With his senses finally functioning again, he heard Ai¡¯s gleeful voice.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Do it again!¡±


    He nced over and saw Glimmer of Night transform from his human disguise back into his ck, chitinous form. This led to Ai jumping up and down in pure excitement. Sen wasn¡¯t sure how long he¡¯d been lost inside his own head, but the way Shen Mingxia was leaning against a tree and watching gave him the impression that this had been going on for a while now. He went to walk over and free the spider, but a new presence brought him up short. He looked toward the forest and Fu Run stepped out of the trees. He was a little surprised to see her since she had declined to join them the night before. She strode over to Sen, watched Aimanding Glimmer of Night to change, and snorted in amusement. Only then did she turn her full attention on him.


    ¡°The capital? Do you feel like you didn¡¯t give it a full opportunity to kill you thest time you went there publicly?¡±


    ¡°Oh no,¡± said Sen. ¡°I definitely gave it a full opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Then, why go back?¡±


    Sen tried out a couple of answers in his head before he just shrugged and said, ¡°Because I told my friend I would.¡±


    Fu Run sighed and said, ¡°Well, don¡¯t do anything stupid while you¡¯re there. I put way too much time and effort into you for you to throw it all away when you¡¯re finally getting interesting.¡±


    Sen regarded the nascent soul cultivator for a long moment. He considered how lonely she must have been, living all the way out here, isting herself the way she had. Even if they both understood why she¡¯d done it, he didn¡¯t expect that had made it any less difficult. He¡¯d probably spent more time with her than almost any other living being in centuries. He was, he realized, probably the closest thing to a friend she¡¯d made in a very, very long time. Someone who shared some of her keenest interests. Someone who could shadow walk the way she did. And now he was going away, again. He intentionally turned his gaze away before he spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you, too.¡±


    He heard the sharp little intake of breath, the rustle of clothes as she stiffened, and finally her annoyed huff.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t die,¡± she said in a tone that was half order, half pleading.


    Sen nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. With any luck, this will be a quick trip. I¡¯ll go, y whatever role it is that Jing has in mind for me, and then leave.¡±


    He could feel her rolling her eyes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t really think it¡¯ll go that easy, do you?¡±


    ¡°No, but I can hope.¡±


    ¡°Well, just remember that a bit of¡ª¡± she hesitated. ¡°No, not a little. Giant, heaping bucketfuls of paranoia are appropriate there. Don¡¯t let your life here trick you into thinking that everyone else has stopped being awful.¡±


    Sen let out a little chuckle.


    ¡°Your faith in humanity is truly boundless.¡±


    ¡°I have plenty of faith in humanity,¡± said Fu Run. ¡°I have faith that they¡¯re terrible¡±


    ¡°Duly noted. Is there anything you need from the capital? I mean, since I¡¯m already going.¡±


    ¡°Nothing I can think of,¡± she said. ¡°Travel safely.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± he said, finally turning back to her and offering her a bow.


    She rolled her eyes again but returned the bow. Shooting her a quick smile, Sen finally went over to stop Ai from demanding more transformations. They didn¡¯t seem to cost the spider much in the way of qi, but Sen had no idea how many times he¡¯d switched already. He didn¡¯t want the poor spider to simply fall over from exhaustion a few hours down the road. Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong came over then to say their goodbyes. Auntie Caihong also took the opportunity to pick Ai up and hold her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on those spear students of yours. Just don¡¯t take too long, or I might get bored and decide to actually teach them something,¡± said Uncle Kho with a bemused look.


    ¡°Well, we certainly wouldn¡¯t want that,¡± agreed Sen.


    ¡°Be mindful, Sen,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°I know he¡¯s your friend, but you should still be cautious. Also, don¡¯t do anything that Ming would do.¡±


    That drewughs from Sen and Uncle Kho, a baffled look from Shen Mingxia, and Glimmer of Night was ignoring them entirely because he¡¯d found a toad somewhere and was holding it up to his eye to study it.


    Ai frowned and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Ming?¡±


    Auntie Caihong looked at her and said, ¡°Oh, he¡¯s a terrible, terrible man.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not a terrible man,¡± said Sen. ¡°He¡¯s my teacher. He¡¯s sort of like your grandfather.¡±


    Uncle Kho nodded in approval, while Auntie Caihong gave him a look of utter betrayal.


    ¡°No more lotus cakes for you,¡± she muttered.


    ¡°Oh, now that¡¯s just mean,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Well, maybe I¡¯ll have forgiven you by the time you get back,¡± said Auntie Caihong.


    ¡°I guess that will have to do,¡± agreed Sen, before he leaned down and kissed Ai¡¯s forehead. ¡°You be good while I¡¯m away.¡±


    ¡°I will, Papa.¡±


    Sen got the momentary pleasure of seeing Auntie Caihong¡¯s eyes go wide. Then, she looked like she might cry, which made Sen feel kind of bad for his amusement at her expense. Uncle Kho just beamed at the little girl.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Falling Leaf?¡± asked Auntie Caihong. ¡°I thought she¡¯d be here.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s hiding in that shadow over there,¡± said Sen and pointed.


    The ghost panther emerged from the shadow and gave Sen an annoyed frown. Sen excused himself and walked over to her.


    ¡°How do you always know where I am?¡± she asked.


    ¡°How could I not know? You¡¯re one of the two most important people in my life.¡±


    Falling Leaf pondered those words for a moment before nodding in a way that suggested that was exactly as things should be.


    ¡°The mad one is right. Be careful in that ce. You have friends there, but you have enemies too.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± said Sen.


    Then, much as he had with Ai, he leaned in and kissed Falling Leaf¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Watch out for Ai,¡± he said. ¡°And watch out for yourself. I expect to see you both healthy and happy when I return.¡±


    ¡°Nothing will touch her,¡± said Falling Leaf, and there was a flicker of something dangerous in her gaze.


    Knowing that Falling Leaf would never actually say goodbye, Sen simply reached out and squeezed her arm for a moment before returning to Shen Mingxia and Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to go,¡± he said.


    Suiting actions to words, Sen formed a qi tform beneath himself and Shen Mingxia. She couldn¡¯t hope to keep pace with Sen or Glimmer of Night, so he¡¯d just resolved to carry her along. The spider looked at them hovering in the air, shrugged, and formed a qi tform of his own. Sen lifted an eyebrow. He hadn¡¯t known the spider could do that. With a final wave to everyone, the trio shot down the road. They moved in silence for a short time before Shen Mingxia looked over at him. Sen braced himself mentally when he saw the smirk on her lips.


    ¡°So, are you going to do some wedding shopping in the capital?¡±

 V7 Bloopers

    V7 Bloopers


    ¡°Falling Leaf, this is Laughing River and Misty Peak,¡± said Sen, gesturing at the foxes.


    Falling Leaf inclined her head to Laughing River in a gesture of muted respect. She eyed Misty Peak askance for a moment before issuing a little sigh and nodding to the other woman.


    ¡°Hello,¡± said the ghost panther.


    ¡°Laughing River, Misty Peak, this is Falling Leaf. My friend,¡± said Sen, before he added something he thought was necessary. ¡°I will note that, should I discover she¡¯s been drawn into any kind of fox plot, scheme, or foolishness, I will be <em>profoundly unhappy</em>.¡±


    Laughing River and Misty Peak traded uncertain looks. Finally, Misty Peak worked up the nerve to ask.


    ¡°What would that mean? You know, what would that trante to in practical terms?¡±


    Sen gave her a stern look. ¡°You don¡¯t want an answer to that.¡±


    She traded another look with her grandfather. ¡°No, I really think I do.¡±


    Sen looked at Falling Leaf. She gave him <em>the nod</em>.¡°What that means in practical terms,¡± said Sen, ¡°is that it moves out of my hands. It bes Larry¡¯s problem.¡±


    ¡°Who is Larry?¡± asked Laughing River with pure bafflement on his face.


    Falling Leaf gave the pair of foxes an icy smile and shouted, ¡°Hey, Larry! There are some people here who want to meet you.¡±


    After a moment of silence, everything in the inn that wasn¡¯t bolted down began to tremble and then jump in ce. The foxes began to look around with wide, panicky eyes. Before either of them could ask the question, one of the walls disintegrated into a shower of tiny pieces to reveal the massive, majestic form of Larry. The spirit ox gave the foxes a look that would have killed mortals on the spot. Misty Peak looked like she wanted to dive under the table, and even Laughing River had gone pale at the sight.


    ¡°I¡¯m Larry,¡± said the ox in a basso voice that shook the building. ¡°And I fix problems. Are you gonna be a problem that needs fixing?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Laughing River in a voice that was two octaves higher than usual.


    ***


    The morning¡¯s activities and the food seemed to overwhelm the girl¡¯s youthful vigor because she almost fell asleep while she was eating. Sen carried her limp, yawning form to her bed. She was asleep before he even left the room. He stepped outside and took a deep breath. Keeping up with Ai wasn¡¯t physically demanding, but it did require a lot more mental engagement than Sen had expected. He¡¯d need to figure out things that she could do that would keep her mind engaged for a while. Sen left the door to the galehouse open so that he¡¯d hear it when Ai got up from her nap and decided to take advantage of the brief lull in his day. Drawing his jian, Sen worked his sword forms. He felt Glimmer of Night approach but didn¡¯t let it immediately interrupt his work. When he finished the form he was working through, he stopped and looked over at the spider.


    ¡°Is this what you mean to teach me?¡± asked the spider.


    ¡°Among other things,¡± said Sen. ¡°The basics, at least. I can teach you some spear basics as well. We¡¯ll cover some of both, and you can decide if you like one of them better.¡±


    ¡°Why would I need this?¡± asked the spider.


    ¡°Most cultivators use a weapon of some kind. It¡¯s not impossible to fight them without a weapon of your own, but it¡¯s much harder.¡±


    ¡°And how long did it take you to learn it?¡±


    ¡°Years,¡± said Sen. ¡°But it sounds like you¡¯ll be around for years. Might as well take advantage of that.¡±


    Glimmer of Night nodded in agreement. ¡°Will you teach the child these things?¡±


    Sen stared at the spider as though he had clearly suffered some manner of severe damage to his spider brain.


    ¡°You¡¯re damn skippy I¡¯m going to teach her these things.¡±


    ¡°Because of cultivators?¡± asked Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°Because of <em>boys</em>! They¡¯re evil, rotten, terrible things. Everyst one of them.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The spider was silent for a long, long moment before he asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a boy?¡±


    ***


    Liu Ai spared Sen more awkward conversation bying out from behind some folding panels. She was happily trying to adjust a robe and not doing a terribly good job of it. Sen set his cup down and went over to help her, gently tying the knots and settling the folds of blue and ck fabric around her. She held out her arms to each side.


    ¡°I¡¯m a flower,¡± she announced.


    ¡°You certainly are,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°A beautiful chrysanthemum.¡±


    A look of hesitant uncertainty crossed the little girl¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s a kercinnamon?¡±


    Sen could see the seamstress shaking her head in disapproval from the corner of his eye.


    ¡°Really?¡± said the woman. ¡°A hundred flowers out there with short names, so you pick the one that no child can pronounce?¡±


    ¡°It was the first thing I thought of,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What a cerkanadom?¡± asked Ai, looking unhappy.


    The seamstress crouched down and smiled at Ai. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about that. He¡¯s just got duck feathers for a brain. What he meant to say was that you¡¯re a beautiful lily.¡±


    Ai gave the woman a perplexed look.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very beautiful flower,¡± said the woman, before she shot Sen a look. ¡°Beautiful and easy to pronounce.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a lily!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are,¡± said the seamstress.


    Ai pointed at Sen. ¡°You¡¯re a duck brain.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he is,¡± said the woman, smiling in approval.


    ***


    ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled. I¡¯m entirely made up. Turn your back, and I¡¯ll vanish like smoke in a dream.¡±


    ¡°Can you¡ª¡± Li Hua hesitated. ¡°Can you really do that?¡±


    Sen went to deny the silly idea and then thought a little harder about it. <em>Could I</em>?


    ¡°Maybe,¡± he said. ¡°Probably not if anyone was paying close attention.¡±


    ¡°So, not all-powerful?¡±


    ¡°Not even remotely. Any cultivator who says otherwise is lying,¡± answered Sen. ¡°I think it¡¯s probably time for a quiet departure. Things are calming down at the gate.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°I can hear them,¡± said Sen as he walked over to collect Liu Ai.


    She noticed him and ran over, her eyes wide.


    ¡°Did you chase the monsters away?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I did, with some help,¡± said Sen, not feeling the tiniest bit guilty about the half-lie. ¡°But it is about time for us to head home. Otherwise, we¡¯ll never get there before dark.¡±


    The girl got a pouty look on her face. Ai wasn¡¯t generally a willful girl, but Sen had learned that she could get tired or cranky like anyone else. He wanted to cut that off before it turned into something ugly.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me what you were drawing?¡±


    Distracted by the task, she reached out, seized one of Sen¡¯s fingers in her hand, and pulled him over. She proudly pointed to a misshapen, vaguely flower-shaped creation and proimed it a beautiful orchid. Sen nodded gravely while the other girl awkwardly stared up at him, seemingly unsure what to do. He crouched down and spoke to Ai in a very loud whisper.


    ¡°Who is your friend?¡±


    ¡°Zhi,¡± said Ai. ¡°She drew birds.¡±


    Sen peered over at what the other little girl had been drawing. He frowned and looked a little closer. They didn¡¯t look like birds. They looked like dragons. Remarkably, impossibly realistic dragons. The dragons that had been scratched into the ground started to move. Sen¡¯s eyes shot up to the little girl, who was staring at him with eyes as old as the world itself.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen, unsure what else to say.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t really think we were just going to let you wander around without a minder, did you?¡± asked the little girl who was clearly not a little girl.


    Sen was one more struck dumb by this turn of events. He turned to look at Ai, who was also staring at him with eyes that held the knowledge of ages.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t kill those little girls, did you?¡± he demanded in a low, furious voice.


    The false little girls both gave him aghast looks.


    ¡°Who raised you?¡± demanded not-Zhi.


    ¡°Honestly,¡± said not-Ai. ¡°What kind of question is that? Of course, we didn¡¯t kill them. They¡¯re in daycare.¡±


    ¡°What in the thousand hells is daycare?!¡±


    ***


    Wang Bo was shifting back and forth on his feet, his eyes bright and hopeful. Sen knew that he was missing something here, but he just couldn¡¯t put his finger on what was escaping his notice. He felt like it must be obvious. He turned to look at Dai Bao. The gruff man had barely opened his mouth to speak when impatience won out over Wang Bo¡¯s painfully limited self-control.


    ¡°When will you start?¡± asked the young man.


    Sen frowned at him. ¡°Start what?¡±


    ¡°Training us.¡±


    ¡°Training you to do what?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°To use the spears and halberds!¡±


    Now, Sen understood. This kid had taken that offhand statement Sen had made and exaggerated it in his mind into some kind of promise that Sen would be their teacher. He didn¡¯t have time for that nonsense. He had his own training to deal with. He had little Ai to take care of and teach how to write. This was not a problem of his making, and he refused to be bound by a promise he never made. Then, Sen felt something blossom inside of him. Something that rather reminded him of Laughing River. He directed a big, bright smile at Wang Bo.


    ¡°Right now,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Wang Bo.


    ¡°Really,¡± answered Sen. ¡°All you have to do is pass one little test first.¡±


    Dai Bao looked profoundly skeptical at this turn of events but elected not to say anything because, apparently, he¡¯d been born with his good sense intact. Wang Bo plowed immediately forward.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready for any test,¡± dered the young man.


    ¡°Terrific!¡± eximed Sen. ¡°Let¡¯s head outside.¡±


    The three of them exited themunity building, and Sen reached down to grab a handful of snowy rocks off the ground. He gave Wang Bo an encouraging smile and pointed.


    ¡°You should go stand over there,¡± ordered Sen.


    ¡°What test is this?¡±


    ¡°I like to call it the Dance Dance Revo¡­ Insurrection. That¡¯s it. Dance Dance Insurrection. All you need to do to pass is keep up for the next four minutes.¡±


    ¡°Keep up with what?¡± asked Wang Bo.


    Sen drew an arm back and hurled a rock at Wang Bo¡¯s feet. The rock hit the ground right in front of the young man, sending up a spray of slush, show, and disced dirt. Within a few seconds, the ground around where Wang Bo had been standing was filled with tiny craters, and the young man was fleeing for his life.


    ¡°How long until he figures out it wasn¡¯t a real test?¡± asked Dai Bao curiously.


    ¡°I give it a week,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a silver that says he figures it out in three days.¡±


    ¡°Done.¡±


    ***


    This ends Unintended Cultivator Volume Seven. Sen andpany will return in Unintended Cultivator Volume Eight.

 Book 8: Chapter 1: Back into the Jianghu

    Shen Mingxia had learned a few things over thest week or so. One of the things she¡¯d learned was about herself. Specifically, she¡¯d learned about her terrifying ignorance of what it meant to travel through the kingdom. Having spent years traveling with Wu Meng Yao, she thought she understood the dangers and how to deal with them. That had been utterly false. She had little more than a functional understanding of the dangers one found when traveling strictly on the roads. That was something that Judgment¡¯s Gale seemingly found tedious and didn¡¯t bother with most of the time. Hand-in-hand with that knowledge came a stark realization that she had drastically, hriously underestimated the kind of power that Lu Sen wielded. Even more shocking was the raw strength that the spider wielded. The pair of them flew over the wilds on qi tforms that she couldn¡¯t have made if her life depended on it, and they treated it like it was nothing. And it wasn¡¯t just for short bursts. They carried on with that all day long. On top of that, Sen carried her with him.


    Of course, she came to see that this seemingly wasteful use of qi really was nothing to them when threats inevitably arose. At one point, an entire flock of razor sparrows had risen from the trees to assault them. Sen had vaporized the entire flock using one lightning technique. The man hadn¡¯t even bothered to slow the qi tform. One afternoon when Sen decided he wanted a hot meal, their makeshift camp was swarmed with furred, scorpion-like creatures that ranged from a foot long to three feet long. She had shot to her feet, drawn her sword, and cycled her qi in preparation for battle. Not that she thought she could handle more than two or three of the things. That was when she noticed that Sen hadn¡¯t bothered to turn his attention from the meal he was cooking. The spider simply looked up from a scroll he was reading, and Shen Mingxia felt a massive burst of qi. Suddenly, every one of the nightmarish creatures was tangled in a qi web and desperately trying to escape. Something else happened then, something she didn¡¯t understand, and the creatures were reduced to empty husks that would crumble to dust at the slightest disturbance.


    When they did travel on the road or, she corrected herself, over it, there were three things that Judgment¡¯s Gale would always stop for. If they saw ox-drawn carts, they would always stop so Sen could pet the oxen and chat with the cart owners. She didn¡¯t quite know what to make of that, but the oxen always seemed very enthusiastic, and Sen usually bought fresh food that he would share. So, she didn¡¯t make a fuss about it. The next thing he would always stop for were people who looked sick or injured. He handed out or made elixirs for them with barely a question and refused all rewards, save perhaps a cup of tea. She had pondered that long and hard, knowing full well that he could have sold those elixirs for a small fortune. Unable to find a suitable answer, she had finally asked.


    ¡°Why do you always stop for them? The ill and the injured, I mean.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t do the same?¡± he¡¯d asked in a neutral tone.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know what to do,¡± she¡¯d answered. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know what was safe.¡±


    He¡¯d frowned at that but ultimately nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s always a risk. I do know what I¡¯m doing, and I could still identally kill one of those people because I missed something. But you wanted to know why I do it,¡± he said. ¡°Because no one else will. Because being injured or sick on the road is, well, it¡¯s not a guaranteed death sentence, but it¡¯s close to one. Just because they¡¯re smart enough not to attack us, it doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t plenty of spirit beasts near the road that would attack an injured mortal. They <em>are</em> easy prey.¡±


    Shen Mingxia frowned. ¡°So, you do it because you can?¡±Sen shot her a bright smile. ¡°See. You do understand.¡±


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want people spreading stories about you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind these stories. They add mystery and maybe a tiny bit of wonder. They don¡¯t add to the terror.¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Of course, she also got to see that terror up close and personal as well. The final thing he would always stop for was bandits. And for all thepassion he might have shown injured mortals, he was equally merciless with bandits. He didn¡¯t speak. He didn¡¯t bargain. He simply killed them to thest man. It was a cold, efficient sort of killing. He didn¡¯t draw it out or try to make them suffer. One moment they were all alive, and the next they were all dead. While Shen Mingxia would never mourn the death of bandits, she found it an oddly mundane task for someone with his power to do. They could have simply reported the men to the nearest sects. When she said as much to him, she hadn¡¯t been able to identify the look he¡¯d given her. She only knew it had made her feel very cold inside.


    ¡°And what do you imagine they would do about it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°They¡¯d hunt them down,¡± she¡¯d answered in confusion.


    ¡°No,¡± he answered, giving her a pitying look. ¡°They¡¯d send messages to the nearby towns and viges and offer to hunt them down for a price. You¡¯ve seen these towns and viges. Do you really think these farmers can afford those kinds of services?¡±


    ¡°I suppose not,¡± she said, thinking of the poverty she¡¯d seen so many times.


    ¡°It was within my power to act, and those bandits were within my reach. So, I dealt with it.¡±


    ¡°Is that why we travel off the roads so often? To look for bandits hiding in the wilds?¡±


    He¡¯d snorted out augh at that. ¡°Not at all. We¡¯re just avoiding all the cultivators who are out here looking for me.¡±


    That revtion had brought her up short. She hadn¡¯t sensed any other cultivators, but she supposed that Lu Sen¡¯s ability to do that likely exceeded her own by orders of magnitude. Still, she¡¯d never considered that anyone might be looking for them, let alone other cultivators. She also couldn¡¯t think of very many reasons why cultivators would be looking for them. At least, she couldn¡¯t think of many that didn¡¯t end in violence.


    ¡°Why are they out here?¡± she asked.


    Sen shrugged at her. ¡°My whereabouts are known, at least in general terms. While it¡¯s more trouble than it''s worth to go that far just to pick a fight for most people, we¡¯re getting rtively close to the capital. If some halfwit at the pce let it slip I wasing, which seems like a near certainty, it wouldn¡¯t take much thinking to work out which road I¡¯d take to get there. As for the specific reasons why, I expect some of them are carrying messages for me. I¡¯m on amicable enough terms with a few sect leaders in the capital. They¡¯d have reasons to want to get messages to me. Some of them are no doubt out here to try to dy me. If I show upte, it could drive a wedge between me and the king. The rest are out here to kill me.¡±


    The utter calm with which he uttered thatst sentence was positively chilling. He just took it for granted that there were cultivators out there looking to kill him. Worse, he was no more concerned about it than he would be about running some errands. Shen Mingxia knew that she wouldn¡¯t have handled that news with nearly that much equanimity.


    ¡°So, rather than try to figure out which is which, you¡¯ll just avoid them all?¡±


    ¡°That is the n,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°It has the elegance of simplicity, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    For all that he put on a jovial air, Shen Mingxia had noted that the closer they got to the capital, the more Sen seemed to take on a mncholy air. She had intended to leave it alone. He hadn¡¯t volunteered any information about it, which she took to mean he didn¡¯t want to talk about it. In the end, though, curiosity won out. One night when the spider had wandered off to do something, and it was just her and Sen sitting by a fire, she let the question slip.


    ¡°Why are you so sad?¡± she asked.


    As soon as the question was in the air, she felt like she¡¯d made a terrible, possibly even deadly, mistake. Yet, for all that the fear blossomed inside of her, Lu Sen had just given her a mildly startled look.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it was showing,¡± he¡¯d said. ¡°Thest year was nice. It was rxing.¡±


    She stared at him in astonishment.


    ¡°Rxing? I don¡¯t think you slowed down for more than ten minutes at a time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I was busy, sure, but it was a good busy. I was spending time with Ai, learning, building the academy, and there was practically nobody trying to kill me. I wasn¡¯t exactly free of the Jianghu, but I didn¡¯t have to be constantly aware and constantly on guard. It also wasn¡¯t going to be the death of anyone if I got distracted,¡± he said in a wistful voice. ¡°I knew something <em>that</em> good couldn¡¯tst. It won¡¯t be like that in the capital. By going back there openly, I¡¯m basically inviting myself back into the Jianghu.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡±


    Sen got a thoughtful look. ¡°Well, the fact that we¡¯re about to be attacked is a pretty good sign.¡±


    It took a second for the words to register. Sen was already on his feet, spear in hand, by the time she managed to choke out a single word.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Honestly,¡± said Sen in a tone of utter disdain, ¡°your stealth skills are garbage. You might as welle on out and say hello to Uncle Sen before I start handing out punishments to you children.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 2: Cataclysmic Stupidity

    Book 8: Chapter 2: Cataclysmic Stupidity


    Sen waited with growing impatience as the half-dozen cultivators who had been slowly creeping up on them froze in ce. They all zed like torches in his spiritual sense, which made him wonder why they had bothered trying to sneak in the first ce. After a rapid exchange of murmured conversation, the group converged on what he assumed was their valiant leader. The group slowly moved forward until they stepped into the light cast by the fire. Sen eyed them all for a moment before focusing on the leader. He was a tall, well-built man who looked like he was a bit older than Sen, which meant he was anywhere from thirty to five hundred years old. The man looked Sen up and down, sniffed like he wasn¡¯t impressed, and then shot a disdainful look at Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°As expected,¡± said the man. ¡°Only the young and weak are impressed by your false legend. Couldn¡¯t find a real woman to keep youpany?¡±


    Sen thought of Lai Dongmei and smirked, which just seemed to infuriate the man.


    ¡°I am¡ª¡± the man started to say before Sen cut him off.


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t care. Normally, I¡¯d let Shen Mingxia deal with her own insults. Since you¡¯re more than a full stage higher than she is, though, I guess I¡¯ll have to do it.¡±


    ¡°Sen,¡± whispered Shen Mingxia, ¡°it isn¡¯t necessary.¡±


    ¡°You should listen to her, boy,¡± said the man who seemingly didn¡¯t realize that he was a walking corpse.


    ¡°I always listen to her,¡± said Sen. ¡°I just don¡¯t always follow her advice.¡±


    While Sen hadn¡¯t precisely been <em>looking</em> for an opportunity to try something out, he was happy to take the opportunity when it strutted up to him and acted like an ass. Sen had never forgotten the day back on the mountain when Uncle Kho had simply obliterated two men with lightning from a clear sky. It was something that Sen had been working toward for years with incremental improvements. With hisst advancement, though, he thought he was finally ready. Plus, he was interested to see if it would kill an advanced core cultivator or not. Before any of the interlopers could react, let alone erect defenses, Sen sent his qi into the sky. Even without clouds around, there was always a little bit of whatever it was that made lightning possible active high up in the air. Sen harnessed that power, shaped it to his will, and brought it crashing down onto the skull of the leader.There was one moment of pure horror on the man¡¯s face before an absolutely blinding light filled the clearing. Sen¡¯s eyes, bolstered by body cultivation, didn¡¯t seem to care. He did make a point to briefly shroud Shen Mingxia¡¯s eyes with shadow, though. It wouldn¡¯t do to damage her vision unnecessarily. He did not extend the same courtesy to theckeys, who screamed in terror and pain. Sen surveyed the results of his technique. It still wasn¡¯t up to Uncle Kho levels. Uncle Kho had reduced those men to nothing but scorch marks on the ground. Sen had only managed to reduce the man to a pile of charred and shattered bones. <em>Maybe I just need to be a nascent soul cultivator to pull that off</em>, thought Sen. Even so, the obnoxious cultivator <em>was</em> dead and had died in a spectacrly gruesome fashion, which had been the point.


    ¡°By the heavens,¡± said Shen Mingxia in hushed tones.


    He nced at her. The woman was staring at what was left of the very rude cultivator with wide eyes. She turned her disbelieving gaze onto him.


    ¡°Just how powerful <em>are</em> you?¡± she demanded.


    Sen shrugged and offered her a little smile.


    ¡°I do okay,¡± he said before turning his eyes back to theckeys.


    The lot seemed to be recovering, at least physically, but he could see the panic in their eyes. He supposed he could imagine how this misadventure had been described to them. Judgment¡¯s Gale is all story and no strength. We all know he hasn¡¯t done the things he¡¯s supposed to have done. He¡¯s just a phantom that won¡¯t be any trouble at all. It¡¯ll be easy glory. Except, now, they were faced with a very real cultivator who had dispatched their leader ande out the other side of it without so much as a scratch on him. He wasn¡¯t even breathing hard. Sen debated about whether or not to give them a moment to recover and decided not to grant them that courtesy.


    ¡°Who sent you?¡± he asked.


    The group stared at him with ssy eyes and terrified expressions.


    ¡°Speak!¡± he roared.


    One of the group took a halting step forward. He was a lean man with a scar on one cheek that neither alchemy nor advancement had remedied yet. A sheen of sweat coated the man¡¯s forehead. Based on his expression, the man wished he was anywhere else doing anything but speaking to Sen. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat.


    ¡°Hon¡ª hon¡ª honor forbids¡ª¡± he said, before stumbled back as lightning kindled to life around Sen¡¯s spear.


    ¡°You don¡¯t get to speak to me about honor,¡± said Sen, ¡°for you have none. You snuck up on this camp like bandits in the night. You meant to ambush us like cowards. As of this moment, all you possess is your lives. And, I assure you, they dangle by the thinnest of threads. Do you understand me?¡±


    Sen watched as one of theckeys found her anger. She snarled at Sen as she drew her jian and lunged at him using a truly terrible qinggong technique. The attack ended as fast as it began when the woman copsed to her knees, clutched the stump of her arm, and started screaming incoherently. The screaming ended when a sweeping motion from Sen¡¯s spear made her head flip away from her shoulders. Ignoring the otherckeys, Sen reached down and picked up the woman¡¯s jian. He took a moment to shake loose the hand that still loosely gripped the hilt. He examined the de and found it eptable. He turned and held it out to Shen Mingxia.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°It¡¯s better than the one you have. A little rpense for the insult.¡±


    Shen Mingxia reached out and took the sword, although it looked more like a reflex than anything else. Sen faced the rest of them and lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°Would anyone else like to engage in some cataclysmic stupidity?¡± he asked and waited a few seconds. ¡°No? Good. I like to get all the killing out of the way early whenever possible. What were we talking about?¡±


    Sen stroked his chin like he was trying to recall a stray thought. The remaining would-be ambushers were all visibly trembling. Sen snapped his fingers, and all four of them flinched.


    ¡°I remember,¡± said Sen. ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me who sent you, and you¡¯re going to do it <em>now</em>.¡±


    The man with the scar on his cheek stepped forward again after getting res from the other three. The sheen of sweat had be visible rivulets that ran down his face. Having the full weight of Sen¡¯s attention fall on him a second time didn¡¯t seem to improve that situation at all. Apparently desperate to buy himself a few moments to strategize a way out of the nightmare he¡¯d found himself in, the man sped his hands together and bent forward in a deep bow.


    ¡°This one is Long Jia Wei,¡± said the man.


    The other three took inspiration from Long Jia Wei and also proffered very formal bows, although they didn¡¯t introduce themselves. They were, doubtless, hoping to avoid any direct attention now that things had taken such a bloody turn.


    ¡°This one is Lu Sen,¡± said Sen and tipped his head forward ever so slightly in something that might, on a good day, in the right light, be considered a nod.


    ¡°I greet you¡ª,¡± started Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Let me stop you right there,¡± said Sen, and let a little of his killing intent slip free.


    Once more, all four of theckeys flinched. Sen took a moment to ostentatiously summon a cloth from his storage ring and wipe the blood from his spear. Everyone¡¯s eyes, even Shen Mingxia¡¯s, were glued to that motion. Sen considered the cloth for a moment before he tossed it into the fire. He applied a little fire qi to make the campfire re. Only then did he turn his attention back to the four cultivators who all looked like they were about to face certain death. Sen had no intention of dissuading them from that line of thought. When he spoke again, Sen¡¯s voice had lost anything like warmth or amusement.


    ¡°No more stalling,¡± said Sen, his eyes locked onto Long Jia Wei. ¡°No more games. If you won¡¯t tell me, none of you leave this ce.¡±


    Long Jia Wei looked at the other three for something. Agreement? Support? Confirmation of a mutual death wish? Sen wasn¡¯t sure. It was abundantly clear from the three furious looks the man received that the other three had no desire to die here. It also looked like they were quite ready to murder Long Jia Wei if he did anything but provide the answer that Sen wanted to know. The man slumped in defeat before he looked at Sen.


    ¡°We were hired by the House of Xie,¡± he said.


    ¡°To do what?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Kill you, if possible, and dy you if it proved impossible.¡±


    ¡°And just where is it that all of youe from? I assume it¡¯s a sect. Which one?¡±


    All of their faces tightened, and Long Jia Wei actually grimaced. It seemed that giving up the House of Xie was one thing, but pushing their sect under the cart wheels was much less ptable to them. Of course, their sect and any possible punishment were far away, while Sen and his obvious willingness to cut them all down was right in front of them. In the end, Long Jai Wei chose the path that seemed to offer survival.


    ¡°Wee from the Raging Storm Sect.¡±


    Sen traded a look with Shen Mingxia. She shrugged and shook her head. She hadn¡¯t heard of them, either. Sen paused to consider his next words.


    ¡°And just how often does your sect assassinate people for money?¡±


    None of the sect disciples would meet his eyes, which told Sen pretty much everything he needed to know.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Sen. ¡°Here¡¯s an easier one. How many assassinations have <em>you</em> participated in, Long Jia Wei?¡±


    The silence after that question stretched out for so long that Sen thought the man just wasn¡¯t going to answer. Eventually, though, a word drifted from the man¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Seven,¡± said Long Jia Wei.


    There was shame in the man¡¯s voice. Maybe it was genuine, maybe it wasn¡¯t. Sen wouldn¡¯t dare to venture a guess. Sen turned his gaze to each of the Raging Storm disciples and got quiet answers. They had all participated in at least one assassination. Sen wanted to judge them, and he did on some level, but it was a judgment without much energy. It wasn¡¯t easy to condemn other people for killing when he¡¯d left so many cooling bodies in his wake.


    ¡°I guess the only real question left is, what possible reason could I have to leave any of you alive?¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t think of one. He didn¡¯t think letting them go would change them. It certainly wouldn¡¯t change their sect. He <em>did</em> make a mental note to mention that sect to Uncle Kho as one the world could do without. For all that, Sen didn¡¯t particrly want to kill these people. None of them had a chance against him in a fight, even if they fought together. It would just be a ughter. At the same time, he could only see bad oues from letting them go. Assuming their sect didn¡¯t kill them for spilling the name of a client, they¡¯d likely just be sent out to assassinate someone else. The next person might not be as capable of defending themselves as he was. That bad karma might well echo back on him. He looked to Shen Mingxia. She had a grim look on her face but shook her head. <em>ughter it is</em>, <em>I guess</em>, thought Sen as weariness settled over him. These kinds of decisions were not something he¡¯d missed. As he was about to step forward and finish the job, though, Long Jia Wei fell to his knees and kowtowed to Sen.


    ¡°If you must take a life, take mine. I beg you, though, to spare the others.¡±


    Sen hesitated. The otherckeys stared at Long Jia Wei in shock and awe. Sen weighed his choices. Sen fixed the three who remained on their feet with an arctic look.


    ¡°It seems a shred of true honor still exists in <em>one</em> of you. He has purchased your lives with his. I suggest you go and find a way to honor that sacrifice.¡±


    The three slowly looked from Sen to Long Jia Wei, his head still pressed to the ground. Their expressions were a mix of relief, shame, and guilt. Sen lifted a hand and pointed toward the road.


    ¡°Go,¡± hemanded.


    With one final look at Long Jia Wei, the three vanished into the darkness. Sen looked down at the kowtowing man and sighed.


    ¡°Oh, get up,¡± said Sen.


    Long Jia Wei looked up at Sen with uncertainty and fear on his face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said the man.


    ¡°Your life is mine, now,¡± said Sen. ¡°I intend to get full value from it. Slitting your throat here and now doesn¡¯t benefit me at all. But make no mistake, you will serve me. I just need to figure out how.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 3: Glimmer, in the Dark

    Book 8: Chapter 3: Glimmer, in the Dark


    Long Jia Wei just kept staring, and it made Sen decidedly ufortable. It might not have been so bad if the man had spoken but that didn¡¯t happen. He just sat there, silent, and stared. To make matters worse, Shen Mingxia kept staring at him like he¡¯d lost his mind. When it got to be too off-putting, Sen finally made a te of food and shoved it at the, well, Sen supposed he was an ex-sect cultivator now. The man seemed startled by the food but took it. Once he was focused on the food, Sen took Shen Mingxia off to one side.


    ¡°What?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°What are you doing? You have to know he can¡¯t be trusted.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t automatically agree. Before the man had offered to sacrifice himself just to spare his juniors, he probably would have thought the same thing. However, there was no way that Long Jia Wei had guessed that such an act would mean his own survival. No, Sen was confident that the man had thought his life was going to end, and he¡¯d offered it anyway. If nothing else, he had umon courage.


    Sen sighed and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust him to watch over children or transport gold, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯s so stupid that he¡¯d try anything now. Not after I killed those other two.¡±


    Shen Mingxia hemmed and hawed for a few seconds before she said, ¡°Well, maybe not, but still. Do you think this is a good idea?¡±


    ¡°I have no clue. But I can always change my mind if he turns out to be too much trouble or any trouble for that matter.¡±


    ¡°You better not get me killed with an act of mercy,¡± said Shen Mingxia, shaking her head. ¡°And where in the thousand hells is Glimmer of Night? We could have used him here.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Right. I didn¡¯t tell you. Sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°He went to deal with the other ones.¡±¡°What other ones?¡±


    ***


    <em>Fifteen minutes earlier</em>¡­


    Glimmer of Night watched the cultivators stumble through the darkness like the blind things they were. It was sad. Like watching spider children on their first night away from the nest. The cultivators were loud, bumped into things, and none of them had noticed him even though several of them had passed within a foot or two of where he stood. At first, he thought that Sen was ying some kind of strange, human joke on him. It seemed like these cultivators would get themselves killed without any help from him. But then he¡¯d heard them talking.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re really going to kill Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± asked one of them.


    Glimmer of Night was fairly certain that one was female, although he wasn¡¯t positive. He didn¡¯t pay much attention to that sort of thing with the humans. It wasn¡¯t as though it mattered to him. They were vaguely interesting, but the very idea of mating with one of these pale, soft, fleshy creatures was more than enough to twist his stomach.


    ¡°We are,¡± answered one of the others.


    That one was bigger, so Glimmer of Night tentatively decided he was male. Probably. Having heard that little exchange had settled matters for him. He <em>would</em> have to do something about them. He just wasn¡¯t sure what, yet. He¡¯d never had to fight with cultivators before, only other spirit beasts. He didn¡¯t count the sparring he had done with Sen and some of those cultivator students at the academy. That wasn¡¯t real fighting. Real fighting meant death hovered over everything like a cloud that obscured good sense. That academy sparring was just¡­ He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was. It wasn¡¯t exactly pretending, because they were preparing for fighting. They were using real, or what he assumed were real, human fighting methods. It just rang hollow to him. Without that practical life-and-death experience to draw on, he was at a bit of a loss. He supposed he could just tear all of their heads off. That <em>usually</em> worked.


    With the decision made, he closed in on one of the cultivators off a little way to one side. He almost felt bad for the cultivator because they didn¡¯t seem to even notice himing. Not that he felt any remorse about ambushing them. They were trying to ambush him, and Sen, and that other one. Glimmer of Night thought hard for a moment. <em>Mingxia</em>! <em>That was her</em>¡­ <em>his</em>¡­ <em>the other one¡¯s name</em>. Smiling to himself for remembering, he seized the back of the cultivator¡¯s neck, nted a hand on their shoulder, and jerked their head free. <em>Oh</em>, he thought as blood sprayed all over him, <em>this wasn¡¯t a good idea</em>. <em>This is messy</em>. He slipped back into the darkness and took the head with him. The other cultivators had noticed one of their number dying. He forgot sometimes that cultivators had a clunky, inelegant sort of spiritual sense. Although, he had noticed that Sen seemed to make up for those shorings with sheer, unbridled power. A trait these cultivators did not seem able to replicate.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Glimmer of Night nimbly scaled a nearby tree. It wasn¡¯t as fast or as gracefully as he might once have done in his true form, but there was no point being sad about that. The Great Matriarch had given him <em>this</em> form, and he trusted in her wisdom. And he did have to admit that those thumb things were just so damned useful. Once he was high enough, he judged the distance and then tossed the head through the air. He smiled as he saw that the arc was ideal. The head dropped straight down andnded in the middle of the huddled cultivators. One of them screamed and broke ranks, while another yelled at them to stop. But it was toote. The frightened one had already entered the darkness again, entered willingly into Glimmer of Night¡¯s world, and he took full advantage. He sprang from tree to tree high above without using any qi, until he was able to drop down onto the wayward cultivator. He drove the cultivator into the ground. He heard the air rush out of them in a pained grunt. Lifting them off the ground with one arm, he punched through their back and out their chest. <em>This is better</em>, he thought. <em>Still messy</em>, <em>but not as messy</em>.


    Intuitions honed by years of violent struggle in the deep wilds warned him about the iing attack long before he actually felt the fire qi of the technique. He lifted a hand, sorted through the myriad patterns he knew, and threw up a web that would negate the fire qi. The fireball hit the web, was caught, and the qi was siphoned away along the threads of the web. Glimmer of Night saw the stunned face of the human cultivator for a moment before the spider disappeared back into theforting darkness.


    ¡°What in the hells was that?¡± screamed the fire cultivator.


    ¡°What? What are you talking about?¡± yelled another.


    ¡°I saw¡­ Something over there. Some kind of monster!¡±


    Glimmer of Night considered that word, <em>monster</em>, as he circled around and caught the one whogged behind. <em>Am I a monster</em>? Glimmer of Night didn¡¯t feel much like a monster. Although, he supposed he might not be in the best position to judge such things. He frowned when he realized that he¡¯d slightly misjudged his blow. He only managed to shatter some ribs instead of the cultivator¡¯s spine, which gave the doomed creature time to scream. He defaulted back to the head removal strategy and its messy, frustrating blood spray, but the damage was done. A fireball and some kind of ice attack were sent his way. He considered using webs to stop the attacks but decided it was just easier to use a web thread to drag himself out of the way. Plus, it conserved qi. He felt the cultivators sweeping the area with their poorly developed spiritual senses, trying to locate him, and failing miserably. Instead of attacking directly again, he started building a special web. One like he¡¯d used on those strange insects with the stingers that had charged into their camp one night.


    He¡¯d felt a little bad about killing them. They weren¡¯t family, exactly, not like other spiders, but they had felt familiar. Like maybe they <em>had</em> been family once upon a time but had taken a different path. He¡¯d almost let them into the camp. Sen had seemed wholly unconcerned about them, but Glimmer of Night had concluded a while ago that Sen was a poor gauge for danger. The fright exhibited by the Mingxia boy¡­ girl¡­ whatever, had seemed like a better guide. So, he¡¯d acted and drained them of their vitality. He¡¯d never tried something like that on a cultivator, but he reasoned that it ought to work the same way. Assuming they couldn¡¯t disrupt the web too quickly. That was why he built it from the outside in. By the time they noticed the web, it was toote. He activated the pattern he¡¯d built into the web. It worked. Vital power flooded into him.


    He hadn¡¯t counted on the screaming, though. That was very disruptive. It was a good thing he didn¡¯t have to concentrate much <em>after</em> the webs were made. Especially with all of that new power reinforcing his body and his core, the screaming probably would have made him lose focus. He¡¯d have to figure out some way to muffle that noise the next time. Glimmer of Night was about fifty percent sure that the other humans wouldn¡¯t like it.


    ***


    ¡°What is that?¡± shrieked Shen Mingxia.


    Long Jia Wei shot to his feet, looking around wildly as barely human, tortured screaming filled the night. Sen let his spiritual sense extend briefly before he nodded.


    ¡°Oh, good. It seems that Glimmer of Night has found his quarry,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What could possibly be good about that?¡± demanded Shen Mingxia, waving her hand vaguely in the direction of all the screaming.


    ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s not good for those people, but it¡¯s good for us. Or me, anyway. It means I don¡¯t have to kill them.¡±


    Shen Mingxia looked a little shaken by thatment. Long Jia Wei skipped right past looking horrified and went straight to shuddering.


    ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale, indeed,¡± whispered the ex-sect cultivator.

 Book 8: Chapter Four – Challenge

    Book 8: Chapter Four ¨C Challenge


    Much as Sen hoped it wouldn¡¯t turn out that way, the pace of their travel slowed considerably over the next week. The three that he had let go had not been shy about discussing their experience with, as near as Sen could tell, every single cultivator they ran across. With their location narrowed down, battles turned into a daily affair, when it wasn¡¯t happening multiple times a day. Sen was keenly aware of how bad that was for his general sense of well-being and calm. His tendency to look to for reasons to let people live dissipated almost entirely. It was reduced to a single courtesy. One he realized he was about to give again. He had told the rest to keep going while he stayed to deal with, well, he didn¡¯t know. He hadn¡¯t bothered to get names or even ask which sects they were from. He¡¯d just collected a sect patch and gathered up whatever treasures they had on them. He¡¯d hurried to catch up, only to realize that his friends and Long Jia Wei were having some kind of standoff with yet another group of cultivators. The eyes of everyone in the other party of cultivators went wide as he stormed between Glimmer of Night and Long Jia Wei. He leveled his jian at them.


    ¡°Leave. Now. I am <em>not</em> in a forgiving mood,¡± growled Sen as he let his killing intent wash over them.


    It was a lot more of his killing intent that he normally let slip free, well aware as he was of the effect it had on people. He¡¯d simply run out of patience with these constant dys and endless killing. So, he let himself be a little sloppy with his control, and let himself hope against all hope that this group would prove smarter than thest one. And all the ones that came before that. Two of the cultivators immediately dropped to their knees, spitting up blood and clutching their heads. The other three managed to stay on their feet, but blood ran freely from their ears, eyes, and noses. For a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, no one moved or spoke.


    ¡°You¡¯ve certainly lived up to your reputation, but I¡¯ll thank you to stop torturing my juniors now,¡± said a smooth, calm voice.


    Sen turned to look at the figure who stepped out of the trees. The man had deep-set, dark eyes, a narrow nose, and lips that seemed oddly out of proportion to the rest of his face. It was as though they were too full. For all that, the man projected an air of sternpetence. An air that he was trying to project onto Sen because¡­ Sen mentally shrugged. He didn¡¯t know. Maybe the man was used to dealing with mental weaklings. Instead ofplying, he sniffed at the suggestion.


    ¡°I thought you had wisely decided not to participate,¡± said Sen. ¡°As for your juniors, they can leave anytime they want. I won¡¯t stop them.¡±


    The man turned his gaze from Sen to the five cultivators who were still under the influence of Sen¡¯s killing intent. The two who had originally copsed to their knees had fallen over and curled into the fetal position. The three on their feet had sweat pouring down their faces in addition to copious amounts of blood. Sen got the message. They couldn¡¯t leave even if they wanted to because none of them had the strength to move under that kind of pressure. Knowing that, Sen did not immediately let up.


    ¡°Are you truly this petty?¡± asked the new man. ¡°Will you simply kill them for fun?¡±


    ¡°For fun? No,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll kill them foring here to block my way, or foring here to kill me, or whatever other dressed-up fantasy of a <em>reason</em> they had for being in this ce at this time.¡±¡°So, you¡¯ll force me to stop you.¡±


    Sen burst intoughter. ¡°Is that how you¡¯ll try to excuse yourself? By pretending that <em>I</em> somehow forced this confrontation? <em>You</em> came looking for <em>us</em>. You don¡¯t get to pretend that you have no responsibility here. This is only happening because of your actions. I didn¡¯t put those juniors of yours in harm¡¯s way. You did.¡±


    The man looked from Sen to his juniors and back again before he shrugged. ¡°It was worth a try. A lot of people are stupid.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Considering the trail of bodies we¡¯ve left behind us, some might say that standing in your position is stupid.¡±


    ¡°Some might, but I do not fear your vaunted judgment. I know better than most how a legend is born, and just how far from the truth it strays. If you will not release them, it will force my hand.¡±


    ¡°You say that like there was a chance of it ending some other way.¡±


    ¡°You could withdraw. Return to the north. Then, there is no conflict between us.¡±


    ¡°That sounds great for you, but I don¡¯t see what I get out of ignoring the king¡¯s request.¡±


    The man fixed Sen with what he probably imagined was a hard, intimidating look.


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    ¡°You get to live,¡± he said in chilly tones.


    Sen tilted his head to one side and considered those words.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t have the presence to say those kinds of things,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°No?¡± said the man.


    ¡°No. Here, let me show you how something like that is done correctly,¡± said Sen and directed his coldest, hardest look at the man. ¡°If you gather up those fools and take them away, I promise I won¡¯t make it my hobby to hunt you all like wild animals.¡±


    The man did an admirable job of maintaining hisposure, but he couldn¡¯t hide the way he went pale or the slight tremble in his hands. Sen put on a bright smile that seemed to unnerve the other man even more.


    ¡°There,¡± said Sen. ¡°Did you see the difference? You have to <em>mean</em> it.¡±


    With one final look at his juniors, the new man faced Sen squarely and drew his jian.


    ¡°Regardless of what you may think of mymitment, this is as far as you go.¡±


    Sen looked down at his hand and started counting before he realized that he¡¯d need to put his own jian away to do the job properly. Sighing, he shook his head.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± demanded the other man.


    ¡°I was trying to count how many dead people said something like that to me in thest few days. I¡¯ll just have to say a lot and be content with that.¡±


    The man tried to sneer like thement meant nothing but didn¡¯t quite pull it off. It just served to make the man look like he¡¯d eaten something that didn¡¯t agree with him.


    ¡°So, you truly have no respect for your betters,¡± said the man, who seemed to instantly realize he¡¯d made a grave error.


    Any semnce of yfulness or joviality vanished from Sen¡¯s expression like it had never existed. It was reced with a bone-deep contempt and resolve that seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon. The other man took a step back, as though that look had exerted physical pressure on him


    ¡°My betters, eh? Then, perhaps you should introduce yourself. We lessers do hate to wallow in our ignorance.¡±


    The vitriol in those words was so condensed it nearly burned the air. The other man drew himself up.


    ¡°I am Tuan Baihu, The Golden Tiger.¡±


    Sen nced back when he heard a gasp from Long Jia Wei. The ex-sect cultivator looked like he¡¯d just taken a bad blow. He turned a concerned look to Sen.


    ¡°He is known to my sect,¡± said Long Jia Wei before correcting himself. ¡°My former sect. He is not to be underestimated.¡±


    Sen looked at the, apparently, other famous person in the road. The man¡¯s stance looked solid, and he was a peak core cultivator, but those things meant very little to Sen.


    ¡°Well, Tuan Baihu, shall we?¡±


    The first part of the fight went the way that such things always went. Tuan Baihu and Sen tested each other. At least, Sen was pretty sure that¡¯s what Tuan Baihu <em>thought</em> was happening. Instead of adopting the style that Master Feng taught him, Sen borrowed the one that he¡¯d helped Shi Ping improve in those long-ago seeming days. It was a serviceable approach that was neither too aggressive nor too defensive. It was also the kind of thing that someone could pick up almost anywhere in the country. Sen could almost watch Tuan Baihu¡¯s confidence grow during their first few exchanges. That was fine. In fact, it was what Sen wanted. While the other man drew wrong conclusions, Sen was drawing what he thought were much more urate conclusions.


    Tuan Baihu¡¯s style was speed based, relying on fastbinations to confuse the opponent beforending a critical hit. In a lot of ways, it was ideal for someone with the physical advantages of a cultivator. The improved strength, speed, and reflexes of those just on the spiritual cultivation path were formidable. The man¡¯s control was also top shelf. Maybe even good enough to satisfy Master Feng¡¯s expectations. In short, the man was no rank-and-file sect member. This man was someone who <em>taught</em> promising students, rather than <em>being</em> a promising student. A little part of Sen was suddenly eager for this confrontation. It had been a long time since he faced someone with the skills to really push him with the jian. Not that he was willing to give up the advantage he¡¯d just gone to all the trouble to create for himself. Challenges were good, but victory was better. The pair broke apart, and Sen could see Tuan Baihu make the decision that it was time for the real fight.


    Sen waited, leveraging all that remained of his hard-pressed patience to remain still until the right moment. Just as Tuan Baiho shifted to start his attack, Sen changed his stance. It onlysted a split-second, but the change in stance confused and rmed Tuan Baiho enough to hesitate. That split-second let Sen seize the momentum of the fight. Instead of Shi Ping¡¯s sturdy, serviceable style of swordy, Sen adopted Auntie Caihong¡¯s tricky style of swordy. Deception was the heart of that style, so he felt he¡¯d already lived up to its main expectation. There was a furious exchange of thrusts, parries, shes, and blocks, but Tuan Baiho was on the back foot. The moment it looked like the man was about to gather his wits, Sen changed styles again, switching to Lo Meifeng¡¯s aggressive style. The switch once again left Tuan Baiho retreating as he tried to understand the rapid changes in approach. The man even tried to use Sen¡¯s own tactic against him by switching styles, but that just earned him a cut along his ribs.


    As Tuan Biahu¡¯s confidence was slowly eroded, Sen decided to add distraction to the pile of problems the other man faced. He yanked his killing intent away from the other cultivators. The three who had managed to stay upright copsed. The noise of their groans along with the sudden motion where none had been caused a slightpse in Tuan Biahu¡¯s concentration. And Sen punished him for it. He opened a deep cut in the man¡¯s thigh. It wasn¡¯t a wound that would kill a cultivator, not anytime soon, and not ever if it was seen to properly. It would slow the man down, though, and inhibit movement. A style that depended on speed also depended on solid footwork. Something that Sen had just made far, far more difficult. In what looked like a desperate move, but something that was probably very calcted, Tuan Baihu sent a wind de at Sen. They were at such close range that Sen reluctantly gave ground to give himself the heartbeat of time he needed to redirect the wind de out into the trees.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± said Sen.

 Book 8: Chapter 4: Challenge

    Book 8: Chapter 4: Challenge


    Much as Sen hoped it wouldn¡¯t turn out that way, the pace of their travel slowed considerably over the next week. The three that he had let go had not been shy about discussing their experience with, as near as Sen could tell, every single cultivator they ran across. With their location narrowed down, battles turned into a daily affair, when it wasn¡¯t happening multiple times a day. Sen was keenly aware of how bad that was for his general sense of well-being and calm. His tendency to look to for reasons to let people live dissipated almost entirely. It was reduced to a single courtesy. One he realized he was about to give again. He had told the rest to keep going while he stayed to deal with, well, he didn¡¯t know. He hadn¡¯t bothered to get names or even ask which sects they were from. He¡¯d just collected a sect patch and gathered up whatever treasures they had on them. He¡¯d hurried to catch up, only to realize that his friends and Long Jia Wei were having some kind of standoff with yet another group of cultivators. The eyes of everyone in the other party of cultivators went wide as he stormed between Glimmer of Night and Long Jia Wei. He leveled his jian at them.


    ¡°Leave. Now. I am <em>not</em> in a forgiving mood,¡± growled Sen as he let his killing intent wash over them.


    It was a lot more of his killing intent that he normally let slip free, well aware as he was of the effect it had on people. He¡¯d simply run out of patience with these constant dys and endless killing. So, he let himself be a little sloppy with his control, and let himself hope against all hope that this group would prove smarter than thest one. And all the ones that came before that. Two of the cultivators immediately dropped to their knees, spitting up blood and clutching their heads. The other three managed to stay on their feet, but blood ran freely from their ears, eyes, and noses. For a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, no one moved or spoke.


    ¡°You¡¯ve certainly lived up to your reputation, but I¡¯ll thank you to stop torturing my juniors now,¡± said a smooth, calm voice.


    Sen turned to look at the figure who stepped out of the trees. The man had deep-set, dark eyes, a narrow nose, and lips that seemed oddly out of proportion to the rest of his face. It was as though they were too full. For all that, the man projected an air of sternpetence. An air that he was trying to project onto Sen because¡­ Sen mentally shrugged. He didn¡¯t know. Maybe the man was used to dealing with mental weaklings. Instead ofplying, he sniffed at the suggestion.


    ¡°I thought you had wisely decided not to participate,¡± said Sen. ¡°As for your juniors, they can leave anytime they want. I won¡¯t stop them.¡±


    The man turned his gaze from Sen to the five cultivators who were still under the influence of Sen¡¯s killing intent. The two who had originally copsed to their knees had fallen over and curled into the fetal position. The three on their feet had sweat pouring down their faces in addition to copious amounts of blood. Sen got the message. They couldn¡¯t leave even if they wanted to because none of them had the strength to move under that kind of pressure. Knowing that, Sen did not immediately let up.


    ¡°Are you truly this petty?¡± asked the new man. ¡°Will you simply kill them for fun?¡±


    ¡°For fun? No,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll kill them foring here to block my way, or foring here to kill me, or whatever other dressed-up fantasy of a <em>reason</em> they had for being in this ce at this time.¡±¡°So, you¡¯ll force me to stop you.¡±


    Sen burst intoughter. ¡°Is that how you¡¯ll try to excuse yourself? By pretending that <em>I</em> somehow forced this confrontation? <em>You</em> came looking for <em>us</em>. You don¡¯t get to pretend that you have no responsibility here. This is only happening because of your actions. I didn¡¯t put those juniors of yours in harm¡¯s way. You did.¡±


    The man looked from Sen to his juniors and back again before he shrugged. ¡°It was worth a try. A lot of people are stupid.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Considering the trail of bodies we¡¯ve left behind us, some might say that standing in your position is stupid.¡±


    ¡°Some might, but I do not fear your vaunted judgment. I know better than most how a legend is born, and just how far from the truth it strays. If you will not release them, it will force my hand.¡±


    ¡°You say that like there was a chance of it ending some other way.¡±


    ¡°You could withdraw. Return to the north. Then, there is no conflict between us.¡±


    ¡°That sounds great for you, but I don¡¯t see what I get out of ignoring the king¡¯s request.¡±


    The man fixed Sen with what he probably imagined was a hard, intimidating look.


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    ¡°You get to live,¡± he said in chilly tones.


    Sen tilted his head to one side and considered those words.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t have the presence to say those kinds of things,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°No?¡± said the man.


    ¡°No. Here, let me show you how something like that is done correctly,¡± said Sen and directed his coldest, hardest look at the man. ¡°If you gather up those fools and take them away, I promise I won¡¯t make it my hobby to hunt you all like wild animals.¡±


    The man did an admirable job of maintaining hisposure, but he couldn¡¯t hide the way he went pale or the slight tremble in his hands. Sen put on a bright smile that seemed to unnerve the other man even more.


    ¡°There,¡± said Sen. ¡°Did you see the difference? You have to <em>mean</em> it.¡±


    With one final look at his juniors, the new man faced Sen squarely and drew his jian.


    ¡°Regardless of what you may think of mymitment, this is as far as you go.¡±


    Sen looked down at his hand and started counting before he realized that he¡¯d need to put his own jian away to do the job properly. Sighing, he shook his head.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± demanded the other man.


    ¡°I was trying to count how many dead people said something like that to me in thest few days. I¡¯ll just have to say a lot and be content with that.¡±


    The man tried to sneer like thement meant nothing but didn¡¯t quite pull it off. It just served to make the man look like he¡¯d eaten something that didn¡¯t agree with him.


    ¡°So, you truly have no respect for your betters,¡± said the man, who seemed to instantly realize he¡¯d made a grave error.


    Any semnce of yfulness or joviality vanished from Sen¡¯s expression like it had never existed. It was reced with a bone-deep contempt and resolve that seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon. The other man took a step back, as though that look had exerted physical pressure on him


    ¡°My betters, eh? Then, perhaps you should introduce yourself. We lessers do hate to wallow in our ignorance.¡±


    The vitriol in those words was so condensed it nearly burned the air. The other man drew himself up.


    ¡°I am Tuan Baihu, The Golden Tiger.¡±


    Sen nced back when he heard a gasp from Long Jia Wei. The ex-sect cultivator looked like he¡¯d just taken a bad blow. He turned a concerned look to Sen.


    ¡°He is known to my sect,¡± said Long Jia Wei before correcting himself. ¡°My former sect. He is not to be underestimated.¡±


    Sen looked at the, apparently, other famous person in the road. The man¡¯s stance looked solid, and he was a peak core cultivator, but those things meant very little to Sen.


    ¡°Well, Tuan Baihu, shall we?¡±


    The first part of the fight went the way that such things always went. Tuan Baihu and Sen tested each other. At least, Sen was pretty sure that¡¯s what Tuan Baihu <em>thought</em> was happening. Instead of adopting the style that Master Feng taught him, Sen borrowed the one that he¡¯d helped Shi Ping improve in those long-ago seeming days. It was a serviceable approach that was neither too aggressive nor too defensive. It was also the kind of thing that someone could pick up almost anywhere in the country. Sen could almost watch Tuan Baihu¡¯s confidence grow during their first few exchanges. That was fine. In fact, it was what Sen wanted. While the other man drew wrong conclusions, Sen was drawing what he thought were much more urate conclusions.


    Tuan Baihu¡¯s style was speed based, relying on fastbinations to confuse the opponent beforending a critical hit. In a lot of ways, it was ideal for someone with the physical advantages of a cultivator. The improved strength, speed, and reflexes of those just on the spiritual cultivation path were formidable. The man¡¯s control was also top shelf. Maybe even good enough to satisfy Master Feng¡¯s expectations. In short, the man was no rank-and-file sect member. This man was someone who <em>taught</em> promising students, rather than <em>being</em> a promising student. A little part of Sen was suddenly eager for this confrontation. It had been a long time since he faced someone with the skills to really push him with the jian. Not that he was willing to give up the advantage he¡¯d just gone to all the trouble to create for himself. Challenges were good, but victory was better. The pair broke apart, and Sen could see Tuan Baihu make the decision that it was time for the real fight.


    Sen waited, leveraging all that remained of his hard-pressed patience to remain still until the right moment. Just as Tuan Baiho shifted to start his attack, Sen changed his stance. It onlysted a split-second, but the change in stance confused and rmed Tuan Baiho enough to hesitate. That split-second let Sen seize the momentum of the fight. Instead of Shi Ping¡¯s sturdy, serviceable style of swordy, Sen adopted Auntie Caihong¡¯s tricky style of swordy. Deception was the heart of that style, so he felt he¡¯d already lived up to its main expectation. There was a furious exchange of thrusts, parries, shes, and blocks, but Tuan Baiho was on the back foot. The moment it looked like the man was about to gather his wits, Sen changed styles again, switching to Lo Meifeng¡¯s aggressive style. The switch once again left Tuan Baiho retreating as he tried to understand the rapid changes in approach. The man even tried to use Sen¡¯s own tactic against him by switching styles, but that just earned him a cut along his ribs.


    As Tuan Biahu¡¯s confidence was slowly eroded, Sen decided to add distraction to the pile of problems the other man faced. He yanked his killing intent away from the other cultivators. The three who had managed to stay upright copsed. The noise of their groans along with the sudden motion where none had been caused a slightpse in Tuan Biahu¡¯s concentration. And Sen punished him for it. He opened a deep cut in the man¡¯s thigh. It wasn¡¯t a wound that would kill a cultivator, not anytime soon, and not ever if it was seen to properly. It would slow the man down, though, and inhibit movement. A style that depended on speed also depended on solid footwork. Something that Sen had just made far, far more difficult. In what looked like a desperate move, but something that was probably very calcted, Tuan Baihu sent a wind de at Sen. They were at such close range that Sen reluctantly gave ground to give himself the heartbeat of time he needed to redirect the wind de out into the trees.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± said Sen.

 Book 8: Chapter Five – Pyrrhic Victory

    Book 8: Chapter Five ¨C Pyrrhic Victory


    ¡°What¡¯s interesting?¡± asked Tuan Baihu.


    The man chanced a look down at his injured leg but apparently decided that it was something he could fight through. Sen simply ignored the question.


    ¡°You know, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been meaning to ask my betters for a long time now. Just what is it that makes you my betters? I mean, you all seem <em>so</em> confident about it. So, really, I¡¯d like to know. What is it? Wait, I hope it¡¯s not just that you belong to a sect. Please tell me it isn¡¯t just that.¡±


    Tuan Baihu red at him.


    ¡°Nothing? Really?¡± asked Sen, wandering over and nudging one of Tuan Baihu¡¯s juniors with his toe. ¡°You were so eager to announce that you¡¯re my better. I just assumed that you had a justification other than, someone told me this patch makes me special.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because we have honor.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± groaned Sen. ¡°I take it back. This isn¡¯t interesting. If that¡¯s the best you have, then you¡¯ve been lying to yourself for a long time. Being in a sect doesn¡¯t give you honor. In my experience, being in a sect is one of the shortest paths to losing it.¡±


    Tuan Baihu took a couple of angry steps forward, grimacing every time his injured leg came down.


    ¡°You dare to question my honor.¡±¡°If you had any, you would have been the one standing in the road, not them,¡± said Sen, gesturing at the cultivators sprawled on the ground. ¡°If I were any less of a soft touch, they¡¯d have all been dead before you could have done a thing about it. You <em>used</em> them. I¡¯ve seen literal assassins with more honor than you.¡±


    Long Jia Wei visibly flinched at those words, although Tuan Baihu didn¡¯t seem to notice.


    ¡°How dare you speak to me this way,¡± thundered Tuan Baihu.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? Because you¡¯re <em>my better</em>? Better at what, exactly?¡±


    Sen felt the qi surge around the other man and shook his head.


    ¡°You do not want to turn this into a qi technique fight,¡± said Sen. ¡°Long Jia Wei. Tell him why.¡±


    The ex-sect cultivator took a nervous step forward. He offered a hesitant bow to Tuan Baihu.


    ¡°Senior,¡± said Long Jia Wei. ¡°If you pursue that path, the fight will be over in seconds. And you will die. I watched him destroy ate-stage core cultivator with a single technique.¡±


    Tuan Baihu eyed Long Jia Wei and asked, ¡°How close were you at the time?¡±


    ¡°Closer than we stand from each other now.¡±


    That answer seemed to give The Golden Tiger real pause. Sen assumed the man thought that Long Jia Wei had witnessed the event from some significant distance. A distance that would allow for misinterpretation. Feeling that the statement might need some manner of corroboration, Sen did something he hadn¡¯t done in a long time. He cycled for multiple types of qi at the same time, then used that qi that form halos of water, stone, fire, lightning, and shadow behind himself. That disy made Tuan Baihu¡¯s eyes go wide. Sen smiled at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s your choice, of course. If you¡¯d prefer that we include qi techniques, I¡¯d be happy to amodate you.¡±


    Tuan Baihu considered that offer before he slowly shook his head.


    ¡°I believe that I would not prefer that.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯m d we got that resolved. Now, you¡¯ve had yourself a little rest. We should finish this up. I¡¯ve got ces to be.¡±


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    As Sen closed the distance, he realized that he¡¯d been ying with this man, and he didn¡¯t even know why. Well, he knew why. Thatment about betters had made him angry, but that would normally just have been a reason to finish him quickly. Sen had been dragging this out, even after he realized he could win the fight. Something about the man just rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was the arrogance. Maybe it was the way he¡¯d left his juniors out to take the brunt of any first assault. Maybe it was just that Sen was having a bad day and wanted to take it out on someone. Whatever the reason, he decided that there had been enough of that. He dropped back to the style Master Feng had taught him, which brought an almost anguished look to Tuan Baihu¡¯s face.


    ¡°How many styles have you mastered?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°Just the one,¡± said Sen, and his voice sounded cold to him.


    It seemed that Tuan Baihu picked up on that as well because the man took an obviously defensive stance. Sen didn¡¯t bother with more trickery or clever strategies. From that moment forward, it was relentless aggression and pure skill. Sen had to give the man credit. He held his own for a while, but the injury to his leg, to say nothing of his shaken confidence, let Sen wear him down. Tuan Baihu reached for his qi more than once but never tried to unleash it. Sen couldn¡¯t decide if that was simply caution on the man¡¯s part, or if he was trying to act honorably after being told in no uncertain terms that Sen considered him an honorless dog for the way he¡¯d treated his juniors. Sen could tell that Tuan Baihu was, perhaps unfortunately for the man, a skilled enough swordsman to understand that he couldn¡¯t win the fight on skill alone. Everything he was doing was a dying action, a means of extending his life a few seconds at a time. Sen could even respect that, having employed the tactic himself once or twice. It was written on the man¡¯s face. He was desperately looking for any opportunity to turn things around. Yet, Sen was not providing it to him.


    It was a bad step that ultimately brought the fight to a close. Unable to divert any of his attention from Sen, the man had stepped back onto a pebble. The pebble rolled, which twisted Tuan Baihu¡¯s already injured leg. The unexpected shock of fresh pain had distracted him. A swift and brutal sh from Sen sent the other man¡¯s jian flying from his grip. Tuan Baihu stared down at his empty hand with a look of pure disbelief that slowly transformed into one of grim, resolute eptance. The man looked at Sen with the dimmest flicker of hope in his eyes. A flicker that was snuffed out at what he saw in Sen¡¯s face. There was no reprieve to be found there. The man looked over at his juniors, most of whom were still borderline unconscious. Perhaps it was the proximity of death that brought a shred of basic humanity to the surface, a brief inkling of empathy that so many cultivators seemed to discard. Then again, maybe it was curiosity that prompted his next question.


    ¡°What will you do with them?¡± asked Tuan Baihu.


    ¡°Whatever I see fit,¡± answered Sen.


    With a motion faster than even most cultivator eyes could track, Sen plunged his de into Tuan Baihu¡¯s heart. He gave the de a twist, pulled it free, and then swiped it across the man¡¯s neck. Sen felt no sense of aplishment. The fight could have gone the other way in the right circumstances, which made Sen feel like he should think that the victory was an aplishment. He¡¯d defeated someone who had built enough of a reputation that Long Jia Wei had recognized the man¡¯s name. Almost mechanically, Sen stripped Tuan Baihu and the semi-conscious cultivators of their storage treasures and weapons. He stood there for a while, unintentionally looming over the bloodied cultivators, staring down at the storage rings in his hand. He didn¡¯t even want them. He didn¡¯t need their money or their weapons. He¡¯d just taken them because that¡¯s what you were supposed to do. He supposed it taught them or their sect masters to choose their targets with more care or lose such valuable treasures.


    Glimmer of Night came over to him eventually and handed him Tuan Baihu¡¯s jian. Sen took it, looked at it nkly for a moment, and then stored it in one of his rings. It joined an absurd pile of other weapons he¡¯d collected recently. He¡¯d have to go through them at some point. His first instinct was to sell them off to the first person who expressed even the slightest interest, but the academy could probably use some of them. Sen struggled to bring the ce to mind. It seemed so distant now. Like a ce that only existed in some pleasant dream he¡¯d been forced to wake from. A ce that he¡¯d never be able to get back to and, even if he somehow did make it back, it would never feel the same to him. After a time, Shen Mingxia and Long Jia Wei came over and stood by him. It was Shen Mingxia who spoke to him.


    ¡°What should we do with them?¡± she asked, gesturing at the other cultivators who were slowly but surely recovering.


    Sen nced at them and spoke an unvarnished truth.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    Having said all he intended to on the subject, he started walking down the road. If Shen Mingxia or Glimmer of Night decided they all needed to die, that was on their consciences. If they decided to let them all go, that was something they could also carry. He didn¡¯t have the mental energy left to decide if any more people should live or die that day. For once, the universe seemed to agree that he¡¯d done enough because the rest of the day passed in a state of calm that Sen didn¡¯t trust but was happy enough to ept.

 Book 8: Chapter 5: Pyrrhic Victory

    Book 8: Chapter 5: Pyrrhic Victory


    ¡°What¡¯s interesting?¡± asked Tuan Baihu.


    The man chanced a look down at his injured leg but apparently decided that it was something he could fight through. Sen simply ignored the question.


    ¡°You know, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been meaning to ask my betters for a long time now. Just what is it that makes you my betters? I mean, you all seem <em>so</em> confident about it. So, really, I¡¯d like to know. What is it? Wait, I hope it¡¯s not just that you belong to a sect. Please tell me it isn¡¯t just that.¡±


    Tuan Baihu red at him.


    ¡°Nothing? Really?¡± asked Sen, wandering over and nudging one of Tuan Baihu¡¯s juniors with his toe. ¡°You were so eager to announce that you¡¯re my better. I just assumed that you had a justification other than, someone told me this patch makes me special.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because we have honor.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± groaned Sen. ¡°I take it back. This isn¡¯t interesting. If that¡¯s the best you have, then you¡¯ve been lying to yourself for a long time. Being in a sect doesn¡¯t give you honor. In my experience, being in a sect is one of the shortest paths to losing it.¡±


    Tuan Baihu took a couple of angry steps forward, grimacing every time his injured leg came down.


    ¡°You dare to question my honor.¡±¡°If you had any, you would have been the one standing in the road, not them,¡± said Sen, gesturing at the cultivators sprawled on the ground. ¡°If I were any less of a soft touch, they¡¯d have all been dead before you could have done a thing about it. You <em>used</em> them. I¡¯ve seen literal assassins with more honor than you.¡±


    Long Jia Wei visibly flinched at those words, although Tuan Baihu didn¡¯t seem to notice.


    ¡°How dare you speak to me this way,¡± thundered Tuan Baihu.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? Because you¡¯re <em>my better</em>? Better at what, exactly?¡±


    Sen felt the qi surge around the other man and shook his head.


    ¡°You do not want to turn this into a qi technique fight,¡± said Sen. ¡°Long Jia Wei. Tell him why.¡±


    The ex-sect cultivator took a nervous step forward. He offered a hesitant bow to Tuan Baihu.


    ¡°Senior,¡± said Long Jia Wei. ¡°If you pursue that path, the fight will be over in seconds. And you will die. I watched him destroy ate-stage core cultivator with a single technique.¡±


    Tuan Baihu eyed Long Jia Wei and asked, ¡°How close were you at the time?¡±


    ¡°Closer than we stand from each other now.¡±


    That answer seemed to give The Golden Tiger real pause. Sen assumed the man thought that Long Jia Wei had witnessed the event from some significant distance. A distance that would allow for misinterpretation. Feeling that the statement might need some manner of corroboration, Sen did something he hadn¡¯t done in a long time. He cycled for multiple types of qi at the same time, then used that qi that form halos of water, stone, fire, lightning, and shadow behind himself. That disy made Tuan Baihu¡¯s eyes go wide. Sen smiled at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s your choice, of course. If you¡¯d prefer that we include qi techniques, I¡¯d be happy to amodate you.¡±


    Tuan Baihu considered that offer before he slowly shook his head.


    ¡°I believe that I would not prefer that.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯m d we got that resolved. Now, you¡¯ve had yourself a little rest. We should finish this up. I¡¯ve got ces to be.¡±


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    As Sen closed the distance, he realized that he¡¯d been ying with this man, and he didn¡¯t even know why. Well, he knew why. Thatment about betters had made him angry, but that would normally just have been a reason to finish him quickly. Sen had been dragging this out, even after he realized he could win the fight. Something about the man just rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was the arrogance. Maybe it was the way he¡¯d left his juniors out to take the brunt of any first assault. Maybe it was just that Sen was having a bad day and wanted to take it out on someone. Whatever the reason, he decided that there had been enough of that. He dropped back to the style Master Feng had taught him, which brought an almost anguished look to Tuan Baihu¡¯s face.


    ¡°How many styles have you mastered?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°Just the one,¡± said Sen, and his voice sounded cold to him.


    It seemed that Tuan Baihu picked up on that as well because the man took an obviously defensive stance. Sen didn¡¯t bother with more trickery or clever strategies. From that moment forward, it was relentless aggression and pure skill. Sen had to give the man credit. He held his own for a while, but the injury to his leg, to say nothing of his shaken confidence, let Sen wear him down. Tuan Baihu reached for his qi more than once but never tried to unleash it. Sen couldn¡¯t decide if that was simply caution on the man¡¯s part, or if he was trying to act honorably after being told in no uncertain terms that Sen considered him an honorless dog for the way he¡¯d treated his juniors. Sen could tell that Tuan Baihu was, perhaps unfortunately for the man, a skilled enough swordsman to understand that he couldn¡¯t win the fight on skill alone. Everything he was doing was a dying action, a means of extending his life a few seconds at a time. Sen could even respect that, having employed the tactic himself once or twice. It was written on the man¡¯s face. He was desperately looking for any opportunity to turn things around. Yet, Sen was not providing it to him.


    It was a bad step that ultimately brought the fight to a close. Unable to divert any of his attention from Sen, the man had stepped back onto a pebble. The pebble rolled, which twisted Tuan Baihu¡¯s already injured leg. The unexpected shock of fresh pain had distracted him. A swift and brutal sh from Sen sent the other man¡¯s jian flying from his grip. Tuan Baihu stared down at his empty hand with a look of pure disbelief that slowly transformed into one of grim, resolute eptance. The man looked at Sen with the dimmest flicker of hope in his eyes. A flicker that was snuffed out at what he saw in Sen¡¯s face. There was no reprieve to be found there. The man looked over at his juniors, most of whom were still borderline unconscious. Perhaps it was the proximity of death that brought a shred of basic humanity to the surface, a brief inkling of empathy that so many cultivators seemed to discard. Then again, maybe it was curiosity that prompted his next question.


    ¡°What will you do with them?¡± asked Tuan Baihu.


    ¡°Whatever I see fit,¡± answered Sen.


    With a motion faster than even most cultivator eyes could track, Sen plunged his de into Tuan Baihu¡¯s heart. He gave the de a twist, pulled it free, and then swiped it across the man¡¯s neck. Sen felt no sense of aplishment. The fight could have gone the other way in the right circumstances, which made Sen feel like he should think that the victory was an aplishment. He¡¯d defeated someone who had built enough of a reputation that Long Jia Wei had recognized the man¡¯s name. Almost mechanically, Sen stripped Tuan Baihu and the semi-conscious cultivators of their storage treasures and weapons. He stood there for a while, unintentionally looming over the bloodied cultivators, staring down at the storage rings in his hand. He didn¡¯t even want them. He didn¡¯t need their money or their weapons. He¡¯d just taken them because that¡¯s what you were supposed to do. He supposed it taught them or their sect masters to choose their targets with more care or lose such valuable treasures.


    Glimmer of Night came over to him eventually and handed him Tuan Baihu¡¯s jian. Sen took it, looked at it nkly for a moment, and then stored it in one of his rings. It joined an absurd pile of other weapons he¡¯d collected recently. He¡¯d have to go through them at some point. His first instinct was to sell them off to the first person who expressed even the slightest interest, but the academy could probably use some of them. Sen struggled to bring the ce to mind. It seemed so distant now. Like a ce that only existed in some pleasant dream he¡¯d been forced to wake from. A ce that he¡¯d never be able to get back to and, even if he somehow did make it back, it would never feel the same to him. After a time, Shen Mingxia and Long Jia Wei came over and stood by him. It was Shen Mingxia who spoke to him.


    ¡°What should we do with them?¡± she asked, gesturing at the other cultivators who were slowly but surely recovering.


    Sen nced at them and spoke an unvarnished truth.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    Having said all he intended to on the subject, he started walking down the road. If Shen Mingxia or Glimmer of Night decided they all needed to die, that was on their consciences. If they decided to let them all go, that was something they could also carry. He didn¡¯t have the mental energy left to decide if any more people should live or die that day. For once, the universe seemed to agree that he¡¯d done enough because the rest of the day passed in a state of calm that Sen didn¡¯t trust but was happy enough to ept.

 Book 8: Chapter 6: A Breath of Fresh Air

    Book 8: Chapter 6: A Breath of Fresh Air


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°I never should have brought you along for this. I should have <em>known</em> better. I just didn¡¯t expect it to be this violent. I beg your forgiveness, Shen Mingxia.¡±


    She gave him a frown.


    ¡°Is this why you¡¯ve been so quiet thest few days?¡±


    ¡°Not just this. I let myself forget or maybe I chose to forget what it¡¯s like out here. I let happiness blind me.¡±


    ¡°Happiness isn¡¯t a bad thing,¡± she said.


    Sen gave her a rueful look.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a bad thing. But it can be a dangerous thing. It can lull you,¡± said Sen, and then he smiled into the distance.


    From the look of open distress on Shen Mingxia¡¯s face, that smile wasn¡¯t the kind of smile that reassured people. Sen went on.


    ¡°The other side of the danger is that I have things I will not allow myself to lose. Anyone stupid enough toe for me and mine will find no mercy in me. I will bury them and reduce everything they love to ash. If necessary, I will drown armies and kingdoms in oceans of blood and death to protect what is mine.¡±Shen Mingxia closed her eyes and let out a soft breath.


    ¡°So, he is still in there.¡±


    That drew a sharp look from Sen.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You know, even cultivator memory has a way of fading a bit. Not the details, but the emotions that went with some events tend to get washed out by more recent experiences. At least, that¡¯s how it works for me,¡± she said with a questioning nce at Sen.


    He shrugged and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m old enough yet to know what you mean.¡±


    She blinked a few times and thenughed a little.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to forget how young you are. Well, something that hasn¡¯t faded from my memory at all is that night outside the Silver Crane. I remember <em>that</em> with perfect rity. I remember how you were that night. You were imcable. Just this immovable machine of death. You were terrifying. Then, you were gone, but the stories started spreading. The things you¡¯d done or were supposed to have done. I assumed that if I ever met you again, you¡¯d be even more frightening. Except, you weren¡¯t. It was like meeting an entirely different person. That feeling that I was never more than a heartbeat from death when you were around was gone. I wondered if you really had changed that much.¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to let out a soft breath.


    ¡°That new person you met, that¡¯s the person I was before I went out into the world, minus a few very na?ve illusions. It¡¯s the person I want to be. But if all this carnage has shown us anything, it¡¯s also something this appalling world just will not let me be. So, I¡¯ll do what I have to. I¡¯ll reserve that man for the people I love and respect. As for everyone else,¡± said Sen, and his whole demeanor shifted into some as cold and hard as ice. ¡°Everyone else can have Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    Shen Mingxia went quiet for most of a minute before she asked, ¡°And which list am I on?¡±


    Sen looked at her and let the ice fade from his expression.


    ¡°My little girl is very fond of her Auntie Mingxia,¡± he said as if that answered everything.


    She quirked an eyebrow and asked, ¡°And what do you think?¡±


    ¡°I guess you don¡¯t bother me too much,¡± said Sen, a little smirk sneaking through.


    ¡°Oh, well, however will I stand up beneath the weight of that faint approval,¡± said Shen Mingxia, rolling her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll manage,¡± said Sen with a sage nod, ¡°somehow.¡±


    Sen noted the fading light and let his qi tform drift to the ground. Glimmer of Night did the same. A tiny spark of amusement gleamed in Sen¡¯s soul at the look of intense difort on Long Jia Wei¡¯s face. It seemed he did not particrly enjoy his time riding with the spider. Sen had been willing to let the man travel under his own power, but it quickly became evident that he simply didn¡¯t have the qi reserves to keep up. The man didn¡¯t make a show of it, but he did take a few steps to put some distance between himself and the spider. Sen wondered briefly if Glimmer of Night had said something to make the man feel ufortable and promptly decided he didn¡¯t care enough to ask.


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    ¡°Are we making camp?¡± asked Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen. ¡°There¡¯s a town up ahead.¡±


    Shen Mingxia and Long Jia Wei both brightened up at that announcement. Glimmer of Night didn¡¯t say anything, but he did apply his human disguise. A momentter, he started itching one of his arms.


    ¡°Does that mean what I think it means?¡± asked Shen Mingxia with a hopeful look on her face.


    Sen nodded. ¡°I think we¡¯ve all earned a night in real beds, and even I get tired of cooking all the time.¡±


    They made their way toward the town with Mingxia and Long Jia Wei looking happy, while Glimmer of Night wore a nk expression that conveyed absolutely nothing. That was something Sen would have to work on with the spider. A nk expression could be useful, but it could also be a hindrance. Teaching the spider to at least feign a few basic emotions would probably solve some future problems before they became problems. The guards at the gates just nodded at them, seemingly deciding that they were a little too well-dressed to be bothered with answering questions. It was poor security, but that was ultimately the town¡¯s problem. Shen Mingxia took the lead in looking for an inn, which let Sen trail along in her wake, thinking about what he would do in the capital. That was a murky mess, but only because he knew that he¡¯d have to do things he didn¡¯t want to do. He was so lost in thought that he almost walked into Long Jia Wei¡¯s back.


    He jerked to a halt just in time. <em>I wonder if they found an inn</em>? Sen looked around but didn¡¯t see anything that resembled an inn. It was only then that he realized that Shen Mingxia¡¯s gaze was fixed on something ahead of them. He leaned to one side so he could peer around Long Jia Wei¡¯s head. He took in the whole scene at a nce. There was a young woman almost crouching behind a man, tears streaming down her face. The man had ced himself directly between the young woman and a handful of ¨C Sen let a little of his spiritual sense stretch out ¨C of course, they were cultivators. Another time, he might have let it simply y out, but there was one important difference between this situation and so many others. Sen knew the man who had put himself between the cultivators and the girl. And that knowledge made this situation feel like a breath of fresh air after standing in a smoke-filled building for years. He knew exactly where the right and wrong of it was.


    ¡°Stay here,¡± said Sen, a smile on his face as he walked toward the evolving confrontation.


    ¡°Walk away, fool,¡± one of the cultivators said to the outnumbered man. ¡°This isn¡¯t your business.¡±


    ¡°I will not,¡± said the man with a look of absolute calm.


    Before anyone else could speak, Sen called out in a ringing voice.


    ¡°Righteous Wu Gang!¡±


    Every eye turned toward Sen. The cultivators looked wary, uncertain if Sen was there to settle his own score or to provide support. Wu Gang wore a stunned look for a moment before he offered Sen a formal bow.


    ¡°I greet you, Lu Sen,¡± said Wu Gang.


    The leader of the cultivators went to put himself between Sen and Wu Gang. Sen didn¡¯t break stride as he backhanded the man hard enough to send him flying down the street. The cultivator hit the street with bone-shattering force, bounced several times, and came to a stop up against a pile of trash. Right where he belonged in Sen¡¯s opinion. The other two immediately reached for weapons and <em>almost</em> made it, before a p and another backhand sent them on to their next lives. Sen came to a stop in front of Wu Gang who seemed a little uncertain about what to say.


    Rallying himself, Wu Gang said, ¡°I appreciate your help, but why?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± asked Sen, honestly perplexed.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t possibly have known that I was in the right,¡± said Wu Gang.


    Sen threw back his head andughed.


    ¡°Only you would think that. Of course, I knew because it was <em>you</em>. Righteous Wu Gang. And you are a man who keeps his word. That was all I needed to know.¡±


    Wu Gang straightened at those words.


    ¡°I am unworthy of such praise.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why don¡¯t we ask her about that.¡±


    Sen pointed at the young woman standing behind Wu Gang and staring at the man like he was made of pure gold. As soon as Wu Gang¡¯s eyes met her, she started to gush.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you so much! I don¡¯t know what I would have done,¡± she said, throwing her arms around Wu Gang.


    Wu Gang shot a hasty look at Sen, as if worried that this disy might somehow tarnish his image. Sen just smirked at the man and lifted his chin toward the young woman. Apparently satisfied that Sen wasn¡¯t going to think badly of him, Wu Gang awkwardly patted the woman¡¯s back.


    ¡°I¡¯m just d I could help,¡± he told her.


    Sen looked on in amusement as Wu Gang gently disentangled himself from the <em>very</em> grateful young woman. He idly wondered if he should just quietly disappear and let her thank Wu Gang in, well, whatever way seemed best to her. Before he could decide one way or the other, the disappointed-looking young woman was sent on her way. Sen eyed her briefly before turning his gaze back to Wu Gang.


    ¡°You know, she wanted you to go with her somewhere. Somewhere private.¡±


    Wu Gang¡¯s expression went a little sheepish.


    ¡°I know. It¡¯s happened before. I just don¡¯t do that.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure what to think of that deration.


    ¡°Okay, but why?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right. I¡¯d feel like I was taking advantage.¡±


    ¡°You know, there probably is such a thing as being too righteous for your own good,¡± said Sen. ¡°Well,e on, I have some people for you to meet.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 7: Righteous

    Book 8: Chapter 7: Righteous


    Sen did pause long enough to strip the dead cultivators of their belongings. After a moment of thought, he reduced their bodies to ashes. Wu Gang gave him a curious look.


    ¡°Dead bodies are bad for the health. No reason to make the mortals clean them up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s very public-minded of you,¡± said Wu Gang.


    ¡°It¡¯s a byproduct of all the alchemy I learned. I picked up a lot of information about health and what makes people sick. No need to make work for someone else when I can deal with it right now.¡±


    Sen led Wu Gang back to the others. Shen Mingxia and Long Jia Wei stared while Glimmer of Night had seemingly grown bored. He¡¯d wandered off a short distance to poke at a nt that had somehow taken root between a couple of stones in a building wall. Sen stopped and looked a little harder at the nt. There <em>was</em> something odd about it, even if Sen couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on what. Sen shook his head. He¡¯d have to try to remember to ask the spider about itter. There were other priorities at the moment. He called Glimmer of Night back over to them.


    ¡°Everyone, this is an old friend of mine. Righteous Wu Gang,¡± announced Sen.


    Shen Mingxia smiled and gave the man a respectful nod.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the stories about you,¡± she said.


    Wu Gang flushed a little and held up his hands as if to defend himself from some dire usation.¡°You shouldn¡¯t believe those stories. They¡¯re mostly made up. I¡¯ve never even been to half of those ces.¡±


    Sen gave the man a look of understanding and sympathy. He knew better than most about <em>those stories</em>.


    ¡°This,¡± said Sen with a grin, ¡°is Honorable Shen Mingxia.¡±


    She gave him a t look and said, ¡°Are you really going to introduce me to people that way?¡±


    His grin grew even wider.


    ¡°Every chance I get,¡± he said before gesturing at Long Jia Wei. ¡°That is Long Jia Wei. I haven¡¯t given him an annoying honorific yet.¡±


    Long Jia Wei gave Wu Gang a shallow bow and said, ¡°An honor to meet you.¡±


    Sen frowned. Long Jia Wei was acting odd, almost shifty. He was refusing to meet Wu Gang¡¯s eyes and couldn¡¯t seem to find afortable way to stand. On top of that, Wu Gang was studying the man with an intense look.


    ¡°Have we met before?¡± asked Wu Gang, his gaze sharpening even more. ¡°In the town of Mercy¡¯s Lament, perhaps?¡±


    Long Jia Wei coughed nervously and said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve ever been introduced.¡±


    <em>Well</em>, <em>that was smoothly done</em>, thought Sen. The man had implied ack of meeting without ever actually denying it. Sen imagined that there was a very interesting story to be had about all of that. It was a story he wanted to hear. In fact, he wanted to hear both sides of it, but not at the same time and not right at that moment. If nothing else, he didn¡¯t want Wu Gang and the ex-sect cultivatoring to blows immediately. So, he intervened.


    ¡°Mercy¡¯s Lament. That doesn¡¯t sound like a cheerful ce,¡± observed Sen.


    Wu Gang gave Long Jia Wei onest hard look before he turned his attention back to Sen.


    ¡°Oh, it was nice enough. You know how these town and vige names are. Half of them are about something that happened so long ago that nobody remembers it anymore.¡±


    ¡°Mmm, true,¡± said Sen. ¡°Anyway, thest member of our little group is Glimmer of Night.¡±


    Glimmer of Night just looked at Wu Gang for an incredibly long, awkward moment before he remembered some of the social etiquette Sen had tried to teach him. The spider pressed his fists together and bowed.


    ¡°Glimmer of Night,¡± said Wu Gang. ¡°That is a very unusual name.¡±


    When the spider said nothing, Sen once again intervened.


    ¡°He¡¯s an unusual man. And, it¡¯s been a long week or so for all of us. Do you know if this town has an inn?¡±


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    Wu Gang nodded. ¡°I can show you the way. I have a room there.¡±


    ¡°So, the life of a wandering cultivator hasn¡¯t left you poverty stricken?¡± asked Sen as they all started to follow the man.


    Another sheepish look crossed Wu Gang¡¯s face as he said, ¡°The people I help often try to reward me. I do my best to say no or ask for something modest, but they can be very insistent. Especially the nobles.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at that.


    ¡°Do you help many nobles?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Wu Gang, ¡°but bandits will attack almost anyone on the road. I won¡¯t withhold aid to those in need when any other help may be days away.¡±


    Sen knew that he couldn¡¯t say the same thing. Actually, if bandits were involved, he <em>would</em> intervene but not because he wanted to help the nobles. In any other circumstance, he would probably just walk right by and let the nobles fend for themselves. <em>I gave him the right name</em>, thought Sen. <em>He might not have started out that way</em>, <em>but he has legitimately be righteous</em>. Plus, after a moment of reflection, Sen realized that he didn¡¯t want his biases to infect Wu Gang. Just because <em>he</em> loathed almost every noble he¡¯d ever met, it didn¡¯t mean that Wu Gang should. The man had set out with the explicit aim to help people, and he had. True or false, absolutely every single story about him painted Wu Gang as a hero. A humble hero. That didn¡¯t happen if there wasn¡¯t a lot of truth at the center of it. Suggesting that some people simply didn¡¯t deserve his help would be a disservice to who the man was and what he¡¯d aplished. And Sen certainly didn¡¯t begrudge the man the asional reward. People had to eat.


    ¡°I understand,¡± said Sen. ¡°You can only say no so many times before you¡¯ll damage someone¡¯s pride.¡±


    The look of relief on Wu Gang¡¯s face told Sen that the man still valued his opinion far more than he should. Sen felt like he should relieve Wu Gang of that concern. Whatever debt had existed between them, Sen felt certain that it had long ago been paid in full. He just didn¡¯t know exactly how to put that concern to rest. Sen resolved to give the matter some thought before they parted ways again. While Sen approved of all the help that Wu Gang had given out to people, he also knew that there were other things in life. Things like a home and children. Things that the wandering hero should feel allowed to go and experience for himself if he wanted them. <em>And maybe he doesn¡¯t</em>, thought Sen, <em>but he shouldn¡¯t deprive himself of them out of a debt to me that doesn¡¯t exist anymore</em>.


    The inn wasn¡¯t anything special, but it was clean and had the air of a ce that was well-loved. Sen secured rooms for everyone, and Mingxia immediately went off to take a bath. Sen would have loved to get one for himself, but he supposed that the least he could do was let her take one first. Especially after he dragged her along for this stupid nightmare of a trip. He would have told her to go back to the academy, but he didn¡¯t dare to send her back on that road. There was just no way to know if any cultivators were still on that road or if they were looking for her now as well. As dangerous as being near him was, at least he had a decent chance of protecting her when she was nearby. If he sent her back, even that protection would vanish. No, the best he could do for her was simply to keep her close for now.


    Glimmer of Night wanted to go to his room immediately, and Sen understood why. Once he was safely behind a locked door, the spider could abandon his human disguise. Sen, however, was hungry. After he had spoken with the inn owner and ordered three of everything on the menu, they went to themon area where there were tables. After that, a steady stream of food was brought out to him, Long Jia Wei, and Wu Gang. Sen simply ignored everything and everyone else for a while as he ate. When he finally felt sated, he looked over at Wu Gang.


    ¡°So, what have you been doing since west met?¡±


    Wu Gang, who had been staring at Long Jia Wei, blinked a couple of times before a thoughtful look came over him.


    ¡°Well, it has been a few years,¡± said Wu Gang. ¡°I¡¯ve done quite a lot, although not as much as you it seems.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t listen to those stories. I¡¯m as boring as old bread and as gentle as a kitten.¡±


    Long Jia Wei started to choke on the dumpling he¡¯d just put in his mouth. Sen pped the man on the back a few times.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to forgive Long Jia Wei,¡± said Sen in a low, confidential tone. ¡°We¡¯re still working on his table manners.¡±


    ¡°Apparently,¡± said Wu Gang, looking amused.


    ¡°Back to you, though. Why don¡¯t you give me the high points.¡±


    Sen sat back and listened as Wu Gang described what he considered the high points of his journey. He skipped over almost anything that smacked of heroic battles. That was simply referred to as ¡°cleaning up some minor trouble.¡± Instead, he talked about helping to build a bridge that would make it easier for farmers to get crops to market. He talked about a dying old man he¡¯d stayed with for two months as he dutifully wrote down the man¡¯s life story. That was followed up by a months-long quest to find the son who no doubt thought, incorrectly, that he¡¯d been abandoned by the old man. A quest during which Wu Gang had cleaned up some minor trouble on no less than eleven asions.


    He¡¯d helped a widow keep her home and found orphans families to live with. He¡¯d helped a group of wandering monks find their lost temple. It was a tale littered with so many kindnesses, great and small, that Sen was positively stunned that Wu Gang hadn¡¯t exploded with divine qi and pure enlightenment. If anything, the tale made Sen feel a little inadequate. He¡¯d done a bit of good here and there, but it simply paled inparison. Shen Mingxia had joined them after her bath and almost immediately been caught up in rapt attention. She was so focused on the telling of the tale that she¡¯d had the same piece of vegetable hanging from her chopsticks for the better part of ten minutes.


    ¡°After we got the temple back in working order, we needed to clear the old road so that people coulde and go. I cleaned up some minor trouble with that, and then I headed north.¡±


    ¡°Why north?¡± asked Shen Mingxia, her eyes shining with interest.


    Wu Gang cleared his throat a little nervously.


    ¡°Well, honestly, I heard that you started some kind of a sect,¡± said Wu Gang with a nod to Sen. ¡°I was curious. So, I thought I¡¯d pay you a visit.¡±


    Sen let his head drop against the top of the table.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a sect,¡± he almost cried before he started thumping his forehead against the wood.

 Book 8: Chapter 8: Obligations

    Book 8: Chapter 8: Obligations


    ¡°It¡¯s not?¡± asked Wu Gang, his brow furrowing. ¡°That¡¯s odd. Because lots of people called it a sect. The Judgment¡¯s Gale Sect. The Hand of Chaos Sect. The Heavens Scouring de Sect. The Blue Demon Sect¡ª¡±


    Sen¡¯s head shot up off the table. ¡°What?! People are calling it the Blue Demon Sect?¡±


    Wu Gang nodded. Sen turned a chilly gaze on Shen Mingxia. She raised her hands defensively.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked. ¡°You told me not to tell you the other things people call you.¡±


    ¡°The Blue Demon. You didn¡¯t feel like you should maybe lead with that?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°It didn¡¯t seem that much worse to me.¡±


    ¡°Blue. Demon,¡± said Sen in a harsh, clipped tone.


    ¡°Well, sure,¡± she admitted, ¡°when you say it all angry and growly like that it sounds terrible. But if you said <em>miracles and sunshine</em> in that tone of voice it would sound like a death threat.¡±


    Before Sen could organize all of the screaming he wanted to do, Wu Gang cut in.¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t a sect, what is it?¡±


    ¡°You exin,¡± said Sen to Shen Mingxia as he let his forehead thump back against the table.


    Sen listened as Shen Mingxia exined that it was an academy intended primarily to train mortals in spear and sword techniques. Wu Gang listened, only interrupting once or twice to get rification. He was quiet for a little while after Shen Mingxia finished.


    ¡°Well,¡± he said, sounding a little apologetic, ¡°that may be what you think it is, but everyone else thinks it¡¯s a sect.¡±


    ¡°I hate everyone so much right now,¡± muttered Sen, pushing up from his seat and trudging away toward his room.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he heard Wu Gang say. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to upset him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not angry with you,¡± said Shen Mingxia. ¡°Well, he¡¯s not specifically angry with you. As much as I hate to say it, though, the best thing that could happen tonight is for some idiot to show up looking for a fight.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Because then he¡¯d have someone to take it out on.¡±


    As Sen shut his door, he couldn¡¯t help but think that Shen Mingxia was right. The thing he needed most at that moment was for some arrogant young master with more pride than sense to show up and start shooting his mouth off. As soon as that thought passed through his mind, he nced upwards and grimaced.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to let that happen, are you?¡± he asked the universe atrge.


    The universe didn¡¯t deign to answer him, but Sen <em>knew</em> all the same.


    ¡°Seriously,¡± he growled. ¡°Non-stop stupidity for thest week and now, <em>now</em>, you¡¯re going to make sure they don¡¯t find us? Right when I could actually get some practical value from having to kill someone?¡±


    The universe again chose to remain silent. Sen sighed, walked over the to bed, and flopped face-first onto it. While the pillow muffled his words, he felt confident that the universe heard him anyway.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a jerk, sometimes, you know that?¡±


    ***


    A night of poor sleep did nothing to improve Sen¡¯s mood. When he did manage to sleep, he found himself waking up mumbling the words <em>Blue Demon</em>. It wasn¡¯t a particrly original or inventive name, but it didn¡¯t need to be when people were tossing around a word like <em>demon</em> as a description of you. He shot an angry look around the room that no one had even tried to burn down around him. A little piece of him knew that he should be happy about that. That it was a good thing for the inn¡¯s owner, who was a pleasant enough man, and someone who almost certainly didn¡¯t deserve to have some cultivator trying to burn down his livelihood. Even so, Sen was disappointed. He desperately wanted someone to give him an excuse to do something drastic, even if he also knew it wouldn¡¯t make him feel any better in the long run.


    He''d known from the start that there was a good chance people would think his academy was a sect. It was why he¡¯d been willing to tolerate spies there, after all. He¡¯d just never considered the possibility that it would be such an uphill battle right from the outset. Sen had hoped that he¡¯d be able to get ahead of things and shape the story, at least a little bit. It seemed that he¡¯d missed any opportunity to do that. Now, he feared that his upation was about to be exining, over and over and over again, how he wasn¡¯t running a sect. He cringed to imagine the number of cultivators who were at least contemting showing up with some absurd notion that he¡¯d take them on as students. He nced at the window with a deep yearning for someone to crash through it with weapon in hand, spoiling for a nice, ugly battle to the death.


    Instead, he heard the cheerful songs of birds announcing to the world that it was time to get up. <em>Ai was right</em>, he thought. <em>Birds are dumb</em>. He¡¯d been pushing how much he missed her to the back of his mind, but it refused to be pushed back again. The truth was that Sen was sorely tempted to go back, fetch Ai, Falling Leaf, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho, and simply leave. Go somewhere else and start over, minus fool¡¯s errands like the academy. Sen had more than enough money to set himself and all of them up in a very, veryfortable life. He could even take up some kind of trade. With everything his cultivation-enhanced body could do, to say nothing of the fine control he could exert over that body, and the basic inability to get hurt doing most mortal trades, he could spend all of the years between now and Ai¡¯s adulthood simply bing a master craftsman. She would want for nothing in body or soul. It was such an enticing fantasy that he didn¡¯t think anyone could honestly me him for indulging in it for a few minutes.


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    Of course, he knew that it was only a fantasy. He had responsibilities that he couldn¡¯t put down, such as his promise to Fu Run. He also owed something to the people at the academy. Oh, it could probably limp along without him for a while, but it would inevitably copse if he just vanished one day without a word. He didn¡¯t have any kind of n in ce that would let them go on in his absence, not yet at any rate. And he couldn¡¯t make a n like that until <em>after</em> he¡¯d found some more people to teach there. That meant going to the capital, or somewhere else just as likely to lead him straight into conflict and violence. <em>Unless I just wash my hands of the whole thing</em>, he thought. He wanted to believe he could do that but only because it would make his life easier. He knew himself well enough to know that he wouldn¡¯t, possibly even couldn¡¯t, make himself abandon people to whom he¡¯d made realmitments, no matter how much it would simplify his life.


    No. He¡¯d have to ept that the world was just going to make things hard on him for a while. He¡¯d have to do things he didn¡¯t want to do to secure the future he wanted for Ai and everyone else around him. If that meant cutting his way through half the young masters and mistresses in the kingdom, that¡¯s what he¡¯d do. If that meant visiting noble houses that crossed him, burning them to the ground, and spitting in the ashes, he¡¯d do that too. He wouldn¡¯t make a lot of friends that way, but it wasn¡¯t like he was making a lot of friends now. People he¡¯d had no conflict with had sent killers after him for¡­ He didn¡¯t even know the reasons why. The people he¡¯d interrogated along the way certainly hadn¡¯t known why, and he¡¯d pressed them <em>hard</em>. He wasn¡¯t really surprised they didn¡¯t know. They hadn¡¯t been the kind of people who asked questions. Someone, probably an elder, ordered them toe and stop him, and they¡¯d jumped at the chance to curry favor.


    Sen shook off those thoughts. They weren¡¯t going to lead him anywhere. He¡¯d been over that barren ground more than once already. Without some kind of new information, he¡¯d just be wasting his time. Standing up from the bed, he took a few minutes to wash up and shave. Uncle Kho managed to make a beard look good, but any time he started to try to go grow one, it just ended up making him look unkempt. Going out into themon area, he saw no sign of Shen Mingxia, Glimmer of Night, or Long Jia Wei. He did see Wu Gang sitting by the fire and sipping a cup of tea. Sen walked over.


    ¡°Do you mind if I join you?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Please,¡± said Wu Gang, gesturing at a nearby chair.


    Sen sat down and regarded the other man. It struck him then in a way that it hadn¡¯t thest time they¡¯d crossed paths that he didn¡¯t really know anything about Wu Gang. He¡¯d had other things, genuinely urgent matters, on his mind at the time. He hadn¡¯t bothered to learn anything about him back in Orchard¡¯s Reach, either. He¡¯d only helped him because of that tugging he¡¯d felt. Something that had been absent for a long time. It made Sen wonder if that was because something or someone felt that he was on the right path, or because he¡¯d wandered so far off the right path that they¡¯d just given up entirely. In truth, helping the man had been tantamount to acting on a whim. It had positive results, in a big-picture way, but Sen had no clue what the effect had been on Wu Gang himself.


    ¡°How do you feel about where your life has taken you?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly a question,¡± said Wu Gang. ¡°I¡¯m not sure it has a simple answer.¡±


    ¡°Then, give me aplicated answer, and I¡¯ll try to keep up.¡±


    Wu Gang huffed a littleugh and said, ¡°Fair enough. I could say that this is the life that I wanted. It¡¯s the life I told you I wanted. To be a wandering cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Except now you know what that life is actually like. It¡¯s easy to want something you¡¯ve never had.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the heavens¡¯ own truth. I¡¯ve done a lot of good. I¡¯ve helped a lot of people. I¡¯ve seen amazing things. It¡¯d be childish to say that I haven¡¯t gotten a lot out of that,¡± said Wu Gang, falling into a pensive silence.


    ¡°But,¡± prompted Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯d be lying if I said there weren¡¯t times that I resented you. I¡¯ve seen wonders, true, but I¡¯ve seen terrible things as well. They tell stories about me and call me a hero. That¡¯s an awful word to put on someone. They don¡¯t tell the stories about the times you didn¡¯t get there in time. No one ever hears about the burned-out farms or wrecked viges that you <em>failed</em> to save. But I remember them. I¡¯ve stood over more funeral pyres than I care to recall.¡±


    Sen winced at that, recalling a gue vige where he¡¯d repeatedly stood that watch like some kind of hellish punishment. Wu Gang lifted an eyebrow at Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done that a few times myself,¡± said Sen, not wishing to relive the memories in any more detail.


    ¡°You know, sometimes, I try to weigh it all up in my head. I try to figure out if the good I¡¯ve done outweighs the evil I failed to stop. I try to understand if the lives I¡¯ve saved bnce the lives I¡¯ve taken.¡±


    ¡°Did you get anywhere with it?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°No. Did you?¡±


    ¡°What makes you think I¡¯ve ever done such a thing?¡±


    ¡°Because cultivators don¡¯t do things like open schools for mortals. It¡¯s beneath them unless they have a reason for it. Apelling reason. The kind of reason that haunts their dreams. Are your dreams haunted, Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°Sometimes, it¡¯s my conscience. I had a conversation about Karma a while back with people who understand it a lot better than me. Any guesses about what they had to say?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Wu Gang.


    ¡°They basically said that it¡¯s ineffable and that it¡¯s a good thing that it¡¯s ineffable.¡±


    ¡°Why is that a good thing?¡±


    ¡°The consensus seemed to be that it acts as a kind of counterbnce to our worst impulses. If you can¡¯t ever know the full measure of your karma, it may cause you to make different choices, better choices.¡±


    ¡°Do you believe that?¡± asked Wu Gang.


    ¡°The ineffable part, yeah. The rest of it, not so much.¡±


    Wu Gang seemed to consider that answer before he nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, I think that¡¯s about where I stand on it as well. So, why the deep questions this time?¡±


    ¡°Curiosity.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve been trying to decide how to handle something. I thought that your answers might give me a clue about how you¡¯d react afterward.¡±


    ¡°Did they?¡± asked Wu Gang, a spective look on his face.


    ¡°No, not particrly. If it makes a difference, they also didn¡¯t change my mind about anything either,¡± said Sen staring into the small fire. ¡°I free you, Righteous Wu Gang, of all oaths and promises to me. Your life is your own again.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter Nine – Facts Can Do That

    Book 8: Chapter Nine ¨C Facts Can Do That


    Wu Gang went so still that Sen was certain the man wasn¡¯t even breathing. Then, the teacup in his hand started trembling so badly that the hot liquid sshed out onto Wu Gang¡¯s hand. Something that went all but unnoticed until Sen reached out and took the cup away from him. The big man stared down at his shaking hand before unceremoniously wiping it against his robes. After the news seemed to finally settle in and take on some semnce of reality, Wu Gang turned confused, disbelieving eyes on Sen.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked the man. ¡°And why now?¡±


    Instead of answering immediately, Sen calmly wiped the cup down. He refilled it with fresh tea and held the cup out. Mastering himself a bit, Wu Gang took the cup with a steadier hand. Sen filled his own cup back up and leaned back into his chair. He desperately hoped that it all looked like the calcted actions of someone wise, rather than being an abrupt y for time to think of the answer or, barring that, <em>an</em> answer. Sen frowned thoughtfully down at his tea and took a sip before he finally spoke.


    ¡°We¡¯vee a long way since Orchard¡¯s Reach, the two of us. I doubt anyone from there would ever have imagined that a ce so small it doesn¡¯t even show up on most maps might birth two minor legends.¡±


    ¡°I suppose not,¡± said Wu Gang, his brow furrowing.


    ¡°Do you remember that pack of brats you used to run around with back there?¡±


    Wu Gang actually winced at that and said, ¡°Unfortunately, I do. Although, the gods know I don¡¯t think about them very often.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± said Sen. ¡°I think about those brats almost every day.¡±


    ¡°I guess things with them were very different for you,¡± said Wu Gang with more than a little guilt in his voice.¡°Huh. Yeah, that¡¯s certainly true, but that¡¯s not what I meant. For a long time, I thought they were the worst people in the entire world. You got painted with that same brush. As far as I was concerned, one noble brat or merchant brat was the same as the next. You were all just evil bastards who liked to hurt people. Then, I went out <em>into</em> the world. The same world you went out into. While it took me a lot longer than it should have, I did eventually figure something out. They weren¡¯t even close to being the worst people in the world. They were just¡ª¡± Sen searched for the right word.


    ¡°Young?¡± supplied Wu Gang.


    ¡°Well, yes, they certainly were <em>that</em>, but I think a better word is small. They were all so very small and petty. And so was I. Not in the same ways, of course, but my entire world was contained inside the walls of that insignificant little town. When I sent you on your way, I was still thinking of the world through that tiny lens. I can see now that your sins were depressingly mundane and ultimately minor. Nothing so terrible that you should be damned to some kind of eternal servitude. Nor do I believe myself so wise that I should be the arbiter of your fate. In my opinion, you have more than paid for anything you might have done. So, I set you free to have whatever life it is that you want.¡±


    The pair sat there by the fire in silence for a time. Wu Gang wore a faintly troubled expression, while Sen felt an odd sense of lightness. It was as if he¡¯d shrugged off a weight he hadn¡¯t known he was carrying. The troubled look on Wu Gang¡¯s face did give Sen pause, though. He¡¯d expected the man to be happy, overjoyed even, to finally be able to set his own course through the world. Sen decided to add one more thought.


    ¡°I do hope that the legend of Righteous Wu Gang doesn¡¯t end here, though.¡±


    Wu Gang shook off some inner thought and focused on Sen.


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    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Honestly,¡± said Sen, ¡°it¡¯s for my sake.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I see the connection.¡±


    ¡°We were seen together. If Righteous Wu Gang simply stops being a hero overnight, people will probably think I killed you. So, it¡¯s really better for <em>me</em> if you keep on being heroic.¡±


    Wu Gang stared at Sen with a vaguely incredulous look before he burst intoughter.


    ¡°Oh, well, we certainly wouldn¡¯t want to inconvenience the Heavens Scouring de,¡± said Wu Gang with a huge grin.


    ¡°I know! Who can say what kind of disasters might descend on us all?¡±


    ¡°The way I hear it, it¡¯ll probably result in a gue of miserable, beautiful women wandering the countryside looking for you.¡±


    Sen shook his head and said, ¡°The horror.¡±


    Wu Gang snickered at that, but that same troubled look soon overtook his face again. Sen waited for him to decide what to do. The man would either talk about it, or he wouldn¡¯t. After several minutes of silence, Wu Gang looked at Sen, and he seemed almost lost.


    ¡°But, what do I do now?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Whatever you want to do? You could travel the world, learn a trade, or start a family. The gods help you, you could even join a sect if you really want to. I mean, didn¡¯t you ever think about what you would do when all of this was over?¡±


    Wu Gang averted his gaze, and it was only then that Sen understood. Wu Gang hadn¡¯t thought it would <em>ever</em> be over. He¡¯d believed that his path through life had been fixed in stone. Sen¡¯s ridiculous ascent in power had, much like it did for mortals, effectively made his wordw to someone like Wu Gang. Even if that word had been a childish and ultimately vague decree made by a younger and deeply foolish version of Sen. Wu Gang might have fantasized about some other kind of life because who wouldn¡¯t in that situation? However, Sen wouldy money that those fantasies had never resulted in anything like nning for some other life. As much as he struggled to reconcile himself to the idea, freeing Wu Gang could just as easily be seen as a kind of cruelty.


    For all that the man had endured, it could be said that Sen had given him purpose and then yanked that purpose away without warning. Sen just wasn¡¯t sure if that put some kind of obligation on him. There was now against withdrawing someone¡¯s purpose, but there was probably a moral argument that he owed Wu Gang some kind of consideration. <em>What would that even look like</em>? <em>Do I give him some other task</em>? <em>Would that even help</em>? Sen honestly didn¡¯t know what, if anything, was the right course of action. He didn¡¯t want to leave Wu Gang in an emotional quagmire, but he didn¡¯t see a clear path forward. <em>I wish Master Feng was here</em>, thought Sen. <em>I bet he¡¯d know what to do about this, or at least have a list of brothels that Wu Gang could visit while he figures things out</em>.


    ¡°You really never gave it any thought?¡± asked Sen, mostly for something to say.


    ¡°I¡­ No. I never gave it any serious thought,¡± said Wu Gang. ¡°It just didn¡¯t seem like something that I should spend my energy on. nning for things I¡¯d never get. That kind of thinking can drive a man mad.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, ¡°I expect it could.¡±


    Sen closed his eyes and thought hard about one option. It wasn¡¯t an option he liked because it just felt so unbelievably self-serving. On the other hand, it would provide Wu Gang with some direction for the immediate future. While the man might not know exactly what he wanted to do right this minute, that could change after he¡¯d had a little time to think it over. A few days to getfortable with the idea that he was his own master again might be just what Wu Gang needed. Sen stowed his uncertainty and decided to just push forward. After all, it was just an offer. Wu Gang could always say no.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re headed to the capital proper. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve ever been there or have any desire to go back, but you¡¯re wee to join us for now.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t just fight your way through dozens of cultivators that were sent to kill you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°All of them here to stop you from reaching some kind of meeting with <em>the king</em>?¡±


    ¡°That does seem to be the case, yes.¡±


    ¡°And, even after you get there, you¡¯re probably still going to be fending off assassins?¡±


    ¡°When you describe it that way, it makes my life sound really terrible,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°It¡¯s funny how facts can do that,¡± said Wu Gang.


    ¡°So, I take it that¡¯s a no?¡± asked Sen, a little relieved.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going toe. If ever a man lived who needs someone to watch his back, it¡¯s you.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen, abruptly recognizing the mistake he¡¯d made. ¡°Right.¡±


    Sen had just gone and told a man who had been acting as a professional hero for years that he was knowingly walking into danger. What else was a man like that going to do but volunteer toe along? Sen did his best to put on a smile.


    ¡°Wee to the team.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 10: Now, Do You Understand?

    Book 8: Chapter 10: Now, Do You Understand?


    ¡°So, did you really¡ª¡± started Wu Gang for at least the fifth time that day.


    ¡°Seriously? Do you want me to start asking you some <em>did you really</em> questions? Because I can,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Wu Gang with augh. ¡°I get it. Those questions do get tiresome. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t get to be the one asking them all that often.¡±


    Sen thought back to something that Laughing River had told Li Yi Nuo during that bizarre venture into the ruins.


    ¡°Okay, here¡¯s a good rule of thumb. The crazier and more impossible it sounds, the more likely it is to be true.¡±


    Wu Gang frowned at that and said, ¡°Those stories don¡¯t always paint you in the best light.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they don¡¯t. There are good reasons why people aren¡¯t always happy to see me.¡±


    Sen nced over his shoulder. Shen Mingxia seemed to be doing some kind of exercise with her qi. Long Jia Wei was doing his level best not to draw any attention whatsoever to himself. Glimmer of Night was eating <em>something</em> that Sen chose not to look at too closely. Sen had given the spider a storage ring. Ever since then, he¡¯d caught the spider randomly eating things that didn¡¯t look especially like food to him. <em>Some questions will only result in knowledge you regret possessing</em>, Sen told himself and he turned his eyes back to the road ahead. The group had been traveling by foot thest few days out of necessity. They were moving into the popted area outside the capital¡¯s walls, which made flying around on qi tforms little more than a good way to announce their exact location. The attacks had stopped. Sen didn¡¯t know if they¡¯d simply worked their way through all the teams of killers sent after them, or if there was some other exnation.


    The addition of Wu Gang to the party also meant that either he or Glimmer of Night would have to carry two people on their qi tform. While Sen thought that he could <em>probably</em> do it if he pushed himself, he didn¡¯t think the spider could. He could see it as a potential training tool, but not with so much uncertainty floating around them. Wearing himself out all day only to find a bunch of core formation assassins waiting for them somewhere did not strike Sen as a good time. No, it was better to cover thest bit of the journey by foot. The fact that they were all cultivators allowed them to continue making good time, even if it wasn¡¯t the crushing pace that Sen had been setting before.Part of Sen had expected some pushback over the idea of Wu Gang joining them. Pushback that had not manifested. It had taken Sen¡¯s distracted mind longer than it should have to piece together why the resistance never appeared. Shen Mingxia had appeared happy to have him along. She picked the man¡¯s brain about everything from cultivation advice to where to find the best food in ces that Sen had never even heard of. Long Jia Wei simply didn¡¯t dare to object to anything that Sen said, lest his reprieve and life were cut short. Glimmer of Night, as far as Sen could tell, just didn¡¯t care. One more or less human that wasn¡¯t a threat to the spider didn¡¯t mean much. So, why worry about it? At least, that was what Sen imagined Glimmer of Night¡¯s thought process looked like. It was equally possible that the spider had gotten distracted by one of his web patterns and was registering Wu Gang as part of the scenery. Sen knew that he could just ask, but a little part of him enjoyed not knowing. It was one of the few harmless mysteries in his life.


    As they approached the town where Sen meant for them to stop for the day, though, his intuition started warning him. He slowed to a stop and then let his hand drift up to pinch the bridge of his nose. The others, having seen him stop, had drawn a little closer and were giving him questioning looks. He gave them all a mirthless smile.


    ¡°Well, I hoped you enjoyed our break from all the fighting. It¡¯s over,¡± said Sen.


    Shen Mingxia, Long Jia Wei, and Wu Gang all traded looks. Glimmer of Night continued to stare at Sen with a nk expression. Shen Mingxia had apparently been appointed spokesperson by silent agreement because she was the one who spoke up.


    ¡°How do you know?¡± she asked, casting a wary look around them.


    ¡°I just know. I can feel it,¡± said Sen. ¡°I could probably figure out why I know if I work hard enough at it. I expect that there are subtle variations in the environmental qi that shouldn¡¯t be there. Maybe I¡¯m picking up on some echo of murderous intent. Who knows? It could well be some kind of karmic sensitivity. It doesn¡¯t really matter. What matters is that we¡¯re about to walk into some violence.¡±


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    ¡°Should one of us go scout?¡± asked Shen Mingxia.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen and Wu Gang at the same time.


    Shen Mingxia rolled her eyes and asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    Sen just nodded to Wu Gang, curious to see if the man¡¯s reasons would match up with his own.


    ¡°If someone is waiting for us ahead,¡± said Wu Gang, ¡°they¡¯ve had time to prepare the ground. They may have set some traps. Unless they¡¯replete imbeciles, they¡¯ll have at least a few people watching for us. Sending a scout just divides our strength and gives them a chance to capture one of us.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said Sen. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m probably the best suited to do that scouting. It¡¯d be irresponsible of me to go ahead and leave you here. I know that you¡¯re all capable but, without a clear understanding of who or what we face, staying together gives us the best odds.¡±


    ¡°Or, you know, you could just go up there and kill them all,¡± said Shen Mingxia in a tone that was only half joking.


    Wu Gang gave her a sharp look.


    ¡°Do you normally just n around him killing everyone?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s been ying out that way a lot just recently,¡± said Sen. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯d be dumbfounded if it didn¡¯t go that way this time.¡±


    A deep frown settled on Wu Gang¡¯s face.


    ¡°Do you even give them a chance to walk away?¡±


    Sen felt himself neatly tucking away hispassion and his mercy, felt himself leaning in to that Judgment¡¯s Gale persona. There was a purity to being that person, a kind of certainty that he didn¡¯t feel the rest of the time. He knew there was something else there too, or maybe it¡¯d be more correct to say that there was something missing. Limits. Lu Sen had them. He had lines he wouldn¡¯t cross. Things he wouldn¡¯t do, or at least wouldn¡¯t let himself do. Judgment¡¯s Gale didn¡¯t have those limits. Within the bounds of his power, Judgment¡¯s Gale was capable of anything. Sen recognized that the separation between Sen and Judgment¡¯s Gale was a pure illusion, but it was also real. It was a way to safeguard and preserve his humanity for those few people he considered worthy of it.


    ¡°I tell them to leave,¡± said Judgment¡¯s Gale. ¡°Once. After that, everyone is fair game. Now, let¡¯s go meet whoever it is that¡¯s waiting for us.¡±


    Sen was normally reserved with his use of his spiritual sense. It could be overwhelming, even dangerous for any mortals caught in it. For that matter, it could be troublesome for qi-gathering and even foundation-formation cultivators. As they started down the road, though, all of those concerns faded away. Sen let his spiritual sense roll forward like a tidal wave, spreading it out for miles. He felt mortal animals and spirit beasts alike freeze as they sensed that spiritual sense crash over them like the eyes of a predator. He felt the presence of cultivators in the forest around the road. Dozens of them. He thought that there were as many waiting for them now as they had found collectively on their way there. He couldn¡¯t make vague guesses about their levels of advancement, but there were definitely some core formation cultivators in that mix. Much like the animals and spirit beasts, they froze when they felt his spiritual sense. Sen recounted what he was sensing as they walked, and was d they hadn¡¯t sent anyone forward to scout.


    ¡°Perhaps we should turn aside,¡± said Wu Gang. ¡°Find another way.¡±


    Sen considered the suggestion and then rejected it.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t change anything. If we don¡¯t deal with them now, we¡¯ll just have to deal with them somewhere else tomorrow. At least we can do something to limit the damage and mortal casualties here. That¡¯s next to impossible in the capital proper,¡± said Sen before turning his gaze to Glimmer of Night. ¡°Your job here is to help protect the others. I¡¯ll do what I can, but I expect they¡¯ll have someone formidable up there waiting for me. Probably someone they recruited for exactly this moment. I expect they¡¯re going to be taking up most of my attention.¡±


    ¡°I will protect them,¡± said Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°One more thing,¡± said Judgment¡¯s Gale. ¡°If they attack, we kill everyone. No one escapes. No one reports back. Everyst one of them dies.¡±


    Wu Gang looked decidedly ufortable with that promation. Sen almost let it go but changed his mind in the end.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t do that, now is the time to tell me," said Sen.


    The man didn¡¯t answer immediately, but his brows furrowed like he was concentrating hard. He finally looked over at Sen.


    ¡°Is that really <em>necessary</em>?¡±


    ¡°All of this has been to send me a message. Stay away. You¡¯re not wanted here. So, this time, I¡¯m going to send the message.¡±


    ¡°What message?¡±


    ¡°That I¡¯m done tolerating interference. From here on out, no survivors.¡±


    There was another long pause before Wu Gang let out a resigned breath.


    ¡°Very well,¡± he said. ¡°No survivors.¡±


    No one spoke again as they approached the walls. Then, the gate to the town came into view. Instead of guards on either side of the gate, there was just one man. Sen could tell that the man was making an effort to mute his presence, but it still zed. <em>He¡¯s either the strongest core formation cultivator I¡¯ve ever met</em>, <em>or he¡¯s in the nascent soul stage</em>, thought Sen. Sen brought the group to a stop well away from the man, although still close enough that nascent soul senses would pick up anything anyone said. The man took a moment to straighten his robes and reach up to check that his touji was still in ce before he regarded Sen with emotionless eyes.


    ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale,¡± said the man. ¡°I am Tseun Rong. I have been sent to tell you that your path ends here.¡±


    ¡°Take them and go,¡± said Sen. ¡°One chance.¡±


    ¡°Or you¡¯ll do what, little core cultivator?¡±


    Rather than answer the man, Sen turned to look at Wu Gang.


    ¡°Now, do you understand?¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 11: Man and Myth

    Book 8: Chapter 11: Man and Myth


    Wu Gang had been relieved when Sen suggested that he coulde along to the capital. It had let him put off a decision he¡¯d never thought he¡¯d ever be making. Plus, it was a chance to learn a bit more about a person who had radically altered his life, but that he didn¡¯t really know at all. His interactions with the street rat, Sen, had mostly involved punching rather than talking. A fact that had left him with more than a little lingering guilt. In fact, most of what he¡¯d done at the behest of the mayor¡¯s family was a source of guilt for him. Then, there had been that fight with Lu Sen, in the days before the name Judgment¡¯s Gale even existed. That fight had been terrifying and humiliating, by turns. The contemptuous ease with which he had pped down all of those early-stage cultivators had been eye-opening.


    Still, Wu Gang had believed his own strength would be enough. What aughably na?ve thought that had been. Lu Sen had stopped that blow cold with nothing but brute strength. Then, he¡¯d punched Wu Gang as hard as he¡¯d ever been hit in his life up until that point. That was all it took. A single punch to end their ¡°battle.¡± Then, for reasons that remained entirely opaque to Wu Gang, Sen had freed his family from debt and sent him out into the world with one, very clearmand. <em>Don¡¯t make me regret this</em>.


    After that, Lu Sen had been like a ghost that was always over Wu Gang¡¯s shoulder, watching, evaluating, and always ready to pass judgment. Like everyone else, Wu Gang heard the wild, unbelievable tales of the man in blue robes who challenged sect elders, defied demonic cultivators, and worked miracles both benevolent and terrible. Lu Sen was no longer a man, no longer even a cultivator, but a story, a myth, a specter to conjure by and to fear. He was Judgment¡¯s Gale, a figure who strode across the kingdom in blood and fire. As a man others told stories about himself, Wu Gang never knew which stories were true and which had been cut from whole cloth. He¡¯d only ever seen Lu Sen on one other asion. That meeting was hazy in Wu Gang¡¯s memory. All he really remembered about Sen in that memory was a man who seemed to have rage burning inside of him. The rest of his memory was consumed with the woman who had been with Sen. He still had dreams about that woman sometimes, which honestly worried Wu Gang at times.


    Over thesest few days, though, he¡¯d been searching for that story, that myth, that titan who offered destruction in one hand and salvation in the other. Instead, he¡¯d found a person who seemed burdened, although by what remained mysterious. Judgment¡¯s Gale, it seemed, truly was just a story. Or so Wu Gang had thought up until a few minutes ago. The often-amused man who traded glibments with Shen Mingxia, the man who took pleasure in cooking meals, had disappeared. In his ce stood a man who could calmly talk about butchering everyone in his way, not for the purpose of survival, which Wu Gang could have readily understood, but for the purpose of <em>sending a message</em>. The reserved kindness Wu Gang had seen in the other man was simply gone. All that remained in its ce was an unwavering, ruthless resolve. Yet, true to his word, he had given the insanely powerful cultivator that was waiting for them one chance to leave. Well, it had been an order, but it was still a chance. A chance the other cultivator had blithely thrown back in Judgment¡¯s Gale¡¯s face. That was when a myth had turned his ruthless, resolved eyes and full attention onto Wu Gang.


    ¡°Now, do you understand?¡± he¡¯d asked.


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    That look and the question had felt like a blow. Judgment¡¯s Gale had <em>expected</em> this turn of events. He¡¯d known that his offer would be met with scorn. And he had prepared a response. Wu Gang didn¡¯t understand everything that happened in the next few seconds. What he did understand was the stories he¡¯d heard about the kind of strength Lu Sen wielded paled inparison to the truth. Within a heartbeat, he felt some kind of bizarre, wholly alien powersh out from Judgment¡¯s Gale and bear down on Tseun Rong. The man had felt impossibly powerful to Wu Gang, so he¡¯d expected Tseun Rong to simply ignore it or shake it off. Instead, he was driven to a knee, like the hand of a giant had pressed down on him. Within a heartbeat of that, Wu Gang felt the tiniest brush of killing intent sweep past him. It didn¡¯t touch him, but it didn¡¯t need to. Simply being in proximity to it felt like being battered in a windstorm.


    A heartbeat after that, he felt Lu Sen¡¯s qi rouse itself. Wu Gang had fought rtively few cultivators. In a strange way, his reputation had shielded him from the worst that the Jianghu had to offer. Even cultivators from sects with particrly bad reputations seemed deeply reluctant to fight with a man known solely for helping people. More than once, he¡¯d been met with an aggressive sect cultivator, only for that cultivator¡¯spanions to interfere. He had, however, been witness to more than one battle between rival cultivators. He¡¯d felt the strength of foundation formation cultivators and core cultivators in the heat of a fight. He knew the kind of pressure that created and what rolled off Lu Sen in that moment was something on another level. It was the difference between standing next to a stove and standing in the heart of a forge. The strength of it, to say nothing of the speed with which it was summoned, staggered Wu Gang, and it made him afraid. That fear was only amplified when Judgment¡¯s Gale sent that qi chasing his killing intent out into the forest because that was when the screaming started.


    Wu Gang¡¯s spiritual sense wasn¡¯t especially keen, but even he couldn¡¯t miss those bright stars of life that had floated in his mind¡¯s eye blinking out one after the next. He couldn¡¯t figure out what to react to first, the raw power on disy, the unbelievable control, or the speed with which death seemed toe when Lu Sen merely stretched out his hand. Wu Gang looked at Lu Sen and shivered. The only sign, the only indication at all that this was costing the man anything was a slight tightness around the eyes. Those cold, cold eyes that never moved away from Tseun Rong.¡°I¡¯ve done what I could,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯s going to get ugly now.¡±


    Wu Gang felt the disbelief on his own face at the apologetic tone in Lu Sen¡¯s voice. It was as if the man somehow felt that dispatching at least a couple of dozen would-be attackers in the span of a breath or two was somehow <em>inadequate</em>. He didn¡¯t have time to pursue that thought much further because Tseun Rong finally reacted. With a roar of effort or rage, he shot to his feet. Lu Sen flinched as that bizarre, alien technique he¡¯d been using against the other man was apparently broken. Tseun Rong shook his head and drew a heavy dao. Judgment¡¯s Gale wiped a trickle of blood from beneath his nose with one hand and drew his jian with the other. Wu Gang¡¯s blood ran cold as the familiar, reflective metal of the de suddenly turned a color that was darker than the deepest ck he had ever seen. The ck lightning crackling around that de left eerie, disquieting, purple afterimages in Wu Gang¡¯s vision. The worst of it, though, was the feeling of absolute, imminent doom that radiated off that transformed de. Lu Sen nced at everyone, offered a smile as cold as winter¡¯s heart, and then vanished in a burst of qi that fueled a seemingly impossible qinggong technique.


    <em>You were looking for a myth</em>, thought Wu Gang. <em>You found him</em>.

 Book 8: Chapter 12: A Trembling in the Air

    Book 8: Chapter 12: A Trembling in the Air


    Much to his surprise and Tseun Rong¡¯s naked shock, Sen¡¯s first attack was very nearly thest word in their fight. The nascent soul cultivator seemed mildly impressed by Sen¡¯s speed, but not by the attack itself. That held right up until the moment Sen¡¯s jian passed cleanly <em>through</em> Tseun Rong¡¯s Dao without so much as a whisper of resistance. It was only the equally terrifying speed of the nascent soul cultivator that spared him from being sliced in two. The man activated his own qinggong technique and jerked himself away, but not before the tip of Sen¡¯s jian cut a neat slice across the man¡¯s chest. Tseun Rong didn¡¯t go very far before he stumbled to a stop and stared down at the open wound in clear horror. Instead of closing immediately the way any other superficial wound would do for someone at that cultivation level, the cut started to darken and fester. The nascent soul cultivator¡¯s hand shot to the wound, and he barely disced a groan of pain with a snarl of rage.


    The man¡¯s eyes snapped up and his mouth opened, no doubt to inform Sen of how he was courting death, but the words never arrived. Sen was nearly on top of the man again, his void-colored de and its devastating lighting on course to drive through the other man¡¯s heart. <em>Keep him on the back foot</em>, Sen told himself. <em>If I let him recover his wits</em>, <em>this is almost certainly over</em>. Tseun Rong''s eyes widened in panic, and he managed to dodge to one side. Even off-bnce, though, the man was a nascent soul cultivator with all of the hard years of battle experience that normally went with that stage of advancement. He sent a spear of ice racing toward Sen. A memory of a battle at sea with a monstrous spirit beast shed through Sen¡¯s mind. The feeling that ice spear gave off felt rmingly simr to a chunk of crystal that had punched in one side of Sen and out the other during that fight. He recalled all too well the ice qi that had lingered inside of him from that crystal and tried to rip him apart from the inside out.


    Sen dodged to one side andshed out with his jian. The raw destructive force of Heavens¡¯ Rebuke disrupted the ice spear technique. It was a double-edged sword, though. The bacsh from the broken technique cracked Tseun Rong¡¯s concentration and prevented him from hurling another technique at Sen. Unfortunately, while the technique was broken, the ice was still real enough, and ice formed by a nascent soul cultivator was as hard as diamonds. The spear shattered under the force of Sen¡¯s blow. Dozens of cuts opened across his body, including one that was perilously close to a major artery in his neck. Rapid blood loss wasn¡¯t quite as catastrophic for someone with Sen¡¯s body cultivation, but it damned sure wouldn¡¯t do him any favors. He also felt the undirected ice qi trying to sink itself into him and turn flesh into ice. He ignored that distraction, trusting that his body would find a way to either suppress or convert that foreign qi into something he could use.


    Taking a cue from the ice spear and eager to return damage for damage, Sen cycled for earth. He reached deep into the ground, reached for the very bones of the world, and seized what he found. Even as he dragged that ancient stone upward, hepressed it, hardened it in ways that only qi could manage. It only took a moment, but moments mattered in a fight. The wound on Tseun Rong¡¯s chest was getting worse by the second, but Sen could tell that it wasn¡¯t going to be enough to kill the man. At least, it wouldn¡¯t kill him soon enough to matter. The dozen needle-thin slivers of ice hovering in the air around the nascent soul cultivator told him that. Sen had a deep yearning to <em>never</em> find out what would happen if one of those needles passed through his body. Tseun Rongunched the ice slivers at very nearly the same moment that razor-thin des of hardened stone shot up out of the ground.


    Sen didn¡¯t see what the other man did because he was too busy flinging himself back, erecting a wall of fire, and hardening a dome of air in front of him. He did hear an agonized scream, though, so for a tiny little fraction of a single second, he let himself feel smug. Then, all his attention was back on survival. The ice slivers shot through the wall of white-hot me, which reduced their strength, but they still punched into the dome of air so hard that Sen¡¯s feet plowed furrows in the ground. He could feel that ice driving against the hardened air. The dome pressed closer and closer to his body. He dipped into his core and poured that qi into the dome, but the ice slowly, inexorably pushed through the defense. Sen watched as the glistening, impossibly sharp tips of those needles drew closer and closer to his body. He felt it as one of them pierced into the muscle of an arm, and another started to part the flesh in his leg. He didn¡¯t dare move for fear that it would break the concentration necessary to fend off the attack of a true nascent soul cultivator. He forced himself to ignore it as one of those slivers pressed ever closer to his right eye. Just when he was certain that ice was going to slip through the dome of hardened air, plunge through his eye, and tear into his brain, the force behind the technique faltered. It was only a moment, but it was enough. Sen shifted the dome away from him, opening a deep gouge in his cheek that immediately started to burn with cold. Sen¡¯s injured arm and leg felt like they belonged to someone else. <em>No more closebat for me in this fight</em>, thought Sen grimly.


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    Sen looked to where he¡¯dst seen Tseun Rong. The nascent soul cultivator was still there, or most of him was at least. The man had shattered the stone des with what looked to have been brute strength, but they¡¯d done their work. It looked like one of the des had sheared off most of the man¡¯s right hand. Another had done severe damage to one of the man¡¯s legs, although Sen couldn¡¯t tell the extent of it through all of the blood. They were the kinds of wounds that would have ended a fight with most core cultivators. A foundation formation cultivator likely wouldn¡¯t have survived at all. The nascent soul cultivator simply looked enraged.


    Sen could hear the sounds of fighting nearby. There was the sh of weapons, bursts of qi, screams of pain, and everything in him wanted to look. His spiritual sense could give him a general picture of what was happening, at least in the sense of where people were located. It didn¡¯t take much imagination to figure out that the small group that moved together wasprised of Glimmer of Night, Shen Mingxia, Wu Gang, and Long Jia Wei. But that scant information wasn¡¯t the same as seeing what was happening, or visually confirming that the people he¡¯d brought into this fight were at least still on their feet if not entirely well. It took every ounce of discipline he had to keep his eyes fixed on Tseun Rong, but Sen made himself do it. The nascent soul cultivator was the single biggest threat in the fight. Diverting his attention from that threat was like begging for death.


    ¡°You impudent child!¡± the man roared. ¡°I will shatter your core and make you watch while I peel the skin from your followers.¡±Sen felt a kind of deadness take root inside of him at those words. It was as if every single emotion suddenly lost the ability tomunicate with him. He simply stared nkly as the nascent soul cultivator continued to rave.


    ¡°Are there people you love? Friends? Family? I will break them in body and soul while you watch, impotent to stop it. That ridiculous school of yours. I¡¯ll raze it to the ground for this muttion. That pathetic sty of a town you call home. Gone. The people there. I will sell them into the worst kind of very you can imagine. I will make your name a curse on the lips of this kingdom, Judgment¡¯s Gale!¡±


    Tseun Rong red across the expanse of scorched and battered soil between them. There was madness in those eyes. Sen didn¡¯t know if it was a madness born of time, or pain, or pride. Perhaps, it was a sickness that had always been in the man. There was no way to be sure, and Sen had moved into a ce beyond caring about things like <em>why</em>. All he cared about at that moment was <em>what</em>. <em>What</em> the man had likely done. If he was issuing threats like that while mad with pain, it was probable that he had actually done such things in the past. <em>What</em> the man was threatening to do. Sen didn¡¯t have much use for honor, but he did believe that he had a duty to protect the people who wouldn¡¯t be in danger if not for him. This man was threatening all of them. He was threatening Ai. Sen felt a rumbling in his soul at that, as if the entire world had been seized by the fist of a god and shaken. Threats to her simply <em>could not be tolerated</em>. That only left a simple question. What should be done about Tseun Rong? Sen watched as the madness in the man¡¯s eyes retreated at what he saw, or perhaps at what he didn¡¯t see on Sen''s face and in Sen¡¯s eyes. It was reced with wariness. Everything else fell away as Sen focused the totality of his attention on Tseun Rong. As that focus sharpened, there was a trembling in the air, a shudder in the earth, and thunder erupted from a clear sky.


    Sen''s voice sounded calm to him when he spoke two words, even if they made the nascent soul cultivator take a lurching step back.


    ¡°I see.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 13: This Isn’t Right

    Book 8: Chapter 13: This Isn¡¯t Right


    Shen Mingxia had been aware of the fight between Sen and the nascent soul cultivator. It was impossible <em>not</em> to be aware of it with the kind of power those two were throwing around. Her very being shuddered every time one of them ignited a technique. She¡¯d <em>thought</em>, after all of the fighting they¡¯d done recently, that she had a handle on Sen¡¯s true strength. Now, she knew how terribly, disastrously wrong she¡¯d been in her assessment. The man was trading blows with a nascent soul cultivator and had survived beyond the first two seconds of the fight. It should have been like her taking on any of the core cultivators out for their blood. One burst of aggression followed by an ignominious death. Instead, Sen had kept that man locked down for entire minutes. She wouldn¡¯t have believed it if she wasn¡¯t here to witness it. Not that she¡¯d seen much of that fight. She¡¯d been far too busy trying to survive this madness.


    She¡¯d always been uncertain about the spider, Glimmer of Night, but she was intensely grateful for his presence now. Not that the spider wasn¡¯t terrifying in his own right, but he was a terror on <em>her</em> side. His webs seemed to eat techniques, and may the gods help anyone that the spider actually managed to close with. His brute power was unbelievable. She¡¯d watched him casually rip off heads, arms, and legs, and then use those removed body parts as improvised weapons. It had a remarkably chilling effect on the enemy when they saw a friend¡¯s dead face racing toward them. As for Righteous Wu Gang, well, that was a man who lived up to his legend. He was a storm of violence with fists that fell like hammers. Whatever misgivings he¡¯d had about the fight, he¡¯d left them behind when the battle started. She even had to, however grudgingly, give Long Jia Wei his due. He used a pair of twin daggers and perfectly timed air qi attacks to devastating effect.


    She¡¯d just started to find her rhythm when everything changed. One second, she¡¯d been fending off attacks from two people closer to her own cultivation, the next second, no one was moving. No one was breathing. It was as if some vast, inhuman thing, some monster that was perfectly content to snuff out the lives of anything it saw, had turned its awful gaze on them.


    ***


    Wu Gang froze, and silence fell beneath the weight of that presence. He was a man who took an earned pride in hisck of fear. He had single-handedly faced down ravening spirit beasts, entire gangs of bandits, and even the asional cultivator. He had braved weather that could kill mortals to find lost children and bring them home. Bit by bit, he had ground away that fear and built strength and resolve in its ce. In one moment, all of that was stripped away. Suddenly, he was that same fool he¡¯d been back in Orchard¡¯s Reach. A young man too certain in his own strength feeling true fear for the first time as Lu Sen¡¯s fist nearly shattered his ribcage. He felt sweat pop out on his forehead and his hands shook as he tried toprehend what was happening. Then, almost against his will, he turned his eyes to where Lu Sen, no, to where Judgment¡¯s Gale stood. The man was bloodied but on his feet. He still held his jian, which continued radiating that awful sense of doom, but that seemed almost trivialpared to what was radiating from the man himself. <em>He</em> was the source of whatever was happening. Not that it was apparent from his utterly nk expression. If this was a storm, then Judgment¡¯s Gale stood in the eye of it.


    ***


    Glimmer of Night paused for a moment as Sen did something interesting. He would have to remember to ask about itter. In the meantime, though, if all these enemies were just going to stand around looking afraid of things, well, he wasn¡¯t a spider to waste an opportunity. He immediately began weaving that special web around all of these people who had volunteered to die. If they were all so eager to see where the Great Web would lead them next, who was he to deny them that opportunity? He did need to modify the web so it wouldn¡¯t hurt the Mingxia boy, or the other two Sen had decided coulde along. Glimmer of Night hadn¡¯t bothered to learn their names yet. He just thought of them as the not-Sen and the not-Mingxia. Although, he wasn¡¯t sure he used even those pseudo-names for the same ones each time. <em>Oh well</em>, he thought and activated the web.


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    ***Long Jia Wei couldn¡¯t decide who he was most afraid of at the moment. The nascent soul cultivator who appeared to bar their path had seemed like he would be the scariest thing here, but then Judgment¡¯s Gale had gone off, <em>by himself</em>, to fight the nascent soul cultivator. Defying all reason, he¡¯d survived so far and then triggered whatever the hells it was that was bearing down on them all. Long Jia Wei didn¡¯t even have a name for this experience. It felt like his very soul was being squeezed. He was certain that was going to be the most frightening thing he¡¯d experience this night, and probably for the rest of his life. Then, the one called Glimmer of Night had activated his web and moved right to the top of the list of things to be afraid of as every enemy cultivator inside the technique started dying horrific deaths. It was as if all the qi and life were being drained out of them. It even looked like they were all screaming in pure agony but had somehow, someway, been rendered silent.


    ***


    <em>This isn¡¯t right</em>, thought Tseun Rong. <em>None of this is right.</em>


    When he¡¯d been approached for this task, he knew he wasn¡¯t the first person they¡¯d asked. He was never the first person to get asked. He had a ¡°reputation¡± as someone who liked killing a bit too much. Someone who took that as the first option when other, better choices were avable. It had made him unpopr in the unfortunately small world of nascent soul cultivators, which he¡¯d discovered was more of a problem than he¡¯d anticipated. There was no alternative to that world, at least not if you wanted peers. And those peers were the kind of people with long, long memories and a decidedck of a sense of humor. He wasn¡¯t entirely shut out of those circles even if no one wanted him around. No one shared knowledge with him. But they didn¡¯t want him gone, either, because there would always be someone like Lu Sen out there. A rising power that left the old demigods trembling in their secret domains.


    He hadn¡¯t put much stock in all of those absurd Judgment Gale stories. People exaggerate, and mortals couldn¡¯t tell the same story twice. He¡¯d also heard the warnings that this Lu Sen was the student of Feng Ming, along with rumblings that Ma Caihong and Kho Jaw-Long had a hand in his training as well. But what did anyone have to fear from those three anymore? A new story would crop up every few hundred years, but Tseun Rong doubted that Feng Ming was even still alive or on this ne of existence anymore. As for Kho Jaw-Long, the man had exiled himself to some mountain ages ago. There were rumors that the three of them had gone on a demonic cultivator culling a few years back, but Tseun Rong knew better than to put stock in rumors. He hadn¡¯t seen them. No one he knew had seen them. That meant that someone had probably made it all up. Besides, this Lu Sen was just a core formation cultivator.


    That was how they¡¯d described him. <em>Just a core formation cultivator</em>. And Tseun Rong had to admit that it was technically true. He could sense the core in the man, but the pure physical strength and speed, the potency of his qi, to say nothing of the reserves he had to have¡­ It seemed impossible. This mere core formation cultivator had fought him, a nascent soul cultivator, to a standstill, and not briefly. Lu Sen hadn¡¯t simply dyed him for a moment. The man had brought the fight directly to Tseun Rong and seemed toe out of it less scathed than he had any right to. He¡¯d needed to change the game, to break that monstrous focus that Lu Sen carried. So, he¡¯d done everything he could to rile the man up. It had failed. The man hadn¡¯t be enraged. He hadn¡¯t made a stupid mistake. He¡¯d just gone nk. Then, the world itself seemed to writhe in displeasure, and Lu Sen brought something to bear on Tseun Rong that should have been impossible. That initial auric imposition, <em>a soul technique</em>, had been shocking enough, but this was something wholly different. It felt like that man¡¯s gaze alone would reach inside of Tseun Rong, seize everything that made him a person, and crush it.


    Then, as if all of that weren¡¯t bad enough, he felt the lesser cultivators he¡¯d recruited dying in droves. They were simply fading and then winking out of his spiritual sense. Tseun Rong made a decision. He had signed on to fight a man, not some incarnated god. He wrapped his injuries in hardened ice, and then all of his instincts started screaming. He saw Lu Sen lift that apocalypse he called a sword and point it at him. He didn¡¯t know what the man intended, and he had no intention of finding out. Heunched himself toward the sky. He would flee this doomed fight. Then, he heard a voice carried on air qi.


    ¡°No. You don¡¯t get to leave.¡±


    Tseun Rong¡¯s vision turned white as all of the agony in the world tried to find a home inside of him.

 Book 8: Chapter 14: No One Important

    Sen had meant to end it. When he saw Tseun Rong take to the sky, he could just sense the defeat in the man. It was a retreat. He considered just letting the coward go. Sen was injured and, no matter how detached he felt, he knew that simply surviving a direct battle with a nascent soul cultivator was practically a miracle in its own right. But that figure fleeing into the sky had threatened everything and everyone Sen loved. Sen knew it was a hollow threat, even if Tseun Rong apparently didn¡¯t. If that idiot went looking for trouble, killing him wouldn¡¯t even be a challenge for Uncle Kho. Sen literally couldn¡¯t imagine what Auntie Caihong would do to him, but terms like <em>unspeakable</em> and <em>cautionary tale</em> sprang immediately to mind. That the threat was hollow didn¡¯t change the fact that it had been made. Tseun Rong had threatened Sen¡¯s daughter, his little girl. His own words rang in his ears. <em>No survivors</em>. And Wu Gang wasn¡¯t the only person who knew how to keep his word. Sen used air qi to make his voice carry to Tseun Rong.


    ¡°No. You don¡¯t get to <em>leave</em>.¡±


    Maybe it was those words, that hint of warning, but when Sen unleashed Heavens¡¯ Rebuke, Tseun Rong had changed course. Instead ofncing through the man¡¯s chest the way Sen intended, it cleaved the man¡¯s legs from his body. The severed limbs fell away even as momentum carried the nascent soul cultivator higher into the air. The trauma alone would have shattered the necessary concentration to keep a technique moving. To say nothing of how Heavens¡¯ Rebuke would continue to ravage the man¡¯s body. The loss of those limbs would have sundered qi channels. While what was left of his body would retain the resilience of a nascent soul cultivator, Tseun Rong would never cycle qi again. Not without the kind of intervention that generally only happened in stories. Sen could just let it y out now. The man <em>would</em> die. Except, he didn¡¯t want to let it just happen. Some of his emotions were starting to bleed through again. The anger over those threats, the frustration over these escting battles, colored his decision.


    Senunched himself into the air on a qi tform. He caught up to the nascent soul cultivator just as gravity was beginning to reassert itself. Sen seized Tseun Rong by the throat, cutting off the wails of torment. He pulled the man close and shook him until Tseun Rong managed to focus on Sen¡¯s face.


    ¡°Does the sky make you feel safe?¡± asked Sen, releasing the control he maintained over the divine qi in his skin. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t. The sky is mine.¡±


    Tseun Rong¡¯s eyes went wide as Sen began to glow. Sen used every bit of strength he could dredge from his reinforced body and used it to hurl the maimed cultivator even higher into the air. Sen sped after the man, his fists crashing into Tseun Rong¡¯s body, pushing them both higher and higher until the details of thendscape below started to blur together. A fist of hardened air captured Tseun Rong and held the man aloft, as Sen glowered from several feet away.


    ¡°You don¡¯t¡ª¡± mumbled Tseun Rong before coughing up a mouthful of blood. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this.¡±


    Sen felt his scorn rise. Now, <em>now</em> this bastard wanted to talk, to reason, to negotiate. Tseun Rong wasn¡¯t the problem, just a symptom. Sen <em>knew</em> that, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel like this man, who had mere minutes before threatened very and death forplete strangers, represented all that Sen hated. This man had embraced everything that made sects and cultivation a misery for mortals, for wandering cultivators, and even for their own juniors. Sen <em>wanted</em> to stand in judgment of this man. Instead, he looked down at the town far below. He was shocked by how soft his own voice was when he spoke.


    ¡°Do you understand just how insignificant you are? Do you grasp that this world,¡± said Sen, sweeping his arm in a wide arc, ¡°has no more use for you? Do you realize that you will not be missed?¡±¡°No. No,¡± said Tseun Rong around another mouthful of blood.


    ¡°I was just going to kill you, but you ran to the sky. This is the domain of the heavens, at least symbolically. So, rather than kill you, I think a <em>tribtion</em> is in order.¡±


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    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t answer. He just smiled as he let lightning qi pass through his skin, picking up just a touch of divine qi, before it started leaping and crackling around them. The intensity of that lightning storm built and built and built until the air itself seemed ready to ignite under the pressure. The light was so bright that Sen doubted anyone but him and nascent soul cultivators could see through it. He could see that it was casting the world below in an unearthly luminescence. Tseun Rong started to thrash in his bonds, desperate to escape from what wasing for him. It was a useless effort. Had the nascent soul cultivator still been able to cycle, still been able to turn all of that qi inside of him to practical use, he might have escaped. In his present condition, he was a fish, well and truly caught on the hook. Sen waited until the desperate, flickering hope in the man¡¯s eyes faded and died.


    Anger red on Tseun Rong¡¯s face as he said, ¡°At least, tell me who you really are.¡±


    A brief sh of amusement passed through Sen as he thought of something he hadn¡¯t said in a while. He directed a small smile at the other cultivator.


    ¡°Oh, me,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯m no one important.¡±


    Sen imagined that those words were thest thing that Tseun Rong ever knew as counterfeit tribtion lightning bolts crashed into the nascent soul cultivator by the dozens. It didn¡¯t take Sen long to realize that he¡¯d overdone it. Tseun Rong was dead, long dead, and there was still a <em>lot</em> of lightning crackling around him. He frowned. He didn¡¯t want to just waste all of that lightning or send it down into the wilds at some random location. If Fu Run had taught him anything, it was that you really didn¡¯t know who might be living there. Thest thing he needed was <em>another</em> nascent soul cultivator looking to pick a fight with him. Then, Sen remembered that Tseun Rong hadn¡¯t been the only threat. He¡¯d just been the biggest one. Sen let himself plummet toward the ground, dragging both Tseun Rong¡¯s corpse and the lightning in his wake. It was possible that a storage treasure had survived Sen¡¯s tribtion, and anything a nascent soul cultivator had tucked away was probably worth having.


    As the ground rushed up to meet him, Sen realized how it must look. A glowing figure descending from on high, a funnel of lightning trailing behind him<em>. No wonder the mortals think that cultivators are gods</em>, thought Sen ruefully as he unwillingly contributed to that falsehood. The damage was already done though. Sen let his spiritual sense expand before him, picking out where Glimmer of Night and the others were making a stand. It seemed the fighting had resumed once Sen took the battle into the sky. He adjusted his course and, because he was the student of Feng Ming and had a responsibility to his teacher¡¯s reputation, he upped the glow in his skin as much as he could just before he came to a stop over the heads of hispanions. The enemy cultivators stumbled back from the glow that Sen let recede back into his skin at just the right pace. He gave them just enough time to see what was left of Tseun Rong, to register the fact of his death, before the lightning caught up. Under Sen¡¯s careful direction, it plunged down in a wave of crackling destruction. Where there had been enemies, all that remained were charred bodies and scorched bones.


    Sen hovered in the air for another moment. Lightning was powerful, but wasn¡¯t the most urate thing ever, even when directed by an expert. It had a tendency to fork out and hit things that you didn¡¯t want it to hit. With a moment of concentration, Sen extinguished dozens of small fires that had broken out in the surrounding forest. He didn¡¯t want to burn down the trees or the town, for that matter. Sen released Tseun Rong¡¯s body and let it flop down to the ground while he lowered himself much more gently. With the fight truly over, the utter focus on survival that Sen had been maintaining started to slip away. It was, of course, reced with pain. The moment his feet touched the ground, his injured leg started howling with pain. As did the injury to his arm, the deep slice on his face, and the many, many cuts that he¡¯d gotten when destroying that ice spear.


    On top of that, everything ached, and Sen felt wrung out like he¡¯d spent himselfpletely dry of qi. He looked around at everyone, almost mechanically noting their injuries. Shen Mingxia looked to be in pretty bad shape, and Wu Gang only looked marginally better. Long Jia Wei had what appeared to be mostly superficial injuries. Glimmer of Night, on the other hand, had an almost visible shine of health and vitality. Sen blinked a few times. Had the spider gotten stronger somehow? Sen shook that off and finally noticed the looks that Shen Mingxia, Wu Gang, and Long Jia Wei were giving him. Glimmer of Night, bless that spider¡¯s heart, seemed as disinterested as ever. Before he could decide what to say, a fresh wave of pain made Sen stagger and lean against a tree for support.


    ¡°Wow,¡± said Sen. ¡°This really hurts.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter Fifteen – Power Comes at a Cost

    Book 8: Chapter Fifteen ¨C Power Comes at a Cost


    There were no more attacks after the one led by Tseun Rong. It was a nice change as they covered the remaining distance to the capital, not that it did much to improve Sen¡¯s mood. There hadn¡¯t been much talking after the battle. Some of it had been injuries, and Glimmer of Night never talked that much. The other part had been Sen¡¯s fault. He¡¯d pilfered the few things from Tseun Rong¡¯s body that were still intact before, after a moment or two of thought, he stored the dead cultivator in a storage ring. That had drawn looks of pure horror from Shen Mingxia and Wu Gang. Only Long Jia Wei seemed undisturbed by that particr act, his experience as an assassin no doubt leading him close to a correct conclusion about why Sen was keeping the body. Any talking that might have been left in the rest of them disappeared when he gestured and air qi rolled out of him and forcibly dragged back anything that felt like a weapon or potential treasure to Sen.


    The pile was more substantial than he¡¯d expected. The weapons he could store, but the artifacts, talismans, tokens, and storage treasures needed to be sorted through. Deciding that it could wait untilter, he just summoned a nket and used it as a makeshift sack. He led everyone away from the road far enough that their presence wouldn¡¯t be immediately obvious and almost negligently raised an oversized galehouse. He did need to put a little extra thought and effort into it because it needed a few extra rooms. He ushered everyone inside and handed out some basic healing elixirs to get them started, pausing just long enough to take one himself before he went outside to deal with the grisly aftermath. It wasn¡¯t so much that Sen wanted to do it, but that he didn¡¯t think it was fair to ask anyone else to do it. He¡¯d killed most of those people, after all. Although, it seemed that Glimmer of Night had done his level best to catch up.


    Sen was grateful when the elixir started to take the worst edges off the pain. It wasn¡¯t a fix. He¡¯d have to spend some time with his alchemy pot before he¡¯d be truly healed again. While Tseun Rong was dead, the nascent soul-level ice qi he¡¯d used was still trying to wreak havoc in Sen¡¯s body. However, some relief was better than no relief, and Sen knew to count his blessings where he found them. Aside from snagging a few sect emblems and patches from the cultivators that were still intact enough to do that, there was no ceremony to their disposal. Sen did not build them pyres. He did not offer them prayers. They didn¡¯t deserve it. He simply opened a hole beneath the pile of bodies and bones and let the earth swallow them all.


    Looking back, Sen could see that it had already started when he got back from dealing with the bodies. Except, he was too distracted to notice it then. He was busy helping to get everyone healed and then crafting elixirs for himself to deal with the lingering ice qi. The next day, he mostly slept and made food. It was only once they were back on the road that he really saw the change. Everyone was too respectful toward him. He couldn¡¯t entirely me Wu Gang, who didn¡¯t know him, or Long Jia Wei, who had been terrified of him before Sen murdered a nascent soul cultivator right in front of him. <em>And half the kingdom</em>, thought Sen. <em>You were pretty high up in the air</em>. <em>Lots of people probably saw it happen</em>. It was ultimately Shen Mingxia¡¯s reaction that drove the knife in deep. The casual air between them. The jokes. The teasing. It was all just <em>gone</em>. He¡¯d been hurt enough by that change that he simply ignored it the first day. The second day, he¡¯d pulled her aside.


    ¡°You know, I haven¡¯t changed. I¡¯m exactly the same person now that I was back at that academy.¡±


    She hadn¡¯t been willing to even meet his eyes when she answered.


    ¡°You might not have changed, but what I know about you <em>has</em> changed. If I¡¯d known then that you could do¡ª¡± she hesitated. ¡°If I¡¯d known then how powerful you really are, I never would have acted the way I did.¡±


    ¡°You say that like I hid something from you. I didn¡¯t know I could win that fight.¡±


    Shen Mingxia did look at him then with a searching expression.¡°You suspected, though. Didn¡¯t you?¡±


    He almost lied. He wanted to lie. He wanted to say whatever it would take to get things back to how they¡¯d been before. The words were on his lips when a conversation he¡¯d had with Falling Leaf surfaced in his mind. They¡¯d been talking about how his encouraging mortals to treat him casually was dangerous for them. <em>Is this really any different</em>? Sen knew that it wasn¡¯t. He <em>was</em> too powerful for Shen Mingxia to just treat him as a friend. Perhaps, if they were alone, in private, it might be okay. The real sticking point was Sen himself. He didn¡¯t want respect he felt he hadn¡¯t earned, but that didn¡¯t make it right for him to get Shen Mingxia into the habit of treating peak core cultivators like they were peers. He remembered all too clearly what she¡¯d told him to do. <em>Just live with it</em>. He closed his eyes and took a breath. <em>This is how it has to be</em>, he told himself.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Opening his eyes, he said, ¡°Yes. I suspected.¡±


    Shen Mingxia shook her head a little.


    ¡°Even if you were just a regr core cultivator, you¡¯d be beyond me. But you aren¡¯t a regr core cultivator. You¡¯re some kind of world-shaking talent. You¡¯re a core cultivator who didn¡¯t just survive a fight with a nascent soul cultivator. You destroyed him. You have impossibly powerful teachers who love you like you¡¯re their flesh and blood. You¡ª¡± she took a breath in what looked like an effort to steady herself. ¡°You transcend me. I might, might get to where you are someday. If I¡¯m incredibly lucky, I may even ascend one day. But, by the time I do, you¡¯ll have already been there for so long that I doubt you¡¯ll remember that you ever even knew a woman named Shen Mingxia.¡±


    As the words washed over him, he wanted to rip them from the air. He wanted to deny every bit of what she was saying. It just wouldn¡¯t do any good. Even if there was a detail wrong here or there, the point she was trying to get at was true. Sen could be her friend if he decided to be, but she couldn¡¯t ever be his friend. <em>I think they call that being someone¡¯s benefactor</em>, thought Sen, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Bitter or not, though, this was something he simply had to ept. Poweres at a cost. He¡¯d been avoiding this one for a long while, but it seemed that he was finally going to have to pay it.


    ¡°I understand,¡± said Sen, trying to keep his tone calm and gentle.


    ¡°Do you, really?¡± she asked.


    Sen sighed and nodded.


    ¡°I do. I don¡¯t like it, but that¡¯s mostly because it was nice to just be your friend. Even if it was only for a little while.¡±


    Shen Mingxia gave him a bittersweet smile before she walked back over to stand with Wu Gang. It had hit him then that, with the exception of Glimmer of Night, none of the people with him at that moment <em>could</em> be his friend. At best, they could be¡­ He wasn¡¯t even sure he knew the right term. Since that moment, he¡¯d felt the presence of the wall that had gone up between him and everyone else. It loomed over him, and he hated it. Not that his hate did anything to the wall. It didn¡¯t reduce its height or make it any thinner. When he¡¯d killed Tseun Rong, Sen had passed beyond a threshold that most people never saw, let alone reached. He might still be able to find a few friends and peers among thete-stage and peak core cultivators. Once the news spread, though, he suspected that he would be treated as a nascent soul cultivator by very nearly everyone, probably including other nascent soul cultivators. While it might spare him some headaches, it would also create them.


    It was with those thoughts clouding his steps that Sen approached the gates of the capital proper. He knew that cultivators would often barge to the front of the line and demand entry. It was almost expected. So, Sen took a kind of perverse satisfaction in just taking his ce at the rear of the line. He nced back at his¡­ His mind finally produced the right word, and it dripped with disdain even when he said it in his head. He nced back at his <em>entourage</em>. Shen Mingxia, Wu Gang, and Long Jia Wei all straightened up when they saw him looking and smoothed their faces into the appropriate expressions of humble respect. Glimmer of Night was, once again, eating something that Sen was certain that human beings wouldn¡¯t consider proper food. <em>I¡¯m going to have to talk to him about that</em>, thought Sen.


    It took less than an hour before the exact thing that Sen had been desperately hoping would not happen came to pass. Two lines of royal guards in what had to be their finest uniforms marched out the gate, down the line of gawking citizens, and to him. They formed up in two neat lines with someone Sen didn¡¯t recognize standing out in front. The man saw Sen eyeing him curiously and hastily lowered his eyes.


    ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sen sighed.


    The pce guards all bowed to him in unison. It was so perfectly timed that Sen thought that they must have practiced it.


    ¡°My Lord,¡± said the guard that Sen took for some manner of officer, ¡°we have been sent by his royal majesty to escort you and your juniors into the city.¡±


    Sen had hoped to get at least one or two days of rtive anonymity in the city, but it looked like that possibility was well and truly dead. Hundreds of mortals had just watched these royal guards approach him, and then identify him as a folk hero that many, if not all, of them had heard of. Instead of yelling at the man the way he wanted to, Sen strove to y politics and project what he hoped with the right level of disinterested eptance.


    ¡°Thank you, captain, is it?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Lead on, captain.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 15: Power Comes at a Cost

    Book 8: Chapter 15: Power Comes at a Cost


    There were no more attacks after the one led by Tseun Rong. It was a nice change as they covered the remaining distance to the capital, not that it did much to improve Sen¡¯s mood. There hadn¡¯t been much talking after the battle. Some of it had been injuries, and Glimmer of Night never talked that much. The other part had been Sen¡¯s fault. He¡¯d pilfered the few things from Tseun Rong¡¯s body that were still intact before, after a moment or two of thought, he stored the dead cultivator in a storage ring. That had drawn looks of pure horror from Shen Mingxia and Wu Gang. Only Long Jia Wei seemed undisturbed by that particr act, his experience as an assassin no doubt leading him close to a correct conclusion about why Sen was keeping the body. Any talking that might have been left in the rest of them disappeared when he gestured and air qi rolled out of him and forcibly dragged back anything that felt like a weapon or potential treasure to Sen.


    The pile was more substantial than he¡¯d expected. The weapons he could store, but the artifacts, talismans, tokens, and storage treasures needed to be sorted through. Deciding that it could wait untilter, he just summoned a nket and used it as a makeshift sack. He led everyone away from the road far enough that their presence wouldn¡¯t be immediately obvious and almost negligently raised an oversized galehouse. He did need to put a little extra thought and effort into it because it needed a few extra rooms. He ushered everyone inside and handed out some basic healing elixirs to get them started, pausing just long enough to take one himself before he went outside to deal with the grisly aftermath. It wasn¡¯t so much that Sen wanted to do it, but that he didn¡¯t think it was fair to ask anyone else to do it. He¡¯d killed most of those people, after all. Although, it seemed that Glimmer of Night had done his level best to catch up.


    Sen was grateful when the elixir started to take the worst edges off the pain. It wasn¡¯t a fix. He¡¯d have to spend some time with his alchemy pot before he¡¯d be truly healed again. While Tseun Rong was dead, the nascent soul-level ice qi he¡¯d used was still trying to wreak havoc in Sen¡¯s body. However, some relief was better than no relief, and Sen knew to count his blessings where he found them. Aside from snagging a few sect emblems and patches from the cultivators that were still intact enough to do that, there was no ceremony to their disposal. Sen did not build them pyres. He did not offer them prayers. They didn¡¯t deserve it. He simply opened a hole beneath the pile of bodies and bones and let the earth swallow them all.


    Looking back, Sen could see that it had already started when he got back from dealing with the bodies. Except, he was too distracted to notice it then. He was busy helping to get everyone healed and then crafting elixirs for himself to deal with the lingering ice qi. The next day, he mostly slept and made food. It was only once they were back on the road that he really saw the change. Everyone was too respectful toward him. He couldn¡¯t entirely me Wu Gang, who didn¡¯t know him, or Long Jia Wei, who had been terrified of him before Sen murdered a nascent soul cultivator right in front of him. <em>And half the kingdom</em>, thought Sen. <em>You were pretty high up in the air</em>. <em>Lots of people probably saw it happen</em>. It was ultimately Shen Mingxia¡¯s reaction that drove the knife in deep. The casual air between them. The jokes. The teasing. It was all just <em>gone</em>. He¡¯d been hurt enough by that change that he simply ignored it the first day. The second day, he¡¯d pulled her aside.


    ¡°You know, I haven¡¯t changed. I¡¯m exactly the same person now that I was back at that academy.¡±


    She hadn¡¯t been willing to even meet his eyes when she answered.


    ¡°You might not have changed, but what I know about you <em>has</em> changed. If I¡¯d known then that you could do¡ª¡± she hesitated. ¡°If I¡¯d known then how powerful you really are, I never would have acted the way I did.¡±


    ¡°You say that like I hid something from you. I didn¡¯t know I could win that fight.¡±


    Shen Mingxia did look at him then with a searching expression.¡°You suspected, though. Didn¡¯t you?¡±


    He almost lied. He wanted to lie. He wanted to say whatever it would take to get things back to how they¡¯d been before. The words were on his lips when a conversation he¡¯d had with Falling Leaf surfaced in his mind. They¡¯d been talking about how his encouraging mortals to treat him casually was dangerous for them. <em>Is this really any different</em>? Sen knew that it wasn¡¯t. He <em>was</em> too powerful for Shen Mingxia to just treat him as a friend. Perhaps, if they were alone, in private, it might be okay. The real sticking point was Sen himself. He didn¡¯t want respect he felt he hadn¡¯t earned, but that didn¡¯t make it right for him to get Shen Mingxia into the habit of treating peak core cultivators like they were peers. He remembered all too clearly what she¡¯d told him to do. <em>Just live with it</em>. He closed his eyes and took a breath. <em>This is how it has to be</em>, he told himself.


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    Opening his eyes, he said, ¡°Yes. I suspected.¡±


    Shen Mingxia shook her head a little.


    ¡°Even if you were just a regr core cultivator, you¡¯d be beyond me. But you aren¡¯t a regr core cultivator. You¡¯re some kind of world-shaking talent. You¡¯re a core cultivator who didn¡¯t just survive a fight with a nascent soul cultivator. You destroyed him. You have impossibly powerful teachers who love you like you¡¯re their flesh and blood. You¡ª¡± she took a breath in what looked like an effort to steady herself. ¡°You transcend me. I might, might get to where you are someday. If I¡¯m incredibly lucky, I may even ascend one day. But, by the time I do, you¡¯ll have already been there for so long that I doubt you¡¯ll remember that you ever even knew a woman named Shen Mingxia.¡±


    As the words washed over him, he wanted to rip them from the air. He wanted to deny every bit of what she was saying. It just wouldn¡¯t do any good. Even if there was a detail wrong here or there, the point she was trying to get at was true. Sen could be her friend if he decided to be, but she couldn¡¯t ever be his friend. <em>I think they call that being someone¡¯s benefactor</em>, thought Sen, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Bitter or not, though, this was something he simply had to ept. Poweres at a cost. He¡¯d been avoiding this one for a long while, but it seemed that he was finally going to have to pay it.


    ¡°I understand,¡± said Sen, trying to keep his tone calm and gentle.


    ¡°Do you, really?¡± she asked.


    Sen sighed and nodded.


    ¡°I do. I don¡¯t like it, but that¡¯s mostly because it was nice to just be your friend. Even if it was only for a little while.¡±


    Shen Mingxia gave him a bittersweet smile before she walked back over to stand with Wu Gang. It had hit him then that, with the exception of Glimmer of Night, none of the people with him at that moment <em>could</em> be his friend. At best, they could be¡­ He wasn¡¯t even sure he knew the right term. Since that moment, he¡¯d felt the presence of the wall that had gone up between him and everyone else. It loomed over him, and he hated it. Not that his hate did anything to the wall. It didn¡¯t reduce its height or make it any thinner. When he¡¯d killed Tseun Rong, Sen had passed beyond a threshold that most people never saw, let alone reached. He might still be able to find a few friends and peers among thete-stage and peak core cultivators. Once the news spread, though, he suspected that he would be treated as a nascent soul cultivator by very nearly everyone, probably including other nascent soul cultivators. While it might spare him some headaches, it would also create them.


    It was with those thoughts clouding his steps that Sen approached the gates of the capital proper. He knew that cultivators would often barge to the front of the line and demand entry. It was almost expected. So, Sen took a kind of perverse satisfaction in just taking his ce at the rear of the line. He nced back at his¡­ His mind finally produced the right word, and it dripped with disdain even when he said it in his head. He nced back at his <em>entourage</em>. Shen Mingxia, Wu Gang, and Long Jia Wei all straightened up when they saw him looking and smoothed their faces into the appropriate expressions of humble respect. Glimmer of Night was, once again, eating something that Sen was certain that human beings wouldn¡¯t consider proper food. <em>I¡¯m going to have to talk to him about that</em>, thought Sen.


    It took less than an hour before the exact thing that Sen had been desperately hoping would not happen came to pass. Two lines of royal guards in what had to be their finest uniforms marched out the gate, down the line of gawking citizens, and to him. They formed up in two neat lines with someone Sen didn¡¯t recognize standing out in front. The man saw Sen eyeing him curiously and hastily lowered his eyes.


    ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sen sighed.


    The pce guards all bowed to him in unison. It was so perfectly timed that Sen thought that they must have practiced it.


    ¡°My Lord,¡± said the guard that Sen took for some manner of officer, ¡°we have been sent by his royal majesty to escort you and your juniors into the city.¡±


    Sen had hoped to get at least one or two days of rtive anonymity in the city, but it looked like that possibility was well and truly dead. Hundreds of mortals had just watched these royal guards approach him, and then identify him as a folk hero that many, if not all, of them had heard of. Instead of yelling at the man the way he wanted to, Sen strove to y politics and project what he hoped with the right level of disinterested eptance.


    ¡°Thank you, captain, is it?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Lead on, captain.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 16: Sometimes, the Stories Get It Right

    Book 8: Chapter 16: Sometimes, the Stories Get It Right


    As the royal guards led them through the city, Sen did his best not to grind his teeth. The royal guards were clearly under orders to take their time getting Sen and hispanions to wherever they were going. They became a moving spectacle, which Sen supposed might even be a nice change of pace for the people in the city, even if he hated it. Men, women, and children came out of their homes and businesses to watch them pass and whisper among themselves. Or, in the case of one particrly enthusiastic and brave little boy, to race between the legs of the royal guards nking them and rush up to Sen.


    ¡°Is it true?¡± the boy gasped.


    Sen hade to a halt and quietly waved off the scowling royal guard who was closing fast on the little boy. The boy was craning his head so far back that it looked bothical and painful. The sun was also making the boy squint furiously. Sen crouched down so the kid could look at him more directly.


    ¡°Is what true?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°Are you <em>really</em> Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± asked the boy, his voice a strange mix of hope, excitement, and doubt.


    Sen suppressed his urge to deny everything.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°Some people do call me that.¡±


    ¡°Did you really fight a dragon?¡± asked the boy.


    Sen frowned. He¡¯d actually fought two dragons and wyvern, but he wasn¡¯t sure how anyone could possibly know about any of that. Those fights had all happened out in the wilds, far from spying eyes. Had Falling Leaf been telling tales about him behind his back? <em>No</em>, <em>she wouldn¡¯t do that</em>, thought Sen before the terrible truth became clear. <em>No</em>, <em>Falling Leaf would never do that</em>, <em>but Laughing River would</em>. Not only would the elder fox do something like that and think it was hrious, but he¡¯d probably try to argue that he¡¯d been doing Sen a favor. <em>I¡¯m going to poison that fox the next time I see him</em>. Still, if this little boy in the capital had heard the story, there was a pretty good chance that everyone had heard the story. Sen could tell he¡¯d been quiet and frowning for too long by the nervous look the kid was giving him. Deciding there was little point in denying that it had happened, he gave the boy a smile.¡°Yes, that is true. I did fight a dragon,¡± said Sen before he leaned in a little and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. ¡°I even won, but don¡¯t tell anyone. It¡¯ll be our secret.¡±


    Then, Sen pressed a finger to his lips and gave the kid a wink. The boy had a huge smile and offered a return wink so obvious that people on the other side of a stone wall could have seen it.


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell,¡± said the kid a whisper that carried to the crowd that had gathered to watch the odd little exchange.


    When Sen saw all of the gawking people in that crowd, the veryst vestiges of hope that Sen had of staying even minimally unobtrusive vanished. Everyone from the street rats like he¡¯d been clear on up to those sitting on the lofty peaks of leadership in the sects would know he was there. Some of it had been unavoidable. Word had long since leaked that he wasing. Those with an interest and ears in the right ces would have known to be on watch for him. Of course, knowing he wasing and knowing he was <em>here</em> were two very different things. <em>You are lucky I owe you</em>, <em>Jing</em>, Sen growled in his head. Without that debt in ce, Sen would have turned right around and left the capital. The little boy had seemingly noticed all of the adult attention that focused on him and seemed frozen in ce. Sen held out a hand between them, palm up, and summoned a copper tael. If they¡¯d been alone, Sen might have offered the boy a silver tael, but in front of so many eyes, it would just invite someone to steal it. The appearance of money seemed to jolt the kid out of his petrified state, and his eyes focused on the coin.


    ¡°Do you want to earn this?¡± asked Sen.


    The little boy nodded.


    ¡°Then, this is what I need you to do. I need you to promise me that you¡¯ll mind your parents. That¡¯s them, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Sen.


    He nodded toward a man and woman who stood just outside the protective ring that royal guards had formed around them. The woman had her eyes glued on the little boy, and one of her hands had a white-knuckled grip on her husband¡¯s forearm. The father kept looking back and forth between Sen and the boy, like he was certain disaster was about to strike. The boy looked to where Sen nodded. He gave his parents a big smile and waved at them.


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    ¡°That¡¯s Mama and Papa,¡± said the boy.


    ¡°So, do you promise?¡± said Sen, holding up the copper between his thumb and forefinger.


    The little boy grew very solemn, nodded, and said, ¡°I promise.¡±


    Sen extended his hand a little closer to the boy, who hesitantly took the copper and clutched it in a tiny fist. Sen didn¡¯t imagine it would buy the boy much in the capital, but it might be enough for some kind of treat or candy. Sen stood up, struck a vaguely heroic pose with his hands on his hips, mostly for the benefit of the boy, and looked into the middle distance.


    ¡°I must go now,¡± he announced before turning his eyes to the boy. ¡°You should go back to your parents.¡±


    Realizing that his audience with the hero was over the kid darted back to his parents, the royal guards smoothly moving aside to let him pass. Sen locked eyes with the boy¡¯s father for a brief moment and nodded to him. With clear relief and gratitude on his face, the man nodded back. The boy¡¯s mother was moving back and forth between hugging the little boy and scolding him. Sen recognized that lingering would only lead to an even bigger crowd, so he started walking again. After they¡¯d cleared several more streets and the crowd had thinned out again, the captain fell back to walk next to Sen. The man wore a decidedly nervous expression like he wanted to say something but wasn¡¯t sure if he should.


    ¡°Is there something I can help you with, captain?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I want to thank you,¡± said the guard captain apparently finding his nerve.


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at the man, not sure what he was getting at. ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°For that boy back there. Not all cultivators are as,¡± the captain paused, ¡°<em>patient</em> as you were.¡±


    There were entire worlds of meaning buried inside that careful word choice. Sen could almost feel the impotent frustration roiling inside the man. He could even understand that frustration. The feeling that you were helpless to act against powers that dwarfed you, the knowledge that people would be protected by their position or power, could corrode a person from the inside out until there was nothing left but hate. Sen himself had been well down that road before fate had seemingly intervened and put him in Master Feng¡¯s path. Sen wondered, and not for the first time, if cultivators understood just how short their lives would be if the mortal poption ever figured out a way to kill them. The kind of frustration Sen could feel inside the captain wasn¡¯t just personal, it was generational. Sen could almost hear the stories of cultivator abuses passed down from mortal parent to mortal child for thousands of years. He felt like he only needed to turn his senses in just the right way to sense that echoing hatred for those who felt that they were above such petty concerns as not killing a mortal who inconvenienced them.


    ¡°No, they aren¡¯t,¡± said Sen with a sour expression, before he turned to the topic at hand. ¡°But he was just a child. Children are curious. I wasn¡¯t going to punish him for that.¡±


    ¡°The stories,¡± said the captain, ¡°well, some of the stories, say that about you.¡±


    ¡°Say what?¡± asked Sen, both dread and curiosity blossoming inside of him over what was about toe out of the other man¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°That you¡¯re protective of children. That it¡¯s a short road to a very bad end to harm them where you might discover it.¡±


    Sen mulled that over for several steps before he snorted in amusement. The captain gave him a perplexed look. Sen shook his head and answered the unasked question.


    ¡°Who would have guessed? Sometimes, the stories get it right.¡±


    An unspoken signal from one of the other guards drew the captain away to deal with something, and Sen let the steady pace of walking serve as a mechanism for him to find inner quiet and focus. He feared that there would be little enough outer silence in theing days and few chances to be alone. He needed to grasp whatever opportunities presented themselves to maintain his equilibrium. He didn¡¯t need a diviner to tell him that this visit to the capital was going to test his patience. It was <em>already</em> being tested. That would only grow worse as the nobles lined up to smile lies at him and the sects started sending invitations to visit with them. Invitations that he would be much harder pressed to decline this time. That hadn¡¯t been as much of an issue when he was just a foundation formation cultivator or even when he¡¯d been in the early stages of core formation. It was bad form, arguably even an insult, but one that the sect leaders could also overlook. He just hadn¡¯t been important enough for a snub to be considered an insult worthy of retribution.


    Now, those old protections would no longer apply. He had, despite his intentions and best efforts, be <em>someone</em>. He was a core cultivator who could and <em>had</em> killed nascent soul cultivators. Unlike the first one he¡¯d killed, there had been no deceit or trickery involved when he ended Tseun Rong¡¯s life. In fact, now that he considered it, it was entirely possible that the leadership of the sects in the capital had <em>watched him do it</em>. That fight had happened close enough to the capital that nascent soul cultivators, especially any who had also gone down a body cultivation path, would possess sharp enough senses to have observed the battle. At the very least, the bit with his fake tribtion lightning would have been visible for miles and miles in every direction.


    While the sects could ignore him before, which left him free to ignore them, his own actions had closed off that possibility for all of them. By killing Tseun Rong so publicly, so visibly, he¡¯d made himself a force to be reckoned with. They <em>had</em> to acknowledge him, his presence, and try to figure out where he fit into their world. In turn, he had to acknowledge them, at least enough that they could all preserve the fiction of politeness. And that meant doing something he normally avoided if at all possible. He would have to go into the strongholds of people he didn¡¯t trust and pretend he wanted to be there. That thought shattered what little calm Sen had managed to build. <em>I cannot wait to be done with all of this and go home</em>, thought Sen.

 Book 8: Chapter 17: Settling In

    Book 8: Chapter 17: Settling In


    Sen was briefly worried that Jing had decided that they¡¯d all just stay at the pce as the guards led them deeper into the city. Debt or no debt, Sen would have fled entirely if that was the situation. That would be a hell not worth enduring. Mercifully, the guards led them to a very familiar inn. Sen had stayed there with Falling Leaf and Lo Meifeng. Jing had also visited him there, although it was surprising that the king¡¯s memory was good enough to recall that. It seemed like there ought to be more pressing things upying the man¡¯s mind. The idea of just settling into a room in a modest little inn helped to soothe some of Sen¡¯s agitation over the whole situation. Thatsted until they went inside, and Sen discovered that Jing had secured the entire ce for Sen¡¯s stay.


    ¡°How long has the inn been,¡± Sen sighed and, almost against his own will, finished, ¡°secured for?¡±


    The innkeeper, who was finally back on his feet after Sen had insisted that kowtowing wasn¡¯t necessary, stared at the floor as he answered.


    ¡°I was told to hold the inn for you as long as you require its use. We were paid in full for three months.¡±


    Sen felt a bit of gorge rise in his throat. <em>Three months</em>? <em>Just what in the thousand hells does Jing imagine I¡¯d do here for three months</em>? He worked to keep his horror at the prospect of a months-long stay off his face.


    ¡°I see. I was well-pleased with your inn when I wasst here. I am sure your fine staff will take excellent care of us during this stay as well.¡±


    The innkeeper didn¡¯t look up, but he did straighten. Sen could see the man¡¯s cheeks lift with a smile.


    ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± said the innkeeper.


    Sen went to correct the man, thought very hard about it, and resigned himself. He would, no doubt, be subjected to simr treatment for his entire stay in the capital. <em>Just live with it</em>, he chanted in his head like a mantra. <em>Just live with it</em>. He spared a nce for the guard captain, who was peering around themon area of the inn. He didn¡¯t seem happy.¡°Captain?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°This is not an easily defended ce.¡±


    Sen frowned at the man.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re your escort in the city. We¡¯ve also been tasked with securing this ce during your stay.¡±


    Sen could not, for the life of him, figure out what Jing was ying at with all of this. Sen drew the guard captain aside because he didn¡¯t expect the man would like what he was about to say.


    ¡°Captain, I mean no disrespect to you or your men. I¡¯m certain that you¡¯re all very brave. However, if a fightes to me here, I expect all of you to run as fast as you possibly can. I also expect you to take the people working here with you.¡±


    The captain tried to put on an affronted look, but Sen could see that he understood the reality. A fight that came <em>looking</em> for Sen would be a fight between cultivators, and that was no ce for mortal guards and soldiers. The captain offered a grudging nod.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see it done,¡± said the man in unhappy tones.


    ¡°Good. Now, that being said, I would not be surprised if someone tried to sneak a mortal into here to, for example, poison us all. I would be very grateful for anything you and your men can do to prevent <em>that</em>. I¡¯d not see people die for the bad luck of being in my vicinity.¡±


    The guard captain stood a little straighter after hearing that. Sen had wanted to assuage the man¡¯s pride a little by giving him something to do, but it wasn¡¯t a meaningless task either. While he harbored some doubts about whether <em>any</em> poison that a noble house could get their hands on would act quickly enough to kill him, the same wasn¡¯t true for everyone else at the inn. Things that Sen could just ignore until he got around to working up an antidote or shrug off entirely might kill Shen Mingxia in seconds. Wu Gang probably wouldn¡¯t fare any better. Only Glimmer of Night and Long Jia Wei might be able to withstand something like that for long enough that Sen could do something for them. And that was a gamble he didn¡¯t particrly feel like taking for no good reason.


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    The guard captain offered Sen a deep bow and said, ¡°We will not fail you in this.¡±


    Sen inclined his head to the man before he turned his attention to the poor fools who had been caught up in this madness due to pure proximity to him. Shen Mingxia and Wu Gang both looked a little¡­ Sen tried to put a word to it, but nothing seemed quite right. It wasn¡¯t shocked, exactly, nor was it fearful, but it seemed like it might be rted somehow. They had picked a corner and stood there together, putting up a united front. Long Jia Wei was easier to read. He looked ill. Sen supposed for someone who had been an assassin, this day would have been a nightmare. All those people looking at him, noticing him, and no doubt people from the sects and noble houses noting him as someone to look into. He¡¯d probably been fighting an internal battle not to run away and disappear into the darker corners of the city the entire way to the inn. Only Glimmer of Night seemed wholly unaffected. He¡¯d found a chair, sat down, and was taking things out of a storage ring to look at them for a moment before storing them again.


    ¡°My lord,¡± said the guard captain, ¡°once you¡¯re settled, the king has asked that youe and meet with him.¡±


    ¡°Of course, he did,¡± grumbled Sen.


    The man¡¯s eyes went a little wide at Sen¡¯sck of respect and obvious annoyance at the king¡¯s wishes. Sen sighed. He supposed he should show a little deference to the king, at least in front of the man¡¯s guards.


    ¡°I¡¯m just tired,¡± said Sen. ¡°Let me speak to the others for a moment, and then we can go.¡±


    Sen pulled aside Shen Mingxia and Wu Gang and told them not to go wandering until he had a better feel for what was happening in the city. Long Jia Wei was given very different instructions.


    ¡°Did you ever do any <em>work</em> in the capital?¡± Sen asked.


    Long Jia Wei gave him a guarded look.


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°So, you have some contacts in the city? People who might be able to shed light on the situation?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. Slip out of here after I¡¯m gone and talk to those people. I¡¯d like at least a bit of an idea of what I¡¯m up against when the assassins starting for me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean <em>if</em>?¡±


    Sen gave the man a t look and said, ¡°Are you trying to y na?ve for my benefit?¡±


    Long Jia Wei risked a self-deprecating smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m just not looking to give you reasons to change your mind about me.¡±


    Sen went to say something cutting and then changed his mind.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fair.¡±


    ¡°Why would you trust me to do this?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t. I have contacts of my own in the city. I¡¯ll be asking them as well. I¡¯ll see how closely the information lines up.¡±


    Sen thought that the Long Jia Wei might be offended or shocked. Instead, the man gave him a look of surprised respect.


    ¡°Very wise,¡± said Long Jia Wei. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can learn tonight¡±


    Sen walked over to Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°I have to go see the king. I can¡¯t really stop you from going out into the city, but¡ª¡±


    Glimmer of Night immediately shook his head. ¡°Too many people. And I¡¯m tired of this human disguise. I¡¯ll stay in whatever room they give me.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Sen.


    He was d the spider didn¡¯t want to go exploring immediately. The inn was by no means a secure ce, but it also wasn¡¯t isted. Anyone who tried to get in here by force was going to get noticed. Plus, he¡¯d already felt the cultivators taking up station to watch the ce. He expected at least one or two of them were sent by people who felt, well, maybe not friendly, but friendly-adjacent toward him. Friendly <em>enough</em> to alert him if something were to go terribly wrong at the inn in his absence. He walked over to the guard captain.


    ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    Sen kept his spiritual sense active as they moved toward the pce. This would be as good a time as any to try to kill him. He was alone, save for the guards. He was both relieved and mildly surprised when nothing happened. He was clearly expected at the pce because getting through the gates was little more than a formality. Sen did note that some of the pce guards gave him hard looks. He hadn¡¯t been to the pce in a few years, but hisst visit had been bloody. He¡¯d also left more than a few guards unconscious. He supposed he couldn¡¯t hold it against them if they were still holding that against him. Despite those hard looks, Sen did withdraw his spiritual sense. While an attack was still possible, it was far less likely at the pce.


    If nothing else, it would invoke the wrath of the sect leaders in the city who ced a certain value on maintaining at least the <em>appearance</em> of cordial rtions with the mortal leadership. A cultivator brawl in the pce would decidedly undermine that fa?ade. He was also aware that the sect leadership here knew <em>full well</em> that Master Feng, to say nothing of Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho, would descend on the capital with blood on their minds if he was to die. It was by no means a perfect shield, but it would help to inhibit the stupidest behaviors. Sen was swiftly led into familiar hallways and then asked to wait outside the doors of the throne room. The guard captain slipped away for a few minutes before the door was opened from the inside. Sen was already talking as he walked in.


    ¡°I hope you appreciate this, Jing. Do you have any idea how many bastards I had to kill just to get¡ª¡± Sen¡¯s words died in his throat as at least a dozen pairs of eyes turned to look at him.


    Sen allowed himself an unnecessary cough before he turned to look at the man sitting on the throne. King Jing looked much the same as Sen remembered Prince Jing looking. The lines around his eyes were a little deeper. Sen spotted a few gray hairs that hadn¡¯t been there before. All in all, though, the man looked healthy. For Jing¡¯s part, he maintained a look of gentle reproval, but there was an amused twinkle in his eyes.


    ¡°Um, I mean, greetings, your majesty,¡± said Sen, offering a formal bow.

 Book 8: Chapter 18: Impressions

    Book 8: Chapter 18: Impressions


    Sen wished that he had kept his spiritual sense extended. At least then he wouldn¡¯t have been caught off guard by the presence of everyone in the throne room. Not that it took any kind of brilliance to realize that the king would be surrounded by people whenever he was in the throne room. Sen just hadn¡¯t thought it through. Taking a moment to greet Jing and offer a bow, something Sen was not entirely sure was appropriate, had bought him a moment to gather himself. He straightened and looked around at the gathered people. Most of them looked like the people who handled the daily work around the academy. <em>Functionaries</em>, he decided. His entrance and deration had momentarily startled them. Being in the throne room also meant that the smart ones figured out who <em>he</em> had to be in a hurry. That brought on a susurrus of muted whispers and nervous, sidelong nces at him. Sen supposed that was to be expected.


    He did pick out a handful who didn¡¯t fit that profile, though. The material of their robes was too fine and the craftsmanship too good. They carried themselves with an aloof disdain for the functionaries. They also looked decidedly more afraid. <em>They must be nobles</em>, thought Sen. That made their fear more understandable. Thest time Sen had been in the city in any kind of public way, a great house of the kingdom had fallen. And at least one of the remaining houses had hired cultivators to try to kill him. He locked eyes with an older woman who had white streaking her ck hair. She wasn¡¯t just afraid. She controlled it well, but the woman was terrified. She¡¯d gone so pale at the sight of him that she resembled a corpse.


    There was one other exception. A presence that was leaning in a corner and not talking to anyone. Sen slowly turned his head and looked at the man. When his gazended on the man, the cultivator in the corner immediately straightened and stared at Sen with a shocked and angry expression. <em>A cultivator in the throne room</em>, thought Sen. <em>Why</em>? He hoped that his quiet intervention on Jing¡¯s behalf with the sects hadn¡¯t led to some kind of direct sect oversight over the throne. While Sen had been busy thinking about all of that, the other cultivator had stalked forward, his burning eyes locked onto Sen.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the one that nobody can stop talking about,¡± said the man. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t bother,¡± said Sen in a weary voice. ¡°I won¡¯t recognize your name. Are we going to have a problem? Because, if we¡¯re going to have a problem, I¡¯d like to get it out of the way now.¡±


    ¡°You jumped up¡ª¡±


    That was as far as the man got before Sen backhanded him so hard that the sound it made caused the windows to rattle. He caught the cultivator before he could crash into anything or, more importantly to Sen¡¯s way of thinking, anyone. He was still deciding about whether he should hit the other cultivator again when a sound he hadn¡¯t expected echoed through the throne room. Laughter. The other cultivator wasughing. Not the cynicalughter Sen had heard so often from cultivators he¡¯d fought, but booming, joyousughter. He took a step back from the man, not quite sure what to make of this turn of events. The other cultivator shot Sen a bright, bloody-toothed smile, his eyes positively burning with curiosity.


    ¡°Oh, I think you and I are going to get along just fine. Just fine, indeed,¡± said the other cultivator.


    Sen gave Jing a questioning look. All he got in return was an infinitesimal shrug. A shrug that seemed to say, <em>What</em>? <em>All of you cultivators are insane</em>? <em>Why should that one be any different</em>? Sen returned his gaze to the other cultivator, who was wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.¡°Okay, then,¡± said Sen in a neutral, wary tone.


    ¡°I am Chan Dishi,¡± offered the other cultivator before continuing in an amused tone, ¡°and it¡¯s very interesting to meet you, Lu Sen, the Hand of Chaos.¡±


    Sen managed to trap his groan before it could escape. He didn¡¯t want another absurd name, especially one like <em>that</em>. Not that he had much say in the matter. It was already out in the world. He was d to discover that he¡¯d been right. He honestly hadn¡¯t heard of Chan Dishi. Although, he wondered if maybe he <em>should</em> have heard of the man. Sen hadn¡¯t been all that gentle with his blow. While it had drawn blood, it hadn¡¯t seemed to appreciably stun Chan Dishi. Shaking off one of Sen¡¯s hits wasn¡¯t that easily done. Ignoring it entirely suggested the other man was probably someone he should take at least a little seriously.


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    ¡°Sure,¡± Sen finally ventured. ¡°Interesting to meet you, as well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got questions,¡± said Chan Dishi. ¡°Good. It means your brain works. We¡¯ll talkter.¡±


    With that abruptment, the man sauntered back over to his corner and leaned against the wall, looking enormously pleased. <em>That is a strange man</em><em>even for a cultivator</em>, thought Sen. <em>I¡¯ll definitely have to ask Jing about him</em>. Sen turned his attention back to the throne. He couldn¡¯t help but notice that everyone else in the room was standingpletely still, their eyes locked on either him or Chan Dishi. Jing gave Sen a tiny little head shake before he addressed the room.


    ¡°You may all go. As you can see, an old friend has arrived, and I would greet him privately.¡±


    Sen had to suppress another groan. <em>If you wanted to greet me privately</em>, <em>maybe you shouldn¡¯t have sent all those royal guards to parade me through the city</em>, Senined internally. However, this was also an opportunity. The functionaries were sort of milling about, clearly hoping to get in a littlest-minute business before the king definitively called it a day. The nobles were another story. They were all heading for the door as quickly as they dared. They all looked relieved to be able to escape. Sen waited until they thought that freedom was in their grasp, and then he barked out a single word.


    ¡°Xie!¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t surprised to see the older woman lock up. Jing¡¯s eyes flickered between them, but he didn¡¯t interfere as Sen walked over to the woman. The other nobles were clustered by the door, their eyes wide and fixed on what looked to be a brewing cmity. Sen drew to a stop when he was less than two feet from the woman. He loomed over her without even trying. She was forced to crane her neck back, which stole all of the power from the haughty look she tried to give him.


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± she demanded in a vain attempt to reim control.


    Sen leaned in a little and the woman flinched back. He smiled at her. Well, he showed her some teeth anyway.


    ¡°I have <em>business</em> with your house,¡± he said in a hard voice that was meant to carry.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re¡ª¡±


    ¡°Expect me.¡±


    The woman opened her mouth again, but the look on his face seemed to steal the breath from her lungs. Sen turned that look on the other nobles.


    ¡°Do I have business with your houses as well?¡± he asked. ¡°Is that why you linger here after you¡¯ve been dismissed by your king?¡±


    The small group had a very brief shoving match to see who could get out the door first. Sen turned his eyes back to the woman. She was trying to re at him but didn¡¯t seem to have the will for it.


    ¡°Soon,¡± he said.


    She looked like she was about to speak, maybe even plead, but he just turned his back on her and walked toward the throne. The functionaries decided that any work they had left wasn¡¯t <em>actually</em> that pressing and followed the nobles out the door. Within a minute or two, the only people left in the throne room were Sen, Jing, and Chan Dishi. The other cultivator left his corner again to join Sen and Jing by the throne. He directed another bright smile at Sen.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to be the very best of friends,¡± said Chan Dishi and pped Sen on the shoulder. ¡°I can just tell.¡±


    With a quick nod to Jing, the other cultivator left the room as well. Sen watched him go with a frown and then turned to Jing.


    ¡°That is a particrly odd man,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite the statement,ing from you,¡± observed the Jing with a small grin.


    ¡°I¡¯m not odd. I just get caught up in odd things. It¡¯s different.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    Sen hesitated and then said, ¡°Probably?¡±


    Jing rolled his eyes and, with a sigh, he asked, ¡°Dare I ask what that business with Lady Xie was about?¡±


    Sen winced.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, that. So, you don¡¯t really <em>need</em> that house, do you?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Jing, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.


    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t going to exist for very much longer.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± demanded Jing, his voice getting stern.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be mad at me. They sent assassins after me. Cultivator assassins. You wouldn¡¯t believe the trail of bodies I left behind me getting here. I can¡¯t just let that stand. You <em>know</em> I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m uncertain where to begin with all of that. How many bodies are we talking about here?¡± asked Jing, a look of deep concern on his face.


    Sen hadn¡¯t actually kept count, so he approximated.


    ¡°Enough to keep funeral pyres burning for days,¡± said Sen through a wave of emotional fatigue, before a thought struck him. ¡°There isn¡¯t a literal trail of bodies. I cleaned up after myself.¡±


    ¡°That was not my primary concern,¡± said Jing.


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Sen. ¡°It should have been. Dead bodies are bad business if you don¡¯t dispose of them properly. They can make people very sick.¡±


    Jing started to say something before a thoughtful expression crossed his face.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. Thank you for not littering the kingdom with corpses. Still, you¡¯re sure it was the House of Xie.¡±


    ¡°I made a deal with one of the people sent my way. They were quite happy to tell me who employed them.


    ¡°It could be misdirection,¡± objected Jing.


    ¡°I had to kill a nascent soul cultivator. Who else could afford to hire someone like that?¡±


    Jing shook his head.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s what that was. In the future, I would appreciate it if you refrained from doing things like that so close to the city.¡±


    ¡°You saw it?¡±


    ¡°<em>Everyone</em> saw it. People thought the world was going to end. There were nearly riots.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± said Sen, feeling sheepish, ¡°I see you got a new throne. Good for you. The old one was really ufortable.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 19: Big Asks

    Book 8: Chapter 19: Big Asks


    ¡°It was,¡± admitted Jing, ¡°but maybe we shouldn¡¯t change the subject just yet.¡±


    ¡°Do you really want topareints right now? Because I just got taken through the city by what I assume were royal guards hand-picked because they walked <em>slowly</em>.¡±


    ¡°About that¡ª¡± started Jing.


    ¡°Which has prevented me from maintaining even the tiniest shred of anonymity in a ce where there are people who <em>do not like me</em>. At all,¡± said Sen, his voice dropping closer and closer to a growl. ¡°So, I very much hope that this wasn¡¯t just an exercise meant to keep your damn nobles in line.¡±


    Jing looked a bit startled at thosest words, and then it was his turn to wince. He raised his hands in a cating motion.


    ¡°I swear to you, this had nothing to do with the nobles. Not <em>my</em> nobles, at any rate.¡±


    Sen blinked as he tried to parse meaning from those words.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°The reason I wanted you toe is because I¡¯m hosting some representatives from beyond our borders.¡±Sen frowned and then shook his head.


    ¡°No, I still don¡¯t see the connection.¡±


    ¡°There are those gaps in your education again,¡± said Jing, not unkindly. ¡°On this side of the Mountains of Sorrow, cultivators and mortals have a sort of agreement. Sects manage themselves and cultivators, for the most part. Obviously, there are exceptions, such as yourself, but the majority of cultivators answer to a sect. It maintains some kind of order among people who would otherwise be walking disasters. In exchange for not interfering too much with the sects, mortals are generally left to rule themselves,¡± said Jing, raising a hand to stop the flood of angry objections that were about to pour out of Sen¡¯s mouth. ¡°It¡¯s not perfect. I won¡¯t pretend it¡¯s perfect. We both know that cultivators are often a menace. Destroying things. Killing each other. Killing mortals. Making people think the world is ending.¡±


    ¡°Point taken,¡± said Sen, letting his hostility toward sects subside.


    ¡°Good. Now, that¡¯s how things are done here. Things are a lot moreplicated beyond those mountains. There are ces there where cultivators <em>are</em> the nobility and royalty.¡±


    That gave Sen pause. Cultivators as nobility? As royalty?


    ¡°Why in the thousand hells would they do something that stupid?¡± asked Sen.


    Jing assumed a look that was quite familiar to Sen. It was the same look the man had worn when he was giving Sen lessons about the mortal politics of the capital several years earlier. So, it didn¡¯te as much of a surprise when Jing asked a question instead of providing an answer.


    ¡°What are cultivators seeking?¡± asked Jing.


    ¡°Ascension,¡± Sen answered automatically.


    ¡°How many achieve it?¡±


    Sen felt stupid, already seeing where this was going now that Jing had pointed the way.


    ¡°Not many,¡± answered Sen.


    ¡°Yet, even if they fail to ascend, they have strength, power, and <em>long</em> lives. If it bes clear that they¡¯ll never reach their goal, what are they to do with those things?¡±


    ¡°Apparently, set themselves up as political powers.¡±


    ¡°Just so. And, loathe as I am to admit it, there are even a few benefits to that approach.¡±


    ¡°Why am I so dubious?¡±


    ¡°Because you don¡¯t trust anyone, but that¡¯s a different matter,¡± said Jing with a smile. ¡°One of the most perilous times for any kingdom is during a session. Kings don¡¯t just hold power because they have the name. They also build rtionships or, barring that, hold dangerous secrets over the heads of their nobles. When the old king dies, all too often, those rtionships and secrets die with them. The new king must hold the throne until he can forge alliances and learn secrets of his own. Which is to say nothing of the threats that cane from within your own house. Siblings killing each other is a sad fact in many royal families.


    ¡°Most of those problems disappear or are at least pushed far, far down the road if your king will sit on the throne for a thousand years. It¡¯s even more true if that king has very few enemies with the ability to kill them. They offer stability in their territory. A stability that no mortal royal family can ever hope to equal. Stability often goes hand-in-hand with prosperity, although not always. Not all kings are equally talented.¡±


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    Sen grudgingly conceded the logic, even if he shuddered at the idea of a cultivator-king. Yeah, it <em>could</em> be a good thing but only if a lot of things aligned in just the right way. Sen could easily see any number of young masters being absolute horrors in a position of authority like that. Of course, if there were already kingdoms being run that way, why hadn¡¯t they simply overrun all the mortal-ruled kingdoms on this side of the mountains? When Sen posed that very question, Jing nodded in approval.


    ¡°There are, thankfully, several reasons for that. The most salient reason is that they¡¯re usually focused on fighting with each other or, minimally, keeping each other in check. Beyond that, it¡¯splicated and expensive to seize and holdnd that is over a difficult-to-traverse mountain range. A final reason is the existence of the sects. I know you despise them, but they are a strategic deterrent to would-be cultivator warlords. Individually, they might not be a particr threat, but collectively they are a monumental force.¡±


    Sen desperately wanted to poke holes in what Jing was saying but this was not Sen¡¯s area of expertise. More to the point, he didn¡¯t believe Jing was wrong about any of it. He just <em>wanted</em> the king to be wrong about it, so he could go on thinking that every sect burning to the ground would be a boon to the world. He didn¡¯t want to see them as contributing anything positive. A sinking feeling took hold as Sen realized something. <em>If I were a normal cultivator in a sect</em>, <em>I would probably be five hundred years old</em>, <em>maybe older</em>, <em>before any of this became remotely relevant to me</em>. These were the kind of concerns that elders, patriarchs, and matriarchs worried about. People with real influence and true power. <em>People like me</em>, thought Sen. A feeling of deep inadequacy washed over Sen. He¡¯d been a nobody, living on the streets in probably the least important town in the kingdom less than fifteen years before. Now, he was standing in the throne room, talking with the king, discussing the importance of the sects in deterring cultivator-kings from invading the kingdom. <em>I don¡¯t belong here</em>, thought Sen. <em>I¡¯m not ready for any of this</em>.


    As if he could read Sen¡¯s thoughts, Jing said, ¡°Terrifying, isn¡¯t it? Getting a clear view of the big picture? Seeing just how precarious the bnce of forces really is?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Honestly, I¡¯m inclined to pack up and leave right now before I get pulled deeper into <em>any</em> of this,¡± said Sen in a weak voice when a thought struck him. ¡°You know, I think we kind of got off-topic. Just why <em>am</em> I here? You said something about hosting representatives, but you weren¡¯t too specific about what you¡¯re hosting them for. Come to think of it, you didn¡¯t say anything about what I¡¯m supposed to be doing in all of this.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that. Some of the people I¡¯m hosting are cultivators. While I¡¯d love to believe that none of them are nning to assassinate me, it¡¯d be unforgivably stupid of me to assume that none of them are thinking about seizing the opportunity. I¡¯m new to the throne, which makes this an ideal time for one of them to eliminate me andunch an invasion.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that doing that would beplicated and expensive?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I did,¡± agreed Jing. ¡°Complicated and expensive doesn¡¯t make something impossible, though. Especially if you have five hundred years to n it. Which brings me to you. Chan Dishi is here to be my very obvious bodyguard.¡±


    Sen mulled it over.


    ¡°So, you want me to be your less obvious bodyguard?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d certainly wee that if someone does try to kill me, but I mostly just want you in the room.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because, to them, you¡¯re an unknown quantity. A tremendously powerful cultivator who very publicly executed a nascent soul cultivator just prior to entering the city with a royal guard escort. A man who warrants a private meeting with the king. That¡¯s the kind of man who will make people think twice before they attempt an assassination. At the very least, you¡¯ll keep them unbnced.¡±


    Sen was quiet for a long time as he thought all of that over.


    ¡°I owe you. It¡¯s why I¡¯m here. I even understand your reasoning. But this is a big ask. You¡¯re putting me directly in the way of cultivators who, up until now, were either not interested in me or didn¡¯t know I existed. You and I both know that will have consequences for me. Consequences that could well haunt me long after your reign is over,¡± said Sen, pausing as he considered his next words. ¡°More importantly, it could have consequences for my daughter.¡±


    For the first time in the conversation, Jing seemed truly at a loss for words.


    ¡°Your daughter? I wasn¡¯t aware you were with anyone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. She was orphaned. Her whole vige was destroyed by bandits. No family left to take her in. So, I adopted her.¡±


    ¡°Orphan,¡± murmured Jing. ¡°I see. And the bandits?¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t be bothering anyone. <em>Ever</em>.¡±


    ¡°Good. That¡¯s for the best. I¡¯d have had to send troops out to destroy them. We can¡¯t let something like that go unpunished,¡± said Jing before he gave Sen a questioning look. ¡°You haven¡¯t said no, yet, even though I¡¯m quite certain you want to. I take it that means you want something. Did you have something in mind?¡±


    Sen had some vague notion that he wanted something out of the deal to make it worth the present and potential future hassles. The longer he thought about it, the more problems he could see. What could possibly make up for all of that potential troubleing to his door? He couldn¡¯t think of anything. Sure, he could always just move on, or go live in the wilds if it came down to it. But that would be no kind of life for Ai. No home. No roots. No potential to build a life for herself separate from him. He couldn¡¯t do that to her. A mad idea hit him then. He dismissed it for madness, but it came back. Insistent. Nagging. He weighed it, almost dismissed it again, and finally decided that maybe it did have some merit. It¡¯d be utterly worthless to him. In fact, it would be nothing but headaches for him but not for Ai.


    Grinning a little, Sen said, ¡°The House of Xie is going to disappear, but their holdings and business concerns won¡¯t.¡±


    Jing frowned and asked, ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°This is what I want. The House of Lu.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 20: The House of Lu

    Book 8: Chapter 20: The House of Lu


    Sen supposed it was a testament to just how much he was asking for when Jing stood there in motionless silence for most of a minute. Given Sen¡¯s well-known feelings about nobles, it was entirely possible that Jing thought Sen was ying some kind of bizarre joke on him. Sen was even tempted to say that it was a joke. But that would ultimately throw confusion into the situation that he didn¡¯t want because Sen wasn¡¯t joking. He was absolutely serious.


    ¡°The House of Lu?¡± asked Jing, almost as if he was checking to make sure he¡¯d heard correctly.


    ¡°The House of Lu,¡± confirmed Sen.


    ¡°That isplicated,¡± said Jing, obviously scrambling to buy himself time.


    Sen tried not to take a little pleasure in seeing the usually self-possessed man on the back foot for once. Jing walked over to the throne and sat down. For a moment, Sen thought the man was trying to convey a heavy-handed message about who was in charge, but that thought evaporated when Jing slumped back. <em>Oh</em>, thought Sen, <em>he just needed to sit down for a minute</em>.


    ¡°That is veryplicated,¡± muttered Jing.


    It was clear to Sen that the other man was talking to himself, so he just waited patiently for Jing to gather his thoughts. It took a few minutes before Jing looked up at Sen.


    ¡°Do you really understand what you¡¯re asking for here?¡±


    Sen snorted and said, ¡°I am supremely confident that you know that I <em>don¡¯t</em> know. On the other hand, are you really going to tell me that you¡¯d rather have the House of Xie? A family that has proven it will work against your interests and wishes.¡±¡°No. I¡¯m definitely not saying that, but this isn¡¯t the kind of thing you can manage by popping in every few years. You¡¯d have to be here, all the time, running the house every day.¡±


    ¡°Well, we both know that¡¯s not true. I figured out that much running my academy. Oh, I didn¡¯t tell you about that did I?¡±


    ¡°No, but I¡¯d also heard rumors of you starting something up north. And the word academy is self-exnatory.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, ¡°I guess it is. Anyway, I don¡¯t run that any more than you run this pce. Staff run most things. The patriarch or matriarch or whoever makes big decisions, and they let everyone else deal with the details.¡±


    ¡°So, if I were to agree to this, you¡¯d just immediately hand off all of your responsibilities to other people?¡±


    ¡°Not just <em>any</em> other people. I have someone in mind who would be ideal for making decisions for arge house with far-flung holdings and operations. As for me, though, no, I wouldn¡¯t be taking up residence in the capital. I already have obligations.¡±


    Sen couldn¡¯t decide if the king looked disappointed or relieved at that statement. Maybe it was both.


    ¡°You realize that the only reason I¡¯m even considering this is because you¡¯ve already decided to do whatever you¡¯re going to do the Xie. Something you intend to do regardless of anything I might say about it.¡±


    ¡°As opposed to what? Wait. Are you asking me to <em>spare</em> them?¡± asked Sen, his eyes narrowing. ¡°After what they did? Would <em>you</em> spare them?¡±


    Jing reached up and started to massage his eyes.


    ¡°The truth is that I would probably have no choice but to spare them. I¡¯m sure that they made a point to use someone low in the house to make the actual arrangements, or even used someone outside the house entirely. Not that it would take cultivators very long to ferret out the truth. But I doubt I could gather enough evidence to do anything meaningful to them,¡± said Jing.


    Sen remembered having a simr conversation about evidence with Jing when they¡¯d been trying to free Chan Yu Ming from her unwanted engagement. Of course, in the end, Sen had simply done what he thought was best.


    ¡°You, however, are not me,¡± continued Jing. ¡°You¡¯re a cultivator and a famous hero. You can likely do what you want to do to them based on nothing more than your word. If you say that they tried to have you assassinated, themon people will believe you. Hells, even the nobility will probably <em>believe</em> you. But the other noble houses will also never forget it. They¡¯ll never trust you. They¡¯ll always be waiting for the day when youe for them. It would make running your own house hard, harder than it would be for anyone else. They¡¯ll constantly be looking for ways to ruin you, interrupt your operations, anything they can think of to bring you down, so long as it won¡¯t lead back to them.¡±


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    Sen shrugged.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying they¡¯ll act like nobles.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying they¡¯ll act like <em>frightened</em> people because that is exactly what they¡¯ll be.¡±


    ¡°If they don¡¯t interfere with my affairs, they¡¯ll have nothing to fear from me.¡±


    ¡°Do you honestly think they¡¯ll believe that?¡±


    ¡°No, but you can always remind them that if I genuinely wanted to purge this city of the nobility, I could have done it already.¡±


    Jing sighed and said, ¡°I doubt that would help.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not,¡± admitted Sen, ¡°but I expect the looks on their faces would be hrious.¡±


    ¡°I think we might have different definitions of hrious.¡±


    ¡°Probably so.¡±


    A pensive look stole over the king¡¯s face, then it seemed to harden into a rigid neutrality before he asked a question that Sen had not been thinking about.


    ¡°Do you intend to kill the children as well? The staff? The guards? Just how far will your destruction of the House of Xie go?¡±


    Sen found that he had a sudden need to sit down after hearing those questions. He summoned a chair from his storage ring and dropped into it. He¡¯d been so angry about all those cultivatorsing for his head that he¡¯d just let himself think of the House of Xie as some kind of monolith made up of decision-makers. It had been easy to think of their destruction in the abstract. Jing had brought that abstract idea crashing right back down to the unforgiving earth. <em>Do you intend to kill the children as well</em>? That question echoed inside his ears. Reason told him that sparing anyone was foolish. It would just invite foolish attempts at reprisal down the road. The safest course was to end the line entirely, root and branch. Wipe the world clean of them. Of course, reason was the domain of the mind, not the heart. <em>Do you intend to kill the children as well</em>? Could he kill them all? Did he have that in him? Sen examined his own heart. The answer was clear. No. He did not have <em>that</em> in him. Not the children.


    ¡°Anyone in the house leadership has to die. Anyone who was involved. But no, I won¡¯t kill the children. I probably won¡¯t kill the cooks, maids, or anyone else like that. As for the rest, I¡¯ll just have to see what they do.¡±


    Jing seemed to rx a little at those words.


    ¡°Bringing the house under control won¡¯t be easy. They have scions scattered across the kingdom. They¡¯ll try to seize property, withhold earnings, and they may even destroy things in an attempt to thwart you or take revenge.¡±


    ¡°Then, they die.¡±


    ¡°Just like that?¡±


    ¡°Just like that,¡± said Sen. ¡°They won¡¯t be nobility anymore. If they aren¡¯t a part of the House of Lu, they¡¯re just thieves and bandits. I have no use and no pity for thieves and bandits.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll see you as the thief.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a <em>them</em> problem.¡±


    Jing grimaced a little.


    ¡°I forgot that you could be quite this ruthless.¡±


    Sen considered the other man.


    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. You need someone ruthless for your n to keep your foreign guests off-bnce to work. You need someone who simply does not care what they think. Someone who won¡¯t be put off by ending them if they try to do something to you. Besides, I suspect that this might even work to your advantage.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°A ruthless cultivatores in and wipes out a house in revenge. Rather than starting a feud you can¡¯t win, you find a way to quell that anger and even nominally bring that cultivator into the fold. I don¡¯t understand politics all that well, but I imagine that will probably make you look quitepetent.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be more impressive if everyone didn¡¯t know that we have an existing rtionship.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t always get everything.¡±


    ¡°No, you certainly can¡¯t,¡± said Jing. ¡°So, your goal in all of this is what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about controlling a noble house, but it will provide a future for my daughter. A future with options. A future that doesn¡¯t involve needing to stay by my side for the rest of her life.¡±


    ¡°Is she a cultivator as well?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. Maybe not ever. She¡¯s still a little too young for all of that.¡±


    ¡°Is she with people you trust? People who can protect her? Once you start down this road¡ª¡±


    Sen started tough.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not worried about that. Anyone who goes looking for her in the immediate future will have to contend with Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho. I don¡¯t see that ending well for anyone who turns up with a mind for giving my little girl some trouble.¡±


    Jing stared at Sen with a dumbfounded expression on his face.


    ¡°You have the Living Spear and Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden babysitting?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me? They volunteered. I honestly don¡¯t know what they might have done if I <em>didn¡¯t</em> let them have her while I was away. I¡¯ll probably have to physically drag her out of their nascent soul clutches when I get back.¡±


    ¡°You are frighteningly casual when you discuss them.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re family,¡± said Sen. ¡°I mean, I understand <em>now</em> how powerful they are, but Auntie Caihong would check me for head injuries if I started acting all frightened and humble around them. Uncle Kho would just give me odd looks and tell me to stop acting like a fool.¡±


    Jing shook his head and said, ¡°I struggle to imagine that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still true, but we¡¯ve drifted off the topic at hand,¡± said Sen, giving Jing a look that said he knew the man had been stalling.


    Jing sighed and said, ¡°Long live the House of Lu.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter Twenty-One – The Fall of the House of Xie (1)

    Book 8: Chapter Twenty-One ¨C The Fall of the House of Xie (1)


    ¡°Soon!¡± thundered the voice.


    Xie Caiji shot up in bed and clutched at her chest. She could feel her heart pounding, even as fear writhed inside of her like a parasite that no medicine could kill. She hadn¡¯t had a peaceful moment of sleep since she¡¯d finallye face to face with Judgment¡¯s Gale. All cultivators were frightening with their inhuman speed and their qi magic, but the nobility hade to their arrangements with the sects. Quiet deals to help keep the worst from happening. Those deals had made her feel safe and protected. She didn¡¯t feel safe anymore. They had all been so sure that the stories about the man were exaggerated. That he couldn¡¯t possibly be as powerful as the tales made him out to be. The sects they¡¯d reached out to had seemed almost eager to face him. They assured her that no core cultivator could face their massed strength, let alone the nascent soul cultivator they had hired at crippling expense.


    It seemed like a perfect idea. The king was popr but weak. Xie Caiji even had a soft spot for Jing. She¡¯d watched him grow up, after all. He¡¯d been a diligent, studious boy, and unfailingly polite. She¡¯d even hoped for a time to marry one of her granddaughters to him. She¡¯d been so happy when she heard Jing cut down his bastard of a father. The old king had been a brute and a bully with only the thinnest veneer of civility stered on top. She¡¯d never suffered directly at his hands, but she knew people who had. She¡¯d honestly wondered if Jing had been the product of some illicit dalliance on the part of the queen. To be fair, she still wondered that, but she¡¯d never dare voice it now. Not with him sitting on the throne. In truth, she felt some gratitude that Jing had done what no one else could, but gratitude only went so far, and politics was politics. That cultivator friend of his had prevented more than a few more direct ploys from moving forward. No one had been willing to tempt his wrath. Of course, he was also far away in the north doing whatever cultivators did when they abandoned civilization.


    When word had gone out that Jing had sent for his friend while all those foreign representatives were here, she knew she had to act. She had to make the king look weak not just at home, but to the kingdoms across the mountains. If she could erode his reputation, make his most-feared ally out to be a paper tiger, her house might be able to take the throne without bloodshed. While a strong king could do as the kings had always done and discourage invasion, a weak king would invite it. She could have leveraged that threat to force a quiet little abdication followed by a very public coronation, and the House of Xie would take its rightful ce as the royal family. Except, Judgment¡¯s Gale had not been a paper tiger. He had been a dragon pretending that he was only a tiger. The stories had started to trickle back from the tiny number of survivors about the merciless ughter that hade at his hands. She hadid all her increasingly desperate hopes on Tseun Rong.


    In truth, when she had seen a clear sky turn that unholy color, watched as that unnatural lightning filled the sky and then crashed down to the earth, she had known. The silence from their contacts had merely confirmed it. It seemed that judgment had been passed on Tseun Rong, and he had been found less than worthy. She had prayed to the fickle heavens that her family name had not been whispered to that man. She had pleaded with the gods to intervene and let her avoid meeting him. Once more, it seemed the stories held true and that the heavens loved that man more than anyone else. He hadn¡¯t been in the city a day before they were in the same room with him raving about all the people he had to murder just to get there. Her blood had gone cold when his gaze hadnded on her. Then, finally, it seemed the heavens were granting her prayers. Jing had dismissed them.


    She¡¯d underestimated Judgment¡¯s Gale again. She¡¯d assumed he was a blunt instrument, incapable of subtlety. Little more than a snarling beast that Jing could direct at his enemies. Not that snarling beasts weren¡¯t a terrible danger, but they could be managed. Instead, he¡¯d let her think she would get away, let her feel the tiniest brush of safety like the traces of a light breeze across her face before he pounced on her. He¡¯d seemed huge from across the room, impossibly tall, and heavily muscled, but she had not appreciated his size until he stood over her like an executioner. It had been like facing a mountain that had no love for her or anything she had ever touched. All of those quiet deals with the sects that made her feel safe meant nothing when faced with that man, who belonged to no sect, who swore allegiance to no one, save perhaps legends even more terrifying than he was.


    She had tried to deny, to do something, <em>anything</em> that would sway him. But the clever words that were so valuable at court, a skill she had worked a lifetime to master, were brushed aside before she could even begin. He knew she was guilty. He¡¯d already decided her fate. He was resolve incarnate, and he wasing for them. For a few desperate moments, she¡¯d considered appealing to Jing before the futility of that struck her. If she¡¯d attacked another house that way, or the king himself, there wouldn¡¯t have been enough proof for him to act. But that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t know and, if he knew, there was no reason to stop his friend from taking a revenge that, loathe as she was to admit it, she had earned.


    ¡°Soon,¡± she whispered.


    She¡¯d been trying to think of something, to n some way for them to survive the storm that was going to descend on them. There was no hope for her. She was an old enough hand at the bloody side of politics to recognize that truth. She could run but that wouldn¡¯t stop a man like Judgment¡¯s Gale from finding her. Her death was a simple matter of when. She had reached out to the sects hoping to leverage those quiet agreements to procure protection for the rest of her family. She had been met with stone-faced refusals and admonishments not to rouse the anger of legends in her next life. She had tried to send people away. If she could at least get lesser members of the family away, the House of Xie might survive in some fashion, but that effort had been stopped cold. Cultivators that no one knew had stopped those carriages and ordered them back to the manor on the authority of Judgment¡¯s Gale.This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    It had been silence in the days since then. A terrible, gnawing silence that had infected the entire manor. The servants did not speak until directly addressed. The family members moved past each other without seeming to see each other. They all knew that doom approached. They could feel it like rain in the air or like insects crawling over them. They were all waiting for a headsman, a headsman in blue robes. It almost came as a relief to Xie Caiji when a massive noise from the front of the manor caused the very walls to tremble. It was wood splintering and the inhuman wail of metal shearing as it was pushed beyond its limits. She lowered her head briefly and then rose from her bed. She dressed carefully even as the sounds of fighting and dying rose from the courtyard. Servants raced in and out of her room, telling her things that didn¡¯t matter anymore. It all amounted to the same thing. Death hade for the House of Xie.


    By the time she finished dressing in her finest robes and jewelry, the battle was over. There were no more screams, no more shing des, just an oppressive absence of noise. She walked past weeping servants and cowering family members. She murmured what quietforts she could to the servants. They were innocent in all of this. She red pure disdain at the members of her family who cowered inside. Family members who had been all too happy to ept the benefits of membership, but apparently found the cost too high when things went bad. As if cowering would help. As if cowardice would stay the hand of a man like Judgment¡¯s Gale. He was the cultivator who had faced down a small army of other cultivators and lived to tell the tale. No, she did not imagine he would find cowardice a good reason to let people live. As she approached the door, she was astounded to see a young man, a boy really, who had not abandoned his post. He was ashen-faced, terrified, but he had stayed at his post. She stopped next to him. If only more of her blood was this stalwart. She reached out a hand and cupped his cheek. His eyes went very wide.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been brave enough for one day,¡± she told him. ¡°Go be with your family now.¡±


    Tears welled up in the boy¡¯s eyes, and he nearly fell over his bow was so deep.


    ¡°Yes, Mistress Xie. Thank you, Mistress Xie.¡±


    The boy turned to go, hesitated, and then went over to the door. He looked at her for approval. She smiled at him and nodded. The boy opened the door for her. <em>That¡¯s likely thest time anyone will ever open a door for me</em>, she thought. Xie Caiji stepped through the door, and it took all of her self-control not to gasp. There were bodies everywhere. House guards who had fought a hopeless battle to thest. She couldn¡¯t even find it in herself to be angry with the handful who had surrendered. They looked ashamed, but she didn¡¯t understand why. One look at the pristine blue robes that adorned the towering figure of Judgment¡¯s Gale said all that was needed about how hopeless that battle had been. <em>Better if they had all surrendered</em>, she thought. The cultivator turned his icy eyes on her and she was frozen in ce. He stalked over to her and it felt like a tsunami was about to crash down over her.


    ¡°Call them out. All of them,¡± he ordered her before his eyes fixed on something over her shoulder.


    She found the will to turn her head. That brave boy who had opened the door for her was standing there, tears in his eyes, locked in ce. She turned her face back to the cultivator she had so foolishly enraged and saw something she had never expected to be there. Pity.


    ¡°I¡¯ll spare the children,¡± he told her in a low voice.


    An awful fist that had been wrapped around her heart loosened the tiniest bit. <em>The children will live</em>, she thought. She didn¡¯t know why he was choosing to spare them and, with death so close at hand, she didn¡¯t care why. She¡¯d witnessed enough people lie over the years to recognize the truth when she heard it. She issued the order to the only person she could, the boy. He nodded jerkily and ran back inside. It took a while and a booming threat from Judgment¡¯s Gale for everyone to straggle out of the building. Xie Caiji simply stood there, doing her best to keep her head held high. She would not cower in the final moments, nor, it seemed, did Judgment¡¯s Gale wish for that. He just stood there, silent, impassive, and utterly terrible. After the cultivator had done something that she felt but didn¡¯t understand was he satisfied that everyone in the manor was now present in the courtyard. It was only then that a figure stepped out of a nearby shadow. She recognized the man, the cultivator bodyguard that Jing had hired from only the gods knew where. She held a brief hope that this was some kind of reprieve, until the man took out a scroll, and unrolled it.


    ¡°In this year of, oh I¡¯m not reading all of that,¡± said Chan Dishi, his eyes flickering down the scroll. ¡°This decree hereby dissolves the House of Xie. All noble titles current and hereditary are withdrawn from the Xie family. All assets, holdings, and titles of nobility once held by the House of Xie are hereby transferred to the newly established House of Lu, and its patriarch, the cultivator Lu Sen, known as Judgment¡¯s Gale, the Hand of Chaos, Heavens Scouring de, the Storm¡¯s Wrath, the¡ª¡±


    The words faded to nothing as Xie Caiji felt like her entire world had just dissolved around her. She had misunderstood what she was dealing with so profoundly that she had to lock her jaw shut to keep from bursting into hystericalughter or incoherent screaming. Judgment¡¯s Gale hade to kill the House of Xie, and he had done it more thoroughly than she had ever imagined possible. She had imagined naked bloodshed, which might still happen, but not this. Even if he did let the children live, they would live as peasants. As orphans. No titles. No protections. The House of Xie, one of the proudest, most powerful houses in the kingdom, had been reduced to nothing. It was an exasperated burst of words that brought her out of her trance.


    ¡°How many names do you have?¡± demanded Chan Dishi as he waved the scroll at Judgment¡¯s Gale.


    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know,¡± said the man.


    Chan Dishi shook his head before he red at the collected members of the former House of Xie.


    ¡°He gets everything. You get nothing,¡± announced the man, before he handed the scroll to Judgment¡¯s Gale and walked away.


    The blue-robed cultivator eyed the scroll for a moment before it vanished into a storage treasure. He fixed his eyes on Xie Caiji.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s talk about who knew.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 21: The Fall of the House of Xie (1)

    Book 8: Chapter 21: The Fall of the House of Xie (1)


    ¡°Soon!¡± thundered the voice.


    Xie Caiji shot up in bed and clutched at her chest. She could feel her heart pounding, even as fear writhed inside of her like a parasite that no medicine could kill. She hadn¡¯t had a peaceful moment of sleep since she¡¯d finallye face to face with Judgment¡¯s Gale. All cultivators were frightening with their inhuman speed and their qi magic, but the nobility hade to their arrangements with the sects. Quiet deals to help keep the worst from happening. Those deals had made her feel safe and protected. She didn¡¯t feel safe anymore. They had all been so sure that the stories about the man were exaggerated. That he couldn¡¯t possibly be as powerful as the tales made him out to be. The sects they¡¯d reached out to had seemed almost eager to face him. They assured her that no core cultivator could face their massed strength, let alone the nascent soul cultivator they had hired at crippling expense.


    It seemed like a perfect idea. The king was popr but weak. Xie Caiji even had a soft spot for Jing. She¡¯d watched him grow up, after all. He¡¯d been a diligent, studious boy, and unfailingly polite. She¡¯d even hoped for a time to marry one of her granddaughters to him. She¡¯d been so happy when she heard Jing cut down his bastard of a father. The old king had been a brute and a bully with only the thinnest veneer of civility stered on top. She¡¯d never suffered directly at his hands, but she knew people who had. She¡¯d honestly wondered if Jing had been the product of some illicit dalliance on the part of the queen. To be fair, she still wondered that, but she¡¯d never dare voice it now. Not with him sitting on the throne. In truth, she felt some gratitude that Jing had done what no one else could, but gratitude only went so far, and politics was politics. That cultivator friend of his had prevented more than a few more direct ploys from moving forward. No one had been willing to tempt his wrath. Of course, he was also far away in the north doing whatever cultivators did when they abandoned civilization.


    When word had gone out that Jing had sent for his friend while all those foreign representatives were here, she knew she had to act. She had to make the king look weak not just at home, but to the kingdoms across the mountains. If she could erode his reputation, make his most-feared ally out to be a paper tiger, her house might be able to take the throne without bloodshed. While a strong king could do as the kings had always done and discourage invasion, a weak king would invite it. She could have leveraged that threat to force a quiet little abdication followed by a very public coronation, and the House of Xie would take its rightful ce as the royal family. Except, Judgment¡¯s Gale had not been a paper tiger. He had been a dragon pretending that he was only a tiger. The stories had started to trickle back from the tiny number of survivors about the merciless ughter that hade at his hands. She hadid all her increasingly desperate hopes on Tseun Rong.


    In truth, when she had seen a clear sky turn that unholy color, watched as that unnatural lightning filled the sky and then crashed down to the earth, she had known. The silence from their contacts had merely confirmed it. It seemed that judgment had been passed on Tseun Rong, and he had been found less than worthy. She had prayed to the fickle heavens that her family name had not been whispered to that man. She had pleaded with the gods to intervene and let her avoid meeting him. Once more, it seemed the stories held true and that the heavens loved that man more than anyone else. He hadn¡¯t been in the city a day before they were in the same room with him raving about all the people he had to murder just to get there. Her blood had gone cold when his gaze hadnded on her. Then, finally, it seemed the heavens were granting her prayers. Jing had dismissed them.


    She¡¯d underestimated Judgment¡¯s Gale again. She¡¯d assumed he was a blunt instrument, incapable of subtlety. Little more than a snarling beast that Jing could direct at his enemies. Not that snarling beasts weren¡¯t a terrible danger, but they could be managed. Instead, he¡¯d let her think she would get away, let her feel the tiniest brush of safety like the traces of a light breeze across her face before he pounced on her. He¡¯d seemed huge from across the room, impossibly tall, and heavily muscled, but she had not appreciated his size until he stood over her like an executioner. It had been like facing a mountain that had no love for her or anything she had ever touched. All of those quiet deals with the sects that made her feel safe meant nothing when faced with that man, who belonged to no sect, who swore allegiance to no one, save perhaps legends even more terrifying than he was.


    She had tried to deny, to do something, <em>anything</em> that would sway him. But the clever words that were so valuable at court, a skill she had worked a lifetime to master, were brushed aside before she could even begin. He knew she was guilty. He¡¯d already decided her fate. He was resolve incarnate, and he wasing for them. For a few desperate moments, she¡¯d considered appealing to Jing before the futility of that struck her. If she¡¯d attacked another house that way, or the king himself, there wouldn¡¯t have been enough proof for him to act. But that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t know and, if he knew, there was no reason to stop his friend from taking a revenge that, loathe as she was to admit it, she had earned.


    ¡°Soon,¡± she whispered.


    She¡¯d been trying to think of something, to n some way for them to survive the storm that was going to descend on them. There was no hope for her. She was an old enough hand at the bloody side of politics to recognize that truth. She could run but that wouldn¡¯t stop a man like Judgment¡¯s Gale from finding her. Her death was a simple matter of when. She had reached out to the sects hoping to leverage those quiet agreements to procure protection for the rest of her family. She had been met with stone-faced refusals and admonishments not to rouse the anger of legends in her next life. She had tried to send people away. If she could at least get lesser members of the family away, the House of Xie might survive in some fashion, but that effort had been stopped cold. Cultivators that no one knew had stopped those carriages and ordered them back to the manor on the authority of Judgment¡¯s Gale.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any urrences.


    It had been silence in the days since then. A terrible, gnawing silence that had infected the entire manor. The servants did not speak until directly addressed. The family members moved past each other without seeming to see each other. They all knew that doom approached. They could feel it like rain in the air or like insects crawling over them. They were all waiting for a headsman, a headsman in blue robes. It almost came as a relief to Xie Caiji when a massive noise from the front of the manor caused the very walls to tremble. It was wood splintering and the inhuman wail of metal shearing as it was pushed beyond its limits. She lowered her head briefly and then rose from her bed. She dressed carefully even as the sounds of fighting and dying rose from the courtyard. Servants raced in and out of her room, telling her things that didn¡¯t matter anymore. It all amounted to the same thing. Death hade for the House of Xie.


    By the time she finished dressing in her finest robes and jewelry, the battle was over. There were no more screams, no more shing des, just an oppressive absence of noise. She walked past weeping servants and cowering family members. She murmured what quietforts she could to the servants. They were innocent in all of this. She red pure disdain at the members of her family who cowered inside. Family members who had been all too happy to ept the benefits of membership, but apparently found the cost too high when things went bad. As if cowering would help. As if cowardice would stay the hand of a man like Judgment¡¯s Gale. He was the cultivator who had faced down a small army of other cultivators and lived to tell the tale. No, she did not imagine he would find cowardice a good reason to let people live. As she approached the door, she was astounded to see a young man, a boy really, who had not abandoned his post. He was ashen-faced, terrified, but he had stayed at his post. She stopped next to him. If only more of her blood was this stalwart. She reached out a hand and cupped his cheek. His eyes went very wide.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been brave enough for one day,¡± she told him. ¡°Go be with your family now.¡±


    Tears welled up in the boy¡¯s eyes, and he nearly fell over his bow was so deep.


    ¡°Yes, Mistress Xie. Thank you, Mistress Xie.¡±


    The boy turned to go, hesitated, and then went over to the door. He looked at her for approval. She smiled at him and nodded. The boy opened the door for her. <em>That¡¯s likely thest time anyone will ever open a door for me</em>, she thought. Xie Caiji stepped through the door, and it took all of her self-control not to gasp. There were bodies everywhere. House guards who had fought a hopeless battle to thest. She couldn¡¯t even find it in herself to be angry with the handful who had surrendered. They looked ashamed, but she didn¡¯t understand why. One look at the pristine blue robes that adorned the towering figure of Judgment¡¯s Gale said all that was needed about how hopeless that battle had been. <em>Better if they had all surrendered</em>, she thought. The cultivator turned his icy eyes on her and she was frozen in ce. He stalked over to her and it felt like a tsunami was about to crash down over her.


    ¡°Call them out. All of them,¡± he ordered her before his eyes fixed on something over her shoulder.


    She found the will to turn her head. That brave boy who had opened the door for her was standing there, tears in his eyes, locked in ce. She turned her face back to the cultivator she had so foolishly enraged and saw something she had never expected to be there. Pity.


    ¡°I¡¯ll spare the children,¡± he told her in a low voice.


    An awful fist that had been wrapped around her heart loosened the tiniest bit. <em>The children will live</em>, she thought. She didn¡¯t know why he was choosing to spare them and, with death so close at hand, she didn¡¯t care why. She¡¯d witnessed enough people lie over the years to recognize the truth when she heard it. She issued the order to the only person she could, the boy. He nodded jerkily and ran back inside. It took a while and a booming threat from Judgment¡¯s Gale for everyone to straggle out of the building. Xie Caiji simply stood there, doing her best to keep her head held high. She would not cower in the final moments, nor, it seemed, did Judgment¡¯s Gale wish for that. He just stood there, silent, impassive, and utterly terrible. After the cultivator had done something that she felt but didn¡¯t understand was he satisfied that everyone in the manor was now present in the courtyard. It was only then that a figure stepped out of a nearby shadow. She recognized the man, the cultivator bodyguard that Jing had hired from only the gods knew where. She held a brief hope that this was some kind of reprieve, until the man took out a scroll, and unrolled it.


    ¡°In this year of, oh I¡¯m not reading all of that,¡± said Chan Dishi, his eyes flickering down the scroll. ¡°This decree hereby dissolves the House of Xie. All noble titles current and hereditary are withdrawn from the Xie family. All assets, holdings, and titles of nobility once held by the House of Xie are hereby transferred to the newly established House of Lu, and its patriarch, the cultivator Lu Sen, known as Judgment¡¯s Gale, the Hand of Chaos, Heavens Scouring de, the Storm¡¯s Wrath, the¡ª¡±


    The words faded to nothing as Xie Caiji felt like her entire world had just dissolved around her. She had misunderstood what she was dealing with so profoundly that she had to lock her jaw shut to keep from bursting into hystericalughter or incoherent screaming. Judgment¡¯s Gale hade to kill the House of Xie, and he had done it more thoroughly than she had ever imagined possible. She had imagined naked bloodshed, which might still happen, but not this. Even if he did let the children live, they would live as peasants. As orphans. No titles. No protections. The House of Xie, one of the proudest, most powerful houses in the kingdom, had been reduced to nothing. It was an exasperated burst of words that brought her out of her trance.


    ¡°How many names do you have?¡± demanded Chan Dishi as he waved the scroll at Judgment¡¯s Gale.


    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know,¡± said the man.


    Chan Dishi shook his head before he red at the collected members of the former House of Xie.


    ¡°He gets everything. You get nothing,¡± announced the man, before he handed the scroll to Judgment¡¯s Gale and walked away.


    The blue-robed cultivator eyed the scroll for a moment before it vanished into a storage treasure. He fixed his eyes on Xie Caiji.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s talk about who knew.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 22: The Fall of the House of Xie (2)

    Book 8: Chapter 22: The Fall of the House of Xie (2)


    Sen watched as Xie Caiji¡¯s face twisted with the knowledge that this wasn¡¯t over yet. He wasn¡¯t just going to kill <em>her</em> and be done with it. Ever since the rest of the Xie household had been brought out, he¡¯d had a nagging sensation he was missing something. He started moving his eyes from face to face, really looking at them. He almost passed over the man before an old memory surfaced. It had been so long ago, and seemed soparatively trivial now, that he almost let it go. Almost. The other man must have seen the decision on Sen¡¯s face because qi red as the cultivator made a run for it. Onezy qinggong technique and a kick to the back of the man¡¯s headter, and the escape attempt was over. Sen grabbed the man by the ankle and dragged him, face down, so they could have their little discussion in front of the whole family.


    ¡°Gong Jun De,¡± said Sen, finally letting go of the man¡¯s ankle. ¡°Well, well. So, who is the peasant now?¡±


    The man red up at Sen with fury and scorn in his face. With that expression, he was much more recognizable as the same man in Sen¡¯s memory.


    ¡°You¡¯ll always be a peasant!¡± snarled the man.


    ¡°Probably,¡± said Sen. ¡°Still, it has been such a long time since you tried to have me killed at the Clear Spring Sect. I was very eager to talk to you after, but you ran away. Like a coward. Exactly the way you tried to do just now. I¡¯ll admit, I was shocked that the House of Xie sent people to kill me. I didn¡¯t have any quarrel with your house. I certainly didn¡¯t <em>care</em> about your house. But seeing you here, it all makes sense now. Sending others to do your dirty work is just procedure around here it seems. Gong Jun De, though? Not Xie Jun De? Some scandal I should know about? Are you a bastard in truth as well as behavior?¡±


    Sen had never seen it before. In fact, he¡¯d thought that whole thing about spitting blood was just a colorful if odd turn of phrase, but Gong Jun De actually started to leak blood from his mouth. What Sen couldn¡¯t decide was if it was rage over an insult or fury at being so publicly called out as a literal bastard. Gong Jun De shot up to his feet.


    ¡°I challenge you to a duel of honor!¡± screamed the man, bloody spittle flying from his lips.


    Sen did something he¡¯d seen Lo Meifeng do once when she¡¯d wanted to make a point. He grabbed Gong Jun De by the face. Sen jerked his hand down hard. Gong Jun De¡¯s face hit the ground before the rest of his body caught up. Sen nted a foot on the back of the other man¡¯s neck and brutally shattered a half dozen techniques the man tried to throw at him. There was a pool of blood on the ground around Gong Jun De¡¯s face when the pain from repeated bacshes seemed to take the fight out of him.


    ¡°Be quiet now,¡± said Sen. ¡°Peasants should know their ce. Isn¡¯t that what the nobles are always saying? If that holds for peasants, it goes double for worthless dogs. I mean, you didn¡¯t even <em>try</em> to defend your home.¡±Sen felt a movement at his side and nced over at Long Jia Wei. The assassin was giving the assembled crowd a dispassionate look. His eyes shifted down to Gong Jun De¡¯s prone form.


    ¡°Shall I dispatch him for you, Lord Lu?¡± asked Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen, lifting his foot off the man¡¯s neck.


    Gong Jun De turned a horrified look up at Sen. Then, the life went out of the man¡¯s eyes as Long Jia Wei used his daggers to remove the man¡¯s head in a series of movements so fast that Sen doubted anyone but he had seen them. Sen hadn¡¯t nned on doing any of that and the whole thing made him feel a little ill to his stomach, but it had served a purpose. He had seen the defiant looks on some of the faces in the crowd. He could almost hear them thinking that this didn¡¯t apply to them. That <em>they</em>, at least, were still nobles. Sen had just shattered the illusion. He hadn¡¯t just killed a noble. He¡¯d killed a cultivator noble. He hadn¡¯t even done it himself. He¡¯d delegated the killing to an underling like the whole thing was a dirty task beneath his dignity. There were no more looks of defiance in the crowd. All that was left now was the dawning horror that this was all <em>real</em>. This was happening. Their lives as they understood them were over, and all that awaited them was a world of manualbor and angry peasants with grudges.


    ¡°Where were we? Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± said Sen, locking eyes with Xie Caiji. ¡°You were about to tell me who knew. Who participated?¡±


    The woman tried to gather herself before she said, ¡°It was just me.¡±


    Sen heaved a great, theatrical sigh and said, ¡°Who are the servants here? Step forward.¡±


    There was a lot of hesitation and hushed murmuring, but people who were obviously servants did eventually step forward. Sen picked out two people who were clearly <em>not</em> servants hiding in the back and trying to pass themselves off.


    ¡°Long Jia Wei,¡± said Sen in a voice that carried.


    ¡°Yes, Lord Lu.¡±


    ¡°If those two Xie cowards,¡± Sen pointed at the offenders, ¡°don¡¯t rejoin their family in the next two seconds, kill them.¡±


    ¡°As you say, Lord Lu.¡±


    Their eyes going wide and blood draining from their faces, the two men scrambled back from the servants. One of them tripped over something and, rather than stand again, he simply started shoving himself away from the servants with his legs. Sen scanned the assembled crowd, trying to make a best guess, before he made his next, well, he supposed it was a promation.


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    ¡°You servants,¡± said Sen, ¡°take the children inside. Anyone under the age of thirteen. Keep them away from the windows.¡±


    No one moved for a few heartbeats before a woman¡¯s voice rang out.


    ¡°You heard the man. Get the children inside.¡±


    It was one of the servants, although one with some authority based on the way the rest of them sprang into action, herding or just carrying every child they could grab and fleeing into the building. The senior servant shot a look at Sen. It was aplicated thing. There was rage in those eyes. She hated him for what he was doing. There was also gratitude that he was sparing the children from something that was likely to be truly ugly. When the door to the manor swung closed with a bang, Sen knew that he was going to have to bury any sense ofpassion or mercy he felt. He <em>needed</em> to know.


    ¡°Tell me who, or I kill them all,¡± he said to Xie Caiji.


    She just stared at him for a while. It was long enough that he thought she meant to call what she must mistakenly believe was a bluff. Her eyes drifted from his face to the people standing around her, her family, what she had probably also mistakenly believed was the cream that the kingdom had to offer. If she believed that Sen wouldn¡¯t cut them all down because of reasons like that, she was sadly mistaken. Eventually, her eyesnded on the body of Gong Jun De. She stared at that corpse for a long time before she looked at Sen, seemed to recognize his willingness to do exactly what he¡¯d said, and she fell back on thest resort of the doomed.


    ¡°If I tell you, will you let the rest live?¡± she asked.


    Before Sen could get a word in, a man near Xie Caiji shot a look of pure venom at her and screamed, ¡°You bitch!¡±


    The man lunged toward her, murder in his eyes, and a few others followed suit. Sen traded a cultivator-speed look with Long Jia Wei, who shot forward and wove through the crowd like a particrly lethal fish. Everyone that had made a move on the older woman fell dead within a second of each other. The crowd started to panic as lifeless bodies started falling around them, but Sen let a sliver of a sliver of his killing intent wash over them. Everyone froze. He walked over to Xie Caiji as he pulled his killing intent back.


    ¡°Who else?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What about the rest?¡± she whispered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give them a <em>chance</em> to live,¡± he said. ¡°Which is more than your assassins would have given the people who were with me.¡±


    The woman nodded and then pointed out three other people. Long Jia Wei didn¡¯t need to be told what to do. Sen was happy to see that the man made it quick. Sen regarded Xie Caiji and asked the question he¡¯d been putting off.


    ¡°Why? I never would havee for your house if you hadn¡¯t done this. I honestly didn¡¯t give a damn about you or politics. So, why?¡±


    She seemed to weigh the question before she shrugged.


    ¡°To weaken the king. To seize the throne.¡±


    ¡°So, you did it for power?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Was it worth it?¡±


    The woman flinched and took another look around. She looked at the wreckage that used to be the front gates. She looked at the bodies. She looked at the faces of her family, some of them numb with shock, some of them openly afraid, and some of them streaked with tears. Family that she had robbed of their futures with one terrible, ill-conceived decision.


    ¡°No,¡± she answered. ¡°So, is it my turn? Will your man kill me as well?¡±


    Sen shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    He reached out and touched her forehead. His qi flooded into her and just made everything that made her keep being alive <em>stop</em>. She crumpled to the ground. Sen considered that limp form on the ground before he shook his head and walked far enough away that the whole crowd could see him.


    ¡°Now, I have to decide what to do with the rest of you.¡±


    An older man stepped forward, his face slick with sweat, and said, ¡°The guilty have been punished. Surely, there is no need for more death.¡±


    ¡°I punished the people who were guilty of things done against me. Do you really expect me to believe that the rest of you are moral paragons? No, it seems far more likely to me that if I investigate even a little bit that I¡¯ll discover all of you as worthless as this one was,¡± said Sen, kicking Gong Jun De¡¯s body.


    A lot of very scared looks got passed between people when Sen suggested he might investigate what the rest of the House of Xie had been up to. It wasn¡¯t evidence, but it was enough to tell him that he¡¯d been pretty close to the mark. On the other hand, it wasn¡¯t practical to kill everyone else. Even if he did just give up on sleep, he could never deal with all of the work that went into running all of the holdings and operations of a house like this. In truth, he needed some of these people to stay. He just wanted them all thinking he would prefer to ughter them and that letting them live was only a whim, a final kindness extended to the woman he¡¯d just killed right in front of them. A kindness he might immediately retract if they annoyed him.


    ¡°I suppose Long Jia Wei¡¯s arm will get tired if he has to murder all of you,¡± Sen muttered loud enough to be heard, but like he was talking to himself. ¡°Fine. I suppose that I don¡¯t <em>know</em> that you deserve death.¡±


    A collective sigh of relief went through the crowd.


    Sen continued, ¡°But don¡¯t imagine for a moment that you¡¯re going to leave here just to start plotting against me. You only live by my sufferance. You will all take oaths to the heavens to never knowingly act or speak against me or the House of Lu. You will vow never to encourage others to act or speak against me or the House of Lu.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯spletely unreasonable,¡± shouted someone from the back of the crowd, who seemingly thought that Sen couldn¡¯t see him.


    Sen activated his qinggong technique and all but materialized next to the man. He leaned in close.


    ¡°Do I strike you as a <em>reasonable</em> man?¡± Sen asked in a deadly whisper, then he raised his voice. ¡°You <em>will</em> take the vow, or you <em>will not</em> leave this ce.¡±


    Sen walked back to where he had been, the Xie family falling back before him. He turned to look at them.


    ¡°I may allow some of you to stay and enjoy the protection of the House of Lu, provided you can actually do something useful. And assuming you¡¯ll take additional vows to faithfully, conscientiously, serve the House of Lu,¡± said Sen, watching some of the people grow angry at what he was suggesting. ¡°Your children, however, will remain under my care. Consider it my acknowledgment of your basic natures and a surety against the possibility of you finding a way to circumvent your vows. Those who choose to serve the House of Lu may, eventually, even be permitted time with their children again.¡±


    The angry whispering came to an abrupt halt. The threat was crystal clear, even if they didn¡¯t know it waspletely hollow. Behave, and your children will shelterfortably beneath my not-inconsiderable protection. Do anything I don¡¯t like, and they¡¯ll be close at hand to bear the brunt of <em>your</em> sins.


    ¡°Now,¡± said Sen, ¡°who wants to make a vow? And who wants to help Long Jia Wei perfect his dagger techniques?¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 23: The Fall of the House of Xie (3)

    Book 8: Chapter 23: The Fall of the House of Xie (3)


    While it was a little disappointing, Sen couldn¡¯t pretend surprise when a few people declined to take the vow. He supposed they didn¡¯t have children, ormon sense, or both. Then again, maybe they just thought it was better to die immediately than take their chances out in the world with all the people they¡¯d wronged. Those were the easy ones to deal with. The ones Sen found less easy to deal with were the people who mouthed the words of the vow, seemingly believing that saying it was enough. It didn¡¯t ur to him until after he¡¯d executed the very first person in line, the very first liar, that these people had probably never seen or given a true vow to the heavens. He fixed the entire group with a hard look. He spoke to them in words that were as cold as the northern winds in winter.


    ¡°A true vow to the heavens requiresmitment. There are signs when the vow takes hold. If you thought just mumbling the words at me while nning your betrayals was going to work, <em>discard that idea</em>.¡±


    The next person who came up to Sen did so with a ghostlyplexion and sweat beading on their brows. They, at least, meant the words when they said them. When a brief glow descended on the man, Sen nodded.


    ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°Now, leave your coin purse, jewelry, and any weapons you may be carrying.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± asked the stunned man.


    Sen gave him a level look when he said, ¡°Those don¡¯t belong to you. They belong to the House of Lu. Be grateful that I¡¯m letting you take the clothes you¡¯re wearing. That goes for all of you. And, if any of you were thinking you¡¯d run to the nearest banks and make hasty withdrawals, you will be denied. My agents have already seized any private residences and business holdings of the former House of Xie. Any attempt to enter those properties or seize assets will be met with immediate, lethal violence.¡±


    The man directly in front of Sen looked like he was on the verge of an apoplectic fix when he snarled, ¡°How do you expect us to live? How will we eat?¡±


    Sen looked to his side where a stone-faced Long Jia Wei reached into a pouch and removed two copper tael. The ex-sect member held out the pittance to the furious man. Before the enraged Xie man could speak, Sen cut him off.


    ¡°It¡¯s more than I had when I lived on the streets and nobles made a sport out of beating me.¡±One nce at Sen¡¯s face after he¡¯d spoken ended any additional outcry against the orders. Sen watched the man in front of him swallow his words like they burned.


    ¡°You said that you might let some of us stay,¡± said the man.


    Long Jia Wei coughed, loudly, and gave the man a meaningful look. The Xie man¡¯s face went a shade of purple before he offered a deep bow and managed to push two words through his clenched teeth.


    ¡°My Lord.¡±


    ¡°I might, but you¡¯ll have toe back <em>tomorrow</em> and detail to me what value you might offer to the House of Lu.¡±


    The message was clear enough to the remaining Xie family. Today, you get to reap the consequences of every cruel, thoughtless whim you ever indulged in while thinking your position would protect you. Survive until tomorrow, and the Lord of the House of Lu might, <em>might</em>, just think about offering you his protection. Sen knew that there was a chance that some of them would try to get epted into the other major houses in the city, but he was willing to bet that the rest of the nobility weren¡¯t going to be in a hurry to tempt his fury as word spread. He¡¯d made certain that copies of the promation were delivered to all of the noble houses and sects. A few of these people might find shelter somewhere but not many. With nothing else to do, the Xie man took the two copper tael and walked out of the shattered gates with a fearful expression. Sen watched him go before he turned his gaze on the rest of them.


    ¡°Next,¡± he said.


    Most of the Xie family at least survived the vow-giving process. Sen didn¡¯t make a production out of it. If the vow didn¡¯t take immediately, the person died immediately. He did have to stare a few people down to get them to cough up money, weapons, or other treasures they¡¯d secreted about their persons. He¡¯d gone back and forth about how to deal with people who did that and ultimately decided that simply depriving them of those things was sufficient. He¡¯d spilled more blood than he wanted to already. As thest of the Xie family, the adults at any rate, scurried through the shattered gates, Long Jia Wei gave Sen a long, evaluating look.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen in a tired voice.


    ¡°I thought your battle with Tseun Rong was terrifying, but I think that this was a far more frightening disy.¡±


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    ¡°You found this more disturbing? Why?¡±


    ¡°Because you simply killed Tseun Rong. But with this,¡± said Long Jia Wei, ¡°you broke them. You broke a great house of the kingdom. I doubt that half the people who walked out that gate will live to see the dawn. And, with everything else you set in motion, you¡¯ve made yourself the only port in the storm. They¡¯ll do anything, agree to anything you want, just to survive.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t quite sure how to take what the man was saying. He couldn¡¯t tell if the man was disagreeing, chiding, or something else entirely.


    ¡°You disapprove?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Quite the contrary. It¡¯s really quite masterful. It will be a long, long time before another house dares to make anything like an open move against you after this. Although, it does beg something of a personal question on my part.¡±


    ¡°Personal for who?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Personal for me,¡± said Long Jia Wei. ¡°You could have demanded a vow from me like the one you demanded from them. You could have demanded very from me, and I would have been in no position to decline.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, that¡¯s simple enough. I <em>know</em> they can¡¯t be trusted. Everyst one of them would have betrayed me at the earliest opportunity. So, I made the cost for even trying it so high that only someone with a legitimate death wish would even consider it.¡±


    ¡°And me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m uncertain if you can be trusted.¡±


    Long Jia Wei stood in thoughtful silence for a moment before he said, ¡°So, you¡¯ve left me free to either prove myself or sign my own death warrant.¡±


    ¡°See? Not thatplicated.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it isn¡¯t. And what¡¯s next on your list of things to do today, my lord?¡±


    Sen looked around at the mess that was the courtyard. ¡°I clean up. And then we go inside.¡±


    While Sen didn¡¯t think much of the Xie family members, he did at least do them the courtesy of burning their bodies and offering up the requisite prayers. He did expedite the process by burning the bodies with his fire qi, which took seconds instead of an hour. He dumped all of the coin purses, weapons, and treasures into a storage ring. He took a moment to shape stone recements for the gates he¡¯d destroyed. He didn¡¯t want anyone thinking this was an ideal time to try to loot the Xie manor. He stopped short at that thought. <em>It¡¯s my manor</em>, <em>now</em>, <em>isn¡¯t it</em>? Sighing, he walked over to the door with Long Jia Wei trailing two steps behind him and entered.


    Sen saw the boy who had been in the door earlier, staring at him with huge, frightened eyes. He also saw a young woman who took one look at him and immediately scurried away, no doubt to fetch someone more senior. Sen looked at the boy. Well, he supposed he had to start somewhere.


    ¡°You there,¡± he said, waving a hand at the boy. ¡°Come here.¡±


    Sen felt torn as the kid took halting, uncertain steps. He was old enough to understand what had happened and bear a grudge, but young enough that Sen prayed he wouldn¡¯t have to do anything to him.


    ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± said the boy in a quavering tone.


    ¡°You understand what¡¯s happened here?¡±


    The kid nodded and said, ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Here are your choices.¡±


    Senid out the options. The kid could take the one vow and leave, take the more stringent vow and remain in service to the House of Lu, or he could die. Then, Sen just waited while the kid made up his mind. <em>Please</em>, <em>make a smart choice</em>, Sen begged the boy in his mind. The boy finally looked up at him and made his choice. By the time the young woman came back with the woman who had taken charge outside, the boy was standing at his post. And if he looked a little torn, he also looked profoundly calmer. The senior servant red balefully at Sen.


    ¡°So, the upstart¡ª¡±


    ¡°Spare me your sanctimony,¡± said Sen. ¡°Your employers were cutthroat bastards who sent assassins after me for no reason. You don¡¯t have a leg to stand on.¡±


    The woman¡¯s re intensified, but she changed subjects.


    ¡°Where are the children¡¯s parents?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°I imagine some of them are dead. The rest are out in the city somewhere, no doubt enjoying exactly the level of goodwill they <em>earned</em>,¡± said Sen, and continued before the woman could explode into vitriol. ¡°Now, wee to the problem of you. One look at you tells me that you¡¯re unsalvageable. You¡¯re pure poison, and I have no need of your services.¡±


    It seemed the woman hadn¡¯t considered the possibility that she would simply be dismissed out of hand. She lost the color in her face and her hands started to tremble.


    ¡°My Lord¡ª¡± she started.


    ¡°Save it. You have two choices. You can take an incredibly constricting vow to the heavens or you can move on to your next life. Pick. Now. Or I¡¯ll pick for you.¡±


    All of the bluster gone from her demeanor, the woman took a vow to the heavens that made it all but impossible for her to even think bad things about Sen and the House of Lu, let alone to act against them. Sen wasn¡¯t wholly withoutpassion, though. While he knew that this woman couldn¡¯t be allowed to stay, she was, in the end, just an employee of the Xie. After relieving her of keys to almost every room in the ce, he sent her on her way with a sum that made Long Jia Wei eye him askance.


    ¡°She probably expected to die in the rtiveforts of this ce,¡± said Sen. ¡°I doubt she even has a home away from here. I gave her enough to ensure that she doesn¡¯t starve to death or die of exposure.¡±


    The young woman who had fetched the senior servant was staring at the door the older woman had gone through with a look of almost incandescent joy. <em>I guess that woman wasn¡¯t particrly popr</em>, thought that Sen. He sent the young woman to fetch the other servants one by one. A few refused to stay. Two men tried to attack him and were cut down by Long Jia Wei. The rest looked to have mixed feelings but seemed to decide that the promise of steady pay outweighed any lingering loyalty they might have felt to the Xie family. When the only person left was the young woman, Sen didn¡¯t even need to bother exining the choice. Except, things didn¡¯t go quite the he expected. Before he could stop her, the woman vowed her undying loyalty and service to <em>him</em>, personally, rather than the House of Lu. As the glow surrounded the woman, Sen reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose.


    ¡°Oh, this is going to be a pain in my ass,¡± said Sen. ¡°I just know it.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 24: Act of Creation

    Book 8: Chapter 24: Act of Creation


    Sen knew that there were a million things he should be doing at that moment, but exactly none of them were appealing. The servant girl was just standing there, beaming at him. Long Jia Wei looked like he was stuck somewhere between shock and bursting intoughter. A quick sweep with his spiritual sense told him that the servants were moving around the manor. They were probably working, not that he really cared all that much. He¡¯d basically given them all onemand. <em>Make sure the children are taken care of</em>. Sen also knew that he should talk to the children, but he didn¡¯t want to face their frightened, confused eyes immediately after killing so many people. To say nothing of sending their parents out into the unforgiving clutches of the city. Sen turned to Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°A lot of house guards died. Find out who they were and if they had families. I <em>will not</em> turn their wives and children into beggars in this godsforsaken city. Beyond that, just manage affairs here as seems best to you for now if you would. I have things to tend to,¡± he said, before looking at the girl who seemed like she might follow him. ¡°Assist him, please.¡±


    Ignoring the unhappy look the girl gave him, Sen strode out the front door. He needed to do something that wasn¡¯t violent. There had been too much pointless death and destructiontely. He needed to make something. Engage in an act of creation. It wouldn¡¯t bnce the scales, but it might help to bnce his mind and his soul. Sen manifested a qi tform and rose over the manor. Looking down on it, he realized that it was much, much bigger than he¡¯d expected. There was the main building, but also a number of secondary buildings ranging in size from nearly as big as the main building to ones that looked about the right size to house individual families. He pushed that thought away. He hadn¡¯t chosen this fight. It hade looking for him. There was a shocking amount ofnd around the buildings. Some of it was devoted torge vegetable gardens, while other parts looked to house purely decorative gardens of flowers. There were also areas that looked designed for martial training and some ces that were simple grass, ideal for rambunctious children to y in. It was quite as much space as some of the sects in the city, but it wasn¡¯t far off either.


    Surrounding it all was a, by mortal standards, formidable wall. <em>But this isn¡¯t just a ce for mortals anymore</em>, thought Sen. <em>It will need better defenses</em>. Sen still felt off-bnce, so started simple. He cycled for earth and reinforced the walls that were there, hardening the outside until it could likely withstand blows from ate-stage core cultivator. As his sense of imbnce started to fade away, he let his qi stretch down into the earth. He didn¡¯t want to disturb nearby buildings, so he needed to reach deep, to draw up stone from a ce that wouldn¡¯t affect the stability of anything else. Bit by bit, he thickened the walls and made them higher. He cycled for metal and drew away the impurities in the stone, reshaping them, forging them into razor-edged spikes that lined the top of the wall. Sen sank deeper into the process, letting his worries fall away, and finding a ce of peace inside himself again.


    He started building formations into the walls, leaning on years of practice in the wilds, and what he¡¯d learned from Master Kho while crafting buildings for the academy. Layer byyer, he locked the formations together. Formations that would gather qi. Formations that would condense and hold qi. Formations that would unleash qi in waves of fire, lightning, ice, and shadow. Almost without realizing it, he summoned beast cores by the dozens. They floated around him like a constetion of unharnessed power, until they were sent down, lodged into the stone of the walls and into the formations. They acted as connections, as storage, as augments, and in his mind, Sen could also see the countless patterns of webs that he had watched Glimmer of Night create. He couldn¡¯t understand them, yet, but he could feel what they were meant to do, brush against their intent, and he wove that nascent understanding of interconnection and meaning into his formations.


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    He could feel the formations building up into something else, something more than the fragile defenses he could consciously design. He leaned into his intuitions, letting them guide his hand and his qi the way he would when making elixirs. He felt imperfections in the formations that he hadn¡¯t sensed there before, small but salient weaknesses that he began correcting. He felt pieces of the different formations start to fuse together in ways he hadn¡¯t predicted, but he didn¡¯t stop it, just reinforced the parts that felt weak. He lost himself utterly in the process, unconsciously mixing types of qi and forging them into things he did not fully understand but <em>felt</em> right. He didn¡¯t know if he worked for minutes or hours, nor did he care. This was a balm to his soul that he would only relinquish when he had to.


    The longer he worked, the moreplex the effort became. At first, he was manipting a handful of qi types inrge tendrils. As he approached the limits of what he and his intuition could do, though, he was controlling dozens of individual threads of qi, some of which he didn¡¯t even know he had affinities for. He pushed himself harder as he strove to achieve a goal, a destination, something he could sense on the horizon, like a blurry shape in his vision. Try as he might, though, he couldn¡¯t bring it wholly into focus. It felt both tantalizingly close and infinitely distant. He hung suspended on the cusp of touching the elusive goal but fell short. Which was not to say that he had failed. He felt the formations he¡¯d been working on snap into ce. There was a sound in the air, a thrum that Sen felt in his bones, as the formations activated. Sen¡¯s eyes snapped open an iridescent dome briefly red over the entire area of the manor and its grounds.


    Everything on the other side of the dome was briefly obscured even in Sen¡¯s vision before the visual distortion faded away to reveal the city around them. It was only then that Sen felt the weight of the gazes on him. He looked down at the manor and saw the servants and children all looking up at him, their expressions filled with wonder. He saw Long Jia Wei staring at him in ck-jawed amazement. Sen¡¯s eyes shifted to the streets around them. There were hundreds of people, maybe even thousands, standing there in utter silence, watching him. Finally, Sen lifted his eyes and took in the faces of the nascent soul cultivators who had apparentlye to bear witness to his works. Master Feng¡¯s brother wore an unreadable expression. The other patriarchs wore spective expressions. Lai Dongmei gave him an amused little smile and nodded at him. He nodded back, even as his mind raced.He could see other cultivators, presumably lesser cultivators, floating in the air at a distance. Unlike the nascent soul cultivators, their expressions were far easier to read. Some wore looks of amazement simr to Long Jia Wei, but far too many of them wore looks of tightly controlled fear. <em>What have I done</em>? Of course, Sen knew what he¡¯d done. He¡¯d let his need to act outpace his thinking. In doing so, he¡¯d made a deration to all with eyes to see. He¡¯d also shattered a whole lot of cultivator fantasies about who had a realistic chance against him. That was a double-edged sword at the best of times. It would prevent a lot of stupidity, but strength <em>always</em> invited challenge. <em>Nothing to be done about that now</em>, he thought. <em>If challengese</em>, <em>theye</em>. What he was less certain about how to handle were all the people still staring at him. It was like they all expected him to say something. Since he had no idea what someone was supposed to say at moments like this, he went with his gut.


    Amplifying his voice with qi, he said, ¡°Go home.¡±


    Without another word, he descended to the courtyard of the manor. Mercifully, the servants and children were too stunned to approach. Long Jia Wei gathered his wits a little more quickly and came over to Sen. The man looked at the new walls and then embraced practicality.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to make something that lets people pass through those defenses.¡±


    Sen blinked and let his senses touch on what he¡¯d made in a near-trance. He almost physically recoiled from it. Those weren¡¯t defenses so much as a poorly caged and hideously violent animal looking for something to kill. Sen swallowed hard. He¡¯d have to spend a lot more time figuring out just what in the thousand hells he¡¯d created here.


    ¡°Yep,¡± said Sen a little weakly. ¡°That goes right to the <em>top</em> of the list.¡±


    ¡°On the bright side,¡± offered Long Jia Wei, ¡°I think the children are probably safe.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter Twenty-Five – Secrets

    Book 8: Chapter Twenty-Five ¨C Secrets


    Sen was pleasantly surprised when the crowds dispersed and even the sects departed. He had half expected the patriarchs toe down and offer their very unwanted opinions to him. That was an event he was in no mood to deal with. The servants¡ª <em>Your servants now</em>, he reminded himself ¨C decided that <em>this</em> wasn¡¯t the time to let the Xie children mob him with what were countless questions. Instead, the children were unevenly herded back into the manor. The younger ones mostly just seemed confused. Based on the dark looks he got from a few of the oldest ones, though, they had at least a sense of what was going on. Worse, there wasn¡¯t much he could do about them. Unlike the parents, the children couldn¡¯t give him bidding vows. The heavens were often fickle and even ruthless, but they did mandate that people actually understand the vows they took. It was generally understood that there was no point in asking for them from anyone who hadn¡¯te of age. For some of the youngest, that time was easily a decade away. For the oldest, it was just a few years.


    ¡°What do you mean to do with the children?¡± asked Long Jia Wei. ¡°We can keep them here for now, but that¡¯s a short-term solution at best.¡±


    Sen honestly had no idea what he was going to do with them. On the one hand, he had forcefully imed responsibility for all of them. That meant it was on him to see to things like providing them with food, shelter, and some manner of education. On the other hand, every single one of those children could blossom into an enemy that might trouble him or his interests one day. He wasn¡¯t particrly interested in arming them with skills that would help them toward those kinds of ends.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, yet. I suppose some of it will depend on how many of their parentse back.¡±


    Long Jia Wei seemed to waver for a moment before he said, ¡°Then if I might offer a suggestion.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Take them out of the city. You said you run some manner of school in the north. Take them there, far beyond easy reach.¡±


    Sen had to admit that the idea had some merit. The academy wasparatively isted andrgely under Sen¡¯s direct control, which made it easy to keep watch for trouble. Of course, making that work would mean hiring and relocating a lot more people just to teach the children the essentials. Maybe for the first time in his life, Sen wished he had <em>more</em> people with him. There were a lot of things to investigate and a decided shortage of people he could trust. However, he supposed he could ask Shen Mingxia and Wu Gang to look into things that were strictly mortal. Their status as cultivators would open a lot of doors. Even so, what he could really use was about a half-dozen core formation cultivators he found reliable. Sadly, he didn¡¯t think he even <em>knew</em> six core formation cultivators that he would trust to go buy salt in the market, let alone handle something important. He supposed that was one advantage of the sect system¡ªwilling and semi-trustworthy minions.


    Sighing, he dismissed that daydream. He''d just have to work with what he had avable. He supposed he <em>might</em> be able to borrow a couple of bodies from Jing for mortal stuff. <em>Maybe Lai Dongmai has someone in her sect who doesn¡¯t hate me that I could borrow for cultivator-rted issues</em>, thought Sen. He didn¡¯t like the thought of relying on people he didn¡¯t know, but he also didn¡¯t want to spend six months away from Ai trying to get things settled in the capital. He decided then and there that he wouldn¡¯t let that happen. If it came down to it, he didn¡¯t care that much about setting up the House of Lu. He could make other arrangements for Ai. Plus, he had sent word to Grandmother Lu. Depending on where she was at the moment, she might arrive sooner thanter. He knew he could rely on her, and she had a small army of loyal employees that he could lean on by proxy. Sen realized that Long Jia Wei was giving him a questioning look. <em>I must have been standing there staring at nothing for a while</em>, thought Sen.¡°It¡¯s worth exploring,¡± said Sen to the man¡¯s idea about taking the children out of the city. ¡°For the very immediate future, though, just make sure that they¡¯re getting fed and bathed. I have to assume that some of these servants were employed as teachers. Find out which ones. If these children were being taught to read, write, and do math, there¡¯s no reason to stop that.¡±


    ¡°Reasonable,¡± said Long Jia Wei.


    He turned to the young woman that Sen had all but forgotten about and ryed some orders. She kept a neutral expression, but Sen could tell that she wasn¡¯t pleased to have been foisted off onto Long Jia Wei. He decided that was her problem. He hadn¡¯t asked her to do something so foolish as swear herself to him personally. He couldn¡¯t even imagine what she had been thinking when she¡¯d done that. She shot Sen a quick look before she disappeared into the manor. Sen put her out of his thoughts. She was a tomorrow problem or a next month problem. He had <em>right now</em> issues aplenty to keep him upied. He really wanted to go investigate the formation array, but that would hold for a while as well. Turning his attention back to the manor, he gestured at it.


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    ¡°I suppose we should go see what kinds of secrets and treasures they have hidden in there before someone else finds them.¡±


    Sen thought that he had probably killed the most valuable secrets when he¡¯d killed Xie Caiji, but there were bound to be some things left in the ce that no one had had the foresight to destroy or steal. The whole process turned out to be much more of a coborative effort than Sen had initially expected. While he excelled at discovering the hidden spaces that absolutely littered the manor, he had very little facility at opening them without simply smashing through a wall or floor. Long Jia Wei, on the other hand, proved exceedingly capable at finding how to open them when told exactly where to look. They¡¯d started in a set of offices that Sen assumed belonged to Xie Caiji and her closest advisors. There was a lot of mundane paperwork to be found there. Granted, those scrolls were all valuable in giving Sen a picture of what his new holdings were worth and where they were located, but it wasn¡¯t what he was looking for.


    There had been what amounted to a tiny closet hidden in a wall that was stuffed with scrolls, missives, and analysis. Sen nced over a few things to get a feel for how dangerous and valuable the information might be, then swept everyst bit of it into a storage ring. There was information on the other noble houses, the royal family, and even members of the Xie household, as well as merchants creating problems for the Xie family. If the rest of the documents exposed simr information, Sen didn¡¯t want it falling into anyone else¡¯s hands. The other offices didn¡¯t yield another such horde of information, but they did expose that at least one of the Xie advisors was skimming from somewhere. They found a cache with two coin purses stuffed to bursting with silver tael and a smattering of gold tael as well. Sen¡¯s rtionship with money had be somewhat warped in recent years, he knew, but even he could recognize that he was looking at a small fortune. Maybe even enough to set someone upfortably in some distant ce.


    Sen looked from the purses in his hands to Long Jia Wei. Sen dropped one purse into a storage ring. The other he opened. He reached in and grabbed a fistful of coins. He held the closed fist out to Long Jia Wei. The other man reached out with a quizzical look on his face. Sen dumped the fistful of coins into the man¡¯s outstretched hand.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Loyalty is great, but I need to not be worrying about everyst thing you do for the next week or two. Consider yourself bought for now.¡±


    Long Jia Wei considered the pile of coins in his hand for a moment. There was the glint of gold from at least two ces. He nodded.


    ¡°I will consider myself bought,¡± said the man. ¡°Or rented, at the very least.¡±


    Sen snorted and held out the purse. Long Jia Wei took it with his other hand.


    ¡°Use that to buy some loyalty from the servants. It¡¯s going to take a while to figure out the finances, so some silver now will probably go a long way toward keeping them on task. A little show of good faith.¡±


    ¡°I doubt most of them earn an entire silver in a month.¡±


    ¡°Even better. Tell them it¡¯s a bonus for choosing to stay.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± said the man, slipping the purse into a pocket.


    Most of what the pair discovered after that was more mundane. They found countless small amounts in purses that had obviously been left in the walls for centuries. They also found inexplicable things, such as a wooden hairpin with a cat¡¯s face carved on it, a doll that crumbled to dust the moment it was touched, four daggers, a diary that detailed either some very vivid dreams or a particrly torrid affair, a bowl, filigreed chopsticks, and a dozen stone vials that had probably contained elixirs or poisons that had long since turned into sludge. Sen immediately imed those, going so far as to p one out of Long Jia Wei¡¯s hand before the fool could open it.


    ¡°It probably had poison in it,¡± said Sen. ¡°Given how long it¡¯s probably been in these walls, it might be harmless, or it might have turned into something even I won¡¯t know how to stop before it kills you.¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that,¡± admitted Long Jia Wei. ¡°My teachers would likely be disappointed in me.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯ll be fine as long as we don¡¯t open anything,¡± said Sen.


    The sheer number of hiding ces in just the main manor was enough to make Sen ready to give up on the whole task for the day. It was clearly going to take more than one night of exploration to find everything there was to find. But he noticed a hollow space in a wall that had no business being there. He supposed there was no harm in checking out one more hiding spot. He gestured at the spot and Long Jia Wei went to work. It was a testament to how well-hidden the catch was that it took nearly ten minutes for the man to find it. A door swung open and stale air spilled into the hallway. Sen eyed the narrow stairs that led down, shrugged, and began his descent. He ignited a ball of fire qi over his hand to light their way as Long Jia Wei stepped in behind him and closed the secret door. Wherever the stairs led, it was clear that no one had been down there in a long time. Sen kicked up clouds of dust with every step. When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, well below the lowest floor of the manor itself, and stepped out into the rock-walled room, he drew up short.


    ¡°Well now,¡± he muttered as Long Jia Wei joined him. ¡°Isn¡¯t this interesting?¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 25: Secrets

    Book 8: Chapter 25: Secrets


    Sen was pleasantly surprised when the crowds dispersed and even the sects departed. He had half expected the patriarchs toe down and offer their very unwanted opinions to him. That was an event he was in no mood to deal with. The servants¡ª <em>Your servants now</em>, he reminded himself ¨C decided that <em>this</em> wasn¡¯t the time to let the Xie children mob him with what were countless questions. Instead, the children were unevenly herded back into the manor. The younger ones mostly just seemed confused. Based on the dark looks he got from a few of the oldest ones, though, they had at least a sense of what was going on. Worse, there wasn¡¯t much he could do about them. Unlike the parents, the children couldn¡¯t give him bidding vows. The heavens were often fickle and even ruthless, but they did mandate that people actually understand the vows they took. It was generally understood that there was no point in asking for them from anyone who hadn¡¯te of age. For some of the youngest, that time was easily a decade away. For the oldest, it was just a few years.


    ¡°What do you mean to do with the children?¡± asked Long Jia Wei. ¡°We can keep them here for now, but that¡¯s a short-term solution at best.¡±


    Sen honestly had no idea what he was going to do with them. On the one hand, he had forcefully imed responsibility for all of them. That meant it was on him to see to things like providing them with food, shelter, and some manner of education. On the other hand, every single one of those children could blossom into an enemy that might trouble him or his interests one day. He wasn¡¯t particrly interested in arming them with skills that would help them toward those kinds of ends.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, yet. I suppose some of it will depend on how many of their parentse back.¡±


    Long Jia Wei seemed to waver for a moment before he said, ¡°Then if I might offer a suggestion.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Take them out of the city. You said you run some manner of school in the north. Take them there, far beyond easy reach.¡±


    Sen had to admit that the idea had some merit. The academy wasparatively isted andrgely under Sen¡¯s direct control, which made it easy to keep watch for trouble. Of course, making that work would mean hiring and relocating a lot more people just to teach the children the essentials. Maybe for the first time in his life, Sen wished he had <em>more</em> people with him. There were a lot of things to investigate and a decided shortage of people he could trust. However, he supposed he could ask Shen Mingxia and Wu Gang to look into things that were strictly mortal. Their status as cultivators would open a lot of doors. Even so, what he could really use was about a half-dozen core formation cultivators he found reliable. Sadly, he didn¡¯t think he even <em>knew</em> six core formation cultivators that he would trust to go buy salt in the market, let alone handle something important. He supposed that was one advantage of the sect system¡ªwilling and semi-trustworthy minions.


    Sighing, he dismissed that daydream. He''d just have to work with what he had avable. He supposed he <em>might</em> be able to borrow a couple of bodies from Jing for mortal stuff. <em>Maybe Lai Dongmai has someone in her sect who doesn¡¯t hate me that I could borrow for cultivator-rted issues</em>, thought Sen. He didn¡¯t like the thought of relying on people he didn¡¯t know, but he also didn¡¯t want to spend six months away from Ai trying to get things settled in the capital. He decided then and there that he wouldn¡¯t let that happen. If it came down to it, he didn¡¯t care that much about setting up the House of Lu. He could make other arrangements for Ai. Plus, he had sent word to Grandmother Lu. Depending on where she was at the moment, she might arrive sooner thanter. He knew he could rely on her, and she had a small army of loyal employees that he could lean on by proxy. Sen realized that Long Jia Wei was giving him a questioning look. <em>I must have been standing there staring at nothing for a while</em>, thought Sen.¡°It¡¯s worth exploring,¡± said Sen to the man¡¯s idea about taking the children out of the city. ¡°For the very immediate future, though, just make sure that they¡¯re getting fed and bathed. I have to assume that some of these servants were employed as teachers. Find out which ones. If these children were being taught to read, write, and do math, there¡¯s no reason to stop that.¡±


    ¡°Reasonable,¡± said Long Jia Wei.


    He turned to the young woman that Sen had all but forgotten about and ryed some orders. She kept a neutral expression, but Sen could tell that she wasn¡¯t pleased to have been foisted off onto Long Jia Wei. He decided that was her problem. He hadn¡¯t asked her to do something so foolish as swear herself to him personally. He couldn¡¯t even imagine what she had been thinking when she¡¯d done that. She shot Sen a quick look before she disappeared into the manor. Sen put her out of his thoughts. She was a tomorrow problem or a next month problem. He had <em>right now</em> issues aplenty to keep him upied. He really wanted to go investigate the formation array, but that would hold for a while as well. Turning his attention back to the manor, he gestured at it.


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    ¡°I suppose we should go see what kinds of secrets and treasures they have hidden in there before someone else finds them.¡±


    Sen thought that he had probably killed the most valuable secrets when he¡¯d killed Xie Caiji, but there were bound to be some things left in the ce that no one had had the foresight to destroy or steal. The whole process turned out to be much more of a coborative effort than Sen had initially expected. While he excelled at discovering the hidden spaces that absolutely littered the manor, he had very little facility at opening them without simply smashing through a wall or floor. Long Jia Wei, on the other hand, proved exceedingly capable at finding how to open them when told exactly where to look. They¡¯d started in a set of offices that Sen assumed belonged to Xie Caiji and her closest advisors. There was a lot of mundane paperwork to be found there. Granted, those scrolls were all valuable in giving Sen a picture of what his new holdings were worth and where they were located, but it wasn¡¯t what he was looking for.


    There had been what amounted to a tiny closet hidden in a wall that was stuffed with scrolls, missives, and analysis. Sen nced over a few things to get a feel for how dangerous and valuable the information might be, then swept everyst bit of it into a storage ring. There was information on the other noble houses, the royal family, and even members of the Xie household, as well as merchants creating problems for the Xie family. If the rest of the documents exposed simr information, Sen didn¡¯t want it falling into anyone else¡¯s hands. The other offices didn¡¯t yield another such horde of information, but they did expose that at least one of the Xie advisors was skimming from somewhere. They found a cache with two coin purses stuffed to bursting with silver tael and a smattering of gold tael as well. Sen¡¯s rtionship with money had be somewhat warped in recent years, he knew, but even he could recognize that he was looking at a small fortune. Maybe even enough to set someone upfortably in some distant ce.


    Sen looked from the purses in his hands to Long Jia Wei. Sen dropped one purse into a storage ring. The other he opened. He reached in and grabbed a fistful of coins. He held the closed fist out to Long Jia Wei. The other man reached out with a quizzical look on his face. Sen dumped the fistful of coins into the man¡¯s outstretched hand.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Loyalty is great, but I need to not be worrying about everyst thing you do for the next week or two. Consider yourself bought for now.¡±


    Long Jia Wei considered the pile of coins in his hand for a moment. There was the glint of gold from at least two ces. He nodded.


    ¡°I will consider myself bought,¡± said the man. ¡°Or rented, at the very least.¡±


    Sen snorted and held out the purse. Long Jia Wei took it with his other hand.


    ¡°Use that to buy some loyalty from the servants. It¡¯s going to take a while to figure out the finances, so some silver now will probably go a long way toward keeping them on task. A little show of good faith.¡±


    ¡°I doubt most of them earn an entire silver in a month.¡±


    ¡°Even better. Tell them it¡¯s a bonus for choosing to stay.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± said the man, slipping the purse into a pocket.


    Most of what the pair discovered after that was more mundane. They found countless small amounts in purses that had obviously been left in the walls for centuries. They also found inexplicable things, such as a wooden hairpin with a cat¡¯s face carved on it, a doll that crumbled to dust the moment it was touched, four daggers, a diary that detailed either some very vivid dreams or a particrly torrid affair, a bowl, filigreed chopsticks, and a dozen stone vials that had probably contained elixirs or poisons that had long since turned into sludge. Sen immediately imed those, going so far as to p one out of Long Jia Wei¡¯s hand before the fool could open it.


    ¡°It probably had poison in it,¡± said Sen. ¡°Given how long it¡¯s probably been in these walls, it might be harmless, or it might have turned into something even I won¡¯t know how to stop before it kills you.¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that,¡± admitted Long Jia Wei. ¡°My teachers would likely be disappointed in me.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯ll be fine as long as we don¡¯t open anything,¡± said Sen.


    The sheer number of hiding ces in just the main manor was enough to make Sen ready to give up on the whole task for the day. It was clearly going to take more than one night of exploration to find everything there was to find. But he noticed a hollow space in a wall that had no business being there. He supposed there was no harm in checking out one more hiding spot. He gestured at the spot and Long Jia Wei went to work. It was a testament to how well-hidden the catch was that it took nearly ten minutes for the man to find it. A door swung open and stale air spilled into the hallway. Sen eyed the narrow stairs that led down, shrugged, and began his descent. He ignited a ball of fire qi over his hand to light their way as Long Jia Wei stepped in behind him and closed the secret door. Wherever the stairs led, it was clear that no one had been down there in a long time. Sen kicked up clouds of dust with every step. When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, well below the lowest floor of the manor itself, and stepped out into the rock-walled room, he drew up short.


    ¡°Well now,¡± he muttered as Long Jia Wei joined him. ¡°Isn¡¯t this interesting?¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 26: Lair

    Book 8: Chapter 26: Lair


    Sen was looking at what he could only describe as a cultivator¡¯s <emir</em>. There were qi-gathering formations that, almost beyond belief, remained active. There were a lot of other formations active that Sen started to sort through. At least one of them seemed to be devoted to keeping the room clean. The dust had piled up in a smooth line that separated their from the stairwell and a small entrance area. <em>I¡¯ll need to steal that formation if I can figure it out</em>, thought Sen. He let his eyes take in the rest of the room. Along one wall were shelves that appeared to hold a variety of cultivation manuals and numerous storage treasures that were being sustained by the qi-rich environment. On the back wall, he saw a basic alchemybplete with cauldron. On the opposite wall from the cultivation resources were shelves holding more practical treasures. He saw jade figurines that looked extremely expensive even to his untrained eyes, fine weapons, and chests that presumably held taels, gems, or things of simr value. It took a moment before he noticed the look of almost disgusted disbelief on Long Jia Wei¡¯s face.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen, feeling very ufortable at that other man¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Just <em>how much</em> favor do you have with the heavens to stumble into this trove?¡±


    Sen just shrugged and said, ¡°A lot, I guess.¡±


    His mind wasn¡¯t really on the question, though. Sen was systematically disabling some positively lethal defensive formations while he eyed the shelf with cultivation manuals. He didn¡¯t know what was there, but he was willing to bet he was going to at least find something interesting. The bigger question, and one he suspected would never get answered, was why the room existed at all. He could make some general guesses, but that was it. If he was going to guess, he would assume that some early Xie patriarch or matriarch had been a cultivator, and a fairly aplished one, but wanted to keep that fact secret. Sen was once again running up against the gaps in his education. His understanding of the rules and traditions around cultivators and nobility in the kingdom was thin. What information he had was based more on secondhand information he¡¯d gotten than any kind of substantive discussion. He knew that cultivators from the nobility traditionally broke ties with their families, but he¡¯d seen two examples in thest few years that told him that tradition was not uniformly observed. He also didn¡¯t know how seriously that separation was taken a few hundred or a thousand years before. What was just tradition now may have been a sacred duty back then.


    He hoped that the manuals would provide some clues about just how far back this Xie cultivator had lived. Sen did know that the more archaic thenguage used in the manuals, the earlier the unknown cultivator would have lived. Of course, that was a bit like saying that the taller the tree, the older it was. It was true butrgely unhelpful in itsck of specificity. He suspected he¡¯d need to lean on the expertise of his teachers to pin down a general time period. Unless there was some kind of journal or personal correspondence tucked away in one of the storage treasures, though, he doubted the name of the person who had made this room would ever be revealed.


    Once he was sure that he¡¯d gotten all of the traps, he walked over to the shelves with the manuals. He gently lifted one up, worried that age might have rendered it particrly fragile, but it seemed the manuals had been made tost. He could feel qi inside the manual, preserving the materials and the precious knowledge inside. He read the cover or at least he tried to read it. The characters weren¡¯t quite a foreignnguage, but it took him several long seconds and few intuitive leaps to hazard general trantion. He immediately rejected his first trantion of The Diving Flock Manual. His mind made onest little jump that got him to something that sounded a bit more like the name a cultivator would give to their technique. The Swooping Crane Manual.


    ¡°Have you ever heard of a Swooping Crane Sect or technique?¡± Sen asked.


    Long Jia Wei straightened up from where he¡¯d been studying a jian that was resting on a pillow. He wore a thoughtful frown but eventually shook his head.¡°I¡¯ve heard simr names, but I expect that is more coincidence than providence,¡± said the man. ¡°Then again, it¡¯s hard to know anything for sure with you.¡±


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    ¡°Fair,¡± said Sen with a sigh.


    He stumbled his way through tranting a few more manual names. The Iron Strike or possibly the Metal Fist Manual. The Sky Strider¡¯s Fury Manual or, just because it felt more right in his head, the Stormbearer¡¯s Wrath Manual. Thest manual title he tranted seemed to pop into his mind without any effort at all. The Shadow Gate manual. Sen felt an almost tangible pull to open the cover and see what he could unravel of the old text, but it wasn¡¯t the time for that. Regretfully, he returned the manual to a shelf that had at least a dozen others waiting to be looked at and turned his attention to the storage treasures. There were a number of rings with what seemed to Sen like ridiculously primitive security measures on them. Their contents ranged from thergely useless, such as robes, to the expected, such as pills and elixirs. However, Sen would need to remove them from the storage treasures to get a feel for how good or bad they might still be. Having been inside the treasures, it was entirely possible that they would retain their potency. He might even learn a few things from them with a bit of study. He¡¯d also be happy toy im to the additional medicinal nts and reagents he found.


    He turned his attention next to an ornate box. The measures designed to keep anyone but the rightful owner out of the box were substantially better than the ones on the rings, but that only meant that it took him three seconds to bypass them instead of one. When he opened the box, though, he almost immediately mmed the cover shut again. There was a ginseng root in there, but it was like nothing he¡¯d ever seen. It radiated a palpable sense of age. Sen wouldn¡¯t have dared to venture a guess about how old it had been when harvested, but he''d have put money on it being over a thousand years old. That made it remarkable in its own right because any ginseng root that old would be <em>profound</em> in its medicinal potency. Sen could do more with a few shavings from that root than he could do with an entire root that was only fifty or a hundred years old.


    What made him m the cover down was that the root was fire qi-attributed to such a degree that he worried it would ignite the air. The qi radiating off the root was almost primordial in its strength. This was the kind of natural treasure that every sect in the kingdom would go to war to im. Even as an aplished, even brilliant alchemist, the idea of trying to make anything with that root scared Sen half to death because he honestly could not even guess at what the results might be. It wasn¡¯t double or triple the strength he was used to dealing with, which he could probably have amodated. It was entire orders of magnitude more powerful. It was nothing short of a miracle that he¡¯d opened the box here, under the ground, surrounded by stone, with those new defensive formations he¡¯d put out around the manor. Even with all of that, he was terrified that someone from the sects might have sensed that impossible root. Sen spun to see Long Jia Wei staring at the box like it held the answer to a question the man hadn¡¯t even realized he¡¯d been asking since birth.


    ¡°You know that vow I never made you take,¡± said Sen. ¡°You¡¯ll take one <em>now</em>. You will swear to the heavens to reveal nothing about this room or its contents to anyone. You will vow never to discuss it or its contents with anyone but me. And you will vow to take nothing from this ce without my consent, or you will not leave this room.¡±


    Sen could see the indecision on the man¡¯s face. The naked yearning to take that treasure for himself, all the consequences be damned. For the briefest of moments, Sen thought that the situation was going to spiral directly into violence. Then, he watched as a kind of madness passed out of Long Jia Wei with a visible shudder. He saw the man recognize that Sen was doing something that, quite probably, no other cultivator in the world would have done in the same situation. Sen was offering the man a way to live. Any other cultivator with the power to do so would have cut Long Jia Wei down to protect the secret. Although it looked like it caused the man physical pain to do it, he dropped down to his knees and kowtowed.


    ¡°I, Long Jia Wei, swear to the heavens that I will never reveal the existence of this room to anyone. I will never reveal the contents of this room to anyone. I will speak of these things to no one but you. I will, on my soul and before the heavens, remove nothing from this room without your explicit instruction to do so.¡±


    It was only after the slight glow surrounded the man and signaled the heavens¡¯ eptance of the vow that Sen felt his panic even begin to abate. It was only then that he looked down and saw that he had a white-knuckle grip on the hilt of his jian. This room was a trove, but it was also an existential threat if anyone that Sen didn¡¯t trustpletely found out about it. He seriously contemted simply killing Long Jia Wei then and there. If not for that vow, he would have. The knowledge was simply too dangerous. But Long Jia Wei had made the vow, and he had meant it. He¡¯d made his choice. He¡¯d picked a side. Sen slowly released the grip he had on the hilt of his jian.


    ¡°Good,¡± he said, his voice still tight. ¡°Now, get up. We need to finish looking through all of this.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 27: Why Settle for a Blunt Statement

    Book 8: Chapter 27: Why Settle for a Blunt Statement


    ¡°And then,¡± said Chan Dishi, howling withughter, ¡°he just looks around at everyone and says, ¡®Go home.¡¯ Like he was dismissing annoying servants. It was magnificent! Oh, you should have seen the faces of all those sect cultivators. Half of them looked like they were going to keel over from fear, the other half looked like they wanted to throw themselves at him. The very best, though, was Feng Bai working so hard to keep a neutral expression that he looked like he was constipated!¡±


    The cultivator¡¯sughter became almost uncontrolled as he bent at the waist and started pping his leg. While Jing could appreciate a little of the humor in the moment, he wasn¡¯t as certain that aggravating the patriarch of the Steel Gryphon sect was going to be a good thing for Sen in the long run. Those two had, at least ording to semi-reliable rumors, found themselves at cross-purposes twice already. That Sen still lived suggested that he had been the victor both times. Feng Bai wasn¡¯t a man known for his calm, patient personality, which made it all too likely that he was looking for a way to get back at Sen. Although, that was ultimately a secondary concern for Jing, as he knew that there was almost nothing he could do to prevent that.


    His sister, Yu Ming, had been very clear with him about the line between the mortal world and Jianghu. Sen had been equally clear, even if he¡¯d described it in very different terms. Cultivator conflicts were, ultimately, outside the purview of any mortal authority. It was something that both irked and relieved Jing. It irked him because those conflicts often boiled over and resulted in damage and death which <em>did</em> be his problem. It relieved him because the power of even an individual cultivator was often iprehensible. A fact that had been driven home all too clearly by Sen¡¯s little disy outside of the city. The disys today, though, were a problem for Jing. He doubted that Sen had considered all of the consequences or likely even nned half of what he¡¯d done.


    By all reports, though, Sen turned what had been the Xie manor into some kind of cultivator citadel. That was going to make waves because, ording to tradition, no noble manor was more heavily fortified or defended than the royal pce. By turning his manor into that kind of a fortress, though, Sen hade within a hair¡¯s breadth of informally dering himself the king. That Sen was wholly unaware of that fact would not be known among the other noble houses. They would read it as a blunt deration of strength. A deration only reinforced by the way that Sen had simply expelled all of the Xie family into the city to suffer whatever Karma decided to throw their way. Some had sought refuge with other houses. Most had found those doors firmly shut against them. The few who had managed to talk their way into shelter had found that shelter summarily withdrawn after Sen¡¯s very public renovations. For the moment, at least, no one wanted to tempt the wrath of Judgment¡¯s Gale.


    ¡°Tell me about the new walls again,¡± said Jing.


    ¡°Oh man, those things practically reach to the sky now,¡± said Chan Dishi in an obvious exaggeration.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Well, no, but they¡¯re pretty damned high. And he lined them with these massive metal spikes that just radiate qi. I don¡¯t what they do, but I bet it¡¯s brutal.¡±


    ¡°Of course, because why settle for a blunt statement when you can make death threats with your home?¡±¡°I know, right?! I need to buy that guy a drink and pick his brain. I thought I was good at intimidation, but I¡¯ve <em>clearly</em> got some things to learn.¡±


    ***


    Feng Bai paced in his office, ignoring the increasingly concerned looks he was getting from Elder Yi. <em>He¡¯s growing too fast</em>, thought Bai. <em>Where in the world did Ming find that impossible child</em>? It had been bad enough thest time the boy had been in the capital openly. He¡¯d wanted to punish the boy for his impudence but found himself forced to back off twice. The first time, Lu Sen had done something no one had done in a long, long time. That resolute little shit had stared him in the eyes and called his bluff with a threat that clearly wasn¡¯t a bluff. That kid had been ready to murder Tang Ehuang right in front of him, and they both knew he could get it done. It would have been hisst act in life, but Bai had seen it in the kid¡¯s face. He was ready to make that trade.


    The second time, he had demanded to know how the boy had killed Tong Guanting. He knew in general terms what the kid had done. He¡¯d used poison of some kind, but that wasn¡¯t enough to work out the method. That method was information that, as a nascent soul cultivator, Feng Bai considered his right. That was an opinion that Lu Sen had not shared. Bai didn¡¯t think the kid even realized how much scorn had been in his voice when he¡¯d told Feng Bai to <em>earn</em> the knowledge for himself. It had been like getting chastised by one of the core formation cultivators from his own sect. It had been a close thing, then. If Lai Dongmei and Jin Bohai hadn¡¯t been there, he probably would have killed Lu Sen, Ming¡¯s student or not.


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    It was only monthster when his temper had finally cooled back to something like sanity, that Feng Bai had been brought around by Elder Yi. Lu Sen owed the Steel Gryphon Sect no loyalty, let alone secrets. In fact, the sect had wronged him repeatedly. Bai had been forced to admit that it was only good fortune that had kept Ming from stopping in for a chat that would have destroyed the countryside for about two hundred miles in every direction. It had also be clear that, at the time, Lu Sen had been running on pure bravado and a near-suicidal disregard for his own life. Long experience had taught Bai that you couldn¡¯t force someone in that state of mind to do anything. You could kill them, but that was <em>all</em> you could do to them. Things had clearly changed since then.


    Where the boy had been talented before, he was powerful now. He¡¯d erected defenses for that manor that could rival those of some of the sects in the city. Even Bai didn¡¯t understand half of what that boy had done. <em>Jaw-Long¡¯s influence</em>, <em>no doubt</em>, thought Bai. It went deeper than that, though. That core formation child had been working with forces that Bai had only started to touch on in the past few decades. There was a part of him that thought that the best thing that could happen for everyone in the world was for Lu Sen to die, <em>now</em>, because Bai foresaw a time in the not-so-distant future when <em>no one</em> would be able to stop that boy.


    ***


    ¡°That was rather exhrating, don¡¯t you think?¡± asked Lai Dongmei.


    ¡°I thought it was a bit ostentatious,¡± said Tu Nayao, a sullen note in her voice.


    Lai Dongmei offered the woman a mild look of disapproval. The mood in the sect had ckened ever since word arrived that Judgment¡¯s Gale was back in the city, or back in the city <em>officially</em>. She knew that he¡¯d been in and out of the capital a few times over the past few years. She¡¯d even had one moment of annoyance with the young man. If he was going to be in the city, it would seem that he could take the time to say hello. When it became clear that he was making an effort to go unnoticed, and that his asional visits rarelysted more than half a day, that annoyance had vanished. If he went anywhere near a sect, or the pce, or even to visit that friend of his¡­ Lai Dongmei tried to recall the woman¡¯s name. <em>Lo Meifeng</em>, she thought. <em>That was it</em>. If he went near anything resembling a formal power structure or someone too familiar, his visit would stop being casual and be official instantly.


    Now that he was here publicly, she had rather expected him to visit quickly. He was a young man, and Lu Sen had been <em>very</em> enthusiastic whenst they met. Certainly not the most skilled lover she¡¯d ever had because nothing could rece centuries of practice. What he had been was so correctable. Always open to suggestions. It was as if he left all that stupid male pride at the bedroom door. That had been an aphrodisiac all by itself, and he was so very nice to look at. She was also well aware that his departure had been a cause of celebration in the sect. All of those hopeful men and women had thought that they had a chance. She even briefly entertained the idea of taking a lover, but it obviously couldn¡¯t be anyone in the sect itself, and finding someone outside the sect was just too much effort. Besides, she was an almost absurdly busy woman. Granted, she might make running a sect <em>look</em> easy, but it wasn¡¯t easy. It took constant management. There was always some minor crisis happening. Some mistake that needed to be corrected.


    After seeing what the man had done earlier that day, though, she understood why she hadn¡¯t seen him. Dismantling a noble house and iming it for himself must have taken some serious nning, to say nothing of negotiation with the king. Lu Sen was reported to be friends with the king, but she had thought the death of the old king and how it came about might have strained that rtionship. If it had, though, Jing had gotten over it. And then that disy with putting up defenses. It had been positively delicious. Feng Bai had looked like he was swallowingva before he¡¯d gotten his expression under control. She was going to cherish that memory for the rest of time. As for Sen, well, he¡¯d been strong for his advancement thatst time they met, but <em>that</em> had been a naked show of force that exceedingly few cultivators in the capital could match. On top of that, it had been a lesson in what perfect control looked like. He wasn¡¯t even a nascent soul cultivator yet and was already doing things that would have strained her control.


    As much as she¡¯d enjoyed that show, she was more ambivalent about a cultivator noble house on this side of the Mountains of Sorrow. It could be problematic, or it could turn out to be nothing at all. It really depended on what Sen¡¯s ns were. She¡¯d need to talk to him about it. In private. Preferably in her bed. Perhaps she¡¯d need to arrange a meeting. She had been invited to that thing with the foreign cultivators. It was an empty gesture on the king¡¯s part. The patriarchs and matriarchs never attended, but that didn¡¯t mean she <em>couldn¡¯t</em> attend. The idea amused her. Ignoring all those fawning nobles while distracting Sen with outrageous suggestions could be fun. She¡¯d need just the right attire, though. Something elegant. <em>No</em>, she thought. <em>Something elegant and provocative</em>. She started searching through her wardrobe. <em>I might need to get something made</em>.

 Book 8: Chapter 28: Staff

    Book 8: Chapter 28: Staff


    ¡°I¡¯ll do anything,¡± said the Xie woman. ¡°Please don¡¯t send me back out there. I¡¯ll do <em>anything</em> you want me to.¡±


    Sen just gave her a nd look for a moment before he sighed.


    ¡°Did you not understand the requirements when you came in here?¡± asked Sen for at least the tenth time that morning. ¡°I don¡¯t need sycophants, or courtiers, or sexual ythings, or anything else that doesn¡¯t contribute in some meaningful way. Do you have any skills, any at all, that might actually prove useful?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it that you did here before? How did you contribute? What was your job?¡±


    The woman opened and closed her mouth a few times, tears welling up in her eyes, and Sen knew the answer. She didn¡¯t have a job before. Or she¡¯d considered being a noble her profession. <em>Some profession</em>, thought Sen. <em>She¡¯d been a professional at being an awful human being</em>. Sen pushed that thought back. He didn¡¯t know that was true of her, specifically. She <em>might</em> have been a kind person before. He sort of doubted it, but it <em>could</em> be true. Sen sighed. As the morning had dragged on, he¡¯d noticed something about himself. While he still felt almost entirely pitiless toward the men, he¡¯d been making excuses not to send the Xie women back out onto the street. He supposed it was at least partially because he knew what it would mean for them.


    The men could probably find work or join gangs. A strong back could let you survive. As for the women, well, he¡¯d seen what happened to them, even back in Orchard¡¯s Reach. A few of them might get extremely lucky and find a soft heart to take them in, but most of them would end up working as prostitutes, or get themselves killed, or probably both. They would lead short lives, brutalized by anyone stronger or in a better financial position than them, which would be almost everyone. He couldn¡¯t stop any of that from happening in the big picture. It was toomon. It happened <em>everywhere</em>. But he could decline to contribute to it happening here. At least, he could if he decided to.


    ¡°Can you read? Write? Do you have basic math skills?¡± he asked.


    Hope flickered in the woman¡¯s eyes as she nodded frantically and said, ¡°Yes!¡±¡°I guess you¡¯re not hopeless then. Fine. We¡¯ll find something for you to do, but,¡± he said, holding up a finger, ¡°if you¡¯re told that you¡¯re going to learn how to do something, you will learn it. You will notin. You will not act as though it¡¯s beneath you. You will apply yourself to it like your continued presence here depends on it. Because it does.¡±


    ¡°I understand, Lord Lu,¡± said the woman dropping to her knees. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± muttered Sen.


    He walked her through the additional vows he was making everyone take. He¡¯d repeated the words so often that they were just noises falling out of his mouth at this point, wholly devoid of meaning. He noted the brief glow around the woman as the heavens epted the vow as legitimate. He nodded, mostly to himself, but a relieved breath exploded from the woman. Sen didn¡¯t quite know what to make of that. He wondered if maybe she thought she was lying during the vow, or if she¡¯d thought he was going to change his mind at thest second. It took a few seconds before Sen registered that the woman was still kneeling and that her eyes were fixed on him. She looked expectant.


    ¡°Wee to the service of the House of Lu,¡± he said but she didn¡¯t get up. ¡°You can rise.¡±


    The woman shot to her feet like she was ready to charge off and aplish things. Except, she didn¡¯t have anything to aplish because Sen didn¡¯t have any work for anyone yet. He just called out.


    ¡°Pan Shiji!¡±


    The woman who had sworn herself to him, rather than the House of Lu, opened the door and looked in. She had firmly attached herself to him that morning, and he decided having someone on the other side of the door was useful enough that he didn¡¯t send her away. He gestured at the Xie woman.


    ¡°She¡¯ll be staying for now. She¡¯ll need quarters.¡±


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    ¡°Yes, Lord Lu,¡± said Pan Shiji and turned to the other woman. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    The pair disappeared through the door and Sen found himself alone for more than a minute for the first time that day. His mind turned to that cultivatorir that he knew was hiding beneath the manor. While they hadn¡¯t found anything else on the level of that ginseng root, there had been several other valuable alchemical ingredients. Nothing to start a war for, but things that Sen wouldn¡¯t entrust to the hands of anyone less talented than himself. There had been ice qi-attributed crystal vein flowers, earth qi-attributed nts he couldn¡¯t identify, and, the true prize for Sen, a shadow qi-attributed heartsblood root. All of them were very potent, which meant they needed just the right kind of handling to get the most out of them. He could do it. He was confident that Auntie Caihong could do it. He <em>wanted</em> to think that Fu Run could do it because he wanted to share these prizes with her. For all that, he wasn¡¯t sure. She was quitepetent and had a lot of experience, but that didn¡¯t mean that she was the right choice. It felt strange to be in a position where he was evaluating his teacher, but it would be a disservice to those medicinal nts to share them with someone who wasn¡¯t up to the challenge. He was saved from that miserable exercise by Pan Shiji opening the door.


    ¡°Lord Lu?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said.


    ¡°There is a woman here to see you. She says she knows you,¡± said Pan Shiji, a disquieting note of jealousy in her voice.


    ¡°Did you get a name?¡±


    ¡°She calls herself Lo Meifeng.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen, sitting up straight. ¡°Wait. How did she get inside? I¡¯ve only made a handful of those talismans.¡±


    ¡°Righteous Wu Gang let her inside,¡± said Pan Shiji.


    ¡°Ah, that exins it. Where is she now?¡±


    ¡°She,¡± said Lo Meifeng, pushing Pan Shiji out of the way, ¡°is right here.¡±


    Sen tried to suppress his amusement and said, ¡°It¡¯s good to see you.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± asked Lo Meifeng before turning a withering look on Pan Shiji. ¡°You can go.¡±


    The mortal woman looked like she might say something until Lo Meifeng narrowed her eyes in a way that made Sen¡¯s skin crawl. Pan Shiji fled the room.


    ¡°You don¡¯t normally frighten mortals for fun,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°You don¡¯t normally do monumentally stupid things like taking over a noble house without at least talking to me about it first.¡±


    The tone was a little yful, but Sen could see real frustration and anger hiding in the back of Lo Meifeng¡¯s eyes. He hadn¡¯t meant to do it, but he¡¯d hurt her by keeping her at a distance. It didn¡¯t matter that he''d intended to inste her from the insanity that seemed to spring up around him any time he stopped somewhere for more than two hours at a time.


    ¡°Would you like to yell at me for a while?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Sen waited patiently as Lo Meifeng stormed back and forth in the little room, waving her hands, and calling him an idiot at any ce the word would fit into herments. That turned out to be surprisingly often. When she eventually wound down, Sen gestured to the other chair.


    ¡°Would you like to sit?¡±


    She red at him, then at the chair, and then she slumped into it.


    ¡°If you were going to do all of this,¡± said Lo Meifeng, ¡°why in the thousand hells didn¡¯t you bring me in.¡±


    ¡°Honestly?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°If you would be so kind.¡±


    ¡°I was trying to be a good friend.¡±


    A dangerous light was birthed in the woman¡¯s eyes, and she said, ¡°A good friend?¡±


    ¡°A lot of people tried to kill me on the way here,¡± said Sen, lifting a hand to prevent another outburst. ¡°And I mean <em>a lot</em>. That light show right before I arrived was just thest fight in a whole series of them. Once I figured out that I was going to be really loud while I was here, I¡¯ve basically been expecting more of the same. I just didn¡¯t want to put you in harm¡¯s way when these are problems I brought down on my own head. You didn¡¯t ask for them. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want them. So, I tried to keep the eyes on me and off of you.¡±


    Lo Meifeng seemed torn about whether she wanted to ept that answer, or if she wanted to hit him with something heavy. She finally heaved a sigh.


    ¡°As reasons go, those are notpletely terrible ones. It was even thoughtful, in a Sen way, but you¡¯re still an idiot. I mean, you¡¯ve got Wu Gang out there, which isn¡¯t a bad start, but he¡¯s not up to the really dangerous stuff. That girl isn¡¯t going to be worth a damn for anything. And that other guy you¡¯ve got wandering around is probably fine for some low-end murder and espionage, but they aren¡¯t <em>me</em>. And if you want to make this work, you¡¯re going to need someone like me.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were taking some kind of extended vacation.¡±


    ¡°Vacations only work when there isn¡¯t a Sen crashing through the capital like a deranged spirit beast, destroying the established order, and upending a few thousand years of tradition.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s someone else named Sen in the city?¡± asked Sen, bending every bit of his will on projecting perfect innocence.


    ¡°I will cut you while you sleep.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I hear you. I have been a bit louder than even I was expecting. And you¡¯re not wrong. I can use your help. I wish I had five more of you.¡±


    ¡°Keep your fantasies to yourself,¡± said Lo Meifeng in a perfect deadpan. ¡°Besides, I doubt you¡¯re enough for even one of me.¡±


    Sen was momentarily taken aback before an impish spirit he didn¡¯t get to indulge that often surfaced.


    ¡°Actually, in my fantasy, it¡¯s me, you, and¡ª¡±


    Lo Meifeng lifted an eyebrow and said, ¡°How sure are you that you want to finish that statement?¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 31: By This Afternoon

    Book 8: Chapter 31: By This Afternoon


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you <em>forgot</em>,¡± said Shen Mingxia.


    Sen was a little amused to see that aggravation had ovee her newfound sense of respect for him. They were flying over the streets of the capital on a qi tform, drawing curious looks, and even some pointing from local kids. Sen figured that since his anonymity was nothing but a memory at this point, there was no reason to go to the clothing shop the slow way.


    ¡°I mean, you can¡¯t honestly think anyone will do anything for us today, do you?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll find someone to help us,¡± said Sen.


    His unconcern seemed to inme the woman¡¯s outrage.


    ¡°You have clearly never had clothing made for you before,¡± she sniffed, turning away.


    If he hadn¡¯t left this to thest possible second out of sheer forgetfulness, he might have taken her words a little more to heart. But he felt like he had a little snidementarying his way. He had promised and thenpletely lost sight of <em>why</em> he was even in the capital. If the worst he got was a bit of the cold shoulder, he was probably ahead of the game. He finally spotted the ce that Lo Meifeng had told him to go. He settled the qi tform right in front of the door. Shen Mingxia went from ignoring him to giving the ce a wide-eyed look. Her eyes darted from one window disy to the next.


    ¡°I can¡¯t afford this,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Good thing you¡¯re not paying then, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Sen, opening the door and ushering the woman in.Sen looked around. It was a big ce with lots of staff, a handful of which were attending to customers, and the rest were making valiant efforts to look busy and not bored. There was a quiet power struggle between the staff as they tried to be the first to get to the new customers, but a woman who Sen thought was about his own age seemed to appear from nowhere. She shot the other employees a victorious look that was all in her eyes before she turned to address them. She opened her mouth a little to speak and then froze as she got a good look at Sen. The silence dragged on as the woman turned deeper and deeper shades of red. <em>I forgot about this</em>, thought Sen. He¡¯d mostly learned to tune this reaction out unless he was directly dealing with someone. On top of that, people did eventually get used to him, so it had mostly stopped among the mortals in the town where he¡¯d set up his academy. Sen¡¯s thoughts came up short. <em>Did I</em>¡­ <em>Did I never bother to learn the name of that town</em>? <em>No wonder everyone thinks cultivators are arrogant</em>, thought Sen.


    Shen Mingxia cleared her throat, loudly, which did bring Sen out of his own thoughts, but proved futile with the shop employee. Sighing a little, Sen walked around the woman, waved off the rest of the staff who looked ready to charge them, and made his way to the counter. He¡¯d spotted an older woman who seemed to be in charge. She looked momentarily stunned at his appearance but managed to recover her equilibrium.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± she asked, eying them both.


    There was something evaluative in that look. It made Sen feel like the woman could determine their personal wealth at a nce. Based on her expression, she had decided that they were too poor to even breathe air in this shop but was far too polite to say so. Sen kept a neutral expression as he spoke.


    ¡°We both need something for a formal event. And we need it by this afternoon,¡± announced Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that will be quite impossi¡ª¡±


    The woman¡¯s words choked off as Sen casually ced a fistful of gold taels on the counter. The woman¡¯s eyes went almost impossibly wide at the fortune before her.


    ¡°We will both need something for a formal event, at the <em>royal</em><em>pce</em>. And we need it by this afternoon.¡±


    The woman behind the counter dragged her eyes away from the gold and up to Sen¡¯s face, and a kind of dawning recognition took ce. All those stories racing around the city about the new Lord Lu, the legendary Judgment¡¯s Gale, the king¡¯s friend who hade for some unknown purpose. Her gaze drifted down to his robes. His blue robes. Robes that bore the telltale signs of having been through some violence. Her eyes darted around the shop before she pped her hands together sharply.


    ¡°The shop is closed for the day. Please return tomorrow.¡±


    The woman only paused long enough to sweep the gold off the counter before she rushed off to help usher the other would-be customers out. Sen turned to find Shen Mingxia looking at him with an open-mouthed expression of shock on her face.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I did promise.¡±


    ¡°You could have <em>bought</em> this entire business for the less than that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to own this business,¡± said Sen. ¡°I want them to make us clothes and to be quick about it. I also want them to be enormously helpful if I evere back or send someone here.¡±


    Shen Mingxia looked like she thought he hadpletely missed her point, but she wasn¡¯t sure how to put that into words. Before she could find the words, the doors to the shop were closed with a sharp noise. Sen looked over to see the owner or manager, he still wasn¡¯t sure which she was, firmly slide a lock into ce. She marched back over to Sen and Mingxia, a determined expression on her face and the entire staff moving in her wake.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Lord Lu, I presume,¡± said the woman with a slight quaver in her voice.


    ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Sen with a small smile.


    He didn¡¯t feel like smiling at the woman, but he didn¡¯t want her in a state of fear either. He just wanted everyone in a state of focused attention. If a smile could reduce the tension enough to achieve that, he could fake a smile. It seemed to work. The woman rxed a little.


    ¡°And did you have anything in particr in mind?¡± she asked, choosing to focus on business.


    ¡°Something like this, just nicer, for me,¡± said Sen, gesturing at his robes.


    ¡°And for the Lady Lu?¡± asked the woman.


    Shen Mingxia, normally a bastion of calm normalcy, turned bright red and looked like she was choking on something. Sen¡¯s impish sense of humor saw an opportunity and sprang on it.


    ¡°Oh, for the Lady Lu¡ª¡± he said, pausing as though thinking about it. ¡°Make her look like a queen.¡±


    Shen Mingxia actually did seem to choke on something then. If the woman who ran the shop thought it odd, it didn¡¯t show on her face. She simply started barking orders at people who scattered in every direction to fetch cloth, to fetch tea, to fetch snacks, to fetch the moon itself for all Sen knew. After that, he mostly felt like a passenger to what was happening. He was shown endless samples of cloth, all in shades of blue, all of which looked more or less the same to him. Rather than expose his indifference, he decided that he could give the woman running the ce a little face.


    ¡°What would the mistress of the shop rmend?¡± he asked politely, guessing that she was the owner.


    It seemed he guessed right because the woman seemed to swell with pride. She turned a sharp gaze on the offered samples before reaching out and plucking one from the hands of an employee. After spending a moment looking at it, he thought it was a bit darker than what he normally wore.


    ¡°I would rmend this one. The color willplement yourplexion and serve as a fine counterpoint for a secondary color, such as silver. In addition, this particr fabric is known for its ability to take and hold the kinds of enchantments that cultivators prefer on their clothing, such as cleaning and self-repair.¡±


    That caught Sen¡¯s attention. He hadn¡¯t been thinking about that, but it would be nice if he could get those things added to formal robes. Then, he¡¯d have something to wear if he ever got roped into some other ridiculous political event. <em>You¡¯re a house patriarch now</em>, he reminded himself. <em>You are inevitably going to end up stuck at political functions from time to time for as long as you¡¯re in this kingdom</em>. He knew that most of that was going to fall onto the heads of other people, but even then, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape it entirely. He nodded his approval.


    ¡°Then, far be it from me to ignore the advice of an expert,¡± he said.


    He offered input when it was absolutely required of him, but he mostly just agreed to whatever the owner suggested. It wasn¡¯t like he had the faintest idea of what was appropriate, so he tried to interfere as little as possible. Throughout the entire process, he hadn¡¯t so much as seen Shen Mingxia. She had been whisked away to somewhere else. He had asionally extended a bit of his spiritual sense to make sure she hadn¡¯t been grabbed by someone looking to get at him. So, he knew more or less where she was in the shop, but that was it. There were also long stretches where nothing seemed to be happening. The owner would chat him with briefly and then disappear, no doubt to keep track of whatever was happening with Shen Mingxia. The rest of the staff made sure he was never left without tea, something to eat, or someone to talk to if he wished.


    The owner eventually came back and led him to a room. He was asked to stand in a variety of poses as cloth was pressed up against him, measurements were made, and the owner made a variety of noises that he supposed meant something to the staff based on the way they reacted. After that, he was taken back to wait some more. That wait was more substantial. He found himself ncing out the window in the front of the shop and gauging the time. He realized it wasn¡¯t actually thatte. He¡¯d just gotten ustomed to racing from one task to the next. He hadn¡¯t been able to devote hours at a time to a single thing since the whole business with the House of Xie had started. Being stuck on just one thing had made the time seem to pass much more slowly.


    Finally, he was taken to a room where the new robes had been set out for him. He dumped the robes he was wearing into a storage ring and put on the new ones. He had to admit that having them made especially for him meant that the fit was absolutely perfect. There wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of ufortable pull anywhere. He exited the room he was in and the owner smiled at him triumphantly. She snapped her fingers and arge mirror, something Sen knew was a hideously expensive item, was rolled before him. He took a long look. He looked like a stranger, like someone from a story. The robes were definitely darker than his usual clothing. They had a high cor in a blue that was almost ck. There was a simr dark material at the cuffs of the robes. He could see that dragons had been stitched into the cor and the cuffs with silver thread. Larger dragons had been stitched into the chest of the robes, one on each side. He noticed the owner starting to look nervous, so he inclined his head to her.


    ¡°This is superb work. You and your staff should be extremely proud.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lord Lu,¡± said the owner.


    She offered him a deep, formal bow that was instantly mimicked by her staff. She rose and had a whispered conversation with one of her underlings. The young man ran off to the part of the shop where Shen Mingxia had been taken. There was another brief wait before the man poked his head out from behind a door and nodded. The owner lifted a hand and gestured.


    ¡°The Lady Lu,¡± said the woman.


    Shen Mingxia stepped out from the door. Sen could tell that she looked embarrassed, but that took a backseat to the dress she wore. It was a white so bright that it practically glowed. It clung to her in a way that was inviting, but not overtly sexual. It also featured a high cor, but where Sen¡¯s robes had loose arms, Shen Mingxia¡¯s arms were tightly sheathed in the white material. The only break in that almost blinding glow were the dragons stitched into the cor and down the arms of the dress. The contrast was so intense that Sen initially thought the dragons were rendered in ck thread, but he slowly realized that they were actually in blue. And then, as if the staff had taken his words as a literalmand, there was a finely wrought silver diadem resting on her brow. It looked like vines of silver that all wove together to support a sapphire.


    ¡°Exquisite,¡± said Sen.


    The staff all looked extremely happy, while Shen Mingxia blushed furiously.


    ¡°Well, my Lady Lu, I do believe that we are ready for this evening¡¯s event,¡± said Sen, just barely able to keep himself from smirking as he turned to the shop owner. "Please prepare another six dresses for thedy. I''ll trust in your fine judgment as to the color and design."

 Book 8: Chapter Thirty-Two – Politics (1)

    Book 8: Chapter Thirty-Two ¨C Politics (1)


    ¡°Lord Lu, the cultivator Judgment¡¯s Gale, and his escort, Honorable Shen Mingxia,¡± announced the man at the door.


    Hsiao Jiayi looked over, her curiosity burning. She¡¯d heard so much about this man, this folk hero, this cultivator turned house patriarch in and where cultivator noble houses simply did not exist. The stories had been ludicrous. Wild tales of impossible victories over sect elders when he¡¯d been nothing but a foundation formation cultivator. Stories of him vanishing into the deep wilds and battling beast tides, sometimes single-handedly, and sometimes with a green-eyed jade beauty. Stories of him colluding with a nine tail fox princess to steal heavenly treasures from ancient ruins. Stories of viges saved, bandits punished, and ndestine meetings with ancient spirit beasts who guided him through advancements. Oh, she was sure that bits and pieces were true. He¡¯d probably fought some outer disciple who called himself an elder where others could hear it. Maybe the man had robbed a grave somewhere. Perhaps he¡¯d met a nine tail fox and no doubt been swindled by them. But no man could possibly be as interesting as the stories made this man out to be.


    When he stepped through the door, though, all thoughts fled. Her heart started racing wildly. She¡¯d never seen a man that beautiful before. Oh, he was still a man, a towering figure, the loose robes unable to fully conceal the heavy muscle beneath, but his face¡­ It was what she imagined gods would look like. Too perfect to look at. Too perfect to be real. It took her an agonizingly long time to tear her gaze away from him. She focused instead on the woman who was with him. She was lovely, helped along in no small part by the outrageously expensive dress she wore, and that beautiful diadem, but it was still beauty within the bounds of humanity. Yet, her loveliness was a flickering candle next to the blistering sun that was Judgment¡¯s Gale. Hsiao Jiayi risked another look at the man, and it was not better the second time. With another painful effort of will, she forced herself to look away. She didn¡¯t know how that woman with him could stand there looking so calm.


    As much as she wanted to not pay attention to the man, to spare herself that quiet agony, she couldn¡¯t help but look again. She watched as he gave a respectful nod to the king. She coped with his appearance by doing what she¡¯d been trained to do. She evaluated him. There was genuine warmth in his expression when he looked at the king, which meant the stories of a friendship were probably urate. When Lord Lu swept his gaze around the room at the gathered nobility, that warmth was <em>gone</em>. It was reced by a disdain that bordered on hatred. Then, his eyesnded on her. Her breath caught in her throat. There was an intensity in those dark eyes that could set forests aze. He seemed momentarily startled as he looked at her as if he was seeing something he didn¡¯t expect. Then, his eyes moved on and she was able to breathe again.


    When her father had ordered her toe here, she¡¯d taken it as both a punishment and reprieve. So far from home, she would bergely free of the machinations of her father. The constant drive to make her useful in the way <em>he</em> wanted her to be useful. Something she had evaded through sheer determination and a little bloodshed. She had calmly murdered one suitor who had failed to understand that their parents¡¯ political intrigues did not include her willing participation in his fantasies. That act had been what finally managed to half-convince her father that she would not be pushed into a marriage she didn¡¯t want. Of course, the price for that had been never-ending travel to serve as his ambassador. Assignments that, as often as not, she was sure were designed to maximize the danger she¡¯d be in. If she wouldn¡¯t let herself be married off, then her death would be a fine excuse for another war.


    This assignment wasn¡¯t one of those, but it was still punishment. Being trundled off to the far side of the Mountains of Sorrow to talk with some mortal who imagined he was a king. As if the sects here couldn¡¯t take control in a heartbeat if they wanted to. As near as she could tell, they just couldn¡¯t be bothered with it. She wasn¡¯t even sure that it was the wrong approach. Letting the mortals think they had some control did seem to be easier than enforcing cultivator control. If nothing else, it was less bloody. Even so, it felt unnatural to her, like some kind of gross inversion of the natural order. She had simply braced herself to get through this with as much dignity as she could muster, and then she would return to a ce where things made sense. Maybe, if she was lucky, she might even be able to go home if only for a little while. Even if she¡¯d personally heap gold and cultivation treasures on anyone who killed her father, she did miss the rest of her family. What was left of it. Most of her brothers had died on her father¡¯s battlefields. Most of her sisters were either dead or married off. Even so, she could only see them when she was home, which happened all too rarely.


    Of course, she had not expected such upheaval during her visit to this backwards nation. Now, though, she wasn¡¯t sure what she should do. Part of her wanted to go and talk to this cultivator who had wrought such change in this theoretically mortal kingdom. The other part of her quailed at the very idea of having that man turn his full attention on her. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want that attention, but that she wanted it <em>too much</em>. She chastised herself mentally. She didn¡¯t know the man. She didn¡¯t know anything about him that hadn¡¯te to her secondhand. If even half the stories were true, he was some kind of monster. No, that desire was just her body telling her lies. She had taken one look at him and reason had been bypassed by a primal urge to drag him somewhere private and have her way with him. She¡¯d been so caught up in her own thoughts that she¡¯dpletely lost track of time and her surroundings. It was only when a man spoke to her that she truly came back to reality.


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    ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met,¡± said the man. ¡°My name is Lu Sen.¡±Hsiao Jiayi froze in ce for a moment as anticipation and dread warred inside of her. It was <em>him</em>. She braced herself mentally before she turned to face the man. It barely helped. She had to <em>make</em> herself breathe. The only saving grace was that the intensity in his eyes had faded into something like distant, polite interest. That thought was immediately disced by frustration. She didn¡¯t want him to be distant. She was taking too long to answer him. She was making a fool of herself, yet there was no impatience on his face. It dawned on her then that this reaction must be normal. It had happened so often that he was used to having to wait for people to muster their minds enough to string words together. She took hold of herself.


    ¡°Hsiao Jiayi. I¡¯m the ambassador from the kingdom of Kanshun.¡±


    He nodded, but there was no immediate sign that he recognized the name. She felt a little pang of annoyance. How could the man not have ever even heard of her home?


    ¡°Did it take you long to travel here? I understand the journey over the Mountains of Sorrow is¡ª¡± he hesitated for a moment, seeming to look for the right word. ¡°Taxing.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help the small sigh that escaped her lips.


    ¡°It was unpleasant. Not a journey that most would take willingly, I should think.¡±


    ¡°Did you travel alone?¡± he asked, ncing around curiously. ¡°No guards? No entourage?¡±


    ¡°None were provided, which is for the best. My duties often require me to move quickly. Guards and servants would only slow me down.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± he said.


    She got the strangest feeling that he wasn¡¯t just mouthing those words out of politeness. If the stories were true, he often traveled both alone and withpanions. Now that her mind was operating again if not precisely at its best, she felt for his cultivation level. It was higher than her own. If she had to guess, he was peak core formation, but it felt odd to her. It was like his cultivation was somehow deeper than it had any right to be. He shot her a vaguely amused look.


    ¡°Curiosity satisfied?¡± he asked.


    She felt her blood run cold. The man had noticed her quiet intrusion. One of the reasons why she had survived so long running errands designed to kill her was how subtle she was in her use of qi and her spiritual sense. She had surveyed nascent soul cultivators without so much as a flicker of recognition on their part. Yet, this man had noticed immediately. That was a chilling level of awareness.


    ¡°I apologize for my rudeness,¡± she said.


    The man shrugged in a way that suggested he really didn¡¯t care. Then, his eyes went out of focus for a moment before they focused again. That intensity was back, and she couldn¡¯t find the strength to look away.


    ¡°A moment, please,¡± he said.


    Then, he turned his head and looked across the room. Her gaze followed his to where the woman he¡¯de with had been all but backed into a corner by Sung Kai. He had also been sent from the other side of the mountains as an ambassador, although she knew that he¡¯d been chosen almost entirely to temporarily rid his kingdom of a problem. She felt something rouse itself in Lu Sen, and it was like some great leviathan had woken from a ten-thousand-year slumber and was stirring. A momentter, Sung Kai let out a cry like a wounded animal. The man mmed down to his knees and blood started to pour from his mouth, nose, and ears. It was a terrifying disy of strength. Sung Kai was a powerful cultivator in his own right, and he¡¯d been brought low between heartbeats. Lu Sen calmly walked across the now deathly silent room. He spoke to the woman in white, who looked simultaneously relieved and rmed. She nodded in answer to some question. Seeming satisfied, the man turned his attention back to Sung Kai, who was thrashing and convulsing on the floor.


    The reassuring demeanor he¡¯d worn when speaking to his escort evaporated. In an instant, that silly name, Judgment¡¯s Gale, didn¡¯t sound silly at all. His face was carved from stone, like a statue that captured the essence of enraged divinity. He stared down at Sung Kai with eyes that promised things eternal and ghastly. Hsiao Jiayi was certain that Lu Sen meant to end Sung Kai then and there. Yet, before the grisly work could begin, the king intervened.


    ¡°Expel him, if you must, but I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t kill him. It could prove troublesome,¡± said King Jing.


    Judgment¡¯s Gale nced at the king and gave a small nod. Hsiao Jiayi knew that it <em>was not</em> an expression of subservience, no matter what anyone else at the gathering might think, the king included. It was a man agreeing to the request of a friend. Rather than crushing the life from Sung Kai, or whatever he had nned to do, Lu Sen reached down and seized the other man by the throat. He dragged the still thrashing and convulsing man toward a wall and, with a wave of Lu Sen¡¯s hand, Sung Kai¡¯s blood was burned away from the floor. Hsiao Jiayi stared in awe as the wall seemed to melt away like water, exposing an exterior courtyard. Lu Sen lifted Sung Kai and spoke to him briefly before drawing back and hurling the other man into the sky with nothing but brute strength. Then, as if nothing had happened, Lu Sen walked back into the room, the wall restoring itself behind him. He looked at the king.


    ¡°He¡¯llnd outside the city wall. It won¡¯t kill him.¡±


    The king looked a little startled but nodded.


    ¡°I appreciate your restraint.¡±


    Lu Sen nodded to the king and then walked back over to her, the look of distant, polite interest back in ce on his face. He picked up their conversation as if there had been no interruption.


    ¡°How are you finding it here? I understand that things are different where you¡¯re from.¡±


    She struggled to find words but managed to stammer something.


    ¡°It¡¯s been more eventful than I expected.¡±


    ¡°Oh? How so?¡± asked the man, his face a picture of perfect innocence.

 Book 8: Chapter 33: Politics (2)

    Book 8: Chapter 33: Politics (2)


    Hsiao Jiayi worried that she might not be able to continue the conversation if she wasn¡¯t allowed a moment to regain her calm. Fortunately, there was amotion outside the main door into the room they were all upying. Someone was arriving and, by the noise, it was someone important.


    ¡°Lai Dongmei, matriarch of the Golden Phoenix Sect,¡± choked out the man at the door.


    Hsiao Jiayi turned to look. This was another person she had heard stories about, although stories of a different kind. The stories about Lai Dongmei centered on all of the tragic, doomed loves she inspired. As with the tales about Judgment¡¯s Gale, she hadrgely discounted those stories. Cultivator beauty was nothing new. It was to be expected of those in the nascent soul stage, even if there were freakish exceptions like Lu Sen. Yet, the moment Hsiao Jiayiid eyes on Lai Dongmei, she felt a stab of almost instant hatred. No living creature should be <em>allowed</em> that kind of beauty. It was impossible, unearthly beauty. If Lu Sen was the sun, this woman was the moon.


    The matriarch gave the king an almost imperceptible nod of acknowledgment, and then her eyes fixed on Lu Sen. She¡­ Walked wasn¡¯t the right word for it. There simply <em>wasn¡¯t</em> a word for someone moving with that much grace. It was almostical watching people try to speak with her, only to have the woman move past them like she was in an empty room and the singr item of interest in it was Judgment¡¯s Gale. Hsiao Jiayi realized that the only person who hadn¡¯t turned to look, who hadn¡¯t been instantly enthralled, was Lu Sen himself. He was looking at her, his expression expectant. He had asked her a question, but it was just gone from her mind, blown away like an errant leaf in a hurricane. Lai Dongmei arrived and didn¡¯t hesitate for a second as she pressed herself against the man and kissed his cheek.


    ¡°Hello, lover,¡± said the matriarch, running a finger down the front of Lu Sen¡¯s robe. ¡°I see you dressed up for the asion. I very much approve. It makes you look positively delicious.¡±


    Hsiao Jiayi felt apletely irrational re of jealous rage take hold. She knew it was irrational. She knew it was stupid. She¡¯d had a five-minute conversation with this man. And none of those facts mattered in the slightest. It still took every ounce of her restraint not to attack the other woman. A reaction that was not helped in the slightest when he looked at that unfairly, wretchedly beautiful woman. There was something there in his eyes, something that smoldered. Something that she wanted to see there when the man looked at her, instead of that infuriating distant politeness. Lai Dongmei finally deigned to look at her then.


    ¡°Oh, I see you¡¯ve met the princess.¡±


    ¡°Princess,¡± said Lu Sen, his expression going positively icy as he drew out the word. ¡°I thought you were some manner of ambassador.¡±


    Hsiao Jiayi didn¡¯t understand what had just happened. All she knew was that a single word had left a frigid shell where at least vague friendliness had been before.¡°I am,¡± she said with too much haste. ¡°It¡¯s what my father does with willful daughters who refuse to marry the disgusting scions of his political allies. He sends us away.¡±


    Her mouth snapped shut. She knew she was talking too much, saying too much, all because she hated the way he was looking at her. It shocked her to see sympathy on Lai Dongmei¡¯s face. Not that the other woman backed away from Lu Sen in any way. She had a clear agenda and wasn¡¯t going to be swayed from it. But, still, the sympathy was there. A kind of understanding of what it meant to be a woman with power or near to it. A recognition of the difficulty of forcing men to recognize that they had value beyond bearing children or serving as pawns. None of that sympathy or understanding could be found on Lu Sen¡¯s face, though. In fact, she couldn¡¯t read anything at all there anymore. He was as nk as a piece of stone. He simply inclined his head to her.


    ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, Your Highness, I should meet the other guests.¡±


    Then, they were gone, and Hsiao Jiayi felt like an ocean of weight had been lifted from her. Alone, Lu Sen and Lai Dongmei were each enough to render people incoherent. Together they were something truly <em>terrible</em>. Beauty like that was a silent tyranny over the hearts and minds of others. She only had to watch the reactions of the people they interacted with to see that. People weren¡¯t talking to them, so much as fawning over them. People who had been hardened and sharpened by years in the brutal arena of court politics were gushing like overexcited children. Their eyes were bright with joy because, for a few minutes, those almost inhuman, luminous creatures were deigning to look at them and listen politely.


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    If Lu Sen and Lai Dongmei had the ambition to do so, they would hold the entire continent in their hands. People would fall over themselves to swear allegiance to them. Kingdoms would line up to support them. Some people had to build empires on mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. Those two would be able to build one on blind infatuation. With a start, Hsiao Jiayi realized that they probably both <em>knew</em> that on some level. Given that one had contented herself with being a sect matriarch, and the other had only gotten involved with politics after what rumors said was an entire series of unbelievably stupid personal assaults, they obviously didn¡¯t have the ambition. A surge of palpable relief washed through her at that thought. Empires built on violence could crumble, but she doubted one ruled by those two would ever fall.


    She looked over to the king, who had beenrgely forgotten and abandoned as everyone scurried to get their moment with the sun and moon that walked among them. She would have expected him to be infuriated at being upstaged this way. Instead, he looked amused. He whispered something to the queen, who giggled and nodded in reply. They clearly knew something that she did not about this situation. She realized that she¡¯d been looking at them for too long when the king and queen walked over to her. Hsiao Jiayi offered a shallow bow. The rules for this sort of thing wereplex. She was a cultivator, which automatically made her of higher standing than a mortal king, but she was also a foreigner, a guest really, which meant she owed him some deference. It made calcting the appropriate depth of her bow difficult. The king inclined his head. A measure of respect that also looked a little uncertain. It seemed he was struggling with the particrs as well, which made her feel oddly better about the whole situation. The man nced over to where Lu Sen and Lai Dongmei were effectively holding court like an imperial couple.


    ¡°What do you think of our Lord Lu, Ambassador Hsiao?¡± asked the king.


    She weighed her answer carefully. There were many politically adroit options avable to her. Vague, empty statements that would sound meaningful but convey nothing of her true thoughts. She had long since mastered the art of uttering such hollow sentiments with sincerity. However, this entire situation was abnormal, absurd even, bordering on the ridiculous. She felt unbnced and worried that adding meaningless banter to the situation might push the whole event off of some kind of cliff she couldn¡¯t discern. Hsiao Jiayi rejected all of the political niceties and elected to share a rare piece of unpolished truth.


    ¡°I think that man may well be one of the most dangerous people alive,¡± she said, eying the royal couple with a critical eye. ¡°Yet, the two of you seem oddly unperturbed, your majesties.¡±


    The king and queen shared a brief look. There was nothing sinister to it. She had seen simr looks pass between hundreds of married couples. A sort of shorthand that developed over time that they employedrgely to remind each other about shared jokes and to make decisions about how to discipline their misbehaving children <em>this time</em>. The king looked at her, that same amused expression surfacing on his features.


    ¡°That¡¯s because I know something very important about that man that tells me I have very little to fear from him.¡±


    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d care to share.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no great secret. Anyone who spends any time at all with him will figure it out. I¡¯m not worried because he¡¯s about as interested in ruling as I am in being a potato,¡± said the king with a knowing smile.


    Hsiao Jiayi went to reply and found herself bereft of words. How was someone supposed to respond to such a peculiar statement? And he¡¯d said it with such benign certainty. She was doubtful that she would have felt so certain that a man who could probably kill everyone in the room, with the exception of Lai Dongmei, wasn¡¯t a threat. In fact, she was confident that she would have viewed him as an existential threat. After all, the man could effectively behead this nation and im it for himself with one swift murder spree. Having finally met the man and witnessed his response to Sung Kai, she was confident he was more than capable of carrying out such an act. Especially after seeing the profound disdain in which he held the nobility here. She didn¡¯t know where it sprang from, but it ran <em>deep</em>. She thought that there was a part of Lu Sen that would likely enjoy killing everyone here, save for the royal couple, his escort, and the woman whispering things in his ear that turned that smoldering look in his eyes into a bonfire.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Hsiao Jiayi, ¡°but disinterest isn¡¯t the same thing as unwillingness.¡±


    The king nodded.


    ¡°True enough, but he has other priorities. He¡¯s a¡ª¡± the king paused then.


    She could almost watch as the man mentally substituted one word for another.


    ¡°He¡¯s a cultivator, after all. Aren¡¯t you all worried about ascension?¡±


    Hsiao Jiayi shifted her gaze to Lu Sen.


    ¡°That man doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s worried about anything.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 32: Politics (1)

    Book 8: Chapter 32: Politics (1)


    ¡°Lord Lu, the cultivator Judgment¡¯s Gale, and his escort, Honorable Shen Mingxia,¡± announced the man at the door.


    Hsiao Jiayi looked over, her curiosity burning. She¡¯d heard so much about this man, this folk hero, this cultivator turned house patriarch in and where cultivator noble houses simply did not exist. The stories had been ludicrous. Wild tales of impossible victories over sect elders when he¡¯d been nothing but a foundation formation cultivator. Stories of him vanishing into the deep wilds and battling beast tides, sometimes single-handedly, and sometimes with a green-eyed jade beauty. Stories of him colluding with a nine tail fox princess to steal heavenly treasures from ancient ruins. Stories of viges saved, bandits punished, and ndestine meetings with ancient spirit beasts who guided him through advancements. Oh, she was sure that bits and pieces were true. He¡¯d probably fought some outer disciple who called himself an elder where others could hear it. Maybe the man had robbed a grave somewhere. Perhaps he¡¯d met a nine tail fox and no doubt been swindled by them. But no man could possibly be as interesting as the stories made this man out to be.


    When he stepped through the door, though, all thoughts fled. Her heart started racing wildly. She¡¯d never seen a man that beautiful before. Oh, he was still a man, a towering figure, the loose robes unable to fully conceal the heavy muscle beneath, but his face¡­ It was what she imagined gods would look like. Too perfect to look at. Too perfect to be real. It took her an agonizingly long time to tear her gaze away from him. She focused instead on the woman who was with him. She was lovely, helped along in no small part by the outrageously expensive dress she wore, and that beautiful diadem, but it was still beauty within the bounds of humanity. Yet, her loveliness was a flickering candle next to the blistering sun that was Judgment¡¯s Gale. Hsiao Jiayi risked another look at the man, and it was not better the second time. With another painful effort of will, she forced herself to look away. She didn¡¯t know how that woman with him could stand there looking so calm.


    As much as she wanted to not pay attention to the man, to spare herself that quiet agony, she couldn¡¯t help but look again. She watched as he gave a respectful nod to the king. She coped with his appearance by doing what she¡¯d been trained to do. She evaluated him. There was genuine warmth in his expression when he looked at the king, which meant the stories of a friendship were probably urate. When Lord Lu swept his gaze around the room at the gathered nobility, that warmth was <em>gone</em>. It was reced by a disdain that bordered on hatred. Then, his eyesnded on her. Her breath caught in her throat. There was an intensity in those dark eyes that could set forests aze. He seemed momentarily startled as he looked at her as if he was seeing something he didn¡¯t expect. Then, his eyes moved on and she was able to breathe again.


    When her father had ordered her toe here, she¡¯d taken it as both a punishment and reprieve. So far from home, she would bergely free of the machinations of her father. The constant drive to make her useful in the way <em>he</em> wanted her to be useful. Something she had evaded through sheer determination and a little bloodshed. She had calmly murdered one suitor who had failed to understand that their parents¡¯ political intrigues did not include her willing participation in his fantasies. That act had been what finally managed to half-convince her father that she would not be pushed into a marriage she didn¡¯t want. Of course, the price for that had been never-ending travel to serve as his ambassador. Assignments that, as often as not, she was sure were designed to maximize the danger she¡¯d be in. If she wouldn¡¯t let herself be married off, then her death would be a fine excuse for another war.


    This assignment wasn¡¯t one of those, but it was still punishment. Being trundled off to the far side of the Mountains of Sorrow to talk with some mortal who imagined he was a king. As if the sects here couldn¡¯t take control in a heartbeat if they wanted to. As near as she could tell, they just couldn¡¯t be bothered with it. She wasn¡¯t even sure that it was the wrong approach. Letting the mortals think they had some control did seem to be easier than enforcing cultivator control. If nothing else, it was less bloody. Even so, it felt unnatural to her, like some kind of gross inversion of the natural order. She had simply braced herself to get through this with as much dignity as she could muster, and then she would return to a ce where things made sense. Maybe, if she was lucky, she might even be able to go home if only for a little while. Even if she¡¯d personally heap gold and cultivation treasures on anyone who killed her father, she did miss the rest of her family. What was left of it. Most of her brothers had died on her father¡¯s battlefields. Most of her sisters were either dead or married off. Even so, she could only see them when she was home, which happened all too rarely.


    Of course, she had not expected such upheaval during her visit to this backwards nation. Now, though, she wasn¡¯t sure what she should do. Part of her wanted to go and talk to this cultivator who had wrought such change in this theoretically mortal kingdom. The other part of her quailed at the very idea of having that man turn his full attention on her. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want that attention, but that she wanted it <em>too much</em>. She chastised herself mentally. She didn¡¯t know the man. She didn¡¯t know anything about him that hadn¡¯te to her secondhand. If even half the stories were true, he was some kind of monster. No, that desire was just her body telling her lies. She had taken one look at him and reason had been bypassed by a primal urge to drag him somewhere private and have her way with him. She¡¯d been so caught up in her own thoughts that she¡¯dpletely lost track of time and her surroundings. It was only when a man spoke to her that she truly came back to reality.


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    ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met,¡± said the man. ¡°My name is Lu Sen.¡±Hsiao Jiayi froze in ce for a moment as anticipation and dread warred inside of her. It was <em>him</em>. She braced herself mentally before she turned to face the man. It barely helped. She had to <em>make</em> herself breathe. The only saving grace was that the intensity in his eyes had faded into something like distant, polite interest. That thought was immediately disced by frustration. She didn¡¯t want him to be distant. She was taking too long to answer him. She was making a fool of herself, yet there was no impatience on his face. It dawned on her then that this reaction must be normal. It had happened so often that he was used to having to wait for people to muster their minds enough to string words together. She took hold of herself.


    ¡°Hsiao Jiayi. I¡¯m the ambassador from the kingdom of Kanshun.¡±


    He nodded, but there was no immediate sign that he recognized the name. She felt a little pang of annoyance. How could the man not have ever even heard of her home?


    ¡°Did it take you long to travel here? I understand the journey over the Mountains of Sorrow is¡ª¡± he hesitated for a moment, seeming to look for the right word. ¡°Taxing.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help the small sigh that escaped her lips.


    ¡°It was unpleasant. Not a journey that most would take willingly, I should think.¡±


    ¡°Did you travel alone?¡± he asked, ncing around curiously. ¡°No guards? No entourage?¡±


    ¡°None were provided, which is for the best. My duties often require me to move quickly. Guards and servants would only slow me down.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± he said.


    She got the strangest feeling that he wasn¡¯t just mouthing those words out of politeness. If the stories were true, he often traveled both alone and withpanions. Now that her mind was operating again if not precisely at its best, she felt for his cultivation level. It was higher than her own. If she had to guess, he was peak core formation, but it felt odd to her. It was like his cultivation was somehow deeper than it had any right to be. He shot her a vaguely amused look.


    ¡°Curiosity satisfied?¡± he asked.


    She felt her blood run cold. The man had noticed her quiet intrusion. One of the reasons why she had survived so long running errands designed to kill her was how subtle she was in her use of qi and her spiritual sense. She had surveyed nascent soul cultivators without so much as a flicker of recognition on their part. Yet, this man had noticed immediately. That was a chilling level of awareness.


    ¡°I apologize for my rudeness,¡± she said.


    The man shrugged in a way that suggested he really didn¡¯t care. Then, his eyes went out of focus for a moment before they focused again. That intensity was back, and she couldn¡¯t find the strength to look away.


    ¡°A moment, please,¡± he said.


    Then, he turned his head and looked across the room. Her gaze followed his to where the woman he¡¯de with had been all but backed into a corner by Sung Kai. He had also been sent from the other side of the mountains as an ambassador, although she knew that he¡¯d been chosen almost entirely to temporarily rid his kingdom of a problem. She felt something rouse itself in Lu Sen, and it was like some great leviathan had woken from a ten-thousand-year slumber and was stirring. A momentter, Sung Kai let out a cry like a wounded animal. The man mmed down to his knees and blood started to pour from his mouth, nose, and ears. It was a terrifying disy of strength. Sung Kai was a powerful cultivator in his own right, and he¡¯d been brought low between heartbeats. Lu Sen calmly walked across the now deathly silent room. He spoke to the woman in white, who looked simultaneously relieved and rmed. She nodded in answer to some question. Seeming satisfied, the man turned his attention back to Sung Kai, who was thrashing and convulsing on the floor.


    The reassuring demeanor he¡¯d worn when speaking to his escort evaporated. In an instant, that silly name, Judgment¡¯s Gale, didn¡¯t sound silly at all. His face was carved from stone, like a statue that captured the essence of enraged divinity. He stared down at Sung Kai with eyes that promised things eternal and ghastly. Hsiao Jiayi was certain that Lu Sen meant to end Sung Kai then and there. Yet, before the grisly work could begin, the king intervened.


    ¡°Expel him, if you must, but I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t kill him. It could prove troublesome,¡± said King Jing.


    Judgment¡¯s Gale nced at the king and gave a small nod. Hsiao Jiayi knew that it <em>was not</em> an expression of subservience, no matter what anyone else at the gathering might think, the king included. It was a man agreeing to the request of a friend. Rather than crushing the life from Sung Kai, or whatever he had nned to do, Lu Sen reached down and seized the other man by the throat. He dragged the still thrashing and convulsing man toward a wall and, with a wave of Lu Sen¡¯s hand, Sung Kai¡¯s blood was burned away from the floor. Hsiao Jiayi stared in awe as the wall seemed to melt away like water, exposing an exterior courtyard. Lu Sen lifted Sung Kai and spoke to him briefly before drawing back and hurling the other man into the sky with nothing but brute strength. Then, as if nothing had happened, Lu Sen walked back into the room, the wall restoring itself behind him. He looked at the king.


    ¡°He¡¯llnd outside the city wall. It won¡¯t kill him.¡±


    The king looked a little startled but nodded.


    ¡°I appreciate your restraint.¡±


    Lu Sen nodded to the king and then walked back over to her, the look of distant, polite interest back in ce on his face. He picked up their conversation as if there had been no interruption.


    ¡°How are you finding it here? I understand that things are different where you¡¯re from.¡±


    She struggled to find words but managed to stammer something.


    ¡°It¡¯s been more eventful than I expected.¡±


    ¡°Oh? How so?¡± asked the man, his face a picture of perfect innocence.

 Book 8: Chapter 34: Politics (3)

    Book 8: Chapter 34: Politics (3)


    Sen hadpletely discarded any notion of paying attention to the people who kepting up to them. They all just kept <em>talking</em>. Not interesting talk, either, but just a geyser of words about whatever seemingly random topic popped into their heads. One man had gone into a ten-minute discourse about apples. That might have been interesting if the fool hadn¡¯t just been making things up as he went. You didn¡¯t grow up in a ce called Orchard¡¯s Reach without learning a few things about apples. After that, Sen just nodded asionally, or made a nomittal noise, or stroked his chin thoughtfully. Of course, it would also have been easier to pay attention if Lai Dongmei hadn¡¯t been whispering in his ear about a whole variety of things that he would <em>much rather</em> be doing at that moment. <em>Focus</em>, Sen tried to order himself. <em>This absurd exercise in boredom can¡¯tst that much longer</em>, <em>right</em>? He looked at the entire crowd of people who were all but shoving each other out of the way to get in front of him and Lai Dongmei. Sen sighed internally. <em>I¡¯m never getting out of here</em>. <em>Where¡¯s a good assassination attempt when I need one</em>?


    ***


    Shen Mingxia was doing her best to maintain a calm front, but that encounter with Sung Kai had rattled her. The man had been handsome enough that she might have even been receptive to his advances, except he¡¯d been aggressive and expectant. As though she should be honored by his presence. If arrogance had been the extent of it, she would have simply endured and forgotten about him at the first opportunity. Then, he¡¯d made a veiledment that he intended to <em>take</em> what he wanted from her. That had frightened her because he had the power to follow through on that implied threat. She hadn¡¯t been sure how to react or to escape or at least to get someone¡¯s attention. Except, it hadn¡¯t been necessary. It seemed that Judgment¡¯s Gale was good to his promises. She hadn¡¯t had the faintest idea that his senses were <em>that</em> acute, but he had clearly been listening to the conversation. No sooner had the words passed from Sung Kai¡¯s lips than Lu Sen had crushed the man to the floor from across the room. He walked over to them with a concerned expression on his face. She¡¯d almost loosed a hystericalugh when he¡¯d all but stepped over Sung Kai to talk to her.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°Well, I will be.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±


    She offered what she hoped looked like a smile, rather than a grimace, and nodded. His expression turned skeptical, but he didn¡¯t press the issue. Instead, he turned to Sung Kai. As she watched his face turn imcable, she again felt very, very grateful that this man had never turned his wrath on her. She thought he was going to kill the man. In truth, she wanted him to do it, but the damn king had to go and be all politically minded and save the bastard. Still, it was incredibly satisfying to watch Sen fling that man into the sky like the piece of garbage he was. There was a side benefit to that brutal disy. People who had been circling around her, no doubt looking to try to learn about Sen from her, immediately lost interest. She found a wall to lean against and took her first rxed breath of the evening.


    ***


    <em>I think that man is my new hero</em>, thought Chan Dishi as he did everything in his power not tough out loud. He¡¯d asked around about the various ¡°ambassadors,¡± and Sung Kai had been the easiest to learn about. Mostly because everyone the man seemed toe into contact with hated him. There had been whispers of him forcing himself on women in the city, but he couldn¡¯t find a way to confirm it, and not for ack of trying. If he¡¯d been able to confirm it, well, steps could have been taken. Steps that wouldn¡¯t have jeopardized the tenuous peace that existed between the nations on this side of the Mountains of Sorrow and those on the far side of those lofty, continent-dividing peaks. It seemed as if <em>that</em> problem had more or less solved itself. As for the rest, they were just arrogant and disdainful, which was more or less what he¡¯d expected to discover.Although Lu Sen seemed to be doing just fine with that Kanshuni woman, especially after that heart-stopping beauty, Lai Dongmei, came in and started hanging on him. There had been a delicious moment when the ambassador looked like she might actually try to scratch out Lai Dongmei¡¯s eyes. Sadly, the woman seemed to get hold of herself. <em>Oh well</em>, thought Chan Dishi, <em>I guess it was too much hope that we¡¯d get to see two acts of violence</em><em>tonight</em>. It was disappointing, though. These kinds of gatherings were, almost by definition, boring. A little brutality was just the solution to liven things up. He had been hoping that someone might try to kill the king, but he was pretty sure that nobody was going to try anything that stupid now. Not with Judgment¡¯s Gale looming in the room.


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    ***


    Wu Chia-Hao, patriarch of the House of Wu, maintained a stoic calm, at least on the outside. On the inside, he was barely controlling his panic. He had assumed that this Lu Sen¡¯s reputation was more fiction than fact. Oh, everyone knew he was a cultivator who had appeared from nowhere out in the east of the kingdom, butmoners were always exaggerating about their folk heroes. It seemed reasonable that the man¡¯s deeds had just looked more impressive to the uneducated masses. He was surely no more than a foundation formation cultivator who had saved a few viges from some spirit beasts. Maybe he¡¯d wandered into some sect fight at the veryst minute and gotten credit for putting an end to the fight. Having seen the man in person, now, Wu Chia-Hao <em>believed</em>. He believed all of it, which was a problem. He needed to leave this gathering as soon as possible. He¡¯d set ns in motion to make things harder for the House of Lu. ns that needed to be stopped. Immediately. There was simply no world where the House of Wu would survive a confrontation with that titan. A man like that didn¡¯t need an army of house guards. He wouldn¡¯t bother with the kind of proof that noble houses normally required for one house to act publicly against another. He would juste as a destroyer in the night and leave nothing in the wake of his passage.


    ***


    ¡°Quon,¡± whispered Fong Huifen behind the fan she held in front of her face.


    ¡°Yes, Mistress Fong?¡± asked the man, his face a mask of careful respect.


    ¡°I think that we need to find a way to ingratiate ourselves to that young man. What do you think?¡±


    Fong Huifen waited patiently as Quon considered the question. Most people would have been stunned to see it happen. The matriarch of the House of Fong wasn¡¯t someone you made wait. Yet, wait she did. After all, this was <em>why</em> the man was her most trusted servant. He actually took the time to think. He didn¡¯t automatically agree with her. He always remained polite when he disagreed, which was why he remained alive, but he <em>would</em> disagree. Then, he would provide sound reasoning and acute insight. She had learned the hard way over the years that you simply couldn¡¯t train all of those qualities into a person. The heavens knew that she had tried.


    Quon finally spoke in a hushed tone that would not carry.


    ¡°It could be valuable if we were able to. His strength is undeniable. I¡¯m simply unsure of <em>how</em> we can do so. What could we offer the man that he cannot simply acquire for himself?¡±


    Quon made a good point. This Lu Sen clearly did notck for power. Nor, by all ounts, was he short of wealth. Fong Huifen pursed her lips. <em>What do we have that he does not</em>? <em>What can we offer that will make him</em>, <em>perhaps not friendly</em>, <em>but at least reliably non-hostile</em>? She was at as much of a loss as Quon seemed to be. She honestly couldn¡¯t think of anything, but that didn¡¯t mean that it didn¡¯t exist.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± she admitted, ¡°but I think it would be well worth trying to find it, whatever it is.¡±


    ***


    Consciousness returned slowly and brought an extraordinary amount of pain with it, which meant it took a little while for Sung Kai to understand why he was in a crater and covered with soil. When the events rushed back, his heart started to pound furiously in his chest. That crushing pressure, that terrible sense of wrath, like some malevolent god of death had abruptly turned their gaze on him. He started to shudder at the mere memory of it. He tried to push away the memory of two dark eyes, zing like stars with unchecked fury, staring into him, through him, judging him like he was the most worthless, insignificant thing that ever crawled on the earth. He could still hear the words the man had said. Words that resounded inside his head like amand from the heavens.


    ¡°You should pray. You should pray that <em>nothing</em> happens to that woman. Because, if it does, running across those mountains will not protect you.¡±


    There had been that sense of weightlessness and terrible speed. Then, there was only darkness. Sung Kai wanted to be furious. He wanted to be outraged at this treatment. He wanted to think he could go back and take his vengeance. Except, the anger wouldn¡¯te. The outrage wouldn¡¯te. The desire to take revenge <em>wouldn¡¯t</em>e. All that came was fear. Fear that shook his soul and made his body tremble. Sung Kai looked up at the distant wall. A wall he had been thrown over, far over, from the very center of the sprawling city. Sung Kai didn¡¯t know how much strength such a feat required, only that he didn¡¯t possess it. The trembling became a shuddering. Every cultivator knew that there were some fights that, if at all possible, should be avoided. This was one of those fights. It was time to go home before that god of death <em>changed his mind</em>. Sung Kai forced himself to his feet, turned east, and started limping toward the Mountains of Sorrow.

 Book 8: Chapter 35: Uncomfortable Truth

    Book 8: Chapter 35: Ufortable Truth


    Sen stretched and looked out the window. Even in the pre-dawn light, he could see Golden Phoenix Sect members out and about. Some were clearly cultivating, others were training martial forms, and he even saw a few groups that appeared to be heading out on missions of one kind or another. It was all so orderly. He wondered if things would ever look this orderly back at the Deep Wilds Academy. Sen knew that it was going to be a sect, but he just hated the very thought of openly calling it a sect, even in his own head. <em>Maybe I just won¡¯t</em>, he thought. <em>I can keep calling it an academy if I want to</em>. The more he thought about that idea, the better he liked it.


    ¡°Leaving already,¡± said a wistful voice from behind him.


    He turned and, well, he supposed the right word for it was beheld Lai Dongmei. She was stretched out on the nkets to disy her body to maximum advantage. Sen¡¯s self-control was nothing to be sneered at, but he wasn¡¯t going to lie himself. He <em>was</em> tempted. The only thing that marred the image was the shattered remains of what had been the bed¡¯s frame.


    ¡°We broke your bed,¡± he observed, not sure if he ought to feel bad about it or not.


    ¡°Yes, we did,¡± said Lai Dongmei.


    She was clearly not bothered by that at all. If anything, she looked quite satisfied by that turn of events.


    ¡°Maybe you should have had it reinforced with qi. I mean, you are sect matriarch and all.¡±


    She let out a throatyugh that did all sorts of subtle but nheless interesting things to the rest of her body.


    ¡°It <em>was</em>,¡± she told him. ¡°I¡¯m sure it will start all manner of interesting rumors when I have it very obviously removed.¡±¡°You mean, the six people in this sect who don¡¯t already pray daily for my death will join that cult.¡±


    ¡°Quite probably,¡± said Lai Dongmei without the slightest contrition in her voice.


    ¡°Thanks so much for that,¡± said Sen with an eye-roll.


    ¡°You can alwayse back to what¡¯s left of the bed and dy the inevitable,¡± she said as she traced a finger down her body.


    It had the intended effect of drawing his eyes to the woman¡¯s very avable, very desirable flesh. A primal hunger inside of him roared with need. Sen had to keep that part of himself buried most of the time. The number of people he <em>could</em> share a bed with and not put them at uneptable risk was constantly shrinking. So, he¡¯d learned to keep those kinds of thoughts and impulses on a very short leash. Now, though, there was someone who would suffer no additional danger if he chose to indulge with her. Spending the night with Lai Dongmei had note close to sating him. All things being equal, he would do exactly as she wished. But all things were not equal. Sure, the ridiculous political event was over, but he still needed to stabilize the House of Lu. At least, he needed to get it stable enough that he could go home and see Ai. He had promised toe back as soon as he could.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think for a second that I don¡¯t want to,¡± said Sen, shoving his lust into a box and mostly closing it in. ¡°But the House of Lu isn¡¯t like your sect, yet. I can¡¯t expect it to keep running without me if I up and disappear for a month.¡±


    Lai Dongmei¡¯s eyes half closed when she said, ¡°A month.¡±


    Sen could not tell what it was in her voice when she said those two innocuous words, but it connected with something inside of him that started screaming at him to get back into the broken bed right that second. Sen narrowed his eyes at the woman.


    ¡°That was just mean.¡±


    ¡°Not mean enough, apparently, since it didn¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sell yourself short. If I didn¡¯t have things that absolutely cannot be ignored and a daughter waiting for me toe home, I¡¯d make you make good on that.¡±


    ¡°Now who''s being mean? Bringing up your daughter when I¡¯m trying to seduce you. Hardly fair.¡±


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    ¡°You already seduced me.¡±


    ¡°True. I suppose I¡¯ll have to settle for just insisting you thate back. Soon. Very soon,¡± she said as she rose from the remains of the bed.


    Sen did not stare while she did that. He was almost certain of it. She went over to a cab and put on, well, he supposed it was technically a loose robe. It was shaped like a robe. It was just so sheer that it concealed nothing. With onest effort of will, he fought off the urge to take the stupid thing right back off of her. She noticed and gave him a wicked smile.


    ¡°Well, I suppose if you¡¯re just <em>determined</em> to go be responsible, there are one or two things we should discuss.¡±


    Sen groaned aloud.


    ¡°You want to talk about politics, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Gods no. You know what I want to be doing. But we do need to talk about it. A noble house with a cultivator patriarch on this side of the mountains. Have you considered the precedent you¡¯re setting with that?¡±


    ¡°In this one kingdom, maybe,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°For now, perhaps. You don¡¯t honestly believe that every cultivator here thinks that mortals should rule themselves, do you?¡± she asked before nodding at his sour expression. ¡°Cultivators who are going to ascend one day, people like you, people like me, or your teachers, are generally content to let the situation be what it is. We recognize the trap for what it is, even if the fools across the mountains haven¡¯t seemed to figure it out. Ruling the mortals is a distraction. But every group has people who want every ounce of every kind of power they can grab. When most cultivators figure out that they aren¡¯t going to ascend, it can bring out those traits. Whether you meant to do it or not, you¡¯ve cracked open a door that we¡¯ve all kept shut for a very long time. There may well be consequences you didn¡¯t ount for.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡± asked Sen, fearing he knew the answer already.


    ¡°What if a cultivator who doesn¡¯t share your loathing for politics rises to power in a noble house? Someone who also doesn¡¯t share your rtively tender feelings toward mortals. Who will fight them? Who could?¡±


    Sen grit his teeth because he already knew the answer. For the time being, at least, that duty would fall to him. The sects couldn¡¯t, or at least wouldn¡¯t, interfere that directly in mortal politics. If they did, that separation between the sects and mortal governments would simply disappear. That meant that it would inevitably fall to those outside the sect system. Wandering cultivators. From what Sen had seen and heard, most of them weren¡¯t going to be all that interested in taking up a fight like that. They were no less selfishly focused on their cultivation than sect cultivators. That left him, the only cultivator house patriarch in the kingdom.


    ¡°I¡¯d have to do it,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes, or ept the consequences of not doing it. For example, they might challenge for the throne. No mortal king could withstand that kind of challenge. Would you be willing to cede the entire kingdom to the control of a cultivator?¡±


    Sen wished that he wasn¡¯t being confronted with this ufortable truth. He wouldn¡¯t be willing to ept that. But it also meant that he had to be willing to do something about it if it ever became a problem. He¡¯drgely created the conditions that might make it possible, which meant he needed to take some responsibility for managing what came after. Somehow. Like he didn¡¯t already have enough to do.


    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t,¡± he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. The other thing to discuss is just how you n to run this new house of yours.¡±


    ¡°Who ever said <em>I</em> was going to run it?¡± asked Sen with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯m just keeping the ce limping along until someone vastly more qualified than me arrives.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°My grandmother.¡±


    Lai Dongmei hesitated before she said, ¡°I thought you were an orphan.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I was. You can think of her as my grandmother in spirit. She¡¯s an interesting woman. I think you¡¯d like her.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s very practical.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not much to go on,¡±ined Lai Dongmei, pouting in a way that Sen was certain was intended to look just as fetching as it did.


    ¡°You¡¯ll just have to meet her. Then, you¡¯ll understand.¡±


    ¡°You n to introduce me to your grandmother? How bold.¡±


    Sen straightened a little as it urred to him what that could imply. Lai Dongmei waited until the realization was truly sinking in before sheughed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not looking for a husband. Not here, at any rate. Although, after we¡¯ve both ascended, well, that might be a conversation worth revisiting. I expect that by the time I catch up with you there, you¡¯ll have seasoned a bit.¡±


    Sen¡¯s mind nked out on him for a moment. He¡¯d never considered marriage, not to anyone. He¡¯d wondered about it a few times like he imagined everyone did, but it never felt like a real possibility to him. He was constantly outpacing everyone around him, which even he¡¯d recognized effectively closed those kinds of doors on a romantic level. Granted, other people had needed to point out that the same thing applied to friends, but he¡¯d also never thought beyond ascension. Things would be different there, wouldn¡¯t they? At the very least, he probably wouldn¡¯t be racing through advancement after advancement. He was sure there would be threats, but those threats wouldn¡¯t constantly be growing in strength the way they were now. It could be a real possibility. Then, he frowned.


    ¡°Catch up? You think I¡¯m going to ascend first?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m quite certain of it. The speed of your growth is beyond fast. It¡¯s utterly unprecedented. It''s almost a foregone conclusion that you''ll ascend first. Although, I do have to wonder at why that was the first thing you reacted to,¡± she said, raising an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± said Sen, his face flushing. ¡°Well, I mean, yes, that probably would be a conversation worth revisiting if and when the dayes.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 36: Arrival

    Book 8: Chapter 36: Arrival


    Sen breathed a sigh of relief as the gates to the Golden Phoenix sect mmed shut behind him. Lai Dongmei, true to her word, had summoned people to clear away the remains of her bed at the same time that she was escorting him out. Sen had rarely been on the receiving end of so many murderous res. Although, it was far less nerve-wracking than it had been in the past. Then, those looks had felt like a threat. Now, they were just a frustration. There were probably a few people in the sect who could still pose a threat, but he doubted most of them were going to go <em>that far</em> out of their way to infuriate the sect matriarch. Beyond them, unless the entire sect rose up toe after him, he was pretty sure he could fend off any love-sick idiots that came looking to issue pointless challenges orunch ambushes. Not that he let his guard down, but that would have been true regardless. There was no telling who the otherrge noble houses might hire to try to get rid of him. Plus, he¡¯d gotten the feeling that Master Feng¡¯s brother was still holding a grudge. That was a challenge that Sen would just as soon not take up if at all possible.


    His first instinct was to go back to the manor, but Glimmer of Night was still at the inn. That brought on a little stab of guilt. Sen hadn¡¯t meant to leave him there for so long, but events had raced ahead of him too quickly. Then, tasks had piled up so fast that it had honestly just slipped his mind. At this point, though, it was just taking money out of Jing¡¯s pocket. Not that anyone had said anything, but the spider could hide in a room at the manor just as easily as he hid in a room at the inn. As hended outside the inn, he was surprised to see that the royal guards were still stationed there. They snapped to attention when they saw him. Sen cocked his head and just stared at them for a moment. He shook off his confusion and approached the men at the door.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard the news?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes, Lord Lu,¡± said the man on the left as he offered a deep bow.


    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly what I meant. I¡¯m just surprised that you¡¯re still here. Didn¡¯t anyone relieve you?¡±


    ¡°We were told to stay until yourstpanion departed.¡±


    Sen nodded. He didn¡¯t think Glimmer of Night truly needed anyone¡¯s protection, but it was still a kind gesture from Jing.


    ¡°I¡¯vee to collect him. So, I expect you can all return to the pce now.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Lord Lu. Thank you.¡±Sen went inside and found the staff standing around and looking intensely bored. There was an unwanted round of bowing and polite greetings to get through. Followed by a cup of tea that was actually quite good. Those courtesies out of the way, Sen found out which room the spider was in. He knocked on the door and called out.


    ¡°It¡¯s Sen.¡±


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    Sen entered the room and found Glimmer of Night hovering in the center of <em>something</em>. The web qi was recognizable by feel, by the threads of it were gossamer thin. The web construct was soplicated that it actually hurt Sen¡¯s eyes to look at it for more than a few seconds at a time. He finally held up a hand to shield his eyes.


    ¡°What is this?¡± he asked.


    ¡°A facet of truth,¡± said the spider with total conviction.


    ¡°What truth?¡±


    ¡°<em>The</em> truth. Although, I suppose you would think of it as speed.¡±


    ¡°I see. Congrattions?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. It is still imperfect, although it may prove sufficient for now.¡±


    ¡°Sufficient for what?¡±


    ¡°To keep pace with you.¡±


    That brought on a number of questions that Sen decided not to ask. It wasn¡¯t ack of interest. He simply wanted to get on with relocating Glimmer of Night to the manor.


    ¡°I apologize for leaving you here for so long,¡± said Sen.


    The construct vanished and Sen blinked a few times. He wondered just how close the spider hade to a perfect representation of speed for the sight of it to leave Sen feeling like it had been etched onto his eyes.


    ¡°The time was helpful. Things are always so chaotic near your academy.¡±


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    ¡°And Ai is always distracting you,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said the spider, ¡°Although, I find her absence¡­ It is ufortable.¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°I miss her, too.¡±


    The pair fell into a brief silence.


    ¡°Is it time to return to the academy?¡± asked Glimmer of Night.


    ¡°Sadly, no, but it is time to show to where we¡¯ll be staying for now.¡±


    ¡°Your fortress of doom?¡±


    ¡°My fortress of what?¡± demanded Sen.


    ¡°Did I use the wrong words? I¡¯m sure I heard the servants here calling it that. Lord Lu¡¯s fortress of doom.¡±


    Sen closed his eyes and took a few steadying breaths. <em>Fortress of doom</em>, thought Sen. <em>Great</em>! <em>That¡¯s just what I need people calling the ce</em>. <em>That doesn¡¯t make me sound like some mad conqueror at all</em>.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a fortress of doom,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than a manor. I just made the ce a little more secure.¡±


    The spider¡¯s face was unreadable, as he was still in his ck chiton form, but Sen could just sense that the spider didn¡¯t believe him. Sen feltpelled to keep talking.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see for yourself when we get there. The walls are just a little higher than people are used to. That¡¯s all. It¡¯s not a fortress, and certainly not one of doom.¡±


    The spider peered at him with those liquid ck eyes and then raised his shoulders in a shrug.


    ¡°Just put on your human disguise, and I¡¯ll show you,¡± said Sen.


    The spiderplied, and Sen led him out of the inn, stopping only long enough to assure the inn¡¯s owner that everything had been excellent and, of course, he would rmend the ce to everyone he knew. Glimmer of Night followed Sen¡¯s lead in making a qi tform, and they soon arrived outside the manor. Sen could feel the spider examining the formations while also peering up at the walls and the spikes that adorned the top of those walls. The spider was silent for an ufortably long time before he turned to look at Sen.


    ¡°This <em>is not</em> a fortress of doom?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± said Sen.


    The spider looked at the walls again.


    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m confused. What does doom mean to humans again?¡±


    Sen grumbled some unkind things under his breath before he said, ¡°Let¡¯s just go inside.¡±


    No sooner had they cleared the gates than Lo Meifeng was there, smirking at Sen.


    ¡°So, I hear that Lai Dongmei swept into the party and plucked you like a piece of ripe fruit. Did she eat you all up?¡±


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know how to respond to that,¡± said Sen, and walked past theughing woman.


    She soon fell into step beside him, giving him an extensive list of all the things he needed to get done that day. All of which made Sen ever more regretful that he hadn¡¯t let himself be a little weaker back in Lai Dongmei¡¯s bedroom. Sen mostly just nodded along, while giving Glimmer of Night a very short tour and pointing out a few key things to Glimmer of Night. Mostly, he just wanted to find a room for the spider, but that took care of itself. They were walking down a hall when the spider came to a sudden stop, only to backtrack and open a door. Curious, Sen went back and looked into the room. It was so empty that Sen struggled to glean its intended purpose.


    ¡°Can I use this room?¡± asked the spider.


    Sen traded nces with Lo Meifeng, who just shrugged.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± said Sen. ¡°Can I ask why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s tuned correctly for my needs.¡±


    Sen once more found himself not asking questions because there was so much else to get done. Glimmer of Night promptly disappeared into the room, and Sen felt web qi spring to life on the other side of the door. <em>Well</em>, <em>as long as he¡¯s happy</em>, thought Sen. He turned to find Lo Meifeng looking around and rubbing her arms like they were cold.


    ¡°You alright?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I just¡­ It¡¯s nothing. Just a chill, I guess.¡±


    Sen suspected that she was reacting to the web qi, but that was a long conversation for another day.


    ¡°Can you tell¡­ can you tell whoever needs to know that they shouldn¡¯t disturb this room?¡±


    ¡°If I can figure out who that is, sure,¡± she said. ¡°Now, it¡¯s time to get to work, your lordliness.¡±


    ¡°Oh gods,¡± moaned Sen as Lo Meifeng cackled in glee.


    The rest of the day soon turned into a blur of decision after decision that Sen doubted he would ever be able to remember. It wasn¡¯t until Pan Shiji came into the room with a strange look on her face that the world came back into the sharp focus Sen was used to. It jarred him a little bit.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Lord Lu, there is a disturbance at the gates. I was told that you were needed.¡±


    Sen jumped at the chance to go do something that didn¡¯t involve sitting and making decisions. Lo Meifeng looked like she wanted to object, but Sen was already through the door. He shouted back toward the door over his shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back!¡±


    Sen activated his qinggong technique and flew through the manor, deftly weaving around people. Although, he did hear a few startled squeaks from people who hadn¡¯t expected a sharp breeze to spring up around them. He stopped just short of the gate to find Long Jia Wei there. The man looked over at Sen¡¯s arrival and inclined his head.


    ¡°Lord Lu. Thank you foring so quickly. I believe this matter requires your personal attention. You have, I suppose the right word would be guest.¡±


    Not sure what to make of those words, Sen walked over the gates, grabbed them, and casually swung what was probably several thousand pounds of stone out of the way. He froze in ce. She looked younger than thest time he¡¯d seen her. No older than someone in her mid-thirties. It was probably a side benefit from the pills Auntie Caihong had made. Even so, he¡¯d recognize her anywhere. A huge smile erupted across his features.


    ¡°Now, why have you called me to this city, boy?¡± demanded Grandmother Lu.


    Sen leapt through the protections and scooped the woman up into a great hug, lifting her off the ground and swinging her through the air. Grandmother Lu swatted at him a few times.


    ¡°Put me down, boy! Respect your elders!¡± she admonished him, even if was clear her heart wasn¡¯t in it.


    He dutifully put her back on the ground. She eyed him up and down.


    ¡°You¡¯re taller,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t how that¡¯s possible, but you are. You finally filled out properly, too.¡±


    ¡°Righteous living,¡± he said.


    She snorted and gestured at the manor.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡±


    ¡°Grandmother, let me wee you to the noble House of Lu. Consider it a decade¡¯s worth of bted New Year¡¯s gifts.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 37: Grandmother

    Book 8: Chapter 37: Grandmother


    Grandmother Lu¡¯s eyes traveled over the walls, the open gates, and the people inside pretending not to be watching, all before they traveled back up to his face. She closed her eyes, shook her head a little, and sighed.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t listen to a word I said about practicalities, did you?¡±


    Sen took a moment to look at the walls before he said, ¡°I know it¡¯s a little big, but it doese with benefits.¡±


    There was a pause where Grandmother Lu looked a little stunned before she reached up and cuffed the back of his head.


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant,¡± she huffed, while Senughed. ¡°Well, I suppose you better take me inside and exin this <em>gift</em> to me. I have a feeling that it¡¯s going to be less of a gift than an ongoing headache.¡±


    Sen pulled out a talisman that he¡¯d made into a kind of ne and gave it to her. Grandmother Lu held it in her hand for a moment as she studied the small gem.


    ¡°This is pretty,¡± she said with a little smile.


    ¡°And practical,¡± announced Sen. ¡°It¡¯ll let you pass through the defenses until I can modify them. After that, you¡¯ll just be able to walk through them, and that talisman will just be, well, I guess it¡¯ll just be a pretty ne.¡±


    Grandmother Lu held up the ne, pointed at it, and said, ¡°<em>This</em> is a gift.¡±Shaking her head again, she let Sen lead her inside. He reveled a little bit in making no exnations to anyone about who she was. He figured there would be some kind of grand announcementter, but he was content to let them all wonder for the moment. Long Jia Wei was trailing along behind them at a distance with a vaguely uncertain look as if he wasn¡¯t sure whether he was invited along or not. Sen made an impatient gesture, and the man quickly closed the distance. Sen didn¡¯t do anything like a formal tour, just pointed out a few things that would prove helpful for someone new to the manor. For example, where the kitchen and baths were. Besides, he could see her sharp eyes weighing everything and, he was sure, her excellent mind was drawing tentative conclusions. He eventually led her and Long Jia Wei into what he supposed was <em>his</em> office now. Pan Shiji¡¯s eyes followed them with burning curiosity.


    Lo Meifeng looked up from the papers on the table. She and Grandmother Lu seemed to size each other up in some odd way that had nothing to do with cultivation. He wasn¡¯t sure if Lo Meifeng lost or not, but she did rise from the chair and offer Grandmother Lu a respectful bow.


    ¡°This one is Lo Meifeng,¡± she said.


    ¡°And that one is Long Jia Wei,¡± said Sen, hiking a thumb at the man. ¡°This one is Sen.¡±


    That got three unamused looks that just made Sen smile. He held out a hand to Grandmother Lu and continued,


    ¡°Lo Meifeng, Long Jia Wei, this is my grandmother. Grandmother Lu.¡±


    Long Jia Wei¡¯s eyes widened a little before he offered a hasty and deep bow.


    ¡°I greet the patriarch¡¯s grandmother,¡± he said.


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s reaction puzzled Sen. She suddenly seemed hesitant and almost embarrassed. She started to straighten her robes before she caught herself doing it. She clearly made herself stop, but he could still her hands twitch asionally. <em>That woman is so odd at times</em>, thought Sen. Grandmother Lu either didn¡¯t notice or chose not to notice their reactions. She inclined her head politely.


    ¡°This one is Lu Jia,¡± she told them before turning narrowed eyes on Sen. ¡°Alright, boy, I heard all manner of wild rumors on my way over here. Let¡¯s have the truth of it.¡±


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    Sen looked around, realized there were only two chairs in the room, and summoned two more from a storage ring. He offered the mostfortable one Grandmother Lu. She glowered at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m old, not infirm,¡± she grumbled, but he caught the merry twinkle in her eye.


    Sen smirked. When he saw the baffled looks on Lo Meifeng and Jong Lia Wei¡¯s faces, theughter bubbled up.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± he told them as called a tea set out of a storage ring and set to work. ¡°I might even tell it to you one day. But I think Grandmother deserves a story first. She hase a long way to join us here, after all.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have, and not to see Lord Lu¡¯s Fortress of Doom, either,¡± said Grandmother Lu.


    Sen almost spilled the water he was heating with fire qi. He shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to note that I¡¯m not calling this ce Lord Lu¡¯s Fortress of Doom.¡±


    ¡°You should. It¡¯s imposing enough,¡± observed Grandmother Lu.


    Sen ignored thatment and finished making the tea. He poured everyone a cup, waving off the ufortable looks from Lo Meifeng and Long Jia Wei. He knew that, technically, one of them should have been doing this. Barring one of them, he should have called in Pan Shiji to fetch some, but Sen knew how his grandmother liked her tea. Strong. <em>Very</em> strong. He handed out the cups. Lo Meifeng just held hers while Long Jia Wei seemed to be studying the innocuous liquid like it might contain dark secrets and fell wisdom. Grandmother Lu sipped hers and let out a contented sigh.


    ¡°You remembered,¡± she said, bestowing a smile on Sen.


    ¡°I did, Grandmother,¡± he said, taking a sip.


    The tea was stronger than he usually drank it, but the dark brew called up old memories of nights in that little shack. Nights when Grandmother Lu would get into a talkative mood and tell him stories of ces she¡¯d seen and things she¡¯d done while they drank strong tea. Those nights had been few and far between, but he cherished those memories. As usual, though, the needs of the present took precedence over the past. Taking one more sip, Sen began to talk. It took him a while to exin everything she needed to know, particrly when she stopped him almost immediately to demand endless details about Ai. Sen was all too happy to share them, while Lo Meifeng and Long Jia Wei waxed and waned between attention and disinterest. Sen couldn¡¯t hold it against them. They¡¯d never met Ai, after all. Eventually, though, he moved on to the journey to the capital, all that had happened along the way, and what he¡¯d done after he arrived. He¡¯d also needed to exin what he intended her role to be.


    ¡°So, my intention is for you to run this ce until Ai is old enough to take the reins herself. Although, I imagine she would be quite happy to have your continued guidance when the timees.¡±


    Grandmother Lu sat in pensive silence for a long while after he finished. He dutifully refilled her tea as she sat and pondered. At length, she set her cup down and pointed at Lo Meifeng, who straightened up as though she¡¯d been pped by a domineering taskmaster.


    ¡°Spy.¡±


    She pointed at Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Killer.¡±


    Sen was d to see that she hadn¡¯t said either <em>spy</em> or <em>killer</em> with any rancor. She was stating facts, rather than judgments. She pointed at herself.


    ¡°Figurehead.¡±


    She finally pointed at Sen.


    ¡°What will <em>you</em> be doing while the rest of us are here working in this ce that will most certainly be very cold in the winter? You <em>know</em> how I hate the cold, Sen.¡±


    ¡°First,¡± said Sen, ¡°I can fix that cold problem for you. I can ensure that this ce is never cold.¡±


    Grandmother Lu perked up at that and said, ¡°Really? How?¡±


    ¡°A lot of formations and probably some natural treasures, but I <em>can</em> make it happen for you.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Grandmother Lu with more than a little skepticism.


    ¡°Lady Lu,¡± said Long Jia Wei, ¡°if I may speak.¡±


    She eyed him briefly but nodded.


    ¡°You saw the rather formidable walls around this manor?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°From the small parts of the formations that I could understand, the spiritual protections are even more formidable.¡±


    Grandmother Lu frowned but said, ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Your grandson erected all of those protections in an afternoon. By himself.¡±


    There was another long silence before Grandmother Lu said, ¡°I thought they were making things up. Just how far has your cultivatione, Sen?¡±


    Sen coughed, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the question. He supposed he should have expected it, all things considered. He¡¯d just had other things at the top of his mind recently.


    ¡°Peak core formation, or thereabouts. No one seems to be entirely certain. My body cultivation is a bit behind that.¡±


    Grandmother Lu looked absolutely stunned. Her eyes had gone as wide as they would go, and her mouth was hanging open a little. Then, a very familiar, very grumpy expression reced her shock.


    ¡°Peak core formation? Close to the same in body cultivation? By the heavens, what has that mad old bastard been <em>feeding</em> you?¡±


    ¡°Mad old bastard?¡± asked Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°She means my master, Feng Ming,¡± exined Sen.


    Lo Meifeng choked on her tea.

 Book 8: Chapter 38: Business Affairs

    Book 8: Chapter 38: Business Affairs


    After she got over her coughing fit, Sen decided to take a little pity on Lo Meifeng and Long Jia Wei. He¡¯d wanted everyone more or less on the same page about his intentions, and he felt that he¡¯d achieved that. After all, Long Jia Wei and Lo Meifeng already knew what he was going to be doing.


    ¡°I expect that there are things that you two need to be looking after,¡± he said.


    Long Jia Wei shot to his feet with a relieved look on his face. Sen was momentarily baffled until he realized that the man didn¡¯t want to risk doing or saying anything that might offend Grandmother Lu. The less time he spent with her, the less likely it was that he¡¯d inadvertently take some action that would make Sen murder him. The man offered another bow and left the room just slowly enough that it couldn¡¯t be rightly called running away. Lo Meifeng was slower to rise to her feet. She knew that Sen wasn¡¯t just going to kill her out of hand. It seemed like she wanted to be in on whatever discussion came next, but couldn¡¯t quite figure out a way to invite herself to stay. She finally offered a polite bow and made her way to the door. Right before she could open it, Grandmother Lu spoke.


    ¡°It seems like we¡¯ll be working together quite a bit. You shoulde find meter so we can have a chat. Just the two of us.¡±


    It was brief, but Lo Meifeng froze in ce. Then, she smoothly turned and, her face a mask of perfect calm, bowed again.


    ¡°Of course, Lady Lu.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. That Lady Lu nonsense is already getting old,¡± grumbled Grandmother Lu.


    Lo Meifeng smiled a little at that and said, ¡°Well, I suppose I know where he gets it from now.¡±


    Before anyone could say anything more, she slipped out of the room. Sen turned to look back at Grandmother Lu and found her scowling at him.¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You destroyed one of the great noble houses and always nned on sticking me with the work?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen, his cheeks coloring slightly, ¡°that. Yeah, that¡¯s pretty much exactly what I did.¡±


    ¡°Did it, at any time, ur to you to <em>ask</em> me if I wanted this responsibility?¡±


    Sen''s cheeks went a little redder as he said, ¡°It didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Do you have even the slightest clue how expensive it¡¯s going to be to prop this house up while securing control of all of the properties and business ventures?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Sen admitted, ¡°which is why I sent for you. You¡¯re the only person I know and trust who has experience managing an empire with concerns spread out across the kingdom. As for the expense, I¡¯m not that worried about it.¡±


    ¡°And why not?¡±


    Sen stood up and moved away a little before bags of money, beasts cores, and natural treasures started dropping from a storage ring to form a pile on the floor.


    ¡°The money can be used as is. The beast cores can be sold off. I hadn¡¯t intended to do this quite yet, but I¡¯m told that I can make a vast fortune auctioning off some of my natural treasures and even some of my alchemy work,¡± said Sen before turning a questioning eye to Grandmother Lu. ¡°Wait. You didn¡¯t think that I expected you to <em>pay</em> for this madness, did you?¡±


    It was clear that Grandmother Lu hadn¡¯t even heard his question. Her eyes were fixed on the pile he¡¯d just made, a look of deep concentration on her face, as though she was trying to calcte the total value of what he¡¯d just dumped on the floor. She shook off her fixation and turned incredulous eyes to Sen.


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    ¡°I take it you somehow got in contact with Li Fang?¡± she asked.


    Sen searched his memory. The name sounded distantly familiar like someone might have mentioned it to him once. He couldn¡¯t seem to dredge up any information about the person connected to the name, though.


    Sen shrugged and asked, ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the manager at my shop in Emperor¡¯s Bay. You left him with some money to invest.¡±


    That brought it all back, along with the knowledge he owned an interest in an alchemy shop there. So much had happened since then that it had all just gotten buried under the mountain of new responsibilities and problems he¡¯d been up against.


    ¡°Heavyset guy?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°He used to be before you ruined him,¡±ined Grandmother Lu. ¡°He¡¯s as thin as a de of grass and as healthy as an ox now.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good thing,¡± said Sen in honest confusion.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a fine thing for his life expectancy, but he¡¯s a terrible manager now. He spends all of his time managing your fortune, not my shop!¡±


    Sen blinked a few times and asked, ¡°What fortune?¡±


    ¡°Well, to start with, that little alchemy business you invested in is doing very well for itself. By the way, what in the world did you leave with those people?¡±


    ¡°I honestly can¡¯t remember. It couldn¡¯t have been anything too special at that point. Just some stuff from the mountain. A few things I found along the way. Beast cores, maybe.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Grandmother Lu, ¡°whatever it was helped them go from a little shop that was on the brink of failure to the premiere alchemy shop in the city.¡±


    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t remember them being that good at alchemy. They seemedpetent but not especially gifted. Huh. Well, good for them,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Good for you, too. And then there was that obscene amount of gold you left with Li Fang. He did what you told him to do, and he invested it. He invested it all over that city. Then, he took the profits and invested them. You basically own half that city now, which is to say nothing about the rivers of moneying back to the pair of you. He had to get into banking to protect it.¡±


    ¡°He put the money in a bank? I¡¯ve heard about those, but never got a chance to really investigate them.¡±


    ¡°No, you ridiculous, heavens-kissed boy. He <em>built</em> a bank so he¡¯d have somewhere safe to store all of your money. The part you told him to set aside for you.¡±


    Sen considered all of that and then said, ¡°I guess there¡¯s plenty of money to prop this ce up for a while.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not even going to ask how much?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care that much about money. I mean, it¡¯s good for buying food and getting shopkeepers to do what I want, but that¡¯s about it. I expect it¡¯ll make life easier for Ai, though, so that¡¯s always good.¡±


    Grandmother Lu looked aghast and said, ¡°Oh, I failed you, Sen. Don¡¯t you understand? Money <em>is</em> power in the mortal world.¡±


    ¡°I believe you. I just don¡¯t spend that much time doing things in the mortal world. Most of what I deal with these days is the Jianghu. Except for my academy, but that¡¯s mostly paying for itself these days.¡±


    Grandmother Lu looked like she wanted to give him a lecture, but she took a few deep breaths instead.


    ¡°I can see that we¡¯ll need to have a few long conversations,¡± she said, ¡°but you never answered my question. While I¡¯m here, what is it that you¡¯ll be off doing? Because I¡¯m not nning on working myself to the bone while you go off and have a good time.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be. While you¡¯re running things here, I¡¯m going to be building a sect.¡±


    ¡°A sect? Based on all of the stories, I got the impression that you don¡¯t particrly like sects, and that they feel the same way about you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like them, but I came into some information recently that has¡­ I guess you¡¯d say it softened my view of them a little. Which is a conversation for another time because my sect isn¡¯t going to be like other sects. My sect will exist to do exactly two things. Protect Ai and protect the interests of the House of Lu. I¡¯m going to build you and Ai an army, Grandmother. An army of cultivators who are fanatically loyal to us and our goals.¡±


    Grandmother Lu leaned back in her chair and gave Sen a long, assessing look.


    ¡°You¡¯vee a long way in a short time, Sen.¡±


    Sen had to forcefully push away a cascade of bad memories about what it had taken to get to where he was. The desperate fights, the bad choices, and so much pain.


    ¡°Not by choice,¡± he said.


    He saw the empathy in her eyes. Grandmother Lu knew better than most what kind of hardships life could put on a person. He offered her a wan smile, then took a few moments to put the fortune he¡¯d left on the floor back into a storage ring.


    ¡°Now that I know that you aren¡¯t nning to simply go be irresponsible while I¡¯m here doing your job, I¡¯m,¡± she paused in thought, ¡°eighty percent less annoyed with you.¡±


    He looked back at her and lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°Why only eighty percent?¡±


    ¡°Because you adopted a daughter and didn¡¯t have her here to meet me.¡±


    Sen¡¯s jaw dropped, and he spluttered, ¡°What would you have done if I had brought her here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d have beaten you senseless for putting her in so much unnecessary danger,¡± said Grandmother Lu without a trace of humor in her voice.


    ¡°So, there was no right answer?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s family for you,¡± she said with a pious look. ¡°Unreasonable to the core.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 39: Discernment

    Book 8: Chapter 39: Discernment


    Sen and Grandmother Lu spoke for another two hours before she announced that she was weary from her journey. Sen called Pan Shiji in and told her to arrange a room for their most honored guest. The young woman¡¯s eyes danced back and forth between Sen and his grandmother, trying to parse the rtionship and getting nowhere with it. She eventually retreated to do as she was told. While that was being taken care of, Sen decided that there was one more person that Grandmother Lu should meet. It was a meeting he wanted to be there for, just in case. She followed him with curious eyes as he led her to a hallway that was not substantially different than all the other hallways and knocked on a particr door. There was a long pause before Glimmer of Night responded.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Sen. There¡¯s someone important that I want you to meet with me,¡± said Sen, casting a brief look at Grandmother Lu before he added one more thing. ¡°There¡¯s no need for the disguise.¡±


    ¡°Disguise?¡± asked Grandmother Lu.


    ¡°He¡¯s a spider-kin. He was transformed into a generally human shape, but his appearance can be a little unsettling right at first.¡±


    Sen was cut off by the door to the room swinging open. Glimmer of Night peered out of the room, his chitinous features and liquid ck eyes as unreadable as ever. Grandmother Lu lifted an eyebrow at the sight of him but appeared otherwise unruffled. Sen stepped into the room, let Grandmother Lu step past him, and closed the door. That promptly cast the room into total ckness, so Sen conjured a few small fireballs to hover in the corners. He turned to the spider.


    ¡°Glimmer of Night, this is my grandmother, Lu Jia. Grandmother, this Glimmer of Night, one of the spiderkin.¡±


    The woman and the spider stood inplete silence for three solid minutes, just looking at each other. Every once in a while, one of them would tilt their head a little to one side or the other but that was it. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if this was good or bad or if they expected him to carry the conversation. When he was finally ready to interrupt the silence, Glimmer of Night finally did something. He gave Grandmother Lu a very respectful bow.


    ¡°Glimmer of Night greets the matriarch,¡± said the spider.¡°I greet you Glimmer of Night,¡± said Grandmother Lu with a gently amused expression before she looked at Sen. ¡°We can go now.¡±


    Sen was very confused but, apparently, the pair had reached some kind of understanding. The heavens only knew how. Sen dutifully opened the door and escorted her out into the hallway. He looked back into the room and extinguished the fireballs before closing the door. As they walked down the hall, Sen looked over at Grandmother Lu.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Oh, he seems like a very nice boy. Very practical,¡± said Grandmother Lu.


    Sen fought with himself about whether or not to ask the next question, but curiosity won out in the end.


    ¡°How can you tell?¡±


    She frowned a little bit, shrugged, and said, ¡°You just can.¡±


    Sen wanted to feel a little frustrated by that answer, but couldn¡¯t quite do it. How often had he given cryptic non-answers to people when he couldn¡¯t rightly exin how he had done something far more miraculous than getting a feel for someone¡¯s personality? He wrestled with it for a few moments. Then, he decided that it must be some form of inscrutable Grandmother Magic obtainable only through age and hard experience. With that matter settled in his mind, they wandered back to Sen¡¯s office. A room that he hoped would soon be Grandmother Lu¡¯s office. They drank tea and ate snacks that Sen conjured from his storage rings as they waited for Pan Shiji to inform them that a room had been prepared.


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    ¡°Sen, how much do you trust Lo Meifeng?¡± Grandmother Lu asked out of nowhere.


    Sen froze, a teacup nearly touching his lips. He scrutinized the woman¡¯s face and tried to glean some insight from it but to no avail. He took a sip of tea before setting the cup down.


    ¡°Enough. More than most. Why? Do you think I shouldn¡¯t?¡± he asked, feeling suddenly unsure about his own judgment.


    ¡°Nothing like that,¡± said Grandmother Lu. ¡°She¡¯s just very adept at masking herself. You¡¯re putting a lot of faith in her good intentions.¡±


    That made Sen burst intoughter, drawing a perplexed look from the older woman.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± she demanded. ¡°Is there some joke you forgot to let me in on, boy?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s just that Lo Meifeng doesn¡¯t <em>have</em> good intentions,¡± exined Sen. ¡°She has interests, and a tiny circle of people that she likes. I happen to be in that rarified group of people that she holds some affection for. And this whole business of creating the House of Lu from the ashes of the House of Xie interests her. She gets to build a spy organization from the <em>ground up</em>. Train people the way she thinks they should be trained. Give them the skills that she, no doubt, found out the hard way that a spy can¡¯t live without. That challenge alone will keep her invested for decades at least. When she does finally get bored, the whole thing should be established enough that someone can just step into the role.¡±


    ¡°And just how did you end up in that tiny circle? Anything I should know?¡± asked Grandmother Lu, leaning in with interest.


    ¡°Nothing I¡¯d be embarrassed to discuss with you if that¡¯s what you¡¯re getting at. We aren¡¯t secret lovers. We just went through some difficult situations together. Faced down some things that probably should have killed us both in hindsight.¡±


    ¡°Ah, now it makes sense,¡± said Grandmother Lu. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll give her the benefit of the doubt. I¡¯m not, however, entirelyfortable with the idea that her dependability relies entirely on her rtionship with you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair. Rtionships can sour. Honestly, though, I doubt it will be a problem. I get the feeling that it¡¯s almost as hard to leave that circle of hers as it is to join it in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve met a few people like that along the way,¡± said Grandmother Lu.


    The pairpsed back into afortable silence until Pan Shiji knocked, waited a respectful interval, and then entered.


    ¡°A room has been prepared,¡± she announced.


    Sen went to stand up, but Grandmother Lu waved him back into his seat. She eyed Pan Shiji, who seemed to wilt beneath the intensity of that gaze.


    ¡°She¡¯s young. I expect her legs can carry her far enough to show me my room. Can¡¯t they, girl?¡±


    Pan Shiji looked almost petrified, but she managed to squeak out a lone word.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. Sen, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve kept you from countless things that can¡¯t do without you, so go make yourself useful. We¡¯ll talk in the morning.¡±


    Pan Shiji''s expression turned from petrified to mortified that someone was ordering Sen around. He made a valiant and sessful effort to maintain a calm demeanor. He inclined his head to Grandmother Lu before turning his attention to Pan Shiji.


    ¡°Please see to it that our guest has everything she requires.¡±


    The girl nodded before Grandmother Lu all but pushed her out the door. Sen waited until he was <em>certain</em> that they were gone before he let himself snicker at the memory of Pan Shiji¡¯s expressions. Thest few weeks had, mostly through observation, taught him that people in servants¡¯ roles had a strange kind of pride in it. They also took the reactions of their ¡°superiors¡± very seriously. Openlyughing at the girl, however harmless it might seem to him, would injure her pride. While it wasn¡¯t a perspective that he understood personally, he wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to inflict unnecessary injuries. There was enough wanton cruelty in the world without him bumbling around and inflicting it through sheer inattention.


    He also knew that Grandmother Lu was right. Lo Meifeng was probably pacing somewhere, fretting about all of the things that he wasn¡¯t getting done right now. The right thing to do was to go find her and get back to work. Instead, he gave himself five minutes to sit and just feel good about the fact that Grandmother Lu was there. Like so many other things, he¡¯d been forced to push aside how much he missed her in favor of dealing with trivial matters like not dying and dealing with stupid turtles. It had been a hole in his life. For the first time in a long time, that empty ce inside of him was once again filled with the woman¡¯s curmudgeonly love.

 Book 8: Chapter 40: There Is a Difference

    Book 8: Chapter 40: There Is a Difference


    ¡°Are you nning a coup?¡± asked Jing.


    Sen almost spat out the food he¡¯d just put in his mouth. He glowered at Jing, who gave him a beatific smile in return.


    Swallowing hard to get the food past the lump in his throat, Sen said, ¡°Why would you ask me such an absurd question?¡±


    ¡°Well, with all those rumors regarding your Fortress of Doom¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a Fortress of Doom,¡± growled Sen. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ It¡¯s just sufficiently defended.¡±


    ¡°From what?¡± asked Jing.


    ¡°Mosquitos,¡± deadpanned Sen. ¡°Terrible things, mosquitoes. Buzzing in your ears. Drinking your blood. They¡¯re the demons of the insect world.¡±


    ¡°Are they?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I must protect my manor from their insidious ways!¡± cried Sen, raising a fist in the air and turning his eyes towards the heavens.Jing shook his head and said, ¡°They are terrible, aren¡¯t they? Well, I¡¯m sure your quest against them will be legendary.¡±


    Sen offered a sage nod of agreement before turning back to the original question.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this nonsense about a coup? I don¡¯t even want the noble house I <em>have</em>. What madness would induce me to want to usurp you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing I can think of, but the changes to your manor have, let¡¯s call them symbolic implications.¡±


    ¡°Oh, by the thousand hells, I stepped all over some absurd noble tradition, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°You did. Although, the absurdity is a matter of debate. The tradition in question is that no noble manor will be more rigorously defended than the royal pce. That¡¯s usually taken to mean that the noble houses restrain themselves when building walls and hiring house guards. It was originally awid down by the first king as a protective measure. His ascension to the throne was not popr among the other powers at the time. Thew was eventually revoked, but the tradition remains. By making your manor so formidable, many of the houses are reading it as a deration that you intend to challenge for the throne.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose it would help if I just told them I wasn¡¯t going to do that?¡±


    ¡°Would you believe that?¡±


    Sen rubbed at his eyes, just to give himself something to do.


    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t believe that. I hope you¡¯re not asking me to take those defenses down because that¡¯s a way bigger ask than you might think.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± asked Jing.


    ¡°Well, there are the obvious defenses of the walls, but I put formations into those walls. I mean, I put <em>a lot</em> of formations into those walls. I probably could take them back apart, but it¡¯d be tricky to do it safely.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Jing, a thoughtful frown on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯d probably be easier to just make your walls bigger and scarier¡ª¡± Sen trailed off. ¡°Which is what you wanted all along.¡±


    ¡°It was one of several possible oues that would alleviate the situation, yes,¡± said Jing. ¡°It also just happens to be my preferred solution. For several reasons.¡±


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    ¡°Oh? Such as?¡±


    ¡°Well, if I make you take down your protections, by which I mean you decide to go along with it, it will convince the other houses that you don¡¯t mean to assume the throne. However, it makes me look petty and afraid. Not ideal. I could simply build my walls to be bigger, but that also makes me look weak and afraid.¡±


    Sen saw the train of thought and picked it up, ¡°But if I decide to improve the defenses around the royal pce, though, it makes it look like I want things to stay the way they are. I look, minimally, like a loyal subject, and, preferably, like a friend to the royal house. All of which strengthens your position without making you look weak, petty, or afraid.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Why not just ask me to do it from the outset?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re a noble now, not only a cultivator. Politics is part of your world. You need the practice thinking in political terms.¡±


    ¡°Gods, that sounds exhausting. I¡¯m so d I¡¯m turning this whole mess over to someone else.¡±


    ¡°You said it¡¯s your grandmother, correct?¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel it wise to heap so much responsibility onto someone who must be nearly elderly by now?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s quite robust,¡± said Sen, deciding to keep the fact of Grandmother Lu¡¯s status as a body cultivator to himself for the moment. ¡°I think the other noble houses will find her very formidable.¡±


    ¡°Do you intend to introduce her at court?¡± asked Jing.


    ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll have to,¡± said Sen.


    Smirking, Jing said, ¡°Then, might I suggest that <em>you</em> spend some time at court? At least enough time to learn people¡¯s names.¡±


    ¡°You say that like I might offend people by using physical descriptions to point them out.¡±


    ¡°Who would imagine that? People taking offense at being called things like the fat one and the old one and that bald man other there.¡±


    Sen tried to think of something witty to say, but it was hopeless.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re right. That would be offensive.¡±


    ¡°As I said, just take enough time to learn people¡¯s names. It wouldn¡¯t hurt your house to at least look like you don¡¯t hate all of them.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t <em>hate</em> all of them. I¡¯m just wholly indifferent to their survival. There is a difference,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯m almost certain of it.¡±


    ¡°I will concede there is a difference,¡± said Jing with a snort. ¡°So, when will you undertake the grand reshaping of the pce walls?¡±


    ¡°After lunch. It shouldn¡¯t take too long,¡± offered Sen, scooping some rice into his waiting mouth.


    ¡°How long is not too long?¡±


    Sen pondered while he chewed. Swallowing the rice, he answered.


    ¡°An hour or two.¡±


    Jing seemed taken aback by the answer.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you spend nearly half a day on the walls around your manor?¡±


    ¡°Sure, but most of that was the formations. Walls are pretty easy. All you need to do is,¡± Sen started, and then stopped. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter what I¡¯ll be doing. Just take my word for it, the walls are easy.¡±


    ¡°And what about formations?¡± asked Jing.


    ¡°I could make formations, but not like the ones that I put around my manor. I have to make talismans that let people go in and out. I don¡¯t know how many peoplee in and out of this ce every day, but I don¡¯t n to sit around making talismans for the next year. Beyond that, I used up a lot of my own resources making those formations. I don¡¯t have what I need to replicate that here.¡±


    ¡°Fair,¡± said Jing. ¡°So, just the walls?¡±


    ¡°For now,¡± said Sen, a little uncertainty creeping into his voice.


    ¡°Do you know something I don¡¯t?¡± asked Jing.


    ¡°No. Nothing specific. I¡¯ve just got a feeling like there¡¯s something on the horizon. Something bad. Something that none of us are going to escape from. Then again, maybe I¡¯m just imagining things. I¡¯ve had so many peoplee after me at this point that I just <em>assume</em> that there¡¯s always someone waiting in the shadows.¡±


    ¡°Hang on to that assumption,¡± said Jing in a deadly serious tone. ¡°There is no such thing as too much preparation. Not in politics. Not in war. As if there¡¯s a difference.¡±


    It was Sen¡¯s turn to go deadly serious.


    ¡°There <em>is</em> a difference. I¡¯ve been on a battlefield. I¡¯ve seen men and women screaming in agony from their injuries while everyone ignored them. I watched people die by the score. I¡¯ve seen the aftermath. Bodies mangled beyond recognition. Wounds that couldn¡¯t be healed. Scars that harden hearts and remake souls. Politics might be ugly, but it <em>is not</em> war.¡±


    Jing fell into a deep, pensive silence, and Sen could almost hear the man¡¯s mind working. He didn¡¯t know if the king was taking what he¡¯d said to heart or not, but Sen hoped he was. The day mighte when Jing had to take his nation to war, and it would not serve the man well to think it would be anything like politics.


    ¡°Forgive me,¡± Jing finally said. ¡°I fear I spoke in ignorance. It¡¯s amon analogy but perhaps an ill-suited one.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps so,¡± said Sen.


    Both men turned their attention back to the meal in front of them, but neither ate with any particr joy. Their minds were on other, darker things. Sen did his best to shake away those memories as he stood up and pped his hands.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see about making you some big, scary walls.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 41: Now, That Is a Fortress of Doom

    Book 8: Chapter 41: Now, That Is a Fortress of Doom


    Much as he had done at his own manor, Sen stepped onto a qi tform and rose high above the royal pce. It probably wasn¡¯t necessary. He didn¡¯t need to physically see structures like walls to manipte them, but a little spectacle was probably in order. He¡¯d drawn quite a crowd the first time around. Of course, he¡¯d been up there for hours and hours. That it would only take him an hour or two hadn¡¯t been a boast to impress Jing. Sen had a rough idea of how much wall he¡¯d be working with, and with the manor as reference, he¡¯d been able to make a rough estimate. <em>Of course</em>, <em>you never know what you¡¯re dealing with until you¡¯re dealing with it</em>, Sen reminded himself. He¡¯d learned that lesson with alchemy. The same ingredients never acted quite the same way. Most alchemy recipes simply worked topensate for those variances to produce approximately the same results each time. In the same way, these walls might have problems that he hadn¡¯t considered, such as shoddier construction, or some kind of erosion, or something he just hadn¡¯t considered. <em>Oh well</em>, <em>I won¡¯t know until start</em>.


    Cycling for earth qi, he reached down into the walls, looking to get a sense of what he could and couldn¡¯t do with them. He paused then, frowning down at the structures. What he was sensing didn¡¯t make any sense. Huge stretches of the walls were little more than empty shells of rock. They looked sturdy enough to make for a good bluff but that was it. It wouldn¡¯t take much more than a couple of mortals with heavy hammers and a couple minutes ofbor to punch a hole straight through them. A cultivator could have done it in moments. Sen couldn¡¯t tell if they¡¯d been made that way or intentionally weakened somehow as a prelude to some kind of attack. He supposed that it didn¡¯t much matter, but he would have to tell Jing about it. He was also startled to find the remnants of formations embedded in the walls. Nothing asplex as what he¡¯d done at the manor, but that they had ever been there was curious. He lowered the qi tform and flew it along the wall, studying what was left of the formations to get a sense of what they¡¯d been for.


    He snorted to himself. He wondered if one of those early kings had been hiding their status as a cultivator the same way as whoever had built thatir beneath his manor. There was a qi-gathering formation or what was left of one. The design was basic. It probably wouldn¡¯t have even drawn the attention of the sects, just slightly lifted the ambient level of qi inside the pce. Sen of all people understood that even small improvements could yield substantial results over time. Boosting the ambient qi level would have shaved down the amount of time that someone had to actively cultivate. Maybe not that important at the qi-gathering stage, but as the cultivator¡¯s needs grew, that reduced time would be increasingly important. If there was another qi-gathering formation somewhere inside the pce, around a specific room, with the right kind of obscuring formation around it, it could have condensed that slightly higher ambient qi into a tiny little cultivation paradise for someone. Sen might have to look aroundter and see if his guess was correct. Even if it was damaged, he could probably repair it. It could even serve as a kind of peace offering to Chan Yu Ming. <em>Don¡¯t get distracted</em>, he chided himself.


    The other formation took him a little longer to understand. It had suffered substantially more damage, so Sen was forced to do a lot more guessing and rely on more intuitive leaps to puzzle out its purpose. He felt like pping his own forehead once he pieced it together. It was another low-level formation designed to help subtly reinforce the walls, probably by borrowing a bit of strength from that higher ambient qi level. Sen found himself nodding along. It was a smart design for anyone looking to incrementally improve their safety without being too obvious about it. The strategy also bypassed problems like everyone needing talismans toe and go. It was a passive approach instead of an active approach. Sen didn¡¯t necessarily favor it, but it made sense in a ce where hundreds of people needed toe and go on a daily basis. The question was, should he reinstate the formations?


    On the one hand, he didn¡¯t see any harm in it. The formations <em>would</em> provide an obvious benefit. If he improved them a bit, made them a little more obvious, it would be a signal to everyone with eyes to see that a cultivator had taken an active hand in preparing the pce defenses. On the other hand, he had no idea how long these formations had been dormant. Had they been left that way on purpose? The royal family could likely have hired a sect to repair them. They were simple enough that most sects probably would have jumped at the chance to let any outer disciples with some talent for formations get the practice. The big sects here presumably would have done it just to get a bit shaved off their taxes or to smooth over any recent disagreements. Was it possible the royal family just didn¡¯t know? Wouldn¡¯t Chan Yu Ming have noticed? <em>Maybe she wouldn¡¯t have</em>, thought Sen. <em>I didn¡¯t notice until I went looking</em>, <em>and she doesn¡¯t have an earth qi affinity or my experience with formations</em>. <em>Even if she did notice them</em>, <em>she might not have understood what they were</em>.


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    Sen decided that he would just fix them with some minor tweaks to improve their performance. After he made the walls into something that he considered adequate. Sen rose back into the air, and much as he had done before, he reached deep into the earth below, searching for stone he could use without causing problems. He drew it up slowly and filled in all of those hollow spaces in the wall. After all, he couldn¡¯t build better walls on a hollow foundation. He allowed the functionally liquefied rock to harden in ce. With that pesky problem out of the way, he got down to the real work. He also told himself that he was just smiling. It was definitely not a smirk. The work itself was almost trivial. There was no real discovery to it, which meant that he soon grew bored with just making the walls higher, thicker, and all but impervious to anything mortals might throw at it. Then, he remembered a piece of shiny ck rock that Uncle Kho had shown him once. It was called obsidian. It had been both oddly fragile and absurdly sharp, but his earth qi affinity would let him do almost anything he wanted to it.


    He had to reach far deeper into the earth to find what he wanted. It was the first time in a long time that he¡¯d felt that much strain when working with earth qi. He was working right at the boundary of his limits just to touch what he wanted, but he <em>could</em> touch it. That was enough. It took a while, but the outside of the walls went from the dull gray of normal stone to the shining ck of obsidian. Then, because Sen couldn¡¯t resist the urge, he covered the interior side of the walls with it. <em>Oh yes</em>, he thought, <em>that does look positively foreboding</em>. With the physical structure of the wallsplete, he turned his attention to the formations.


    He¡¯d carefully preserved what was already there so he¡¯d have something to build on. He swiftly realized how futile that had been. The qi-gathering formation was simply too primitive for his tastes and the strengthening formation was too damaged. He¡¯d just use them as inspiration instead.He soon lost himself in the process of making the formations the way he did when he was making elixirs. He forgot all about making the qi-gathering formation into something basic and found himself looking for a way to make it more efficient. To let it concentrate the qi better without simply soaking up all of the qi in the city. To let it draw from sources that were farther away. After all, there was earth qi to spare deep in the earth. For that matter, there was a surprising amount of untouched water and fire qi down there too. Reach high enough up in the air, and there were currents of air qi that wouldn¡¯t even notice the tiny draw from this formation. Wood qi was trickier but not impossible. There were parks all over the city. It was as if all Sen needed to do was reach out his hand and tiny channels spread out through the city, the earth below, and into the sky itself. Since he was looking for it, he felt it when the qi started to flow toward the pce.


    Satisfied that the qi-gathering formation was working properly, he went to work on the strengthening formation. Once he really focused on the problem, it took him about two minutes to design the formation in his head. It was in ce minutester. It wasn¡¯t a subtle design because it wasn¡¯t a subtle problem. The formation needed to do exactly one thing and do it well. However, Sen did think that he saw the obsidian take on a bit of extra luster as the formation activated. Then again, it might have just been a change in the position of the sun. He looked around at the masses of metal that had been floating around him for a while. It had been necessary to extract them to maintain the integrity of the stone. He¡¯d almost negligently divided them into the different kinds of metal. He turned his eyes to the biggest floating mass. Iron had been the mostmon ore. Then, definitely without ever once smirking, he retrieved a particr beast core.


    It still had some remnant divine qi in it. He¡¯d mostly hung onto it <em>because</em> it was divine qi, not because he had any particr use for it. But now he did. He siphoned the qi out of the core and imbued it into thatrgest mass of metal, which took on a telltale sparkle. He refined and shaped the metal into more elegant-looking spikes, ones ¡°befitting¡± of the royal pce, and spaced them out at the top of the wall, slowly sinking them into the stone. Between the sunlight and the divine qi, the things positively glowed in thete afternoon light. Sen looked around and found that he was generally satisfied with the work. He lowered the qi tform down to where Jing stood, his expression stupefied.


    Grinning like a madman, Sen said, ¡°Now, <em>that</em> is a Fortress of Doom.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 42: Nope, I Think It’s Fine

    Book 8: Chapter 42: Nope, I Think It¡¯s Fine


    Jing turned to look at Sen and said, ¡°This doesn¡¯t strike you as a bit¡­ Isn¡¯t it a bit <em>much</em>?¡±


    Sen cast an appraising eye around. <em>We¡¯ve got huge walls that are vastly ominous with glowing spikes</em>, he thought.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen, ¡°I think it¡¯s just about right. Oh, before I forget, huge sections of the walls were hollowed out.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± demanded Jing, his eyes narrowing.


    ¡°Yeah. Wouldn¡¯t have taken anything to punch a hole through them. I fixed it, but it¡¯s probably something you¡¯ll want to have someone look into.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± said Jing with anger smoldering in his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could tell how recently it was done.¡±


    Sen thought it over.


    ¡°I¡¯m not really an expert but probably in thest ten years or so. I think the weather would have exposed it if it¡¯d been much longer than that.¡±


    ¡°I see. Do you know <em>how</em> it was done?¡±¡°I suppose it could have been done by hand. It would have been a mind-bogglingly difficult task, to say nothing ofbor intensive. Plus, I¡¯m not sure how they could have kept it hidden. Chiseling away rock is loud, and all that rock would have had to go somewhere, but mortals can be tenacious and inventive. A cultivator could have done it, although I¡¯m not sure why they¡¯d bother unless someone hired them to do it.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe some nice ambassador from the other side of the mountains did it?¡± offered Jing.


    Sen nodded and said, ¡°Or that. But I don¡¯t have even a speck of proof that they did. Nobody else was doing anything to the walls while I was working, and I didn¡¯t notice any qi that didn¡¯t belong there.¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s nothing to stop them from doing it again, is there?¡±


    ¡°Heh. I wouldn¡¯t worry about that,¡± said Sen, feeling very smug.


    Jing raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°It turns out that there were already some old formations in the walls. They were broken, but I fixed them. Well, I reced them. I imagine Chan Yu Ming will notice the next time she¡¯s here that the qi is a bit stronger at the pce. The other one is very simple, though. It strengthens the walls, which I already reinforced. Whoever did that to the walls before was just dealing with stone. Now, it¡¯ll be more like trying to chisel through solid metal.¡±


    ¡°But it could be done?¡±


    Sen lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug.


    ¡°Sure, it <em>could</em> be done. But not quietly. They¡¯d almost have to break the formation first. People would notice that.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, for one, it¡¯s not easy to break a permanent formation like this one. The actual formation is <em>inside</em> the wall. It¡¯s not like they can just walk up and pluck a g out of the ground. They¡¯d have to destroy part of the wall to get at it. And, there¡¯s a lot of qi running through it. It¡¯d all try to race out of the break in the formation.¡±


    ¡°What would that do?¡±


    Sen thought it over and did some quick calctions.


    ¡°You¡¯d suddenly get a nice view of a mountain from the pce.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Not a huge mountain,¡± said Sen, holding up his hands. ¡°Just a small one.¡±


    ¡°How much of my city would that destroy?¡±


    ¡°Just a little bit.¡±


    ¡°Would you care to attach a number to that vagueness?¡± asked Jing.


    ¡°I would not.¡±


    The king shook his head slowly and said, ¡°So, the point is, nobody will be able to pull the same trick quietly.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to say nobody, but to disable it quietly, you¡¯d need a very strong earth-qi cultivator who is also a very talented formation master. Someone at least as good as me. And, even if that happens, you¡¯ll still know because those shiny spikes up top would start shing like mad.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I told them to. I know you can¡¯t keep a direct eye on the formations, so I put something nice and visible up to let you know that it¡¯s working as intended,¡± said Sen, smiling up at the spikes. ¡°Again, it¡¯s not wless. Someone with just the right experience and affinities could probably disable it, but they¡¯d also have to mess with divine qi. Most cultivators aren¡¯t going to do that because the heavens get very short-tempered about that kind of thing.¡±


    It took a protracted moment of silence before Sen looked back at Jing. The man was staring at him.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°You used divine qi to put up what amounts to some kind of warning lights?¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t just warning lights. They also make the royal pce the very visible center of the city, day or night. Very symbolic, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡± asked Sen.


    Sighing, Jing answered, ¡°And that madness didn¡¯t strike you as ill-advised? Aren¡¯t you worried that the heavens are going to strike <em>you</em> down?¡±


    Sen frowned. He supposed it was possible. He tilted his head up to look at the sky. He counted to five. No tribtions appeared. No storm clouds manifested. It was all very peaceful.


    ¡°Nope. I think it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Even for a cultivator, I fear you may be too casual about the heavens.¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. If the heavens truly wanted me dead, there¡¯s nothing that anyone in the world could do to stop it. Especially me. On the other side, since I¡¯m not dead, I have to assume that the heavens aren¡¯t actively seeking that end. Which means that they¡¯re probably not going to strike me down for being a little flippant. And it¡¯s not like I tried to use heavenly qi for something evil. It might seem trivial, but I used that qi in an act of creation, which I think is its actual purpose.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± asked Jing, his schrly mind clearly interested in that idea.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know for certain. It¡¯s not like the heavens are talking to any of us about this kind of stuff. But it was almost stupidly easy to use that qi the way I did. It¡¯s suggestive if nothing else.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fascinating. I¡¯d never considered that qi might resist being used in a given way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a cultivation basic. All qi is that way. I¡¯m going to have a much more difficult time trying to use fire qi if, for example, I¡¯m out on the ocean. The whole environment is saturated with water qi, so using anything other than water qi gets tricky. You¡¯re fighting with the basic nature of things, so you get a lot of resistance.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have the same problems onnd?¡±


    ¡°You do, but it¡¯s less exaggerated. Certain ces are just better for some kinds of qi than others. Ever heard of the Order of the Celestial me?¡±


    Jing frowned in concentration and said, ¡°That¡¯s some manner of sect some distance to the south of here, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t call themselves a sect but yeah. Anyway, they set up in a ce called Inferno¡¯s Vale. It¡¯s this little valley and everything there is just soaked with fire qi or is fire-qi attributed. It¡¯s kind of amazing that the whole ce isn¡¯t on fire all of the time. But it¡¯s ideal for fire cultivators. High avability of the kind of qi they need and lower resistance to using it. Send those poor fools into a swamp, though, and life would get a lot harder for them in a hurry.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, that would suggest that sects set up in the capital because they also find something they need here.¡±


    ¡°They do,¡± said Sen. ¡°Visibility and poption. With so many people here, they don¡¯t need to go searching for new cultivators. Those cultivators are being born right here. The sects just need to pluck up the most talented candidates.¡±


    ¡°How very practical of them,¡± said Jing in a dry tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that different than mortal businesses hiring people who are good at math, or farmers hiring people with strong backs.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± sighed Jing. ¡°It would just make <em>my</em> life easier if they were somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I imagine that¡¯s true. It¡¯d make my life easier if they weren¡¯t here if that¡¯s any constion.¡±


    ¡°Shockingly, I am not consoled.¡±


    ¡°Well, I tried.¡±


    Jing looked like he was about to ask something, but a pack of servants that had been growing increasingly thick by the second seemed to sense the pause in the conversation. They pounced on Jing like a pack of starving wolves.


    ¡°Your majesty,¡± cried out a serious-looking man in an almost pleading tone. ¡°Your majesty, if I could have just one moment.¡±


    That set off a wave of noise as all of the other servants tried to get his attention. Sen resisted the urge to smirk at the put-upon expression that briefly shed across the king¡¯s face.


    ¡°It seems my masters require my attendance,¡± said Jing.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it supposed to be the other way around?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Only in legends. I appreciate the work you did here today. It should quell any rumors. I also appreciate the information about the walls. I¡¯ll see to it that someone trustworthy is tasked with investigating it.¡±


    ¡°It was the honor of this lowly citizen to aid his royal majesty,¡± said Sen.


    With a snort of amusement and a roll of his eyes, Jing walked over to the servants. Sen snickered to himself at the sight, made a qi tform, and flew over the walls. He saw cultivators from all the sects floating at a distance, their eyes staring at the spikes at the top of the walls, naked greed on their faces. Sen almost wanted one of them to try it. But if a bolt of tribtion lightning hit the walls he¡¯d just made, it could do some serious damage. There were also crowds of mortals in the streets who pointed up at him as he appeared over the walls. He heard them saying <em>Lord Lu</em> as he passed. When he arrived back at the manor, he immediately regretted his amusement at Jing¡¯s plight as his own pack of ravenous wolves descended on him. <em>Servants</em>, he reminded himself. <em>They¡¯re called servants</em>. <em>Helpful</em>, <em>dutiful</em>, <em>ravenous servants</em>.

 Book 8: Chapter Forty-Three – Ally?

    Book 8: Chapter Forty-Three ¨C Ally?


    Hsiao Jiayi fussed in front of the mirror, as she had been for thest two hours. She had decided that she needed to go see <em>that man</em>. Then, she had spent half the morning justifying it to herself. <em>He¡¯s a powerful cultivator and noble in this kingdom</em>, she thought. <em>It only makes sense for me to make contact with him</em>. <em>He might be more amenable to our ways than the mortals here</em>. Thatst thought had been an almostughable lie. Any doubts she might have held about his loyalty to the king had been put to rest by his alterations to the pce walls. The walls alone were intimidating. They all but radiated an obdurate strength. She didn¡¯t know what it would take to break through them, only that it would not be fast work. Yet, the walls themselves were almost secondary to those spikes that Judgment¡¯s Gale had affixed to the top of the walls. Spikes that glowed with divine qi.


    She had gone and stared up those spikes for hours at a time. Divine qi. Right there. That most precious resource, the tiniest bit of which was all but guaranteed to trigger an advancement, within her reach. It had seemed that all she needed to do was reach out and grab one of those spikes. Yet, an abundance of caution had stayed her hand, as it had stayed the hands of the hundreds of other cultivators who alsoe to stare with lust at those priceless, newly minted artifacts. All knew that divine qi was in the world, but it could not be gathered. It could not be harvested. It could not be contained. It resisted all attempts to make it do anything but what it wished to do. There was but a single way in which a cultivator could receive divine qi. It had to be given directly by the heavens, and the heavens were notoriously stingy with it.


    Yet, somehow, this Lu Sen had summoned it forth and imbued it into what, at first nce, might be mistaken as decorations. Except, they were not decorations. They were a <em>warning</em>. A deration that those who defied this king, defied the heavens themselves. It was the only exnation for how and why Judgment¡¯s Gale had been granted divine qi and permitted to do something like that with it. More to the point, they were a warning to those who make an enemy of Lu Sen himself. He was dangerous enough in his own right but making an enemy of a man on such friendly terms with the heavens would be like summoning a foe from the ancient legends. Of course, those who made such a man an ally might also reap a favorable disposition from the heavens. She doubted it would be anything so straightforward as an instant infusion of divine qi. However, sess often hinged on a moment of luck, and the heavens could press a finger down on that particr scale. She had never been one to turn her nose up at a moment of good fortune.


    She had other reasons for wanting to befriend the terrifying new noble. Reasons that she kept deep in her heart. Reasons that she barely dared to even think of, let alone speak aloud. But she felt them there, those tiny seeds of hope, seeds she fervently wanted to one day bloom into a better reality for her, her siblings, and her people. She didn¡¯t know if this man was the key to unlocking the door to that future, but he <em>might</em> be. He <em>could</em> be. Yet, the only way to know for sure was to go to him. Entice him to see her in friendly terms. She expected true friendship was beyond her grasp. That well had somehow been poisoned by the word <em>princess</em>. That still baffled her. In her homnd, and most of thends beyond the mountains, her status as a princess meant a constant stream of people who wanted to be her friend, her lover, or her confidant. Noble and royal status seemed to evoke simr responses among most people here, but not with him. If anything, he seemed to consider noble rank as a mark of shame. It was a formidable, if not all but insurmountable stumbling block.


    Even if that hadn¡¯t been the case, she was a foreigner, a representative of and that was a threat to the safety and stability of this kingdom. Facts he clearly knew. While Lu Sen seemedrgely indifferent to the fate of the kingdom itself, he did care what happened to King Jing. If that pretend king died, Hsiao Jiayi shuddered to imagine the cataclysm that would fall on the heads of those who did it. She had witnessed a glimpse of that man¡¯s wrath, just a tiny piece of it, and she had no desire to ever find herself on the wrong side of it. <em>No</em>, she thought, <em>I need to make sure that he always sees me as an ally</em>. She hesitated then. Would that even work? Could she get away with just looking like an ally? <em>It won¡¯t be enough</em>, she thought. <em>I can¡¯t just appear as one</em>. <em>I¡¯ll need to actually be one</em>. The problem was that she didn¡¯t know what that would mean or what it would look like. All she knew was that things at home were never going to change with the yers involved.


    This book''s true home is on another tform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    If she was going to make things change, she needed help from the outside. Help from someone powerful enough to withstand the pressures of the cultivator nobility. Yet, it also needed to be someone who didn¡¯t want to rule. Someone who would find the prospect of being in charge of a bunch of other cultivators abhorrent. It had seemed like an impossible task to find such a person. Oh, there were people with enough power. Nascent soul cultivators were rare, but they could be found. Unfortunately, the kind of ambition, the level of discipline, the single-minded focus that let people amass that kind of personal power almost inevitably made them the exact kind of people who would <em>take</em> power if it became avable. That was why she¡¯d never bothered seeking out help from any of the sects. They might help, but only if the offer was tempting enough. Anything tempting enough would inevitably mean ceding control. She didn¡¯t want to trade a homegrown tyrant for a foreign tyrant.


    She¡¯d all but given up hope that such a person existed in truth. Yet, by all ounts, this Lu Sen was doing everything he could to escape the trap he¡¯d neatly put himself into by iming a noble house. Not that there was any true escape. She knew that better than anyone. He still seemed determined to be hampered as little as possible by that noble title. If he was all that he appeared to be, he might be the kind of person she needed. Of course, she had also gathered that he was the kind of man who <em>did not</em> appreciate being used by others. She would need to strike an incredibly careful bnce with him. She couldn¡¯t just use him to get what she wanted, or he would end her himself. There could be no y-acting at friendship. There would have to be a mutual exchange of benefits. She would have to invest parts of her real self or the gambit would fail. It also wouldn¡¯t be quick. A point that was driven home again as she stepped off her flying sword at the front gate of Lu Manor.


    As intimidating as the pce walls had be, there had also been an element of showmanship to that. Lu Sen had done that for the king, as a gesture, and clearly to make a point. It was almost overblown. The walls and protections around the Lu Manor were a different matter entirely. She thought that those were a much truer representation of the man himself. The walls were tall, stark, and gray. The spikes at the top didn¡¯t glow with divine qi. The formations at work were not passive. The entire structure radiated menace. It was also a message. Strangers are not wee here. She stood there for a long moment before she realized that there were no guards on the outside to greet her, or announce her, or let her into the grounds. There were just the unadorned stone gates that seemed to stare at her. Finally, the gates opened enough for a slim man to slip through. All her senses went on alert. She had seen men like this before. Men with a particr nkness in their eyes. Men who moved with that extra bit of predatory grace. This was Lu Sen¡¯s hired killer, though the heavens only knew why he thought he needed such a person. The man offered her a polite bow.¡°This one is Long Jia Wei. How may the House of Lu help you today?¡±


    ¡°I am Hsiao Jiayi, ambassador from the kingdom of Kanshun.¡±


    ¡°I greet the esteemed ambassador,¡± said the killer.


    ¡°I wish to speak with Lord Lu,¡± announced Hsiao Jiayi.


    ¡°Is Lord Lu expecting you?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°He is not.¡±


    A small frown ghosted across the man¡¯s face before it smoothed back to a neutral non-expression.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Long Jia Wei, before holding out a talisman to her. ¡°If you¡¯ll please follow me, I will see if the Lord has time for you today.¡±


    She took the talisman and stepped after the man. As soon as she reached the gates, she understood what the talisman was for. The sense of menace immediately escted to something that bordered on killing intent. If not for the talisman, she wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d have been able to escape before those defenses brought her down. She steeled herself and kept walking. The defenses reluctantly turned their attention away from her. She didn¡¯t exhale in relief, but she wanted to. The killer led her past a number of mortals engaged in a variety of tasks, only some of which she understood. Before she could study their activities or ask any questions, she was brought into the manor itself. Long Jia Wei offered her another polite bow that she was quite sure possessed no actual respect.


    ¡°Please wait here while I inquire with Lord Lu,¡± said the man before pausing. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t stray. The Lord takes a dim view of spies.¡±


    Hsiao Jiayi had no interest in finding out what Lu Sen taking a ¡°dim view¡± of something would look like in practice. She nodded at the man and settled in to wait <em>exactly</em> where she was.

 Book 8: Chapter 43: Ally?

    Book 8: Chapter 43: Ally?


    Hsiao Jiayi fussed in front of the mirror, as she had been for thest two hours. She had decided that she needed to go see <em>that man</em>. Then, she had spent half the morning justifying it to herself. <em>He¡¯s a powerful cultivator and noble in this kingdom</em>, she thought. <em>It only makes sense for me to make contact with him</em>. <em>He might be more amenable to our ways than the mortals here</em>. Thatst thought had been an almostughable lie. Any doubts she might have held about his loyalty to the king had been put to rest by his alterations to the pce walls. The walls alone were intimidating. They all but radiated an obdurate strength. She didn¡¯t know what it would take to break through them, only that it would not be fast work. Yet, the walls themselves were almost secondary to those spikes that Judgment¡¯s Gale had affixed to the top of the walls. Spikes that glowed with divine qi.


    She had gone and stared up those spikes for hours at a time. Divine qi. Right there. That most precious resource, the tiniest bit of which was all but guaranteed to trigger an advancement, within her reach. It had seemed that all she needed to do was reach out and grab one of those spikes. Yet, an abundance of caution had stayed her hand, as it had stayed the hands of the hundreds of other cultivators who alsoe to stare with lust at those priceless, newly minted artifacts. All knew that divine qi was in the world, but it could not be gathered. It could not be harvested. It could not be contained. It resisted all attempts to make it do anything but what it wished to do. There was but a single way in which a cultivator could receive divine qi. It had to be given directly by the heavens, and the heavens were notoriously stingy with it.


    Yet, somehow, this Lu Sen had summoned it forth and imbued it into what, at first nce, might be mistaken as decorations. Except, they were not decorations. They were a <em>warning</em>. A deration that those who defied this king, defied the heavens themselves. It was the only exnation for how and why Judgment¡¯s Gale had been granted divine qi and permitted to do something like that with it. More to the point, they were a warning to those who make an enemy of Lu Sen himself. He was dangerous enough in his own right but making an enemy of a man on such friendly terms with the heavens would be like summoning a foe from the ancient legends. Of course, those who made such a man an ally might also reap a favorable disposition from the heavens. She doubted it would be anything so straightforward as an instant infusion of divine qi. However, sess often hinged on a moment of luck, and the heavens could press a finger down on that particr scale. She had never been one to turn her nose up at a moment of good fortune.


    She had other reasons for wanting to befriend the terrifying new noble. Reasons that she kept deep in her heart. Reasons that she barely dared to even think of, let alone speak aloud. But she felt them there, those tiny seeds of hope, seeds she fervently wanted to one day bloom into a better reality for her, her siblings, and her people. She didn¡¯t know if this man was the key to unlocking the door to that future, but he <em>might</em> be. He <em>could</em> be. Yet, the only way to know for sure was to go to him. Entice him to see her in friendly terms. She expected true friendship was beyond her grasp. That well had somehow been poisoned by the word <em>princess</em>. That still baffled her. In her homnd, and most of thends beyond the mountains, her status as a princess meant a constant stream of people who wanted to be her friend, her lover, or her confidant. Noble and royal status seemed to evoke simr responses among most people here, but not with him. If anything, he seemed to consider noble rank as a mark of shame. It was a formidable, if not all but insurmountable stumbling block.


    Even if that hadn¡¯t been the case, she was a foreigner, a representative of and that was a threat to the safety and stability of this kingdom. Facts he clearly knew. While Lu Sen seemedrgely indifferent to the fate of the kingdom itself, he did care what happened to King Jing. If that pretend king died, Hsiao Jiayi shuddered to imagine the cataclysm that would fall on the heads of those who did it. She had witnessed a glimpse of that man¡¯s wrath, just a tiny piece of it, and she had no desire to ever find herself on the wrong side of it. <em>No</em>, she thought, <em>I need to make sure that he always sees me as an ally</em>. She hesitated then. Would that even work? Could she get away with just looking like an ally? <em>It won¡¯t be enough</em>, she thought. <em>I can¡¯t just appear as one</em>. <em>I¡¯ll need to actually be one</em>. The problem was that she didn¡¯t know what that would mean or what it would look like. All she knew was that things at home were never going to change with the yers involved.


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    If she was going to make things change, she needed help from the outside. Help from someone powerful enough to withstand the pressures of the cultivator nobility. Yet, it also needed to be someone who didn¡¯t want to rule. Someone who would find the prospect of being in charge of a bunch of other cultivators abhorrent. It had seemed like an impossible task to find such a person. Oh, there were people with enough power. Nascent soul cultivators were rare, but they could be found. Unfortunately, the kind of ambition, the level of discipline, the single-minded focus that let people amass that kind of personal power almost inevitably made them the exact kind of people who would <em>take</em> power if it became avable. That was why she¡¯d never bothered seeking out help from any of the sects. They might help, but only if the offer was tempting enough. Anything tempting enough would inevitably mean ceding control. She didn¡¯t want to trade a homegrown tyrant for a foreign tyrant.


    She¡¯d all but given up hope that such a person existed in truth. Yet, by all ounts, this Lu Sen was doing everything he could to escape the trap he¡¯d neatly put himself into by iming a noble house. Not that there was any true escape. She knew that better than anyone. He still seemed determined to be hampered as little as possible by that noble title. If he was all that he appeared to be, he might be the kind of person she needed. Of course, she had also gathered that he was the kind of man who <em>did not</em> appreciate being used by others. She would need to strike an incredibly careful bnce with him. She couldn¡¯t just use him to get what she wanted, or he would end her himself. There could be no y-acting at friendship. There would have to be a mutual exchange of benefits. She would have to invest parts of her real self or the gambit would fail. It also wouldn¡¯t be quick. A point that was driven home again as she stepped off her flying sword at the front gate of Lu Manor.


    As intimidating as the pce walls had be, there had also been an element of showmanship to that. Lu Sen had done that for the king, as a gesture, and clearly to make a point. It was almost overblown. The walls and protections around the Lu Manor were a different matter entirely. She thought that those were a much truer representation of the man himself. The walls were tall, stark, and gray. The spikes at the top didn¡¯t glow with divine qi. The formations at work were not passive. The entire structure radiated menace. It was also a message. Strangers are not wee here. She stood there for a long moment before she realized that there were no guards on the outside to greet her, or announce her, or let her into the grounds. There were just the unadorned stone gates that seemed to stare at her. Finally, the gates opened enough for a slim man to slip through. All her senses went on alert. She had seen men like this before. Men with a particr nkness in their eyes. Men who moved with that extra bit of predatory grace. This was Lu Sen¡¯s hired killer, though the heavens only knew why he thought he needed such a person. The man offered her a polite bow.¡°This one is Long Jia Wei. How may the House of Lu help you today?¡±


    ¡°I am Hsiao Jiayi, ambassador from the kingdom of Kanshun.¡±


    ¡°I greet the esteemed ambassador,¡± said the killer.


    ¡°I wish to speak with Lord Lu,¡± announced Hsiao Jiayi.


    ¡°Is Lord Lu expecting you?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°He is not.¡±


    A small frown ghosted across the man¡¯s face before it smoothed back to a neutral non-expression.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Long Jia Wei, before holding out a talisman to her. ¡°If you¡¯ll please follow me, I will see if the Lord has time for you today.¡±


    She took the talisman and stepped after the man. As soon as she reached the gates, she understood what the talisman was for. The sense of menace immediately escted to something that bordered on killing intent. If not for the talisman, she wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d have been able to escape before those defenses brought her down. She steeled herself and kept walking. The defenses reluctantly turned their attention away from her. She didn¡¯t exhale in relief, but she wanted to. The killer led her past a number of mortals engaged in a variety of tasks, only some of which she understood. Before she could study their activities or ask any questions, she was brought into the manor itself. Long Jia Wei offered her another polite bow that she was quite sure possessed no actual respect.


    ¡°Please wait here while I inquire with Lord Lu,¡± said the man before pausing. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t stray. The Lord takes a dim view of spies.¡±


    Hsiao Jiayi had no interest in finding out what Lu Sen taking a ¡°dim view¡± of something would look like in practice. She nodded at the man and settled in to wait <em>exactly</em> where she was.

 Book 8: Chapter 44: Escape!

    Book 8: Chapter 44: Escape!


    ¡°Lo Meifeng¡¯s right,¡± said Grandmother Lu. ¡°You should use sects to secure your holdings. It¡¯s efficient.¡±


    Sen nodded and even managed to keep a calm expression while he did it. He¡¯d been getting a lot of practice at those justtely. He¡¯d also been dragging his feet on the decision to use the sects because¡­ He sighed. It was just because he didn¡¯t like it. He knew it was the right move. He¡¯d just been hoping that Grandmother Lu would have some excellent reason that they shouldn¡¯t do it. epting the inevitable, he looked over at Lo Meifeng, who was at least making half of an effort not to look smugly satisfied.


    ¡°Make the arrangements. Negotiate whatever seems like fair payment.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve finally settled that, we should move on to¡ª¡±


    The door opened and Long Jia Wei stuck his head into the room. Sen could hear Pan Shiji making infuriated noises in the other room.


    ¡°Yes?¡± asked Sen, praying that the man had some crisis that needed to be dealt with immediately.


    ¡°Lord Lu, there is a woman here to see you.¡±


    ¡°What woman?¡± demanded Grandmother Lu, Lo Meifeng, and Pan Shiji in perfect, annoyed unison.


    Long Jia Wei cast a wary look around before turning to Sen again.¡°She introduced herself as Hsiao Jiayi. She ims to be the ambassador from some kingdom called Kanshun.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s who she really is,¡± muttered Sen. ¡°The real question is, what the hell is the princess doing here?¡±


    Long Jia Wei took a heartbeat or two before he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t inquire as to the purpose of her visit. I thought it might be indelicate to do so.¡±


    Sen fought down the urge to be annoyed with the man. He probably would have been annoyed if Long Jia Wei <em>had</em> asked what she was doing there. Sen suspected he would have been annoyed if Long Jia Wei had shown up with bags of gold and announced that the heavens had given them a thousand peaches of immortality. Everything was annoying him these days. He¡¯d been in this city for too long. Dealt with too many people he didn¡¯t like and didn¡¯t trust. It was all just getting to him. But it seemed that his prayer had been answered. He rose from his seat, instantly triggering a squawk of protest from Lo Meifeng, and a disapproving glower from Grandmother Lu. He gave them an even look.


    ¡°Are you suggesting that I leave a foreign dignitary to cool her heels in the entryway?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± mumbled Lo Meifeng in a dissatisfied tone.


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s more trouble than it¡¯s worth to annoy a princess. Even if she is from Kanshun.¡±


    There was rancor in Grandmother Lu¡¯s voice when she said Kanshun, although Sen had no idea why. He¡¯d have to try to remember to ask her about it at some point. He turned to Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Take me to wherever you stashed <em>her highness</em>.¡±


    ***


    Hsiao Jiayi knew that she hadn¡¯t been left to wait for that long. However, it felt like it was taking forever. Doubt had started creeping in about this decision. What if she¡¯d misread him? What if he decided that she was more trouble than she was worth and just killed her? She hade to his manor uninvited. He could make up any story he wanted and no one here was going to contradict him. The servants, the mortals, would say whatever he told them to say. The cultivators she could sense weren¡¯t going to defy him. Not when it would all but certainly mean joining her in death. As the seconds ticked away, she started giving more and more serious consideration to simply fleeing. <em>This was a terrible idea</em>, she thought. <em>You should have approached him somewhere else</em>. <em>Somewhere more public</em>. <em>Somewhere with witnesses who might tell the truth if he turns murderous</em>. Hsiao Jiayi had convinced herself that it was time to go when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked to a set of stairs. She saw the hired killer, and then her eyes shifted up.


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    <em>Damn it to the thousand hells</em>, she screamed in her head. She¡¯d thought that after that first exposure to the man that she¡¯d be over this. But her heart had started racing again, and she found herself just wanting to stand there and look at Lord Lu. Well, she wanted to do that after she did a lot of other things with him or maybe to him. She wasn¡¯t even sure. She forced herself to look away. <em>No</em>, she thought, <em>it wasn¡¯t quite as bad as thest time</em>. Looking away had just been painfully difficult, rather than nigh impossible. Of course, now the man was practically in front of her and she couldn¡¯t remember what expression he¡¯d been wearing. She looked up at him again and willed herself to focus on his actual expression. He didn¡¯t look pleased to see her. <em>Time to start working on that problem</em>, she told herself. She offered him a polite bow, one that was usually reserved for equals. She honestly didn¡¯t know what was correct in this circumstance. As a noble, he was beneath her, but his personal strength dwarfed hers. She thought it <em>probably</em> bnced out. She offered him a smile that she¡¯d been told was very charming.


    ¡°Hsiao Jiayi greets Lord Lu.¡±


    His expression didn¡¯t change in the slightest. He had not been charmed. She didn¡¯t know what she¡¯d expected after seeing him with Lia Dongmei. He probably didn¡¯t find anyone else in the world charming or beautiful. He bowed back, but it was a negligent thing, almost offhand, practically designed to offend.


    ¡°Your highness. To what do I owe this,¡± his lips twitched in a way she couldn¡¯t interpret, ¡°pleasure?¡±


    ***


    Sen did his best to reign in his frustrations as he watched a series of emotions flicker to life and then die on her face. There was uncertainty, a bit of anger, a bit of hopelessness, and some determination. <em>Don¡¯t be an ass to this woman just because she¡¯s a princess</em>, he told himself. <em>You can¡¯t just automatically assume that anyone with a noble or royal title is beyond redemption</em>. <em>She hasn¡¯t done anything to you</em>. Just to give the woman a chance to regroup, he turned to Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Sen. ¡°I expect I can handle things from here.¡±


    The man gave Hsiao Jiayi a cool, evaluating look before he bowed and withdrew. That look might have worried Sen if the man didn¡¯t give almost everyone the same treatment. He supposed universal suspicion was one way to get through life. It probably wasn¡¯t the best way, but it wasn¡¯t like Sen had room to talk. He¡¯d spent years in exactly that state, and he¡¯d been a lot more hostile about it. Returning his attention to the ambassador, Sen sighed and tried to inject something like friendliness into his voice.


    ¡°Ambassador, was there something in particr that you wanted to discuss with me?¡±


    If nothing else, the softer tone seemed to let the woman rx a hair.


    ¡°Lord Lu, our conversation ended,¡± she seemed to search for a politic word, ¡°abruptly the other evening.¡±


    Sen considered and rejected several possible answers before he settled on something simple.


    ¡°True. It did.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping we might continue it. I thought it might go more smoothly if we spoke with less scrutiny on us.¡±


    It seemed obvious that the woman was after something. Sen just couldn¡¯t guess what. She was choosing her words with a lot of care like she was worried he¡¯d discern some evil plot from a slip of the tongue. There was no way around it. If he wanted to find out what she was actually after, he was going to have to indulge her in this conversation she seemed to want so badly. He just wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to bother with it. He already had enough work for six men. Whatever this woman wanted, he didn¡¯t delude himself into thinking it would be anything but more work.


    ***


    <em>He¡¯s going to send me away</em>, thought Hsiao Jiayi. She could see it in his eyes. She could feel it in the air. The distrust. She¡¯d forgotten that he hadn¡¯t started out life as a noble. He¡¯d started as amoner in this kingdom. He hadn¡¯t been bred to consider every word before uttering them. So, all the care she was taking with her words looked like maniption. <em>And maybe it is</em>, she admitted to herself. If nothing else, she was aiming to get the best oue for her. Beyond the distrust, though, she could see his desire to not be bothered. There was a weariness in him that he did a good job of masking, but it was evident for those with the skills to see. She also had the intuition that, should he send her away now, that would be the end of it. She would be someone he might pass a few words with if he ever showed up to another political function, but a wall would go up between them that reached to the heavens. A wall she would never pierce. She needed to shift this dynamic, and she needed to do it <em>now</em>. She took a stab in the dark.


    ¡°I don¡¯t particrly enjoy this city,¡± she said, being utterly honest. ¡°And my trip here was taken at speed. I assume there are things worth seeing beyond the walls. I¡¯ve considered going out to look for them, but it seemed ill-advised to do so without a guide. Perhaps you could show me?¡±


    She knew she¡¯d hit the right note when an almost desperate need crossed the man¡¯s face. He <em>wanted</em> to be away from this city. He clearly didn¡¯t care where, just as long as it was beyond the walls.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said, reaching out, grabbing her arm, and almost dragging her toward the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Right now.¡±


    He cast an almost hunted look over his shoulder as he pulled her outside. The treatment was so abrupt, so base, that she couldn¡¯t help butugh a little. Anyone who tried something like this back home would find one of her des buried in their chest. Yet, one look at his face said he wasn¡¯t really trying to drag her <em>toward</em> something, let alone something untoward. He was trying to outpace something.


    ¡°Is there a rush?¡± she asked, still giggling a little.


    ¡°Gods, yes,¡± he muttered. ¡°We need to go before they figure out that I¡¯m escaping.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 45: A Place to Breathe

    Book 8: Chapter 45: A ce to Breathe


    Sen picked them both up on qi tform and flew them away from the manor. He moved them away quickly and, once they got to the city wall proper, he boosted the speed to something he was certain that Lo Meifeng couldn¡¯t match. He¡¯d mostly been focused on making sure that no one was following them to drag him back to make more decisions. He knew he couldn¡¯t escape it forever, but the thought of getting away for even an hour or two had been too much temptation even if it did mean dealing with a princess and her agenda. Not that having an agenda really made her different or special. The sad truth was that pretty much everyone he met these days had some kind of agenda. If he refused to talk to anyone with an agenda, he¡¯d never talk to anyone ever again. He nced over at the princess in question and suppressed a smirk. Apparently, she wasn¡¯t used to moving quite as fast as he was carrying them. She¡¯d locked her expression into one of calm, but her fists were clenched so tight that it was a wonder her palms weren¡¯t bleeding.


    Sen went back to watching where they were going, only asionally ncing back to make sure there was no obvious pursuit. They were flying north over the wilds at this point, mostly because he knew that part of the countryside better than any of the other directions. There was a ce he¡¯d been meaning to go back to for a while now. A nice little spot far enough from the road that no one was likely to go there. <em>If I can remember where it is</em>, thought Sen. He¡¯d found it almost by ident on one of his previous, more covert, trips to the capital. His eyes lit up when he spotted what he was looking for. He shifted the direction they were moving a little and a few minutester, he lowered the tform into a secluded little area. It wasn¡¯t quite big enough that he¡¯d call it a valley, but it did have a nice little waterfall that dropped down into a startling clear pool of water that fed a few small streams. <em>It might even be a smallke</em>, thought Sen, uncertain about where the lines were between things like pools, ponds, andkes. Of course, the waterfall wasn¡¯t the main reason Sen liked the ce.


    ¡°Are those spirit oxen?¡± asked Hsiao Jiayi, sounding nervous.


    Sen looked to what probably qualified as a small herd of the spirit beasts. He watched in amusement as a smaller one broke away from the herd and started thundering toward them.


    ¡°They are,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°We need to go. They¡¯re powerful. We can¡¯t fight all of them!¡± shouted Hsiao Jiayi as she grabbed his arm with vice-like strength.


    He rolled her eyes at her as he peeled her fingers off his arm.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to fight <em>any</em> of them,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What?!¡±Sen ignored her as he started walking toward the charging ox. He smiled as one of the other members of the herd let out a decidedly chiding moo. The smaller ox somehow managed to look guilty as it slowed to a trot and then a walk, even if there was a decidedly excited spring to its steps. It came up to Sen and, almost shyly, bumped its head against his chest. He reached out and rubbed the youthful ox¡¯s head. It pranced back and forth a little in obvious happiness. The rest of the herd made its way over at a more dignified pace. Sen moved through therge animals, petting their heads and offering small treats to the youngest ones that had been held in ce by the elder oxen. He spoke with the herd leader, a bull that had epted him without question, but kept a baleful gaze fixed on the dumbfounded Hsiao Jiayi. The greetings done, the herd moved off again at a slow, but steady pace. Smiling at the retreating herd, Sen walked back over to the other cultivator. She looked back and forth from the herd to him several times before words all but exploded from her mouth.


    ¡°What in the thousand hells was that?¡± she demanded.


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    ¡°That was a herd of spirit oxen,¡± said Sen before he started walking over to the smallke.


    He heard the woman spluttering behind him as he moved. <em>Yeah</em>, he thought, <em>this was exactly what I needed</em>. <em>Get away from the city</em>. <em>Pet some oxen</em>. <em>Leave a princess bbergasted</em>. He¡¯d reached the shore of theke before the ambassador caught up with him. For some reason, he always expected the shore to be sandy, but it insistently remained a shallow field of smooth stones. He reached down and picked one up. There was nothing special about that particr rock aside from being close at hand, but he held onto it anyway, slowly rubbing his thumb across it as he stared over the water. Theke had perpetual ripples rolling across the surface from the waterfall, and he watched one of them until it slowly broke apart at the far end of theke. He imagined that was where shallow channels started to carry water away in the streams that kept the area lush enough to feed the small herd. He could feel an inner tension slowly starting to ease inside of him.


    ¡°There¡¯s so much noise in the city,¡± said Sen, cutting the princess off before she could start demanding a better exnation. ¡°So many people. I understand why the mortals do it. Build cities, I mean. The advantages are obvious, but at the same time, I don¡¯t understand <em>how</em> they do it. Living so close together. I don¡¯t know how they breathe.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± started Hsiao Jiayi, obviously confused by the change of subject. ¡°I suppose they just get used to it.¡±


    ¡°That must be it,¡± agreed Sen, his eyes still fixed on the water.


    ¡°Those spirit oxen,¡± said the woman.


    He supposed he had to give her credit for not being easily distracted. Still, he sighed.


    ¡°What about them?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Spirit beasts don¡¯t behave that way.¡±


    He gave her what he hoped passed as an enigmatic smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t they? Didn¡¯t you just see them do it with your very own pretty eyes?¡±


    She opened and closed her mouth a few times while blinking rapidly. Then, with an almost angry cast to her expression, she regrouped.


    ¡°You know what wasn¡¯t what I meant.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a princess and an ambassador. Politics is your entire life. How is <em>anyone</em> supposed to know what you mean when you speak?¡±


    The woman didn¡¯t have an easy answer to that question, so Sen took advantage of her unbnced moment to calmly step out onto the water. A little water qi and it supported him as if he was standing on stone. He walked a few paces before he turned to look at her. She was staring at his feet, once again nonplussed by things he mostly took for granted.


    ¡°How many kinds of qi can you use?¡± she asked.


    Sen shrugged and said, ¡°Enough.¡±


    ¡°Did you bring me all the way out here just to avoid answering every single one of my questions?¡±


    ¡°You said you wanted to get away from the city. That you wanted to continue our conversation. So, I brought you here. One of the most beautiful ces I¡¯ve found. A ce that is about as safe as it gets in the wilds and as private as people like us can hope for. You haven¡¯t looked at it at all. When I tried to have a conversation with you, you immediately tried to ask me questions about those spirit oxen. As near as I can tell, all you really want to do is gather information about a potential enemy of your nation.¡±


    ¡°No! That isn¡¯t what I wanted to do.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. What is it that you really want, your highness?¡±


    ¡°I just want us to be friends,¡± said Hsiao Jiayi.


    Sen pursed his lips. She looked like she <em>wanted</em> to believe that. Maybe she even did believe it. But she was just off bnce enough that Sen could see that wasn¡¯t the whole truth of it.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Sen found it a little ironic that he¡¯d been judging Long Jia Wei¡¯s suspicious nature not that long ago. <em>I guess I haven¡¯t left my suspicious nature as far behind as I thought I did</em>. <em>It¡¯d be easier if people stopped giving me such good reasons to hang onto it</em>, thought Sen. When she didn¡¯t say anything, he nodded.


    ¡°Right. You want something. Well, that¡¯s not really a surprise. I don¡¯t enjoy having my time wasted. So, go ahead. Tell me what it is that you want so we can skip ahead to the part where I say <em>no</em>.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already decided? You haven¡¯t even heard it yet. How can you be so sure you¡¯ll say no?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a <em>princess</em>,¡± said Sen, almost snarling thest word. ¡°I don¡¯t need to hear it. I already know that it¡¯s something self-serving for you and without benefits for me. Because that¡¯s how princesses work. All that matters is getting what you want. You don¡¯t care about the cost because, in the end, other people are just something for you to use. So, I won¡¯t keep you in suspense. The answer is no.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 46: Fruitful Discussion

    Book 8: Chapter 46: Fruitful Discussion


    ¡°Who are you to judge me without even hearing my words?¡± demanded Hsiao Jiayi, fury lighting her eyes.


    Sen met her furious re with one as cold as ice.


    ¡°Very well, then. Exin.¡±


    ¡°I seek to bring down a tyrant. To free my people.¡±


    Sen nodded and said, ¡°Oh, a worthy goal, no doubt. So, you¡¯ll bring down this tyrant and rece them with <em>who</em> exactly?¡±


    Hsiao Jiayi ground her teeth when she said, ¡°Me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, how <em>hasty</em> of me to think that your goals are self-serving. And these people you¡¯re going to free. You meant cultivators, didn¡¯t you? You mean to free the cultivators. Not the mortals, who I assume are little better than ves in your kingdom.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s moreplicated than that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really not. You can dress it up with whatever justifications you want, but it¡¯s notplicated. In summary, you want me to help you rece one tyrant¡ªwho I¡¯m perfectly willing to believe is horrible¡ªfor another tyrant who will also treat most of the people living under her rule as ves.¡±¡°That¡¯s na?ve sophistry, and you know it. Oversimplifying things doesn¡¯t alter the fact that change doesn¡¯t happen overnight, and it has to start somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you n to bring true freedom to the mortals in yournd?¡± asked Sen.


    Sen saw the hesitation, the brief sh of disgust at the very idea, and held up his hand before she could speak again.


    ¡°It¡¯s clear that you don¡¯t. And even if I was willing to set aside your self-serving agenda, and your intention to keep mortals as ves, there¡¯s one other thing that we haven¡¯t talked about.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Hsiao Jiayi, clearly wary.


    ¡°There¡¯s absolutely nothing in it for me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I could reward you with anything you want.¡±


    ¡°You say that like I couldn¡¯t just go out and <em>take</em> anything I want if I truly wished to. The number of people in the world who can stop me has grown exceedingly small. The number of them inclined to stop me has grown smaller still. As for rewards, I don¡¯t need riches. I have them. I don¡¯t need titles. I have one. I don¡¯t need natural treasures. Anything you could offer me, I can go out there,¡± Sen gestured to the wilds around them, ¡°and get them. Probably with a lot less risk involved. In short, you have nothing to offer. A fact that would have been immediately apparent if your thinking involved anyone but <em>you</em>.¡±


    The two of them stood in strained silence, staring at each other for a long time. Sen couldn¡¯t tell if she just didn¡¯t have anything to say, or if she was simply in such a state of rage that she couldn¡¯t make the wordse out. Not that it especially mattered to him one way or the other. He thought of one other thing to say that might at least take a bit of the sting out of his words.


    ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t want my help. Not really. It wouldn¡¯t be good for your rule.¡±


    Hsiao Jiayi looked like she was assembling her response one word at a time in her head.


    She finally asked, ¡°What does that mean?¡±


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    ¡°I don¡¯t like nobles. I don¡¯t like most cultivators either and frequently for the same reasons. They¡¯re arrogant. They¡¯re entitled. They treat people with less power like they don¡¯t matter. I¡¯ve been on the wrong side of that, which has made me particrly unforgiving. You¡¯ve got a whole ruling ss of people who are both, which I expect has only exaggerated those traits in them. If I went to your kingdom to help you, I doubt most of your cultivator nobles would <em>survive</em> it.¡±


    That idea seemed to bring Hsiao Jiayi up short as if she¡¯d never even considered the possibility that Sen might go on a loathing-fueled killing spree and deprive her of her entire support structure. She went a little pale as she seemed to think it over and found it usible. Then, she shook her head.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t kill all of those people because you dislike them.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow and asked, ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be a pointless exercise in bloodshed. You said it yourself. You don¡¯t like wasting your time.¡±


    ¡°You only believe that because you expect me to think like the nobles where youe from. I¡¯d be willing to bet every single one of them has killed mortals for sport, or spite, or no reason at all. Come to think of it, I expect that you probably have too. I would not find it a waste of time to visit that kind of pain and terror on people so callous. I would not find it a waste of time <em>at all</em>. So, tell me, your highness, how clean are your hands? If I look hard, will I find the blood of farmers on them? The blood of servants? The blood of mortals? The kind of blood that runs in my daughter¡¯s veins.¡±


    ¡°Your what?¡± asked Hsiao Jiayi.


    ¡°My daughter. The mortal girl I adopted. Under your rule, you would turn my beautiful, innocent little girl into a ve,¡± said Sen, drawing his jian. ¡°So, I¡¯m forced to wonder if the best thing I can do is kill you here and now. Then, go to your terrible little kingdom and butcher everyst person I find who calls themselves a noble or a royal. Simply wipe your civilization from history.¡±


    Hsiao Jiayi had drawn her own sword and adopted a defensive stance. He could feel her cycling qi. It had an odd quality. He didn¡¯t immediately recognize it. For all her preparation, though, he could see she was frightened, no doubt considering the gap between their cultivation levels, and the kind of power she¡¯d already seen him demonstrate. He took a single step toward her, and she flinched back.


    ¡°You¡¯re insane,¡± she hissed at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± said Sen, sheathing his de.


    Her confusion was in to see on her face.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°That feeling you¡¯re having right now, that fear thrashing around inside of you, that terror thates from having someone more powerful threaten you just because they can¡­ <em>Remember it</em>. That is what the mortals in your kingdom experience, except it¡¯s all the time for them. Every second of every day. That wretchedness is what you¡¯re so casually ready to condemn them to for the sin of not being cultivators. And you want me to <em>help</em> you? If anyone here is insane, it¡¯s you.


    ¡°Now, put your sword away. I¡¯m not going to kill you. The truth is that killing you, killing your father, killing all of those cultivator nobles truly would be a pointless exercise in bloodshed, just not for the reason you think. It¡¯d be pointless because it wouldn¡¯t change anything. The second I left, one of the other kingdoms that are exactly like yours would swoop in and start it all over again. If I really wanted to change things there, I¡¯d have to conquer the whole damn continent and purge most of the cultivators from it. And <em>that</em> would be insane.¡±


    She didn¡¯t put her sword away or stop cycling as Sen walked off the water and back onto the rocky shore. He started to walk toward where the spirit oxen had gone before he paused and looked over his shoulder.


    ¡°I assume you can find your own way back, your highness.¡±


    He started walking again but didn¡¯t fully rx until he felt her presence rise into the air and fly away. That had not turned out to be the fruitful discussion that he¡¯d hoped it might be. He also knew that he¡¯d been pushing too hard, and taking out some old angers on her. For all that, though, when he¡¯d seen that look of disgust cross her face at the very notion of giving true freedom to mortals, he¡¯d stopped caring very much about what she thought about anything at all. Sen had to force himself to acknowledge that it wasn¡¯t entirely her fault. He¡¯d probably think the same way if he¡¯d been brought up in her kingdom as a cultivator noble. Even recognizing that fact, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to forgive her for holding that view. He probably would have died as a child in her kingdom. Once again, he was forced to reassess the sects. While he was of the opinion that they didn¡¯t do a good enough job of it, they clearly were exerting a restraining influence on the cultivators who lived on this side of the Mountains of Sorrow.


    ¡°Even thinking that left a bad taste in my mouth,¡± said Sen to no one.


    Deciding that he¡¯d done enough distasteful things for one day, he went to y with the ox calves.

 Book 8: Chapter 47: No Invitation

    Book 8: Chapter 47: No Invitation


    Sen had, very knowingly, procrastinated about returning to the city. Some of it was that the spirit oxen were always just so happy to see him. That held especially true for the young ones. After getting permission, he even took a few of the boldest calves flying. He didn¡¯t take them very high. He didn¡¯t want one of them to panic and bolt off the qi tform just to fall and hurt themselves. But the ones who took the chance seemed amazed and clustered around him, clearly begging for another turn. It was nice to spend time with beings that had few if any ulterior motives. In the end, though, he knew he <em>had</em> to go back. There was just no getting around it. That didn¡¯t stop him from dawdling on the way back because he¡¯d been able to at least make a good guess about what was waiting for him. His guess was mostly right. Within seconds ofnding in the manor courtyard, Lo Meifeng came storming out of the manor with a very fake smile.


    ¡°Did you enjoy your afternoon?¡± she asked in a sickly-sweet voice.


    ¡°Parts of it,¡± Sen hedged.


    ¡°I¡¯m <em>so</em> d to hear it,¡± she said, the sarcasm so thick it felt physical pressure against Sen¡¯s face. ¡°So, when can we can expect an announcement of the happy news?¡±


    ¡°Happy news?¡± asked Sen. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you haven¡¯t heard yet? You have been away. Let me fill you in. After you very visibly flew out of the city in broad daylight with a foreign ambassador on your arm, people just assumed that you two were running away together. An elopement! Oh, the women were swooning and weeping in envy. Wait, no¡­¡± said Lo Meifeng, pressing a finger to her lips, ¡°that wasn¡¯t what really happened. You were taking the ambassador hostage to put pressure on Kanshun. What a loyal friend to the king you are. Wait, wait, no, you took the ambassador out of the city to have a duel. When she came back and you didn¡¯t, it was a sign that you must be dead. Judgment¡¯s Gale, the mighty hero, Lord Lu had been cut down by that evil foreign woman! You must be his restless spirit. Will you stand watch over the armies as we march off to war to avenge you?¡±


    Sen winced. He¡¯d been wrong. This was <em>so much worse</em> than he¡¯d expected.


    ¡°You know those stories are absurd. None of that happened,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Of course, <em>I</em> know that. But it doesn¡¯t matter than <em>I</em> know that. Nobody else knows it!¡±¡°Right,¡± sighed Sen.


    ¡°Just so I have the facts, what did actually happen?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Well, we went out to this nice spot I know. We had an argument. I threatened her¡ª¡±


    ¡°You threatened her how?¡±


    ¡°I threatened to kill her, her father, pretty much their entire ruling ss, and to wipe their nation from the pages of history. But she hates her father, so I¡¯m not sure if that part really counted as a threat,¡± said Sen with a frown.


    Lo Meifeng¡¯s hands curled in a way that suggested she might want to strangle him before she said, ¡°I just¡­ Why would you do that?¡±


    ¡°I was trying to make a point. Actually, I was trying to make a couple of points now that I think about it.¡±


    ¡°I have rarely found I needed to threaten to topple a nation to make a point.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that argument was sort ofplicated. She wants to¡ª¡± Sen cut himself off as it struck home where they were standing.


    Looking around, he could see that all activity had stopped. Everyone was looking at them and, more importantly, listening to them. That might not be an entirely bad thing. At the very least, it should put an end to any rumors that he was carrying on some kind of secret marriage with a foreign ambassador. Even so, who knew what kind of new rumors were going to be started from what they had overheard? <em>They¡¯ll probably have me invading Kanshun single-handedly by tomorrow morning</em>, thought Sen. He cast an unamused look around the courtyard.


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    ¡°Don¡¯t you have work you should at least pretend to be doing?¡± he asked in a voice loud enough to carry.


    Everyone flinched. People immediately turned their eyes back to whatever task they were performing before they started shamelessly eavesdropping. Sen looked at Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said to his unspoken question. ¡°There is a better ce to have this conversation.¡±


    The pair retreated to Sen¡¯s office, where Grandmother Lu was waiting for them. Sen braced himself, even as he put up a minor wind barrier to keep anyone from listening in. It wouldn¡¯t stop sound from escaping, just mangle it up so much it was iprehensible. He smiled a little as he imagined Pan Shiji¡¯s baffled expression while she pressed an ear to the door. Sen didn¡¯t actually know if she would do something like that, but the thought still amused him. His tiny bit of fun had, though, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand.


    ¡°Grandmother,¡± he said, offering her a shallow bow.


    She red at him with towering disapproval before shaking her head in clear disappointment.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you, boy. First, you adopt a little girl and don¡¯t bring her to meet me. Now, you don¡¯t even invite me to the wedding?¡±


    Sen groaned aloud and asked, ¡°I¡¯m going to be hearing about this for a while, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    Grandmother Lu cackled in obvious merriment.


    ¡°Years, boy. Oh, you¡¯ll be hearing about this for years. Where is that absentee wife of yours, anyway?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not angry with me?¡± he asked, deliberately ignoring the jibe.


    ¡°Oh, it was a foolish, absurd thing to do, going off with that woman. But you needed the break.¡±


    Sen studied his feet for a moment before he said, ¡°That obvious?¡±


    ¡°Only to people with eyes,¡± she said, then added, ¡°or ears.¡±


    ¡°Were you just pretending to be mad at me, too?¡± he asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Oh no. I¡¯m actually mad at you,¡± she said. ¡°Rumors are truth in politics. You made your life, which effectively means <em>my life</em>, much more difficult today.¡±


    ¡°You seemed a little boredtely,¡± said Sen. ¡°I was just trying to help.¡±


    Instead of the swift spark of anger he expected, she smiled at him. It was not a <em>nice</em> smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I have been boredtely, and I am out of practice with my stealth skills. I¡¯ll be sure to remedy that. Soon.¡±


    Images of being stabbed with daggers, stabbed with swords, or shot with arrows, all of them on fire, shed through his mind. <em>It¡¯s a good thing I heal fast</em>, thought Sen. Before he could do something smart, like apologize, Lo Meifeng spoke again.


    ¡°Now, sit down and exin to us why you thought threatening to dere war on an entire country seemed like a good idea.¡±


    Feeling that he¡¯d pushed his luck enough for one day, Sen did as he was instructed. He exined what happened from beginning to end. His memory was good enough that he could remember the conversations verbatim, so he repeated them. It took a while, and even Lo Meifeng seemed to have calmed down a bit by the end.


    ¡°So, then I yed with the spirit oxen calves for a while.¡±


    ¡°You mean you procrastinated,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°No, I mean I made efforts to reinforce my good rtions with the one group of spirit beasts that I know isn¡¯t going to attack me on sight.¡±


    ¡°You mean you procrastinated,¡± repeated Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Yes, I mean I procrastinated.¡±


    Grandmother Lu hummed a pensive noise before giving Sen a sympathetic look.


    ¡°I can understand why you threatened her. Doesn¡¯t mean it was a smart thing to do.¡±


    ¡°Probably not,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°But thest time I wasn¡¯t extreme in saying no to something like that, I ended up in a room with a dead king.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not wrong about that,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Even so, the only bright light in this entire thing is that she¡¯s on bad terms with her father. She probably won¡¯tin to him about you, and he probably wouldn¡¯t listen even if she did. Right now, you¡¯re someone who lives far away that made some vague threats and then admitted following through on them would be pointless.¡±


    Sen almost asked why she wouldn¡¯tin about him to her father but the reason was obvious enough. She¡¯d have to do a lot of lying to exin how the conversation devolved into threats. Lies she¡¯d have to keep track of. Plus, it wouldn¡¯t get her what she wanted. If her father decided to invade to avenge the insult, the most probable oue was that Sen himself would decide to make good on his threats. She might end up with a throne in that case, assuming Sen didn¡¯t kill her too, but it¡¯d be a throne with no power.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s a good thing, right?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°That¡¯s the <em>only</em> good thing,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Just because Kanshun probably isn¡¯t going to be a problem, there¡¯s still the other problem.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the other problem?¡±


    ¡°Half of those rumors have painted you out to be some kind of dashing seducer,¡± said Grandmother Lu with augh. ¡°There will be women lined up outside the gates, just hoping you¡¯ll notice them.¡±


    Turning a panicked look toward Lo Meifeng, Sen said, ¡°This is a problem.¡±


    ¡°Wee to the future you made for me,¡± said Lo Meifeng, ring at him.

 Book 8: Chapter 48: Grandfather

    Book 8: Chapter 48: Grandfather


    Feng Ming walked through the town where Sen had apparently decided to make his home for the moment. He was less than impressed by it. Not that there was anything specifically wrong with the ce, but there was nothing particrly great about it either. It had just clearly been chosen for its proximity to Fu Run and <em>no</em> other reason. The people were friendly enough, even if there were a lot more mortals wandering around armed than was typical for a small town. It also had an unusually sturdy wall. It had the air of something made by a cultivator, but it didn¡¯t look like Sen¡¯s work. Had the boy convinced some wandering cultivator to do the work in exchange for some alchemy? He stopped in at what looked to be the one and only inn the town supported and had something to eat. He listened to the people talking and found himself frowning at just how often the word <em>academy</em> cropped up. That word was an umon word at the best of times, especially on this side of the Mountains of Sorrow. It was rare to hear it outside of major cities, but it was on everyone¡¯s lips here. When the serving girl came back over to check on him, he decided to get some rity.


    ¡°I keep hearing everyone talking about some kind of academy,¡± he said. ¡°Do you know what that¡¯s about?¡±


    ¡°Oh, everyone knows about the academy. It¡¯s just outside town to the south. I¡¯m trying to talk my parents into letting me go, but my father is against it. He says women don¡¯t have any business learning how to use weapons.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Feng Ming. ¡°Well, I wish you luck in convincing your parents.¡±


    She gave him a bright smile and bustled off to attend to someone else. <em>This is strange</em>, thought Ming. <em>An academy that teaches weapons to mortal women</em>? <em>What kind of mad fool would</em>¡­ <em>This has to be Sen¡¯s doing</em>. Quickly finishing thest of his meal, he marched to the southern gate and out the other side. There was an obvious path leading off the road that he followed until he came across a building that did look like Sen¡¯s work. Spreading out his spiritual sense, he realized that there were a number of buildings clustered in the area. He also felt lots of mortals milling around, some of them clustered into what might be ssrooms or some kind of barracks. He was more shocked to discover that there were even a few cultivators. Ones that appeared to be teaching sses. He spotted a modest sign near a door on the building and lifted an eyebrow at what it said. Deep Wilds Academy.


    ¡°What are you ying at here, boy?¡± muttered Ming.


    He wandered around outside the buildings, trying to make sense of what he saw. It had an almost military feel to it, with groups of mortals running in groups or practicing forms. He even saw a few doing what looked like meditation. He studied those people. No, they weren¡¯t meditating, not exactly. They were almost cultivating. They were really too old to be starting down that road. They were also clearlycking in some crucial guidance. <em>No</em>, thought Ming, <em>that¡¯s not part of the learning here</em>. <em>Sen would never be so careless as to leave people unguided in cultivation</em>. Ming had only been willing to try an unstructured approach with Sen because so many things aligned in just the right way. Even then, it had been a gamble and one that he and Kho had monitored closely. Facts that he¡¯d made clear to Sen after he reached foundation formation. So, this pseudo-cultivation that was happening had to be something unnned. Spontaneous cultivation? Ming had never heard of such a thing before, but he was the first to admit that he didn¡¯t know everything. <em>Still</em>, thought Ming, <em>where is that boy</em>? If he was aware of this, he ought to be doing something about it.


    Ming was of half a mind to go and do something about it himself, but he suppressed that urge. He didn¡¯t know what was happening here. He shouldn¡¯t interfere before he understood what Sen¡¯s goals were. There was just too much that didn¡¯t make sense. There were too many mortals and not enough cultivators for it to be a sect. Yet, it wasn¡¯t a military thing either. Not with so many mortal girls running around the ce. Ming resolved to sit Sen down and get some answers about this madness the moment he found him. He was preparing to go search inside the buildings when a positively adorable little girl came charging up to him. She peered up at him with curious eyes and absolutely no fear in her eyes. <em>This is how children should look at things</em>, thought Ming. He smiled at the girl.


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    The girl seemed to recall something because her face scrunched up in concentration, which was just about the cutest thing Ming had seen in at least a hundred years. Then, she carefully sped her hands together and gave him a little bow.


    ¡°This one is Liu Ai,¡± she announced, briefly achieving a parody of adult politeness, before abandoning it entirely. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    He grinned at the precocious little thing and offered her a very formal bow.


    ¡°This one is Feng Ming,¡± he told her. ¡°It¡¯s very nice to meet you Liu Ai.¡±


    The girl started at his name. Her eyes went wide before she offered him a glowing smile. Then, sheunched herself forward and hugged his leg. Ming was momentarily taken aback by this unexpected outpouring of affection.


    ¡°You¡¯re my grandfather!¡± she shouted excitedly.


    Ming was feeling both taken aback and mildly confused by the announcement, but he was also amused. This wasn¡¯t the first time some small child had mistaken him for a grandparent, nor did he expect it would be thest time. He just had that kind of a face. He decided to indulge the child.


    ¡°I am?¡± he asked.


    She nodded her head vigorously. ¡°You are!¡±


    ¡°Who told you that?¡±


    ¡°Papa,¡± she said as if that being was <em>the</em> definitive source of all trustworthy knowledge in the entire universe.


    ¡°And who is your papa?¡±


    ¡°Papa¡¯s name is Lu Sen.¡±


    Ming felt like he¡¯d taken a blow to the head. Since when had Sen had an adorable daughter? Had the boy been hiding the girl somewhere? And if so, why had Sen hidden her from him? If he¡¯d known, he would have¡­ Well, Ming wasn¡¯t entirely sure what he would have done. It probably would have involved a lot of sweets, and issuing nket death threats across the continent. For a brief moment, Ming wondered if he¡¯d been gone for longer than he thought he had. He did lose track of time when he got focused on something. <em>Did I miss out on years of shamelessly spoiling Sen¡¯s little girl</em>? Then, he heard someoneughing. He looked over and saw Ma Caihong, hand mped over her mouth, using a tree to help her stand as she shook with mirth. When she saw him giving her a narrowed-eyed look, she came over to them. The little girl let go of his leg and cheerfully pointed at him.


    ¡°Grandfather is here!¡±


    ¡°So he is,¡± she agreed, gently ruffling the girl¡¯s hair before she turned twinkling eyes on Ming. ¡°Oh, your face.¡±


    Ming rolled his eyes.


    ¡°You sent her over here like that on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I absolutely did. It¡¯s too bad Jaw-Long is teaching. He¡¯ll be sad he missed it.¡±


    That prompted a slew of questions that he never got to ask because Ai grabbed a few of his fingers and started pulling him back toward the trail.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± he asked amiably.


    ¡°You have to meet Zhi,¡± she told him.


    ¡°And who is Zhi?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s my friend.¡±


    ¡°And do you normally just run into the town on your own?¡±


    The little girl stopped and looked up at him with an expression of perfect confusion. Like it had never, not even once, urred to her that she shouldn¡¯t just run into the town whenever she pleased. Ming nced at Caihong.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± said Caihong.


    And he did. As soon as they entered the vige. Ai started shouting and waving at people. All of them gave her big smiles and waved back. More to the point, everyst one of them carried spears or had jian belted at their waists. Nothing mortal was ever going to bother that little girl inside the town, because she had built herself a fortress of willing protectors. <em>The heavens help whatever poor bastard breaks her heart the first time</em>, thought Ming. <em>With so many people concerned about her well-being, he won¡¯t live to see the dawn</em>. A few of the men and women she waved to came over to say hi and were cautiously interested in meeting Ai¡¯s grandfather. Ming did his best to be gruff and grandfatherly and thanked everyone for keeping such a good eye on his granddaughter. He found it helped people rx. Eventually, they reached a particr house. Ai raced up to the door, opened it, and ran inside.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t even knock,¡± said Ming.


    ¡°She¡¯d only ever do that here,¡± said Caihong.


    Ming lifted an eyebrow, but Ai came back out, all but dragging another adorable little girl with her. She pulled her friend over to Ming, who gave both girls a smile.


    ¡°This is my grandfather,¡± Ai announced proudly.


    The other girl looked up at him, warier than Ai had been, but still curious.


    Ming gave the new girl a very proper bow.


    ¡°This one is Feng Ming. And who might you be?¡±


    The girl gave him a shy smile before she managed something vaguely like a bow.


    ¡°This one is Li Zhi.¡±


    ¡°She draws birds!¡± Ai interrupted. ¡°Show him!¡±


    That was how Ming found himself watching two little girls drawing birds and flowers in the dirt. It was only after that had been going for nearly an hour that he finally turned to Caihong.


    ¡°Where is Sen?¡±


    ¡°In the capital,¡± she said. ¡°Something to do with the king.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± said Ming. ¡°I wonder if any of the city is still standing.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 49: Rumination

    Book 8: Chapter 49: Rumination


    Sen had ground his teeth when Lo Meifeng first dispatched riders to visit a few, very carefully chosen sects. He ground his teeth every time he thought about it. Sects had been the source of so much unhappiness and pain in his life. The idea of doing business of any kind with them felt <em>wrong</em>. Unnatural. Almost a vition of something sacrosanct. Yet, after hearing just a little bit about how things were on the far side of the Mountains of Sorrow, he knew that they truly were the lesser of two evils. And like or not, his own choices had led him to a ce where he had to consider things like what the lesser of two evils were. Given a choice between sects that enforced some level of restraint on their members and cultivator nobility who were perfectly happy to treat mortals like ves, he would take the sects. It didn¡¯t make employing them <em>feel</em> any better to him, though. That was why he had left that work almost entirely to Lo Meifeng.


    If he¡¯d left it to himself, it never would have gotten done, and it <em>needed</em> to get done. He¡¯d required a fast way to secure those distant Xie properties and holdings in the short term, while he assembled at least semi-reliable mortal forces to go and hold them in truth. As Lo Meifeng had exined to him, repeatedly, and at length, using sects was the only realistic option. All of the other options meant marching forces across the kingdom. Forces he still didn¡¯t have or at least not in sufficient numbers. They had recruited a fair number of ex-soldiers and a few mercenaries who had managed to get past Lo Meifeng and Grandmother Lu''s rather incisive questioning. Of course, even if he had been able to find enough men with the right skills immediately, sending them out inrge numbers was the kind of thing that always drew attention. Word would spread ahead of them. People would talk. There would be vicious fighting to reim every bit of territory.


    All of which could be sidestepped by sending out aparatively small force of cultivators. Only other sects would question it when cultivators moved, and they wouldn¡¯t take an active interest unless those cultivators made a nuisance of themselves. Sen shook his head and tried to shove his unease to the back of his mind. He¡¯d been having this same argument with himself every single day. In the end, it all came down to a simple question. <em>Do I trust the judgment of the people around me</em>? Sen did trust their judgment. In part because they had earned that trust, and in part because he knew that his poor rtionship with sects was at least partially his own fault. He had decided early on that sects and everything to do with them was bad. That had bred a kind of arrogance in him. He was dismissive of sects, which he knew infuriated sect members. Knowing that, he acted dismissive of them anyway. Not that sect disciples needed much excuse to start trouble, but he had never helped the situation. And then, he¡¯d used their negative reactions to his disdain for them as proof that sects were indeed evil. It was a tidy little circle of justification he¡¯d made for himself.


    Except, now, he wasn¡¯t in a ce where he could indulge that kind of juvenile thinking anymore without hampering his own ns. The world was moreplicated than the simple either-or he¡¯d been applying to sects. He¡¯d met people from sects who weren¡¯t terrible people. People who did have honor, and who did care about doing the right thing, even if he¡¯d had to remind some of them of that fact. The truth was that sects were made up of people. Some of them were undoubtedly awful. Some of them were undoubtedly good. Most of them were probably in the middle somewhere. The same as all the mortals Sen had met over the years. It was just easy to see sect cultivators as evil because the power they held made them so much more deadly and destructive when they did turn out to be huge piles of garbage masquerading as a person. Sen stood up from the table where he¡¯d been staring nkly at paperwork for at least twenty minutes.


    ¡°I <em>have</em> to stop doing this to myself. It¡¯s done. Rehashing it won¡¯t change anything,¡± Sen announced to the, for once, empty room.


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    A momentter, the door popped open and Pan Shiji stepped inside.


    ¡°Did you call for me, Lord Lu?¡± she asked.


    Sen was almost positive that she knew he hadn¡¯t called for her, based on the faint blush that crept into her cheeks when he raised an eyebrow at her. He¡¯d also figured out that nothing short of an explicit order not toe into the room would keep her out. An order he forced himself not to give at least six times a day. She¡¯d never done anything wrong. <em>She¡¯s just creepy</em>, thought Sen. There was something unhealthy about her fixation on him. He¡¯d never seen anything quite like it before, and he wasn¡¯t sure what to do about it. Yet, it also didn¡¯t seem like a big enough issue that he should bother his already overworked friends, family, and acquaintances with it. So, he put up with it and hoped that it would go away on its own. Since she was already there, he turned to the table and gathered up the work that he managed to finish before his daily descent into second-guessing choices he already made. <em>I should ask Jing if he has these kinds of problems the next time I see him</em>, thought Sen. He handed the scrolls over and shooed her out of the room.He walked over to the window and looked down into the courtyard. He saw guards doing what he assumed were normal guard things. They had even gotten uniforms¡­ <em>No</em>, <em>it¡¯s called livery</em>, Sen reminded himself. He didn¡¯t know why they had to call those uniforms livery instead of just calling them uniforms, but he hadn¡¯t cared enough to dig into the reasons. He also saw peopleing and going through the gates, most of them carrying out tasks about which he knew nothing. He honestly found it a little distressing how much activity was being carried out in his name, or at least in the name of the House of Lu, about which he was wholly ignorant. He suspected that most of it consisted of the type of mundane tasks that he¡¯d delegated back at his academy. It was the not knowing that ate at him. When he¡¯d asked about it, he¡¯d been firmly told by both Lo Meifeng and Grandmother Lu that the work didn¡¯t need his attention. Pressing the matter had simply resulted in being told that his interference would only slow the work down.


    Part of him understood their point but it still sat poorly. <em>It¡¯s only going to get worse</em>, he thought. <em>Every bit of that property and those businesses those cultivators will go im for you will be another thing you can¡¯t oversee directly</em>. It didn¡¯t take any special insight to see that it was too much for any one person. It¡¯s too much for any ten people. This was why noble houses had small armies of servants and staff. It was why the kingdom had buildings full of bureaucrats, to say nothing of armies that had their own structures and officers and bureaucrats. Thoughts like that made Sen feel very small, tired, and overwhelmed. It also made him hate being in this city all the more. He missed Ai so much it felt like a stab wound that refused to heal. He missed Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho. He even found himself missing Fu Run and her instability. He missed Falling Leaf almost as much as he missed Ai. He knew it had been the right decision not to bring her back to the capital. She was happiest in the wilds and ces close to it.


    Oh, but what he wouldn¡¯t have given to have her with him. Above all others, he trusted her. Not to give him advice or guide him in theseplex political decisions. She wouldn¡¯t have cared about any of this maneuvering he was doing beyond how much or how little danger it put him in. But if the danger came, she would stand beside him and face it. It was a certainty, a fact, a foundational truth in his world. That was the sort of certainty, the kind of loyalty, that you could not pay for. He knew it made him stronger by its mere presence, and he knew it helped keep his emotions stable. He also knew that the only reason he hadn¡¯t abandoned this entire venture already was the constant assurances from Lo Meifeng and Grandmother Lu that he would be free to go back north soon. He wouldn¡¯t be able to stay away from the capital forever, but the prospect of even a temporary respite kept him going. <em>If soon doesn¡¯t turn into tomorrow very quickly</em>, <em>though</em>, <em>I¡¯m leaving anyway</em>, thought Sen. <em>I¡¯ve already been gone for far longer than I ever nned</em>. Slightly cheered by that promise to himself, Sen went back to the table and picked up another scroll.

 Book 8: Chapter 50: Peace, Interrupted

    Book 8: Chapter 50: Peace, Interrupted


    A few dayster, just when Sen was on the verge of thinking that maybe he could have brought Ai along for this trip, an explosion made the entire building shudder. For a second, Sen was caughtpletely t-footed. He hadn¡¯t sensed any surge of qi. There had been no warning at all. A momentter, he brushed aside that irrelevance and rushed over to the window. He looked down into the courtyard below and mostly just saw smoke and fire. Where he could see clearly, he saw the dead and injured. He almost went straight through the window, but realized that it wouldn¡¯t really save that much time and just create another problem to fix. The door burst open and Pan Shiji crashed into the room, only for Sen to blur past her on his way out. It had been a while since he was so hyper-focused that he fell into that state of mind where every second seemed to stretch out.


    <em>I don¡¯t understand what just happened</em>, he thought. <em>It¡¯s obviously an attack</em><em>but where did ite from</em>? <em>And why didn¡¯t I sense anything</em>? He also couldn¡¯t understand why it had happened in the courtyard. He¡¯d always assumed that any attacks here would target him, specifically. That was why he¡¯d created such aggressive defenses. It would give him those few heartbeats of warning he¡¯d need if some hostile cultivator showed up who had the kind of power necessary to bring him down. However, the defenses hadn¡¯t so much as twitched. Even now, they were calm. Had someone found a way to tamper with them? It seemed unlikely given theirplexity. It would have been easier to take them down than to alter them. Plus, there was that disturbingck of any kind of qi before or during the explosion.


    This attack, though, didn¡¯t make any sense. It looked like it had intentionally targeted the mortals down in the courtyard. Was it designed to instill terror in the people who had chosen toe work for the House of Lu? A warning to scare off any would-be servants and guards? Or was it simply an attack meant tosh at him in any way possible? Who stood to benefit from that? The list of people who might want to hurt him <em>that</em> way was depressingly long, and it didn¡¯t matter right at that moment. He¡¯d reached the entryway and, unlike up in his office, he didn¡¯t choose the path of least destruction. Sen crashed through the doors, almost unconsciously reaching out and catching all of the flying debris with air qi before it could hurt anyone.


    The courtyard was pure chaos. Things were on fire. The smoke was so thick it impeded even Sen¡¯s enhanced vision. People were running. They were screaming. They were dying. Up until that moment, Sen¡¯s rtionship with all of the people working for the House of Lu had been tenuous. A lot of them were former House of Xie members. A group he had mixed feelings about at best. The rest had been virtual strangers. He could only name a handful of the people they¡¯d hired,rgely because he so rarely interacted with them. It wasn¡¯t due to some intentional design to keep them at a distance. They just had jobs that didn¡¯t include necessary trips to the room he was stuck in most of the time. When he did have the opportunity to wander around, it almost always happenedte in the night when the mortals were asleep. It had also been easy to dismiss them because nothing bad was happening. <em>I should have known better</em>, thought Sen, <em>I should have known it wouldn¡¯tst</em>.


    That tenuous connection Sen had felt with the many servants and staff that had umted solidified into something far more real. None of them would have been hurt if they didn¡¯t work for him, or hadn¡¯t been all but ckmailed into working for him. They wouldn¡¯t have been targeted or gotten caught up in some n to get at him that backfired. Their pain could beid directly at his feet. He owed them all for this pain they hadn¡¯t brought down on themselves. He <em>owed</em> them, and he would find out who had done this. He would find those people, and he would make <em>examples</em>. But first, he had to save as many people as he could.


    Qi burst from Sen like a hurricane. He used fire qi to redirect and douse the oddly persistent mes that stubbornly clung to everything. Water qi followed immediately on its heels, snuffing out stray embers and offering at least a momentary reprieve from burn injuries. Wind qi roared through the courtyard. It seized up that thick, choking smoke and drove it high into the sky like a pir of unspent anger. Then, he was in motion. His spiritual sense guided him. He hurled debris out of the way to find the most injured. Summoned healing elixirs that were safe for mortals and all but force-fed them to the injured. He was everywhere, ordering those who could walk into the manor and flying those who couldn¡¯t on qi tforms. He tried not to look at the expressions of the people. Their fear was bad enough, but worse still was the hope in their eyes as he imposed order on the chaos through sheer force of personality. <em>They¡¯re putting their hope on the wrong person</em>, he thought. <em>If I was worth a damn</em>, <em>I would have prevented this from happening in the first ce</em>.


    His hands curled into white-knuckle fists every time he found a body. Someone who he¡¯d been toote to help. His spiritual sense could only help him find the living, so it felt like a punch to the gut every time he found one of the dead or, worse still, parts of them. <em>This will not go unpunished</em>, he promised the fallen. He knew it was really a promise to himself and to the living. The dead were already gone and starting their journeys in Diyu. The memory of this day would soon be washed away as they moved on to their next lives. That they would have a next life, another chance, should have been afort to Sen. It wasn¡¯t. He was¡­ He was whatever came beyond rage, beyond fury. As for any fool who imagined he¡¯d simply give up if finding the culprits proved difficult would discover that he was willing to wait as long as it took. Lo Meifeng and Grandmother Lu soon joined him in the courtyard. Lo Meifeng¡¯s face was a cold mask. Grandmother Lu, on the other hand, looked as livid as he felt.


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    ¡°Sen, you should go inside,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°You¡¯re the best equipped to help the wounded until we can get some more people in to help.¡±¡°You can bring in whoever you think will help, but <em>no one</em> leaves.¡±


    Lo Meifeng nodded and said, ¡°Agreed. Whoever did this might still be here.¡±


    Sen was surprised at how calm he sounded when he said, ¡°I don¡¯t care what it costs. I don¡¯t care what it takes. I want whoever did this <em>found</em>. Find them for me, Meifeng. Bring them to me.¡±


    Grandmother Lu was staring at Sen like she barely recognized him.


    ¡°What do you mean to do with them, boy?¡±


    ¡°I intend to make them tell me everything about why they did this. Then, I will make them all <em>suffer</em>.¡±


    A sad look passed over Grandmother Lu¡¯s face before she said, ¡°Such a long way toe in such a short time.¡±


    ¡°You disapprove?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°I just wish that it had been me who knew it had to be done, instead of you.¡±


    Sen grimaced a little and said, ¡°We all have to grow up eventually.¡±


    ¡°I suppose we do,¡± she said before looking around at all of the damage. ¡°What a senseless thing.¡±


    Sen nodded in agreement and then, at a gesture from Lo Meifeng, he went inside. The badly injured had been ced on the floor near the door, while the less injured had been moved somewhere else. <em>I guess someone had their head on straight</em>, thought Sen. A few of the servants were inexpertly tending to the wounded, while the rest milled about in a confused mass. Sen started barking orders, less because the servants could actually help the injured than because they needed something to do. He needed to let them feel useful so they wouldn¡¯t feel utterly powerless. Even as he was doing that, he was summoning his pot, and shaping a stove from the stone of the floor itself. All of this felt far too much like the aftermath of that battle between the Order of the Celestial me and the Clear Spring Sect. People moaning, some of them screaming, and some of them so hurt that they had, mercifully, lost consciousness. Except this would be so much harder because mortal bodies were so much more fragile.


    He summoned everyst elixir he thought was safe for mortals from his storage rings. Servants were told to hand them out to the less injured people. He had sent people off to make bandages that he expected they wouldn¡¯t need, but it was still useful to have them. He issued orders to make food for those who could eat. Soon, the confused disorder around him turned into purposeful action. Then, he got to work. Sen started out thinking everything through but soon dropped into that trance state where he wasn¡¯t thinking so much as reacting. He moved from injured person to injured person. Burns were the mostmon injury, but he had plenty of experience with those. There were also puncture injuries from flying debris. The trickiest thing was the impact damage from the physical st itself. That had proved catastrophic to delicate parts of their bodies, such as ears, eyes, and even their organs.


    He fell into a rhythm with it. All of those years of gathering medicinal nts and alchemical reagents were serving him well. He didn¡¯t need to think up substitutes because he had everything he needed. The screaming and moaning slowly subsided as the elixirs took hold. He¡¯d even made some elixirs designed specifically to limit pain, even if he harbored some worries about the potential side effects. People were suffering now, so he had to help them now. The one kind of injury that gave him pause was the amputations. People had lost arms, legs, hands, and feet. One young man in what looked like guard livery had lost both his eyes. Sen saved them forst. It had probably looked a little cruel to the servants, but it had been done solely to give his intuition time to work the problem.


    He¡¯d had ideas about how the right elixir could possibly regrow limbs, but never tested them. He¡¯d never even heard about anyone else attempting it, at least not with any sess. For the first time since he¡¯d started, Sen hesitated. The trance shuddered and threatened to break down before he strangled the life out of those doubts. The injuries were right in front of him and as recent as injuries could be. There would never be a better chance of repairing that damage. The longer the injuries had to settle, the harder it would be. Sen let himself fall even deeper into the trance. He was so deep that he couldn¡¯t even describe what he was doing as thinking anymore. He wasmuning with something. Reaching out into the world to grasp that knowledge he needed.


    ¡°Sen!¡± Lo Meifeng almost shouted.


    Startled by the unexpected noise, Sen snapped out of his reverie.


    ¡°What?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°You¡¯re done. You¡¯ve treated them all,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen, his minding back into focus. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    It was only then that he saw the servants and staff and some people he didn¡¯t even recognize standing around. They were all staring at him in ways that made him decidedly ufortable.


    ¡°Why are they looking at me like that?¡± Sen whispered to Lo Meifeng under his breath.


    ¡°Probably because they witnessed you performing miracles,¡± she said. ¡°So, the usual, I guess.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 51: Allegiance

    Book 8: Chapter 51: Allegiance


    ¡°You said you wanted the responsible persons found and didn¡¯t care about the methods or the cost,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve had a little time to sleep on it, does that still hold true?¡±


    Sen¡¯s only answer was to drop a bag full of gold onto the table between them. Lo Meifeng nodded and stored the bag in her own storage ring. After that, a steady stream of people that a blind man could recognize as dangerous came and went through the manor. However, none stayed for longer than it took to have a brief, private meeting with Lo Meifeng. They all left looking highly motivated. Sen didn¡¯t ask who they were or what orders she gave them. For once, the only thing Sen cared about was results. He did spend a lot of time in the courtyard, ring at the spot where the explosion had happened. It had taken a lot of conversation with the survivors to piece together an iplete idea of what had happened.


    Someone had brought in a load of what was supposed to be food. They even had a talisman to let them get through the gate. That was enough to make Sen gnash his teeth. That was such an obvious w in the defenses. The talismans weren¡¯t personal. A problem Sen realized he would need to ovee, although not until he could get his anger under wraps again. Still, the use of one of his own talismans undoubtedly meant that the body of someone who used to work for him was out there somewhere. Probably dumped or buried outside of the city walls, never to be found. <em>One more body to add to the butcher¡¯s bill</em>, fumed Sen. There was a headcount going on to see who was missing. They had a fairly good idea of who had died in the courtyard, but a lot of these people were still strangers to each other or had been brought on recently. It was a frustrating possibility that he¡¯d never know who had died with any certainty, which would make it impossible to see to the needs of their families.


    The explosion itself had vexed Sen to no end. He couldn¡¯tprehend how such a thing could have been aplished without any use of qi. It was Long Jia Wei who had finally solved that mystery for him after the man found Sen ring at the scorched, damaged stones in the courtyard.


    ¡°It¡¯s a kind of mortal alchemy,¡± said Long Jia Wei. ¡°My sect¡­ My <em>former</em> sect taught us about it. A tool to use in times when we didn¡¯t want to make it obvious cultivators were involved. It¡¯s abination of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter. It¡¯s a crude but effective way to cause an explosion.¡±


    Sen frowned as he thought about it. Auntie Caihong had taught him a bit about those kinds of ingredients, but her focus was healing and poisons. Not surprisingly, those had be his own areas of real expertise, even if he was much more interested in healing than in poisons. Applying what he did know about those ingredients, he could see how thatbination would produce such results. He nodded.


    ¡°I would like you to procure those ingredients for me,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°As you wish, Lord Lu,¡± said Long Jia Wei. ¡°May I ask why?¡±


    ¡°I want the people who did this to personally experience the effects,¡± said Sen, his face going hard. ¡°Not all at once. In small doses. One limb at a time, perhaps. I wish to repay their action in kind. However, I need to understand what I¡¯m dealing with to make that happen.¡±Long Jia Wei went very still for a moment, and Sen found the man¡¯s expression all but inscrutable. Then, he offered Sen a deep bow.


    ¡°You are a <em>frighteningly</em> upromising man, Lord Lu. I sincerely hope that you never find a reason to turn your anger on me.¡±


    ¡°Continue to perform your duties diligently, and I¡¯ll never have a reason to turn my anger on you,¡± answered Sen.


    It was apliment and a warning. Sen knew he wasn¡¯t usually that subtle, but he thought that Long Jia Wei was smart enough to glean the proper meanings from it.


    ¡°As you say. If you¡¯ll excuse me, Lord Lu. It seems that I have purchases to make.¡±


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    Sen waved a hand at the man. There was no reason to make him stand around while Sen brooded over things he couldn¡¯t change. For that matter, Sen couldn¡¯t really afford to waste his time brooding. There was still work to do. It was work that he wanted to put off but it wouldn¡¯t wait. Doing his best to steel his mind, he went back into the manor. The servants he crossed paths with, people who had once looked at him with fear, now stared at him with deep respect, some of it bordering on reverence. He hated that expression. It was so inappropriate, but it wasn¡¯t like he could order them to stop looking at him that way. <em>Well</em>, <em>I guess I could order them</em>, <em>but I doubt it would do any good</em>, thought Sen. So, as Falling Leaf had advised him, he just strove to live with it.


    He made his way to a set of rooms that had been set aside for a specific group of the wounded. Most of the people with minor injuries had been healed, physically anyway, and allowed to leave. The most injured, the ones who needed more time or more direct attention from him, had been put into these rooms. That included the ones he had experimented on to try to restore their missing limbs. Looking back, he wished he¡¯d gotten their permission to do it. Not that any of them had been in any condition to agree to something that extreme. Most of them hadn¡¯t even been conscious, which was probably a minor blessing. Still, he felt ill at ease about it. Like he¡¯d been using them somehow.


    It hadn¡¯t been his intention to use them. He hadn¡¯t gone looking for people to experiment on. He could have found those people in just about any town or vige in the nation. Manualbor was bothmon and dangerous. People got injured. In some cases, amputations happened. Even after he¡¯d thought it was possible to regrow someone¡¯s limbs, he¡¯d hesitated. What if he was wrong? How much worse would it be to offer that kind of hope and discover he¡¯d overestimated himself? With the people who¡¯d been injured by the explosion, he¡¯d just reacted to the situation and done his best to help. A good intention, certainly, but Sen wasn¡¯t sure how much intentions counted in situations like this. He didn¡¯t think any of them would have rejected the possibility of being restored, but he didn¡¯t <em>know</em> that. Theck of knowledge ate at him, and it wasn¡¯t like he could take it back now. At least, he couldn¡¯t take it back without doing some truly gruesome things.


    The thing that let him sleep was that the experiments had, as near as he could tell, worked. Even so, he¡¯d kept those people separated so he could keep track of their recovery. He hadn¡¯t been certain that those new limbs, hands, feet, and eyes would work properly. The body was a horriblyplicated thing. The more Sen learned about it, the moreplicated it became. He¡¯d relied far more on qi to fill in the gaps in his understanding than he feltfortable with. He¡¯d been haunted by the idea that he¡¯d regrown limbs that people wouldn¡¯t be able to use. That they¡¯d just dangle, limp, like pieces of dead wood that they¡¯d have to drag around for the rest of their lives. It would have been like some kind of sick parody of wholeness. If that had happened, Sen might never have been able to stop thinking of himself as some kind of monster.


    That hadn¡¯t happened, though, which wasn¡¯t to say that it had been entirely sessful. At least, he couldn¡¯t say it was entirely sessful yet. Those new limbs weren¡¯t exactly the same as the old ones. The muscles were weak. Fingerscked dexterity. The one exception was the young man who had his eyes restored. He had imed the new ones worked better than the old ones ever had, even if he couldn¡¯t bear bright lights yet. So, Sen went from room to room, asking questions, looking at the limbs, and examining everyone with his qi and spiritual sense. He fixed a smile in ce and kept it there until his face hurt. He <em>had</em> to because that look of reverence he saw in the faces of the servants was full-blown worship on the faces of these people. They were zealots. Converts to a religion that hadn¡¯t existed a few days before, and they had made him the central figure in that religion.


    That, more than anything else, convinced him that he needed to leave the capital as soon as he¡¯d wrapped up this explosion business. His continued presence would only be a distraction. When he¡¯d finished speaking with thest person, he walked out into the hall and stopped dead. All of the people he¡¯d seen were waiting, many of them leaning on the people next to them to stay upright. The person he¡¯d just seen staggered out into the hall on a leg that wasn¡¯t ready to support her. She walked over to the rest of them. They all lowered themselves to the floor and kowtowed to him. Sen was about to tell them all to stop it, but they beat him to the punch. As one, they did as Pan Shiji had done and swore their lives to him personally. Sen just stared at them as a brief divine glow surrounded them all for a moment before fading from view. He hadn¡¯t nned for this, and his mind proved supremely unhelpful in navigating the situation. All Sen could think was, <em>what in the thousand hells am I supposed to do now</em>?

 Book 8: Chapter 52: A Bad Week to Be a Bad Guy

    Book 8: Chapter 52: A Bad Week to Be a Bad Guy


    Guo Wuhao, captain of the city guard, was not having a good day. He hadn¡¯t had a good day yesterday or the day before either. In fact, he hadn¡¯t had a good day in almost a week. These were the kind of weeks that had killed his predecessor. Powers far beyond him were moving in the city. There had been rumors of some kind of an attack at the new Lord Lu¡¯s manor. It was hard to credit those rumors. What kind of insanity would drive someone to attack a cultivator <em>that</em> powerful? Still, he had sent men to investigate, as was his duty. Those men hade back to report that they had been turned away at the gate, first by hard-faced guards, and then by a cultivator who had left them all shaken to the core. No exnations were given, and it wasn¡¯t like the city guard was going to storm the manor of a noble without a directmand from the throne. Let alone to investigate something that the resident lord clearly <em>did not want</em> investigated. He had considered the matter closed. Just some kind of noble fight or cultivator conflict that had gotten out of hand and would be settled out of sight. Or, so he had thought.


    A sharp pain in his stomach brought the man out of his own thoughts and back to the moment, where his second-inmand was giving him a report. Guo Wuhao only half-listened to the report. It was more of the same. It seemed <em>someone</em> was unhappy with the recent turn of events. Reports had beening in all week. Figures in shadowy corners doing shadowy things. People disappearing in the night. Entire buildings disappearing in the night with only rubble left to show that anything had once stood there. It stood to reason that this was the work of Lord Lu, but there was no way to tie events to the man and no way to do anything about it even if they could. Still, Guo Wuhao had lived in the capital for his entire life. He knew the way the city felt when things were generally well, and when things were not well. Right now, there was a feeling in the air. Someone wanted vengeance, and they meant to have it. The city guard could try to stand in their way but that was a path to disgrace or death. His attention had wandered again, so he couldn¡¯t recall what his second-inmand had just said.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°I asked what should we do?¡±


    Guo Wuhao winced at another sharp pain in his stomach and said, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Nothing?¡± asked the startled young man before him.


    ¡°Nothing. Whatever this is, these events are beyond us. We can either stand aside or be crushed. I won¡¯t throw lives away on something we can¡¯t stop.¡±


    ***


    Chen Yuyi shifted his position on the bed <em>again</em>. There hadn¡¯t been much sleep in thest week. Not since <em>that</em> day. It had seemed like a simple enough job. Get a talisman from someone who worked for that new lord. He¡¯d done a hundred jobs just like it. He¡¯d assumed that the point was to let someone infiltrate the manor and do some basic spying. The risk of offending a noble was high, and a cultivator even more, but the pay had simply been too good to pass up. He¡¯d followed some woman from the manor and caught her alone. If she¡¯d just given up the talisman, he¡¯d have let her go eventually. He wasn¡¯t a sadist. He didn¡¯t like killing people. He¡¯d even offered to pay for it. Enough that a servant could simply disappear with the money. Not only had the woman refused, she¡¯d even tried to fight him. There hadn¡¯t been another choice. He killed her and took what he needed. The entire matter had slipped from his mind until the rumors started to spread. An attack at that new lord¡¯s manor. People dead or dying or injured.His unease at those rumors had exploded into full-blown panic when a different kind of rumor started in the ces where people like Chen Yuyi spent their time. There were new predators at work in the city. A pack of person-shaped wolves that someone had turned loose to hunt on their behalf. He¡¯d left the city proper that very day and found a farm in one of the viges that helped supply food to the capital. He¡¯d rented a room from the farmer and been a very quiet, very respectful tenant. He¡¯d picked a ce where no one knew him, which had advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that he¡¯d been able to make up a name and no one questioned it. The disadvantage was that he¡¯d been cut off from his usual sources of information. He was forced to visit the vige each day and listen for news of other strangers or people asking questions. There hadn¡¯t been anything like that, but he wasn¡¯t convinced at all that he was safe.


    <em>It¡¯s probably time to move on again</em>, he thought. <em>Maybe go somewhere else in the kingdom</em>. He had more than enough money that he could start some kind of legitimate business. It wouldn¡¯t be anything extravagant. He¡¯d keep it simple. Maybe he¡¯d open up a little noodle shop. He didn¡¯t know anything about noodles, but he could learn. Nobody ever showed up to hurt noodle shop owner. People loved noodles. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. It would mean burying his pride and finding a noodle shop somewhere that would take him on to learn the trade. Still, sacrificing a little pride was a small price to pay for his life. There had to be some noodle shop owner out there without a child to take over the business. Chen Yiyi just needed to find them. Having made the decision, he felt better about things. Calmer. He¡¯d leave in the morning and head to Emperor¡¯s Bay. It wasn¡¯t the capital, but he supposed that was the point.


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    He rolled over to get morefortable, only to have a gloved hand mp down on his mouth. He stared up at the figure who had, somehow, impossibly, entered the room without making so much as a single noise. Chen Yiyi was used to dealing with dangerous people. He was friends with some of them. He was frequently hired by dangerous people. The eyes that looked down on him made all of those friends and employers pale inparison. They were cold, pitiless orbs. The eyes of someone who would wear the exact same expression regardless of whether they were eating a meal or removing fingers one by one. When an invisible force wrapped around his body, Chen Yiyi knew he was doomed. A cultivator hade for him. When the cultivator finally said something, it was a simple confirmation.


    ¡°Lord Lu would like to speak to you.¡±


    ***


    The door opened and, after a gesture, Quon entered the room.


    ¡°He has arrived,¡± said the man.


    Fong Huifen nodded and did her best to smooth her features into a mask of polite pleasantness. After witnessing his disy at the royal pce, she had been looking for a way to ingratiate herself to Lu Sen. She hadn¡¯t expected an opportunity to present itself so quickly. Events had simply outpaced her. It was a rare urrence for the matriarch but not unheard of. No one could know everything, after all. The foolish attack on the man¡¯s new manor had caught everyone unawares. She had not expected it. By all ounts, the king had not expected it. However, she was willing to bet that the most surprised person had been Lu Sen himself. Not that it had slowed him down very much. There were whispers that he had worked alchemical magics the likes of which the world had never seen to save lives that anyone else would have given up for dead. Not simply saved lives, but restored limbs and washed away the scarring that were the inevitable result of burns. She didn¡¯t know how much stock to put in those stories, but she wasn¡¯t sure she dared to disbelieve them either. Stories of such miracles swirled around the man like fog.


    Once he¡¯d finished the healing, though, he had turned his resources to finding the guilty. It had been swift and ruthless. She didn¡¯t know where he¡¯d found the people who were doing the work but found them he had. And that was where the opportunity she¡¯d been looking for finally showed itself. The one thing that she could provide the man was information. While his people were efficient, they didn¡¯t seem to have roots in the city. They were making up for that shoring with simple scale, but her family had been in the capital for centuries and centuries. Their spywork was deep. There were entire families who had been in the employ of the House of Fong for ten generations. Never one to let an opportunity slip through her fingers, she had put those spies to work. Even if the information they gathered ovepped with the information Lu Sen¡¯s people gathered, that was actually a benefit. It would serve as a kind of verification. Given what she¡¯d found out, she needed him to believe the information was genuine, and not simply a ploy on her part. Not that she¡¯d expect him to act on it immediately, but if he put in the effort, he could confirm it.


    When a servant showed Lu Sen into the room, Fong Huifen told herself that she was focusing on a spot between his eyebrows because she wanted to. She most certainly was not avoiding looking directly at his face. She was far too old to be flustered by the appearance of any man, especially not a man who couldn¡¯t be more than half her age. He gave her a shallow bow and eyed Quon with a curious expression.


    ¡°Matriarch Fong,¡± said Lu Sen, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to be rude, but I have a number of important matters that I should be attending to. You said this was urgent, so I hope we can dispense with the usual pleasantries.¡±


    If she hadn¡¯t known that he was telling the absolute truth, she might have been a little annoyed with his brusque manner. Running her house required a positively obscene amount of her time. She cringed to imagine what it would be like trying to take over an entire house.


    ¡°Of course,¡± she said. ¡°Please, have a seat.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, settling into a chair across from her.


    ¡°Quon, if you would.¡±


    Quon walked over and offered a scroll to Lu Sen, who took it but did not open it immediately. That was more self-discipline than she would have expected from one so young.


    ¡°Patriarch Lu, I have be aware of your recent efforts. I decided to see if my own sources could unearth any information that might prove useful to you. The contents of that scroll contain what we have learned.¡±


    Fong Huifen waited as the man studied her with a distant expression on his face.


    ¡°Why?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I do not wish for my house to share the same fate as the House of Xie.¡±


    ¡°Is there a reason it would?¡±


    ¡°No, but the world doesn¡¯t always turn on reasons, does it?¡±


    ¡°I suppose it doesn¡¯t,¡± he admitted.


    The man opened the scroll and read through the contents at a speed that Fong Huifen was certain would only be possible for a cultivator. When he was done, he rolled the scroll up again and, after a moment of thought, held it out to Quon.


    ¡°I expect you want to destroy that,¡± exined Lu Sen.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± answered Quon.


    Lu Sen turned his attention back to her.


    ¡°You¡¯re certain of your findings, Matriarch Fong?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Or as certain as one can be in such situations. I don¡¯t expect you to take my word for it. You have your own people. I imagine they can verify anything we found.¡±


    Lu Sen rose from his seat, and she was struck again by how imposing the man was up close. Not that he did anything specific to <em>be</em> imposing, he was just so tall that he loomed simply by standing there. He offered her another shallow bow.


    ¡°I will remember this¡­¡± he seemed to consider what word to choose. ¡°This kindness.¡±


    Fong Huifen rose from her own seat and returned his bow. It irked her, but she made it deeper than his. He was a cultivator and only fools ignored something like that.


    ¡°I wish you good fortune in your current endeavors,¡± said Fong Huifen.


    Then, the man was gone. The matriarch turned to Quon.


    ¡°A sess, do you think?¡±


    The man stood in thoughtful silence for a moment before he said, ¡°I think so. What do you think he¡¯ll do?¡±


    ¡°That, I honestly don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Fong Huifen. ¡°I expect we¡¯ll <em>all</em> hear about it whenever it does happen.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 53: Mutual Benefit

    Book 8: Chapter 53: Mutual Benefit


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving,¡± announced Sen. ¡°When I¡¯m done making examples and fixing the problem with the defenses, I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    He was standing at the window and staring down at the damaged spot in the courtyard. It was something he¡¯d found himself doing more and more often. He found it was a good reminder to himself never to be too confident that he¡¯d thought of everything. He¡¯d assumed that he¡¯d made them safe here. That assumption had cost people their lives, and that was something he couldn¡¯t make right. It had only been dumb luck that Grandmother Lu wasn¡¯t in the courtyard when that explosion happened. While it probably wouldn¡¯t have hurt him at all, and just left Lo Meifeng in a foul temper, he had no such confidence that Grandmother Lu would have survived it ore away unscathed. That business with the people he¡¯d helped to heal swearing allegiance to him had been the final sign that he¡¯d been in the capital for too long. He drew too much attention here. Not that he could say with any certainty that his presence caused the attack, but it seemed all too likely that it had been a message directed at him.


    ¡°That might be a hasty decision,¡± ventured Lo Meifeng, although she sounded very tentative about it.


    ¡°Perhaps, but I have other responsibilities and obligations. I¡¯ve been away from my daughter for too long. I never nned to be here more than a few days. It¡¯s been weeks and weeks. I¡¯ve sent a letter to Auntie Caihong exining things. Not everything, but the broad strokes. Besides, are you honestly telling me that you think having me here is more of a help than a harm?¡±


    Lo Meifeng was quiet for longer than necessary before she let out a breath and said, ¡°No.¡±


    Grandmother Lu chimed in then.


    ¡°Well, at least both of your brains are still working. I¡¯ll be the first to admit that having Sen here provides benefits. He¡¯s scary. That solves <em>some</em> problems before they ever start. The issue with scary is that it provokes extreme responses. If we want to get things in order here, we need things to stabilize.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t stabilize things,¡± said Sen. ¡°Not here, at any rate. I¡¯m too unpredictable for the capital. I don¡¯t answer to anyone. No one knows how to react to me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t answer to anyone, boy?¡± asked Grandmother Lu.¡°Except for you, Grandmother.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± she said, her eyes twinkling.


    ¡°And you want to go home,¡± added Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Of course, I want to go home,¡± said Sen. ¡°I wanted to go home before I ever got here. At home, there¡¯s a little girl who is always happy to see me. My biggest problems most days are dealing with a mildly unhinged nascent soul cultivator and making sure my academy has enough food and instructors. Annoying at times, I¡¯ll admit, but I almost never have to kill anybody. It seems like every time Ie to this damn city, I end up having to kill a lot of people. Which would you pick?¡±


    ¡°I can concede that, in your ce, I¡¯d probably pick being at home as well,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°There you go.¡±


    ¡°There are still things to do before you go,¡± said Grandmother Lu. ¡°Don¡¯t let your mind leave before your body does.¡±


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    Sen nodded and said, ¡°I know. And I won¡¯t. First things first, what do the two of you think of the information that Fong Huifen provided? urate?¡±


    ¡°Probably. I¡¯m more concerned with why she provided it if I¡¯m being honest,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°A valid concern,¡± said Grandmother Lu, ¡°although, ultimately, not thatplicated.¡±


    ¡°No?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t met her, yet, but I¡¯d be willing to bet that she¡¯s like me. She¡¯s getting old. She isn¡¯t someone doing things that <em>only</em> serve her pride. At least, probably no more than any other noble. She¡¯s looking for ways to preserve and protect what¡¯s hers. Angering a cultivator who already proved he¡¯s willing to end a noble house doesn¡¯t serve those ends. If I was her, I¡¯d be looking for some way to make you like me, or at least make you not actively dislike me.¡±


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t think she¡¯s manipting me?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish. Of course, she¡¯s manipting you. She¡¯s just being smart about it. You don¡¯t need to lie to manipte someone, especially if the truth will get you what you want. Giving you that information creates at least a little goodwill on your part. If she does something that interferes with your goals down the road, it may stay your hand or at least make you more likely to let her make it up to you. It¡¯s also a good way for her to weaken one of her rivals. And she aplishes all of that by helping you do the thing you want to do.¡±


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ve confirmed it. Patriarch Wu was involved?¡±


    ¡°It appears that way,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    Sen looked out the window at the courtyard again. He didn¡¯t like the idea of being manipted, but Grandmother Lu was right. It wasn¡¯t maniption in the sense he normally thought of it. Fong Huifen hadn¡¯t lied to him. She hadn¡¯t even suggested a course of action. She¡¯d given him information and told him to confirm it for himself. In the end, the only thing she¡¯d done was point him in a particr direction. It was a direction that would ultimately benefit her and her house but only because it was true. The entire thing would have copsed if he¡¯d found out it wasn¡¯t. <em>So</em>, Sen asked himself, <em>what¡¯s really bothering me about this</em>? He stood in thoughtful silence for a few minutes as he considered the question. The only answer he coulde up with was that he didn¡¯t like that he¡¯d been so easy to read, but it wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d been opaque about his intentions. Fong Huifen had simply observed those intentions and found a way to make them useful to her. The whole thing was deeply cynical, but he couldn¡¯t deny that they¡¯d both get something out of it.


    ¡°I suppose,¡± said Sen, ¡°that I have to give the woman credit for seeing an opportunity and grabbing it.¡±


    Lo Meifeng made a surprised noise. Sen gave her a questioning look.


    She shrugged and said, ¡°You don¡¯t generally respond well to maniption.¡±


    ¡°Usually, when someone is manipting me, they do it in such a way that I¡¯ll get nothing for my trouble. She provided something useful. I won¡¯t pretend that I like it, but I also won¡¯t pretend that the information she offered was useless. We aren¡¯t friends, but she¡¯ll get what she wants. We won¡¯t be enemies either. That¡¯s probably about as good as it gets in politics.¡±


    ¡°And what about the House of Wu?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°What about it?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯m wondering if they¡¯ll get the same treatment as the House of Xie. Not to put too fine a point on it, but we¡¯re already stretched thin here. I don¡¯t think we have the kind of resources or manpower to take over two noble houses.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That. No, I¡¯m not going to punish the entire house. I mean, they might have iting. Hells, they probably have iting, but I don¡¯t know that for sure. Plus, tearing down another house could have consequences I can¡¯t see. It might destabilize the entire kingdom for all I know. I didn¡¯te here to start a civil war. So, the House of Wu gets off light.¡±


    ¡°You do intend to do <em>something</em>, though,¡± said Grandmother Lu.


    ¡°Of course. I said the House of Wu gets off light. Wu Chia-Hao is another matter entirely. Patriarch Wu will pay just like everyone else. He¡¯ll pay with his life.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t just drag him into the street and kill him,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°I mean, you can, but you shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll let him die in his sleep or something else that everyone will find ptable but not before he talks. That man will tell me <em>everything</em> I want to know first.¡±


    ¡°Why would he do that?¡± asked Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Just because we all know that I¡¯m not going to destroy his house, I¡¯m not nning on letting <em>him</em> in on that piece of information.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 54: Human Shields

    Book 8: Chapter 54: Human Shields


    Sen swept his eyes across the rows of armored men standing between him and the gate of the Wu manor. They were terrified. <em>As they rightly should be facing down a peak core cultivator</em>, thought Sen. <em>I¡¯d question their sanity if they weren¡¯t terrified</em>. Sen let his gaze settle on a man in more ornate armor than the rest. He had at least done his subordinates the courtesy of standing out in front.


    ¡°You are not wee here,¡± said the man in the ornate armor.


    ¡°Do you think that makes a difference?¡± asked Sen. ¡°Send these men home. I will not treat you kindly if you force me to butcher them.¡±


    ¡°You would have us dishonor ourselves? We have a duty to protect the noble House of Wu.¡±


    ¡°There will be no honor here,¡± said Sen. ¡°None for you in ordering these men into a fight they cannot win. None for them in being cut down like herd animals. And none for me in doing the ughtering. As for your duty¡­ You¡¯ll have to find your own way with that.¡±


    Sen waited while the one in charge seemed to weigh what was best to do. Sen was at least mildly sympathetic to the man¡¯s position. After all, if he survived, he would be the one who had to answer to the House of Wu when all of this was over. When Sen¡¯s sympathy and patience gave out, he turned his attention to the rows of men. He let a shadow of his killing intent wash over them.


    ¡°Leave,¡± hemanded.


    Whatever discipline had kept them in ce up until then cracked and shattered under the influence of Sen¡¯s killing intent. The one in the ornate armor started screaming at them to <em>stand their ground</em> and other absurdities that did nothing to quell the fear that gripped the fleeing group. When it became clear that his efforts were wasted, the man whirled toward Sen.


    ¡°You damn cultivators! Always doing whatever you want because no mortals can stop you. You¡¯re not gods!¡±¡°You¡¯re right. We¡¯re not gods. If I were a god, I would have restored the lives of all the innocent people your master helped to murder. But, since I¡¯m <em>not</em> a god, I have to settle for the next best thing. Now, you can join your master in his fate, or you can stand aside. I¡¯d prefer not to kill you. I don¡¯t relish the notion of adding to my karmic debts, but if you stand against me after I¡¯ve provided you ample opportunity to leave,¡± Sen said before he shrugged in indifference. ¡°I doubt the debt will be heavy.¡±


    As soon as the man¡¯s hand twitched toward his sword, Sen activated his qinggong technique. He covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye and pressed a finger against the man¡¯s forehead. It wasn¡¯t a trick he used often, but he truly had no wish to kill the man. His loyalty to the House of Wu was foolish but alsoudable in its own way. Killing him would aplish nothing. Even the idea of it felt petty. So, Sen sank his qi into the man¡¯s body and made a hundred tiny adjustments that knocked the man unconscious without doing any permanent damage to him. Sen watched the man¡¯s eyes roll up into the back of his head before the fool crumpled to the ground. It would likely take the man a few hours to wake up, by which time Sen¡¯s business with the House of Wu ought to be concluded.


    After considering the gates for a moment, he let his spiritual sense sweep forward into the courtyard. His jaw clenched when he sensed dozens of people, mortals, waiting inside. <em>May the gods damn you forever</em>, <em>Wu Chia-Hao</em>, thought Sen. <em>Trying to use all of these people as shields</em>. Wind qi swirled around Sen before it raced over the walls and crushed all of those people to the ground. It didn¡¯t kill any of them, but some of them were certainly injured. Snarling a little bit, Sen seized the metal in the gates and ripped them out the walls. The mangled remains of those gates crashed into the street behind him. Sen stalked forward with fury in his heart. He was forced to step over more than a few of the people he¡¯d crushed to the ground. He surveyed the visible injuries. There were some obviously broken bones. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a few people with deep cuts. The kind that would <em>kill</em> them if not attended to immediately. He walked over and gave each of them a healing elixir.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    One of them looked up at him with pain and confusion and asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because you have done nothing to earn death today,¡± answered Sen.


    He walked up to the ornate doors of the manor, and then politely knocked. An ashen-faced older woman opened the door. She was shaking so hard that Sen found it shocking she managed to stay on her feet. Looking past her, he could see that there was no one else in sight. The woman offered him a deep bow.


    ¡°Wel¡ªWee t¡ªto Wu Manor, Lor¡ªLord Lu,¡± she said in a choked whisper.


    Sen inclined his head and said, ¡°Thank you. If you will please escort me to the patriarch, I would be most grateful to you.¡±


    Sen fell into step behind the woman. They walked in silence for most of a minute before Sen broke the silence.


    ¡°They sent you out there to die. Did you offend someone?¡±


    The woman stumbled to a halt. She half-turned before arresting that motion.


    ¡°My masters would never do that,¡± she said in a voice that told him she knew she was lying.


    ¡°They did,¡± said Sen. ¡°If you ever decide that you would like to work for someone who doesn¡¯t see their servants as disposable, present yourself at Lu Manor. Present this to the guards.¡±


    He held out a blue token to the woman. There was nothing intrinsically special about it, aside from the dragon etched into the material. It had been Lo Meifeng¡¯s idea. Something Sen could hand out to people he didn¡¯t necessarily trust but thought might prove useful in some way. Since he¡¯d been told repeatedly that servants frequently knew a <em>lot</em> of secrets, it struck him as a worthwhile gamble. Plus, after this, he doubted the woman was going to feel any kind of loyalty to the House of Wu. Still, there was a long enough pause that he thought the servant might decline the offer. Then, she snatched the token and secreted it away somewhere on her person. Maybe it would bear fruit, maybe it wouldn¡¯t. This was ultimately Lo Meifeng¡¯s project, not his, so she¡¯d have to sort out anyone who showed up looking to take advantage of one of those tokens. She led him deep into the manor before stopping in front of a door. She reached out with a trembling hand to knock, but Sen caught her hand. He had the feeling that she was more afraid of what might happen to her if that door opened than what he might do to her.


    ¡°You should go now,¡± he told her gently.


    Giving him a look of undiluted gratitude, she ran away down the hall. He waited until she was well away before he turned his gaze back to the door. He had to fight the desire to obliterate the door. Wu Chia-Hao¡¯s callous disregard for the lives of those people he positioned both inside and outside the walls had made Sen angry. That might have even been the point. To make him angry enough to storm into the room and kill the Wu patriarch in a rage. It <em>was</em> a tempting idea, but Sen had questions. So, instead, he put on a bored expression, opened the door, and sauntered in like he owned the ce. He caught six crossbow bolts in a flurry of motion. He dropped five of them and held thest one up to look at the slimy coating on it. A quick examination with his qi revealed that it was poison. Sen looked around the room at the six ck-jawed men holding crossbows in their hands like they¡¯d forgotten the weapons. Sen turned his bored expression on Wu Chia-Hao, who looked like someone had just fed him rotten meat.


    ¡°Get out,¡± said Sen.


    The stunned men hesitated for the barest breath before they ran. Sen grabbed the slowest one with his free hand. The man looked at him like he expected Sen to suddenly breathe fire onto him. <em>Come to think of it</em>, thought Sen, <em>I probably could do that now</em>. Shaking away the stray thought, he gave the man he¡¯d caught a friendly smile.


    ¡°Please close the door on your way out,¡± Sen told the man.


    The wide-eyed, would-be assassin started nodding frantically.


    ¡°Yes! Anything you want! Please don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t, as long as you close the door on your way out,¡± said Sen before a thought struck him. ¡°Close, not m if you please.¡±


    He released the man who closed the door with utmost caution and care. Sen walked over and dropped into a seat across from Wu Chia-Hao. He held up the crossbow bolt.


    ¡°Did someone tell you that this poison would kill me?¡± Sen asked. ¡°If they did, they lied.¡±


    Then, just to prove the point, Sen licked some of the poison off the bolt before he dropped it to the floor. The concoction tasted vile, but his action had the intended effect. Wu Chia-Hao lost what little color had remained in his face.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do this. You don¡¯t need to kill me. We can¡­ We can negotiate,¡± said the Wu patriarch, trying to put on a smile that looked positively ghastly. ¡°I have money. Land. Businesses. I¡¯ll give you whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Negotiate. There is nothing <em>to</em> negotiate. You will die this day. It cannot be avoided. It will not be averted. There are only two questions that remain to be answered. The first is, how much will you suffer before you die? The second is, will your house die with you?¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 55: Two Vials

    Book 8: Chapter 55: Two Vials


    While Sen let Wu Chia-Hao think about those questions, he looked around the room. It was a surprisingly bare room, save for a few pictures that had been rendered in a style Sen didn¡¯t recognize. Standing from his chair, he walked over to one of the paintings and studied it. It was a simple enough image, a still pond with a lone tree spreading its branches over the water. What made it unique was that the entire image had been rendered entirely in what looked to be ck ink. Sen had no idea how the artist had aplished the feat, having no practical experience with art himself, but he found he appreciated the quiet mastery it seemed to disy.


    ¡°This is very nice,¡± said Sen in a conversational tone. ¡°Who painted it?¡±


    There was a pregnant pause before Wu Chia-Hao choked out, ¡°My daughter, Wu Ningli.¡±


    Sen nodded before he returned to the chair and sat down. He remained silent for a time and simply stared at the Wu patriarch. The other man tried to still his trembling hands by pressing them t against the table.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a family,¡± said Sen. ¡°When I was a child. I grew up alone. On the streets. It¡¯s hard for a person to appreciate what family truly means until they live without one. It¡¯s given me a particr appreciation for those who have be my family, as well as those who enter into my service. I am <em>protective</em> of them.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I see,¡± said the Wu patriarch.


    ¡°I sincerely doubt that given how many people you sent out there to die at my hands. But you are a father,¡± said Sen and let that implied threat hang in the air.


    Wu Chia-Hao¡¯s eyes shot to the painting. Real panic bled into the man¡¯s expression.


    ¡°I tried to stop it! I did!¡±¡°When?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Wu Chia-Hao almost shrieked.


    ¡°When did you try to stop it?¡± asked Sen before lifting a hand to stop the reply. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. I know when. You tried to stop it <em>after</em> you saw what I did to that fool ambassador. But I have to wonder, would you have cared at all about the people you condemned to die if you hadn¡¯t been so afraid that I woulde for you? I don¡¯t think you would have. I don¡¯t think you would have given it a thought. Which is why I prepared this for you.¡±


    Sen summoned a stone vial from a storage ring and set it on the table between them.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Wu Chia-Hao, his eyes fixed on the vial.


    ¡°Poison. And, unlike that garbage you tried to have used on me, I assure you that this poison will kill you. I made it myself. I¡¯m a rather talented alchemist, you see. My interests normally run to using alchemy to heal, but I am capable of making poisons. And I was <em>very motivated</em>. I spent a long time thinking about all of the people you hurt while I crafted that poison.¡±


    ¡°Please, it wasn¡¯t¡ª"


    ¡°So, let me tell you what to expect if you drink this. You will die slowly. It will be excruciating. It will start in your hands and feet. You probably don¡¯t know that much about human bodies, so I¡¯ll impart a little wisdom. There are these things in your body called nerves. They let you feel things like heat, cold, and pain. This poison tricks your nerves into thinking that you¡¯ve been injured. It will feel like your hands and feet are on fire. Have you ever been burned? Well, it¡¯s just about the worst kind of pain a person can experience. That feeling will slowly creep up your arms and legs. It¡¯ll make its way across your chest and stomach before it finally reaches your head. It will feel like someone has heaped red hot coals on your face. Not that you¡¯ll know anything at that point. I expect the pain will have long since driven you insane by then.¡±


    The pure horror on Wu Chia-Hao¡¯s face finally manifested in words.


    ¡°That¡¯s monstrous. Inhuman. It¡¯s¡ª¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡±manded Sen before resuming his conversational tone. ¡°You¡¯re being rude. I¡¯m not done exining. Assuming you don¡¯t lose your mind entirely, the next thing that will happen is that your body will start to rot. Normally, that¡¯s a slow process, but I found a way to speed it up. You¡¯ll get to watch your fingers and toes fall off. Your tongue will fall out not too long after. You go blind after that. The good news is that your sense of smell won¡¯t go away. You¡¯ll get to smell everyst second of your body turning into a stinking, putrid heap of vileness that even your family won¡¯t recognize.


    ¡°Eventually, you¡¯ll lungs will start to dpose. That¡¯s what will finally kill you. You¡¯ll drown. You will drown in your own liquified flesh. Of course, it won¡¯t be like drowning in the water. That¡¯s pretty fast, as I understand it. You¡¯ll get to savor the experience. If my estimations are correct, it should take you about three hours to drown once you finally get to that point. Think of this as a small taste of what you inflicted on others.¡±


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    Wu Chia-Hao wasn¡¯t even looking at Sen anymore. He was pushed back into his chair as if he could make himself safer by putting a little more distance between himself and the poison. His eyes never wavered from the vial. There were tears streaming down his face.


    ¡°You can¡¯t do this to me,¡± the man whispered. ¡°You can¡¯t make me drink that.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Because¡­ Because I¡¯m¡­¡±


    ¡°So noble?¡± asked Sen, the words all but dripping with acid. ¡°Where was all that nobility when you decided to murder my people?¡±


    ¡°They were just¡­¡± started Wu Chia-Hao.


    ¡°Peasants? Well, by that logic you¡¯re <em>just</em> a mortal,¡± said Sen in a bored voice. ¡°To a cultivator like me, you¡¯re a mayfly. What¡¯s a few decades more or less?¡±


    Sen let the man sit with that for most of a minute. The Wu patriarch seemed to shrink in on himself when the truth finally sank in that Sen could do whatever he pleased, and there was nothing to stop him. It was only then that Sen summoned a second stone vial from his storage ring. He put it on the table next to the first vial. He tapped his finger on the cork and spoke again.


    ¡°This vial also contains a poison. It¡¯s painless. You¡¯ll remain lucid for the rest of the day. More than enough time to say goodbye and appoint an heir. Then, you¡¯ll get tired. You¡¯ll simply go to sleep and never wake up.¡±


    Wu Chia-Hao stared at the second vial like it was the hand of a god reaching out to save him. Sen had intended for it to look that way. Compared to days of excruciating, sanity-shattering pain, having your body rot, and drowning, a quiet death in one¡¯s sleep had to look positively lenient byparison.


    ¡°What do I have to do to get that vial? Tell me! I¡¯ll do anything.¡±


    ¡°You can buy this vial,¡± said Sen, tapping it again, ¡°with information. You will tell me everything about how the attack was arranged and who was involved. Do that, and I will grant you this single mercy.¡±


    Word started to tumble out of Wu Chia-Hao¡¯s mouth almost before Sen finished speaking. It was almost incoherent. There was no organization to the information. The man was just saying, screaming really, whatever came into his head that was rted. Sen let the man get some of that out of his system before he lifted a hand to stop the flow of babbling.


    ¡°Start at the beginning. Was this your idea?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Wu Chia-Hao, openly weeping. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my idea. It was brought to me by someone. I didn¡¯t know her, but I knew people she knew. People who wanted to get back at you.¡±


    ¡°What was her name?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Yeung Fen. She said her name was Yeung Fen.¡±


    The name meant nothing to Sen, at least at first. The longer he thought about it, though, the more certain he was that he¡¯d heard it before.


    ¡°Yeung Fen,¡± muttered Sen. ¡°Why do I know that name?¡±


    For some reason, it put him in mind of Lo Meifeng. Something they had done together. <em>Wait</em>, thought Sen, <em>she was that woman back in that town with the strange name</em>.<em> Lin Wen¡¯s Redoubt</em>!<em> That was the ce</em>. <em>She set up that terrible ambush</em>. <em>Wasn¡¯t she going to auction me off or something</em>? Sen tried to remember the details, but he hadn¡¯t put much stock in the whole thing. He¡¯d honestly never thought he¡¯d see or hear from that woman again. That had been back when Sen was still running scared from demonic cultivators. He¡¯d have to ask Lo Meifeng if she could remember more about it than he did. That was a problem forter. He focused on Wu Chia-Hao again.


    ¡°So, once she brought you this idea, what happened then?¡±


    It turned out that the House of Wu had mostly been responsible for delivering the cart of explosives. The explosives themselves had been provided, as had the idea for how to bypass Sen¡¯s defensive formations. That was troubling. It would have taken a cultivator to spot the w in the first ce. Although, in a city as big as the capital, he supposed that there had to be at least a few mercenary-minded cultivators with formation skills good enough for that. He¡¯d like to thank that cultivator personally, but it wasn¡¯t a high priority for him. It would just be nice. The Wu patriarch¡¯s story didn¡¯t actually provide a lot of additional information that Sen didn¡¯t have, but he picked up a few names he hadn''t known about before. There was one ring absence in the story that Sen considered ignoring. He considered it and then rejected the idea.


    ¡°Well, that was all very interesting,¡± noted Sen.


    Wu Chia-Hao reached a trembling hand toward the stone vial that would offer a painless death.


    ¡°There¡¯s just onest piece of business,¡± continued Sen.


    ¡°What business?¡± asked Wu Chia-Hao, who seemed to have aged nearly twenty years in the space of the conversation.


    ¡°I want the names of all your family members that were involved. The ones you intentionally left out of the story. Otherwise,¡± said Sen, pointedly looking at the painting on the wall, ¡°I¡¯ll just have to assume that they¡¯re all involved and act ordingly.¡±


    A look of rage crossed Wu Chia-Hao¡¯s face. Sen met that rage with an impassive nkness. The Wu patriarch¡¯s hands closed into fists before his expression crumpled into one of defeat.


    ¡°Jidi. My son. He helped me to arrange things, but he didn¡¯t know what we were doing. I didn¡¯t tell him. He thought it was just a delivery that I wanted to make sure arrived safely. A way to curry favor with the new House of Lu.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to ask him about it,¡± said Sen. ¡°Who knows? He might even survive. Anyone else?¡±


    Wu Chia-Hao came up with two more names of people he imed were only peripherally involved. Sen had his doubts but even his anger had limits. He suspected that the death of Wu Chia-Hao would be enough of a message. Sen slid the second vial across the table. The Wu patriarch snatched it up eagerly, but then sense seemed to find him again. It was a painless death, but it <em>was</em> still death. The man hesitated.


    ¡°I can always take it back and give you the other one,¡± said Sen, reaching out as if he meant to follow through.


    Wu Chia-Hao hastily pulled the cork from the bottle and, after another hesitation, he drank it.


    ¡°That was a good choice,¡± said Sen. ¡°Now, walk me out. I want everyone to see you alive and well when I leave here.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter Fifty-Six – A Kindness

    Book 8: Chapter Fifty-Six ¨C A Kindness


    Tiu Li-Mei stared up at the wall of the Lu Manor and tried to still the trembling in her hands that had started the moment the king had ordered her toe here. Years. It had been <em>years</em>, and the thing she feared most in the world was still Lu Sen. And to make matters worse, he hadn¡¯t done anything to her. At least, he hadn¡¯t done anything malicious. In her head, she knew that what he¡¯d done had been meant as a kindness. Yet, barely a week passed without a nightmare where she saw his terrible, beautiful face in her dreams. He looked at her with an almost surprised expression, like he¡¯d just noticed her. He reached out to touch her arm. It always happened so slowly in the dream. Like the approach of some disaster that you know will destroy you, that you desperately want to flee but can¡¯t. Then, he said the word. It was such an innocuous word.


    ¡°Peace.¡±


    And it hade. That was the worst part. He had said the word and peace had descended on her like the heavens themselves hadmanded it. She had been frightened, panicked, before that. The king, well, the prince then, had been in a fury. She¡¯d known it wasn¡¯t her fault. He hadn¡¯t even med her. But she had seen that killing wrath in his eyes. It was a sight she had witnessed only a handful of times and wished never to witness again. His word wasw for anyone who wasn¡¯t a cultivator, and she was no cultivator. If he ever did turn that wrath on her, she wouldn¡¯t survive the hour. It had been that thought in her head on that day that had fueled the fire of her terror. She¡¯d left that room more frightened than she had been in many years, only for a boy to wash it all away with a word and a touch.


    Part of her felt like she should have been grateful for it. It had been a kindness. It was clear from the expression on his face that he¡¯d all but forgotten about her as soon as he turned away. The truth was something else entirely. As terrible as that panic had been, it had been <em>hers</em>. It might have been foolish but she¡¯de by it honestly, and he had reced it with something else. Yes, he¡¯d reced it with calm and a sense of well-being, but she somehow knew that he could have reced it with something else. He could have reced it with <em>anything</em>. He could have made her love him, or desire him, or hate her prince. Tiu Li-Mei had never felt so utterly powerless before another being in her entire life. She wondered if an act of kindness had ever inspired so much fear before. She once again tried to still her hands even as shame welled up inside of her at the conversation she¡¯d had with the king.


    ¡°Tiu, I need you to do something for me. I need a question answered. I would like for you to fetch me the answer.¡±


    ¡°Of course, your majesty,¡± she had said.


    ¡°Please visit Lu Manor. Ask to see the lord. Pose this question to him on my behalf. Are you almost finished? He¡¯ll understand my meaning.¡±


    Those words had frozen her. The very thought of standing in front of that man, a man who had, by all ounts, grown powerful almost beyond measure, had almost been enough to make her renounce her position. She had done everything in her power to avoid even being in the same room with him since she learned of his return to the capital.


    ¡°I would beg that you do not require this of me,¡± she had said.The shame of those words would follow her to her grave, but she had been desperately seeking a way out of the trap that her king, wholly oblivious, meant to put her in. He had merely looked at her with that calm curiosity of his.


    ¡°Why?¡± he had asked.


    If ever there was a sign of the trust he extended to her, that question was such a sign. Another king might have put her death on the spot.


    ¡°He frightens me,¡± she had admitted, baring her deepest shame before the man she respected more than any other in the world.


    He hadughed at that. She thought she might die at the sound of thatughter. It was only when he spoke that she understood he had not beenughing <em>at</em> her.


    ¡°I think that speaks rather well of your mind. You would be a fool if you did not fear him, or at least fear what he can do. Even so, for reasons that he¡¯s never bothered to exin to me, the man has also decided to be my friend. He certainly won¡¯t harm you for rying a question from me.¡±


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    She hadn¡¯t been able to speak after that. To say more would have been too much. He¡¯d extended her enormous courtesy in simply asking her about why she would try to refuse such a simple request. If she continued to protest, she would either have to exin it all or be deemed ipetent. That would have been worse than death, worse than facing a thousand Lu Sens. Or so she had thought. Now, though, standing before those walls, those monuments to the power of Judgment¡¯s Gale, she didn¡¯t know if she could make herself approach them. Everything inside of her was telling that she needed to leave. No, she needed to <em>flee</em> from this ce and the man inside it. Before she could act on that impulse, though, a figure emerged from the gates and crossed the street to stand in front of her.


    She didn¡¯t know him, but she wasn¡¯t surprised that such a man would find himself in the service of Lu Sen. There was a certain coldness to him that made her think of a lounging cat. It was azy indifference that masked a predatory lethality. At the moment, though, this lounging cat was still lounging, even if his ears had pricked up a little.


    ¡°I am Long Jia Wei,¡± he said while offering her a slight bow. ¡°Can I help you?¡±


    Finally making her hands be still through sheer force of will, she returned the bow.


    ¡°This one is Tiu Li-Mei. The king sent me to speak with Patriarch Lu.¡±


    The man fixed her with a prating look that left her feeling hideously exposed before he finally nodded.


    ¡°Very well,¡± he said, holding out a small token.


    Tiu Li-Mei hesitantly took the token and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°It will allow you to pass through the defenses, temporarily. Now, if you¡¯ll follow me, please. I will take you to him.¡±


    While she forced her face to remain impassive, Tiu Li-Mei had to make herself follow the man. Her belief that she should have fled and simply epted the dishonor was only reinforced when she felt something turn its attention on her. It was only after the token in her hand grew warm for a moment that the thing finally stopped paying attention to her. With a sick feeling, she realized that those were the defenses. <em>Did he</em>¡­ <em>Had Judgment¡¯s Gale somehow brought this ce to life</em>? The very idea that anyone even could do something like that made Tiu Li-Mei feel tiny, insignificant, like a mote of dust before the storm. These were forces she, a mortal, had no business interfering with. The people in the courtyard were no lessforting. When she looked around, she was greeted with a wall of distrust and hostility, even from people she knew had once been proud members of the House of Xie. She pitied the person who came to this ce looking for trouble because they would find it.


    Moving inside didn¡¯t make things any better. The servants there were more polite, but it was the kind of icy politeness normally reserved for those the servants knew their masters did not like. An even more chilling thought urred to her. What if this was how they treated people they knew their master favored? After all, Tiu Li-Mei was known in the capital as one of the king¡¯s trusted servants. The friendship between her master and Judgment¡¯s Gale was not a secret. If they viewed allies with this much distrust now, what would it be like for those they viewed as enemies? She didn¡¯t have long to ponder on that. Long Jia Wei was efficient, even if he made no attempt to engage her in small talk. She had been expecting it, hoping for it really. It would have been a wee distraction. Yet, the man remained steadfastly silent. She couldn¡¯t decide if he was feigning disinterest in her and the crumbs of information she might inadvertently drop or if he truly did not care.


    She was led into a familiar room. She had visited the manor several times when it was still the Xie manor, and this had been where guests were kept waiting before being allowed to see the Xie matriarch. The decorations hadn¡¯t changed much. There was a woman there who regarded her with a decidedly skeptical air. Long Jia Wei turned to her.


    ¡°Wait here a moment,¡± he said.


    Then, he walked over to the door that led to what she assumed was now Lu Sen¡¯s office. When he opened the door, a snippet of conversation between a man and a woman wafted out.


    ¡°Wait, you mean that woman who set up that idiotic trap?¡± asked the woman.


    ¡°One and the same,¡± said the man. ¡°We should see if we can find her. I mean, she¡¯s a thousand miles from here by now if she¡¯s got any sense at all, but maybe she¡¯s stupid.¡±


    The conversation died down to a murmur before Long Jia Wei and a woman Tiu Li-Mei didn¡¯t immediately recognize came out. The woman¡¯s eyes ghosted over Tiu Li-Mei, and then seemed to dismiss her out of hand. That was a blow to her pride, but how was any mortal woman supposed topete in a world where cultivation imparted beauty like that? Of all life¡¯s unfairnesses, that one seemed the cruelest. As if it wasn¡¯t enough to allow people superhuman powers, but to make them all beautiful as well. It was like they weren¡¯t human anymore.


    ¡°You can go in now,¡± said Long Jia Wei.


    Trying to take a deep breath without being too obvious about it, Tiu Li-Mei stepped into the dragon¡¯sir.

 Book 8: Chapter 56: A Kindness

    Book 8: Chapter 56: A Kindness


    Tiu Li-Mei stared up at the wall of the Lu Manor and tried to still the trembling in her hands that had started the moment the king had ordered her toe here. Years. It had been <em>years</em>, and the thing she feared most in the world was still Lu Sen. And to make matters worse, he hadn¡¯t done anything to her. At least, he hadn¡¯t done anything malicious. In her head, she knew that what he¡¯d done had been meant as a kindness. Yet, barely a week passed without a nightmare where she saw his terrible, beautiful face in her dreams. He looked at her with an almost surprised expression, like he¡¯d just noticed her. He reached out to touch her arm. It always happened so slowly in the dream. Like the approach of some disaster that you know will destroy you, that you desperately want to flee but can¡¯t. Then, he said the word. It was such an innocuous word.


    ¡°Peace.¡±


    And it hade. That was the worst part. He had said the word and peace had descended on her like the heavens themselves hadmanded it. She had been frightened, panicked, before that. The king, well, the prince then, had been in a fury. She¡¯d known it wasn¡¯t her fault. He hadn¡¯t even med her. But she had seen that killing wrath in his eyes. It was a sight she had witnessed only a handful of times and wished never to witness again. His word wasw for anyone who wasn¡¯t a cultivator, and she was no cultivator. If he ever did turn that wrath on her, she wouldn¡¯t survive the hour. It had been that thought in her head on that day that had fueled the fire of her terror. She¡¯d left that room more frightened than she had been in many years, only for a boy to wash it all away with a word and a touch.


    Part of her felt like she should have been grateful for it. It had been a kindness. It was clear from the expression on his face that he¡¯d all but forgotten about her as soon as he turned away. The truth was something else entirely. As terrible as that panic had been, it had been <em>hers</em>. It might have been foolish but she¡¯de by it honestly, and he had reced it with something else. Yes, he¡¯d reced it with calm and a sense of well-being, but she somehow knew that he could have reced it with something else. He could have reced it with <em>anything</em>. He could have made her love him, or desire him, or hate her prince. Tiu Li-Mei had never felt so utterly powerless before another being in her entire life. She wondered if an act of kindness had ever inspired so much fear before. She once again tried to still her hands even as shame welled up inside of her at the conversation she¡¯d had with the king.


    ¡°Tiu, I need you to do something for me. I need a question answered. I would like for you to fetch me the answer.¡±


    ¡°Of course, your majesty,¡± she had said.


    ¡°Please visit Lu Manor. Ask to see the lord. Pose this question to him on my behalf. Are you almost finished? He¡¯ll understand my meaning.¡±


    Those words had frozen her. The very thought of standing in front of that man, a man who had, by all ounts, grown powerful almost beyond measure, had almost been enough to make her renounce her position. She had done everything in her power to avoid even being in the same room with him since she learned of his return to the capital.


    ¡°I would beg that you do not require this of me,¡± she had said.The shame of those words would follow her to her grave, but she had been desperately seeking a way out of the trap that her king, wholly oblivious, meant to put her in. He had merely looked at her with that calm curiosity of his.


    ¡°Why?¡± he had asked.


    If ever there was a sign of the trust he extended to her, that question was such a sign. Another king might have put her death on the spot.


    ¡°He frightens me,¡± she had admitted, baring her deepest shame before the man she respected more than any other in the world.


    He hadughed at that. She thought she might die at the sound of thatughter. It was only when he spoke that she understood he had not beenughing <em>at</em> her.


    ¡°I think that speaks rather well of your mind. You would be a fool if you did not fear him, or at least fear what he can do. Even so, for reasons that he¡¯s never bothered to exin to me, the man has also decided to be my friend. He certainly won¡¯t harm you for rying a question from me.¡±


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    She hadn¡¯t been able to speak after that. To say more would have been too much. He¡¯d extended her enormous courtesy in simply asking her about why she would try to refuse such a simple request. If she continued to protest, she would either have to exin it all or be deemed ipetent. That would have been worse than death, worse than facing a thousand Lu Sens. Or so she had thought. Now, though, standing before those walls, those monuments to the power of Judgment¡¯s Gale, she didn¡¯t know if she could make herself approach them. Everything inside of her was telling that she needed to leave. No, she needed to <em>flee</em> from this ce and the man inside it. Before she could act on that impulse, though, a figure emerged from the gates and crossed the street to stand in front of her.


    She didn¡¯t know him, but she wasn¡¯t surprised that such a man would find himself in the service of Lu Sen. There was a certain coldness to him that made her think of a lounging cat. It was azy indifference that masked a predatory lethality. At the moment, though, this lounging cat was still lounging, even if his ears had pricked up a little.


    ¡°I am Long Jia Wei,¡± he said while offering her a slight bow. ¡°Can I help you?¡±


    Finally making her hands be still through sheer force of will, she returned the bow.


    ¡°This one is Tiu Li-Mei. The king sent me to speak with Patriarch Lu.¡±


    The man fixed her with a prating look that left her feeling hideously exposed before he finally nodded.


    ¡°Very well,¡± he said, holding out a small token.


    Tiu Li-Mei hesitantly took the token and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°It will allow you to pass through the defenses, temporarily. Now, if you¡¯ll follow me, please. I will take you to him.¡±


    While she forced her face to remain impassive, Tiu Li-Mei had to make herself follow the man. Her belief that she should have fled and simply epted the dishonor was only reinforced when she felt something turn its attention on her. It was only after the token in her hand grew warm for a moment that the thing finally stopped paying attention to her. With a sick feeling, she realized that those were the defenses. <em>Did he</em>¡­ <em>Had Judgment¡¯s Gale somehow brought this ce to life</em>? The very idea that anyone even could do something like that made Tiu Li-Mei feel tiny, insignificant, like a mote of dust before the storm. These were forces she, a mortal, had no business interfering with. The people in the courtyard were no lessforting. When she looked around, she was greeted with a wall of distrust and hostility, even from people she knew had once been proud members of the House of Xie. She pitied the person who came to this ce looking for trouble because they would find it.


    Moving inside didn¡¯t make things any better. The servants there were more polite, but it was the kind of icy politeness normally reserved for those the servants knew their masters did not like. An even more chilling thought urred to her. What if this was how they treated people they knew their master favored? After all, Tiu Li-Mei was known in the capital as one of the king¡¯s trusted servants. The friendship between her master and Judgment¡¯s Gale was not a secret. If they viewed allies with this much distrust now, what would it be like for those they viewed as enemies? She didn¡¯t have long to ponder on that. Long Jia Wei was efficient, even if he made no attempt to engage her in small talk. She had been expecting it, hoping for it really. It would have been a wee distraction. Yet, the man remained steadfastly silent. She couldn¡¯t decide if he was feigning disinterest in her and the crumbs of information she might inadvertently drop or if he truly did not care.


    She was led into a familiar room. She had visited the manor several times when it was still the Xie manor, and this had been where guests were kept waiting before being allowed to see the Xie matriarch. The decorations hadn¡¯t changed much. There was a woman there who regarded her with a decidedly skeptical air. Long Jia Wei turned to her.


    ¡°Wait here a moment,¡± he said.


    Then, he walked over to the door that led to what she assumed was now Lu Sen¡¯s office. When he opened the door, a snippet of conversation between a man and a woman wafted out.


    ¡°Wait, you mean that woman who set up that idiotic trap?¡± asked the woman.


    ¡°One and the same,¡± said the man. ¡°We should see if we can find her. I mean, she¡¯s a thousand miles from here by now if she¡¯s got any sense at all, but maybe she¡¯s stupid.¡±


    The conversation died down to a murmur before Long Jia Wei and a woman Tiu Li-Mei didn¡¯t immediately recognize came out. The woman¡¯s eyes ghosted over Tiu Li-Mei, and then seemed to dismiss her out of hand. That was a blow to her pride, but how was any mortal woman supposed topete in a world where cultivation imparted beauty like that? Of all life¡¯s unfairnesses, that one seemed the cruelest. As if it wasn¡¯t enough to allow people superhuman powers, but to make them all beautiful as well. It was like they weren¡¯t human anymore.


    ¡°You can go in now,¡± said Long Jia Wei.


    Trying to take a deep breath without being too obvious about it, Tiu Li-Mei stepped into the dragon¡¯sir.

 Book 8: Chapter 57: The Shadow of Things Long Past

    Book 8: Chapter 57: The Shadow of Things Long Past


    Sen was still distracted when the woman came into the room, so it took him a little while to realize two things. One, he knew her. Two, something was wrong with her. She looked sick. She was pale but not the intentional paleness that many women seemed to strive for. This was the kind of paleness that he¡¯d only seen in people who had been bedridden for a time. There was a sheen of sweat on her face. It even looked as though she¡¯d chewed her lip bloody not too long before. Even if he¡¯d managed to miss all of that, he couldn¡¯t miss the fact that her hands were trembling violently. He¡¯d seen reactions like that before, but only in people who were deathly afraid of something. He sighed internally. It was usually him that they were afraid of but that didn¡¯t make any sense here. As far as his memory served, he¡¯d only met this woman a few times and those meetings had been polite enough. <em>Did I do something scary in front of her</em>? Nothing sprang to mind. He searched those memories and came up with a name.


    ¡°Tiu Li-Mei,¡± said Sen with a little nod.


    He¡¯d thought that showing her that he had at least some vague memory of her might help to calm the woman down. The exact opposite thing happened. Her eyes went wide and, if anything, her hands started to shake even more. Stranger still, every time he moved one of <em>his</em> hands, her eyes fixated on the hand. It was like she expected him to do something terrible to her with them. He almost said something but feared that would only make this¡ªwhatever <em>this</em> was¡ªeven worse. With no other obvious options, he just lifted an eyebrow at her and waited. And waited. He put his eyebrow back down since it was clear that she wasn¡¯t seeing that silent prompt. He gave it most of a minute before he rolled his eyes and, in a louder voice than would normally be necessary, asked a question.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Tiu Li-Mei almost screamed.


    ¡°I asked if there¡¯s something I can do for you. Or do you n to simply stand there all day? Honestly, I don¡¯t care if you do. I¡¯d just like to know so I can n appropriately.¡±


    The look of fear partially gave way to confusion, and then to something that vaguely resembled embarrassment, although it also sort of resembled being nauseated. Sen wasn¡¯t confident enough to venture a firm guess about which it was. Tiu Li-Mei gathered herself and stared at a point somewhere on the wall behind his head.


    ¡°The king sent me to ask you a question.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± said Sen.He was relieved to <em>finally</em> be getting to the point of this¡­ He hesitated to call it a meeting. It was a bit too odd for that. Encounter, maybe? <em>Yes</em>, thought Sen, <em>I¡¯m d to be getting to the point of this encounter</em>.


    ¡°Are you almost finished?¡± asked Tiu Li-Mei.


    Sen needed to give that question a proper amount of consideration. Practically speaking, after what he¡¯d learned from the Wu patriarch, the answer was <em>no</em>. He, or his people, weren¡¯t done yet. <em>Jing told me to think like a politician</em>, thought Sen. <em>This is as good an opportunity as any</em>. For political purposes, all that mattered was what he did in a public or semi-public fashion. If, sometime in the future, he had to kill some more people, that could be done quietly. So, the question was really about whether he was done making examples yet. That answer was mostly straightforward.


    ¡°Almost,¡± said Sen. ¡°I should be done within the week. And I won¡¯t be visiting any more noble houses or depriving any more of their family members of life.¡±


    ¡°I will ry the message,¡± said Tiu Li-Mei.


    She gave something that might have been a bow or might have been some manner of back spasm and lurched toward the door. He thought he could probably live with the mystery if he didn¡¯t ask, but it would bother him. He had enough things bothering him already.


    ¡°Stop,¡± said Sen.


    The woman crashed to a halt with her hand ready to yank open the door.


    ¡°Yes, Lord Lu,¡± she choked out.


    ¡°You¡¯re afraid of me,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Everyone is afraid of you,¡± she whispered.


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    ¡°No, they really aren¡¯t. People are afraid of Judgment¡¯s Gale, the fearsome cultivator who does whatever it is that people¡¯s imaginations tell them he does. This is different. You¡¯re afraid of me, Lu Sen, personally, and I don¡¯t know why. I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve ever harmed you or threatened you. So, if there¡¯s something you want to say to me, this is probably your best chance. I¡¯ll guarantee your safety. I¡¯ll even take a vow to the heavens to hold no grudges and take no actions against you for anything you say to me in this room.¡±


    Sheughed then. There was something ugly and hopeless in thatughter.


    ¡°Safety,¡± she said, almost snarling the word like it was a curse. ¡°A vow? Like that matters at all. Who could possibly be safe from someone like you?¡±


    The sentiment wasn¡¯t really new to Sen, but the pure vitriol in her words <em>did</em> catch him off guard. He honestly could not think of anything he might have done to provoke this response from this person. There were plenty of people in the world who would be perfectly justified in reacting this way to him, but she wasn¡¯t one of them.


    ¡°Someone like me?¡±


    She turned away from the door to look at him. There was a haunted, lifeless look in her eyes.


    ¡°Yes. Someone like you. The kind of person who can just <em>decide</em> what other people feel. If you don¡¯t like what I have to say, there¡¯s nothing to stop you from just changing my mind for me, is there? You wouldn¡¯t even be harming me.¡±


    Sen was so stunned by the usation, and the pure impossibility of what she was saying, that he said nothing. Well, he supposed it wasn¡¯t entirely impossible. He could adjust some physical processes that might make someone calmer or more prone to anger, but he couldn¡¯t just change the way people felt. Not the way they felt about important things. He only realizedter that he must have looked as stunned as he felt.


    ¡°Why so surprised? It¡¯s not like you were subtle about it!¡±


    ¡°What are you even talking about? I can¡¯t do what you¡¯re saying I can¡ª¡± Sen trailed off.


    A memory drifted to the surface. Hering out of Jing¡¯s office looking downright panicked. He had done something to her then, hadn¡¯t he? But it had just been something to calm her down. He was certain of it. He¡¯d said something to her.


    ¡°Peace,¡± he muttered, mostly to himself.


    Sen doubted that Tiu Li-Mei would have reacted more if he¡¯d leapt out of his chair, roared like a beast, and charged at her. She lurched backward and threw out her hands in front of her like she meant to fend off a blow.


    ¡°No!¡± she screamed.


    The pair remained frozen like that for a second or two before she lowered her hands enough to stare hatefully at Sen. Sen just looked at her as though she¡¯d lost her mind. He thought that she might attack him with her bare hands. He was still mostly in the dark about why, though.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± she said through clenched teeth.


    Before she could do anything reckless, Sen said, ¡°I need you to exin this to me. I can see that you¡¯re angry, but you haven¡¯t told me why you¡¯re angry.¡±


    She kept ring at him, but then sheughed again.


    ¡°Of course, <em>you</em> don¡¯t understand. Why would you? A cultivator. A man. Why am I angry? Because you didn¡¯t have the right! It wasn¡¯t for <em>you</em> to decide how <em>I</em> should feel about anything! I bet that never even crossed your mind, did it?¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t remember the incident well enough to know for sure what was going through his mind at the time, but he doubted such a thing had crossed his mind. It had just been something he saw as a problem. So, he did something to fix it. He likely hadn¡¯t even thought about whether or not he should do it. He could do it, and it would help, or he had imagined it would help, so he¡¯d done it. He hadn¡¯t thought about it once since then, but it was painfully obvious that the same did not hold true for Tiu Li-Mei. And she was right. He had overstepped. Wildly overstepped. A fact that would have been apparent if he¡¯d been thinking more about her and less about what he could do. Since he¡¯d given someone else a big speech about how selfish their thinking was recently, he didn¡¯t feel like he had much in the way of a defense. Nor did he believe that saying something like, ¡°<em>I just didn¡¯t think about it</em>,¡± was going to hold much weight. <em>Nor should it</em>, he told himself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother answering,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s obvious from that look on your face that you didn¡¯t. The worst part of the whole thing is that someone like you will never know what it¡¯s like to feel that helpless. To feel like you can¡¯t trust what¡¯s in your own heart, and that it doesn¡¯t matter because some cultivator can juste along and change it.¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t,¡± he told her. ¡°Cultivators can¡¯t change how you feel the way you¡¯re saying they can. I didn¡¯t really change how you felt. I changed how some things were happening in your body. Things rted to fear and panic. The details don¡¯t matter. The point is that I can¡¯t just make you feel however I want you to feel. I can¡¯t make you hate, love, or find something funny. I can¡¯t make you want to be loyal or desire to betray. So, if that¡¯s your fear, you can safely set it aside. Your emotions are safe from me.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t?¡± she asked, as suspicion and hope battled for dominance in her eyes.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I vow to the heavens that everything I just told you is true to the best of my knowledge.¡±


    Sen felt the touch of divine qi on him. It was, thankfully, different than when it was poured into him against his will. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what he imagined it would feel like, but it ultimately didn¡¯t feel like anything. Maybe it was because the vow didn¡¯t put any demands on him. He wasn¡¯t vowing to do anything in the future, but rather affirming that what he had already said wasn¡¯t deceit. When the dim glow faded from around him, Sen stood.


    ¡°As for the rest,¡± he said, offering her a deep bow, ¡°I have wronged you, Tiu Li-Mei. I acted without thought. For that, I offer you my deepest apologies.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 58: Bargaining for the Impossible

    Book 8: Chapter 58: Bargaining for the Impossible


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t as simple as just saying he was sorry. <em>If only mere words could truly undo misdeeds</em>, thought Sen, <em>the world would be a kinder ce</em>. The world was not one of kindness, though. A fact of which Sen was all too aware. Words were for the mind and, perhaps, the heart, but deeds were for the soul. After all, while much of Karma was shrouded in mystery, it did teach one immutable lesson. Debts must be repaid, in one life or another. Of course, that also required that the other person cooperate if only a little. And Tiu Li-Mei tried very hard not to cooperate. Sen didn¡¯t know if was out of fear, an overabundance of politeness, or simply because she was stunned, but she tried to refuse any sort of rpence.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t necessary,¡± stammered Tiu Li-Mei, waving her hands in front of her. ¡°I don¡¯t need anything. Truly.¡±


    Sighing, Sen put on a stern expression and said, ¡°It is. Even if you don¡¯t require it, karma would. Better, I would think, that you at least understand the reasons.¡±


    Tiu Li-Mei lowered her hands, slowly, almost as if in defeat. Sen wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever seen such a bizarre disy or someone so hellsbent on not getting something. Most people would have been falling over themselves to collect on a debt from a powerful cultivator.


    ¡°I suppose so,¡± she said.


    ¡°Good. Now that we¡¯ve dispensed with that, what would you have of me? I have wealth I can share. Do you wish for a home? A manor of your own? Is there some elixir you desire? My alchemy skills are likely the match to anything you might request.¡±


    Sen waited while Tiu Li-Mei looked like her mind was racing to find an eptable answer. <em>Which is probably exactly what¡¯s happening</em>, thought Sen. <em>She¡¯s trying to think of something she can ask for that will be of some benefit to her while not aggravating me</em>. As the seconds dragged out to a minute and then two minutes, Tiu Li-Mei looked increasingly frantic. Sen finally took pity on her. He had put her on the spot.


    ¡°The debt is mine. You shouldn¡¯t concern yourself with trying to guess what I will or will not find ptable. Tell me what it is that you wish. If I can grant it, I will. I can¡¯t grant it¡­ I will simply tell you that.¡±


    Some of the frantic look in the woman¡¯s eyes drained away. Her expression became more thoughtful. He saw a spark of something on her face for a moment before she shook her head.¡°That,¡± said Sen. ¡°What was <em>that</em> thought?¡±


    Tiu Li-Mei looked at him for the barest second before looking away. The furious woman from before had vanished. Now, she looked shy, almost childlike.


    ¡°Can you¡­¡± she trailed off before seeming to brace herself. ¡°Can you make me a cultivator?¡±


    Sen was silent for a moment. <em>I guess that was an obvious choice</em>, thought Sen. <em>What mortal wouldn¡¯t want that kind of power</em>? Of course, no mortal really understood what being a cultivator meant, the costs most of all. Not that it mattered.


    ¡°No. That¡¯s impossible for¡­¡± Sen hesitated.


    He¡¯d been told it was impossible, but he¡¯d never really examined the problem himself. He¡¯d just taken his teachers¡¯ words on the subject as irrefutable facts. They would know, wouldn¡¯t they? The reasoning was sound enough on a surface level. The kind of impurity purges that Sen had gone through in the early days were agonizing. It also wasn¡¯t something that a cultivator could bypass. It <em>had</em> to be done. All of those impurities built up, they formed blockages in the body and the qi channels and therefore impeded the flow of qi. Attempting those kinds of purgester in life would be tantamount to suicide. The pain alone would be enough to stop someone¡¯s heart. That was before even considering the extra decade or two of impurity umtion. Then, there was the problem of the qi channels and the dantian. They were a bit like bones. In someone¡¯s youth, bones are supple and flexible. As bones age, they harden and eventually be brittle.


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    The same thing happened with qi channels and the dantian. Regr cultivation kept them supple and flexible, even as it strengthened them. Starting cultivationter in life meant a hugely increased risk of those channels and the dantian shattering under the strain. It was the kind of setback that, in most cases, definitively ended someone¡¯s time as a cultivator. There were other problems, such as developing the necessary mental discipline to cultivate, to say nothing of controlling and directing the qi to aplish specific tasks. However, Sen saw thosetter problems more as hurdles than immutable impediments. Learning new skills became harder as people aged, or so he was given to understand, but by no means impossible. No, the <em>real</em> problems were the physical problems and the chances of damaging the channels and dantian.


    Using any standard method, it would be impossible, but Sen had been forced to think his way around problems more than once. He¡¯d even sessfully manipted his own qi channels and dantian at a time when the only thing matching his ignorance had been his hubris. He¡¯d gotten impossibly lucky to have survived that experience. It had taught him something, though. The qi channels and dantian <em>could</em> be manipted. They weren¡¯t fixed in an immutable state or subject only to certain processes. It was within the power of a cultivator to change them directly. So, the question was, did he know enough now to do it safely for someone else? Or, barring that, safely enough to make the risk worth the reward? <em>I think I do</em>, he thought. Maybe with a bit of assistance from Auntie Caihong and Fu Run.


    That left the problem of purging the impurities. The pain was, in some ways, a product of the speed of the purge. If he could slow it down, he could reduce the amount of pain. Of course, it would also stretch out how long someone had to endure it. But <em>if</em> he could slow it down¡­ It could work. Maybe. So much of it depended on the person, on their will to endure, on their desire to improve. That was something that no one else could ultimately judge. Inner strength was, much like the heavens, inscrutable. You could sense its presence but not its depth. There was so much uncertainty that he could see why everyone said it was impossible. He doubted that most alchemists could even make the kinds of elixirs or pills that such a process would require. It would take someone like him, or a genius like Auntie Caihong to even attempt it. Just thinking about the kinds of ingredients he would need to use told him it would be horribly expensive. The kind of expense that no sect would ever bother expending on what was, ultimately, an experiment with a poor chance of sess. In fact, the only time someone might reasonably undertake those kinds of expenses and odds was in a situation like this.


    Sen realized that he¡¯d been lost inside his own thinking for a while and focused on the room around him. That was when he saw Tiu Li-Mei staring at him, her eyes wide, and her cheeks crimson. Sen wondered why she was blushing that way until he realized that he¡¯d probably been looking right at her with some kind of intense expression on his face. He looked away to give her a moment topose herself. He thought back through all of it. He wanted to make sure of himself before he gave someone that glimmer of hope. He also needed to decide if he was willing to take on something that so obviously exceeded his actual debt. If he could acquire the right ingredients and reagents, which he thought he probably could, then he was rtively confident that he could hold up his side of the bargain. As for the actual debt, he didn¡¯t care so much about that. It was often buried under other concerns, but Sen did possess a deep curiosity about things. He wanted to know if this could be done. He wanted to find out if he could do it.


    Tiu Li-Mei finally said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was¡ª¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Sen, looking at her again. ¡°I may be able to do it.¡±


    The hope that kindled in her eyes burned like a pair of twin stairs.


    ¡°You can?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± he said again. ¡°I can probably open a path for you, but I <em>cannot</em> carry you the entire way. There are some realities to this that you need to understand before we take even the first step. Realities about what it will mean for you. The kind of pain you¡¯d be taking on. The kind of world you¡¯d be stepping into. The world you live in is cruel. I won¡¯t deny that for a moment. The Jianghu is merciless and pitiless. So, sit down, and let me tell you what you can expect if you pursue this path.¡±


    Sen spoke to her for nearly an hour. He painted as stark a picture as he could. He told her about the times he¡¯d been forced to kill people because some young master¡¯s pride was faster than their mind. He told her about the torment that was purging impurities. He told her about how cultivators almost inevitably lost connection with and sympathy for mortals. When he finally stopped talking, Tiu Li-Mei sat in silence for a long time. Given everything he¡¯d just told her, he was d to see that she was genuinely considering it and the ways that it would alter everything in her life, assuming she even managed to survive the attempt. Even so, Sen wasn¡¯t surprised when she stood, bowed, and spoke.


    ¡°I would like to proceed.¡±


    Sen nodded and said, ¡°Then, it¡¯s time for you to go end your service with Jing. This isn¡¯t something I can do from a distance, and I¡¯m leaving soon. If you want this, you¡¯ll have toe with me.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 59: The Alchemy of Pain

    Book 8: Chapter 59: The Alchemy of Pain


    As someone who wielded lightning and even storms, Sen was ustomed to loud noises. It just went with the territory. That was without even considering things like the sounds that were produced when he hit something very hard. So, the sheer, overwhelming noise of the explosion was a bit of a shock to him. The great gaping hole in the ground and the pulpy remains of trees for twenty feet in every direction came a very close second in the surprise department. He''d sacrificed what little sleep he was getting to have some free time to work on alchemy and poured every second into ying with the explosive mixture that had caused so much harm in the courtyard. He¡¯d had a few insights, adjusted the form a little, and then let his intuition guide him. After all that work, he had been expecting good results, but these results might be <em>too good</em>.


    The kind of force that a tiny packet of the explosive was creating now could destroy buildings and bring down city walls. Maybe not by itself, but if he threw a couple of them into a building or at a wall, he¡¯d made himself a nice crater or hole to walk through. The only reason Sen didn¡¯t abandon the project entirely was the simple fact that, as far as he knew, he was the only person who could do what he¡¯d done. Yet, he had the disturbing intuition that, unlike some of his alchemical creations, this wasn¡¯t one of those things that other people would find impossible to replicate. He simply wasn¡¯t well-versed enough in this kind of alchemy to have stepped beyond the capabilities of others. His intuitions had simply taken him farther down a road that others could follow. He¡¯d gotten a shortcut and nothing more.


    Just as importantly, this was something that mortals and sects alike would want. A powerful explosion from what could be fit into an elixir vial. A sect could fill storage rings with it. cultivators who were running out of qi could simply start hurling the things at each other and setting them off with little more than a flicker of fire qi. The potential devastation could be horrifying. Not that Sen was especially worried about cultivators using these explosives on each other¡¯s sects. He was worried about sects using them against mortals as a way to save on qi. It could make them less restrained, and he felt theycked restraint as it was. Setting them free to spread explosions wherever they went struck Sen as a bad idea. However, for all his reservations about this advancement, he could not pretend he was unhappy with the results. He¡¯d set out to make something devastating and aplished his goal. He just wished the aplishment didn¡¯te bundled up with a lot of problems and questions hecked good answers to.


    On the upside, he had managed to scare away all the spirit beasts in the area of the wilds he¡¯d chosen to test his creation. He expected it would be a while before the nearest vige had to deal with them. Granted, that vige was probably two days away for a mortal traveling on foot, but a motivated spirit beast could likely make the trip in a matter of hours. Some of them were absurdly fast, and their very nature as spirit beasts tended to give them appalling stamina. Humanity truly would be in trouble if the spirit beasts ever managed to get organized. The advantages that humans possessed, cultivation and technology, would be hard-pressed to withstand spirit beasts working in concert and with well-developed strategies.


    Their fractious nature was humanity¡¯s best defense. As long as they remained splintered, human beings were rtively free to build smaller settlements. Yes, some viges were overrun from time to time, but most of them survived. Those settlements grew a substantial amount of food, much of which found its way into the handful ofrge cities in the kingdom. If the spirit attacked, those viges and their food would vanish, even as people tried to find refuge in the cities. It wasn¡¯t even a far-fetched idea. It had happened during human wars in the past. That exact strategy of destroying farming viges before mounting sieges on cities had toppled more than one mortal kingdom in the past.


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    Sen looked down at the small pouch into which he¡¯d packed more of his refined version of the explosive. <em>Buckets of these on the top of the walls would probably give mortals a fighting chance against even powerful spirit beasts</em>, <em>at least for a while</em>, thought Sen. Of course, to produce those buckets of explosives would require Sen to share what he¡¯d learned. He shook his head. No, that was the alchemy of pain. Maybe, someday, if the situation in the world changed in some fundamental way, he¡¯d consider it. Until then, he¡¯d keep this discovery to himself. Sharing it with mortals or cultivators was simply too dangerous, unpredictable, and destabilizing. He didn¡¯t even n to tell his teachers about it. While he didn¡¯t think that they would be careless and spread the knowledge around, he didn¡¯t want to burden them with secrets. He feared they all carried enough of those without him adding to the pile. Beyond that, it was a far simpler matter if he was the only person who needed to keep the secret.


    In the back of his head, Sen knew that he was always worried about the potential karmic consequences. He didn¡¯t know what kind of karmic debts he would bear from sharing that knowledge. Would he be forced to carry a debt for every person his explosive killed? It was possible. It might also be far enough removed from him that it wouldn¡¯t affect him at all. He didn¡¯t know, nor did he wish to test the possibility in an attempt to discover the truth. As Lo Meifeng had once told him, not all questions deserve answers.


    For now, simply possessing the explosive was enough. It would be a kind of backup n for him if some fight ever started to go horribly wrong on him. After all, nobody expects a giant explosion from something without any qi in it. If he ever used one, though, the ignorance that made it effective would swiftly vanish. He¡¯d need to think long and hard before he fell back onto that desperate step. The first time would need to be an utterly hopeless situation, which would make the explosive¡¯s use all the more shocking for Sen¡¯s enemies. In the meantime, he had made lesser improvements along the way. He would use those inferior forms to make the explosives for his object lessons. The differences between those improved forms and the original recipe wouldn¡¯t be obvious to the untrained eye. Some other alchemist might grow suspicious, but suspicion would be as far as they could take it without his active involvement.At that point, if they made something superior, they¡¯d have to get there through their own work, rather than by way of his insights. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but Sen decided that it was good enough until he came up with a better solution. The only way to stop any knowledge from escaping into the world was simply to never use the better explosives, and it was too good of an advantage to give up entirely. Sen might want to do what was best for human beings, but he wasn¡¯t a saintmitted utterly to a single principle. He wouldn¡¯t sacrifice his life in the name of keeping the knowledge a secret. That was just too much to ask. He¡¯de too far and suffered too much to let his path end that way. Maybe that was selfish, but Sen decided that he was okay with being selfish that way. Let someone else be a martyr if they wanted it that badly. He didn¡¯t.


    While he wanted to test the explosive some more, he had a feeling that his one experiment would draw attention. If he set off more explosives, someone was bound to start asking questions. They were simply too noisy and that noise would not go unremarked. No, better to let explorers draw their own false conclusions. They¡¯d likely think that some spirit beast had done it, or a cultivator was trying out a new technique. He supposed that idea held some merit. Even if it wasn¡¯t a true cultivator technique, it would eventually be associated with cultivation. So what if history forgot him on this? The only people he cared about remembering him would do so even if he never did another noteworthy thing.


    With an annoyed noise, Sen made himself put the second pouch of explosives back into his storage ring. <em>Soon</em>, he told himself. <em>This whole business will be over soon</em>, <em>and you can get back to Ai and a little town where things make sense</em>.

 Book 8: Chapter 60: Lord Lu’s Justice

    Book 8: Chapter 60: Lord Lu¡¯s Justice


    ¡°You needn¡¯t participate in this,¡± said Sen. ¡°I almost think it might be better if you didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of you to want to spare me,¡± said Grandmother Lu. ¡°But I have to be there, and your people have to see me being there.


    Sen offered a reluctant nod. She was likely right about that. He just didn¡¯t like that he was making her a party to his revenge. It was like he was somehow making her less by associating her with something he expected was going to be gruesome. In the end, she had the right to make her own decisions. <em>I should probably be grateful that she wants to show me her support</em>. He turned to Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°The gates are sealed?¡± he asked.


    ¡°They are, Lord Lu.¡±


    Lo Meifeng was already in the courtyard, making preparations for the first half of Sen¡¯s demonstration of his unhappiness. That just left one person in the room. His gaze fell on Yeung Fen. The woman looked gaunt, and she flinched as soon as his eyesnded on her. Sen had been shocked when Lo Meifeng¡¯s people had not only found the woman but dragged her back to the manor alive. He¡¯d expected her to be long gone and far away by the time anyone knew that she was involved. If not that, then he would have thought she¡¯d prefer to go down fighting. He knew that¡¯s what he would have done. Still, he wasn¡¯t one to bemoan a positive turn of luck. She had proven truculent about providing information. So, Sen nned to use today¡¯s demonstration as one method to <em>motivate</em> her cooperation.


    ¡°Yeung Fen. I want you to pay close attention to what happens here today. Think of it as a window into the future. Your future,¡± he said.


    He walked over to the door, dragging Yeung Fen along with a tether of air qi he¡¯d wrapped around her neck. Her hands were bound by manacles that Sen had personally crafted and reinforced. He¡¯d felt herughable attempts to break them with her own qi, but she had not experienced his explosive growth in power over the intervening years. She was still in foundation formation, which meant that the only way she was breaking those bonds was if he gave her a hundred years of uninterrupted time to get it done. She stumbled along in his wake. Long Jia Wei and Grandmother Lu simply ignored her. He supposed that they¡¯d already started thinking of her as dead and not worth the effort of giving their attention.


    He pushed open the front door to the manor. There was usually a servant there, but almost everyone in the manor save for the children and their minders were in the courtyard already. As were a small number of people who were kneeling, hands tied, and watched over by hard-faced guards. These people were the most directly responsible for the attack. The ones who had done the most to bring the explosives into the manor. One had been separated out. He was the one who had actually lit the fuse. Sen intended to make him into the first example. With a negligent wave of his hand and a minor application of air qi, he drove Yeung Fen to her knees. Then, he walked out in front of the crowd of people, his people, and assumed a thoughtful expression.¡°We were attacked,¡± he said without preamble. ¡°It was unprovoked. Carried out by cowards who tried to hurt as many people as they could while avoiding anything so honorable as a direct fight. I know some of you were injured. Some of you lost people. I know your anger because it is also <em>my</em> anger. I also know some of you may have thought I intended to simply ept those losses. To ignore it because I¡¯m a cultivator and those who died were not. You were wrong. These people you see behind me are some of the guilty. They are the ones who delivered this evil into our lives. Today, you will have vengeance. I will have vengeance.¡±


    There was barely a sound in the courtyard. No one moved. They all just stared at him. He saw the hunger in their eyes. The need to see action taken. That desire to reim control from a world that had ripped it away from them. Sen had thought long and hard about how to handle this moment. His first instinct had been to destroy these men himself. To destroy them as slowly and painfully as he possibly could. Of course, he couldn¡¯t do that. It wouldn¡¯t aplish what he wanted. Instead, he would personally make an example of just one of the men. He walked over to the prisoner who had been separated. The man looked up at him, his eyes rolling in panicked terror. He was trying to say something, to scream something, but it was just muffled whining through the gag. Sen sliced the ropes away from the man¡¯s hand with a tiny wind de, then dragged him to his feet.


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    ¡°You,¡± said Sen, making sure his voice carried. ¡°You lit the fuse. Of everyone here, you are the one I hate the most.¡±


    Sen locked the man in a cage of air qi, then used that air to move the prisoner like a puppet. He dragged the man¡¯s arms out to each side, hands forced open, palms up. Sen deposited a very small pouch in each of the man¡¯s hands and forced those hands closed around the pouches.


    ¡°Since you like explosions so much, I want you to experience them yourself,¡± said Sen. ¡°This is my judgment on you.¡±


    The prisoner tried to thrash but he was held rigidly in ce. He tried to scream again. Maybe they were shouts of anger. Maybe they were pleas for mercy directed at Sen himself or the heavens above. It didn¡¯t matter. Sen was fresh out of mercy. As for the heavens, asking them for mercy seemed about as fruitful as asking the sun to rise in the west, at least in Sen¡¯s experience. Sen took a few steps back and erected a barrier of solidified air around the man to contain the sts and the noise. He didn¡¯t intend topound this man¡¯s intentional destruction with negligent destruction of his own. He had added more barriers inside therger barrier to ensure that the sts didn¡¯t immediately kill the prisoner. He wasn¡¯t kind enough for that. Sen walked back over to stand next to Grandmother Lu and Lo Meifeng, who had joined the other woman.


    ¡°Everyone. Witness my justice,¡± said Sen, using qi to carry his words to every ear.


    He snapped his fingers, a wholly unnecessary act, but it served well enough to announce what came next. Sparks of fire qi came to life inside the pouches and the contents exploded. There was a spray of red and a hail of white shrapnel as the explosions removed the man¡¯s hands at the wrists. The barriers did their job, containing the st to just where Sen wanted it. The prisoner screamed for a few seconds before blood loss, trauma, or both rendered him unconscious. <em>Well</em>, <em>we can¡¯t have that</em>, thought Sen. He strode over the man, the barriers parting around him, and poured a healing elixir down his throat. For good measure, he used fire qi to sear the stumps. Otherwise, pure blood loss might kill the man. He gave the healing elixir a little time to do its work before he reached out and used his qi to force the man back into consciousness. The prisoner started screaming around his gag.


    ¡°It hurts, doesn¡¯t it?¡± asked Sen. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t get to die yet. I¡¯m not done with you.¡±


    Sen repeated the process, except he took off the man¡¯s feet with the second round of explosions. He had considered repeating the process several times to take off more and more pieces of the man, but Sen doubted there was any point. The sheer level of pain had probably obliterated anything like rational thought from the man¡¯s mind. Sen stared at the man hanging suspended in the air and waved his hand. A white-hot inferno turned the prisoner from a person into ash in a matter of seconds. Sen nced at the crowd of his people. He wasn¡¯t sure what they would think of this brutality. A few looked sickened. A few looked terrified. Most of them, though, looked satisfied. Sen turned his eyes to the rest of the kneeling prisoners.


    ¡°I will leave the fate of those prisoners up to you. Should I execute them? Or should I leave them to your justice?¡±


    There was a moment where nothing happened. Then, a man pushed his way to the front of the crowd, his face contorted with grief and rage. He ran toward the prisoners, screaming incoherently. That opened the floodgate. With very few exceptions, the crowd surged forward. Sen waited as his people vented their anger and loss on those prisoners. In other circumstances, he might have felt a twinge of pity for those bound men. Being beaten to death wasn¡¯t a fast death. Even if it was a whole lot of people doing the beating. He kept an eye on things with his spiritual sense, waiting until thest flickering ember of life in thest prisoner went out.


    ¡°Enough,¡± he called out, his voice seeming to resonate from the very walls.


    The enraged crowd fell back from what was left of the prisoners. They lurched drunkenly, as though they weren¡¯t entirely in control of themselves.


    ¡°Today, we took our vengeance,¡± said Sen.


    <em>Some of it</em>, <em>at any rate</em>, thought Sen. <em>Enough for the crowd</em>, <em>I hope</em>. Apparently, it was enough. The people in the crowd started cheering, or sobbing in each other¡¯s arms, finally able to release emotions that had been held in abeyance. Sen sent out swift mes to deal with the prisoners¡¯ remains. Then, he did something he hadn¡¯t ever tried before. He manipted the air above the manor. Clouds started to form, blotting out the morning sun. They grew thick and heavy as he drew water into them. He took great care not to let lightning form in the clouds. Suppressing it by force a few times.


    ¡°Now, let us be washed clean!¡± he roared.


    The clouds overhead unburdened themselves. At first, there were just a few drops but steady rain soon descended from above. The crowd of people, his people, turned their faces up and let the water soak them. He let it go on for several minutes before he dispersed the clouds and sent a warm wind weaving around the courtyard, drying people and the stone around them in kind. Sen didn¡¯t have a n beyond this point. He sort of expected the people to simply disperse now. Instead, they all looked to him. He hazarded a quick look at Lo Meifeng and Grandmother Lu, but they were looking out at the crowd. Sen turned his eyes back to the crowd, only to see that people were bowing at him, and there was a whisper that grew into a steady chant.


    ¡°Lord Lu.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 61: Public Statement

    Book 8: Chapter 61: Public Statement


    Sen put up with the bowing and creepy chanting for a little while before he encouraged everyone to return to their homes or duties. He wasn¡¯t expecting them to get much done the rest of the day. Catharsis might be good for the soul, but it tended to be a tiring thing in his experience. Plus, he wasn¡¯t entirely done for the day. While he waited for the guards to drag out the rest of the prisoners, he turned to Grandmother Lu and Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°So, how do you think it went?¡±


    ¡°Well, they¡¯re dead,¡± said Grandmother Lu. ¡°That¡¯s the definition of sess with an execution.¡±


    Sen was mostly sure that was meant as some kind of dark joke. He supposed it was enough that she hadn¡¯t actively criticized the whole show, and it had been a show. He¡¯d felt so pompous and ridiculous throughout the whole thing. Still, Lo Meifeng had told him that he needed to project a certain air if he wanted to pull all of this off in the long run. He couldn¡¯t just say he was a lord. He needed to act like a lord, or at least what people thought lords should act like. It all seemed very silly to him, but nobility and everything attached to it were new to him. He had to trust that people with more experience than him knew what they were talking about.


    ¡°I doubt you¡¯ll ever have the full loyalty of the Xie family members who grew up being nobles,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°There¡¯s going to be a part of them that will hate you forever. But they also lost some people in that attack. This will have gone a long way toward making sure they hate you quietly.¡±


    ¡°In other words, take the little victories?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Are you sure about this next part, though? It¡¯s provocative, to say the least.¡±


    ¡°Sure about it? No. On the other hand, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough for people to simply hear that I killed the perpetrators. That¡¯s just another rumor. If people see it, it bes a reality.¡±


    ¡°You do realize that it¡¯s going to be distorted into rumors by the end of the day,¡± said Lo Meifeng.¡°They¡¯ll have you executing a thousand men by dawn,¡± added Grandmother Lu.


    ¡°Probably so,¡± said Sen. ¡°But the sects and the other noble houses will have people reporting back to them. This manor is under near-constant observation. The facts will reach the right ears. As for the rumors¡­ I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s entirely a bad thing if what happens here today gets exaggerated. I want people to think that attacking us will turn into a disastrous bloodbath for them. If nothing else, it¡¯ll make recruiting fools harder.¡±


    He turned a hard look on Yeung Fen. She refused to meet his eyes. If anything, she looked like she was trying to avoid even breathing too loudly for fear of drawing attention to herself. It had been hard to avoid the impulse to simply kill the woman the moment he saw her. He¡¯d shown her mercy once, and her response had been tounch an attack on him. He¡¯d made himself think past that anger and sense of betrayal, though. Initially, he¡¯d imagined that she was acting out some kind of revenge fantasy but that didn¡¯t add up. Her best chance of taking revenge on him would have been to try to do it as soon as possible after he let her go. Waiting until now, when his strength was widely known, was stupid. She hadn¡¯t seemed stupid.


    Given that she¡¯d used the Wu patriarch as a proxy, it stood to reason that someone might have used <em>her</em> as some kind of proxy. Picking someone that he might kill out of hand without asking too many questions made her involvement look far more reasonable. If he reacted out of blind anger, she became the person who took all the me and he wouldn¡¯t look any deeper. If he didn¡¯t kill her immediately, her capture would be a signal to whoever had set all of this up to either leave or take steps to protect themselves. Sen wasn¡¯t sure what those steps would look like, but his inability to imagine them didn¡¯t mean that such protections couldn¡¯t exist. If his experience with the defenses around the manor had taught him anything, it was that he was as capable of missing the obvious as anyone else.


    It was only when the guards started marching people toward the front gate that he realized he¡¯d been ring at Yeung Fen for quite a while. She was making a valiant but failed effort not to shake under the weight of his displeasure. All things considered, he thought that was probably a healthy reaction. He watched in silence as the bound, gagged people were taken outside. He only followed after thest of them had passed through the gates. They¡¯d been lined up along the wall and pushed down to their knees. He took his time with everything, making meaningless conversation with Lo Meifeng and Grandmother Lu just to dy the inevitable. He was beyond feeling squeamish about this. He just wanted to give all those nameless, faceless observers a chance to get into position to watch. What he hadn¡¯t expected was the arrival of Chan Dishi. The other cultivator sauntered down the street, a stick with some kind of meat and vegetables on it in his hand, and looking keenly interested in the happenings. He strode up to Sen and offered a perfunctory bow. Any semnce of propriety done in by the man taking the opportunity to pull a piece of carrot off the stick with his teeth.


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    ¡°I, Chan Dishi,¡± mumbled the man around his mouthful of carrot, ¡°on behalf of important people, havee to witness the,¡± he smirked, ¡°entertainment.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow at the other man.


    ¡°Jing sent you to witness this?¡±


    ¡°Sent is probably a strong word for it. I enthusiastically volunteered for the job,¡± said Chan Dishi, eying the waiting prisoners. ¡°I just had a feeling that this was going to be worth making the trip from the pce.¡±


    ¡°You find executions entertaining?¡±


    ¡°Not as a rule. But are you going to tell me that this isn¡¯t meant to be some grand public statement? Something intended to strike terror in the hearts of men and geese alike?¡±


    ¡°Geese?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like geese,¡± said Chan Dishi. ¡°They¡¯re mean things. Used to chase me around when I was a boy. I like the idea of people doing things that scare them.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll try not to disappoint,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Good man,¡± said Chan Dishi pping Sen on the shoulder before he turned a spective eye on Lo Meifeng. ¡°And I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯ve met,¡± said Lo Meifeng. ¡°I wasn¡¯t impressed then either.¡±


    ¡°Cold,¡± said the man, pressing a hand to his chest as though he¡¯d been wounded.


    ¡°Warranted,¡± said Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°Was I drunk at the time? I refuse to take responsibility for anything I said, did, or failed to do while drunk.¡±


    Lo Meifeng simply sniffed in disdain and looked toward the prisoners. Chan Dishi looked mildly confused as if he was trying to remember when he¡¯d met her before and couldn¡¯t ce it. He shook his head and grinned at Grandmother Lu.


    ¡°Chan Dishi,¡± he said. ¡°And you might be?¡±


    ¡°Lu Jia,¡± said Grandmother Lu.


    She looked a little amused by the man, but it was the sort of amusement that one reserved for small boys who were acting out. Chan Dishi appeared to read that amusement for what it was and grinned even wider.


    ¡°So, I take it you¡¯re the mythical grandmother who will rule in his stead,¡± said the man, hiking a thumb at Sen.


    ¡°That¡¯s what he tells me,¡± said Grandmother Lu with a long-suffering sigh. ¡°Children these days.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it,¡± said the man with a sage nod. ¡°Mine are constantly causing me problems. Barely a decade goes by without one of them making some mess I have to clean up for them.¡±


    Sen was startled at the idea that this man had even one child. He struck Sen as wildly irresponsible. Of course, he supposed that wasn¡¯t really an impediment to having children, just raising them. Chan Dishi saw the surprised look on Sen¡¯s face and shrugged.


    ¡°What? We¡¯re not all like you. It¡¯s taken me centuries to get this far. I got bored.¡±


    ¡°That strikes me as a terrible reason to have children,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Probably,¡± admitted Chan Dishi. ¡°Still, they are ceaselessly amusing. So, it¡¯s not all bad. Anyway, are you about ready to get this started? I¡¯m very excited to see what you have nned.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a very strange man,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°No denying that,¡± said the man, wholly unperturbed by thement.


    Sen snorted and, putting on a stern expression, he walked over to the kneeling prisoners. He ignored their pleading eyes and the mangled words that came from around the gags as he hung pouches of explosives around their necks. He wasn¡¯t looking to drag out their deaths. The explosions should destroy their hearts and kill them immediately. The results were the real message to the public, the sects, and the other noble houses. After he¡¯d ced the final pouch, he stepped back so he could re imperiously up and down the line.


    ¡°All of you participated in the attack on this manor. Your actions cost lives. The lives of my people. You will pay for that transgression with your own. May you make better choices in your next life.¡±


    Sen nodded to the guard captain, who Lo Meifeng had needed to point out to him. The man barked a few orders and the rest of the guards moved well clear of the prisoners. Sen erected another barrier of solid air to contain the explosions. He met the eyes of each prisoner for a brief moment. Then, he used a bit of fire qi to set off all of the explosives at the same time. It was beyond messy. Containing the explosions had the side effect of redirecting all of the force back onto the prisoners¡¯ bodies. It was carnage, in and simple. He heard someone in the crowd of everyday people who had gathered scream. He stood there, looking at the mess he had made, and then burned the remains to ash. Snuffing the temporary inferno, he rejoined Grandmother Lu, Lo Meifeng, and Chan Dishi. He looked to the man that Jing had sent to watch him take revenge.


    ¡°What did you think of my public statement?¡±


    Chan Dishi thought for a moment before he said, ¡°I think geese the world over are trembling in terror.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 62: Tell Me a Story

    With the executions clearly over, the crowd started to disperse, although Sen could hear their hushed, fearful whispering. At least that part seemed to be going to n. Lo Meifeng cast another disdainful look at Chan Dishi before she headed for the gate, obviously happy to have an excuse to leave. Grandmother Lu offered the man a shallow bow before she also went back to the manor. Chan Dishi wore that look of vague confusion again as he watched them leave, seemingly still uncertain when or where he might have encountered Lo Meifeng before. It was only then that Sen really became aware of Yeung Fen again. He¡¯d dragged her along with him without even thinking about it. Her eyes were locked on the ce where the prisoners used to be. Oh, right, I should finish cleaning that up, thought Sen. He didn¡¯t know for sure that breathing the ashes of human remains was bad for people, but it stood to reason. He used wind qi to gather the ashes up, opened a hole in the stone of the street, and sank the ashes deep underground.


    ¡°Well, you certainly know how to send a message,¡± said Chan Dishi, grinning at Sen.


    ¡°I have my moments,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°So, now that you¡¯ve made every noble, criminal, and most of the cultivators in the city soil themselves, what¡¯s next?¡±


    Sen only hesitated for a moment. It wasn¡¯t like it was going to be any kind of secret when he left, so there wasn¡¯t much point in being cagey about it. And, almost despite himself, he did like Chan Dishi. He didn¡¯t understand the man, or his seemingly unshakeable good cheer, but Sen liked him all the same.


    ¡°I¡¯m just about done here,¡± said Sen. ¡°After I wrap up a fewst tasks, I go back north. Let things here settle down.¡±


    ¡°North, eh? Not much up that way.¡±


    ¡°I have a little academy I started.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, you started a sect up there.¡±Sen almost said that it wasn¡¯t a sect on reflex, but he supposed he couldn¡¯t do that anymore. It might not be sect right that second, but it would be soon enough.


    ¡°Something like that. I need to do a little recruiting while I¡¯m here. I need some extra teachers. Weapon masters.¡±


    Chan Dishi lifted an eyebrow at that.


    ¡°The way I hear it, you¡¯re a master swordsman <em>and</em> a spear master. Why would you want to recruit some second-ss talents to teach what you can teach?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only one of me,¡± said Sen with a shrug. ¡°There¡¯s only so many hours in the day. Plus, if I¡¯m being honest with myself, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m a particrly good teacher. I mean, I¡¯m not terrible, but Ick a certain amount of patience.¡±


    Chan Dishi nodded along and said, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s like forey. It¡¯s only fun if you¡¯re invested in it.¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± said Sen, uncertain how to respond to that. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said the other man, stretching, ¡°I suppose I should go report in. Thanks for the entertainment. I may have toe and see what kind of sect you¡¯re building after I¡¯m done ying bodyguard.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that hard to find. It was interesting to meet you.¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡± said Chan Dishi with augh before he sauntered away with a wave.


    Sen watched the odd man go before shaking his head and looking at Yeung Fen. She flinched when he focused on her. He headed for the gate, all but dragging her along in his wake with a fist of air qi. Everyone he passed offered a bow, and he soon grew tired of nodding acknowledgment at people, but it was simply the price of the position he¡¯d seized by force and with a bit of collusion from Jing. ying into the role would also, he hoped, help make things easier for Grandmother Lu. She¡¯d have to establish her own kind of authority with them eventually. However, if she had to borrow some reflected authority from him at first, the least he could do was make sure that he didn¡¯t undermine it before he left. Sen stalked past Pan Shiji and into his office. He¡¯d expected to find Lo Meifeng and Grandmother Lu there, but it seemed they¡¯d been called away already to handle something. Sen dropped into a chair and finally released Yeung Fen from the fist of air qi. He pointed at another chair.


    ¡°Sit,¡± he ordered.


    The woman sat, trying to maintain some kind of dignity.


    ¡°I¡ª¡± she started.


    ¡°You just saw how I deal with people who attack me and mine,¡± Sen said. ¡°The only reason you weren¡¯t <em>in</em> that line of prisoners outside is because I think you know some things that I don¡¯t yet. So, tell me a story, Yeung Fen. Tell me things that I don¡¯t already know.¡±


    ¡°If I do, will you let me live?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I let you go once already, and you didn¡¯t take advantage of that mercy.¡±


    ¡°Then, I don¡¯t see that I have any incentive to tell you anything.¡±


    ¡°Would you like me to provide you with one? Alright, you don¡¯t get to live, but you do get to decide <em>how</em> you die. You can tell me what I want to know and die a fast, rtively painless death. Or you can waste my time, and die a very slow, very painful death. I recently discovered how to regrow limbs. So, I can make this <emst</em>. You can lose your arms and legs, over and over again. I don¡¯t know how many times it¡¯ll take before you spill every secret in your head, but I can promise that you¡¯ll be ready to talk a long time before I¡¯m ready to stop. That¡¯s before we even discuss the possibilities of poison. Take this one, for example,¡± said Sen, summoning the poison he hadn¡¯t given to the Wu patriarch.


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    He gave her the same exnation of what it would do that he¡¯d given to Wu Chia-Hao. The feeling of burning, the rot, and the ultimate drowning. He didn¡¯t know if it would actually work on a cultivator the same way it would on a mortal, but she didn¡¯t need to know that. After he wrapped that up, he smiled at her and shrugged.


    ¡°You wanted an incentive. There you go.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t strike me as this ruthless thest time we met,¡± she said.


    She did an admirable job of keeping a calm fa?ade in ce, but the mask was fragile. She was well and truly frightened.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been through some things since then,¡± said Sen. ¡°The sad part is, I really would have left you alone if you¡¯d left me alone. I¡¯d all but forgotten about you. If we¡¯d just crossed paths randomly somewhere, I doubt I¡¯d have given you more than a second nce.¡±


    Yeung Fen closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. She seemed to be bracing herself. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was to tell him she wasn¡¯t going to cooperate or to tell him the truth. Neither option seemed to appeal to the woman.


    ¡°You may have forgotten about me,¡± she said, ¡°but the demonic cultivators didn¡¯t forget about either of us.¡±


    Sen nodded. He might have been able to guess that it was them, but he simply had so many people who didn¡¯t like him now that it was dangerous to guess about who was behind any one thing. He preferred confirmations.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°I knew we didn¡¯t get them all. Honestly, I thought that they¡¯d try to get me before this.¡±


    ¡°You moved around too much. You grew too powerful, too fast. Every time they got close, you¡¯d vanish for months at a time, only to resurface somewhere else and even more powerful than before.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that makes sense. It doesn¡¯t exin you, though. You didn¡¯t have what it took to capture me all those years ago before I got this powerful. You had to know you didn¡¯t stand a chance now. So, why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I tried to take your advice. I went looking for revenge against Suen Hai. The one who set me up back then. It turned out that he had more powerful backing than I expected. One of those demonic cultivators your purge missed.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s this demonic cultivator¡¯s name? Where can I find them?¡±


    ¡°You think they introduced themselves to me? They just showed up, pped me down, and told me that I worked for them now. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but I was alive. Honestly, I think they thought I was too trivial to kill. Not a threat to them, at all. So, why kill me when they could make me work?¡±


    She gave Sen a significant look as if he should be taking a lesson from that exnation. He couldn¡¯t me her for trying.


    ¡°You¡¯re suggesting that I press you into service to me?¡±


    ¡°I could be useful to you.¡±


    ¡°An interesting proposition, except that I don¡¯t trust you.¡±


    Yeung Fenughed. It was a cynical sound,ced with bitterness and more than a little self-loathing.


    ¡°You say that like you don¡¯t have a manor full of people you can¡¯t trust. You don¡¯t honestly think you can trust all those Xie family members you turned into peasants, do you? Or those two assassins you have running around here pretending they¡¯re housebroken? I¡¯m no more untrustworthy than they are.¡±


    She had a point, even if there were things she didn¡¯t know about the situation. He only trusted most of those people as far as he trusted the admittedly imperfect protection of a vow to the heavens. Lo Meifeng was the one true exception to that rule, not that he nned to exin that fact or why it was the case to Yeung Fen.


    ¡°This is all very interesting, but you haven¡¯t even given me a good reason to let you keep breathing for the next five minutes, let alone burden myself with keeping you around. Where is this demonic cultivator? For that matter, where is Suen Hai? I assume he yed some role in all of this. I wouldn¡¯t want him to miss out on all of the fun.¡±


    ¡°Gone. They started nning their escapes the second your hunting dogs started grabbing people. I expect they both packed up and left after you grabbed me. They¡¯re smart enough to know that I¡¯d drag them down into the thousand hells with me and smile while I did it.¡±


    Sen leaned back in his chair, idly picking up the vial of poison he¡¯d left sitting on the table. He rolled it back and forth in his hand while he thought. His inclination was to kill Yeung Fen and get on with his day. He¡¯d said he would kill her, and he did make an effort to follow through when told people things like that. On the other hand, he¡¯d done a lot of killing that day. It had been necessary, from a certain perspective, but he didn¡¯t like killing mortals. He didn¡¯t particrly like killing cultivators, either, but it bothered him more when he killed mortals. Cultivators at least had a <em>chance</em> of defending themselves from him. It might only be a slim chance, but it was a chance. When he decided that a mortal had to die, he might as well be a force of nature that had singled out a single person to bully. They could rail against him, but they could never win. Yeung Fen wasn¡¯t a mortal, and she had wronged him, twice now, but she truly wasn¡¯t a threat to him in a direct conflict. Killing her would be about as difficult as killing a baby chicken.


    There was also the fact that Yeung Fen had managed to make herself useful enough to a demonic cultivator that they kept her around for years. That meant that she had to have some skills that weren¡¯t made obvious by this conversation. Probably the kind of skills that Lo Meifeng could make use of in one way or another. However, he wasn¡¯t going to saddle Lo Meifeng with this woman without at least consulting her. He turned his attention back to Yeung Fen, who was staring at the vial in his hands with the kind of intensity that only the proximity of death could generate.


    ¡°Sit there. Be quiet, and you might live to see the dawn,¡± Sen told her.


    He put the vial back into his storage ring and promptly ignored the woman as he started going through the scrolls that had, somehow, piled up on the table since thest time he¡¯d been there. Yeung Fen sat in perfect silence, barely moving. She wasn¡¯t quite as unobtrusive as a statue, but she came close. After close to an hour, Lo Meifeng finally returned. She took in the scene at a nce and then lifted an eyebrow at Sen.


    Sen focused on Yeung Fen, who straightened in her chair. He pointed at Lo Meifeng.


    ¡°If you can convince <em>her</em> that you¡¯re worth keeping around, I¡¯ll take her rmendation,¡± said Sen.


    He stood from the table and walked out of the room. Lo Meifeng followed him.


    ¡°You want to keep her?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Not especially,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I¡¯ve just had enough killing for a while. Talk to her. If you think she¡¯s got skills that are worth preserving, we¡¯ll figure it out. Otherwise, I¡¯ll deal with her.¡±


    Lo Meifeng gave him a long look.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it if ites to that. I know,¡± she said before he could speak. ¡°I¡¯ll make it quick. We¡¯re not making examples anymore.¡±


    Sen hesitated before he nodded and said, ¡°Thanks.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 63: The Children

    Sen regretted turning the decision over to Lo Meifeng almost immediately. The regret didn¡¯t have anything to do with her. He¡¯d just let his own weakness get the best of him. That he didn¡¯t want to kill anyone else was a bad reason not to finish the job. Not that his other reasons had been wholly without merit, and he¡¯d made the decision about that particr woman thest time the three of them had met. He also knew that Lo Meifeng¡¯s default position would be to eliminate the threat the woman posed. Yeung Fen would have to prove incredibly convincing to a highly suspicious person who was already unfavorably disposed toward her. In the end, though, he had made the decision hers. Taking the decision back would probably make Lo Meifeng worry that he didn¡¯t trust her judgment. If Yeung Fen did somehow manage to find the right words to save her own life, Sen was a little worried about what to do with her.


    She couldn¡¯t stay in the capital. Well, she couldn¡¯t be seen to be working for him in the capital, at the very least. He had to assume that some people, and some of the wrong people, would recognize her. The problem was that she couldn¡¯t be left to her own devices without supervision. It wasn¡¯t like he could just send her off somewhere distant to handle things for him. She¡¯d just slip away the first chance she got. Sen shook his head. That was just him borrowing problems that didn¡¯t exist yet. He had enough real things to deal with already, such as all the preparations for leaving. Preparations that would prove more substantial since he wouldn¡¯t be leaving by himself. He had to stop three people to find someone who knew where to find Grandmother Lu. It turned out that she was observing some of the Xie children who were outside getting some y or maybe exercise. Sen wasn¡¯t really sure. He stepped up next to her and considered the children.


    ¡°You still mean to take them with you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I do,¡± said Sen, hearing the disapproval in her voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s a cruel thing you mean to do,¡± she said. ¡°You, of all people, know what it means to grow up without parents.¡±


    Sen felt a brief re of anger and pushed it down hard.


    ¡°There is a difference. I don¡¯t mean to put these children out on the streets. They will not starve. They will notck for education.¡±


    ¡°What kind of education? What will you have them learn?¡±


    ¡°They will learn something their parents never did. They will learn how to be useful. I will make them into farmers, cksmiths, and carpenters.¡±¡°Not soldiers?¡±


    ¡°I suppose that once theye of age, I can¡¯t prevent them from joining the army. But I will not teach them how to fight. I will not arm them to rise up against us.¡±


    Grandmother Lu let out a soft sigh.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t choose this fight, Sen.¡±


    ¡°Neither did I,¡± he gently reminded her. ¡°All things considered¡­ I think I¡¯ve been restrained in how I¡¯ve treated this entire family.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you have. I just dislike punishing the children for their parents¡¯ mistakes.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a better solution. I won¡¯t kill them. I can¡¯t bind them with oaths. I don¡¯t dare leave them with their parents to be poisoned against us day in and day out. I can¡¯t leave them in the capital, either. Just because I won¡¯t harm them, I¡¯m quite certain there are those who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill them simply to repay their parents for past sins.¡±


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    ¡°I said it was cruel, not senseless,¡± said Grandmother Lu. ¡°I also don¡¯t have any other or better ideas. You know that some of those children will be reluctant to give up the privilege they once enjoyed.¡±


    ¡°I do. I expect that will lead to some rough lessons for them. That kind of behavior doesn¡¯t get you very far when you don¡¯t have any actual authority or house guards to back it up.¡±


    ¡°So, you won¡¯t interfere if they get into fights?¡±


    Sen shrugged and said, ¡°Not unless things get out of hand.¡±


    There was a moment of silence as Sen looked out at the children and hardened his heart. <em>They won¡¯t always be children, but they will always be Xie</em>, he reminded himself. <em>You can never let yourself trust any of them</em>. <em>Not ever</em>. Grandmother Lu let out another sigh.


    ¡°Try not to let them see you look at them like that. You¡¯ll frighten them to death.¡±


    Sen forced his face to rx.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to remember,¡± he said before changing the subject. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to find carts and gather supplies to take them north. Food. Tents. Guards. The usual.¡±


    ¡°Carts?¡± asked Grandmother Lu, a small smile on her face.


    ¡°Peasants travel by foot and by cart. Best to get them used to that right away.¡±


    ¡°I take it you¡¯d like me to arrange for that, boy?¡±


    ¡°If you would be so kind, Grandmother. I would appreciate it. I have a number of other things to do over the next few days.¡±


    ¡°More important than seeing to the disposition of these children?¡±


    ¡°Not more important but possibly moreplicated. Minimally, they¡¯re things that I¡¯ll probably <em>have</em> to see to personally. I can¡¯t really send Shen Mingxia out to recruit core formation weapon masters.¡±


    ¡°True enough. Idle curiosity. Why did you bring her with you? She¡¯s a sweet enough girl, but she¡¯s not¡­¡± Grandmother Lu trailed off, seemingly unable to find the right word.


    ¡°Powerful?¡± Sen suggested.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s as good a word as any.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, it was a joke that got out of hand. Plus, I thought she could use the experience dealing with mortal nobility. I didn¡¯t expect all of <em>this</em>,¡± he said, sweeping his arm in an all-epassing sort of way. ¡°If I¡¯d imagined any of this in advance, I¡¯d have left her up north.¡±


    ¡°So, not pure recklessness or infatuation?¡±


    Sen gave Grandmother Lu a surprised look andughed.


    ¡°Maybe a bit of recklessness but not infatuation. I¡¯m not <em>that</em> cruel.¡±


    ¡°I was just checking. Very well. I¡¯ll see to getting you carts and tents.¡±


    ¡°And clothes,¡± said Sen. ¡°They¡¯ll need appropriate clothes. It¡¯ll be harder for them to act haughty in peasant clothes.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll be the one to tell all those girls that you¡¯re taking away all of their pretty things? There¡¯s going to be tears.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be avoided,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll tell them if you think it¡¯s for the best.¡±


    ¡°Heavens no. You¡¯re going to have enough trouble without them hating you even more than they probably already do. I¡¯ll deal with it. What will you be doing today, though?¡±


    ¡°I need to go and collect some formation gs I asked to have made quite some time ago. And to keep a promise. After that, I need to find out how you hold an auction in a city like this. Sects have been a thorn in my side for years. It¡¯s time to see if we can¡¯t make them useful to me for once. I intend for them to help finance all the work we have ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°No preferential treatment for your sect matriarch lover?¡± asked Grandmother Lu with an amused look on her face. ¡°I hear that she¡¯s supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the city. How disappointed will she be if you make her bid on things?¡±


    Sen rolled his eyes.


    ¡°One, I very much doubt that she¡¯s going to turn up personally to bid on things. Two, this is business. She¡¯ll understand. In fact, she¡¯d probably be disappointed in me if I <em>didn¡¯t</em> make her sect bid like all of the others. There are some strange power dynamics at work between the sects here that I won¡¯t even pretend to understand. I¡¯m not interested in creating waves there.¡±


    ¡°She sounds almost reasonable. So, when will you introduce us?¡±


    ¡°I expect that I will introduce Lu Jia, acting matriarch of the House of Lu, to Lai Dongmai, Matriarch of the Golden Phoenix Sect, before I leave the city.¡±


    ¡°That was a suspiciously formal way to describe it, Sen.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I have no intention of introducing my grandmother to my lover in an informal way that might invite the wrong kind of conversations.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotten a little too sharp for your own good,¡± said Grandmother Lu with a look of mock annoyance. ¡°Take care you don¡¯t cut yourself.¡±


    Sen grinned at her and then offered her a deep bow.


    ¡°I will heed your wise advice, as always, Grandmother.¡±


    He grinned even wider when she swatted the back of his head.

 Book 8: Chapter 64: Keeping the Promise

    Sen smiled at the little house with the barn-like structure out back. It was exactly as he remembered the ce, which he realized wasn¡¯t that big of a surprise. It hadn¡¯t actually been ten years since hest visited the formation g maker and his wife, it just felt like it. He walked up to the door and, much as he had thest time, summoned an expensive bottle of wine. He knocked on the door and waited. A few momentster a gray-haired woman opened the door. Her expression went from annoyed to surprised and happy from one eye blink to the next. Sen offered her a very respectful bow.


    ¡°Ung Wen, this humble wandering cultivator greets you.¡±


    Snorting a little, she returned his bow and said, ¡°Ung Wen greets the <em>Lord</em> Lu. Heavens above, did you somehow get prettier since thest time I saw you?¡±


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s possible. I was so hideous before it hardly seems possible that I couldn¡¯t improve a little,¡± said Sen as he proffered the bottle.


    Taking the bottle, she waved him inside. Sen sat while the woman bustled around and made them tea. Before she could find a snack, Sen waved a hand over the table and a te of small cakes appeared.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying out that recipe you gave me for these. I thought I¡¯d present my efforts to the master for her appraisal.¡±


    ¡°My appraisal, eh?¡± she said. ¡°Well, it¡¯d be rude of me to refuse now.¡±


    She carefully lifted one of the cakes from the te and bit into it. She chewed thoughtfully, her face betraying nothing of her thoughts. After she swallowed the bite, she lifted her tea and took a sip.


    ¡°Well, I suppose it¡¯s not aplete failure,¡± she said with a merry twinkle in her eyes.¡°I am relieved,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you, of course. These are excellent. Well done.¡±


    Sen found himself smiling broadly at the praise. It was one thing to be praised for his cultivation skills. Much of those were things he didn¡¯t fully understand, as much intuition as knowledge. Cooking, though, was truly his. He¡¯d put in the effort. Learned what worked by watching and listening to people who knew what they were doing, and then practicing. The skills felt truly earned, as did Ung Wen¡¯s praise.


    ¡°My daughter is rather fond of them,¡± said Sen. ¡°So, I really should be thanking you.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell us you had a daughter,¡± said Ung Wen.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t at the time. She didn¡¯t have anyone, so I adopted her.¡±


    ¡°How old is she?¡±


    ¡°She five. At least, I think so. She didn¡¯t properly remember when her birthday was, so there¡¯s some guesswork involved.¡±


    ¡°Time is one of those things that''s hard to keep track of at that age. Every day is an eternity, stuffed with new experiences. So, what¡¯s she like?¡±


    Sen considered that briefly and said, ¡°She¡¯s probably the most fearless thing I¡¯ve ever seen. Unless she¡¯s meeting new people.¡±


    Ung Wen threw back her head andughed. The two talked for another half an hour before Ung Wen sighed.


    ¡°I suppose I should take you out to see that husband of mine so you can get your formation gs. He¡¯ll be relieved that you¡¯vee. They¡¯re valuable. It made him nervous to have them here.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well then, let us go and unburden his mind.¡±


    The pair went out to the barn and Ung Wen called in through the door.


    ¡°Tan Lin. You have a customer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right there,¡± the man called back before appearing a few momentster. ¡°You¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± agreed Sen amiably.


    Tan Lin seemed to remember himself and bowed.


    ¡°Forgive my rudeness, Lord Lu.¡±


    ¡°Just Sen will do fine,¡± he said with a wave of his hand. ¡°I understand you might have a formation g or two ready for me.¡±


    ¡°I do!¡± said Tan Lin with obvious relief. ¡°Right this way.¡±


    Sen wondered if Ung Wen had been downying how nervous her husband had been about those gs. He trailed after the craftsman into the work area proper. He nced around, expecting to see his own gs piled up somewhere, but just saw what had be the standard, more inferior gs. He went to ask about it, only to see the man drag out a heavy chest that had been hidden from view. Sen¡¯s eyebrows rose as the man undid a heavy physical lock, and then an assortment of qi locks. After that, he went through the same process with a smaller chest, before he finally plucked out a storage ring and offered it to Sen. After a moment of concentration, he was able to ess the ring and its contents. He summoned a formation g. He ran his hands over the material and smiled. It felt right, like the ones that Uncle Kho had given him all those years ago.


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    ¡°That was a lot of security on the gs,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°A few people saw me working on them. They got a little pushy about me selling to them. Didn¡¯t really want to hear the word no.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t they just order some for themselves?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Except, they wanted to pay the same price.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± said Sen, finally understanding. ¡°Well, I appreciate you hanging on to them for me.¡±


    Sen swiftly transferred the gs into one of his own storage rings and tossed the one Tan Lin had originally handed him back to the man. The craftsman eyed the ring a little uncertainly.


    ¡°For the next time,¡± said Sen. ¡°No reason you should have to buy a new storage treasure for every order I ce.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Tan Lin, who looked around for a ce to put the ring before Ung Wen plucked it from his hand.


    ¡°You¡¯ll just lose it,¡± she said and gave her husband an affectionate kiss on the cheek.


    Tan Lin smiled sheepishly and said, ¡°She¡¯s right. I will.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± said Sen, ¡°you¡¯ve held up your end of the bargain. I guess it¡¯s time that I make good. Let¡¯s head back inside. I¡¯ll need to use your kitchen.¡±


    Once they got back inside, Sen examined both of them with his qi and his spiritual sense. He even went so far as to have them cycle their qi to get as clear a picture as possible of what he was working with. That was followed by a lot of questions about what they wanted from their cultivation moving forward. It was one thing to know that Tan Lin had a wood affinity and that Ung Wen had a water affinity, but the way they wanted to use their cultivation could have a lot of impact on what he made for them. Sen had been careful with the construction of his core. It yed to his affinities, certainly, but also to his needs. He knew that he was going to be doing a lot of fighting, so speed and explosive power were part of what he¡¯d aimed for in crafting his core. For Tan Lin, who focused almost entirely on crafting, speed and explosive power would bergely useless. He needed a core that augmented stable qi flows and endurance of use. Ung Wen, on the other hand, was somewhere in the middle.


    All of those factors yed into Sen¡¯s thinking as he delved into theponents he had stored in his rings. He resisted the urge to smirk at the uncertain looks that the married couple shared when he dropped his trusty, battered old pot onto the stove. He had to forcefully suppress augh at their astonished looks when he started to pull out ingredients and reagents that nearly bled qi. Soon, though, he was lost in the process as he dropped in a water-qi affinity lotus that he¡¯d found in a tinyke deep in the wilds. He bnced that with lesser, or what he considered lesser, earth, fire, air, and metal-affinity ingredients and reagents.


    As the elixir bubbled and boiled, he could sense that it wasn¡¯t quite what it should be, what it <em>needed</em> to be. He dipped back into his supplies and summoned a feather from a thunder-crow. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure what it contained that the elixir needed. However, the moment itnded in the pot, he could sense some minor disharmony, some dissonance that existed somewhere deep in the structure of the elixir correct itself. Even as all of that urred, he made the countless adjustments that barely registered in his mind. He didn¡¯t understand why other alchemists couldn¡¯t feel these things or make these corrections, but he wasn¡¯t going to hamper himself by not doing them. He¡¯d been down the road of self-inflected near-madness once before, he never intended to do it again.


    The first elixir had barely cooled enough to be poured off before he was at work on the second elixir. That elixir relied on an acorn from a thousand-year oak. The tree had been almost impossiblyrge, towering over the rest of the forest around it, positively zing with qi, and possibly sapient if Sen didn¡¯t miss his guess. He wouldn¡¯t have dared to try to take anything directly off the tree itself, but his theft of a handful of acorns had not brought any wrath down on his head. If he¡¯d been nning on feeding the elixir to a mortal, he knew he would have had to do things to the acorn. Otherwise, he would have risked making them ill. Fortunately, cultivator constitutions were a bit hardier, so he was able to drop the nut into the pot whole, shell and all.


    The work for that elixir was trickier. Wood qi was more sedate and stable than water qi, which epted change as its natural state. He had to nudge the elixir along slowly. Other ingredients went into the pot in much smaller amounts. It forced him to adjust from his usual approach, to adapt, and he loved every second of it. He reveled in the challenge and the state of purpose it provided. He basked in the warm glow of creation. Then, inevitably, and with a touch of the bittersweet, it was over. He poured the elixir through the cheesecloth and then sealed it. Smiling at the two vials he picked them up and turned to hand them over. He stopped short at the looks of awe on the faces of Tan Lin and Ung Wen. A little self-consciously, he held out the vials toward their respective owners. Both of them shied back like they didn¡¯t dare get near the elixirs.


    ¡°This is what I promised you,¡± said Sen, pushing the vials a little closer.


    ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± said Tan Lin in a hoarse whisper. ¡°Those are too valuable. We could never repay.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. They¡¯re literally only valuable to you. I made them specifically to suit your needs. I mean, maybe someone else could use them, but they¡¯d never get as much out of it. So, you might as well take them.¡±


    Ung Wen jerked, almost like she was waking up, and immediately shushed Tan Lin. She reached out, took the vials, and dropped one into Tan Lin¡¯s hand. She stared down at the elixir in her own trembling hand like it was some kind of a miracle. She looked up at him, and he thought she was about to burst into tears.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. ¡°This will really work?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve done everything I can to make sure it will, which is quite a lot. Just make sure you take them well away from anything or anyone. There¡¯s almost always a tribtion when you move between the major cultivation stages.¡±


    ¡°A tribtion,¡± said Tan Lin. ¡°I haven¡¯t faced one of those in¡­ Honestly, I don¡¯t even remember how long it¡¯s been.¡±


    Sen grimaced and said, ¡°Yeah, well, I promise that they¡¯re exactly as terrible as you remember. Which reminds me.¡±


    Sen summoned two healing elixirs and handed them to Ung Wen.


    ¡°For after the tribtion,¡± he said in answer to the unspoken question in their eyes. ¡°Just a little something to smooth the way.¡±


    ¡°How can we thank you?¡± asked Tan Lin.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯m just keeping the promise I made you.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 65: Details

    Book 8: Chapter 65: Details


    The next week was busy, but mostly quiet. Sen arranged for an auction and let a few hints slip about what manner of natural treasures and elixirs were going to be up for grabs. There was extensiveining about the incredibly short notice, most of which Sen shamelessly foisted off onto Long Jia Wei¡¯s shoulders. He couldn¡¯t really avoid the half-heartedints that Lai Dongmei made while they were in bed. Those he dismissed because he got the distinct impression that she did it because she felt like she ought to, not because she actually cared. The reality was that most of what got sold was going to go to the biggest sects. It probably wasn¡¯t fair, but Sen decided that it wasn¡¯t his job to be the arbiter of fairness at auctions for two key reasons. One, it sounded incredibly tedious. Two, he didn¡¯t want to. This was little more than a money grab designed to make Grandmother Lu¡¯s life a little easier. That meant he wanted the most money possible for the items, and the biggest sects had the most money to spend.


    Supplies for the trip north started piling up in the manor, which brightened Sen¡¯s day up every time he saw them. It was visible evidence that this trip to the capital was almost over. Unfortunately, it hade with one unpleasant detail that Sen hadpletely overlooked, but that Grandmother Lu¡¯s eminently practical mind had spotted almost immediately.


    ¡°But why do <em>I</em> have to talk to them?¡± Senined.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re going to be the one actually employing them,¡± said Grandmother Lu. ¡°It¡¯s not unreasonable for them to want to meet you. Just as importantly, don¡¯t <em>you</em> think you should meet the people you n to have help educate all of those children?¡±


    ¡°This is punishment for something, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Of course, it is. It also happens to be necessary, which means the punishment is really just a nice extra for me.¡±


    ¡°Will you at least tell me what it¡¯s punishment for?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure if you¡¯ll figure it out if you think hard about it.¡±


    When Sen thought about it, there were a depressing number of things she might be punishing him for. Heaving a defeated breath, Sen spent arge part of one day talking to people he could hire to teach the children essentials like reading and math. He was a tiny bit annoyed to discover that it <em>had</em> been a good idea for him to meet the people. There were a few in the group that he simply couldn¡¯t stand. They would have been a constant source of irritation if he¡¯d been forced to deal with them on a regr basis. There were also a few that, for reasons Sen couldn¡¯t put his finger on, he just didn¡¯t trust. It was an instinct that told him that he shouldn¡¯t hire those people. He did manage to hire what he hoped would be enough people to do the work.With so much of the day already gone, he had decided that he might as well stay on task. He went out into the city and, based on rmendations he¡¯d gotten from Lai Dongmei, Lo Meifeng, and Chan Dishi, looked for cultivators he could bring in for weapon teachers. A few just weren¡¯t interested, one was too eager, and the others took some convincing. He¡¯d found himself in a shabbier part of the city looking for one of Chan Dishi¡¯s rmendations. A man named He Jietang. After asking around for a while, he eventually found the man sitting outside a ramshackle little house, a wine pot bnced precariously on his leg, and snoring outrageously. Sen almost walked away right then, but he had promised Chan Dishi that he would actually talk to the man. He walked over to the drunken cultivator and noted that he was in core formation, which made Sen wonder just what was in the wine pot.


    ¡°He Jietang!¡± Sen almost shouted.


    The man stirred and finally cracked an eye to re at Sen.


    ¡°Go away,¡± mumbled the man.


    ¡°I have a message for you,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want it,¡± slurred He Jietang.


    ¡°I was told to say, get up off yourzy drunken ass and show me something you miserable old wretch.¡±


    The man opened his other eye, seemed to focus, and said, ¡°Oh, Dishi sent you. How is that fool?¡±


    ¡°Still foolish,¡± ventured Sen.


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    ¡°Good. Good,¡± said the man who gave his wine pot a longing look before putting it down and standing. ¡°Wait here a moment.¡±


    Sen half-expected the man to simply go inside and go to bed, but he reappeared less than a minuteter with a bow in one hand and a half dozen arrows in the other.


    ¡°You¡¯re an archer?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Not really, but it¡¯s the only thing I can do while I¡¯m this drunk,¡± answered He Jietang. ¡°Grab some of those rocks on the ground, would you?¡±


    Sen obliged the man and showed him the handful of rocks.


    ¡°Will these do?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ll be fine. Go on.¡±


    ¡°Go on and do what?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Throw them up in the air.¡±


    ¡°How high?¡±


    ¡°As high as you can,¡± said the man.


    Sen looked at the stones in his hand. <em>If I throw these as high as I can</em>, <em>they might nevere back down</em>, thought Sen. Then, he looked at the arrows that the man had propped up against the wall of the house. He Jietang actually swayed on his feet. There was a hazy unfocused quality about the man, like the cultivator had be as dpidated in his soul as the little house had be due to the ravages of time. <em>Fine</em>, thought Sen. <em>I¡¯ll throw the rocks and be on my way</em>. <em>It¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to hit them</em>. Sen adjusted his grip a little, drew back, and hurled the rocks into the sky. He didn¡¯t throw them with all of his strength, but more than hard enough that he probably could have brought down a circling hawk. He shifted his eyes from the rocks to the other man.


    He watched as a change came over the man. For a few seconds, he saw what Chan Dishi had no doubt meant for him to see. The haziness parted, and it was like a new man emerged. The unsteadiness vanished. His posture straightened. The man¡¯s eyes took on a piercing, predatory quality. He Jietang¡¯s hand moved with smooth precision as he fired the six arrows one after the next. Sen nced up and was not surprised to see the arrows strike the stones. There was a brief surge of qi from the archer, and wind gathered up the arrows and stones. The stones were scattered on the ground, while the arrows dropped back into the man¡¯s outstretched hand. Then, the unfocused quality returned.


    ¡°You recruiting for a sect war?¡± asked He Jietang. ¡°As you can see, I¡¯m a fine archer. No flying sword will help them evade my arrows.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to fight,¡± said Sen. ¡°I want you to teach.¡±


    ¡°Teach,¡± said the man, as though he was tasting something unfamiliar.


    ¡°That is assuming you can be sober enough to do that job. Can you?¡±


    A sliver of that other cultivator surfaced in the man¡¯s expression when he said, ¡°I can.¡±


    Sen nodded and gave He Jietang a quick exnation of what he wanted and where it would happen. Then, almost as if it were an afterthought, Sen asked a final question.


    ¡°Do you mind teaching mortals? To the limits of their abilities, of course.¡±


    ¡°What? Sure, I¡¯ll teach mortals. No difference to me who I teach as long as you give me somewhere warm to sleep in the winter, food to eat, and enough coin to help me forget when I really need to.¡±


    ¡°I think that can all be arranged, assuming you don¡¯t need to forget every single night.¡±


    ¡°Not every night,¡± said He Jietang. ¡°Just the bad ones.¡±


    Sen had real misgivings about the man, but he couldn¡¯t deny the skill he¡¯d seen on disy. He also wasn¡¯t entrusting the archer with deep secrets or dangerous knowledge. The worst that would happen is that he¡¯d discover the other cultivator had overestimated his self-control. If that happened, Sen would simply ask him to leave. And he did need people at his¡ªSen resisted the urge to hurl profanity¡ªsect. Sen gave the man the details about when and where the caravan would leave. <em>I¡¯ll consider that the first test</em>, thought Sen. <em>If he shows up</em>, <em>it means that there might still be a useful person hidden inside the other man somewhere</em>.


    The only other real surprise that week was when Lo Meifeng brought Yeung Fen to see him. Sen could not imagine what the woman had said to convince Lo Meifeng to keep her around, but he had said he would take her rmendation. That didn¡¯t mean he needed to be stupid about it. He made her swear her vows to the heavens with the little addition that if she broke those vows, it would cost her cultivation and her life. She had red at him for that, but Sen saw it as the one way he could help to ensure herpliance or expose her false intentions. He expected thetter, but she took the vows. He made a point to tell Lo Meifeng that the woman was her responsibility. She had nodded in eptance, even if she didn¡¯t look enthusiastic about the idea.


    When the day of the auction arrived, Sen went to the location. It wasn¡¯t out of any desire to actually attend, but for the far more prosaic reason that he simply wasn¡¯t willing to entrust any of the natural treasures to someone else''s care. Which was how he found himself standing on a makeshift stage, bringing out natural treasures and elixirs, and watching the sects go to metaphorical war with each other. He might have been more concerned if their battles didn¡¯t end with them bleeding money in his direction. He was a little amused to see that Lai Dongmei even showed up to do some bidding herself. <em>Grandmother Lu will never let me live that down</em>, he thought.


    A few of the sects had offered other treasures in exchange. He had been sorely, desperately tempted a few times, but that wasn¡¯t what he was there for. Gritting his teeth a little, he had declined and pretended he didn¡¯t see the angry looks that were directed his way. When thest of the treasures were handed out and he had a fresh pile of money for Grandmother Lu in hand, though, he was finally done with the capital. That thought alone made him feel like someone had finally removed a knife from his stomach.


    ¡°I can finally leave,¡± he thought. ¡°I can <em>finally</em> go home and see my little girl.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 66: Morning Stroll

    He Jietang tried to re at the sun, but mostly just managed to squint. He felt terrible, which was something of an aplishment for a core cultivator. Their cultivation tended to make it very difficult to get drunk, let alone stay drunk, and hangovers were all but unheard of. But it could be done if a man was willing to work hard enough at it, and He Jietang was no quitter. Now that he thought about it, though, he was a quitter. Quitting was actually something of a pastime for him. He quit things all the time. Especially jobs. Oh, he hated jobs. All that working and sobriety were just so damned excruciating. Except, he had to work if he wanted to stay drunk enough to stay sane.


    ¡°Gods, the sun is so bright,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°Damn you, Chan Dashi.¡±


    That bastard had shown up the day before and, grinning like a fool, given away all of He Jietang¡¯s liquor. Then, to add insult to injury, the man had hung around until morning, just to make sure that He Jietang got up and went to meet up with that Lu guy. Honestly, he didn¡¯t know what Chan Dishi was so impressed with. They¡¯d both seen their fair share of heavens-kissed cultivators over the years. Most of them were dead now. Cut down by sects, rivals, or time. Time was another bastard that He Jietang hated so much. All those cultivators pushing through their advancements, aching for more power and more life. He wondered how many of them would have been so eager if anyone had told them what all that extra life <em>really </em>was. It was one of the thousand hells. Century after century of life watching everything change, everything die, until the world became a ce you didn¡¯t recognize anymore.


    Then, you found yourself seeing the faces of the dead on the living bodies of strangers. It was a nightmare, but one that He Jietang couldn¡¯t quite make himself let go of. He¡¯d thought about just ending it all. Even prayed for it a few times. It¡¯s not like it would be that hard to find some idiot young master to cut him down. All that stupid pride made them so predictable. A few well-cedments and the challenges would start flying. He¡¯d even tried it a few times, only to have it all go sideways on him. He¡¯d been too well-trained. Once the des came out, he just reacted. Then, it¡¯d be him standing over a corpse, or twelve, or twenty. Then, life would get <em>really</em> hard for a while as some new sect kept sending idiot after idiot to restore their honor. Honor? What a joke. He¡¯d been just like them once upon a time, but he¡¯d seen where that road ended. It always ended at your own grave or the grave of a friend.


    If not for Chan Dishi and a few other friends who had managed to survive the grindstone of time, it might have finally be too much. But they woulde and find him, give him a touchstone, and bnce the universe for a while. He supposed that¡¯s what this new job that Dishi had found for him was about. A way to restore order from chaos, at least for a while. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t be so bad. At least that Lu guy had shown up <em>after</em> the killing was done. He didn¡¯t even want He Jietang to fight anyone. He wanted him to teach other people how to fight. He¡¯d even said something about teaching mortals. <em>That</em> could be interesting. Or, it might be if his head ever stopped hurting. He paused and leaned against a wall, letting his eyes close for a minute. Gods, he hoped that there were going to be carts or wagons to sleep in on this trip. He really needed some more sleep. A couple days of it would be nice.


    Then again, maybe not. He didn¡¯t like to sleep when he was sober. That was when the bad dreams came. Not every night but often enough. He¡¯d seen so much death over the years. So many friends and lovers gone. A few had even died by his own hands. The Jianghu was a possessive mistress. She did not tolerate rivals well. That was to say nothing of all the enemies or supposed enemies he¡¯d killed back in the early years, or the countless deaths after he¡¯d started selling his skills to whoever was hiring when he ran out of money. Not that core cultivators truly needed things like food or even shelter, not the way the mortals did. He could have gone out and lived in the wilds, again, but that wasn¡¯t really any better. Killing spirit beasts by the score was only marginally less awful than killing people by the score.


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    He Jietang forced his eyes open, pushed off the wall, and started moving again. Dishi wouldn¡¯t forgive him if he screwed this up. The man truly liked this Lu Sen kid, which was rare for Dishi. He was friendly with lots of people, but those he liked were as rare as eclipses. He¡¯d also taken a chance by rmending him to the new Lord Lu. That was an idea he didn¡¯t like all that much, a cultivator noble on this side of the mountains, but the kid didn¡¯t seem to be taking it all that seriously. That attitude was something that was both a bit troubling and relieving. On the one hand, it probably meant that Lu Sen didn¡¯t take himself too seriously. That was always a good thing. On the other, it also seemed to mean that he didn¡¯t take the situation seriously. Whether that was a product of ignorance, inexperience, or hubris wasn¡¯t clear. It could very well be all of them. Regardless, that was potentially a very bad thing. <em>Oh well</em>, thought He Jietang. <em>None of that is really my problem</em>. <em>My only problem is cramming some fighting skills into a bunch of people¡¯s heads</em>. <em>I can do that</em>.


    Trying once more to re at the hateful sun, he rounded thest corner and beheld Lu Manor. At least, he beheld the walls. Suddenly, all of those stories and jokes he¡¯d heard about Lord Lu¡¯s Fortress of Doom made sense. The walls were massive and a grey as bleak as a field in winter. That alone made them look intimidating. Even from clear down the street, though, he could feel the defenses crouched patiently and waiting for something to trip them. <em>That man doesn¡¯t take half-measures</em>, thought He Jietang. Then, his gaze moved down to the street where he saw all of the glorious carts and wagons. He also saw Lu Sen, smiling happily as he¡­ Was he petting the oxen that were going to pull the carts? He also saw Chan Dishi standing near Lu Sen and talking animatedly about something. Knowing Chan Dishi, it was probably a story about some party that he¡¯d turned into a riot.He started walking down the street and came up short as he felt Lu Sen¡¯s spiritual sense crash down on him. A momentter, the man¡¯s eyes found him. Lu Sen¡¯s smile disappeared and a deep frown reced it. He Jietang could read the expression from where he stood. The one that said the man was questioning his own judgment and questioning He Jietang¡¯s capacity to do the work that he¡¯d been hired to do. It was a familiar look. There was nothing to do now but go and see what this Lu Sen would ultimately decide. As he drew near, Lu Sen gave an ox onest pat on the head and closed the distance with a more-serious-than-usual Chan Dishi trailing behind him. Lu Sen looked him up and down before, against all cultivator rules of courtesy, the man¡¯s qi invaded He Jietang¡¯s body. Before he could decide if Lu Sen was attacking him, the qi was gone again. With a sigh that said he was sure he was going to live to regret it, the man produced a stone vial from a storage ring and held it out.


    ¡°Drink that,¡± the manmanded.


    Taking the vial and opening it, He Jietang thought his heart was going to stop. He¡¯d had a lot of healing elixirs over the years and exactly none of them had felt like the one in his hands. Chan Dishi red at him in a very clear <em>do as you''re told</em> way. He lifted the vial to his lips and drank. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what he¡¯d expected, but within ten seconds his pounding headache was just gone like it had been fog blown away by a great gust of wind. The light stopped bothering him a secondter. Then, it felt like that wind passed through him and carried away a thousand tiny ills that he¡¯d learned to ignore. He felt clear, healthy, like the man he¡¯d been when he¡¯d met Chan Dishi all those long years before. Of course, no elixir could wash away what was in his mind and heart, but even those felt a little less terrible.


    ¡°Good,¡± said Lu Sen. ¡°Now that you won¡¯t set a terrible example for the children, you can help.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 67: Caravan

    Sen was truly regretting his decision to offer He Jietang a job. The man had looked, well, he¡¯d looked mildly unwell, but for a core cultivator that was the mortal equivalent of looking like he was on death¡¯s door. Sen couldn¡¯t even understand how the man had gotten into the condition he was in. His brief, rude examination of the other man showed a level of damage that only a core cultivator could possibly have lived with for more than a week. In its own, deeply sad way, it was sort of impressive. Since he couldn¡¯t have the man walking around and ring at the sun all day, he¡¯d given him a healing elixir. Not one of the good ones. Just one of the ones he kept around in case someone suffered some minor injury or came down with some kind of illness. Then, he¡¯d told the man to go and help load the carts and wagons. It was only then that he turned to Chan Dishi.


    ¡°I think you may have misrepresented that man to me.¡±


    Chan Dishi tried to smile, but itcked the man¡¯s usual cheerfulness.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t misrepresent his skill. He really is as good as I made him out to be.¡±


    ¡°But?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°You¡¯re still young, especially for a cultivator, so you¡¯ve escaped a few things. Honestly, I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s a good thing or a bad thing for you. Eventually, you¡¯ll see that not everyone is cut out to live for as long as core cultivators and nascent soul cultivators can live. He¡¯s one of them. He probably never should have been a cultivator. I think he¡¯d have been a much happier man as a mortal. But he is a cultivator, which means he stuck with all those extra years. He doesn¡¯t quite have it in him to end his own life, and even when he¡¯s gone looking for someone else to do the job for him¡­ Well, he¡¯s still here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me he couldn¡¯t find a nascent soul cultivator to infuriate.¡±


    Chan Dishi threw back his head andughed. It was much more genuine than his earlier smile had been.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how rare it is for a normal cultivator to even see a nascent soul cultivator? They might flock around <em>you</em> like birds, but that beauty you were with at the party was the first one I¡¯ve seen in at least a century.¡±¡°Oh,¡± said Sen.


    He hadn¡¯t really considered that it might be hard for someone to find a nascent soul cultivator. He wished that he shared that problem.


    ¡°My point is that he started running out of reasons to want to keep going. So, he drowns himself in an ocean of liquor. He needs help finding a reason to keep going. So, when he¡¯s been drowning for a while, his friends, people like me, try to find him a purpose.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need more problems or projects on my te. I have quite enough already,¡± said Sen.


    He was not thrilled at the idea of having someone who wanted death teaching weapons to overenthusiastic young cultivators.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be like that,¡± said Chan Dishi. ¡°He said he¡¯d do the job, and he¡¯ll do the job. If he can¡¯t do it, or just doesn¡¯t want to do it anymore, he¡¯ll leave. He won¡¯t make his problems into your problems. He might be a pain sometimes, but he isn¡¯t an ass that way.¡±


    The urge to go tell the man he¡¯d changed his mind was strong. Almost irresistible. However, when he looked over, Sen saw He Jietang dutifully loading crates and sacks of grain into a cart. He wasn¡¯tining about it or ordering other people to do it. Sen rubbed at his eyes. He missed sleep. It was always such a nice break from all these problems. <em>I guess if he¡¯s not someone toin about pitching in with the work</em>, <em>he can¡¯t be all bad</em>, thought Sen. <em>I¡¯ll just send him on his way if he turns into a problem</em>. Waving a hand as if dismissing the thought, he nodded at Chan Dishi.


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    ¡°Fine. If he does his job, he can stay.¡±


    Chan Dishi cracked his first real smile.


    ¡°Good. And, I¡¯ll owe you one.¡±


    ¡°Why do I get the feeling that¡¯s more of a threat than a boon?¡±


    ¡°You wound me,¡± said Chan Dishi.


    ¡°I notice you didn¡¯t deny it.¡±


    ¡°I said that you wound me, not that you¡¯re wrong. Anyst messages for the king?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± said Sen. ¡°I snuck into the pcest night to chat with him. Promised not to break anything too important for a while.¡±


    ¡°Is that a promise you can keep?¡±


    Sen waggled a hand in the air and said, ¡°Probably. I¡¯ll have a lot to do when I get back. It¡¯ll be a bit before I¡¯m here again. Here officially, anyway.¡±


    ¡°There will be tears andmentations from every unmarried woman in the city.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t exaggerate.¡±


    ¡°It just doesn¡¯t have the same ring when I say half of the unmarried women in the city.¡±


    ¡°Well, let it never be said you let facts distort your descriptions,¡± answered Sen with a smile.


    ¡°Exactly. Anyway, you look busy, and I don¡¯t want to get dragged into any unpaidbor. So, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    ¡°So helpful,¡± said Sen to Chan Dishi¡¯s back.


    The other man justughed and waved without looking back. Within minutes, Sen was inundated with the endless details of getting the caravan ready to leave. If it wasn¡¯t drivers who didn¡¯t like each other bickering over who had the better ox, both of which were just fine in Sen¡¯s estimation, it was misced foodstuffs. When those problems were dealt with, it was ast-minute repair. When that was done, he had to answer twenty questions for Lo Meifeng. They were thest, she promised. That promise held for the next hour while he got the cultivators he¡¯d managed to talk intoing along as teachers settled and organized. He was more than a little dismayed to discover that two of them knew each other and did not get along. At one point, he thought the matter was going toe to blows and a little of his killing intent ¡°identally¡± slipped free. The cultivators were very well-behaved after that. But then Lo Meifeng came back with more questions that she <em>promised</em> were the very, veryst. Before he knew it, the morning was mostly gone.


    Then came the hardest task of the day. It wouldn¡¯t be the mostplicated, just the most challenging. The Xie children were brought out. Some of them came with unhappy, resigned expressions. Those were generally the oldest children who had some sense of what had really happened. Some of the children simply looked confused. Others had to be carried, kicking and screaming, the entire way. Sen hated all of it and did his best to remind himself that too much sympathy now would simply pave the path toward future problems. He didn¡¯t have to be merciless with them, but he couldn¡¯t let himself indulge them with too much kindness. They could grow close to others, but they needed to see him as a distant, cold, powerful figure who was to remain unbothered by them.


    Besides, they had already enjoyed what tiny shred of sympathy he¡¯d been willing to extend. He¡¯d let them all spend their final evening in the capital with their parents. They¡¯d monitored the parents who were deemed the most likely to encourage their children to misbehave. It was by no means a perfect system, and he expected trouble to rear its head by the end of the day. He didn¡¯t know what form it would take. He just knew that the caravan would be a tempting target. Since he didn¡¯t have any specific information, they would all need to figure things out as they went. Finally, the moment to truly depart arrived. Sen had thought about making some grand speech or announcement, but that sounded perfectly awful to him. So, he decided that he would just say hisst quick goodbyes and go. It might help draw slightly less attention to him. A goal he recognized as sharing the same futility as trying to make the ocean wetter. He walked over to where Grandmother Lu and Lo Meifeng were standing. He bowed to Grandmother Lu.


    ¡°I leave thing here in your capable hands, Grandmother.¡±


    Returning his bow, she said, ¡°Travel safely, Sen. I¡¯ll mind things here for you.¡±


    ¡°You know how to reach me if you need to,¡± Sen said to Lo Meifeng.


    She made a big production of bowing to him, a bit of amusement in her eyes while she did it.


    ¡°I will not disappoint you, Lord Lu,¡± she announced in a terrible pompous voice.


    He didn¡¯t know who she was actually talking to, just that it wasn¡¯t him. No doubt thements were aimed at someone in the audience. <em>Stop looking for more trouble</em>, he ordered himself.


    ¡°Until I see you both again,¡± he said and then took his seat on a cart next to Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Are you ready, Lord Lu?¡± asked the ex-assassin.


    ¡°No, but let¡¯s leave anyway,¡± said Sen, ¡°because I am so sick of this city.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 68: Harsh Lessons While Camping

    Once they clear of the congestion around the city gates, Sen had recalled a trick he¡¯d used once long ago to speed up a cart. He used his qi in a modified qinggong technique on the wheels of the carts and wagons, as well as the hooves of the oxen pulling them, to reduce the overall load and increase their speed. It wasn¡¯t until they¡¯d gone a few miles that the stark contrast between his power now and his power all those years ago really struck him. Doing that for one cart and one ox had been a challenge for him then. Now, he was doing it for an entire caravan and it was little more than a background concern in his head. <em>Cultivators really do have too much power</em>, he thought. <em>No wonder the world makes them ascend when they reach a certain level</em>.


    He nced into the back of the wagon he riding in and hid an embarrassed wince. Glimmer of Night was sitting there, serenely watching the countryside and ever-thinning signs of civilization fly by. There had been so much going on that Sen might have left the spider behind if Long Jia Wei hadn¡¯t reminded him that the spider hade along. It made Sen wonder why he had joined them for the trip in the first ce. He¡¯d thought it was so the spider could learn more about interacting with humans, but Glimmer of Night had kept himself holed up in that same little room for the duration. Not that Sen had any room to reallyin. He¡¯d done simr things during advancements or when pursuing new alchemical ideas. And it wasn¡¯t as though Glimmer of Night had been a nuisance to anyone. Aside from people leaving food outside the room for him, he hadn¡¯t added to anyone¡¯s workload.


    Shen Mingxia was also in the back of the wagon. Her eyes were closed and she wore an expression of concentration, so he assumed she was cultivating. After the incident with that idiot ambassador, he¡¯d let her bow out of any additional events. Getting experience was one thing, but he didn¡¯t bring her along to put her in actual danger. She¡¯d seemed both relieved and a tiny bit disappointed. Sen had been curious about that disappointment but didn¡¯t ask. It wasn¡¯t really his business why she felt a given way about anything. He let his eyes drift over the rest of the carts and wagons and sighed.


    <em>I¡¯m going to have to make some new buildings when we get back</em>, he thought. There wasn¡¯t going to be enough space for everyone, and he intended to keep the children a little separated from the rest of the people at the academy. Some of that was purely practical. Having Ai wandering around anywhere she wanted to go was one thing. Having a couple dozen mortal children wandering around at will would inevitably result in problems. Thest thing he wanted was for one of them to get hurt because they stumbled into the wrong area while some cultivator was practicing something dangerous. He might be rewriting all of their futures, but he wasn¡¯t going to intentionally create a situation where they could die. <em>Not that I imagine they would appreciate that consideration</em>, thought Sen.


    The other part was that he didn¡¯t want the children getting the idea into their heads that they would ever be anything but peasants. He could almost feel a much younger version of himself ring at him for even having that thought. On the surface, it was <em>such</em> an arrogant noble thing to think. He had hated nobles so much for acting on thoughts like that. For pushing people down just because they could. Now, he was the one stepping on other people¡¯s necks just because he could. Except, it <em>wasn¡¯t</em> just because he could. He had a longer view of things now. He recognized threats in a different way than he once had. He shook off the thoughts. He¡¯d gone around and around with it and there just wasn¡¯t going to be a perfect solution.


    People were people. People held grudges, especially when you took things away from them, and he had taken everything from the Xie family. Nothing was ever going to change that fact. No amount of wishful thinking about people¡¯s better natures would change that reality or the consequences. That meant that no Xie child would ever learn how to properly wield a weapon. No Xie child would ever be a cultivator. It would simply be too dangerous otherwise. Maybe not to him personally, but it would be too dangerous to Ai. <em>Unless she bes a cultivator</em>, whispered a traitorous voice in his head. Sen knew it was a possibility, but it made him want to scream every time he thought about Ai enduring the kinds of things that <em>he</em> had endured.


    He pushed the thought away. That was a problem for the future. He had <em>right now</em> concerns to upy him. Sen had made sure that they hired some people with experience in this kind of travel. One of the things he¡¯d talked with them about was the problem of setting up camp. Specifically, how long it would take to do it, and how long it took to prepare food for this many people. Since they were dealing with so many mortals, and so many children, the advice he¡¯d gotten was to stop when they had several hours of daylight left. Even with his quiet help to speed things along, this first day had given him a better sense of how long it was going to take to actually get home. He sighed. Weeks. It was going to take weeks. He¡¯d already known that, deep down in his heart where truths he hated went to live, but he¡¯d hoped that it wouldn¡¯t be the case. Resigning himself, he called a halt.


    He¡¯d intentionally picked a spot between towns and viges to discourage any of the children from wandering too far. He was going to be very annoyed if he had to track down children who ran away. While the wilds here weren¡¯t very wild, most mortal children held a deep, abiding fear of them. They didn¡¯t know or need to know that Sen had already frightened away anything within a few miles that might pose a threat. <em>Time to get to work</em>, thought Sen. He needed to clear enough space for them to set up camp. He called over one of the experienced caravaneers and they talked it over for a minute.


    Once Sen had a clear picture of how much room they¡¯d need, almost twice as much as he would have thought, he started to cycle qi. After a brief pause to consider, he lifted himself up into the air high enough for everyone to see him. Everyone watched for the next few minutes as he used multiple types of qi to rip trees out of the ground, split and dry the wood, smooth the earth, and cause a healthyyer of grass to grow. Two rtively small stone structures rose out of the ground over a deep pit in the ground. With so many people, he figured everyone would appreciate a little privacy to relieve themselves.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The caravaneers went to work immediately, staking out an area for cooking and providing advice about how to organize the rest of the camp. Sen stood back while all of that was going on and waited. It didn¡¯t take long before he heard what he expected to hear. Angry child voices making truculent protests. He drifted in that direction and watched as he saw what he¡¯d expected to see. The Xie children were in a cluster, most of them huddled behind a few of the older ones. The ringleader was a boy who looked like he was about to enjoy the pleasures of puberty. His fists were clenched. His chest was puffed out. The boy even had his unfortunatelyrge chin thrust forward, as though he meant to use it like a battering ram against the exasperated woman he was facing off against.


    ¡°We will not!¡± shouted the boy.


    ¡°You won¡¯t what?¡± asked Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°We will not be forced tobor.¡±


    ¡°Labor?¡± asked Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°They were tasked with setting up their own tents,¡± said the woman.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Long Jia Wei, stroking his chin. ¡°Very well.¡±


    Then, the man started pointing at each child briefly.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± demanded the boy.


    ¡°Counting, of course. I need to inform the cooks that,¡± Long Jia Wei pointed a few more times, ¡°twenty-six people won¡¯t be eating. We don¡¯t want them wasting food by cooking too much.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± said the boy, his defiant fa?ade cracking.


    The rest of the children looked varying degrees of concerned or confused. Sen doubted most of them had any idea what this little power struggle was really about. They¡¯d simply fallen in line behind the older boy who they knew and trusted or feared too much to defy.


    ¡°I spoke inly,¡± said Long Jia Wei. ¡°Are you ignorant as well aszy? You will not be eating today.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± spluttered the boy. ¡°You can¡¯t do this! You can¡¯t starve us. We¡¯re¡ª¡±


    And that was Sen¡¯s cue to y his role in this bit of theater he¡¯d concocted with Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Peasants,¡± said Sen in an icy tone as he stepped into view.


    The boy who had been so eager to speak before went very still and very pale.


    ¡°Lord Lu¡ª¡± the boy stammered before Sen cut him off.


    ¡°The world is <em>very</em> simple. If peasants wish to eat, they work. If you do not wish to work, you do not wish to eat. That is, of course, your choice. I will not make you work. I will not beat you if you choose not to work. I simply will not feed you. Nor will I provide you with shelter. You may sleep on the ground without the benefit of nkets. No one will stop you.¡±


    Fury, fear, and shame warred for control of the boy¡¯s face.


    ¡°I am no peasant!¡± the boy screamed.


    ¡°The king says otherwise,¡± said Sen in a tone of airy disregard. ¡°His decree was quite clear. The House of Xie no longer exists. Your titles no longer exist. You can keep lying to yourself that it¡¯s not true, keep pretending you¡¯re someone important, but I have no obligation to feed you while you do it. Work or starve. Simple as that. In the end, I don¡¯t really care what you do. After all, you¡¯re only peasants.¡±


    The boy recoiled as though he¡¯d been struck. Sen couldn¡¯t help but wonder how often this child had uttered those two words. <em>Only peasants</em>. How often had he dismissed someone¡¯s pain, someone¡¯s pleas, someone¡¯s fear because they were only peasants? The boy certainly didn¡¯t seem to like being on the other side of it. Whatever indignation that had fueled his ridiculous outburst finally seemed to run dry as the cold reality settled on the child. Tears gathered at the corners of the boy¡¯s eyes as he looked up at Sen¡¯s cold, indifferent face.


    ¡°I hate you!¡± the boy shouted.


    Sen waited a moment as if he expected the boy to say something else. When nothing more was forting, he finally answered.


    ¡°And?¡± asked Sen, as if the boy¡¯s hatred was so inconsequential that it couldn¡¯t possibly have been the entire reason he¡¯d shouted.


    The boy turned as if to run away and pout somewhere only toe up short as he realized that there was nowhere to run away to. He just stood there with his back turned. Sen let his eyes roam over the rest of the children.


    ¡°If the rest of you want to eat, you will go with this nice woman and do as she tells you.¡±


    The children shuffled back and forth, more than one of them casting a nervous nce at the boy who had set all of this in motion. One of the other children, a girl who looked to be of an age with the shouty boy, started herding the children toward the woman. She tried to re at Sen, but her heart wasn¡¯t really in it. Maybe she realized the futility of it. Maybe she was just more epting of the new reality. Maybe she just wanted to eat. The woman led the children away to start setting up their tents. Sen didn¡¯t actually expect the children to set up their own tents. He just wanted to start getting them into the habit of contributing in some meaningful way. When only the boy remained, Sen fixed his gaze on the back of the boy¡¯s head.


    ¡°Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I won¡¯t stop you from starving yourself if you wish to do so. However, if you were imagining that you¡¯d just steal some food from one of those other children, or get one of them to bring you food, or thinking that you¡¯d punish them for defying you, bury those ideas. If you try it, I <em>will</em> have you beaten in front of this entire camp. If you try to take food from one of the carts or wagons, I will¡­ What do nobles do to peasants who steal from them?¡± Sen asked Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°It depends,¡± said Long Jia Wei in a bored, detached tone. ¡°Sometimes, they have the peasant executed. Sometimes imprisoned, which isn¡¯t practical out here. Oh, I heard of one noble who would cut off one of the thief¡¯s hands.¡±


    The boy spun to look at Sen and Long Jia Wei with unbridled terror on his face.


    ¡°I suppose we should reserve execution for adults,¡± said Sen. ¡°So, I expect removing a hand is the way to go.¡±


    The boy looked from them down to his hands, which started shaking, before he ran after the rest of the children. Sen watched him go and took deep breaths to try to keep his feeling of self-loathing and being violently nauseated at bay. <em>Now</em>, <em>I¡¯m the kind of person who threatens a child with muttion</em>, thought Sen. <em>Grandmother Lu was right</em>. <em>I¡¯vee a long way</em>. <em>I just wish I knew what I¡¯de a long way toward</em>. Even though he¡¯d expected it toe down to something like this, actually going through with it had almost been too much for him.


    ¡°It had to be done,¡± said Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Did it?¡± demanded Sen.


    He was angry, mostly at himself, and wanted tosh out at someone or something.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Long Jia Wei. ¡°It was ugly, but what were the alternatives? Let it go until you had no choice but to do something to him? Frightening that boy <em>now</em> was infinitely better than actually having to beat him, or cripple him, or kill him <emter</em>.¡±


    Sen rubbed his face with his hands and said, ¡°What a broken world we live in.¡±

 Book 8: Chapter 69: What Do You Think Honor Is?

    Sen was relieved that there were no more incidents with the children that demanded his personal intervention. In fact, for the most part, the children simply did as they were told. He supposed that the upheaval had probably sapped some of their will to be imperious. That didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t hear them crying at night, or the softforting words that the older children whispered to them. He also heard a few vows of vengeance being muttered among the boys. He could have not listened. He¡¯d learned how to tamp down his heightened senses, but he didn¡¯t give himself that luxury. This situation was one of his own making, and he wasn¡¯t going to simply turn a deaf ear to the results of that. For the most part, though, things ran about as smoothly as moving that many people and so many goods across that much territory could go. At least, that¡¯s what the caravaneers told him when he grew frustrated at yet <em>another</em> dy to repair something that broke on one of the wagons.


    He found sce in spending time with the oxen when they weren¡¯t pulling the wagons and carts. They were almost always calm, even if they did get a bit excited whenever he first came over. They never yelled a him, or asked him for anything, or vowed to cut off his head, as therge-chinned Xie boy had done when he thought Sen couldn¡¯t hear him. The oxen were a cidke of friendliness in the midst of the chaos that consumed the caravan every morning and afternoon. He even found one of the Xie children hovering around the oxen one evening. She was staring at them with a mix of curiosity and trepidation. Sen supposed that she¡¯d probably never been that close to a work animal before, let alone interacted with any of them.


    <em>Just walk away</em>, he told himself. <em>She¡¯ll figure it out or she won¡¯t</em>. Sen had asked the oxen to be careful around the children, so he wasn¡¯t worried that they would do anything cmitous if one of the children approached them. Despite telling himself to just leave, he found himself watching as the girl took a hesitant step forward, only to scurry back as soon as one of the oxen moved. It was almost agonizing watching her indecision at work. When he couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, he walked over to the girl, shaking his head at his own weakness. The girl was so fixated on therge animals in front of her that it took a little while to register that someone was standing next to her.


    She peered up at him, recognized him, and fell over while simultaneously trying to bow and back away. <em>I guess I had thating</em>, thought Sen. He just held out a hand to the girl. She stared at it fearfully before, seeming almost too afraid not to, grabbing it. He gently pulled her upright again. She shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncertain what to do.


    ¡°They won¡¯t hurt you,¡± he said.


    He never quite looked at her, intuiting that direct eye contact was likely to make things worse than better. She shuffled a little more as her gaze shifted back and forth between him and the objects of her curiosity. As if to prove his point, he went over to the nearest ox and rested his hand on the animal¡¯s head. It let out a soft moo of greeting. He half-turned his head toward the girl.


    ¡°As I said, they won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    The little girl stared at him and the ox for a while. She chewed her lip in a way that Sen refused to let himself think was adorable. She finally mustered up her courage and walked forward. She reached out a cautious hand and, almost too fast to count, touched the side of the ox before pulling her hand back. She cast a look at Sen as if asking if it was okay. She took his silence as permission before reaching out and petting the ox. The ox turned its head to look back at the girl. Her eyes wentically wide as she snatched her hand away. The ox let out a gentle moo, which made the girl giggle. Having apparentlye to some decision in her head, the girl happily started petting the ox again. <em>Well</em>, <em>maybe this one isn¡¯t hopeless</em>, said Sen. <em>If she likes the ox</em>, <em>she can¡¯t possibly be rotten to the core</em>. Sen waited a few minutes until he was confident that she was confident before he turned and walked away. He could feel the girl¡¯s eyes on him. He paused and half-looked over his shoulder.


    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.¡°Yes?¡± he asked to whatever question she clearly wasn¡¯t going to work up the nerve to ask.


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡­ Um¡­ How did you know?¡±


    ¡°How did I know what?¡± he asked.


    ¡°That they wouldn¡¯t hurt me,¡± she said in a voice that grew increasingly hesitant.


    ¡°Because they¡¯re kind,¡± he told her and walked away.


    It seemed that she must have believed him because he found her petting the oxen and talking to them almost every day after that. They didn¡¯t answer her but talking wasn¡¯t their strong suit. They were very good listeners, though, which he suspected was what the girl really needed. He did need to hurry away with his hand over his mouth to suppress hisughter the time he saw her awkwardly trying to wrap her little arms around the neck of an enormously patient ox that lowered its head to make it easier for her. He made a point to give that ox an apple after the girl left. Sometimes, she saw him and would hesitantly wave. He¡¯d find his own hand lift in acknowledgment. It was an act of pure betrayal on the part of his body, and he struggled to understand where such traitorous impulses coulde from.


    As they drew nearer to their destination one infuriatingly slow mile at a time, Sen found his impatience growing with every familiarndmark. They were close enough now that he could simply leave and be home before nightfall if he pushed his qinggong technique hard. He wanted to do it. There were plenty of people here who could and would defend the caravan. Only a vague, aggravating sense of responsibility kept him in ce. He¡¯d finally made a deal with himself when the urge to go grew so strong that he was standing up to do it. When they were a day away, he would go because preparations would need to be made. He¡¯d have to erect those buildings so people had somewhere to sleep if nothing else. He¡¯d talked over the ns for the buildings with Glimmer of Night, who seemed to think that the roofs wouldn¡¯t be a problem with so many sturdy walls supporting them.


    He was thinking about those buildings when He Jietang came walking out of the trees by the side of the road and jumped into the back of Sen¡¯s wagon. The man looked both better and worse. He¡¯d abstained from drinking on the trip, which had seemed to help the man¡¯s overall health. At the same time, there was a haunted quality to the man that never seemed to fade. As if he was constantly seeing specters no matter where he looked.


    ¡°Bandits up ahead,¡± said the man. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure how you wanted it handled. With so many children here, I mean.¡±


    Sen let his spiritual sense sweep down the road. There were bandits hiding in the trees to either side of the road. Sen called a halt and jumped down from the wagon. He started trudging down the road. He Jietang traded a look with Long Jia Wei before he jumped down and jogged a little to catch up.


    ¡°I can do it,¡± said the man.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I hired you for,¡± said Sen.


    He Jietang gave Sen a startled look.


    ¡°It might not be what you hired me for, but I¡¯m no shirker.¡±


    ¡°I never said you were, but there¡¯s no reason for you to do it. I just want to make sure there isn¡¯t a mess for the children to see.¡±


    When Sen and He Jietang were standing right around where the caravan would be when the bandits sprang the trap, they stopped walking. Sen very pointedly looked at one side of the road, then the other. He pinpointed where all of the bandits were, cycled up wind qi, and let out a breath. Wind des descended on the bandits. There were no screams. No agonized wails. Just the muted sound of bodies, or parts of bodies, hitting the ground out in the trees. Sen looked around and used earth qi to open the soil and swallow the evidence. Satisfied that he wasn¡¯t about to bring the children past a fresh horror, Sen turned around and started to walk back to the caravan. He Jietang eyed him as they walked.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Sen in a tired voice.


    ¡°I thought you might give them a chance to leave.¡±


    ¡°No. I never let bandits go.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because attacking a caravan thisrge couldn¡¯t have been done without bloodshed, which meant they were ready to kill men, women, and children. There might be some mercy left in me but not for people like that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to see why Chan Dishi likes you,¡± said He Jietang.


    ¡°Oh?¡± asked Sen. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°He likes two things. Decisiveness and honorable people.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about honor,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Says the man who just killed a bunch of bandits to protect people, and then cleaned up the mess so those children wouldn¡¯t have to look at it. What do you imagine honor is?¡±


    Sen opened his mouth to refute the point and came up empty. Maybe real honor was as simple as that. Sen doubted it, but what did he know?

 Book 8: Chapter 70: Returning Home

    Book 8: Chapter 70: Returning Home


    ¡°Lord Lu,¡± said Long Jia Wei in a strained voice.


    ¡°Yes?¡± asked Sen, his eyes never wavering from the horizon.


    ¡°You should go.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll¡ª¡± Sen started.


    ¡°Lord Lu,¡± Long Jia Wei said through clenched teeth. ¡°I am <em>begging</em> you to go. You¡¯re literally vibrating with impatience. Frankly, I¡¯m concerned the wagon will fall to pieces if this continues.¡±


    Sen looked at Long Jia Wei and then down at himself. The other man was right. He was actually, physically vibrating. They were so close now that Sen could practically hear Aiughing. It would just be another two or three days, and it wasn¡¯t as though the caravan had no defenders. Sen suspected that He Jietang could probably defend the entire caravan by himself, to say nothing of Long Jia Wei, Glimmer of Night, Shen Mingxia, and the other cultivators Sen had hired as instructors. Anything short of a nascent soul cultivator or one of the truly powerful spirit beasts from the inner wilds would pose no real threat. Plus, with three nascent soul cultivators so close by, he doubted any of those spirit beasts were likely toe anywhere in the vicinity. The caravan genuinely did not need him to stay. He looked into the back and saw Shen Mingxia nodding her head with more vigor than was strictly required.


    ¡°Very well,¡± he said, not even trying to hide his glee before he looked at Glimmer of Night. ¡°Do you want toe now?¡±


    Glimmer of Night looked at him with his strange impassive human disguise and shook his head.


    ¡°I like the wagon,¡± said the spider before a slight frown marred the impassivity of his expression. ¡°May I have it?¡±Sen blinked a few times. That was a very odd request.


    ¡°The wagon? You want to keep the wagon?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± agreed the spider.


    Sen had no earthly idea why Glimmer of Night would want the wagon, nor what he would do with it. Odd as it might be, though, there also wasn¡¯t any particr reason to say no. Sen looked at Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°Do we own this one?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°We do,¡± said the man.


    ¡°Then, yes. After we get back, you can have the wagon.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said the spider, offering up something that might generously be called a smile.


    Sen stood and reached into the back of the wagon to grab arge sack. It contained some of the best treasures from the cultivatorir he¡¯d discovered at the former Xie manor. It had taken more than a little restraint not to read the Shadow Gate manual, but he didn¡¯t want to expose its existence or the existence of any of those other treasures to anyone he didn¡¯t trustpletely. Given how manyplete strangers there were in the caravan, that meant he had to leave it hidden.


    With the sack slung over one shoulder, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll see you all when you arrive.¡±


    He jumped up into the morning air, caught himself on a qi tform, and shot down the road at speeds he expected anyone else would have found somewhere between ufortably fast and terrifyingly fast. It still wasn¡¯t fast enough for him. He wasn¡¯t sure anything would have been fast enough unless he could have figured out a way to transport himself immediately back to his own galehouse. What afort it would be to sleep in his bed in his home. What a relief it would be to speak with people who had no agendas for him, or at least none that were so obviously detrimental to his well-being. His life had been busy before he went to the capital, but it had also possessed a stable rhythm. There had been no other choice. Ai needed to eat, sleep, and get lessons on a mortal schedule. That meant that Sen had to operate on a simr schedule. All of that stability had gotten thrown out the window the second he¡¯d headed out for the capital.


    Now, he could start to reim some of that stability. The addition of the Xie children would be aplication, but he was hoping to slowly reduce his direct involvement with them over time. At least some things would be easier once they arrived. Their hours would be filled with things like sses and, eventually, apprenticeships. In other words, a lot of their hours would be taken up with tasks that did not need to involve him. A fact that made Sen very, very happy. Feeling annoyed with himself, he pushed all thoughts of the Xie children out of his head. For today, he could let them be someone else¡¯s problem.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    He slipped into a modified version of an old routine of qi cycling. Except, this one was designed to support the qi tform, rather than supporting a qinggong technique. He let the familiar qi cycling approach soothe away his cluttered thoughts until his mind was still again for the first time in what felt like forever. He didn¡¯t want to see his daughter with a million other things vying for his mental attention. He wanted it all avable for her. He barely registered what was around him as he went. He might have flown over farmers, herds of animals, or an army on the march and he wouldn¡¯t have noticed or cared. As the afternoon started to fade into evening, he realized that he¡¯d been moving for the entire day without pause. He¡¯d also made incredibly good time because the walls of the town and the buildings of his academy swept into view. Grinning like a crazy person, he skimmed over the tops of the academy buildings and dropped himself to the ground right outside of the galehouse. He burst through the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± he shouted.


    It was only when no one answered him that he really looked around. The ce was empty. A bit of frustrated disappointment cascaded through him. He took the time to put the sack of treasures in his own room before he went back outside and tried to decide where the best ce to start looking would be. <em>I should probably start with Uncle Kho and Auntie Caihong¡¯s house</em>, he thought. <em>If she¡¯s not there</em>, <em>I¡¯ll head into town</em>. <em>She might be at her friend¡¯s house</em>. He managed to take two steps before he heard a shriek of joy.


    ¡°Papa!¡±


    Sen turned to look. He was very surprised to see Master Feng walking toward him, but then his eyes fell on his little girl and nothing else in the world mattered anymore. Her smile was as big as the sky itself. She was racing toward him, her little arms and legs pumping for all they were worth. He dropped down to a knee and opened his arms. She didn¡¯t even try to slow down, choosing instead to crash into him with another jubnt yell.


    ¡°Papa!¡±


    She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her close.


    ¡°There¡¯s my beautiful orchid.¡±


    They just stayed like that for a long, long time. Knowing that it would be a while yet before she was going to let go, he lifted her when he stood up. She did lean back a little to give him a stern look that he was just certain she¡¯d been practicing.


    ¡°You were gone for so long!¡±


    ¡°I know I was. I¡¯m very sorry about that. Some things happened that kept me away a lot longer than I wanted to be gone. But I¡¯m home now.¡±


    She seemed to weigh how long she wanted to be stern and disapproving with him before she smiled again. She twisted a little to look at Master Feng, who stood nearby beaming at them with paternal benevolence.


    ¡°Grandpa! Papa¡¯s home!¡±


    ¡°I see that,¡± agreed Master Feng with a sage nod. ¡°Did you scold him the way I told you to?¡±


    She gave Master Feng a very serious nod and said, ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Good girl. Well, Sen, I see you¡¯ve safely returned from your little adventure in politics.¡±


    Sen suppressed a groan.


    ¡°I have. It¡¯s good to see you again. You were missed,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Unavoidable, I¡¯m afraid,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°We¡¯ll have to talk about itter. There are some things you should know, things your friend Jing should know, about what¡¯s happening with the spirit beasts.¡±


    Sen felt his entire being try to stiffen up in preparation for some terrible news.


    ¡°So, you figured it out?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I did, but it can wait until you¡¯re settled in. In the meantime, though, Ai has been telling me marvelous tales of these little cakes that you make. Maybe we should head inside and you can catch us up while you make some,¡± suggested Master Feng.


    There was an amused glint in the old man¡¯s eyes that Sen didn¡¯t miss. He should have expected it from a man who once invested in a pastry shop. Ai gave Sen a hopeful look. He was trapped.


    ¡°Well, how can I possibly turn down such a selfless request from my master?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you can and still im to be a filial student,¡± said Master Feng with a pious expression.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go inside. If you¡¯re both good,¡± said Sen, ¡°I might even have a few presents to hand out.¡±


    ¡°Presents,¡± said Ai, her hopeful look intensifying. ¡°What are they?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to be good to find out,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I like presents,¡± said Auntie Caihong as she and Uncle Kho strolled toward them.


    ¡°I think I have something for everyone,¡± said Sen with augh.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to make some of those cakes that Ai keeps talking about,¡± confided Master Feng to the other nascent soul cultivators.


    ¡°Then, we¡¯re definitely staying,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°I¡¯m not missing out on those. I imagine there¡¯s a story or two to be told as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a grand tale of adventure where I battled mighty trees.¡±


    Ai giggled and poked Sen¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°No,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°You didn¡¯t fight trees. You¡¯re silly.¡±


    Sen kissed Ai on the cheek.


    ¡°You¡¯re right about that. Your papa is a very silly man.¡±


    Shifting Ai so she sat a little more snugly on his arm, Sen led everyone inside. With a flicker of will and qi, he lit the interior of the galehouse with a bright and cheerful light. Ai immediately took control of the conversation to tell him about her exciting adventures in making birds eat bugs. He was dutifully impressed with her hard work. As he prepared the requested cakes, tension began to slide out of him. Falling Leaf soon joined them. She didn¡¯t try to pry information out of him, but that had never been her way. She simply positioned herself next to him, helping him prepare food, or holding Ai when he needed both hands. She was, as always, a pir of stability for him. Sen knew there were problems waiting to be solved, and new ones surely waiting to pounce on him from some unexpected ces. For those few hours he spent with the people he loved most, though, everything was right in his world.

 V8 Bloopers

    It was with those thoughts clouding his steps that Sen approached the gates of the capital proper. He knew that cultivators would often barge to the front of the line and demand entry. It was almost expected. So, Sen took a kind of perverse satisfaction in just taking his ce at the rear of the line. He nced back at his¡­ His mind finally produced the right word, and it dripped with disdain even when he said it in his head. He nced back at his entourage. Shen Mingxia, Wu Gang, and Long Jia Wei all straightened up when they saw him looking and smoothed their faces into the appropriate expressions of humble respect. Glimmer of Night was, once again, eating something that Sen was certain that human beings wouldn¡¯t consider proper food. I¡¯m going to have to talk to him about that, thought Sen.


    It took less than an hour before the exact thing that Sen had been desperately hoping would not happen came to pass. Two lines of royal guards in what had to be their finest uniforms marched out the gate, down the line of gawking citizens, and to him. They formed up in two neat lines with someone Sen didn¡¯t recognize standing out in front. The man saw Sen eyeing him curiously and hastily lowered his eyes.


    ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale?¡± the man asked.


    Sen almost said yes, but then a better idea surfaced in his mind.


    ¡°Never heard of him,¡± Sen lied as he turned and gestured, ¡°but have you met Righteous Wu Gang?¡±


    ***


    Jing rolled his eyes and, with a sigh, he asked, ¡°Dare I ask what that business with Lady Xie was about?¡±


    Sen winced.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, that. So, you don¡¯t really <em>need</em> that house, do you?¡±¡°Why?¡± asked Jing, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.


    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t going to exist for very much longer.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± demanded Jing, his voice getting stern.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be mad at me. They sent assassins after me. Cultivator assassins. You wouldn¡¯t believe the trail of bodies I left behind me getting here. I can¡¯t just let that stand. You <em>know</em> I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m uncertain where to begin with all of that. How many bodies are we talking about here?¡± asked Jing, a look of deep concern on his face.


    Sen hadn¡¯t actually kept count, so he approximated.


    ¡°Enough to keep funeral pyres burning for days,¡± said Sen through a wave of emotional fatigue, before a thought struck him. ¡°There isn¡¯t a literal trail of bodies. I cleaned up after myself.¡±


    ¡°That was not my primary concern,¡± said Jing.


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Sen. ¡°It should have been. Dead bodies are bad business if you don¡¯t dispose of them properly. They can make people very sick.¡±


    Jing started to say something before a thoughtful expression crossed his face.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. Thank you for not littering the kingdom with corpses. Still, you¡¯re sure it was the House of Xie.¡±


    ¡°I made a deal with one of the people sent my way. They were quite happy to tell me who employed them.


    ¡°It could be misdirection,¡± objected Jing.


    ¡°I had to kill a nascent soul cultivator. Who else could afford to hire someone like that?¡±


    Jing shook his head.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s what that was. In the future, I would appreciate it if you refrained from doing things like that so close to the city.¡±


    ¡°You saw it?¡±


    ¡°<em>Everyone</em> saw it. People thought the world was going to end. There were nearly riots.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Sen, feeling sheepish.


    ¡°And now there¡¯s a cult.¡±


    ¡°A cult?¡± asked Sen, a sinking feeling taking hold of him. ¡°What kind of cult?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact details, but I expect they¡¯ll be calling themselves the Church of Lu any day now.¡±


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Sen stared down at the floor for a few seconds before he said, ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡±


    ***


    Jing grimaced a little.


    ¡°I forgot that you could be quite this ruthless.¡±


    Sen considered the other man.


    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. You need someone ruthless for your n to keep your foreign guests off-bnce to work. You need someone who simply does not care what they think. Someone who won¡¯t be put off by ending them if they try to do something to you. Besides, I suspect that this might even work to your advantage.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°A ruthless cultivatores in and wipes out a house in revenge. Rather than starting a feud you can¡¯t win, you find a way to quell that anger and even nominally bring that cultivator into the fold. I don¡¯t understand politics all that well, but I imagine that will probably make you look quitepetent.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be more impressive if everyone didn¡¯t know that we have an existing rtionship.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t always get everything.¡±


    ¡°No, you certainly can¡¯t,¡± said Jing. ¡°So, your goal in all of this is what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about controlling a noble house, but it will provide a future for my daughter. A future with options. A future that doesn¡¯t involve needing to stay by my side for the rest of her life.¡±


    ¡°Is she a cultivator as well?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. Maybe not ever. She¡¯s still a little too young for all of that.¡±


    ¡°Is she with people you trust? People who can protect her? Once you start down this road¡ª¡±


    Sen started tough.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not worried about that. Anyone who goes looking for her in the immediate future will have to contend with Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho. I don¡¯t see that ending well for anyone who turns up with a mind for giving my little girl some trouble.¡±


    Jing stared at Sen with a dumbfounded expression on his face.


    ¡°You have the Living Spear and Alchemy¡¯s Handmaiden babysitting?¡±


    Sen thought it over, nodded, and said, ¡°Yeah. Oh, and Fu Run is probably lurking around as well. She¡¯s not a fan of, well, anyone really, but she¡¯s rather fond of Ai.¡±


    ¡°Let me see if I understand this properly,¡± said Jing, slowly rubbing his temples. ¡°You have three nascent soul cultivators, some of the most powerful beings in the world, one of them a madwoman, standing guard over <em>one</em> little girl?¡±


    ¡°When you say it like that, it sounds unreasonable.¡±


    ***


    He stumbled his way through tranting a few more manual names. The Iron Strike or possibly the Metal Fist Manual. The Sky Strider¡¯s Fury Manual or, just because it felt more right in his head, the Stormbearer¡¯s Wrath Manual. Thest manual title he tranted seemed to pop into his mind without any effort at all. The Shadow Gate manual. Sen felt an almost tangible pull to open the cover and see what he could unravel of the old text, but it wasn¡¯t the time for that. Regretfully, he returned the manual to a shelf that had at least a dozen others waiting to be looked at and turned his attention to the storage treasures. There were a number of rings with what seemed to Sen like ridiculously primitive security measures on them. Their contents ranged from thergely useless, such as robes, to the expected, such as pills and elixirs. However, Sen would need to remove them from the storage treasures to get a feel for how good or bad they might still be. Having been inside the treasures, it was entirely possible that they would retain their potency. He might even learn a few things from them with a bit of study. He¡¯d also be happy toy im to the additional medicinal nts and reagents he found.


    He turned his attention next to an ornate box. The measures designed to keep anyone but the rightful owner out of the box were substantially better than the ones on the rings, but that only meant that it took him three seconds to bypass them instead of one. When he opened the box, though, he almost immediately mmed the cover shut again. He spun to look at Long Jia Wei, who was staring at the box with a confused look on his face.


    ¡°What was that?¡± asked the man.


    Sen sighed and waved the man over. The damage was already done. When Long Jia Wei was standing next to him, Sen reached out and opened the ornate box again. The ex-sect assassin stared down into the box with awe.


    ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes. That is the Rubber Ducky of the Heavens.¡±


    ***


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± she asked, eying them both.


    There was something evaluative in that look. It made Sen feel like the woman could determine their personal wealth at a nce. Based on her expression, she had decided that they were too poor to even breathe air in this shop but was far too polite to say so. Sen kept a neutral expression as he spoke.


    ¡°We both need something for a formal event. And we need it by this afternoon,¡± announced Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that will be quite impossi¡ª¡±


    The woman¡¯s words choked off as Sen casually ced a fistful of gold taels on the counter. The woman¡¯s eyes went almost impossibly wide at the fortune before her.


    ¡°We will both need something for a formal event, at the <em>royal</em><em>pce</em>. And we need it by this afternoon.¡±


    The woman behind the counter dragged her eyes away from the gold and up to Sen¡¯s face, and a kind of dawning recognition took ce. All those stories racing around the city about the new Lord Lu, the legendary Judgment¡¯s Gale, the king¡¯s friend who hade for some unknown purpose. Her gaze drifted down to his robes. His blue robes. Robes that bore the telltale signs of having been through some violence. Her eyes darted around the shop before she pped her hands together sharply.


    ¡°The shop is closed for the day. Please return tomorrow.¡±


    There was a long pause before people started protesting. The woman looked like she was about to start screaming at people. Sen lifted a hand to forestall the explosion of verbal violence.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it,¡± Sen told her. ¡°Hey, Larry!¡±


    A momentter, a massive spirit ox appeared inside the shop as if he¡¯d always been there. Sen happily patted the ox on the head before he started pointing at the now bewildered customers.


    ¡°Those people are having trouble finding the door. Would you help them find it, please?¡±


    Larry let out a moo that could only be described as gleeful before he started crashing through tables and screaming erupting from all corners of the store. Nodding in satisfaction, Sen turned back to the store manager. The woman wore a horrified expression.


    ¡°So, I was thinking I¡¯d need something in blue,¡± said Sen.


    ***


    This concludes Unintended Cultivator, Volume Eight. Sen andpany will return in Unintended Cultivator, Volume Nine.

 Book 9: Chapter 1: Completion

    Sen sat with his legs crossed and eyes closed. The sun would rise soon, but it wasn¡¯t up yet. It was a quiet time when the night creatures had retreated to theirirs and nests, yet before the day creatures had roused themselves to go about their sunlit activities. He let that gentle hush wash over him and through him. It was an indulgence in serenity that he rarely allowed himself, but given what was about toe, he felt he¡¯d earned this indulgence. He was aware of the pill in his hand. Its actual weight was negligible, especially to someone like him, but it still felt like it might drag his hand to the earth. It had been a long timeing, that pill, thest one in the Five-Fold Body Transformation.


    Of course, as Elder Bo had rather cheerfully told him, Sen was on uncharted ground. When he¡¯d suffused his body with divine qi, he had stepped off the true path of the Five-Fold Body Transformation and onto a new path. He was walking the path of the Six-Fold Body Transformation. Like all new paths and uncharted ground, the dangers were unknown. With any form of body cultivation, there was always the chance of failure. That wasn¡¯t the greatest danger, though. The greatest danger was some kind of unchecked or unbnced transformation. Sen felt a certain kinship and empathy with those body cultivators of old, the ancient geniuses who had walked undaunted into those dangers, hewing a path through the jungles of ignorance.


    He had done everything he could to minimize the dangers. He had gone over the recipe again and again, making modifications bothrge and small to better suit what he understood about his own body. Then, he had discussed those changes with both Auntie Caihong and Fu Run, exining his reasons and asking for their input. For all of his own intuitive talent, he was not about to ignore theirbined centuries of experience and insight. Then, he had set it aside for a month so he could return to the problem with fresh eyes. He had been fortunate with thest pill. Everything went smoothly. He even managed to avoid a tribtion.


    Of course, that was only ever a dy of the inevitable. A cultivator never truly escaped tribtions, only postponed them. Every advancement that went by without one simply increased the odds that the next would draw heavenly ire down on one¡¯s head. With this pill, though, he¡¯d be functionally transitioning into what would be considered the nascent soul realm of body cultivation. There would be no reprieve this time, which was why he had chosen to venture into the wilds. A tribtion woulde. In all likelihood, it would be a terrible thing. He had no intention of drawing something like that down onto the heads of the townspeople or the people at his academy. Everyone else called it a sect. He knew that it was a sect, but he persisted in calling it an academy. It was almost spiteful on his part, denying everyone there the supposed dignity of calling a sect, but that was his prerogative.


    Sen pushed away those distracting thoughts. Those were truly problems forter because there was a good chance that he would not survive the advancement. The heavens were not known for their lenience, and the closer one drew to ascension, the less forgiving they became. While failure was the mostmon bottleneck at the lower stages, that wasn¡¯t the case for those entering the final stage before ascension. The mostmon bottleneck there was death. <em>And I¡¯ll have to face it twice as often as any other cultivator</em>, thought Sen a little bitterly. He knew that being a body cultivator was a big part of the reason he was still alive. All of that extra durability, resilience, and raw strength had helped him bridge the gap with opponents who should have crushed him. Even so, it didn¡¯t make him any more excited to face multiple, increasingly lethal tribtions.


    He shook his head at his own balking. It wouldn¡¯t change anything. The only way to avoid the extra tribtions would be to abandon his body cultivation, and it had been made painfully clear to him that doing that was more than merely courting death, it was embracing it. He supposed he could stop after this pill, but not before. A little part of Sen was amused. Wasn¡¯t that such a perfect description of cultivation? Too dangerous to stop, and <em>almost</em> too dangerous to keep going. It was only by sprinting sessfully on a jian¡¯s edge that one could seed. Smiling a little, Sen opened his eyes to take in the pre-dawn light and look at the trees around him. If he was to die this day, at least he would die somewhere that was pretty. Better by far than dying on some road in some useless duel for honor, or on a battlefield surrounded by the dead and dying. Although, finding himself in such a ce might be unavoidable if Master Feng was right but, again, a problem for <em>after</em>.


    Sen reached out a hand and brushed it across the grass. His hand came away a little wet from the morning dew. He rubbed that moisture between his fingers. It was a strange sensation. He remembered how water felt from before, when he¡¯d still been living on the streets, and this was the same, but it wasn¡¯t. It felt muted somehow. He supposed some of it was that he¡¯d be all but immune to things like heat and cold, but it felt like more than that. It was as if he¡¯d already started to leave his world behind in some fundamental way. Like he was already a half-step into whatever ce that people went when they ascended. <em>Maybe</em>, <em>I am</em>, he thought.


    He¡¯d often said that cultivators were little more than guests in the mortal world, their true domain the Jianghu. Perhaps, as one approached and joined the ranks of nascent soul cultivators, they also became like guests to the Jianghu. Beings who were simply too powerful to truly participate, save in direct conflict with those of simr advancement. Sen wasn¡¯t sure if he was <em>quite</em> there yet, but he thought he was getting close. Not that he thought himself so powerful that he couldn¡¯t be brought down in the right circumstances. There were certainly nascent soul cultivators powerful enough to do it. Gather enough peak core formation cultivators, and they could probably do it if he didn¡¯t have any time to prepare. But the threat of death from others had be a more distant concern to him ofte. No, the most pressing threats came from his own advancement and the heavens.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.¡°Time to face that threat,¡± he said softly.


    He lifted his hand to his mouth and let the pill slide between his teeth. He held the pill there for a moment, his tongue pressing it against the roof of his mouth, before he swallowed it. <em>It¡¯s done</em>, he thought. <em>No turning back now</em>. Sen took slow, deep breaths as he waited for the pill to reach his stomach. He¡¯d thought he¡¯d feel some trepidation at this moment, but he was oddly calm. Not that the danger was lost on him, but he simply realized that there was no longer any point in being afraid. Whatever was about to happen would happen with or without his fears. Under those conditions, he might as well face it calmly.


    When it started, there was no slow buildup of power. It happened in a rush. Sen felt an almost palpable sense of relief when the pain hit. Not that he enjoyed pain, but it was expected, familiar, nearly an old friend to him. Even as the pill dug its ws into his flesh and bones, he thought back to that first pill that Master Feng had given him. He always thought of that moment as the worst pain he¡¯d ever felt, but he recognized that for the lie it was. It had been deeply unpleasant. It was unquestionably the worst thing he¡¯d ever been through up until then in his short life, but it was nothingpared to the dizzying cliffs of agony he¡¯d scaled in the years since. Rtive to what he was enduring now, it would probably only rank as ufortable.


    Even as he remained in his cross-legged position, he wanted to scream. It felt like lightning was alive and coursing through every fiber of his body. It was possible that was exactly what was happening. The pill had been soplex, had so manyponents, that it could be doing almost anything to him. The feeling that his bones were now molten metal might be urate. The sensation that shadow was infiltrating his blood might be true. There was a sense that he was bing even more connected with the fundamental building blocks of creation itself, yet simultaneously bing anathema to creation as well. He was a cultivator. This paradox was his lot. He defied the heavens, seized power, and by doing so became something else, something other than human, something unnatural.


    The world around him heaved and groaned as his body was remade, forged into something closer to that of an immortal. Winds howled around him. Stone shot into the air in great pirs and then shattered, pelting him with razor-edged fragments that meant less than nothing to him now. Water condensed into two streams that wrapped around each other in an all too familiar double helix that swirled around him. Fire erupted from his very skin, turning the robes he wore into ash in a heartbeat. Metal rose from the depths of the earth until he sat on a liquid pool of it. He was aware of these things, peripherally, but he was focused inward, trying to understand the changes that were happening to him, the way the pill was interacting with the existing changes to his body.


    The thing that he worried about from the start, the thing he couldn¡¯t ount for, was the divine qi that had suffused him not once but twice. Cultivators knew what it was and, to some very limited extent, what it did. But that knowledge was mostly based on the effects it seemed to have on a cultivator. Sen didn¡¯t know that he was entirely unique in having divine qi driven into every part of him, but he hadn¡¯t been able to find even a story of another cultivator who had done it. That meant that there was no framework, no body of knowledge that he could draw from to predict what would happen here. <em>If</em> divine qi worked the way that people guessed it worked, it <em>should</em> only help this process along by acting as a catalyst for the things the pill was trying to do. <em>If</em> and <em>should</em> were words to make an alchemist shudder.


    As the pill worked its literal and figurative magic on him, the pain grew and grew. Sen had thought it would. This was the final step in a body cultivation process so dangerous that, if he survived it, he might well be the first person in a thousand years or more to pull it off. He didn¡¯t even know what the final result was supposed to be. The manual had been infuriatingly vague about that, which had made him wonder if this body cultivation method had ever been sessfullypleted, or if it was just the wild musings of some mad alchemist from a very different time. As his suffering grew ever more intense, the very earth seemed to shriek in fury. He was pummeled by earth, fire, water, air, and metal. He hunched over, the screams he¡¯d been holding back finally escaping. His world condensed to a single point of concentration. <em>I have to survive for the people I love</em>, he thought. <em>I can¡¯t fail them</em>. <em>I will not abandon them</em>.


    The pain rose onest time to a peak that seemed determined to crush his will to survive. Then, it was over. Sen crumpled to one side, barely able to string one thought after the next. He was heaving for air that he was half-convinced he didn¡¯t even need anymore. <em>I lived</em>, he thought. He pushed himself up onto his knees and forced his eyes open. The ground beneath him was a sted, scorched mess. He looked around and froze. He had been sitting on the ground in the middle of a forest. Now, he was crouched at the peak of a small mountain that hadn¡¯t existed before. He turned his head in the direction he knew the town and the academy were. If he tried just a little, his enhanced eyes could pick out the individual buildings from where he was. Heughed a little at the shock and confusion that must be happening in the town at that very moment.


    ¡°I lived,¡± he said.


    Then, everything around him went dark, and he heard the thunder overhead. He shot a baleful look up at the gathering clouds.


    ¡°Yeah. Yeah,¡± he muttered. ¡°You can wait your turn.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 2: Near Death Experiences

    Already exhausted by the advancement, Sen had to force himself to stand. He briefly considered putting on fresh robes before the uselessness of that struck him. Why put them on simply to have them destroyed by lightning or whatever else the tribtion might hurl at him? He had stories of tribtions other than lightning, but they had the air of third-hand ounts that were long on spection and short on facts. The conundrum in front of Sen at that moment was what he should do. Some ounts said that cultivators facing this tribtion simply needed to endure it, that it would provide some benefit if they survived, while others said that it was always the right course of action to weaken the lightning as much as possible. He certainly had more than enough qi to put up a defense. If anything, his core and dantian were overstuffed with it having gottenparatively little use recently. On the other hand, he was loathe to forego the possibility of a benefit.


    He stared up into those storm clouds, hoping for a moment of inspiration or simply a hint of the right course of action. The heavens, as always, remained indifferent to his unspoken question. <em>You face the heavens alone</em>, Sen told himself. <em>In the end</em>, <em>it¡¯s all about choices</em>. <em>What will you risk and for what gains</em>? He stood there, locked in a one-sided staring match with the gathering power above. More safety on one side, more benefit on the other. He supposed that was ultimately a false choice. Cultivation was risk. A lifelong bet that you would seed where so many others failed. There was no ce in that calction for intentional weakness. Sen knew that the tribtions would not grow easier as time went by. If he couldn¡¯t face this now, how could he ever hope to survive what was toe?


    Clenching his fists and lifting his chin, he said, ¡°Get on with it.¡±


    He¡¯d never know for sure if the heavens were listening, or if the timing just worked out that way, but the first bolt descended on him then. He managed to keep his feet, but he felt the rock beneath him shatter under the colossal force of the heaven¡¯s wrath. What he felt in that moment went beyond pain, beyond agony, and became what he could only describe as perfected suffering. There was no part of him that didn¡¯t feel like it would boil away. He was certain that his eyes had exploded, that his lungs had melted, that his bones had proven to be fragile twigs that snapped beneath that weight. Yet, his vision cleared, his bones remained unbroken, and he could still draw breath. What he couldn¡¯t do was stay on his feet. He dropped to his knees and felt the jagged rocks try and fail to pierce his hardened skin.


    Clenching his teeth, he nted a fist on the rubble beneath him and heaved himself upwards. He saw the scorched flesh on his arms. The open wound on his chest leaked a strangely dark blood in a steady trickle. <em>I guess I wasn¡¯t just imagining shadow qi taking up residence in my blood</em>, he thought. He could feel the power condensing above, readying itself for a second strike. Sen knew it would be worse. It was as if the heavens punished cultivators for having the temerity to survive each strike by making the sessive progressively worse. It seemed particrly malicious because the cultivator¡¯s natural defenses would grow weaker with each bolt of tribtion lightning. There was nothing for it, though. Sen would endure this as he had endured so much else.


    He did allow him the single weakness of closing his eyes when the second bolt crashed down on him. He didn¡¯t keep his feet that time. He didn¡¯t even try. Most of what happened was lost to him in a haze of blue-white and the terrible noise of his own screaming. He dragged himself back to sanity through pure force of will. He ignored the state of his own body. He could heal injuries. Even if he could see pieces of his bones where the tribtion had burned away flesh. No matter how excruciating the experience, it was ultimately temporary. It didn¡¯t matter that he felt more like a piece of roasted meat than a man. It was neither here nor there that his body didn¡¯t want to do his bidding. He would stand. He had to use the wall of the crater he was in to drag himself upright. He gripped that tortured stone with an equally tortured w of a hand. He turned his face to the sky, opened his mouth, felt the burned skin crack, and felt the blood flow. He screamed his defiance to the sky onest time.


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    The final bolt flew. As the unadulterated wrath of the heavens connected with him, sought to unmake him, tried to drown him in an ocean of torment so all-consuming that no mortal mind could contain the experience, something changed. He felt it inside of what was left of him, which he knew was little more than bones surrounded by burned and desated flesh. There was a surge as somest bit of alchemy was ignited. It seized the remnants of the celestial power that still coursed through him and around him. It converted that divine qi into something he didn¡¯t even begin to understand. Even as consciousness abandoned him in an act of mercy, he could swear that he hurt just a little bit less.


    Concepts like time meant little to him. Notions of what it meant to be awake or be asleep were equally nonsensical. He simply was. He floated, a mote in the cosmos, self-aware but not truly aware of anything around him. The universe turned and nes of existence seemed to flicker in and out of existence before him. For Sen, though, they held little more meaning that paintings glimpsed in passing. Briefly noted, perhaps, but swiftly forgotten. He was aware that he was at the very outermost cusp of life. One wrong breath and he would plunge into the oblivion of death. One wrong thought and the afterlife would seize him. There was an appeal to it. The idea of stopping and starting over. Perhaps the next life would be easier. Perhaps he would find himself in a world that was gued with less violence, both necessary and unnecessary.He craved such a world, but it felt false. Conflict <em>was</em> the natural state of affairs. It always had been. He¡¯d known that since childhood. There were strength and weakness. Victory and defeat. Survival and death. Everything else was a mirage. Aforting lie that people told themselves in times of supposed peace. However, conflict was not the same thing as cruelty. That felt more right to him. Conflict and violence might be inescapable, but the wanton cruelty he¡¯d seen, the cruelty he himself had done, was something entirely different. The world didn¡¯t <em>have</em> to be that way. There had to be a path forward that was less cruel. He wanted to believe that, but he couldn¡¯t see it. Perhaps a different man, a kinder man, a good man, would know how to make that world real.


    But, as he had told Lifen so long ago, he¡¯d never imed to be a good man. He could only be the man he was, and that was a man who could be more than one thing. He could be kind, but he could also be cruel when it was necessary. When lines that shouldn¡¯t be crossed had been ignored. When those who had no other recourse required the cold face of judgment to speak <em>for</em> them. He wasn¡¯t a hero, and he¡¯d never wanted to be one. That was a role for others. But he could be that cleansing wind, or a wrathful storm, if that was what was required. Even as that thought came and went, slipping from his grasp like water through a sieve, a heaviness overtook him. It dragged him down, down, down to a ce that was both familiar and alien. A world where there were things he had left to do, and people he loved.


    Sen opened his eyes and winced a little as sunlight poured into them. He felt like he¡¯d understood <em>something</em>, grasped an important truth, only to have lost it. He rolled over. His body felt wrong. It wasn¡¯t pain. That had seemingly been washed away in whatever thatst burst of lightning had triggered in him. All the same, he didn¡¯t feel like himself anymore. He managed to get himself up to his feet, but all of that hard-won bnce he¡¯d earned through years of relentless training had seemingly abandoned him. He staggered to one side and reflexively reached out to the nearby rock wall. He started to wonder where he was, but that concern was driven out of his mind as his hand closed around a piece of protruding stone. The stone was instantly pulverized into a fine powder at his merest touch. He stumbled back in surprise, only to fall. He brought his fist close to his eye and opened it. He watched the stone dust fall away from his palm in a silent cloud. <em>That¡¯s going toplicate things</em>, he thought.

 Book 9: Chapter 3: Hesitation

    Whenever Sen was forced to leave home, an event that happened far too often for his taste, he almost always raced back as fast as he could. There was a beautiful orchid there waiting to shout <em>Papa</em> at him and tell him about everything that had happened when he was gone. Sometimes, that meant an extended description of her bug hunts with the birds. Sometimes, it was a hriously garbled retelling of Auntie Caihong chastising Master Feng for one transgression or another. Sen could usually piece together what had actually happened, which only made Ai¡¯s retellings even funnier if for no other reason than the things that her mind interpreted as the salient details. For example, the words were often ignored in favor of a careful description and reenactment of Master Feng¡¯s expressions or Auntie Caihong chasing him with a broom, all while Uncle Kho howled withughter.


    This time, though, Sen found himself hesitating. He looked down at his arm and frowned. Like most cultivators, he¡¯d been pale. All of the blemishes, scars, and signs of aging had been burned away during cleanings, advancements, and probably during tribtions as well. Now, though, he was a white as pale as bone. The divine qi embedded in his skin no longer rose to the surface to make him all but glow, even if he could still feel it there. His eyebrows drew together as a thought urred to him. He concentrated for a moment and those spots did rise to the surface. Except, now, there were more of them. They seemed to form attice all over his body. In fact, it almost looked like a formation etched into his skin. He couldn¡¯t be sure since he didn¡¯t have the best angle to look at it.


    He wondered if that was something that was meant to happen as part of the Five-Fold Body Transformation or if it was peculiar to him. A side effect of all that divine qi already being inside of him, perhaps? The moment he got mentally sidetracked, though, the pinpoint bits of divine qi receded down into his skin again. While it was a strange change, it was actually a wee one. Not needing to maintain that bit of concentration to suppress their appearance all the time was one less thing on his te. Getting to cross a problem <em>off</em> his list was so rare that it felt like he ought to throw some kind of celebration. Still, the almost deathly pale of his skin was concerning.


    Despite the change, he didn¡¯t feel ill. If anything, he felt healthier and stronger than he¡¯d ever been. He¡¯d experienced an almost unbelievable increase in strength. At another time, he¡¯d have seen it as nothing but an improvement. In the world of the now, he couldn¡¯t shake that feeling of concern. What would Ai think of him? Would the change frighten her? He thought that she¡¯d get used to it. He hoped she might even make fun of it. If she ran away from him¡­ If that happened, it would break his heart into so many pieces that he might never be able to gather them all up. So, he stood on the shattered peak of that new mountain and hesitated. He was high enough up that there was a constant breeze. The sound of his robes moving in that light wind sounded thunderously loud to him. <em>I guess improved strength wasn¡¯t the only change</em>, he thought.


    He''d been through enough body cultivation advancements to understand that adapting to the changes in his body wouldn¡¯t be an overnight process. A few experiments had told him that his perception was actuallygging slightly behind his body¡¯s new abilities. He¡¯d need to hold back unless something was right in front of him and he couldn¡¯t miss with a blow. If he was lucky, things would equalize after a while, but he worried that he¡¯d be stuck using less than his full potential until his spirit cultivation caught up. <em>That might not be an entirely bad thing</em>, thought Sen. His rtionship with restraint was a mixed bag at best. Being forced to employ it all the time might help him to shore up one or two lingering personal failings.


    As much as he wanted to tell himself that Ai was the only reason he was hesitating, he knew that wasn¡¯t true. Returning to the academy after that debacle in the capital hadn¡¯t been a smooth transition. He¡¯d found himself forced into roles and dealing with responsibilities for which he felt entirely unsuited. The passage of a year had only smoothed down a few of the roughest edges. He was not particrly well-equipped for the role of leader or, as every damn person at the academy insisted on calling him, patriarch. Patriarchs were old men with centuries of experience and, in theory anyway, tremendous wisdom. Sen met exactly none of those requirements. His only legitimate im to that title came from personal power, and it hadn¡¯t taken him long to see that personal power and good leadership had almost no rtionship with each other.


    He knew that the minute he got back, a mountain of work was waiting for him. There would be endless demands on his time. Time that he would much rather spend teaching things to Ai, or wandering the wilds with Falling Leaf. Time that he loathed devoting to stupidity like managing the personal disputes between the various teachers he¡¯d brought and the small factions that were already developing inside his sect. Some of the divides were obvious. There were the mortals who were never going to be anything but soldiers for the small army he was building for Grandmother Lu. He¡¯d already sent a fair number of those to her. She had promptly put them to work as manor guards, caravan guards, and sent some of them along to keep order at distant holdings of the House of Lu. Those mortals bore a certain resentment for the cultivators that Sen had acquired for the sect.


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    He¡¯d never truly tried to recruit anyone but cultivators kept showing up. They, being cultivators, had to have their arrogance beaten out of them. Unfortunately, that process was slow enough that more than a few lingering grudges had developed. Then there was the division among the cultivators. Some of them had, on the surface, adopted his stated mission of developing cultivators for the express purpose of defending the House of Lu. Others seemed to think that he was masking his true intentions, thereby exposing their own ignorance of hisck of subtlety. Those cultivators seemed to be more invested in some weird cult of personality that centered on him.Then, there was thest group. He had done the impossible with Tiu Li-Mei. He had helped an adult mortal be a cultivator. She was a group of one. She fit none of the rules of cultivators. In some ways, she was even more anomalous than Sen himself. He, at least, had been found fairly young. No one seemed to know how to treat her. That had made her, by turns, an object of jealousy, scorn, and awe in his sect. The extensive attention he had to personally devote to her to make that transition from adult mortal to cultivator hadn¡¯t helped matters for her. Many viewed her as his personal favorite when they weren¡¯t making deeply unkindments about the exact nature of their rtionship. Many were terrified of offending her. Others treated her like some kind of prostitute.


    All of that hadrgely isted her, and there was exceedingly little he could do to help. Anything he tried to do was as likely to make her istion worse as it was to make things better. He tried to assuage his own conscience by saying he gave her what she wanted. Even so, he feared that his attempt at rpense hade at a much higher price than either he or she had anticipated. He was tempted on a weekly basis to simply send her back to the capital, but that wasn¡¯t a real solution either. She couldn¡¯t step back into her old life anymore. On top of that, she was a one-of-a-kind experiment. He worried that someone sect would scoop her up and try to figure out how he¡¯d done what he¡¯d done. She was rtively safe from anything like that as long as she stayed beneath his shadow of protection. Plus, when he¡¯d gentry broached the possibility of sending her back, she¡¯d refused. Adamantly.


    Huffing out an exasperated breath, Sen decided that it was time to stop being a coward and go home. Putting it off for another hour wasn¡¯t going to alter how Ai reacted to the changes in him. It wasn¡¯t going to solve any of the many problems waiting for him. It wasn¡¯t even really helping him. He walked to the edge where the peak of the mountain started to drop off. A part of him wanted to explore this new mountain. It would be endlessly interesting to find out where the natural trails were, but he supposed that was a project best undertaken with Falling Leaf. She might never forgive him for making a mountain, however identally, and then finding all of its mysteries without her.


    Sen stepped off the mountain peak and onto a qi tform. With a minor flex of will, he sent it flying back toward his daughter, and all those other things that were a lot less important to him. He told himself that things would be fine. Nothing had changed that much. Not really. So what if he was a little paler and a little stronger? He was still who he had always been. He supposed that his annoying legend would grow a little more when word got out that he¡¯d advanced his body cultivation again, but there was always someone adding to that stupid thing. It was ridiculous. No one could possibly have done all the things and been all the ces he was credited with during the approximate decade he¡¯d been operating publicly. Hells, he¡¯d spent a huge chunk of that time trying to find a damn manual. When did people imagine he had time to visit other kingdoms?


    Shaking his head, Sen lowered the qi tform to the ground outside the galehouse. He did his best to calm his nerves. <em>It¡¯ll be fine</em>, he told himself for the fiftieth time. Bracing himself for the worst, he opened the door and walked inside. Falling Leaf and Ai were sitting at the table. It looked like they were practicing writing. The green-eyed woman gave him a curious look but didn¡¯t seem otherwise concerned. Ai turned to look at him. She looked perplexed for a moment before she hopped down from the chair, ran over, and jumped at him. He caught her and hoisted her up so she could hug his neck. She poked his cheek while wearing a skeptical expression before she giggled.


    ¡°You look funny, Papa.¡±


    Sen abruptly discovered that he had regained the ability to breathe.

 Book 9: Chapter 4: You’ll Leave Me Behind

    Sen gave himself the rest of that day to recover and spend time with Ai and Falling Leaf. While his body¡¯s transformation had seemingly restored him, he felt drained. At the very least, he knew that there was a near-certainty that he would kill someone who came to him with a frivolous problem given his current mood. Aside from asionally poking his now absurdly pale skin and asking if it hurt, Ai seemed to take it all in stride. He supposed that she had been through far worse upheavals and was still young enough that his skin changing just didn¡¯t hit her as a crisis or something that warranted a lot of attention. Falling Leaf, on the other hand, seemed more uncertain about the new him. Enough so that it prompted the usually quiet woman to pose a question.


    ¡°What does this change mean?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m stronger,¡± said Sen with a halfhearted shrug. ¡°Beyond that, I¡¯m not entirely certain. I¡¯m going to have to go out and push my limits to see what this really means.¡±


    ¡°You said the manual wasn¡¯t vague, but it surely said something about what to expect.¡±


    ¡°There were some cryptic statements that meant absolutely nothing. There certainly wasn¡¯t anything about being this pale. I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s permanent or not. I¡¯m hoping not. I can say that I¡¯ll be more durable and resilient than I was before. That much is clear. And I guess improved survivability is never a <em>bad</em> thing.¡±


    ¡°Not as a rule, no,¡± said Falling Leaf with an amused smile. ¡°Will you continue on this path?¡±


    ¡°Body cultivation?¡± asked Sen.


    The panther-woman nodded.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. It has provided me with benefits, but it¡¯s also nearly cost me my life more than once. I¡¯m not convinced it¡¯s worth the risks. Of course, I did just go through a tribtion. It¡¯s hard to want to do anything that might trigger another one of those when it¡¯s so fresh in my mind.¡±That drew a frown from Falling Leaf.


    ¡°You almost died, again? Up on that new mountain?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, shuddering at the memories of that fresh hell. ¡°It was a terrifyingly close thing. So close that I never, <em>ever</em>, want to be that close to death again.¡±


    Falling Leaf gave him an ufortably intense look, and he struggled to unravel its meaning.


    ¡°Then, perhaps you should spend more time building this ce of yours and less time chasing ways to die.¡±


    Sen was startled. That had sounded a lot like a rebuke to him. <em>No</em>, he thought. <em>That didn¡¯t sound like anything</em>. <em>That just was a rebuke</em>. He gave Falling Leaf a thoughtful look. She had been happier living here, close enough to the wilds that she could easily escape the humans that she¡¯d never really managed to findmon ground with. But happier wasn¡¯t the same thing as happy. He was once again reminded that while he wasn¡¯t her only connection to humans, he was her main connection with them. Even though he trusted that Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho would always provide a safe harbor for her if something were to happen to him, her rtionships with them were not like her rtionship with him. She treated them as family, but it reminded him of the oddly formal rtionships he sometimes saw between younger people and their aged elders. There was respect, but affection was often absent.


    Sen also knew that he hadn¡¯t been recklessly risking his life. Taking thatst pill <em>had</em> to happen. She knew that as well as he did. After all, she had been there when not getting the next pill in the sequence had been killing him. For whatever reason, though, the possibility of his death seemed to be hitting her harder this time. Was it just her realizing that same thing he had long feared? If he died, she would bergely adrift in the world. She¡¯d shown nothing but disdain for most other spirit beasts, not that he could me her for that. It had been spirit beasts that killed most of the ghost panthers, not humans.


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    ¡°You know I¡¯d never abandon you willingly,¡± said Sen.


    Falling Leaf jerked a little. Apparently, he¡¯d gotten pretty close to the mark. She looked away then and seemed to be struggling to figure out what to do with her hands.


    ¡°I know that,¡± she snapped before her voice went small. ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡­ I thought we¡¯d have centuries together. That I¡¯d have enough time to prepare. But you¡¯re advancing so fast. I can¡¯t keep up. You¡¯re going to ascend. And it won¡¯t be a thousand years or three thousand years from now. It will be soon. You¡¯ll leave me behind.¡±


    Sen wanted to reassure her that the day of his ascension wasn¡¯t that soon, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to tell the lie. It might not be in the next five years, but he doubted he¡¯dst another fifty years before he got pushed off this world. At least, not if the heavens got their way. For Falling Leaf, that <em>was</em> soon and approaching at a breakneck pace. There was always the possibility that he¡¯d die in the meantime, but that would probably be even worse from her perspective. If he ascended, then he was still out there <em>somewhere</em>. The possibility of seeing him again, joining him in ascension was a distant but real prospect. If he got cut down, that was it. His soul would be moving through the steps of reincarnation, but even if she managed to find him through some miracle, it wouldn¡¯t be him. Not in any meaningful way. Everything about the man she knew now would be nothing but a memory.


    Sen thought of Tiu Li-Mei. He had done what most people considered the impossible with her. It had been outrageously expensive and some of the most difficult alchemy he¡¯d ever performed, but he had done it. If he could make that happen, how hard would it really be to speed things along for Falling Leaf? It¡¯ll probably be unbelievably difficult, thought Sen. If there was an easy way to do it, she¡¯d be doing it already. He also knew a lot less about how spirit beasts advanced than he should, but that was a problem that could be remedied. Sen smiled at the ghost panther.


    ¡°What?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the problem, we¡¯ll just have to figure out a way to speed things up for you.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t work like that spirit beasts. We can¡¯t use tricks to make it happen faster.¡±


    ¡°Says who?¡± asked Sen.


    Falling Leaf looked like she was about to speak, but she frowned instead.


    ¡°It is just known.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know that,¡± said Sen, projecting a confidence he didn¡¯t feel. ¡°Besides, just because no one has ever done it before, it doesn¡¯t mean that no one ever can. There¡¯s always the first person.¡±


    Falling Leaf gave him a searching look, as though she was trying to spot a lie on his face. He couldn¡¯t really me her for that. If anything, he suspected that the only reason she was even entertaining the possibility was because he was the one who suggested it. Well, that and she¡¯d seen him do the seemingly impossible before. There was a trace of hope in her eyes, but it was offset by a great deal of fear. He wasn¡¯t even sure what the fear was about. Fear of being left behind? Fear of trying only to fail? He almost asked but restrained himself. That was her fear to share or keep to herself as she saw fit. It wasn¡¯t for him to try to drag it out of her.


    ¡°Do you think you can?¡± she asked in a painfully tentative tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can. I also don¡¯t know if it¡¯s beyond me. I do know that it¡¯s worth trying. You were there for me during all those years of training. You¡¯ve saved my life. I dragged you across half of this country looking for Fu Run. You neverined. You never asked me for anything. You keep watch over Ai when I have to be away. Trying to make this happen is the very least I can do for you. If it seeds, I will maybe, <em>maybe</em>, have paid back some tiny shred of what I owe you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t owe me anything,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    Sen could see it on her face that she meant it. It was a fact to her. It was one of the things that he¡¯d always appreciated about her. She didn¡¯t look at the world and see debts and obligations. Of course, just because she didn¡¯t see them, it didn¡¯t mean Sen was oblivious to them.


    ¡°You may not think so, but I know better. Because, if I don¡¯t owe <em>you</em> anything, then the entire notion of debt is meaningless.¡±


    Falling Leaf seemed perplexed by that deration. It took her a while to find a response.


    ¡°If you say so,¡± she murmured.


    ¡°I do. So, let¡¯s have a long talk about just how it is that spirit beasts advance. I know that you consume cores as part of the process. So, tell me about the things that I don¡¯t know.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 5: Bureaucracy

    Sen sat at the head of a table and stared at the wall. He¡¯d stopped hearing anything that anyone was saying at least an hour earlier. It was supposed to be a meeting to discuss how best to manage thetest batch of cultivators that had shown up looking for entry into the sect. Soon after returning from setting up Grandmother Lu in the capital, Sen had adopted a policy that no cultivator looking for entry into the sect would be seen on arrival. Some of it was simply Sen directing money into the purses of the townspeople. The volume of travelersing and going had picked up enough that a second inn had opened up in town, as well as two small restaurants. People with more refined ptes had told him that the food at them was only adequate. It was an assessment he¡¯d been forced to agree with after visiting. He still made a point to eat at one or the other at least once a month. It seemed to help attract business.


    The other reason no cultivators were seen immediately was simply to test their patience. If they couldn¡¯t endure waiting a few weeks, they likely couldn¡¯t endure the discipline necessary to seed as cultivators beneath Sen¡¯s admittedly grueling standards. He knew that his standards were unreasonably high because he had been told so by more than one of the people seated at the table around him. He also knew why they were unreasonable. They¡¯d been forged under Master Feng¡¯s even more unreasonable expectations. Knowing all of that, Sen refused to relinquish them. He had no desire to bring anyone into the academy who would simply crack beneath the pressure and expectations. Better to send them away disappointed now than to send them away brokenter. Sen recognized that a cruel-to-be-kind approach looked only cruel to the people on the receiving end, but he had yet to find a better way.


    It also gave Sen and the other members of the academy that he at least vaguely trusted to observe the would-be candidates. While word had spread that mistreating the townspeople was both an automatic disqualification and a short road to a brutal correction of that behavior, people were people. It was easy enough for almost anyone to hide their natures for a day or two. Most people fell back to their habits after a week or two. Long Jia Wei had proven particrly effective in ferreting out people that Sen wouldn¡¯t want around. In two cases, the man had simply killed the cultivators and disposed of their bodies.


    The first time, Sen had demanded an exnation. Long Jia Wei had calmly exined that he found the cultivator beating a local shopkeeper for the grand offense of expecting to be paid for his wares. Sen had personally visited the shopkeeper, apologized for the event, tended to the man¡¯s wounds, and reimbursed him for the lost business. The second time it happened, Sen had only asked if the offending cultivator had iting. He¡¯d taken Long Jia Wei¡¯s <em>yes</em> for an answer. When Sen had followed that up by asking if anyone needed to be helped orpensated, he¡¯d been told that someone had already been dispatched with the appropriate healing aids and money. Sen had almost asked for more information but decided he needed to extend some trust to the people who worked for him. If Long Jia Wei said it was being handled appropriately, he¡¯d take the man at his word.


    <em>If only everything could be that easy</em>, thought Sen as he forced himself to start paying attention to the people at the table. Except, it wasn¡¯t everyone at the table. It was just two people. Two people who had been the source of more of Sen¡¯s wasted time than anyone else in the entire academy. On the right side of the table was the burly Tong Qianfan. He was on his feet, leaning over the table with a belligerent look on his face. He was one of the people Sen had brought back with him from the capital, recruited with some caveats from one of the smaller sects there. He wasrgely in charge of the foundation formation cultivators and their various teachers. On the left side of the table, looking cool, calm, and utterly dismissive of Tong Qianfan, was the diminutive Yan Shu. She had been directed to Sen by one of the only people at the Soaring Skies Sect that he was likely to listen to, Elder Deng. She had been given the thankless task of trying to usher qi condensing cultivators to the foundation formation stage.


    The pair had taken an immediate dislike to one another. Tong Qianfan considered Yan Shu as nothing but an ipetent from some backwater sect. She considered him a useless, mindless brute who only had one answer for every problem. Hit it until it breaks. Sen knew this because he¡¯d heard her say it to the man¡¯s face. What had followed was, in Sen¡¯s opinion, an utterly humiliating disy in which Tong Qianfan tried to strike the woman, only to have her beat him within an inch of his life. He never even came close tonding a blow on her after that first attempt. Since then, the pair had locked horns over nearly everything from lesson ns to what food should be provided to the mortal and cultivator students who attended the various sses avable at the academy. Their current argument had started over how to handle a dispute between two students and descended into what seemed to be little more than viciously barbed insults.


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    ¡°Of course, <em>you</em> think that. You ignorant buffoon,¡± said Yan Shu. ¡°Any solution that doesn¡¯t involve someone getting injured is tooplicated for your third-rate mind to understand.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk down to me, you overbearing bitch!¡± roared Tong Qianfan.¡°Enough,¡± said Sen, using a bit of qi to make his voice resonate.


    He decided he¡¯d overdone it because not only did his voice resonate, but the table, the chairs, the walls, and probably the bodies of everyone in the room did as well. Utter silence fell as Yan Shu and Tong Qianfan seemed to recall themselves and where they were. Both cast guilty looks in Sen¡¯s direction and went a little pale at what they saw on his face.


    ¡°You two, stay,¡± said Sen, pointing at Yan Shu and Tong Qianfan. ¡°Everyone else, get out.¡±


    There were precisely zero protests as the rest of the people at the meeting fled before the obvious anger in Sen¡¯s voice. He actually preferred that to the usual round ofst-second questions and people hanging around simply to bow to him or call him patriarch or whatever other nonsense crossed their minds. He fixed Tong Qianfan with a hard look.


    ¡°Sit down,¡± he ordered the other man.


    The burly man dropped into his seat immediately. Sen let the silence stretch out for a long time. Instead of speaking, he just looked from one to the other, and then let his gaze settle on something in the middle distance. When he did finally speak, both of the other cultivators jerked a little.


    ¡°The entire reason for having people in your positions is to make <em>my</em> life easier,¡± said Sen. ¡°I cannot handle every task that needs to be done in this ce. I need people I can rely on to handle those things. I need people who are actively invested in doing that well, both because it benefits the students and it makes my life easier. So, let me ask you this. When you two spend an hour screaming at each other every time we have a meeting, do you believe you¡¯re making my life easier?¡±


    The pair traded nces.


    ¡°No,¡± said Lan Shu.


    ¡°No,¡± muttered Tong Qianfan.


    ¡°Do you believe that your constant bickering, in public, is providing any benefit to the mortals and cultivators that you¡¯re supposed to be setting some kind of example for?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Lan Shu.


    Tong Qianfan mumbled something that might have been a <em>no</em>. Neither of the cultivators would meet Sen¡¯s eyes. Intentionally wanted to keep them off bnce, Sen switched topics.


    ¡°Do you like it here? Do you want to stay?¡±


    The subject change had the intended effect because both of them blinked a few times. Lan Shu managed to keep the confusion off her face, while Tong Qianfan wore his confusion openly.


    ¡°Yes, Patriarch,¡± said Lan Shu, apparently recovering a little faster.


    ¡°I do, Patriarch,¡± said Tong Qianfan a beatter.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look that way,¡± said Sen. ¡°As of right now, I¡¯m inclined to send you both back where you came from. It¡¯d be a huge hassle to rece you, but I still think it would be less of a problem than keeping you here. So, you have one day to settle your dispute. Short of killing each other, I don¡¯t care how you do it, but you will not do it in front of the students. If one of you does kill the other, don¡¯t be here tomorrow. Do you understand me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Patriarch,¡± the pair said in unison.


    ¡°Good. As for the bickering students, send them to me immediately. I¡¯ll deal with it.¡±


    Both Lan Shu and Tong Qianfan abruptly looked very nervous. Sen didn¡¯t know if he looked like he might do something drastic to the students or if they were worried he was going to find out that the dispute was something very stupid. They both looked like they were about to protest, so Sen cut them off.


    ¡°Do you not know what immediately means?¡± asked Sen.


    The chastised cultivators shot to their feet, offered hasty bows, and departed the room without ever managing to look directly at each other.


    Sen shook his head and spoke to the empty room.


    ¡°I really hope they don¡¯t kill each other.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 6: Youthful Indiscretions

    Sen stared at the two cultivators who had been sent to him. <em>Young</em>, thought Sen. <em>I¡¯m not that much older than either of them</em>. He noticed that both of them looked petrified. They stood as straight as they possibly could and both were sweating. He supposed that this was exactly the kind of attention that neither of them wanted. In all likelihood, they were probably hoping to impress him one day with their prowess. Instead, they¡¯d gotten into trouble and found themselves facing the final authority in the academy. He could send them away with a word. He didn¡¯t need to exin himself or give any reason. He could just demand they leave and never return. For that matter, he could kill them without bothering to offer an exnation. A fact that was probably foremost in their thoughts. The worst part was that he didn¡¯t think he needed to ask any questions. He was pretty sure he already knew the problem.


    One of the cultivators was a heavily built young man who could have been Tong Qianfan¡¯s nephew. The other was a studious-looking girl who appeared positively underfed. It was rming enough that Sen decided it was a matter he needed to look into separately. Still, he was pretty sure that he knew where each student put their loyalty. Sen sighed. The young man flinched, and the girl¡¯s eyes went wide. You¡¯d think I just announced their executions, Sen grumbled internally. Picking at random, he pointed at the boy.


    ¡°Exin the problem,¡± he ordered.


    The young man opened his mouth, got an expression that suggested he¡¯d forgotten how words worked, and suddenly lurched into a bow so deep that he had to be looking at the floor. The whole thing amused Sen a little, but he kept it off his face. The kid was obviously terrified. If Senughed at him, the kid¡¯s heart might stop. The young man straightened from his bow and very obviously chose his words with care.


    ¡°Patriarch, I¡¯m sure this matter is unworthy of your attention.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± said Sen, ¡°but it has my attention. So, out with it.¡±


    The young man licked his lips, took a deep breath, and said, ¡°Disciple He spoke ill of Master Tong. I objected to it.¡±


    Sen decided not to correct him on the use of the term disciple. It was a sect now, even if Sen didn¡¯t call it one. <em>Well</em>, <em>that was a political answer if I¡¯ve ever heard one</em>, thought Sen. He turned to the skinny young woman.


    ¡°Exin the problem.¡±The girl, probably taking her cue from the young man, also offered one of those ridiculous bows. Once she was standing straight again, she audibly swallowed.


    ¡°Patriarch,¡± she said, ¡°Disciple Chew called Master Lan¡¯s character into question. I simply attempted to correct his ignorance.¡±


    <em>Not as political</em>, <em>but still careful</em>, thought Sen. <em>I guess I should have expected this</em>.


    ¡°What very concise answers,¡± said Sen, pinning them both in ce with a hard look.


    He did not give them his hardest look. He wanted them worried, not actively in fear for their lives. Even so, they both lost some of the color in their faces.


    ¡°And which of you made the first remark?¡± asked Sen.


    The girl shot the young man a triumphant look. He hung his head.


    ¡°I did,¡± he said.


    ¡°And did you wait to do it until you knew Disciple He would hear you?¡±


    The young man¡¯s ears and face turned bright red as he whispered, ¡°Yes.¡±


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    ¡°So, you intentionally provoked her?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    The girl looked absolutely gleeful, so Sen knew it was time to give her some attention.


    ¡°And you were foolish enough to take that obvious bait?¡± he asked her. ¡°I hope you aren¡¯t that unwise in battle.¡±


    Sen doubted the girl could have looked more stunned if he¡¯d pped her.


    ¡°Did you not realize he was luring you into saying something?¡± Sen asked.


    It was her turn to blush.


    ¡°I¡­ No,¡± she said.


    ¡°It never urred to you that he was waiting for an excuse to challenge you to a fight that favored him?¡±


    The girl was staring at the floor when she said, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure who I¡¯m most disappointed in right now. You,¡± he said, pointing at the young man, ¡°for trying to bait a weaker cultivator into a physical conflict. You,¡± he said, pointing at the girl, ¡°for not seeing the trap for what it was. Or myself, for not taking more care in who I allow to remain here.¡±


    The two were staring at him in naked horror. He was d to see that his implied threat to toss them both out was not lost on the pair. While he expected either of them could probably secure a spot in another sect, it wouldn¡¯t be an easy time for them. For all that his reputation didn¡¯t paint Sen in the best light, it was a reputation that more and more people saw as being an earned one. He suspected that being cast out of his sect would serve as a ck mark. Other sects would likely be wary of taking in his outcasts, either for fear that the cultivators weren¡¯t worth the effort, or out of fear that he might take issue with it.


    ¡°The question is whether either of you is worth the trouble of nurturing,¡± announced Sen.


    He once again let the silence stretch out. He only gave it about twenty seconds, but he suspected that it felt like a lot longer than that to the wayward students.


    ¡°You should both consider yourself one very minor mistake away from being told to leave,¡± he finally said.


    Both students wore expressions of relief and fear.


    ¡°Thank you, Patriarch,¡± said the girl.


    The young man hastily echoed her words.


    Sen considered them both before he said, ¡°Loyalty has its ce, but it should never be blind. Lan Shu and Tong Qianfan are both wed. As are the pair of you. As am I. That being said, it is unwise to speak ill of those who have the power to end you out of hand. It is particrly unwise to do so where others might hear it. Do you understand what I¡¯m telling you?¡±


    Sen felt like a monumental hypocrite uttering those words. He¡¯d tantly disrespected people who had the power to end him so often that people almost expected it from him. But that wasn¡¯t a good way to live a long life, and he <em>did</em> want the cultivators and mortals who studied at his academy to live long and fruitful lives if at all possible. That meant that sometimes he had to give hypocritical advice. Not that the students in front of him seemed to recognize what he¡¯d done. They both nodded like they¡¯d just received words from the heavens. That reverence for his words just made him feel more guilty.


    ¡°Now, for punishments,¡± said Sen. ¡°First, you will both assist in caring for the oxen for the next month.¡±


    Both students grimaced at those words, which told Sen he¡¯d picked the right task.


    ¡°I feel that it¡¯s only fair to warn you that I am <em>very</em> fond of those animals. If I were to discover that you didn¡¯t give the work appropriate attention, I would not be pleased.¡±


    The young man tried to stand straighter, while the girl¡¯s face went even paler.


    ¡°Next. Disciple Chew, in one month, you wille before me and exin why schrly study is valuable to cultivators.¡±


    The stricken look on the young man¡¯s face told Sen everything he needed to know about the kinds of opinions that Tong Qianfan was imparting to the students. Sen turned his gaze on the girl.


    ¡°Disciple He, in one month, you wille before me and exin why martial prowess is valuable to cultivators.¡±


    She didn¡¯t look quite as disheartened as the young man, but she definitely looked nervous. Sen leaned back in his chair and, after giving them both a thoughtful look, he added one more thing.


    ¡°Your answers may be as long or short as you wish, but I suggest that the answers you bring me are thorough,¡± said Sen. ¡°You may go.¡±


    The pair bowed and mumbled some things that might have been polite before they fled. Sen reached up and rubbed his eyes. Assuming that Lan Shu and Tong Qianfan managed to keep their positions, he was going to have to have a long discussion with them about providing a bnced view of what cultivators did. He¡¯d also have to go and thank Auntie Caihong for all the helpful advice she¡¯d given him about dealing with people who didn¡¯t get along with each other. If he¡¯d handled the problem the way he wanted to, Sen suspected that neither Lan Shu or Tong Qianfan would have left the room unscathed. As for the students, he felt a little more forgiving toward them. They <em>were</em> young and inexperienced. He couldn¡¯t expect them to make good decisions all the time. He certainly hadn¡¯t. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t just let bad decisions go without some kind of action. He just hoped that the oxen wouldn¡¯t suffer too much.

 Book 4 Publication and Official Stub Notice

    The day has finally arrived. Volume 4 is going live on Amazon and, if all goes well, Audible starting tomorrow! That means that all but a handful of chapters have toe down here to meet with Amazon''s exclusivity rules. It''s harsh, I know, but Amazon makes the rules. The rest of us just live with them.


    For anyone who might want to grab an official ebook, paperback, or hardback copy, I''ll drop a link in the post-chapter note below. (There''s no easy way to put a link into the chapter section.)


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the vition.


    It''s been a crazy ride so far, and I appreciate everyone who has stuck with this story. I started it on a whim, and it has grown into something so much bigger! It never ceases to amaze me that so many people are invested in finding out what happens next to people who live inside my head.

 Book 9: Chapter 7: The Coming Storm

    After that foolishness with Lan Shu, Tong Qianfan, and their students, Sen realized that he simply didn¡¯t have it in him to put up with anything even remotely aggravating. At first, he thought that he was exhibiting a horrifk of discipline, but he quickly realized that the real problem was that he hadn¡¯t given himself enough time to recover from the tribtion. While he had faced death more often than anyone his age ever should have needed to do so, he hadn¡¯te so close to it in a long time. He wasn¡¯t sure he could have gotten any closer to it without actually dying. The experience had rattled him more than he realized. So, he simply announced that he was done for the day and walked out of the building.


    He¡¯d gone looking for Ai and found her, although he hadn¡¯t approached. She was ying with some of the Xie children. The sight of it made him deeply ufortable, but he supposed that¡¯s what it was to be a parent. Watching your child do things that you wished they wouldn¡¯t and keeping your mouth shut about it. Sen didn¡¯t expect that he was going to have fewer of those experiences as she grew up. He could protect her from many dangers, but he couldn¡¯t protect her from forming connections with other people. It was almost inevitable that she would decide that she liked people that he disliked on principle or for good cause. That didn¡¯t preclude the option of keeping a watch over her from a safe distance. He hadn¡¯t been standing there for more than ten minutes when he felt someone approach.


    ¡°Master Feng,¡± said Sen before he could actually see the man.


    ¡°Sen,¡± said an amused Master Feng. ¡°You¡¯re getting better at that.¡±


    ¡°Not really. But I¡¯m not sure I could call myself a cultivator if I didn¡¯t recognize your presence.¡±


    The elder cultivator stepped up next to Sen and eyed the scene with a pensive expression.


    ¡°I have to admit, I¡¯m surprised that you allow her to associate with them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not easy,¡± said Sen, ¡°but the world is already full of senseless conflicts. I will not <em>teach</em> her to hate. I can hate enough for both of us.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± said Master Feng nomittally.¡°You don¡¯t approve?¡±


    ¡°Of those children? Right now? No, that doesn¡¯t worry me. That¡¯s all harmless. But those children will grow up someday. I do worry about that. I worry that she¡¯ll let her childhood affections lead her into poor choices someday.¡±


    ¡°A concern that I share. But it¡¯s not something we can change without changing her in ways I don¡¯t think either of us wants to see.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the heavens¡¯ own truth,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°Better to let her be a child a while longer. The world will break her heart often enough without either of us rushing her toward it.¡±


    Sen and Master Feng, arguably two of the most dangerous men on the, watched as Ai and her friends made up a game that involved kicking and carrying around one of the shadow balls that Sen always made sure were on hand. Eventually, Master Feng turned his attention back to Sen.


    ¡°Did you talk to your king friend about the preparations?¡±


    Sen nodded, but it wasn¡¯t an enthusiastic nod. Master Feng had been very clear that a massive conflict with the spirit beast poption wasing. It wasn¡¯t a question of if they wereing for the humans, just a question of when they wouldunch their genocidal quest. Sen had taken the threat seriously and warned Jing about it. He had spoken to Jing on several asions over thest year about ways that they could all prepare.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say that I like that look on your face,¡± observed Master Feng.


    ¡°It¡¯s not good news. Even with the warninging from <em>you</em> through <em>me</em>, the only person taking it seriously is Jing. His position is much more stable now but no one wants to believe that the spirit beasts are that organized. To say nothing of them not wanting to believe that war ising. His position lets him do a lot, but he can¡¯t fend off a threat of this magnitude with nothing but his own resources. Even if those resources are the resources of a kingdom. You know how things work here. There are entire pieces of this country that are part of the country in name only. There are alsorge parts that are more effectively under the control of a noble house than the royal family. The sects I spoke with are taking it a little more seriously, simply because they¡¯ve seen strange spirit beast activity, but even they¡¯re moving slowly.¡±


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    ¡°The damn fools,¡± muttered Master Feng. ¡°We can¡¯t visit every sect and noble on the continent to try to convince them. We don¡¯t have that kind of time. And even if you, me, Caihong, and Kho all decided to take the battle to them, there¡¯s too much continent. Hells, even if we managed to convince every nascent soul cultivator this side of the Mountains of Sorrow, there¡¯s <em>still</em> too much continent to cover. At best, we could maybe hold the line on this side of the mountains.¡±


    ¡°Would that be such a bad thing? Are we really that concerned with a bunch of power-mad cultivators who like very or the next best thing to it?¡± asked Sen.


    The thought of the kind of nations thaty beyond those mountains still left a bitter taste in his mouth. He¡¯d only had a handful of encounters with representatives from those nations, and those were <em>not</em> fond memories. Master Feng gave Sen a reproachful look.


    ¡°That¡¯s an unworthy thing to say, Sen. I know you don¡¯t have any love for the cultivators in power there. But are you truly willing to sacrifice all of the mortals there as well just because you don¡¯t like their leaders?¡±


    It was a valid point, an annoyingly valid point, but Sen was having a hard time separating his loathing for those cultivators from his big-picture thinking. He knew that spirit beast attacks on those nations wouldn¡¯t target cultivators and leave the mortals in peace. If he thought that¡¯s how things would go, he¡¯d probably sign up to <em>help</em> those spirit beasts run their war. He didn¡¯t want to see mountains of mortal corpses pile up because he wouldn¡¯t give that part of the continent a second thought. He also recognized that it was much easier for him to ignore their plight because he didn¡¯t know them. Unlike Master Feng, Sen had never spent time in that part of the continent. He had no friends there. No family. There was no human face for him to attach to all of that suffering. Those people were less than strangers to him. They were an abstract idea. Plus, the very idea of keeping those cultivators in power made him feel sick to his stomach.


    ¡°I may not want that, but I have no interest in helping those leaders keep their power. And, as you said, we can¡¯t be everywhere. If I have to make a choice about where to spend my time and energy, the people and things I love are <em>here</em>. So, I will focus my efforts <em>here</em>.¡±


    Sen could almost feel the disapproval radiating off of Master Feng. It made him want to shift his weight back and forth. He hated feeling like he was disappointing Master Feng. The elder cultivator had given him so much, a life he could never have imagined as a child. For all that, Sen wasn¡¯t about to pretend that he cared more than he did. If things went the way Master Feng expected, the lie would be exposed before too long. It was better to be upfront about things. If he made his priorities clear, he hoped that it would prevent him from needing to say <em>no</em> to things he simply wouldn¡¯t doter. Master Feng let out a slow breath.


    ¡°It¡¯s so easy to forget how young you are. You¡¯ve advanced so fast. I have to keep reminding myself that you¡¯ve never seen a true war before. By the time most people reach your level of cultivation, they¡¯ve been through the fall of a few nations. You may hate those cultivators. You may hate everything they represent. You may also have to set it all aside. The storm that¡¯sing isn¡¯ting for one nation. It¡¯sing for all of humanity. If humanity is to survive it, you may find that joining hands with those people you hate is the only way to make it happen.¡±


    Sen shook his head. If survival came down to that, he wasn¡¯t entirely convinced that humanity deserved to survive. It¡¯d feel like giving his silent consent to enving mortals. If the alternative was a world where his daughter would be under siege for the rest of her existence, though, he might have to make that choice. Of course, if they seeded in ending the war, nothing said that Sen couldn¡¯t go on a little rampage if he found himself on the other side of the mountains. <em>Hells</em>, he thought, <em>it wouldn¡¯t be the first time I ushered in a change in political leadership</em>. <em>The gods know that those bastards almost certainly have iting</em>. He¡¯d killed people for much worse reasons than that they were vers.


    ¡°If there¡¯s no other choice, I may have to do as you say,¡± Sen agreed. ¡°But I hope you don¡¯t expect me to like it. And I hope they won¡¯t think it makes them safe from me.¡±


    Master Feng eyed Sen and then snorted.


    ¡°If you decide to throw yourself a little culling after the fact, I¡¯m certainly not going to stop you from doing it.¡±


    ¡°Are you looking for an invitation?¡± asked Sen.


    Master Feng stroked his chin thoughtfully before he said, ¡°Travel can be a lonely business. I expect I could be persuaded to keep youpany.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 8: Local Preparations

    ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to clue you in if and when the timees.¡±


    ¡°Future ns aside, what about your preparations here? I know what I see, but that¡¯s rarely the whole story. How are they progressing?¡±


    Sen frowned. His focus for the academy and the sect hadn¡¯t changed, not entirely, after Master Feng had told him about what the spirit beasts were nning. Of course, that was inrge part because he was already teaching mortals about how to kill spirit beasts. As for the cultivators, he wanted them prepared to defend Ai and the House of Lu. Preparing them for that and preparing them for a fight against hordes of spirit beasts were, much to his shock, not that far apart. Of course, close wasn¡¯t the same thing as identical. He¡¯d initially intended for the cultivator¡¯s martial training to focus on individualbat with only periodic forays into group tactics. He¡¯d seen that as the optimal choice because most cultivators fought each other one-on-one or fought an individual spirit beast.


    Those ns had changed. Now, individual and group tactics got an even split, which he recognized was to the detriment of both. True mastery required focus. He was essentially training people to bepetent in both areas. It wasn¡¯t an ideal situation, but it was the best solution he coulde up with when facing the certainty of theing war. Not that he¡¯d shared that information with most of the mortals or the cultivators, yet. It wasn¡¯t that Sen wanted to keep the information hidden. If anything, he wanted <em>everyone</em> to know. He was just worried about causing a panic.


    When he¡¯d gone to talk with Lai Dongmei about the situation, she had advised him to keep the information to a close circle for the time being. She had been the one who suggested that spreading the information around prematurely could cause more harm than good.


    ¡°How so?¡± he¡¯d asked.


    ¡°The prospect of a war is rightly terrifying to people. But, when you know the enemy and where they¡¯lle from, it can be a rallying point. Right now, all we know is that the enemy wille from the wilds, which is the same thing as saying the enemy coulde from anywhere. The longer that goes on, the more rumors will spread, and panic will follow the rumors. When people don¡¯t have information, they¡¯ll invent it. Let¡¯s say that people get it into their heads that the spirit beasts wille from the north, panicked farmers and vigers will flee south. The towns and cities there will be overwhelmed. That kind of chaos can only serve the spirit beasts¡¯ ends.¡±


    Sen had wanted to have a bit more faith in people, but he had been assured by Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, Uncle Kho, Jing, and leaders of every sect he¡¯d spoken with that Lai Dongmei had the right of it. In most cases, that certainty had stemmed from actually having seen it happen in the past, not once, but repeatedly. So, his own misgivings aside, he had kept the informationrgely to himself. Even so, he didn¡¯t want things at the academy or in town falling to pieces the first time that spirit beasts showed up looking for a bit of easy ughter. He had quietly but firmly instituted several ns designed to strengthen the defenses around and inside the town and academy.


    Much of that work had been masked as projects for some of the foundation formation and core cultivators. He¡¯d worked with Uncle Kho to develop a variety of defensive formations, then broken them down into pieces that the students could erect. He¡¯d cast working on the town walls as a kind of low-grade punishment. Those walls had been raised and reinforced over and over again. He¡¯d personally started addingyers of formations to them. The work was progressing, probably faster than he had any right to expect, but it wasn¡¯t fast. Solid formation work took time and knowledge. Reinforcing walls took time and energy. And all of it had to be assigned in usible ways. While Sen could acknowledge the probable need for secrecy, it also put a hard limit on how much could be done at any given time.Beyond that, installing those defenses had to be carried out around the rest of the work that everyone needed to do. Most cultivators needed blocks of time every single day to simply cultivate. Sen had broached the subject of teaching everyone the passive cultivation technique that he had learned from Master Feng. The elder cultivator had been immovable on the subject.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.


    ¡°Warse and go, Sen, but cultivators live a very long time. Once a technique gets out there, you can¡¯t ever take it back. I can think of at least twenty cultivators that I would never, <em>ever</em>, want to learn that technique.¡±


    While the answer annoyed him, it put him in mind of the conversation he¡¯d had with that coward of a patriarch who ran the Clear Spring Sect. They had talked about many things, but one of the things that stuck with him was that there were people who shouldn¡¯t be helped to advance. That passive cultivation technique would make advancing faster a real possibility for a lot of cultivators. It wouldn¡¯t be anything on the level of what Sen himself did, but it could reasonably shave decades off of the amount of time that a cultivator normally spent between advancements. Sen didn¡¯t need to think very hard about it toe up with his own list of people he wouldn¡¯t want to see advance faster.


    Nor did he feel even close to confident enough about the people in his sect to feel like they could all be trusted. Too many of them hade from other sects, and he found their reassurances that they had cut ties to be anything but reassuring. He had no intention of feeding secrets to people who might turn around and give them to their old sects. A fact that he¡¯d made no secret about to every single ex-sect member who had tried to join his sect. More than a dozen had simply left immediately when he told them straight out that he wasn¡¯t going to teach them anything they couldn¡¯t learn somewhere else. He was keeping a close eye on another half a dozen who hadn¡¯t hidden their emotions well enough. He¡¯d even taken it as far as not allowing anyone to leave the room with a pill or elixir he¡¯d made. They either had to take it in front of him or leave it with him until they were ready to take it. That had caused three people to disappear from one day to the next.


    Always needing to pay attention to what he shared with who was mentally taxing, which also didn¡¯t help with the preparations. The constant analysis and always needing to remember who knew what hadrgely resulted in him not sharing anything with anyone that he didn¡¯t consider public knowledge. Sen had to forcefully pull himself out of that quagmire of thoughts and focus on Master Feng.


    ¡°Slower than I¡¯d like,¡± said Sen. ¡°Training cultivators is a slow business no matter how you look at it. Having peoplee in who are already foundation formation and core formation helps, but it doesn¡¯t really advance the qi-condensing cultivators any faster. And needing to do everything in pieces slows everything down as well. I know why we have to do it that way, but I hate the dys.¡±


    ¡°Trust me. You¡¯ll hate it more when the need for secrecy is gone.¡±


    ¡°I expect you¡¯re right about that.¡±


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t decided what to do about the half-step mortals?¡± asked Master Feng.


    Sen groaned. That was something that Master Feng had pointed out to him nearly a year before. There were some mortals in the academy who were teetering right on the edge of bing qi-condensing cultivators. It would take nothing at all to nudge them over that line. Sen just wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to do that. He worried that he¡¯d be dangling the prospect of cultivation in front of them while knowing full well that they¡¯d likely just end up as victims in theing war. It felt like tricking them, and he¡¯d been so ambivalent about it that he kept pushing the decision off.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t. Or, I don¡¯t want to, which amounts to the same thing, I guess. I take it you think I should.¡±


    ¡°I think that it¡¯s going to be one of those decisions that haunts you either way. If you do help them be cultivators, there¡¯s a good chance that a lot of them will die. On the other hand, if you don¡¯t help them be cultivators, there¡¯s a good chance that a lot of them will die in some other way. It¡¯s not the kind of decision with an easy right answer. If you¡¯re asking if I¡¯d do it, the answer is probably yes.¡±


    Sen grunted to show that he¡¯d at least heard the other man¡¯s words. He didn¡¯t think that he had any business making these kinds of decisions, but he supposed he¡¯d given up that excuse when he¡¯d decided to start a sect in truth. As the patriarch, the ultimate responsibility was always his. While he didn¡¯t think anyone would me him for not wanting more blood on his hands, not making the decision wasn¡¯t a solution. He needed to make a choice about those half-step mortals and find a way to live with it.


    ¡°Do you think we can win this?¡± Sen asked, eager to change the subject. ¡°I mean, I have no idea how many spirit beasts there are on this continent. Are we preparing for a war where we¡¯ll simply be swallowed up by sheer numbers?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always a chance at victory. And spirit beasts aren¡¯t like human beings. They may well develop some tactics to use against us, but not every single spirit beast is going to be thinking at a human level. Many of them are simply going to be driven in a direction and hurled against us. That doesn¡¯t make them easy to deal with, but it does make them <em>easier</em> to deal with. We can lean on superior tactics and some reinforced mortal construction to help level the field. We¡¯ll also be able to use their animal natures against them. In the end, though, I think it¡¯s going to depend on how well and how quickly we can organize and coordinate our efforts.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be ugly, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 9: The Cold Blade

    Long Jia Wei stood in the shadow of a tree. He did his best to suppress a shudder as he watched Lord Lu and Fate¡¯s Razor discussing something. Like many others, he¡¯d believed that Fate¡¯s Razor was a myth made from whole cloth or some ancient cultivator who had ascended long since. Meeting the man, however brief it had been, was one of those experiences that had seared itself into his memory. As frightening as Lord Lu could be, he was eclipsed by the older cultivator. To Long Jia Wei¡¯s senses and intuition, Feng Ming was power incarnate. Not the kind of power that normal cultivators wielded. He was more like a force of nature. He was wind or the tides or some other iprehensibly vast <em>thing</em> that could and would swallow the unwary in its passage.


    He sighed a little in relief as the two men walked away to continue their discussion in private. Based on their expressions, they were discussing theing war. He supposed that everyone with real power was privately discussing the war all of the time. If they weren¡¯t, they were fools. He was not one of those people, but he was adjacent to some of them. He¡¯d pieced some of it together from snippets of conversation he¡¯d heard before Lord Lu had simply told him outright what wasing and then sworn him to secrecy. Long Jia Wei had been a little surprised that he¡¯d been informed, but not the way he might have been a year earlier. He¡¯d been making a genuine and ongoing effort to prove himself useful to Lu Sen. There were many reasons for that effort.


    Some of it was simple gratitude. Judgment¡¯s Gale could have killed him at any moment and had chosen not to end him. While an assassin had to ept the possibility of death, it didn¡¯t make him any less happy to be alive. He also never let himself forget the conversation in which the insanely powerful young man said he was giving Long Jia Wei room to prove himself untrustworthy. Over thest year, fear and gratitude hadrgely morphed into a deep respect for Lu Sen. Long Jia Wei wouldn¡¯t say that he understood the man, but he hade to understand some of what drove the other cultivator. The man had an abiding sympathy for mortals. Few things would rouse his master to rage and violence like the senseless death and injury of mortals.


    It was a sympathy that Long Jia Wei shared. He¡¯d spent more time moving among mortals than most cultivators. He¡¯d passed himself off as a mortal more than once to achieve his missions. He saw exactly how they were treated. He also saw how they behaved with each other when not stifled by a cultivator¡¯s presence. There were only two real differences between them and cultivators. Power and experience. Cultivators had more power. Mortals, ironically, often seemed to have more experience. They seemed to learn more and get more from everything that happened to them. He believed it was because their lives were so much shorter. They examined their lives more deeply, and drew more meaning from them, precisely because their lives were so brief. It was easy to ignore lessons when you knew you had centuries before you.


    Of course, one of the most powerful things that drove Judgment¡¯s Gale was embodied in the tiny,ughing figure that was ying with the Xie children. Long Jia Wei hade to check on her, as he did several times every day. Nor was he alone in that activity. That little girl, Ai, was Lord Lu¡¯s chosen family, and the man took family as a deadly serious matter. A fact that was not lost on anyone who wished to remain in his good graces. There might be better-protected children <em>somewhere</em> on the continent, but Long Jia Wei would have wagered a small fortune that he could count them on one hand. At any given time, there were mortals, cultivators, and frequently nascent soul demigods within sight of that child who would unhesitatingly cut down anything suicidal enough to threaten her.


    He didn¡¯t know exactly what kind of world-ending event would follow if anyone managed to hurt that little girl. He only knew that he wanted to be dead, having done his best to defend her, before that event urred. Because Long Jia Wei had no desire to watch the <em>entire </em>world burn as Judgment¡¯s Gale took his revenge. It was one reason why he wished that Ai had not chosen to befriend the Xie children. Most of them were fine, but some of them had that look in their eye. They remembered what they¡¯d had, what they¡¯d lost, and they didn¡¯t intend to let it go unanswered. He¡¯d had that look in his own eyes long ago, and he¡¯d gotten his vengeance on the edge of a dagger. He frowned but decided that it probably wasn¡¯t a problem he needed to address today. In a few more years, though, he worried that some of those Xie children might need to vanish. He was not looking forward to that day. Lord Lu would never ask him to do something like that, but some threats couldn¡¯t be tolerated.


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    ncing around, he saw plenty of defenders loitering in varying degrees of conspicuousness. Not that Ai understood what they were doing. She mostly seemed to see them as her ¡°big¡± friends, which he supposed wasn¡¯t that far from the truth. Even he¡¯d been charmed by the little girl and gotten himself dragged into some of her games when she decided she needed another body involved. Still, she was adequately protected at the moment, which meant he could get on with his next unpleasant task. He slipped away from the open area where the children usually yed and made his way into one of the buildings where the cultivators lived. He personally thought Lord Lu was providing them with more luxury than was appropriate, but his former sect had been rather short on luxury and long on discipline.


    He got more than a few uncertain looks as he moved through the building. He had no official role in the sect. There was no office where he could be found. It was how he liked it, and Lord Lu had been content to leave his situation vague. The only thing that people really knew was that he only answered to Judgment¡¯s Gale. That uncertainty had given rise to all kinds of entertaining rumors that he had made no effort to squash. He¡¯d also picked up an unofficial title in the sect. The Cold de. It sounded utterly melodramatic to Long Jia Wei, but he supposed it spoke to the uncertainty and fear that surrounded him. Both things that he actively encouraged. He wanted people nervous about him because that could solve a lot of problems before they started. It wasn¡¯t anything like the fear that Lu Sen inspired, fortunately. That kind of fear was more of a hindrance than a help in that it started as many fights as it stopped.He drew to a stop in front of a particr door. He weighed the advantages and disadvantages of knocking before he simply opened the door and walked in. The person he was there to see was sitting at the stone table that every room had. There was even a scroll open on the table, but neither the man he¡¯de to see nor the woman who was also in the room was paying any attention to the scroll. Long Jia Wei fixed his gaze on the woman.


    ¡°Leave,¡± he ordered.


    She looked startled, initially, and then like she was about to burst into an angry protest. He watched as that impulse faded. She¡¯d figured out who he was. Her eyes went from his face to the daggers he always carried before they moved to the man. She stood and left the room without looking back. The man watched her go with a stricken look on his face that turned fearful when his gaze turned to Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± demanded the man.


    Long Jia Wei ignored the question and walked over to the table. He scooped up the scroll and nced at it. <em>Oh</em>, <em>the irony</em>, thought Long Jia Wei. It was a treatise on honorable behavior, one of a very, very few that Lord Lu believed contained something on the subject worth reading. He dropped the scroll back on the table before he looked at the man.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for you to leave,¡± said Long Jia Wei.


    ¡°This is preposterous!¡± the man shouted. ¡°I demand to¡ª¡±


    Long Jia Wei summoned a pile of correspondence the man had tried to send to his supposedly former sect that had been intercepted. They fell from the storage ring and spilled onto the table like an expanding pool of damning water. They were all open, which meant that Long Jia Wei knew what they contained. They were essentially lists and descriptions of everyone at the sect, including best-guess assessments of their strengths and weaknesses. The man stared at the pile with his mouth still open and fear in his eyes. He didn¡¯t look away from the pile until he felt the edge of the de against his throat.


    ¡°You should be very grateful that Lord Lu is a <em>kind</em> man. He¡¯s simply sending you away. I would have sent you home one piece at a time, starting with your lying tongue. Be on the road in five minutes. Do not ever return.¡±


    Long Jia Wei pulled the dagger away from the man¡¯s throat and pointed at the door with it. The man rose and walked out, trying to put on a proud air as though he¡¯d aplished something grand and worthy. Shaking his head, Long Jia Wei put the evidence back into his storage ring. He followed the man out of the building and watched him disappear down the road. He made a show of walking into a building that he almost immediately slipped out of again. He trailed the spy for hours. The man eventually made camp for the night. After being spotted so easily during that disastrous attempt on Lu Sen¡¯s life a year ago, Long Jia Wei had put a lot of effort into improving his stealth. The man didn¡¯t so much as flinch until the dagger plunged through his back and into his heart. The other dagger opened the man¡¯s throat. The damage was enough that it would kill the man, given a little time, but Long Jia Wei wasn¡¯t in the habit of taking stupid chances. He kicked the man in the head. Hard. It was very difficult to put together a qi technique after a blow like that.


    ¡°I imagine you¡¯re wondering why,¡± said Long Jia Wei as he stared down at the dying man with cold, cold eyes. ¡°Lord Lu is a kind man. <em>I am</em><em>not</em>.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 10: An Unfortunate Parting

    Sen watched Wu Meng Yao conduct the ss from the concealment of a shadow. He¡¯d rarely done more than take quick glimpses of her teaching, mostly because he trusted that she didn¡¯t need the supervision. Unlike two other instructors he¡¯d only decided to let stay on a whim. They¡¯d both pled their cases well enough and seemed to have settled their differences. Or, at the very least, they¡¯d learned not to share their animosity publicly, which he decided was good enough. She¡¯d only gotten better since thest time he¡¯d stayed and watched. He expected some of it was raw experience. She wasn¡¯t as nervous, so she wasn¡¯t thinking so hard about everyst thing that came out of her mouth. She also knew now where and when to focus her attention. <em>It figures</em>, thought Sen. <em>But I always knew this day wasing</em>.


    He waited until thest of the students filed out before he revealed himself. He¡¯d learned the hard way that his presence was just about the single most disruptive thing that could happen in one of these sses short of what an actual attack on the academy might provoke. He was <em>hiding</em>, so it took her a few moments to notice him standing there. She let out a startled little shriek. Sen wanted to feel bad about the minor fright, except the look on her face was so funny that he couldn¡¯t quite manage it. He must not have hidden his thoughts quite well enough because she narrowed her eyes at him.


    ¡°Not funny,¡± she said. ¡°How long have you been there anyway?¡±


    ¡°Since the ss started,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°What? Seriously?¡±


    ¡°How is this kind of thing still a surprise to you?¡± asked Sen, honestly perplexed.


    ¡°It¡¯s unnatural, for one. No one as powerful as you should be able to go unnoticed like that. Most can¡¯t. That¡¯s just such an unfair advantage.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, I am magnificent.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m one hundred percent sure that wasn¡¯t the thing you should have taken from thosements. With all due respect to the Patriarch.¡±Sen sighed. <em>She¡¯s never going to let that go</em>, he thought.


    ¡°And, yet, here we are.¡±


    He noticed her eyeing him in an odd way.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    She hemmed and hawed for a little while before she finally said, ¡°You didn¡¯t used to be quite that, well, pale.¡±


    ¡°I know. I keep hoping it¡¯s going to be temporary.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± she asked, before hurriedly adding, ¡°I mean, if it¡¯s not too personal. I didn¡¯t mean to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Breathe,¡±manded Sen. ¡°It¡¯s just a side effect of myst advancement. I¡¯m honestly not sure what caused it.¡±


    She frowned and studied him a little harder.


    ¡°You¡¯re not nascent soul, yet. I don¡¯t think.¡±


    ¡°Body cultivation.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s easy to forget that you¡¯re a dual cultivator.¡±


    The conversation was swiftly heading down a path Sen didn¡¯t particrly want to go. He trusted Wu Meng Yao but only to an extent. She was merely visiting and would return to her sect, a sect that didn¡¯t hold much love for him. He wasn¡¯t eager to share too many details about his cultivation with them.


    ¡°I¡¯m given to understand that you intend to leave soon,¡± said Sen, very obviously changing the subject.


    Wu Meng Yao¡¯s face went pensive. He hadn¡¯t been subtle. Changing the subject was a very clear statement that she wasn¡¯t to be given certain kinds of information. A reluctant eptance reced her serious expression. Of course, that pensiveness might have been from something else. The timing of her departure was a little <em>too</em> coincidental for Sen¡¯s taste. He suspected that she either knew what wasing, suspected it from things she¡¯d overheard, or had been told by her own sect. Of course, that might just have been a rumor until she nodded her head.


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    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, seeming to choose her words with care. ¡°You have more than enough people here to teach now. People who are better than me.¡±


    Sen waggled a hand in the air and said, ¡°Better is subjective. More powerful? Sure? More experienced? Maybe. Better teachers? Not really.¡±


    She seemed a bit embarrassed by the praise. At least, he hoped it was the praise. It had been a while since they were in the same room together. His ridiculous paleness hadn¡¯t seemed to lessen the attention he got, when he noticed it was happening at all.


    ¡°I appreciate the kind words, Patriarch,¡± she said after an awkward pause.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± said Sen. ¡°So, when will you leave?¡±


    ¡°A week. Maybe two. Transitioning the students to a new teacher may take some doing. Why?¡±


    Sen hesitated before he asked, ¡°How much do you know about what¡¯s happening? In the world, I mean.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao frowned before she started to chew her bottom lip.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything for sure. I¡¯ve made some educated guesses based on what I¡¯ve seen here and heard. Some kind of conflict is brewing, but no one is talking about it openly.¡±


    ¡°There are very good reasons behind them not talking openly about it,¡± said Sen. ¡°In ordance with that, I¡¯m going to ask you to do something. I¡¯m also going to ask you not to ask me a lot of questions about it.¡±


    She narrowed her eyes at him again. She obviously didn¡¯t like the idea of doing something without having all the information. He could appreciate that, but he was still going to insist that she do it mostly blind.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I want you to deliver something to Elder Deng,¡± said Sen.


    He summoned a sealed box from his storage ring and held it out to her. She stared at the box with clear suspicion. She did not move to take it.


    ¡°What¡¯s in it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Something useful, I hope,¡± said Sen. ¡°Something we¡¯ll all need, assuming it works.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not an answer.¡±


    ¡°It <em>is</em> an answer,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯s just not a particrly informative one.¡±


    ¡°Given your history with my sect, how am I supposed to know that box doesn¡¯t contain some kind of alchemical weapon designed to kill everyone there?¡±


    ¡°Do I really seem that petty to you?¡±


    ¡°Did you or did you not destroy a great noble house? After which, didn¡¯t you bring all of their children here to act as hostages to keep the parents in line?¡±


    Sen took a beat to consider those questions.


    ¡°I believe that¡¯s all more or less urate.¡±


    ¡°And, as I understand it, you¡¯re actively preventing those children from learning how to use weapons or be cultivators. Is that also true?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Then, I believe I can safely say that you do seem that petty,¡± said Wu Meng Yao.


    Sen just stared at her for about five seconds. That had been a cheap shot, and he didn¡¯t understand where it hade from. He didn¡¯t believe for a moment that Wu Meng Yao was <em>that</em> na?ve. What he¡¯d done with the Xie family was not ideal by any measure, but there hadn¡¯t been an ideal solution. That was a long way from sending a weapon to a sect that he¡¯d had practically zero contact with in years. There was bad history there, but not bad enough to justify doing something like that. He supposed that this was some kind of test. It wasn¡¯t clear if it hade directly from her or if she was acting on the orders of her sect. And he didn¡¯t care. There was far too much going on for him to entertain this kind of stupidity even from old friends. He simply nodded and returned the box to his storage ring.


    ¡°You can leave <em>now</em>,¡± he said, summoning a pouch with some money in it and dropping it on the floor. ¡°That should cover thest of your wages. We¡¯ll manage with the sses. I still have business with Shen Mingxia, but I¡¯ll see to it that she¡¯s returned safely to your sect.¡±


    Wu Meng Yao looked panicked. He didn¡¯t know what she¡¯d thought his response to that was going to be, but banishing her from his sect clearly hadn¡¯t urred to her. Maybe she really did think he was untrustworthy, petty, and dangerous to her sect. If that was the case, though, then she truly didn¡¯t know or understand him at all. If that test hade from her sect, he¡¯d only ever been one excuse away from dismissing them entirely from his world. He was almost certain that some elder at the Soaring Skies Sect had ordered her to do something like this. It was too out of character for her to be that stupid and confrontational. So, now he had his excuse.


    ¡°Wait¡ª¡± said Wu Meng Yao.


    ¡°There is going toe a time, soon, when your sect is going to ask why I have no use for them, and why they have been excluded. Tell them that this stupid little game is why.¡±


    Sen strode past the other cultivator, who kept trying in vain to make him wait, to make him listen, to provide excuses. He paused when he reached the door. As angry as the ill-conceived test had made him, he had always liked Wu Meng Yao. He¡¯d prefer it if she didn¡¯t die because some moron ordered her to do something so utterly asinine.


    ¡°You should find a new sect. You should tell Elder Deng that I advise him to do the same.¡±


    Real fear crossed Wu Meng Yao¡¯s face at those words.


    ¡°You¡¯re not¡­ You¡¯re not going to destroy them, are you?¡±


    Sen met her fear with a cool, distant expression.


    ¡°I won¡¯t need to.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 11: Readiness

    Book 9: Chapter 11: Readiness


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to be ready,¡± said Sen.


    He¡¯d felt Falling Leaf approaching, although he wouldn¡¯t have needed any particr skill to know it was her. He could count on one hand the number of people who could even considering out into the wilds to find him. The number of people who <em>would</em> was even smaller.


    ¡°Is this because you sent the sect girl away?¡± asked Falling Leaf as she stepped around the massive tree Sen was leaning against.


    There had been a predatory presence in the tree above him for a while. Sen had been waiting to see if it would decide to attack him or not, although it was entertaining to feel it flee after Falling Leaf joined him. <em>I guess that was too much concentrated danger for it</em>, he thought before turning his attention to the ghost panther¡¯s question.


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± said Sen. ¡°She did something stupid, almost certainly on orders from someone in her sect. While she didn¡¯t know that a war wasing, not specifically, I¡¯d be willing to bet the leadership in her sect does know it. Yet, they¡¯re <em>still</em> ying games. Trying to figure <em>me</em> out instead of focusing on the enemy. If they¡¯re still this easily distracted with the threats looming over us all, we¡¯re in a lot of trouble.¡±


    Falling Leaf peered at Sen before she turned and leaned against the tree trunk next to him. She let him brood for a few more minutes before she spoke again.


    ¡°Do you think it is your responsibility to protect them all?¡±


    Sen gave her a sharp look.


    ¡°All of the humans, you mean?¡±Falling Leaf nodded. Sen leaned his head back against the tree and considered that for quite a while. He didn¡¯t know how to answer the question. On the surface, he wanted to say no. He wanted to protect what was his. The problem that Master Feng had at least obliquely tried to point out to him was that protecting the people he loved might require protecting everyone. Separating one from the other might not <em>be</em> possible. While Sen trusted in his own strength, and the strength of those around him, there were limits to everything. If the rest of humanity fell, the town and academy could probably hold out for a while, but it would prove a temporary reprieve. Even nascent soul cultivators needed rest sometimes.


    Beyond that, time would eventually do in the mortals. There simply weren¡¯t enough people in the town to keep humanity going. At least, Sen didn¡¯t think so. He¡¯d have to talk to Auntie Caihong to be sure, but he thought his intuition was right about that. They could not survive as an ind, no matter how desperately Sen wished that they could. In the end, they would have to work with others. Worse, they would have to <em>trust</em> others to do their parts, and Sen had run exceedingly short on trust in thest ten years. He¡¯d read a phrase in one of Uncle Kho¡¯s many history scrolls that hadn¡¯t made much sense to him at the time. War breeds peculiar marriages. He thought he understood it better now. He could almost see thepromises he¡¯d be forced to make if he chose to involve himself, and he didn¡¯t see how he could avoid involving himself if he was going to protect what was his.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s solely my responsibility to protect them,¡± Sen finally said. ¡°I don¡¯t think any one man could, not even Master Feng. At the same time, I¡¯m absurdly strong for my level of advancement. Probably as strong as most early nascent soul cultivators. I¡¯d be an asset in any fight. I¡¯m also close to people who will be crucial in keeping humanity alive. You know Master Feng will get involved. I¡¯d be shocked if Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho didn¡¯t get involved. Jing can¡¯t help but y a key role. I can¡¯t hole up here in my academy and do nothing while they go off and fight.¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°What of the madwoman?¡± asked Falling Leaf, a kind of grim humor in her eyes.


    ¡°I think we should all pray that she <em>doesn¡¯t</em> get involved. I can¡¯t see anything gooding from that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right. Then again, spirit beast wars are madness. If human war is like that, it might be the only ce she can belong.¡±


    Sen fell silent at those words. She might be right. A part of him worried that she was right. The idea brought him nofort.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± he said. ¡°I think that might be a terrible and sad thing for her, though.¡±


    Sen looked at Falling Leaf. Her green eyes were fixed on something in the distance. She looked calm, far calmer than he felt. He¡¯d avoided thinking too much about what role, if any, she might y in the uing war. He doubted that she would see it as any particr loss if humanity was wiped away. She¡¯d always been more spirit beast than human. Of course, she wasn¡¯t especially sympathetic to the spirit beast cause either. They had not treated her people well. If there was anyone who deserved to sit this war out, it was her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to fight,¡± he said. ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t think you should fight. You don¡¯t owe humanity anything. That¡¯s for certain.¡±


    ¡°You always say such foolish things. Of course, I don¡¯t owe humanity anything. I don¡¯t care about humanity. But they wille for you. No, they will target you. If they are truly stupid, they will target your kit.¡±


    She¡¯d given voice to the nightmare that had haunted him for thest year. He wasn¡¯t worried about himself. He could take care of himself. The image he¡¯d never been able to get free of was of one of the damn bear-cat spirit beasts stalking and killing Ai while he was off fighting somewhere else. On one level, he recognized that the chances of anything ever getting that close to her were low. There were too many people far too invested in her safety for that. On the other hand, fear didn¡¯t care very much about what was reasonable.


    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d let them take my human boy from me? Do you imagine I¡¯d let them take Ai from you?¡± she asked before her face went stony. ¡°And I owe them all a debt of blood. I will fight.¡±


    That startled Sen. Falling Leaf had always been very in the now, focused on surviving the day, and seemedrgely unconcerned about the past. <em>Maybe that was just a way to protect her sanity</em>, he thought. When it was just her, there had been very little she could do about what had happened to her people. She could have run off and started killing other spirit beasts, but the chances of getting at those who had decided to hunt the ghost panthers to near extinction were poor at best. In a full-blown war with humanity, though, those spirit beasts would inevitably be exposed and vulnerable, at least some of the time. It was an opportunity for vengeance she might not otherwise get. That desire for revenge could be a good motivator, but it could also make for really terrible decisions. Not that he¡¯d try to stop her. Even if he thought he could, which he didn¡¯t, she had the right to avenge her people if that¡¯s what she wanted.


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want,¡± he said.


    ¡°It is. You won¡¯t try to stop me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll want to,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll hate every second that you¡¯re in danger. But¡­ No, I won¡¯t try to stop you. Even if I¡¯m starting to think that we might be doomed already.¡±


    ¡°Forget the sect girl and her masters. Even if they have decided to be stupid, I have not.¡±


    Sen lifted an eyebrow. That was a peculiar thing for her to say.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means that I have taken action. Come with me. There is someone you should meet.¡±


    Sen was bbergasted. Had Falling Leaf made a friend? He knew it was possible. She¡¯d befriended him. She hadn¡¯t mentioned anyone, though. A sh of jealousy coursed through him before he squashed it. Wasn¡¯t that what he¡¯d always hoped for? That she would make connections that went beyond him. Of course, all of that thinking died the moment that she activated a qinggong technique and started moving <em>deeper</em> into the wilds. The only things out there were more spirit beasts. Sen wasn¡¯t sure he liked where all of this was headed, but Falling Leaf had earned unquestioning trust from him long ago. If she said he needed to meet someone, then he believed her. He activated his own qinggong technique and raced after the ghost panther.

 Book 9: Chapter 12: Dubious Alliance

    As the pair traveled deeper and deeper into the wilds, Sen had a dawning realization. All those times that Falling Leaf had disappeared into the wilds, she hadn¡¯t just been avoiding humans or hunting. He was sure those had been the reasons some of the time, but she had clearly been executing some strategy of her own. Part of him shuddered at the thought of her out here, <em>alone</em>, looking like a human in what could only be described as hostile territory. That thought made Sen pause mentally. The wilds had always been hostile territory, even before he knew there was some kind of spirit beast ruler nning a war. However, the danger stemmed from the difference in advancement between the person, or transformed ghost panther, and the spirit beasts.


    While Falling Leaf had lost some ground rtive to Sen, her advancement had been substantial since leaving the mountain. Spirit beasts didn¡¯t progress in stages the way that cultivators did, which made assessing her exact strength tricky. Still, he¡¯d put her approximate strength somewhere in the upper-middle range of core formation. Spirit beasts also enjoyed strength, speed, and durability gains as they advanced. It wasn¡¯t an improvement on the same level as body cultivation but dwarfed the physical benefits that pure spirit cultivators got from advancing. In short, Sen realized that he¡¯d been drastically underestimating Falling Leaf¡¯s power.


    It was only in contrast to someone like him, or the nascent soul cultivators that seemed to flock around him, that Falling Leaf looked underpowered. There were spirit beasts deeper into the wilds that could pose legitimate threats to her, like that dragon they¡¯d met, but probably not very many. This close to the road and human civilization, she probably <em>was</em> the peak predator in the area when she could be bothered with it. The sick feeling that had seized Sen at the thought of her traveling by herself in these untamed ces loosened its grip. He didn¡¯t feel entirely better. There was always the possibility of ambushes or being overwhelmed by numbers, but he could at least push away the fear that some random beast she couldn¡¯t handle was going to pounce on her in an unwary moment.


    Falling Leaf finally drew to a halt, having led Sen to a secluded little spot with a sizeable cave entrance in the side of a rocky hill that was almostrge enough to qualify as a cliff. Sen observed the opening in the rock for several seconds before he turned a questioning eye to the ghost panther. If they were going in, he wanted to get on with it. If they were waiting for something, he wanted to know what it was. Instead of answering, she just held up a hand to indicate that he should be patient. Sen sighed. Patience wasn¡¯t always his strongest suit. It was easy enough to be patient when he was doing alchemy or working on formations because waiting between steps was part of the process. He thought of those moments or hours as productive patience. He wasn¡¯t just waiting. He was waiting with intention. Doing nothing while he hoped that something might eventually happen did not feel productive to him.


    He resisted the urge to extend his spiritual sense. He¡¯d been masking his presence this entire time to avoid drawing too much attention to himself. He wasn¡¯t quite <em>hiding,</em> because he didn¡¯t want to blind himself that much in this environment. Anyone who sensed him would likely mistake him for little more than a peak foundation formation cultivator. It was a technique he didn¡¯t use that often because it invited trouble from sect cultivators looking to be fools, and he preferred not to have every journey he took turn into a bloodbath. Unfortunately, extending his spiritual sense would require dropping the masking technique and revealing his true strength. <em>Better to save that in case something unfortunate happens</em>, thought Sen. So, he did his best to marshal his patience and waited.


    A few minutester, he saw movement in the cave. At first, it was just a vaguely human shape in the darkness, but it slowly resolved itself into something decidedly inhuman. It vaguely reminded him of Boulder¡¯s Shadow, the only other ghost panther Sen knew was alive. It was a big creature that seemed caught somewhere between a true spirit beast and a full-blown human transformation like Falling Leaf. Where Boulder¡¯s Shadow had a feline quality, this creature was lupine. It still had some of the elongated snout and the sharp ears. As it drew closer, Sen saw that white fur covered every inch of the creature, or almost every inch. It wore a loose loincloth. Sen briefly wondered why but was mostly just grateful to be spared the sight of the creature¡¯s manhood. He assumed it was male at any rate. It had the heavier build that Sen associated with men. When it stepped out of the cave, it gave a respectful nod to Falling Leaf. Then it turned yellow eyes on Sen.


    ¡°Falling Leaf, why have you brought this weak creature before me?¡±


    Sen saw the corners of Falling Leaf¡¯s lips twitch as she suppressed a smile. <em>Oh</em>, thought Sen. <em>She did this on purpose</em>. <em>She could have let me in on the n</em>, <em>whatever the n is</em>. Before the ghost panther could answer, Sen felt a swell of qi from the wolf spirit beast. It didn¡¯t coalesce into a traditional qi attack but rather took the form of something akin to Sen¡¯s own auric imposition. The aura descended on Sen, trying to hammer him to the ground, or maybe find purchase in some nonexistent crack in his defenses. He honestly wasn¡¯t sure what the wolf meant to aplish, and it didn¡¯t matter in the end. The technique crashed into Sen and shattered like ss. The wolf staggered and turned an expression on him that Sen interpreted as a stunned. He wasn¡¯t sure, though. Reading these partially transformed spirit beasts was more like guessing than knowing.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.¡°Wind of Winter,¡± said Falling Leaf with a look of smug satisfaction on her face, ¡°this is Lu Sen. Also known as¡ª¡±


    ¡°The Blue Demon!¡± shouted the wolf.


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Sen as turned to look at Falling Leaf. ¡°Did you tell him to call me that?¡±


    The ghost panther smiled, clearly amused, but also shook her head.


    ¡°It¡¯s no doing of mine,¡± she said. ¡°Your reputation grows by the day.¡±


    ¡°Of all the names, though? That one? I miss the times when everyone called me Judgment¡¯s Gale. That was just annoying. The Blue Demon sounds like something that intends to be insulting.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you should be less frightening,¡± offered Falling Leaf.


    The ghost panther appeared more entertained by the second, while the wolf looked like he just wanted to run away and hide.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t helpful,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t meant to be,¡± answered Falling Leaf.


    ¡°I knew I let you spend too much time with Laughing River.¡±


    ¡°Any time with him is too much time,¡± said the ghost panther.


    Sen was generally of the same opinion, so he turned his attention back to the wolf. The formerly overbearing spirit beast shrank back a little from Sen¡¯s focused attention.


    ¡°I assume you¡¯re having us meet for more than your own amusement,¡± Sen said to Falling Leaf without looking away from the wolf.


    ¡°I am,¡± said the ghost panther. ¡°Not every spirit beast is interested in joining the self-proimed Beast King. Much like my people, the ice wolves declined to submit. The results were simr.¡±


    Winds of Winter shook his head.


    ¡°No. My people survived. Far, far in the north, there are still packs. They are small, well-hidden, but enough to rebuild someday,¡± he said before his voice descended into a more animalistic growl. ¡°Yet, we crave vengeance as you do. Our leaders were killed. Packs fell by the score. The snows ran red with our blood. We would visit the same kindnesses on those who perpetrated these horrors.¡±


    Sen felt his eyebrows draw together. He still wasn¡¯t sure what this was all about. He didn¡¯t think that the idea was for some spirit beasts to fight alongside them. It was a truly terrible notion. There was too high a likelihood of some kind of ¡°ident¡± happening in which the nominally friendly spirit beasts were killed by overeager cultivators. If not that, though, then what?


    ¡°If you¡¯re interested in killing other spirit beasts who follow the Beast King, I¡¯m all for that,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯m just not sure why we¡¯re meeting. You don¡¯t need my help for that.¡±


    ¡°There are many spirit beasts who found their races all but wiped from existence. They are angry, yearning for vengeance, but rtively few in number,¡± exined Falling Leaf. ¡°They cannot hope to defeat the Beast King. Not alone. What they can do is travel in the wilds with far greater freedom than any human or cultivator.¡±


    Sen finally understood.


    ¡°Spies,¡± said Sen. ¡°They can provide us with information. Warn us about where spirit beast attacks are likely to happen. They help themselves by helping us weaken the Beast King and his horde.¡±


    Falling Leaf nodded, seeming happy that Sen understood. It sounded great, on the surface at least, but there were a lot of potential problems. The biggest problem was the issue of trust. Feeding bad information to Sen, other cultivators, or the mortal human forces would be a ridiculously easy way to ensure that strength was concentrated somewhere other than the intended target. While this particr wolf might have a legitimate grudge, it was clear that he was just representing some kind of group. A group that might or might not have simr goals to Sen. A group he sincerely doubted had any intention of ever putting themselves in a position where he could reach them personally. A group that would also likely balk at being asked to make vows to the heavens to assure Sen of their good intentions.


    On the other hand, there were very few cultivators who could safely navigate the deep wilds. Those with the necessary strength or stealth were few and far between. Beyond that, any human in the deep wilds would have to gopletely unobserved. At the very first sighting, they would be hunted relentlessly if they got anywhere near the Beast King¡¯s forces. Spirit beasts, even ones fromrgely extinct races, would draw less suspicion if they were seen. It wouldn¡¯t be hazard-free by any stretch of the imagination. If the Beast King¡¯s mind worked at all, he would have to realize that the survivors of any of his purges, and who knew how many of those had happened, would likely be looking for any way to strike back at him. If he was smart, he¡¯d have left standing orders to kill any of those races that were found.


    Oddly, that did alleviate some of Sen¡¯s trust concerns. It was possible that there might be some turncoats in the mix, but probably fewer than Sen feared. Ultimately, he¡¯d have to treat the information he got from the spirit beasts with the same suspicion that he treated information from any questionably reliable source. But even dubious information would be better than thepleteck of information he had avable now. Questionable information could be, in theory, verified. He looked back and forth between Falling Leaf and Winds of Winter.


    ¡°Well,¡± he said, ¡°how do you two see this working?¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 13: Flawed Strategy

    If Sen were capable of getting headaches from something other than a horrible injury, he was certain that he would have had one by the time he and Falling Leaf left the ice wolf in his cave. At the very least, he was frustrated. Sen had imagined returning to the academy triumphant with a solution to one of their biggest problems firmly in hand. What he¡¯d gotten was¡­ It wasn¡¯t exactly nothing, but he hesitated to call it something. When they¡¯d gotten into actual discussion, a few things became abundantly clear to Sen. First, the wolf was terrified of him, personally. Second, whatever group the wolf was representing wasn¡¯t even pretending to give a damn about human survival.


    It was obvious that they wanted to use humans and human cultivators, in particr, as a hammer to smash their enemies. Anything that deviated from that particr goal was not of interest to them. Objectives like providing information that let humanity preserve cities and the infrastructure there weren¡¯t on the table. A fact that would have be clearer, sooner, if the wolf wasn¡¯t so damned afraid of him. Instead of being upfront about it, though, the wolf tried to sidestep anything he thought might send Sen into a murderous, wolf-ughtering rage. Unfortunately, that list seemed to include just about anything that might make Sen unhappy to hear. By the end of the conversation, Sen was very nearly in the rage state that Winds of Winter seemed so keen to avoid. He¡¯d finally lost his temper.


    ¡°Listen,¡± Sen said through clenched teeth, ¡°I get that you¡¯d probably be almost as happy as the rest of those spirit beasts to see every human being in the world die.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t me interrupt me again. I¡¯ve been sitting here, listening to you make excuses for almost two hours. Now, it¡¯s your turn to listen.¡±


    Winds of Winter slowly closed his jaws and lowered his eyes. Sen nodded in approval before he continued.


    ¡°I understand that helping humanity isn¡¯t even on your list of priorities. Frankly, I¡¯d have called you a liar if you tried to pretend that it was. But what you want is to throw us at your enemies, leaving us and the Beast King weak. All so that you can swoop in and kill off everyone that¡¯s left in the end. It¡¯s so obvious that it¡¯s painful. So, I¡¯ll tell you now that it¡¯s not going to happen that way. No matter who wins this war, you will not be left in charge. You might survive. You might im back some territory in the wilds, but you will never rule thesends.


    ¡°These are your options. You can take your chances with the Beast King, but I think we all know where that leads. You can sit out the war and hope humanity wins. You can throw in with us. If you throw in with us, though, you don¡¯t get it all your own way. You <em>will</em> have to help us achieve some of our goals. One of which is preserving a substantial human poption and some of our bigger cities. That is the message you are to take back to your group.¡±


    Winds of Winter was trying to keep the baleful re out of his eyes and failing spectacrly. Sen supposed being told t out that their strategy was transparent and wasn¡¯t going to happen wasn¡¯t great political maneuvering on his part. He supposed that he should have yed along and pretended he didn¡¯t understand what they were trying to do. Then, he could have tried to use them while they tried to use him and the rest of the human cultivators. Except, Sen wasn¡¯t good at those games, didn¡¯t like them, and suspected he¡¯d get people killed trying to y them. The good news was that he was in the stronger position. The rogue spirit beasts could provide something he desperately wanted. That let them negotiate up to a point.On the other hand, only he and the rest of humanity could provide them with the thing they absolutely <em>needed</em>. They needed the Beast King, his immediate underlings, and a massive portion of his forces destroyed. They needed that for their long-term survival. More importantly, it had to be a decisive victory. Just pushing the Beast King back into the wilds for a few centuries wouldn¡¯t help the rogue spirit beasts. It would probably spell their final doom. Sen recognized it, and he could only hope that they recognized it. If not, nothing would save them. If humanity lost the war, it would be just as bad. That would give the Beast King all the time in the world to finish what he¡¯d started with the spirit beast races he¡¯d mostly killed off.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°I understand,¡± said Winds of Winter.


    ¡°I hope you do. Also, there is something I want to make abundantly clear.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± asked the wolf.


    ¡°If you do throw in with us, and then betray us, I will abandon the war against the Beast King. I will make it my personal duty to hunt down everyst one of you. <em>None</em> will be spared. So, I suggest you make a careful choice.¡±


    The wolf actually let out a whining noise at that deration, and his ears ttened back.


    ¡°What if we choose not to take sides?¡±


    Sen shrugged.


    ¡°Then, you don¡¯t matter at all. But you certainly shouldn¡¯t expect to get anything when the fighting is done,¡± said Sen, standing and looking at Falling Leaf. ¡°We should go. It¡¯s clear that he doesn¡¯t have the power to agree to anything today.¡±


    She had joined him without a word of protest, and they had headed back in the direction of the academy. Since then, though, he¡¯d been second-guessing himself. Had he done the right thing? He felt like he¡¯d gone too far with thatst threat, except it hadn¡¯t been a threat. If they betrayed humanity after promising to help, he really would hunt them all down. In general, though, he thought that he had probably been the worst possible choice for that meeting. He finally drew to a stop in a rtively clear spot. Falling Leaf followed suit.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do very well back there,¡± he said without preamble.


    ¡°You did as I expected you to do.¡±


    ¡°You expected me to get angry and start issuing threats?¡±


    Falling Leaf considered that briefly and nodded.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure it would go quite that far,¡± she said, ¡°but I thought it might.¡±


    ¡°Then, why take me? I¡¯ve never been good at those kinds of things.¡±


    ¡°Because they didn¡¯t understand what they were dealing with. I¡¯m a spirit beast in their eyes. They expected me to ept their n without question. I couldn¡¯t make them understand that humanity wouldn¡¯t simply let itself be led to ughter just because they wanted it to happen. They assumed they could trick humanity and then wipe out whatever was left after. They needed a human to shatter that absurd fantasy. Someone had to tell them what a disaster it would be if they tried to use human cultivators that way. Most of all, they needed to hear it from someone they would believe. And they <em>fear</em> you. Whatever else they might tell themselves, they will believe that you would destroy them all if they betrayed you.¡±


    ¡°Then, what would stop them from simply sitting out the war? Isn¡¯t that what gives them the best chance?¡±


    Falling Leaf was quiet for a time as she considered that question. It was honestly what Sen expected them to do. It¡¯s what he really tried to convince himself that he would do in their situation, even if he couldn¡¯t quite sell himself on the idea.


    ¡°They dislike humanity. They would be happier if humanity was gone, but they <em>hate</em> the Beast King. They want revenge. They want to see him suffer and die. <em>I</em> want to see that. Keeping faith with you, assisting humanity, is their best chance of making that happen. Remaining neutral might help keep them safe for a while, but it won¡¯t satisfy their bloodlust. Now that they finally understand what it will cost, a few may decline to help, but I think most will agree to do what is necessary.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t as convinced as Falling Leaf seemed to be, but he believed that she understood the rogue spirit beasts better than he did. Not that it alleviated his concerns about the future. Trusting them to hold up their end of any bargains they struck was going to be a lot more difficult. Revenge was all well and good, but it made for a very small patch ofmon ground to stand on.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much effort this took for you to set up, but I expect it was a lot. I also recognize that I¡¯ll get more out of it than those spirit beasts will, no matter what kind of an arrangement we make. So, I have to assume that you did this almost entirely for my benefit.¡±


    Falling Leaf seemed abruptly ufortable and started shifting back and forth like she couldn¡¯t decide where to settle her weight.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t <em>just</em> for you. There is the kit and the Caihong. I don¡¯t wish to see them die.¡±


    Sen smiled and walked over to her. She stilled as he drew closer. He reached out a hand and gently squeezed her arm.


    ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t say it often enough, but if I said it as often as you deserve, it¡¯d be the only thing I ever say to you.¡±


    Falling Leaf looked up at him for a moment and said, ¡°True.¡±


    Sen snorted in amusement as he looked around at their surroundings. It was deep enough in the wilds that no one was likely to bother them. Plus, theirbined presence would keep all of the spirit beasts in the area at a healthy distance. It was just about the perfect location for a meal.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± he asked.


    Her eyes lit up, and she asked, ¡°Are you cooking?¡±


    ¡°If you like.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± she announced.

 Book 9: Chapter 14: We Should Tell Them

    Sen had hoped that things would calm down a bit after the semi-disastrous meeting with Winds of Winter. He¡¯d talked it over with Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho, and they all seemed to think that it wasn¡¯t that bad. They even seemed a little optimistic about it. Noticing his obvious confusion, Uncle Kho exined.


    ¡°While we knew about Falling Leaf, this is the first hard evidence we have that this Beast King has made a habit of culling dissenters. It¡¯s also the first sign of any kind of real division in their ranks.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we already know about that first part? I mean, the same thing happened to the nine tail foxes. I guess it wasn¡¯t as effective with them, but we did know.¡±


    When that statement was met with three nk stares, Sen realized that he might not have told them about that.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mention that?¡± asked Sen, feeling sheepish.


    ¡°You did not,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°Although, I suppose we can¡¯t be too angry about it. It¡¯s not as though the foxes are reliable.¡±


    ¡°I thought you liked Laughing River,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I do. I always have. He¡¯s funny. Liking him isn¡¯t the same thing as trusting him, though. And it has almost no bearing on trusting the nine tail foxes as a whole. Maybe you should tell us the whole story.¡±


    Sen rted the tale of what happened to the foxes as he had heard it. The meeting, the ughter, Laughing Riven essentially abandoning his people, and his granddaughter¡¯s quest for vengeance. He rounded out the story with his suspicion that Laughing River was, probably at that very moment, killing people who had spread the false tale about him. The three nascent soul cultivators traded inscrutable looks. They were those annoying looks that were really conversations he was being excluded from. It wasn¡¯t the first time it had happened, and he doubted it would be thest, but it still bothered him to be left out.¡°I suppose we can take it as true for now,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking for it, so I didn¡¯t make any note of it. Looking back, though, there have been a lot fewer of the nine tail foxes running around and causing trouble. The real question is, does this help us?¡±


    Auntie Caihong shook her head and said, ¡°We¡¯re back to that reliability problem. We might be able to trust Laughing River, but the rest of them are an open question. I worry they¡¯d be as much a liability as a resource.¡±


    ¡°You think they¡¯d betray us?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°No,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°At least, I don¡¯t think they would on purpose. Not after they agreed to help, at any rate. I <em>do</em> think they would get bored or distracted and wander away for three months. It takes a lot to keep foxes on task.¡±


    Sen thought back to his own experiences with Laughing River and Misty Peak. They had been terribly distractable, even when the stakes got very, very high. While he knew that two people were a poor stand-in for arge group when it came to assessing behavior, everything he was hearing suggested that they were about average. If anything, they might be exceptions, given that Laughing River had mostly stayed focused on getting that spatial treasure, and Misty Peak had clearly been focused on getting revenge for a while. However, he had no idea how often they had both gotten sidetracked on their way to fulfilling those respective missions. Much like Auntie Caihong, while Sen held a certain dim fondness for Laughing River, and could probably tolerate Misty Peak if he absolutely had to do so, he was not keen on the idea of trusting them with anything important.


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    He recognized that he might well be unfairly judging them, but he only had his own experiences to go on. It was possible they could stay focused if it aligned with some deep inner need on their part. Revenge might be enough to do it, especially given how many of their people had apparently died, but there was just no way to know. He wasn¡¯t willing to gamble with all of humanity just find out if he was right or wrong about that.


    ¡°So, we leave them out of the circle for now?¡± asked Sen, feeling a little guilty about the idea.


    ¡°No,¡± said Master Feng.


    That answer surprised Sen. He¡¯d have thought that Master Feng would be the first to dismiss the foxes. It seemed that Auntie Caihong shared in his shock.


    ¡°Why?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying we give them tasks. Kho is right. We could never trust them with something time-sensitive or that might prove tedious, but we should tell them what¡¯sing. I suspect they know already, but better to make the gesture. A little goodwill now may pay offter. Just because we don¡¯t ask them to look for information or to spy for us, it doesn¡¯t mean they won¡¯t tell us about things if they stumble across them by pure happenstance. Particrly if they¡¯re feeling well-disposed toward us.¡±


    ¡°I suppose there isn¡¯t much harm in telling them what¡¯sing. Everyone will know soon enough as it is. I¡¯m honestly surprised the spirit beasts haven¡¯t attacked already.¡±


    Master Feng coughed a little self-consciously.


    ¡°About that,¡± he said. ¡°I might have downyed my fight with them a little.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a little?¡± asked Uncle Kho with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You said you killed enough to send a small message.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like I was counting them,¡± said Master Feng with a little defensiveness in his voice.


    ¡°Estimate for us,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°More than a hundred?¡±


    ¡°Definitely more than a hundred,¡± said Master Feng.


    ¡°More than a thousand?¡± asked Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Master Feng.


    ¡°More than five thousand?¡± asked Auntie Caihong with an exasperated note in her tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it was <em>that</em> many. Probably.¡±


    ¡°Just how long was this fight?¡± asked Uncle Kho.


    Master Feng got a thoughtful look on his face and idly scratched his chin.


    ¡°Counting the talking, two or three minutes, I guess.¡±


    Everyone, Sen included, stared at Master Feng. Sen had killed a lot of spirit beasts over the years, but he only had patchy memories of the time he¡¯d killed a lot of them all in one terrible moment. Looking back, he thought that there might have been two hundred in that beast tide. It looked like an almost insurmountable number, and killing them had taken a technique that had very nearly killed him in the process. A technique he wasn¡¯t entirely confident he could reproduce even now. The revtion that Master Feng had casually killed ten times that many, or more, in a matter of minutes was a stark reminder to Sen of just how powerful the elder cultivator truly was. It was also a clue as to why all of those other nascent soul cultivators were likely right to fear this man.


    ¡°I suppose that would be enough to give anyone pause,¡± observed Uncle Kho.


    Sen was trying to think of something useful to add when the door to the room that had been designated his office opened slightly.


    ¡°Patriarch?¡±


    Sen tried to recall the name of the young man who had been given the thankless job of guarding his door against people who wanted to waste his time. He drew a nk. He knew he¡¯d heard the name, but it had somehow slipped his grasp. The same thing had happened with thest poor bastard who had that job. Sen assured himself that he wasn¡¯t maliciously forgetting their names in an act of petty vengeance for them calling him Patriarch all the time. He was almost certain he wasn¡¯t doing that. Still, he had left instructions with the young man not to interrupt them unless it was very important. Adding to that was the rumor that the people Sen had introduced as his family were actually frightfully powerful old monsters, a case of a rumor being true for once, it probably meant that something that genuinely required Sen¡¯s attention was probably happening. After getting nods from the nascent soul cultivators, he answered.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, Patriarch, but you said if it was very important, I should.¡±


    ¡°I recall,¡± said Sen, stuck somewhere between annoyance and amusement.


    ¡°There are people at the gate demanding to see you.¡±


    Sen wondered if that meant one of the sects had finally decided to tell him who ran things in this part of the nation.


    ¡°Did they say who they are?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re from the Vermilion de Sect, Patriarch.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me. I don¡¯t have the patience for this today.¡±


    Sen heard the young man swallow before he said, ¡°I will ry your words, Patriarch.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 15: Bahn Huizhong (1)

    Bahn Huizhong considered himself a worldly man. True, he had been a member of the Vermillion de Sect for most of his life, but he¡¯d always held a dim view of those cultivators who cloistered themselves away and avoided any task that took them beyond the walls of the sect. He didn¡¯t understand those people. The world was vast and with that vastness came opportunity if one was swift and wise enough to seize it. Unlike the majority that he entered the sect with in his youth so very long ago, he had taken every opportunity to leave the sect. He had taken on missions no one wanted to ces he¡¯d never heard of just to see what was there.


    Usually, it was a vige with some minor spirit beast that was destroying crops or eating livestock. Not much of a challenge for him but the vigers were always grateful, and he¡¯d never been one to turn down a warm meal. He had turned down most of the warm beds, though. He enjoyed those activities as much as anyone else, but looking like a young man and being a young man were very different things. He had, however, availed himself of some willing widows along the way. He felt that they were experienced enough to know what they wanted, which meant he wouldn¡¯t be taking advantage of them. Every so often, though, he¡¯d find himself doing something exciting. He smiled as he thought of that hotheaded youth who had more courage than talent, to say nothing of wisdom. That young man had battled demonic cultivators, hunted spirit beasts far too powerful for him, fought duels of honor, and generally been lucky to survive.


    With that excitement came the opportunities. A natural treasure he never would have found if he hadn¡¯t been tracking some spirit beast. A burst of insight in the midst of a pitched battle. A moment of enlightenment while looking at some vista that no one else had ever seen because it was so far into the wilds that only he dared go there. The truth was that he¡¯d been more of a wandering cultivator than a member of the sect for a long time. He¡¯d be gone for months or years at a time, sometimes on tasks for the sect and sometimes pursuing some opportunity he¡¯d stumbled across. It had been lonely at times but that was as much a part of cultivation as cycling patterns. If you couldn¡¯t learn to cope with loneliness, you had no business trying to reach the pinnacle.


    In the early decades, he¡¯d return to find that he¡¯d once more outpaced his oldrades. As decades turned to centuries, he¡¯d return to discover that he¡¯d outlived more old friends who had gotten stuck at a bottleneck. He¡¯d climbed the ranks of the sect almost by ident. He found that the low-level missions he¡¯d once taken and loved were reced with missions to visit other sects or cities because he¡¯d grown too powerful for anything else. That had been a blow. He started to take on disciples as much to relieve the boredom as anything else, and time had started to slip through his fingers. That old drive, that need to progress, had dwindled until only a tiny spark remained, hidden so far down inside him that even he hadn¡¯t known it was there.


    He had gotten old, or so he believed, and expected to die within a handful of centuries. It was with that in mind that he took on Li Yi Nuo as what he expected to be hisst student. She was an odd girl, so full of talent and an equal amount of self-doubt. She was bright and cheerful one minute, mncholy the next. She was so different from him but perhaps someone he could help. He didn¡¯t believe anyone else in the sect would have the patience to guide her. She was too mercurial to be obedient the way most masters wanted. So, he¡¯d taken her under his wing. He¡¯d been a poor protector to her, though.


    That bitch, Elder Jeong, had set her sights on Li Yi Nuo, and he¡¯d been too old, too weak, to stand against her. Or so he thought. He¡¯d been surprised to discover that he was wrong. He barely remembered executing the woman after she tried to send Li Yi Nuo off on a mission with no resources and no expectation of sess or survival. He just remembered that spark, that tiny little spark buried so deep down inside of him, bursting to life, filling him with the same fire and drive that made him so reckless in his youth and so potent in the long centuries after. He¡¯d felt long-dormant power swell inside of him. It was only when he¡¯d held that bitch¡¯s severed head in his hand and cowed every other elder in the sect that he realized he might not be quite finished with his journey yet.


    Then Li Yi Nuo had returned from her mission with almost unbelievable tales of a madman who summoned tribtion lightning, brought nine tail foxes to heel, and battled devils to a standstill. A man who thought nothing of building formations that stretched for miles and gave away healing potions of such value that it beggared the imagination. He¡¯d scarcely been able to credit the tales, save for the sure knowledge that the girl wouldn¡¯t lie to him and the evidence of his own eyes. He had held those potions in his hand. It had been like holding a miracle. When she had shown him the letter of introduction to Kho Jaw-Long, he had again been inclined to disbelieve, but was it any more unbelievable than anything else she had said?


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    He had seen Kho Jaw-Long once, most of a millennia ago. It had been equal parts inspirational and terrifying to see the nascent soul cultivator turn a sect into a graveyard. That kind of power was what every cultivator aspired to and so few achieved. If Li Yi Nuo could study with that man, however briefly, it could prove the difference between her reaching nascent soul and her being stuck at core formation. So, he had sent her off in search of her own opportunities. He had done some investigation into this Lu Sen while she was away. He¡¯d been curious to meet the man, but as one barely credible tale after the next had poured in that curiosity had grown and grown. He was certain that most of those tales had to be made up or at least exaggerated, but if even a fraction of them were true, well, who wouldn¡¯t want to meet a man like that? How could it be anything but fascinating? Besides, he sensed a bit of his own curiosity and wonder at the world in the stories about the burgeoning legend.When Li Yi Nuo had returned, infuriated, he had told her to stay at the sect for a time. Word had reached him that Lu Sen hadid im to a noble title and was building a house, as well as a sect. As an elder, Bahn Huizhong had some inkling of the kind of work that entailed. It was not something that the wise interrupted. It was only after the stories had died down and things seemed to be stabilizing that he decided that he would apany Li Yi Nuo to visit this Lu Sen. It was purely for her protection and not at all to satisfy his own curiosity. Although, he had admitted to himself that those strange stone houses that they had stayed in on more than one asion had brought his curiosity nearly to a full boil.


    Arriving at the sect of Judgment¡¯s Gale had not disappointed. There was a small town located nearby and the wall around it almost glowed to his eyes because the protections wereyered so thickly on it. The wall around the sect was, oddly enough, far less obviously reinforced. It was only after studying it for a while that he realized why it seemed that way. The wall around the town had been raised by many people over a period of time. The wall around the sect had been made by one hand, and a hand that knew its business. Bahn Huizhong thought that he might be able to breach that wall if he put enough effort into it, but it would not be fast or easy.


    He had been slightly annoyed at Li Yi Nuo when they approached the gate. He had meant for this to be a cordial meeting, but she had marched up to the guards and demanded to see that bastard, Lu Sen, before he realized he needed to stop her. The guards, a pair of peak formation foundation cultivators, had traded skeptical looks but raised no objections. One of them had simply asked who they were and what sect they came from, then disappeared inside. It had been a test of restraint not to expand his spiritual sense and get a quick peek at thepound itself. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was just good sense or a legitimate intuition, but something told him that would be a poor decision. Instead, he waited patiently as the remaining guard kept a watchful eye on them.


    Farmers passed by on their way into town. It was clear that they had long since grown used to the presence of the sect and even to unknown cultivators. The farmers would offer respectful bows but didn¡¯t linger to stare or race off in fear. Bahn Huizhong approved. It suggested a healthy rtionship between the sect, the town, and the mortals who lived nearby. Something he had seen far too rarely in the world. It took perhaps fifteen minutes before there was a brief buzz of activity that could be heard on the other side of the gate. That was a surprise. It was routine to make guests wait hours or even days to meet an elder, and it wasn¡¯t unheard of for people to wait weeks or months to meet a patriarch. That was assuming said patriarch wasn¡¯t in closed-door cultivation, which could extend that wait indefinitely.


    The gate swung open, and a man stepped through it. He was a tall man, almost shockingly tall, and it was clear that he carried a lot of muscle. Yet, his skin was the most arresting feature. It was a white so perfect it looked like bleached bone. While advancement had a way of burning off imperfections and leaving the skin pristine, this went beyond that. <em>The man is an alchemist</em>, thought Bahn Huizhong. <em>Perhaps this is the result of some experiment that went wrong</em>. With his own limited knowledge of alchemy, he knew it was just a guess and swiftly dismissed those thoughts. He regarded the other cultivator and tried to get a sense of the man. There was a hint of displeasure about him, and a touch of impatience, but the overwhelming impression the man gave off was one of raw power and absolute assurance.


    Bahn Huizhong had met men like this before, and they weren¡¯t made in the confines of a sect. They were made by testing themselves against a hostile world and surviving to tell the tale. This was a man who had done battle, real battle, with nothing but his own strength to save him. One look at Lu Sen told Bahn Huizhong everything he needed to know about the stories Li Yi Nuo had told him. They were all true, and he had rarely been so excited to meet a person. He was preparing to step forward and introduce himself when Li Yi Nuo, the foolish girl, opened her mouth to speak.


    ¡°What in the thousand hells happened to you?¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 16: Bahn Huizhong (2)

    The worst seemed almost inevitable to Bahn Huizhong. Lu Sen might not be a nascent soul cultivator, yet, but that hadn¡¯t stopped him from killing one in a straight fight before. There were persistent rumors that he¡¯d killed another, but the details were murky. It hadn¡¯t been a duel. That was all anyone knew, or all anyone was willing to say. At the very least, the man¡¯s power dwarfed Li Yi Nuo¡¯s strength. That alone was enough reason to show at least some courtesy, even if a prior rtionship existed. Beyond that, though, he was a patriarch standing at the gates of his own sect. It might be a new sect, but it was always precarious to be disrespectful to a patriarch on their ground.


    Bahn Huizhong did not want to fight with this man. He wanted to spar with him, certainly, but not fight. The oue of that battle was hazy at best, particrly given the stories he¡¯d heard. He was also having a hard time getting a clear sense of Lu Sen¡¯s exact level of advancement. It felt like there was something actively concealing at least some of the man¡¯s strength. Still, it seemed there was nothing for it. He prepared to start cycling his qi when something happened that he hadn¡¯t anticipated. Lu Sen huffed out a littleugh, and a bit of that displeasure faded away.


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you just as charming as the first time we met,¡± said Lu Sen.


    A slight blush of embarrassment rose in her cheeks, but Li Yi Nuo regrouped quickly.


    ¡°You sent me to the far side of the kingdom for nothing,¡± she said and poked the man in the chest. ¡°Kho Jaw-Long wasn¡¯t there.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong almost choked at that sight. Clearly, the man had more tolerance than most patriarchs, but there were always limits. Again, the man surprised him. Instead of striking Li Yi Nuo down, he gave her an intense look.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t touch me anywhere you wouldn¡¯t like me to touch you.¡±


    There was a quality to the young man¡¯s voice, an undercurrent that seemed to promise all kinds of inappropriate things while also serving as a tiny bit of a threat. It was an open question as to whether it was something that the man practiced or if it just came naturally to him. <em>It¡¯s probably a bit of both</em>, thought Bahn Huizhong. Not that it really mattered in terms of results. Li Yi Nuo¡¯s next words turned into incoherent splutters, and her face turned bright red. Bahn Huizhong burst intoughter. He couldn¡¯t help himself. The poor girl had never really excelled at social situations and seeing her so immediately flustered was entertaining. Lu Sen, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten some instruction from someone well-versed in managing social situations somewhere along the way. Li Yi Nuo turned a betrayed look toward him, which just made Bahn Huizhongugh even harder. Lu Sen lifted an eyebrow at him, but there was an amused twinkle in the man¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I am,¡± Lu Sen let out a small but audible sigh, ¡°Patriarch Lu Sen of the Deep Wilds Academy. I¡¯m clearly familiar with Li Yi Nuo, but I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met.¡±¡°I am Elder Bahn Huizhong of the Vermilion de Sect.¡±


    He offered the Patriarch a shallow but respectful bow. Lu Sen nodded in return, although a certain chilly quality had entered his expression at the word <em>elder</em>. Mixed into the many stories about the man, there had been a few about spectacrly poor encounters with various sect elders. Apparently, those stories were also true. It seemed that those other elders had poisoned the well. What was also patently obvious was that Lu Sen did not want them there. He had been generally polite and dismissed Li Yi Nuo¡¯s behavior without a second thought, but he had not invited them to enter the¡­ The man had called it an academy, but Bahn Huizhong knew a sect when he saw one. This ce was definitely a sect. And inviting people inside was usually the first thing that was done when cultivators arrived from sects that weren¡¯t actively hostile toward your own.


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    <em>Then again</em>, thought Bahn Huizhong after a moment of insight, <em>maybe he thinks that our respective sects are actively hostile or are about to be</em>. <em>We did send someone to capture him</em>, <em>and then I show up at his door</em>. <em>This could well look like the opening of some kind of formal hostilities</em>. This wasn¡¯t exactly amon problem, but it wasn¡¯t unprecedented either. It was easy to misinterpret a sect¡¯s intentions when you¡¯ve had nothing but poor interactions with them in the past. He just wasn¡¯t sure what the best approach to alleviating those fears would be.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you at least going to invite us in?¡± demanded Li Yi Nuo, having found her voice. ¡°It¡¯s been a tiring journey.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that depends on what you want, and who you represent. I have a good idea about why Li Yi Nuo is here. I¡¯m less clear about your arrival, Bahn Huizhong. Are you here as an official representative of the Vermilion de Sect?¡±


    Li Yi Nuo¡¯s eyes moved from Lu Sen to him. He had been vague with her about why he wasing along. It hadn¡¯t been anything sinister. It just amused him to y the mysterious master and let her think that he was executing some inscrutable n of his own. He wasn¡¯t here to officially represent the sect, but he also was just by virtue of being an elder. It got tricky to separate the two once you acquired a certain level of authority. However, he had the distinct impression that if he was there on official business, this would be the first and only time he had a chance to speak with Lu Sen. He decided to hedge on the side of caution.


    ¡°I was not sent here by the sect or told to aplish any specific mission,¡± he said.


    ¡°Then, why are you here?¡± asked Lu Sen, his expression going even icier.


    Bahn Huizhong was momentarily baffled by the other man¡¯s apparently increasing hostility before understanding bloomed. <em>He thinks the sect sent me here to kill him</em>, <em>unofficially</em>, thought Bahn Huizhong. <em>A quick little revenge killing that lets the sect keep its hands clean</em>. He wanted to feel offended on the sect¡¯s behalf that Lu Sen thought so little of them and their honor, but he couldn¡¯t quite muster the emotions. He knew that there were plenty of sects that would do something exactly like that. It was one of the many things about sect behavior that he found both troubling and pointless. As though you could preserve honor with such an obvious fiction.


    He decided that there was only one path forward with any real chance of sess. Brutal honesty. If that wasn¡¯t sufficient, then this would just have to be a nice walk through the countryside for him. There were far worse experiences than getting out and seeing new things.


    ¡°I just wanted to meet you,¡± said Bahn Huizhong.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Lu Sen, confusion shattering the ice in his expression. ¡°I¡­ But why?¡±


    It took a lot of effort not tough again. The young man¡¯s question wasced with a kind of innocent bewilderment that just wasn¡¯t seen with most elders and never with patriarchs. They always wanted to appear in perfect control. It was another illusion. One of those fantasies that some ancient cultivator had dreamed up about absolute mastery of the self. Maybe it was possible, but not if one also wanted to keepying im to the title of human. Human beings were surprised sometimes, or angered, or any of the myriad other emotions that came with being born to the human form. He had his doubts that those rare, transformed spirit beasts had the same experiences, but that was a question for cultivators with far different interests than him.


    ¡°Why not?¡± asked Bahn Huizhong. ¡°You¡¯re interesting.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Lu Sen, although he clearly didn¡¯t understand.


    There was a long pause where no one said anything. It was the moment of truth. Lu Sen would either send them both away, let them both in, or maybe let Li Yi Nuo stay and dismiss him as having no business there. He was hoping for the second option. Unfortunately, that depended a lot on how much the young patriarch believed him. He watched as Lu Sen nced at Li Yi Nuo, perhaps looking for some assurance that her elder¡¯s words held value. The girl was standing almost rigidly straight, her face locked into a neutral expression. He supposed she didn¡¯t want to unintentionally be responsible for having her master sent away. He knew he wouldn¡¯t want to be put in the middle of that decision if he was in her shoes, not that he¡¯d me her for the oue. He <em>had</em> invited himself along for selfish reasons.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Lu Sen, ¡°I suppose you bettere inside.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t the warm wee that Bahn Huizhong might have hoped for, but it was still an invitation. That was enough to build on.

 Book 9: Chapter 17: Flock

    Sen regretted inviting them in from very nearly the instant that he¡¯d done it. He didn¡¯t have to let them in. He certainly hadn¡¯t wanted to let them in. Well, he¡¯d have let Li Yi Nuo in out of guilt. He did send herpletely in the wrong direction. It hadn¡¯t been intentional, but she¡¯d still traveled all the way to Orchard¡¯s Reach. Even for cultivators, that was a long trip. Bahn Huizhong, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t someone that Sen especially wanted around. With very few exceptions, sect elders had been nothing but trouble for him. They always had some agenda, or their delicate pride had suffered a tiny bruise and they wanted to murder some people to make themselves feel better about it.


    As hard as Li Yi Nuo tried to hide it, or maybe because she tried to hide it, Sen realized that she was very concerned that he would send the man away. It might just have been because the man was an elder, but he suspected that the elder was her master. He could just imagine the endlessining if he up and told her master to go home. That might have been a good enough reason to let the man stay if only for a day or two, but the man had alsoughed. It hadn¡¯t been cruelughter, either. He¡¯d just been entertained by Li Yi Nuo¡¯s awkward moment. Sen thought that was probably the reason he¡¯d let them in.


    Beyond that, Bahn Huizhong had actually seemed sincere when he said he just wanted to meet him. Sen wasn¡¯t sure why anyone would want to meet him with his reputation, but he supposed people couldn¡¯t really help what they found interesting. Sen didn¡¯t particrly care about the intricacies of art or tailoring. However, it fascinated some people. He supposed that there was bound to be at least one cultivator out there who found him interesting in the same way. Of course, now that they were inside the wall, he had to figure out what to do with them. He¡¯d never nned on entertaining guests at this ce, so he hadn¡¯t bothered putting up a building for them to stay in. <em>I guess I could make them one</em>, thought Sen. <em>But where to put it</em>? <em>Definitely somewhere not too close to my home</em>. Before he came to any final conclusion, he heard something that always brightened his day.


    ¡°Papa!¡±


    He looked in Ai¡¯s direction and smiled as the little girl raced across thepound toward him. He also noted the group of people who were none-too-subtly keeping a close eye on her. The sight of them always made him feel better, even if he was very confident that nothing bad was likely to ever happen to her inside of these walls.


    ¡°Fly me, Papa!¡± yelled Ai, stretching her arms out to either side.


    Laughing to himself, Sen scooped her up with a bit of air qi and floated her into his waiting arms. Sheughed the entire way and then nted a kiss on his cheek. He kissed the tip of her nose, which generated the giggles he so loved to hear. It was only when Ai cast a curious look at the neers that Sen remembered they had an audience. Li Yi Nuo was staring at him and Ai with eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. Bahn Huizhong smiled at the scene. If he thought there was anything amiss, it didn¡¯t show on his face.


    ¡°Who are they?¡± whispered Ai.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Sen whispered back. ¡°Maybe you should introduce yourself.¡±While the little girl was fearless about most things and with people she knew, she¡¯d never lost her apprehension about strangers. She hadn¡¯t said anything about the attack that destroyed her vige in a long time, and Sen wondered how much she remembered about it. For all he knew, it might just seem like a bad dream from the distant past, but it had left its mark all the same. She looked uncertain for a little while and hugged him a little closer before she finally made her decision. She wriggled in the way that meant she wanted to be put down. Sen lowered her to the ground where she did her best to perform a proper bow.


    ¡°This one is Liu Ai,¡± she said.


    Sen had discussed with Auntie Caihong whether he should teach Ai to introduce herself as Lu Ai. She was part of his family now, but he wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to deprive her of her birth name. It was literally the only thing she had left of that life. The usual certainty that marked nearly everything Auntie Caihong did had softened into a thoughtful look.


    ¡°Well, she is your daughter now, so there¡¯s a logic to it. On the other hand, maybe you should wait until she¡¯s older. Let her decide for herself if that¡¯s what she wants. I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s any harm in waiting.¡±


    That had sounded like an excellent idea to Sen. It gave Ai some control over how she presented herself to the world, at least in the long run, and it also let Sen off the hook for making that choice. A choice that he was not especially eager to make <em>for</em> her. So, for the moment, she remained Liu Ai. As for Li Yi Nuo, she continued to gape at the little girl as though a dragon had sprouted from the earth and broken into song. Bahn Huizhong, who had been unperturbed, offered the girl a bright smile. He bowed to her, a much deeper bow than he¡¯d offered Sen.


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    ¡°This one is Bahn Huizhong. I¡¯m very d to meet you, Liu Ai,¡± said the man, before he poked Li Yi Nuo in the back.


    The girl yelped in surprise, which made Aiugh. It did break the shock-trance the woman had been in, though. She hastily bowed.


    ¡°This one is Li Yi Nuo. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±


    Having recovered her confidence a little, Ai puffed herself up and announced with goddess-like certainty, ¡°I¡¯m a beautiful orchid. Papa said so.¡±


    Li Yi Nuo seemed to be distracted by trying to find something to do with her hands other than p them around or clutch at her robes. The corners of Bahn Huizhong¡¯s eyes crinkled in amusement.


    ¡°You certainly are,¡± he agreed amiably.


    <em>Damn it</em>, thought Sen. <em>How am I supposed to hate him now</em>? Apparently, Ai decided that these people weren¡¯t a threat, because she wandered over to Bahn Huizhong. That made Sen feel better about the man. It didn¡¯t happen often, but Ai asionally refused to have anything to do with a person. She could never articte why she didn¡¯t like them and usually fell back on her go-to description for things she didn¡¯t like. She said they were <em>yucky</em>. Without fail, those people had found themselves told to leave for one serious offense or another, so Sen took it seriously when she didn¡¯t like someone. Long Jia Wei took it as holy truth.


    The rtionship between that man and Ai was odd. If she couldn¡¯t find Sen or one of her nascent soul family when something was troubling her, she went to find him. Sen had been a little ufortable with the idea of her just spending time with the ex-sect assassin, but the man treated her like a fragile piece of ss. Something always to be handled gently and with utmost care. There was also the rumor. It was something that Sen had very intentionally not made any effort to confirm, mostly because he didn¡¯t want to do anything about it should the story turn out to be true.


    Supposedly, one of the cultivators at the academy had spoken quite harshly to Ai for some reason. Sen had worried from the start that something like that was almost inevitable. The rumor held that Long Jia Wei dragged that cultivator to see one of the healerster that day with a shattered jaw, a broken leg, and enough bruises to keep the alchemy students busy making minor healing pills for days. When asked what happened, Long Jia Wei reportedly shrugged and said the injured cultivator must have carelessly fallen down. Since the man had shown considerably more restraint than Sen would have been able to muster if he had heard the story first, he¡¯d let it go. He¡¯d also moved Long Jia Wei onto a very short list of people he would consider entrusting Ai¡¯s safety to.


    Of course, Bahn Huizhong wasn¡¯t even in the running for something like that, but Ai¡¯s generalck of fear at least made Sen feel less actively hostile toward the man. He watched as his daughter peered up at the man and pointed.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± she asked.


    The man looked down at his own chest and pointed to what had to be a sect patch.


    ¡°This?¡± he asked.


    Ai nodded. The man crouched down so she could get a better look at it. Sen tensed a bit when Ai reached out to touch the patch. Cultivators could get touchy about strange things. Bahn Huizhong wasn¡¯t one of them, though, or so it seemed. He just seemed amused by Ai¡¯s curiosity.


    ¡°It¡¯s a sect patch,¡± he told her.


    ¡°What¡¯s a sect?¡± she asked, her face scrunching up a little.


    For the very first time, the man seemed startled. He nced up at Sen who had nothing to offer but a shrug. <em>You opened that door</em>, thought Sen. <em>It¡¯s on you to figure out how to exin a sect to a child that age</em>. The man frowned for a few seconds before he finally came up with something.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a school for cultivators.¡±


    While Sen thought that left out a lot of pertinent information, he doubted he could havee up with anything better. It was even true, as far as it went.


    ¡°Is that like an academy?¡± asked Ai, carefully pronouncing thest word.


    Sen had to cover his own mouth to keep fromughing. Bahn Huizhong, apparently better practiced at keeping a straight face, just nodded sagely.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s like an academy.¡±


    Ai continued to interrogate the man, although her questions soon moved on to things she cared about more, like what kinds of birds they saw while they traveled. Bahn Huizhong tried naming some of them, but Ai promptly asked him to describe them. Then, she would either nod in a knowing way to indicate that she too knew these birds or shake her head. Sen knew he probably let it go on longer than he should have, but Ai seemed very happy to talk about the birds. Eventually, he called her back over to him.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°I think it¡¯s probably about time for your writing lesson, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Papa.¡±


    ¡°You go find Uncle Kho, and I¡¯ll make us something very yummy for dinnerter.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    She held out her arms for a hug which Sen dutifully provided. Then, she ran off. Li Yi Nuo looked like she was about to start firing questions at him, but Ai¡¯s voice floated back to them.


    ¡°Come on, birds!¡±


    From the nearby trees, what Sen thought had to be at least a hundred birds exploded into motion and flew after the running child. Li Yi Nuo seemed to forget all of her questions as her eyes followed the birds. Bahn Huizhong slowly rose to a standing position, his expression a mixture of uncertainty and surprise.


    ¡°Patriarch Lu. Did your daughter just summon a flock of birds to keep herpany?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen. ¡°She does that. It¡¯s a small flock today. She must not have seen many insects. Anyway, let¡¯s find you somewhere to stay.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 18: Uncomfortable Peace

    Book 9: Chapter 18: Ufortable Peace


    Sen had found thest few weeks very odd. The arrival of Li Yi Nuo, while perhaps foreseeable, had caught him off guard. Bringing along her master had been even more perplexing. Not that either of them had done anything specific to disrupt his life. Sen had brought Li Yi Nuo to see Uncle Kho. The man had been deeply amused by the story of how the sect cultivator had gone all the way to Orchard¡¯s Reach to find him, only to have to turn around ande all the way back. Uncle Kho probably would have agreed to teach her a few things out of pure pity even if Sen hadn¡¯t suggested that she showed some faint glimmers of hope with the spear. Of course, dealing with her had been the easy part. Putting her and Uncle Kho together in a room had fulfilled any and all obligations he might have had to the woman, self-imposed or not.


    Bahn Huizhong was another matter entirely. Sen truly hadn¡¯t known what to expect from the man. Or, rather, he¡¯d based his expectations on previous encounters with sect elders, none of which ever appeared. He¡¯d thought that the man would demand his time since he was a powerful and important elder. He¡¯d imagined that the man would make himself a problem in town, expecting to be given whatever he wanted without paying for it. He¡¯d predicted the man would try to recruit away the best students or at least a few of the core formation students who hade from other sects.


    None of it happened, which left Sen feeling off bnce and out of sorts. He knew how to deal with cultivators who insisted on acting like bastards. Bahn Huizhong had opted to behave like a guest ought to behave. He visited shops in town where he paid for the things he wanted. He interacted with some of the students but generally only when they approached him first. He had refrained from entering the buildings where teaching or crafts were done, even going so far as to restrain his spiritual sense to open areas. He had politely asked for some of Sen¡¯s time, but only when the Patriarch was not upied with other duties. The man had even raced off to fetch an injured child at a nearby farm before Sen had even been made aware that such help was needed.


    By the time Sen arrived at what had slowly evolved into a sort of healing center attached to the alchemy workshop, the injured boy who had been trampled by a startled animal was already being tended. He¡¯d found Bahn Huizhong leaning against a wall, observing the work with curious eyes.


    ¡°Thank you for helping,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Of course,¡± answered Bahn Huizhong.


    ¡°Do you mind if I ask why you did it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m no healer, but I¡¯ve seen enough injuries to know that seconds and minutes matter. Especially for mortals.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± agreed Sen, ¡°but that¡¯s just a reason for <em>someone</em> to act quickly. I¡¯m curious why <em>you</em>, specifically, chose to act. It has not been my experience that sect elders or cultivators in general are burdened with muchpassion for mortals.¡±Bahn Huizhong was quiet for several moments, his eyes still on the injured boy, before a look of understanding crossed his face.


    ¡°Oh, I see. You¡¯re wondering if I acted to try to get into your good graces. Is that it?¡±


    Sen lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug and said, ¡°It <em>has</em> been my experience that sect elders want what they want and will do almost anything to get it.¡±


    A troubled look crossed the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°I wish I could say that¡¯s an unfair assessment, but you¡¯re not wholly wrong. You¡¯ve been a wandering cultivator. The ones you were most likely to run into were the ones most prone to acting like that. They aren¡¯t all like that. Too many are but not all of them.¡±


    ¡°I take that to mean that you¡¯re an exception?¡±


    Sen knew that the question was borderline offensive, but he¡¯d been forced to fight and kill too many people from too many sects to just take things on faith. He was surprised when Bahn Huizhong let out a gentle chuckle.


    ¡°Me? Oh, I definitely want what I want. You don¡¯t get as far as I have without a lot of drive, and the ability to stay focused on your goals. But there are good ways to get what you want and bad ways to get what you want. Being a cultivator doesn¡¯t shield you from umting bad karma, after all, no matter what some of these fools seem to think. So, I do my best not to invite bad karma. Mostly. You can¡¯t always avoid it, but that¡¯s just how life works. That being said, there¡¯s no benefit to mistreating mortals. There¡¯s nothing to be gained in denying help when it¡¯s needed. So, in answer to your true question, no. I didn¡¯t help to get into your good graces. I <em>could</em> help, so I did.¡±


    Of all the answers the man might have offered, it was the kind of answer that Sen wouldn¡¯t have believed came out of a sect elder¡¯s mouth if he hadn¡¯t personally heard it. It resonated with a lot of Sen¡¯s own thoughts. Sen found himself <em>wanting</em> to like the other cultivator, but he struggled to get over his automatic distrust of anyone from a sect. Recent events with spies and supposed training idents that were people trying to settle old inter-sect grudges had only reinforced that distrust. Even more, though, the looming threat of theing war made him want to tighten his circle, rather than expand it. He didn¡¯t want someone else to worry about, even someone as capable as this sect elder seemed to be. Mortals were going to die. Cultivators were going to die. Sen didn¡¯t want to have to mourn them individually.


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    At the same time, he knew he was going to have to work with these sects. He would need to be on speaking terms with at least some of the people from them. If he couldn¡¯t start with someone he thought he might actually like, where in the thousand hells could he start? There was at least onest stumbling block that had gone unmentioned by everyone. <em>I guess I¡¯ll have to clear the air about those three fools</em>, thought Sen. <em>Otherwise</em>, <em>it¡¯ll always be hanging over any interactions I have with the Vermilion de Sect</em>. With that in mind, Sen sent someone to fetch Bahn Huizhong. The man arrived quickly and looked around the in room with a little surprise.


    ¡°I expected something a bit grander,¡± admitted the sect elder.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know how to do that, even if I wanted to. I guess I could find someone to handle that for me. It just seems like a waste of resources.¡±


    ¡°It is, but that doesn¡¯t seem to stop anyone.¡±


    Sen gestured at the empty seat across from him. Bahn Huizhong sat. Sen took a little amusement in the man¡¯s expression of surprise when Sen poured them both tea. They both gave the tea a few moments, not so much to cool but out of ingrained habit, and then drank. Sen broke the silence first, eager to be done with that task.


    ¡°I expect you have questions about what happened to those three cultivators from your sect. I¡¯m sure that I would in your position.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong hesitated for a moment before he nodded.


    ¡°Yes. There are questions that the other elders will expect me to ask. At the very least, there are uncertainties about the nature of events.¡±


    ¡°You may not like the answers. They don¡¯t cast your sect members in a particrly good light.¡±


    ¡°The truth is rarely a pretty or clean thing.¡±


    ¡°Very well, Elder Bahn of the Vermilion de Sect. Let me tell you a story.¡±


    Senid out the events as he remembered them. He started with the gue vige and the seemingly endless funeral pyres. He talked about his state of mind afterward, how the world around him was something he barely noticed. Finally, he described his interaction with the Vermilion de Sect members he¡¯d stumbled across. He gave a general description of the technique he¡¯d used on them, and why it had been impossible for him or anyone else to remove it.


    ¡°If I¡¯d understood what it would do them, I would have just killed them. It would have been kinder,¡± said Sen.


    Sen sipped a fresh cup of tea while Elder Bahn considered the details of what he¡¯d heard. The man¡¯s response could well be anything from fury to indifference, and none of the possibilities would shock Sen. He still wasn¡¯t sure how he should feel about that encounter. He certainly felt a degree of responsibility for inflicting more suffering than he¡¯d meant to, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d even been sane at the time. Just how much guilt and responsibility he truly bore remained an open question to him. It also wasn¡¯t a question he expected he would ever get a clear answer to. A sigh from the other man drew Sen out of his own thoughts. He regarded the elder with a patient expression, curious how the man would judge him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a single part of that story that isn¡¯t troubling,¡± said Bahn Huizhong. ¡°If our disciples are truly acting that way when beyond the elders¡¯ gazes, though, it¡¯s hard to imagine anyone else with your strength would have tolerated it. It¡¯s also painfully obvious that you could have simply killed them outright. I won¡¯t pretend that I find what you did to them anything less than disturbing. They all eventually found ways to die by their own hands.¡±


    Sen grimaced and nodded.


    ¡°I guess that was the most likely oue, given what I understand about the technique now.¡±


    ¡°Have you used that technique again?¡± asked Elder Bahn.


    Sen heard something hard in the man¡¯s voice. He supposed it was a valid question. If Sen was running around and using that technique on people all the time, then any remorse he expressed would look counterfeit.


    ¡°Yes, but not in the same way, not often, and not on anything or anyone I didn¡¯t intend to kill promptly.¡±


    The elder didn¡¯t seem entirely satisfied with that answer, but Sen thought he¡¯d ept it, eventually. No cultivator was going to simply discard a tool <em>that</em> useful, especially with what wasing. Just as importantly, every cultivator could use their abilities and techniques to do ugly things. Sen wasn¡¯t special in that regard. The sect elder made a resigned noise.


    ¡°I suppose this matter is truly closed.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem satisfied with that.¡±


    ¡°Would you be, in my position?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± admitted Sen. ¡°I doubt I would be.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong lifted an eyebrow at Sen.


    ¡°No attempt to convince me you were in the right?¡±


    ¡°Would it change anything? I could say that I didn¡¯t go looking for the fight. I could say they brought it on themselves. I could even say that I didn¡¯t know what was going to happen to them, but I already said all of those things. I think you know that I was telling the truth. So, what else can I say?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there¡¯s anything you could say. I¡¯m not even sure it¡¯s you I¡¯m frustrated with. I just know the other elders won¡¯t be happy, but I guess they weren¡¯t happy already. So, nothing really changes.¡±


    ¡°Then, it isn¡¯t to be war between your sect and me? I don¡¯t need to watch out for idiots showing up and demanding duels all the time?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not that stupid. They do a good job of hiding it, but I¡¯ve felt four nascent soul cultivators in the area. It doesn¡¯t take much of a genius to figure out who at least three of them are. Challenging you is challenging them, and that¡¯s just inviting death.¡±


    Sen doubted it was quite that straightforward, but there was some truth in there.


    ¡°Peace between us,¡± said Sen, overjoyed to be done with the awkward conversation.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be an ufortable peace for a good long while,¡± warned Bahn Huizhong.


    ¡°No doubt, but at least it¡¯s a situation where everyone lives.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 19: Stupid and Pointless

    Book 9: Chapter 19: Stupid and Pointless


    The day started out like most days did for Sen. He made breakfast for Ai. He¡¯d discovered through trial and error that, while she liked lots of variety for the evening meal, she didn¡¯t really want to have to think hard for breakfast. That meant that he generally kept things simple. Rice porridge made with broth was the main dish most days. Sometimes he¡¯d throw in some vegetables or a bit of leftover meat, while other days he¡¯d just add some seasonings. Fruit was abundant at the moment, so he usually cut some up and let her eat what she wanted of it. Falling Leaf joined them that morning and patiently listened as Ai told her a story about some kind of bear. He didn¡¯t know if she was talking about a dream she had or something she¡¯d actually seen. She didn¡¯t seem frightened at all, so he supposed it must have been a tame encounter either in real life or her dreams.


    While they all ate, he pretended that he couldn¡¯t hear all of the birds outside impatiently waiting for Ai toe out and order them around. That was something that he hadn¡¯t been able to figure out, and neither had anyone else. By all rights, those birds shouldn¡¯t listen to her. He¡¯d harbored a suspicion that she might be using some kind of primitive qi technique on them, but there had been no evidence of that. It was just a mystery. He might worry more about it if she was ordering them to do harmful things or things that might hurt them. For the most part, though, she just had them chase bugs. It was hard not to see that as a benefit. While very few insects could do anything to his body, reinforced over and over again by cultivation, Ai and the rest of the mortals didn¡¯t share that trait. The wrong kind of insect bite or sting could pose a legitimate threat to them. So, he found no harm in letting her faithful flock keep the insect poption down.


    He did have to ask her not to send them after bees, though. She had seemed truly confused, and he¡¯d had to talk fast because he didn¡¯t really understand it himself. He¡¯d just been told by Auntie Caihong that crops and fruit trees needed bees to do something called pollination. If that didn¡¯t happen, then crops and fruits wouldn¡¯t mature properly. That was literally everything he knew about it. The entire process was a mystery to him. Since he had no reason to doubt Auntie Caihong, though, he¡¯d told Ai to leave them alone. She¡¯d epted his answer, even if he thought she mostly did it because she was worried that they might run out of plums someday. <em>Whatever gets her to not annihte all the bees</em>, <em>I guess</em>, thought Sen. He thought that maybe he find out more about how the bees and crops were rted, but he simply didn¡¯t have the time.


    After that, Master Feng came to collect Ai for an adventure. Those adventures usually consisted of the nascent soul cultivator flying Ai around for a while and showing her interesting things. Sen had never delved too deeply into exactly how Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho decided who got to have Ai on any given morning. He did get the impression that it was something of apetition. If there were rules to it, he had yet to discover them. Ai was just happy to have so many people interested in ying with her. As they were leaving, he did hear Ai say they needed to get Li Zhi, her friend from town. Master Feng amiably agreed and the pair set off.


    Part of Sen always wanted to chase after them and join in on the adventures, but he had responsibilities and needed to set a good example for Ai. If he couldn¡¯t be bothered to do his work, how could he ever expect her to be diligent with her work? Not that she showed any real signs ofziness. She had her off days where she just couldn¡¯t keep her mind on learning, but Sen had concluded that normal children were just like that. He couldn¡¯t expect her to be a tiny adult, let alone act like a tiny cultivator obsessed with advancement. If she was being diligent four or five days out of six, he wasn¡¯t going toin.


    Falling Leaf left almost immediately after that with a vaguement about seeing if the spirit beasts had decided what to do. She¡¯d been going out to the ice wolf¡¯s cave every few days, but always came back with the same report. There was no sign of Winds of Winter. Sen wanted to be disappointed with that. Having spirit beasts out in the wilds keeping tabs on the more hostile spirit beasts would be useful. It just came with so much potential trouble that he almost hoped they would decide to just sit the war out. Almost. He promptly pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. It was important, but there was nothing to do until they made a decision. In the meantime, he had other, more immediate concerns.


    As hard as he tried to delegate tasks, it seemed like there was an ever-growing list of things that required his personal attention. That had forced him into that office of his more and more hours of the day. He wanted to resent it, but there wasn¡¯t anyone to me but himself. He¡¯d decided to build this ce into a sect, and now he had to deal with the consequences. Doing his best not to grumble, he started making his way across thepound to the main building. As tedious as he found much of the work, he also had the feeling that a day woulde when he could leave the day-to-day running of the ce to others. He looked forward to that day and used it to keep himself motivated to do the work that needed to be done now.


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    While all of the students and teachers were good about staying clear of the immediate area around his home, he soon started encountering people moving back and forth, meditating, practicing, or simply cultivating. The ones who noticed him all abandoned whatever they were doing and bowed to him with respectful murmurs of <em>Patriarch</em>. It still bothered him, but the battle was already lost. He just did his best to put on a neutral expression and nodded as he passed by. He used to stop and try to talk to people, but he found that usually led to very awkward moments as people stammered their answers to his questions. That held for almost everyone, save for some of the core cultivators. There was one core cultivator in particr that he¡¯d hoped would leave who had chosen to stay. He tried to avoid the woman whenever possible, but there was only so much he could do within the confines of the academy.Sua Xing Xing was striding across the open ground with <em>that</em> smile on her face. Sen hated that smile. It was equal parts seductive smirk and respectful. He was baffled about how she managed to pull that off. <em>It must be a woman thing</em>, he thought. It didn¡¯t help that he did find her striking, although he supposed that was as much because of contrast as anything else. Most of the people in the kingdom were marked by dark hair and dark eyes. Sua Xing Xing had red hair, blue eyes, and very pale skin. It wasn¡¯t as pale as his own skin, which had never recovered after his most recent body cultivation advancement, but was paler than just about everyone else¡¯s. The main problem with the woman was that Sen knew what she was about.


    She wanted tosh herself to his cart and get carried along through advancements. To her credit, she¡¯d never made any real effort to hide that fact. He supposed it wasn¡¯t even that surprising. He expected that was amon practice in most sects. Find a strong teacher or elder and attach yourself to them. It would provide protection and, presumably, ess to resources. He hadn¡¯t even been able toe up with a good reason not to let her officially join his sect when it became clear that¡¯s what he was making the academy. Not that he needed a good reason. He could deny anyone he wanted with a word. He just didn¡¯t, and <em>I don¡¯t particrly like you</em> wasn¡¯t a good enough to make someone with actual talent leave.


    If only letting her join didn¡¯t necessitate talking to her. Unfortunately, for all intents and purposes, she was a core member of his growing sect. If he was being honest with himself, she was probably functioning as an elder. Even after having gotten exnations from several people, he was still a bit hazy about what those roles actually entailed. So much of what was involved depended on direct experience that he¡¯d found no exnation could really resolve his confusion. So, he mostly refrained from using the terms. Given that her star was rising in the sect, though, he couldn¡¯t simply ignore her outright. That she seemed to wait around to ambush him didn¡¯t endear her to him, though.


    He checked an exasperated breath before it could escape his lips, then drew to a stop. He looked toward where the gate was located. He could sense a group of cultivators out there. People he didn¡¯t recognize. Sua Xing Xing walked up to him, saw where he was looking, and he felt her spiritual sense expand in that direction. She frowned.


    ¡°Should I take care of it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen, trying to decide what was best. ¡°We¡¯ll both go and see if this is what I think it is.¡±


    She nodded, all of the flirting air around her gone and reced with a focused seriousness. They headed toward the gate, and Sen felt more than saw Bahn Huizhong trail after them. The man had been giving pointers to one of the students who was trying to master a new cycling pattern. By the time they reached the gate, the three were walking in a group. Sen eyed the man.


    ¡°If you go out there with me, it might be interpreted the wrong way,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Let them think what they want,¡± said Bahn Huizhong with a shrug.


    Sua Xing Xing gave the man a semi-hostile look. She didn¡¯t appreciate that Sen liked the man well enough to spend time with him on purpose, unlike his response to her. She schooled her expression into one of neutral indifference as Sen gestured for the gates to be opened. The three of them walked out to get a look at the group that was waiting for them. There were six of them, one in the nascent soul stage and the rest at or near peak core cultivation. They all wore dark brown robes.


    ¡°Shattering Earth Sect,¡± whispered Bahn Huizhong.


    Sen nodded slightly and focused his attention on the nascent soul cultivator.


    ¡°What business brings the Shattering Earth Sect here?¡± asked Sen, at least trying to feign politeness.


    The nascent soul cultivator drew himself up and stared down his nose at Sen.


    ¡°I am Chan Runchu, Elder of the Shattering Earth Sect. I havee to challenge you, Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    Sen tilted his head a little to one side before he said, ¡°No.¡±


    That seemed to catch the other man off guard.


    ¡°What? You can¡¯t deny my challenge.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can. I¡¯m not obligated to indulge anyone in something so stupid and pointless.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 20: Outside Intervention

    Silence hung in the air as the stunned Shattering Earth Sect members stared at Sen in disbelief. Chan Runchu looked like someone had stabbed him. It was one of the core formation cultivators who regained their ability to speak first.


    ¡°How dare you speak to Elder Chan that way. He is a nascent soul cultivator! Know your ce!¡±


    Sen just looked at the man. There had been a time when all Sen could do with killing intent was nket the area. A long road and more fights than Sen cared to remember had honed his ability with his killing intent. What had once been a hammer was now a finely honed instrument that struck only what he wanted it to strike. Sen unchained a little piece of that killing intent and let it loose on the man. From one heartbeat to the next, the core cultivator went from standing there with a belligerent look on his face to thrashing on the ground, screaming, and bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears.


    The other Shattering Earth core cultivators drew back from the man as though afraid they might catch whatever he had. Even Chan Runchu looked startled at the abrupt change. He tried to shield his junior, which bought the man about one second of relief. Sen simply released a little more of his killing intent and it punched straight through whatever protection the nascent soul cultivator had offered. The core cultivator¡¯s screaming redoubled as his bleeding and thrashing intensified. Sen moved his eyes to meet those of the nascent soul cultivator.


    ¡°Do you suppose he knows <em>his</em> ce now?¡± asked Sen in a casual voice.


    The arrogance on Chan Runchu¡¯s face had vanished, only to be reced with anger.


    ¡°Release him at once!¡±


    ¡°Why? Would you release one of <em>my</em> people if they had spoken to you that way? Or would you have killed them out of hand for not knowing their ce?¡±


    It seemed that Chan Runchu didn¡¯t have the right answer to that question because his mouth worked a few times but no words came out. Sen felt no sympathy for the nascent soul cultivator. A confrontation like this had been inevitable from the second he decided to make his academy a sect. The Shattering Earth Sect had simply been the ones who decided to move first, which meant Sen needed to make an example here. He couldn¡¯t leave any doubt that challenging his authority here was a monumental mistake. He just wasn¡¯t sure what the best path to aplishing that goal was. He could kill all but one of them and let that sole survivor carry the tale. It had a certain efficiency to it. Of course, that would make him <em>more</em> enemies at a time when he didn¡¯t need more enemies.If he let too many of them go unharmed, though, that could also signal a certain weakness, an unwillingness to do what was necessary. That might prove even worse than making enemies. Instead of having just one sect hate him, he could end up with different sects showing up all the time with equally stupid challenges. He could simply focus on Chan Runchu. Killing him and letting the core cultivators go might send the right message. He looked at the core cultivator on the ground. The man wasn¡¯t screaming and thrashing anymore. He¡¯d been reduced to soft whimpers and asional twitches. If Sen didn¡¯t retract his killing intent soon, there wouldn¡¯t be a decision to make anymore. The cultivator would die.


    Sen locked eyes with Chan Runchu and waited. He waited until the core cultivator was on the brink of death. He wanted to make it abundantly clear that what happened next only happened because Sen decided things would go that way. At thest possible second, he reined in his killing intent. The core cultivator took a few shuddering breaths that made Sen wonder if he¡¯d waited too long before the man¡¯s breathing stabilized into something less like a death rattle. Before Chan Runchu could utter a word, Sen spoke.


    ¡°That was my sole act of mercy for the day.¡±


    Chan Runchu¡¯s eyes were alight with rage when he said, ¡°I will destroy you for this disrespect!¡±


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± said Sen. ¡°Tseun Rong couldn¡¯t do it. What makes you think you have a better chance than him?¡±


    Chan Runchu seemed to freeze in ce at the name, but the core cultivators with him didn¡¯t. Sen could hear them whispering <em>Tseun Rong</em>. While Sen knew that the man¡¯s death had be known, his own involvement with it hadn¡¯t seemed to spread with the news. <em>That¡¯s one pitfall of leaving no survivors</em>, he thought. Based on the sudden consternation that appeared on Chan Runchu¡¯s face, he had made the connection. The core formation upstart he¡¯de to put in his ce had killed a nascent soul cultivator before. A nascent soul cultivator who was at least as strong as, if not stronger, than Chan Runchu himself. And that fight had taken ce outside the capital, away from any formations that Sen might have put in ce to empower himself here at the heart of his own domain. What had likely sounded like a simple task to the elder from the Shattering Earth sect had suddenly be a true life-or-death situation that did not favor him the way he¡¯d expected it to.


    Sen was curious to see what the man would do. A smart man would look for a way to back down from such an uncertain fight. Then again, a smart man might have chosen to be less confrontational until he understood what he was dealing with better. Sen was starting to think that he¡¯d been overestimating nascent soul cultivators. Not so much in terms of their power, which was undeniable, but in terms of their wisdom. He kept expecting them to be more like Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho. All of them were certainly capable of being irrational, but he generally found them to be more restrained and thoughtful than other nascent soul cultivators. He didn¡¯t know if it was age, experience, or just something in their personalities that made the difference. A very uncharitable part of him thought that maybe it was because they didn¡¯t spend all of their time in sects having juniors burnishing their egos all of the time.


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    ¡°<em>You</em> killed Tseun Rong?¡± asked Chan Runchu.


    ¡°I did,¡± agreed Sen.


    ¡°How?¡± demanded the elder.


    ¡°Effectively,¡± said Sen.


    It wasn¡¯t an answer, but it was all the answer that such a stupid question deserved. Chan Runchu looked like he didn¡¯t want to believe the im, but his eyes drifted over to the still unconscious form of his core formation junior. The ease with which Sen had suppressed that man, to say nothing of how he had all but ignored the elder¡¯s attempts to protect the cultivator, must have been too fresh in Chan Runchu¡¯s memory to convince himself that Sen couldn¡¯t have actually killed Tseun Rong. Sen¡¯s visibleck of concern about the potential fight no doubt helped solidify that impression in the man¡¯s mind.


    ¡°If I might, Patriarch Lu,¡± said Bahn Huizhong, drawing attention to himself for the first time.


    Sen looked at the man and nodded. Bahn Huizhong turned his attention to Chan Runchu.


    ¡°Who in the thousand hells are you?¡± barked Chan Runchu. ¡°And what is a Vermilion de Sect cultivator doing here?¡±


    ¡°I am Bahn Huizhong, Elder of the Vermilion de Sect.¡±


    Chan Runchu might not have recognized the man, but it seemed he did recognize the name. He stiffened when he heard it and a deep wariness settled over his countenance.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you,¡± admitted Chan Runchu. ¡°But why are you interfering in this? This doesn¡¯t involve the Vermilion de Sect.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not trying to interfere. I¡¯m just a guest here at the moment. The Vermilion de Sect has no official position on this matter. I just thought you might ept a word of advice, one elder to another.¡±


    Chan Runchu¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he asked, ¡°What advice is that?¡±


    ¡°Apologize for your incredibly rude behavior.¡±


    ¡°Why should I do that?¡±


    Bahn Huizhong shrugged and said, ¡°Well, it might save your life. It might also suggest that you have some interest in saving the lives of your juniors. Or is the Shattering Earth Sect in the habit of wasting the lives of its core formation disciples? If so, then please carry on.¡±


    Chan Runchu¡¯s face twisted in anger, but then he looked at the disciples who hade with him. He finally seemed to see what Sen had noticed long since. Those disciples were afraid. They were trying to hide it, but they were clearly frightened by the prospect that their senior was going to lead them straight to their deaths. A prospect that no doubt felt very usible after what Sen had done to their fellow disciple. The Shattering Earth Sect elder looked at those disciples for what felt like a long time. Then, he shifted his gaze back to Bahn Huizhong, as though he was searching for something in the other cultivator¡¯s face.


    As much as he wanted Chan Runchu to do it, Sen didn¡¯t think that the man¡¯s pride would let him take the path to escape that Bahn Huizhong had so generously provided. Nor was Sen certain that <em>he</em> could let it go at that. As much as he preferred to avoid bloodshed, it wasn¡¯t clear that this was a situation where it could be avoided. He had the feeling that letting Chan Runchu go would just mean the maning back with a more powerful elder to try to force Sen¡¯s hand in some kind of unfavorable agreement or to kill him outright. Given those possibilities, Sen wasn¡¯t sure he <em>could</em> let the man or his disciples go. Sen wondered if some of those thoughts might have bled through in some way to his expression because Chan Runchu¡¯s face nched when he looked at Sen. The elder¡¯s eyes shot back to the disciples behind him for a moment.


    ¡°Patriarch Lu,¡± said the man, even if it sounded like it caused him physical pain to do it. ¡°I apologize for my behavior today. I spoke in an unseemly and disrespectful way. I issued an inappropriate challenge. I ask that you do not punish my juniors for my poor judgment.¡±


    Sen took a deep breath as he considered his next words.


    ¡°Thank you for the apology, Elder Chan,¡± said Sen.


    He could see the relief on the faces of the disciples. It made him feel a bit guilty about what wasing next.


    Sen continued, ¡°However, I don¡¯t see that preventing others from your secting here to issue simrly ill-considered challenges. In fact, I expect that letting you go now would almost guarantee it.¡±


    From the looks that the disciples traded, Sen knew that he was right. They expected something exactly like that to happen.


    ¡°Am I wrong, Elder Chan?¡± asked Sen.


    Chan Runchu said nothing. He wanted to lie. Sen could see that much on his face. The problem was that the lie would be so obvious that it was likely to push Sen into resolving the issue with immediate violence. The very thing that the elder wanted to avoid. Bahn Huizhong once more stepped in.


    ¡°Patriarch Lu. Perhaps Elder Chan could do something to reassure you that you won¡¯t be forced to cull the entire Shattering Earth Sect from the face of the world.¡±


    The almost nd way that Bahn Huizhong said those words seemed to give Chan Runchu and all of the disciples with him pause. It was as if the man took it for granted that Sen could and would do exactly that.


    ¡°I¡¯m open to suggestions,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Perhaps a promise to do everything he can to prevent any future foolishness. Something binding,¡± said Bahn Huizhong, looking directly at Chan Runchu. ¡°A vow to the heavens, maybe?¡±


    Chan Runchu looked like he was about to spit blood, which gave Sen the distinct impression that the man had nned on running back to his sect to get help and thening right back. He was about to dismiss the idea, but the Shattering Earth Sect elder surprised him.


    ¡°I, Chan Runchu, elder of the Shattering Earth Sect, vow to the heavens that I will do everything in my power to prevent my sect from carrying out any future acts of aggression against Judgment¡¯s Gale and his sect.¡±


    Sen was sure that the words were said in bad faith, but the glow of the heavens epting the vow appeared around the man. Perhaps the man had been motivated by a genuine desire to save his juniors. Sen considered the group before he nodded.


    ¡°Very well,¡± he said. ¡°Go, and do not return.¡±


    The Shattering Earth Sect members didn¡¯t waste any time in retreating. Sen watched them go with mixed feelings. Sua Xing Xing let out a relieved breath.


    ¡°I thought that was going to end bloody,¡± she said.


    ¡°So did I,¡± admitted Sen as he turned to Bahn Huizhong. ¡°Is there a particr reason you saved their lives?¡±


    Bahn Huizhong gave him a surprised look.


    ¡°Because there¡¯s a waring. We¡¯ll need them.¡±


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Book 9: Chapter 21: Sharing Time

    ¡°War?¡± asked Sua Xing Xing. ¡°What war?¡±


    Sen had been a little surprised that Bahn Huizhong knew, but not entirely shocked. Sen hadn¡¯t spread the news to that particr sect, for so very many reasons, but the elder of the Vermilion de Sect increasingly struck him as the sort of man who didn¡¯t miss that much. Of course, Sua Xing Xing had not been in the circle of trust for that particr secret. Some of it was simply his difort with the woman. Telling her would inevitably mean spending more time with her, rather than less time with her. He also wasn¡¯t sure about her allegiances. He had put out quiet feelers to see if she had actually left her old sect, and the answer seemed to be <em>yes</em>. Of course, that was a very easy lie to maintain if most of the sect was told that it was true. Now, though, the information was in the air. Sua Xing Xing was looking back and forth between Sen and Bahn Huizhong expectantly. The sect elder was giving Sen an apologetic look, having seemed to realize he¡¯d let something slip that he probably shouldn¡¯t have.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± said Sen in a tired voice. ¡°Both of you. We might as well get this all out of the way now.¡±


    Sen led them to his office and told the young man outside that they weren¡¯t to be disturbed for anything that wasn¡¯t a true disaster. Sen slumped into the chair, afy one he¡¯d had made, behind his desk. There were two more chairs in the room. They were not asfortable. Sen didn¡¯t love the idea of giving people a reason to <em>want</em> to stay in his office. Bahn Huizhong settled in one of the chairs, while Sua Xing Xing produced a tea set from somewhere and, with a bit of assistance from Sen, made them all tea. With cups in everyone''s hands, Sen regarded the other two. He started with Bahn Huizhong.


    ¡°You¡¯ve clearly put some things together. So, what do you know or, maybe I should say, what do you suspect?¡±


    Bahn Huizhong briefly eyed Sua Xing Xing, which drew an annoyed look from the woman.


    ¡°In terms of what I know,¡± said the man, ¡°it¡¯s not much. I know that there¡¯s been a lot ofmunication between sect leaderstely. A lot more than there usually is. I was told by my sect patriarch to get ready and that something wasing. I reached out to some people I knew and they told me there¡¯s a war brewing, but it all got very spective after that. Some people think it¡¯s going to be a war between kingdoms here. Some people think it¡¯s going to be war with one of the kingdoms over the Mountains of Sorrow. There¡¯s even a rumor or two floating around about some kind of sect war, but no one seemed quite sure which sects it would be. The only thing that everyone seemed sure about was that <em>a</em> war with someone wasing.¡±


    Sen nodded. He supposed that was about what he expected to be going around in the upper reaches of most sects.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Sen. ¡°That¡¯s what you heard. Now, what do you think is going to happen?¡±Bahn Huizhong took a lot longer to answer that question. He kept putting it off by taking another sip of tea until the cup in his hand was empty.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like to guess,¡± said the elder. ¡°Guessing is dangerous when ites to war.¡±


    ¡°Humor me,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m not what anyone would call a political expert, but you can¡¯t be an elder for as long as I have without learning some things, even if it¡¯s mostly by ident. You get a feel for the politics of nearby nations. If there¡¯s a waring, it¡¯s not going to happen between any of the kingdoms on this side of the mountains. There just isn¡¯t enough tension. As for war with someone on the other side of the mountains¡­ I guess that might be true, but I doubt it. The sects here are petty, but none of them want to give up the power they have to answer to some cultivator dictator. More to the point, the kingdoms there know that about us. Taking territory on this side of the mountains is probably achievable. The problem is keeping it. It¡¯s too much hassle, too much blood, and too much expense.¡±


    Sen nodded while Sua Xing Xing was listening very closely to every word the man spoke.


    ¡°So, what does that leave?¡± asked Sen.


    He was pretty sure that the man had guessed. Even so, it was better to hear it for sure than make wrong assumptions.


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    ¡°That doesn¡¯t leave much. I don¡¯t know how or why, but all I can¡¯t think of that¡¯s left is either an invasion from thends beyond the seas or a conflict with the spirit beasts.¡±


    Sen had never considered an invasion from overseas. He was vaguely aware that there were civilizations there but contact with them had been sparse, if one was being charitable, and nonexistent if one was being practical. Not that there had been a reason to consider it, since he knew what wasing. He nodded in acknowledgment of the man¡¯s words.


    ¡°What I¡¯m about to tell the two of you is being kept quiet. Generally, it¡¯s only being shared with sect patriarchs, matriarchs, some carefully selected sect higher-ups, and mortal royalty. There has clearly been a bit of talk about some kind of war, but I¡¯m honestly surprised the secret has held this long. That being said, this is not information you are to share casually. Can you live with that?¡±


    Sua Xing Xing wore the most serious expression he¡¯d ever seen on the woman¡¯s face.


    ¡°Yes, Patriarch,¡± she said without hesitation or any of her usual annoying habits.


    Bahn Huizhong looked conflicted, no doubt thinking about all of those people back at his sect that Sen was essentially asking him to keep in the dark. The man eventually nodded. He didn¡¯t look happy about it, and Sen felt for him. He didn¡¯t love keeping the secret either.


    ¡°There will be a war between humanity and the spirit beasts on this continent. It¡¯s going to happen soon. In reality, it¡¯s already started. It¡¯s just that most people don¡¯t realize it yet. That¡¯s going to change, though. It¡¯s only a question of when. This has beening for a long time. There is a so-called Beast King. No, I don¡¯t know much about him. I do know he¡¯s been consolidating power for a long time. Centuries, at least. He¡¯s been culling spirit beasts who weren¡¯t interested in joining him, but that time is over or very close to over. He¡¯s getting ready to start attacking us.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing looked at him, questions burning in her eyes.


    ¡°How do you know all of this?¡±


    ¡°Because my master has been investigating the spirit beasts for a while now. He went out to confront them deep in the wilds. There was a battle.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Sua Xing Xing.


    ¡°For what?¡± asked Sen.


    The woman looked a little confused when she said, ¡°I assume your master fell in that battle if he went alone.¡±


    ¡°Oh, he went alone, but he¡¯s a hard man to kill.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong was looking at Sua Xing Xing like she was an idiot.


    ¡°What?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know <em>who</em> his master is? It¡¯s not a secret.¡±


    ¡°There are rumors, but it¡¯s always best to assume those aren¡¯t true until you get confirmation.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong¡¯s expression softened.


    ¡°Alright. I have to give that to you. I can¡¯t fault anyone for having a bit of healthy skepticism. In this case, though, I have very high confidence those rumors are true.¡± ??????§£???


    Sua Xing Xing¡¯s eyes went a little wide as she turned to look at Sen.


    ¡°You mean¡­ Feng Ming is actually your master?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Sen, a little amused. ¡°You¡¯ve probably seen him around.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Who did you think that old man running around all the time with my daughter was?¡±


    ¡°But if he¡¯s¡ª¡± she started to say, drawing the other obvious connection.


    Sen cut her off, not wanting to get dragged too far off the point.


    ¡°Anyway, he dealt them a significant blow, which likely bought us some time, but that time is running out. Long before we¡¯re ready, everyone will be up to our eyes in hostile spirit beasts pouring out of the wilds and looking for blood.¡±


    ¡°It makes sense now,¡± said Bahn Huizhong. ¡°Training the mortals the way you have been. Starting a sect when you so clearly hate them. Reinforcing the defenses around the town, plus whatever you¡¯d done here that I can¡¯t see. I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s significant.¡±


    Before Sen could respond, Sua Xing Xing cut in with an almost usatory tone.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been preparing for this. From the start.¡±


    ¡°Not from the start. From about a year ago.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me before now?¡±


    Sen gave her an incredulous look.


    ¡°Really? You can¡¯t figure that out?¡±


    She didn¡¯t quite grind her teeth, but Sen thought it was a close thing.


    ¡°You probably think I¡¯m a nt. Or, you think I¡¯m just some self-serving cultivator.¡±


    ¡°Can you think of anything you¡¯ve done that would have convinced me otherwise?¡±


    ¡°I might have tried a little harder to convince you if I¡¯d known all of this wasing.¡±


    ¡°You should have tried harder regardless if you actually wanted me to trust you. At this point, I have to start relying on people I don¡¯t particrly trust because there¡¯s no other choice.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing looked a little paler after that rebuke.


    ¡°What are we nning to do?¡± she asked.


    ¡°n?¡± asked Sen. ¡°What makes you think that there <em>is</em> a n beyond what¡¯s already being done?¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡± she started only to have Bahn Huizhong cut her off.


    ¡°Where would you suggest we rally our forces?¡± he asked.


    Sen appreciated the effectiveness of that question. It folded together a lot of distinct problems into one, easy-to-grasp problem. It didn¡¯t take Sua Xing Xing long to start mentally unpacking all of those distinct issues, at least if the vaguely sick expression she wore was any indication.


    ¡°Oh,¡± was her only reply.


    ¡°The only things we can do right now are train, advance, and fortify our positions,¡± said Sen. ¡°Well, that and not scare all of the mortals into doing something stupid. If you¡¯re looking to help, help me with <em>that</em>.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 22: The Nature of Trust

    ¡°How long do you think?¡± Sen asked, not for the first time.


    ¡°Tomorrow. In a month. In a year,¡± answered Master Feng, not for the first time.


    ¡°I thought we¡¯d know more by now.¡±


    ¡°We were always going to be at a disadvantage in terms of information. It didn¡¯t have to be this way, but human beings are short-sighted at best.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°How muchnd do humans actually control? How muchnd do the spirit beasts control?¡±


    Those were depressing questions. Human beings had carved out areas of control, but Sen knew from firsthand experience that it was a fraction of the space upied by the wilds.


    ¡°Not much and too much,¡± Sen admitted.


    ¡°I¡¯ve advised mortals kings and sects in the past to make an effort to expand those areas of human control, but there were always excuses. Too much expense for not enough gain. Too much loss of life for no profit. Once, I personally cleared enough space around a city for them to expand fifty miles in every direction. Within a few generations, half of thatnd was the wilds again. Within a century, all of it was.¡±¡°What city?¡± asked Sen, his curiosity piqued.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. The ce doesn¡¯t exist anymore. The real problem is that people are scared of the wilds. No, that''s not right. People should have a healthy fear of the deep wilds. The problem is that people are superstitiously terrified of anything that even remotely resembles the wilds. You asionally see some people made of sterner stuff that carve out a ce away from the big human cities, like your town here, but it¡¯s rare.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not <em>my</em> town,¡± said Sen.


    Master Feng shook his head and said, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s your town. It stopped being <em>their</em> town when their main sources of ie became <em>your</em> academy, people looking to join <em>your</em> academy, and the students from <em>your</em> academy. To say nothing of the merchants thate here because of you or looking to buy crafts that you introduced to other ces. If you packed everything up and left tomorrow, this town would cease to exist within a couple of years.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a bad thing,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a good or bad thing. It¡¯s just how it is. Like it or not, your presence here draws attention. That attention brought money with it. The townspeople are adapting to serve new needs and new demands, as they should. If they hadn¡¯t adapted, they¡¯d be starving to death or forced out. Yes, they¡¯re dependent on you or at least the continued existence of your academy. Really, though, it¡¯s not that different than the capital being dependent on the presence of the royalty, nobility, and sects there. Port towns depend on shipping and fishing.


    ¡°So, yes. If something fundamental changes, it¡¯s bad for them. On the other hand, the people here have seen huge improvements in their lives. People who used to do every bit ofbor themselves have an apprentice or five now. Just look at that seamstress friend of yours. I bet she only picks up a needle these days when she wants to. They¡¯re making more money in a month than some of them used to make in a year or two. Merchantse here on purpose, and not only every so often. They bring new goods, which can also make life easier or morefortable. Bad and good,¡± said Master Feng.


    He held out his hands palms up and moved them up and down like a scale. Sen nodded, if a little begrudgingly. He knew that Master Feng was right. It just made Sen very ufortable to have so many people¡¯s lives depend on him, directly or indirectly. It made every decision feel heavier, and he constantly had to weigh how his choices would affect not only him and the members of his sect, but everyone who lived in the town. A town that was growing increasingly crowded. Part of him knew that he should encourage them to expand. Honestly, it would be useful to have a second wall that he put his students to work on. It would give them much-needed practice not only in building but also in creating formations.


    At the same time, it would encourage more people toe to the town, and he was quite certain that would include elements he didn¡¯t want there. Crime in the town was infrequent, but that had as much to do with how well everyone there knew each other. Add hundreds or even a thousand new people, and that closeness would start to break down. Crime would be moremonce. The rtively small force of town guards would have to be expanded and trained. That shouldn¡¯t be his problem, but Sen knew that it ultimately would be his problem. Sen was well aware of what happened when town guards were stupid,zy, and poorly trained. He¡¯d been on the receiving end of that kind of town guard¡¯s attention often as a child.


    He also knew that the training he was giving the mortals wasn¡¯t well-suited for that kind of work. He was training people to do exactly one thing. Kill spirit beasts. He wasn¡¯t training them to investigate crimes or <em>subdue</em> humans. If he wanted people who were good at that, he was going to have to find someone who was <em>already</em> good at it and convince them toe here. Not that convincing someone was necessarily the biggest difficulty. Money had a way of doing that for Sen. While he had handed over most of his money to Grandmother Lu to support her efforts at stabilizing the House of Lu and securing their interests, the Sect was turning out to be more profitable than Sen expected.


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    It wasn¡¯t a river of money, but core formation cultivators seeking entry almost always brought good stuff, at least some of it intended for Sen specifically. He usually just dumped it all into the sect¡¯s resources, but he didn¡¯t have to do that every single time. Plus, he could always run another auction. Something the sects in the capital had been quietly lobbying Grandmother Lu about for months now. It might take a few days out in the wilds to gather up what he needed, but one auction would be enough to rake in substantial funds. There were other, longer-term reasons to consider an auction, not just in the capital, but in some of the other cities in the kingdom. While Sen hated to blindly provide resources that could strengthen cultivators he might find objectionable, theing fight would need people to be as strong as they could reasonably get.


    The nning necessary to set those things up would be a huge pain, but probably worth the effort in the long run. Sen added yet another item to his truly monumental list of things to do. Something must have shown on his face because Master Feng gave him a look.


    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about¡­¡± Sen tried to find the right word. ¡°Everything, I guess. Everything that should be done, that I¡¯d like to see done, and things I could possibly do that would benefit the war effort.¡±


    ¡°You need to find yourself some good help. Barring that, find yourself some reasonablypetent help. Half the things you¡¯re doing right now are things that no sect patriarch should be doing. Those are problems they hand off to sect elders, and most of them hand part of that work off to their reliable help.¡±


    ¡°They probably trust the people in their sect,¡± observed Sen with a wry note in his voice.


    ¡°Probably, but I think you sometimes mistake dislike for distrust. They aren¡¯t the same thing. At least, they shouldn¡¯t be,¡± said Master Feng, nodding toward something.


    Sen followed his teacher¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Her? Seriously?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I know it looks like that I spend most of my time being a doting grandfather,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°Okay, I really do spend most of my time on that. But I do asionally look in on what the cultivators here are doing. She¡¯spetent.¡±


    ¡°Of course, she¡¯spetent. She¡¯s a core cultivator, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°You just don¡¯t like her,¡± said Master Feng.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t like her. She just wants to use me to advance her own cultivation.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± asked Master Feng.


    Sen stared at his master with ck-jawed iprehension. He would have expected any number of reactions, but nket indifference wasn¡¯t one of them.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound problematic to you?¡±


    ¡°Why would it?¡± asked Master Feng. ¡°Sen, the entire sect system is about people using each other to advance. Everyone goes into that situation knowing it. It¡¯s formalized and restricted in some ways, but young cultivators go in hoping to use more experienced cultivators to learn and push their advancement forward. Older cultivators use younger cultivators to do things they don¡¯t want to bother with, but also as a method of refining their own knowledge. Nothing exposes your weaknesses like teaching, after all.¡±


    Having be aware of some of his own shorings through teaching others, Sen was hard-pressed to deny the statement. It didn¡¯t mean he liked any of it.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I have to do things that way,¡± objected Sen.


    ¡°You already do. You¡¯re a softer touch than most, and that has trickled down a bit, but the same expectations still apply here as they do in any other sect. Wanting people around you who are there solely because you have a deep, mutual respect is¡­ I suppose it¡¯s a little admirable, but it¡¯s also na?ve. What you¡¯re establishing here is a sect, not a family. And when the fighting starts, I promise that you¡¯ll meet people, work with people, you despise much more intensely than you dislike her. So, let me ask you this. Has she lied to you?¡±


    ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware of,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Has she failed to fulfill any of her responsibilities?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°So, aside from being ambitious and a little too obviously willing to jump into bed with you, a trait she shares with plenty of other people, I might add, do you have a single good reason not to give her more responsibility?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know that I can trust her.¡±


    ¡°You never know that,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°Not ever. Not with anyone. Not for sure.¡±


    ¡°I know I can trust you. I can trust Grandmother Lu, Falling Leaf, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho,¡± said Sen, feeling triumphant.


    ¡°No. You <em>believe</em> you can trust us. It¡¯s a belief backed up with a lot of evidence, I¡¯ll grant you that, but it is still just belief. Beyond that, we¡¯re your family. That¡¯s an unreasonable standard to apply to everyone else in the world.¡±


    Sen wanted to deny the words, but he couldn¡¯t quite make himself do it. The kind of trust he shared with all of them <em>was</em> an unreasonable standard. Inrge part, it was unreasonable because it required shared experiences from which Sen would automatically exclude most people. Falling Leaf had been his closest friend for half his life. Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho had been his teachers, to say nothing of the first people who ever acted like he could be more than a street rat. Grandmother Lu had almost certainly saved his life as a child. They had given him his first sustained experiences of respect and love. No one else would ever live up to that. How could they?


    But he still had to live in the world. Even if he couldn¡¯t ever trust anyone else with that depth, trust wasn¡¯t an all-or-nothing proposition. He trusted Jing, even if that trust was conditional. After all, Jing had a country to run, which meant he had to do things that benefited the entire country. It was a position that Sen had a lot more sympathy for now that he was stuck worrying about an entire town. He trusted Lo Meifeng, even if he¡¯d made her work ridiculously hard to earn it. He could trust beyond that small circle of people he saw as family. He just had to be more reasonable about it.


    ¡°I hate being reasonable,¡±ined Sen.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± agreed Master Feng. ¡°That never stops being bothersome.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 23: Lists

    Sen stared down at the scroll in front of him. In a bid to undercut Master Feng¡¯s implied assertion that he had too much to do, Sen had sat down and written out a list. It included all of the things he considered important both for the immediate future and for the eventual outbreak of the war. Even for a man who was used to working hard, almost around the clock, the list was daunting. It truly was more than he could handle. Any one task on the list would be simple and easy. The same was probably true of any ten tasks on the list, but the list was much, much longer than that.


    There were things on that list that he¡¯d been meaning to do for a year or more. For example, he¡¯d always meant to set up a way for the nearby towns and viges to alert them if a spirit beast attack came. At the time, it had just seemed prudent. Now, it was critical, and it had been all but forgotten. He thought there was a ready solution to it, but it needed more testing. Until he was sure it would work, sanity demanded he look into more mundane options. More recently, he¡¯d meant to establish a system to ensure a regr back and forth ofmunication between himself and Grandmother Lu. He¡¯d been in and out of the capital often enough that he¡¯d been able to get updates in person, but that wouldn¡¯t always be true. If he ever had to leave the sect to participate in fighting for any length of time, he needed the line ofmunication in ce.


    He¡¯d meant to look into the possibility of having more core cultivators from other sectse and serve as teachers. Not indefinitely, but perhaps for six months or a year. Long enough to help refine the students¡¯ fighting skills or provide some alternate perspectives on specific affinities or even crafts. He was still hesitant about bringing in people from sects, and he¡¯d have to make sure his expectations were very clear. Even so, he thought that it would offer more benefits than risks. That had never been more than an idea in his head that he would get to when he had time. The absurdity of that was starkly disyed before him as a giant list. He didn¡¯t have the time and probably wouldn¡¯t have it for years toe.


    That was excluding all the things he meant to get done in pursuit of his own cultivation journey. He''d written out a separate list for those tasks. He was still training with Fu Run, although training was probably a strong word for it. He could shadow travel almost as well as she could. The gap in skill was small enough now that she¡¯d even admitted that there wasn¡¯t anything else she could tell him. The rest was a matter of time and practice. He¡¯d have to find his own insights to refine his use. They had ultimately gone back to alchemy. Instead of teaching him, though, she had been pushing him to understand what he did better. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because she was hoping that he¡¯d be able to teach her a little piece of it or if it was simply to make him better. <em>It¡¯s probably both</em>, he thought.


    That made him feel a little guilty. He¡¯d been wandering around with that Shadow Gate Manual since he got back and had barely looked at it. His interest was as strong as ever, there just hadn¡¯t been time to give it the focused attention it needed. A manual like that wasn¡¯t something he could digest in an evening. It would likely take months of intense study to truly understand what it contained. Or, if he devoted what negligible time he did have, it would probably take years. Knowing that, the right move was probably to hand it off to someone else with a strong shadow affinity. The manual would be of interest to Fu Run. He didn¡¯t even need to ask her to know that. But he was loathe to hand it over before he¡¯d gotten a good, long look at it. He recognized the selfishness of that, but selfishness was inescapable as a cultivator. You didn¡¯t give away resources you could use willingly.


    Then, there was the fire-attributed ginseng he¡¯d found beneath the former Xie manor. He¡¯d mostly resolved to give it to Auntie Caihong. That had as much to do with getting it out of his possession and into the hands of someone who could truly defend it as it did with her alchemy skills. Except, once he did that, he¡¯d just knew that he¡¯d be forced to exin it to Fu Run. He also knew that, no matter how good or reasonable the exnation, she¡¯d be hurt. It would beplicated pain too. That was an emotional knot he didn¡¯t know how to untangle because only some of it would have to do with him. The rest of it would be tied up with Fu Run¡¯s rtionship with Auntie Caihong. That was a problem he had no intention of getting involved with because it really wasn¡¯t his business. Unfortunately, all of that meant he kept putting off giving Auntie Caihong the ginseng.


    Beyond that, he still needed to maintain his practice with his martial forms. Realistically, he should be practicing with Master Feng every day. It was quite probably the only way he was going to improve unless he found one of the people that Master Feng considered an equal to teach him. A task that would inevitably involve a journey he couldn¡¯t undertake anytime soon. Not before Ai assumed control of the House of Lu, probably. There was also the matter of developing his own spear style. Uncle Kho had said that everyone did it, but Sen felt like not doing it was ignoring something that might be both helpful and potentially life-saving one day.


    He had been a little surprised that he hadn¡¯t gotten to a simr ce with the jian. He¡¯d always considered himself more of a swordsman than a spearman. He¡¯d even asked Master Feng about it. The elder cultivator had seemed intrigued but had no definitive answers.


    ¡°Cultivation is a personal journey, Sen. What you get and when depends as much on you as anything else. You may just think that you haven¡¯t gotten everything there is to learn yet from what I taught you. Then again, maybe the universe is holding it back for some reason. There¡¯s no way to know.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.


    Not that Sen was entirely sad about that turn of events. If that chance did exist, he feared it would just be one more thing he felt bad about not pursuing. Sen couldn¡¯t help but feel a little angry about the lists. So much of what was on them were byproducts of him rushing or, more truthfully, being rushed through his advancements. He should have had centuries, even millenniums, to pursue so much of this. He knew that he could have happily spent decades or even centuries pursuing alchemy alone. It would have been a pure pleasure to take that time to learn from Auntie Caihong and even from Fu Run. He would have given almost anything to be able to do nothing but practice with the jian for a hundred years. How much could he learn from that? He didn¡¯t know, but it would have been glorious to find out.


    All of that rushing made it extremely difficult for him not to worry that his foundations were weak and shallowpared to what they ought to be. It didn¡¯t matter how many times Master Feng assured him that his foundations were very solid, that fear haunted him. He knew that another tribtion wasing for him soon. He knew it would be terrible. If someone¡¯s foundations were going to crack and fail, that was when it was most likely to happen. They were often the most pressure a cultivator was ever put under, save for the most extreme life-or-death situations. Even those deadly situations often paled inparison, because it was difficult for one cultivator to put that kind of pressure on someone else¡¯s foundations while fighting. Any of the nascent soul cultivators he knew well could probably pull it off if they faced off with someone at a lesser cultivation level, but why would they?


    Sen let out a little sigh, picked up his tea, and leaned back in his chair. He frowned at the cold liquid in his cup and used a bit of fire qi to warm it again. His gaze drifted back to the lists on the table. His grand n to prove Master Feng wrong had utterly failed. He didn¡¯t need just one reliable person. He needed five of them. He wished he could recruit Bahn Huizhong. He genuinely liked that man. Sen even thought it wouldn¡¯t be that hard to trust him. They shared a simr view of the world. They even seemed to analyze threats in a simr way. He just doubted he¡¯d ever be able to pry the man away from the Vermilion de Sect for the dubious honor of joining a sect that barely qualified as a sect. Then again, he supposed it never hurt to ask. The worst that would happen is that Bahn Huizhong would say no. He probably wouldn¡¯t even be offended if Sen couched it in the right way.


    That was something for tomorrow, though. The lists were a problem for today. He sipped a bit more of his tea and then pulled out yet another scroll. He started copying over items from the first list. Not absolutely crucial things that needed to work out. Just things that Sen wanted done and handled with basicpetence. He copied over ten items and then hesitated. <em>Maybe one thing that was more important</em>, he thought. <em>It can be a test for her</em>. <em>I¡¯ll task her with the town expansion</em>. It wasplicated, and probably not something she could get done entirely by herself, but that was part of the test. He¡¯d see if she was willing to delegate responsibilities appropriately and seek help when necessary. He looked the list over a few times and finally had someone send for Sua Xing Xing.


    He put away his list of personal goals and tasks. Then, he made a fresh pot of tea. The stuff in his cup hadn¡¯t been bad, but it was old enough that it tasted a bit stale. He snorted to himself. He <em>had</em>e a long way. There had been a time when he never would have tossed out tea just because it was a little stale. It would have seemed unconscionably wasteful. <em>No</em>, he thought. <em>I¡¯d have considered wasting any kind of food an unforgivable sin</em>. He still struggled with that when it came to actual food, but tea was just far enough from being solid food that it didn¡¯t make him flinch to pour out an old pot.


    Sua Xing Xing arrived faster than he expected which made him wonder what she¡¯d been doing beforehand. If she¡¯d been teaching, it probably should have taken longer. He decided it probably didn¡¯t matter. He had asked her toe, so he shouldn¡¯tin that she was prompt about it. She looked a little uncertain about the summons but seemed to calm when he just gestured to a chair. He let her pour out the tea for them, which seemed to calm her more. He honestly didn¡¯t know why that seemed to matter so much to so many people, but he supposed it didn¡¯t hurt him to let her show him respect by pouring the tea. Once they both had a cup, he didn¡¯t waste time.


    ¡°It has been suggested to me that I am not making good use of your talents,¡± said Sen.


    Sua Xing Xing froze, the teacup halfway to her lips. He could almost see her mind working as her eyes moved back and forth a little like she was searching for some unseen person. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what she thought he meant, but she blushed a little which told him that she had the wrong idea about it on some level. She regained herself and took a sip of the tea before she reacted.


    ¡°I see,¡± she said in a neutral tone. ¡°And what have you concluded about that?¡±


    ¡°That perhaps I¡¯ve been¡­harsher with you than is entirely appropriate. So, here,¡± said Sen, handing her the scroll with the short list on it.


    She set down her tea, took the scroll, and unrolled it. She studied the list, her face still fixed in an almost nk expression.


    ¡°Patriarch?¡±


    ¡°Moving forward, those are now your tasks. I don¡¯t have the time to manage them myself, and they need to be done. You may use members of the academy to assist you, within reason. You may draw on sect funds up to fifty gold taels. Speak with Li Beihe to get the funds on an as-needed basis. If you require more, speak to me. We¡¯ll discuss it.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing shot out of her chair and seemed to be fighting the urge to smile. She bowed low, the scroll clutched to her chest like she feared she might somehow lose it if it left her hands.


    ¡°Thank you, Patriarch. I will not fail you in these tasks.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. Thank Feng Ming.¡±


    She straightened fast and her expression turned to something Sen didn¡¯t recognize. It wasn¡¯t quite fear and wasn¡¯t quite horror but probably had a familial rtionship with both.


    ¡°I¡­ I wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± she said.


    ¡°You should. He¡¯ll probably think it¡¯s hrious. It¡¯ll mean that he was right, and I listened when he told me so.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 24: Want One?

    Sua Xing Xing did her best to stayposed as she left the Patriarch¡¯s office. It was a struggle. Her hands were shaking and her heart refused to stop pounding. A year. She had stayed here for a year, more than a year, and grown increasingly despondent. It hadn¡¯t all been terrible. She hadn¡¯t been abused by anyone. No one had asked her to do anything she found remotely objectionable. She had even been allowed to join the sect when Lu Sen had finally given up on the fantasy that he could start anything but a sect. In truth, it had been exciting in a lot of ways. Her former sect was old, established, and set in its ways, as was the case for most sects. That made watching a sect get built from the literal ground up very educational.


    Lu Sen had, oh so grudgingly, epted people from other sects, and those new members had often tried to import their prior sect¡¯s thinking about rank and privilege. Those attempts had been crushed ruthlessly. The assumption that cultivators with more advanced cultivation could simply order around those with lower cultivation was always the first casualty. The Patriarch made sure that those who served as teachers in the sect knew that it wasn¡¯t to be tolerated. They generally did a good job of making that point to the new members, sometimes with painful corrections to behavior. When they failed, there was always the Cold de.


    While her cultivation was higher than his, Sua Xing Xing shivered whenever she saw that man. He <em>frightened</em> her. Not that he was the only one. The Patriarch frightened her too, but that was different. Her fear of the patriarch was more objective. The man¡¯s power simply dwarfed her own. There would never be a conflict between them because such a conflict between them would be utterly, hriously pointless. He would <em>crush her</em>, probably while carrying on a conversation with someone and making some kind of shadow toy for his daughter. It was rational to hold a healthy fear of anyone who eclipsed you so thoroughly.


    Her fear of Long Jia Wei was not rational. It was primal. All cultivators killed. It was inevitable and unavoidable. The timing was always in question, but the eventuality was as certain as sunrise. It would alwayse. She had killed, more than once, and it seemed very likely she would do so again in the not-too-distant future if the Patriarch was correct about theing war. Still, she didn¡¯t think of herself as a killer. She did it out of necessity, not preference. Long Jia Wei was a man who killed because that was what he was good at, and it didn¡¯t bother him to do so. He <em>was</em> a killer if an extraordinarily disciplined one. When other means failed to get the point across that certain expectations were to be met for anyone who wished to remain in the sect, the Cold de went to have a conversation with those wayward students.


    She had seen the end result of those conversations. She knew enough about inflicting pain and causing harm to know that he maximized pain while avoiding anything that would leavesting harm. It was something she had realized required a particr kind of deftness, a natural if brutal subtlety. She didn¡¯t possess it. If she had tried to do the things he had done, she would have killed someone or crippled them permanently. Of course, all of that skill only served to tell her that if he <em>wanted</em> someone dead, it would be simplicity itself for him to make it happen. The difference in their cultivation level would only matter if she saw himing. She sincerely doubted that she would. That kind of skill paired with that kind offort with killing made him feel alien to her, which only fueled her irrational fear.


    The only bright spot was that Long Jia Wei seemed utterly devoted to Lu Sen. It wasn¡¯t blind fanaticism. She was almost certain about that. The man was too calm and too focused for something like that. Those kinds of fanatics were erratic as a rule. No, he had simply decided to throw his lot in with Lu Sen for better or for worse. Despite the way he unsettled her, she supposed every sect needed men like that. Her old sect no doubt had them. She simply hadn¡¯t encountered them. The sect had been big enough that those individuals were likely identified early and tucked away both for specific training and to keep their identities shrouded. Her new sect was still small enough and new enough that she eventually encountered everyone. Still, she reasoned that as long as she didn¡¯t do anything to cross the Patriarch, she should remain forever safe from Long Jia Wei¡¯s specialized attention.


    Nor had he been the source of her growing despair. The Patriarch had been the source of that. She had arrived here with a n and goal. The futility of those had been made clear to her very quickly. She had weighed her options at that point, almost choosing to leave, before she decided that she was likely to find more in this sect than her old one. After all, where there was change, there was opportunity. Having made the choice, she did her best to throw herself into whatever was asked of her. Hard work had a way of washing away poor first impressions. Except, it hadn¡¯t.


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    Lu Sen avoided her whenever he could. Oh, it wasn¡¯t anything tant or designed to be hurtful. He wouldn¡¯t turn and walk the other direction when he saw hering. He never ordered her to leave him alone. It was just there, something hidden right beneath his expression and a certain reluctance in his voice. He was always polite. So very damned polite. A solid wall of imprable politeness. She¡¯d done everything she could think of to thaw that rtionship, which had only seemed to solidify his wish to avoid her. It wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d propositioned him or tried to seduce him in some dark corner, although the heavens knew she would have if he¡¯d shown even the faintest interest. Even so, his apparent aversion to her had been hard on her self-worth. Even if he didn¡¯t find her desirable, would it have killed the man to at least be friendly?Then, there had been that revtion about theing war. That had hurt her more than she expected. He¡¯d very intentionally kept that information from her out of pure, unadulterated mistrust. It was only then that she¡¯d grasped the full magnitude of her failure to win him over. There was an inner circle in the sect, and she most definitively <em>was not</em> part of it. To be fair, though, she wasn¡¯t sure who was in it. He seemed to treat everyone in the sect with an almost nativeck of faith. Except for that Bahn Huizhong elder who had shown up from out of nowhere. There had been a brief period of suspicion on Lu Sen¡¯s part, but it had faded annoyingly fast. Now, it seemed like the two were always together. She¡¯d seen themughing together over something and was honest enough with herself to acknowledge that she¡¯d been hideously jealous. Something that could easily be hate for Bahn Huizhong had been born in her heart at that moment.


    She¡¯d considered leaving again after that. Feelings like that were unhealthy, dangerous things. They could breed equally dangerous decisions and actions. She shuddered to imagine what might have happened if she was less self-aware. Even so, she didn¡¯t like what she saw in herself at that moment. She¡¯d always considered herself a steady person who knew how to manage her own emotions. It had chilled her to the core to realize just how much she¡¯d overestimated herself. Before she could decide one way or the other, though, the summons hade. She¡¯d ordered the students she¡¯d been working with to leave <em>immediately</em> and rushed to the Patriarch¡¯s office. Such a summons was rare, and she hadn¡¯t known what to expect. She¡¯d worried that it was going to be him telling her to leave.


    Instead, she¡¯d been entrusted with things that <em>mattered</em>. Many of the things on the list were simply sect business that someone with authority had to manage, but that didn¡¯t make them trivial. They were just things that a sect patriarch shouldn¡¯t be bothered with. If that had been all that was on the list, she still would have been overjoyed. The expansion of the town, though, was something else entirely. Lu Sen was profoundly protective of the mortals in that town. He took a personal hand in almost anything the sect did that touched their lives. She didn¡¯t fully understand his feelings about mortals, but she didn¡¯t need topletely grasp those feelings to recognize and respect them. It was enough to know that he wouldn¡¯t tolerate them being mistreated and wanted them protected.


    This was a test. She was certain of that. If she understood Lu Sen¡¯s mind, it was a carefully chosen one. She hadn¡¯t hidden her indifference to mortals and knew that it had contributed to his perception of her. This was a chance. The chance she¡¯d been waiting and praying for over thest year. A real chance to prove that she was better than the impression she¡¯d given him. She just needed to not mess it up. Of course, there was also the business with all of thising about on the rmendation of Feng Ming. The Patriarch was so casual about having Fate¡¯s Razor, a walking myth, just hanging around the sect. She wasn¡¯t nearly so confident about just engaging the man in a conversation. In fact, the mere thought of speaking with him scared her half to death. Who was she, a nobody core formation cultivator, to speak to someone like that?


    ¡°So, did he stop being stupid?¡± asked a voice from right next to her.


    She looked up and froze. <em>It¡¯s him</em>, she thought. The seemingly innocuous old man who spent his time ying with Lu Sen¡¯s daughter, a man who could end her life in a blink, was looking at her with an amused expression. She couldn¡¯t breathe. She couldn¡¯t think. It felt like her heart was going to explode. The nascent soul cultivator gave her a grandfatherly smile and held something out.


    ¡°Want one? Sen makes these wonderful pastries.¡±


    She looked down and there was, indeed, a pastry in the man¡¯s hand. Not sure what else to do, she grabbed it. He looked at her expectantly until she took a bite. She blinked in surprise. It was quite delicious. Had the Patriarch really made pastries? The whole situation felt surreal to her, which probably exined why she just let the man pluck the scroll out of her hand. He opened it, read it, and then nodded in apparent satisfaction.


    ¡°Ha! I knew he¡¯de to his senses. His brain works just fine when he lets it,¡± said Fate¡¯s Razor, handing her back the scroll.


    Then, he patted her on the head in a decidedly paternal way, put another pastry in her hand, and walked away whistling a little tune.


    She stared at the pastry for a long time before she whispered, ¡°What in the thousand hells just happened?¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 25: Wrath (1)

    Sen tapped the top of the table in his office pensively. He¡¯d spent more than a few idle minutes wondering if he¡¯d made a terrible mistake passing off some of the things on his list to Sua Xing Xing. He¡¯d doubted the decision so much that he¡¯d gone so far as to <em>hide</em> and peek in on her working over the course of a few weeks. That had ended with him feeling both stupid and vaguely dirty. Not only had she not been cking off or behaving toward the mortals in a way he wouldn¡¯t like, she¡¯d been working like a woman possessed. While he could tell that she found his preupation with how the mortals were treated a little baffling, she went out of her way to be polite to them. It was all the more telling because she did it when she¡¯d have no way to know that someone was watching. He¡¯d ever heard from Long Jia Wei that she¡¯d intervened when she came across a group of older boys bullying a smaller boy.


    <em>I really did judge her too harshly</em>, he thought. He¡¯d taken his first impression of her, locked it in stone, and simply refused to notice anything that didn¡¯t conform with that impression. Not that he thought he¡¯d beenpletely wrong about her. She <em>was</em> ambitious. She <em>was</em> looking to use him, but not the way that so many others had meant to do. She wanted exactly what Master Feng had said she wanted. She was looking to advance, but she was also willing to <em>work</em> for it. That second part was what he¡¯d been ignoring. And was that really so very different from what he had done with Master Feng, Uncle Kho, and Auntie Caihong? He¡¯d been willing to take any opportunity to escape the life that fate had seemed set on giving him. When the opportunity presented itself, he¡¯d grabbed it with both hands. He had also worked himself to exhaustion to earn that new life.


    He knew it wasn¡¯t a perfect parallel. His main agenda had been pure survival with a vague idea that he might be able to help Grandmother Lu. Her agenda was advancement. He knew that most cultivators treated advancement as a life-and-death matter, but it was fundamentally different. If she never advanced again, Sua Xing Xing would have already outlived generations and generations of mortals and would outlive many more. If he hadn¡¯t been brought onto the path of cultivation, he¡¯d likely be dead now. He¡¯d had no other options, at least none that a child could reasonably be expected to understand. She could have simply stayed with her old sect. She might have reached the nascent soul stage, she might not have, but she could probably have lived out a veryfortable life.


    Still, there were more than enoughmonalities to make him feel a little ufortable and decidedly petty. It was possible that thest year had smoothed off some of her sect-honed edges. Maybe she¡¯d learned a few things. Even if that was the case, though, the foundation had to have been there. It made him wonder how often he¡¯d made simr mistakes. <em>How many people did I dismiss forever simply because I didn¡¯t like the way they came off in the first five minutes I knew them</em>? He feared that the number would make him cringe. On the other hand, there did seem to be a higher-than-average number of terrible people to be found in sects. He couldn¡¯t know if sects simply attracted those people, or if it made them. He didn¡¯t feel like he could use Sua Xing Xing as a good example. He simply had too many counter-examples of sect members who truly deserved every terrible thing that happened to them. Still, he could admit to himself that he¡¯d been wrong about this particr sect cultivator.


    Then, as if the heavens themselves wanted to remind him of all the reasons he hated sects, the door to his office burst open. That was a bit of an aplishment in itself since that door was made of stone, like almost every door in thepound. Just as importantly, though, it had never happened before. The young man who usually sat outside his office had a frantic look on his face.


    ¡°Patriarch! In the town! There are cultivators destroying things!¡±


    White-hot rage exploded inside of Sen. The sect was outside of the town. It was easy to find. If someone wanted to challenge him, they could juste to the gate and do it. Attacking the town and the mortals there served no purpose other than cruelty. He knew it was probably intended to provoke him as well. The fools probably thought it was a good trap. Maybe they intended to use the mortals as hostages or leverage. <em>Well</em>, <em>if they wanted to provoke me</em>, <em>they got their wish</em>, he thought. Sen rose from his chair and looked at the young man who looked even more frantic.


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    ¡°I¡¯ll deal with this,¡± said Sen.Sen didn¡¯t know what that poor young man heard in his voice, but he went very pale and just stepped out of the way. As qinggong-fueled steps carried him through the building and outside, there were shouts of shock and surprise following as everything not made of stone was dislodged in his wake. It took less than a second of expanding his spiritual sense to find where the cultivators were causing havoc. His teeth clenched as his rage found new heights. He arrived so fast that it probably looked like he appeared out of nowhere. There were eight of them. He didn¡¯t bother noting their faces, just their uniforms. Then, his eyes locked onto the little girl that hung limply from one of the cultivator¡¯s hands. Zhi. He could sense that she was still alive. His gaze swiveled to the remains of what had been Li Hua¡¯s seamstress shop. There were people alive in the rubble.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s toote now,¡± said Bahn Huizhong.


    Sen nced at the man who was standing a little closer to the cultivators. It looked like he''d been trying to talk these fools down off the cliff they had all walked up to the edge of so very willingly.


    ¡°You clearly don¡¯t understand how things work,¡± said one of the dead men.


    That was as far as he got.


    ¡°Silence,¡± whispered Sen.


    Then, he dropped his auric imposition and everyst bit of his killing intent on the one who spoke. There was one brief scream from the man before his body ruptured in a fountain of blood and organs. The rest of the cultivators stared in horror before one of them started screaming at Sen.


    ¡°You murdering bastard, I¡¯ll¡ª¡±


    ¡°Silence,¡± Sen repeated.


    A second cultivator was reduced to a bloody pile that only vaguely resembled a human being. Sen let his gaze travel across the faces of the rest of the interlopers as if daring them to speak. He fixed his eyes on the one who held Zhi. Sen suspected that he might be the only person in the town who knew exactly where Long Jia Wei was standing at that moment.


    ¡°Long Jia Wei. Please bring me my daughter¡¯s friend.¡±


    There were looks of confusion on lots of faces. Sen doubted anyone else saw it happen, which he didn¡¯t mind at all. Long Jia Wei appeared as if by magic, there was a brief glint of sunlight as his daggers went to work, and then he was walking toward Sen with Zhi carefully cradled in his arms. It took a moment before the screaming started. The cultivator that had been holding Zhi was flopping around the ground. Long Jia Wei had apparently hamstrung the man, gouged out his eyes, and retrieved Zhi through the expedient of severing the man¡¯s hand at the wrist. Sen could see the hand on the ground several feet away from the flopping, screaming cultivator. He ignored the remaining cultivators when Long Jia Wei stepped up to him. It only took a quick moment of concentration to ascertain that Zhi wasn¡¯t badly hurt. He rested a hand on the other cultivator¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Thank you. Please take her to see Auntie Caihong. I¡¯ll be along with her mother shortly.¡±


    Long Jia Wei ducked his head and then strode away. Sen finally turned his attention back to the new cultivators. The strongest of them, a peak core cultivator stepped forward. He thrust a finger at Sen.


    ¡°I am Wu Xiao Dan of the Twisting de Sect. I challenge you, Lu Sen.¡±


    Sen regarded the man the way he might a dead animal he found in the forest. That¡¯s all the man was to him now. A dead animal.


    Bahn Huizhong shook his head as he stepped back and said, ¡°I tried to warn you.¡±


    ¡°A challenge?¡± said Sen. ¡°I see that you¡¯re confused, Wu Xiao Dan.¡±


    ¡°And how am <em>I</em> confused?¡±


    ¡°If you came to challenge me, you should havee to the gates of mypound. You didn¡¯t do that. You attacked innocents, destroyed property, and did your best to inflict terror.¡±


    ¡°What difference does that make? I¡¯m a cultivator. They¡¯re mortals. I can do what I want to them,¡± said Wu Xiao Dan.


    Sen shook his head. He wasn¡¯t even surprised.


    ¡°I suppose that trash like you might be allowed to remain a sect member wherever youe from. However, when you do those things here, you bemon bandits. Little better than rabid animals. So, you will not be given a duel. You will not be challenging anyone. There will be no pretense of honor. You will simply be cut down like the animals you are.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 26: Wrath (2)

    Sen simply watched with an impassive expression, even as the rage roared inside of him. He would kill these people. There most certainly would not be a duel. But there would be suffering. Wu Xiao Dan seemed to be having an apoplectic fit. Sen was a little surprised that the man didn¡¯t start frothing at the mouth. While Wu Xiao Dan tried to find the ability to speak, Bahn Huizhong walked over to Sen.


    ¡°Are you about to suggest that I let these people go?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°No,¡± said Bahn Huizhong in a resigned voice. ¡°They took things too far. You <em>have</em> to kill them. But it will mean war with their sect.¡±


    Sen sighed and said, ¡°That war was alwaysing with someone. Is the Twisted de Sect so valuable that I should spare them?¡±


    Bahn Huizhong looked thoughtful but ultimately shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s never good to deplete the ranks before the <em>real</em> war starts, but if you have to wipe a sect from existence¡­ Well, I don¡¯t suppose too many people are going to miss the Twisted de Sect. Sadly, this kind of disy is pretty routine for them. What do you mean to do to them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to <em>break</em> them,¡± said Sen. ¡°Then, I¡¯m going to end their lives in the most just way I can think of.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± asked Bahn Huizhong.


    ¡°Just watch.¡±Wu Xiao Dan looked like he had his fury about under control. Sen considered enacting his n before the fool could speak again. He didn¡¯t think anyone in Li Hua¡¯s ruined shop was going to die if he didn¡¯t dig them out immediately, but he didn¡¯t want to waste much time either. Fortunately, Xu Xiao Dan started spouting nonsense before Sen had to make the decision.


    ¡°How dare you call us animals! We are¡ª¡±


    ¡°Silence,¡± said Sen.


    The blustering fool went silent a fear etched itself in his features. Sen used more restraint this time, only applying some of his killing intent. It turned out that it was still too much for the man that Long Jia Wei had injured. The man let out a final scream and then he winked out of Sen¡¯s spiritual sense. Sen wondered if the ex-assassin had been delivered a few extra injuries he hadn¡¯t noticed. He supposed it didn¡¯t matter. He adjusted his killing intent for each of the remaining Twisted de Sect members. He made it just strong enough to keep them on their knees. He walked across the intervening space until he could look down on Wu Xiao Dan. The man had just enough wherewithal to look up at Sen.


    ¡°Until today, I¡¯d never even heard of your sect. I certainly didn¡¯t care about it. If you had juste to thepound and issued your challenge, I expect I would have restrained myself to simply killing you. I might have even let your juniors go,¡± said Sen. ¡°Now, I¡¯m angry with you. I want you to suffer. The question is, what will make you suffer the most? Since you¡¯re a proud cultivator, there¡¯s really only one choice.¡±


    Ever since that long ago day when Heavens¡¯ Rebuke shattered a cultivator¡¯s core, Sen had been considering how he might aplish the same feat without using the technique. After all, he wanted these people to live. Maybe not for long, but he wanted them to live for <em>long enough</em>. He wasn¡¯t entirely sure his idea would work because he couldn¡¯t exactly ask people to volunteer to test it. Given how the Twisted de Sect members had acted, he considered it volunteering. When he used his auric imposition, he typically used it as a kind of shroud that he put onto someone. That didn¡¯t mean it was the only way he could use it. He¡¯d used it as a kind of shield before. Now, he wanted to use it as something a bit more refined.


    He did his best to focus all of that force on a very specific spot inside of Wu Jiao Dan. Then, Sen bore down. There was an audible crack as the man¡¯s core shattered beneath the pressure. He bore down even harder, catching the nascent soul that had been developing side the core. Sen almost stopped then, but the sight of Zhi dangling from a man¡¯s hand gave him all the strength of will he needed. With onest burst of pressure, he felt the nascent soul¡¯s existence give out. Focusing, Sen sent that auric imposition into the man¡¯s dantian and through his qi channels. With a flex of his will, Sen ruptured them. He released his killing intent on the man. Wu Jiao Dan toppled over to one side, then his hands started scrabbling at his stomach as if he meant to tear it open. He was sobbing incoherently.


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    ¡°No! No! No!¡± screamed Wu Jaio Dan.


    ¡°You had <em>such</em> contempt for mortals. Now, you are one,¡± said Sen. ¡°All that strength you used to enjoy courtesy of qi moving freely through your body is gone forever. Right now, I doubt you¡¯re stronger than the average mortal man.¡±


    Sen turned away from the still sobbing man and stepped over to the next Twisted de Sect member. While his killing intent had kept them in ce, they were at least somewhat aware of what was happening. At least, Sen thought they must be based on the abject terror on the woman¡¯s face. There was no pity inside of him for her or any of them. He didn¡¯t rush or hesitate. He simply went from one to the next, destroying everything that made them cultivators and ensuring they could never be cultivators again. When he was done, he stood over the slumped forms of the new mortals.


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, as if just remembering something. ¡°I guess you¡¯re all probably still a bit more durable than a mortal. I expect that if a group of townspeople decided to hack you all to death, it would probably take a while. Well, just a little more time for you to consider your errors in judgment.¡±


    He started to walk toward the remains of the seamstress shop. He stopped and looked around at the townspeople. They all looked varying degrees of shocked, horrified, and uncertain. Sen pointed at the ex-cultivators.


    ¡°I have taken their cultivation. They¡¯re mortals now. I give them to you to pass judgment on as you see fit.¡±


    No one moved for long enough that Sen worried he was going to have to take things into his own hands. Then, Wang Bo, the woodcutter¡¯s son, stepped out of the crowd. He had an axe in his hand and fury in his eyes. He walked over to the nearest Twisted de Sect member and brought the handle of the axe down on them. The former cultivator cried out in pain, but their attempt tosh out was feeble, powerless, mortal. Wang Bo avoided the hasty blow and then brought his foot down on the hand that had reached for him. This elicited another cry of pain. And that was all it took. The townspeople were galvanized into action and descended on what was left of the Twisted de Sect cultivators. ?


    Sen turned his attention back to the ruined shop. <em>Not just a shop</em>, he thought. <em>This was their home</em>. <em>I¡¯ll have to see to it that everything is repaired, and everyone who was hurt is made whole again</em>. He just hoped that no one had died. He walked over and started using air qi to lift away the debris. Bahn Huizhong came over and gave Sen a long look.


    ¡°Yes?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking that I¡¯m very d my sect was wise enough not to challenge you. That was a <em>memorable</em> judgment.¡±


    ¡°It was meant to be,¡± said Sen.


    He unearthed the first person, one of Li Hua¡¯s apprentices. He lifted the girl out of the rubble and deposited her in Bahn Huizhong¡¯s arms. The man swiftly carried her off toward the sect. Before long, Sen felt people pouring out of the sect like a disturbed anthill. His students and their teachers spread out into the town, searching for the injured, taking stock of the damage, and doing what they could to help. Sua Xing Xing eventually found him. He nced at her.


    ¡°Good. Please oversee things in town.¡±


    The woman jerked in surprise.


    ¡°Are you sure? Aren¡¯t there better¡ª¡±


    ¡°The townspeople know you. They trust you,¡± said Sen before he added onest thing. ¡°I trust you.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure it was entirely true, but he decided it was true enough. Sua Xing Xing looked like he¡¯d just handed her the keys to ascension.


    ¡°Yes, Patriarch,¡± she said.


    She offered him a deep bow, then spun into action, issuing orders, demanding reports, and otherwise acting like a reassuring authority figure. He vaguely noted when thest of the Twisted de Sect members died. <em>Good</em>, he thought. <em>I¡¯ll have to decide how best to deal with the rest of that sectter</em>. <em>Fire</em>, <em>maybe</em>? <em>Fire is usually good</em>. That line of thought was broken when he finally found Li Hua. He felt a weight of worry slide off his shoulders as he carried her back to thepound. He bypassed most of the buildings and took her straight to Auntie Caihong. He¡¯d debated doing something for her himself, but he didn¡¯t see any good reason to do that when there was someone far more experienced than him on hand. He did make sure that Ai wasn¡¯t there, though. He was relieved to see in his spiritual sense that Master Feng had taken her off somewhere. As Auntie Caihong ordered him to put Li Hua down on a bed, his mind returned to the Twisted de Sect. <em>Poison is good</em>, <em>too</em>, he thought.


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 Book 9: Chapter 27: Old Wounds

    ¡°So, where were you while all of that was happening?¡± Sen asked.


    Uncle Kho looked up from the scroll he was reading. They were waiting for Auntie Caihong to finish up with Li Hua. Sen was confident that the woman would be fine, so it was mostly just waiting around. Uncle Kho had joined him in waiting, although he had pulled out one of his seemingly endless collection of scrolls to read. Sen honestly didn¡¯t know how the man could pick things up and put them down and still get anything out of it. If Sen didn¡¯t give a scroll his full attention for long periods of time, he tended to lose track of the details. That might be fine for scrolls about history or agriculture, but the details mattered a lot with cultivation.


    ¡°About one hundred feet in the air directly above those fools.¡±


    ¡°You were?¡± asked Sen, startled that he hadn¡¯t so much as felt the man¡¯s presence.


    ¡°I was. I saw it as your challenge, so I didn¡¯t want to intervene unless lives were truly at stake,¡± said Uncle Kho, answering Sen¡¯s next question. ¡°Although, if you hadn¡¯t killed the one who was waving that poor little girl around like a sack, I would have. I almost did.¡±


    While Sen wished that the elder cultivator had intervened as soon as it all started, he understood why he hadn¡¯t. It was the same reason that Sen and the teachers at the academy didn¡¯t intervene when students came into conflict unless it reached a certain threshold. People can¡¯t always believe that someone is going to step in and save them. It was honestly one of the things that bothered Sen most about the sects. It gave cultivators a false sense of power when they were in one. Unfortunately, that kind of borrowed strength didn¡¯t mean much when put up against true power. After all, even if a sect would avenge you, dead is still dead.


    Although, Sen wasn¡¯t sure he had much room to judge there. He had done his best to avoid leaning on the borrowed strength of his teachers, but he also <em>knew</em> it had sheltered him. He doubted the sect leadership in the capital would have been quite as gentle with him when he was dismantling a criminal organization and publicly murdering a nascent soul cultivator if he hadn¡¯t been Master Feng¡¯s student. Well, maybe Lai Dongmei would have still been nice to him, but that was for entirely unrted reasons. Still, he understood Uncle Kho¡¯s reasoning. Sen had brought this problem down on his own head and the heads of the townspeople. It was his mess to clean up.


    And, he had been shocked to discover that while there were injuries, there hadn¡¯t been any deaths. That suggested either shocking ipetence or clear intention on the part of the Twisted de Sect. He was leaning in the direction of thetter. He suspected that they had been told he had a fondness for mortals, so the best way to get him to engage was to harass the nearby mortals. They just hadn¡¯t understood who or what they were provoking. Of course, that was damning in its own right. It wouldn¡¯t have taken much effort to learn that provoking him <em>that</em> way was going to trigger an extreme and violent reaction. The kind of reaction that led to a sect war. Except, there wasn¡¯t going to be a sect war. Not the way that anyone expected there to be, at least. He wasn¡¯t going to hurl his small collection of cultivators at arger, more experienced sect. Doing that would be no better than killing them himself. No, he was going to have to deal with the problem another way.


    ¡°I know that look,¡± said Uncle Kho.Sen blinked a few times as his mind rejoined the present.


    ¡°What look?¡±


    ¡°The look that says that a sect is going to cease to exist. It¡¯s been it on my own face often enough.¡±


    Sen decided that there wasn¡¯t any point in denying it. After all, the whole world was going to know by the time he was done.


    ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen.¡±


    Uncle Kho gave him a long look.


    ¡°You know that it isn¡¯t just going to be the sect leadership, don¡¯t you? If you go to destroy that sect, you¡¯ll have to kill them all, or so many of them that it won¡¯t make a meaningful difference. Elders, core members, inner sect disciples, and outer sect disciples. There¡¯s a cost to doing something like that. Are you sure you¡¯re ready?¡±


    Sen took a deep breath. He wondered, <em>Am I ready</em>? <em>Does it matter</em>?


    ¡°The fight ising,¡± said Sen slowly. ¡°One way or the other, there¡¯s going to be death. It¡¯s just a question of who is going to die. If I let the fighte here, it¡¯ll mean letting all the cultivators here fight people they probably can¡¯t stand up against. I know hard challenges are important for advancement, but <em>they</em> aren¡¯t ready. Not for something like that. Asking them to fight that battle is throwing their lives away. So, it doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m ready. I created this problem, so I have to solve it. Even if that means doing some things that I won¡¯t be particrly proud of after the fact. It won¡¯t be the first time.¡±


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    Uncle Kho regarded Sen for a moment before he looked away. There was a distant, pained expression on the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°I never told you why I started destroying sects, did I?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you ever curious?¡±


    ¡°Auntie Caihong exined a little bit. I just didn¡¯t think I should ask about it. I didn¡¯t want to drag up painful memories. It seemed like a poor way to thank you for all you¡¯ve done for me.¡± ?


    Uncle Kho gave him a surprised look and smiled. He reached out and squeezed Sen¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°You¡¯vee a long way, but you still have a good heart.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not as good as I¡¯d like,¡± said Sen, ¡°but I try to not be terrible.¡±


    ¡°True of us all,¡± said Uncle Kho before he got that same faraway look. ¡°I had a sister. Dai Lu.¡±


    Sen was shocked at that particr revtion. Then, he felt stupid for being shocked. Master Feng had a brother, so why would it be a surprise to learn that Uncle Kho had family? It was just hard to imagine any of them with family. They were so old, so powerful, almost gods in their own rights. To Sen, it was like they upied some reality other than the one he was in. He thought he should say something, but Uncle Kho started speaking again before Sen could think of anything relevant to say.


    ¡°We were very close. She was barely a year younger than me. We grew up in a ce not that different from that little town where you grew up. Our parents were farmers. It was a simple kind of life, but my sister and I did everything together. We even started cultivating at about the same time. Of course, the world was a little different then. There were more wandering cultivators and fewer sects. It wasn¡¯t unusual for wandering cultivators to find a little vige they liked and stay there for a couple of generations. What¡¯s forty or fifty years when you have centuries ahead of you? That¡¯s what happened in our vige. A wandering cultivator came one day and just stayed.


    ¡°Gong Ah Lam was her name. She said she wanted to try her hand at farming for a while. I honestly don¡¯t know that she ever grew a true crop. Looking back, I think she was just tired of traveling, but life in a farming vige isn¡¯t very exciting. You have to find things to do. She decided that she¡¯d try to teach basic cultivation to any of the vige children who wanted to learn. I wanted to learn. I don¡¯t know that Dai Lu actually cared that much about cultivating, but I was doing it. So, she did it. She was good at cultivation. Better than me. Good enough that Gong Ah Lam didn¡¯t think that she could teach my sister well enough. So, she took my sister to a sect that she knew about. I was so jealous. I was so angry at her for being better than me at something she didn¡¯t even seem to care that much about. I didn¡¯t even say goodbye.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t even dare to breathe. Uncle Kho¡¯s eyes were wet, and it didn¡¯t even look like he was seeing the room they were in. He was seeing something thousands of years in the past. After a shudder, the elder cultivator started to talk again.


    ¡°Regret is a terrible thing. It can eat a man alive. I regret that choice. I regret that I couldn¡¯t find it in myself to pretend to be happy for her. It wouldn¡¯t have cost me anything that mattered. She loved me so much. She only started cultivating so we could do that together. I regret not saying goodbye. I¡¯ll always regret that,¡± whispered Uncle Kho before he shuddered again. ¡°She went off to the sect, and I threw myself into cultivation. I swore that I¡¯d show her who the real cultivator was. She wrote to us, to me, but I never wrote back. Every time she advanced, it felt like she was taking something from me.


    ¡°Eventually, I became a wandering cultivator. You know how hard it is to get letters to or from anyone when you¡¯re constantly moving. I avoided going anywhere near her sect. I didn¡¯t want to see her. Not until I was ready. Not until I made myself into a legend. It was centuries. I only found out she was dead by ident. I overheard some people talking about how some young master had taken a Kho Dai Lu from her sect. It¡¯s funny how things that you thought were so important be nothing when you think your family is in danger. I went to her sect, found someone who would tell me what happened. Then, I went looking for her. I didn¡¯t get there in time. He didn¡¯t even give her a proper funeral. It took some convincing, but I discovered where they just threw her body. I found what was left.¡±


    Uncle Kho fell silent. He was shaking. Sen could feel the rage bleeding off the man. Thousands of years and he was still this angry. Sen didn¡¯t know if it was anger at himself, at the young master who took his sister, or at the sects. Maybe it was all of them, not that Sen would ever ask. Uncle Kho bowed his head for a moment before he carried on with the awful tale.


    ¡°I was barely a core cultivator then. I had no business dering war on a sect, but I did it anyway. I started with the young master. He died badly and very, very slowly. I made sure of it. I might have let it go there, but he told me a lot of things about his sect before he died, about what kinds of things they did behind those walls. It took decades. I haunted that sect. I killed their most promising students before they could advance. I hunted them when they left the sect on missions. I found poisons. The very rare, very expensive kind that can kill nascent soul cultivators. One by one, I killed them until the sect disbanded. Then, I hunted the rest. I killed everyone who ever wore that sect patch. I didn¡¯t care if they yed a role in my sister¡¯s death or not. They were all guilty.


    ¡°I thought that would be the end of it, but it turned out that sect wasn¡¯t unusual. Not really. So, I started punishing sects. The more powerful I got, the more powerful the sects I would destroy if I found out they were doing things I didn¡¯t like,¡± said Uncle Kho with a bitterugh. ¡°I became that legend I wanted to be but only because of what happened to my sister. I think she would have rather had a brother.¡±


    Sen didn¡¯t have any words. He couldn¡¯t imagine that kind of pain. He wanted to provide some kind offort to his teacher, but he didn¡¯t have any to offer. What did he know about family? So, they stood there in silence until Uncle Kho¡¯s eyes lost that faraway look. He turned to look at Sen again.


    ¡°I hate sects. Even knowing what I know about the role they y in keeping the kingdoms across the Mountains of Sorrow at bay, I still hate them all. Caihong has her own opinions about them, but if you want my help for this, I will give it. dly.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 28: Plans and Promises

    Sen¡¯s first reaction was to say <em>yes</em>, emphatically. What better help could there be with destroying a sect than a nascent soul cultivator who hated sects? That notion was immediately followed by an intense desire to say <em>no</em>. Sen had made this problem. He should solve it. It wasn¡¯t Uncle Kho¡¯s responsibility to fix things for him, even if the man was willing, eager even. He didn¡¯t imagine that destroying another sect would help Uncle Kho. If that could help him, it would have done so long before now. Of course, turning down the help wasn¡¯t just turning it down for himself. If he declined the help and failed, it would almost certainly mean his death.


    Whoever was left of the Twisted de Sect was unlikely to see his death as sufficient. They would no doubt seek out Sen¡¯s sect and kill whoever they could. At which point, Uncle Kho would likely intervene and kill them all anyway. Either to protect the people here or simply to take vengeance for Sen¡¯s death. If that was the case, then epting the offer of help was probably the right choice. Sen felt frozen in indecision. Neither choice seemed like the right one. He wasn¡¯t too good to take help. He had gotten a lot of help along the way. He just wasn¡¯t sure that it was the right thing for Uncle Kho. Would he just be feeding that hate? But wouldn¡¯t he just be feeding that hate if he got himself killed by saying <em>no</em>? There had to be a better choice or at least another choice.


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Sen hesitated and inspiration struck. ¡°I¡¯d like to try to do this myself. It¡¯s ultimately my responsibility, but I¡¯m not so stubborn to turn down help if I need it. I¡¯d like it if you came along. If I can¡¯t get the job done, then I¡¯d appreciate any help you¡¯re willing to offer.¡±


    Uncle Kho gave Sen a small smile.


    ¡°I thought I broke you there for a moment. You looked like your head might explode.¡±


    ¡°I was trying to figure out the best course of action. It was¡­ It was moreplicated than I expected.¡±


    ¡°I imagine it was,¡± said Uncle Kho. ¡°I¡¯d like to say things get lessplicated as you gain experience, but life isn¡¯t like that. Figuring out what the right or wrong decision is only gets moreplicated. For what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m d you thought about it. Most people would have agreed without a second thought.¡±


    ¡°I almost said no,¡± admitted Sen.


    That seemed to catch the older cultivator off guard. He just stared at Sen for a while before he finally asked an obvious question.¡°Why?¡±


    Before Sen could answer, the door opened and Auntie Caihong stepped out. Sen nced past her and saw Li Hua clutching Zhi to her chest and sobbing. He averted his eyes. That wasn¡¯t his business. Auntie Caihong closed the door before she looked at Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Why?¡± she repeated and gently pressed a hand to Uncle Kho¡¯s cheek. ¡°Because he cares about you, you old fool. He was thinking about whether helping him was going to be good for you or not.¡±


    Sen gaped at Auntie Caihong. Had she read his mind somehow? She noticed him and let out a littleugh.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ve known you since before you could shave, Sen. You¡¯re many things, but you aren¡¯t thatplicated. That isn¡¯t a criticism, either. The world needs straightforward men. That being said, I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t say no. It would have been terribly tedious to talk you around on the idea.¡±


    Sen frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯d have thought you wouldn¡¯t like the idea.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± she admitted. ¡°However, I like the idea of you <em>dying</em> with no one there to help you even less. I don¡¯t know this Twisted de Sect, but there¡¯s every possibility they have nascent soul elders, to say nothing of a patriarch. I know you¡¯ve killed nascent soul cultivators before, but I also know <em>how</em> you did it. You certainly punch up, but I also know that they weren¡¯t that powerful. I¡¯d rather not gamble that you¡¯re going toe out on top against more powerful, more experienced nascent soul cultivators. Better to take the help and not need it, than to need it and not have it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t really argue with that,¡± said Sen.


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    He felt a little better about asking Uncle Kho toe along now that Auntie Caihong had given her approval. He still hoped that his help wouldn¡¯t be necessary. Sen didn¡¯t think that Uncle Kho would be particrly well served by having more blood on his hands. There was always the karma to consider. Adding bad karma just to help him wasn¡¯t in Uncle Kho¡¯s best interest.


    ¡°Besides,¡± added Auntie Caihong. ¡°This is clearly a sect that the world can do without. Destroying homes and businesses. Injuring mortals. Frightening little Zhi nearly to death. Those fools should thank the heavens that little girl wasn¡¯t killed, or <em>I¡¯d</em> be the one paying them a visit.¡±


    Sen had to suppress a shudder. Considering what he could do with alchemy, what he¡¯d already done with it, what he was nning to do with it, that thought was chilling. There were a lot of ways to die, and he could already make it something truly unspeakable. Plus, he wasn¡¯t even that knowledgeable about poisons. She was. When he thought about what Auntie Caihong could aplish with all of that knowledge and experience, it was the kind of thing to keep him up at night. He just meant to kill them. He preferred not to imagine what she would have done to them if they had managed to call her wrath down on their heads. Sen decided it was best to change the subject.


    ¡°How are they?¡± Sen asked with a gesture at the door.


    ¡°Physically, they¡¯ll be fine. They both had a bad scare, though. Zhi will probably do better with it. She¡¯s young enough that I doubt she really understood what was happening or how bad it could have been. As for Li Hua, it¡¯ll be harder. She does know how bad it could have been. Time should help, but it might not.¡± ?


    ¡°Should I go talk to them?¡± Sen asked.


    ¡°In a little while,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°First, I¡¯d like to know what you n to do about all of this?¡±


    Sen lifted a shoulder and said, ¡°The n isn¡¯t thatplicated. Kill them all. Raze the sect. Salt the earth.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping for a few more specifics.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s hard to know for sure until I see the ce. I do have a few more options than most, though. I can probably walk right through their walls, and even hide in the shadow realm for a while if necessary. Makes nting poisons a lot easier. I can mess with their formations. Depending on what they have there, I might even be able to turn those formations against them. I could even set up formations around the sect to make life very hard for them. The real problem is time. I have to believe they know those cultivators are dead. You told me about how they have those life tablets to alert them when high-ranked members of a sect die. The idiot in charge of those other idiots struck me as a young master. So, if they start mobilizing before I can act, things getplicated.¡±


    Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho both nodded.


    ¡°At least you¡¯re thinking along the right lines,¡± said Auntie Caihong. ¡°You probably have more time than you think. Sect wars don¡¯t happen overnight. Cultivators can move fast, individually or in small groups, but moving arge group of them is different. They have to call people back to the sect, for one thing. That takes time. Then, they have to argue about who will be in charge of what. That¡¯s politics, and politics are always slow. My point is that you probably don¡¯t need to leave today. You shouldn¡¯t waste time, but you should have a little to use wisely. Prepare appropriately.¡±


    ¡°And if all else fails, I can just smash their little sect to pieces,¡± said Uncle Kho sounding positively giddy at the idea.


    Auntie Caihong gave him a long-suffering look.


    ¡°You could at least pretend not to be so happy about this.¡±


    Uncle Kho considered that for a moment and said, ¡°You know, I really don¡¯t think I can.¡±


    Auntie Caihong started to say something before she cocked her head a little. She nced back at the door.


    ¡°You can probably go in now,¡± she told Sen.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Sen and turned to Uncle Kho. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss the practicalities soon.¡±


    After a nod from the elder cultivator, Sen went over and knocked on the door. There was a pause before Li Hua called out.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    Sen went inside. Li Hua¡¯s eyes looked puffy and red, but she seemed to have gotten over the initial bout of crying. There was fear and anger and relief dancing in the woman¡¯s eyes. Zhi was held protectively on herp. The little girl looked like she had been crying, but there was more confusion than anything on her face. She saw Sen and lurched toward him. Li Hua looked like she meant to grab the little girl and yank her back but stopped herself at thest second. Zhi ran over and threw her arms around his leg. She stared up at him with big eyes and a quivering bottom lip.


    ¡°Uncle Sen! There were bad people! They hurt Mama!¡± she cried.


    He stroked her hair with a hand that only shook a little with renewed rage. He kept that rage off his face and out of his voice. It was hard, but he did it. She didn¡¯t need his fury. She neededfort.


    ¡°I know there were, little bird. I punished them,¡± said Sen, meeting Li Hua¡¯s eyes. ¡°They won¡¯t bother you or your mama <em>ever</em> again.¡±


    A look of vicious satisfaction swept across Li Hua¡¯s face, and Sen thought he saw a little of the fear in her eyes recede. It was a start.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Zhi in a quavering voice, her lip trembling even more.


    Sen crouched down so she could look right at him.


    ¡°I promise,¡± said Sen.


    Tears started to trickle down the girl¡¯s face, so he pulled her close and let her cry. <em>At least I killed them all this time</em>, he thought. <em>Or</em>, <em>I will</em>.

 Book 9: Chapter 29: That’s Not Necessary

    Sen felt Fu Run¡¯s unhappy gaze trying to bore a hole into the back of his skull. Given that he was working on poisons that were, he was pretty sure, three times as dangerous as the ones he used to kill Tong Guanting, the scrutiny wasn¡¯t appreciated. Still, he persevered until he had sealed the absurdly dangerous concoction into several vials. It was all he could do. Letting his focuspse would have been an almost instant death sentence. He also couldn¡¯t stop the work without risking some kind of runaway reaction that would make the cauldron explode. Again, that would likely mean instant death.


    The cauldron was the one concession he¡¯d made to Auntie Caihong. He¡¯d argued that he knew and wasfortable with his battered pot. She¡¯d argued that cauldrons controlled potentially lethal vapors better. She was right, as far as it went. It just didn¡¯t mean much to him. He routinely controlled those vapors with air qi. He¡¯d been doing it for so long now that it barely counted as active qi use. Still, it seemed to make her feel better. He had a suspicion, though. He was willing to be that, deep down, she was harboring some conservative idea that proper alchemy should be done in a cauldron. It wasn¡¯t a fight worth having for long, so he¡¯d simply conceded. With the current batch of liquid death now safely contained, he turned to look at a very displeased nascent soul cultivator.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re going to follow in his footsteps?¡± demanded Fu Run and then carried on before he could answer. ¡°There¡¯s nothing glorious about destroying a sect. It¡¯s stupid and pointless.¡±


    Sen sighed. He agreed with her in principle. It <em>was</em> stupid. It <em>was</em> pointless, or at least a pointless waste of life. It was also a grim necessity. If he didn¡¯t want more sects showing up and issuing challenges all the time, he needed to send a message. The kind of message that would get through to everyone from the most aloof elders and patriarchs to the most battle-hungry qi-gathering cultivator. He¡¯d learned long ago that it wasn¡¯t enough to just have strength. It was equally important to project strength. Unless he nned to withdraw from the world entirely, he needed people to view crossing him as an act ofst resort.


    While Uncle Kho or Master Feng could get away with letting some people go, nobody doubted their strength. Those decisions were viewed as the acts of mercy they were or at least the whims of people too dangerous to question. If Sen let a bunch of people go the first time that he faced a challenge like this, it would be viewed as weakness. It wouldn¡¯t solve any problems. It would create them. The sects would judge that he was too soft to do what needed to be done. He couldn¡¯t have that. He <em>had</em> to look utterly ruthless and vengeful when people crossed the lines he set. After all, he hadn¡¯t gone looking for challenges. They hade to him. Those Twisted de Sect idiots had entered the town of the mortals Sen chose to protect and abused them. While killing those cultivators was an excuse for the sect to posture and yell and start a sect war, it was actually a pretty light punishment. He¡¯d only killed the people who participated. A smart sect would cut their losses there.


    ¡°I know it won¡¯t be glorious,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯ll be in and simple butchery. I¡¯m not doing this for honor or glory. I¡¯m going to do it so that no one will ever be stupid enough to try something like that again. Besides, you¡¯ve been in sects before. You know as well as I do that there is no high road to take here. If I don¡¯t go and destroy them now, they¡¯lle here to try to destroy me. There is no <em>avoiding</em> this fight.¡±


    Sen hated his own argument. It didn¡¯t matter that it was true. He hated it because it meant he was letting them dictate the terms. It wasn¡¯t the first time, either. Sen was painfully aware that he embodied the role of the young master far more often than made himfortable. He didn¡¯t know how many people he¡¯d killed in a might makes right moment, but that was the world he lived in. Pretending it wasn¡¯t that way was stupidly na?ve at best and willfully ignorant at worst. Even if he wanted the world to be different, he wasn¡¯t strong enough to impose his will on the whole world. He was just about powerful enough to impose his will on one tiny little piece of the world, and he had done that much. He forced the cultivators who visited the town or joined his sect to treat the mortals and other cultivators there with more respect. That was the pitiable scope of control that he could realistically impose.


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    There was no true equality between the mortals and cultivators. There couldn¡¯t be. The power differences were too great. The habits of lifetimes were too deeply ingrained. If he had a few thousand years¡­ But he wasn¡¯t going to get them. He knew that. No matter how things yed out with this war with the spirit beasts, he suspected that he would only get enough time in this world to leave fleeting changes. The best he could hope for was to make things a little better for the people whose lives he touched most directly. If he was very lucky, he might help create some cultivators who were a little kinder to mortals and a little more likely to chastise other cultivators for being abominable people. Those felt like such small aplishments and terribly uncertain ones, but they were what he thought he could do.If that meant he had to y the young master sometimes, he''d do it. If destroying a sect was the price for protecting what was his and discouraging other sects from simr stupidity, that was a price he¡¯d pay. Sen didn¡¯t have to like it or want it, but he did have to ept it. Ideals didn¡¯t make the world something other than it was. Kindness, mercy, and equality were things that sounded nice, but bestowing them was ultimately up to the discretion of the strong. In Sen¡¯s experience, the strong weren¡¯t terribly interested in those things, except on a person-by-person basis.


    His own teachers were the best example. He would consider Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho kind people, but that was only because they had been kind <em>to him</em>. Even Fu Run had a streak of kindness in her, but all of them bestowed it on individuals. Master Feng likely had the power to impose whatever kind of society he wanted on the entire continent. Yet, he seemedrgely disinterested in any kind of social change. His reputation was another indicator that his kindness was deeply selective. He wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to hurt anyone that didn¡¯t offend him, and not much seemed to offend the man. Once someone did offend him, though, <em>nothing</em> could save them. He even seemed to have a soft spot for mortals, but, at the end of the day, he had chosen <em>not</em> to change the world.


    The same applied to Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho. They likely could change everything, but they had decided not to. Sen didn¡¯t understand why and had never worked up the nerve to ask. He just knew it was true by the evidence of his own eyes. Perhaps it was just because they were people with their own interests and preupations. Master Feng had made it abundantly clear that he wasn¡¯t interested in being in charge of things. Uncle Kho hadrgely abandoned the outside world in favor of the life of a schr unless something truly roused his interest or anger. Auntie Caihong interacted with the world, but she did it very quietly. Her life was alchemy. Forcing change on the world would likewise force them to abandon those choices and interests to take on responsibilities they didn¡¯t want. Being in charge of a minor sect had given Sen a very personal understanding of why they wouldn¡¯t want that.


    As for Fu Run, who was still ring at him, he was mostly relieved that she hadn¡¯t ever tried a world-changing gambit. Part of him thought that the other nascent soul cultivators might have intervened, but maybe not. An erratic ruler could prove helpful to anyone looking to solidify support behind themselves, or so Jing had exined to Sen in one of his politics lessons.


    ¡°So, there¡¯s no talking you out of this?¡± she asked.


    Sen shook his head.


    ¡°If things were different, maybe, but things aren¡¯t different. Besides, if theye here, they¡¯ll make a mess and be loud. Maybe loud enough to bother you.¡±


    Fu Run opened her mouth, seemed to consider his words, and grimaced.


    ¡°You might be right. That <em>would</em> be very irritating. But so is having you run off before you¡¯ve kept your promise to me,¡± she said before she got a thoughtful look on her face. ¡°Maybe I should go deal with them so you¡¯ll settle down and focus for a few months.¡±


    Visions of a poisoned wastnd stretching out for a hundred miles in every direction filled Sen¡¯s mind.


    ¡°No!¡± he shouted before getting ahold of himself. ¡°No. That¡¯s not necessary. This isn¡¯t your problem. I¡¯ll deal with it.¡±


    She eyed him and asked, ¡°Are you certain? I could probably¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Sen hurried to say.


    He didn¡¯t want to give the woman a chance to decide she was going to go solve the problem anyway. It was one thing to bring Uncle Kho along as backup. It was something else entirely to unleash an annoyed and unsupervised Fu Run on a group of unsuspecting victims. Who knew what she might do? ?

 Book 9: Chapter Thirty – No Bet

    Book 9: Chapter Thirty ¨C No Bet


    Sen took a deep breath as he stared out into the wilds beyond the edges of his sectpound. He¡¯d take up station on the wall that would be the second line of defense if the ce ever came under attack. The first line of defense was a series of formations that he and Uncle Kho had been developing, on and off, for the better part of a year. Sen didn¡¯t like working that way, but there simply hadn¡¯t been enough hours in the day. Plus, he didn¡¯t want the details leaking. A few people that there <em>were</em> formations, but he¡¯d kept the specifics to himself. The time crunch had only intensified as he prepared for his one-man war against the Twisted de Sect, which was why he standing on the wall.


    He supposed it probably seemed odd to the members of the sect but very few people were likely to question him directly about it. Then again, they might all just think he was doing somethingplicated to advance his own cultivation. He wasn¡¯t, but it probably wouldn¡¯t hurt people to think he was being proactive. No, he just wanted a few moments of calm. Despite his best efforts, he kept finding himself getting sucked into the minutia of things and slowly getting dragged into the minor political problems that, he had been assured, weremon in any sect. They were distractions.


    Unfortunately, being distractions didn¡¯t make them entirely unimportant. Details mattered. When people stopped paying attention to details, problems inevitably urred. He had learned that in life and in sect building, much as in alchemy, it was always harder to <em>fix</em> a problem than prevent it. Fixing problems always meant spending time and energy that could have gone to something else. That inevitably meant putting off something else, also probably important, and it often spiraled out for weeks before things got back to what passed for normal. It was always infuriating because someone doing their job properly was all it took to avoid that slow-moving disaster.


    Preventing the newly forming sect from splintering into hateful factions was crucial with the waring. Whether they knew it or not, this little sect was going to be crucial in ensuring that what he cared about was protected when he couldn¡¯t be there to do it himself. Grandmother Lu had been working tirelessly to make his spur-of-moment demand for a noble house into a functional reality. Yet, she was also the most vulnerable person in a lot of ways. Sen hadn¡¯t discussed it with them, but he¡¯d gotten the impression that Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho had simply decided that one of them would always be nearby to keep Ai safe. Everyone else he considered family were all dangerous in their own right. So, he needed to get enough cultivators up to an eptable level to protect Grandmother Lu. Still, it was all just so very tiring.


    ¡°You have the look of a man with troubling things on his mind,¡± said Bahn Huizhong, hopping up on the wall beside Sen.


    Sen decided that the word hopping wasn¡¯t really adequate. The wall was close to fifteen feet tall, making the jump a physical impossibility for a mortal. The other cultivator had made it look like a hop, though. <em>I think I might need an hour or two of sleep</em>, thought Sen. <em>If I¡¯m getting stuck on something like the right word</em>, <em>I¡¯m more tired than I thought</em>. Pushing away the question of hopping as the right word, he gave his friend what he hoped looked like a smile. He wasn¡¯t sure precisely when he¡¯d decided that Bahn Huizhong was his friend, but he had decided it somewhere along the way. He thought that their rtionship was a bit like what he imagined an older and younger brother might be like. The other cultivator served as a steady presence that helped to bnce Sen¡¯s tendency to jump to a decision or action. Not that he thought Bahn Huizhong wouldn¡¯t take action in the right circumstances. He¡¯d heard about what the man had done to that elder at his own sect, after all.


    ¡°I¡¯m mostly trying to avoid having those thoughts for a few minutes,¡± said Sen, turning his eyes back out to the wilds. ¡°It looks peaceful out there, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Bahn Huizhong looked out at the forest.


    ¡°It does. It even can be. It¡¯s not all death and violence in the wilds.¡±¡°Isn¡¯t it, though? Nature isn¡¯t particrly kind, not if you look at it closely enough.¡±


    ¡°Then, don¡¯t look so closely. Seems simple enough.¡±


    Sen felt a little smile on his own face. It was a simple enough solution. He didn¡¯t need to let knowledge poison everything for him.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be leaving soon, won¡¯t you?¡± asked Sen. ¡°With Master Khoing with me, there¡¯s no real reason for you and Li Yi Nuo to stay.¡±


    ¡°I expect so,¡± said Bahn Huizhong.


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    Sen nodded. He¡¯d been increasingly dreading this day, so he¡¯d avoided asking about it until now.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you want to join this sect?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I hear the patriarch makes excellent pastries.¡±


    ¡°I do love pastries,¡± said Bahn Huizhong as he took on a contemtive air. ¡°I wondered if you would ask.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to. It felt a little unfair to put you on the spot like that. I also know that there¡¯s really no benefit in it for you. It¡¯s not like I can offer you resources,¡± said Sen before adding something. ¡°Well, probably not. We never really talked about it. I just assumed that the Vermilion de Sect could offer you things I can¡¯t. Unless you need some particr elixir. In the end, I figured that there was no harm in asking.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a small thing to leave a sect. That¡¯s not entirely true. It¡¯s simplicity itself if you¡¯re an outer sect disciple. It gets veryplicated for core members and elders. You know a lot of secrets.¡±


    ¡°What? You mean like this?¡±


    Sen drew his jian and sent a copy of the vermilion de the sect took its name from flying into the forest. Bahn Huizhong stared after it with a look of consternation on his face.


    ¡°Did Li Yi Nuo teach you that?¡± he asked, sounding worried.


    ¡°Teach? No, nothing like that. She tried to use it on me. It wasn¡¯t that hard to figure it out after I saw it.¡±


    The older cultivator gave Sen a startled look and asked, ¡°After seeing it one time?¡±


    ¡°I do have an unfair advantage or three.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± said a relieved Bahn Huizhong. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone use multiple qi types the way you do. Honestly, I¡¯m not sure how you manage it. I don¡¯t imagine you¡¯d be willing to teach it?¡±


    ¡°To you?¡±


    ¡°To Li Yi Nuo.¡±


    Sen shook his head. Seeing the disappointment on the other man¡¯s face, he felt like he needed to rify.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling. I think most cultivators can do it a little bit. Your whole sect is proof of that. The problem is that you have to build your cultivation around it from the qi-gathering stage if you want to make a serious go of it. Even then, it¡¯s not a simple thing. It makes every advancement harder. Everything takes longer.¡±


    ¡°You do realize that you¡¯re a living counterargument to that, right?¡±


    ¡°I know it looks that way, but there are other factors that make me¡ª¡± Sen tried to think of how best to put it. ¡°They make me a bad example. I had the best alchemist alive around making me potions, elixirs, and pills to help make sure everything went right. I had the best possible training from what might be the three most sessful cultivators in the world. Not really an easy thing to replicate.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong gave Sen a skeptical look.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t those people here?¡±


    Sen snorted out augh and said, ¡°They are, but they <em>wanted</em> to train me. I can¡¯t make them want to train anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Fair.¡±


    ¡°And there are other factors that have made my cultivation journey atypical. Lucky encounters, a stupidly dangerous body cultivation method, enlightenments, and so many other things that I either can¡¯t or won¡¯t try to reproduce for anyone else. Honestly, looking back, I don¡¯t even know <em>how</em> I lived for this long.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You heavens-kissed cultivators are annoying with that kind of stuff. The rest of us have to work for it.¡±


    Sen eyed the other cultivator¡¯s smirk before he said, ¡°I know. If I keep being thiszy, I might identally ascend next week.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that. I¡¯ll never hear the end of it from Li Yi Nuo if you do.¡±


    ¡°How is her training going?¡± asked Sen.


    Bahn Huizhong gave him a surprised look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve kept myself out of it. That¡¯s between her and Uncle Kho.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t tell you?¡±


    ¡°He probably would if I asked, but it¡¯s not like I have any right to know. A friend of mine told me once that curiosity alone isn¡¯t a good enough reason to pry into other people¡¯s lives. If I asked him, he¡¯d probably give me details. If I ask you, you can tell me to mind my own business or filter the amount of detail you provide.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong fell silent for several minutes as he gazed out at the wilds. Sen let the man think it over.


    ¡°She¡¯s learned a lot from him. Although, she always looks like she¡¯s five seconds from death every time shees back from a training session.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I bet. He sets high expectations.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie, though. I am a tiny bit jealous of you both. For any spear user, getting personal training from Kho Jaw-Long is the impossible dream. What do you think he¡¯d say if I asked him for some advice?¡±


    ¡°That, I can¡¯t say for sure, but I get the impression that he withdrew from the world in part to avoid those kinds of requests.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong made a disappointed noise but nodded in apparent understanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s like that as an elder. Everyone is always scrambling for your attention, hoping you¡¯ll take them as a direct disciple. It makes you want to say no to everyone.¡±


    ¡°You took on Li Yi Nuo,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°She was a special case. I thought I was dying. I wanted to take on onest student.¡±


    ¡°You look fairly healthy to me.¡±


    ¡°It seems like the world is about to get very interesting. I wouldn¡¯t want to miss out on all of that.¡±


    ¡°Madman. I <em>wish</em> I could miss out on all of that.¡±


    ¡°You could if you wanted to. You could sit it out. No one is making you get involved.¡±


    Sen gave the man an incredulous look before his mind made the connection. Then, he startedughing. Bahn Huizhong gave him a questioning look.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°I just forgot that you haven¡¯t been around that long. Let me put it this way. If there¡¯s a war happening, it is an absolute certainty that I will be involved. And if I try to stay out of it, I¡¯ll get dragged into it in the most inconvenient way possible.¡±


    ¡°That seems unlikely.¡±


    Sen looked at his friend and said, ¡°I will bet you a thousand gold tael that you¡¯re wrong.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong stared at Sen for most of a minute.


    ¡°No bet.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 30: No Bet

    Sen took a deep breath as he stared out into the wilds beyond the edges of his sectpound. He¡¯d take up station on the wall that would be the second line of defense if the ce ever came under attack. The first line of defense was a series of formations that he and Uncle Kho had been developing, on and off, for the better part of a year. Sen didn¡¯t like working that way, but there simply hadn¡¯t been enough hours in the day. Plus, he didn¡¯t want the details leaking. A few people that there <em>were</em> formations, but he¡¯d kept the specifics to himself. The time crunch had only intensified as he prepared for his one-man war against the Twisted de Sect, which was why he standing on the wall.


    He supposed it probably seemed odd to the members of the sect but very few people were likely to question him directly about it. Then again, they might all just think he was doing somethingplicated to advance his own cultivation. He wasn¡¯t, but it probably wouldn¡¯t hurt people to think he was being proactive. No, he just wanted a few moments of calm. Despite his best efforts, he kept finding himself getting sucked into the minutia of things and slowly getting dragged into the minor political problems that, he had been assured, weremon in any sect. They were distractions.


    Unfortunately, being distractions didn¡¯t make them entirely unimportant. Details mattered. When people stopped paying attention to details, problems inevitably urred. He had learned that in life and in sect building, much as in alchemy, it was always harder to <em>fix</em> a problem than prevent it. Fixing problems always meant spending time and energy that could have gone to something else. That inevitably meant putting off something else, also probably important, and it often spiraled out for weeks before things got back to what passed for normal. It was always infuriating because someone doing their job properly was all it took to avoid that slow-moving disaster.


    Preventing the newly forming sect from splintering into hateful factions was crucial with the waring. Whether they knew it or not, this little sect was going to be crucial in ensuring that what he cared about was protected when he couldn¡¯t be there to do it himself. Grandmother Lu had been working tirelessly to make his spur-of-moment demand for a noble house into a functional reality. Yet, she was also the most vulnerable person in a lot of ways. Sen hadn¡¯t discussed it with them, but he¡¯d gotten the impression that Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho had simply decided that one of them would always be nearby to keep Ai safe. Everyone else he considered family were all dangerous in their own right. So, he needed to get enough cultivators up to an eptable level to protect Grandmother Lu. Still, it was all just so very tiring.


    ¡°You have the look of a man with troubling things on his mind,¡± said Bahn Huizhong, hopping up on the wall beside Sen.


    Sen decided that the word hopping wasn¡¯t really adequate. The wall was close to fifteen feet tall, making the jump a physical impossibility for a mortal. The other cultivator had made it look like a hop, though. <em>I think I might need an hour or two of sleep</em>, thought Sen. <em>If I¡¯m getting stuck on something like the right word</em>, <em>I¡¯m more tired than I thought</em>. Pushing away the question of hopping as the right word, he gave his friend what he hoped looked like a smile. He wasn¡¯t sure precisely when he¡¯d decided that Bahn Huizhong was his friend, but he had decided it somewhere along the way. He thought that their rtionship was a bit like what he imagined an older and younger brother might be like. The other cultivator served as a steady presence that helped to bnce Sen¡¯s tendency to jump to a decision or action. Not that he thought Bahn Huizhong wouldn¡¯t take action in the right circumstances. He¡¯d heard about what the man had done to that elder at his own sect, after all.


    ¡°I¡¯m mostly trying to avoid having those thoughts for a few minutes,¡± said Sen, turning his eyes back out to the wilds. ¡°It looks peaceful out there, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Bahn Huizhong looked out at the forest.


    ¡°It does. It even can be. It¡¯s not all death and violence in the wilds.¡±¡°Isn¡¯t it, though? Nature isn¡¯t particrly kind, not if you look at it closely enough.¡±


    ¡°Then, don¡¯t look so closely. Seems simple enough.¡±


    Sen felt a little smile on his own face. It was a simple enough solution. He didn¡¯t need to let knowledge poison everything for him.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be leaving soon, won¡¯t you?¡± asked Sen. ¡°With Master Khoing with me, there¡¯s no real reason for you and Li Yi Nuo to stay.¡±


    ¡°I expect so,¡± said Bahn Huizhong.


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    Sen nodded. He¡¯d been increasingly dreading this day, so he¡¯d avoided asking about it until now.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you want to join this sect?¡± asked Sen. ¡°I hear the patriarch makes excellent pastries.¡±


    ¡°I do love pastries,¡± said Bahn Huizhong as he took on a contemtive air. ¡°I wondered if you would ask.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to. It felt a little unfair to put you on the spot like that. I also know that there¡¯s really no benefit in it for you. It¡¯s not like I can offer you resources,¡± said Sen before adding something. ¡°Well, probably not. We never really talked about it. I just assumed that the Vermilion de Sect could offer you things I can¡¯t. Unless you need some particr elixir. In the end, I figured that there was no harm in asking.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a small thing to leave a sect. That¡¯s not entirely true. It¡¯s simplicity itself if you¡¯re an outer sect disciple. It gets veryplicated for core members and elders. You know a lot of secrets.¡±


    ¡°What? You mean like this?¡±


    Sen drew his jian and sent a copy of the vermilion de the sect took its name from flying into the forest. Bahn Huizhong stared after it with a look of consternation on his face.


    ¡°Did Li Yi Nuo teach you that?¡± he asked, sounding worried.


    ¡°Teach? No, nothing like that. She tried to use it on me. It wasn¡¯t that hard to figure it out after I saw it.¡±


    The older cultivator gave Sen a startled look and asked, ¡°After seeing it one time?¡±


    ¡°I do have an unfair advantage or three.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± said a relieved Bahn Huizhong. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone use multiple qi types the way you do. Honestly, I¡¯m not sure how you manage it. I don¡¯t imagine you¡¯d be willing to teach it?¡±


    ¡°To you?¡±


    ¡°To Li Yi Nuo.¡±


    Sen shook his head. Seeing the disappointment on the other man¡¯s face, he felt like he needed to rify.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling. I think most cultivators can do it a little bit. Your whole sect is proof of that. The problem is that you have to build your cultivation around it from the qi-gathering stage if you want to make a serious go of it. Even then, it¡¯s not a simple thing. It makes every advancement harder. Everything takes longer.¡±


    ¡°You do realize that you¡¯re a living counterargument to that, right?¡±


    ¡°I know it looks that way, but there are other factors that make me¡ª¡± Sen tried to think of how best to put it. ¡°They make me a bad example. I had the best alchemist alive around making me potions, elixirs, and pills to help make sure everything went right. I had the best possible training from what might be the three most sessful cultivators in the world. Not really an easy thing to replicate.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong gave Sen a skeptical look.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t those people here?¡±


    Sen snorted out augh and said, ¡°They are, but they <em>wanted</em> to train me. I can¡¯t make them want to train anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Fair.¡±


    ¡°And there are other factors that have made my cultivation journey atypical. Lucky encounters, a stupidly dangerous body cultivation method, enlightenments, and so many other things that I either can¡¯t or won¡¯t try to reproduce for anyone else. Honestly, looking back, I don¡¯t even know <em>how</em> I lived for this long.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You heavens-kissed cultivators are annoying with that kind of stuff. The rest of us have to work for it.¡±


    Sen eyed the other cultivator¡¯s smirk before he said, ¡°I know. If I keep being thiszy, I might identally ascend next week.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that. I¡¯ll never hear the end of it from Li Yi Nuo if you do.¡±


    ¡°How is her training going?¡± asked Sen.


    Bahn Huizhong gave him a surprised look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve kept myself out of it. That¡¯s between her and Uncle Kho.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t tell you?¡±


    ¡°He probably would if I asked, but it¡¯s not like I have any right to know. A friend of mine told me once that curiosity alone isn¡¯t a good enough reason to pry into other people¡¯s lives. If I asked him, he¡¯d probably give me details. If I ask you, you can tell me to mind my own business or filter the amount of detail you provide.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong fell silent for several minutes as he gazed out at the wilds. Sen let the man think it over.


    ¡°She¡¯s learned a lot from him. Although, she always looks like she¡¯s five seconds from death every time shees back from a training session.¡±


    ¡°Ha! I bet. He sets high expectations.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie, though. I am a tiny bit jealous of you both. For any spear user, getting personal training from Kho Jaw-Long is the impossible dream. What do you think he¡¯d say if I asked him for some advice?¡±


    ¡°That, I can¡¯t say for sure, but I get the impression that he withdrew from the world in part to avoid those kinds of requests.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong made a disappointed noise but nodded in apparent understanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s like that as an elder. Everyone is always scrambling for your attention, hoping you¡¯ll take them as a direct disciple. It makes you want to say no to everyone.¡±


    ¡°You took on Li Yi Nuo,¡± observed Sen.


    ¡°She was a special case. I thought I was dying. I wanted to take on onest student.¡±


    ¡°You look fairly healthy to me.¡±


    ¡°It seems like the world is about to get very interesting. I wouldn¡¯t want to miss out on all of that.¡±


    ¡°Madman. I <em>wish</em> I could miss out on all of that.¡±


    ¡°You could if you wanted to. You could sit it out. No one is making you get involved.¡±


    Sen gave the man an incredulous look before his mind made the connection. Then, he startedughing. Bahn Huizhong gave him a questioning look.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Sen. ¡°I just forgot that you haven¡¯t been around that long. Let me put it this way. If there¡¯s a war happening, it is an absolute certainty that I will be involved. And if I try to stay out of it, I¡¯ll get dragged into it in the most inconvenient way possible.¡±


    ¡°That seems unlikely.¡±


    Sen looked at his friend and said, ¡°I will bet you a thousand gold tael that you¡¯re wrong.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong stared at Sen for most of a minute.


    ¡°No bet.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 31: Not Sharing Secrets

    While he hadn¡¯t expected it, Bahn Huizhong surprised Sen by saying that he would consider Sen¡¯s offer to join the sect. It was a few dayster that Sen found himself at the gate of thepound saying goodbye to the man and Li Yi Nuo.


    ¡°Here,¡± said Sen, holding out a box.


    Bahn Huizhong took the box and, after a nod from Sen, opened it.


    ¡°What is that?¡± asked Li Yi Nuo leaning in to get a closer look. ¡°Is that a beast core?¡±


    ¡°It used to be,¡± said Sen. ¡°Now, if it works, it might be a lifeline for us all when¡ª¡±


    Sen trailed off as he realized that he had no idea if Bahn Huizhong had revealed theing war with the spirit beasts to Li Yi Nuo.


    ¡°When what?¡± she asked, looking back and forth between her master and Sen.


    At the slight shake of Bahn Huizhong¡¯s head, Sen decided to keep the secret for now.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± said Sen.Li Yi Nuo red at him and said, ¡°You and your secrets.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± murmured Bahn Huizhong


    It was the gentlest rebuke Sen had ever heard, but Li Yi Nuo snapped her mouth closed.


    ¡°It was a beast core,¡± Sen offered, picking up where he¡¯d left off. I¡¯ve modified it with help from Glimmer of Night. If it works the way we hope it does, it should provide a means ofmunication over long distances.¡±


    Li Yi Nuo gave the core a wide-eyed look of wonder. The better-informed Bahn Huizhong immediately grasped the significance of that modified core. The ability tomunicate over distances could let the sects and mortal forces coordinate in ways that were impossible before. It would also let them send warnings or ask for help when attacks came. It wasn¡¯t a cure-all for all of their problems, but it might be a fix for some of them.


    ¡°Does it work?¡± asked the older cultivator.


    ¡°So far,¡± said Sen, ¡°but it¡¯s new. There¡¯s a lot we don¡¯t know yet. They¡¯ve worked sessfully as far away as the capital, but they can be temperamental. We don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a problem with distance, theposition of the core, environmental qi, or any of a hundred other possibilities. Right now, we¡¯re mostly testing to see if they work at a distance. If they work approximately the same at different distances, we can start looking at other things that might be interfering.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong was staring down at the beast core like it had dropped from the heavens themselves.


    ¡°This could change everything,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ll have to teach others how to make them.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen, his voice t and hard. ¡°I will not simply hand that secret over to the sects. I wouldn¡¯t even if I did trust them, which I don¡¯t.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong looked like he was going to start yelling at Sen. Slowly, though, the anger drained from his face. Then, he nodded.


    ¡°If only you can make them, they can¡¯t afford to alienate you by having their young idiots challenging you every other week.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°But if you let others in, they could help you refine these.¡±


    ¡°And they would keep that information for themselves. You know they would. Plus, it wouldn¡¯t matter if they wanted to help. They literally can¡¯t. That¡¯s one of a matched pair, and it takes skills that no cultivator in the world possesses to allowmunication between them.¡±


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    ¡°This is like that thing you tried to do at the ruins, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Li Yi Nuo. ¡°When you wanted to remotely activate that formation.¡±


    Sen immediately regretted sharing that detail with her after they left those ruins. They¡¯d been sharing some of the highlights of the adventure to pass the time, and he just hadn¡¯t thought it was going to be importantter. That¡¯ll teach me to keep my mouth shut, he thought. ?


    ¡°What?¡± Bahn Huizhong almost shouted. ¡°You can do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said a reluctant Sen. ¡°I can do it pretty reliably now.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong went from looking shocked to looking like he wanted to pick Sen up and shake him until secrets started falling out. Sen couldn¡¯t really me the man. Remotely triggering a formation had seemed very intuitive to Sen since Uncle Kho had taught him about remotely deactivating a formation. If he could turn one off at a distance, why not be able to turn one on? He¡¯d assumed that it was something that other formation experts knew how to do. And they could, up to a point, but the usual method depended on the formation being within the range that the cultivator¡¯s qi could reach.


    For someone like Uncle Kho, that was a very long damned way. Even for Sen, that was a meaningful distance, but he just assumed that his reach was not a goodparison. The method he¡¯de up with that used a pair of expended beast cores eliminated the range problem almost entirely, assuming that you didn¡¯t get yourself dragged off into some other ne of existence or something equally ridiculous. He expected that he¡¯d run into other limitations. For example, if he found himself inside of certain kinds of active formations, such as ones that modified space or time, he suspected it might also disrupt that paired connection. Uncle Kho assured him that such formations were exceedingly rare, so the pairing technique was likely to work most of the time.


    Sen could see that Bahn Huizhong wanted to know how it worked, but that was another secret he had no ns on sharing. It was bad enough that someone else knew about it in general terms. Unlike themunication cores, which he was certain only he and Glimmer of Night could make while working together, the remote trigger didn¡¯t require unique skills. Someone else with the right background <em>could</em> figure it out. He¡¯d just need to hope that he could hang on to that secret for a while longer. It would prove insanely useful in paring down the spirit beast numbers if he had enough time to set uprge-scale formations. <em>I¡¯ll need to order more formation gs</em>, he thought. <em>I¡¯ll get the cheap ones this time</em>. Bahn Huizhong seemed to recognize that Sen wasn¡¯t going to share that information either because he shook his head and turned his attention back to themunication core.


    ¡°How does it work?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll need someone with shadow qi to activate it,¡± Sen told him. ¡°If they inject a little of their qi, it will trigger the core to activate. After that, injecting any kind of qi will be like sending an rm that someone wants to talk, so you¡¯ll want to have people monitoring the core. People you trust.¡±


    ¡°Why not activate it now?¡± asked Li Yi Nuo.


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t know how long they¡¯llst. I think they¡¯ll hold up for a while, but this ispletely new ground. They might burn out in a month, or year, or a decade. There¡¯s no value to be gained by having it active while you travel back to your sect. Oh, you can put it in a storage treasure but only until you activate it. Once you do, putting it in a storage ring will destroy the connection forever,¡± said Sen and held up a hand to stop the question he saw on Li Yi Nuo¡¯s face. ¡°No. I don¡¯t know why, yet. I just know it will happen.¡±


    Li Yi Nuo looked annoyed at having him answer the question before she asked it, but that only slowed her down for a moment.


    ¡°Why shadow qi to activate it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°And, what?¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s the answer?¡± asked Li Yi Nuo.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you that,¡± said Sen.


    Before the woman could start saying all of the things she clearly wanted to say, Bahn Huizhong closed the lid on the box with a sharp snap. The noise seemed to make Li Yi Nuo realize that she was about to start a pointless argument because she slumped a little and looked away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get this activated once we¡¯re at the sect. There should be at least one person there with enough shadow affinity to do it. You said it doesn¡¯t need much.¡±


    ¡°A very minor amount,¡± confirmed Sen.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say I agree with the secrecy, given everything, but I can see why you¡¯re not interested in sharing,¡± said Bahn Huizhong before he gave Sen a serious look. ¡°Be careful.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Be careful? Why do you need to be careful?¡± asked Li Yi Nuo.


    ¡°Oxen are heavy,¡± said Sen. ¡°If they step on your foot, it can be a real problem.¡±


    Bahn Huizhong snorted, while Li Yi Nuo¡¯s eyes red with anger. Sen supposed he was enjoying not satisfying her curiosity a little more than was necessary. He offered the departing pair a shallow bow.


    ¡°Travel safely,¡± he said.


    After returning his bow, Li Yi Nuo and Bahn Huizhong turned and walked through the gates. <em>It¡¯ll be me leaving before too long</em>, thought Sen. <em>Ai is not going to be happy with me</em>. Trying not to consider his unavoidable daughter¡¯s wrath, he started making his way toward his office. He needed to finish handing out responsibilities so he could focus on thest things he needed to do before he left.


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 Book 9: Chapter 32: Body Testing

    Sen brought his jian down in a casual swing and lopped off the stone boar¡¯s head. His footshed out to connect with the body of another. The spirit beast seemed to cave in around his foot, bones snapping and cracking under the pressure, before it wasunched toward Falling Leaf. She didn¡¯t even look, choosing instead to take a short step to the side andsh out with those deadly shadow ws she wielded. The ws sheared through the stone hide of the beast and spilled its internal organs onto the ground. As they carved their way through the herd, Sen had the idle thought that any <em>one</em> of these spirit beasts could have killed him when he first left the mountain. Most of the adults were the equivalent of a core formation cultivator. Falling Leaf had been quite a bit stronger than him in those days, but he thought that fighting this many of them would have been precarious for her even with the natural advantages her panther form had provided.


    Now, neither of them was even breathing hard. Or, they wouldn¡¯t be if they needed to breathe like mortals anymore. While he didn¡¯t think either of them could go without air indefinitely, he also thought that it would take them a long, long time to suffocate. However, afterpleting the Six-Fold Body Cultivation, he truly didn¡¯t know his limits. He¡¯d done some testing where and when he could, but it was to the point now that he worried about doing any of that testing close to any mortals. That had been half of the reason for this trip into the deeper wilds. He needed to get a clear sense of what his body could actually do.


    The testing had been a bit of a disappointment to him so far. It wasn¡¯t the results that bothered him. He¡¯d been focused almost entirely on purely physical attacks and been thoroughly impressed. The problem was that the testing hadn¡¯t really been pushing his limits. He couldn¡¯t find anything heavy enough to strain his body. Short of trying to lift a mountain, he wasn¡¯t sure what else to try. He¡¯d let himself take blows that he would normally block on reflex. While some of the attacks had hurt, nothing so far had even managed to break his skin. Sen knew that he could injure himself.


    He¡¯d finally opened a shallow cut on his own arm just to try to get a sense of what it would take. The answer was that it took <em>a lot</em>. On top of that, the cut healed itself remarkably fast. While he expected some improvement, it was still startling. Enough so that he¡¯d have to hide it from mortals if he could. With this new level of durability and healing, he¡¯d give himself even odds with that devil that nearly killed him. At least, he¡¯d give himself even odds in a one-on-one fight. He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to go battle a horde of devilish beasts by himself. That brought him up short. <em>With everything that¡¯sing</em>, <em>that might make for good training</em>, thought Sen. He shook that idea off. Without the devil there to keep them on task, it was entirely possible that the horde had dispersed. Plus, it would take a while for anyone to go and check.


    He did tuck the idea away as a possible training exercise. Depending on how long the war dragged on, they might need something like that to help break in lower-stage cultivators. They¡¯d need supervision, but there would probably be people who needed a break from the fighting that could lead those expeditions. He would need to reach an agreement with the spiders there. He didn¡¯t want toe into conflict with them if he could avoid it. Although, that did beg the question of which side of the war they woulde down on. From his interactions with the cluster that Glimmer of Night hade from, they seemed to be neutral. Then again, that might have been more about their fear of him personally than a desire to stay out of the war. Sen would have to discuss the matter with the transformed spider the next time he saw him.


    Of course, that would be happening soon. The other reason he¡¯de out into the wilds was to collect spirit beast cores. He wanted to get Glimmer of Night to do that same cracking trick he¡¯d used before. Being able to turn a beast core into an elemental bomb with nothing more than a trickle of qi was an incredible advantage. While Sen hoped to bring off his destruction of the Twisted de Sect without a single moment of directbat, he knew that was unlikely. There were too many variables, too many <em>people</em> in a sect, to be able to guarantee that he could kill them all without facing anyone directly. He¡¯d just have to settle for killing <em>most</em> of them without any direct conflict and end the rest the hard way. Having a storage ring stuffed full of cracked cores would make that job much, much easier. Plus, since he couldn¡¯t ever be certain of the exact results of setting off a cracked core, he doubted that anyone else would be able to predict them. It was hard to counter something you couldn¡¯t predict.


    Sen was still cutting down the stone boars when he heard a thunderous noise. It took him a moment to realize that it was something racing toward them through the forest. The ground shook beneath him and the sounds of trees snapping and crashing to the ground soon became audible. He nced over at Falling Leaf who looked almost bored as she wove through the herd like a specter of death. He called out to her.


    ¡°Can you handle the herd?¡±


    ¡°I have it,¡± she said, grabbing one of the spirit beasts that tried to gore her and hurling it into the air. ¡°Go deal with whatever¡¯sing.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    He only paused long enough to watch her split the falling boar in two as it fell back to earth. <em>Yeah</em>, <em>she can handle it</em>, thought Sen. <em>That was a stupid question</em>. Activating his qinggong technique, he raced toward whatever behemoth was closing with them. He only had to go about a quarter of a mile before he saw it. It was another stone boar with a few salient differences. This one towered at least twenty feet tall with legs that were thicker than most trees. Its tusks were massive, curving up around its snout like a pair of impossiblyrge stone scythes. Even with his improved perception and speed of thought, he only had a split-second to make his decision. The beast was moving toward him almost as fast as he was moving toward it.


    <em>Well</em>, <em>I did want a way to test my body</em>, thought Sen. He dropped his jian into a storage ring, clenched his fist, and shot toward the beast. The boar noticed him and tried to react, but wasn¡¯t quite fast enough. Sen drove his fist into the stony hide right between the boar¡¯s eyes. For the first time that day, Sen felt his body pushing its limits. His hand felt like it wanted to shatter, and the bones in his arm creaked rmingly. He wondered if he¡¯d just made a terrible choice but his bones held. He and the boar mmed to a dead stop; their mutual momentums bnced. Of course, all of that force and pressure had to go somewhere.


    The ground underneath thempressed into a crater that threw soil into the air. Everything within fifty feet of them either exploded or was shredded as a shockwave burst out. Beyond that, trees snapped off at the ground or tipped over, exposing massive root systems. Leaves and pine needles were stripped away and hurled outward at speeds that made them, ever so briefly, into deadly projectiles that buried themselves into anything and everything. While he wasn¡¯t paying close attention to it, Sen noticed a lot of living things blink out of his spiritual sense. The tense moment of pause broke when the boar staggered back, stunned by the blow.


    Sen could see a spiderweb of cracks in the beast¡¯s hide where he¡¯d struck it. He nced down at his hand and could see that he¡¯d split open the skin across his knuckles. There was even exposed bone, although the flesh was rapidly closing around it. He thought that the bones had an oddly metallic gleam to them, but couldn¡¯t give that much attention. The bore shook its massive head and let out a squeal. At least, Sen thought it was a squeal. The sound was an attack all its own. He could feel the noise trying to invade his body and liquify everything inside of him. It was his turn to stagger back. He coughed up a mouthful of blood from the internal damage. He spat it out and met the boar¡¯s eyes. There was a look of primitive surprise in those dark orbs like it couldn¡¯t quite believe Sen was still standing there. Wiping a little blood off his lips, Sen smiled at the beast and threw himself at it.


    It was a poor match for both of them. Sen had a decided speed and agility advantage. He could dance around the boar¡¯s charges. It tried a few more of those squeals, but Sen quickly learned that the attack was directional. As long as he managed to get off to one side or the other, he usually avoided the attack or minimized the damage. Things weren¡¯t all Sen¡¯s way, though. The boar¡¯s hide was so thick and durable that anything short of that first blow just couldn¡¯t do any real damage. Even when Sen fell back on the trick he¡¯d tried with Elder Bo, channeling elemental attacks through his own hands, the stone hide provedrgely impervious to it. Sen had to wonder just how advanced the boar¡¯s cultivation was to endure the level of punishment he was giving it. It had to be close to his own. Hovering somewhere between peak core cultivation and early nascent soul cultivation.


    Sen also knew that bnce was partially imaginary. If he used qi techniques or recalled his jian from the storage ring, he <em>could</em> end this fight. And if a fight was all it was, he would have done just that. He needed to test himself, though. That meant relying on his body alone until or unless the situation changed. Sen forced himself to focus on the fight again. Body blows were getting him nowhere, so he needed to focus on something that might prove a bit weaker. He started to focus his blows on the joints in the boar¡¯s legs. Where it had simply endured his strikes before, it started letting out pained noises at that. The boar tried to back off and put some distance between them, but Sen had found the key to victory.


    He increased his qinggong technique and shot back and forth between the legs, hammering those joints until one of them finally gave out. Sen rolled out of the way as the beast lurched, thenunched himself at the other leg on that side of the boar¡¯s body. He drew back his fist and hit the joint in that leg as hard as he could. The hide shattered, and Sen¡¯s fist traveled straight through the flesh and bone beneath. The boar let out an animal scream of agony as it toppled over. With the fight effectively over, Sen lifted the restrictions he¡¯d put on himself. He¡¯d won. There was no reason to drag out the beast¡¯s death. He summoned his jian, reinforced the de with metal qi, and brought it down on the boar¡¯s neck.


    The increased sharpness and durability the metal qi gave the de let it slice cleanly through, but Sen felt the strain in the metal all the same. He considered the sword and frowned. He¡¯d known the day woulde sooner orter, but his raw strength was legitimately more than the metal could endure for long. He¡¯d have to rece it, somehow, before he made his attack on the Twisted de Sect. He did not want to be in the middle of a fight and have the sword break on him. He was still frowning at the jian when Falling Leaf appeared, gazing around at all the destruction. She shook her head at him.


    ¡°Will you clean up this mess?¡±


    Sen blinked a few times. He supposed he <em>should</em> clean up the mess he¡¯d made.


    ¡°I will,¡± he agreed.


    Falling Leaf came over and peered down at the body of the enormous boar. She made a discontented noise.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Sen.


    Falling Leaf nudged the boar¡¯s head with her foot and said, ¡°They¡¯re no good to eat. They taste like rocks.¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 33: People Are Confusing

    It took three days before Sen was satisfied that they¡¯d collected enough beast cores. Rather, it would have taken them a handful of hours to collect what he thought he¡¯d need for the assault on the Twisted de Sect. He wanted to make sure that they¡¯d have enough to help fend off a dedicated assault on the Academypound while he was gone. That had eaten up most of the rest of their time. He didn¡¯t think an attack woulde while he was away this time. There was going to be too much irresistible force nearby with Master Feng and Auntie Caihong there. <em>But a lot of things I never thought would happen hade to pass</em>, <em>so what the hells do I know</em>? <em>Better to be prepared</em>, he thought.


    Everything had changed when he¡¯d caught the presence of something interesting flickering on the outer edges of his spiritual sense. He¡¯d shot after that elusive feeling with Falling Leaf following on his heels. It had taken half a day to finally catch the spirit beast that Sen had sensed. The only reason that they¡¯d been able to find it at all was because Sen and Falling Leaf had strong shadow affinities. But there it was. A shadow stag. A quick look at Falling Leaf showed a look of almost desperate need in her eyes. That answered <em>that</em> question. She could use the thing¡¯s core to help her advance.


    ¡°Should we try to talk first?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Falling Leaf. ¡°It¡¯s not like it will understand us.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    Falling Leaf spared him a look that said she thought he was being intentionally annoying. That look faded when she seemed to realize he was being serious.


    ¡°It¡¯s not self-aware,¡± she said. ¡°You can¡¯t tell?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen in a distracted tone. ¡°I¡¯m surprised. I thought sapience came with advancement.¡±


    Falling Leaf scrunched her face up in a way that reminded him a little of Ai. A thought he decided was probably best kept to himself. The ghost panther appeared to struggle to find the proper way to convey something before simply giving up on the effort.¡°It does, and it doesn¡¯t. It takes more than just growing stronger. You need the right things to happen the right way.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°If the ones who birth you are aware, you are more likely to be aware. Eating the right nts or animals at the right times can trigger it. If different for every kind of spirit beast.¡±


    Sen nodded. He could sort of understand that. Alchemy was like that to an extent. You needed the rightbination of nts and reagents to make it work. Leave something out and the process will fail.


    ¡°But how can you tell the difference?¡± he asked. ¡°Between the aware and unaware.¡±


    She shrugged and said, ¡°You just can.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you just can. I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Try harder,¡± said Falling Leaf in a tone that almost made it a question.


    Sen shook his head. If only that was the solution to everything. In any case, it was obvious she didn¡¯t know or didn¡¯t know how to exin the method for telling the difference. He looked at the shadow stag for a moment.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go collect a core,¡± said Sen.


    Unlike with the enormous stone boar, Sen wasn¡¯t trying to test anything. The fight was over almost before it started. He was surprised when he offered the core to Falling Leaf. She shook her head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t use it now,¡± she said.


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    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. Just hang on to it until you can.¡±


    She shook her head again and took a step back.


    ¡°It¡¯s too much temptation. I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop myself from trying to use it if I had it. Keep it for me,¡± she said.


    Thosest words had an almost pleading quality. Sen looked from her to the core in his hand. It was potent. If he was eager to advance, he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d be able to resist the temptation either. He¡¯d just gotten so tired of advancing that he found restraining himself with natural treasures, pills, and anything else rted to advancement to be particrly easy. With a flicker of will, he stored it in a storage ring. A look of relief crossed Falling Leaf¡¯s face.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten about what I said,¡± he told her. ¡°About finding a way to help you advance faster.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on it. I just don¡¯t have anything that I¡¯d trust yet,¡± he continued. ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you while I try to help you.¡±


    He felt the need to exin himself like he hadn¡¯t been doing enough. He supposed that was just guilt talking. If he hadn¡¯t taken on so many other things, there would have been more time to research and experiment. That¡¯s what his conscience kept insisting on telling him anyway. When he looked back at his life, that really wasn¡¯t urate. There was always something going on, some crisis to attend to, or some threat to his life he couldn¡¯t ignore. He just felt bad because he hadn¡¯t solved this problem yet, and it clearly meant so much to her. He went to say something else until he saw the look on her face. She seemed¡­ She was amused.


    ¡°You will either seed or not. I trust that between you, the Caihong, and the madwoman, you will find the path. If I must be patient, I¡¯ll be patient.¡±


    He was relieved that she didn¡¯t think he was just putting it off because he couldn¡¯t be bothered. It was justplicated. Very few alchemists were interested in <em>helping</em> spirit beasts get stronger. It was an area with almost no research. There were no scrolls, no treatises of foundational knowledge, not even a diary that he could find. It wasn¡¯t just him, either. He¡¯d asked Auntie Caihong and Fu Run about it, and neither of them knew of such a thing. It was, as far too many things in his life had be, uncharted ground. With Falling Leaf¡¯s life hanging in the bnce, he wasn¡¯t going to make assumptions.


    ¡°We should head back. I¡¯m sure Ai is very annoyed with both of us by now.¡±


    ¡°The kit is never happy when you are away,¡± agreed Falling Leaf. ¡°Have you told her yet?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Sen. ¡°I don¡¯t want to lie to her about it, but I don¡¯t know how to exin it to her either. If I tell her the truth, she¡¯ll be afraid.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Falling Leaf. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s best for her. Human kits are confusing and fragile.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s certainly true,¡± agreed Sen.


    Falling Leaf gave him a startled look.


    ¡°She also confuses you?¡±


    Senughed.


    ¡°Of course, she confuses me. She¡¯s a person. People are confusing.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she likes me very much,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    Sen was stupefied at that announcement. He tried to make it fit with everything he¡¯d seen of the two of them together. It didn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡°Why would you think that?¡± asked Sen.


    Falling Leaf seemed uncertain of how to answer the question.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t yell my name the way she yells <em>Papa</em> whenever she sees you. She always goes to you to answer questions.¡±


    Sen thought that over for a moment before he shook his head.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re confused. Ai loves you. She trusts you. It¡¯s just a different rtionship.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°I know because she sits on yourp and falls asleep. Ai wouldn¡¯t do that with anyone she didn¡¯t trust. She''s always concerned when you¡¯re away. She asks all the time when Falling Leaf will be back. She¡¯d be heartbroken if anything happened to you.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Falling Leaf.


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d reassured her or not, although her thoughtful look suggested he¡¯d at least given her something to consider.


    ¡°Like I said. People are confusing.¡±


    Falling Leaf gave that an emphatic nod. The pair started back toward thepound. Falling Leaf was quiet for most of the way. As they got close, Sen thought of an ongoing annoyance that refused to resolve itself.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose those spirit beasts you made contact with havee to a decision yet?¡±


    Falling Leaf¡¯s expression soured.


    ¡°They are still considering your offer,¡± she said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t make an offer. I just told them how it was going to be.¡±


    ¡°That is what they¡¯re considering. I think they¡¯re trying to figure out a way to still get what they want.¡±


    ¡°They <em>can¡¯t</em> get what they want. They must realize that.¡±


    ¡°They know. They just do not want to know. They are foolish. Dreaming of a world that will never be.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to meet with them again?¡±


    ¡°Once, perhaps twice more. If they cannote to a decision by then, they never will. I refuse to waste more of my time on them if they cannot see the sun in the sky.¡±


    Sen paused at thatst turn of phrase. <em>If they cannot see the sun in the sky</em>. He¡¯d never heard it before, even if the meaning was obvious enough. <em>I might need to start using that</em>, he thought. <em>It¡¯s such an interesting way to call someone an idiot</em>.

 Book 9: Chapter 34: Musings

    <em>That boy takes too much on his shoulders</em>, thought Ma Caihong. Not that it was entirely a bad thing. She shifted her gaze to the darling little girl who was ying with that flock of birds that followed her around everywhere. The cultivator in her had wanted to study that thing with the birds. It was <em>odd</em>. She could feel that the child was doing something, but it wasn¡¯t a technique as she understood it. In the end, though, she¡¯d let it go. She had no intention of turning Sen¡¯s daughter into some kind of experiment. Besides, it was infinitely more rewarding to simply enjoy the child¡¯s presence. Most mortal children were burdened by fear. Sensible fear passed down to them by equally sensible parents, perhaps, but it had a way of stunting them. Not her, though. That little girl was fearless and curious, which just made watching Sen fret about her safety simply priceless.


    Caihong sighed. It was hard to fault Sen¡¯s sense of personal responsibility when it had led him to take in Ai. Being a parent had been a good thing for him. He was still so close to that mortal mindset that it had matured him in the same way it tended to mature mortal parents. It wasn¡¯t exactly the same thing as the many centuries of experience he should have with his ridiculous level of advancement, but it was probably the next best thing. Still, pairing that sense of personal responsibility with a need to remain self-sufficient was a dangerous thing. If he had simply <em>asked</em> her, or Jaw-Long, or even Ming, any of them would have simply gone and taken care of that trivial sect that had bothered him. It wouldn¡¯t even have been hard. She had <em>just</em> the thing to deal with a sect that had developed an inted sense of its own importance. <em>Maybe not</em>, she thought. <em>That particr solution might be overkill for this situation</em>.


    Of course, learning to fight his own battles was an important thing, but taking on a sect single-handed was something best left to nascent soul cultivators. She supposed he was practically operating on that level already, but he didn¡¯t have the experience to go with it. He didn¡¯t have thousands of past battles to draw on, to say nothing of the fearsome reputation to go with it. After all, no sect withpetent leadership would have allowed their young masters to issue challenges if they understood what that boy could really do. The disy he¡¯d put on in the town was a good start to getting that message out, though. Even she¡¯d been a little startled by the utter ruthlessness of it. <em>He¡¯ll need that for the war that¡¯sing</em>, she mused. <em>What an annoying trial that¡¯s going to be</em>.


    Even she hadn¡¯t been alive for thest spirit beast uprising, but she had known cultivators who were. It wasn¡¯t new. It would set humanity back. Apparently, things had been different before that. The world had still been a violent ce, but societies had been kinder if she could trust the stories she¡¯d heard. Cultivators had been¡­ She hesitated to believe they had been less selfish, but supposedly they had been less like they became in her lifetime. Supposedly, they took more responsibility for sustaining amon good. She had to think that had been an aberration or the personal project of some peak nascent soul cultivator like Ming.


    If it were the natural course of things, it stood to reason that society would have developed that way again. No, it was more reasonable to think that those ideas had been imposed from the top down, probably <em>after</em> an ocean of blood had been spilled. Eliminating everyone who doesn¡¯t see things your way wasn¡¯t necessarily the best method of changing minds, but it was definitely the easiest. If Ming wasn¡¯t so monumentallyzy about anything that didn¡¯t spark his interest¡­ But he was thatzy. She supposed that she ought to be grateful for that. If he had decided to take over everything, there¡¯d likely be countless pastry shops in every city. Not that she disliked pastries, but she didn¡¯t need to eat them every day. And she would be eating them every day if they were so readily avable.


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    She did wonder how much of human civilization would survive thistest uprising. Sen seemed determined to maximize the amount. It was audable goal. It had even led to that very interesting long-distancemunication idea he was testing with that spiderkin friend of his. She¡¯d had to hold back augh that first time she¡¯d met Glimmer of Night. It was such a Sen thing to do, dragging home a stray transformed spirit beast. First, he¡¯d adopted the panther girl, and now the spider. She kept expecting him to befriend a dragon and bring that home too. Although, he had met a dragon and lived to tell the tale, which was more than most cultivators could say. Those stories usually ended with a dead cultivator. Even she was wary around those ancient creatures. Still, if he ever showed up with a dragon, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised.


    She was curious to see how well thosemunication cores of his functioned, even if she didn¡¯t understand quite how they worked. Oh, she understood the general idea, but the details were elusive. She thought that Jaw-Long understood it better than she did, even if he pretended that he didn¡¯t. She smiled at that. Her husband was brilliant. He always had been. He just never wanted her to feel like he was smarter than her about something. It was silly. He didn¡¯t mind that she understood alchemy better than he did. Why would she mind that he understood one of Sen¡¯s mad ideas better than her? The most adorable part was that he thought she didn¡¯t know. Since she was a loving wife, she let him have that secret.


    She smiled as she saw Zhi join Ai in ying with the birds. Caihong didn¡¯t especially love birds having had a close call with a roc¡¯s lightning once upon a time, but she did believe in the healing power of nature. It certainly seemed to be helping Zhi after her encounter with those Twisted de Sect cultivators. Oh, that had made her furious. She didn¡¯t normally let herself get too close to mortals. They died so quickly that she¡¯d be in constant grief if she did. There¡¯d been enough grief in her life already. However, she¡¯d spent enough time with Zhi that it had been impossible not to develop an attachment to her. She¡¯d been ready to seize the lot of them and pour things down their throats that would have turned their bones to jelly and charred their organs. Not anything that would kill them right away, though. Core cultivators were very resilient. She would have confined herself to using things that would only make them <em>pray</em> for death.It was good that Jaw-Long had talked her down. Not that he hadn¡¯t been livid as well, but he¡¯d been able to resist the urge to act for long enough that Sen had been able to resolve it. He hadn¡¯t done it the way she would have, but she¡¯d found the oue satisfying enough. <em>That reminds me</em>, she thought. <em>I¡¯ll have to do something nice for that assassin of his</em>. She appreciated how vindictive Long Jia Wei had been when he¡¯d retrieved little Zhi. She rather wished that Sen would take <em>that</em> man along with him when he went to deal with the Twisted de Sect. It was hard to have too much help when doing something dangerous, especially if he meant to keep Jaw-Long in the background. Honestly, there was such a thing as being too self-sufficient.


    ¡°I may need to suggest taking the assassin along to him,¡± she mused out loud.


    Caihong put away thoughts of murder and sect destruction when she saw the girls running over to her. She could think about all of thatter. She only had a brief few years to enjoy Ai and Zhi being so young. Not that she wouldn¡¯t enjoy their presence as they grew older, but it would be different as they started to grow concerned with adult problems. Right now, they just wanted to think about things like flowers and birds. She was more than willing to bask in that simplicity. And if some stupid young master or young mistress decided to show up looking to disrupt that simplicity and joy while Sen was gone, she would deal with it in her own way. Then, she would write a very sternly worded message to that sect expressing her displeasure and ask Ming to deliver it. It was even possible that he might let someone survive long enough to read it.

 Book 9: Chapter 35: Spider’s Lair

    Sen stepped into the building he¡¯d named the Spider¡¯s Lair in a moment of poor decision-making. The name had stuck, mostly due to Glimmer of Night¡¯s immediate approval. The building itself was set in a mostly unused corner of thepound. It was also one of a handful of buildings that were off-limits to virtually everyone because Sen didn¡¯t want Glimmer of Night to reflexively kill some foolish qi-gathering cultivator with more curiosity than sense. The existence of the building came about as a matter of pure necessity.


    When he and the spider had firste up with the idea for themunication cores, it became almost instantly obvious that it couldn¡¯t be located at Fu Run¡¯s home. Any information that came through the cores would likely need to be handed off almost immediately. While her home was close enough for Sen to go back and forth without too much trouble, the same was not true of pretty much anyone else in the sect. Beyond that, even if she were willing to let what Sen suspected would be a strategic resource be there, she wouldn¡¯t tolerate the presence of all the messengers it would require. Hence, the Spider¡¯s Lair was born.


    Not that the inside of their would seem particrly special to anyone who saw it. It was basically a stone box with no windows. The cores themselves didn¡¯t require any kind of special surroundings to function, although Sen had worked a few basic formations into the walls. Most of them were simply there to strengthen the building and increase the qi density inside a bit. The cores were housed in a cab-like structure that was full of small cubby spaces. That made it easy for Glimmer of Night to monitor them and alert Sen if people were trying to contact them. Sen also knew that eventually, they would need to let other people inside. In fact, they would probably need a much bigger building with individual spaces where people could monitor a few cores exclusively, but they weren¡¯t there yet. It also wasn¡¯t the reason Sen hade that day.


    ¡°Were you able to do it?¡± Sen asked.


    Glimmer of Night was actively manipting a web in one corner with threads so fine they were almost invisible. Sen watched as the threads moved through a series of tiny adjustments. He didn¡¯t know if the spider could always do that or if it was a sign of improved control, although he suspected thetter. Apparently not finding what he was looking for, Glimmer of Night made a tiny gesture and the threads dissipated. He turned to look at Sen with his liquid ck eyes and nodded. He walked to another corner, picked up a bag, and held it out. Sen walked over and took it. He nced inside before simply putting a hand into the bag and moving all of the cracked cores into a storage ring.


    ¡°Is that enough?¡± asked the spider.


    Sen guessed that he had about fifty of those cores in his ring now.


    ¡°I certainly hope so. If it isn¡¯t, that probably means that my n failed utterly and not having enough cracked cores will be the smallest of my problems.¡±


    ¡°Fair.¡±Sen hesitated to bring up the other thing he wanted to talk to the spider about. He¡¯d been putting it off for most of a year with the excuse that there was more time, but time was swiftly running out. Of course, it was mostly his own difort he¡¯d been avoiding. The spider wouldn¡¯t be offended by the conversation.


    ¡°So, I have to ask this,¡± said Sen, certain that he sounded as awkward as he felt. ¡°Will the other spiders choose to fight with the spirit beasts? Will you?¡±


    ¡°I will not,¡± said a wholly unruffled Glimmer of Night. ¡°The Great Matriarch set my path with you. I won¡¯t abandon that because of some petty war.¡±


    Sen felt something unclench inside of him. Glimmer of Night knew a lot of Sen¡¯s secrets. It wouldn¡¯t have been a full-blown catastrophe if the spider had chosen to fight with the spirit beasts, but it would have been a huge setback. Plus, Sen had no desire to fight Glimmer of Night. The spider had been unfailingly helpful to Sen¡¯s goals and patient with Sen¡¯s constant questions. While that patience had only enabled Sen to make incremental progress in understanding the web patterns that all spiders seemed to understand intuitively, it <em>had</em> been progress. He was loathe to give that up. He even liked the spider. He was hesitant to use the word friend. The spider¡¯s motives were too opaque for that, but he would certainly consider their rtionship friendly.


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    Sen was less certain how to interpret the use of the word petty to describe theing war. Part of him wanted to think that the spider had simply misspoken, but an arrow of doubt shot straight through that notion. Petty wasn¡¯t the sort of word that Glimmer of Night used incorrectly. That begged a lot of questions that Sen supposed he¡¯d need to get answered at some point, but he didn¡¯t want to get distracted.


    ¡°And the rest of the spiders?¡± asked Sen.


    Glimmer of Night went still for a few seconds, which Sen had eventually realized was a sign that the spider was giving something special consideration. What answer he would prefer to get to the question was murky in Sen¡¯s mind. Having the spiders as enemies would be awful. They were terrifying, particrly when moving as a mass. Human beings were instinctively afraid of them. It didn¡¯t take any imagination at all to see a time when mortals and cultivators simply abandoned their positions at the sight of a mass of spiders rushing toward them. Of course, the prospect of them as allies wasn¡¯t much better. While they would almost certainly make ideal scouts, he could easily see jumpy cultivators getting startled and cutting them down when they appeared to report their findings. Sen struggled to think of a faster way to turn allies into enemies, and they would be very good assassins.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t clear,¡± said Glimmer of Night. ¡°My people don¡¯t move as a singr group. Clusters will often war with each other over territory, natural treasures, and other resources. We have no royalty as you think of it. I believe some clusters will choose to side with the spirit beasts. Especially any with a grudge to settle with humans. Some clusters will likely sit out the conflict. A few might seek to ally themselves with you.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t ideal news but none of it shocked him. If they chose to side with the spirit beasts or remain neutral, that did simplify things. Sen¡¯s thoughts ground to a halt as Glimmer of Night¡¯sstment rolled through his mind again. <em>A few might seek to ally themselves with you</em>. Sen desperately hoped that didn¡¯t mean what he feared it meant.


    ¡°When you say ally with me, do you mean with humanity or with¡ª¡±


    ¡°With you, specifically.¡±


    Sen took two deep breaths before he asked, ¡°Why me, specifically? There are many other cultivators in the world. Many more famous than me.¡±


    ¡°You kept your word,¡± said Glimmer of Night.


    The tone suggested that this should have been obvious to Sen, although he couldn¡¯t imagine why it should be so. Plenty of people kept their word. He wasn¡¯t unique in that way. He had to assume that this was some aspect of spider society that he didn¡¯t fully grasp. ??


    ¡°Why should that matter?¡±


    ¡°The Beast King does not.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Sen.


    On the surface, it seemed like a trivial reason to base a decision about which side of the war you were going to be on. The more Sen thought about it, though, the less trivial it seemed. He wouldn¡¯t want to take the side of someone he knew was going to lie to him and possibly betray him. The problem as Sen saw it was that he wasn¡¯t going to be in charge of the human side of the war. <em>Which is why they¡¯d want to ally themselves with me directly</em>, he thought. They wouldn¡¯t be trusting humanity to keep its word. They¡¯d be trusting him. Like the war itself wasn¡¯t going to be enough pressure and responsibility, he now had to deal with the potential problem of allies he¡¯d need to personally keep safe. It was a responsibility he wasn¡¯t sure he could fulfill. Beyond the bounds of his own sect and the town, he had very little influence over how cultivators behaved. <em>I¡¯ll have to deal with that when or if it happens</em>, he decided. <em>It¡¯s not a problem for today</em>.


    ¡°Are your preparations nearlyplete?¡± asked Glimmer of Night, who had apparently decided the previous topic was settled.


    ¡°Yes, I think so.¡±


    ¡°When do we leave?¡±


    Sen found himself once more flummoxed by the spider¡¯s words.


    ¡°We?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I was instructed to learn from you. You go to practice war now. How can I learn how you conduct war if I¡¯m not there?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Sen couldn¡¯t find another word to follow that.


    He¡¯d never once considered that spider would go with him. This wasn¡¯t Glimmer of Night¡¯s problem. As far as he knew, the spider hadn¡¯t even encountered them. Of course, the spider wasn¡¯t thinking about it in those terms. He saw the whole thing as a learning opportunity.


    ¡°You could end up in substantial danger,¡± said Sen. ¡°I never intended to put you in that position.¡±


    The spider went still again before he shrugged.


    ¡°The danger isn¡¯t relevant. When do we leave?¡±


    Sen thought that the danger was very relevant, but he got the distinct impression that Glimmer of Night simply didn¡¯t care about that. Nor was Sen confident that he could convince the spider, regardless of how long he talked. Shaking his head, Sen considered the benefits. The spider was all but without fear. He was good in a fight. He also had some unique skills that most sects wouldn¡¯t seeing if it came down to it. Perhaps the most important thing was that Glimmer of Night wanted toe. It would be one thing if he were trying to talk the spider around, but there was no reason to deny the spider.


    ¡°Two days,¡± said Sen.

 Book 9: Chapter 36: Lightning Iris Blade

    The interior of the cksmith¡¯s shop was hot. That was, no doubt, an effect of the forge that took up most of the space, even if it was hidden from view. Sen idly looked at the weapons and shields that shared space on the walls with the more mundane tools of farming, but idle interest was all that it was. While he suspected that most of those tools of violence were well-made, they were ultimately meant for mortal hands. Having recently tested and broken a jian meant for core cultivators, Sen knew that he needed something crafted for him specifically. So, he had gone to the only smith he knew that might be able to do the job on short notice. He had asked Master Feng.


    ¡°I thought you might be about there,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°That¡¯ll keep being a problem for you from here on in.¡±


    Sen had suspected as much but it had still been a little disappointing to hear it confirmed. He''d been in the habit of recing his weapons with ones he¡¯d taken off dead enemies. The problem with that, of course, was that there were far fewer nascent soul cultivators around. While he imagined that he¡¯d eventuallye into conflict with some of them, he wasn¡¯t going to find them lining up to be an easy source of resources for him. The only constion there was that when he did kill one, he¡¯d probably walk away with a lot of resources. After all, if someone managed to kill him, they¡¯d pick up a fortune in unused alchemy resources, money, and elixirs.


    ¡°I¡¯d worried about that,¡± Sen admitted.


    ¡°There just aren¡¯t that many people who <em>can</em> forge weapons for people with your kind of strength. Then there¡¯s the matter of the materials themselves. They¡¯re rare and expensive,¡± said Master Feng before giving Sen a considering look. ¡°Although, you¡¯re probably better equipped than most to acquire them.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t afraid of the deep wilds. You¡¯d be surprised how many nascent soul cultivators never manage to shake that particr fear.¡±


    ¡°Why? I mean, sure, there are powerful spirit beasts out there, but there aren¡¯t many that could threaten a nascent soul cultivator.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be surprised. The thing you have to remember is that not everyone is quite as good at fighting as you are. Normal alchemists at your level of development would only have a fifty-fifty chance ofing back from ces that wouldn¡¯t even give you pause, and that¡¯s if they went as part of an expedition.¡±¡°I¡¯m not that good,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°Save that nonsense for people who haven¡¯t heard the real stories about what you¡¯ve done. I <em>know</em> how skilled you are.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel that skilled. And since you do know the real stories, you know how often I survived through luck.¡±


    Master Feng snorted at that.


    ¡°The thing about luck is that you have to survive long enough to take advantage of it. Anyone might get that lucky once. If you get that lucky over and over again, it¡¯s because you have enough skill tost long enough for it to show up.¡±


    Sen wasn¡¯t sure he entirely believed that but thought Master Feng was probably in a better position than he was to make a im on that subject. On that subject, he was willing to trust Master Feng¡¯s long experience over his own shaky intuitions. The discussion hadn¡¯t just been for Sen¡¯s edification. He had to dy his intended departure to go out and gather some rare materials for Master Feng to use. He¡¯d been a little annoyed when the elder cultivator freely admitted he had all of those materials on hand but said that it was good for Sen to go through the process all the same. His reasoning?


    ¡°If you went to anyone else, they¡¯d make you do the same thing.¡±


    Sen had to check that annoyance when he discovered that Master Feng had started forging the new de very nearly the moment Sen set out to gather materials. It turned out that the nascent soul cultivator knew he was going to be working for a few days and didn¡¯t want Sen hovering for that entire time. He¡¯d alsomandeered the local cksmith¡¯s forge. Sen had thought it was going to be a problem at first. After all, the smith was a busy man. That fear hadsted right up until Sen had entered the shop on his return to find the counter abandoned. He¡¯d gone back to the forge and found the smith, along with his apprentices, just standing there and watching Master Feng work. Sen had approached the smith.


    ¡°I hope this isn¡¯t too much of an inconvenience,¡± Sen said to the big man.


    The smith had turned an incredulous eye on Sen.


    ¡°You must be joking. I¡¯ve learned more about smithing in thest two days than I did in thest two decades. Do you have any idea how hard it is to learn new things once you leave your apprenticeship?¡±


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    ¡°Well, not really,¡± admitted Sen.


    ¡°Very damned hard. Smiths don¡¯t want to share their secrets with anyone but their most prized apprentices. So, you have to figure it all out by yourself and that kind of learning gets expensive. Fast. This,¡± said the smith with a gesture at Master Feng, ¡°is like a gift from the heavens. I¡¯ll be twice the smith I was after this. These boys,¡± he gestured at his apprentices, ¡°will be true master smiths.¡±


    The big man¡¯s eyes were almost glowing with happiness. Sen supposed the man was imagining all the wonders he was going to make in the future. When it was clear that Master Feng was still working on the de, Sen had gone home and let Ai upy him for the rest of the day. It was a rare treat for both of them, and he wanted to spend as much time as he could with her before he left. Finding the front of the shop empty yet again, Sen didn¡¯t waste any time in going out to the forge area. He found Master Feng watching over the smith and his apprentices, offering a word of guidance here, and correcting a hammering technique there. Sen hung back, knowing that the elder cultivator was aware of his presence. If Master Feng didn¡¯t acknowledge him immediately, it meant that he intended to finish what he was doing.


    Sen watched the work with curiosity. He¡¯d seen smithing a few times but rarely had the chance to simply stand back and watch the process for more than a few minutes. There was something almost hypnotic about it. His enhanced senses were able to distinguish the way the smiths varied the force of their hammering just by the distinct sounds the impacts made. He marveled at how they knew when the metal had cooled a bit too much and reheated it, only to draw the red, glowing metal back out and continue their work as though they¡¯d never stopped. He was simply stunned at the men working the bellows to bring up the temperature to a precise spot and keep it there.


    The most impressive thing, to Sen¡¯s mind, was the sheer endurance necessary for the work. While his own body cultivation would likely make that element almost trivial, he knew full well that it wasn¡¯t trivial for mortals. Watching them keep going for hours on end like machines made of flesh was a testament to their strength and focus. When Master Feng finally called a stop to the work, though, the smith and his apprentices all looked like they were ready to drop in ce and sleep for hours. Sweat poured off of them, and the youngest apprentice actually swayed on his feet until another apprentice put a steadying hand on the boy¡¯s arm. Master Feng examined the end results of their work with an approving word or gentle suggestions for improvement. Those were met with bright smiles or attentive nods from everyone, including the smith himself. It was only then that Master Feng finally turned his attention to Sen.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to see that your time out in the world hasn¡¯t entirely burned away your patience.¡±


    Sen smiled and said, ¡°I know better than to interrupt something like this.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s time to reward that patience of yours.¡±


    Master Feng walked over to a sturdy bench with unusually thick legs supporting it. Sen frowned momentarily at the bench until he realized that the smith dealt in metal products, and metal is heavy. Anything less sturdy would likely copse beneath the weight of metal ingots. Focusing on Master Feng again, he watched as the elder cultivator reached out and drew a thick cloth away. Resting beneath that cloth was not one but two new jian. Sen had never seen the point of highly decorative swords. They were tools. Anything that didn¡¯t contribute directly to their function was simply wasted effort in Sen¡¯s opinion. It was an opinion he shared with his master. For all of that, though, the des gave him pause.


    There was nothing decorative about the hilts. The des themselves were another matter. Sen leaned in to examine them. They were both several inches longer than what he usually preferred, as well as heavier. What had drawn his attention, though, was that the metal didn¡¯t look like any sword he¡¯d ever seen before. The metal had a decidedly blue cast, rather than the polished steel color he¡¯de to expect. There was also a subtle pattern in the metal that reminded Sen of wood grains he¡¯d seen.


    ¡°Why are they blue?¡± asked Sen.


    ¡°Oh, that wasn¡¯t intentional, although I do rather like it,¡± said Master Feng. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s because of the lightning irises I used. You do seem to favor that as an attack, so these des will channel it a little better. It also goes well with those blue robes you always wear.¡±


    Sen picked up one of the swords. It was definitely heavier than he¡¯d expected. Heavier than any mortal would find easy to use. He doubted it would slow him down at all, but it did make him feel a little better about using the weapon against the heavier dao sabers that some cultivators preferred. He cycled for lightning and let a bit of the qi slip into the de. Master Feng had downyed exactly how much better the des would channel lightning. It was effortless. Sen noticed the smith and his apprentices watching in awe as lightning crackled around the de. Sen withdrew the qi from the de. He looked around and decided that there wasn¡¯t enough room in the forge to swing the sword without damaging something.


    He noticed a door that would lead out of the back of the forge and looked out. There was a small open area. Taking the exit, he went outside and worked through a few basic forms. He was happy to discover that he actually preferred the additional length and weight of the de. Recently, the jian he¡¯d been using had felt fragile in his hands. This de felt solid and reliable. He nced over to where Master Feng was watching with a studied neutrality on his face.


    ¡°I love it,¡± said Sen. ¡°It¡¯s perfect.¡±


    Master Feng let a small smile creep onto his face.


    ¡°I thought you might feel that way,¡± the elder cultivator said. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see I haven¡¯t lost my touchpletely.¡±


    Sen looked down at the sword in his hand.


    ¡°No. You most certainly have not.¡±


    ¡°The real test will be when you use it inbat, though.¡±


    Sen nodded. That was always the real test.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to report back to you how it holds up. Is that why there¡¯s two of them?¡±


    Master Feng shrugged and said, ¡°Can you ever really have too many swords?¡±

 Book 9: Chapter 37: Parting Instructions

    A mildly amused Sen trailed in Sua Xing Xing¡¯s wake as she led him through the town. She was giving him detailed exnations of everything that was currently underway. Most of the repair in the town wasplete, although he did see some sect members finishing things up here and there. Some seemed happy enough to do it, while others wore annoyed expressions, but everyone worked diligently. Sen was tempted to stop and correct those with less-than-enthusiastic attitudes but restrained himself. It was enough that they weren¡¯t actively sabotaging the work as a lousy excuse to get out of it. He could only expect so much change in people¡¯s attitudes at any given time.


    The tour itself was another dy that Sen hadn¡¯t nned on, but it would be thest. Uncle Kho and Glimmer of Night were literally waiting for him back at the academypound. As soon as he returned, they would all leave. He¡¯d spent the previous day fulfilling any outstanding obligations he could think of, including crafting an elixir for Shen Mingxia. She had finally decided that she was going to be a core cultivator and asked him to make her something to help her with that. He¡¯d thought that was the choice she¡¯d make, but she¡¯d taken far longer toe to the decision than he¡¯d expected. <em>That was probably for the best</em>, <em>though</em>, he thought. <em>It means she really considered the decision</em>. She¡¯d been a little surprised that he asked her to wait until he got back to leave, but he¡¯d promised to get her back to her sect safely and they didn¡¯t have anyone to spare to go with her just yet.


    The tour through the town proper went quickly, but then they moved outside of the established wall to the area where the town was expanding. There was honestly a lot more to it than Sen had expected. Sua Xing Xing exined what they were going to do about waste disposal, something he had never even considered, as well as exining how they were organizing the construction. The original town was sort of a jumble of homes, tradesmen, and shops with only one central building where the town elders pretended to be in charge of things. It was a fiction that Sen let persist because it was easier to let problems, requests, and the like filter through that group before they found their way to Sen or his people.


    Of course, everyone knew it was a farce. There was exactly one authority in the area. <em>Him</em>. A fact that the town elders despised but couldn¡¯t do anything about. Everything from security to prosperity flowed through his, admittedly negligent, hands. He was just lucky that there were enough smart, driven, and talented people around him to make sure that the work was getting done. A fact driven home by Sua Xing Xing¡¯s description of how they were going to loosely divide the new area. One section would primarily concentrate the craftspeople. One section would primarily house shops. The final andrgest section would primarily provide housing.


    ¡°So, you think that this will be enough room for the next few years?¡±


    Sua Xing Xing gave him an astonished look and said, ¡°No. I¡¯m just hoping it will be enough tost until next year.¡±


    Sen came to a dead stop. That was not what he¡¯d expected to hear. At all. He knew there were a lot more people in the town than there had been, but that kind of growth¡­ He didn¡¯t think it was sustainable.


    ¡°Patriarch?¡± asked Sua Xing Xing, a nervous expression blooming on her face.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize there were so many new peopleing here.¡±The woman rxed when it became clear that she hadn¡¯t annoyed him.


    ¡°Where there¡¯s change, there¡¯s opportunity,¡± she said. ¡°That attracts people.¡±


    Sen sighed and recalled a problem he hadn¡¯t taken much action on. The revtion that they¡¯d likely be doing something like this all over again within the year pushed it up his priority list.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to need to recruit someone to head up a city guard. Someone who knows what they¡¯re doing,¡± said Sen. ¡°Otherwise, crime will be a problem. We <em>can</em> do it, but I think it¡¯s a bad idea to have cultivators in charge ofw and order for mortals.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing went still for a moment and then nodded.


    ¡°I agree. Cultivators aren¡¯t the right people for that work. Obviously, we need to take a hand if cultivators misbehave but not with the mortals.¡±


    Sen eyed the woman and asked, ¡°Why do you think that?¡±


    To Sen, it looked like Sua Xing Xing had just bitten into something very sour. She swiftly smoothed her expression, but he could tell that she didn¡¯t want to answer the question. Oddly, Sen thought that probably meant she was thinking along the right lines.


    ¡°Cultivators are too biased,¡± she said. ¡°Too many of them think of mortals as nothing but insects. They¡¯d be as likely to kill a mortal as subdue or arrest them.¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the problem,¡± agreed Sen. ¡°So, if you were going to find someone for the job, how would you go about it?¡±


    Sua Xing Xing stood there in thoughtful silence for a short time as Sen looked at the work that was being done to expand the town.


    ¡°I suppose,¡± she said slowly, ¡°one would need to find someone who had done the work before or was doing it now. Someone that had a reputation for keeping the peace without applying too heavy a hand.¡± §²¦¡


    Sen nodded along and said, ¡°That sounds about right.¡±


    Sua Xing Xing stared at Sen, and he smiled back at her. He could practically watch as the realization settled over her.


    ¡°Well, since you seem to have the problem surrounded, I¡¯ll leave it to you to recruit someone. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t disappoint.¡±


    Sen pretended not to see as her expression cycled through horror, trepidation, and ultimately resignation. He almost felt bad about sticking her with the responsibility. <em>Almost</em>. Still, it wouldn¡¯t do to leave her on an entirely sour note.


    ¡°You¡¯re making very satisfactory progress on the expansion of the town,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m also happy to see that repairs in the town have gone well.¡±


    While it didn¡¯t wholly erase her unhappiness at being tasked with finding a suitable mortal to lead the future city guard, Sen could see that it helped. She straightened up and a smile lit her face. He honestly found it a bit perplexing why his praise should matter to anyone, but he supposed it just went with being in a position of authority. People seemed to think it meant more to get praise from a superior. Like he actually knew anything about expanding a town or a hundred other things that people seemed to expect him to understand.


    ¡°Thank you, Patriarch.¡±


    After a few more pleasantries, Sen left the woman to her work and headed back toward thepound. His mind was already turning toward the grim task ahead. He¡¯d feared that something like this would be necessary. He¡¯d also hoped that he¡¯d get more time before it was unavoidable. Then again, he didn¡¯t imagine that there would ever be a good time for destroying a sect. He supposed he should just be d that it happened before the war with the spirit beasts really started in earnest. He kept waiting to hear that it had started somewhere. He realized that it might already be happening on the other side of the Mountains of Sorrow.


    If that was the case, he wasn¡¯t sure how he should feel about it. He knew it¡¯d be a lie if he said he¡¯d feel any sorrow about the cultivator leadership there dying. But he did worry that the mortal poption there would be killed to thest child if the cultivators fell. There just wasn¡¯t anything he could do about that. He knew the limits of his reach and influence. It did not extend that far, nor would it anytime soon. If the fighting started there, he¡¯d just have to live with it. He tried to put those thoughts out of his mind. They weren¡¯t helpful. All it did was highlight to him, yet again, that cultivators were not gods. They could pretend all they wanted to but nothing drove the point home like aplete inability to do anything about a problem.


    As he walked through the gates of thepound with an absent nod to the guards, he nced around. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a little pride at what he¡¯d built there. He¡¯d never be entirelyfortable with running a sect. He¡¯d had too many bad experiences for that. However, he could recognize that his sect had grown far beyond anything he could have expected given how little time it had existed. He could also be proud of the fact that, for the most part, the members of his sect epted his positively draconian rules about how to interact with mortals.


    The newer members were swiftly corrected by the more experienced disciples about what would and would not be tolerated. The ones who couldn¡¯t ept it almost always left of their own ord. As for how the rest were dealt with, he knew what happened in general. He wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to pretend that he didn¡¯t. He also knew that the specifics were kept away from him. It had bothered him, but Auntie Caihong had told him that it was fairly normal. Everyone knew. Everyone knew that he knew. But as long as everyone pretended that he didn¡¯t know, himself included, it provided room to maneuver. It let the sect expel unfit members without Sen needing to intervene directly for or against anyone.


    ¡°It all seems terribly roundabout and a little dishonest,¡± said Sen.


    ¡°It is,¡± she admitted. ¡°It¡¯s also beneath you.¡±


    ¡°Beneath me?¡±


    ¡°Well, perhaps not beneath you personally, but it¡¯s beneath the notice of a sect patriarch. For you to have to intervene in something as mundane as the removal of what amounts to an outer disciple suggests that you don¡¯t have anything better to do with your time. Every sect patriarch has better things to do with their time, including you.¡±


    The whole thing made Sen feel like he needed a bath, but he was hard-pressed to disagree with her assessment of the matter. He <em>did</em> have better things to do with his time. He added that problem to a growing list of things he wished he didn¡¯t have to ignore, but that he would ignore for his sanity and the marginally smoother operation of the sect. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but neither was life. All in all, though, he was going to take his victories where he found them. That the cultivators who had joined him were expressing any tolerance for mortals and were shaking off the idea that higher cultivation gave them an inalienable right to mistreat less advanced cultivators <em>were</em> victories. That would just have to be enough to let him sleep.


    Sen drew up short as he saw Falling Leaf standing with Uncle Kho and Glimmer of Night. He didn¡¯t need to ask why she was there. He knew, and he hated it. He walked over to them, his eyes fixed on the ghost panther. He opened his mouth to protest and the words died on his lips when she looked at him. There wasn¡¯t going to be an argument. Or, rather, there wasn¡¯t going to be a useful argument. She¡¯d decided she was going toe with them. He could argue until he passed out, but that wouldn¡¯t change anything. It would just be the equivalent of him shouting at a rock face to move. There would be a lot of noise and, when it was all over, the rock face would still be there. Feeling a bit of sympathy for the resignation he¡¯d seen on Sua Xing Xing¡¯s face not so long ago, he just epted the reality before him. He looked to Uncle Kho.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving,¡± said Sen.

 Book 9: Chapter 38: First Blow

    Cao Kai-Ming found herself sitting by the fire and not sleeping, again. It wasn¡¯t so much that she needed sleep, but she liked to sleep. It made her feel sharp and that was important. Even a little mentalg could mean the difference between life and death, and life and death had been on her mind a lot. There was every indication that the sect meant to go to war. Oh, there hadn¡¯t been any official word, yet, but she knew the signs. She¡¯d seen them before. The sect was calling people back. Gathering their strength. She was just grateful that they hadn¡¯t canceled this expedition into the wilds. She hated sect wars and would be perfectly happy to drag out this expedition for as long as possible to avoid as much of the fighting as she could. She knew that fighting other cultivators was inextricably tied to the Jianghu, but it wasn¡¯t why <em>she¡¯d</em> be a cultivator.


    She¡¯d be a cultivator to help her vige. She knew that it was little more than a collection of huts that teetered along by farming on barely arablend, but it was where she hade from. Her parents were long dead, but she¡¯d never forgotten the ce or the people there. It had taken time, decades, but she¡¯d found a way to earn enough gold to help the vige now and then. She¡¯d be the most valuable thing to alchemists. She¡¯d be a gatherer. One of those rare cultivators who could and would venture into the wilds to gather those invaluable resources that helped make advancement possible. Without her, all of those precious pills and elixirs that everyone relied on wouldn¡¯t exist.


    Not that she didn¡¯t have mixed feelings about that. Having met the people in her sect, she would have dly let most of themnguish as qi-gathering cultivators. They were awful to mortals. They were awful to each other. They were just¡­ They were just awful. But supporting them, however loathsome she found most of them, allowed her to ensure that her little vige survived. She still had rtives there even if they didn¡¯t know it. <em>She</em> knew it. She made sure that precious food was delivered to them when the harvests were bad. She sent medicines when the periodic gues that ravaged the country swept through. She was no Judgment¡¯s Gale who saved viges by the score, cast down kings, and had by all ounts started a city in the far north, but she had saved one vige. That was enough. It let her sleep. Usually.


    These rumors of a sect war, though. It meant fighting other cultivators, most of whom probably had nothing to do with whatever offense had urred. That was assuming an offense had urred at all. It wasn¡¯t as though the Twisted de Sect really needed a reason to dere a sect war. They never had. She¡¯d often wished that she¡¯d chosen another sect but, by the time she¡¯d understood what kind of ce she sworn allegiance to, it would have been nightmarishly difficult to leave. She might have even been killed if she tried. The sect didn¡¯t like to let go of useful resources, and she had proven herself a very useful resource. Yes, the best thing to do was to drag her feet on this expedition.


    It would be easy enough. Most of the people sent along on this expedition were morons who couldn¡¯t tell the difference between a fire lily and a water orchid. If she said she hadn¡¯t found what they needed, they¡¯d believe her. More importantly, the sect elders would believe her. In a sect that prized fighting prowess over trivial intellectual pursuits like alchemy and formation building, it was simple enough to trick her seniors. She would need to be wary of Elder Sio, though. Granted, he was practically an elder in name only having advanced with limitedbat experience. If he used her of lying, though, there was no way to be sure what would happen. They might believe him, or they might call him a stupid old man. Either way, she wasn¡¯t eager to find out.


    She could still stretch things out even if not as much as she might want to. Most sect wars didn¡¯tst that long. <em>A month</em>, she thought. <em>If I drag it out for a month</em>, <em>by the time we get back</em>, <em>the sect war might well be over</em>. Even if it wasn¡¯t over by then, they¡¯d be at the sect rather than wherever the fighting was happening. Dispatching them would take time. That could at least minimize thebat she¡¯d have to engage in. It wasn¡¯t a perfect fix, but it was a solution that was less terrible than rushing back for the fighting. Feeling more settled, she stood up to go to her tent but a stark feeling of dread washed over the entire camp. It felt like the eye of some dark god had fixed itself on her. Then, the screaming started.


    It wasn¡¯t the shouting or yelling that she expected in a battle. It was the screaming of naked terror and pain. Cao Kai-Ming felt rooted in ce even as the events unfolded around her. Things seemed to happen too slowly and too fast. She watched as people stumbled out of tents, drawing weapons and racing toward some as yet unrevealed enemy. She thought it must be some powerful spirit beast that had wandered away from the deep wilds. She had eluded such beasts before. Every gatherer who survived as long as she had developed a better-than-average ability to steal away into the darkness and hide. What she saw instead was a man or, at least, she thought it was a man. He seemed to explode out of the shadows to reap a life and then disappear back into them just as fast, leaving nothing but a faint impression of the color blue.


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    Part of her felt like she should help, throw herself into battle, and help stop this ughter. Another part of her watched on in grim satisfaction as Kong Hao, who took pleasure in beating outer disciples to the point of death, had both his arms broken beneath the raw force of a single blow from an impossibly heavy jian. A momentter, she heard the man¡¯s neck snap as the attacker backhanded the man. There was an explosion of motion, a flurry of terrible violence, and five more martial specialists had their lives snuffed out. Mou Weiunched a twisted de strike, the metal qi technique that the sect was famous for, only to have the attacker physically <em>catch it</em>, rip it out of the air, and crush it. Blood exploded from Mou Wei¡¯s eyes, nose, mouth, and ears from the bacsh. Lightning ignited around the stranger¡¯s jian and a bolt of it punched a hole in Mou Wei¡¯s chest.Cao Kai-Ming had seen violence. She had seen death. But she had never seen anything like this before. One man. One solitary cultivator had flickered through shadow, cast lightning, and exhibited the kind of unbridled physical power that she¡¯d only ever <em>heard</em> about in stories. He had passed through their camp like a dark wind and left nothing but death in his wake. The thing she couldn¡¯t understand was <em>why</em>. Why had this cultivator chosen to attack them? Had they wandered unknowingly into the domain of some hidden master? They were known to punish trespassers but that typically came after a warning. If they had gotten such a warning, they would have left as fast as their cultivation could carry them. She¡¯d gotten so caught up in trying to understand why this was happening that the stranger was within striking distance before she registered it.


    She stumbled back and tripped over something. Her mind was so disoriented by what she¡¯d seen that she lost her bnce. It took a moment to realize that she¡¯d tripped over a body. <em>The man killed someone that close to me</em>, <em>and I didn¡¯t even notice</em>? She forced herself to look up at the person she was certain was going to send her to her next life. He was impossibly pale and impossibly handsome. She knew it was a ludicrous thing to notice when oblivion was at hand, but she couldn¡¯t help herself. He was looking down at her with empty eyes. No fear. No hesitation. No remorse. There was nothing there to interpret. She looked down at his robes. They were dark in the night, but she could tell that they were blue. It didn¡¯t matter. It was just something to look at other than his eyes.


    ¡°Why?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Because your masters are fools,¡± said the man.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡±


    She supposed it didn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s not like she¡¯d remember anything in a moment or two. She just wanted to know. The man must have read that yearning to know because he sighed a little.


    ¡°Judgment¡¯s Gale.¡±


    Cao Kai-Ming¡¯s eyes snapped back up to the man¡¯s face and then pieces started falling into ce. The rumors she¡¯s heard about a sect war. Were the elders insane? They meant to dere war on Judgment¡¯s Gale? The Divine Wind himself? No wonder he¡¯d attacked them. A cold feeling passed through her when she realized what it meant that he was here, this far south, this far away from his own sect. He hade to start the war first. And in wars, there were innocent victims. Victims like her. She saw him lift that jian, prepare to cut her life short with one stroke, and three words tumbled out of her mouth.


    ¡°Cold Stream Vige,¡± she blurted.


    That empty, indifferent expression he wore cracked with confusion.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I help them. I send food, or medicine, or money when they need it. I just¡ª¡±


    She didn¡¯t even know herself what she meant to gain through this outburst. It wasn¡¯t her life. He clearly meant to leave no survivors. What did she want from him? It came in a bolt of rity.


    ¡°Will you look after them?¡± she begged.


    She didn¡¯t even care that it wasn¡¯t how cultivators should act. What was dignity in the face of destruction? If begging would secure her little vige the help it needed, she¡¯d disgrace herself a thousand times. His expression smoothed out.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said.


    Cao Kai-Ming didn¡¯t feel relief. She was too afraid for that. She did feel some tiny shred of aplishment that she had helped her vige. Who knew? With a benefactor like Judgment¡¯s Gale, perhaps they might even flourish. Then, everything went dark.


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